costa rica

...And I'm back from another amazingly fun surfing adventure in Costa Rica. The camp and instruction were fantastic; I feel like I learned a ton. A gigantic swell (or, at least, huge for me) came through, so there were 10-foot close-outs! So I practiced turns in the whitewash and, on a few days, rode much more reasonable five- and six-footers. By the end of the week, I felt pretty good about going down the line. (Next up: Turning while on the wave.) Besides surfing, we ate delicious food, lounged in the pool, and laughed it up with the other hilarious and amazing folks. Good times! We also hit up the local bars, watched sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach, and did this crazy driving tour of the Costa Rican countryside. Corine and I switched off with driving, and apparently I laughed maniacally like the Bride of Chucky when I floored it through muddy puddles. One of the most inspiring parts of the trip was that a lot of the other surfers hadn't started until their 40's and 50's...and they could shred it up! Goes to show that it's never to late to learn something new. :)

beach bound

Hello, blog! I've missed you. Life has been a little hectic, between my fill-in job, writing, planning, blah, blah. Just when I thought I had it under control, THREE stories that I wrote around a year ago decided to resurrect themselves. So I had lots of last-minute requests that kept me up late. That's what I get for being a responsible freelancer and informing everyone of my vacation plan weeks in advance. (Either that, or I'm a slacker and should have given the head's up months ago.) Anyway, I've stepped back from the ledge and can see the light at the end of tunnel and lots of other cliches I can't think of now because I'm mildly delirious. Can't wait till I'm in the surf with my amigas!

Oh, wedding update: We've looked at a lot of places, and I found one that we loved and was about to book when...I had a mild freak-out. At the price. Even though everything separately isn't bad, it adds up. Y-i-k-e-s. Even though we can afford it, I'm wondering if we want to? On the one hand, I would like to take more trips, own a home, and feed a baby one day. And both of our families are not particularly wedding-minded. On the other, part of me really wants to have a pretty event with our loved ones. It's hard to reconcile the two in NYC; even the simplest options are kinda up there! Back to the drawing board...