Send me to Costa Rica.
In grade 10, I missed a class trip to Costa Rica and was left forever resentful. I can’t even remember why I missed it now, I’m sure it was partially to do with parents convincing themselves that I would surely be attacked by a group of vicious monkeys, go riplining into a tree, and/or plummet over a waterfall in my dinghy. However, gravity, among other forces have always lured me South. It’s warm, it’s different, full of the unknown and truths to be learned, stuff I wouldn’t be able to fathom unless I went there for myself. Most importantly, there is stuff that needs to be done, stuff we can actually do. I’m talkin’ beneficial, life changing action for both ourselves and the people of Costa Rica in different but equally satisfying ways. Tons of fortunate people take vacations every year to places like Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica, and still many never get a chance to leave their resorts and truly experience the country itself, or meet the people and understand their culture and the way they live. There is a misconception that associates these countries with elaborate buffets, sun and pools, fully stocked bars and pineapples carved to look like exotic fish.
Then I discovered a travel blog run by lad called Nomadic Matt, who seems to share this way of thinking about travelling. He travels to learn and gain experiences and make differences. He brings back invaluable memories and potentially life changing stories to share, instead of just a nice tan.
...Or a not-so-nice tan
Nomadic Matt has decided to give his following the chance to see what he’s seen, and is running a contest alongside the admirable travel and tourism company, G.A.P. Adventures. I want this trip because I want to experience and share the beauty of the real Costa Rica, it’s culture and people. Sometimes when on vacation, we’re left with the impression that these countries are limited to their beautiful resorts and beaches, but there is so much more to see. I can’t stand being locked in a resort knowing that all that new and unique culture is just outside the gates. I want to go on a trip that doesn’t mask anything, even though I probably won’t get attacked by monkeys r go over a waterfall, at least make it a possibility.
It’s the real, raw experiences that far outweigh relaxing on a beach. As nice as it is to do nothing, it feels way better to do something, which is exactly what I hope to get out of this trip. I would want to return with knowledge about locals, how they live, how they eat, what they do, the culture, the climate – everything and/or anything! It’s not just the country and people you would be learning about, I think this trip would teach me a lot about myself as well. Everyone has their limits but few have actually reached what they are. I think we are capable of things we don’t even know we can do until faced with that situation. Being thrust into a completely new environment forces us to become open minded. I want to do it, talk about it, document it, and maybe inspire someone else to gain a similar experience. The more parts of the world we see and experience firsthand, the better understanding we’ll have of each other.
Play Time
This past Sunday… My brain exploded.
A small group of playwrights and wannabe playwrights (hai that’s me), gathered together at the Alumnae Theatre on Friday for something called “Write Now” (get it?!)
A retired fireman named Gary Wignall sat us all down and gave us a talking to for about an hour. He was cool. He reminded of a New Yorker for some reason. He just had a genuine, experienced coolness vibe going on. He talked about the history of firefighting in Toronto starting from the 1800′s all the way up to now.
DID YOU KNOW: The Alumnae Theatre used to be a fire station in 190-something?
Here are some things I learned from Gary…
-People used to have buckets outside their house filled with water in case of fire and they were called the Bucket Brigade. Cute.
-Almost all of them were volunteer
-At one point they had no masks
-One time, a fire station caught fire (lolz) and all the firemen continued their meetings in a tavern across the street.
I was disappointed I didn’t hear anything about a pet Dalmation… Why were they firedogs in the first place? And how come you never see them today? Doesn’t anyone own Dalmations anymore? WTF where are all the Dalmations?
how come you don't love me anymore
Anyway, we were given 48 hours to write a 10 minute play that could be inspired from any snippet, small or large, that Gary said. Anything at all that set off a creative spark. One thing he said was that if somebody had used up all their sick days, they could get other people to go in and work their hours. That was the starting point for my play.
I totally lucked out and got set up with a great director who totally got what I was trying to say. She hit the nail on the head, nail’d it! It’s crazy….CRAZY awesome to see something that spawned from your own random thought in your imagination and then have it come alive in front of your eyes like the Frankenstein monster by people who actually know what they’re doing. I was so excited I think part of my brain melted. The cast was also perfection. But more excitingly, one of them runs another little biz-nass called Jammin’ On The One, and he wants to stage it! It would be performed (SANS scripts in hand) Spring 2010. No jokes.
What’s in your garden?
I found this cool picture, of radishes with faces carved like Jack-o-lanterns. I think I should uproot the radishes from the ambush, carve these faces, and then replant them. When my neighbor inevitably pulls them up again, he’ll see the faces and it will be UTTER CRAZINESS.
Tim Burton style radishes
IT’S TIME
Made into the 2009 Summer edition wooop
Check out an odd little tale I wrote a few years ago on The Smoking Poet.
Second story down. It had to be edited way way down in order to meet the 1000 word limit, the original is even more hammered than this.
Blame Drew’s Cancer
My coffee is cold. I blame Drew’s cancer.
That’s right. Drew Olanoff is a guy from Philly, and since being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma , he’s developed a light-hearted but very smart, and Twitter-friendly way to raise awareness to the issue.
He’s opening himself up to take on the blame for any of the public’s issues, small and/or large. Missed the bus? Blame Drew’s cancer. Stubbed your toe? Blame Drew’s cancer. Saw the Leafs game? Blame Drew’s cancer. You get the idea, (and if you still don’t get it, blame Drew’s cancer). All you do is tweet with the hash tag #BlameDrewsCancer and it will come up on his site. He’s keeping count, and when he finishes kicking cancer’s ass, a dollar for each participant will be donated to the American Cancer Society, and the Make A Wish Foundation .
Cancer: red guy Drew: Blue guy
T+L made something really, really cool
It’s got all the makings of something great. A new age version of a classic and personal favourite 90′s game, Hungry Hungry Hippos. Played on MS Surface.
It’s really pretty genious if you think about it. What was the sole annoying feature about playing Hungry Hungry Hippos? The constant, out of control and insanely loud clacking of those levers you had to push to get your hippo to dive for the marbles, right.
Well in Teehan+Lax’s version, you control your hippo by rubbing its back. It’s just like a petting zoo, only cleaner and with no risk of picking of the swine flu. I know hippos aren’t pigs, but there would be pigs nearby.
Look a sweet preview, no little blue mask required.
The 8th Wonder of the World
I just jizzed in my pants. You know how in Chicago they have those crazy deep dish pizzas? While perusing various food blogs on teh internets, I have discovered what appears to be… A deep dish cookie… A deep dish fucking cookie.
zomfg.
I know what you’re thinking… How do I make this, and why isn’t it in my mouth. Well, here is a detailed recipe of delicious craziness. Get your fat pants on!
ADD TO FACE
My short story featured in The Smoking Poet’s summer ’09 edition
So I wrote this very strange little short story last year called The Man in the Rabbit Fur Hat. It’s pretty weird but I was reading a lot of Tom Robbins at the time. It’s been picked up by a ezine called The Smoking Poet, and will appear in their Summer 2009 edition. Woopwoop
Great New & Inventive Recipes!
WOW
so many uses for bacon. You know, the pig really is a magical creature, bacon, ham, pork chops, swine flu, it just keeps on giving.
Behold! "The Bacone"
