DIA PRIMERA:
Last Monday, the 3rd, I met up with the Sacred Snatch herself and her mamita, Virginia, at the Sacramento airport. With iPods and passaportes in our little manos, we happily awaited our flight to San Diego. The flight and taxi ride to the pier were completely uneventful until we pulled up and Yoli said, "There she is!" And there she was indeed! The Crafty Chica, Kathy Caño-Murillo with her pinky-red streaked hair and in an adorable "Enjoy Carne Asada" Tee was standing by the ship with many huge boxes, smiling at us.
our ship, the Carnival "Elation" (photo by Kathy Cano-Murillo)
Kathy's tee (from Beezo California)
After we got yelled at by a mean ol' security guy who didn't want us standing in a big, uncongested, open space for a quick hug, we checked in. I had been prepared to wait hours in line, but we were almost rushed through! They've got that check-in procedure down to a science, let me tell ya!
Yoli, Virginia and I headed for the "Libido" (LOL) deck for some lunch and ended up drinking a very potent and tasty rum concoction sold to us without resistance by a hot, young, Nordic waiter. The extra rumminess of the drinks was necessary for anyone who saw how luggage is loaded onto a cruise ship! You either need to pray that the luggage hits the net hanging precariously over the side of the ship OR drink OR pretend it's not happening. I had missed the luggage juggling, but as anyone who has ever traveled with me knows, I don't like going places - I just like being there. Airports stress me out and I don't usually relax until I can get in my room and relax. Hence, the rum. It was good.
Following lunch, we wandered around the hallways looking lost and awaiting our luggage and the inevitable fire drill. Everywhere we went, it seemed folks were asking us, "Are you crafty chicas?" What gave us away out of a crowd of 1600? Was it the pink hair? Was it the cute latinas at my side? What about us said "Crafty Chica" is unknown, but whatever it is, it's clearly recognizable!
During the fire drill, we found Kathy and Patrick, and his mom Susie and her cousin Cecilia just outside our muster station at the "Drama Bar" (how appropriate) with life preservers in hand. We lost Yoli to our pal Mala Hija somewhere between the muster station and the life boats, but I was unwittingly trolling for chicas, using my newly adorned denim jacket as a shiny lure. Boy, it sure works well!
¡mi corazon chaqueta!
This jacket was the perfect bait for a fantastic artist, Alisa Abrenica, who I stalked only briefly (like 5 minutes) on MySpace before the cruise. She followed the lure during the fire drill and walked up to introduce herself. Little did I know that by the end of the cruise, I'd be smitten with both her and her awesome roommate, Ann. They're total "keepers!"
We started off the Crafty cruisin' in earnest that evening with a cocktail party that included introductions and a frantic exchange of more ATC's and artist swag than I've ever seen in one spot! Kathy distributed nametags and we all got to be queens of our specialty that night. She even made us all little tiaras to wear (and they were sported by several of us throughout the cruise!)
Kathy hands out nametags (photo by Yoli Manzo)
fuzzy tiaras for everyone! (photo by Yoli Manzo)
Yoli's swag bags! Great Snatchy goodness, individually wrapped for your protection! photo by Yoli Manzo
Well, what else would I be Queen of?
We also got our Crafty Chica totes full of goodies, and mine even included one of those Enjoy Carne Asada tees! There were several tote designs from which to choose, all created by the talented Patrick Murillo! Of course, you KNOW I chose a Corazón Sagrado design.
"Ohboyohboy! Whad'I get?" (photo by Yoli Manzo)
The bags included swag from:
Craft Zine (a magazine I actually subscribe to!)
Quarry Books (Crafty Chica Collection Book)
Naughty Secretary Club (postcard)
Beezo California (T-shirts)
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez and St. Martins press (books)
We also got to choose cards from a pile and each had a different "sewn" greeting card by Kathy and Patrick. Each envelope also contained the name of one of the cruisin' chicas, for whom we would make a "secret friend" crafty gift. Can you believe I got Alisa as my secret pal and this card???!?!?!
Kathy/Patrick's La Crafty Rockera design with a kitty & a parrot AND she's sewing!
I couldn't have chosen either better if I'd hand picked 'em!
All of this was before din-din and I can assure you that the only thing I remember between getting my tote bag and passing out in my bed was this:
Warm Melting Chocolate ... thing aka choco-crack
stay tuned for... "DIA SEGUNDO"
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