Nixing Nasty Novembers

Since before I can remember, I have detested Novembers. In my opinion it is the worst month of the year. The weather has gotten chilly and the first snow has already come. The leaves have fallen off the trees and everything looks dead. From some twisted version of Murphy's Law, I always get a flat tire while driving somewhere important. Generally the day after I have paid too much to have my winter tires put on. The only holiday in November is to celebrate the most solemn of occasions and it is still far enough away from Christmas to be cheery, but my Christmas shopping is already underway, leading to a lot less dispensable cash. All in all Novembers are not in my good books. Misery seems to be the general feeling I associate with the mention of this eleventh month.
This year I am feeling as if I am finally getting even with November. Don't get me wrong, November has still managed to slip in a few fast ones; like some car problems, an interminable string of work days and a two pound weight gain. However I still have the upper hand. The car problems occur weekly no matter what month, the interminable work days only seem so long because they are my last!!!!! And the two pound weight gain can be attributed to an over indulgence in rum punch and Caribbean cooking during Pirate's Week. In fact, I might actually come out ahead of November this time round. The weather has cooled to the most perfect temperature of 25 degrees. Fresh enough for evening runs and long walks, but warm enough to bronze the skin and remind you that you are on an island in paradise. With the amazing weather I have been able to get in some good sea swims without feeling like I am in a hot bath and chill by the pool without having to get in and cool off every 15 minutes. Pirate's Week also speaks for itself and lends a huge hand to making November better. The horrific land crabs have also disappeared back in to their hovels and the light wind seems to keep the mosquitos at bay. This month has also been jam packed with picnics at the park, beach days, diving, stagettes and Birthday parties. Yes, I think I have finally found the cure of Nasty Novembers: paradise. Want to come join us?

Pirate's Week

Why are Pirates so cool? ----- Because they ARGHHHH!!!! Pirate's Week has begun! It is the largest celebration on the island and probably the most anticipated as well. Pirate's Week actually spans 10 days and two weekends and includes the most random events ever to be held under one title. The week started off last Friday with Fireworks on the harbour. For twenty minutes we watched a great show from the patio of a harbour bar. I was actually quite impressed with what this little country had to offer. Although really it should come as no surprise since it is legal to purchase and let off fireworks anywhere at anytime, therefore the locals get a lot of practice. Saturday was an all day event which began with the Pirate's Landing. The story is that the Governor was in his boat being chased by pirates when all of a sudden sirens (mermaids) arose from the sea and formed a protective barrier around the Governor's boat. Unfortunately there was a pirate disguised as a governor's agent, and he ambushed the boat, kidnapping the Governor and his wife. As retaliation, the sirens went after the Pirate's and kissed as many of them as they could, because a siren's kiss turns a soul in to a zombie. Pretty imaginative basis for a week of debauchery. The best part is that the whole scene is played out in the main harbour, and you can watch them reenact the kidnapping and storming of the pirates. A huge effigy is placed upon the rock out in the harbour and burned while the pirate ship approaches shore. Tourists line the bars, pubs, shops and streets to watch the Jolly Roger come in to harbour. Cannons blast and explosive crackers are thrown in the water (undoubtedly killing lots of fish). At the moment the ship docks the whole street erupts with confetti and noise. A parade is held immediately after in which most floats consist of old trucks carrying banners on their sides. The rest of the afternoon passes quickly due to alcohol consumption and piracy. The best part about the week is the costumes. Everyone dresses up as wenches and buccaneers and heads out on the town. There are mock sword fights between adults and kids and a few "professional" pirates tell their stories. As the afternoon wore on we abandoned our very elite spot at the top of Breeze's (the best view in town!) and headed down the street. There was tale of a boat with half price drinks. We ended up on said boat and proceeded to stay out at sea for two and a half hours, dancing the night away on a catamaran. Once we returned to shore (our legs a lot more shaky than when we had left... ) we hit up the tents on the streets offering local cuisine and stages with live music.
The rest of the week holds heritage events in different parts of the town, as well as a kid's parade and concert, a 5 mile sea swim, and a fall fair. This upcoming weekend is also a big one. The cardboard boat race is on Saturday, and KPMG has a team going in. The boat will hold four people, and they must paddle out 100 metres and back. After the race there is a foot race on the ocean surface. Using whatever means possible, the contestants will attempt to walk on water for several metres. I have to say that I am pretty interested to see how that goes! Finally there is the Pirate Trial, in which the Pirates have to fess up to the kidnapping of the governor and then they are dealt the punishment.

All in all Pirate's Week is a great excuse to dress, talk and walk like a pirate (or a wench) and get away with the lewdest and strangest behaviour without being held accountable. Nothing is out of line for a Pirate!

Please help!

I am really sorry to disappoint all of Nat's faithful readers, this blog will not be full of any wild and quirky tales about her boss, rather I am reaching out to you for your help and support. Seriously, please help me. Please?

Some men are born with genetics which allows them to grow a thick, illustrious moustache. I unfortunately, am not one of those men. A picture says 1000 words.



Having seen both my aunt and more recently my mother battle cancer, I have seen how it can affect your life. So when I heard about "Movember" a chance for men to grow a moustache in support of Prostate cancer, I thought it would be a good chance for me to do my part to help raise funds for cancer. We can only hope that with so many different groups raising money for different types of cancer that someone will find a cure. Speaking from a male who has a lot of close male friends and family it seems like a great cause to me.

For those who support my pathetic attempt to grow a moustache, and more importantly the fight against prostate cancer I would greatly appreciate any donations and support, just please keep your views on my Mo to yourself as my wife reminds me on a daily (or more like hourly) basis how pathetic and sleazy I look.

Donations can be made by phone at 1-888-255-0333 or online at:

http://ca.movember.com/

On the Movember website Just click on Donate at the top, and then at the next page click on "To an individual", and then you will be able to type in my name.

Thanks in advance for all of those donating to this worthy cause

Blake

Enough is enough

There comes a time when enough is enough. When you feel like you just can't take one more day. When you imagine a million different ways in which you could quit, each one more grand than the previous. Well I reached that point about five months ago, and I am ashamed to say that only the lure of sweet money and a slight case of delirium have been propelling me forward since. I have never been the quiting kind of girl (so it is a good think I never took up smoking). In fact, I have been the opposite. Fiercely loyal to my jobs, rarely taking time off, dragging my butt to work even when I am sick. The only jobs I have ever had to quit were the ones that were ending due to graduation or end of summer. Oh, except that little gig at Sylvan Learning where I took massive vacation time and just never went back. My point is that I have never had to look someone in the eye and tell them that I quit. I even went through the tiring process of filing for leave rather than quit my teaching job in St. Albert!
On Wednesday I came home after an exhausting day of being belittled and bossed around. In a bold move I told Blake that I was finished. Speedo Lady could take the job and shove it (I may have been more graphic than that). Being the big talker that I am, I described several ways in which I could convey to her, in detail, every single little thing she has done to make me reach this pinnacle of frustration. Then I simmered a bit and decided that at some point in November or December I would tell her that I was leaving. Due to a timely interview and Speedo Lady's insistence that I find someone on this island to cover for me or I couldn't go-(even if it was Blake- and "cover" meant sit at a desk, beside the receptionist, who is already there, and answer the phone the 2 times it might ring) I reached my boiling point. A meeting was scheduled on Sunday (by her, heaven forbid she use any work hours to discuss anything). From her viewpoint we were going to talk about the contract that she has still not drawn up 2 months after my new term with her began, the lack of a work schedule for the last 5 weeks and the fact that I have not received my vacation pay from 2 months ago. From my standpoint I was going to quit.
Saturday evening saw us role playing the whole quitting scenario. Blake made an excellent Speedo Lady and we managed to practice every range of emotion I could imagine Speedo Lady would react with.... or so I thought.
Sunday morning rolled around and I was armed with an arsenal of good responses to anything she could fire at me. My stomach was in butterflies and I just wanted to get the whole ordeal over with. I arrived a few minutes early to gather my thoughts while Blake sat in the car, his presence a comfort to me. Speedo Lady breezed in and for the first 10 minutes it was her show. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. The one time I made a concerted effort to interrupt, she shushed me and said "Just let me finish!" as she described in detail all I was to accomplish in December. When I was finally able to blurt out that I was giving her my notice, I was met with the one response I had not anticipated. Disbelief. Now I'm not talking about a surprised denial, or even a few moments of shocked disbelief, I am talking about the fact that she told me that she did not believe I intended to quit, and I would have to come to her again to resign, as she was a "positive-person" and didn't believe I would actually end up leaving. No matter that I told her three times that it was for real, even though I have no job awaiting, she is still bent on the fact that I will change my mind. So this morning, on my way in, I handed her a written resignation, only to be met with " Well, we'll just see... I think you'll change your mind."
I can't wait to see the look on her face when on November 30th I hand in my shirts and walk out the door for good. Actually, I can't wait to look in the mirror and see the smile on my face!

Costa Rica & Peru

So we have not dropped off the face of the planet, and no hurricane has swept us away. Instead the lack of blog writing is due to the fact that we were on vacation for the last 16 days. I know it seems like we just went on holiday to Canada, but as those who have moved away from their hometowns can attest, a trip back home doesn't necessarily qualify as a vacation. My travel obsession has been itching lately, so Blake and I booked a birthday trip to Costa Rica and Peru for the end of October, to ring in our new ages. Costa Rica was my idea, since I have never been. I have heard much about the beautiful landscape, and because our goal was to avoid beaches and palm trees, we decided to stay inland, in a tiny town called La Fortuna which sits on the base of the highly active Arenal Volcano. Although American Airlines tried their best to mess up our plans, we did arrive in San Jose eventually. We grabbed a taxi three hours out to the Arenal region and spent our first two days surrounded by the most amazing scenery. The Arenal Observatory Lodge was created by scientists at the Smithsonian Institute to monitor the volcanoes activity (It last erupted in 2002 and made quite a mess). The Lodge is the only accommodation that is allowed in the National Park, and it has the best view of the volcano, at which base it sits. We spent the days wandering around the expansive property finding waterfalls, farms and great hikes. We went in to town on the second day to try rappelling down waterfalls and cliffs. An experience everyone should try! Blake is hooked. The last day at the lodge we were excited to hike up the side of a neighbouring inactive volcano and swim in the lagoon that has since filled its crater. The staff at the lodge ensured us the 4 hour hike was safe, so we set off early in the morning. The next four hours have been blocked out of my memory from sheer trauma and exhaustion, but I will put it this way. In the world of hikes, this one was a 10/10. It was more mountain climbing combined with a torturous session of lunges and squats. Two hours straight up landed us at the top of the volcano. Next came a 300 metre "fall" down the steep side of the crater which landed us right in the lagoon. The fresh swim made up for the hike, and we were the only two people on the trail, and at the lagoon (this is because we later learned that the hike was too difficult for most people to even consider and you are something of a legend once you have climbed it).
After our return from the volcanic lagoon of peril, we transferred down the mountain to a hostel in the town of La Fortuna. The hostel was a better place from which to book tours and see the town, especially after we had worn ourselves out on the hike. Our first day we went white water rafting, spurred from our trip in Canada! The rapids were larger and the boats smaller, which made for a fun day! We had an amazing time. That night we went to one of the regions many hot springs. Like most people, I was expecting a nice hot pool or two in which to soak our still traumatized muscles. What Baldi Hot Springs turned out to be was the Vegas of thermal springs. There were 25 pools-each with varying temperatures, waterslides, too many acres of paths and forests, waterfalls and swim up bars. Blake and I spent most of our time just walking from pool to pool, and unfortunately a thunderstorm was in the area, so we also spent a fair amount of time hiding out at the free buffet. It was quite the site to see how extravagant hot springs can get, and I would highly recommend Baldi to anyone with ADHD, but I found it a little overwhelming.
On our last day in C.R. we hiked down a beautiful gully to a 70 metre waterfall and swam in the pool at its base. Never have I seen a waterfall that powerful (I have also never been to Niagara!). We spent a lovely hour just playing in the natural pool and watching the power of water.
The second part of our trip was Blake's idea. From my many tales, no doubt exhuasting, Blake was determined to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Although this was my second time, it was just as amazing as ever. After a day in Cusco to acclimatize to the high altitude we met our GAP Adventures group. Our 15 person tour group was great, and most of them were our age (or at least mine, Blake is getting pretty old...). I think I had forgotten about the jaw dropping cloud forests and inspiring jungles. I had apparently also forgotten how hard the trek itself was. The four hour mountain climb on day 2 took a round out of me, but luckily I was well prepared after all of Costa's volcanoes. In total we hiked 4 days, 43 kilometres, three mountains and saw 6 ruins along the way. The final morning of the hike we got up at 3 a.m and hiked to the Sun Gate, where you can watch the sun rise on the ancient Inca city. There are not many words to describe the wave of emotions that wash over you as the great site comes in to view. Unfortunately it was also accompanied by a wave of nausea, as it appeared something had gotten in to the water or food. All of the group members battled with sickness at some part of the tour, I was just lucky mine hit the last day. Blake was even luckier, as he didn't get it until we were leaving Peru. We spent the day wandering around the site, just touching the amazing stonework and marvelling at the ingenuity of this ancient civilization. I think it is pretty fair to say that I am enamoured with the Incas. I could probably write days worth of blogs about the society, but I shall not bore you. Blake also enjoyed seeing Machu Picchu, and together we found many new buildings and sections that I had missed on my first visit. The altitude of Machu Picchu is less than the rest of the hike, so the tingling fingers, feelings of over exertion and constant coca leaf intake were all but forgotten.
Before we knew it, we were back on the plane to Miami. Our two week vacation was much needed and probably one of the best holidays I have taken yet. The travel bug has gone to hibernate for a short nap, and the coca is slowly leaving our systems (hopefully no random drug tests in the near future). However, it won't be long until we are no doubt planning another adventure!!!



Mom-remember, its pronounced Costa Rica, not Costa Rico:)-Blake