Tuesday on Antigua

I woke up a bit earlier than usual because we had some business to handle. I met up with Drew, Cazzie, Robb and Jim for a quick breakfast and headed for the town to find a cab.

We jumped in a van and headed to a golf course. We all rented clubs and carts and started off. This course was pretty fun or maybe it was the company, probably both.

We basically had the place to ourselves and that's always nice when you play in a 5-some, something I have never done before.


There was a lot of elevation on these holes which provided for some lovely views.


We joked and played and rode around the course without a care in the world, including our scores. I think I beat out Jim by one stroke to win the match...though weren't really playing against each other. We played 9 holes and decided to call it quits at that point so we could meet up with the others over at Darkwood Beach.

Darkwood is a beach I visited last time I was on this island with my family in 2006. Its a gorgeous white sand, calm watered beach. The best part about it is that there aren't any people there. Well, hardly any.
The water is warm, the sand is soft and there is a little place that serves food from hot dogs to ribs. This day was particularly interesting because a man named Timmy Love, a supposed reggae star was filming a video on the beach. It was a small production, not enough to ruin the peace and tranquility of the beach. It was just enough to keep you entertained as he repeated "I am the Greatest," about a million times. I found this link to give you an idea of what we are dealing with. The video isn't out yet but when it is you can bet I will post it so you can get a better idea of where we were.

We met up with our ride back to the ship. His name was Rough Neck. This was the same driver we had back in 2006. I had talked to the cabbie that took us to the golf course and to Darkwood whether he knew Rough Neck. He did and I arranged it so Mr. Neck would come pick us up. My friends were a little hard on me for making such a big deal but it was a fun little moment for me.

Sailing out of Antigua is a beautiful thing. The island claims to have a different beach for every day of the year. As you sail away you can see many of them. We drifted off into the sea. Ate another fabulous dinner. Our server Ali figured out at some point that he should just start bringing out a few extra main dishes and extra desserts. It was the beginning of the end.

The Next Day

So I mentioned that we spent the day at Trunk bay on Easter Sunday. We spent that night at dinner talking about the good old days, rehashing stories we've told a hundred times but still tell because they are still funny and everyone has a different take on what exactly happened.

Monday we arrive in St. Maartin. This island has a French side and a Dutch side. Most people decided to go to the beach and hang out. I had different plans. I walked out the gate and found myself some suspect looking fellows that said they would take me to a place to rent a scooter. This of course is after they asked me several times if I had everything I needed to "party." So one guy yells at another guy and he runs off for a minute. He comes back in a little red car and tells me to get in. Why not? He drives me a few minutes away to a scooter/atv store where I get my rental on. I spent the day driving around the island taking in the sights and sounds and beaches that Maartin and Martin had to offer.

The first beach was right by the airport. It felt like you could jump and touch a plane that was landing. It was pretty cool. I came across a bus and while driving a scooter snapped this picture because I found it surprisingly enjoyable. (there are no train tracks on this island.)



I drove most the rest of the island at that point just checking the different roads and vistas. There were some gorgeous beaches.


I stopped at a beach on the French side called Orient Bay. It was a clothing optional beach. I found a little spot away from everyone and got into the water and shed my trunks. Let me tell you that skinny dipping in the ocean is quite liberating.


On my way back to return the scooter I crested this hill and if I had a camera other than my cell phone I would have been able to capture the beauty of this place. There was a little shack on the top of this hill right off the road where I relaxed for a few minutes and drank a Coke. This shack had 2 men "working" there. One was laying in a hammock and the other was just chilling out behind an old tattered ply wood counter top. Dudes just living with out a care.


I got back to the ship a little burned on the arms but all in all in good shape. We hit up dinner, went to a show and everyone followed me to the karaoke spot. I had expressed my intention and excitement to sing. So I submitted my song and got called up. I gave a rousing rendition of "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye. The people on this cruise ship had no idea what I was bringing to the table. As the song, progressed the crowd swelled...and swelled. I put on a show the best I could. I sang an encore song. "That's What Friends Are For" by Dion Warwick and dedicated it to the 6 married couples I was cruising with. I got the crowd really excited and they sang the chorus with me the best they could. I loved every second of it.

More to Come!

Friends and Cruises

Friendship is a strange and glorious thing. When it is right and true and real, nothing can top it. I joined up with some old friends for a 7 Day cruise around the Caribbean last week. I spent grades 6-12 with most of these guys. The roots run deep. I haven't seen some of them for 10 years.

And Yet...

I can get on a boat, sit down with these dudes, whose lives have gone 6 different directions over the last 15 years, and its like we haven't missed a step. I find it fascinating that though we haven't spent more than a handful of days together in a decade or more its like nothing has changed in our love for each other. We're just good and its great. It is simply amazing and wonderful.

There were 13 of us on this Celebrity Cruise.


Six of my best friends and their wives and me! One of the great things about the group, besides the wives all somehow being great friends, we were all perfectly fine going out as a big group or individually. It was a great dynamic.

Besides the reminiscing with each other we had a great time. How can you not when there are perfect beaches, perfect weather and delicious dinners 2 entrees at a time.

The first day we cruised into St. Thomas. Most of us took a water taxi over to St. John and visited the lovely Trunk Bay.

A place full of beautiful water and snorkeling. It was gorgeous. This is a stock photo and it was at least this nice.


I'm gonna break this vacation into pieces so I can have a better reason to blog over the next few days. So come back soon and catch up with the next few days of the cruise.

Greater Than Less Than

People sometimes ask what is your favorite...thing. I usually find myself stumped. I don't know if that is because I don't want to box myself into liking just one thing or because I like to change my mind. I have favorites, don't get me wrong. What I have more of is PREFERENCES. There are definitely things I like more than other things. If you were to give me a choice between two I can choose one. Here are a few.

BMW > Mercedes
Adidas > Nike
Baskin Robbins > Cold Stone
Cookies > Brownies
Nestle Quik > Hershey's Syrup
Crest > Colgate
Braun > Norelco
Pink Floyd > Beatles
Football > Baseball
2 Pac > Biggie
Dr. Dre > Diddy
Lord of the Rings > Harry Potter
Edward > Jacob
Aniston > Jolie
TMZ > Entertainment Tonight
My Music > Your Music
Right Ankle > Left Ankle
Southwest > Others
Costco > Sam's Club

I don't feel bad about not having a defined list of Favorites. My preferences will do just fine. And maybe, just maybe, if you give me enough preferences I will eventually find something that trups everything else and I will have a favorite. But for now I will stick to things I prefer.

Me, A Romantic?

Yeah duh. If you know me at all you know I have this giant soft side (and I'm not talking about my body.) I don't know where it came from exactly. I could take a few guesses. It could be genetic, or being the only boy growing up around 4 of the greatest sisters in the world, or maybe that I am a Gemini...I don't really know. What I do know is that I have embraced it.

I have never been one to shy away from feelings. I write poetry. (It makes Krista cry sometimes :) ) Its one of the ways I cope with my emotions, mostly loss or hope. So on this Valentine's Day I am pulling a poem out of the vault called Vows to a Queen. Its squishy and soft and about a woman I hope to meet one day.

♥A solemn vow to Thee I make eternally this day
My declaration of love to Thee, a Queen
A promise to Thee in unity
For time and all eternity
In thy absence, My Sweet
My heart will long for Thee
My eyes will feast on Thee in Thy Presence
My devotion to Thee is not only in word but deed
Through life and immortality
Thou wilt find, Thou wilt feel, and Thou wilt know
That it is Thee forever
I will cherish in my soul
Together we are Whole
My heart, my breath, my love, my life
Is Thine, my girlfriend, my fiance, my wife. ♥

Tech 2.0.1.c3

When I blog I want it to be something special, something worth reading. Not simply an update of what has been happening. That seems so redundant and uninteresting.

Technology has gotten to a point where you can catch me on any number of different media. Lets take a look at the list.

Phone/Text: You can probably find it online if you need it or don’t have it.

Blog: You’re here. But did you know I have a total of 4 blogs? Check it out!

1. Mental Foreplay - www.creeve.blogspot.com
2. A Poet of Sorts – www.creevepoems.blogspot.com
3. Caleb Reeve for President – www.presidentcalebreeve.blogspot.com
4. Caleb’s Resume – www.creeveresume.blogspot.com

Twitter: @calebreeve It also feeds to this blog on the right side of the page. This is a good way to get my daily updates and see what’s up in my life. I post on it nearly daily. So come follow me on the Twitter.

Facebook: /calebreeve You know what FB is and what it does. I don’t need to explain it to you.

Skype: CalebReeve you can video chat with me if you’d like.

Instant Messenger: I think I am on Yahoo and MSN. Probably search Caleb Reeve and you can find me.

Email: I have a couple. If you got em then lucky you! Haha.

My Space: calebreeve this is something I don’t use any more but the account is active and I check it maybe once a month.

All of this, it is overkill, no doubt about it, but it is how life is today…for some of us. Now, I don’t use Skype or Instant Messaging or MySpace for the most part. MySpace is a dead medium as far as I am concerned. IM is on FB and Skype. Skype, there really aren’t that many people I know that use it. I think it is an up and coming technology that is really cool but it isn’t utilized.

What is super crazy about life today is that there are always new ways coming along to help access and share this information and open lines of communication. My phone, the HTC G2 from T-Mobile does pretty much all of them. It can chat, get on Twitter and FB. I can take pictures/video on my phone and send it to my blog, FB, or Twitter...or all 3. Did anyone see The Office episode where Ryan creates WUPHF? Here is a link to the episode. http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/wuphfcom/1261100/.

Life is actually like that these days. Some people may take issue with it. I am fascinated by it and I happen to be OK with it.

My Withering Leg

I just wanted to thank those of you who helped with the Tipping Bucket last month. If it was a re-post of my blog or a small donation to help a bucket tip and some needy people get some help. It is a great organization and you should check back often to see if a project comes up that you’d like to support. You can also submit your own project should you feel so inclined.

Yesterday, I went in to the doctor to get my cast off. It had been 6 weeks of casts and I was prepared to get a boot and take it slow. Come to find out that I need to take it even slower. They put me in ANOTHER cast for ANOTHER month. THEN I get a boot after that. This is a walking cast, so I am a little bit more mobile than previously but it is still annoying. I knew the recovery was going to take forever but jeez…my patience is wearing thin. Luckily there isn’t softball or soccer to tempt me.

Plus the cast and the screws and the motionless joint all help out. Oh and hopefully there will be a leg left. I am a man with the leg of a 6 year old boy.


I finished up a new poem. Let me be more specific, I posted it. It’s been on a pad of paper for a bit and finally it became something I was able to finish. Sometimes.

I am consistently bad at consistently blogging. It seems like my journal says some similar things. More than anything I think I just don’t take the time to make it happen. I watch too much TV. My life is full of that. There are other, maybe even better things I could do my bounty of down time and yet…

The Tipping Bucket

I friend of mine, Sara Joy Pond, (she's in my ward and my FHE Co-Chair) created this non-profit organization a couple of years ago and has a tremendous opportunity to win a grant from Pepsi. But I/She needs the help of friends of friends and family. I am trying to help.

Check out this video as well.

What is Tipping Bucket?

Tipping Bucket is an organization and website that allows everyday people to get involved and help fund projects (for as little as a dollar.) This month they are working to win a grant from Pespi as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project to help build the organization and help more people in more places.

Tipping Bucket projects LITERALLY heal the sick, cause the blind to see (funded over 500 cataract surgeries in Uganda over the summer,) the lame to walk (through prosthetic limbs,) and allows people to submit projects and ideas that will allow them to help themselves and their communities.

What Can You Do?
As part of the competition you have the opportunity to vote everyday during month of November, in 3 different ways.
1) Sign up at www.refresheverything.com/tippingbucket it requires you to have an account but you won't get spammed.
2)Go to www.tippingbucket.org and submit a vote using facebook.
3) Text 104182 to 73774 (PEPSI)

You can vote each day using all 3 methods and I encourage you to do so. Please copy and paste this and post it to your blog or send an email out to your friends if you think this is a worthy cause.

Every vote (like every other drop in the bucket) makes a difference. Join me in making these dreams a reality. Spread the word, add your drop. Thank you so much!

Here is the link to the video in case you would like to send it out to some people ot use it in your blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QENLyV_Sdkw

2 Weeks

So! I'm currently dosed up percocet. This has been a more regular occurrence. Two weeks ago I had to pass a kidney stone. Not a pleasurable experience. I only passed one and there are 2 more in each kidney that may make their way out of my system. I named this one Peter or Cephus. That stone put me out of commission all week. The worst part about it was when the pain set in I had just stuffing myself with a variety of sushi at Happy Sumo. There's nothing like puking up $25.

I spent the week in bed when I wasn't in the emergency room or at the urologist's office. So after a brutal cycle of not being able to hold anything down because the pain or trying to take the pills on an empty stomach and not holding it down Peter passed away. I have him in a little plastic bag in my bathroom.

A couple of days ago I went into for an ankle fusion surgery. It has been a long time coming. I have been avoiding it for months. Originally it was scheduled for August but I was having too much fun in the summer. Well, the day came. This was a massive, brutal surgery.see what I mean? I'm working on getting some more views. Its crazy that the body can recover from this sort of thing. I'm on day 3 and at the moment I feel pretty good. I had some better sleep. In fact, I keep dozing in and out as I write this. Its taken me so long!

My mom is here taking great care of me. I appreciate her love and kindness. I'm sure I'm not the best company at times since all I do is lay in bed but she loves me and I know it. I will try to keep you posted as things come and go. I have a couple of good stories I want to share but not right now. Peace and love!

California Road Trip

I had to get out. So I did. I took a small group of friends with me in my new Jeep back to the Bay. It started on a Thursday, we drove through a snow storm in Nevada. But after a long 13 hour drive we made it to Carmel where we stayed at my mom's place. Its a magical little house. The view is never disappointing and the weather, which usually is, was not at all.
James, Rachel and I spent Friday playing on beaches. We first roamed the Carmel River Beach just below the house. We then made out way down the coast to Pfeiffer State Beach. That's James running with some kelp. We got in the ocean and froze, James nearly to death.

Saturday we picked up Brady at the Monterey Airport and went to the Aquarium. It was a little disappointing because their deep water tank was closed. No sharks or tuna. Sad. We left the coast and headed to a place called The High Life in San Jose. It was a restaurant James saw on Man vs Food. All BBQ, it was delish.
The Red Sox were in town playing the A's so we went to the game and had a good time, though the Sox lost. (they were playing their B team essentially.) After the game we left for Alamo and spent the next couple days. Sunday we went to Church and then made a run to the Oakland Temple. Kara and her family came over and had lunch Sunday afternoon. I love her.

Monday was a day into the City. San Francisco is a great city. Somehow we ended up on a double decker sightseeing bus. I got the "locals" discount aka Free.99. Keith was our tour guide and he let me do some guest commentating. He liked what I was doing and offered me a job. We will see what happens with that. We drove through Golden Gate Park (bigger than I thought) and ended up at the beach. There were some kids playing soccer so Brady and I joined and played for a few minutes. We also found a great little park with some nice views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Tuesday came and it was time to drive back to Utah. All in all it was a welcomed trip. I think all of us involved had a great time. I want to thank my mom and dad for being so hospitable and letting us crash at your places. I love you both. Thank you x3.

The Real San Francisco Treat

We found this little park in the back of a residential neighborhood and got a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the late afternoon. It was a perfect end to a fun day in the City.

Carmel by the Sea

The sun was dropping fast but I was able to get a quick shot of it before it went down.

I Could Be a Chef.

I got a little chef-sie on it. Pan seared, macadamia nut encrusted ahi tuna steak, cooked medium rare, on wild rice and topped with a freshly made tropical mango salsa. Its really good.

Naming my Baby

I have found that getting my new vehicle has caused me to dig a little deeper and has brought about new challenges in life that may prepare me for some kind of relationship one day.

For example.

1) I have, a good word for it is coasted, the past couple of years in a job that, while I have been there, enjoyed and learned, but found myself under employed and just getting by. The car has caused me to seek better, more lucrative employment and bring about a new grown spurt my marketing career.

2) Number One has caused me to realize that this car is my new longest relationship. I have a 75 month commitment thrust upon me, which I don't mind because it has caused me to get my butt in gear. (one of the big reasons I decided to purchase)

3) Because of #2 and my new found commitment, I have to take good care of it. I realize that this is here for the long haul and I need to treat it right.

Most importantly, today I took it on a little mini-expedition in the hills behind where I live. (Its full of dirt trails that wind their way about. Now in light of #3, I was being very careful not to over exert us.) But I found out during this off road rant that my vehicle is a Girl! I found myself saying, "oh She does so well!" "She drives like its asphalt."

This brings me to my point...I have to name this girl.

I'm not yet sold on any of these names and something may just come to me one day. But so far, here are the ones I have kinda narrowed it down to and the reasons why.
*Bianca, which means white, is also the name of one of the moons that orbits Uranus. Plus you can yell, 'Come on B!' and its OK.
*Faith, I will need some in order to keep her.
*Hannah, I like the name and if you can get past Montana, the Hebrew word "Hannah" has many meanings and interpretations, including "beauty" and "passion" both are qualities she possesses.
*Victoria, named of course for victory, and being a Goddess back in the day. Plus, she's a vampire, Queen of England, a Beckham, and this cute blonde girl I used to know that played soccer.
*Serena, they are built the same way, solid. Plus, the Williams sister is often wearing white on the court.

Let me know what you think. There is a picture below in my last post so you can see her. She looks like an angel in the sun light. She's got every possible option, she's fully loaded to say the least.

*

A NUUUUUUEW CAR! (Bob Barker Voice)

The News!

First of all, I bought a new car. Well, SUV. I painfully and reluctantly let go of my beloved Subaru WRX. Part of it due to necessity, I'm getting my ankle fused and pushing a clutch isn't really an option during the recovery process. The other reason was because it had 115000 miles and I was going to have put a bunch of money into it.

There it is driving away...

I put the car up on KSL and had 3 offers in less than 24 hours, all prices I was happy with. What happened is the car salesman I work with when buying new cars for Centurion Security heard I was in the market and found me a new ride. He put the heat on me big time and I totally caved.

I ended up with a deal I couldn't say no to and an opportunity to push myself to advance my career. Its a 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado with every single option available. Remote start, sunroof, navigation, dvd, bluetooth, a/c plug, iPod connectivity, 5.7 liter Hemi V-8, reverse camera, and probably some other stuff I am forgetting. Its white and beautiful and I love it. Now I just have to figure out how to pay for it. That's my motivation. Get a better job, make the payments...its all good. I'm scared and excited.


The other crazy news is that a guy I was trying to serve divorce papers to had committed suicide in the house. Luckily I wasn't around when it happened, nor was I there when the cops rolled up. I want to tell you more about the story but not tonight. You have enough.