Did you notice I'm writing less?

I noticed too. It means that my life is less interesting, which is to say more routine with fewer surprises. WAY less entertaining for a blog and WAY better in terms of long term survival for this muchacha.

My good news of the day? I officially have a non-KC friend. He's taller than me, is not afraid of snakes, is relaxed, is a vegetarian, and has friends that live all over the world. PLUS he has family that live in Wisconsin (and questions what people do all winter). Three cheers for sincere friends.

Panasonic Service Sucks

Camera update, here's what I've learned: Further checks have show that your camera is still waiting to be exchanged. The problem seems to be that there is no current camera to exchange yours with. We do apologize for any inconvenience caused by this.

Can you say BUUUUUUUUUUUUULL SHIT. My camera has RAVE reviews on Amazon. BUT, it proved to not be waterproof and is now taking a month to replace?? Shame on you Panasonic.

The good news is that I called and complained like a champ. The replacement was sent in the mail today. 7-10 business days and you just might get cool adventure pics.

Happy Smurf

The guys at work are going to fix my car. I already have the parts coming into town. They aren't scamming me, and my car is not currently in "not drivable" condition. Stupid dealer service center. Strange how ones perspective can pull a 180*in just a day.

Obama Mania

President Obama came to visit San Juan. He’s the first President to visit PR in almost 50 years. The city is in a flurry of preparation. Here’s what I’ve heard:

• All of the police are already lining the route he’s going to take from the airport.
• The government employees in the city have the day off!
• The airport is being renovated, painted, and landscaped
• They fixed the roads on his route (I’m happy with ANY motivation that would get them to remove some pot holes!)
• He’ll speak in “Old San Juan”, a cultural/touristy part of town that is now free of trash

Topics to be discussed:

• Political association with the US/Citizenship
• Health
• Jobs
• Vieques/Military Base plans

Politics is a controversial topic, and very different than the US. All of the parties are based on how the people feel about PR’s relationship with the US - Should it be a state? Should it be independent? Should it stay as it is? (Thank you Wikipedia for the below image). This is really cool to see/be a part of!

life is the PITs

Is that gullible written on the ceiling? Overly trusting? Innocent? Stupid Stupid Stupid? No. That's not gullible. That's my name. Some days people look out for you. Some days you learn you are a fool. Saturday was one of those days. Sunday was a recovery day. Today it just cracks me up....damn life experience.

I'm going to give you the summary - excluding as much of the emotion possible. Did you know you can get a free 29 point inspection at the VW dealer? Me neither! See, we're both a bit dumb. My car already needs some TLC...which translates to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. That wouldn't be so bad EXCEPT that I highly highly highly suspect that the guy that sold it to me knew about these issues and still told me the car was in good shape. Funny, that doesn't match what the VW guy told me when he taught me how to add coolant, said my brakes suck, and then mentioned that he wouldn't drive it in its current state. It also doesn't match what my friend (who I actually trust and who knows car) said about what the VW guy said. #(*&#@$*(@#&&#@#$ Summary: I can't trust anyone, but there IS something wrong with my car. You don't want to be in my shoes.

Purchase Price of car: $5000
Cost of fixing AC: ~450
Cost of new tires: ~400
Kelly Blue Book value of car: $5000 (if it's in good shape)
VW guys off the cuff comment about what he would pay for the car: $3500
Insurance Companies quoted for value of the car: $6000
Fixing Vacuum Pipe, Heater Hoses, and Serpentine Belt: TBD ($422 dealer quote.......agh!!)

Impact: Gas guzzling. Misfiring. Wounded pride. Dent in wallet.

When do insurance people OVERQUOTE the value? Never. This insinuates I got a good deal. When do people buy a car in November and sell it 6 months later without driving it? Never. When do people warn you about the engine temperature light when you buy the car and THEN when you go to the mechanic find out there's a coolant leak issue? Ahhhhhh, interesting. Overly trusting? Innocent? Stupid Stupid Stupid? No. That's not gullible. That's my name.

Poesia para mis companeros de casa

M: Mudan por el aire, rapidos y furtivos
O: Odio - mi sentimiento fuerte
S: Sangre sangre, una merienda para cualquiera hora
Q:Quejarme, lo que hago sin fin
U:Ubicados por todas partes del apartamento
I: Insectos voladores. Benditos insectos
T: Treinta, el numero de picaduras nuevas de hoy
O: OFF mi marca favorita y salvadora
S:Sabor de Wisconsin. Extranjera

Today I drink alone.

Normally, I'd worry about a friend doing this. Or my dad, who is strictly a social drinker ...(even when he pressures people to drink with him!!) It would absolutely make me assume the worst - alchoholism, rumors of prohibition, dire loneliness! But there is no need to be alarmed, I am only good things! I am a rum aficionado. I still feel like I am on vacation. I live in the birth place of Pina Colada.

So what does this vacationer attitude do to my life? It makes me laugh a LOT! Laugh at things that I suspect should stress me out. Take last night, for example:

The fire alarm went off in my house. Shrieking. Piercing. NOT to be ignored. But it was ~10pm, so, I ignored it, ate some mango, cleaned my apartment, called a friend. Then it happened again. Nobody was outside, in the halls, doing ANYTHING. But didn’t want to be the charred WI corpse that made San Juan headlines, so I went outside and waited in the rain. Alone. In my pajamas. At 10:45 I climbed the 10 flights of non-smokey, non-burning apartment and climbed into bed. Shrieking. Piercing. Sweet Dreams.

What other stuff shouldn't crack me up, but does?

• There are tricks to open the doors of my car, including the trunk. I am much happier and more efficient now that I know them.
• Fruit flies like to hang out in my kitchen when I forget to take out the garbage.
• It's not worth leaving work at a "reasonable" hour because traffic won't let me get home until hours later.
• Did I mention the potholes? The garbage on the streets? The stray cats? The pack of dogs in central park?
• Parking costs at LEAST $2 anywhere I go, minus work and home (doesn't make for a good social life!!!).
• I have mosquito bites alllllll over my body, in spite of the layers of bug spray I put on as soon as I get home every day.
• The sheer number of people who tell me that I shouldn't worry about my check engine light because it's on in virtually every car in PR.
• Did I tell you that my apartment had an ant problem? I conquered that, and would like to give a shout out to RAID spray. Without it, I wouldn't sleep well or alone. Egh. I don't love bugs
• My alarm clock flashes constantly because the power goes out almost every day!
  
• I don't have a headset for my phone. I had to steal pens from my co-workers to obtain writing utensils. Push pins are few and far between. AND, this tops it all: my foot rest at work (to make it ergo correct) is a tipped over trash can.
  

It's all part of the adventure. Tonight is my reflection night, joined by a vacations drink, local music, and giggles. No need to worry, not even for a second.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

No clue, but if you really want to know.... I can stop one of these mornings and ask. There are 2 chickens and one rooster that hold me up frequently on my drive to work. I decided I need to name them, since we will clearly be more than mere acquaintances. Any ideas?

I just got back from spin class on crack. Remember the days of cyber bowl? Or maybe it was more like an epilepsy dance club?? Black lights, flashing colors, crazy music? Oh yeah, it had it all. BUT it also had a hot instructor with an awesome workout plan. I'll be going back. It cracks me up, BLACK LIGHTS.

FYI on Hurricane Season

According to the National Weather Service, hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov 1, which means the 2011 season is officially here!

Here are some interesting facts about the season:

June 1 is the start of the Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season but tropical activity typically remains fairly light throughout the month of June. Of course there are several exceptions to the rule, but as you can see in the graph below this "slowness" of activity usually continues well into and through the month of July. Since records began in 1886, there have been just 68 named storms during June. Compare that number to the month of September when a total of 375 named storms have developed.

Hurricanes in June are even more infrequent. Since 1965, only 7 hurricanes have formed in June, the last one of which was 15 years ago. Even the record-setting 2005 season waited until early July to spawn its first hurricane.

If a storm develops off the Southeast United States coast, it usually pushes off to the northeast away from the coast. However, there are times that these storms will become quite stubborn and linger off the coast creating windy conditions, beach erosion and big waves for areas along the coast.

If a storm or hurricane develops in the western Caribbean, they tend to migrate to the west toward Central America (sometimes ending up in the western Gulf) or they make more of track toward the northwest eventually ending up in the central or eastern Gulf.

Development in the Gulf? Well, there is no way out of the Gulf. What we mean is that any tropical storm or hurricane that develops in the Gulf always make a landfall - either the Gulf Coast of the U.S. or Mexico.

So….what are the predictions for this season in total? The experts are predicting a very active season. According to the National Weather Service:

“The country has been largely spared the last two years, with no hurricane landfalls since 2008, a relatively rare occurrence. According to WSI, the United States has not gone through a three-year period without a hurricane landfall since the 1860s. Our recent good fortune in avoiding landfalling hurricanes is not likely to last,"

"Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea surface temperatures are particularly warm this year, and we expect more development in these regions and less in the eastern tropical Atlantic. Storms developing in the Gulf and Caribbean are a much greater threat to make landfall along the United States' coast than those that develop off the coast of Africa."

I want to throw up.

Hahahahaha, only because of the salt water! After 40 mins of swimming in the ocean, my body fights to NOT lose its last meal. And, I don't have an appetite for at least an hour. And, I drink numerous bottles of water to rehydrate. Hopefully my low blood pressure is being helped by these swims!

The cool thing from yesterday was that the ocean was actually calm. I could hear the fish biting at the coral, I could swim easily without getting swept into shore/out to sea. I saw a sting ray, lots of little tropical fish, and a SEA TURTLE. What a fabulous change from watching lines on the bottom of a lap pool!

Other Saturday wins:
1) I found a spin class that I can pay for per class (aka without committing to a ridiculous monthly membership fee).
2) I discovered a beach that has volleyball nets!

3) I took the Bacardi tour and bought 1L bottle of Rock Coconut flavored Rum for only $13.