a few pics

on the wild side

i have always thought of my walk to and from work as a nice little gift. time to clear my lungs and my mind of the fluorescent lights and overbearing AC. but this week i noticed what really goes on out there while i am off in my imagination. try leaf blowers, toxic fumes, air compressors, leering construction workers, foul-smelling alleys, aggressive outcast types, hot sun, H2s, cell phone sporting right turners that clip my ankles, non-predatory birds preying on me, mid-sidewalk lolly-gaggers, early morning cigar smokers, racing delivery truck drivers and overactive sample-givers. but i love it. its still good for my soul in spite of it all. no schedule, no petroleum and no parking. i wouldn't trade it for anything. except maybe a pink and silver, vintage, dutch, 200cc, chick scooter like my friend emily has.

god bless ireland!

what a sumptuous weekend building diplomatic relations with the traveling londoners. swimming, sailing, touring, barbecuing, drinking and LAUGHING. it was so fun to reunite after costa rica, and be able to share my fine city with them. the weekend was non-stop going and non-stop fun. i felt like a real rockstar. and feel like one this morning, getting naplash at my desk.

i think they really enjoyed the sailing. especially when our hostess emily went down for more wine and reported back from below deck that there was some smoke.. captain chris sprang (or is it sprung?)into action, directing the deck hands, diving into the engine compartment and correcting with his bare hand, the misaligned, red-hot, metal rod that was shorting out. he saved us from a dramatic and fiery death. hes a legend. besides that, it was sunny, relaxing and filled with enjoyable conversation, sweet wine and delicious nibbles.

we learned many new british phrases, compared notes on politics and conspiracy theory, and played a great new card game at the six arms pub. they are lovely. its encouraging to meet people from other countries that are so courteous, hilarious, intelligent and well-disposed. i have hope for the world after such times. and they were just so darn cute, it was fun to bash around town with them. ill be seeing those blokes next year during the UK portion of my grand tour, and am already looking forward to it. cheers to paul and justin!

sleepless in seattle

lame title, i know. im surprised you are still here. its just that kristen received yet another pre-wedding gift from her future mother-in-law. It was this pajama set, from the simply seattle store near pike place. yes, scary. they are pink, with an unusually large top similar to a mumu, and little pants that have an equally long rise and inseam. we demonstrated the generous sizing by both getting into them at once. they say sleepless in seattle all over them, along with cute, labeled drawings of mountains, coffee, pine trees, space needle, and so on, scattered about like confetti. i can only hope to receive equally as intriguing gifts before my wedding.

we get to stay in our house through september! a welcome consolation prize. we can handle this. find a sublet for 3 months, just melis and i. maybe get a place with a huge hot tub and tennis court. or just cheaper rent.

this situation has really facilitated a feeling of reality about my travels next year. not getting a real lease, because we are really going. january. suddenly that far off trip feels very close. two months at home, then three at the new house. then poof! away we go. we suddenly are making our farm and missionary contacts and talking with the around-the-world ticket people. it feels exciting. and a little scary. there's a lot to plan! chop chop.

parting is not sweet sorrow - it just stinks!

my good friend tyson has left me. left me and the community to start a new life at medical school in new york. we went to a nice farewell picnic at alki last night to see him off. i am losing not only my activities director for the last 10 months, but my good friend. we've had so much fun doing so many things. life will feel a bit lonely without him. i've nothing more to to say, really. sad times.

am suddenly v. busy and important

i feel in manner of bridget jones today. important career experience to be undertaken with confidence and poise. am sure to impress contractor/architect types on project with ability to make decisions regarding mass amounts of money and legally binding design. no chance said types will pick up on nervousness or lack of age and work experience. plan: go to kingston high school site to verify work and provide much needed direction and approval for builders. wear: work boots paired with professional looking button down. must appear at least 30. bring: extra copies, extra pens, extra notebook. good plan.

my dear little plants

oh my garden. my little, sweet garden. so small, but full of useful things. like flowers, peas, beans, herbs, vegetables. i think the tomatoes should ripen september 1st... and the squash, maybe september 25th. my life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.

well not quite that bad, but i am so bummed. this is the best my garden has done since moving away from my parent's magic soil. and now look. sheesh. im going to have to come in the night and harvest, while my mean old landlord sleeps in my room. i sat at my grandpas, on his deck this weekend and wished that there was something i could do. i already feel uprooted, the damage has been done. its just a matter of packing now.

on a happier note, i think today was the nicest day of the year. i was so filled up by looking at the sound, and the mountains, and chuckanut drive, all shady and perfect. didnt you love it? my grandpas house is the greatest place ive ever been. its the only place i can totally relax. maybe i can move in there.

like a ton of leased bricks

there are times when you finally get your plans together, then someone goes and screws them all up for you. we're bring evicted. at the end of august. not because of the party we had once where the guy lit himself on fire. or the several times the pilot light blew out in the stove because of an open window, causing a gas leak. or even because of the giant planter i built on the back deck. our landlord needs a place to store his furniture while he puts the equity from his own house into his custom vacation mansion. what a insert expletive here.

i called. i cried. i told him about the emotional bond that he would be disrupting as we wind down our 7 years together with a wedding finale and around the world adventure. i riddled him with guilt. but i suspect it is futile. the deed is done. we are mad. and frustrated. and wondering where we are going to go. who will take us in for four months? can we stay together for the last few months, as single girlfriends in an urban family? will our perfectly planned ending be jarred by premature moving/storage/transient wandering? i can't foresee how this will work itself out. i think if i see the insert expletive here i may just do something we'll all regret.

oh, my poor soul

the irony of my outlook calendar at work reminding me that my vacation was 3 weeks overdue. dismiss? snooze? i choose snooze.

i was fighting back tears as i arrived at the office today. i didn't think that would be my reaction. i was trying my best to have a good attitude. to not let the reality of it all crush my spirit to the point of throwing myself off the pier. i thought id be mad - not sad. but i am so sad. i have to box up my little spirit till later. set it aside so that being indoors and in front of a screen 8 hours a day is tolerable. its not that i havent loved seeing my friends and remembering that i own more that two pairs of shoes. i am excited to see my family and carry on with summer fun.

its just that i can still close my eyes and instantly feel what it was like to catch the last few waves as that huge, red, burning sun gave up for the day. and how the sand fleas started to bite, telling me it was time to go home and dry off and have some rice and beans for dinner. to sit laughing, playing cards and enjoying a beer until sleepiness came.

the last bit of the trip was really fun. the hot springs were 'opulent' as the guide book put it. the volcano was great. we rented bikes and cruised the countryside, me wearing a skirt with my camera around my neck. i could've passed on the 5 hour bus ride back to san jose though.

we met some really lovely english boys on our way to fortuna that we shared taxis with and got to know for those last two days. that was fun. they'll be through seattle in two weeks or so, so i can hope to visit with them and remember all the fun.

now i have laundry and photos to process. sleep to catch up on, and work to do. and the garden needs me. ill be okay. seattle is quite good. i hope that i can sniff some sunblock and dream about central america for a long time coming.

gimmie some hot stuff, this evening

we´re here in la fortuna after a bus/taxi ride that had the potential for disaster. we teamed up with some other tourists to get a taxi the last half of the trip and saved ourselves 4 hours of time, and 3 hours of bus hell. sweet. i like riding the local buses, but 6 hours in 1 day is a bit much. and we made new friends! a couple peeps from kansas, and a couple blokes from london. were all staying at the same hotel, and going to the hot springs together tonight. safety and budget in numbers.

i can look up from this computer and see an active volcano. no kidding. a 5000 foot active, perfectly shaped volcano. its not spewing lava at the moment, but i wouldn´t be surprised. its fun being here just to stare up at the beast. im surprised that this town just sits here, waiting for the final blow.

these hot springs are supposed to be tight. fancy and ridiculously overpriced. but so neat. hot pools of water, a slide, a bar in the main pool, and a hot waterfall that you can slither under. im totally excited for it. this is the first time ive been waiting for sundown. usually it means the end of the day. not this time!

im starting to get the i-better-eat-my-favorite-blank-right-now-because-i-may-not-ever-get-it-again feeling. ice cream, arroz con camarones, juices, fruits, cookies... there are so many places and things i didnt do this time around. ill confess that i am already planning the return trip.

the green mountain

nothing can turn me back into a child faster than a good zip line. so try a half mile line, a couple hundred feet above a tropical forest, that lasted a good 45 seconds. i was as tickled as could be. and then add a rope swing that shoots you above the forest and back again. yeah, it was pretty much the best thing short of catching a sweet wave.

monteverde is really quite nice. it feels a lot like leavenworth. including the tourists buying junk and speaking in loud voices. the surrounding landscape is green, green, green, with steep hills and waterfalls and bumpy roads. getting up here was a trip. we missed the cushy tourist bus and ended up taking the 2nd class school bus, filled with locals, for the 3.5 hour ride. it started out a little scary, but improved as a pack of school kids hopped on and surrounded the seats around brynn and i. nothing like children to make you feel safe in a strange place. i really think kids are the key to break down international barriers. we talked to them for a long time, and they made fun of us and asked us questions. it was really sweet. a tiny girl even gave us a kiss as they all got off the bus and headed for their birthday party, carrying a huge pink cake.

i love being on the road. after feeling quite at home at playa carmen for two weeks, i forgot what it was like to be on a travelling quest. having lots of time to think and look and observe people outside the tourist realm. not knowing what stop you are getting off at, where youll stay or where that perfect cafe or park is that youll always remember. we found a great little hotel, unlisted in our guide books where we got the best room, with a view, bathroom and comfy bed for $20 a night. and dont forget the yummy breakfasts with coffee and local flavors.

we have really enjoyed the food up here. theres a local dairy and bakery and that means im in heaven. cheeses, ice cream, sweet rolls, fruits and really good coffee. we found a perfect coffee shop on main street, cafe rainforest, the serves a most divine chocolate cake with condensed milk filling and chocolate frosting on a perfectly textured cake. and awesome lattes. all for about $2.50. love it.

tomorrow morning we leave for the volcano and hot springs near fortuna. 6 hour bus ride! yessss. well probably find another cheap room to make up for the hot springs ticket. cant miss that. pools of steamy water, in the shadow of a perfect black cone spewing lava. giddy up.

i dont want to come home. sorry everyone, nothing personal. i just hate work and love travel. especially costa rica. this is a great place.

a blur of heat and saltwater

before i begin, i would like to take a moment to honor my last blog entry, lost to a power outage. it was long, poetic and illustrative, but not much has really changed so here goes again.

im tired. lots of surfing, eating, sweating, making shell necklaces, walking down beaches, tanning my skin, eating ice cream and laying in hammocks. the temps are going up, and my clothes are staying off. i enjoy sitting around in a swimsuit though, so im happy.

theres a certain dirty, charm about surfing. you are wet and sandy, all the time. you have snot running out of your nose and bruises all over your body (well, I do at least). your hair is plastered sideways and your swim shorts are knotted up around your knees. but its fine! you feel great. you feel aware of your own strength, and lack of. you forget everything else in life for the time you are in the surf. its just so fun. shooting along over water, on your feet. i think my most fun waves are the little ones i ride forever when coming in. just gliding on your tummy forever. i laugh like a baby. i have further visions in the evenings, of my ghia with a roof rack and a board headed to westport. it'll be a rough adjustment back to wetsuits and cold. but ill just make do with what i have. and still love it.