adventuring

My adventures can be grouped into “quit your job,” “two-week,” or “weekend warrior” categories. Adventures are about disrupting your routine, getting away from the familiar.

I kicked off my quit your job adventure with a friend who came to visit for the weekend. We did all my favorite things, a trip to Oakland/Lake Merritt, farmer’s market, ate veggie dim sum at Yank Sing, browsed the Ferry Building Marketplace, went to a museum, got some culture with a Cuban/dance performance in the Mission which also happened to have a street festival of low riders… went for a long hike in the Redwood forest/Muir Woods, ate my fav Puerto Rican sandwich at Sol and saw the sunset by the ocean/Lands’ End/Sutro Baths. Is it possible to do your favorite things every day?

The life expectancy rate lowered in the US, to 76 years old. I’d like to prioritize having as many adventures I can, going places, seeking out as many of the world’s wonders while my body still feels healthy. I want to focus on what I can do in the time I have. I want to prioritize movement, people, and places that feel good to me. I read, taking note of the simple fact that death will be sooner than later, helps to redirect your attention to what matters most, to take fuller advantage of the life you’re living.

While we all have to work, perhaps I can find work that is somewhat meaningful, aligned with my values, and does not feel like it is crushing me. The very definition of a nurse is burn out, and maybe I don’t have to be a nurse. On Friday, I walked out of the hospital, knowing I might never step back into one. I’m open to all the possibilities of change.   

Zip lining in a cloud forest, Monteverde

The town of Santa Elena is 3 blocks in a triangle but it surprisingly has a lot of life. We had breakfast at the Orchid Cafe where I ordered a typical Costa Rican breakfast, “gallo pinto”(rice, beans, eggs, cheese, avocado). It was very hearty, a little too much food. I also had the recommended pineapple and basil drink, surprisingly very tasty combination.
I read the currency, the colon, is named after Christopher Columbus. I wonder what he did to be honored.
The zip lining today was amazing. I felt like I was soaring in the wind. There was a section in which we had to wait 2 hours because the zip line went slack from the heat/temperature. It was a long zip line, maybe several hundred feet long in which each person zooming down slowed towards the end and got stuck. A staff person had to climb out to the line to pull them in. The staff did this for at least 200 hundred people.  
There was another section they called a Tarzan swing. It was not quite a swing but a free fall, then after falling for a certain depth, it turned into a swing. I have never experienced a free fall (10ft. +). I felt like I was jumping straight off a ledge. My friend said this experience made him never want to bungee jump.  
In the evening we went on a guided night hike in search of nocturnal cloud forest animals. Supposedly we saw a sloth, but all I saw was a furry brown ball in a tree. I did see for the first time a green snake viper, tarantula (poisonous and venomous), several birds that were round and fat… One green fat bird that camouflaged into the leaves, an olingo (it’s a cross between a raccoon and a monkey), spiders and a woodpecker.