holly.s.hess

Costa Rica Travels- Day 1

Well today didn’t start out quite like I had hoped. 7 am hit and off went both alarms like booming canons. I arise from my deep sleep ( thank you sleep app for telling me I was deep into my REM cycle) and head to the kitchen for coffee. First things first- talk with mom. Then I loaded up my plants and took them to the community garden where they will hopefully be loved on while I surf away in costa rica. I came back, now 8:30, and my neighbor confirms he is available to take me to the airport. John: a very nice and deep thinking guy. We met Monday night on my patio and ended up taking for an hour and 1/2 before I made it back inside. He is married to Lola, from Uzbekistan, who is really nice too.

So money in line, plants taken care of, and a ride confirmation all by 8:45 am. My Ups dilemma still had not been resolved at this point, but I was determined to get a hold of the local ups guy before I left town to a: ask why the package ( with all important bathing suits forgotten from Atlanta) wasn’t delivered yesterday and b: when he would be by to deliver it. I called the Ups automated phone multiple times. And finally, after signing up with My Ups online, found a local shipping point out of PostNet. It was there that Ken noted the urgency in my voice over this package, and sprung into action. He made some calls, one to the drivers cell phone, and then let me know he’d done everything he could. I was hopeful. Meanwhile I called Citibank to notify them of my travels and get a late fee waived ( based on my good customer record!)- done. I headed out of my apartment complex to the bank, but just as I was at the stop sign, I saw the Ups truck in the next complex. I raced over and flagged him down in the middle of the parking lot. I told him I was the girl who really needed her package and he stared searching his inventory.

There I was, sweating and frantic over something so insignificant in the big picture, yet so important at the moment. I could hear him rummaging and he came out saying ” it’s not in the right place..”. I stood my ground, as if to say ” you better search again” and he went back again. About 4 mins later he found it. I was very grateful, ripped it open to make sure it was mine and went on my way. It was now 9:30 am. I rushed to the bank, and then headed home for a last check. I went upstairs to get John, told him I was ready and he started asking questions. Turns out he had a converter for my electronics he let me take. So we hoped in the car and headed down to Charlotte. There were no lines, no troubles and no stress, which is how I like my airports. I did almost leave sometime really important on the conveyor belt at security but I won’t focus on that :) So here’s to a good time in costa rica. I’ve got plenty of things to be anxious about when I get back ( such as an expired tag, being introduced at work on Tuesday, ordering new photo equipment, revamping a website) and so on, but I will be postponing these thoughts until then!

Hasta la vista USA!

(After spending multiple hours on a Houston layover reading through travel guides, I feel ready to tackle the pacific coast of the country. The rest of the trip went smoothly except I had to wait for drew in baggage claim for 3 hours. I was content until a guard guy said something to make me think that his plane had come and gone- just a simple language misunderstanding. After the most expensive cab ride I’ve ever paid for in any country ($22 USD) we are at a quiet hostel called Gaudy’s Backpacking Hostel in San Jose, Costa Rica. We will be hoping on a bus to Tamarindo (west to the pacific coast) and hit the beach from there!

I feel the need to explain.

For those of you keep up with my blog ( I know, there’s not many of you!) have probably noticed that you haven’t seen anything from me in a couple weeks. It’s not that my love of blogging has vanished, not at all. It’s that I am in a Communication Law class and the question arose as to whether what I’m doing (re-posting other peoples created material) was copyright infringement. I was convinced it is..and publicly chastised for it (ok, just reprimanded in front of my class). I decided to postpone further Tumblr posts until I got down to the bottom of it, which I haven’t had time to do. So until then, I shall remain silent on here. That’s all.

Scones.

This week I determined my favorite meal is brunch. And what did I make today? BRUNCH. But not a full one, just home-made berry scones! I’m not a baker, what-so-ever, but I decided, I’m taking today off of life and work and just enjoying it. So, they have 3 mins left and I can’t wait to see what they taste like! Thanks Cooking Light cookbook for a great meal.

Plantapalooza

What is that you say? Oh, it’s the little plant sale that’s been engulfing my life the past 3 months. Little it’s not. The Trial Gardens, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the UGA Hort Club have combined to throw one big plant sale, in three seperate locations. We were fortunate enough to get mentioned a lot of places (partly my doing and party luck) such as The Athens Banner Herald, The Red & Black, Visit Athens and some other smaller mentions. I love plants and hope people take this opportunity to buy some of the rarer plants that I know they’ll love. Last year, I had my own plant sale that raised a ton of money. This year, my focus has been the gardens and I’m excited to see how we fare. So.. What are you doing Saturday? Coming to Plantapalooza, great. 

It’s on Saturday, April 9th, 2011 from 8 a.m- 2 p.m. at the Trial Gardens (behind Snelling), the Botanical Gardens (off of S. Milledge Ave.) and the UGA Hort Club (off Riverbend Rd). 

Be there, or miss out on a ton of great plants, food and fun.