Last Chance Cafe

So I've been a little busy for the past few weeks as I tried to secure a partner for Moda Peligrosa, then failing that, sold it. We all have these brilliant ideas that are 'sure things' if only….

I've been lucky enough to act on many of my ideas, and for this last one (which was a big one for me) was lucky enough to be able to finance it. Yet all business has risk, which is why most people likely to read this are also likely working for somebody else and not for themselves. You have to have a certain willful idiocy about you to reject all the facts that most businesses fail and most investors lose their money.

I built it, and it was good. Great clothes, shoes other stuff. But I couldn't make it fly. I ran into the usual issues running a business: contractors constantly late, unexpected costs, running the bureaucratic gamut needing one document to obtain another, unscrupulous and incompetent vendors. Plus of course, the foreign culture thing.

Advertising was my great failing. I located directly between two universities, which should have provided plenty of opportunities for professional advertising and word of mouth. The problem turned out to be a complete lack of an underground or alternative press. The "newspaper" of the University of Costa Rica is an eight or ten page rag spewing 80 year old socialist propaganda which contained all of three 'presumably' paid advertisements, one of which was by a government institution.

I decided to go for it anyway, but as they took the check they looked at the logo and said it was too risqué. They would need to come and inspect the store to determine whether or not we were selling such subversive items as sex toys. We respectfully retrieved our disc and left. For the record: we did/do not sell such items, though we did offer some rather risqué figurines.

And so time was wasted, and whilst wasting bills became due including salaries and the ever-vigilant government maw needing to devour its pound of flesh. We eventually found our advertising venues, or so we believe, but by then it came down to choices as to what we could spend our budget on, and it became painfully apparent that we needed a fresh injection of cash to push on for the holiday season. Time wore on.

So Moda is dead, long live Moda. The new owner got a steal as long as he knows what to do with it. I got to get out without losing everything (including my car, which just yesterday emerged from eleven—yes eleven, months of overhaul) and live to risk it all another day. I still have another business just started here, but on a much smaller scale. It's an American style hot dog and chili joint with a Brazilian theme called 'Rio Dog,' run by my Brazilian girlfriend. It may be just wacky enough to work.

I'll be leaving the graphic link to Moda Peligrosa over there on the sidebar until I manage to transfer the url to the new owner.

Posted by petefredbob at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So being a partisan hack and actually begging people to hold their nose and vote Republican, I should be expected to nod and admit I lost. Not that I was running for office or anything but being a cheerleader it would be bad taste to just shut down the blog and go home, at least without a mea culpa.

Daniel Ortega, a world famous leftist, and the Democratic Party- favorite American party of world famous leftists, have carried the day with a decisive margin. Not only that, but they've taken the scalp of one of the best (IMAO) Secretaries of Defense in history. It's the only move he could have made, as James Taranto notes:

"We rather admire Rumsfeld and think he's gotten a bum rap. But he had to go. Had he stayed, he would have been target No. 1 for Democratic witch hunts. He would have spent so much time responding to congressional subpoenas, there would be no time left to defend the country."

Am I happy? Nah. And the Dems are going to subpoena him anyway. But we will see a new direction, the old domestic one of which was becoming stagnant under the Republican leadership, and "diplomacy" (or in my estimation "appeasement") will be the new order. We'll 'dialog' with Iran and North Korea and start making plans for 'strategic redeployment.' We get the government we deserve.

Nancy Pelosi will be attempting to run things and we'll get a real taste for what it may be like to have a woman in charge. It's not likely to be what we expected. Did Republicans deserve to lose? I think so. I think they lost their way and fell too much in love with being in power. Apparently most voters felt the same.

Where I am in disagreement with the voters is in which party is going to see the war through to the end with the least possible damage to both the United States and the regions most vulnerable to extensive violence. My take is that though we have been taking damage politically on the international front, and there is plenty of violence to go around in the Middle East, the current course is still the best way forward.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so. As the phrase goes, 'sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.' When the first crisis hits, and it will soon, we'll see what happens. Will Bush act decisively, or will he wait for consensus; and if he acts first will the congress come down hard, or play nice bipartisan games?

Posted by petefredbob at 11:29 AM | Permalink

My final report from toasty Nicaragua: I walked over to the balcony restaurant overlooking the southeast corner of the square for some light fare. I settled for some chicken fingers and fried yucca with Cuban sauce to go with my national beer. The chicken was fresh, the yucca was tasty and the beer was entirely palatable. I had two.

The results from the election on Sunday are still not official, but this is apparently not sitting well with some people. I was seated for about five minutes when wave after wave of bicycles swept around the corner flying the black and red flags of the FSLN, which would be Ortega's party. After a solid five minutes of this the vans and SUVs and pickup trucks started to mix in with the bikes, as well as a thousand or so people on foot. There were fireworks as well, though only one car was blasting the interminable 'give peace a chance' remix en espanol, which is apparently the FSLN theme song.

I was quietly being amazed at the gathering crowd and thinking about going to get my camera when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the common 'bra-less white girls' in olive drab spaghetti strap top and hippy skirt walk by with another white girl and two guys (this type usually carries a backpack or load of dirty laundry around Central America). They stood out in the sea of brown mostly because they seemed to be hurrying in the wrong direction. Less than a minute later I saw them again, more composed and walking toward the park- with the flow- with black and red flags.

By this time I had also noted a couple of unmarked white vans that had parked at the edge of the park along with some OEA vehicles (Organizacion de los Estados Americanos-or OAS: Organization of American States). I watched as the group that included the bra-less gal joined another group a little while later in the unmarked vans. This was pretty much 75 feet away from me and hard to ignore because they were so obviously foreigners and not mixing with the rest of the crowd, but yet very animated all the same.

I then watched as bra-less talked one of the men into taking her picture as she waved the FSLN banner. This took a couple of tries, as they had to duck some speeding bicycles whizzing by with their own flags. It somehow got my dander up, but I was still eating so I gave the waiter 50 cordovas to find out what group those unmarked white vans belonged to. It was the OEA. The people were foreign volunteers sent in to monitor the elections. They are supposed to be neutral.

The major part of the crowd, including the van containing the gringa flag-waver, split before I finished my meal so I didn't get a chance to approach them and ask just what the hell they thought they were doing. Granted, we're talking some young excitable hippy girl doin' gud in the third world, but what an idiot to be seen dancing with one of the party's flags. And have your picture taken. Let's just say it's not a faith-inspiring incident to see the OEA tagging along in support of party rallies by the former communists.

I sat for a while watching the crowd ebb and flow in front of the restaurant when the waiter came back with my change. I was the only customer at the moment and asked him what he thought of the show. He didn't answer at first so I prodded a little. This time he let out that he wasn’t happy. Since the end of the civil war little by little the Americans have been investing in Nicaragua.

It's one of the reasons that the hotel I'm staying at has been refurbished. It was originally built around 1524, burned, was rebuilt, was neglected, then finally restored and is now a pretty sweet example of Columbian colonial architecture. Though I haven't asked where it is one section of the building is supposed to be original. It is this kind of investment that he thinks may be lost if Ortega scares away the Americans.

I reminded him that Ortega has said he's changed, and that he supports the TLC (or CAFTA). He wasn't cynical and said he hoped that were true. We talked a bit more about other things before I said goodnight. Now it's time to check the internets and see how bad my Republicans are getting their asses whipped up north.

Posted by petefredbob at 07:29 PM | Permalink

I struck out for the eastern side of the city today after a breakfast of fruit and scrambled eggs with bacon. I found the scooter/motorcycle rental place but with all the folks in town for the election and whatnot they were fresh out. I'm supposed to call later on to see if any return, and I'll have to be there by eight in the morning tomorrow to snag one.

Although the neighborhoods I wandered into this morning were much better than I've seen, there's still enough poverty to make sure I have a chance at a getaway if some enterprising fellow decides my camera would make a nice meal. If I don't get a bike or manage to arrange some sort of an escort the photos will have to wait for another time. It's also hot. I just got back in (around eleven) and I'm pretty humid. Stopping to have my hair cut helped.

The maid has at this moment chased me out to the atrium (can't find a better word, maybe second floor courtyard works) for the time being, which is still warm but out of the sun. The wireless signal is better. One more plug for the hotel (click here), it is the only hotel around with a generator that powers the air conditioning and the computer connection. Yesterday and part of the day before, the city lost electricity for a while, but we stayed cool and connected. Keep that in mind if you need to come here on business.

At breakfast I waived to my driver that brought me from the airport. He came over and sat with me and wanted to continue our political conversation. He pointed out that the results for Ortega aren't official yet, him wanting to wait until the last possible minute to admit defeat.

Though he voted for the local Sandinistas he didn't want their leader. This is a problem that the US faces today. The people will vote for local candidates, but they must remember the leadership counts too. If the people don't think there's a war on, it makes all the sense in the world to vote for a Democrat. If they think there's a war on, they are living in a fantasy if they think this is going to help any.

My plea, wait two years and vote for Hillary. I know the Republicans have screwed up. I want to vote them out too to teach them a lesson. It's just not the right time to do it. We'll survive either way, but I don't think you're going to like it much.

Posted by petefredbob at 10:27 AM | Permalink

It's all over but the crying. And that will come with the hangovers tomorrow. Yesterday was dry for the voting, but today- or tonight rather- was anything but. On my little southeast corner of the city's central park it seemed like I saw half the population walk, run, cycle, ride in the back of innumerable pickup trucks or otherwise scurry past. Lots of red and black flags and Spanish versions of 'Give Peace a Chance' blaring from big speakers lashed to the back of otherwise unoccupied pickup trucks. There were a couple of English speaking tourists out on the restaurant balcony with me- with a todler- but we managed not to speak or make eye contact.

I didn't actually see any overt drinking, but the results were pretty obvious. My favorite vignette was the ten-year-old boy holding up dear old Dad or Uncle as they staggered up the street leaning into car windows making small talk. It wasn't all as bad as it sounds. The people are happy, which is more than I can say for us norte-americanos for the past couple of rounds. If there weren't so much at stake I'd almost campaign for the Dems just to stop them from crying. As it is, somehow it looks like they will do it themselves, with just a little help from Mark Foley and a couple other idiots.

So what worries me more, Ortega back at the helm, or Nancy Pelosi's stretched-open eyeballs staring at me every day from the electronic newspapers? As there's very little chance that Nicaragua will be invading Costa Rica anytime soon, at least militarily, the fact that civil war in the States may have been averted by a Democratic win in one or both of the houses gives me at least some small comfort.

Oh yes, congratulations to Nicaragua!

Posted by petefredbob at 07:50 PM | Permalink

I heard two things this morning, one- from the people on the street, is that Nicaragua is headed for a runoff, and two- according to the internets, is that Ortega is ready to win outright. Who knows what at this hour (9:45 AM)? I finally met one guy, Carlos, who has admitted voting for Ortega. Considering I look muy Gringo, I have taken into account that people might assume I'd prefer not to hear about support for Don Daniel, but I've done my best to reassure people I care not one way or another. There was some also some underlying derision projected toward a speech that Jimmy Carter gave yesterday, so I don't think what I think really matters.

As far as I can tell Carter simply said that the world is watching and that Nicaragua is having an important and historic election (I didn't hear the speech itself), but the locals thought he was blowing smoke up their collective asses. They know the stakes better than he does.

My first informal interview of the morning was on my walk to the lake. I had breakfast at the hotel restaurant (yes, I can recommend the Hotel Gran Francia, look them up) and had just wandered onto the street when a rather large shaven-headed neck-tattooed gang member-looking fella eyeballed me. Silvio turned out to have been late of Daley City in San Francisco, had just divorced his wife and was back with his family here in Granada.

He wanted to speak English and we chatted for about ten minutes right there on the corner. He wasn't looking forward to Ortega winning, though he didn't vote, offered his services (tourist type, including where to find some nice girls) and then said he had to get to the store to buy groceries for his family for lunch. Nice guy, and if I run into him again I might hire him so I can take pictures in peace without worrying about somebody snatching the camera.

I was pointed to the lake and began my trek through a local barrio. Not a hundred feet later I found a new friend, late of Panama and Costa Rica. He attempted to relieve me of a little cash for about two hundred meters before he tired of it. He had no idea of what was going on election-wise. The lake isn't really close enough for casual footwear and about the time I reached it I realized that this was the same mistake I made in Bocas del Toro, flip-flops. I'll be soaking my feet in a moment.

There is a big arch under which the tourist buses pass with a Guard standing outside. He called me over and actually quizzed me on the election without my saying a word. We talked for about ten minutes until the next bus came through. Also not a big supporter of Ortega, nonetheless he said he had no fear of any problems should he be elected.

It comes to my mind that all of the people I've talked to, whether pro or con, all had fun talking politics. All were happy to express their views, and none seemed really guarded, except for my hotel/airport driver- for about the first 90 seconds. My last interview of the morning was with Carlos, the guy who voted for Ortega. He runs a launch from the beach out to a set of islands that his boss (a Canadian) owns. There is a restaurant and lots of photo opportunities and whatnot, according to my new friend.

We probably talked for a good thirty minutes until the boat was sighted returning and a family wandered by looking like it needed diversion. Carlos was positive Ortega had changed. The guard at the tourist gate on the other hand said maybe, but he wasn't ready to forget. Though I won't swear to it and my Spanish leaves much to be desired, I think he lost either friends or family in the eighties. Carlos on the other hand is looking toward the future and thinks Ortega is it. Carlos is typical of a lot of micro-entrepreneurs I've met in Central America, he helps arrange real estate deals for a percentage as well as hawking for tourists for the boat tour and would take any opportunity that arises to make a buck.

He was excited that foreigners were/are investing in Nicaragua, and their presence in the country at this moment is the difference between now and the eighties, and why Ortega and the Sandinistas are different now. Back then there was no hope, now the Nicas can see a future. There is also now a sense of competition with southern neighbor Costa Rica. The Nicas know they are not liked but needed in the workforce there, and family members sending remittances back to Nicaragua is an important source of income. They all make much of the fact that they actually like gringos, as opposed to the Ticos who just like their money. Plus- Nicas play baseball, not soccer, something to keep in mind.

The governments of both countries cooperated to set up special bus service for Nicas to come home to vote. Bravo.

Posted by petefredbob at 09:40 AM | Permalink

The flight to Managua was full of big puffy clouds. The ride was 55 minutes but for some reason we waited in the twin prop for 20 more of them just off the end of the runway. The flight attendant just finished announcing a further delay when we started to taxi.

It was easy to see when we entered Nicaragua because of the lake. The southern end almost just borders on Costa Rica, and just above it there is another big lake, the southern shore of which is the north end of Managua. The airport was virtually empty and migracion was bored. The officer spared a moment when I asked her in Spanish if it was quiet today because of the elections. She smiled and said yes and waived me through.

Outside was quiet as well with only two taxis waiting along with my hotel ride to Granada. My driver was a pip, and we talked politics all the way to the door of the hotel. He said that he split his vote. The first thing I asked him was what he thought of Ortega, and he said Ortega was all right. The ruling party for the past 15-20 years, the liberals- or PLN (I'll have to check the acronym), were a bunch of thieves he said. He voted for the Sandanistas locally and against Ortega nationally.

My take was that he accepted that Ortega was likely to win, and he could live with that, but he certainly wasn't going to vote for him. The deputies, which administer locally, were a different story. Most people believe the Sandinistas are more honest than the other two parties, and they (the people) are sure nobody wants war. Yes, there were troubles, but that is in the past. Everybody wants peace.

So without thinking my big plan was to go to the bar, have a burger and a beer and chat people up. The bar was empty of course because it's election day and you're not allowed to drink in public or buy alcohol. The brilliant bartender of course recommended room service, because they're allowed to serve me in my room. Which is where I am now having just finished a disturbingly chewy burger (it was the cheese) and am just about to polish off my Corona. As it's still early, and just warm enough to call it hot, I've decided it's time for a nap and will hit the parque central after a bit of a snooze where the cab driver said anybody and everybody will be more than happy to discuss the national pastime. And no, it's not baseball.

Posted by petefredbob at 03:27 PM | Permalink