THINGS I’VE RECENTLY REALIZED/ACCEPTED:

• You can’t expect ANYTHING to happen
• Water is amazing
• The people that said they were coming down to visit (other than daddy) aren’t
• Living life at a slower pace relieves and eliminates stress
• My body will never look like Gabby or Kellie
• Wine is amazing
• I miss my family more than I thought I would
• Life in Costa Rica is that much better
• I know more about Kellie than I thought I did
• Gabrielle is ghetto at heart
• Toast with cream cheese and honey is fabulous
• I still am not a good surfer
• I miss my bike(s)
• I love my legs
• I am more broke than I have ever been before
• There are only a few friends that still keep in touch with me, and that’s okay, because I know that they are true friends, no matter which country/continent I’m in.
• Pura Vida has SO many meanings, and they are all true.

Workin it in paradise (isn't quite the same)

So when I last wrote, I was off to look for a job. Well, day one, I found it. After walking around town for a bit, I went to go say hi to Gabby and Miguel (will explain later) at work. I heard that one of the guys there was looking for an assistant. So, to make a really long story short, I got the job as his assistant. I work M-F 12-5. I get paid pretty much crap hourly, but if, no when I make a sale, I'll get big $$$$. So my days pretty much include waking up, going for a run, eating breakfast, lying out, showering, work, watching the sunset, dinner, then sometimes, going out. It's a rough life, it really is.

Gabby's co-worker Miguel came in and he's a super cool guy. He is Mexican, so he's been mistaken for a tico once or twice, which is pretty funny. He's taught me to Salsa dance and also kept the ticos off of me while dancing at Mambo Bar and Monkey Bar. Thanks Miguel. He introduced us to his friend Evan, who's also been hanging out with us. Super cool guys that speak fluent Spanish, and are getting us to speak it more and more.

I bought a surfboard on Friday! It's super cute! Its used, so it's not in 100% perfect condition, but I'm still learning, so it will be perfect. Johnny, this lifeguard on the beach, offered to give me lessens that would guarantee that I'd be surfing by the end of them, so I'll have to take him up on that! Kellie and I were running errands on Friday and saw the Bakery Truck. We stopped and got some amazing treats for super cheap. My dad would have loved it!

After Gabby's exhausting week of work, all she wanted to do this weekend was lay out, so that's what we did. Saturday, we laid out at the beach ALL DAY. It was amazing. Then Sunday was by the pool. Absolutely fab.

Sunsets have been really hit or miss because of the rain and the clouds. One of the best sunsets yet ended with a huge rain storm. We were sitting on the beach, admiring the colors, then look to our right to notice the Big black clouds that were moving in fast. Pretty crazy.

Kellie's parents come Tuesday night, which should be a lot of fun. Then my dad comes NEXT week! YAY! I'm excited to have guests!

I miss you all from home, and wish you were here. It's amazing. Have a good day, Pura Vida.

Rough life...

So there’s something about Costa Rica that makes Kellie and I want to go on adventures. Haha. So we decided that we needed to get cell phones to communicate with each other and Gabby while we were all working. Since we already had our phones from home, and they were already unlocked, we just needed the phone number and the service, “pre pago…” They have no services like that in Tamarindo, only in Santa Cruz. So after asking a few different people what time the bus came, we sat out front of our condos with about 15 other ticos and waited for the bus. It finally come, we paid our 300 colones (equivalent to about 60 cents and took our place on the bus. It was extremely crowded, so we were standing, crammed in like sardines, with a bunch of sweaty ticos. About halfway through our 1 ½ hour trip, some seats opened up and we sat down. We arrived in Santa Cruz, hot, sweaty and hungry, and clueless where we were and where we were headed. Fun times, but we improvised and totally made it all work.


We walked in a few blocks and found a restaurant with comida tipica, our favorite. There, we asked for directions to the calle principal (main street) and he told us it was one block away, of course it was….

So we walk on the block, find out that we can’t get cell phone lines on the weekend, but we could call in on Monday. Of course… While we were walking we saw a truck outside of the pet shop with 3 of the cutest puppies ever. The lady came out and gave us the look like “you want one?” Kellie and I talked about it, and totally considered it, but decided against it ONLY for the reason that my mom would flip out if she came to visit and we had a dog… yeah, don’t really want to see that one. Our bus ride home was very similar to the ride out, though when we finally sat down, we both passed out for the rest of the trip.

Later that night we went out (for our first time yet) to Babylon and met a bunch of people who are also down here for the summer. We have some groups of people to hang out with now, which will be comforting, and more consistent than hanging out with the tourists.

Yesterday was spent lying out all day, so I’m off to look for a job today! Wish me luck!

Back in Paradise

Sorry it's taken me so long to update again, I've been really busy. I promise I'll get better at it. Anyway, I accompanied the cycling team to nationals in Lawrence Kansas last weekend, and despite some really bad luck, we ended up doing really really well. I had a great time with everyone and met some really cool people. The drive to and from Kansas doesn't get any better though, no matter how many times I drive it. EEW.

So I got home Monday night, and left for Costa Rica (after pulling an all nighter) on Wednesday morning. Gabby, Kellie and I were so excited (obviously) to get to spend the summer together in paradise. It was an uneventful travel day (which is really good) and we got in to town, Gabby met her boss and saw her new place, we got settled in a bit, then all met up for COMIDA TIPICA. We ordered our typical Casado de pollo (beans, rice and chicken for only 4 bucks) and the BEST: jugo mixto. MMM. Life was good. Kellie and I spent the past 2 days finishing up data entry for one last paycheck while Gabby had her first 2 days at the real estate office. We're heading to Santa Cruz tomorrow for some adventures. I'll start looking for a job tomorrow probably (ugh).

I'm excited for all my visitors for the summer, and await messages and hellos from everyone.

Pura Vida.

Again... I KNOW

So, last Thursday, 4/26, I'm heading out on a beautiful Thursday afternoon, like noonish, and I'm heading down University, not even a mile from my house, and guess what. I got hit by a car, AGAIN! I KNOW! It was another unlucky accident where it completely wasn't my fault.

So if you know University, going east down the hill, there are parking spots, perpendicular to the road, on the right. So I'm riding, and there's an open spot a little bit down the hill. There's a car, going the opposite way, up the hill. He sees the spot, and stops. "Perfect" I thought, so he was going to wait for me like he should, then turn into his parking spot.

Well there was no other traffic at all, so he totally saw me if he had his eyes open at all, and I'm just riding down the street, doin my thang, then he decides that if he turns really really fast that he can make it into his parking spot in front of me.... This wasn't the case.

Because he was stopped, I assumed that he was going to STAY stopped. But I'm still an attentive biker, so when I saw him turn, I started braking, turning, and screaming. Non of which helped me to not hit the car. I ended up hitting him on the back, side of the car (see pic below) I fucked it up. But sadly, he fucked me, and my bike up. (More pics below) I flew over the back of the car and landed on the ground. Fortunately there were a lot of people around and there were a lot of witnesses. I ended up just getting scraped and bruised (which still really hurts) and I broke my finger. My bike wasn't so lucky. It's completely totaled now. :( I think that is what made me the most upset (I guess besides the fact that I was hit again....)

Hopefully everything will get taken care of easily, quickly and efficiently. I'm sick of dealing with all this bullshit.

Pics are coming, have to upload them first!