BIG STORM ON THE CORN ISLANDS

There was a big storm here the other day, it is rainy season after all…

The vlogs are behind but this is a video from moving day…

Greetings,

I’m writing this at 8:40am and I just recently woke up, this is a monumental sleep in here on Little Corn Island and probably helps because I went to bed filled with spirits while enjoying the company of the spirits of Puma Punku. You see, I’ve moved into my new house and when I visited Puma Punku on iBC business, I bought some coasters.

I always said I’d put those coasters in my house sometime and now they are. Considering I left Ottawa just over six years ago, I can’t believe I now have a house in the Caribbean. My own house, mortgage free and built of solid 6″ cement blocks. I used to call it “The Cottage” but I realized, it’s not a cottage, it’s a fort! So yes, I’m writing you from “The Fort”.

It’s a small house, 25 x 25ft with a 14 x 5ft patio in the front and an 8 x 6″ bathroom. What’s insane is this increasingly expensive holiday destination is now officially home! It’s also the cheapest place on the planet for me to just exist and go about passing my time on this wonderful planet for as little or as much time as I so please. I just can’t believe that it’s basically done, especially considering how much work and energy it took to get done.

My other house should have the second floor poured later this week and it looks incredible. It’s 36ft x 34ft with 10ft ceilings and since it’s on a slope near the very top of the hill, we built up five feet to level in the front. From the second floor which is yet to be poured, I can see the entire south end of the island and that’s not even the main view I was going for. I literally have ~110 degrees of Caribbean Sea for my view and it’s not just a little bit, I can see the turquoise inside the reef.

Who would of thought, all this resulted form taking some insanely big risks but most importantly, not giving up. When I was back home in 2011 before leaving for Nicaragua,  I had traveled for ~two years and spent most of my nest egg. It was a dark time in my parent’s basement losing a few hundred dollars a few times a day on fucking insane FAZ and VXX trades. Fuck I was an out of control degenerate gambler but that comes with the territory of willing to take on balls to the walls risk.

The pressure to get a job and “get serious with life” was there so when a friend said “Hey, I found a $148 one way ticket to Nicaragua, wanna go?” I jumped on it. Who knew I’d end up here, I’d keep pushing forward doing what I wanted which was traveling and writing on my stupid blog at the time which was just a massive time sink. I loved writing the blog but there was nothing from it.

I remember one time in Romania or Moldova I was talking to this girl at a hostel and shit got a little deeper than usual. She was talking about money and I was like “I have this blog directory I should be working on but I just keep writing this blog, imagine if I put that time into my business?” Little did I know, I was making a business and one that’s funding this entire project and beyond.

I digress.

Anyways, I bought these couches which are really small and I had serious buyers regret but they came in and fit perfectly. My house is setup and no photos because I’m lazy and I’m on a 2G connection aka Edge. It took me a few minutes to load this page but I figured I’d share when feeling inspired and now is one of them, just so tired. My house is my new toy and when I get home be it at 8pm or midnight, I’m just hanging out in my house and laughing like a lunatic in disbelief.

I’d go but I’m going to cross a field and drink some coffee at a friend’s place. I’ve also decided to start making Sunday a day of rest where I don’t think about anything unless I need to and I usually don’t need to. Life is so simple here and I love it. I have a bike that is pretty sweet called “Ghost Rider” by the locals and that’s my ride. So much less hassle than having to pay for car repairs or a lease if you didn’t think the whole process through.

If you don’t know what you want exactly, ignore all those fucking people saying you need to see what you want. Just go open for things because this whole setup is way cooler than anything I ever could have imagined while sitting in a stale office alone with my coffee breath and thoughts.

Tips hat,

Greetings,

I just wrote a post called “Six Years of International Living” over at SHABL and if you’re interested on hearing my thoughts, go give it a gander. Where does time go, was it really not that long ago I was guzzling XL coffees while making insanely risky short term investments and addicted to reading iBankcoin?

Where does time go?

I’ve been pretty offline lately and it’s not just here, it’s everywhere. I could blame it on building two houses, lots of video editing or other things like that. The reality of the matter is that it all comes down to connection speed and electricity; how basic?! It’s time for this gent to look into getting a fast private connection and perhaps selling some of the bandwidth to others while hoarding most of it for myself.

At the same time though, I’m also hungry to travel again. Planting roots is cool but I’m not like most people and as my roots dig deeper into the dirt, I don’t feel at peace but as though I’m suffocating. I love where I live but I’m keen to see more of the world and that’s the plan for the later half of 2016.

I’d go on but I’m off to Mexico tomorrow and I haven’t packed or anything. In fact, I haven’t even gone through the clothes I leave in Managua at a friend’s place. The theme is business casual and I think I have some khaki pants, I sure hope so or I’m in trouble and it’s not that I’m leaving this post to even open the bag, I’m going to go bed and worry about it in the morning.

Also, if I never started stophavingaboringlife.com; none of this would be possible. Just thought I’d mention that and a big thanks to “The Fly” for having his Peanut Gallery in ~2008; that’s the humble place where I got my start. That said, if you don’t use it you lose and and since I’m not writing much these days a simple bloggery  like this which used to flow from my fingers like smoke from a cigarette feels forced but that’s what I get for slacking.

Tips hat,

P.S: Thanks to Vincenzo for making this logo in late 2009.

I made this video from my recent trip to Serbia and it will give you an idea about the nightlife in Belgrade. For the record, it was a Monday or Tuesday I believe and the club we went into was playing old tunes. I’d love to see this same venue on a weekend with different music.

Last year when I was in Belgrade with a friend, we hit up the same strip along the river. It’s all these barges with clubs on them and recommended for those looking to go out. I really like Belgrade, and the internet I used at two hotels is some of the fastest in the world.

I’m back on the island now and off to Mexico in ~2 weeks.

I’m in Edinburgh and headed back to Managua in a few hours. So Scotland is beautiful, but that’s old news. I knew it was stunning but it doesn’t get that much chatter on the global scale so I had kinda forgotten. Highlight was being on the Isle of Skye for supposedly the best day of summer yet, I got lucky.

P.S: Haggis is black pudding on speed aka welcome at breakfast.

Greetings,

I’m writing this from the Radisson Blu in Belgrade and I mention that because it has the fastest internet connection I’ve ever been on I believe. I’m at ~60mpbs down and 65mpbs up; insane?! I’ve been here over a week now and explored all over the country; I really like Serbia and the rest of the the Balkans and eastern Europe for that matter.

One thing I will mention is that the nightlife in Belgrade really is something. The other night myself and some associates, colleagues, friends or whatever you want to call people these days went out to one of those busy clubs on the river. Let’s say we left at 4am and it was still raging. That said, I’m very glad that I went nuts at 29 because I’m getting too old for that stuff these days. I’m far from 47.5 but further from 18.

Below are some posts I wrote from my recent time here and in a few hours I’m off to London for the evening before catching an early flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. I’m excited to be returning to Scotland where I’ll be playing some golf, going on a bike ride to the base of Loch Ness, walking around St. Andrews so I can see the “Old Course” and all that jazz.

Discovering Subotica

Getting to Know Serbia

Uvac Special Nature Reserve

Day in Novi Pazar

I’ll also be checking out a castle called Eilean Donan which looks stunning; hopefully I’ll have some great weather that day as I think it’s going to deliver some incredible photos and video. I’m vlogging the whole thing too and traded my trusty GoPro in for a Canon G7X which isn’t that durable but wow, the video quality is next level.

I’d go on but I’m editing videos like mad and about to order room service. In closing, I went to the Trumpet Festival in Guca and straight up, the music kinda grew on me. I was there for the opening night and the weather wasn’t ideal so it wasn’t that packed. Supposedly when it’s full-swing like right now, it has up to 900,000 people in a small town that is usually home to 10,000; madness!

I’m SURE lots of locals HATE trumpets; it’s so loud, obnoxious and awesome.

Also, I’m fat from all the BBQ or getting there but enough of that.

Tips hat,

P.S: Internet speed is everything these days. Little Corn speeds suck so I never do anything because I can’t stand waiting for pages to load or getting the fail to load signal etc. On this connection I feel like I can take over the world because I can; Belgrade is still a hot spot for me to return when I want to lock myself in a nice apartment and inflame my finger joints.

So the internet sucks on Little Corn, what else is new? While in London I had this blazing connection and felt in love with the wired world. Well, in Belgrade it’s just as fast and living expenses are less than a fraction. Couple that with a mix of interesting characters from most cultures around the globe and mixed grill BBQ’s for less than a Happy Meal and well you’ve identified a SHABL hangout; maybe even a potential HQ.

I’ve got to go meet some people for breakfast but check out this post I dropped moments ago. Also, when I’m done construction I have plans on doing some big things online; not like starting a network but just making lots of jake passively and I need a base to hang out, get built up online and in the physical form and know that Belgrade meets all the requirements.

Post : A taste of nightlife in Belgrade, Serbia.

More on that later and seriously, the Balkan Peninsula is where you should be thinking of for your next European vacation; it’s fun and safe and this is my third summer visiting. For more information check out Serbia . Travel.

I’m in a good mood and off to Novi Sad; you know that place that hosts EXIT Festival amongst other things.

Tips hat,

P.S: Don’t let that photo fool you, below were all sorts of meaty treasures.

Greetings,

I’m writing this from my office with an uncharacteristically fast connection for this time of night; just past that 10pm line. I’m constructing my second spot on a slant and need a lot of dirt as we’ve opted to fill it in until the first floor instead of say build a bodega.

I’ve got a problem though, I need dirt and lots of it. A friend dug a septic and we had the dirt transported to my place and believed to be in a satisfactory state. They poured the ~300+ sacks into my veranda like it was nothing. Since I’m on a slant, the house is 5″ higher in the front in order to stay level with the back; that’s a lot of dirt.

The first and most obvious source is your grey and black water which has to be done regardless and is a source close to home. That’s where the creativity needed to start. I have some neighbours who could care less if I have some of their loose dirt but I still have to have it backed from a to b.

I went to an older friend of mine who is quite creative. I told him the problem and he suggested instead of viewing it as such, how can it work for you? Almost instanteously the vision of a grand fish pond came to mind; full with king sized carps who eat the finest of crap from my yard.

In other news, the small place is basically finished. I’ve gotten 99% of what I need from the builder and paid him 97% which is what’s needed so he will eventually place some screens and my bathroom door when they do arrive. I’ll post a photo or two at some point and it’s being painted this week. That said the yard work is another story.

In a land where you can’t call a truck to remove and dump all your stuff and yards of turf can’t be bought; one needs to get creative as well. Suffice to say, it’s a big deal as well a lot of individual movements multiplied over ridiculous numbers.

I’m out of here in a week and headed to Serbia; I love Belgrade.

Tips hat,

Greetings,

The second house is well underway and it’s going to be a beast. Due to the slope it’s on, the front of the house starts five feet from the ground. Couple that with ten foot ceilings and I *should* be standing at 15 feet from the second floor patio.

The seas are rough these days and there is no way to source cash on this island so I’m going back and forth like a small white ball in-between two international table tennis players. I also often feel like a rubber duck in a massive bathtub after an overweight character jumps in not so elegantly. The seas are really rough and today nearly broke me.

I’m trying to keep myself afloat on Youtube because it’s the future. Any @$$hole can write a list of things to do or a photo essay and the industry is saturated. Not many can hang on video and that’s why I’m in the area besides the fact that it’s infinitely more fun and rewarding. Anyways this and that happened and I wanted to finish an upload this morning.

I also needed to go to the Big island so I decided to bring my laptop along as the coconut trees weren’t swaying so hard and figured it might be an easy ride. I forgot my headphones so I went back then ran for the skiff which leaves at 6:30am each day. I got there and one seat left, the suicide seat. I sat in and thought, this is the way to the big island so no big deal, the way back is roughest.

Within 30 seconds of us going I was getting soaked. This girl held my bag but my iPhone and GoPro were still on em and I was literally getting dumped on. I was getting so wet I had to stand but got one of the coolest views I’ve ever had in recent memory. The seas are out of control and this ~45 foot skiff that holds 40 people with twin 250’s on the back was just roaring over the waves.

I arrived on the big island soaking wet, so much so that it felt like my soul was drowning. I’m getting burnt out and fighting crap internet connections every day. Sometimes I just give up and lay on my bed under the fan thinking “WTF am I doing with my life?!” Suffice to say I sauntered to the bank machine soaking wet all to see it was out of cash. I came back later and same deal so went into the bank and the rate they charge is extortionate.

I came back and it was worse. The way to Little Corn is always infinitely rougher than the way to the big island because you’re going into the waves. Anyways, I just sit there and close my eyes as water assaults my senses and I ponder my life. Then, I get on Little Corn and everything is cool again. This is my routine lately and it sucks.

Father’s Day recently passed and in a weird way, these houses are my current kids who need to eat lots of concrete mix. My second son who is just getting going is eating meters of gravel, sand and over a hundred bags of cement so far. The foundation makes me so happy and we’ve already started sticking bricks. This weekend I have 6 meters of sand, 500 6″ blocks and 20 bundles of 1/2″ steel. I’m building this house hurricane styles but more on that later…

In ~3 weeks I’m off to Scotland and can’t wait. I’m beyond burnt out on these islands for now but I won’t bore you with that.

Tips hat,