Day 65 - Dec 23

One step closer to going home!!! Woke up today and started packing. Its amazing I came down with two duffle bags that were full, bought some clothes at the outlet malls, stole a uniform, a basketball (ask me if I feel bad about that), and 2 new pairs of shoes and somehow the bags STILL managed to hold it all with room to spare?! I think my suitcases are an optical illusion. I will say that nothing will ever be as miserable as toting those two GIANT suitcases all over Europe when I was there, that was terrible. All packed up and ready to go we head for the lawyer to finalize the paperwork we started yesterday. He drafts up a contract in Spanish and English describing somewhat the trouble that this whole mess has caused for Eneida as well as Chris and I. This time I remember to get a copy. The lawyer says that we have a legitimate case if we want to sue (I think all lawyers by law are required to say that) and that we should talk to the other guys about organizing something to take them to court. I would love a few extra bucks in my pocket but to be honest, once (if) I get this money from Bonilla and I am paid in full I never want to deal with this mess again.

Once we finish with the lawyer its back on the road. Eneida is starting to really wear on my nerves and I told Chris its like a week long vacation with your aunt. Since we don’t have a car she has to drive us everywhere and she has good intentions but can be really pushy and REALLY nosy. On the way down we hit the outlets and I felt like a celeb. When I was in Bayamon we came a few times to the Nike Outlet and there was a girl who would always help us out and try to hook us up with deals named Luni, then the last time we came in the manager helped us out big team with some discounts and stuff as did another guy. When you’re 6’8 people stare at you regardless… but today all three of them were standing at the front of the store doing something for some reason so as soon as Chris and I walked in 3 Nike employee’s met us with big smiles and handshakes. That definitely drew some attention! Didn’t spend too much and was pissed to see that the shoes I bought 3 weeks ago for $40 on are sale for $9.99 but shit happens.

Back on the road and first we drop off Xavi at his aunts house before we drive to Carolina to get Chris’s hair braided. This proved to be quite the pain in the ass since we had to drive through a lot of traffic and then past the hotel to get it done. To make matters worse when we got there, there was a crazy long line of people infront of him so he hung out and Eneida and I went to check into the hotel. This proved to be quite an interesting situation. We were originally going to get 2 hotel rooms but she thought that was too expensive so she got one room with a queen bed and a hideaway bed in the wall for the 3 of us. This frustrates me because I am sick of being cramped and being around this woman 24/7 but theres nothing I can do. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you right? So here’s where things get interesting, the bathroom opens up to face the room and instead of your standard wood door on hinges it’s a sliding smoked glass door! She’s laying on the bed trying to get a nap and I’ve gotta shit. Maybe if its so terrible she will book a whole separate room? Its worth a go?! Pooping in a quiet room with someone you hardly know is a pretty awkward situation. Post poop I grab a little nap before I am starving and since Chris is still getting his hair did, Eneida and I head to grab food together. I cannot convey how sick of this woman I am. When we sit down for dinner she starts talking to me about her problems with her husband and crying. I feel equal portions of sympathetic, and awkward that she is crying in public with the two of us out to eat. Right as I was starting to lean more towards sympathetic the food came and she started trying to take pictures of everything. I am sick of her taking a million pictures of everything so before I could get sympathetic I just get annoyed again. After dinner she goes to scoop Chris from the barbershop while I get a power before the night.

Off to the casino! A wise man once told me scared money don’t make money. On the walk over I pull out the iphone to do some studying on basic strategy. Unfortunately Chris hasn’t watched 21 so I can’t make any winner winner chicken dinner jokes or cross my arms behind the chair to let him know if the tables hot. When we get there the three of us are just kinda standing there awkward and nervous to play anything. Fuck it, you only live once. Never played roulette before but I understand the basic concepts of where you put your chips and stuff so $40 on the table. So lets see, how do they do this in the movies? Just start saying random numbers of meaning to them and put chips down. College number 34, Aguada number 10, birthday 5/8 which is cool because they are right next to each other on the felt. Over the next 15 minutes I mixed it up a bit and proceeded to win once… when I played the 1:1 pay of ‘black or red’, I chose black and black it was. The good thing is that in the time I spent $40 a dude spent $150 and didn’t win either. Probably not going to play that game again for a while. Blackjack is supposed to be like 80% strategy and 20% luck or something so I watch a few hands before I sit down and buy in. I’m awesome at blackjack when there is a dude named Pedro as the dealer. I made back my $40 from roulette and was up $20! Then Manuel came and was the greatest dealer the casino has ever seen I think. He stole some of my money as did the next kid but I walked away down only $15 overall. Take the money and run. Afterwards Chris and Eneida went back to the hotel and I went to an after hours bar with some friends from when I was in Bayamon. They were both impressed at how much better my Spanish was and I proceeded to learn to salsa and got dangerously close to singing karaoke. When I got back to the hotel I had one thing on my mind. ONE STEP CLOSER TO GETTING HOME!!!

Day 64 - Dec 22

This morning we tried to get the ball rolling on getting out of here and getting our money. First we bought flights outta here with her open credit line and then 3e went to the bank in Aguada that the check Diego issued us was from. We needed to go to get some stamp on it saying that the account linked to the check is empty. This would be important for us to have when we go to the lawyer later. As it turns out Diego CLOSED THE ACCOUNT!!! Basically this dude is trying to wash his hands from this whole mess. If Bonilla can step up to bat then his ass is saved big time. Even still Bonilla is just petitioning for money for the players; I don’t think the coaches, the JB hotel (which is looking for Chris and I), the Cabañas de Palmas (the first place we stayed), Pizza Pasta or anyone else involved with the team will see a dime. In the back of my mind through this whole thing I keep thinking of Harry’s son who was our water boy and was promised $20/game. Water boy is a shitty job esp in PR because you’re basically all around team bitch; get the water, gather the dirty laundry, bring players towels when they sub out (not fun when they are pissed) and the worst is having to mop the court. In PR since the majority of the gyms don’t have AC players sweat a lot and each time someone hits the floor it’s a mess and we have a time out. In our gym on that plastic floor its especially bad and the guys would always bust his balls because he was never paying attention to the game so when they needed the mop the guys would yell at him a little bit. Not to be assholes but just to give him a hard time. If the dude was making $20 a game, fine, whatever do what you want but he worked like the first 7 games didn’t see and dime and his dad told him that if he didn’t want to anymore he didn’t have to work… so he didn’t.

The account was closed so we went straight from that bank to the lawyer who wasn’t in but Eneida gave his secretary the basics for her to draft up some paperwork for when the lawyer did get there. Eneida is incurring a lot of risk by buying Chris and I tickets as well as covering the difference between what the team is going to get and what I am owed. Diego wrote me a check that was missing 2 games and the food, Eneida covered that for both Chris and I. She’s not stupid though and wants to make sure that she has some legal paperwork backing this whole thing up. Chris and I on the other hand are stupid. It took me something like 3 weeks to get a contract signed… I was so excited to just get it done that I dropped my guard big time. I signed the contract without Diego putting his signature on it in my presence and I never got a copy, so for all I know he never did sign it and it got flushed down the toilet as soon as I walked out of the locker room. IDIOT! I am too friendly sometimes and too trusting but I think that’s all changed from now on. Such is growing up. After the lawyer we went to the bank to cash the checks that Eneida gave us for the difference. The guy who runs the bank also works out at the gym, which I didn’t know, and tells us how all the women that he hires as tellers have done some modeling work in the past and even the girls behind the desks are gorgeous. I should have gone to school for finance…

Once we got our money Chris and I take a stroll through the town to get some xmas shopping done with what little money we have. This years Christmas theme is Aguada Puerto Rico and “gifts from the heart.” After shopping we hit the beach for one last day and get in some awesome waves. Chris and I shake hands as we leave the beach for a job well done. Afterwards I head down to the gym to get in a lift and to say goodbye to all of my new friends. I wish the white party would have been sooner because that really opened a lot of people up and the next few days after were more fun at the gym.

Once all that is done I call up the folks to tell them that I got a ticket. I booked a ticket to get me in late on xmas eve but I’ve got a little trick up my sleeve. When you’re doing gifts from the heart, surprises are pretty cool. I told my parents that I was going to be getting in sometime in the morning on xmas day but not without checking their plans for Christmas eve. This should be pretty fun!

Day 63 - Dec 21

Eneida was hoping today that her credit line would re-open but it didn’t. I think she put a lot of things on her credit card for the party and is going to buy us tickets when her credit opens back up; hopefully soon. Unfortunately for us today wasn’t the day it opened and the tickets don’t get bought. She had told me that we’d have something figured out for today so when my sister, Caroline, called and I had no news for her she was pretty bummed. I guess she started pouting around the house which solicited a phone call from momma dukes to ask what happened. I explained the situation and how Eneida wants to help but she can’t right now. I let the two of them talk on the phone for a little bit so they can have some mom to mom talk time because I know that Jackie is very thankful Eneida is helping us. My mom is a baby and always wants things to be perfect for me and it kills her when they aren’t. This whole experience I think has been just as tough on her as it has been on me. Yeah, shes an ok mom I guess. After they hang up Eneida talks to me about why she’s helping us so much. Apparently she was in a similar situation a long time ago. When she was 17 she left PR to go to the states to sing and play guitar for some guy. She had a contract for like $5500 for two months as well as a hotel room and food. She said that her mom didn’t want her to go because she didn’t know anyone of English very well but she was excited for an adventure and to make some money to buy herself a car for college. Everything went fine and she loved playing the guitar and they had really nice meals all the time but when her 2 months was up the guy refused to pay her and didn’t get her a plane ticket either. She said that I am very fortunate to have her and to have Chris because this happened to her without anyone else to help. She turned to the cleaning ladies at the hotel and they said that if she wants to make some money she can help them clean the hotel. She did that for a week and a half until she had enough money to buy a plane ticket to go back home. Pretty incredible story that I didn’t know until now. I guess I can look forward to someone needing some help in a few years and as if I wouldn’t have before, definitely obligated to now!

Day 62 - Dec 20

Today was kind of a ridiculous day. We woke up and did some cleaning and then hung out for a while before we hit the road to a legendary restaurant on the island called “Vaca Brava.” Its in the heart of the island so we can go highway all the way till we hit Ponce. We made a quick stop in Ponce at the mall because Chris wanted to pick up some new Jordans that were releasing. I am very glad that I don’t have any desire to wear, for basketball or just out to parties, $160 basketball shoes. I remember when I was little my parents wouldn’t let me get the real expensive shoes that I always wanted. We had the money to get them but 2 things went down; 1 it was a pointless because I would tear shoes up so fast when I was younger that I woud get new ones like twice a year and 2 was a nice little lesson in saving. My mom always dropped the “Well we will get you the $80 shoes and if you want to pay the other $50 you can have these.” I never wanted to spend my own allowance on them, I guess that’s why I have been wearing the same 5 shirts with the same jeans and 3 different shoes on rotation since like mid Soph year of college.

Malls at Xmas times are all about the season; kids taking pics with Santa, the music and the occasional ice skating rink. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw an ice skating rink in the mall in PR. The more I checked it out though the more I was mystified. Its 85 outside and by no means cool in the mall plus the rink doesn’t have much of a foundation or footprint. How do they keep it cool? Why are there no little puddles from little feet on the floor around it? We roll up for a closer look and it turns out that the kids are skating on a hard plastic surface?! There are little shavings all over the place from the skates cutting into it and kids are just biting the dust all over the place. I don’t know if they used special skates to go with this or even if its special plastic or just some really clever construction worker donated some materials to the mall but either way I am impressed, never seen anything like this before.

Back to the car for another hour and a half of driving through the mountains at like 4 mph with Eneida’s wild ass. She is probably the worst driver in the world and loves to leave her high beams on and bitch at others when they come around the corner with theirs on! Finally we pull up to Vaca Brava and it’s a pretty cool little place and I can imagine that during the day its very busy but we rolled up like right before they closed so it was kinda empty. Its kinda like a bucca di beppo type-a-spot in that the plates are meant to serve like 3 or 4 people. Eneida knows how hungry Chris and I and says its ok if we wanna each get one ourself. I got this massive grilled fish with shrimp skewered into it and at the base was a whole bunch of pieces of steak and chicken and a huge thing of mofongo (smashed bananas fried… typical carribean food, real good). The food was awesome and the company could have been a little better cuz Eneida was starting to get on my nerves (3 hrs in the car will do that) and Chris was in a pouty mood but the good news is the waitress was tall AND cute as well as pretty talkative. We hit it off pretty well and she told me that she would love to teach me how to dance if I’ll teach her how to shoot a basketball. Easy enough… Note to self; remember to call her if you come back next season with Bayamon. The drive home was more of the same, Eneida being wild on the road and singing, Chris yelling at her, and me and her son playing games on the iphone in the backseat.

Day 61 - Dec 19

Welcome back to jr year of college. Nothing worse than the disaster of the after party. On morewood ave we just poured the wounded soldiers down the drain and threw all the cups and empties into a bag, opened the windows and let things work itself out. This however was a real party so instead of putting the pong table back behind the couch we had to take down decorations, stack chairs, collapse tables consolidated beer coolers and move furniture back to its rightful place; all with a pretty nice hangover.

After we finished up our work we headed back for crashboat with Eneida and her two sons. On the drive there we passed by Diegito and pulled over to talk to him and he didn’t even attempt to say hello to us because he knew we had nothing to say to eachother. Eneida got out of the car and talked with him for a while and then we were back on our way. When we got to the beach she asked Chris and I to stay in the car for a few minutes so that she could talk to us and explain where things stand. She said that she spent a lot of money on the party but should have some credit free’d up on Monday to purchase a ticket for each of us to get home sometime before Christmas and that she will give us a check for some of the money that we are owed and that when she works things out with the mayor we can cash the checks that Diego gave us sometime in January. In Puerto Rico they celebrate 3 kings day which is early in January and pretty much they party from the week before xmas until mid jan. This means that the government really isn’t going to be doing much of anything until then. I am glad to hear that we have a solution on the table but Chris is angry with her. “This isn’t your problem and you’re trying to do too much. You’re not going to get paid from these guys and if David Bonilla (mayor) is so sure that the money will be there then he can write me the check his damn self…” etc etc. He is talking about how he has too much pride to take money and that he’s not taking money for free that he didn’t do any work for and so on. He’s acting very ignorant and Eneida is starts crying I think because she doesn’t understand why Chris is being angry with her. I tell her that I am grateful for all of her generosity and so thankful that she can help me get home for xmas with my family and with some money in my pockets. She asks that she has some time alone to talk with Chris and I hope out of the car to let them work things out. The way he is acting is very disrespectful I think and part of it is that we’re all stressed and on edge but I think he’s a better person than how he’s acting. Regardless at the end of the day I am concerned with 2 things, getting my money, and getting home and to be honest if no one else gets paid and Chris stays in Puerto Rico because he doesn’t want to take a ticket from her then that’s fine.

After a while Chris hops out of the car and meets up with the boys and I on the pier. I explain to him that I understand he is frustrated and not happy with the situation but from now on when he speaks that he speaks for himself. There were a few times during his rant he said “Greg and I this or that” and I don’t agree with the things he was saying. The beach was a blast and we met a couple girls who were here on vacation with their family. Chicken fights, boogie board instructions and your standard beach flirting continues on through out the day until its time for them to go and they don’t have cell service here and we don’t have a car. And just like that… it was nice to meet you and best of luck in life.

Once we’re off the beach we gotta get ready to go to our team dinner. Our team dinner was originally the set for Dec 4^th but then we had to play Fajardo that day and it was rescheduled to today because a) we had a game and b) so they can buy themselves as much time to sell tickets to sponsors, fans, media and the likes. Diego had showed me the list once before and he had sold 40 tickets of the 300 that he printed. They were supposed to be $100 each but they quickly realized that this was too much and we weren’t going to be able to sell them all. That was the last I had heard but on multiple occasions I had asked Eneida and even Diego before things went south and they said that they were still selling tickets up until the end. I was anxious to see what the turnout was going to be like for this event. I remember when we had something similar for the Vaqueros but it was before the season started. There were a lot of people, a lot of fans and it was a good time. I’m hoping for a similar turnout for a great opportunity to premiere the Vitamin Thick clothing line in PR. Eneida, Chris and I leave together and we pull up to see Diegito and his father outside smoking while 2 of the younger players and Paul our asst are sitting nearby. I assumed everyone was inside since we showed up a few minutes late and while we’re outside talking to Paul the rest of the guys arrive. We all head inside and bullshit in the foyer for a little while Diegito, Diego and Eneida are outside talking about things. Each of us is ranting to the others about money and Christmas coming up and everyone’s horror story from trying to cash their check on the 18^th. After a while we head into the restaurant to see a family of 8 sitting at one table and an older couple on a double date and other than that the place is empty. Its 9:15 and the dinner was supposed to start at 8:30. I assumed that if people paid they would at least show up but I guess that’s not the case?! There’s 4 or 5 tables pushed together in the back for us to sit at, and the team dinner consisted of 7 players, Frank’s wife, Paul, Eneida and the Diegos. I guess it makes sense since we had all of 8 fans for the last home game. Things are awkward at the table because no one has anything to say to the Melendez’s and they are just sitting there quiet looking around or picking at their nails. Apparently they didn’t want to deal with it and got up for another smoke break. As soon as they leave Bimby calls over the waiter and orders a drink… the rest of us follow suit; grey goose, black label walker, don q. If it’s a team dinner and they apparently sold tickets for this thing and we ain’t got paid, I feel no remorse running up a bit of a drink tab. The food comes and dinner again is pretty awkward. Once Chris finished his food he just pulled his chair back and put his head in his hands so he didn’t have to talk to Diego across the table from him.

The food was great and most of the players were laughing and having a good time hanging out in eachothers company but eventually money talk came up. It wasn’t too long before Bimby brought it up with Diego and his dad and the fireworks started. I don’t know exactly what was being said but from the little Spanish I know it was just more of the same. Where’s my money? Followed by, “We have to wait for the check from the government etc etc.” Eneida was doing her best to explain the situation with the government and to be a buffer and it wasn’t before too long that we had a guest lecturer. This random guy walks in and Eneida’s face lit up, and without hesitation she introduces us to David Bonilla, the mayor of Aguada. Bimby explains to him the situation from our end and how Diego keeps lying to us about the money and that we can’t trust anything they say anymore and that the money that they are asking to get approved isn’t enough because they assumed we would lose our play-in game and that would be the end of it. Because we won, they owe us that sum, plus the two games we played against Hatillo. Sucks bringing that game back up because we easily could have won the second game at our place. David says to start that it is not his responsibility to help but that he wants to. The city of Aguada used to have a really good team in the BSN and it was something the town was proud of and he wants his city to have that again. With that being said the town is in bad shape because of the economy but that he will try to do what he can but that it will take time. The government is going to be moving slow for the next few weeks because of the holidays but that once things get rolling he should be able to get us at least the first amount and then gives us his phone number and says that anyone who wants to talk to him can call him directly on his cell phone. I know nothing about public office but I know that for this circumstance this is a great move. Diego, father and son, are impossible to get a hold of anywhere and its more than frustrating so having his number is a huge piece of mind for me and the guys. No one is happy with the verdict but at least its another step in the right direction.

After the dinner a bunch of the guys are heading out to one of the local clubs for some drinks and hanging out. I ride over there with Chris and Eneida and Chris is in a bad mood about it all. He has a lot to say under his breath but during the dinner had nothing to say out loud. Chris wants to hang out in the car and talk on the phone before heading up and that leaves me heading into the club with just Eneida, who somehow hurt her knee at the party and needs to hang on to someone to walk. As we’re walking in David Bonilla pulls up to because he heard that the guys were coming here and I guess he got the invite from one of us? I introduce myself to him and thank him for offering his help. I told him I didn’t understand everything that was said but that I understood what he said about his role and responsibility in the matter. So here I am rolling up to the club on Saturday night with Eneida trying to hold my hand or grab my waist to try to walk and the mayor of the town. I felt like I was going to the club with my parents! When we get there, there’s a pretty long line and the rest of the guys are already inside but David and Eneida don’t want to wait. This could be the last time I get to see these guys so I want to head in for a drink with them. As they are leaving Eneida pulls me aside and gives me some money to get drinks for some of the guys. Well I’m glad that she gave me some money for drinks but good lord could this be more embarrassing in line for the club!? C’MON! To make matters worse I waited in line alone and once I got in and wandered around looking for the guys, no one was in a good mood so we were there for more than an hour. I’m glad I got the chance to get a face to face with David Bonilla and explain to him that I am not trying to be a pain in the ass but that I just want my money and to be home for xmas and that if he can help at all it’d be great. We’ll see what happens but the dinner was a flop as well as super awkward and the club sucked. Good thing we didn’t invite the girls from the beach as our dates to the team function, that woulda gone over horribly!

Day 60 - Dec 18

PARTY DAY! The gym is closed today and the whole family is on overdrive trying to help clean and set up for the party. Even extended family and friends are over trying to make sure that the decorations are all set up and everything is ready. Somehow I got stuck with the job of helping prepare some appetizers. I literally spent 2 hours today skewering various combinations of meats, cheeses, fruits and olives. It was hell. Things were all set up and ready for the party so we had the barber come over for what could be my last dirt cheap cut. Haircut, shape up, shave; $10!

People start trickling in for the party and here I was nervous about my shorts being light khaki and not white, meanwhile there are dudes in bluejeans and red shirts?! For the most part people followed the dress code and it was a pretty nice lil event. The best thing about a party hosted by a gym is that the majority of the women were fit and in great shape. They are good looking at the gym when they work out but then when they get all dressed up it was even better! The food was great, the party was great and I woulda had a lot more fun if I knew how to dance salsa or meringue. Once I learn Spanish, learning to dance to this music is the next thing I am going to do. Spanish dancing is seriously and amazing and beautiful thing to watch. Its so fluid and so sexy and its just awesome. Unfortunately every girl under 30 at the party came with a date or boyfriend. Apparently going to xmas parties stag is not the cool thing to do?!

Day 59 - Dec 17

The party is tomorrow and I have no attire for an all white party unless I can go in white shorts and an undershirt. After the gym, Xavi and I saddle up for a trip to the mall since Chris and Eneida didn’t pick me up anything yesterday. I hate shopping and I hate shopping last minute even more. Clothes are not made to fit people like me and if I head it my way I would wear a cutoff shirt, boardshorts and sandals everyday. A quick lap around the mall to check out some babes and then we make our purchases and head for home. Hopefully this will all come together ok, if not its not my fault that Old Navy doesn’t have clothes that fit and that JC Penny doesn’t have clothes I can afford. SHIT, yeah lemme throw in there that shopping on a budget is even worse!

When I get back to the gym, Chris is vacuuming and helping out around the place. He’s mad that I left and didn’t tell him because he’s been cleaning and working all day while I was out goofing around. Its good for him to help clean the gym because everywhere we lived I’ve been the one cleaning up after him. Now that we’re living at Eneidas house shes been getting on him about making a mess so its not my problem anymore but I figure I cleaned up enough after him that he can handle helping clean the gym for a day. Really the only reason he OFFERED to help is because he gets good wifi signal in the gym so that he can download iphone apps all day. After some solid sibling bickering, he tells me that Diego came by earlier to talk to Eneida. Apparently the tickets that he bought for the 20^th have not and will not be bought. Xmas in PR BABAY! Hopefully some kind of Christmas miracle (or angel) will get me home to my family. I feel like George Bailey…. If I make it home I’m definitely going to run down the streets yelling “Merry Christams movie house! Merry Christmas Emporium! MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU OLD BUILDING AND LOAN!!!!”

To top off the night, Harry called us to say that his other car had 2 flats and that he needed to come pick up the hornet. Things are progressively getting more depressing. We now are broke, stranded, sleeping 3 deep in 2 mattresses on the floor and without a car. It wasn’t just any car though, that was the hornet. He/it will be missed dearly old friend.