7pm...Sleepy Time.

Yesterday (Monday) started off a bit rocky but turned out to be an outstanding day. Surfed in the AM @ local reef break that’s a bit of a walk down the beach. The swell was funky, coming in from two different directions – and I couldn’t quite figure out where to sit. Too far inside, too far outside…to the west, to the east. Bah. Shawn was the only one who had it wired, which of course pissed me off even more. Then after some miscommunication over a drop in with someone I just said ‘fuck it’ and paddled in. I was teaching yoga at 10, and I didn’t think that it was very “YOGI” of me to teach a yoga class while I was steamin’ angry. Rinsed off at the Soda at then Skyped my Mama. My dad was sleeping, which is usually the case when I call nowadays. The radiation has really wiped him out, but all in all he still has a good appetite and a positive attitude. Him and my mom are all mushy-gushy all the time, gag! My mom got a bit emotional talking about all of the people who have come out to help, she said that it just fills you up with such love knowing that there are these people in your life – stepping up when someone’s down. The power in my Dad’s garage has gone out, and for those of you who know our home and my Dad’s garage, you know that this is no simple “work shed”. There is a butcher shop in one part, a workshop in the other part, and the “war room” in the far side. His garage is bigger than most peoples homes, and though it seems to be filled with a bunch of random useless shit, my Dad says that they are his “prized possessions! I need them…don’t touch!” (my mom and I are always trying to sell some of his stuff at our annual yardsale. I mean does someone really need 30 different reels?) Anyways, the electricity is run underground….this is a very old farmhouse that we are talking about, nothin’ is easy to fix when it’s broken. Since Dad’s down and Shawns in Costa, they were stuck about what to do. Well, next day my mom pulls into the house after having Dad at treatment and Joe King is there with a shovel, digging up the wiring. LP shows up shortly after to help out, and then in pull Jeff & Sharon. Shar brought along some homemade pheasant soup that Mom and Dad have been raving about! Yesterday when I called, mom said that a bunch of guys from Dad’s work were there, all digging the hole in the torrential downpour – soaked to bone and freezing, but digging. My Nana flew in from Florida to see him and hang out. She is going to treatment with them this week so that she can see how easy it is. My Aunt Meg is making dinner this week too for my parents, my Uncle Mike (it’s his birthday), and Nana. Because Dad’s diet is limited to all organic, she is making the meal with everything organic…from soup to nuts. Dad’s youngest brother, Sean, is a professional watercolor artist living in Key West. He has a big artshow this upcoming month and has dedicated the show to my Dad. He is an amazing artist, and I encourage you to check out his work:

After the Skype call to my mom I was feeling much better. I’m telling ya, if it wasn’t for Skype I would not be here in Costa right now…when we chat it’s like we are sitting in the same room! I was glad to hear that my Dad was doing well and that there were so many people who have come out to help my family. After our phone call I went down and swept my “yoga studio” @ Vago’s. The days class was muy tranquilo…we all had been surfing a ton and needed a mellow, deep-stretching, breathing-emphasized class. My friend Jeni Sinbrow was in class, a massage therapist who has spent many years of her life here in Oeste. We have an agreement to trade yoga classes for MASSAGE (lucky me)!!! So she offered to come pick me up on the hill mid-afternoon for my massage. Hooray. Before I was rubbed all the right ways we need to take care of some car-troubles. Car troubles you ask? Again, you ask? Yep. Who knew!? Costa Rica, the land of broken vehicles. Amazingly we had an honest mechanic who tested the battery and told us that it was fine (thank god, because a new battery here runs about $160). He told us to just clean the receptors, and that we might have replace a bad cable. No biggie. Woohooo! We stopped at the grocery store so Shawn could buy: literally every box they had of Raisin Bran, and 4 bottles of Agua de Pipa. He’s a simple man. Jeni picked me up @ 2:30 and we headed back to her mothers house. Eleanor has the BEST setup around. You can see the beach from her front porch, and the jungle is her backyard. She has two cabinas, that I have stayed at, a beautiful swimming pool and just good vibes flowing through the house. This house was one of the first on the hill and it’s just magical. Jeni set up her massage table on the back porch and then worked her magic for an hour. I was in heaven. When the massage was over I literally floated down the hill to John Dang’s going away party – where Jeni and I sipped refreshing white wine spritzers and semi-sangrias (boxed red wine, add some juice and a splash o’ seltzer). Both my boys were down there already – Shawn sippin’ on a beer and Newman stealing all the other dogs’ tennis balls. I was whooped from surfing and my heavenly massage, and Shawn was beat too. We called it a night around 6:30 and I was fast asleep by 7. My rule to atleast make it to 8pm simply could not be met! Woke up at 5am, had some pineapple (and so did Newman) and some Tea. The iPod is shuffling through some great tunes and I’m typing up this blog on Shawn’s computer. He’s giving me the “aren’t you done yet I want to check the waves” stare, so I need to get going. Pura Vida.