My wife, son and I just went on one of our most memorable vacations, a cruise of the Baltic Sea. Although I could probably write a book about the experience, I'll try to capture some of the highlights here without overwhelming the readers (however many or few of you there may be).
I should mention up front that we booked our trip through Cruise Trek, a company that invites Star Trek fans and people who have worked on the various Trek TV shows and films. It's like a mini-convention at sea for those of us in the Cruise Trek group. The Trek activities are only a small part of the cruise, but they added quite a bit of enjoyment for those of us involved.
The cruise left Copenhagen, Denmark on Thursday June 30 and returned there on Sunday July 10. We spent the day before departure in Copenhagen, which is a lovely city. Wednesday afternoon, we met a group of Danish Star Trek fans at a local eatery to get acquainted with them and learn more about Copenhagen. Pat, Ben and I ended up going to dinner with several of the Danish Trekkies, and later walking with them to visit Tivoli Gardens, a small amusement park right in the city. Legend has it that Walt Disney was inspired by this park for some of his ideas for Disneyland in California, and I can see why. It has beautiful grounds and a very nice ambience.
Thursday afternoon our cruise ship, the ms Westerdam of the Holland America Line, departed Copenhagen. After an evening of settling in and (re-)introductions to our fellow Cruise Trekkers, we had a day at sea on Friday. The Trek activites are only held when the ship is not in port, so several of them were crammed into this day. The actors' Q & A panel was held, where guests Garrett Wang (Harry Kim from Voyager), John De Lancie (Q), and Bob Picardo (the Doctor from Voyager) answered questions from the audience quite graciously. Bob P., in particular, is quite a gregarious guy, and kept us all entertained during this panel and every time he got in front of the group. There were Trek-related games and presentations throughout the cruise, and all of them that I attended were lots of fun. I placed second in a couple of the games but I don't know enough Trek trivia to beat out the more dedicated fans in those contests.
Saturday we spent in Tallinn, Estonia. I knew virtually nothing about the city or country before this trip, and while I can't say I am an expert on it now, I did find it to be a neat place to walk around. We spent all of our time in the Old Town, with its ancient streets and buildings including a couple of beautiful churches. We ate lunch at the Olde Hansa, a medieval restaurant housed in a very old building which apparently was used as a dining hall hundreds of years ago. The menu there includes game such as bear, elk, and wild boar, all cooked over open flame (no electricity!). We wussed out and settled for chicken. It was quite good, and the medieval side dishes were surprisingly tasty.
Sunday and Monday we were docked in St. Petersburg, Russia. We were glad to have two days here because there is so much to see. However, because the Russian visa process is so cumbersome and expensive, we booked our trips ashore through the cruise line because we didn't have to have our own visas that way. It worked out very well, and the excursions were well organized and informative. On Sunday morning we visited Catherine's Palace in Pushkin just outside the city, and in the afternoon we went to the Hermitage Museum downtown. Both are enormous places with gorgeous works of art and elaborate decor. Our tour guide said it would take years to look at each piece that the Hermitage has on display, and I believe it. Sunday evening we went to a Folkloric Spectacular performance, featuring energetic and colorful Russian music, songs and dances. A wonderful show which I missed a few bits of here and there from nodding off due to jet lag. After spending the night back on the ship, we took another tour bus Monday, this time to Peterhof Palace in the morning and more sights in downtown St. Petersburg in the afternoon. Peterhof is another grandiose complex of buildings with similar furnishings to Catherine's Palace, but the exterior grounds at Peterhof are its most impressive feature to me. There are acres of gardens, with lots of fountains, sculptures, etc. to enjoy. The main attraction of the afternoon tour was the Church on the Spilled Blood, an amazing Russian Orthodox cathedral whose interior is almost completely covered with astoundingly beautiful mosaics that have been painstakingly restored after damage suffered during World War II. Most of the palaces and major buildings in St. Petersburg have undergone extensive restoration, which is a testament to the pride that the Russian people have taken in their history and culture.
Tuesday's stop was Helsinki, Finland. While Helsinki doesn't have the ancient feel of the other cities we had visited thus far, it was still a cool place. My favorite sight there was the "rock" church. No, they don't play the Rolling Stones there at services; the name comes from the fact that the church was built by blasting the top out of a rocky hill and building a domed roof over the hole. It's one of the most unusual structures I have ever seen.
Wednesday: Stockholm, Sweden was our port destination. If I were to pick a city from this trip to visit again, Stockholm would be it. It is a cool city, with a fascinating old town section as well as a modern newer part with all the amenities of a major metropolis. The setting for the city is especially beautiful since it is built on 14 islands which we sailed among on our way out of port that evening. It reminds me of the San Juan Islands in Washington state. Lots more historic and interesting stuff to see here, much of which we didn't have time for. As the governator might say, "We'll be back."
Thursday we stopped at the Swedish island of Gotland and walked around the small but thriving town of Visby. We saw many ruins of old churches dating back as far in the 1200s, and (most of) a stone wall surrounding the city that is at least that old. The feeling of ancient history was strongest for me here of all the places we saw on this trip.
Friday we made port in Warnemunde, Germany, a seaside resort town. We didn't spend any time in Warnemunde, though; we took the first train in the morning to Berlin, a 3-hour ride away. We joined a small group of Cruise Trekkers who were riding the same train, and met with a local who is a friend of Richard Arnold, Trek historian and guest on the cruise who was our de facto leader on our "tour" of Berlin. Because we had another 3-hour train ride back to the cruise port, our time in Berlin was limited. Still, we saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the "Hollow Tooth" church, and a warp speed tour of the Pergamon Museum. Berlin is another place I would love to go back to when we have more time to see all it has to offer.
The last full day of the cruise was spent in Arhus, Denmark. (There should be a little circle over the A in Arhus but I don't know how to make that in this blog. The same goes for the two dots over the u in Warnemunde.) Arhus isn't a particularly remarkable city, but we saw some interesting places and had a nice walk through the downtown area.
The cruise ended on Sunday morning July 10 when we returned to Copenhagen. We were sorry to see it end, but were ready to head home. There is more to tell but I think that I have written enough for this entry. I hope you have enjoyed reading it a tiny fraction as much as I enjoyed experiencing it.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Milestones
Yesterday, June 6, 2005, was my 50th birthday. No, I'm not fishing for birthday greetings - if I had wanted to do that, I would have mentioned it before the actual date, and would have done so where more people would have got the hint. It just reminds me that time is not standing still, for me or anyone else. I have had a wonderful life so far, and I hope I continue to have the good fortune that I have been blessed with up to now, for a long time to come. But I have coasted for a good part of the journey, and not put in as much effort as I could have to make it even better. Coasting is a hard habit to break. I'm telling you, I've really liked having it as easy as I have, and knowing that it will take some hard work to get over some of the obstacles that have cropped up is a bitch to deal with. I guess I'm hoping that writing this down, somewhere that it might be read by someone other than me, will prod me into getting off the dime and applying myself where I need to. I know that I can do it; motivating myself is the trick. Will this work? Time will tell. Maybe I should print this out and tape it to my bathroom mirror or something. In any case, getting it off my chest gives me a small sense of satisfaction. I'll see if I can build on that.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Loops and bonds
My son and I recently took a quick trip to California to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. My wife was on a business trip and Ben had a day off from school on a Friday, so I took a vacation day that day so he and I could spend it together.
I have flight benefits from my job. We have season passes to Six Flags Over Texas, which are good at any Six Flags park. I decided to put those two perks together so Ben and I could check out the rides at Magic Mountain. When I lived in southern California, I would go to Magic Mountain about once a year, and when Pat and I started dating, we went there together several times. It's much more of a thrill ride park than Disneyland, and they have lots more roller coasters now (14 in all!) than they did in 1990 when I was there last. Ben, being a 13 year old boy, is a big thrill ride fan and was understandably excited when I told him of my plan for us to go. Pat was happy that we would be going, but also a little jealous that she would miss out. She isn't nearly the ride fan that Ben and I are, but she enjoys coasters occasionally, especially if she hasn't tried them yet. We'll have to make another trip there when all three of us can go.
This was the first time that Ben and I had traveled without Pat. He and I get along quite well, at least these days; who knows if I will be able to say that a year from now, when he is 14. We share a lot of likes and interests, and going to amusement parks is definitely one of those, so I was glad to have the opportunity to take him to this one while we had some father-son time. We rode nearly every big ride they have there. The park was practically empty, the lines were short to non-existent, and the weather was postcard perfect. We enjoyed every minute of our adventure there, although by the end of the day my stomach had endured just about all the twisting and turning that it could. Of course, Ben was still raring to go try Deja Vu, the one coaster we hadn't been on. I told him that would give us something to come back for.
We drove back towards L.A. through Friday evening rush hour traffic, but I didn't really mind it that much. We didn't have to be anywhere in a hurry. We did stop in Westwood Village, where Pat and I went nearly every weekend for dinner and a movie when we lived in the area. Ben and I had In-N-Out Burgers for dinner, and then bought some Diddy Reese cookies (cheap but absolutely delicious) to bring home for Pat (and ourselves). We got to the Rodeway Inn near the airport in time to hit the sack early because we had to get up before dawn to try to catch the first flight home in the morning.
My flight benefits expire at the end of June this year. That is another reason I wanted to make this trip, and I'm very happy that I did. I can't say for sure whether Ben and I bonded any more than before in just that one day, but it certainly didn't hurt, and we both had a lot of fun. Maybe it will be a day that will be a fond memory for both of us in the years to come. I'm fairly sure that it will be for me.
I have flight benefits from my job. We have season passes to Six Flags Over Texas, which are good at any Six Flags park. I decided to put those two perks together so Ben and I could check out the rides at Magic Mountain. When I lived in southern California, I would go to Magic Mountain about once a year, and when Pat and I started dating, we went there together several times. It's much more of a thrill ride park than Disneyland, and they have lots more roller coasters now (14 in all!) than they did in 1990 when I was there last. Ben, being a 13 year old boy, is a big thrill ride fan and was understandably excited when I told him of my plan for us to go. Pat was happy that we would be going, but also a little jealous that she would miss out. She isn't nearly the ride fan that Ben and I are, but she enjoys coasters occasionally, especially if she hasn't tried them yet. We'll have to make another trip there when all three of us can go.
This was the first time that Ben and I had traveled without Pat. He and I get along quite well, at least these days; who knows if I will be able to say that a year from now, when he is 14. We share a lot of likes and interests, and going to amusement parks is definitely one of those, so I was glad to have the opportunity to take him to this one while we had some father-son time. We rode nearly every big ride they have there. The park was practically empty, the lines were short to non-existent, and the weather was postcard perfect. We enjoyed every minute of our adventure there, although by the end of the day my stomach had endured just about all the twisting and turning that it could. Of course, Ben was still raring to go try Deja Vu, the one coaster we hadn't been on. I told him that would give us something to come back for.
We drove back towards L.A. through Friday evening rush hour traffic, but I didn't really mind it that much. We didn't have to be anywhere in a hurry. We did stop in Westwood Village, where Pat and I went nearly every weekend for dinner and a movie when we lived in the area. Ben and I had In-N-Out Burgers for dinner, and then bought some Diddy Reese cookies (cheap but absolutely delicious) to bring home for Pat (and ourselves). We got to the Rodeway Inn near the airport in time to hit the sack early because we had to get up before dawn to try to catch the first flight home in the morning.
My flight benefits expire at the end of June this year. That is another reason I wanted to make this trip, and I'm very happy that I did. I can't say for sure whether Ben and I bonded any more than before in just that one day, but it certainly didn't hurt, and we both had a lot of fun. Maybe it will be a day that will be a fond memory for both of us in the years to come. I'm fairly sure that it will be for me.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Catching cards to chase the blues
I didn't have the most pleasant day today. Work was a bit sluggish; it felt like I was treading water most of the day, trying to get various things done but not making much progress on any of them. After work, I taught the children's tae kwon do class that I teach every Tuesday, and stumbled around in that. I called out the wrong techniques a couple of times, and counted off the moves incorrectly in a form that I was trying to teach - which most of the kids in the class reminded me of quite loudly. When I left that class, I felt like I had lost a bit of the respect of many of the students. I was in a funk when I finally got home.
Nothing of interest in the TV Guide. A chapter or two of the novel I am in the middle of didn't do much to keep me enthralled. I decided to play some Internet poker to kill time until lights out.
I have been playing poker on line for several months now. I started last year when some friends talked about it on a message board that I visit from time to time. I played poker in my college dorm back in my youth, rather poorly. I remember running to the local supermarket once to cash a check so I could have a few more bucks to play with after losing in a game that night. Fortunately that check was only for about $7.00. After that, I only played sporadically until last year. When I found out that there are Internet poker sites where one can play the game with fake money against real people, I thought, "What a cool idea. I can practice my skills and learn more about how to play, especially this weird game called Texas Hold 'Em." Hold 'Em is the most popular form of poker today, at least among casinos and professional players and the online poker community. I won't go into the specifics of it here; there are plenty of sites where you can find out how to play it, what the rules are, etc. There are also dozens if not hundreds of books about Hold 'Em and poker in general on the market. I own and have read a number of them, and they can be quite informative and often entertaining to boot. I know they have helped me improve my play.
Anyway, I signed on to Pokerroom.com tonight to play in a single table tournament. I thought I would take a gamble and get into a higher stakes game than I usually enter. Maybe I was trying to goose myself out of my dark mood by going a little further out on the limb than normal for me. Of course, I'm still only playing with cyberbucks, so it's not as if I'm risking anything that matters, but it's the thought that counts. I "bought" into a $500 + 50 (the amount of money you have to pay to enter) table; I typically play in $100 + 10 games. I have played in single table tournaments many times, although I'm sure there are players who are much more dedicated (addicted?) than I am and play much more often. Still, I know some of the patterns of play at these tourneys, and I can usually last until the most of the starting players have been busted out. Tonight I was playing pretty well, and also getting some good cards. To make a long story short, I won the table, enriching my play money account by $2,500. I felt almost as good when I finished in first place at that table as I would have if I had won 2,500 real dollars. Now, I'm not going to go empty my savings account and catch the next flight to Vegas to hit the poker rooms. But it's a nice little morale booster to have that small success at the end of what was otherwise a downer of a day.
So who out there wants to play some online poker sometime? Let me know and we'll get a game together.
Nothing of interest in the TV Guide. A chapter or two of the novel I am in the middle of didn't do much to keep me enthralled. I decided to play some Internet poker to kill time until lights out.
I have been playing poker on line for several months now. I started last year when some friends talked about it on a message board that I visit from time to time. I played poker in my college dorm back in my youth, rather poorly. I remember running to the local supermarket once to cash a check so I could have a few more bucks to play with after losing in a game that night. Fortunately that check was only for about $7.00. After that, I only played sporadically until last year. When I found out that there are Internet poker sites where one can play the game with fake money against real people, I thought, "What a cool idea. I can practice my skills and learn more about how to play, especially this weird game called Texas Hold 'Em." Hold 'Em is the most popular form of poker today, at least among casinos and professional players and the online poker community. I won't go into the specifics of it here; there are plenty of sites where you can find out how to play it, what the rules are, etc. There are also dozens if not hundreds of books about Hold 'Em and poker in general on the market. I own and have read a number of them, and they can be quite informative and often entertaining to boot. I know they have helped me improve my play.
Anyway, I signed on to Pokerroom.com tonight to play in a single table tournament. I thought I would take a gamble and get into a higher stakes game than I usually enter. Maybe I was trying to goose myself out of my dark mood by going a little further out on the limb than normal for me. Of course, I'm still only playing with cyberbucks, so it's not as if I'm risking anything that matters, but it's the thought that counts. I "bought" into a $500 + 50 (the amount of money you have to pay to enter) table; I typically play in $100 + 10 games. I have played in single table tournaments many times, although I'm sure there are players who are much more dedicated (addicted?) than I am and play much more often. Still, I know some of the patterns of play at these tourneys, and I can usually last until the most of the starting players have been busted out. Tonight I was playing pretty well, and also getting some good cards. To make a long story short, I won the table, enriching my play money account by $2,500. I felt almost as good when I finished in first place at that table as I would have if I had won 2,500 real dollars. Now, I'm not going to go empty my savings account and catch the next flight to Vegas to hit the poker rooms. But it's a nice little morale booster to have that small success at the end of what was otherwise a downer of a day.
So who out there wants to play some online poker sometime? Let me know and we'll get a game together.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Choices, choices
It's a Saturday morning and I am sitting at my computer as usual, before my wife and son get up. I log on weekend mornings for a few reasons. A good friend and I often IM at this time, if we are both on line (we are chatting as I type this). I'll use the quiet time to catch up on e-mails and reading things on line, like friends' blogs or news about my various interests. I'll pay bills if I have any coming due - on line banking is a great convenience, let me tell you.
So now that I have started this blog, I may do some of my blogging at this time too. But the problem is, how do I decide what to write about? Sometimes I can't think of anything that I think would be worth posting. Other times I have a million ideas in my head competing for their space here. What to choose, what to choose? Today, I choose to write about the fact that I find it hard to choose what to write about.
I have lots of interests. I study martial arts. I act in community theater. I'm a big fan of the band Yes, and other progressive rock artists. I love science fiction in all media: books, movies, TV, etc. I love Monty Python and that style of humor. I like baseball. I love to travel. I could write about any or all of those things. I could write about my everyday life, or my philosophies, or I could make something up that has no basis in reality. I think I will eventually write about all of those things, assuming that I don't get sick of this blogging thing, and that everyone who comes by here doesn't tell me to please shut up.
For the moment, I think I will just sign off. I have things to do that require my attention. But I'll be back. Now that I have posted the list of things I might write about, I can refer back to it to remind me, and find some inspiration when I need it. On the other hand, I just might come up with something that isn't on the list. I will try not to be too predictable.
Yeah, this was a boring post. But get used to it; there may well be more.
So now that I have started this blog, I may do some of my blogging at this time too. But the problem is, how do I decide what to write about? Sometimes I can't think of anything that I think would be worth posting. Other times I have a million ideas in my head competing for their space here. What to choose, what to choose? Today, I choose to write about the fact that I find it hard to choose what to write about.
I have lots of interests. I study martial arts. I act in community theater. I'm a big fan of the band Yes, and other progressive rock artists. I love science fiction in all media: books, movies, TV, etc. I love Monty Python and that style of humor. I like baseball. I love to travel. I could write about any or all of those things. I could write about my everyday life, or my philosophies, or I could make something up that has no basis in reality. I think I will eventually write about all of those things, assuming that I don't get sick of this blogging thing, and that everyone who comes by here doesn't tell me to please shut up.
For the moment, I think I will just sign off. I have things to do that require my attention. But I'll be back. Now that I have posted the list of things I might write about, I can refer back to it to remind me, and find some inspiration when I need it. On the other hand, I just might come up with something that isn't on the list. I will try not to be too predictable.
Yeah, this was a boring post. But get used to it; there may well be more.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Read this (other) blog
One reason I decided to go ahead and start my own blog is my enjoyment of reading Wil Wheaton's blog. In case the name isn't instantly familiar, Wil played "Wesley Crusher" on the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and "Gordie" in the film Stand By Me, among many other roles. Wil has had a blog going for several years now, and I have become hooked on his writing. He has a very readable style, quite literate, laced with plenty of humor, but most importantly, brimming with honesty and candor. He has gone through a lot in his life and career, and has shared a great deal of his struggles and triumphs with the readers of his website. The popularity of his blog helped lead him to publish two books, which are collections of his writings on the blog. The two books, Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, are fantastic reads IMO. They are published by O'Reilly and are available wherever fine books are sold, as well as at the usual spots. Get them, now.
Anyhow, Wil's blog entry dated February 7, 2005 is one of my favorite ever. I won't tell you about it; you need to read it for yourself. Go here:
http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001787.php
After you have read that one, scroll through some of his other recent entries, or take a browse through his archives. I'm betting you will enjoy the read.
Anyhow, Wil's blog entry dated February 7, 2005 is one of my favorite ever. I won't tell you about it; you need to read it for yourself. Go here:
http://www.wilwheaton.net/mt/archives/001787.php
After you have read that one, scroll through some of his other recent entries, or take a browse through his archives. I'm betting you will enjoy the read.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Testing, testing..... is this thing on?
OK. I started a blog. I did it because I wanted to post a comment in a friend's blog. Now I have one of my own. I suppose maybe someday I will post something interesting in here, but don't hold your breath too long.
I've thought before about starting a blog of my own, but never took the time to do it. Maybe I'll make some use of this thing; many's the time when I've said to myself that I should write down some of my thoughts, whether anyone else ever reads them or not. At the least, it could be a place to practice stringing words together to see if they make sense.
I guess I'd better go post that comment, if I can remember what I was going to say.
I've thought before about starting a blog of my own, but never took the time to do it. Maybe I'll make some use of this thing; many's the time when I've said to myself that I should write down some of my thoughts, whether anyone else ever reads them or not. At the least, it could be a place to practice stringing words together to see if they make sense.
I guess I'd better go post that comment, if I can remember what I was going to say.
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