Another Excursion

Aside of a few cold mornings and a handful of cold days the Houston winter has been pretty normal, pleasant, and mild. There have been many daytime highs in the 70’s with some days pushing 80 compliments of a stiff wind from the south pumping up warm air off the Gulf of Mexico.

For me, I’ve been whizzing all over the place looking for cool old stuff as my interest in vinyl records continues to be on the rise. Houston is a fertile ground for blues and soul. Lots of rarities originate out of long forgotten studios scattered amidst the north and east sides of the city. However, rare is rare, therefore I spend most of my time sorting through literally thousands of pieces of worthless vinyl to find a coveted gem here and there. As of late I’ve had a little bit of luck which refuels motivation to keep doing what I do. Never really knowing what I’m going to find makes it a lot of fun.

All in all I’ve been excessively busy. More so than normal. Motivation has been high. My routine has been work, get in a run, and meet friends at least once or twice a week for beers. I’m the type that can go like a mad dog for a certain period of time until I wake up one day feeling overlay tired and back off for awhile. Lately I can feel a little bit of burnout coming on but I think I’ve timed it right. As I’ve said before, I try to fit a year’s worth of work into 6 months so I travel and kick around for the other 6 months. It’s now time for a kick around session. Next week I’ll catch an early flight out Houston which will get me into Costa Rica around lunch time.

The downside to being wrapped up in too much busyness is that I continue to put off pursuing other interests as I avoid making changes I’ve been intending to make for awhile. However, maybe that’s Ok. Often times when I simply leave myself alone and go easy on the self criticism, life flows easier. I’m a responsible and motivated person so naturally the nuts and bolts of everyday living are always in order but I get hung up from time to time on questions concerning my own potential and life’s true purpose. Perhaps these are riddles that everyone wrestles with and by doing so we try our best to make the right decisions with the cards we’re dealt.

For my next excursion I have absolutely no plans and no idea where I’ll be staying the day I arrive. I’ve never been to Costa Rica but I know they have lots of beaches, plenty of jungle, national parks and mountains. I’ll be there during the best time of year and will have a month to look around. My Spanish is good enough for comfort and the country is known to be a fairly easy and relaxing place to travel. The biggest complaint I’ve heard from other travelers is that there are too many people from the USA and it’s very expensive for Latin America. Right now Easy and Relaxing sound good so I think the “Pura Vida” of Costa Rica makes sense. If I start feeling more adventurous I could always venture over into other countries within Central America.