Isla del Encanto

For two nights in a row, I’ve gone for a night stroll along the beach behind my hotel. There is something about the sea, something in the way its waves steadily crash into the shore, something in the way it appears to go on forever into the horizon, something about touching the salty water and feeling the ocean breeze on my face, that brings contentment to my soul.

There is a power and a peace in the sea that brings me back to a proper view of myself. I feel so small as I consider the expanse of the ocean, I feel so powerless as I feel the remarkable strength of even a minimal undertow, and yet watching and being close to the ocean brings a wonderful quietude as I ponder its qualities and I reminisce upon previous moments in my life when I was also privileged to sit back and gaze upon these waters. Perhaps in this way the sea is also a great constant in my life, its qualities don’t change, even as I progress and regress through this life.

Alas, but the Caribbean Sea is not the only reason for which I find myself in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Indeed, I am mostly here at the behest of my employer to complete an audit of the local operation. It’s too bad, really. At least I’ll have this Saturday and Sunday to look forward to as my days on the beach!

Going back in Time to Labor Day Weekend
For the fifth late summer/autumn in a row, my cousin and I went to visit our uncle and aunt in San Mateo, California. Also for the fifth year in a row, we brought an adopted cousin, although this year we brought someone new to the tradition: Mark. No worries, though, Devlin (while in India) participated in our kickoff Friday evening dinner via one of the wonders of late 19th century technology … the telephone!

Chris, Mark and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner on Friday night courtesy of our Aunt Christine, who undoubtedly knows what she’s doing in the kitchen. Before, during and after our meal we shared great stories from the past year and plans for the years to come, as well as a good amount of lighthearted balderdash. After breakfast on Saturday, we nephews headed up to San Francisco for a day of shopping on Haight Street, and a night of dining (Left at Albuquerque) and revelry in the Union and Fillmore area of the city.

On Sunday Morning, we woke up relatively early and had breakfast at a place that proudly served the city’s best wheat cakes before we went up to visit our cousin and his boyfriend up in Duncans Mills. Duncans Mills is a charming little town of less than one hundred people. One hundred years ago, the town was full of the lumberjacks that would eventually clear the surrounding mountains of its old-growth redwoods, now it’s home to some of their descendants as well as some well-to-do Bay Area residents who come up to enjoy the area on weekends. We spent the afternoon lunching at our cousin’s place, then we kayaked in the Russian River, and finally, after dinner, we stopped at a bar in Guerneville before bidding farewell to our cousin and friends and heading back to the our uncle and aunt’s house.

On Monday we deservedly slept in a little, bummed around the house, and then spent a lovely afternoon visiting our cousin Justin and his family.

It was good to see everyone again. Unfortunately, I tend to see my west coast family only once or twice a year, but I like to think that we make the most of it! And if it wasn’t for these darn trips to San Juan, Puerto Rico I would certainly try to visit more often!!

Between Trips
Upon my return to the office on Wednesday, I rushed around the office to try to catch up on lagging issues before heading to San Juan. I almost caught up, but the point is that I made it to Puerto Rico. And now that I’m here, I’d like to take the opportunity to share that Puerto Rico might be one of the best places on earth to live. It’s tropical, Spanish is the official language, many people also speak English, Puerto Rican citizens are also U.S. citizens, and the economy is not overly reliant upon tourism as many other Caribbean nations are. The only downside might be that they do not get to vote for their head of state (the U.S. president), nor do they have representation in the legislative body that sets their laws (the U.S. Congress), but in exchange for that, they do not pay any federal income taxes. I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s a pretty good deal… Hmmm… as I continue working on this audit, I just might have to do a little lobbying for a job!

TPHS High School Reunion and Beyond

Wow, life got more interesting since that Yankees/Chi-Sox game a few Fridays ago! To say the least, the highlight of my ten-year high school reunion was the privilege of bringing my beautiful Italian friend (Arianna) as my date. She also stayed for a week in Chicago, working in the same office I work in, and through most of last week, we found time to spend together. The week ended on Saturday when she went with me, Ceebs and CTA Mike to a Cubs game. The Cubs lost, and the sun blasted us in the bleachers, but I would say it was still a beautiful day for a ballgame!

After an afternoon at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, I brought Arianna to O'hare, dropped her off for her flight, and then went to my friend Nick's house for a families reunion of sorts. His family and our family had a dinner to celebrate a sermon that he gave at his church in Tinley Park. I arrived late, but the Portillo's beef was great, and so was the brief camaraderie I shared with my family and his.

The highlight, of course, was seeing Kaylin now able to run around with reckless abandon! I've been a bad uncle and I've missed three weeks of her (and Thor's) progress, so I was quite shocked and amused to see her using her legs to eschew the comforts of laps and arms. Upon my arrival, she was placed on my lap, where she kindly remained for approximately 30 seconds before realizing that she'd rather be wandering on her own two feet!

After hanging out with the famiy and Nick's family, I went home and crashed. Last week was quite tiring, and I had no problem falling asleep early! On Sunday morning, I woke up and cycled up to Cold Comfort's with Chico Blanco. I ate some good french toast with maple syrup, and came back to The Palacio to spend most of the rest of the day at home.

Of course, Ceebs, Chico Blanco and I did manage to get out long enough to check out Zapatista's, the new Mexican restaurant down the street. Our first impression: good food, good price, great guacamole, margaritas taste right, but why don't they come in a traditional margarita glass??? Nevertheless, we'll all be back to this new neighborhood spot, I'm sure.

On Monday after work I went to the airport for a flight to Toronto. I checked in with the AA agent before I realized that I had not brought one important item: MY PASSPORT!!! Don't ask how, I simply forgot that my 1:45 flight to Toronto was an international one. Anyway, I called my gracioius cousin, who kindly took a taxi to O'hare to drop off my passport for me. He came just in the nick of time, and I ended up checking in and getting through customs and passport control with no problems to report!

On Tuesday I visited one of our warehouses and enjoyed a nice change of pace. After a long day in the warehouse, I went out on Queen's Street where I found some decent pizza and beer. I didn't stay out late, though, as I wanted to get back to the warehouse relatively early on Wednesday. Anyway, I ended up back in Chicago by 5:00 PM, and I took care of some errands around The Palacio before I went to meet Mark, Ceebs, and Chico Blanco at Tutto Italiano on Congress. We've all been talking about this restaurant forever so finally Chico Blanco took the initiative and got us all to commit to checking out the fare. We all liked the food, although we were a bit skeptical of the Albanian server. He certainly spoke better Italian than us, but, what does an Albanian know about Italian food? Regardless, it was worth the experience!

And that brings me to this moment. I stayed late at work today trying to catch up. It's no use, I won't catch up any time soon, but I'm getting closer. I've also managed to pack for the impending San Francisco / San Mateo weekend, and now I'm trying to fill Devlin's iPod so that I can send it before I head off for the weekend. Why do I procrastinate all of these tasks until the last minute? I'm not sure. If anyone has an answer, please advise! Either way, I'll hope to get it all done before I head west.

Tomorrow my co-worker will be kind enough to pick me up at The Palacio to take me to the office. I'll then leave at 12:00 PM for the airport to meet Mark and Chris for our 1:20 PM flight. As usual, I'll be flying business class, and I'll have to leave them behind in coach. Damn! -- I'm becoming quite the flight snob! But I swear it's not my fault, they upgrade me for free, what can I do!

But I'm realizing as of late that if I find another job, this era of travel perks will come to an end. I think I am ready for that, but, I'll wait an see. With the coming change of season and this weekend's visit to the west coast, comes an opportunity to sit bck, consider the year that passed, and receive advice, feedback and encouragement from loved-ones as I think about what the next year may bring.

And so I retire, it's been a long and fruitful summer and I look forward to the commencement of autumn. It's time to sit back and think about what this autumn and winter should bring my way, and our trip to San Mateo this weekend will be the perfect occasion for such thoughts.