Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day - I'm Back in Santiago



Man it's been a while. I've been back in the states for the past month visiting family and friends, petting the pooches, witnessing/celebrating my squad-leader brother's graduation from boot camp (Marines), attending my stoopid friend Mindy's wedding in Sonoma, California, pimpin the craps tables in Las Vegas (we actually purchased a hotel room this time), soaking up San Diego with the fellas from Ass To Mustache, enjoying the hell out of the Super Bowl, the spectacular food we have in the blessed estados unidos and everything else about being home.

Sister, Me, Brother, Mother


Ginger


Millie


Penny

Mindy's Wedding


The Gentlemen of "Ass To Mustache"



Now I'm back in Santiago, Chile for probably a year or so.

To begin with...Happy Valentine's Day.

I remember how confusing it was around this time of year back in Japan. Out there on The Island, the tradition is for the girls to get the guys gifts on Feb. 14. A month later, on March 14, they have a holiday called White Day when it's the guys' turn to pamper the gals. A year ago, Valentine's day involved me going to great lengths and eventually making an ass out of myself for my Japanese sweetheart. It involved a song, a guitar, a poorly prepared dinner and mucho awkwardness.

A year later (today), in Chile, I'm happy to not have to sift through too many gravelly cultural differences and am taking my special lady (who's surprisingly not Chilean) on a trip a few hours outside of the city to a natural forest near Talca. A friend at Revolver wrote about the place a while ago and it looked cool. Looking forward to seeing some nature and more of the country. I've lived here for six months and have barely left Santiago...so this trip comes at a good time.

Leaving early tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

Good to be back.