Just Some More of Panama

My trip this past week was in order to do some training for a new gal that we hired.  The training was spotty at best.  That branch is loco crazy busy and I could not blame her nor myself for the little training we got done.  The branch had been without an admin for a while and I was doing the work from Orlando.  A temp had been called in to help but it was still a lot to catch up on.  We were trying to get orders processed, branch accounts caught up, vendors paid, all while the manager was out of town.  It was, again, loco crazy, and we barely touched the specific computer software and inventory training I went down to do.  They have to do SO much more, accounting wise, than I do in the States.  We have a corporate office that handles all that for me.  They, being in a different country, do not, so they have to do all their AP, AR, payroll, insurance yada yada yada, themselves.  It's A LOT of work for them.   She's coming up to Orlando soon and we should be able to get more done with my portion of the training without the hurry and insanity that is our Panama branch.

Here are some pictures of the week.

Hello!

 This was my 11th stay at the Four Points Sheraton and I still love the place.  The hospitality never ceases to amaze me.

I spent my off-hours time eating at restaurants or bringing stuff back to the room.  Then a bit after dinner, I would head off to the hotel gym and walk on the treadmill for 40-50 minutes.

This picture below, I took on the way to dinner with two co-workers.  I was laughing so hard as I grabbed my camera.  We got to this busy intersection and there was NO TRAFFIC LIGHT.  I said "What??  What are you supposed to do here? That's crazy!"  There was a lot of honking and edging up and up until we cleared the intersection.

This is one of my Panamanian co-workers who was basically my chauffeur all week.  I took him and the gal I was training to a nice dinner to thank him for all the driving around.

The Italian restaurant was dead on a Thursday night.

Pasta stuffed with chicken in a white cream sauce.  It was YUMMO!

I had to take a picture of the restaurant's sink because it was so pretty.  Yea, I'm a weirdo.

I was there Sunday through Saturday.   Amazingly, I slept so well almost every night except Friday night.   It's always a nice time even though I miss my family a lot whenever I go.

Pour Some Sugar On Me

On the non-stop flight from Orlando to Panama City, Panama this recent trip, I was sitting in my aisle seat, having just finished my airline-provided chicken sandwich and minuscule salad (they still serve meals on all Copa Airline flights) and was working on my dessert bar.  I had been given some coffee, with two cream packets and two of the thin, long sugar packets.

I shake and open the cream.  You know what I mean.  You shake the packet so all the contests settle to its bottom and you can tear the top without everything spilling on you.  I stir the cream and grab the sugar.

The first sugar packet gets shaken with one quick flip, gets torn and added to the coffee.

The second sugar packet gets shaken.  And disappears.  I am left holding the small piece of paper I shook it from.  I immediately GASP loudly and look around.  The sugar packet ripped, flew from my hand and proceed to douse the people behind me in sugar.

I was mortified.  I yelled in English (like a dummy; I'm on a Latin American airline) "Oh I am SO SORRY!  It tore right out of my hands! Oh, I am sorry!!"  Then in Spanish, I reiterate my apologies. 

I was so embarrassed.  When the flight landed, I again apologized to the people behind me.  Thankfully, they were kind and told me not to worry about it.

The Seventh Flooooooor

(You have to say the title like "The laaast meeeellon."  You know the movie, right?)


In the hotel we stay at in Panama, I´ve stayed on the 1st floor, the 3rd, the 8th, etc.  But never the 7th floor.  The 7th floor was for the Preferred Guests.  Guests who have stayed in the Four Points chains' of hotels several times.  My two co-workers, who travel to Panama a lot more than I have,  have hit the 7th floor.  It was my Mecca.

Finally, I made the 7th floor.  I MADE it!!

Oooh, look!  I get a newspaper every morning.  Aaaah!  There are extra amenities and "stuff" in the room!  Cool, a sewing kit?  Mouth wash?  An extra toothbrush and toothpaste without asking?  Is that...A ROBE?  I made it!  I'm on the 7th floor.



The following morning I head downstairs and talk to my co-worker.  I ask him what room he's in on 7th floor.

"I´m not.  I´m on the 5th floor.  They gave me champagne and a fruit basket, but I didn´t want to try the fruit so I threw it out" and he heads off to get coffee.

And I sit there and start to laugh and laugh.  I was so excited I got the Preferred Guest floor.  Who knew there was a Super-Duper Preferred floor?

 

Another 5k Update

This one is NOT good.

While in Panama the week of February 5-11, I worked out in the hotel's gym.  Both of the treadmills were down, so for 3 days I used their elliptical machine for 45 minutes each day.  Then on Thursday evening, one of the two treadmills had been fixed, so I was raring to go.

That morning, checking my emails, I saw my final registration instructions in my email.  I was SO EXCITED, especially after learning that this year's Princess/Theme was Rapunzel from "Tangled."  This meant my medal for completing the course would be "Tangled"-themed.  Yahoo!

So, I am on the treadmill and jogging at a good pace. I am psyched! I am jogging longer than I do at home.  I am thrilled, I am....DOINK.  I am hobbling.  I am slowing down.  My left knee has decided to poop out on me.  I slow down and get off, only having done 20 minutes.  I go to the front desk and ask for ice (there are no ice machines anywhere) and they say they'll send up some ice.  Twenty minutes later and I am calling from my room asking where the ice is.

When it finally arrives, I pour it into an empty garbage can liner and place it on my elevated knee.

This. Cannot. Happen.

SO CLOSE!  SO CLOSE!

Friday I hobbled at work in Panama, keeping my leg iced as much as possible while working.  Saturday, we had to go into the office.  My Panamanian co-worker brought me his knee brace from when he had surgery and told me to take it on the plane with me.   Later that evening at the airport, I could NOT keep up with my Orlando co-worker who had come down with me, getting constant pings of pain. I ended up getting wheelchair assistance from Copa airlines AND they gave me an entire row of seats to myself.  All three seats so I could stretch my leg out.  Upon arriving in Orlando, I got wheelchair assistance from the plane, all the way through customs, baggage claim and passenger pick-up.

It's Monday the 13th when I type this.   I am using a cane my sister Brenda had left in the car she gave Jacob.  Thank goodness it was there.  I have felt fine and then the next second felt awful.  I made an appointment with an Orthopedics specialist who cannot see me until  Monday the 20th.  Then that next Saturday the 25th, is the race.

Too soon.  So close.  I almost made it.



UGH!!

Goodbye, You Great Man.

While in Panama this week, I received a phone call on Thursday the 9th of February.  My co-worker/friend of 14 years called to inform me that my former father-in-law and Jacob's grandfather had passed away from cancer at 2:30 a.m.  My co-worker received a call from Jacob's dad, who knew I was out of the country (my voice mail told him I was out of the country so he called my work) and wanted my co-worker to to pass the message to me in Panama.  He kept apologizing over and over as he heard my tears over the phone line, "I'm sorry, Kaaren. I'm sorry to have to tell you this."

Class 28 of 1959, MARCAD.

I am so glad Jacob got to see him a little under 2 weeks ago.


(I was going to title this "Goodbye, You Great WOP" but thought better of it because people might not understand the joking Al and I used to do to each other.  He'd rip me about being Hispanic and I'd rip him about being Italian.  I assure you, we were politically incorrect with each other and could not give a fig.  His kids would gasp as he would make a Puerto Rican joke, and then I'd counter with an Italian one and make him crack up.)

Panama in December

I just got back in from a week in Panama.  I flew down to train the new Admin.  I made them all cookies as Christmas gifts.  Only 3 of the 24 cookies got broken (My bag got tossed by TSA.  The cookie tins might have confused their X-rays).

I arrived in Panama the same day as Noriega came back to the country after a 20-year absence.  I had no clue.  Luckily, I had arrived hours earlier and did not get the crush of reporters and traffic.

After checking in, I had lunch, took a nap, then met a co-worker for dinner at a local restaurant I could walk to.  On the way back, I heard loud music.  There was a Christmas parade in front of the hotel!  FUN!

I took these two videos with my cheap camera.  It was a fun parade.

Most nights I was on my own, but there's so much around.  There is a mall within walking distance of the hotel.  EVERYONE walks, so I felt really safe.

Walking back to the hotel from the mall.  
This is a hotel that connects to the mall via this walkway.

I also happened to arrive during the two or 3 times a year when Panamanians get an extra paycheck.  Everyone gets paid at the same time.  Everyone.  The 15th and the 30th.  Two or 3 times a year they get a second paycheck.  This is when I came.  Traffic was a NIGHTMARE.  People were out to spend their dough.   A 3 minute drive from a certain corner to my hotel took 25 minutes.  I kept telling my co-worker I would walk, but he would not let me, as I had caught a cold and it was raining.  He refused to have me get wet.  Poor guy still had to fight the traffic home.

From my hotel window.  Jam-packed traffic stalled in this area for at least half an hour.

It was another eventful trip, but boy did I miss my family and am glad to be home.

So Busy

Argh! Two trips to Panama in September.  Two!  One of them on my 9th Anniversary no less!

Sorry for the non-"postage."  I'll get some in soon!

Panama in July

Panama....Panama ah ah ah ah ah.  I always sing Van Halen when I think the word Panama. 

I was off to Panama in July to help the branch for a week.  As always, I enjoyed this city and all its people, but this time, I was really lonely for my family.  It was a looooooong week of eating meals alone and walking around the blocks near the hotel after work (it stayed light out very late).  I even walked to a mall nearby to get gifts for the kids and some magnets for friends.



View from my hotel window



My room



Little snack left at my bedside.

I flew home on Saturday and was whisked away....to go see the last Harry Potter movie.  Luggage still in the car, we drove to the theater.  I was exhausted but with our crazy schedule, this was the only time we could see it before vacation.  Why not Sunday?  Because David wanted to go to Busch Gardens 2 hours away.  LOL  Yes, long week and weekend.



Crazy Busy Summer

Well, our computer hard drive has gone kaput.   I am currently borrowing a laptop to update all the crazy.

Now remember, I had David's family at our home at the beginning of July.

Then my sister had her baby...but I had to go to Panama a few days later.  So we drove down to West Palm on a Saturday to meet wonderful Miss Ava, only to turn around the same night.  The next day, Sunday, I had to fly to Panama.

I was in Panama Sunday through Saturday.  Saturday, right from the airport, they take me to see Harry Potter.  I was exhausted.  Sunday?  They wanted to go to Busch Gardens before vacation, so off we drove 2 hours to Tampa.  Went to work on Monday and then...flew out on our 9 day vacation extravaganza on Tuesday. 

Vacation was from Tuesday through the following Wednesday (9 days).  Home on Thursday (computer is now dead), work on Friday, drive back to West Palm because my mom was leaving back to Puerto Rico on Sunday and I had only visited with her that one Saturday before I went to Panama 3 weekends prior.

POOPED!

We have HUNDREDS of pictures and several videos.  Not sure when we'll get to work on the various video clips and edit them now, but I'll be posting some pictures on this laptop.

Laters!

A New Panama Trip

Hello!  I am back from a week in Panama City, Panama!  Yes, I was there Sunday the 27th through the 5th of March.  I just don't like announcing these things until I am done. I am weird, deal.  We live in a too-wired world anyway.  :)

Click the "Panama" label to see more.

This is my 4th work-related visit.  Again I stayed at the beautiful Sheraton Four Points in the financial district of Panama City.

The outside of the hotel.  Photo from their website.

The Lobby and Reception Area.  Photo from their website.

Their pool is actually on the third floor.
The hotel's restaurant is off the pool area.  Photo from their website.

I really like this hotel. The staff is SO polite and cordial.  I see the same people every time I go.  It's the same hotel all our business partners stay in, so they recognize us all now.   Everything is very clean and formal.  What I wish every American hotel could be.  The following pictures are mine.

My first morning there, Monday, I see this beautiful arrangement  in the main table of the lobby.

This lovely lady greeted m every time I got off the elevator on to my floor. I really like it.

One of the reasons I like it is because of what she represents.  The Central and South American view of beauty is so much different than the Northern and European standards.  A woman with nice full hips and large buttocks is seen as wonderfully sexy down there.  I totally fit in!  :)

The hotel is *right* on a busy Panama City street.  At all hours, people walk.  There are cheap cabs and crazy buses everywhere.  I would get back to the hotel, work out for 45 minutes, shower, change and then head out to get something to eat.  Even at 8 p.m., people were walking.  It's a pleasant place.  It makes me wish we are as content with out lot here as they are down there.  Truly.  

On my last day there, Saturday, the arrangement was changed.  

Some of the roses from the previous arrangement were used in a smaller vase on one of the lobby sitting areas.

As lovely as they all are, I was missing my family and after a LONG Saturday (left the Panama hotel at 7:30 a.m. and due to delays, got in to Orlando at 10:00 p.m. and home at 11:00 p.m.) I was back home with them.  

Hermetically Sealed for Your Enjoyment

While in Panama, I ate at a place called Niko's Cafe, a popular cafeteria. I ordered a gyro and went to get my drink. After searching for a lid, I asked my co-worker where they were. He told me to just hand it to the cashier and she would take care of it." ??

She placed it in the cup holder of a machine. The machine lifted the cup and down came a ring, which had plastic that was coming off a roll. Zip, zap, done.

She handed back to me a sealed cup. Whaaaaat? I was impressed. I'm easily impressed.

In the car, my co-worker put the drink bag right on the back seat, on its side. I would surreptitiously peek into the back seat because I just knew they would leak.

Nope. The drinks arrived safely and with zero spillage. Cool.

Unicycle Juggling

This was probably by far the oddest/funniest thing of this Panama visit. As we were driving from an appointment, we were stopped at a red light. Suddenly, a man walks from the sidewalk with a unicycle and pins. I look at my co-worker and say "I wonder where he's going?"

There. He was going right there, at the traffic light to do his act.

I *had* to give him a buck. My co-worker rolled his eyes as he saw me reaching for my dollar. Come on though, look at him.

It's one dollar. My co-worker probably thought I was encouraging this sort of behavior. I probably was, but you have to admit, it was pretty interesting to see.

Pictures in Panama

Hola Amigos! I was in Panama last week from Monday through Saturday for work. Nothing too exciting on the work front to report (because as you all know by now, I don't talk about work much, right? Right!) but I did get some random pictures along the way.




I just liked the look of this church from the car.




My hotel room view at night. I was lonely, missing my family. :(

Rumors of his passing might have been premature.

My Aching Feet!

Back from a trip to Panama City, Panama. Aye, my aching feet!

My wonderful family picked me up at the airport and whisked me away to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner.

I'll be back soon to post pictures. I have unpacking and laundry to do. Blah.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

I love Panamanian Public transportation. These buses are not air conditioned, so the smell might be a tad ripe, and are covered in crazy pictures and painting. I also have not discerned the bus routes or how people know what bus goes where. It's funny.

According to one customer, the government down there will be getting rid of these buses soon and repalcing them with better ones, with AC. What I did not realize is, that at night, the buses are covered in fluorescent lighting and LOUD music. I wish I had gotten a picture or a video on one from the front.

Yummy Sushi Pajamas

Reading in Panama
Originally uploaded by KaarenM

I'm trying to post a blog entry straight from flickr. First time, let's see how this works.

This picture was taken one night when I was too pooped to party, so to speak. After dinner, a few people headed out, but I decided to head back to the room and, you guessed it, read. These are my Buffy Yummy Sushi Pajamas. Probably my best Mother's Day Gift ever. :)

I brought three books with me on the plane; Steinbeck's "The Moon is Down," Charlaine Harris' "From Dead to Worse" and Shaffer/Barrows' "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." Steinbeck I read on the plane to Panama. The "Guernsey...etc." I started on the plane and finished the next day. That left me with my Sookie Stackhouse, which I finished a day and a half later.

Panic! No Books! After mentioning it to one of our drivers, he quickly whisked me away to Exedra Books. I was SO excited. Several people told me books stores were very rare in Panama. This store carried books in English and in Spanish. There was a coffee shop and a lecture going on in a room; I kept hearing applause.

I purchased Mitch Albom's "For One More Day," which I finished in less than a day, Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible," which seems so far to be one of those books that gets in your soul, like "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Color of Water" or "Cry the Beloved Country," and "Crepusculo." You might know that one as "Twilight." I figured after my success with reading "The Shadow of the Wind" in its original Spanish, I'd try the reverse and see if the Spanish translation of "Twilight" is any good.

In my Yummy Sushi Pajamas, I relaxed for the evening, to read about Africa and the Price family.

Plane Plane, Go Away

I do not enjoy traveling by plane. Never have. What I can say is that I am a good traveler. I get to the airport on time. I am patient in line. I smile at the often-stressed workers and say "please" and "thank you" because, face it, theirs is often a thankless job.

I also make sure my carry-on is, you know, carry-on. Every single flight I have been on, I see people bringing these humongous pieces of luggage, insisting they are carry-on sized, and then getting irate because they cannot shove their steam-trunk sized piece into the overhead bin. It boggles the mind.

Then there are the people who think they're at home. The man who shuffled his cards loudly for an hour. Not playing, just shuffling. Last night, random-dude was clipping his fingernails. Snip. Snip. Snip. Each snip bore a hole in my brain. Also, EW. You can't wait until you get home or your hotel before clipping your nails and discarding the clippings on the floor. Nasty.

There was also the couple with two young daughters, about Isabel's age, who let their girls run up and down the aisles. Up and down, up and down. I felt so sorry for the flight attendants.

OH! Last night we were coming from Miami to Orlando, after arriving from Panama. It was about a 45 minute hop. A family from Venezuela (I found out because I was sitting next to a young married couple in the group) was heading to Orlando with a change of planes in Miami. Mother, Father, married daughter and son-in-law, teen son and 9-10 year-old daughter. Mother is sitting with her 10-year old daughter, waiting for the plane to leave the terminal. The young girls presses the Call button and the flight attendant comes over. The girl asks for something, not sure what, and the f.a. tells her that as soon as we take off, she will come back. Ten minutes later, we still have not left the gate, and "ding!" the 10-year old pushed the button again. We're all seated waiting. After a few minutes, one of the attendants is counting, hits the button to turn it off, and keeps on counting.

The little girl snaps. her. fingers. Several times. *snap*snap*snap* "Oye!" she says mid-snap. My mouth dropped. She was calling the flight attendant as if she were a dog. *snap* Thankfully, the mom swatted her hand down. I could not even mutter a comment, as the little girl's sister and brother-in-law were seated next to me. After 5 more minutes, the girl gets up, and tells her mom she's going to the back. Off she goes. We're all supposed to be seated, buckled in, ready to depart and little Miss Obnoxious is off. Why? She wanted glass of water. If my eyes could have rolled out of my head, they would have rolled on to the floor.

Have you thanked your flight crew today? I have.

Back from Panama, Again

Morning!

I'm back from Panama City, Panama. Who? What? Huh? It was a last minute "Here's you're ticket. Go" trip. After some schedule-rearranging with David, I left last Sunday the 6th and returned yesterday the 12th in the evening.

I'll catch up as soon as I clean up the mess that is this house!

:)

The Panama Canal Night Visit

For SHAME!! I'm not done with the Panama posts. How could I be? I could I forget the Panama Canal??



After our visit to Casco Viejo, I went to work the show from 1-9 p.m. David grabbed a cab from the hotel around 6 p.m. and came to show, where he had dinner with me at one of the show's food dealers, and walked around *coughstaringatboothbabescough.*



During the evening, one of our customers who was helping us with the show learned that David and I would be flying out the next day back home and that we had not been able to visit the Panama Canal, so after the show he drove David, another co-worker and me to the Canal.



(Ignore the camera date. It was the 20th. The camera was set to the 19th in error.)





Here we are arriving at Miraflores Lock. There is a restaurant here open until late. We went in just for drinks. Beer for the gents, coffee for me.



The history of the Canal is amazing. Our tour guide (customer of my company) knew so much history. It was so impressive to hear him discuss whatever topic my husband David or my co-worker threw his way. I wish we were as versed in our American history as he was in his Panamanian history.


(image from howstuffworks.com)





A large vessel waits for the lock to drain down so it can pass onto the next level.


A view of the lock, with high water on one side, low water on the other.

Here we saw a tugboat pull up. They won't open the canal for just one boat, so this one had to wait for three or 4 more boats to arrive in order for the lock to be drained down. Notice the other side that held the rather large vessel has been drained low and the vessel moved on.

It was a great experience to see, even at night, and we were grateful to our customer for taking us here before we left on Sunday.

Casco Viejo, or Old Panama # 2

Our last Panama Post. :( Saturday the 20th, David and I took a cab down to Casco Viejo, for $3.

Casco Viejo is the place the moved to after pirates destroyed its original location.

It reminded me a lot of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico, except that a lot of it was really run down and abandoned, whereas Old San Juan really does good with the upkeep of the old buildings and monuments.







There is a main square is in front of this church where vendors sell their wares.





We walked down side streets, along a walking tour that was in our guide. We screamed "Tourist."









Underneath this covered floral walkway were dungeons used to keep prisoners.



The view of the current Panama City from Casco Viejo.





A local told us that these little peaks in the foreground are a German submarine run aground. We really couldn't know if that was true or not. He was probably hosing us anyway. :)





After our walking tour, we stopped in a little bodega hidden in one of the narrow streets for some bottled water. We hailed a cab back to the hotel for a quick lunch before my 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. stint at the trade show.


The following day, Sunday, we flew back to Miami, where we alternately laughed and grumbled at the customs route we had to take. We got off the plane, walked a very long way to collect our luggage, turned in our customs claims forms, walked a very long way to give our luggage back to the airport employees, walked a loooong way back......to board the same exact airplane we had just left. *sigh* It took so long, the 45 minute layover was eaten up and they were already boarding our flight to Orlando, so we didn't have time to grab a meal.



I was a bit trepidacious leaving the country. Although I am usually an optimist, I am a traveling pessimist. I am so glad this entire 'work-cation' went so well. I was also so blessed to be able to bring David along and to have a cool mother-in-law who drove down to stay with the kids for a week.