No Internet = No Blog

Hello Everybody!

My goodness...it's been a long time since I've put some thoughts down on this here blog. I had to come up to Lima to get some post-work Internet access. I've come across a few bloggable tidbits here and there the last week and a half that I've been back in Peru, but unfortunately I forgot most of them.

I returned back to the land of chicken and potatoes on Oct 14th after spending two weeks in NWI, with a few days gallivanting in New Orleans. The trip home was good. You might recall that I had this semi-epic road trip planned to tour the Northeast, take in some vistas and learn about our independence, but I bailed on that last minute. I spend just about six weeks in Peru thinking how nice it would be to spend an evening after work with family and friends, and here I was planning a five day solo trip here and there when I could be doing exactly what it was that I wish for most of my time here in South America. Thus, I stayed at home. I got to help my folks set up a new computer and I got to see some special people that I do not get to spend nearly enough time with.

Not much has changed around the dusty countryside of Pampa Melchorita or Cerro Azul. Great strides have been made in setting up an Internet connection at the apartment...after four weeks we now have an operable phone line! I've got my fingers crossed that within the next four weeks, I be doing this bloggin shindig from the apartment.

One of the highlights, or lowlights (you can be the judge), of the trip back was the drive into work this past Monday. Between the comfy abode in Cerro Azul and the jobsite, Eder and I encountered a haze so thick that if you threw a ball in the air, the ball would get stuck. I started to wonder why it was so "foggy" as I prophetically turned the the vent from "fresh" to "recirculate" on the Hilux dash. Was there a drastic change in the atmospheric conditions? Were we approaching a gigantic swarm of locusts? Of course not...I should have known it was just the fallout from the 200 acre inferno blazing at the south Liman trash heap. Folks, Maxwell House coffee doesn't stand a chance...there is absolutely nothing that gets the day going like the smell of fresh garbage incinerating.

The reason I'm Lima now is that pile driving is quite slow. Driving will not commence again until next Monday at the earliest. Working out of the Lima office allows me to connect to the Golder network and be in better touch with all things Golder...timesheets/managment tools/software. It also allows me to eat some different food and shoot the breeze with folks who are starting to become friends.

I spent this evening partaking in my first spinning class in over two months. My arse got kicked a bit, but considering the fact that I've loathed it off the bike for so long, I felt pretty good. I scored a free three-day pass too...The instructor hooked me up, so that was a total bonus.

The material order for our friends in Chincha is still being put together...this is all a volunteer effort and one of the fellas who is helping out with the order has been tied up this week. My goal is still to confirm the order late this week, but it might get pushed into next as a few more costs are coming in. I appreciate your patience and I promise to keep you posted. A safe bet if you ever have to work/schedule/coordinate something in Peru...multiply your estimated schedule by a factor of three and that should get you pretty close.

I guess the last thing for this post circles around keeping things simple...Sometimes I wish I could kick my own butt, because I've got this terrible ability to take a simple bread and butter situation and turn it into a seven course catastrophe in my mind. I've spent too much time these last few weeks looking back on so many things wondering why I did certain things the way I did or thought the things I thought. First, though it might pass as a good mental exercise, I've come to find out that all that looking back really didn't do me any good. Second, the common denominator to many of the things I looked back upon was this: I thought too much. I'm sure I missed out on some terrific opportunities because I was thinking too much, rather than doing more. Just one of the things floating around in my cranium that I figured I'd get out there...if I can't physically kick my own butt...maybe a short written butt kicking will do me some good instead.

You all have a peaceful night's sleep...give someone a hug or tell someone you love 'em before you hit the lights tonight.

Take care,

Scotty