aloha from hawaii!!!

hey guys and girls... i'm finally five hours behind you guys; no longer penned up in maryland. my flight arrived here around eight p.m. local time. i arrived on the ship after a much-needed night of rest about twenty-four hours later.

it is magnificent. huge. overwhelming. amazing.

i'm more excited now than i have been at any point since being a part of this experience.

two of my roommates from piney point are here so that's going to make it that much easier. also, i've seen two people with whom i was friends in maryland here already... even easier a transition.

mojo is my buddy and head bartender. mr. b. is our boss. fun people, both of them.

i haven't had time to visit the island but i have an awesome schedule, which should allow me some time to get off the ship...

my roommates here suck. that's been the only negative thing thus far. no offense to old people but they are. besides that, they both smoke in our shoe-box-sized room. yes, i'm a smoker but never in my bedroom. i've already petitioned to move so i'm crossing my fingers. the place is nasty.

back to the good things... my first two weeks will be spent at the ocean drive pool bar, which is on the top deck in the south beach themed area. after that, who knows.

i have much better access to the internet here - it's certainly not dial-up! having said that, i hope to be in better contact with all of you.

some notes... i heard from christine... she's lost an amazing 32 pounds and is doing well. she'll be going back to work after thanksgiving.

wendell is still in south georgia among the rednecks. haha. he's doing well, too. that's all i'll say about that.

my fish are reportedly still alive, which is a good thing.

guys... i'm so excited. i wish all of you could be here! miss and love you all.

aloha

one t