Today my sister got a little brochure in the mail from the University that granted her MBA. She almost threw it out, assuming it was a fundraiser, but finally opened it to find that the University is sponsoring an alumni cruise this fall. The cruise starts in Athens, ends in Istanbul, and in between calls on Rhodes, Jerusalem, Cairo, and several other spots we've never seen. The price, which includes airfare, is quite reasonable because they're offering "two for the price of one." Sue called tonight to see whether I'd be interested in going with her. She actually had me at "Athens," but then she mentioned that Jacques Pepin is the executive chef in charge of the menus for the cruise. How can we not go?
Of course, even at the University's discounted price it won't be cheap, so I'm going to have to start tightening my belt now. This means less eating out, walking instead of driving to the grocery store, and virtually eliminating all unnecessary purchases, but that's OK - I'd rather take the cruise than eat steak between now and then. This also gives me a little extra incentive to lose weight - I want to look as svelte as possible while lounging in one of those deck chairs during the at-sea day. Fortunately, the losing-weight goal and the spend-less-on-food-and-wine goal will work well together.
Of course, the annual VNSA book sale is this weekend, and I am going to splurge a little there - but last year I scored a large bag of books for the price of a single retail hardcover, so it won't be a huge extravagance.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain
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