*Blink*
You can always tell a neighborhoods security by it's mini-marts. It's as true in 3rd World countries, as it is in the U.S.
If it has bars on the windows, slathered in cameras, and warning signs posted all over the front of a mini-mart... move your wallet to your front pocket, look tough, don't make eye contact... get in and get out.
I know the rules.
As a world traveler, you develop a certain sixth sense, that reaches beyond just being street smart.
You know when something is up.
So I asked around. I tested the locals, asking plenty of questions, "Are there places that aren't safe?" and "What do you do for personal safety" were regular parts of my discussions. I was reassured time and time again that Atlanta was perfectly safe and that I was just being paranoid. My guard slowly eroded against my better judgement... and then...
ZOMBIE-MARTS!
After a night of good food and great company we were heading over to a friends place to watch some Dexter. We decided that some beer was in order and pulled into a finely locked down mini-mart.
Bared, sign plastered windows, warning against entry. "Enter At Own Risk" was the only sign that could have helped me and naturally it was the only one they had neglected to post.
I walk in, and a man with sunken eyes and tattered clothing, brown with stains, turns and puts his hand on my shoulder faster then I could avoid. A waft of rot racing up to my nostrils in a full assault on my person, I pulled back! "You got some change?" he gargles loudly, spittle hitting my chest, I dodge!
"No" I mumble, unable to fully open my mouth for fear of taking in more of the aroma... I add pace to my step!
Small store, and I do a circle of it quickly, looking into the cases for libations. Zombie closing in, I'm under a time-line and I feel it ending.
Not a can of beer in the cases? I search behind the Plexiglas protected attendant for beer or bottles. Nothing there? So I ask, "Beer?", to which the attendant, weak with mental exhaustion can only muster a lift of his finger at a sign... "ALCOHOL NOT SOLD HERE".
I rush to the door and jump in the car. We race to the next mini-mart this one with neon promises of what we seek. Laden with beer signs, unwelcoming bared windows. The only notable difference is that this attendant is behind a bank teller style thick, bullet proof, Plexiglas wall with the no-touch money slide option! The only thing that could kill him in there was the smell of the customers!
I walk into the store wiser for my prior experience, aware of everything... three zombies, trajectories moving to intercept, one already starting to mouth slobber garbled words in my direction, (did he whisper "Brains?") I race to the case!
I try the door and it's stuck!
One Zombie seeing that I'm having trouble is drawn by the activity, I try the door harder this time! I fail, and look to the attendant with wide eyes!
He's amused by the show behind his smeared windows of captivity, and takes his time. "You need a key" he says in a polite East Indian sing song accent!
I dodge Zombie #2 busy poking a Frito bag with one index finger as if it might giggle in response?
I take the key and move to the case. Zombie #3 takes interest once I have the key, intent unknown, he starts to move toward me.
I place the key in the lock and it doesn't fit? I try again, I begin to perspire! A helpful sing song accent chimes in behind me and asks, "So where are you visiting from."
That's when I knew.
That's when I knew that if you can tell I'm new to town by the fact that I'm surprised that I need a key to open a beer case, and look nervous when I'm surrounded by the living dead, that I had been led astray! There are dangerous zones in Atlanta, there are things I needed to know, and not ever coming into this mini-mart was on that need to know list!
"I'm from Seattle, just arrived, so is there a trick to the key?" I ask, voice cracking as #3 positions himself behind me.
Smiling and being so friendly it was assuring the attendant strikes up a conversation, "I heard it's nice there... oh... um... just unlock all three locks the middle one is jammed, it's already open." he continues, "So you've never been to this part of town, you might want to be careful, we had three shootings this month."
(Three locks?) "Yeah." I answer, "I saw that bar shooting on the news..."
(Gads. OK, OK, so I search the case for anything drinkable and beyond the chemical based fortified wines and beers, there is one 12-pack of Heineken! Mission accomplished!) I lock the case and move to the Plexiglas box.
Get ready for it...
Then the attendant cheerfully says, "Oh no, not that bar... I meant here... in THIS store." He was so cheerful about it I almost laughed.
Almost.
I put the beer up on the little ledge not knowing how he'd scan it through three inches of bullet proof material, he calmly examines the beer, then his voice's timber strengthens, he makes eye contact and sings, "That'll be $19.99".
Babadaba? Wha? Bastard is a Spider and I'm in his web! That's why he's smiling! That's why he's chipper! His web is built stronger then my gnat sized strength can resist!
He knows I'm not going back to that case and it's damnable locks! I'm not braving having my face eaten or shot off by a Zombie... I'm paying up and leaving him in his dark little stronghold and he knows it!
I flip a $20 into his clear plastic hole and push past the brain eater that had positioned himself between myself and the door...
The spider said something to me on the way out, and I was too focused on the car door handle to catch it.
I'm sure it was, ""I love to watch the sweat drip down the side of your face when you have nightmares about me."
Lets begin with Blue Whale. Blue Whale does not belong in soup for a multitude of reasons! Number one, and the most obvious reason, is that the baleen would sift out any other ingredients. Two, they make a horrible sound when you start eating them alive, and three, I blame you for reading this! What?
Where am I?
er... here's some pictures to distract you from all of that... enjoy!
Taken From My Review On Yelp.com
Army Surplus Sales Inc
Categories: Luggage, Outdoor Gear
Neighborhood: Downtown
He laughs with the owners, they pull out the biggest scariest murderous knife in the counter and hand it to him... he nimbly switches it between hands, trying it out for maneuverability, and I realize....
There are few things scarier then a smiling, slightly disheveled, knife wielding guy in a tux between you and the exit of a Army Surplus store!
It's the little rushes that get me through the day in this city! It really is...
Kona makes a mean bike!
Rob doesn't use his beautiful bike, so I've been making the most of it these last two weeks and I've been busy exploring this massive city! The shocks are amazing which is great, because the roads seem to be under construction everywhere! Atlanta isn't quite as hill heavy as Seattle and tooling around is still quite a workout, but it's very dooable! I've gone five miles or more in each direction from the house, and still have a lot more exploring to do on this baby!
Mmm... inerds.
Piedmont park from every angle.
The fearless leader of Yelp.com in Atlanta Kathleen welcomed me to town with my first real Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken dinner!
It was as wonderful as I could have ever dreamed!
The atmosphere was posh, the food expertly prepared and the prices were totally completely affordable! The mashed potatoes were flawless, the green-beans, blanched and lightly seasoned, the gravy was perfectly smooth and lightly peppery without being overwhelming! I loved it!
Keep it comin!
I tried to explain to them that they were landlocked, but you know pirates... they never listen to reason!
So after trying to see a show at the Starbar (any picture above that looks like a David Lynch film) and having some pizza, Rob and I parted ways for the night.
I jumped in a cab and gave the cab driver the main intersection nearest to our house. He became annoyed immediately!
I notice that he seems to be going in the wrong direction, but I really don't have the best sense of direction, so I let it slide trusting that he'd know where the main intersection of the hottest neighborhood in Atlanta is!
The meter slips past $12 which was the price to get to L5P (Little Five Points). I don't say anything... the meter gets to $20... "so, sir... I'm in Midtown, and I'm new to town... is this the right way?"
Angrily, he answers with a question, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Oh shit... here we go again... life is coming at me full speed, do I weave, dodge, or confront?
"Excuse me?", I start, then I add..."Boy I wish!" I answer in the most chipper tone available to me!
He slumps over a bit, silence from him. I put my hand on the door handle... tensions rise as I try to figure out what he's doing.
Forest outside the window now... we are going deeper into oblivion...
"Ok sir, so it cost me $12 to get to L5P and the meter is at $20, is everything OK?" I say.
"So you've had girlfriends?"
Then it hits me... Midtown has gay clubs... this jerkwad is a homophobe! Ahhh! Everything makes sense! Plus he's trying to milk me for a longer fare because I had mentioned I just arrived in Atlanta! Scum!
I calmly answer, "Yeah, I've had lots of girlfriends, a couple boyfriends, and am likely to think about a relationship with the right animal is they seem like they're into me." Smile stretched across my face...
The car swerves to the side, he yells "OUT!"
Gladly. I step out without paying.
He speeds off into the inky black.
Where the fuck am I? Darkness, giant southern gated homes separated by acres of manicured lawn... cold... and then to top it all off... rain.
Cold, wet, horrible rain. My lifelong enemy has found me, and we spit at each other! I always loose.
I'm wearing a thin wool sweater.
I call a cab, and quickly discover that it's beyond difficult to tell a cab where you are, when you don't actually know!
After an hour, I finally reached my destination.
I change, grab a beer... walk up to the roof of our beautiful builng and see this...
Wrap around view, heart of the city... beautiful.
I sleep like an ancient god and dream of monsters.
I think this gives me a unique perspective on the accent. See... I've always thought of it as charming in person. On TV it can be portrayed as ignorant, which brings me to my next point... real Southerners think that having a particular Southern accent is bad!
I've spoken with around eight people, all young professionals or students, who have all told me the same thing when I mention their accent... "I'm trying to get rid of it."!
I'm sorry, but I think having an accent as smooth as a Southern accent is cool! Every time someone says "ya'll" I smile! I love it! It's sad to me that people have been shamed into thinking it makes them sound uneducated! I think when it's at it's best, it can actually sound rather dignified and even affluent!
Last week I went to a Antique expo with my good friend Peter and long time friend of Rob. He's an fine art dealer and went down to scope out the local market, so I tagged along. Not only did I get a glimpse into the lifestyle of the weathy Southerners, I also easedroped my first Southern coloquism! "Busy as a funeral home fan in July." I almost spit up my drink! Ha! Awesome!
There were litterally acres of antiques! Two huge buildings, and more outside!
Stop staring at me you little monsters!
I guess God is a white constipated dude afterall? We ARE screwed!
Everything was really expensive... these horses just found out how much their worth!
The Bronze pieces were amazing!
Maybe I'm just a clear thinker but...
personally, preteens with wings and swords scare me.
The tamborine worked!
Ancient and less effective Karate techniques demonstrated.
I made the terrible mistake of ordering my tickets at 3am and paid the price by not noticing that I had a six hour stop over in Minneapolis! I love the town don't get me wrong, but in true Scott Kick fashion, I just pulled up my trousers and went on a hunt for Deep Fried Cheese Curds!
Mission accomplished!
There are signs right away that you're not in nice safe, liberal Seattle anymore...
I knew there would be adjustments, but hell, I wasn't even close to the Deep South, and there were already signs for concern!
I mean... a proactive vending machine? Are you really eating that many deep fried foods? Doubts aside...
Onward to Atlanta!
Rob picked me up from the airport and after an unexpected and welcome giant hug from my little brother, my name was announced on the loud speakers! "Scott Kick" please come to Northwest Airlines Terminal Office!"
Oh crap. Here we go.
I've had my luggage lost the last four times I've traveled. Once in Santa Barbara I was handed a toothbrush from the airline rep and told that I "might want to start buying new clothes"!
Ha! Not this time! They just had my bag in the office and sent me on my way with little ado! I didn't even have to wait!
"It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, 'as pretty as an airport.' Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort"
Douglas Adams.
So Rob takes me straight to a bar called the Highlander... named after the film, and fashioned after Seattle, I loved it imediately!
That's right... they have a beer called 420, and better yet... it's freaking delicious!
After some catching up, we headed over to my new home for the next year and what was going to prove to be a minor heart attack!
I had seen some on-line video Rob had shot of the place, but it in no way captured this loft apartments true scale! I was in awe!
... I still am!
Camera Phone Picture... sorry... but you're getting the idea here!
Every time I got in any vehicle that went faster then a golf cart I got white knuckled! , every time I saw a homeless person screaming on a street corner, I was upset? Every time I spoke with someone and they didn't smile the entire conversation I thought they were mad... every time my feet were cold, I felt dazed! Out of sorts! Confused! And what is our obsession with cell phones all about! Put them down people! Leave them at home for a day! You're not going to die!
In a lot of ways, the reality of day to day life in San Pedro, even at it's markedly slower and often times boring pace, is superior to our insane self obsessed lifestyle here in the States.
So many things here just didn't make sense to me anymore. I now know they never really did in the first place... I was just numb to them.
Whatever life I make for myself here... now.... it's going to be different. I'm different.
I have all of my wonderful friends in San Pedro to thank for that! I miss you all terribly, and I will be back!
To all of the friends and family I'm neglecting to call, please be patient with me... you all just seem stressed out to me now it's going to take me a while to do the rounds and pass out hugs!
God I hope this trip didn't turn me into a hippy!
I didn't sleep very well last night and am not feeling the Blog this morning.
What I can tell you is that I'm looking forward to seeing everyone I care about, and that I've missed you all very much!
Sorry there are still no pictures, but my attempts at fixing my digital camera have met with the harsh reality of my mechanical inabilities!
If it's any consolation, you would have had a really good laugh, if you would have been there as I tried to fix it!
If I remember correctly, there was some chewing on it in the end?
Oh... and I've decided to be a DJ.
Sun licking into my room through the storm shutters, I arose this morning to a fresh new day in San Pedro. It's been overcast lately and with the sun out, I was motivated to move.
I packed up my gear and headed out to the beach for a snorkel, and stopped at Wet Willies for a Coke and to chat with my neighbors who were having lunch there. Someone in the bar had just adopted a very cool hamsterish puppy, and the place was abuzz about it. Walking out onto the beach, I walked past Paulina, and her son, Trevor was there with some of his crew, and fresh out of last nights successful trivia night (Thank You Taco Girl!) I organized a quick game of "Guess which fish name is made up"?
Jewfish? Yes, it's a real fish.
Slippery Dick? Yes, it's a real fish.
Purple Pumpkin Flounder? No. Sorry buddy.
Colon Goby? Yep... it's a fish!
How about a Nipple Skate? Yeah right! Don't be stupid.
Paulinas son won, and I said my goodbyes, turned the corner and Prince was working at the Kiosk at the center of town. We sat down in the sun, and made plans to go to one of the Caye's this Saturday. Tonight he has a golfcart on loan from his employer, so we're going to tool around the island looking for trouble. I say my goodbyes, turn around and look out to the ocean... children splashing in the turquoise waters of the Carribean, a deep gahfah of joy escapes me, and I remember why I came here.
Storms, flooding, hard financial situations, jelly fish stings, power outages, food shortages, and weeks of solitude, and you know what?
It was totally worth it for a day like today.
What Winners Look Like Before They Drink The Trivia Night Prize!
One week into the new roommates moving in and they announce that they are moving out to bum around France? France? What?
Easy come, easy go I guess?
So I was more then a little surprised at this sudden and unexpected decision... er... inconvienence... and headed to the internet cafe to check my e-mails and wallow in e-mails from friends and family. .. when BAM!
I got an e-mail of interest from the 5th Ave Theater! My dream job for the last 5 years, the position for a House Manager has become available and I applied! We just wrapped up an hour long+ interview over the phone, and I'd have to say that in my professional opinion, it went very well! Not only did I feel like it went well, I felt like I really liked the people I was talking to. I have to come home to make myself available for an in person interview if the opportunity arrises, and with everything considered, it seems like really good timing!
So Seattle here I come!
I'm really going to ramp things up for my last month here, I'm going to travel to more of the area, and have commited to doing a trivia night at the Tackle Box which is right in town! Tonights the big night and I've had a lot of people say they're coming, so my excitement level is very high! Our competition for the night is the World Famous Chicken Drop, so the presure is on! Wish me luck!
There is going to be considerable culture shock after 6 months on the beach, so please, be patient with me. I'll contact everyone as soon as I can when I fly in. I just might have to start work right away, so you might have to wait while I sort things out.
August 3rd or there abouts!
Start your engines!
Apparently If I decide to travel through Central America, I'm going to be shanghaied by militant guerillas, reduced down to my powder form and snorted as a form of recreational drug? (Eh... there are worse ways to go?) I apparently also have the decision of coming home and becoming a prisoner at my Grandmothers? Apparently she has cleared out her shed and outfitted it with restraints and a cot to keep me in Seattle?
Hmph.
I think I'm safer here.
It looks like we're going to have a puppy in the house! Andy Lee and Richard just got a cute new puppy named Wasu, and if they wouldn't have adopted her, I would have! It's the smartest puppy I've ever seen! It comes when you whistle, and already knows not to pee on the floor or get on the couch! I've seen dumber kids!
I can't stress enough how nice it is going to be to have people around the house. If I've discovered one thing about myself here, it's that I need input from socialization to be creative.
Well, since the computer is down, you can expect delayed responses for a while, but I'll try to check in every Sunday, and I'll let everyone know once I get the phone hooked up. Right now customs is holding it for a ransom of $40.
Miss ya!
So it looks like I get a last second save!
Andy Lee a French Canadian bartender and poker dealer, and her boyfriend Richard (two of my favorite people on the island) are taking the spare room sometime next month!!! That means another $300+ a month for me which really solves my biggest problems here! Money and lack of socialization! I couldn't be more relieved...
"But what about the hurricanes Scott?"
I've also come up with a solid evacuation plan. Next week I'm going to go with my friend Prince to his families house in Belmopan to stock it for a storm. As the capitol of the country it's the only planned city in the country, and as thus It's far inland and immune to flooding. It's the safest place in the country to go during a storm and it's a cement house so I feel very good about this!
So a little extra money means that I get to travel once a month and see more of the area. This month it's Belmopan, where I can't wait to go to a real honest to goodness movie theater! And next month it's Utila Honduras! After that Costa Rica! Monkeys here I come! I can't wait to see if I can take one in battle!
So baring any major catastrophies, (like my arm being ripped outo of the socket by a howler monkey) I think you can count on me being here until next Spring!
I'm sorry about the lack of pictures but both of my cameras have now conked out, and the laptops battery exploded so I'm techno-capped for a while!
Thanks for all of your support to all of those of you who sent me private messages with such heartfelt advice!
Now that I'm getting ready for hurricane season I'll be arming up with a phone that my brother sent down, so you'll be able to call me whenever you want!
Love ya! Talk to you soon!
...anyway....
So after much soul searching and taking everyone's suggestions into consideration, I've decided to throw my fate to the four winds!
Four outcomes are possible over the next month, so lets review whats been rolling around my head, shall we?
First, I applied for the House Manager position at the 5th Ave Theater. I've wanted a position like that ever since I quit the Paramount, and they don't come up... um... EVER. So I had to try for it! If I get the position, I'd return to Seattle August 1st and most likely start work that week. Since I'm not available for a face to face interview and only the phone interview, I give myself a 17% chance of success. I've managed several events at their theater and could walk into the position locked and loaded, I know of only two other guys in the city that could fill the position as well as I could, and they already hold house manager positions! I'll know by July 1st. So on to plan 2...
Second is that I stay in the home I've made in San Pedro and ride out the Hurricane Season! To shake my nerves the State Department decided to put out a travel advisory for Americans in Belize. I got paranoid and decided to read the extensive study predicting the season, and it's not promising folks! The conclusion was that the 2008 hurricane season will be more intense than the seasons between 1950 and 2000!
- 21 hurricanes
- 4 intense hurricanes (belonging to category 3, 4 and 5)
- 80 named storm days
- 40 hurricane day
Third, and my favorite, is to hit the South American roadINLAND ! Moving about every month or two and really seeing more of this area! Costa Rica · El Salvador · Guatemala · Honduras ·and Panama! My first stop being Utila Honduras. It is one of the cheapest places in the world to learn to dive, and monthly rent is two hundred less then it is here... better news then that however, is that beer is a dollar a bottle and a steak dinner with lobster is 10 bucks!
Fourth and finally, is to move to a city in Costa Rica for at least the next 6 months, and get to know it the way I've gotten to know San Pedro. San Jose, is a far more metropolitan town, with art galleries, theaters, and real nightlife. I've been talking to the owners of a quiet artists house up in the hills above town, and it looks perfect for my needs! They are looking for someone to rent ASAP, but if they don't fill the vacancy, this is a very likely option.
Needless to say, I don't think I've ever been in a position where every decision I could make is such an exciting one!
And now some pictures I've come across during my research....
2 story house in the Beverly Hills of Costa Rica in the Escazu area.
Utila... if anyone is complaining about this town, they don't own a computer!
... and I'd still really like to get out into the jungle!
Yep... that's two inches of septic water in my bedroom! The water went sour
before I woke up or came through the door that way, and the whole place just reaked! I had to evacuate to a hotel as I prepared for the clean up, and am just now wrapping it up.
Apparently the tropical storm that hit Sat Pedro last week had such an incredible volume of rain, that the sand could no longer absorb the water and it started mini-floods like the one I had in my back yard! It came through the back door and ran straight through the apartment and to the front door. A trail of mud and goop left in it's wake.
I talked to two people who live in second story apartments who also got flooded! Apparently It's not so much that I was on the ground level, as it was, that the back door needed to be sandbagged. If the rain is coming at that volume and finds so much as a window crack, you can end up with inches on the floor!
The tiles in my bedroom came up, and added to the goopy mess throughout the apartment!
Signs and debri were all the way down the beach in every direction! Life preservers, and parts of boats were strewn as far in as front street!
A fallen palm in front of Big Daddy's nightclub.
The latice archway by Cecil's collapsed.
Straight down the beach all of the wires and plumbing that lead to the docks were left exposed. Let me tell you... there's nothing more unsettling then hearing an electric crackling noise coming from submerged pipes while you stand on wet sand!
My most disturbing find on my post-storm walk, was that the graveyard flooded! Moreover... that kids were swimming in the pools of water!!!!! (Don't worry, I told them to get out... and then bathe in bleach!)
So, after loosing a second and irreplaceable laptop a digital camera, some art, as well as the added expense of having to replace clothes, towels, and a weeks worth of hotel rooms, I am having second thoughts about staying for hurricane season. I am assesing my ability to safely make it through a "real" storm and will decide by July 1st if I will be coming home to Seattle by August 1st.
Feel free to chime in on what you think I should do!
I'm all ears!
At least I have art.
I made this illustration on a thin cement like board I found in somebodies hair. (I should warn you I'm going insane) I used oil paint which I don't usually use, and I don't know if it was the cement board or the oil or the combination, but the coloring process came out really nice. I used tea to stain the board, and it's much brighter in real life. The flash washed it out. You can't see the details in the picture so well or the vividness of the image... but I'm really happy with it!
- Mood:
artistic
Excuse me while I pull myself off the couch, unhook my brain from the laptop, and let you know how things have been going...
Slow.
Ok... goodbye... see you next entry.
No, no... I won't do that to you, and it's not all that bad! I'll just have to dig around into the minutia of daily life to make anything worth while to tell you about!
I recently heard someone at the coffee shop say "There isn't a lot to see in a small town, but it more then makes up for it, in what you hear." So true... so true.
Embellishments, exaggerations, and general hyperbole, that's what I have for you today my friend.
So the most exciting thing that happened since my last entry was getting stung by a jellyfish! A wholly unpleasant experience, I do not recommend.
That whole thing about putting vinegar on it? … um… yeah… that HURTS! Nobody tells you that?
It’s like the time I had my heart broken, and I had to be angry at somebody so I chose to direct my hate at all of the world’s song writers!
It’s not hard to explain, and everyone who’s ever had their heart broken knows how it feels!? It’s simply a pit in your stomach that won’t go away! You can’t eat, you can’t think, you’re just left with that damnable pit! Are there any songs about that pit? NO! All of those multitudes of love songs and not one of the bastards wrote a song about the pit!
Utterly useless.
Pouring vinegar on your jellyfish sting expecting it to help is like turning on the radio after a break up! You thought it was going to help… but it just makes it worse!
(Bastards!)
Mmm... there were some minor celebrations in town over the last couple of weeks, birthday parties, fund-raisers, and the like. I'm very fond of the first two pictures. One is Wet WIlies all streamered out for a fundraiser, and the second picture is a little local girls birthday party! There's just something about balloons in the tropics...
My mom wanted to see some pictures of my back yard, so this ones for you mom!
Keep in mind, that this was a solid wall of plants when I moved in! Every clear patch of sand, pile of coconuts, and bench or seating area, was made by my own two hands using things I found in the jungle!
There's a deck over the seating area, and I took all of the coconuts I found
in the yard, and piled them at the base as a centerpiece to the yard.
This is the archway I swathed through to the other side of the yard.
The jungle was so thick over there Gerrick the landlord, said
"don't even try"! So you know I had to.
And on the other side of the yard I made this little reading bench.
I share half of the back yard with my fantastic neighbor Saul and his girlfriend, and the landlord has some projects like a hot tub, a water barrel and a lot of wood that are piled over there. The wooden archway in the picture on the left is where the old well used to be.
We've got about four banana plants that are producing, and I've been trying to start some citrus but the soil is just too salty.
And that concludes our tour of the backyard!
Mmm... what else?
Oh yes! I'm now hosting a trivia night at my friend Richards bar, The Hideaway (formerly the Copacabana)! I can't work in Belize so I'm doing it for free, but I'm hoping it takes off so I can have a nice break to my week! God knows I need the socialization! Going from the city to a small town is a huge transition... and between the two of us... I think I might be getting weird! I tried asking around, but everyone who lives here is weird, so it's a bad litmus test? I'm hoping for some more house guests, so I can get an outside opinion!
Thats Richard in the blue. It's been a constant source of conversation
around the island that we're the same person, and I'm constantly attacked
for not remembering conversations I allegedly had with locals!
Richards brother Fredrick solved any confusion
by getting a mohawk, and I'm praying I don't have to resort to something
as drastic! Perhaps just a face tattoo with my name on it?
So these are some of the paintings I've been working on. The first one was the first experiment I did with using the local wood as canvas. Yes. That is a real seashell.
The octopus is on a long board and is still under construction.
That's Prince with a couple of croc paintings he commissioned. One is chickens being fed a croc, and the other is just the eyes popping out of the water.
The robot is a duplicate of the one I did for the Valentines Day fundraiser this year, and was commissioned by a friend back in the states.
And the last one is still under construction but a sample of the style in which I want to do a HUGE painting of! I'm thinking of a giant school of fish with all of them frowning but one who has a huge smile. I'm still searching for a piece of wood that will work.
I'm not sure how clearly you can see it in this picture, but we're right in the middle of a
serious 3 day downpour! We've had rolling black-outs, and up to 12 hours without electricity!
The Great Scott Lake outside my front door this morning!
But hey... when you're in the Caribbean and things are wet and dreary... there's always something to cheer you up...
MANGO ON A STICK!
It's the little things.
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
skotkik- The Inevitable Shark Meal
- now you know.
Syndicate
It's been my experience that it's a good idea in an army surplus store to calmly comply with any posted signs. You know they have a Howitzer behind the counter, so it's better to do as you're told!
I just wanted to buy a compass because I keep getting lost here...
That's all I wanted.
This is what I got...
A sweet older looking couple was chatting away behind the counter. The gentleman turns to me and says something to me in Greek. So I say... "Pardon me, I don't speak Greek."
To which he replies, "Nobody does, I just like to see peoples faces when I do."
Uh... OK... so you're a wizenhiemer... I get that... next...
Then I try to hand my bag to the kindly looking woman behind the counter and she looks at me like I'm crazy, then she quickly snatches the bag... she looks it over and then says, "I think I can get $50 bucks for this, will you take $3?" She smiles and then takes the bag!
Ha... OK... so they're cute! I like it!
I walk around the store and they have a lot of great stuff. Great boots at fair prices, fun little odds and ends, and some sweet hats! Sadly I have a gigantic melon and have to special order my hats from circus supply stores, so I move to the check-out counter with my compass, when the door swings open!
Standing there is a guy in a tuxedo.