One of the truly wierd things about being out of the country on a cruise ship for six days is that I've had virtually no idea of what has been happening in the outside world. I heard that the Devils won the Stanley Cup, that Jeff Van Gundy is the new head coach of the Rockets, and that New Jersey beat San Antonio in Game 4 of the NBA Finals last night. Outside of that, I might as well have been on another planet- and it was a surprisingly relaxing feeling.
Think about it for a moment- how often can you honestly say that you've been completely cut off- no cell phone, no pager, no newspaper, no Internet, no Fox News Channel? If you're honest, the answer is not very often. We are constantly inundated with information, and the relative lack of it was refreshing. Not only did I not KNOW, I didn't CARE. All I had to think about was what was happening on the boat- and that usually meant wondering when and what I'd be eating next.
The information void meant that all I had to do was relax. My cell phone had no signal, there were no newspapers or TV news channels, and while I could have logged onto the Internet, it would have cost $.40 per minute- not a price I was willing to pay. I learned to enjoy life in the bubble, and it made this cruise easily the most restful vacation I've ever had. I can tell it's going to take a day or two to readjust, and I'm not sure that I really want to.
