In: Rants & Raves
The Grinch
December 12, 2007It’s funny the kind of assumptions I find myself making in life sometimes. Not consciously, of course. Somehow I’ve found myself buying into subconscious little misconceptions of reality that have later led me to disappointment later in life.
At its core of many of misconceptions I think is, “If I’m a good boy, people are going to like me.” Ha ha ha! Now that’s a seriously messed up statement!
I’ve seen many volunteers make that wrong assumption and try to warn them about it when they arrive here in Costa Rica. For instance, one assumption volunteers make is thinking that just because they work hard to help others, everyone around them will shower them with love, appreciation and thanks.
Often, especially in Costa Rica, that is the case – but not always. And when faced with ungrateful people, it often comes as a shock and a surprise. And it hurts!
I fell into that same trap yesterday thanks to Amanda, otherwise known as “The Grinch” around our office now.
We sent out our end-of-year newsletter yesterday, which we were very excited about. We had an amazing year and wanted to share about all that we accomplished and what we were looking forward to for the next year with our friends, volunteers and supporters.
When we saw our first response come in we were very excited. We mistakenly thought it was going to be a “good for you, congratulations and keep up the great work” kind of response. But much to our surprise, we opened the email and found this:
Are We Ethical?
July 27, 2007Open letter to Rob Meyer, Go Budget Travel.com:
Dear Mr. Meyer:
It was very interesting this morning waking up and reading your article questioning the business ethics of organizations such as ours and to hear you suggest the money our clients pay don’t to our communities. At first I laughed, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to respond to you…
Fighting Crime
October 24, 2006A friend of mine called me yesterday to tell me that his beach community here in Costa Rica is experiencing a big increase in crime. This, of course, if not unique to just his area. Crime is increasing at an alarming rate, but most especially in beach areas.
Read MoreRepairs and Insanity
August 11, 2006As usual, I once again had to suspend my ideas of how things operate in life when I came across the need to get some things repaired. Both with my car and with my lawnmower I was required by the repair shops to go buy my own parts and deliver them to the shop. This meant, of course, an hour drive to drop off the equipment and an hour home on day one. Then several hours on a different day to shop for – and to deliver – the parts. Finally, another couple of hours to pick it up once it was repaired.
Read MoreNew Car
July 28, 2006Oh yeah, and we got a new car. We were totally over having both cars in and out of the repair shop. This last time the truck was in there for more than 5 weeks and cost us $995. Had the truck been in the driveway this past weekend, perhaps our dogs would still be alive. With us working with clients and driving all over the place, we really need something reliable.
Read MoreTheft Update
July 27, 2006Just a quick update. Not much to say. I have been in such an awful mood since Saturday when the thieves killed our dogs and stole our stuff. Kind of like a zombie walking around. I’ve been trying to get the millions of things done that I’m supposed to do, but it’s tough keeping it all together.
Read MoreBad Day
July 23, 2006I don’t even know where to begin with this entry. Words cannot describe the feelings and emotions I’m going through. As we all know, crime is a way of life here in Costa Rica. It’s one thing to be surrounded by it and hear about it all the time – and obviously another thing to experience it.
Read MoreTest Drive
July 18, 2006When I find myself getting frustrated about the way things are going here in Costa Rica, I usually just remind myself, “this is just how it’s done here!” But when does the line get crossed? Does one always have to put up with “the way it’s always been done here?” Is there a time to stand up for oneself and speak out?
Read MoreRandom Thoughts
July 14, 2006My friend, Steven, brought up an interesting point to me the other day. He was talking about a long-term friend of his who is a genius in the thought sciences (Latin American Thought, Philosophy, etc.). Just super intelligent. And he mentioned to me how fascinating it was that this guy has such unbelievably bright thoughts coming from a generation where education wasn’t that advanced here in Costa Rica.
Read MoreNightlife
July 1, 2006I guess I’m getting old. My idea of “fun” isn’t what it used to be. I went out last night to a club in San Jose called “Club Oh!” for a Madonna tribute party. There were hundreds more people inside than what I consider to be safe…
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