For the gentleman helping me at justanswer.com
13 July 2009
29 March 2008
Dating
Mary and I have been dating for about 6 months. Its been interesting to say the least. She went to Montana for xmas with me to meet the family. I have been doing lots with her family here is Seattle, but she hadn't met my family until xmas. It was a good trip - she was well received. We just got back from Mexico. That was a trip as well as a vacation. We definitely are different people. The age thing - maybe its too much? I am trying to figure out if I can stay involved. Only time will tell!
17 October 2007
Mary
I am admitting to myself that I have fallen for someone. Her name is Mary. She rocks. I am stoked. She gets me. She gets herself. My oh my.
17 July 2007
I think I have cracked
Cracked. Like the kind that splinters wood. Breaks concrete slabs. Gives you migraines.
Costa Rica is a cool spot. Its night and day between the two countries. CR is way more developed, has better infrastructure, and their dogs aren't as sad or skinny. We went to San Jose and then headed for the coast. Made it to Jaco for two nights before heading to Quepos. In Jaco, we stayed at a placed called Hotel Kangaroo. It is owned by a french guy named Stefan. We went out and partied with some girls from Washington State and another French guy named Jean Batiste. Not Jean, not JB, but you had to say the whole fucking name or he became indignant
We also got attacked by a band of white face monkeys in Manuel Antonio National Park. Seriously. It was like that movie where the monkeys go nuts, Outbreak or something. I had to save my mom from a 8 pound primate that didn't like her outfit or her stupid questions she kept asking me. I was cheering for the monkey at first, but then realized that a monkey bite could be bad business, so I stepped in and spanked the monkey.
Get it? Spanked the monkey? Not the jerk of spank, but really spanked the monkey. How often to you get to say that and mean it. "Bad Monkey! Fuck Off! Stop throwing shit at me!" I like monkeys in general. The howler monkeys (monos congos) were crazy. I found a few in the trees on a backroad and had them pissed off at me. They didn't like the Tarzan calls.
Anyway, we rolled back up the cost towards Liberia and the border, hitting Samara for a night and the Tamarindo for two nights. It was fun. Hit lots of beaches and backroads in between. I love the scenery at the beaches in Costa Rica! Whoohoo! It was soooo hot there too. Ouchy hot. European women and hot 20-30s expats that live there year round are soooo hot.
Sunsets in Costa Rica - this was a good one. The kind you can watch all the way down and look for the blue blip... No blue blip, but a good one.
Recap - just got back from a 23-day excursion to Central America. Went to Nicaragua and Costa Rica with my mom and cousin. We started in Managua. It is a dump there, but hot and sticky 
and exciting with beautiful women and cab driver con artists and little kids begging for "un peso." Life is cheap and valuable at the same time. My kind of place. My mom was worried that the kids at the stop lights were going to steal her bags, so she panicked and closed the window on one of their hands. It was funny and cruel at the same time. Like a bad Coen (Cohen?) brothers movie. We went out and I paid for a mariachi band. They made us deaf and I liked it. My cousin Les doesn't drink. Or didn't drink. Its easy to get someone to start drinking in a tropical area. Coconut and pineapple are so good at mixing with that delicious Flor de Cana rum from Esteli. Delicioso. See the affect that the sweet mariachi music has on my cousin?
and exciting with beautiful women and cab driver con artists and little kids begging for "un peso." Life is cheap and valuable at the same time. My kind of place. My mom was worried that the kids at the stop lights were going to steal her bags, so she panicked and closed the window on one of their hands. It was funny and cruel at the same time. Like a bad Coen (Cohen?) brothers movie. We went out and I paid for a mariachi band. They made us deaf and I liked it. My cousin Les doesn't drink. Or didn't drink. Its easy to get someone to start drinking in a tropical area. Coconut and pineapple are so good at mixing with that delicious Flor de Cana rum from Esteli. Delicioso. See the affect that the sweet mariachi music has on my cousin?We spent a few days hitting the cool spots between Managua and the Costa Rican border. Caught the bus in Granada and headed south. I met some cool people on the bus. A girl from Canada that let me borrow her Lonely Planet book on the CR in exchange for beers when she comes to Seattle, and another Nica gal in her 30's that ended up sharing my Ipod with me and having me translate Dave Matthews and Willie Nelson to her. Talk about making the brain really work. I also contracted some sort of a SARS or monkey pox from the guy hacking in the seat in front of me. Took me out of diving for the entire time I was in CR.
Costa Rica is a cool spot. Its night and day between the two countries. CR is way more developed, has better infrastructure, and their dogs aren't as sad or skinny. We went to San Jose and then headed for the coast. Made it to Jaco for two nights before heading to Quepos. In Jaco, we stayed at a placed called Hotel Kangaroo. It is owned by a french guy named Stefan. We went out and partied with some girls from Washington State and another French guy named Jean Batiste. Not Jean, not JB, but you had to say the whole fucking name or he became indignantAt Quepos I took the cousin and moms on a cable canopy tour. It was cool - having done many more risky activities in my life, I enjoyed the whizzing across the canopy 50 feet above the floor. I wanted to see more animals, but all in all, a fun time.
We also got attacked by a band of white face monkeys in Manuel Antonio National Park. Seriously. It was like that movie where the monkeys go nuts, Outbreak or something. I had to save my mom from a 8 pound primate that didn't like her outfit or her stupid questions she kept asking me. I was cheering for the monkey at first, but then realized that a monkey bite could be bad business, so I stepped in and spanked the monkey. Get it? Spanked the monkey? Not the jerk of spank, but really spanked the monkey. How often to you get to say that and mean it. "Bad Monkey! Fuck Off! Stop throwing shit at me!" I like monkeys in general. The howler monkeys (monos congos) were crazy. I found a few in the trees on a backroad and had them pissed off at me. They didn't like the Tarzan calls.
Anyway, we rolled back up the cost towards Liberia and the border, hitting Samara for a night and the Tamarindo for two nights. It was fun. Hit lots of beaches and backroads in between. I love the scenery at the beaches in Costa Rica! Whoohoo! It was soooo hot there too. Ouchy hot. European women and hot 20-30s expats that live there year round are soooo hot.
Sunsets in Costa Rica - this was a good one. The kind you can watch all the way down and look for the blue blip... No blue blip, but a good one.Almost sank the Diahatsu rental SUV in a river crossing like a jackass. Thank the smiling fates for door gaskets that work. The howler monkeys made all of the offroad driving worth it.
So then it was back to Nica Nica. BTW - the Costa Ricans call themselves Ticas. The Nicaraguans call themselves Nicas. I can see the Nicas. Ticas - Stretching it a bit maybe? Nickname jealousy?
At this point, I have to say good bye to mom and cousin and join up with some architect friends from Seattle and their band of merry students. Together we are starting a plan for a community of relocated families that will work a coffee plantation together. I did the water system design for drinking and irrigation water, and the architecture students did the planning for the village layout. It was fun. Very good to live with the people you were trying to help and really see how much a few days of my time could make such a huge impact to so many people.
08 May 2007
Distractions
At what point do you realize that you are burned out with your job, your life, your relationships, your life, your job......? Fade out for sure.
I booked the tickets to Central America - should be great. I think I will miss my dogs though. Fortunately I have the best house/dog/cat sitter that I could have ever imagined.
My hot tub water needs to be changed. People keep spilling their beer in it. Bothersome to say the least.
The Mariners beat the Yankees last night. Thank the fates for that one. Man, I hate the fucking Yankees. They are everything that is wrong with baseball. Roger Clemens only added a third or fourth cherry to the top of their shit cake. I hope they finish behind Toronto and blow $200 million on assholes again. Jerks. I liked ESPN's take on the team that a person could field with Clemens' $28 million prorated salary. Pretty amazing all-star collection. You should check it out if you are so inclined: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=2862261
Money Ball
The Rockets' $28M deal leaves a lot to the imagination. What would you do with that kind of cash? Well, Clemens could field an All-Star team all his own. New York's newest addition could afford the lineup below and still have change to spare.
Starting Lineup For Under $28M
Position Player Salary
Pitcher Brandon Webb $4,500,000
Catcher Joe Mauer $3,750,000
1B Ryan Howard $900,000
2B Robinson Cano $490,800
3B Miguel Cabrera $7,400,000
SS J.J. Hardy $400,000
OF Josh Hamilton $380,000
OF Alex Rios $2,535,000
OF Matt Holliday $4,400,000
DH Sammy Sosa $500,000
**Lineup worth $25,255,800
Now how is that for a starting line up? Of course, you need to have other quality pitchers, a bullpen, reserves, etc., but the point is made. And these guys will be there all 162 games. Roger ol' boy won't go out of town if he isn't on the schedule to start. What if Randy Johnson had decided to do that the year that he won 3 games in the World Series with Arizona? Sorry, I am not going on the road because I am not pitching. I am overreacting again, but I liked the comments by David Wells (San Diego) that called the kettle black.
Also on the subject of baseball - the Boston Red Sox, while about the 2nd most annoying team I have the good fortune to despise for 6 months of the year, are packed with guys that have balls the size of tennis balls. Curt Schilling says it like it is. He said that Boston was better off without Clemens (but that could be because he likes being the old bitch in the club house and the Rocket has way more hardware than he does) and he calls Bonds out on the steroid issue on live radio. That guy is a stud. I don't like him because he plays for Boston, but I totally respect him. Props.
Then there is David Ortiz - he goes out and says that Bonds and steroids are a moot point - The juice doesn't help you hit any better than you did before. I could get into a debate about that - if you are stronger, doesn't that mean the balls that you would have hit before you were on the juice now are hit farther/faster, thereby statistically increasing the chances of them being hits? I guess his point is is that hitting requires more finesse and skill than strength. He really hit home calling out Bug Selig on the issue of being present when Barry breaks Aaron's record this month. By the way, I have $100 riding on the date of May 30th. I didn't even check to see if the bastard was playing that day, so it could all be for naught. Big Papi - bucking traditions and launching bombs. Good guy.
Its bar be cue = barbecue = bbq season. Are these all legit spellings? I am stoked. Time to restock the freezer this winter - I will have eaten all of the dead animals that I have killed in the last year or so.
I booked the tickets to Central America - should be great. I think I will miss my dogs though. Fortunately I have the best house/dog/cat sitter that I could have ever imagined.
My hot tub water needs to be changed. People keep spilling their beer in it. Bothersome to say the least.
The Mariners beat the Yankees last night. Thank the fates for that one. Man, I hate the fucking Yankees. They are everything that is wrong with baseball. Roger Clemens only added a third or fourth cherry to the top of their shit cake. I hope they finish behind Toronto and blow $200 million on assholes again. Jerks. I liked ESPN's take on the team that a person could field with Clemens' $28 million prorated salary. Pretty amazing all-star collection. You should check it out if you are so inclined: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=2862261
Money Ball
The Rockets' $28M deal leaves a lot to the imagination. What would you do with that kind of cash? Well, Clemens could field an All-Star team all his own. New York's newest addition could afford the lineup below and still have change to spare.
Starting Lineup For Under $28M
Position Player Salary
Pitcher Brandon Webb $4,500,000
Catcher Joe Mauer $3,750,000
1B Ryan Howard $900,000
2B Robinson Cano $490,800
3B Miguel Cabrera $7,400,000
SS J.J. Hardy $400,000
OF Josh Hamilton $380,000
OF Alex Rios $2,535,000
OF Matt Holliday $4,400,000
DH Sammy Sosa $500,000
**Lineup worth $25,255,800
Now how is that for a starting line up? Of course, you need to have other quality pitchers, a bullpen, reserves, etc., but the point is made. And these guys will be there all 162 games. Roger ol' boy won't go out of town if he isn't on the schedule to start. What if Randy Johnson had decided to do that the year that he won 3 games in the World Series with Arizona? Sorry, I am not going on the road because I am not pitching. I am overreacting again, but I liked the comments by David Wells (San Diego) that called the kettle black.
Also on the subject of baseball - the Boston Red Sox, while about the 2nd most annoying team I have the good fortune to despise for 6 months of the year, are packed with guys that have balls the size of tennis balls. Curt Schilling says it like it is. He said that Boston was better off without Clemens (but that could be because he likes being the old bitch in the club house and the Rocket has way more hardware than he does) and he calls Bonds out on the steroid issue on live radio. That guy is a stud. I don't like him because he plays for Boston, but I totally respect him. Props.
Then there is David Ortiz - he goes out and says that Bonds and steroids are a moot point - The juice doesn't help you hit any better than you did before. I could get into a debate about that - if you are stronger, doesn't that mean the balls that you would have hit before you were on the juice now are hit farther/faster, thereby statistically increasing the chances of them being hits? I guess his point is is that hitting requires more finesse and skill than strength. He really hit home calling out Bug Selig on the issue of being present when Barry breaks Aaron's record this month. By the way, I have $100 riding on the date of May 30th. I didn't even check to see if the bastard was playing that day, so it could all be for naught. Big Papi - bucking traditions and launching bombs. Good guy.
Its bar be cue = barbecue = bbq season. Are these all legit spellings? I am stoked. Time to restock the freezer this winter - I will have eaten all of the dead animals that I have killed in the last year or so.
06 May 2007
Yardwork Gives Me a Tingling Sensation
What is it about doing yardwork that is so satisfying? I mean, I really like doing yardwork. Mowing the lawn, running the weedeater, pulling weeds by hand, planting new plants, composting. So relaxing. I like the earthy smells and watching the different plants growing and changing every day.
Today I got a purple wisteria, a white jasmine, some new lavender plants, and a couple of really cool plants that I can't remember the names but know that they are damn spiffy. I am planning a complete reconstruction of the front entry way complete with a new trellis and a gate. I want to put the jasmine over this gate. I think it will be amazing. I want to use cedar and redwood for the gate with some copper trim for the gate. Drawings will be posted soon.
The hot tub pad gets finished before I go to Nicaragua. That means I need to get the bricks ordered this week and the sand delivered by Friday. Yikes! But that will be a nice finish to that part of the yard, and the upper patio gets done first so I will at least have a place to grill while working on the lower section. Fun summer!
Today I got a purple wisteria, a white jasmine, some new lavender plants, and a couple of really cool plants that I can't remember the names but know that they are damn spiffy. I am planning a complete reconstruction of the front entry way complete with a new trellis and a gate. I want to put the jasmine over this gate. I think it will be amazing. I want to use cedar and redwood for the gate with some copper trim for the gate. Drawings will be posted soon.
The hot tub pad gets finished before I go to Nicaragua. That means I need to get the bricks ordered this week and the sand delivered by Friday. Yikes! But that will be a nice finish to that part of the yard, and the upper patio gets done first so I will at least have a place to grill while working on the lower section. Fun summer!
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