See here for the details of the latest. But the bottom line is that Jetbox is the worst service organization I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

To put it simply, you would do better in buying an economy ticket and flying to Miami to purchase most goods, than using these people to forward your mail...

I have reviewed the Costa Rican tax codes, and know of several occasions where I have been significantly overcharged when making purchases online and using Jetbox to deliver them from Miami. DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE.

More than $80 to deliver an item with a value of $299, a full 27% of the value.... That was generous. I have paid more than 100% on some items... And when you protest, you will get the excuse.... "It was the import duties, sorry, nothing we can do..."

At Christmas I paid over $300 for some books and a half dozen Xbox games...

I would love to see how much of this actually DOES go to the tax man, because this is either rampant overcharging, or simple incompetence...

Some thoughts on philosophy

"I have spent most of my life dedicated to the advance of 'people technology,' I have been blessed with incredible opportunities and taught by incredible teachers. Growing up in the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles, I learned early that, 'failure was not an option,' but I did fail, and I always had great people there to pick me up, help me dust off, and point out the lessons to be learned. I have made a lot of money in my life, but I finally have figured out that money is not a measure of success, it is only a measure of people's willingness to acknowledge that success! Today I take pride in the achievements of my children, and the opportunity that God and circumstance has given me to participate in the building of an incredible industry in Central America. The secret to Utopia's success is that in a world that seems to be mostly about making money, we are about achieving lasting results and the relationships that go along with them..."

David Anderson
President - The Utopia Group

There is now enough water in the dams, and there will be no more rolling blackouts. Translation, too many people were losing money in these idiotic blackouts, someone with lots of money, probably a resturant chain owner or developer, complained to the right person, and it came to an end...

Just about two weeks ago, Costa Rica suffered a historical blackout that darkened the entire nation for about three hours... Just a few days later, the Electricity and Telephony Monopoly (ICE), asked the Costa Rican Government to allow them an average of 23% in rate hikes, siting the increased cost in petrol to power thermal energy plants. According to La Nacion, the countries biggest newspaper, the Utility had already used 80% of it's operating budget for the year for Thermal Electric generation. ICE claims that an exceptionally dry dry season has depleted Hydro Electric dams of water needed to generate electricity. When the government refused, the Utility commenced with rolling blackouts over the entire nation for the last nearly two weeks. Every day for 3-4 hours, communities have their power shut down. Those companies with backup generators are forced to bear the cost of paying for the generation of their power. Smaller businesses and individual families, simply suffer. The imagery is amazing.... Meat markets forced to lock up all their meat in freezers and unable to take the meat out for fear of losing the cool in the freezer, are losing money every day.

Other small businesses, including offices of various types, are basically without productivity for 1/3-1/2 a day. And to make matters worse, they change the time of the outages per area, seemingly AT RANDOM! Last week our power was out every day from 2-5pm. Yesterday it was 7am-11:30 am, and today 11:00am-2:00pm, making it impossible to plan... Phone lines that supposedly allow one to consult when the power will be off, are congested. News reports are speculative... It is an incredible scene of lost productivity on a national scale, and ARROGANCE on the part of ICE.

Interestingly, over the weekend there was an article in La Nacion, where several residents of the area of a Large Dam just south of San Jose, accused ICE employees of dumping water from the dam.

In recent months, Syndicatos (Unionist) from ICE's trade union have been in the forefront of trying to block passage of CAFTA, or the TLC as it is known here. An incredible amound of cowardice on the part of the Costa Rican legislative and executive branches, has led to Costa Rica standing nearly alone as a non signatory of the treaty in the region. As a result, Costa Rica plods along with Energy, Telephony, and Insurance Monopolies...

In the last two years I have done very little business IN Costa Rica. My consulting business has expanded regionaly and I am building Call Centers and Contact Centers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras... These countries have long lagged behind Costa Rica as a destination for foreign investment, especially in the technology sector. Today a company is more likely to establish a Call Center in Guatemala, than in Costa Rica, where I helped found the Central American Call Center industry, 13 years ago this month... The fact of the matter is that this is happening because Costa Rica is NOT as business friendly as these other countries, and because turning the power off for four hours a day EVERY day is not the way to build confidence in your infrastructure.

The last two weeks have been a slap in the face to the Average Costa Rican, but Costa Ricans are famous for "grinning and bearing it." ICE's horrendous customer service, poor performance, bureaucracy, all of which I have experienced first hand, are NORMS to the average Tico, most of which have never traveled, the majority never getting further than 100 miles from their own neighborhood... I often muse that if Ticos, who have been waiting nearly 6 months for new cellular phone lines, realized that they could get off an airplane in Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras and purchase a GSM Chip in the airport, along with prepaid time... Or that in Honduras, one can order Cell Phone, Home Phone, VOIP, Cable TV and Internet from the same provider and have it appear on the same bill.

The average Costa Rica has no clue as to the impact of the TLC Positive or Negative on their lives, but the Unionist have done a better job of presenting a negative case, than business people have done in pushing the benefits of the treaty.

I have always been amazed at the staggering inefficiency of Costa Rica's socialist society. Life consist of standing in one line after another, being treated at best as an inconvenience by bureaucrats, who seem to think that their job is a RIGHT, and at worst, like second class citizens. ICE employees are some of the worst....

ICE is one of the largest companies in Central America, and certainly the largest in Costa Rica. It is not uncommon to go to an ICE office for some service just before lunch, and have more than half the service representatives get up and walk out to lunch, with a line of 100 people or more. But its not just ICE, its everywhere. The entire Costa Rican Society seems to be based on employing the maximum number of people, and having the lowest amount of productivity and efficiency...

Example. I often take my family to a local McDonalds. It looks like any other McDonald's in the world, including an abundance of perky young people working the counter. Almost every time I go to McDonald's, I am reminded of a Keystone Kops film. 25 people running around in the kitchen and 15-25 minutes to get my order (No I am not exaggerating). Costa Rican companies.... The majority of them, are just like the big monopolies, they have little concept of Customer Service, and when you find an exception, you stick with it. Unfortunatly, with ICE, INS, RACSA and the other monopolies, you have no "choice," and if the TLC fails to pass, it will be a triumph of ignorance over what is GOOD for the country.

For years ICE has maintained the loyalty of Costa Ricans by boasting what are arguably the lowest rates in the region, and they have boasted that their penetration in rural areas was greater than that of other institutions in neighboring countries. The rates are probably still lower on the whole than other parts of the region, but when you see little Mayan women in the outback of Guatemala, sporting the latest Motorola V3, you know that the second boast is a thing of the past...

Whether ICE dumped water from a Dam to help justify these ridiculous rolling blackouts, we may never know since investigative journalism in Costa Rica is about as effective as a FOX news investigation of the Bush White House. What IS clear is that Costa Rica will either vote to end Monopolies and demand more of thier public and private sector, or...Costa Rica will continue to have high employment numbers, with some of the most educated coffee plantation workers in the world, because I can tell you that the future of hight tech investment in Costa Rica is riding squarely on the ability of Costa Ricans to demand more...

Call Centers and big multinational back office and service organizations have invested heavily here, whether they will continue to invest in an environment where the Electrical Monopoly can hold the entire nation hostage, is questionable...

Crossposted to my Business Blog

My Conversation with ICE (The Phone Monopoly in Costa Rica), this morning:

Me: Hi, I am calling to get the configuration for GPRS Internet for my phone. I have already submited the request and documentation. I just need the configuration.

ICE: What is the Software Version number for your phone?

Me: 1.04-ROW

ICE: We dont support that version.

Me: Sir, the version of software you have on your website, 1.00/4099-RC, is old. It is not even an official version, it is a Release Candidate.... Beta Software!

ICE: I understand Sir, but if we authorize the activation of Internet on a phone that is not on the list, it could bring down the WHOLE system!

This is where I almost spit my coffee into my keyboard!

Me: That is impossible. In fact I was already using the phone during the beta period of Internet access, with NO problems. I just want to get the official connection now.

ICE: (He now knows that I am not going for the bullshit.) Eh, Our superiors will not allow us to configure a phone that does not have the version of software on our list!

Me: Look, all I need is for you to turn on Internet for my number. I dont need you to configure anything....

ICE: (Frustrated now) I can not do it.

It went on like that for 30 minutes, with me begging the guy to just activate the phone. No such luck. In the meantime almost anywhere else in the world, (Where there is competition), I could activate the service via internet...

Oh and one more thing on ICE.... I saw in the newspaper today that we will NOT be having the rolling blackouts that they announced at the end of last week.

UPDATE: Newsflash: I used some of my connections to get my Treo 680 authorized in the ICE System, then I configured it myself. I am NOW ONLINE with Chattermail and Blazer. It's nice to be back in my position as the most connected man in Costa Rica.

That anyone who has suffered through two days of rolling blackouts by the Electrical Monopoloy (ICE), here in Costa Rica, or who has gotten a shiny new toy, and cant activate the internet on it, becuase the idiots at the local Phone Office dont have a clue how to activate a service that I am now paying for..., deserves to have everything in their fridge grow green shit all over it, and the have to wait until the 22nd Century for a cell line! Jeesh!

Monopolies are NOT your friends people!

I was in Honduras two weeks ago, a country famous for its hot weather, and it felt like a cold snap compared to Costa Rica the last few days...

This is a great story, and one Sadie beat me to!

Angelina Jolie and a group of Colombian refugees in San Jose, Costa Rica.

They are not the first stars to visit Costa Rica, and will not be the last, but they will certainly be remembered more than most. I have met some American Celebs here, and most of them, to be honest are assholes. Brad and Angelina are a class act, and their visit will not soon be forgotten...

Just the fact that they chose to come to Costa Rica on Christmas is a cool thing, but it takes a lot of patience to deal with holiday traffic in San Jose this time of year.

Just last week, it took me over an hour to make a trip from my home in Heredia, to the capital, a drive that normally takes tops 20 minutes.

Yesterday there was a major parade in downtown San Jose, and I am sure they had already closed off many of the streets by Christmas day, which I am assuming was the day of their visit. One of the places they visited, is on one of the main streets of the capital, and even under the best conditions, it can be a challenge navigating in and out of there.

No, I did not get a chance to see Angelina and Brad in person. San Jose over the holidays is a nightmare of traffic and blocked streets. I have been spending some quality time at Casa Anderson, but it was all over the local news, Bravo for them. They seem to be a very special couple.

I want to thank them for coming to Costa Rica, and more importantly for being real people about it. We already have enough jerks who come to Costa Rica and perpetuate the image of the "ugly, arrogant American." One high ranking Republican Politician came here a few years ago, before he started his political career, and offended about half of the country, before taking half the hookers in San Jose on a "fishing trip." Angelina and Brad represent the kind of celebrity I can respect and admire... They walk the walk...

If you are a regular reader of In Search of Utopia, you may remember the post I wrote about the Monteverde Bank Assault.

It remains one of the most compelling pieces I have written on the blog. While Costa Rican public servants are often criticized for corruption and incompetence, there are some true heroes among them. A group I respect tremendously are the Fire Fighters. As I write this, there is a horrendous fire burning in Moen, in the Province of Limon. A truck carrying combustible materials is burning out of control. Fire Fighters from as far away as the capital, and my own city of Heredia, have rushed to the scene, to help local Fire Fighters, to put down the blaze (A drive of 2 hours)!

These people are all volunteers, and they are heroes in the truest sense of the word. They are under equipped, under trained and poorly provided for. At this moment, they are risking their lives to save people and property. The emotion is incredible....

Apparently the truck was being filled when it suddenly exploded. The number of dead are unknown as the heat and toxic smoke, makes it impossible for the Fire Fighters to even get close.

These men and women are working without gas masks and proper protective gear, and are valiantly attempting to put down a fire that they don't even have the proper gear to fight. The video is horrible, with the fire continuing to burn out of control. The heroic men and women of the Costa Rican Red Cross are also on the scene, providing what help they can.

Moments like these are truly impressive examples of how Costa Rican's come together in disaster. One of the things that impresses me the most, is the TOTAL lack of fear. You could see it last year on the face of the police officers in Monteverde...

Like the concentration on the face of this Costa Rican Special Agent, going to the aid of a wounded colleague.

These men and women drove two hours to fight a fire that they are ill equipped to fight, and rush into danger without a second's thought to their own safety. It is incredible. Yes it is true, you may occasionally run into a corrupt traffic cop. But it is moments the one today, when the BEST characteristics of Costa Rica's public servants are revealed, and while I am not Costa Rican, I am very proud of them.

More news here, if you read Spanish.

"Your proposal is very interesting. Let me get back to you!"
Translation: "Who the hell let you in? I will have to remember to spank my admin for letting you have an appointment."

"Send me an email with more details!"
Translation: "Hope I can remember to set up filters to block this guys emails!"

"It seems a bit expensive?"
Translation: "You are joking right? My computers are original 8k IBM's. I don't spend money on stuff like this! How the hell do you think I can afford my girlfriend, beach house and secretary?"

"Your car/fill in the blanks, will be ready next week."
Translation: "The ENNNNNND of next week, if you are lucky. Otherwise, that will give me enough time to come up with a good excuse as to why it is not ready."

"Yes I know you have been standing in line all day, but the rules say we close at 4:00 and though it is only 3:30, we need the 30 minutes to ensure that the people ahead of you get served."
Translation: We are a monopoly dickhead. Our union guarantees that we dont need to do no stinkin' overtime. So consider yourself lucky I even bothered to explain. Any yeah it is only 3:30, but with all the lolly gagging we do, the other dickheads ahead of you will be lucky to be served. So go home, and get up earlier tomorrow, or maybe you just want to STAY IN LINE, that way you will get an early start on tomorrow!

"Of course I am concerned about customer service."
Translation: "I'd like to be concerned by my, 'give a damn,' is on Christmas Break.

"I'd like to connect your American Cellphone, but the truth is that it is not on our authorized list, and selling you a SIM chip could cause our network to fail due to the incompatible hardware."
Translation: "I have never seen that phone before, and since it does not have a spanish menu, I have no clue how to configure it. So I am will tell you any damned thing rather than admit that I am stupid."

Hmmmm.... We just had another earthquake. Second one in two weeks, and STRONG. No damage here, but scary nonetheless...

At his recent graduation party....

Is he a chip off the old block, or what? BAD BOY Jean!

Why I love living in Costa Rica!

For those of you with an image of Costa Rica as a Tropical Paradise, it has been like 40 degrees here for the last two days.

Not much blogging lately, but that is usually a sign that I am busy...

I am preparing for two major projects the Utopia Group will be involved in in December and January, one a call center expansion project, and the other an Internet Portal, as well trying to get Solutions Costa Rica off the ground, the later of which we are still looking for investors.

We are also planning a major open source seminar for early next year. I am very excited to have a well known expert from KDE.org, as a potential keynote speaker. Will be working on identifying some sponsors and a tenative date for the activity in the next week or two.

You don't think I have been suffering through the indignity of learning a new operating system for nothing... do you?

Business has been pretty good this year, but the end of the year... due mostly to cultural stuff, (Costa Rica almost shuts down in December, as does most of Latin America), it can be slow for us. Fortunately, we usually use the time to build momentum for the next year. This year is no different, with a number of exciting projects on the horrizon.

We have been fortunate in that we have finally created something of momentum and sustainability. This has mostly been accomplished by being almost sharklike (Never sitting still), constantly moving.

I am very proud of the things we have accomplished this year. Utopia has grown, our reputation for delivering has grown, and our opportunities for expansion and diversification (ala Solutions Costa Rica), have also grown.

One of the key drivers for Utopia's success, has been our willingness, and our enthusiasm to tackle projects outside our normal areas of proficiency or expertise. This year has seen us take on, successfully I might add, several such projects.

Our plans for next year include developing a call center in Honduras, expanding our "newcomer services," portfolio and possibly creating some exciting new mobile solutions.

It has been said, that the best companies are those who regularly reinvent themselves. The chairman of Motorola Corp, said during a CNN interview, that the time to do this, was when you are at the top of your game. The Utopia Group is at about version 5, and we continue to constantly evaluate the market and opportunities.

We see opportunities in Open Source Software, services, wireless technologies, especially those based on GSM technology. We also see opportunities in creating alliances, partnerships nd synergies, based on a vision of technology for the region. Call Center Consulting will continue to be one of our fundamental core competencies. Our History as a leader in developing call and contact centers around the globe, is capital which we will continue to utilize to broaden the appeal of our new businesses.
So from time to time, I may disappear, but it's all good. When I do, it usually means I am up to something.

Crossposted to my business blog

I want to live in Costa Rica...
Where beautiful women like these, are as abundant as afternoon rainshowers in May.

Where women love a compliment.

Where women are approachable.

Where women love men, and men love women...

Where Karaoke is not something dweebs do, but is actually cool.

Where you can still have fun, even when you are broke!

Where saying Hello on the street will not get you hostile or suspicious stares.

Where you can actually tell the difference between a man and a woman by how they dress.

Where smiles are as plentiful as sunshine in December.

Where a ticket to a football game, wont cost you a second mortgage on your house. (Well not that kind of football.)

Where going to the beach is something you do on any given Saturday.

Where a beer and a pack of smokes will cost you two bucks.

Hey...

I DO Live in Costa Rica!

Today I had another one of those experiences that reminds me why I am for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA/TLC). ICE, the Costa Rican Phone Monopoly started a test of GPRS internet five years ago.

As one of Costa Rica's Technorati, I was one of the first people to get this service. I have used the GPRS internet connection with various equiptment for the last five years.

When I purchased my Treo 650, and Chattermail, I was in connected heaven! I finally had a solution, along with Causerie Internet Messaging, and the built in Blazer Web Browser, that gave me a reasonable facsimile of my office communication tools.

I was able to stay in constant communication using a combination of push email. IM and SMS, without ever making a phone call... Best part about it... The Service, still in test, is free!

Well I guess ICE did not like the fact that someone was ALWAYS connected to thier GPRS network. About a month ago, the service stopped working.

Since I am constantly tweaking my Treo, I assumed it was some software problem. I hard reset my phone, went through the painful process or reinstalling everything and then customizing my settings... Still did not work. I have been a MONTH without mobile Internet, and it HURT.

Well, today on a lark, my wife called ICE to ask why the service was not working. Since they announced that they would soon be going out of test mode, and charging for the service, we assumed that they disconnected my GPRS in preparation for charging me for it... NO... They disconnected it because they said, "he is not using it." Har de har, har! They simply disconnected my service, one I have had for five years... without even asking or informing me...
Well they reconnected me this afternoon, and while I was on a trip up north to do a seminar, I once again reaquainted myself with the joys of mobile internet...

I cant wait until these guys have some competition!

Crossposted to my Business Blog

I am always telling you guys how lovely Costa Rican women are. This is Laura, a Manager at one of my clients. Not only is she a pretty lady, but she is one of the sharpest managers and professionals I know.

Costa Rica is celebrating Black History for the next two weeks. Took the family to a fantastic Gospel music concert tonight.

We ended up leaving a bit early as Apollonia got antsy listening to music for two and a half hours. But there was some amazing music on display.

This group from Limon was unbelievable. (Sorry, I don't remember their name).

The headline group was from the United States. I forgot their name too. (Ever tried to attend a concert with a two year old?)

This thing was hanging out close to the light bulb on my porch the other night. Looks like a cross between a chickens foot, a spider and a moth. Dammest thing I have ever seen. Any idea what it is?

This week is a slight break from the hectic weeks of the past month. I dont have a lot on the calendar, and plan to spend some time resting up and with family. Saturday was my oldest son's birthday, and I gave him some loot to go out and have a good time. He turned 15, and a party was, "not cool." So I let him go do his thing, and his mom and I bought his present (An expensive Puma Jacket), yesterday.

Friday night I took the wife to one of her favorite seafood joints, and then we lunched at "El Rodeo," one of Costa Rica's best Steak Houses on Saturday. As you can see from the picture, the wife was very content with the Steak House, despite being on a diet! hehe...

Today I think I am going to take a much needed, "COMPLETE," day off, and not focus at all on work.

Jean choses Pizza over cake, so we did that last night. Why do kids love Pizza so much? I havent got a clue, but my kids will fight over the last slice like starving survivors of a ship wreck!

I am going to be slammed with work all this week.

Today I spent the day training my client in Santa Ana. Tomorrow I have my monthly investor training in Esterillo, Wednesday, more training for Santa Ana, Thursday, planning sessions for the Limon Call Center, and Friday more training for Santa Ana.

And tomorrow is Costa Rica's Mothers day, so to all the lovely mothers of the world, especially las Ticas, Happy Mothers day...

The afternoon started with Apollonia having some ice cream at our favorite Caribbean restaurant.


The wife seemed to be enjoying herself too. But not as much as the kid. I had a nice big bowl of Mondongo (Cow intestine) soup. (No it is not as gross as you might imagine. Actually it is quite delicious. We then headed off to a little walk around Heredia. Starting at the Central Park.

The park was filled with people today. It was a nice, warm afternoon with no sign of rain. I was actually pretty surprised at the quality of the Treo pictures. Not exactly Sony Digital Camera quality, but cool for what I was doing, which was just strolling and snapping.


The park is fronted by the oldest church in Heredia, and it was spectacular. Believe me, these pictures don't nearly do it justice.



We strolled inside and up to the altar in front. While I am not Catholic, I am always moved by seeing people pray, and often look at them wondering what their particular story is...

Are they praying for someone sick? For a lost love? For financial salvation? I quickly but respectfully scan their faces for some clue. It never comes, but I am always impressed at the appearance of total faith, and it moves me.

The other thing that always impresses me about Catholic churches are the altars. They are almost always (At least in big churches), spectacular affairs.

Someone once told me that the goal of the Catholic pulpit was to inspire awe in believers. I can believe this.

I have seen cathedrals all over the world, and no matter how poor the country or town, the church is a place of awe. The ancient cathedral in Heredia is no different.



We continued after the park, just taking a stroll down the narrow streets of Heredia, (one of the town's many charms). Window shopping and dropping in on any place we found interesting.


Apollonia blew the opportunity to get some new shoes, as she went pretty much loco in the payless and started running all over the place and not listening to her mom.
Eventually she required a couple of mommies love taps on the rear end to calm down, but she did.

We left the store and continued our stroll through town, until the wife's feet started hurting, necessitating a quick retreat by taxi, to Casa Anderson.

All in all, it was a pleasant afternoon out with two of my favorite girls. But tell me, what is it with women and shoes? Hehe...

Check out Expat Interviews!

One of my old colleagues from Acer sent me a link to some pictures yesterday, from the early days of Acer Costa Rica, (The first outsourced call center in Latin America), which I founded.

This picture was taken out in front of the Center in 1997, just three years after we founded it.

It looks very different these days.

Wow does this bring back memories. I can still remember the crowded cubicles bursting at the seams, and the magic of the place.



I also remember socializing with my team, hanging out and having a good meal together. Those were the days.



I don't remember where this one was taken, but my future wife is to my right, and I was eating lobster, so I must have been happy! We spent a lot of time eating back in those days, the one below was taken at one of my favorite Sushi places.



Thanks Albin for sending me these. You can see more shots and a great photoblog of Costa Rican sites, here.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE living in Costa Rica? Click for desktop sized wallpaper. More here.

I was out today running some errands, and had the opportunity to go out to the airport and then for lunch in Heredia, (Known as the City of the Flowers, due to the number of beautiful women who live there). All I can say is "My, my...

The beautiful ladies were out in force today. Probably due mostly to the fact that the weather was absolutely perfect this afternoon.

There were Ticas of all ages, sizes and shapes and colors, and all of them were as beautiful as Mari Paz Duarte, one of the beautiful Tia Zelmira Models.

It was hard not to flip out my camera phone and snap away, but I felt that would have been tacky, AND it would have taken away from the sheer enjoyment I was getting just from looking.

The waitress at the Seafood joint where I had dinner was absolutely stunning, and the downtown area of Heredia was packed with beautiful women out on Sunday strolls. One was so beautiful I almost HAD to take a picture. But since my wife was in the car with me, I thought it would be a bit tacky.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE Costa Rican women?

Took the wife out for dessert last night after dinner. When I went to pay, the cashier told me I had no ballance on my debit card. Interesting since there was a couple grand in the account. It seems my bank, Cuscatlan was doing maintenance on the system between 10-11pm, and instead of merchants getting a message saying the system was down, it simply showed my account as without funds. NICE! Fortunately I had JUST enough cash on me to pay the bill. Welcome to Costa Rica!

All those who read the blog on a regular basis know that the last two weeks have been especially hectic for me.

I spent last week finishing up the first round of training for one of my local clients (See picture at right), and flying off to Honduras for a meeting with an investor who is interested in me helping them open a call center in that country.

Suffice it to say, I did not get much sleep last week. This week has not been much better.




I spent Monday working on finalizing some new proposals and beginning work on a new project for La Republica Newspaper. And then spent yesterday on my monthly Sojourn to Esterillo Beach.

The trip to Esterillo is a painful 3.5 hours each way, but views like the one on the left make the trip much more pleasant.

Trying taking the 5.5 hour drive from San Jose, California to Los Angeles, down Highway 5 sometimes, and you will know exactly what I mean.


One of the things I dig about the drive to Esterillo, is stoping at little roadside stands like this fruit stand.

We have made it a tradition now to stop off at the fruit stand and pick up fresh Mangos and Avocados.

The place has the freshest fruit and veggies you will encounter anywhere in Costa Rica. Especially the Avocados, as they are grown local to the stand.

Will be having a bit of Guacamole in a bit here. Will let you know how yummy it is.


The class I do in Esterillo is a short one, about 30 minutes. Seems hardly worth it for the seven hour round trip drive. But it is a nice opportunity to get out of the city once a month, and it pays pretty damned good for 30 minutes of work.

And honestly. Do you really think I am going to complain about an all expenses paid trip to the beach, where I get to spend thirty minutes in short, sandals and shades giving a short talk to some of the richest people in North America? I think NOT!


The next few weeks will likely be very, very hectic. I have several projects coming to head at the same time, so it will be an interesting time and project management challenge to keep them all sorted out. Thank God for the work!

New government in Costa Rica, this means new Customs officers, new rules, delays... It sucks. My phone has been here in Costa Rica since early last week, and I still dont have it.

The sexiest ad for a newspaper, I have ever seen. Hehe...

And yeah they are a client, so giving them a free plug is perfectly okay.

I just finished Phase I of my consulting work for a local call center here in Costa Rica. I am due to start work on a project to revamp the website for one of Costa Rica's most important daily newspapers, and I have completed proposals for phase II of the work I just finished.

This week may turn out to be the easiest I have had in weeks. Tuesday I am off to Hotel Monterey Del Mar for a day, to provide a seminar for American Investors.

It's a long, long, long, drive, but a colorful one. And not to forget that one of the benefits of traveling to Esterillo Beach, is that there are numerous beautiful young ladies like Veronica, the featured model for this week's Tia Zelmira web site.

My son is on school vacation this week, so I am taking him along on the trip to enjoy some good father and son time together.

Thanks to all those who have recently purchased the Single Man's guide to Costa Rica. I have been getting some great feedback, including this recent note:

"This stuff is priceless! I won't be in Costa Rica until November 1, but I was so excited I had to buy your guide. I will be with about 10 other guys on a bachelor party. In any event, we are staying at the Presidente the first night in San Jose, and then departing to Los Suenos Resort (Casa Dome) for the remaining three days."

The months of May - December are slow season in Costa Rica. (It's our rainy season). It's also a great time to come down.

The fact that it's technically winter here has very little to do with the level of partying going on in Costa Rica, and then there are always the beautiful women like Veronica, who make Costa Rica a "beautiful" place to visit, year round!

This is Alejandra, a good friend of mine. Change your mind yet?

To all those dads out there.
To those who work hard all day and come home to spend time with their little ones, even if they cant seem to stay awake to enjoy it...

To all those who's love is so profound that nothing is more important.

To all those who chose to be Dads instead of just fathers.
There is no job harder on this planet, except that of Mother.
So I hope you enjoyed your day.

I had a wonderful day yesterday watching my very grown son play futbol in the stadium of his favorite team.

It reminded me, as I sat there with my wife and two daughters, how very special it is to be a Dad. What a great gift it is to be blessed with children who love you, who look up to you for guidance. I was reminded of the song Cats in the Cradle, and how I was that little kid from the song.

It was a beautiful day in Costa Rica today, and my son made his debut playing goalie for the Heredia branch of the Jr. Liga Football program. The son was shining, but it wasn't too hot, and the Soccer Moms and Dads were out in force. The picture above was taken when we arrived at the stadium and before the people started filling in.

One of the cutest things was watching all the little kids play. This squad was made up of about 25, 5? Year Olds (I am guessing on the age), and it was a hoot watching them converge on the ball like one huge wave. That is, the ones among them who didn't just get distracted and stare off into space, or scan the stands looking for their mothers.

There were also quite a few little girls playing on most of the teams. I cant wait to see Apollonia out there on the field. She is already a huge soccer fan, and roots for her big brother.

In fact one of the first words she learned to speak was, "GOOOOOOOOAL!"



In this sequence you can see her enthusiastically rooting for Jean as he appeared as Goalie.


This picture, (Jean is on the ground) is indicative of the kind of day the kid had today. He team was literally destroyed by the home Team 13-1, and Jean suffered the indignity of having 4 goals scored against him. Which is bad, but not that bad considering the starting goalie had 9 scored on him and literally begged to be taken out at the end of the first half. The poor kid was shell shocked.

My son plays for the Heredia branch of Liga, but the professional team is located in Alajuella, and the team that wiped the floor with my kids team today are from Alajuella, so they were the home team.

They played like it too. It is obvious the kids from Alajuella get a little more attention from the pro team, as they play and practice in Alajuella. Jean's team had horrible defense and poor ball handling, and the kids from Alajuella exploited both weaknesses with impunity.

Jean spent most of his time on the field nearly alone at his end, as
his team mates were generally out hustled, out played and out ran.

I was nevertheless proud of the kid. Putting him in this program was good for him. I think it is teaching him some things about discipline and team play.

I have seen Jean play twice now, and I still think he makes a better forward, than goalie. But he complains that when he is playing forward, that his team mates don't pass the ball enough. That deficiency was obvious today, as one or two players seemed to hog the ball, and it only got worse as they got further behind, and the prima donna's tried to make things happen on their own, instead of settling down and playing a team game.

I had a blast today, even though it meant getting up at 5am to drive to the stadium in Alajuella at 6:15. Sorry I dont have pictures of the "Soccer Moms," Boyd, but the wife was with me, and she got pissed at me looking. I can only imagine how pissed she would have been if I had trained my camera anywhere OFF the field.

Costa Rica may have been eliminated from World Cup Competition, but there is no question that Costa Rica continues to be a world leader when it comes to beautiful women like Hazel Cavajal.

Hazel is making another appearance this week on the popular Costa Rican gossip site, Tia Zelmira.

Hazel has also appeared here on ISOU on a number of occasions, and if I am not mistaken, is a favorite of our resident expert, in such matters.

Hazel has long legs, and a beautiful face. She might just be a candidate for Voodoo Promotions?

What do you think Todd, Amanda? Does Hazel have what it takes to join the elite at Voodoo. Just say the word, I will arrange the interview!

In the meantime, Boyd and the rest of the ISOU/Zelmira cheering section, will I am sure weigh in with their opinions.


I am thinking that Hazel is probably somewhere tonight helping other Ticos to get over the loss in the World Cup... I know I personally feel better already.

One side benefit of the Sele losing today is that tomorrow won't be a national holiday.

I know it sucks saying that, and believe me, I was rooting for the team, but if the Costa Rican Team had won today, no business would have gotten done tomorrow, and honestly, I cant afford to have to deal with a night of celebrations followed by half the country taking the day off.

I have way too much work to do. And that is the way it is in the world that plays Soccer. A national team wins and the country goes nuts for a few hours.

I would rather go nuts over Hazel! Hehe...

Seriously... I watched the news tonight and some good points were made. The Costa Rican team is a young one... They will be back.

And in four years, a LOT can happen!

Sorry I have not been around much the last few days. Several exciting things happening in business. Will keep you all posted.

Just got back from doing some business in Esterillo today. Not much to report, just did a corporate training gig. But got some very cool pictures on the way back. (All will expand to full size if you click on them)

Humpback bull grazing near the hotel.

With Paul, one of my BEST friends, and the Manager of the Hotel Monterey Del Mar.

This HUGE colony of Alligators (We counted over 15 Adults), live beneath a bridge on the way back from Esterillo.

The wild thing is that the colony of Gators lives right next to a huge group of grazing cattle. Why they dont just have themselves a feast, I dont know. I also dont know why the rancher lets his cattle graze so close to them.

Apollonia and Elsie with my driver on the bridge overlooking the Gator colony.

For More, read on...

First on my list is FOOD!

I envy my buddy Tony Pierce, who lives in Los Angeles, and ENJOYS it. The man gets to eat at Johnny's Pastrami and Pinks Hot Dogs whenever he damned well pleases, and get's to hang out with celebrities and shit.

Now, when I lived in Los Angeles, I was a prince of the city. I drove a Ford Expedition, partied all night, lived La Vida Loca, and still made money...

And there is no DOUBT that if I lived in Los Angeles today, I would be living the Entourage lifestyle with my favorite nephew.

The Grub in Costa Rica is not bad mind you. As you can see from this plate I am eating, the eatin' can be good. But damn I miss my Pastrami sandwiches, burgers and dogs.

You can find a good hamburger here at the Hotel Del Rey, See my Single Man's Guide to Costa Rica for details on that one, but finding a decent Pastrami sandwich is impossible, as is a good hot dog.

I have considered more than once, opening an American fast food joint here. Not a McDonalds or one of those franchise places, but something like your good old fashioned LA Taco Stand. A place where you can load up on greasy American style burritos, burgers (swamped with chili), hot dogs and hell yeah steamed Pastrami on a hard roll with jalapeno peppers and pickles on the side.

Damn I am getting hungry just thinking about it!

I first came to Costa Rica in Early 1994. The mission was to establish an offshore call center for Acer America Corporation. The Early going was tough, but in three months we had established the call center, and hired the first 100 or so employees.

I was employee number 0000, and Director of Operations. I would live in Costa Rica that first time for a little over three years, and form a love affair for Costa Rica and its people that I carry in my heart to this day.

During that time I would make lots of friends, learn a new language, gain an appreciation for a culture other than my own, work hard and play harder.

It was perhaps the BEST of times for me...

Today I look back on those days and realize how fortunate I was to be in the right place, at the right time and have the right skills.


Costa Rica truly changed my life.

During my time here I partied till I dropped. Met the beautiful lady to the right, and eventually married her. Hehe.. Not that I was in any big hurry to get married back then. The truth is that we were on a great adventure back then. We were building a new company in another country. We were sort of heroes too. Everywhere we went, people pointed us out as, "the Acer guys."

I remember that as one of the first High Tech companies to open in Costa Rica, and the very first call center, Acer was something special. It was a high paying job for the kids who worked there, and something of a status symbol.

People wore their badges outside of work, and it was a pride thing. And I was big poppa, the founder and leader. Man those were heady times. We were pioneers, and there were times when it was rough... challenging. Costa Rica had never had a company like ours before, and I think it fair to say that we impacted the culture as well.

My team from the States were a bunch of young, wealthy (by Costa Rican Standards) "tech gunslingers." We rolled into Costa Rica with a California style party attitude, lots of money and a fun loving spirit. Many broken hearts were left in our wake, and I was responsible for a few of them myself.

But it was the work that was most important. We partied hard, spent weekends (when we could), at the beach and generaly just lived it up when we could, but we got the work done. We would hang out at strip clubs and discos until two in the morning, and roll into work by 7am. We faced enormous technical challenges in linking two call centers and two cultures (three if you count the conservative Chinese owners of Acer). We had system failures (swapping our first telephone system after less than a month), and problems with recruitment (Finding enough English speaking employees). But we got the job done.

And we got it done right. By the time I left Acer in '97, the call center was over 450 seats and taking tens of thousands of calls a week. We had also helped to create a new industry in Costa Rica, with Intel and others following us in opening new Operations in Costa Rica.

In September of 1996, I married my girlfriend of two years, Lourdes Maribell Calederon Castillo, and started work on building a family.

I cant believe I have been married for nearly 10 years, or that it has been 12 years since I helped to found the Technology Revolution in Costa Rica.

Today Costa Rica host call centers from Dell, Sykes, HP, Western Union and a number of other companies, including numerous Sports Books and Online Casinos.

Without us taking that first leap, it might never have happened, and I certainly would not be running The Utopia Group.


Who knows if I would be married and have the beautiful children I have been blessed with.

Today I am a little bit grayer. And a little thinner, though not by much. But I am the same old David, with a little more responsibility.
Life changes us in many ways, but I would like to think that it has not robbed me of my sense of adventure.

Today I run a small, but by all measurable standards, successful business. I am well respected in my community and I have a still beautiful wife and wonderful children.

Jean Carlos is a young man now, almost 15 years old. Elsie is 8 going on 20, and Apollonia is 2 1/2. We live in a small but comfortable home in Heredia, Costa Rica. I am a Soccer Dad, with my son playing goalie for the Junior La Ligua team. We have a dog, Romeo, who we rescued from the Animal Shelter as a puppy, and I work hard to build the business and keep beans and rice on the table. All and all, it's not a bad life, though I do miss some things about the U.S.

Will write more later...

Less than 5 minutes into the game, and Germany has already scored. Not looking good for the Ticos. This is a