March 6, 2011–San Jose

“Tomorrow we make you a tour of San Jose. Amber will come by for you in the morning.” This is what H said to me yesterday. “What time is morning? Like ten. Or eleven?” “Yes.” I awake and immediately set to work on my presentation notes, worried that the day will be consumed by the … Read more

March 5, Guanacaste-San Jose.

When I wake in the morning, the air is warm and close because I turned off the A.C. before I went to sleep. I breathe, feeling the lump of anxiety in my chest that has been my morning companion for the past several weeks. It’s not the same as fear, but the weight of things … Read more

March 4, 2011–Guanacaste

MARCH 4, 2011 Guanacaste There are two international airports in Costa Rica. One is just outside the capital city of San Jose, and the other is in the province of Guanacaste, located in the northwest, along the Pacific coast. The terrain in Guanacaste is dryer than other parts of Costa Rica—it’s not tropical. In fact, … Read more

Costa Rica–Present Day

I’ve been working on putting to paper a blow-by-blow daily account of my trip for personal use…but as I near 7000 words, I wonder if it will just be boring for readers of this blog. Still deciding. In the meantime, just just the facts, Ma’am. My first attempt at teaching screenplay structural elements went fine … Read more

Costa Rica Flashback Post #2

October 11, Monday 1999Santa Elena, Costa RicaSanta Elena is a small town about five kilometers from Monte Verde Cloud Forest and Reserve. Our bus departed yesterday at 6:30 AM. We arrived five hours later and settled ourselves at Pension Santa Elena. For five bucks per person per night we have a room for three (myself, … Read more

Let the Fun Begin

Landed in the Liberia airport this evening. (Liberia, Costa Rica, for those who haven’t been following.) Beautiful and balmy–the way it is in the evening after a warm day. It’s not super large airport–it’s kind of like an open air Burbank airport. Customs is super easy and quick. The plane landed at 8:40PM and by … Read more

Going Places…or Not

Two of my screenplays made it into the Austin Film Festival this year. On Friday I got a phone message from “Ashlee.” She had called to tell me about some of the benefits of going to the festival as a second rounder. I A friend of mine from Costa Rica wrote and invited me to … Read more