Literally, it means "pure life" in Spanish. It's a catch all phrase in Costa Rica that has all the versatility of "cheers" in the UK and Ireland and "aloha" in Hawaii. Hi, thanks, good on 'ya (having never been to Australia, I'll have to trust Pixar on that one).
Ever since I was lucky enough to have a Tica come into my life, I was lucky enough to be exposed to Costa Rica many times. I wanted to express that in some way, which in Virginia means getting personalized license plates. We evidently lead the nation in the percentage of drivers who can't really get into driving a car labeled X37 2LZ5. For our "new" car, a 2005 RAV4 I bought from my parents, I couldn't resist getting a personalized license plate. One can get up to 7 characters, 6 on some plates. Any variation eliminating one letter sounded odd. Purivia must be a new bottled water. Pravida a Russian newsletter. Puravda the car used to deliver the newsletter. Or maybe the other way around.
Then it hit me. PURA VA. We lives in Virginia, so it's shorthand for Pure Virginia. Anyone who knows Ticos should get the reference. I like the way it works as my two gemelos are Virginians by birth, but I hope will carry a lot of their Tico ancestry with them.
BB
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sic Transit Gloria
It took me awhile to warm to living in Washington, DC. A good deal of that was simply that I'd moved him from a place that fit me like a glove. Boston had everything I loved about living in England, but was back home in the U.S. It didn't hurt to have my first really good paying job of my life and be falling in love with my future wife. It is a great city for dating.
The Metro, for all its next century feel, doesn't have the scope and integration of the T. DC tended to do high end restaurants and inexpensive eateries well. The midrange less so. Bit by bit, I got to know the place. I've got my favorite restaurants. The schools have been incredible for my kids. We're in a good neighborhood.
There is one thing I don't like about DC that will probably never change. That is to say, change. Things just don't seem to last here. We live in a neighborhood of townhouses. There are eight on our block. We purchased ours six years ago. A couple we'd gotten to know was reassigned to Austria (he worked for State, I think. Maybe the military.) The buyer was a staffer for a senator of some recent repute and we've gotten to know and like her. The couple next door had a baby. Then, she got laid off and as he can work remotely, they moved back to Pennsylvania. Then the two units next to use went up on the market and sold within weeks. The new neighbors seem nice, so we look forward to getting to know them. It is remarkable to me that in six short years, we are now the senior owners on our block.
It's change, but seems natural and we get to know interesting people. Then there's change that sucks. My favorite hangout is a place in Alexandria called Food Matters. The owners had worked at various DC restaurants and set up their own place in Cameron Station. I always liked the place and frequently drop by for a glass of wine after work. The food is good and they emphasize local, fresh ingredients. We haven't had dinner there that often, but I always looked forward to becoming a regular once the boys got a little older and we could settle down. I just found out it's closing. I think it's a case of the right concept, but a difficult location.
Committing to a place in DC almost seems like committing to a new TV show. It might disappear in a few seasons with a whole bunch of unresolved plot lines. Ah well. I'll be on the hunt again.
My best to the staff of Food Matters on a great few years. You mattered.
BB
The Metro, for all its next century feel, doesn't have the scope and integration of the T. DC tended to do high end restaurants and inexpensive eateries well. The midrange less so. Bit by bit, I got to know the place. I've got my favorite restaurants. The schools have been incredible for my kids. We're in a good neighborhood.
There is one thing I don't like about DC that will probably never change. That is to say, change. Things just don't seem to last here. We live in a neighborhood of townhouses. There are eight on our block. We purchased ours six years ago. A couple we'd gotten to know was reassigned to Austria (he worked for State, I think. Maybe the military.) The buyer was a staffer for a senator of some recent repute and we've gotten to know and like her. The couple next door had a baby. Then, she got laid off and as he can work remotely, they moved back to Pennsylvania. Then the two units next to use went up on the market and sold within weeks. The new neighbors seem nice, so we look forward to getting to know them. It is remarkable to me that in six short years, we are now the senior owners on our block.
It's change, but seems natural and we get to know interesting people. Then there's change that sucks. My favorite hangout is a place in Alexandria called Food Matters. The owners had worked at various DC restaurants and set up their own place in Cameron Station. I always liked the place and frequently drop by for a glass of wine after work. The food is good and they emphasize local, fresh ingredients. We haven't had dinner there that often, but I always looked forward to becoming a regular once the boys got a little older and we could settle down. I just found out it's closing. I think it's a case of the right concept, but a difficult location.
Committing to a place in DC almost seems like committing to a new TV show. It might disappear in a few seasons with a whole bunch of unresolved plot lines. Ah well. I'll be on the hunt again.
My best to the staff of Food Matters on a great few years. You mattered.
BB
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