Cabrito

I recently read on a blog that Cabrito is closing. Now that's a shame! I happened to be in New York (or Nueva York, more appropriately) last May fifth for the EU admissions test. After the test I walked Manhattan for a good two hours looking for that perfect spot to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. And I found it with Cabrito! They had shucked all their furniture and poured I don't know how many tons of sand on the floor, and had Mexican beer, tequila, and flautas specials. The sun was shining and I had a great afternoon there. Now, what's going to happen to the pink goat? And I guess I'll have to hang out at Fatty Cue, they're way closer, after all.

Brussels sprouts

After over a month in New York, with job hunting and house hunting and discovering a phenomenal city, I have a lot to write about, but for now I'll stick to Brussels sprouts. I was at the McCarren Park Farmers Market yesterday and picked up some super nice sprouts, and cooked them today in a marvelous way that I'd like to share. Together with some carrots, quartered onions, whole garlic cloves and chili peppers, I charred them in olive oil and butter, with some salt and paprika powder. Towards the end I added some Szechuan pepper. Served them on a bed of freekeh, boiled with salt and Old Bay seasoning. It was soo good, the sprouts melting in the mouth. Charring is the key here, way better than boiling or steaming them. Thanks to Brian for the suggestion, I was originally planning on just frying them. That came out of a great brunch at The Diner (where I had scrapple for the first time), with good conversations on food and restaurants.

As for New York, I'm loving every minute of it. Got a job recently, started last week as a Reporting Analyst for J.Crew. It's a temp job through an agency, but still great. Easy commute with two stops on the M line in the Greenwich Village, too.

Marketing myself

In today's competitive environment you have to market yourself. So far I've done that with business cards and a website. Now I'm adding search advertising:

Brooklyn bound, or Going home

Back in August, when I returned to Costa Rica after a month in Europe, the immigration officer in Miami, where I connected, was giving me the usual hard time. I had my travel document (which enables me to stay outside of US for up to two years without risking losing my permanent residency) and was passing through the US. After deliberating with his supervisor he eventually gave me the stamp and the wave, and sent me off with a "Welcome home". It was so nice to hear!

Maybe so nice that I now take heed. In less than two weeks I say goodbye to Costa Rica and move to New York. When I get there I'll be staying in a hostel for a few weeks, but once it's time to find a real home, I'm considering Brooklyn, hence the title. I don't have a job there yet, but am busy looking and will initially spend most of my time trying to get exposure to the job market. So if you know of anything please let me know!

It's sad to leave Costa Rica and Erin behind, I've had some seriously good times here, but at the end of the day I just didn't manage making a living here. However, I'm looking forward to be living in New York, the city I always said I would one day live in. Well, guess what!?

Latest reads

It's been a while, so here's a catch-up of what I've been reading the last months.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, Welcome to the Monkey House

Craig, a doorman at the Tam, was always reading and highly recommending him, and since I had only read his Slaughterhouse Five before I wanted to read some more. This is a great short story collection, from which I only knew about Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow from before, but it's a solid collection with lots of good stories in there.

Louis de Bernières, Birds Without Wings

I've read him before, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts and Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord, I believe, and really likes his style. This novel is set in Turkey and really captures the moods, geography, and history well (or at least so it feels like).

W Somerset Maugham, Collected Short Stories vol 1, 2, 4

As you perhaps can tell I really wanted to read some Somerset Maugham. He's great and the short story format really suits him. Excellent travel writing, it takes you away to wherever he is, be it Malaysia, India, or London. Three volumes of short stories (the library thankfully didn't have vol 3 or I'd read that, too), is a bit much to handle, though.

Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer

My first book by Miller. I had something completely different in mind, must have confused him with someone else, Nelson Algren perhaps, but I've read him so shouldn't be. I thought it was going to be more polished, but this is some pretty gritty stuff. Good book though!

Henry Miller, Black Spring

My library didn't have Tropic of Capricorn so I continued my Miller feast with this one. Don't really remember it to be honest, but I think it was good.

Henry Miller, The Colossus of Maroussi

The last book of Miller my library had so I snagged that as well. Great travel writing, really puts him up there with Ryszard Kapuściński, Bruce Chatwin, and Robert Byron.

Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

McCarthy as you know him, western style, set on the border (across and on both sides) between USA and Mexico. Tough guys with set minds and their adventures. Not as good as Blood Meridian or The Road, though.

Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing

The second installment of his Border Trilogy, unfortunately the library doesn't have the third, Cities of the Plain. Good read just like the first, but I fell pretty done with McCarthy at this point.

Elmore Leonard, Cuba Libre

Felt like I had heard of this so picked it up. Kind of fun, sort of like a western set in Cuba, good beach read I guess, but nothing to make fuss about.

Franz Kafka, In the Penal Colony

Ah, Kafka. I'm a big fan. Read anything he's written. This novel is short, too, so you'll have it done with in no-time.

Michael Chabon, Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Chose it much for the cover and for The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which I read a while back. Entertaining reading, all about the rise and fall of the comic world. Some nods to the greats like Stan Lee.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The First Circle

I first read Solzhenitsyn bumming around Greece, it was One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and have since read The Cancer Ward and The Gulag Archipelago (but not The Red Wheel, which is supposed to be good, has anyone read it?), and they have all been really good. The First Circle didn't disappoint. Well written in an engaging way he makes you feel for the prison inmates as well as the guards and the politicians that put them there.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables

I'm just going to come out and say it, Hawthorne is overrated. Sure, it was an OK book, had a few memorable passages, but all in all, not worthy the epitaph a classic. Which goes for his The Scarlet Letter as well, I think, even though it was ages since I read it and it was forced reading in school which tends to turn books into less desirable.

Bob Dylan, Chronicles, volume one

I've never been much for biographies, have nothing against them (as long as you care at least a bit about the person, of course, there are far too many b-list types out there with their memoirs, just like every president or prime minister has to have one these days), just never got into them. This is pretty good though, expected more from the writing but the topics are interesting and give a view of the sometimes troubled and doubting artist, all's not always well with the legends.

I keep plugging away at the library, I'm at S now. If you have better access to books than I do and are looking for book recommendations, I can recommend Flashlight Worthy, he has tons of good stuff for you.

The emotional roller coaster that is life

Last Thursday was my birthday, and what a great birthday it was! I felt so loved and special from my friends and family, thank you all for your congratulations and best wishes. Erin and Roshaney surprised with a princess cake, they had slaved over it for three days and it was absolutely yummy. Ben was visiting from Boston so the two of us first spent the day in San Jose checking out the sights. After champagne and cake at our place we went to Lubnan, a Lebanese place in San Jose, for dinner. "We" were the aforementioned along with Robert who came down from Monteverde and Shira. After dinner, a great table-spread of mezes, we were planning on going to Rapsodia, a lounge nearby, for some dancing, but it was completely dead and closing up. So instead we hopped a cab and went to El Pueblo, a labyrinth of bars and night clubs we had heard of but never visited. Sort of like Ios town. We ended the night with an impromptu dance party in our home. The day after me and Ben went to Jacó beach for two days, and by the time we came back Ren had joined from Argentina and the fun continued. Ben left yesterday, Rob today, and now we're back to more normal.

So today is your regular work day. I keep browsing for jobs and applying left and right. Today I found out I didn't make the cut for the EU administration program. I scored 35 out of 40 on their admissions test, and you needed 36 or better to have a chance. So that was a three-month process that ended in defeat, and also, I'm sad to say, disbelief. Because if I'm not even smart enough to work as an entry-level administrator in Brussels, how can I expect to be a top-tier Major Trend Analyst? And I'm not asking that to earn your pity, I really want to know.

Google Docs

I've been using Google Docs for years. I've found it very convenient when you don't have a "home" computer and are moving around a lot, physically and between work stations/computers. Everywhere you go, as long as there's an Internet connection, you have access to all your documents.

I have personal stuff in there, such as job applications, diplomas, unfinished poems and novels (OK, novel), party invitation lists and whatnot. I have public stuff in there, such as various reports and articles I have come across and found interesting.

And I don't have it backed up. Figured why? Google will take care of that.

But I had never anticipated this message:

We're sorry.

You can't access this spreadsheet because it is in violation of our Terms of service.

That's what I saw when I tried opening my Google spreadsheet called "Jobb", where I have stored ALL info about companies and organizations and their contact info and job sites, application processes and statuses, and more. There are hundreds of organizations and dozens of job applications tracked there.

And now it's gone? I can't open it, I can't download it. And why is it in violation of Google's Terms of service? Beats me.

It could be it's a temporary error, I hope and believe it is, but even so, might be time to reconsider my strategy here.

UPDATE: It was a bug and is now fixed, what a relief!

The geography of Gaza support

I'm struck with the geography of the recorded protests following the Israeli attack on the Ship to Gaza flotilla. With the notable exceptions of Turkey, Egypt, and the Philippines, all protests occur in western Europe, US and Canada, and Australia. That's it. Nothing in Central or South America, nothing (else) in Africa or Asia. Not sure of the significance here, but I'm sure there must be some.

May Day

Sometimes I forget where in the world I'm living, but yesterday I was reminded. Popped in to San Jose to catch a little May Day action; marches, speeches and concerts, and sitting in Plaza de la democracia I listen to a protest singer singing about uniting Central America into one country, while I look up at the green hills surounding the town. With vibes of Victor Jara and Mikael Viehe it really felt like I was in Central America at the time. Which I was.

Zenith

Last Thursday I got to experience the sun in zenith for the first time of my life! I was a bit nervous because the day was super cloudy, but around 1130 they opened up and the sun peeked out, just enough. Kind of a cool feeling, even though I obviously couldn't tell that the sun was in zenith, just kind of around there. And I couldn't tell the sun position on Thursday from Wednesday or Friday, but I knew it was in zenith and that was what mattered. Next time here is 27Aug, but then I will probably be in Sweden.

I used data from the US Naval Observatory to find the day and time, but there are more out there.

Green Sunset Festival

Went to a grassy field somewhere between San José and the airport this past Sunday. It was Green Sunset, a reggae festival. It sure was. Lots and lots of rasta, green-yellow-red, big-printed loose-fitting clothing, pot smoke and what have you when you have reggae. As a series of concerts it wasn't that great, far too long between the bands and the bands weren't that great. Neither was really Black Uhuru, the headliner, perhaps they should have folded eons ago, but it was nice to hear some old tunes. In terms of festival, though, it was pretty great. The sun was out in force, everybody were in a great mood, concession stands weren't overpriced, the veggie dish was great.

Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional

Last night I went to their second concert of the season. The evening concert was different from the earlier day one through the clothing of the musicians, now they were wearing the more traditional black tie. The program:

Giuseppe Mega, Director Invitado
Jens Lindemann, Trompetista

Schubert Sinfonía "Inconclusa" en si menor D 759
Haydn Concierto para trompeta en Mi bemol Mayor
Frank Proto Fantasía Carmen para trompeta y orquesta
Mendelssohn Sinfonía No. 4 Italiana Op.90

The concert started rather weak, I didn't agree with the pausation, it was as if Mega tried to deconstruct the symphony. But Lindemann is a showman and managed to bring it back. For Haydn, he came out in a red glittering smoking jacket, showing it off. After the break, when it was time for Proto, he came out on stage in a blue smoking jacket. I haven't heard of Proto before, and am not really a fan of variations, I'm more of a minimalist type, why say with ten notes what you can say with three? The ideal poem only consists of one word. Anyway, it was fun, and I think it was the first time I have partaken in a concert and the first time I've seen a spinning bass at a classical concert.

What happened was that to begin Proto, Lindemann stomp his foot and yelled Olé! Later on, he stomped his foot and pointed to the orchestra who then yelled Olé! So when he stomped his foot and pointed to the audience there wasn't much to do more than yell Olé! And after Proto, Lindemann came out, invited one of the first bass player to the front and jammed some jazz with him, where he then spun the bass. An old white-bearded, a little subdued old man, quite the thrill!

The last movement of Mendelssohn was superb, so at the end of the night Mega was forgiven for his deconstructivism, and the symphony was forgiven for their slip-ups.

This weekend is Red + Green Sunset Festival, today is world music and electronica and tomorrow reggae, from 2P and onwards, but the rain is coming down pretty heavy so I think I'll sit those out. Too bad, I was really looking forward to it.

What's in a name?

A whole lot, according to the Kabalarians, a Canadian group I first heard about a few weeks ago. Through March and April they offer a free name report, that tells you who you are and what you should do based on your name and birth date. Sounds like a horoscope but I've been amazed at the accuracy, so I urge you to go there and check it out for yourself.

My own report begins thus:

The name of Filip gives you a very idealistic nature. You find very few who live up to your high ideals; in fact, you do not yourself at all times. Your desire for peace and harmony causes you to withdraw from friction. You are quite reserved in many ways, and as a boy extremely sensitive and self conscious.

Judge for yourself...

Volcanoes and earthquakes

Erin and I celebrated Easter not only by going to church but also by visiting Volcan Poás. Really cloudy when we got there and the smoke welling up from the crater wasn't just sulphuric but obscured the view as well. But all of a sudden the wind changed and we got a beautiful and clear view of the volcano. We then went back over to a lake nearby, which we couldn't see the first time either, and lo and behold it was clear, too! Five hour bus rides for three hours in the park turned out to be well worth it. Just wish I would have brought a book.

And last week I felt my first earthquake! Just a small one, but sitting on the couch it all of a sudden it definitely started to shake, and did so for about ten seconds. Pretty exciting to feel the force of the earth like that!

Sports

There's been a lot of sports (again) in my life lately. Last week I caught Arsenal-Barcelona at my new favorite bar, La Embajada in San Jose. Great game, too bad Zlatan's two goals didn't make for a win. Unfortunately I missed the return but learned that Messi shot Barcelona to the semi-finals.

I followed up by going to the Costa Rican El Classico, La Liga-Saprissa, in Alajuela last Sunday. It was insane. I get there a little early and stand on one of the blocked off streets just like all other goers. Police everywhere. All of a sudden the police grab a rope and start herding us to - nowhere but another police line. What to do? I laugh in disbelief and make for the entrance. SvFF would have been pale had they seen what was going on inside. Fire works, torches, Bengal fires. To the point where the artificial turf caught fire and they had to break the game for ten minutes. At which point some fans throws in a bomb to the field which goes off with a really loud boom. And the game is even further delayed. La Liga, the Alajuela team, win by 1-0 and I don't stick around to see what happens next but book it to the bus station and go home.

And now baseball season is back! I found live feeds for the first Red Sox-Yankees game but didn't watch it, nice comeback I learned. The second game I intended to watch but couldn't find any feeds. So for the third I didn't take any chances but went to a sports bar in Escazu I didn't know existed. Good game albeit we lost in extra innings. And I met some Swedes there, that was a nice surprise!

Semana Santa

It is obvious that Costa Rica is more religious than either Sweden or USA, the only two other countries I have lived in for a significant period of time. I haven't had classes this week apart from Monday and Tuesday. Everybody are off work and have gone to the beach. Today I went out to run some errands, and all stores except for some grocery stores were closed, and will be so until Monday (which, however, isn't a holiday as it is in Sweden). No alcohol sales are allowed during this time, either. Tomorrow the city buses won't even run. The churches have about four masses a day from Ash Wednesday yesterday to Easter Sunday, and a lot of processions to go with them.

At the grocery store today I bought fish and bread, it felt very symbolic. And yesterday I got some candy, so Erin and I could have easter eggs. That, along with boiling some eggs, painting them, and then "picking" or perhaps "pecking", will be the Easter traditions I bring from Sweden. What are the traditions in the US, apart from gathering the family to a feast? I don't even know.

Thank you, US congress

Did my US taxes the other week and just got it approved by IRS. Apart from a few unsuccesful attempts to connect with my tax professional at H&R Block it was all online, quite easy and streamlined. They're not where they are in Sweden where you can do your taxes through a text from your cell phone but nonetheless. I just want to thank US congress for passing that stimulus package last year which gave me a $400 tax rebate as a "it pays to work" bill or something. Quite nice. Sorry to say that money for me probably won't be spent in the US though...

Yoga

So I finally made it to my first yoga class ever! It's a kundalini yoga that focuses on breathing so no "acrobatics" or even stretches, just breathing and some movements to go with it. It was really dificult but at the same time rewarding, it sort of felt good during and afterwards, so I think I'm going to go back for more. The instructor is Swedish, which makes it even better, right!?

Latest reads

Since joining the library I've taken to browse their shelves in alphabetical order. I'm now done through B, tomorrow I'll attack C. (How James Thurber snuck in there I have no idea...)

Louis de Bernieres, Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord

Ah yes, Latin magic realism, just the way I like it! The author have also written Corelli's Mandolin so he's not unheard of, although his name didn't ring a bell for me, I only picked it up due to the title, and I'm glad I did! Apparently he's written two more books in the same style, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman, both of which are now on my to read-list.

Reinaldo Arenas, The Ill-fated Peregrinations of Fray Servando

Another Latin magic realism, another book I picked off the title, although this author I have heard of. He's Cuban, and Javier Bardem played him in the biographical Before Night Falls, but although it's directed by Julian Schnabel I didn't find the movie very good. But his book is!

John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I remember hearing about this book a good while back but then I completely forgot about it. Set in Savannah, it depicts life in a town that doesn't want to concern itself with its surroundings, and that necessarily leads to inbreed, belly button-watching and provincial insularity (tautology?). In other words, not a world in which I would like to partake, but very enjoyable to read about!

James Thurber, The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze

A short story collection from the 50s or so, supposedly funny, but I think humor has changed a bit since. Some of the stories made me chuckle, one outright laugh, but too many left me too empty for it to be worthwhile.

St. Patrick's day

I realized the other day that St. Patrick's day is coming up (March 17 for those of you who don't know, i.e. this coming Wednesday) and I promptly started searching for Irish bars in the area; there are always Irish bars in the area, no matter what area, e.g. I found one in Cuzco or some other high altitude town in Peru. So of course I found one in Escazu! It's The Pub (original name, huh?), and that's where we're going on Wednesday. Robert is coming down from Monteverde, not for that but because he has a meeting in San Jose that day, and maybe I can get my school mates to go, too, although they're Swiss and Danish. Would be fun to get a group going. I'm crossing my fingers for corned beef and cabbage, but will settle for bangers and mash or shepherd's pie.

Routines and rituals

I am not a big fan of routines, I prefer to spice up the life with a little change now and then. I don't want to clean the house the same day every week, or eat the same thing for breakfast every day (although I usually do...), or stick to a strict workout schedule.

However, I am a big fan of rituals. Like reading the New Yorker with my morning coffee before starting the day, or back in Boston, having happy hour beers on Fridays at work before heading over to the Tam, no matter what the rest of the evening and weekend had in store.

But the more I think about it; what's the difference between a routine and a ritual, really? It seems to me that I put boring stuff under routines and fun stuff under rituals, but surely there must be a more profound difference than that?

Pico Blanco

Towering over Escazu are three or so hill tops and Pico Blanco is one of them. Today after Spanish classes I hiked it with my school mates (have all of two!) and one of the brothers in the family running the school. The others didn't want to go to the top and since I didn't want to make them wait too long and while the sun was starting to set I pretty much jogged the last part and boy am I beat now. According to the web, Pico Blanco is 2276 meters and we started out at about 1420 meters, which would make it about 800 meters of altitude but I'm really sceptical about that, those peaks don't seem so high from here at all. Regardless, it was a great hike and I really enjoy it up there, you get some great views of Escazu and San Jose, and on clear days (not today unfortunately) you can see four volcanoes and the Pacific coast.

My new address

Went to the post office today to get a postbox; when I first went in January they didn't have any available so they asked me to come back early March. At first they didn't have any now either, but then it turned out that they had available boxes, just no locks! So I went to the hardware store and bought one and then it worked fine!

Apdo. postal 1250-19-10201
Escazú, San José
Costa Rica

Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional

This past weekend the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional opened their season at Teatro Nacional. I went on Sunday with Robert, Erin, and Tommy, and had a great experience. How can you not with this program:

Chosei Komatsu, D. Titular
Roger Wright, pianista

Tchaikovsky, Polonesa de Eugene Onegin
Rachmaninoff, Concierto para piano Nº 2 en do menor Op.18
Smetana, Tres danzas de La novia Vendida
Rimsky-Korsakov Capricho Español

This piano concert by Rachmaninoff is one of my favorites and Roger Wright was great on the piano, even though I noticed a few slip-ups. The setting was a little bit more relaxed then I'm used to from BSO and concerts in Sweden and rest of Europe. The musicians didn't wear any jackets, only white shirts, some of them short-sleeved, and Komatsu wore a white tux.

Lots of gringos/expats in the audience and far from sold out, I take it classical music isn't that big here. But tickets are cheap and I will definitely come back again during the season.

My one percent

Every year I donate one percent of my net salary to people or organizations that I feel need it the most. For 2009 it was a no-brainer after the earthquake struck Haiti, my money went to the UN Foundation's Help the UN Help Haiti who I believe do a good job over there.

Pine

There's a distinct smell of pine in the house now. I've for a short period of time become a something of a hobby carpenter, made some shelves for the living room last week, and yesterday I built myself a platform for my bed. It smells like sleeping in the woods, for a couple of days at least...

Live TV

We don't have a TV. Erin has a projector and I a DVD player, between them and the stereo we get a decent movie hall, so don't really need a TV. If for anything it would be news and programs in Spanish to practice, well, Spanish.

And then you have the occasional event when it would be cool to be able to watch TV, such as the Winter Olympics. So I was happy to completely randomly come across website ATDHE.net which streams live TV; Olympics but also "normal" channels. Not sure how it works money-wise, but I'm happy as long as the site is up. Through it, I caught the Swedish gold in women's curling, and I just finished watching USA-Canada in the men's ice hockey gold match. Just wished Sweden would have partaken in that. Not even live TV streaming online can help me with that.

Bocas del Toro

Two weeks ago I once again took the bus over to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side. At the bus terminal I joined with Erin and Tommy who were returning from Mal Pais. We spent two nights in Puerto Viejo, chilling, hanging out at the beach and visiting Jim. After that we went over to Panama and headed over to Bocas del Toro, which is a group of islands on the Caribbean side close to Costa Rica. It was time for Erin to do a visa run and I've always wanted to see Bocas since I came here so I joined even though my time wasn't quite up. We spent three nights there, as you have to be out of Costa Rica three days every 90 days to renew your visa.

We stayed in a great self-sustained (when it came to water and electricity) eco lodge on the main island (Colon), 15 minutes or so outside of Bocas, the main town. One day we took a boat over to one of the other bigger islands, Bastimentos, and tried surfing. I'm going to blame it all on the surf, teacher and board for me not getting up that day... Or rather, I either caught a wave or I got up, but never both at the same time. Oh well, there'll be more chances. I think I bruised a rib though, because up until two days ago it really hurt and now it only kind of hurts. Nice to be able to sneeze without fear of pain, and nice to be able to sleep on that side.

The next day the weather was pretty bleak, so I opted to stay in the hammock reading a book (Foundation Trilogy) listening to the waves crash in on the bluff, while Erin and Tommy hit the town. But we were lucky enough to get to Bocas while they had their carnival, so in the evening we all went in. We were joined by a Canadian couple that were great traveling companions and stayed out pretty late.

Before I knew it time was up and we made our way back to the mainland to catch the bus back to San Jose. Not Tommy though, he slept in and stayed for another five or so days. We had a nice little experience at the border; everybody have to leave the bus and cross the rinky-dink bridge by foot and get stamped out of Panama and in to Costa Rica. Well on that (the CR) side we were after a half hour or so of waiting met with a power outage so the immigrations officials couldn't do anything, so there we stood for four hours while the line grew longer and longer... Luckily (?) we were second in line, so once power was back on it went fast. The whole bus trip were supposed to have taken 5.5 hours, but it took us 6.5 hours at the border... But it was Sunday and I didn't have Spanish class until Monday so wasn't in a hurry, and neither was Erin, so it just makes for a good travel story, right?

Bocas was great and I wish I would have stayed longer, there are more islands and beaches to explore. With a functioning border it's only 7-8 hours door to island though, so it might happen again in the future!

Latest reads

Isaac Asimov, Foundation Trilogy

At my first visit to the Lexicon Library, I was allowed to borrow two books. Along with Middlesex I snagged the Foundation Trilogy, figured it was about time to figure out what it was all about. I'm generally not a sci-fi fan, but this was a great read! A plot very well crafted and Asimov doesn't inundate the reader with fancy future sci-fi stuff but "keeps it real", if you pardon. A question to my readers, though, I realized he later wrote more books about the Foundation, the sequels Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth, and the prequels Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation; have you read them and are they worthwhile?

The Dhammapada, introduced by Eknath Easwaran

To me the Dhammapada is the second greatest philosophical/religious text, second only to Tao Te Ching, and is always great to reread. This particular edition is introduced by Eknath Easwaran, and he does a great job introducing the concepts and thoughts prior to each chapter and it's highly recommended.

Latest reads

It's been a while since I last listed what I've been reading. I believe the below list is complete. I'll be mixing Swedish and English in this post since I've been mixing Swedish and English literature.

Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States

Good timing on this one I guess since Mr. Zinn passed away last month. It's a great book by a great intellectual and a must-read for anyone wanting to understand US history and policy. I wasn't aware, but I understand now that it's required reading in a lot of US high schools and colleges. Essentially it puts US history on its head by taking a bottom-up rather than a traditional top-down approach.

Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union

I was on the airport last fall and needed a read, had heard about this so picked it up. It's a fun read taking place in a the Federal District of Sitka, a place in Alaska that came about because Israel didn't. So the setting is a parallel history approach, and it takes off from there on a wild ride before the Reversion - after 60 years the district is to be no more and most inhabitants (Jewish of course) are looking for solutions.

Mario Vargas Llosa, The Bad Girl

I picked this up on the same trip. Had never heard of the book before, but have read him before (The Feast of the Goat) and like him. The book was a bit odd, a love story spanning four decades and three continents but quite enjoyable.

Carl-Henrik Wijkmark, Stundande natten

Julklapp från mamma och pappa, själv har jag inte hört talas om varken bok eller författare, i varje fall vad jag minns, vilket kan tyckas lite dåligt då han gett ut tolv böcker innan denna. Den handlar om döden men lyckas ändå vara livsbejakande, och det är väl ett gott omdöme? Bra bok.

Erik Andersson, Den larmande hopens dal

Samma här, julklapp som jag tidigare inte hört talas om. Den här var dock inget bra, bara ett stort "jaha, och?" lämnade mig när jag lade den ifrån mig.

Klas Östergren, Tre porträtt

Micke var snäll nog att lämna den kvar när han åkte tillbaka till Sverige i januari och jag var inte sen att plocka upp den. Gillar Klas Östergren och hans Gentlemän och Gangsters. Den här var inte i samma kaliber, men väl värd att läsas.

Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex

Emily read it when she was here visiting and I had heard a lot of buzz about it on the lit blogs I follow. She couldn't leave it behind, but I just joined an English library here (highly recommended if you by an off chance live here in Escazu or San Jose) and picked it up there. I generally don't like immigration stories, feel I've read enough of them (e.g. Wilhelm Moberg and Chris Castellani) already, and didn't particularly like that side of the story here. But there's another side, which is that of the narrator being a hermaphrodite and the challenges it poses, which I liked a lot better. Kudos also for the prose, the description of the assembly line work is spot-on (I imagine, although I've worked on the line in a factory I've never worked on an assembly line per se).

Cooking

Both me and Erin enjoy cooking, which is great, rarely if ever do we succumb to fast food or other food shortcuts. Amongst many things she makes amazing pizza (or made, as we don't have an oven here in Escazu) and guacamole. For my own cooking, I've found it's changed in three ways since moving here:

1. Beans and lentils
   I enjoyed beans and lentils before, but rarely took the time to soak and cook them why I never really used them in my cooking. Here, since I'm not working, I'm home more and have and take the time to do this and use them in cooking. They're all great, but I tend to gravitate towards chickpeas, black and red beans, and green lentils. Fava beans are a particular favorite but they're not as prevalent here.
   
2. Mixing flavors
   I was very old-school salt and pepper before, but now I mix things up way more, with sweet, sour and spicy in a single dish. Much more honey, ginger, lime juice (or lemon since we have a lemon tree) and various hot peppers make it into the dishes.
   
3. Fruit
   Almost never before part of my cooking, I now enjoy fruits like mangoes and raisins (close enough) in various dishes.

Like today, when I made an aubergine, mushroom and onion stirfry and served it with rice and an avocado and mango salsa. Yum!

Do I have an aura of "no"?

I had a dream last night where I was assessed by some guy. After looking at me for a while he spurted "You have an aura of 'no'". Do I? Please vote in the poll above!

UPDATE: Poll is closed and No came in on top with 80% followed by 20% yes. I have some work to do but all hope is not lost I guess.

Superbowl and elections

The onside kick to start the second half was pretty daring and impressive. That, along with the fourth quarter interception that lead to the 14-point lead pretty much did it for the Saints. Good, as I didn't want the Colts to win.

I watched the game at Players, a sports bar inside Hotel White House. The directions said 600 meters south of the cemetery so I walked to the cemetery and then south. Unfortunately I had the wrong cemetery so what should have been a 15 minute walk became an hour and a half. Oh well.

That gave me the opportunity to watch the hullabaloo surrounding today's general elections. General as in both presidential and parliamentary. Everybody were out on the streets, walking, standing or in their cars, showing the colors of their candidate's party, shouting, honking, chanting. Quite the scene, and completely different from any election I've experienced in Sweden or in the US.

Half an hour ago Laura Chinchilla of the incumbent party declared victory, making her the first woman president of Costa Rica. That was pretty much history in the making I was witnessing.

Breaking the Silence coming to Boston

hi there,

I'm writing to the people who attended the Breaking the Silence exhibit at the Harvard Hillel two years ago.  (hopefully this is reaching only Boston folks ;)  They're coming to the U.S. in late February, and I wanted to let you know about it.  These are 2 evening events; they're working on daytime events at Tufts and the Hebrew College.  I'll attach one flyer, and if you're able to print it and pass it out, that would be great!

Abby

Breaking the Silence:
Israeli soldiers speaking on the moral price of occupation
Highlighting the Experience of Female Soldiers

Tuesday, Feb 23, 7-9pm  
Congregation Eitz Chayim
136 Magazine Street, Cambridge, MA
 
Wednesday, Feb 24  7-9pm
Temple Hillel B'nai Torah
120 Corey Street, West Roxbury

 

Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers who served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.  The soldiers were witness to, and participated in, military actions which changed them immensely. Dana Golan, veteran IDF lieutenant, is the executive director of Breaking the Silence.  She will present a talk based on interviews with female IDF soldiers about their experiences in the Occupied Territories.  Join us for this unique opportunity to hear the perspective of female IDF soldiers.

 

Breaking the Silence believes that "every Israeli citizen must know what is being done in his/her name in the Occupied Territories."  

For more information:  http://www.shovrimshtika.org/

Donations welcome to support the work of Breaking the Silence

February 23^rd  sponsored by:   Congregation Eitz Chayim and  New Israel Fund

February 24^th sponsored by:    Boston Workmen's Circle, Temple Hillel B'nai Torah, and New Israel Fund   

 

Individuals who wish to carpool or who can offer a ride to West Roxbury,

 please contact Nicole:  nicole_simon@mail.harvard.edu

 

Temple Hillel B'nai Torah is wheelchair accessible.

Holidays in the tropics

This winter wasn't the first time I spent Christmas away from Sweden or even my family, but it was the first time I spent Christmas in warm climate. It was weird but great! Me and Erin went to Montezuma on the Nicoya peninsula for six days. Or, it was supposed to have been six days, and it was for Erin, but thanks to USAir and my difficulties getting down here I only got four, and that was only because we extended it one day. We were joined by Christna, a German girl I met on the ferry over. On Christmas Eve we hiked up to the local waterfall for a refreshing swim. In the evening Erin had made reservations at Ylang-Ylang, a fancy beach resort, where we had a scrumptious buffet dinner. Almost like a smorgasbord! Afterwards we relaxed on the beach by a bonfire, where I danced "Små grodorna" and other select Christmas songs/dances, to Erin's and Christina's delight.

Christmas Day was as beautiful as the previous day and we took a boat tour out to Tortuga Island for some snorkeling and beach time. Simply great, although the reef where we snorkeled was small with limited fish sightings. For dinner, we went out to a fabulous restaurang called Playa de los Artistes, where we dined sitting on pillows on the ground next to the swells of the ocean, with only candles and lanterns lighting our table. Super good food, too!


After that it was back to the relative cold of Monteverde. For New Year's, we had dinner at Sofia's, a latin fusion restaurant that's very good, and then we went out to the two local bars, Bar Amigos and La Taberna. We met some people we knew and it was in general fun times!

Visitors!

The last few weeks have seen a lot of visitors! Mikael and Bengt did the right thing spending two weeks here, first coming to visit us in Monteverde, and then taking off for some kite surfing in Bahia Salinas while we regrouped in San Jose so they got to see that, too. In between I spent a few days with them in Puerto Viejo, a great beach town on the Caribbean side and soaked up some sun. We also went white water rafting which is always fun.


While they were in Bahia Salinas, Aimee and her boyfriend Matt came to visit and thus became the first visitors in San Jose. We toured the big city and hung out in our house before they continued down to Manuel Antonio.

Lastly, Emily and Joe came to visit the other day. They spent a day here before we all traveled up to Arenal to see the volcano and soak in the hot springs. We were lucky with the weather and managed to get a full and clear view of the volcano. No lava, rocks or rumblings, though. After coming back to San Jose for a few days they continued to Puerto Viejo where we'll soon meet up for a day.

The move to the city

Yes, it's been awhile... In the interim we packed our bags and moved from Monteverde to San Antonio de Escazu, a suburb of San Jose. It's great to be in civilization again! We got here Saturday of last week, so the 16th, and have since had lots of visitors, so haven't really been here much or spent much time on the computer while I've been here. But we have "real" internet now so should be online more often, especially after we upgrade our DSL which is a work in progress. Everything is a work in progress here, I've realized. Such as the PO box which I went to get this morning. They're full so we'll have to wait until March. In the interim you can use our home address for all the letters and postcards you've been dying to send! Address, along with new phone number, at the bottom.



The house is a lovely, colorful Tico style house in San Antonio de Escazu. Escazu is a suburb of San Jose and set on a hillside. It consists of three parts, of which San Antonio is the topmost. Makes for good exercise when you're not taking the bus! It's a two bedroom with a kitchen, living room and a great garden which we'll try and make even greater in the coming weeks and months. So far it's a bit sparsely furnished, but we aim to make it more cozy in the near future.




Del costado este de la Iglesia Catolica de San Antonio de Escazu 350m al norte, 150m al este y 150m al norte, Casa #44, diagonal al Centro Comunal de la Urbanizacion la Avellana.
10202 San Antonio de Escazu, San Jose
Costa Rica


And phone number is: +506 2288 4656