Wow...

Has it really been 2 months since I promised I would get something up? Clearly I am a loser. And apparently a liar.


Between adjusting to life with no monkeys, looking for, finding and starting a new job (a fabulous one I might add), things have been hectic.

My New Year's Resolution is to get back to blogging at least a couple times a month. And as opposed to previous resolutions, this one is going to stick. Don't judge me... it was totally unrealistic for me to make a New Year's Resolution to learn how to whisper. Have you met me? I don't do quiet.

So, I am going to start planning now... and will do some posts about other experiences in Costa Rica...but will also post about things currently happening in my life. My recent dating life has been enough to provide comic relief to all.

So until then, Happy Holidays to everyone. May this Holiday Season bring you joy.

Now get out there and spend some money, our economy is failing you know!

Promise

Ok, so I can't believe it has been over a month since I have blogged!!! I don't know where the time has gone... but it has been quite an adjustment getting back to life in San Francisco and not waking up to monkeys running across my roof (sadly back to the sounds of garbage trucks).

However, I am now officially settled back in and glad to be "home" (for the first 2 weeks I refused to unpack my suitcases as I was sure I would be getting right back on a plane). Having said that, I know I will be back to Costa Rica and am already working on the details.

But... to get to the point here, I promise to have a new blog up before I go to bed on Friday night. I am writing it tomorrow and then will upload all of the pictures etc.

Stay tuned... I will try to make it a good one!

xo

I know, I know

I haven't blogged in a week... I am sorry...

I have taken the time this past week to go to the beach, lay by the pool and visit my favorite spots. With my time here winding down, I want to spend as much time as I can enjoying this amazing place.

However, I promise to still blog about all of my experiences here, as I said before, I will be blogging for awhile to catch you up on all... but I will do it.

Love to all. I can't believe I go back to San Francisco in 3 days!!

Tribute to Nancy

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William A. Ward

Nancy came baring gifts to Costa Rica…she brought me People magazines and beef jerky, what more could a girl want? I had tried to get Brooke to bring me beef jerky, but she forgot. How in the world does a lesbian forget beef jerky? I might have to report her and have her card revoked. No more toasters for that girl.

Nancy also brought MLB gear… and lots of it. She brought the clothes you saw for Linda, some All Star t-shirts, and lots of caps. Therefore, to honor Nancy, after she left, we changed our “team uniform” to include baseball caps. We thought she would like that, a great tribute to a great lady.

Two fancy ladies representing our home town teams...

Team tribute to Nancy...

This night, we bowled against Agua Azul, a team from the restaurant owned by Rob and Paige, a married couple from the States. Their restaurant is fantastic, great food, amazing view. We had a great time bowling with them, but as typical Americans, their idea of league bowling meant a lot of drinking and some bowling. And while La Chusas de la Suerte likes to have a good time, we mean serious business when it comes to bowling… if you don’t believe me, just ask our jefe.

Thought I lost a challenge to Rob, thus having to take a shot... yuck!

Even though this was a more laid back bowling night, we kicked their butts no problem… while also clearly winning the “best dressed” contest with our new caps. Thanks Nancy!

Not all of the Agua Azul team is represented in this picture, but you can see Paige and Rob, the owners (and Rob is the chef).

And while I am paying tribute to Nancy, I will also give a little "shout out" to Doodle with a picture of our favorite ridiculous pose.

Girl's Dinner

“Yes'm, old friends is always best, 'less you can catch a new one that's fit to make an old one out of.” - Sarah Orne Jewett

Clive and Nancy’s visit went by so quickly, they were only with me for 4 nights before heading north to see some volcanoes and waterfalls, and it flew by. On their last night with me, Clive decided to stay home, so Nancy and I went out for a girls’ only dinner. Delightful.

I have known Nancy for quite some time now. Funny enough, I was with Clive when he met Nancy 2.5 years ago… even funnier, she thought I was his girlfriend. AS IF! Though despite the length of time we have known each other, we have not been lucky enough to spend a whole lot of time together. With her living in Manhattan, and Clive living in London, I don’t see either of them nearly enough.

And when I do see her, usually my crazy family is around, or there are 1,000 baseball events to attend, so we don’t get a lot of bonding time in. However, on this trip, we got some great bonding in… though the real bonding all started with All Star Week in San Francisco last summer.

While I had been around Nancy numerous times before, last year when All Star Week was in San Francisco, we got to hang out quiet a bit. And by hang out, I mean Nancy was kind enough to get me tickets to every possible event… and as you can imagine, Major League Players’ Association events are not too shabby. I spent the entire week running around with her Mom and Aunt … who I could hardly keep up with… who are hysterical… and who were trying to set me up on dates with perfect strangers (albeit very handsome perfect strangers).

The week had some interesting twists however… while Nancy filled our days/nights with great activities… there was one thing she couldn’t pull off… despite the fact that she is “mad connected,” no one can be perfect, you know. It goes to show, that you can have a million connections…but sometimes having just one connection in the right place is all you need. And, as I have only one connection in MLB (aside from my brother and Nanc), it is all I have to rely on; lucky for me and Nancy it was more than enough.

[Brooke, you know where this is going…stop reading, there is no need to torture yourself… it is just going to make you sad all over again…]

To back up a little, when the Baseball World Classic was in San Diego, my brother came to the States for the event and I flew down to spend some time with him (which is where he met Nancy and she thought I was his girlfriend). At one of the fancy events we attended, I was up at the bar getting a drink (a free drink I might add, as everything at these events is free… well at least free to us… clearly someone has to pay for it.. but that is not my problem). While at the bar, this guy, Fernando, started chatting with me…he was clearly not a player (figuratively or literally) and after a little while of chatting, he asked me why I was at the event. He was in no way being rude, just trying to figure out my association with MLB.

I quickly told him that not only was I not important in the world of baseball, but I was probably the least important person in the whole room. Even the hookers, I mean models, that they hire to come in for these parties were more important than me… as clearly they would be providing services that I would not. My only “service” was to eat the free food and have a few drinks…which while not very valuable to anyone else, is very enjoyable for me.

After telling Fernando how insignificant I was, we continued to chat for about 30 more minutes. At the end of our conversation, I came to find out that although my role for the weekend was terribly unimportant, he was on the complete opposite end of the “important spectrum.” As it turns out, Fernando is one of the most notable agents in all of MLB, and has numerous players under him, including, but not limited to; Big Papi (that is David Ortiz for those of you who don’t have a clue), Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano, Mariano Rivera and Moises Alou. And while I am not someone who thrives on connections, they certainly don’t hurt… and this one allowed for me to get a birthday card signed by Big Papi and Alou for Brooke’s birthday (she loves the Giants and the Redsocks)… not to mention that Fernando gave me Papi’s signed homerun bat from that weekend… which I gave to Brooke.

Look, I know some people think I am crazy for giving that bat away because it is probably worth a lot of money…but it is something that Brooke gets so much more pleasure out of than I do. Brooke is one of the biggest Ortiz fans out there. Me, well I would probably have just sold it on Ebay to buy a couple pairs of expensive jeans.

Here is a “big timing” picture from the night of the World Classic

Fernando and I hung out a couple more times over that weekend, and afterwards stayed in touch, so when All Star came to San Francisco, he emailed asking if I was going to be around, saying that he would love to hang out. Come on people, don’t take your mind there, you know I am clearly not that kind of a girl… we are strictly friends, and Fernando is a married man who has never been anywhere close to inappropriate with me.

The day that everyone arrived for All Star, Fernando and I were trying to meet up, but just couldn’t get our schedules coordinated… I was hanging out with Clive and Nancy and he had some coordination he had to do for his players. So, we said we would make sure to see each other that night or the following day.

While this picture isn't relevant to the story, it was taken last year during All Star Week, and as I don't have any pictures of Clive and I together during his trip here, I thought I would include this one here.

That night I went to the event kick off party (“hosted” by Alyssa Milano) with Nancy and Brooke and about 8 billion people other people. It was a huge facility with many floors filled with people, food and drinks. However, while there were a ton of people there, the 4th floor was the VIP area for Alyssa Milano and all of the players (and by players I mean her ex boyfriends)…the famous people were not hanging out with the commoners, not even close… and security was tight. And I mean tight. And while security was tight, what were even tighter were the passes to get into VIP.

Nancy, who has more connections than God himself, could not get her hands on VIP passes…despite the amount of trades she offered up (I told her she could offer me up in a trade, but after creating her mental pros and cons list, she determined it was a loss… as there were much hotter, much younger girls who had already been hired to take on that role). Despite that, Nancy, Brooke and I went to the party and hung out with the commoners. We had a nice time, but it was very crowded and very loud, and after awhile, Brooke decided she was going to head home as there were many activities over the next few days…including her taking batting practice on the Giants’ Field (courtesy of my brother). Not long after Brooke left, my brother (who was entertaining clients) texted Nancy, who told him that we didn’t have VIP and were probably heading out shortly.

As we were getting ready to head home, I got a text from Fernando saying that he was hanging out in his hotel lobby with some of his players and asked if I wanted to come join him for a drink. I asked Nancy if she wanted to go, and she of course said yes. We headed to their hotel where Fernando met us in the lobby, bought us a drink, and said “Let’s go sit down so we can talk.” We said “Perfect.” As he lead us to sit down, we realized that we were not going to be sitting at a little table hanging out with just him, rather we were being included in Big Papi’s personal gathering of about 10 people… at which time Nancy made a comment about how she could not believe what was happening. To which I made some sort of smart ass comment like “Stick with me kid, you’ll go places.” Charming, I know.

And from my perspective, while clearly it was cool… I am really not that impressed by the whole “famous athletes” thing… probably because I think most of them are cheating slime balls…but I was happy to see Fernando.

After sitting and chatting for a few minutes, a rapid conversation took place between Fernando and David, in Spanish, which I did not understand (though hopefully now I would at least be able to pick up part of it, that is if they were speaking slowly), where David told Fernando he wanted to go and check out the party that we had just left. Fernando asked Nancy and me if we wanted to join, and we quickly agreed. Fernando then called over one of his guys and told him to “figure out” transportation for all of us to get to the party, and about 10 seconds later, the kid returned to say there was a limo waiting out front. It was at that point in time that I realized how quickly things happen when you are rich. Nice perk.

In the blink of an eye, David and all of his peeps were up and heading to the door, surrounded by security. As a lot of fans knew where the players were staying, the lobby was packed with people wanting autographs/pictures etc. Fernando motioned for us to follow them, and I grabbed Nancy’s hand and tried to run as quickly as I could to keep up with the fast moving crowd. I knew if we got separated, we were finished. Then we would have had to refer to it as “the night that could have been.” Luckily for us, that was not the case.

We walked outside the hotel to find one limousine and a bunch of taxi cabs. As David’s posse was larger than the 8 person limo, I quickly assumed we would be catching a cab to follow them back over to the party, hoping Fernando would wait for us before entering. That was until Fernando signaled for us to get in the limo. What? Is there a Rolls Royce coming for David that I don’t see here? Why are we, the “nobodies” being invited to ride in the limo instead of the cab? I didn’t even have a low cut shirt on!

Nancy and I quickly jumped into the limo before anyone realized how out of place we were, and right after we got in, David, his wife and a group of people who I didn’t know (which means they could be rif-raf or could be professional players… I wouldn’t know the difference) got in as well. We sat back in the limo, trying to act casual.. like we actually belonged, when Nancy said to me “I can’t believe you got us in Big Papi’s limo.” After laughing about it (and by laughing I mean I made another smart ass comment), we had a brief chat about the need to take a picture in the limo to have proof or our excursion. Despite our photo desires, we quickly realized the statistical probability of us taking the picture, without placing huge “we don’t belong here” stamps on our foreheads was a big fat zero. While we were able to pull off sneaky pictures of Arturo, in an 8 person limousine, with one of the most famous players of all time, it is hard to take pictures on the sly…even when you are professional crazy people like me and Nanc.

After determining a picture was out of the question, I immediately texted Brooke, and said “You will never guess where we are right now.”… She responded “Don’t think I want to know, but VIP?” To which I responded.. “Better, in Big Papi’s limo.” I won’t tell you what her response was as I don’t want to offend everyone who reads this blog, but let me say she was not happy and clearly expressed that. Sadly for Brooke, this night did turn out to be her “the night that could have been.”

When the limo drove up to the party, we entered through a completely different entrance than the one we had stood in line for before. In this entrance, there was no line, no one checked your ID, you walked down a red carpet, and people took your picture. Pretty hysterical… especially because somewhere, in the Sports Illustrated office, is a picture of me and Nancy posing on the red carpet. I am pretty sure that picture will resurface when Justin Timberlake and I get married. I hope they got my good side… and by good side, I mean I hope my ass is not in the picture.

After posing for pictures, we were quickly escorted to a back elevator to take us to the VIP section. Nancy was a little in awe… not because she hasn’t been at similar functions a million times before, but because little old me, who could not be less important in the world of Major League Baseball, got us there without any problems what so ever.

While I know Nancy liked me before (really, it is hard not to), that night was clearly a bonding time for us, not only because we got to spend a lot of time together, but also because the whole situation was just unbelievable and totally unexpected. At one point in the night, we were standing next to Ortiz when one of his gold/diamond bracelets fell off onto the floor… and he had no idea. Nancy picked up the bracelet and handed it back to him and he politely thanked her, but clearly losing this bracelet would not have been a big deal to him. You could probably build 8 schools in Costa Rica for the cost of that bracelet.

Here we are in VIP… where she told me who everyone was because I had no idea…really, I meant it when I said I totally didn’t belong there..

So after that night, Nancy and I had a special bond, how many people can you say you have ridden with in Ortiz’s limo? That was just the beginning for us of many other great bonding times, including their trip to Costa Rica.

While Nancy and Clive’s visit was short, Nancy and I got some quality bonding time in… sharing the experience of Arturo with his shirt off can really bring two women together. While she may remember Big Papi’s limousine ride more, I will always hang onto that first moment when Arturo disrobed.

We were also fortunate enough to have plenty of time to sit and chat.. including our final night at dinner. As I said before, Clive had decided to stay home that night, so just the two of us headed out for a dinner. We went to La Hacienda where they have amazing sun dried tomato hummus and half bottles of wine…. (which I don’t really understand the concept of in a country that will allow you to take an open bottle of wine home from the restaurant)… where the food was good… but nowhere near as good as Kapi Kapi.

While we were eating and chatting, the skies opened up, and I mean opened up. Nancy had seen rain here, but had not yet experienced the real rain that can happen when living in the rain forest, the rain so loud that you can hardly hear the person next to you talking. It is pretty magical… and as you can imagine pretty wet. So wet that when you try to get a picture, the mist of the rain shows up in the pictures… as it did here.

And as I am kinda used to the rain, and Nancy didn’t bring her rain coat, I gave her mine… looks pretty good on her I think.

It was great having Nancy and Clive visit, and at the end of this trip, I can say that not only is Nancy an important person in my brother’s life, she is also an important person in mine. And while she may just be using me for my connections, I will let her get away with it, at least for awhile.

Visit # 2,345,178 to Bobby D's

“Having a family is like having a bowling alley installed in your head.” – Martin Mull.

No visit is complete without a trip to Bobby D’s, right? I am telling you, when I return to SF, Bobby’s business will drop by at least 25%... with me gone, and Kurt and Linda living an hour north of here now, who will be buying all the beers? Not to mention the quesadillas and homemade chips and guacamole. Soo good!

While there was no league night while Clive and Nancy were here, we created a night of our own by inviting some friends and making 2 teams (which is clearly all there is room for at Bobby D’s).

Linda dressed in fine fashion, with Yankees' attire courtesy of Nancy (of course). Linda LOVES her new gear… Kurt… well as you can see by his hand gestures, not so much.

And while he may not love her Yankees' gear, clearly he loves her.

We had a lot of fun bowling, though I am displeased to have to tell you that I did not bowl well, and Clive beat me… though he didn’t beat my high score, only beat me for the night. As a matter of fact, he beat all of us… and hung his score card on my fridge (which clearly came down the day he left).

Here is Nancy getting into her bowling groove...

And Clive beating us all... though again, didn't beat our high scores. :)
Katie and Pete joined us for bowling, they had a great time, but decided after this night that they would rather be cheerleaders than team members. We love them either way.

While my brother may have beat me that night (obviously I let him win), would you look at that form?
As you know, Linda and I have created a celebration technique where we “butt bump”… well it gets slippery on the bowling floor… and sometimes with all of the excitement, our butt bumping doesn’t work out as planned. And as you can see here, this time Linda ended up on the floor after bowling a strike. I would like to point out, she was not on the floor because my big ass hit her too hard, she slipped as she was running up to butt bump with me.

I am telling you, Linda and Kurt provide more comic relief than any other couple I have ever met… luckily they are able to laugh at themselves, so we are generally laughing with them not at them. Notice I said “generally.”
But after we picked Linda up off the floor, we celebrated her strike La Chusa style.. and even got some good air when doing so. Clearly our practice is paying off!
After Bobby D’s, we headed to another bar downtown, where Nancy took a few much needed shots of tequila. While I am not a fan of shots, I totally understood her need for them… and though I didn’t partake, I did cheers her.

Another great night at Bobby D’s… that place will clearly be at the top of my list of “Things I Miss About Costa Rica.”

Twelve days and counting. Where has the time gone? I love this place, it is magical... and will clearly be blogging about it until Thanksgiving... I have 2 months left to blog about!! But will work hard to get caught up over my last week.

Doodle!!

"When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you, and your best friend will be there." - Unknown

Doodle is here! She arrived on Saturday afternoon and I met her at the airport in Quepos (after she survived a near death flight). The minute she got off the airplane, I literally ran to her and hugged her and felt a huge comfort settle in. Nothing like having your best friend around.

While you may not have heard much about this, as I mostly fill this blog with the comedy that is my life in Costa Rica, when I came to Costa Rica, I was feeling lost and needing a change. Katie had seen this in me for months prior to my departure, knew that I was feeling sad, and kept trying to help… which she did, tremendously, but while she was there to support me, she couldn’t create happiness for me again.

The thing is, most of my friends never realized I was feeling lost, I am good at being chatty and social and great at leaving things behind at work. But the people who know me, who really know me, knew that there was a lot of sadness hidden behind the laughter.

Coming to Costa Rica has been the best decision I ever made, being in Costa Rica has helped me to find my smile again, and I mean that deep down smile that starts in your heart. I have “found” myself again, found what it is that I want, and what it is that makes me happy…and there is nothing more I could have ever hoped for.

Finding such happiness here has also made me a little scared… worried that when I leave here, I might leave that happiness behind and get back into the same rigorous patterns I had before in San Francisco. I feel so much back to “myself” here that I don’t want to lose that. Accordingly, I have been nervous and stressed out about returning to San Fran…. Well, that was until Doodle arrived.

Having her here has reminded me of all I love in San Francisco, and the life and happiness that I had there for so many years. It has reminded me of the amazing friends I have there, and the amazing city where I live… and what it feels like to have the people who love you the most there to surround you and support you. Having Katie here has made me realize that I am now back to a place where I can embrace that.

You will see a lot more about Doodle’s time in Costa Rica (first have to catch you up on the rest of Clive and Nancy’s visit, my trip to the Caribbean, and Greg’s visit)… because we are having a blast!!! But, I think it is important to say that having her here makes me realize that the happiness I have rediscovered is not a temporary thing… and that I am really back to where I want to be, and that is an amazing feeling.

So, when it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, invite your best friend to Costa Rica, and you will realize that everything is going to be all right.

Here we are about 10 minutes after we got to my house... couldn't be happier to be back together again after 5 months apart.