The not-so-long road getting home
Seems like a lifetime since I have written, so many full days past, and memories of when this was all so far away come easy. We are about to come upon an anniversary of sorts, with a twist. On March 11, Andrea and I move into our new house, the little one in Mexico that years ago was just a dream (hell, 6 months ago it was still a dream), but now couldn’t be any more real. Casa Loteria we have dubbed her, and she is turning out to be everything we could have hoped for, and more. Guaranteed to have all the “charm” of any little Mexican house (read: leaks, bad water pressure, septic tank fun), it still holds within its walls a promise and possibility unknown to us in this form before. We truly have created this house from our dreams, to paper, to brick to paint. Size of rooms, layout of tiles, every color, glass block, window...you name it, we picked, drew, designed it. For those into this sort of thing, you can check out the entire visual journal of the building of our house, including all our drawings, etc here...http://gabrea.smugmug.com/gallery/2123442#135232888Anyway, as I was saying, on March 11th 2007 we move into Casa Loteria, and 
exactly one year before to the day, we packed the van, and left San Francisco, CA for the southern shores of Mexico. Pretty cosmic if you ask me. Andrea and I are quite fond of our long talks over cocktails, usually discussing, recalling, dissecting the events of the last year, the years leading up to our exit, and every new, crazy day spent in Mexico. Now another moment to contemplate the connection of, the magic of, and wonder of life.
You know what else is super-awesome? Having a dog! What was a frail little thing during the long-hot-Sayulita-summer, second in a not too successful line of Mexican Villarrubia puppies, is now a bitchin’ 9 month old so-not-purebred Dachshund, Dulce! With the totally ridiculous, yet fully deserved amount of time we spent raising this little dog, we are now getting to enjoy the rewards, as she sleeps all night, is very obedient, smart, submissive, and protective of us. We are a pack more than ever, and after years of being a cat person, I now know dog, and worship her.
When I last wrote about bartending, it was the beginning of an era, a dream coming to light, and so very cool. That was months ago. Last week, Andrea and I gave notice at the Bar and end our time there this week. Quick backstory to fill in gaps: Though I had been working at the bar all last summer it was not till November that Andrea started bartending there as well – such a cool thing to happen. Visualize the 2 of us, running the bar, having a blast, and talking up the tourists – great fun! So boozy! Boozy fun! It allowed us a stage to meet Sayulita and spread our love gospel (which means drink heavily with our patrons, and share our love of Sayulita). Well, as we move into our house and start year two, we have decided to free our nights, to focus more full days to our other business, and leave the bar-life to the other side of the bar. We will miss our good times there, and will continue to contribute on the paying-side. Hopefully some day we are back on the other side, but as owners. Stranger things have happened.
Our days lately have been so filled with house stuff, wedding work, and our newest endeavor, Property Management, that trips to the beach have been few and far between, mostly evident by our faded tans. High season around here most definitely keeps you busy if you have any sort of business dealing with tourists, and though we appreciate the work that keeps us eating and building, we long for next summer, clearly not remembering the heat that will make us look back and laugh at our longing for it. A great part surely will be the visits from friends that filled last summer – the “winter” here has been scarce on visitors, though the few that did come through were very special, and meant the world to us. The holidays also took me away from Sayulita for the first time since arriving, and for hectic reasons. It seems my old man has a bum ticker, and had to have a 5-way bypass. The short story is that he is doing great, almost totally recovered, and that the 2 weeks spent with them during the surgery stage, for all their stress and chaos, were very special to me.
Besides being able to support my family, that trip also made me leave part of my family at home, my dear Andrea. Not only apart for weeks, but apart for New Years, every day seemed a life time without my better half. Without question, it is clear that many people do not hav
e the sort of relationship and un-dying want to be together that Andrea and I have, or they would understand it better. Thank god for modern technology allowing us to talk various times per day, every day, or it would have been even crazier to be apart. Andrea held me together on nights where I thought I could not take the stress of my dad’s surgery and mom’s subsequent worry-break-downs. I love her more every day, and the day I came home from the US will continue to be one of the nicest feelings I have had in a long time. From the tearful breakdown in the parking lot, to the subsequent 2 day welcome home party, my home is in Mexico, and my heart is Andrea’s.
What’s next? Moving into our new house. Andrea’s birthday and somehow, someway, getting our stuff out of storage in the next 2 months. Sounds like another year, and another adventure. Can’t wait.
exactly one year before to the day, we packed the van, and left San Francisco, CA for the southern shores of Mexico. Pretty cosmic if you ask me. Andrea and I are quite fond of our long talks over cocktails, usually discussing, recalling, dissecting the events of the last year, the years leading up to our exit, and every new, crazy day spent in Mexico. Now another moment to contemplate the connection of, the magic of, and wonder of life.You know what else is super-awesome? Having a dog! What was a frail little thing during the long-hot-Sayulita-summer, second in a not too successful line of Mexican Villarrubia puppies, is now a bitchin’ 9 month old so-not-purebred Dachshund, Dulce! With the totally ridiculous, yet fully deserved amount of time we spent raising this little dog, we are now getting to enjoy the rewards, as she sleeps all night, is very obedient, smart, submissive, and protective of us. We are a pack more than ever, and after years of being a cat person, I now know dog, and worship her.
When I last wrote about bartending, it was the beginning of an era, a dream coming to light, and so very cool. That was months ago. Last week, Andrea and I gave notice at the Bar and end our time there this week. Quick backstory to fill in gaps: Though I had been working at the bar all last summer it was not till November that Andrea started bartending there as well – such a cool thing to happen. Visualize the 2 of us, running the bar, having a blast, and talking up the tourists – great fun! So boozy! Boozy fun! It allowed us a stage to meet Sayulita and spread our love gospel (which means drink heavily with our patrons, and share our love of Sayulita). Well, as we move into our house and start year two, we have decided to free our nights, to focus more full days to our other business, and leave the bar-life to the other side of the bar. We will miss our good times there, and will continue to contribute on the paying-side. Hopefully some day we are back on the other side, but as owners. Stranger things have happened.Our days lately have been so filled with house stuff, wedding work, and our newest endeavor, Property Management, that trips to the beach have been few and far between, mostly evident by our faded tans. High season around here most definitely keeps you busy if you have any sort of business dealing with tourists, and though we appreciate the work that keeps us eating and building, we long for next summer, clearly not remembering the heat that will make us look back and laugh at our longing for it. A great part surely will be the visits from friends that filled last summer – the “winter” here has been scarce on visitors, though the few that did come through were very special, and meant the world to us. The holidays also took me away from Sayulita for the first time since arriving, and for hectic reasons. It seems my old man has a bum ticker, and had to have a 5-way bypass. The short story is that he is doing great, almost totally recovered, and that the 2 weeks spent with them during the surgery stage, for all their stress and chaos, were very special to me.
Besides being able to support my family, that trip also made me leave part of my family at home, my dear Andrea. Not only apart for weeks, but apart for New Years, every day seemed a life time without my better half. Without question, it is clear that many people do not hav
e the sort of relationship and un-dying want to be together that Andrea and I have, or they would understand it better. Thank god for modern technology allowing us to talk various times per day, every day, or it would have been even crazier to be apart. Andrea held me together on nights where I thought I could not take the stress of my dad’s surgery and mom’s subsequent worry-break-downs. I love her more every day, and the day I came home from the US will continue to be one of the nicest feelings I have had in a long time. From the tearful breakdown in the parking lot, to the subsequent 2 day welcome home party, my home is in Mexico, and my heart is Andrea’s.What’s next? Moving into our new house. Andrea’s birthday and somehow, someway, getting our stuff out of storage in the next 2 months. Sounds like another year, and another adventure. Can’t wait.
posted by Gabbi "El Pulpo Negro" Villarrubia | 3:31 PM
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