Gosh, I always wanted a forum to post my memoirs while I could still remember them, how big did you say this server was John??

I'm a fifth generation Californian, born in Monterey. My dad is still in Carmel, he took up golf in his 50's (not THE 50's) and shot an 86 the week before his 87th birthday!! I pray I have his genes (well, of course I do, but you know what I mean).

Age-wise I'm running somewhere in the middle of the pack. Single, possibly pending something more permanent (I mean LEGAL), but then again...

My first cruise (?) was spending 3.5 months onboard a ship as a Sophomore in college, round the world, fabulous in every way other than the "cruise experience" (we "got" to change our own sheets every couple of weeks or so and had to bargain with the crew for toilet paper). My second time was a Princess cruise in the Med with my Mom after I graduated from cooking school in Paris. While I couldn't really say anything bad about the experience, there was nothing truly great either. It was like being able to go to Denny's and being able to order anything or eveything on the menu. Not bad, but also not good...( I did, however, meet a "Master of Wine" from London who was lecturing on board, we went on to date for some time until he became a British MP and didn't have enough time for his "Yank" girlfriend).

THEN...skipping many years...tra la...I found Radisson (this is back to my cruise memoirs, the real "dirt" you have to get from me in person) and the rest is continuing history: 3 Diamond, 5 Song of Flower, 1 Voyager and now the Mariner! Two ships left to go...

Oh, I recently moved to Orinda, CA, a bedroom community of San Francisco, close to my Alma Mater, Cal. I have been a faithfull Bear fan, suffering through MANY years of humiliation at the hands of the Pac 10. I work, well, daytrade, to cruise, reside off/on with a S/O and ALWAYS with two VERY significant cats, live to eat, drink more wine than I probably should (but I'm TRAINED in the field!) and in the past year have met some of the nicest, most wonderful people in the world who I'm very proud to call friends. :)