the snake living under the bed

Otis just learned how to do the shaka on command today, so today is an important day. Its a building block as it seems that surfing is going to be in his future, and its pretty cool to give Otis shaka and to have him give you shaka back as well :-) He does the double shaka with both hands. It is hilarious. What else is new? Uh... you know that new disco called Aqua? The one right down from the camp, built directly in front of a bunch of people's condos in the Sunrise development? I guess the party got a little out of hand, as Saturday night there was a fight and a local kid named Manuel was stabbed pretty bad. He is in the hospital and will recover. Probably another fight over some gringa chick. whatever. What is up with the madness? The funny part (not funny as in ha ha, but funny as in another sad example of this town) is that Manuel worked for me last year for about two months, in the front desk. A nice enough kid. Well, I'm sure thats enough for the Tamarumor mill to churn up something and I'm sure I'll get an email from some misinformed kook thinking I had something to do with it, or that I'm supposed to get involved and do something. whatever. It really is the wild wild west down here, but then again the whole world has gone a little mad so its not really any different than the gang wars going on in Tijuana or Chicago. Nobody knows what its like to live down here and run a business. All I can think is that I'm going to look back on this life when I'm old and wonder how the hell it all happened. After going to the new mall and eating in a swanky restaurant, and seeing the kinds of businesses that are now propagating throughout this city that used to be a dusty little town, I realize there is no room for boys and school buses anymore. If I was a few years younger, or left for Costa Rica a few years later, I'd never had a chance in this town. dumb luck I guess. Or vision? but I never envisioned this. I'm not complaining, today I've already surfed twice, so life is definitely good. just crazy. Everyone keeps telling me the place is running differently now that we're back here. Of course it is, nobody cares about this place as much as we do. Everyone else gets a pay check and assumes there will always be one. I wish it was that easy. As we enter the low season I've got to become business guru guy and make sure all ends will be met. Ten days ago I wasn't sure how I was going to make pay day, probably because everyone just paid taxes, the US economy is in the toilet, May not being a big travel month, whatever. I am impressed at how the staff banded together to help increase sales, cut back expenses, and do what had to be done. We ended up having a huge surge these last days of April and actually saw about a 18% increase in sales over April 2007, which is pretty insane when you consider whats happened lately in the economy. I hang out with most all of the guests staying here and everyone says they are having the absolute best time ever, so as long as that keeps happening I think we're going to do just fine. I have some community worries and I'm not quite sure how to present them. Basically, its about to start raining and the city hasn't done a thing to deal with the water treatment issues it will be facing. WRSC has a treatment plant now. Supposedly the Ministerio de Salud went to a bunch of local businesses doing inspections, initially closing down Pasatiempo, Tamarindo Hostel, El Milagro and others until they complied with community standards for dealing with their waste water, so that should help, but it isn't enough. They then went to every restaurant and store in town and addressed a bunch of issues that had nothing to do with what they originally set out to do, closing places for not having fire exits or because the cooks were wearing jewelry or whatever. makes no sense, but doesn't have to, its Costa Rica. There was a lot of talk about what needed to be done, but in the end nothing has happened and its just as it was this time last year. For every five emails I send to the Pro Mejores I get one email back. I offer help but am not asked for it. It is frustrating to say the least. Oh wait, I promised I wasn't going to do this today. Some days are sunny while others have a few rainclouds, but no matter what I have to remember that I've got an awesome family and a great place to call home. I've thought about taking a break from drinking in order to clear out my system and focus on getting more things done at work (how fun), but just the thought of doing that makes me want to have a beer right now. I'm probably not the only one to ever feel this way, just one of the few who says it out loud, this song kindof sums it up
I%20Just%20Don%27t%20Know%20What%20To%20Do%20With%20Myself.mp3
As you probably know, we live above the restaurant and bar here at the surf camp. I couldn't be happier. I think the square footage of our place is around 700 sq. ft, so its not that big for a family of four. I have a house in Langosta (currently for sale with fliers pasted all over the town) as well as a house in Avellanas that we're renting, so why, do you ask, do I live here at the surf camp? Why not? Its really the best way to be closest to the surf, and the camp, the guests, the employees. I have been a bit freaked out lately since one of the servers in my restaurant witnessed a boa slithering up underneath the floorboards of our apartment though. We were happy when Freedom (sushi chef) caught the bugger last night, it was about five feet long. I had been wondering where the skunks had gone, since they'd lived in the camp since we moved in years ago. I guess the snake ate them. We were a little scared since we have two young boys, Happy is three months old today so quite the infant and definitely potential snake food for a Costa Rican boa. Thankfully we can rest a bit easier now that we caught the snake. No, we didn't make snake sushi, we let the thing go in the hills above Huacas.

any given Friday

ok.... so I never left Costa Rica, I'm still here. Holly, Otis, baby Happy, myself, living on the beach in Tamarindo above the surf camp restaurant and running things like normal. It has been a long time since I've had my family all together again here at WRSC, and so far we've failed to make our flight back to SD twice in the last two weeks. Living in Avellanas last year was nice, as Avellanas is a great place, just awesome, but it is hard to keep tabs on the business from so far away. So what did we do? we moved to San Diego to have baby Happy. If you think its hard to run a company from another town, try commuting from another country. All of this has happened for a reason though, and as I now reflect on the last couple of years I see that what we did was take some time off to start our family and get a grasp on things. From what I can see, raising my boys at the surf camp is just about perfect. Pretty soon Otis can start giving surf lessons, check out this clip of him riding his first wave this past week out in front of the camp-

yeah yeah, I know he didn't stand up or anything, give me a break, he just turned two years old last month. All Otis wants to do is play on the beach, he just loves it. I figure each time I make a video he'll be surfing better and better :-) AND its not me pushing him into it, he nags me to take him surfing. If the kid wanted to play My Little Pony instead I really wouldn't care, but I guess he caught the surf bug quite young (as in before he was even born!). Baby Happy is doing quite well too, he was truly named correctly as I can get him to smile whenever I want, its just awesome.
A shark attack just happened a few hours ago in San Diego this morning, http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080425-1113-bn25shark2.html#video
I trip out thinking about shark attacks. Since living in Costa Rica I've never heard of a shark attack except for a minor one in Marbella. I guess no shark attack is a minor one. One of our past employees got hit by a shark in Florida, where it happens all of the time it seems. In San Diego though? Wow. The last time was when I was a senior in high school, in Ocean Beach where we now have our place www.theoceanbeachcottages.com
We all need to get over fears of sharks and airplanes, myself included. Especially when people die in such stupid other ways, you just never know. I've been watching a lot of the news lately, and is it me or has the world gone crazy? After spending time in the US, after almost seven years of being in CR, and now being back in CR again and looking at it all from the confines of the Skybox, we have an old president's wife and a black guy who will essentially attack each other enough to let another old white guy with similar views to our current president's list of not-so-good-ideas win. He has no idea what life is like for my generation. Social Security is planned to fail the year I turn 63. hmmm.... There is a food shortage all of a sudden, and ethanol is one of the reasons, and all the stock market is worried about is whether or not their green stocks are going to crash, meanwhile super stoked that oil hits $119/barrel. So many people are only excited about the Eco Bubble because of their portfolio. I've never bought a stock in my life. Can't we all just get along, and make a plan thats going to work? Or do we still have to do things for money and only money? I'm starting to sound like Harrison Ford from Mosquito Coast, and thats scary! Sorry...must have been the coffee. I've spent a lot of money on stupid shit, and then a lot more money on smart shit, somehow I got lucky enough to be where I'm at now, living my dream running a resort for surfers or anyone else who wants to experience it. Holly and I have made some more decisions based off of our family, and one thing that is true is how awesome it is to be raising them with our family of employees. I know sometimes I get bummed on how difficult it can be to run a business like this, and yes it can. But then to cruise downstairs and chill with some of the guests, and for them to honestly tell me its the best trip they've ever taken, it makes it more than worth it. Just today I've spoken to four groups of guests, all taking off tomorrow, all vowing to return to WRSC and with more friends or family. I guess thats why our rooms are so often booked up, and a good problem to have. Without a business degree I can still honestly say that the way business should work is by examining what people want and give them more and more of it. My problems are more about the money I spend running this place and having to deal with high seasons, low seasons, big groups, dry spells, big swells, and trying to make the community in which I'm raising my family better and better. And to do it right. Right now Jairo is downstairs getting the tables and chairs ready for the group of 75 getting ready for their wedding rehearsal dinner. We're preparing a mixed selection of some of our Mexican dishes as well as amazing sushi rolls, and there is an open bar. I'm sure its going to get out of control here, with this party, the surf school graduation, live music and the fact that it is a Friday night. I'm not complaining, I'm grinning and happy to have my job. You can see the event on our webcam, you can also see the WRSC Gardens which are FINALLY DONE!!! Here's a snapshot from the cam from a few minutes ago-
Here's a better view as I'm walking to the Sand Bar-
It is so freaking mellow, its just perfect. I started the gardens to help learn more respect for what I have. For me, gardening is a form of meditation. Plants and trees grow here so easily, and over the years I've gotten into planting some amazing species. Now we can host yoga groups, weddings, private parties, luaus, community events, etc right on the beach. We even have a woman from Bridal Magazine here right now. If you're a guest and want to chill in the gardens, take over one of hammocks or sun loungers and check it out.
I'm getting ready to leave for the afternoon. I'm cruising through Playa Panama on the way to the airport. We are finally putting the new boat in the water, the one we built last year. It will help me to cut down the costs of running the business, plus it will give me much more flexibility in the kind of service that we offer. Jose Ameth is awesome, don't get me wrong. All he talks to me about is opening a surf shop in Coco, and maybe some day I'll do that. But for now all I want to do is surf Witch's Rock as much as I can. I've been surfing daily, I got my old longboard dings repaired, this board is 9'0 and thin as hell. Last weekend the waves in front were really big and really good, and I was surfing better than I've surfed in a long time since I hurt my back. My back doesn't even really bother me much these days, probably because of all of the warm water surfing. Today is going to be cool as I'm picking up my dad, he's flying in and staying for a few weeks to help me out with things at the camp. Its been a while since he's been down, like over a year, so basically he's missing it. Its going to be fun. HUGE south pacific swell on it's way...

can it be low season yet?

Spring Break gets longer and longer every year and I'm ready for it to end. Not that I don't welcome the business, as without it we would all be out of work, but the stresses that come with such a busy surf camp can get tiring around this time of year. Once again I write this blog from the Skybox, my office above the bar at WRSC. I've expanded the Skybox recently to a three room apartment, well actually just turned a couple crappy offices into bedrooms and added a kitchen. I am now living here with my wife Holly and our two boys Otis (2 years) and Happy (2 months). There is only cold water for the shower, the walls rattle from the kitchen extractor, and the last two nights have been filled with Tico Hendrix going off on opera tangents. Still, living in the same rooms that served as the surf camp's first backpacker accommodations, the entire family couldn't be better off. I share a bed with Otis, who likes to wake up before 6am down here for some reason. He is finally old enough to be put in front of the tv to the point where I can get another hour of sleep, so thats great. He has watched his Handy Manny and Little People dvd about a zillion times. I was fortunate enough to cruise to Kobey's Swap Meet in San Diego right before we left for CR and picked up an old school Nintendo game system with Mike Tyson's Punchout, Super Mario Bros 1-3, Excitebike, RC Pro AM, T & C Surf and Skate, Top Gun and of course Zelda. I've already wasted about ten hours remembering all of the hiding places in Zelda to get the better swords, the hidden levels, cheaper weapons, all the same that I did when I played as a kid. For some reason I like these Copyright 1988 games more than current ones, they remind me of how simple and effective video games can be at keeping your mind off of the rest of the bullshit. Here I am teaching Otis how to play Super Mario Bros, figure I'll start him early so I have a video game partner sooner, Holly thinks I've totally lost it-
I'm starting to get that 80s Lethal Weapon haircut (Gibson, not Glover), probably because of the throwback Nintendo.
I'm pretty stoked to finally have my family back down to CR. My parents were supposed to come down last Saturday for this week but had to bail at the last second. Everyone down here keeps asking about them, especially my dad PK who spent so much of the early years growing WRSC as my business partner. It is awesome to watch Otis run around the surf camp and play on the beach. He loves the beach more than anyone I know, it must be in his blood. I have a little life vest and I think that today is going to be the day he tries surfing for the first time. I'll make sure to take photos of it regardless of when it happens. Even though the business can be really awesome or really shitty, depending on what exactly is going on, its great to have it be a family business. My family's business. It helps me get through the tougher times. For example, we have 60 employees right now. Unless we stay totally full, its hard to pay for 60 people. Some guests want cheaper rates but don't realize that it will affect service. Its hard to please everyone, and the last thing I want to do is to get rid of any jobs. Sometimes I have a hard time dealing with the way things can be down here. Right now Tamarindo needs a solution for waste water management, and instead of working to get a service started now they are all fighting over who is going to make the money from operating it. Typical. I've been lobbying for this service for three years now, I could care less who operates it, its just another of the many infrastructure issues this region faces. Another example is the gringo or gringa who moves to Tamarindo 6 months ago and now thinks they understand the politics of this town, only to cause more harm than good when they bitch at the few people in this town who are actually trying to make things better. I can't count the number of times I've received an email from someone (even Wingnut wrote me one time) who complain that some employee of mine needs to be fired because of some fight they got into at some party, or how someone did something at their other job, or ?? (not at work, nothing to do with me or the camp) and for some reason its my responsibility now. WTF is up with that? I have no idea. I have enough on my plate trying to make enough money to pay my staff, mortgage, car payments, van payments, beer truck, chicken truck, egg truck, vegetable truck, ice truck, Kion, the accountant, the storage locker, my lawyer, all of the food and drink that mysteriously ends up on my tab, donations for the lifeguard service that put a lifeguard tower in front of the surf camp but still lacks lifeguards, our laundry service, the mechanic, etc etc etc. And now I'm also supposed to take care of everyone else 24 hours a day? I have a family too you know. It would be like being the boss of some company in San Diego, and getting emails from a guy who had a car accident with one of my employees on their commute to work. Does it have anything in the fucking world to do with me? No. I could really go on and on. Pro Mejores in Tamarindo, I love what you're trying to do, I really do. It would be awesome if you let the few people who want to help make the town better get the chance to do so. Instead we have developers and government so close that people all have dollar signs in their eyes. I understand that everyone has to eat, but eat so much? What about reinvestment in the community? What about sidewalks and street lights? I've been asking for permission to build a sidewalk in front of my property for two years, I'll even pay for it. I'll build public bathrooms for the town's beach parking lot, and I'll pay for it. The only way these things are going to happen is if business owners do them themselves, and I'm offering, so what exactly is the holdup. If Pro Mejores could expedite the needs of the community and empower the community members to do more, we would be much better off. Where did the $20,000 in sales taxes that WRSC paid last month go? To San Jose? What about everyone else's sales taxes? I know we're all busy in this boom town, lets not forget about whats most important- the community. I'm not perfect, nobody is. I know we're all busy, trust me, I'm trying to keep my company going upwards despite economic downturns and there are never enough hours in the day. I do care enough to keep our community's issues in the public's mind though, as much as this art-major mel-happy-go-lucky-surfer can do. Its not like I don't have enough on my plate just trying to pay the bills here. Let me take a moment here to get refocused.... And on an entirely different subject, here is a picture of me diving into a waterfall pool, located close to the Zephyr Eco Project, in the hills above San Juanillo. This is what I'd rather be doing instead of bitching about small town things, issues like this occur everywhere in the world so it is nothing new. I'm sorry I went off, it can happen on a Monday even here in paradise :-)
awesome huh? Its about ten feet deep, deeper under the falls. The pool is a lot bigger than it seems in this picture. This is the dry season, try to picture what it looks like in the rainy season! I've started offering tours here... I won't tell anyone the exact location, but you're more than welcome to come with me any time I go! I'll put a video online in the next day or too. Pura Vida, we are in Costa Rica!