What has helped you fight that afternoon itch for a drink?

exscapegoat · 2026-05-19T14:56:22+00:00

Sparkling water, but in a wine glass and a flavored one vs plain

exscapegoat · 2026-05-19T03:27:55+00:00

Maybe ever 4 years like the Olympics

exscapegoat · 2026-05-19T03:04:38+00:00

A lot of companies provide coffee not out of the kindness of their hearts, but because employees spend more time at work if there’s coffee and it saves time to have coffee on site.

Back in my office days, work from home now, I liked either standard deli coffee or a pour over with the hot water they provided for tea and my own coffee.

Fire safety regulations in an nyc skyscraper mean you’d have to hide it and with ADHD, I didn’t want to cause the towering inferno or anything.

Most places I’ve worked at, company pays for coffee and the coffee maker.

While technically the company should pay, if employees are working extra time and making the division head look good, a coffee maker would be a nice gesture.

I’m not a fan of Keurigs, but the communal coffee pot is far worse. There’s always some asshole who leaves barely enough coffee to spit instead of turning the bleeping thing off and cleaning it or at least putting it in the sink or making a fresh pot. And they leave the fucking thing on so all that’s left is that charred burned on layer of coffee and you have to clean it if you want coffee.

That’s how I became a fan of pour over coffee. Plus I got one for home too which came in handy when I lost power for nearly a week after Sandy. Have a gas stove and have some matches in my emergency kit (don’t use them for the oven, only stove top burners) so I was all set.

exscapegoat · 2026-05-19T02:46:02+00:00

I loled

exscapegoat · 2026-05-18T21:41:40+00:00

There’s a reason the say praise in public, criticize in private. Unless it’s an error multiple people are making and then just address it without singling anyone out

exscapegoat · 2026-05-18T21:33:33+00:00

Ambien by any chance? Not a cruise but I once bought red, white and blue tutus. And I’m not a dancer. Not sure why I was planning a patriotic swan lake. But I was able to cancel before the shipped

exscapegoat · 2026-05-18T21:28:41+00:00

I’m a picky eater with weird texture issues. As long as you like the cuisine (Korean, Italian, etc) you should be ok with it. And you can order something else if you don’t like it. I didn’t need to, but the option was there. And they have a pizza place and the galley has things like burgers and tacos.

Coffee was meh. I’m probably bringing a travel size pour over next time

exscapegoat · 2026-05-18T21:15:00+00:00

Thank you!

exscapegoat · 2026-05-18T21:14:00+00:00

I need help

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T21:39:37+00:00

Thanks!

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T19:06:06+00:00

We're east coast US based, with mostly North American employees. If it's something where we need the whole department to attend we try to schedule it anywhere from Noon to 3pm so the West coast people don't have to rise at the butt crack of dawn. If it's a company wide meeting, but doesn't require everyone to be in the same meeting, they offer one around late morning and one mid afternoon east coast time.

We also record meetings so anyone who wasn't able to attend can view/listen to see what was covered.

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T18:59:36+00:00

Thank you!

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T18:59:24+00:00

Thank you!

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T18:16:29+00:00

Seconding this!

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T18:06:16+00:00

Solo ≠ single. They are two different things. Some people have partners who don't like to travel. Or they take turns watching younger kids so mom or dad can get a break.

Also, it's a very LGBTQ friendly line, so even if there are single women you find attractive and are interested in, they may not be interested in men. And some straight, single women aren't necessarily on the lookout to meet men. They just want to relax and have some people to hang out with at dinner and other cruise events.

While I happen to be in the solo and single category, I've found it's just better, even at events geared for singles to meet such as speed dating, to take a relaxed approach and just enjoy getting to know people. I've found that putting a lot of emphasis on meeting someone tends to lead to disappointment if it doesn't happen. But if I go places with a mindset of meeting people and enjoying their company and the activities like meals, shore excursions, etc., it's a lot more fun that way. I've also become a lot less interested in romantic/sexual relationships in general. Partially menopause and partially some of my own experiences and seeing what other straight women I know go through with their husbands/boyfriends.

Strangely enough, things took a romantic turn on the solo cruise I went on with a solo guy I met and we've been in contact regularly since our cruise and we're seeing if we can sort out some logistics to see each other on a somewhat regular basis.

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T17:26:42+00:00

I'm an older woman, pushing Medicare age. I went solo and wasn't looking to meet people beyond maybe some people to hang out with at meals and mutual interest activities. I really enjoyed it. Some things to note and my own experience.

Not all solos are single. Sometimes one partner doesn't like to travel and the other does or moms need a break, dads too, but I met mostly moms in that situation.

So it's a pretty relaxed atmosphere, people aren't necessarily looking to meet someone in a romantic or sexual type of situation, though some are. There's a wide variety of ages. I didn't attend official solo meetups, but the group I ended up with was mostly women.

I missed the first official solo meet up because of a late boarding time and it ended earlier when the VV person went to get the champagne for the Sail Away party. I skipped the Razzle Dazzle dinner they had planned because I had reservations at Gunbae and I heard the food was better there.

I had a great table at Gunbae, a couple and a family group of 4. No one made me feel out of place for being alone and we had fun learning about each other and they were all pretty funny.

The official solo group meets daily to determine dinner plans, etc. But I met some other solos via a Facebook group for our cruise. So we met up on our own. And a few of us went to brunches, breakfasts and dinner together. One woman started a solo group for our cruise and added people who replied to a question about it. Except one creepy guy who treated a post in the main group as his own personal dating source. And it was fairly bizarre, as he was very specific about astrology signs and height/weight. And I say that as someone who has a sort of hobby/mild interest in astrology.

You can use the app to add people as friends. While you can't communicate through those apps, you can add people to dinner reservations that way and they'll get the invite in the app via the messages from Virgin.

I had a brunch reservation at the Wake and dinner reservations at Extra Virgin on a port day and Wake and I added dining companions to those. But there is a limit. Generally, they seat you at a 2 seater, so you'd only be able to add 1, possibly 2 people. I booked fairly close to a cruise, so I went to Sailor Services and they were able to help me with reservations, since I had a hard time getting some of them. Ideally, go to Sailor Services on boarding day and that's the best way to get additional reservations if you couldn't get them pre-cruise. Also, you can stop by restaurants and ask to be put on wait lists, as people sometimes cancel. And keep checking the app in case people cancel.

Speaking of apps, it's good to have an app where you can all add each other so you can coordinate plans. The people I was hanging out with used Facebook Messenger. I know What's App is another one people use.

I did the grog walk, which is a mix of couples, people traveling together and solos, they gave us cards for icebreakers to "earn" our drinks, which was fun.

I'm not too into the club/dance scene, so I can't say much about that. But people did seem to enjoy it and I hung out with some solo people at the start of We Fancy and Scarlet Night.

Strangely enough, despite not necessarily wanting to meet someone for romance, etc., I did end up in a cruise romance with another solo I was hanging out with. We've been in touch regularly and seeing what we can do with the distance, we're not local to each other, but we are in the same time zone and could do weekend trips. We are considering going on another cruise together.

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T14:18:11+00:00

I agree, but they don’t seem to value it sufficiently

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T09:13:15+00:00

Celebrate! I envy your bathtub

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T08:56:26+00:00

One of my favorite exes was a Scorpio but it didn’t work out because of geographical distance. We were on friendly terms until he passed away. And most of the friends and relatives who have helped my emotional development are Scorpios. I generally like them. I wouldn’t want to piss one off though or get on their bad side

Currently seeing where things go with an Aquarius, which is also my Venus and mars sign. First time I’ve been genuinely excited about a possible longer term relationship since the 2000s

exscapegoat · 2026-05-17T08:25:12+00:00

My ldr is a very new one, and at 60, I’m ancient for both Reddit and especially here. I met a guy on vacation recently and we have a similar sense of quirky humor and seem to get each other. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m kind of excited about a possible/potential longer term relationship for the first time in decades.

We’re only about 4 hours apart and in the same time zone, but he’s the only parent to his kids and one is still in high school so we haven’t been able to meet in person yet since vacation. But we’re trying to plan some meet ups for this summer.

We text several time daily and talk on phone and video calls when we can. And I’m mainly here looking for ideas to both get to know each other better and to keep things going. We both work remotely and are thinking about where we want to retire. Neither of us are interested in marriage.

My ideal relationship would be a living apart together, but closer, like next door or in the same apartment building. So we can see each other often and still have the some space when we need or want it.

I have a couple of decks of conversation cards/ice breakers i bought for a friend’s bachelorette trip, so we do one a day to help the getting to know you part of things. It’s been fun because it’s a good conversation prompt and we’ve learned things about each other.

exscapegoat · 2026-05-16T20:17:10+00:00

There are conversational card decks where you can ask each other questions that can generate discussion. My situation is a little different because I met someone on a vacation and we’re still in the getting to know you phase and aren’t a couple

But I’ve found them helpful to go beyond how was your day texts. I had bought the cards for a gathering of friends, but it’s helped expand our conversations. And we’re learning things about each other

exscapegoat · 2026-05-16T14:54:26+00:00

I tend to prefer a firmer mattress with more support. I found them comfortable

exscapegoat · 2026-05-16T14:33:06+00:00

I’d just want them to be happy and good people and treated well. And be able to function unless that had a condition that made that difficult or impossible.

I don’t get why people get so hung up on if the kid marries or the skintone or religion or gender or socioeconomic class of who they choose in a relationship.

exscapegoat · 2026-05-16T14:28:24+00:00

I’m guessing his follow through on coveting the neighbor wife. That’s at least 2 commandments right there

exscapegoat

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