Sunday June 24, 2007
Okay, I've been in Panama a while…
… and things really are going well. I'm doing work I enjoy (sysadmining a 25 Mac network and a soon to be 50-phone VoIP network too), I'm getting paid well, and I'm feeling the healthiest I have in a very, very long time.
Let me break it down for you.
Travel.
I love flying, and the flights I took to get here were probably the most enjoyable in recent memory. (I don't remember much of the flights to Australia or Thailand, I just remember being there.) Lots of leg room, and other than the three crying children, which my iPod helped drown out, eight hours of flying went by quickly.
Getting through Panamanian customs was weird, but only because I didn't have an expert with me to make sure I had the right forms in the right order. Bleh, officials can be stuffy about that kind of stuff.
Exiting the airport was as I remembered—my glasses fogging as I was hit by a wall of very warm, humid air. This time, though, it didn't take me two weeks to get aclimatized. Just about a week passed and I no longer sweat heavily when I walked outside.
Work.
My employers are awesomely great. First, working here is very informal, so for breakfast, lunch, and occasionally dinner, I just hang on the patio at their place. They have a chef, and although chicken is the meat down here, fish and beef (humped beef… can't remember the actual name for 'em) shows up occasionally too.
I work in an office environment (hallaluyea) with mostly regular hours (a regular starting time, that is), I have defined tasks, and I get paid regularily! In fact, I've already been paid once since I came here, and with those proceeds I've bought two amazing things: a Nikon D200 with mucho accessories (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G DX VR Zoom Lens, 4GB Sandisk Extreme IV CF Card, 72mm Neutral Color Filter, Nikon MB-D200 Multi Battery Grip, and Nikon EN-EL3E Rechargeable Li-Ion battery) and a Nokia N95, reviews of both are forthcoming.