BoSPoker.net Starting 15th

Well it was a great day for qualifying for the BOSPoker.net No. 37 Dodge Charger (do I sound good or what LOL) as the team qualified the car 15th for Sunday's race. It was a trip to be around the garage area on Friday and seeing all the workings of a team on a non-race day.

R&J Racing, the team we race with, is based in the Charlotte area but their owners or from Georgia so we have gotten some good press from that over the last day and have some more stuff lined up today and tomorrow with the good qualifying run.

It was kind of bittersweet though as our car qualified Mile Wallace's No. 4 car was sent home, they, like us, must qualify on time and they couldn't get the speed to make the race they needed.

I took a ton of pics yesterday of all the action, and some off the track stuff too. I haven't had a chance to edit them or sort them out, but if you want to check them out click below:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/slideshow?.dir=/97af&.src=ph

Race Fans Ascending on Atlanta

Well been in Atlanta now for two days and can say that the racing community is making is presence felt.

Went to the track today to get a lay of the land and make sure I know how to get there and am excited about the opportunity to work with the BoS racing Nextel Cup team.

Spent part of this evening downloading three days worth of photos off the digital camera so I should have some links with the next post to show some of the devastation from Wilma.

Speaking of storms, please keep all the Ticos in your thoughts and prayers. Tropical Storm Beta is bearing down on Costa Rica and Nicaragua and is scheduled to reach Cat 1 or 2 status when it his CR in the next few days. Unreal is all I have to say. And seeing the reports on CNN of how things are still a mess in Florida with people trying to get food, water and fuel for their cars, I am glad I got out of there when I did.

Cheers

Wilma's Aftermath Felt Firsthand

Well what a few days it has been to say the least.

The wrath and aftermath of hurricane Wilma were felt firsthand as I was in South Beach as the storm hit. I can honestly say it wasn't the scariest thing I have ever been through but the sound and noise that accompanied the storm were certainly new experiences for me. Lost power at some point during the height of the storm. I woke up at 3 a.m. and the winds were howling in hard, and being on the 11th floor added to the sound I think. Was able to fall back asleep but when I woke up a few hours later there was no power. Reports were that more than 3 million people in South Florida were without power.

I tried to stay busy for a day in the hotel, did a lot of reading and just chilling after the storm but it became clear there would be no power for days, maybe even weeks. Airport was still closed so my only option to get to Atlanta and ensure I got there on time was to rent and car and drive the 11 hours from MIA to ATL. . .Made in late last night and I can tell you driving the entire length of Florida was an eye opener.

Devastation (ripped signs, privacy fences, broken windows, trees limbs and other debris on roads), stretched from Miami all the way up to about 50 miles south of Daytona. Gas stations were a mess along the way as people needed fuel and power is out all up and down the peninsula.

Lots of photos will be updated later. I took a detour on the way up here to Daytona International Speedway and got to hang out in Victory Lane there, that was pretty cool.

A drastic weather change here in Atlanta as it is very cold, I am going to have to make a run to a mall today to get some warmer clothes, as I have none.

The BoSPoker.net car has a new driver this weekend for the race in ATL. Mike Sinner will be taking over the wheel (our fourth driver this season, part of being a low budget team though). The funny ting is that one of the first NASCAR Truck races I covered in my sports reporter days was one by Skinner in STL, so I am looking forward to talking to him about that.

Lots of updates will come now that I have A) POWER, B) a reliable internet connection and C) time (although I do have some work related matters to tend to first. But I am OK and glad to be out of the story path and a little closer to home!!

Cheers

A Day at the Beach

Well today was a nice day at the beach and strolling around South Beach.

You do get the feel that it is the calm before the storm though as the hotel is others in the area are at about 10-15% of capacity, according to the papers and TV.

Took some photos of the area that will be up for posting later this week.

Came across a Walgreen's in my walking around and what a treat, it was so nice to be back in the the states and seeing things that were familiar to me. . .bought some food rations in case I am holed up in the room for a few days.

Stay tuned for more!

In a Holding Pattern . . .In SoBe

Well, good news bad news as they say.

The Public Relations Society of America conference I was to attend this week in Miami has been canceled. To bad for me though I didn't get the news until I was already in Miami, so now I am in sort of a holding pattern. My schedule was such that I am going to meet with some other BoS members of the management team here in Miami later this week with a firm we use. The meetings are still on so I am going to hang in Miami and see what happens. We, the BoS group, were then going to from Miami to Atlanta for the NASCAR race next weekend. If I can hold out through the storm I will just meet up with the guys when they get to Miami, if I have to leave of course I will.

The bad news is that the weekend I was to have with Kelly in South Beach has been cancelled as well, we both felt it was in her and our better interest to just hold off and we can see each other when my hectic Oct. Schedule calms down in November.

The good news is that the storm appears to be weakening, in terms of its affect on South Florida, as it hammers Cancun and other parts of Mexico. The other good news, if you are going to be stuck somewhere waiting out a storm South Beach isn't all that bad of a spot, and the resort I am at isn't bad either. I was upgraded to a one-room suite (photos to come tomorrow), and from what I can tell of the place so far it is pretty good, haven't seen it in daylight, but here is the link:
http://www.fontainebleau.com/index.php

The Dolphins/chiefs game was played tonight instead of Sunday due to the impending storm, I was hoping to catch the game, but of course our flight out of Costa Rica was delayed so I didn't land and make it through customs until halftime, so I just came to the hotel.

I do have a plan "B" if needed while down here. One of the co-IT Directors for BoS lives in Miami while he is not in Costa Rica and by chance we were on the same flight together today, so while we were driving from the office to the airport we had a good discussion about what lies ahead and I will call him if Miami is put under an evacuation order, not sure where we will go, but it is nice to know I have a Floridian to lean on if that is what it comes to.

It is good to be back in the states though, the room has AC, a bath tub, and I can get ESPN in English. . . Prayers go out to everyone in Mexico getting hammered by Wilma right now.

Natural Disasters Week

Well I stole the above headline from one of the cable networks, I can't remember if it is the Weather Channel, Discover, or National Geographic, but I know one of them will do a whole week were each night is a different show about a natural disasters.

That is kind of how I feel today as I make preparations to head to Miami to be there the same time that hurricane Wilma will hit. I am trying to gather as much information as possible, communicating with the airline, hotel, and the conference organizers (my main reason for going was a Public Relations society of America trade show), and others to see the best course of action.

Will probably have a better idea Friday when I get there in terms of what course of action I need to take (should I fly to STL and hang low until Wilma passes over or will it be safe enough in Miami to wait it out at the resort.

One thing is for sure, I will be glad to be back in the states and out of a third world country, even if I have to contend with Wilma.

Cheers

A Farewell to Busch

Well the ride has officially ended for the Cardinals and Busch Stadium.

I am still puzzled at how, for two years in a row, the Cardinals can lay such an egg in the post season and end with their offense showing no signs of life, an offense that seemed to be at such a higher level than everyone else. Yes, Houston has good pitching, but we handled good pitching all season long.

Other than the lack of results from the Cardinals things are looking up here, I will be back in the states this weekend, and possibly as soon as Friday. I might have some slight hurricane conditions to deal with in Miami, but it sounds like the brunt of Wilma will hit elsewhere, but I am staying on top of the situation and might get in to Miami on Friday instead of Saturday just so my travel isn't all whacked up over the weekend.

Things are certainly picking up in terms of the work load, but that is certainly OK for me, lots of exciting projects that I hope to be able to share with everyone in the next few weeks.

Sounds like the Rams season is going to be a wash too.

Cheers

Earthquake Update

Well official reports are finally starting to come in, part of the reason I wasn't find much online regarding is that the quake was centered in Nicaragua and not Costa Rica.

Nicaragua borders Costa Rica to the North so it ws still close, the quake registered at 5.7 at its center (stronger than most though, but then again its center was a few hundred miles away, so it was probably more like a 4.5 here, or at least that is what those with local knowledge are telling me).

The above map shows a blue dot where the center of the quake was, you can put it in perspective, in terms of how close the quake was to us in San Jose, by checking out the link below.

To view a map of Costa Rica in the region, click here:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/central_america/costa_rica/costa_rica.htm

The map showing you were the center of the quake was came courtesy of the Earthquake Locator site I told you about the other day, you can get more direct info on the quake (like how many people felt it in San Jose, and elsewhere, by click here:
http://tsunami.geo.ed.ac.uk/local-bin/quakes/mapscript/demo_run.pl#

I am just thankful that no one was hurt in this quake, and of course a part of me is now happy that I can say I lived through a quake.

CARDS NOTE. . . .

Well I think the magnitude of Albert's homer last night is finally starting to sink in, I think the Cards have a chance to pull this out, and even if they don't, it will be often remembered as one of the greatest homers in Cardinals post season history (right there with Ozzie's in '85 and Jimmy's from last year, let's just hope unlike those years the Cardinals take home a World Series title, but even if they don't, what a memory, and of course I will always remember it as the homer I saw in Costa Rica.

Cheers

King Albert Does it Again

Well I first have to give props to my gal Kelly (Weber, not Smith, although my mom should always get props too), but I was able to get updates via text messages from Kelly on the Cardinals games despite having to do a business dinner, but the nice thing about working for an online sportsbook is that no one scoffs at you when you are getting sports updates during dinner.

Had a great dinner and got the final message from Kelly that the miracle comeback was complete right as I was getting on the elevator to head up to the apartment, I was able to get the highlights and postgame interviews on my laptop.

So thanks to Albert's 9th inning, two-out heroics, two things have happened, first, the STL fans can give Busch stadium a proper send off now, even if the Cards lose in game six or seven, but even more importantly, I think the redbirds now have a shot at winning this series. If they can win game 6 then it is all hands on deck and anything can happen in game 7.

I think the above photo sums it up best!! What a moment for Cardinal fans everywhere!!

Did anyone else notice on the replay of the homerun the "DK" circle emblem that is on the wall in left field to honor former Astro and Cardinal Daryl Kile?? Take about sureal, I am sure Daryl was watching, and we can only hope that while he has a place in his heart for the Astros (he pitched a no-hitter with them) he is pulling for Cardinal nation in this one.

Cheers and GO CARDS!!

Here is another great shot of the homer, right before impact.



And then a shot of the homer right AFTER impact!!

Earthquake Hits Costa Rica

Well I can cross another thing off my list, I have now lived through an Earthquake.

Granted it was a small one (the official size isn't know yet, it just happened probably a half hour ago, but stay tuned for an official update). The general consensus in the office was that it was anywhere between a 3-4.5 (depending on who you talk to). I was actually in my apartment when it hit, having just walked down there after lunch when I realized I had left some files in there that I needed for the office. At first I just though the wind was blowing really hard (there was a thunderstorm going on outside, the first actually since I have been here but I was told it was a result of the hurricanes in the region), and this is what it must feel like to be in buildings that don't have strict codes like we have in the U.S. Then when I came back to the office all the Ticos were asking: "did you feel it, did you feel it." I then realized it was a quake.

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UPDATE

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Well still no official word, at least that I can ascertain, on how severe the quake was, I did some searching online and found nothing regarding a quake in Costa Rica. I did come across this sit ethat I found made for some interesting reading, check it out if you would like

Strolling the Streets of San Jose

Well my Sunday tour of Costa Rica amounted to nothing more than strolling through the crowded streets of the city center of San Jose, taking in a late lunch at a casino, and watching one of my new English friends piss away money at the blackjack table (I told him I wouldn't tell
anyone how much money he lost).

We both took some photos while we were strolling the streets, I have posted some of them here within this post, and I will have a slideshow up later this weekend when I get more downloaded to the Yahoo Photo hosting site.

The city center I have to say was one of the dumpiest areas I have been to in my life. Certainly not a place I would want to venture into either alone or when it is dark. The stench was overwhelming, but yet a lot of modern store, shops and fast food chains dotted the scenery, it was a rather surreal mix to say the least. Throw in some historic buildings that were neat to look at and it made the whole experience feel like lyrics to a Gerry Garcia song.

The sporting results didn't come my way today either, with the cardinals going down 2-1 in a nail bitter of a game that included some strange umpiring decisions and two ejections (who would have thought that?) hopefully the Cards can win tomorrow and at least bring the series back to St. Louis so the fans can say good-bye to the stadium the right way.

I know Costa Rica has a lot to offer in terms of things to see (rain forests, volcanoes, waterfalls, etc.) but this trip has been dominated by business and the sites and sounds of the area I am in aren't much to write home about (pun intended), so I am eagerly starring down this week, as I am just days away from getting back to the states. I leave for Miami early Saturday morning, will be there for a week before I am off to Atlanta for a few days for the NASCAR race and then I finally return home just in time for the trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

Maybe someday, sooner rather than later, I will be able to take some extra time while down here and stay at a resort or do some major sight seeing, but that will have to wait.

Cheers!

It's Easy Like Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was a rather interesting sports day for me. I think I took multi-tasking to a whole new level yesterday. I had 7 TVs going in the lounge area (Cardinal game in Spanish on one, Notre Dame-USC game, Penn St./Mich. game, Florida/LSU game, Minn./Wisc game, NASCAR racing) and then I was following the Mizzou game on the laptop (via Internet radio broadcast) and then later in the day I had the Cardinal game in English on the lap top (I would go to the laptop when something major happened -- a la the Nunez injury -- to find out what the announcers were saying).

The only bad thing of course was that most of my teams lost on the day. But today is a new day and the Cardinals can even up the series with a win today. The Notre Dame/USC game didn't have the ending I was hoping for but I have to say it was one of the greatest college football game I can remember ever watching.

One of the English chaps here and I went out to dinner last night and he showed me some of his photos that he has taken of Costa Rica during his travels down here, I will share them with you in the next few days when he sends them to me, he has some good ones of the way of life is around San Jose.

To follow up from my previous post, I guess what I bought was the right stuff, I am not 100% just yet but I can tell I am feeling better, the cough is waning and the congestion in my head is clearing up, I should be 100% within a day or two.

Buying Drugs in Costa Rica

Don't worry the legal kind!!

I started coming down with a little bit of a soar throat the other day and didn't give my thought to it. . .Well of course now today I have a bad cough, running nose, and general discomfort. Nothing to serious, just more of an inconvenience than anything.

So while I managed to ask someone in Spanish where the drugstore was around here (Donde es parmacia) I couldn't really understand his directions, but the pointing helped and I was able to make it there.

Now I just have to hope I bought a cold medicine not a laxative, I am pretty confident I got the right stuff, it looks a lot like what I would get at Walgreen's and it is made by Bayer (the only word I understood on the box), so let's hope my weekend isn't ruined by me feeling under the weather.


Some of asked what the mall looks like, I found a few photos of the building, from the Internet, and have posted them to the left. In the second picture you can see better the portion of the building off to your right which is where my apartment is at. The photos don't do the size and magnitude of the place justice though.

In my quest to get drugs tonight I was able to see the mall from a different perspective, it is funny how some things are so universal. The mall was dominated on a Friday night by Jr. High aged kids who clearly are enjoying themselves with little or no adult supervision. There is a cinema here so if I don't feel like doing a tour this weekend I might take in a movie (most of the movies are in English so that is good.

Tomrw will be a day of work and sports watching, Go IRISH, GO CARDS!!

Cheers

The English Invasion -- 2005 Version

Well as I eluded to in an earlier post on here it was confirmed tonight, over a marvelous dinner btw, that the new management team that was brought on board BetOnSports over the last six months, and dominated by Englishmen, are getting high marks in industry circles, so I am glad to hear that and confident we are headed in the right direction, I am thrilled and excited to play a small part in the new team. I came to this insight through an enlightening conversation as I was treated to dinner with a BoS "teammate" from one of our "vendors" from Costa Rica who has a lot of insight into the industry and shared with us what some of the other "movers and shakers" in Costa Rica (nearly the entire online sports book industry is based down here) were saying about us. While we have a lot to prove, the general consensus is that we are headed in the right direction and the "Brits" have brought a good direction to the operation.

I wish I could say I was equally as excited about my stay down here, but now the end is in site and knowing that I leave in a week is a relief and is starting to energize me once again.

It does look like I will be working on Saturday, which means I get to watch the Cardinals-Astros game three (to bad the Cards dropped game two, but I think we will still win the series, but it will be close once again), and the big Notre Dame-USC game, but I won't get to do any over night stays in the rain forest. I do hope to get a day trip to Arenal on Sunday (assuming that the tour company offers them on Sunday, but I am hopeful they do).

An another related sports note, the U.S. National team won its final World Cup qualifier against Panama, and while their spot was already sealed for Germany 06, it is big for them to win their group because for the first time in the history of the World Cup FIFA is using a form of seeding, basically this will ensure that group winners, like America, don't end up in the same group together, so we won't see France, Brazil, Germany, etc. until we get into the knockout stage of the tourney.

GO USA!!

Cards Win Game 1. . . I'm Goin Racin'

Well I must be doing something right.

I was informed today that I will be getting to attend the NASCAR race in Atlanta later this month as well as the event in Miami at the end of the season in November.

BoSPoker sponsors a fringe Nextel Cup team, and by fringe I mean one that is a rather "low budget" team and an independent crew that has to qualify for the race every week. The funny thing is that the No. 37 car was "credited" for crashing Jamie McMurray out at Richmond and ending his hopes for making the chase, but that is neither here nor there.

As part of our sponsorship there are BoSPoker tables set up at VIP areas at the track and our street team is there handing out promotional material. I will be attending the Atlanta race in hopes of getting some media coverage around the team and our brand, then in Miami we are giving away a VIP treatment so I will be there with the winner of the trip and trying to drum up media for that as well.

I accomplished another first in my life, I actually watched game 1 of the NLCS live from my laptop computer. The streaming video was rather clear and it was nice to hear a game in English.

It is Wednesday night and the first time I am in for the night, part of the reason I think I was starting to hit the wall that I mentioned yesterday, so I think I made it through it and am looking forward to getting to leave for the states a week from Saturday, although I won't be "home" until after the NASCAR Atlanta race, but I can handle that for sure.

GO CARDS!!

Hitting the Wall

Well, it isn't the hardest stretch of work I have ever endured (the summer in Atlanta with 12 hour days, seven days a week that lasted nearly 6 weeks comes to mind right away), but I think the combination of the 7th straight day of work, less than ideal sleeping conditions (the sounds of traffic and trains down below, coupled with a very firm bed make it hard to get a good nights sleep, no matter how exhausted you are), some minor stress issues at the office (nothing major just some computer issues that I won't be able to fix until I get back home), and I think I am starting to hit a wall.

Hopefully, for my sake at least, this is just a temporary thing and I will be doing better tomorrow after some good rest and a decent dinner tonight. I know I am looking forward to getting away from the office and seeing some of the sites down here and the guys in the office have been great in letting me get away and giving some suggestions of where to go.

Wednesday will also be nice as I will get to catch the Cardinals in their opening game of the NLCS. Still haven't been able to see a Blues game down here yet, but from what I have heard and read, it doesn't sound like I am missing much, guess it will be a very long season ahead for a franchise that is in a transition year for sure.

Cheers

Enter Week 2

Entered the second week of this month long journey today and started to get settled in and luckily for me starting to venture further and further away from the mall area -- the office is in the upper levels of the largest shopping mall in Costa Rica, but still don't venture too far and don't go anywhere on the streets alone.

There has been a little bit of an English invasion here at BoS over the last few days as some more Englishmen make there way back to Costa Rica to continue consulting work or other activities for BoS. Most of them are good "chaps" though and we all seem to be around the same age of 30 and have an affection for the F-word (I guess we are in a global world now huh).

There has been a fair amount of ribbing from the English contingent and the American contingent (OK really just me and a Canadian, but I need all the help I can get). I remind the English blokes that we (Americans) just took all their good things and made them better and now run the world while they just do as we say! (they love to hear that). . .Of course I did grant them that they had an advantage when it came to beer, football (the real kind not our bastardized American version), curry, fish and chips, and a few others. But we still run the world and our dental coverage seems to put them to shame (that was a real crack up when I laid that one on them).

I am laying the ground work for a weekend venture into one of Costa Rica's crown jewels, The Arenal Volcano, and am looking forward to seeing the sites and getting away from the office for a few days this weekend.

To check out some photos of the volcano, you can click here:
http://www.arenal.net/photo-gallery.htm

Tonight appears to be a good night to stay in, raining hard today (yes for the record it has rained every single day since I have been here, but this morning it was probably as bright and sunny as it has been since I arrived, the clouds rolled in around 2 p.m. today), so I will get to watch the Yankees lose (I hope at least) and the Monday Night Football game.

Can't wait for the Cardinals series to start along with the big Notre Dame/USC football game on Saturday, what a better way for the Irish to return the program to its glory than to knock off unbeaten and two-time defending national champion USC.

Cheers --

Ticos Take to the Street

Well, although I didn't get to attend the World Cup qualifier last night, I did get to watch it on TV, it was actually on two different channels (both broadcasting in Spanish), the celebration afterwards did come to me, in an indirect kind of way.
As suspected the U.S. fielded a team mainly of fringe players who more than likely won't even be on the World Cup roster. We did have Tim Howard in goal, he is the New Jersey native who plays for Manchester United -- I know you have heard of them, DeMarcus Beasley up top but everyone else was pretty much scrubs.

As I mentioned before Costa Rica and everything to play, they really just needed a tie to seal their spot in the World Cup, and even if they had lost if Guatemala lost to Mexico, the Ticos were going to get in.

Well Costa Rica left nothing to chance and drubbed the U.S. 3-0. The U.S. team had a few good chances but most of the game was played in the midfield with the Ticos perfectly content with a tie and once they scored to go up 1-0 they had no intention of blowing the lead.

It rained hard for most of the first half of the game, meaning it was probably a good thing I wasn't there as I would have been soaking wet, but as you can see in the photos posted the field was wet for the whole game.

So how do I fit into all of this? Well, I can honestly say I got to see how important the World Cup is to other countries outside the U.S. After each goal was scored I could hear horns honking on the street and the revelry heating up down below. My apartment is on the 9th floor of a 9 story building in the heart of San Jose, so people were spilling out of clubs and pubs to celebrate as the game wore on. And once the game was over, the streets were bubbling with fans celebrating, waving Costa Rican flags and horns honking.


The two TV stations even had reporters live in the street at the intersection right below me. So while I wanted to attend the game, it was great to see the people react and celebrate the way they did. I can honestly say their celebration was on par with any post-Super Bowl or World Series celebration you would have experienced in downtown STL, and all Costa Rica had done was qualify for the World Cup.

It was hard to sleep last night with all the horns, whistles and other festivities going on down below, but I was able to follow the Cardinals game via the Internet and went to bed after they swept the lowly Padres.

It is Sunday afternoon now and I have 7 TVs on in front me, watching the Rams defense allowing the Seahawks to score at will on one of them, have the Braves and Astros on another, the NASCAR race from Kansas on one more, the Buffalo Miami game on one, and other Spanish sports, so it isn't so bad.

Cheers for the Ticos.

Pictures Posted -- Spanish Test

Well I finally got around to posting some pictures, there are links galore on here but I also figured I would have some fun and test how good your Spanish is. Do you know what the sign reads in the photo above?

Cick here to find out: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/detail?.dir=/25ed&.dnm=9a2b.jpg&.src=ph

For more photos check out the following links:

For pictures of my aparment (the small one with no AC, LOL) click here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/slideshow?.dir=/25ed&.src=ph

To see pictures of the BetOnSports VIP Club click here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/slideshow?.dir=/2c88&.src=ph

To see pictures of the BetOnSports Marketing office (where I am stationed) click here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/slideshow?.dir=/5cf9&.src=ph

To see pictures of the BetOnSports call center (the nerve center of our operations) click here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/slideshow?.dir=/a4c7&.src=ph

If you have any troulbe acessing these links, you can also go to my photo album home page (which will link you to all the photos) by going here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/celticcommunications/my_photos

You can also see the updated links section on the left site of the blog for more photo links.

Clouds Everywhere -- Even in My Head

Well it is the rainy season here in Costa Rica, I have been told the rainy season runs six months out of the year, meaning it rains every day (no exaggeration either). Most of the time it will only rain for a few hours and then the clouds just kind of linger in the area, but it rained almost non-stop since Thursday, including a hard rain on Friday. I woke up today (Saturday) and while it was still overcast, it was more clear that it has been since my arrival, the only problem was I think my head was full of clouds as well.
Last night a group from the BoS team went out to dinner to celebrate the birthday of Nick, our poker manger, (a really nice English chap who just turned 31). It was a different experience for me as we showed up to the restaurant and drank for nearly 1 hour before they decided to ask for our order. I figured this was just the normal way of doing things in Costa Rica but I was informed this place was different. The food was very good and we ended up staying there nearly four hours, and drinking more than eating. I didn't help either than when I ordered a whiskey and ginger ale they brought out a half bottle of Johnnie Walker and a bottle of Ginger Ale and let me go at it (hence the clouds in my head when I awoke this morning).
After dinner we all went back to Will's (the marketing director for BoS) to play some poker and continue our drinking. It was down to the final four (and I was middle stack) and then the old guys who were with us decided it was time to leave (it was after all 3 a.m.) so the game ended abruptly, but I know I was going to finish first or second (Nick was still in and posed the only real threat as the other players were more drunk that Nick and I and playing crazy poker).
In the office today tying up some loose ends for some different projects I have been assigned, but will have some photos to share later today as I get them uploaded.

A No-Go For WC Qualifier

Well this has to be the first time in my life I have been in a city when the U.S. National team is playing a game and I won't be there. . .The U.S. takes on Costa Rica on Saturday night in a very pivotal World Cup qualifier for the Ticos (that is what they call Costa Rican here, aren't I so cool?). . .The U.S. is atop the group and has secured its place in next year's WC in Germany (along with second place and much hated U.S. rival Mexico). Not to bore you non-soccer (football) fans with details, but the team who finished third in the group will advance to Germany while the team who finishes 4th advances to a one-game playoff against a team from the Asia/Japan group (the other two teams in the group -- likely Trinidad and Tobago and Panama-- go home with their tales between their legs where they will undeveloped be treated as outcasts and losers for not getting their third-world countries into the World Cup. . .So with two matches to go in qualifying a lot is on the line for Costa Rica. The U.S. will treat its final two games more as try-outs for its fringe players before the roster is nailed down in the spring of '06. But for the Ticos this game could pivot them into World Cup (a loss still gives them a chance as Costa Rica and Guatemala wrap up qualifying against each other, with the winner likely to take third in the group). . . So, having said all of that, tickets are hard to come by and there was a story on the national news last night (yes Costa Rica has that) about all the counterfeit tickets going around. This is a huge game and event for this country, so me being the soccer-mad fan that I am will be playing it safe and watching the game from the comfort of my apartment.
Go USA!!

Made it to Costa Rica

Well made it safe and sound to Costa Rica on Tuesday. . . Just now getting my feet under me and have some "down time" to tend to the less pressing matters like creating and posting this blog. . .Plenty of pictures will come this weekend of the facility here that is home base for the BetonSports team and my apartment for the next month or so while I am down here. . .I haven't ventured very far way from the complex, as by the time I am done here it is dark outside and wondering the streets of San Jose alone isn't exactly the brightest idea (especially when you have pale skin and have a toddler-aged niece who speaks better Spanish than you do -- as is my case). . .I am torn though, because if I venture out on Saturday for a tour (say of the reinforced or volcano or something of the sort) that means I miss the Cardinals in their playoff game with the Padres (likely to be the series clincher). The decision will no doubt be based on how much work I have to do at the office, which there is plenty to tend to, just will decide on Saturday if I want to work part of the day (and catch games on TV) or if I just want to do some sightseeing. If I don't do it Saturday I will likely partake in a tour or something on Sunday.
That is about it for now, stay tuned for more news, updates, photos, tales and other musings from Costa Rica.