We spent the rest of New Years Day under the rooftop ramada at Big Jim’s apartments. It took until about sunset to discuss all of The Puerto Lowdowns. Not true. It took about three hours, which included debriefing. Around 4pm, we agreed on a little break. We strolled down to the beach, sprinted over the scalding sand, and had a nice swim. Having the warm Pacific Ocean at your fingertips provides unparalleled joy and refuge. As the skydivers fell out of the sky, Irene and I ducked for cover under a seasonal beach palapa. We each had a cold coco and pulled up a hammock. Irene was loving it. She had gone from one cold environment to another, but was now feeling the unfiltered warmth of the Mexican Tropics. By 5pm we had walked back on the rooftop.
The Job Description read like The Alphabet. In no particular order of importance, I had made a list of things that I needed Girl Friday to attempt to pull off. Scratchy told me(actually he drew me a map) where I needed to go to have this list laser printed and laminated. I kept it to one page. Had to bring the font down to Eight to make it all fit. So there was lots to it. Well thought out and researched. A to Z sort of accuracy. Just as the green flash appeared, I handed Girl her syllabus. Timing can be everything.
We agreed to meet again in the morning at Los Tios for breakfast. “It’s situated right in front of the main surf break. Can’t miss it,” I said. I told her that I’d be there around 10ish. I asked that she study her syllabus, and come to breakfast prepared with any questions. She asked if we could push the meeting back to more like Noon. She said she would need tomorrow in the am to study her assignments because the light switch in her room wasn’t working.
“But it’s all Good,” she said. “I’ve got A Guy coming over to fix the light situation. He’s also going to look into why the water pressure in the shower is so low. And deliver a toilet seat too. Oh and at 11, I am teaching a yoga class at Healing Hands. Is Noon Cool?”
“You’ve been in Puerto for 27 hours and you’ve got a Guy?”
“Yep”
“And you are teaching a yoga class too?”
“Yep”
“Are you getting paid to teach?”
“Yep”
How cute I thought. She thinks she has a Handyman Guy coming over to help her and that she is teaching a class and getting paid for it. A belly laugh was brewing. “Well, sorry to hear about the minor inconveniences in your room. At least you have a nice new bed,” I said. “You mean that 15 year old piece of shit mattress wrapped in plastic?” she replied.
