Home sweet ... Costa Rica

So after almost two months visiting my friends and family in California I am now back in Costa Rica. I definitely had a great trip "home" and it was hard for me to leave. I missed my mom and my black lab, Gus, even before I had touched down in Tico-land. And even though I missed my friends and "tica-families" here when I was back home in CA, I am definitely having mixed feelings about being here. It was amazing having two of my best Costa Rican friends pick me up at the airport and take me out for dinner, but seeing them made me realize I was here...and no longer home. And yet...I am home. I was happy to get back to my apartment and start cleaning and settling myself back in. When I'm here, I miss CA, when I'm in CA, I miss it here. When will I ever be happy?

It has been nice seeing everyone here again...just as it was seeing everyone in California. I've enjoyed cooking again and telling everyone the stories of being back home (although its generally quite short: I didn't do anything, I had no job and I don't have a car anymore...the end.) Quite sad. Anyway in the end I know I'll get settled back in, but part of me was left behind this time...a larger part than before.

Yesterday I found out that my classes don't begin the first week of February like I thought...scratch that...like I was TOLD...they only begin THE SECOND WEEK! That means I have another whole week to occupy myself before classes start. Another whole week to procrastinate getting my translation perfected. Another whole week to wonder every morning what the hell I'm going to be doing with myself that day. Maybe I should take this time to get settled in, get back into my running routine, keep cleaning, and....RELAX because I'll bet you ANYTHING this semester is going to be a killer.

The devil always gets you when you're down...

I swear it feels like just yesterday that I was in Las Vegas bringing in the new year with my little sister and one of her best friends...just yesterday I was standing there saying "Oh crap here we go, another year just beginning...another full 12 months to go through"...and then...BAM...its the middle of January. January 15 is only...3 hours away. What is this? Where are the years going? I was walking with my brother yesterday and he asked me where the Rams are now, I answered St. Louis, why? He said it was because there was a bumper sticker on a car that said the Los Angeles Rams but he knew that they weren't in Los Angeles anymore. I couldn't tell him when they moved but I said that car could be like 12 years old...and then I realized 12 years ago was only 1998 and that car was from waaaaay in the '80s I'm sure. Anyway the entire point of that story was to say when did the first decade of the 21 century pass? I rememeber my high school graduation like it was just a couple of years ago...being so excited to FINALLY be out and moving on to college. That was 6 years ago. I remember August of that year being so nervous and excited to move away from home thinking how long the next four years at Mars Hill would feel. And then, before I knew it, I had graduated. Almost two years ago now.

And as I sit here waiting for sleep to come over me (I should probably get off of the computer for that....) I think to myself that already in these 15 days of 2010, I have had one of the worst years I can remember. On January 1st I brought the new year in with a speeding ticket, which, thanks to the 1. overworked police department and 2. amount of speeders on the road will not be posted for around 21 days during which time I can do NOTHING to get it taken care of. Unfortunately I will be in Costa Rica when the time comes that they get around to establishing the fine and I have no way to go to court and argue that I really wasn't speeding and see if they will lower it. Anyway, lovely. Then a couple days later the computer that I had already sent into HP Technical Support for a major problem starts acting up again...WITH THE SAME DAMN PROBLEM. Of course I don't have to reiterate that I will be in Costa Rica in two days so couldn't send it BACK to HP for them to again, do nothing with it and hope the problem goes away by itself. And the worst of it all? I was selling the computer so I NEEDED it to be working 100%. So about 5 calls to tech support and 3 pit stops to repair centers later, no one could do a damn thing and it was I who came up with the idea of how to narrow the problem down and it will probably be....ME....who ends up fixing it. Got to love the support service system in the United States. Ok, well as if THAT isn't enough. I'm already tired, angry, upset, stressed, you name it, and I get in the car to go pick my mom up for lunch and BAM, not kidding, the car won't start. An hour earlier it was working just fine, not even a hint of a problem, and then just as if a light had been turned off, the car would not start. When I get frustrated I cry. And yesterday I must have cried for at least 6 of my waking hours. When life hands you lemons....

And here I am, one day later and I'm still really not over it. Sure I'm not crying, or frustrated, but it just makes me have to laugh...no it just amazes me, depresses me, you name it, to think that when one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. But then look at it from another angle. A friend of mine hit it on the nail: my year can only get better from here on out...my karma depends on it! :-)