Vagaries

I’m into my last full day of geographical bachelorhood as my Favorite Panamanian is due back tomorrow after replacing a couple tires on our car amongst sundry other tasks. I’m glad she has this time to hang out with her mom, something I was cheated out of by my own mother’s untimely passing. I’ve tried to keep the condo clean to wifely standards but have resolved my psyche to fall short of that lofty standard. I amused myself by completing another 1000-piece puzzle. Puzzles are a great slayer of slack time, at least in my case. Then there’s the beach which is the true ace in hole.

Dinner Tonight at the Resort

Latest Puzzle

There were also three consecutive nights of football playoffs, both college and pro. The most entertaining of those was the Patriots’ win to advance to the conference championship game. It still feels weird to watch the game with snow falling in Foxborough while looking out the window at palm trees. I’m getting used to it though. I’ve written before that with my advancing age these separations from my supervisor/spouse become more difficult. It was a busy weekend at the condo with a full-blown wedding taking place on the beach on Sunday evening. They timed it to take place just as the sun was setting and Las Lajas agreed with the sentiment, abandoning the omnipresent clouds for this one time. The wedding reception took place in the small hotel directly behind our condo complex and the music was blasting well into the night.

The Wedding

Sunday Sunset

The Crew

I woke up around 2am when I noticed the power was out. That stopped the music but not the partying. I noticed because without AC in a tropical environment the quilt I was sleeping under became superfluous. The power came back on after a bit but the music never started back up. Monday’s have become the weekly day-long power outages as the power company claims maintenance is taking place. I’m skeptical. The power being out leads to both the balcony and front doors being open and a nice sea breeze blowing through. I still missed the AC though. These last few days would have been truly unbearable despite the paradisical setting without the company of the Upstairs Neighbors. The daily sunset social hours provide the needed human contact. It helps they are such excellent people as well. Tonight, they escorted me to dinner down the beach at the Las Lajas Beach Resort. So, a quick report on the vagaries of life here in paradise, and, of course, today’s sunset.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course