And I'm Feeling Good(bye)

There's (Still) No Place Like Home, Y'all

Dec 07, 2025

good vibes only signage — Photo by Victor on Unsplash

I’m writing this post in the wee hours of Sunday morning, still aboard the Norwegian Bliss and still floating in more ways than one.

In a few hours, the ship will glide into San Pedro and I’ll head home. But right now, I’m swaying. Not from the waves, but from the afterglow of one of the most incredible getaways of my life.

My bags are packed, my heart is full, and my brain is doing that thing it does when something meaningful is ending: it refuses to go back to sleep until I tell the story.

Last night, some new friends from Camarillo and I gathered in the Observation Lounge for our final hurrah (for now). We sipped cocktails, traded stories, and soaked in the kind of good vibes you just can’t manufacture.

Our soundtrack was provided by Anna, a phenomenal pianist and vocalist whose fingers and vocal cords might as well have been dipped in stardust. She closed her set with Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” a song so iconic it’s practically sacred.

Most people don’t sing “Feeling Good.” They survive it. But Anna didn’t just survive it. She slayed it, by honoring Nina’s lightning with her own thunder.

It was reverent, raw, and real. Especially those final verses:

It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me

And I’m feeling good
I feel so good

THE GOODBYE THAT ISN’T REALLY GOODBYE

I’m terrible at goodbyes. Always have been. Probably always will be.

But this doesn’t feel like an ending. It feels like a turning point, a moment where the words “To Be Continued…” might as well be stamped on my next boarding pass.

This isn’t goodbye. This is good(bye).

The Bliss gave me more than a vacation. She gave me reflection. She gave me reconnection. She gave me a reset button I didn’t realize I needed.

And she reminded me of something embarrassingly obvious: I still have more living to do. More places to see. More adventures calling my name.

THE SURPRISE IN THE STILLNESS

I didn’t realize how tightly wound I was until this ship loosened some of the knots for me. Between the sea air, the laughter, the late-night conversations, and the music drifting over the waves, parts of myself I thought were long gone began tapping me on the shoulder. “Hey. Remember us? We’re still here.”

Turns out joy is persistent. Creativity is patient. And Curiosity? That girl never dies. She just disco naps until it’s time to boogie again.

THERE’S (STILL) NO PLACE LIKE HOME

By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere between ship life and real life—likely scrolling through photos and trying to remember how to walk on land again.

This cruise didn’t fix me or transform me into someone new. What it did was remind me of who I am when I stop performing for everyone else and start living for myself. That version of me feels lighter, clearer, and more awake.

So yes, I’ll miss the Bliss, the new friends who became confidants overnight, the laughter that came easy, and the ridiculously divine chocolate cake from room service. But I’m not grieving the end.

Because I’m heading toward something just as precious: Home. The place where so many of my favorite people are waiting. Where conversation flows, creativity thrives, and love already knows my name.

Home isn’t the consolation prize. It’s the destination. Sometimes, the greatest journey is remembering where you belong. And having the courage to return to it.

CLICK YOUR HEELS, DOROTHY

There is no place like home. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s mine.

It’s where the next ideas live.
It’s where the next chapter waits.
It’s where I get to turn all this good(bye) energy into creative fuel.

And baby? I am feeling so good.

Keep calm and float on!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ICYMI = IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

SUNDAY = Early To Pack + Park
MONDAY = Finding My Bliss
TUESDAY = ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’
WEDNESDAY = Observations From The Observation Lounge
THURSDAY = On Cheerleaders + Critics
FRIDAY = Don’t ‘Kick The Cat’ (Or Content Creator)
SATURDAY = Studio Saturday At Sea

ON THIS DAY = DECEMBER 7

BIRTHDAYS

1598 = Gian Lorenzo Bernini = Italian sculptor and painter
1863 = Richard Warren Sears = American businessman and Sears co-founder
1873 = Willa Cather = American writer 🌈
1915 = Eli Wallach = American actor
1917 = Hurd Hatfield = American actor 🌈
1928 = Noam Chomsky = American linguist and philosopher
1932 = Ellen Burstyn = American actor
1949 = Tom Waits = American singer-songwriter and actor
1960 = Jane Castor = American politician 🌈
1965 = Jeffrey Wright = American actor
1966 = C. Thomas Howell = American actor and filmmaker
1973 = Damien Rice = Irish singer-songwriter
1979 = Sara Bareilles = American singer-songwriter and actor
1982 = Jack Huston = English actor
1987 = Aaron Carter = American singer-songwriter and actor
1989 = Nicholas Hoult = English actor

EVENTS

1732 = The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden in London.
1930 = W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts telecasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The telecast also includes the first television advertisement in the United States, for I.J. Fox Furriers, which also sponsored the radio show.
1969 = Frosty The Snowman premieres on NBC.
1972 = Apollo 17, the last Apollo Moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.