Stretch Your Life
May 12, 2008
I went for a swim in the pool yesterday, after filling and vacuuming. I think I’ll swim every day, whether I want to or not, just because of all the work I had to put into it.
I thought I was becoming more Tico. In fact, I am, but the process is not complete, yet. I figured I was ready to accept all setbacks, regardless of cause. For example, lies, stupidity, theft, negligence, corruption, petty little power trips like the people in all governments like to pull. In short, I was ready to deal with life, with a new, calmer, better outlook. Wrong.
I got mad at the ICE office when the guy told me Carlos had to be there to change the service into my name. I told him two other people, one in the same office, had assured me he didn’t need to. I said one of them must be lying, and that I was sorry I was mad, I knew it wouldn’t help, I didn’t even care if I changed the name or not, really, but anyway, I was mad.
I got mad at the RTV (raytayvy), the yearly safety. They said the alignment on my car was out. Remember, I had just got all that work on the front end done? Including an alignment? It’s lucky for me that I have friend as strong-willed as Jose. We argue heatedly about how to do stuff, but one always listens to the other. And we always laugh at the results, right or wrong. Today, I went to Canas for my re-safety. They give you a month to come back with the problem fixed. The plan was to wait until 8 a.m. to phone RTV and find out if I needed an appointment for the re-test. Jose didn’t think I should phone, we were going right by anyway. I figured it would save time phoning, and if I needed an appointment, and couldn’t get one, I would just go to the bank in Miramar, and save Canas for another day. Well we had a little trouble getting through, so I agreed to go.
He insisted we stop at the Yamaha store to see about parts for his bike on the way. I gave up hurrying, and had a snack and a coffee. When he came out, I explained that if we were going to stop in anyway, I would have left early. I wanted to get to the bank as early as possible because the line grows all day, and the line at the parts store, would be the same on the way home. He began to understand.
We stopped at the RTV, and, yes, we needed an appointment, but they could squeeze us in. By the time I got to the bank, it was 9:15, and it was full. I asked the guard where to go for a cash advance on my credit card, and he said the main desk. Now, the Banco Nacional here has three separate systems that I have run into, that they use in different branches, so you always have to ask the guard. After waiting in that line, I discovered he was wrong, and went and took a ticket for the other line, about 95 numbers away from the one being served. It was 11:45 before I got out of the bank. I was mad about that too, and only felt better after making Jose give up his argument and admit I was right.
Next, it was off to the alignment shop, where the work took about an hour, and cost about $32. We had a nice lunch while we waited, and drove to the RTV, about 5 km., for the re-test. I failed again. I got mad again. We went back and I had a couple of beers this time while I waited. When he was done, the mechanic showed me on the computer screen, with a detailed explanation, that it was well within the limits, and in fact, perfect on some specs. Well, it passed this time, and we headed home. I guess the only way I’m really becoming more Tico, is that I’m late for more things. And maybe I calm down faster.
We still had one more errand to run. Linda wanted a desk for the office in the new house. Jim, around the corner had a nice one built in a corner. It is rustic, but attractive. I was going to get the same guy to build it, but he has taken ill and is unable to work. I talked to Jose about it, and we figured we could build it. I drew up a plan, and talked to Mike and Jose about our options, and decided we would try to find some nice wood for the top, get a local shop to finish it, and build a functional frame underneath.
Jose and his brother go to Sardinal hiking in the mountains with a couple of their friends. They say they are deer hunting because they carry rifles, and would like to shoot one, but they haven’t, yet. Jose saw some nice wood in Carlos’ driveway. Carlos is a neighbour of his friend in Sardinal. One Sunday, I believe three weeks ago, he took a drive up to talk about it. He made numerous phone calls, and another solo trip. I drove him up once, and waited in a bar while he walked around the corner to talk to the guy. I did that before, when I was younger, but I wasn’t trying to buy wood. This Saturday, past, we went to a different bar, down a gravel road, about a mile east of Sardinal, and looked at his wood in the dark. In a country where many of the large, old trees have been cut for lumber or to clear farmland, he got a tree that couldn’t be used for lumber, and for example, made a one piece table, including the six legs, that would be about ten or eleven feet long, and six feet wide. It has a hole in the middle that reduced it’s value as lumber, but would allow for expansion and prevent cracking of this magnificent piece of Guanacaste. He had stacks of heart shaped “biscuits” of wood about three feet in diameter, and slabs 24 to 30 inch wide by 1 to 3 inches thick 100 inches and longer. All Guanacaste. One brother, Luis, does the chainsaw work, and the other brother, Marvin makes it into furniture. The bar is furnished with their handywork, and it’s excellent.
When we had finished walking through the yard, I offered Luis a beer. That was the best thing I could have done. He enjoys beer as much as I do, and Jose drank Coke, while they talked some more about the wood, and quite a bit about me. He wasn’t going to sell this stuff to just anyone, and he wanted to know what I planned to do with it. He reminded us that it was more valuable to his family as furniture, and they didn’t usually sell wood. While we sat with him, most people in the bar came over and said hi to him. Everyone shook our hands as he introduced us as his new friends, and a few sat down to drink with us, buying rounds for everyone. I noticed the ones who sat at our table, two guys one time, and one guy the other, were drinking soft drinks. Talk seemed to be about lumber, and one guy paid him quite a bit, so it was obviously his bar and lumber business, and we were associating with the biggest guy, certainly family, in the neighbourhood.
After a few hours of drinking, he deemed me acceptable, and the deal was closed. I never heard them talk money, but apparently he gave Jose a ball park figure. We agreed to return today to pick out the two pieces I wanted, so we went there directly from Canas. Louis grandmother told us he had to go to Puntarenas for an emergency.. Jose has talked to and probably met ten of the family, I have met seven. Fortunate too, because she thought Marvin was in Sardinal, so we went and found him. He took us out to the bar, where I selected two beautiful one inch slabs, and we drove to another brother’s house, because Marvin didn’t know the price, or have a tape because he does the furniture.
We finally got home, almost twelve hours later. Life certainly gets stretched out here!