Umm... English Teacher turned Poker HR Manager??

So, I am no longer teaching English in Costa Rica! In August, I was offered the the position of HR Manager at The Poker Farm, where I'd have better hours, a little more money and a much easier commute (ie with the boys and not constantly in taxis!). I just had to jump at it! At first, I tried to juggle 2 jobs. That involved 17hr days and falling asleep in my books trying to plan lessons, so that wasn't really feasible. When I was due to come home in September, I took a break from Berlitz (the language school where I was teaching) for a couple of weeks whilst only working at Poker Farm and realised how much more easy my day was. I wasn't stressed or clock-watching, my skin cleared up and I made it to the gym for the first time in weeks. Then, after weeks of putting my body through too much, it crashed and I got hit by the flu. That's when I knew that it was one or the other.

It's an odd switch from teaching English to managing poker players and all of their details, but I am enjoying it. I loved my classes and the people that I met at Berlitz, but I just could no longer keep to the hours of 645-830am and then 4-9pm, because I just spent my days waiting around or then working my other job, which meant that I didn't have time to plan for the next day. I couldn't give it my all, so I knew that I had to leave. Sometimes, life takes you on a path that you never expected. But I am still using my Spanish and living in the sun, so my ambitions weren't all that different to the current situation!

Stef x

My First Impression...

San Jose, Costa Rica

Hello all!

This is my first update from Costa Rica! I arrived late last night after travelling for almost 24hrs with broken suitcases - I do not recommend this by the way, because dragging suitcases without wheels is a workout that you just do not need when you've been up for twenty hours and stuck on a plane for eight!

The flight was pretty good, all things considered. From Heathrow to Newark, I had three seats to myself, so I could stretch out and watch movies quite comfortably. I then had a connecting flight from Newark to San Jose so had just enough time to make it through security, recheck my bag and grab a drink before boarding a slightly more crowded flight for five hours! Luckily I did at least sleep for most of this flight, once I'd had my complementary burrito (things were looking up!) and watched the hideousness that is Did You Hear About The Morgans? with Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant. I do love Hugh Grant, but she is Carrie Bradshaw and that is it I'm afraid. She is cursed with the same problem the FRIENDS cast have - that show will always be better!

Anyway, I've been here for a few days now and the jet lag is starting to wear off. I'm not as hardcore as Mark and fell asleep in the casino on my first (and second...) night! Haha. And I was pretty damned tired at the poker tournament that everybody played in last night too! The people here are so lovely - locals and the Poker Farm group. We've had some lovely meals out and I really feel like part of the group, so it seems to be a pretty easy life to settle into. PLUS, we are moving into the most AMAZING house that you have ever seen! It's like something out of Cribs on MTV and we're all really ecstatic. Floor to ceiling windows and views over the whole city, it's pretty incredible. Obviously, there'll be more photos to follow when we finally get to move in, though that may be a couple of weeks yet.

I start my course on the 24th May (on the other side of town :s), so I've still got a couple of weeks to explore first. I'm spending my time in the office with the others, either working on my blogging/websites etc or helping out with a few things, and hitting the gym a few times a week. The weather is still pretty good so I'm enjoying the sun at the moment. There is sun every day but it's the start of the rainy season and we are due some heavy downpours this week. Rain like you've never seen it before - it falls so hard and so fast that you're grateful to not be in it, because I'm sure that it must hurt! I've been on the hotel balcony when it hits and the workmen outside just carry on as normal - very odd! Having said that, it clears up just as quickly as it starts so you can be back out sunbathing before you know it! Not that I've done much of that yet - I fully intend on starting tomorrow though!

Anyway, that's my first little update - next time I'll give you the lowdown on the hotel apartments that we are staying in. And my camera needs a memory card before I can do much with it, so photos will follow once I've done that too!

Hope you're all well,

Love Stef x x

Sun, Strippers, caSinos - 2 week update!

That's pretty much what's happened the last 2 weeks.

We arrived here on Wednesday 7th. I got moved to a different flight and had to fly via Houston, meaning I did the whole 20 hour journey alone :( Luckily the entertainment on the flights was ok; Wedding Crashers, The Invention of Lying, The Office and .... It's Complicated. Meryl Streep is every woman *modern family reference*.

First night we went to Hooters, another bar, then a strip club. First time inside a strip club. Quite an experience. All paid for by the company.

Second night we went to the casino. Everyone lost a fortune at blackjack. Elliott decided to put down $25 and keep doubling his bet. Dont think he had any intention of stopping unless he got to maybe $1million. He didn't.

That weekend we went to the beach in Guanacaste. Fue de puta madre. But really hot. Got a bit burnt for the 30 minutes I wasn't in a shaded area playing poker.

Since then we've been working hard, drinking hard and gambling hard. We've almost got the 80 players we need and we're starting the training on May 3rd. pretty excited about building a team of awesome poker players but not too excited about being in the office everyday from 6am till 9pm.


Hope this post makes sense, I've rushed it before we go to the casino.

Cliff notes : Life here is awesome.
Only money I've spent has been in the pit.
Bout to start working very hard.

Mark

Dates for your Diary!

Mark leaves on Wednesday 7th April to go and help to set up a PokerFarm office in Costa Rica, so you will probably find more updates from him at first (although Stef may be the one writing them!)

Stef follows on at the beginning of May (4th) and starts a TEFL course in San Jose before looking for teaching work afterwards.

How very exciting!

First update due in a week's time... Keep checking back!