www.patchesweaver.com
29.07.2009
Back up and running
category: Blog Maintenance
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So thanks to Otto, patchesweaver.com has returned to being more than just a text only blog.  Before his visit, Otto told me that he was going to bring me down his (other) old camera and give it to me to use (this will have been the 2nd one…).  When he got here he went over to his bag to get me my new camera.  He then proceeded to take out a box, open it, take the camera out of the plastic, and then hand me a brand new Canon PowerShot A480 (with a 4gb card hiding inside).

“This isn`t an old camera…”

“Don`t worry about it, it`s fine…”

In addition to this grand display of altruism, I have simultaneously gained access to another camera as well.  My friend Melissa has unknowingly made a huge mistake by allowing me to use her Nikon D80 more or less whenever I want.

After quite a lull in posts (and especially photos), patchesweaver should be back up and running to its normal operational state fairly soon.

29.07.2009
Kung Fu Kid
category: Getting in Shape
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So I`ve started doing Kung Fu in addition to my dance classes.  Getting in shape has become quite a priority of mine.  My boss Morgan has been training with a private instructor named Leonel for the past two years or so.  Leonel studied Kung Fu in China for 5 years and really seems to know what`s what.

We are training 3 mornings a week and running on the days we are not doing Kung Fu.  Some of the excercises are pretty intense.  Try holding a pushup position on 2 knuckles (on concrete) for over a minute and then doing the same on the back of your hand with your fingers clenched as if you were holding a pencil…  It`s good though, gonna be getting in shape really fast.  I`ve been doing it for about two weeks so far and have already noticed a difference.

23.07.2009
Movin`on up
category: Living Situation
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I`m not sure whether it`s the shared bathrooms, cold showers, general lack of toilet paper, living and eating in the workplace or what, but I`ve finally come to the conclusion that living in a hostel is not much fun.  It`s ok for a few days… a few months is a different story.  It wasn`t too bad when I had my own private room, however, that lasted for only about 1 week until the tourist season picked up.  Now it`s the norm to have 5 other people (who in a few select cases have all been snoring at once) in my room each night.

Originally I was able to have two beds, one for my stuff (which was spread out all over the bed in a semi “organized” way) and one for myself.  I knew things were going downhill when I came home one night at 2:30am from work only to find a sleeping body in place of all of my belongings.  All of my things had been moved to the bed where I was sleeping.  Too tired to care, I basically pushed everything to one side and jumped into bed.   This is the state it`s remained in for about a week and a half.  I am now profoundly unorganized and pretty much ready to not live in a hostel.

The clincher came about 2 days ago when I was looking for my flipflops.  I use them in the shower (because millions of other people use it each day).  I was quickly able to find one and easily found another slightly similar one that somebody had left behind.  I continued to look for my other flipflop while knowing deep down what had really happened… needless to say, I`m now going punky brooster style and wearing two different flipflops now.

This has lead me with no other decision but to move into an apartment.  I can`t really beat free room and board, but my psychological well-being has recently become a priority.

Fortunately, I didn`t even have to look around for a place.  My friend Melissa told me about a house which is generally reserved for volunteers and has an opening in mid August.  The rent is cheap and even includes  internet and computers to use for free (this is a huge plus).  I`ve already gone through the process of signing up to live in this place and will be moving in Aug 13th.  Being completely unable to wait until then to move, I`ve decided to sublet my other friend`s apartment while she is away.  I`ll be moving in there Aug 1st…

10.07.2009
Mojado
category: Travel
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So my visa here has expired.  I am now 6 days overdue.  I went to immigration yesterday where the man behind the counter informed me that I could no longer just get my passport stamped in Guatemala City  (I then called my boss who told me that I could only do that once a year).  I now have 2 choices, I either need to leave the country or I need to find somebody who knows somebody who will get the thing stamped for a small fee. 

Anyways, I need to get this taken care of ASAP.  Unfortunately, once you are overdue, the Guatemalan government slaps on a multa (fine) that you must pay for every day that you go over.  The fine isn´t outrageous, but when you´re on a Guatemalan income and don´t take care of things for a while, $1.30 probably adds up pretty quickly.

So I am looking at this as an excellent excuse to travel to another country.  I need to leave the Guatemalan boarder for 72 hours and then get stamped on my re-entry back into the country.  Traveling to Honduras, Niguragua, or El Salvador will not get your passport stamped… this leaves me with a choice between either Belize, Mexico, or Costa Rica.  I´ve heard that Belize is expensive, and Costa Rica is too far, so it seems like Mexico might be the spot. 

After the vacay, I´d like to look into either a student visa or a work visa.  Either of these will give me up to a year without having to deal with this type of thing.  As it stands now, I need to get a stamp on my passport every 3 months… or just stay mojado…

09.07.2009
Dance machine
category: Fiestas
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I haven`t forgotten the priorities here.  Given the amount of all of the fiestas and stuff here, I haven`t forgotten about the importance of learning how to dance.  I know from many cases of personal experience here that it is really no fun to suck at dancing.  And unfortunately, my dance shoes have not been put to use in some time except as doubling as my bartending shoes…

I met somebody the other day who showed me the place where she takes private salsa classes.  It is conveniently right next to one of the places I am working.  After thinking about it for a bit, I decided to take a few classes myself.  I`m not really sure where else you can find private classes for about $6 an hour, so I figured I`d better take advantage…  I`m taking an hour class twice a week.  We`ll see what happens…

There will almost definitely be videos of this to come…

08.07.2009
With my mind on my money and my money on my mind
category: Travel
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I have now been working for almost a month now and have recieved my pay from both jobs.  Its not big money, but thanks to the fact that I`m basically living and eating for free, I`ve really cut my expenses.  Fortunately, this month will have been much different than the past 7 months or so given the fact that  I have actually had a + cashflow rather than a – one.  This is big news because it is one step towards “sustainability” here…

06.07.2009
Corriendo
category: Getting in Shape
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Despite my busy schedule, I`ve gotten back into running every day.  I had to put the ejercisio on hold while I was dealing with my parasitos, but now that I am better I am getting back into the rythm.

I now am in much better shape and have far less mass to carry with me on the run now.   And today was a good day.  I did the whole three or so miles without stopping at all…