Well I can’t believe I haven’t posted on my blog for a month, especially the last month before I leave for Costa Rica. It’s been amazing how many lose ends needed tying up, but at least that whole process is now officially over!

Wow, so what all has happened in the past month? Mother’s day was a blast. We met up with my brother & his wife for some Mexican food in San Diego, which is always a good time. After that we stopped by the San Diego Botanicals, and my Mom absolutely loved it. They had a lot of cool bamboo & palm trees I had never seen before. It turns out that they grow bamboo there to feed to the pandas at the San Diego Zoo.

After the garage sale, with a bit of money in my pocket, I started purchasing items for the trip. Specifically, I bought a new backpack by Eagle Creek, my favorite backpack maker for these kinds of trips. Its huge, 9600cm. It has a zip-on daypack, which I’ve found essential while traveling.

I had planned on only taking the one backpack, but after packing it to nearly its breaking point, it weighted exactly 50.0 pounds, the airline’s weight limit for a single bag. At the very last minute, I decided to take another bag big bag that rolls, also with a zip-on daypack, and simply check them both at the airport. Glad I did, because I took another 35 pounds of clothes in the second bag… I also ended up taking my laptop case, and stuff it as full as it could go.

I completely moved out of my house about a week after the garage sale, and why not, there was nothing left. My parents offered to put me up in my old room until my departure. When I moved out at age 18, my little brother Matt took over my room. It just so happens, that about 2 months ago, he found his first apartment and moved out… Perfect timing. I can’t wait to play the guitar with my little brother again.

My temporary room is right next door to my little sister, where my older brother lived when we were kids. She is dating a great guy named Peter, and the two of them are so good together. Peter is a fantastic cook, and I think they BBQ almost every night, on my BBQ! Rachel & I had lunch together recently, and I will count the days until we can do that again.

My brother Jerod was thrilled to have me back on the block again. We got to hang out a couple of times, reminisce, and say good-bye. I’ll miss him, along with everyone else, but hopefully he & his wife will get a chance to come down to Costa Rica and visit.

Scott & I went to Catalina for a weekend. The house is looking great, but the spa was in pretty bad shape. As soon as we got there, I turned the heater on in the spa, and didn’t notice anything out-of-place. It wasn’t until we got in that evening, and had our noses about 4 inches away from the water, that we smelled it… dead, rotten, stinking fish. Somehow, someway, a foot long fish had been dropped into the water, and was disintegrating in the filters.

We spent most of the next day draining, rinsing, wiping, scrubbing, and refilling the spa. I didn’t even think about the drought in Catalina, and let the scummy, fishy water drain out onto the street. I hope we don’t get cited for it, and a ticket shows up in the mail next month. When we were done though, the spa was pristine. Scott & I had a great rest of our trip, and I will miss the Catalina house, as well as Scott, very much.

For Memorial Day weekend, my parents and I went up to the lake house in Almanor. Talk about a fun weekend! We had a nice drive to and from. My Dad & I spent an evening fishing on a local inlet to the lake. I went for a sunrise run down to the end of the peninsula and back, which took me through a pack of deer feeding on early morning grass. I wasn’t sure where the pack’s buck was, which was a little unnerving. Mom, Dad & I spent a morning at the crest of the peninsula. With smoke on the water, and snow in the hills, they sat in peace, watched me fish, and got some beautiful pictures. I didn’t catch any fish throughout the whole trip, but that’s why they call it fishing, not catching.

The community in Almanor was having a rummage sale, much the same way my community had a collective garage sale. Back at home, we rented a trailer and took a bunch of stuff up to the house, then took a bunch of the stuff from the house down to the rummage sale. I made a point to stop by the sale before we left, and purchased a bunch of shoes for my friend’s charity. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet up with said friend before I left. The shoes I bought, along with shoes from my closet, and my parent’s closet, were still sitting in the back of my Mom’s van last time I saw them. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all…

Unfortunately, that trip conflicted with a previous engagement I had planned. Jerod’s cousin Blair came into town, and we were all supposed to go to a baseball game together that weekend. However, after all the hard work my parents had put into my garage sale, I couldn’t bring myself to pass up the trip with them. Blair ended up staying a few extra days though, so we eventually got to hang out for a short while, which was very nice.

I had coffee with my ex a week ago, which was wonderful. I had a chance to see her new apartment… it’s a cute place. I had a box of her stuff to return to her, along with a few coats she had left at the house. It truly was fun to hang out with her again, catch up, and tell her all about Costa Rica. She seems very happy, which always make me happy. She will be missed.

Last weekend my parents threw me a bon voyage BBQ. We had Jerod & the family come over, and my Grandma June was there. My brother Jason & his wife came up from Escondido, and it was terribly difficult to say good-bye to him for the last time. They might move to New Zealand in a few years, and I can’t wait to visit them there.

Mr. Wayne & I got to hang out one last time, and met up for some Mexican food along with our friend Peru. He just got back from the Philippines, and the pictures are amazing. Ethan & I had a chance to see each other, which was a ton of fun. He might be in Brazil for Christmas, so hopefully we will have a chance to hang out in December.

I didn’t get to see everyone before I left, like Vinny, Hugo, Rachael, Abby… I never did get a chance to see Ilza, which was a total bummer. I did have plenty of time to say good-bye to Leena, again. As it got closer and closer to my jump off date, she was sleeping with me less and less. I think she knew, but that’s just my personification of her. I’m not sure what my parents will do with her, so I was saying good-bye for good this time. If I do happen to see her again, that will simply be icing on the cake.

As I rode the escalator to the security checkpoint at the airport, I received what I think will be my best memory of this whole process. My Mom was snapping photos, and both she and Dad were waving good-bye. What I will never forget is my Dad standing behind my Mom, giving her a hug, as they watched their son leave the country, unsure of when he will return.

Bon voyage indeed… or should I say viaje seguro…

Pura vida!