Greetings Rafikis! So I'm sitting here in my hotel room in Tampa Bay, Florida, highly anticipating the boarding of the great ship Cruise With a Mission. Now, when I say hotel room, think apartment. Yes, this hotel suite has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining area, a living area, a full kitchen, and a balcony. It's literally bigger than my apartment. It even has a space for a washer/dryer. And it cost me less than $50 (sharing with my good friend Ed)!
This morning Ed and I were in California, in the dark when we left my apartment parking lot. When we arrived in Tampa it was dark. But in between, many illuminating things happened, and it all started with the Steak N Eggs breakfast burrito from an airport Carl's Jr. As we waited for our mini-stroke in a tortilla, a lady offered us drink coupons for Southwest Airlines. Not wanting to be rude, we graciously accepted our new found prize: A free specialty drink on our flight, alcoholic or non. And when we boarded and scored the exit row, I knew we had the world on a string.
As we sat in our seats, and stretched our legs just because we could, we discussed our specialty drink option (yes, singular: option). We studied the drink card with more intensity in our eyes than a kid who has just been told that if he simply believes, Santa clause will fit through the 8" pipe that vents his parent's gas burning fireplace. Disappointment rained down like a Florida afternoon thunderstorm: We could either have wine, beer, hard liquor, or a Monster energy drink. We were flabbergasted at the fact that the blessing of the specialty drink coupon would either get us drunk or hyper, both options less than desirable on a 3 hour flight that was supposed to serve as respite from a sleepless night. Not to mention that I don't drink.
When I began discussing the possibilities of a whip-cream topped cup of specialty coffee, the flight attendant walked by and said: "I see you're familiarizing yourself with the most important card, sitting in the exit row and everything..." Ouch. I tried to figure out a way to convince her that Ed and I were just fortunate and not drunks, but she moved on, probably to warn the rest of the passengers.
Sleep deprived, and firing on three cylinders (early 90s Geo Metro anybody??), we landed in Tampa and were pleasantly surprised by the awesomeness of our hotel. Even more, the awesomeness of dinner conversation carried us seamlessly through the night, even as we made a Target run. After dinner, I thought that if this was the prelude to the Cruisers, then the main event would be dazzling (not to be confused with jeans, purses, and denim shirts full of plastic rhine stones).
An airport run later, Ed and I found ourselves with a little time on our hands. Well, it was like 11, and at that time of night, you just manufacture the time and put it wherever it needs to be. In this case, we literally put it in our hands. We went bowling! Now, due to my lack of sleep, the night had already been filled with slight glitches in the Fidi Mwero processing unit. The waitress thought I was an idiot; I was having a hard time putting sentences together properly. A man named Tony became "Scott" out of the blue. My brain was mirroring my Sat Nav (which is apparently very out of date with all the new Tampa Roads), spinning out of control for many reasons and constantly saying "Recalculating". I was definitely in the right state of mind to be flinging a 15 pound bowling ball to and fro. More like fro. I lost. Horribly. Don't ask the score. Ed's a good bowler.
Now I sit in my hotel that's bigger than my apartment and wonder if I'll recognize mother sleep when she puts her head in the room. Oh look. There she is. Creepy. I didn't think I invited her in.
Goodnight from Tampa Rafikis. Tomorrow, Cruise With a Mission 2010 adventures begin. Stay tuned. I can't wait to see how God's face will be shown to the Cruisers and all we meet.
- Fidi "Fidz" Mwero
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