Rough Draft Update

I am having trouble making the time to catch up with the last few months, so in the meantime, here is a quick update on what's been going on.

My relationship with Jessica came to an end.  Being that I spent a large amount of time at the horse farm, I found myself with a large amount of time to fill with other social activities.  I started going to Yoga again, first with Linda's class until she moved away with her family, then with Emiko whose class I enjoy very much.

Next, I started hanging out with a group of really fun people, and now attend a movie night where everyone votes on a movie.  About 15 people get together each week at the "party house" which is called that because it is large enough to accommodate everyone, and the movie is shown via projector on a wall.

I have participated in two ping-pong tournaments which I usually end up dead-last, but it is fun anyway. 

I joined a soccer team called the Diablos Azules two months ago, which consists of five gringos, three Panamanians, and two Colombians.  I haven't played a game of soccer since high school gym class, so needless to say, I had some work to do.  Unfortunately, I suffered an injury to my quad and found myself unable to make a kicking motion with my right leg, which is kind of sort of a requirement to play the game.  So, I gave up my spot and now I attend the games as a fan.  Panamanians take this league extremely seriously.  Just about the whole pueblo of Los Naranjos (the area of Boquete that the league plays in) comes out on Saturday and Sunday.  Last night, there were over 200 in attendance.  The Diablos Azules is the only team with North Americans, and has the ONLY female player in the entire league.  It is a spectacle to behold, and the spectators have begun routing for our team on occasion.  The other teams are amazing with their footwork, and we get outplayed just about every time, so I believe we are loved as the underdogs.  It is such a fun environment, and has really allowed all of us to connect with Panamanians we normally would not interact with.

Running has been a daily activity.  I logged 27 miles in one week three weeks ago, and not much less in weeks prior and after.

I went big-game fishing with my neighbor who owns a charter-fishing operation.   We left Boquete at 4am with a group of guys here, because the captain wanted to have a "fun day" for himself so he
charged us his cost ($125 each).  We fished all day, and at one point, had a 250 pound Yellowfin Tuna on. We had to switch fisherman seven times due to exhaustion, and after two hours, brought it to the
surface...while trying to drag it into the boat, it dove down and snapped the rod in half.  Devastating, but a story of the "one that got away" that we will always remember.  One guy on the boat caught a
near world record Red Snapper, and I caught a smaller one.  I'll post photos later.

I've been climbing a few times recently with Vivian (the female Columbian on the soccer team), Uriah, Chris, and Cesar.  It's great to be back on the rock.

Vivian teaches a class that I affectionately refer to as "the ass-kicking" because I imagine it is similar to what boot camp would be like.  It is an hour and a half of non-stop aerobics and resistance training.  The first time I went, I almost threw up about three times, and had to sit down twice because of dizziness.  I completed maybe 65% of the total exercises.  Now, I am able to complete about 90% with no feelings of barfing.

Last week,  I went to the beach with friends and tried stand-up paddle boarding for the first time.  Having surfed before, I picked up the balance and paddle motion pretty quickly.  It was flat water, so just for practice.  I hope to go again on waves very soon.

I have been going to the movies in David lately too with a group of friends.  My friend Shirley has a quick little car, and she loves it when I do the driving which is fine by me.  The movies are usually in English with Spanish subs.

At this moment in time, I have been nursing a lower back injury (no surprise given the amount of physical abuse I have been enduring) but it seems to be almost back to normal.

I had been living in a small casita in Santa Lucia behind my friend Stephen, but had to move out this month which was part of the deal.  Now, I am back to house sitting for a friend.  The place is beautiful and I don't have to do much but just be here at night, or arrange for the on-site worker to be here if I leave.  Pretty sweet gig, and it allows me to save $. 

I'm headed to Volcan today for two nights to explore because my friend has hotel vouchers that need to get used.  Maybe I will finally see a Quetzal.

"Do you ever work" must be on peoples' minds at this point.  The answer is yes.  I have three property management jobs going right now.  I just listed a $1.75M home in the most prestigious gated community in the area, and another $750k home.  I also just closed on a home I have had listed exclusively for two years.

Ok, I'll touch this up with photos later, and also try to catch up from my Wisconsin trip soon.