Thursday, October 28, 2004
Our regular visitors and those with good memories of our blog entries (see Aug. 31st last year) will know that over the years we have been assailed by more than our fair share of technical breakdowns here at Playa Vista and that each time a piece of equipment chooses not to work, the diagnosis frustratingly and almost invariably touches partly or wholly on the problem of the corrosive salt-sea air around us. Our latest tribulation involved a second breakdown of one of our two Philips TVs. The immediate irony was that it chose to pack up functioning on the very day we finally installed our newly acquired digital projector to provide a giant screen in the bar area. For specification aficionados our screen measures an impressive 10 feet by 10 feet and right now we surely must be able to claim it to be the biggest in Boca Chica!
Anyway, as we clapped our hands in delight at the introduction of our movie-style new screen we had to groan with dismay as our supporting conventional bar TV completely gave up the ghost. We whisked it into a specialist Philips repair center in Santo Domingo where they had successfully repaired it after its first breakdown about a year ago together with its identical twin which by another coincidence had ceased to function in the very same week.
We gleefully picked up the “fixed” TV, returned it to Boca Chica and plugged it in. A fully functioning full-color screen appeared but once the audio and video jacks were connected up to integrate it into our extended cable and satellite TV system we were confronted with a very disillusioning dull hissing sound. We cursed under our breath… thanks, you no good amateur technician, for fixing the screen and completely ruining the stereo input and outlet facility! What kind of professional wouldn’t check that all features worked fully before returning it to the poor unsuspecting customer?
The momentary gloom was followed by a swift enlightening spark of ingenuity from Eduardo, our chief maintenance man, who suggested that the internal video and audio leads may simply have been mistakenly reversed by the technician. We hunted around for the very special Philips tool, inexplicably necessary, for releasing the TV cover and then loudly cheered Eduardo as his theory was proven entirely correct. However, it was only by the grace of having our handy man handy and him having the inspiration to imagine how the service center technician could have ended up doing what he did that we avoided journeying all the way back to the service center and having a full blown argument as to the injustice of the treatment we had been given.
We quickly turned the victory into a rout because the inspiration overflowed now and focused on that previously mentioned second TV that had not had a properly functioning stereo sound since it underwent “repair” those 12 months ago. Bingo; on removing its cover we found the identical spaded wire connectors inserted in the identical wrong sequence!
The very same service center had made the very same error 12 months apart and so we now bathe in the full luxury of two fully functioning Philips stereo TVs: not to forget the 10 feet by 10 feet giant screen now afforded by our Hewlett Packard projector! Extraordinary how true consistency can help you out of a mess, isn’t it?
Posted by Playa Vista @ 10:15 AM CST
Friday, October 22, 2004
The year 1918 is remembered in Europe as the year that ended World War 1 – the war to end all wars it was said. Unfortunately though we well know the human race doesn’t like to give up on its favorite pastime as easily as that. The briefest of conversations with any of our many visitors from the Bay State of Massachusetts soon makes you aware that 1918 is remembered by them as the last time their beloved Boston Red Sox (and yes they really do wear red socks although, perversely, the Chicago White Sox wear black socks) won the ‘World Series Baseball Championship’ – rather an exaggeration, our European visitors are quick to point out, in that only teams from the USA and Canada actually participate!
Anyway, on a nightly basis this week in the Playa Vista bar a mixed crew have watched with fascination as new baseball records have been set at the same time as belief in this year’s Red Sox team mounts.
To fully appreciate the atmosphere it has to be understood that baseball is fanatically followed in the DomRep with extra local spice provided by Boston fielding as many as four Dominicans in their starting line-up on Monday night. So, with locals rubbing shoulder to shoulder with our numerous Boston regulars it made for a tremendously exciting night on Monday as Boston’s despair at going down 3 to 0 in the decisive seven-game series the previous night against their arch-rivals the New York Yankees was turned into genuine reignited hope in a 6-hour marathon game that saw the winning hit being made by one of those famous sons of the DomRep, David ‘Gran Papi’ Ortiz.
The series was now 3-2 but the Red Sox were faced with a trip to the Yankees stadium and the still unlikely possibility of winning the last two games to book a place in the final. Two more nights of intense action-filled games and Boston’s belief is now truly palpable. They are the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a play-off series and have dramatically elbowed aside the 26-time World Champion Yankees to advance to the final of a potentially equally nerve-wracking series against St. Louis Cardinals beginning on Saturday night. Next week we will know if they have finally been able to bury the ghost of 86 years of striving and you should be able to hear the shouts of celebration from the numerous and very vocal Boston supporters in the Playa Vista bar starting with the opener of the new seven-game series on Saturday even if you are some distance away and separated by a soundproof wall or two!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 02:56 PM CST
Thursday, October 14, 2004
The extraordinary hurricane activity of September seems a long time ago now. The only visible evidence that something untoward happened is the still debris-strewn reef which is either waiting for the local council to get their launch out there with a cleaning team or for a very high tide to release the stranded material mostly consisting of bark-denuded tree branches.
As is usual for this time of year beach visitors mid-week are none too plentiful but the weather gives us it’s best with a recent sequence of stunning sunsets that as always can be viewed ideally from the Playa Vista terraza.
Bar talk frequently refers to the new government still getting its feet under the table. Much is reported nationally on a daily basis regarding changes. The peso appears to have reached a stability midway between the value that the previous government inherited four years ago and its lowest point to the end of their administration currently, for better or worse depending on your viewpoint, about 32 pesos to the dollar. Lack of electricity continues to present difficulties in many parts of the country but happily in Boca Chica we are spared almost all inconveniences. Long may that continue and hopefully spread further afield too. The more underlying changes will almost certainly need more time to bear fruit.
Meanwhile… as tourism is one of the cornerstones of economic development in the DomRep in general, and therefore needy of government attention, we remain very hopeful that planning and support of international standard tourism will be further spurred on in our small corner of the country in a way good old Boca Chica deserves!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 07:28 PM CST
Friday, October 8, 2004
We are pleased to report that from time to time we get some very interesting responses to our little internet pieces regarding life here at Playa Vista Boca Chica and the DomRep in general, and we thought that our readers out there in the big world should be let in on this one from Sarah Daily Frey:
Hi,
I was looking up information on the D.R. the internet, clicked onto your Blog and started reading. Came across your description of the little islands and it brought back memories.
I feel like I'm a Dominican at heart although I only lived there from the time I was 7( 1955) until Jan. 1, 1962 when my parents sent me to the U.S. for high school. I attended Carol Morgan school and spent wonderful days at Boca Chica. The Island you wrote about that had a zoo was in operation during that time, although it had suffered the loss of some of the animals during a previous hurricane and had been quite battered. It was a great place for adventurous, imaginative kids like me, with all kinds of animals for those brave enough to venture close.
My memories of Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, Santo Domingo and the rest of the island are wonderful. Although my parents were missionaries, I felt like we lived in a resort paradise (except for the fear of the Trujillo dictatorship), with electricity available all the time, clean water and all the comforts anyone could dream of. I even remember when the first supermarket (with air conditioning and freezers) opened in Santo Domingo, started by a retired U.S. air force pilot. We thought we really lived in heaven!
Never thought I'd be old enough to play "I remember when," especially to someone I don't even know, but they were good times for me and I thank you for helping to jog my memories.
Sarah Daily Frey
Posted by Playa Vista @ 07:40 PM CST
