Augmentation

Yet another weekend has perished and tomorrow we will have been here for an entire month which seems implausible. That’s what happens when you’re having this much fun. We received reinforcements this weekend to embellish the enjoyment. We had a full nine person complement for First Friday night pizza in the village. The Panamanian elements of the Seis Amigos have yet to make an appearance since our arrival but his sister was in town with her kids and mom so we dragged them along with us. They were a great addition to the Friday festivities. The pizza was delayed when the kitchen caught fire due to the excess cheese on one of the upstairs neighbors’ pizza which made her the target of some well-meant ribbing. We also had another fleeting sighting of Chow Mein, the wayward Sunset Pizza cat of legerdemain. She passed by as we were partaking of the post-pizza gelato, obvious upset her access to beg at tables has been curtailed by the newly enclosed eating area.

Very Fun First Friday Pizza Crew

Our forces were further reinforced on Saturday with the arrival of my mother-in-law and Tia Loca. This meant I had my boogie board buddy back to conquer the waves with. Tia Loca is so much lighter than I am that she has a lot easier time catching waves but is also more prone to flipping over, so there’s that. We didn’t get a Saturday sunset ceremony because we had to attend the annual condo owners annual meeting via zoom scheduled at the same time. We went upstairs to view the meeting with the neighbors as well as our new next-door neighbor. There’s going to be an additional charge again this year since the roof needs some repair, owning property on the beach can be expensive due to the corrosive salt air, but you can’t beat the views.

Chow Mein Passing By

Post Pizza Gelatos

My Favorite Panamanian was up in arms at the efforts of a couple fellow owners trying, again, to get the condo association to approve letting them lease their condos via Air B&B. Tis is currently prohibited by the association bylaws. I was simultaneously translating, via What’s App, the procedures for our new neighbor’s husband who was watching from Oregon. The B&B effort was roundly voted down as the issues of non-owners bringing a host of issues (think spring break). We raised the blinds as the sun set so the Oregonian could see what he was missing.

Saturday Sunset From Meeting Location

Sunday the condo complex was very mobbed including a full complement of thongs which I always appreciate for aesthetic value only, mind you. The upstairs neighbor was helpful in this regard during the sunset ceremony (back on the beach thankfully) when she pointed out a full moon behind us. It was part of a matched set cavorting near the common area. Both Tia Loca and my mother-in-law joined us for the sunset ceremony, an augmentation extremely welcome. The sunset was perfectly timed to fall between the two NFL Conference Championship games which I truly appreciated, although I didn’t like any of the four teams playing. The two teams I wanted to win both lost but the two best teams did advance, Kansas City with their usual help from officialdom.

Back on the Beach for Sunday Sunset

With Augmented Crew

I knocked out a couple movies this past week thanks to the magic that is the Super Streamer. My Favorite Panamanian only lasted a few minutes of Anora due to the nudity and sex. You’ll not be surprised to learn I continued to watch. I loved this very strange love story of a Brooklyn sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch. You can’t help but fall in love yourself with Anora but I was really surprised/pleased by the comedy liberally injected after all the sex. The Russian bodyguards and their boss were too funny and I’m so glad one of them was nominated for an Oscar for his depth in portraying a guy doing what he has to but at the same time falling for Anora. Well worth a watch as long as nudity and sex don’t offend.

I wasn’t as big a fan of Nosferatu. Obviously, I watched this alone because the wife doesn’t do horror (other than marrying me). There is some real texture to this retelling of the original vampire movie’s plot. We’re in Germany instead of England for this go round and it’s Orlock instead of Dracula coming out of Transylvania. The cast was great with the exception of Ms. Depp who hasn’t inherited her dad’s acting genes. She’s getting a lot of praise but I found myself dreading whenever she appeared on screen and not because she was scary. Bill Skarsgård, on the other hand, was terrifying as the grizzled and insatiable Count. This was more grim than truly scary but, as I said before, great texture.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete –

 my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course