A Few Lists for Your Consideration

Some ordered, some unordered. Enjoy!

Half of a Weekend (or a Little More, Maybe)

January 23, 2009

• 5:05 PM Sunset run on the beach followed by ocean dip and drinks
• 6:00 PM Depart Tamarindo in 7/8 full Toyota Prado with one 40-ounce of Imperial
• 6:01 PM – 7:29 PM Pass around a million cars
• 7:30 PM Stop on side of street to buy two bottles of vino de coyol (palm wine) for $2 each
• 7:33 PM Stop on side of street 100m later para cenar at a tiny family restaurant
• 8:00 PM Discover that palm wine does not actually cause the advertised blindness
• 9:30 PM After some moderately difficult uphill dirt roads, discover at bar, with swim-up service and sign offering "Informacion de Monteverde," that we are actually still quite far away
• 9:33 PM Turn up nearly hidden dirt road next to church for 45-degree incline rocky dirty joy
• 9:45 PM As the road winds and climbs and climbs and climbs, begin somewhat nervous but mostly manic and joyful laughter. Increase volume on music.
• 10:15 PM After climb has leveled out, stop on ridge and turn off car lights to consider amazing vistas and stars and to pee.
• 10:55 PM Reach Santa Elena and Hotel de Sueños to reunite with Slepak of Safety 3rd fame
• 11:15 PM Head out into the nearly dead quiet Santa Elena to find a bar and a beer
• 12:00 PM Beer success! Then! Sleep!

January 24, 2009

• 01/24 7:00 AM Good morning!
• 7:15 AM Breakfast at the Hotel
• 8:00 AM Depart Santa Elena in 8/8 full Toyota Prado to Selvatura Park.
• 8:30 AM Begin zip-lining at Selvatura. See Quote #1.
• 9:00 AM Did I mention we were zip-lining? High high above the ground through a rainforest? Amazing.
• 9:30 AM Arrive at "la sorpresa." The surprise was, somewhat unsurprisingly, a Tarzan-style swing from a huge-ass platform.
• 10:15 AM Finish zip-lining with a few last nice rides.
• 10:30 AM Early lunch at Selvatura restaurant.
• 11:45 AM Head off hiking in local nature preserve
• 12:30 PM Climb closed-down observation tower for more amazing vistas of surrounding jungle
• 1:45 PM Become disgruntled with constant, sticky mud and its propensity to detract attention from surrounding flora and fauna
• 2:30 PM Complete hike, return to car for drive to Monteverde village
• 3:00 PM Shop for arts and crafts in Monteverde with way clutch coffee and peanut butter brownie refueling
• 4:45 PM Depart Monteverde and begin drive back to Tamarindo
• 4:46 PM Be convinced by three passengers in extremely tight back back seat that we should take the slightly less scenic but far less treacherous and bumpy route home
• 5:30 PM Stop at roadside of low ridge to watch the sunset and polish off the palm wine
• 7:30 PM Dinner in Cañas at seafood restaurant. Ceviche = good; sopa negra = not so good
• 9:00 PM Very nearly completely memorized Track #6
• 9:01 PM Finally stop listening to Track #6
• 9:45 PM Arrive home in Tamarindo, unload car, jump into our pool
• 10:15 PM Start playing Siete-Once-Dobles
• 10:17 PM Remove shirts and don sunglasses to increase Siete-Once-Dobles skill
• 10:33 PM Stop game after finishing five 40-ounces of Imperial between six thirsty, road-worn men
• 10:40 PM Remove sunglasses and don shirts; head out to Babylon for drinking and dancing
• 11:00 PM Cerveza! Bailando!

January 25, 2009

• 1:00 AM Más cerveza! Más bailando! See Quote #2.
• 1:30 AM Unquotable, indescribable moment(s).
• 2:00 AM Walk home on the beach, stopping to consider stars.
• 2:30 AM Arrive at home
• 3:00 AM Bailey makes scrambled eggs with extreme difficulty cracking egg shells on plastic bowl: nearly fall asleep with face in plate of aforementioned delicious eggs
• 3:25 AM Sleep! Wow!

Driving Playlist (On Repeat: We Only Had 1 CD)

1. Led Zeppelin – Over the Hills and Far Away
2. Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up
3. Us3 – Cantaloop
4. Jurassic 5 – Concrete Schoolyard
5. Arrested Development – People Everyday
6. MIA featuring Bun B and Rich Boy – Paper Planes Remix*
7. Kanye West – Homecoming
8. Vampire Weekend – Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa
9. Regina Spektor – Hotel Song
10. Paul Simon – You Can Call Me Al
11. Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel
12. Modest Mouse – The Good Times Are Killing Me
13. The Who – Baba O'Riley
14. Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime
15. The Moldy Peaches – Anyone Else But You
16. Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 – I'll Be Missing You

10 Simple Rules of Siete-Once-Doble

1. Stand around table with two dice, one shared cup for beer, and beer source.
2. Roll dice, taking turns and passing counter-clockwise.
3. If one rolls a seven, eleven, or double, assign the (quarter- to half-)cup of beer to someone else
4. As soon as assigned drinker touches cup to start drinking, roller tries to roll another seven, eleven, or double.
5. If the dice settle with one of the combinations before the drinker puts down the empty cup, the roller refills the cup: return to Step #4 with same drinker and roller.
6. If the drinker puts down the empty cup before one of the combinations is rolled, the roller refills the cup and the dice are passed to the next player.
7. At any time before the drinker touches the cup, any player can steal the cup from the drinker and become the drinker. The same rules apply to the new drinker for finishing the beer before a siete-once-doble roll.
8. If the roller touches the dice before the drinker touches the cup, the roller must finish the cup and the dice proceed to the next player.
9. Do not wear a shirt (optional).
10. Wear sunglasses (not optional).

Food I Have Eaten

• Casado de bistek
• Casado de pescado
• Casado con chuleta
• Gallo pinto con huevos
• Gallo pinto con queso
• Gallo pinto con bistek
• Tostada
• Pizza Selvatura (chicken, olives, anchovies, and eggplant)
• Every fruit
• Every fruit, in juice form

Quotes from the Weekend

• "I'm just playing with my equipment." "Somebody's got to do it."
• "You can dance near me, but you can't dance with me."
• "It's cold today: I'm glad I wore a shirt."
• "Her name is Beretta and she's m-----f---ing crazy."*
• Yeah, I think I should stop sharing these…

Wow, yeah, that was quite the weekend.

* At the point on the drive home at which we'd already listened to the whole CD numerous times, we decided to memorize the lyrics to the Paper Planes Remix. Queue repeat. I'd say we did pretty amazing but we did mess up a few lines. For example, apparently it's not that "you need more than a helicopter to stop us" but rather "a million cops." Who knew? Additionally, if you undertake such a task, the hand motions on the chorus are absolutely vital.