08-27-2003 1:00pm here is just a little amusing/not so amusing follow up on my friend who got car-jacked. He said that this morning, he got a phone call from the people that stole his car. It looks like the thieves went to the motor registry and got his phone number and called him to let him know that if they pay him 200,000 colones they will return the car back to him. My frined, still upset about the whole matter was certainly not going to pay that price to have his car back. 200,000 colones is about $500 USD and he paid maybe twice that for the car so there is not point in paying that much to have the car back in his mind. He promptly told them to take the car and drive it off a cliff with them inside and hung up on them. Well, a few hours later the guys called right back and told him they would bring his car back for 150,000 colones. That's Costa Rica for you always trying to bargain with you. My friend promptly told them to go to hell. This is so different from the U.S. where if someone steals your car, he goes and sells it right away or takese it to a chop shop. Here, they hold the car for ransom. What a crazy country. 08-25-2003 3:00pm When I first came to Costa Rica, I had no intentions of working. At least not doing any real work. However, ever since I took on this net-marketing job, I'm working. Good experience but long hours which gives me less time to work on personal projects. I think it's time to move to another country. Last night, one of my friend got mugged and car jacked. I think that he's had it with Costa Rica and is going to go back to the US soon after that little incident. He said that he had just finished parking his car and was about to go in his house when two armed guys wen tup to him, took his money, and his car. Just like that. The robbers were kind enough to give him back his empty wallet after he told them that he needed but still. This little incident should by no means deter you from coming to visit this lovely country. Sure 75% of the people I know have been mugged since I've been here but hey, it could have been anyone in a large city. Or not.... 08-22-2003 4:30pm Last night, I went out with this really cool girl to have a drink at calle la amargura. We ended up at this dance club which I can never remember its name. obviously, not the first time I had been there but tonight felt different. I think that perhaps it was because of the company I was with. How would could I describe how I felt in words. I felt more comfortable and relaxed, yes, that's how I felt. One thing I noticed a lot when I go clubbing in Costa Rica is how most clubs hire girls to dance on stage or in cages. I think it should be a law that every dance club needs to have professional dancers on stage. Eye candy. I got a bit bit drunk last night and I took a cab back home sometimes around 1am. As the cab driver and I were going to my house, traffic got stuck around a rotunda that is right in front of the mall of San Pedro. It looked like everyone decided to stop there car in the middle of the road and walked over to the rotonda. Oddly enough, my trustee cab driver turns off hte car, gets out of the cab and tells me, "Venga Chino!". drunk and confused I get out of the car and walk towards the growing crowd of 50-60 ticos who seemed to have congregated around the rotonda. As we made our way through the crowd, we see what is going on. There is a fist fight between two men. We sit and we watch along with the rest of the crowd and just as the fight is getting out of control and very bloody, the police shows up. Naturally, we left with the rest of the crowd but instead of going straight home, the cab driver and I go out for one beer and then I go home. So that was my Costa Rican adventure from last night. Only in Costa Rica will you have a fight, in a rotonda, where people wanting to watch the fight will just stop there car in the middle of the road and walk over to the fight. I love this country!!! 08-17-2003 12:00pm For those who have been wondering what I've been doing with my time in Costa Rica, I thought I would let you in on a little secret. I work in what you call a sportsbook. A sportsbook is more or less a large bookie where people can place there bets on sports and various other events. They are many legal aspects to a sportsbook and I hope that I won't get arrested when I go back to the state so let's just say that everything I am saying here is fiction. It is illegal to bet on sports in the U.S. unless you are in the state or Nevada which is why the majority of sportsbooks are outside of the United States. For all general purposes, I do not really work there but I am considered as having a scholarship to this company where I work in net-marketing amongst other things. I am writing aboutit today because someone pointed out this article that was written in the New York Times website about sportsbook. The article was very interesting but I think that in general, it was very off from the truth. I am certain that the conditions they spoke about may have been true 30 years ago but San Jose, Costa Rica is a beautiful city with many cultural events you can do. Anyway, read that article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/17/magazine/17GAMBLING.html?pagewanted=1 and let me know what you think. if you do not have a logging at www.nytimes.com no problem it's free to get one or you can just use mine which is "kotigre" and the password is "costarica". Hope you enjoy the article which does mention the place where I work at! Even though the majority of the information written there is way off base, they do mention a few things that are true of a few individuals but those cases are few and rare. Yes, some of the people that do work there are paranoid and are not able to go back to the U.S. Example is when pictures are taken, big no no. And yes, when a game is playing and they were not abel to even the lines. That is a stressful moment because the sportsbook could lose $10,000 and much more on a single game. I suppose that if I owned one I would be stressed about that. However, when the article mentioned the lifestyle of people in the sportsbook industry, I must say that I must disagree. Sure, some people may choose to lead a lifestyle of drunken debaucherie with a small circle of friends but in general, that is not the case. Most people I know that work there do go out and to party once in a while but it does not mean that they do it everyday and that they have problems. On top of that, most of the people that work here are students that go to school and working at a sportsbook is a steady paycheck with flexible hours. It also doesn't hurt that sportsbook pay three times more money then a regular job in Costa Rica. As to the party by BetOnSports yest they are wild and this year amongst some of the celebrities that will be there will include, Christina Aguillera!!! 08-14-2003 7:30pm Yes, I know I haven't written in a while and I really do not have a good excuse for it except that I 've been working on many different project plus since I am a working person now(not very hard but nevertheless I work to get a paycheck.) I have not had as much time to do all that I've been wanting to do. Can't remember when exactly but I think it was sometimes last week that these pictures were taken. Click on them for a bigger picture. You know the drill. The pictures were taken during a going away party or a friend who is going to the Dominican Republic for work. If you keept up with me you'll know what I'm talking about. The party was held in the VIP clubroom of BOS Sports and it kicked ass. I mean we are talking about swimming pool(won't talk about the skinny dipping of a few drunk individuals), open bar, plenty of food, and lots of other stuff. Anyway, don't want to focus too much on the party. It's odd that whenever I am in front of the computer typing away I can never remember what I had wanted to write down when I ws not in front of the computer. By the way, in Costa Rica, August 15 is Mother's Day so if you are looking to get back in the good grace of your mother, wish her a happy mother's day tomorrow. 08-07-2003 3:27pm Ok folks, once again it is time for Kotigre's favorite actress. This time it is Angelina Jolie. You may remember her from movies such as "Gone in 60 Seconds", "Tomb Raider", and a great many other movies. However, one of the main reason I like this angelic beauty is not just because of her looks and because of her talent. It is because I respect her as a mother. You see, she is the proud mother of Maddox, her adopted child from Cambodia. She started the procedure when she was still married to Billy Bob Thornton(no comment about that one). Anyway, she like all parents who want to adopt a child from overseas has had a lot of difficulties. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a quick lowdown on ths situation. Back in December of 2001, the U.S. government placed a ban on adoptions from Cambodia due to its notorious reputation for illegal adoptions. However, Angelina had placed the request before the ban so in theory, all was fine. For the moment, the US Embassy still has not approved the adoption and since Maddox does not have an American visa, he is not allowed in the U.S. Presently, Angelina is living in Cambodia with her son and on top of her movie career she serves as a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Oh yeah, before you even start e-mailing me about the rumors of her buying her child, think a little bit about the whole situation. 08-06-2003 4:26pm I feel like a boring entry coming up but here goes. Talked to my little sister today and because I'm a nice guy I joined up at www.friendster.com as she requested. I am so good to her(lots of laugh and giggles). I wish my brother would e-mail me back with the answer to the question I had asked him. Atlanta is having there first game of the pre-season for football. it's not looking good for them. I'll give you the line on it in a little bit. Got to go right now. 5:31pm Ok, I'm back and the line on the Packers is +3 -120 while on the Falcons is -3 Even and the Over and Under is 39. Now taking bets. 08-04-2003 8:52pm I am dead tired. I think I sleep too much and football season is right around the corner. Being an Atlanta person, I do miss it and Ilove our sports team. Did you know that the Falcons are at +1000 to win Superbowl XXXVIII? Which is not actually that bad considering the season has not yet started. For those who have no idea what this means it means that if you bet $1 on the Falcons to win the Superbowl and they win, you get $1000. However, it looks lie the bookies have a bit more faith in the Braves for they are at +300 to win the 2003 World Series Championship. Just a few facts I thought you might like to know. 08-01-2003 9:43pm Once again the first entry of the month. Today is a somewhat important day in Costa Rica because a pilgrimage is taking place. You see, every year on this day, thousands and thousands of people walk to Cartago to see the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that many years ago but les then a hundred years ago, there was this farm where the Virgin Mary appeared and cried. Ever since, thousands of people go to that farm every year. Even people from different countries go there to see the Virgin Mary cry. It goes on until morning the next day. The reason I am telling you this story is well, because it is going on right now and it blocking traffic. Tonight is one of my firend's birthday and I don't think I'll be able to make it there on time since many roads are blocked and cabs will be difficult to get. What a bummer. I finally talked to my sisters today on the phone!!! Can you believe that it had been almost a year and a half since I last spoke with them over the phone? I mean, sure we sent each others e-mails and stuff but it is a very different story actually hearing there voice. It is quite soothing and a reminder that we are family and we love each other.