When I Grow Up, I Want to be a Ninja.

volcanization

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:26:13 +0000

I've been trying to get a photo of this since I got here but I can never seem to get a clear shot. Apparently this beauty was puffing up some smoke a few weeks ago. If I'm lucky, I'll get to see some action.

Parque Central

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:31:51 +0000

day to day

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:37:52 +0000

Have a mentioned how hot it is here? Considering the fact that it is currently SNOWING in Colorado, my body has pretty much gone in shock upon arrival. I spend most of the afternoon cuddled up with the fan. Last night, after dark was a bit cooler and I did get out and enjoy some "nightlife". Even made friends! Mom, can I have a quarter? A nice gentleman even made me a flower out of a leaf thing. Granted he was 12 and lived on the streets most of the time. While he INSISTED that it was a gift, I felt obligated to give him something. Still counts! Otherwise, I've been laying low and being productive. Work work work. I go out in the mornings to get some fresh mango and water and occasionally a coffee shop to work. I cannot seem to get enough of the fruit down here. This morning a woman came by selling fruit. The trek to the grocery store could easily be fatal due to the heat, so i was pretty excited that the grocery store was coming to me. If you have never experienced fruit vendors in a third world country, it's quite convenient. A woman comes around pulling a cart (occasionally a truck) and stands outside your gate screaming "WATERMELONORANGEAVOCADOWATERMELONORANGEAVOCADO", jarring you from whatever you were doing (this part not so convenient). Bought a watermelon, some tomatos and bananas. She also had cantalop which they called "melon." I then foolishly tried to ask for "the melon with green inside" hoping for a honey dew, cantaloup's superior older brother. Nothing but blank stares. They had no idea what I was talking about. And since it was obviously not my spanish, I can only conclude that they do not have honey dew here.

Nica Rainstorm

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:15:12 +0000

adjustment

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:04:48 +0000

It is 8:53. Due to an early morning rainstorm and the fact that I went to bed at 8:30, I was up at 5am, giving me plenty of time to cause trouble. I have already tanked my internet, forcing me to go to a cafe to work and broke the lock on my door on the way out, effectively locking myself out. On the flip side, I'm sitting in a gorgeous cafe with an interior garden (basically someone cut a whole in the roof and planted a bunch of stuff) drinking a lime and coconut smoothie. I also walked down to Nicaragua lake this morning. Below are some photos. Going to try and post a video of this morning's rainstorm when I can safely do so without destroying the internet. It was the most intense rain I have ever heard. So loud, you wouldn't be able to have a conversation over it.

Nica

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:08:56 +0000

I have safely arrived. Safely navigated the ~~vultures~~ taxi drivers and found myself a cute little apartment in town with excellent wifi. Excellent so far, which isn’t saying a lot as that can change in a heartbeat. The shower is not so excellent. About 80% of the water ends up in all corners of the bathroom and I am left with a small dribble to wash. We will have to do something about that. Especially since my hair has decided to join forces with my mother and protest its distaste of Nicaragua with chaos and frizz.

Turns out my Spanish was not nearly as hidden in the corners of my brain as I feared. It was right there, waiting for me to return. I learned a lot from my overly friendly taxi driver (probably just was seeing dollar signs on my forehead) about the culture, the landscape and the nearby cities. Monkey, who apparently knows what a volcano is (thank Dora no doubt) would be happy to know I have several nearby, one who was puffing up some smoke just last week. I had forgotten how much fun and satisfying it can be to wrangle control of another language. Now if I can only do the same with Objective C (programming language for iPhone dev for those who have not reached as far into geekdom as I have.) I am determined to lock myself away and STUDY STUDY STUDY. I am pulling out the 50 mile rule and determined to see or do nothing else. Shows a lot about my concentration levels that I have to leave the continent to focus but whatever works. Slowly chipping away at the practice app, which has become a bit more than that. Not going to make me rich but I am steadily learning and starting to feel like I am picking up steam and not quite as lost as the day before.

This post has touched on about 16 different topics, most likely due to the mish-mash state my brain is in due to traveling since 2am EST (what time zone am i in??) as well as jamming all that Spanish back into my brain. More later, with photos and I promise more coherent.

Little preview of the app…

Skiing with Uncle TJ

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:23:34 +0000

Another post about how awesome my niece and nephew are

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:53:37 +0000

Unfortunately, Boomer doesn’t stop moving long enough to take any videos of him. I’ve been trying for weeks and all I ever get is a blur as he bolts past or the aftermath of his most recent destruction. You’ll just have to see that wonder in person.

But here we’ve got two videos of Monkey. Make sure you check out those stellar Frank Sinatra style dance moves, complete with a little booty shake in the middle there. (Apologies for the poor video quality, turning of the camera in the middle etc.)

Top of Imperial Bowl

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:28:33 +0000

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 06:04:25 +0000