Ang's Journal

Alan & I got back home on Thursday from our delayed honeymoon to Costa Rica. We spent four nights in Tamarindo & three nights in Playa del Coco. Overall, the trip was good but not great, in large part because Alan got traveler's diarrhea at the end of our time in Tamarindo & is only feeling better today.

My highlights from the trip:

• We went on a snorkeling trip on a catamaran that left from the harbor at Tamarindo. The snorkeling was unremarkable, but the trip became an impromptu whale-watching trip on the way home when we encountered a humpback whale. Alan had never seen a whale before & the look on his face paid for the whole trip.
  
• On our last day at the beach in Playa del Coco, I was swimming laps to a platform anchored off-shore when I started talking to an older Canadian gentleman. His name was Robin Lajoie & he is a world-record holder for long-distance butterfly. We talked for a little bit while sitting on the platform & then he casually mentioned that there was a shipwreck located about a quarter-mile further out from the platform & would I like to go free-drive around the wreck?
  
  UM HELL YES
  
  We swam out there & had the place to ourselves (because, half-mile swim to get there). There were thousands of fish & the wreck sat in about 20-25 ft of water. I had so much fun that I kept coming to the surface, floating on my back, & just laughing into the sky.
  
• In general, the food was delicious. Lots of seafood & tropical fruits, obviously, but there was also a lot of incredible beef. Also, fried plantains. I love fried plantains to an incredible degree & I ate some every day, nearly with every meal.

I want to capture some thoughts on how I can improve future travels:

• Get a backpack to use as a suitcase. Currently, I have a gigantic Samsonite suitcase. I always end up overpacking because the darn thing is just so big. Then I end up hauling a 45+ pound suitcase all over the place, because if it fits, I pack it.
  
• Do your research. I have gotten lazy about researching places before visiting, telling myself that I want to be "open to experiences" or "relaxing, not checking off tasks". But I have taken this too far. On this trip, I would've been very well-served to do more research on destinations (which hopefully would've had us avoiding Tamarindo) & things to do. I'm not saying this wasn't a fun & relaxing vacation, but we also left a lot of experiences un-experienced. Alan says we should've done more research TOGETHER, because different people will think of different questions & have different priorities.
  
• Be incognito. I learned from a travel blog (too late to help on this trip) that it is a good idea to do all your travel research & bookings while browsing incognito. Apparently, many travel websites (including AirBnB) change their offered prices based on your browsing history.
  
• Get more diverse. We booked stays in two beach towns, back-to-back. While we did end up liking one a lot more than the other (Playa del Coco >>> Tamarindo) it would've been even better to have had a few days inland in the cloud forest/mountains.
  
• Put more thought into transport. We didn't rent a car & I think that was the right decision (driving in CR is a little wild), but once we got to our AirBnBs, we were kinda stuck there because we had done zero research on buses, taxis, etc.

Since I chose the country for this trip, Alan gets to choose the next destination. He has selected ICELAND. September 2025, bitches!

ON AWAKENING is a well-known passage from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (pp. 86-87):

"On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives.

In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while.

What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes a working part of the mind. Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it."

Two paragraphs further, the Big Book says: "If circumstances warrant, we ask our wives or friends to join us in morning meditation. If we belong to a religious denomination which requires a definite morning devotion, we attend to that also. If not members of religious bodies, we sometimes select and memorize a few set prayers which emphasize the principles we have been discussing. There are many helpful books also. Suggestions about these may be obtained from one's priest, minister, or rabbi. Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they offer."

I would like to either find or - if necessary - found an AA group that meets in the morning (via Zoom) & goes through this passage as a meditation. There are a couple of meditations available on Insight Timer that use it, but I have been unable to establish a habit of using them by myself. I envision a meeting where we do opening stuff (Serenity Prayer, introductions, newcomers, chip takers) & then a brief introduction to the meditation.

We will now read On Awakening from pp. 86-87 of the Big Book. After each sentence, we will pause so that you can think about your day & ask your Higher Power for guidance. We encourage you to write down your thoughts as we read & reflect, if you find that helpful. Following the reading, we will open the floor to discussion about our plans for the day or any other recovery-related topic.

15 sentences... maybe 30 seconds pause between each? That would end up being about a 10-minute meditation. Say five minutes for introductory stuff & two minutes for closing, that leaves a solid 40+ minutes for discussion.

We might also break up the discussion at about the halfway mark by having someone read the Daily Reflection (& that's a good time to remind people about a Venmo code for donations).

Close with the Third Step Prayer.

music link

Today I decided that I want to work out every single day for the next six months. February 20 to August 20 is 181 days. Today is Day 1.

Swimming / Carla Madison Recreation Center

WU 300 free easy ~6:00

300 yards 6:00

12 x 75 kick/swim/kick with fins
Fly/back/free by 75 1:30 (in on ~1:05-1:08) (could probably do a 1:20)

900 yards 18:00

5 x 200 free swim 3:40 (in on ~3:10) (could probably do a 3:30)

1,000 yards 18:20

WD 200 easy

200 yards ~5:00

Total workout: 2,400 yards ~48 minutes. Not great, but not bad! Lots of fins in that though.

Everything dries so QUICKLY here. Seriously, jeans are dry in two hours, max.



I hope that, once we buy a house, we will be able to install a rooftop photovoltaic solar array. Until then, we will use older technologies.

1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?

I love snow. I love cold weather. But honestly, I have neither at the moment. Apparently, it rarely snows in Edinburgh - winter features more slush & sleet & cold, cold rain. Boo.

2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?

Ideal Christmas celebration ... well, Stacy tells me she's never missed a Christmas at home, so I guess we'd spend Christmas with her family. But an ideal holiday celebration would involve seeing my family, too. Trying to mentally work out the logistics of making that happen makes my head hurt. Of course, any ideal celebration would wrap up with a trip up to Ithaca for Hive New Year. So this year is going to be pretty darn far from ideal, but it will be fun nonetheless.

3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?

No unusual ones. Church on Christmas Eve, then come home & open one present. Christmas morning, get up, eat breakfast while opening presents. Sing lots of Christmas carols (with my sister-in-law playing the piano & my brother playing the guitar). Eat a big meal. Watch lots of football on TV.

4. Do you do anything to help the needy?

Not particularly at Christmas, but throughout the year I'm involved in charity work (MANNA) & I donate money.

5. What one gift would you like for yourself?

This year? Clothes. Bought for me by someone with style.

I'm leaving South Carolina this Thursday (July 10th). That will exactly one month after I got here. Mom, while not thrilled about this, has acquiesced. Basically, I told her I was homesick & that I felt she was doing well enough to manage without me. I presented my schedule as a fact, & she didn't argue. So all that strategizing was for naught.

I'm trying a different route home, so as to avoid I-85, the Most Boring Interstate Ever. This new route is also a bit shorter (640 miles, according to Mapquest). I can't WAIT to go!!

So, should I tell Stacy my leave date, or just show up on Thursday night?

OK, with the New Plan in place for the summer, I suddenly have a metric shitload of things to get done before the NEW leave date, tentatively set for June 9th:

( List of Things To Do )