i keep remembering when…

Final thoughts from the cruise…

In addition to the videos I’ve posted here on the site, all the rest from the cruise (as well as some other random stuff) can be found here. Please enjoy & feel free to share!

As soon as I got back, I started putting a playlist together of songs that would always remind me of those moments on the Lido Deck, at Half Moon Cay, or even just in my cabin with the girls. Most of these will get the same reaction from fellow cruisers, but a couple of them are specific just to the three of us. Even so, I’ve chosen to share my playlist in case anyone either wants it or at least wants a good jumping off place for starting their own. Without further ado, here’s playlist “6196:”

“Tonight (I’m Fucking You),” Enrique Iglesias
“Fuck You,” Cee-Lo Green
“Shout,” Isley Brothers
“My Prerogative,” Bobby Brown
“Rocketeer,” Ryan Tedder w/Far East Movement
“Shots,” LMFAO
“We Speak No Americano,” Yolanda Bee Cool & D-CUP
“Summertime,” NKOTB
“Let’s Go Higher,” NKOTB
“O-Face,” Jordan Knight
“Up & Down,” Jordan Knight
“Hey Mickey,” Toni Basil
“Dirty Bit,” Black Eyed Peas
“I Got a Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas
“Dude Looks like a Lady,” Aerosmith
“Let’s Get Physical,” Olivia Newton-John
“Baby Got Back,” Sir Mix-a-Lot
“Poison,” Bel Biv Devoe
“Material Girl,” Madonna
“Like a G6,” Far East Movement
“Apache,” Sugar Hill Gang
“Dynamite,” Taio Cruz
“Kiss,” Prince
“Black & Yellow,” Wiz Khalifa
“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” Brian Hyland
“Livin’ on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi
“Push it,” Salt & Pepa
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Cyndi Lauper
“Games,” NKOTB
“Call it What You Want,” NKOTB
“Party All the Time,” Eddie Murphy
“Super Freak,” Rick James
“Hip Hop Hooray,” Naughty by Nature
“Low,” Flo Rida
“Party in the USA,” Miley Cyrus
“Jump Around,” House of Pain
“Ladies’ Night,” Kool & the Gang
“Iesha,” Another Bad Creation
“Just Dance,” Lady Gaga
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” Whitney Houston
“Sweet Child of Mine,” Guns ‘N Roses
“Rock with You,” Michael Jackson
“One Song,” NKOTB
“Good Vibrations,” Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch
“I’m on a Boat,” the Lonely Island ft. T-Pain
“Motown Philly,” Boyz II Men
“Mony Mony,” Billy Idol
“I’m in Miami, Bitch,” LMFAO

And lastly, I think my cruise posts would be remiss if I didn’t include a little list of some things I’d do differently next year/if I get to cruise again. Whether this is a list of things to remember for myself for the future, or advice for future first-time cruisers, here they are, in some kind of order of importance:

1.) Easily the most important: for two seconds, stop taking picture after picture of the guys and take pics with and of your girlfriends. You’ll never forget what the guys look like, and others will get the shots you’re missing. No one will have backup photos of you and your friends if you don’t stop for a second and capture those memories. Trust me. I don’t have near as many photos of me & the girls (especially of me with the girls) as I wish I did. Furthermore, this goes double for anywhere that’s remotely as beautiful as Half Moon Cay (as I expect Nassau probably is, too). Places like that are literally surreal, and made for photo ops. Take them. Come home with a camera, memory card, or computer full of pics of you, your friends, and the guys. Trust me.

2.) Visit wherever you’re scheduled to go. As I said, we didn’t get off the boat in Nassau. If next year’s cruise destination is different, who knows when my next chance will be to see Nassau, and I was just there. I do have a tiny regret about wasting the opportunity, even though the day was lovely. In addition to not missing rare and beautiful sights like these, my point is to perhaps spend a little time with your roomies in advance budgeting your time and figuring out what’s important to each of you so that you can make it all work. (Hint: it is okay to split up if necessary.) If next year’s trip is to Bermuda & Jamaica, I’m coming home with stories from both. If it’s from Europe, Mexico, or hell, Alaska, expect to read stories from wherever we go. Don’t give yourself the opportunity to wish you’d at least gone for a quick walk around the port.

3.) Take advantage of the sun. I didn’t bother to get a base tan before I left. (I did have a good base color thanks to an amazing spray tan I do myself, but it was just color.) Besides the day I spent at HMC, and a few hours at the pool at the Lido Deck one afternoon, I didn’t really come home as brown as I could (and should) have! And believe me: I packed plenty of sunscreen (enough for the three of us, in fact), so that wasn’t a factor. I just take the sun where I live for granted, and it wasn’t a big lure. As a result, I came home much lighter than I’d have liked to.

4.) Unpack! When we first got to our room, we were just sort of sitting around, waiting for Donna and for our luggage to show up. Next year, I’d make a priority of getting (and staying) organized as soon as is possible. That way, we wouldn’t be tripping over suitcases for the length of our trip. (We did get sort of organized eventually, but none of us ever completely unpacked, so there were always neatly folded suitcases in the way. Our room was like an obstacle course.)

5.) Bring an extra camera battery. Though I charged my camera every night (and often during the day, too), I could only take pictures until I had one bar left (just in case I happened to run into one of the guys on my way back to the cabin, of course). One of the girls I know said she bought several extra (generic) batteries on eBay before the cruise and always had charged back-up batteries on her. Genius! Why didn’t I think of that? I’ve already bought a spare charger, so next year I plan to have an extra camera battery or two wherever I go so I don’t have to worry about it.

6.) Plan door decorations as soon as possible. This is a challenge because if you want to win the contest (and I do…prizes are usually good!) you have to follow the theme. In our case, we had an idea and stuck to it, but we weren’t organized about communicating. I emailed the girls with my idea, they both said it was fine with them, and we made plans to bring materials of our own and do it in the hotel, or on the boat, or… Next year, I’d like to have one person collect everything before we even leave for Miami, or at least plan all together what we’re going to do and also the when & where we’ll actually be doing it, so it gets done and up on time.

7.) Have a photo group ready ahead of time. Lots of people did this one. I admit, I thought last year when they were putting groups together months before we left that it was silly. Turns out, the choices are simple: either do it early, be organized, and breeze through the process without drama, or else don’t care who you stand with or what happens…otherwise, there’ll be drama. I don’t really care about meet & greets, so I could stick to the latter…but who doesn’t want a chance to hug & chat with their fave? Especially because in my case, that was the only face time I got on the whole cruise. That’s fine, because the NKs were just a perk for me on a fantastic cruise, but if you’re going expecting to talk to the guys, take my advice here & plan ahead.

8.) Stay up on the Lido Deck all night on the last night. Watch the sun come up with your friends, with or without any NKs present, and with or without going back to your room to change into PJs. This one’s simple: you’re already dead from lack of sleep, and wherever you’re about to go you’ll be sleeping (on a plane, shuttle, or in a hotel). Stay up and watch the sunrise. Say goodbye.

9.) Hit the breakfast buffet. I didn’t even think about it, or realize it existed, until after the cruise was over this year. Given the way Donna & I attacked the hot buffet when we got back to Miami, it would have been nice to know we had the option while still on the ship, too. I even heard they serve breakfast until 11 or 12. Good to know!

10.) Meet as many friends as you can. Okay, I did this one this year too. It just was such a great experience, this one’s a reminder to myself to do so again next year. Whether they’re Twitter friends, friends of friends, or just new people – where else do you find a boat full of really amazing people who already have the rarest and most amazing, beautiful thing in common. As Donna said, we’re home on the ship. Go meet the family! Make some memories!

And that’ll do it for me with this year’s cruise wrap-up. Unless anyone has questions…feel free. Otherwise – hope those that have already had the chance to see NKOTBSB (Chicago, and moving forward) have enjoyed the hell out of it. I know I can’t wait!

Edited: May 26th, 2011

i’m livin’ swell, and now you wanna be down?!

step off!!

I have to preface this post by saying that I learned at a young age to try to be positive as often as possible. (Thanks, Wahlberg!) Somewhere in my mid-20s, I really did start practicing that, rather than just preaching it. (Turns out, he’s right…positivity is about being smart!) It’s easy to give into negative urges, and to many, it’s even fun. But…I think it’s a lot harder and more fulfilling to go against the grain and suppress that. To be genuinely positive is more of a challenge and therefore more rewarding. Others get more from their relationships with you, which feeds you as well. Simply put, I strive to be the best me I can 90% (or more) of the time.

This post, however, will not be one of those times. I really need/want to get this off my chest, and yes…it involves some negativity. It’s not immature/jealous/”I-suck-at-sharing” negativity, exactly. You’ll see. Or maybe you won’t. Maybe you shouldn’t read it. I leave the choice to you, hence this whole disclaimer in the first place. I think that getting this off my chest will allow me to move forward from it and be open-minded to the source of it all. Rather than letting it fester, I’m putting it out there, in hopes of working through it. If you’d rather keep the negativity away, I understand & respect that. Turn away now. Otherwise, read on, but you’ve been warned! Please don’t consider me a hater of any kind…that couldn’t be further from the truth…

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I have a problem with the NKOTB reunion. (Can you imagine? A Blockhead of nearly 25 years has a complaint about getting what she wished for all these years?! Sadly, yes.) My complaint isn’t something that really has anything to do with the guys themselves, or even the actual reunion. And, to be fair, I guess it was to be expected. My problem is…well, I call them “back in the day” fans. In a way, they’re the best possible outcome. But I’m not gonna lie: they get under my skin. I debated with myself for months about whether I’d ever actually post bitching about them. The final straw that made me decide to was the NKOTBSB performance last night on the AMA. It was awesome. A truly exciting moment for us BHs…and apparently, everyone else. Great! Or not.

It should be no surprise that a NKOTB reunion would bring fans out of the woodwork, and I don’t just mean those diehards of us who never left in the first place. I mean, of course, those girls who get excited, buy tickets, come to the shows wearing their old tees and buttons and the like, and claiming “I still love the New Kids on the Block!!!” Wait, you do? Because I take issue with the word “still”. The fact of the matter is that the more people who do get excited, buy tickets, and come out to support the NK, the better for us, right? That’s obvious, and I wish nothing but so much success to the guys – you know I believe they deserve all of it and more.

But to these fans I ask, “where were you?” When Face the Music came out? (You’ve never heard of it? Oh, I see.) When VH1 created the first Where Are They Now (using my merch!)? When we all nearly died seeing Donnie in Ransom and The Sixth Sense, and not because we just happened to recognize him, but because we flocked to the theaters to see them because he was in them. For that matter, when Southie came out? Or The Taking of Pelham 123 on TV? (The list of movies/TV shows, obviously, goes on & on.) When Joe toured for Stay the Same and Meet Joe Mac? When Jordan opened for *NSync? When Danny went solo? When Joe was on Broadway? When we were getting up at the crack of dawn (or some of us even sleeping on the streets for days) two years ago for Today, knowing it was likely to be one of the happiest days of our lives? Even when The Block came out, while we were all at record stores or staring at iTunes in tears, where were you?

Make no mistake, there’s room for everybody. Each and every single fan, whether you’re a brand newbie from last night, or you’ve never missed a day since the beginning, is welcome and valued, in my book. For the most part, I believe that BHs are a rare breed: I’ve been around groups of fans for many different kinds of celebrities, and unfortunately I always kind of felt like there was an unspoken competitiveness between them. In fact, I took it for granted that it must exist between fans of just about anyone. And then…the reunion. There’s something really beautiful about the relationship that exists, as a whole, between Blockheads. True, as I’ve written about before, it’s even more breathtaking when you take into account that the guys are a part of that relationship. But leaving them out of it, this is a unique group of fans. I really believe BHs are one of a kind. More often than not, we have this attitude of “the more the merrier!” and bond quickly. We don’t tend to exclude anyone, and though we’re typically both human and female, we still treat each other as sisters more than any other one thing. Being a fan as a kid, and in what I refer to as the “New Kids wilderness” (1995-2007, even though we had stuff going on a little at a time all those years), was amazing. But it’s nothing like what it is today. With Twitter and our newfound sisterhood, we’ve taken fandom to a whole new level. I think every artist/group/celebrity believes s/he/they have the best fans “on the planet.” I think the NK actually do because of our “bhpride.” We really do represent and do them proud, and part of the reason we do is because we have something in common. Something important.

The one thing we share is battle scars. That’s why Joe calls the fans “bravehearts.” What this means is that we’ve been so unwaveringly supportive, we’ve all withstood years’ worth of torment. It’s never stopped us, but we’ve had to not only defend the guys over the years, but ourselves for liking them. For many, many years it was uncool to like the New Kids on the Block. This has a lot to do with the way we bond so quickly and fiercely to each other – we understand each others’ love for the guys, which is something indescribable to most. Add in a few things in common & you’ve quickly made a lifelong friendship that will hover somewhere between a good friend and a literal family member. (You’re reading this – you know that!) Now it’s 2010 and after a (literally) show-stopping performance with the Backstreet Boys on the American Music Awards, suddenly everyone’s a fan again?! I guess the coast is clear! They’re back on top! Dust off your merchandise, claim/admit to being a fan, it’s cool to like them again…I’ll pull up the bandwagon, who wants on?

It just frustrates me. I guess I want a little credit. The guys know who the “soldiers” are, I know. We also know each other, so we know what’s what. But bandwagon fans have always bothered me. As I said before, it’s claiming that you’re “still” a fan that gets to me. That’s not the right word. Many of those girls (and guys?) forgot all about the New Kids many, many years ago. That’s fine; I get it. It just proves their loyalty & dedication – and ours. And hey, seriously: welcome (back, where it applies). It’s good to have you, please stay a while this time! You’ll learn what those of us who never left have known all along: the ride is, as the kids say, “epic.” These guys are amazing.

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I’m looking forward to the next chapter with the New Kids, which includes (of course!) the faithful BH family, the Backstreet Boys, their fans, and many fans both new & returning. I sincerely mean from the bottom of my heart that anyone who enjoys any part of it all has a place in my heart. Without each of us, this might not be possible. I won’t lie and say I don’t bristle a bit and think “back of the line, please!” when one of the back in the days says something that tips me off to their having not been down all along. But having said all this, I hope to get over it and enjoy the ride. One of my “twistas” (twitter + sista) recently said something that stuck with me. I didn’t remember to save it, so I have to paraphrase, but the idea was that no matter the ups and downs, as long as this ride keeps going I’m gonna be in the front row, screaming with my hands up. I couldn’t say it better myself. I’m looking forward to sharing the ride with anyone who wants to come along, whether you just discovered them for the very first time last night, you have just had your love for them reawakened, or you’ve been loving them forever. I mean that. I just needed to process through this so I don’t have to carry it with me for one second longer than necessary – Donnie raised me better than that!

Who’s with me?

Edited: November 23rd, 2010