Hi Gang....I&#39;ve been missing in action since Wednesday which was truly glorious for me.  I went to<br />the pier about 11:30 and picked up six Radiance of the Seas crew friend, the maitre d&#39; and assistant maitre d&#39; and four of the head waiters.  We did a sightseeing tour of the city, then drove to Sausalito for a fabulous lunch - I had a scallops and mussel appetizer, followed by a grilled seafood platter with halibut, salmon, prawns, scallops and crab.  Two bottles of wine - and some wonderful conversation later, we headed back to the ship where I got to hang out with some bartender friends, a couple I knew from other ships.  At 7:30 PM, my friend, Robert, the maitre d&#39; took me to dinner at Portofino.  There was only one other couple there so we had almost the undivided attention of the two most handsome Indians I&#39;ve ever seen - they could be Bollywood stars ( Joey, you know how much I enjoyed that&#33;&#33;&#33; ).  I opted again for seafood - that scrumptious skewer that even includes a lobster tail.  <br /><br />At 10PM, my &quot;date&quot; escorted me to the gangway after one of the nicest days I&#39;ve had in years...of course, I felt a little sad since one never knows when our paths will cross again.  I did book the Radiance for my 65th birthday, sailing October 4th, 2009, five days out of San Diego.  Already, those 4/5 day cruises are filling up&#33;<br /><br />Their canal cruise in October, out of San Diego ( doing the canal and South America - Chile, mainly ) has<br />some incredibly good prices, in case anyone is interested ) and it is a gorgeous ship with fabulous crew to match.<br /><br />I just heard, by the way, from my friend, Dean Hay, who used to be a loyalty ambassador, then a<br />piano player, with Royal Caribbean.  He is now selling insurance to cruise line crew and sails on all<br />the ships.  He just got off the Constellation and, FYI, this is what he had to report.  Hopefully, by the<br />time of the &quot;Connie Goes Crazy&quot; cruise, things will be better: <br /><br /><b><i>Celebrity..my last cruise on the Constellation was a bitter let-down.  The food was very very poor.  The buffet had only three combinations...curry, sushi and stir-fry whoch they alternated for 13 nights.  The casual evening dining had one menu for the entire trip with only a different &quot;special&quot; entre and soup each evening...which were also alternated every four nights.  My cabin was right under a noisy refrigerator compressor and it took 3 sleepless nights to get a cabin change.  We were late arriving in NY and they gave out ms-leading info about who was to depart at what time so I missed my flight home..arriving 9 hours later than scheduled.  Not a fun experience.  I&#39;m on another Celebrity ship for my SF stop so I&#39;ll be able to compare if the whole line has changed or if it was just a single bad experience.</i></b><br /><br />Creative Writing - Poetry: Roses <br /><br />There are 66 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #1 by Helium&#39;s members.<br /><br />Top Article <br /><br />by Carmen Henesy<br /><br />The Language of Roses<br /><br />She walked in swaying rhythm, <br />On a path with petals strewn, <br />As waves kissed lonely beaches, <br />Beneath a giant golden moon.<br /><br />The night held scents of roses, <br />That grew profusely everywhere, <br />She had one perfect fragrant bloom, <br />Pinned in her flowing raven hair.<br /><br />She loved their riotous colors, <br />A tapestry of nature&#39;s art, <br />The most exquisite of all flowers, <br />A gift from a lover&#39;s heart.<br /><br />She turned to find him watching, <br />His smoldering eyes caressed, <br />His hand held out a perfect rose, <br />His hand held out a perfect rose, <br />As she smiled and ,then, undressed.<br /><br />I&#39;m ready to leave work in a minute - on call till 11PM but hoping for a quiet pager.  I&#39;m headed for Half Moon Bay to see my friend, Sony Holland perform, with her husband on the guitar.  They are at<br />Sam&#39;s Chowder House which supposedly has:<br /><br />Sam&#39;s Famous Lobster Roll Named in Top Five<br />&quot;BEST SANDWICHES IN AMERICA&quot;<br />NBC&#39;s The Today Show<br /><br />Will try to check in later.<br /><br /><br /><br />