Voyage to Ensenada (Part 1) (Part 2)By Cousin Kim
Labor Day Weekend marked the last official weekend of the summer and I wanted to hold on for dear life! With this in mind, my friend Cathy and I decided to take a weekend cruise aboard the Carnival Paradise to Ensenada, Mexico.
My first choice, Royal Caribbean, was sold out. Okay, call me a cruise snob, but many people describe Carnival as a cruise line for college kids and families due to its affordability. As a Black single gal way past "college age", this reputation didn't really appeal to me.
But then hey, I figured a short weekend trip would be tolerable. And who knows, maybe I would meet a Terrence Howard type on board.
The ship left LA via Long Beach harbor at five thirty pm. After a tour of the spa, evening found Cathy and I sitting alone at a table for six.
Keeping my pledge to eat healthily even while on vacation, I ordered tilapia fish from the low calorie menu and skipped dessert.However, when Cathy's dessert order, chocolate meltdown, came to the table I had to have two teaspoons full with ice cream. As my mom loves to say, it was so good... it was pornographic!
Relaxation seemed in order after our sumptuous dinner, so I chilled in the cabin for awhile before heading-up to my scheduled eight fifteen spa appointment.
My masseuse, Karen, was from the Phillipines and gave a firm Swedish message. After giving me the privacy to dress myself again, she returned to give me the subtle sales pitch.
I noted that she'd circled where I'd written on my questionnaire that I take baths for relaxation.
That explained why she'd brought a packet of Cellutox bath preparation with her. As I drank my lemon water, I listened to her describe my body as a site filled with lactic acid that could only be cured by purchasing and using the products she was selling.
"Have you observed your legs?', she asked. "They have bumps on them and are retaining water." Little did she know that I have been working out like a demon this summer, that I am in better physical shape than I was in college, and that I've lost twenty four pounds since the end of last year. In other words, I'm really feelin' myself right now.
I stared at her and declined to purchase all the product she offered. Karen was clearly unaware of who she was dealing with. I'm a thrifty Capricorn and I'd just spend one hundred and nineteen dollars, not including tip, on a fifty-minute massage. She was really pushing it with me.
"Have you observed your legs?', she asked. "They have bumps on them and are retaining water." Little did she know that I have been working out like a demon this summer, that I am in better physical shape than I was in college, and that I've lost twenty four pounds since the end of last year. In other words, I'm really feelin' myself right now.
I stared at her and declined to purchase all the product she offered. Karen was clearly unaware of who she was dealing with. I'm a thrifty Capricorn and I'd just spend one hundred and nineteen dollars, not including tip, on a fifty-minute massage. She was really pushing it with me.
Yet, in spite of this, I left my massage feeling relaxed, tranquil, and ready to take my beautiful, allegedly lactic acid-filled, Nubian Princess body to bed.
That night I dreamt of kissing fine ass Terrence Howard.