Note No. 12

In my defense, I must say that it’s hard to get into the holiday spirit when it’s, like, 75 degrees outside. Plus, the visit with my family at Thanksgiving (see Note No. 11, which kind of slipped through the profile cracks) was so all-around fantastic, complete with a pile of presents, that I really felt like the season had already happened.

Anyhow, I was in good company here on Isla and after three consecutive days of friends and fodder, I wanted for nothing— except maybe sleep. Now we’re on the cusp of a new year and I am hoping it will be a little less complicated than the past one. I woke up yesterday morning and had something of a revelation.

Remember those photos I posted about a year ago of my kitchen? Well, though you might imagine I have since made it homier, more my own, I haven’t; not much has changed from those photos, the reason being that I have been holding out to see if we are going to serve breakfast to the guests, in which case we’d have to renovate the space, which would mean that anything I did in the way of nesting would have to be taken out to put in a bar, tables, chairs, etc. My enlightening thought, then, was that I can’t continue living in a borrowed space, not unless I don’t mind going batty, and as the chances of me getting a breakfast going in the next six months are pretty slim, I just need to do something already, which brings me to my biggest New Years Resolution yet (trumping all those set forth in Note No. 11): build a crab a home. (I’m a Cancer, if you didn’t know.) Details to follow.

In the meantime, here’re a few other things on my mind of late:

** They do this thing here, where they ask you a question as if they already know the answer and it’s No.
Example:
“You didn’t take the trash out last night?”
“Yes. I did.The can just happens to be back in its place already.”
Another example:
“You didn’t go running this morning?”
“Yes. I did.I just happened to get back earlier than usual.”
Another example:
“You don’t like to go to the beach?”
“Yes. I do.I just happen to not be there this very minute, perhaps because I am working.”
I don’t know why they do it but it annoys me— if you couldn’t tell already.

** Where have all the water delivery guys gone?

** At least I’m not in Afghanistan.

** Omigod. I’m never going to find a gold outfit for New Year’s.

** Can I make it till the 13th without a haircut?

** Thank God for Steve. (Is he going to let me into the party if I am not wearing gold?)

** I am going to get sick if I keep denying myself sleep.

** Phew. I found a gold outfit for New Year’s.

And some recent highlights from this life:

** Going on a charter fishing trip and catching a barracuda and eating it later at one of my favorite island restaurants with the friends who took me fishing (and Steve).

** Raw sewage leaking out of the neighbor’s pipes directly onto the gate and front entry, where our guests (and I) have to enter.

** Taking a guest to the hospital to get three stitches put into the gash in her head,where she walked into the (sharp) metal electric meter, because she was (understandably) trying to avoid said sewage.

** Christmas.

** A load of 70-plus percent chocolate.

** Watching our housekeeper train one of her replacements, particularly when she gave her the highly esteemed job of cleaning out the 20-gallon garbage can.

** Chrissy’s babies.

** Finding my gold outfit for New Year’s, thanks to the patient expertise of Brenda—and the glut of gaud at Plaza las Americas.

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