Roach Race

My official bib!

World’s Best 10K mission complete!  World’s Best 10K is an annual 6.2 mile race in San Juan.  Once I knew I was moving to Puerto Rico, I knew I had to participate!  So, on Sunday, February 27^th at 5pm, I lined up with the 3,000+ other participants and began to turn a ‘to do' into a ‘done’ on my PR bucket list.

The route

I’m happy to report that I not only completed the race (with a medal to prove it) but I never stopped jogging!  It got a bit challenging during the last mile or so, but I powered through (with the help of my iPod).  In the end, I was proud of myself.  I set out to do something and I did it…alone.  Well, I mean I did have my boyfriend there to cheer me on, but in the sea of spectators I was unable to find him until the very end.

Participants

Race day was crazy.  People of all types came out - some to participate, some to make a buck, some to save souls, and others to spread their political ideals.  There were hoodlums in pink ski caps (yes, warm ski caps in 80 degree weather), there were grown men dressed as Batman and Robin (some people will do anything to make it on TV), there were first timers from Ohio, groups of female joggers from all over the country (they come together a few times a year to participate in events like this all over the United States), there was a marathon grandma (who I think just does her cool 6.2 miles to keep her in shape between the REAL races), and there was even an 83 year old jogger holding up a sign while jogging to let everyone know he was 83 and still doing it (he finished way before me by the way).

While a better job needs to be done in keeping the walkers behind the runners, overall it was an awesome event.  I look forward to next year and to participating in similar events like this one around the island.

The beach just steps away

Since the race was across the island from where I stay, I decided to turn it into a mini vacation.  So, I convinced my boyfriend to meet me out there.  Although it really didn’t take much convincing, I mean he’d get to cheer me on in a tropical environment and escape the bone chilling cold of Ohio.

Then, I found a beachfront apartment for a super cheap rate in the heart of an exclusive neighborhood! An apartment meant kitchen, which meant we could also save money on eating out.  I would finally be able to flex my newly acquired cooking skills (thanks to Mama).  Everything seemed to be falling into place!

I thought nothing of the low price because I was connected to the owner of the apartment through an associate of mine.  Apparently, the woman doesn’t usually rent her place out but I came along at a time where she was in need of a few bucks and so she figured this would be a win-win for the both of us.  So, on February 23^rd I arrived at Avenida Isla Verde ready to settle into our awesome apartment before I headed off to the airport to get my guy.

Space between freezer and fridge

Fridge

Upon my arrival, she gives me a tour of the place and immediately I notice its not as clean as I would have liked or would have expected for a woman letting strangers use her apartment for a week.  Then she says “…also, the building is having a problem with roaches.  They are trying to take care of it and they come weekly but its kinda bad but I didn’t think it was a big deal to mention…” she trailed off and quickly changed the subject.  Then she hurried off to meet her father for dinner -- leaving her overly hairy, overly affectionate poodle with me.  I was shocked and confused. 

Roaches?!  A little/big problem?!  I have a race in four days!!  Weeks ago both affordable and expensive hotels were mostly sold out!  What am I gonna do now?!  How do I break this to Scott?!  This poodle really needs to back up!!

I decided to chill.

Don’t make any rash or emotional decisions Michelle.  Chill out, put on the TV and take off your diva hat. 

Our "teenage" roaches (they were all sizes)

So, I gave myself a manicure and lost myself in a Top Chef marathon.  Then, I saw my first roach.  It was crawling on the dresser that the television was on.  I tried to sneak up on it but it hid away into one of her drawers before I could kill it.  Those were her drawers and her private stuff so I just let it live.  The last thing I wanted was her walking in to see me in front of one of her open drawers.  I then went to use the bathroom and realized there was a layer of dust/sand on the bathroom floor, spots on the bathroom mirror, not to mention the sink nor the toilet nor the shower looked like they had been recently cleaned.  Considering she had charged a “cleaning fee”, I knew there was a discussion to be had.  Upon her return I told her that I was deducting a majority of the cleaning fee she charged because quite frankly, the apartment wasn’t clean.  It was one of the most awkward conversations of my life…especially when she insisted I show her just what wasn’t clean.  Either way, she may not have agreed with my opinion but she definitely did not get that cleaning money.

10K Fitness Festival!

Finally, it was time to pick Scott up from the airport.  I was so happy to see him but soon after we got into the car I knew I had to prepare him for what he was about to see.  For the most part, he was cool about it.  But then, we realized that these roaches really believed that we were visiting THEIR home.  Like usually roaches wait until the evening to come out…they live in the shadows of your home, but nope.  These roaches were coming out to say “Good morning!”, “Good afternoon!”, “Hey, you're back? We missed you!".  It got so bad that we would walk in and say “Hey, kids we’re home!  Don’t hide on our account, we know you want to say hi!”.  Sometimes you gotta laugh to stop from crying (or killing someone).

Ready to clean!

I know what you’re thinking: Why didn’t you just go somewhere else?!  Great question.  Well, like I explained before, pretty much everything was sold out and anything that wasn’t, was really expensive.  Not to mention, we’d have to eat out every day because we'd be moving to a hotel room (and I brought a bunch of food with me ready to cook).  We did, however, find one place that fit in our budget and was advertised as a studio apartment in a gated community.  Well, the “gated community” turned out to be a large compound (smack in the middle of the hood) with a big electric gate around it…and what looked to be a stray dog in the compound.  Also, the “studio” was a dark, 1^st floor room with a refrigerator and a13 inch television with at least an inch of dust on it…did I mention it was situated next to the broom closet?  Oh yeah, and Scott said he spotted some roaches in there too…some on the floor and a few in the frame of a picture that hung on a wall.

We decided to have a seat at a local panaderia (bakery) and discuss our options over breakfast.  Essentially it was a game of “Pick Your Poison”.  So, I posed a question to the both of us:  If we were rained in, which apartment would we prefer?

We came to the conclusion that between the two, the original apartment was probably still the best option.  While we were obviously staying in the equivalent of a roach motel, there was a panoramic view of the ocean, a private pool, a private entrance to the beach steps from the building, a private gym and an indoor reserved parking spot.  Not to mention, the neighborhood was pretty exclusive so we felt safe and there was a lot that we could do without having to drive anywhere.  So, we decided to use the money I saved us to purchase cleaning products, a bottle of wine and some beer (we knew we’d need all of those items to survive the week).  If we were going to stay there we had to whip that place into shape!  We cleaned our little hearts out and by the afternoon, we could visibly see the difference.  

Unfortunately, more than once we had to battle the critters head on (see video), but we survived.  No, we couldn’t cure what seemed like months of neglect in one week (nor were we aiming to), but we were able to bring the place to a level of comfort for us.

How I slept...

After discovering a few dog ticks (yes, I said dog ticks…thanks to that overly hairy poodle she had), we decided to just leave a night early.  We toured San Juan, Old San Juan and everything in between…eventually napping in my car before we headed to the airport.  In no way was this, the mini vacation I dreamed of.  Its pretty sad since I haven’t seen Scott since New Years and I truly don’t know when we’ll be able to coordinate our schedules again.  This was also his first visit to my island, and it was hardly the manner in which I wanted to welcome him to Puerto Rico.  Nor is this the impression I wanted him to have about an island that I have come to love. 

The positives?  Well, we persevered.  We exercised teamwork and patience and truly rose above roaches (haaa)!  We made lemonade out of some pretty gigantic lemons and that experience definitely strengthened our relationship.   Other positives?  We were never rained in.  So, our days were filled with Old San Juan, the beach, the Bacardi factory and El Yunque rainforest. 

El Yunque

Old San Juan

While all the aforementioned places served as great experiences, the best experience, without a doubt was El Yunque.  Joey, Tito and Jeffrey at La Muralla Restaurant made us feel right at home.  We felt welcomed with positivity and a sense of unity from the moment we stood at the window and ordered our empanadillas and coco frio.

We actually ended up there pretty randomly.  We were on our way out of the rainforest when we realized we should probably get a bite to eat before we headed back.  Initially we stopped at another stand further down the road, only to find a rude waitress and subpar offerings.  We remembered there was another stand up the hill and so we decided to hoof it in hopes for a friendlier face and more appetizing food.  It was a cash only joint and we only had about $9 between us in cash.  So as we ordered we visualized a register minusing our money piece by piece (kinda the way Dave Chappelle did on his date in Half Baked).  

Mmmm Coco Frio!

Joey seemed privy to what we were doing so when I asked him how much it would be to add a shot into the coco frio (fresh coconut with the water still in it) we ordered (according to my aunt you NEED the shot), he replied “Don’t worry about it, I got you.”

Finally, it was time to pay.  We had come in just over $8.  I happily pulled out the money we had left…only to discover we actually only had $5!  Joey coolly responded, “Just give me what you got.  Yall are good.  Enjoy.”  After thanking him, he invited us to sit and enjoy our food in the restaurant.  “We’re closing but yall can take your time and just chill.”   Judging by his accent, we just knew he had to be a New York dude.  I tried to explain to Scott that THIS was the Puerto Rico I knew and loved…warm smiles and nice people who quickly offer a “Bien Provecho” (“good appetite” is the loose translation of the greeting you give someone if you pass by while they’re eating).  Who knew we’d find it in a guy named Joey at a food stand in the middle of El Yunque.  Just before we left, we thanked them again, and we just had to ask “Are you from New York?” He said “Of course!  Brooklyn!"  We cracked up and traded stories of how we came to be here.  He said "Nine years ago I came out here to help my pops with something and I never went back.  F the cold man, I can’t do it!”

Joey

Tito

I told him about my blog and assured him he would make it in.  Here it is Joey!  I hope you’re reading this.  Thanks to you and your boys, our El Yunque/San Juan will forever be a positively memorable experience.

Jeffrey with our Coco Frio