3PM

I know.  I know.  I owe you photos and all sorts of other things.  Thing is, we are quite busy and the internet

is only available at work.  Until now!  We just got wifi at work, so hopefully I will be able to put up a photo

or two soon.

Meanwhile, I love this job.  Is it insane every waking moment?  Sure.  I have never worked so fast in my life,

but damn is it a roller coaster ride.  We have been doing a test run of the show this week to work out whatever

bugs may arise when we start the show for real next week.  This means that we had to put together a two hour 

show, top to bottom in two days.  We had to finish by six tonight. 

I can't say it wasn't rough.  Still, my favorite moment was when I was trying to finish a package and it started

to rain.  It rains at about 3PM every day here.  But unlike most days, where we have a heavy downpour, this

rain was the craziest storm I have every been in.  13 or 14 bolts of lighting followed by immediate thunder.

Again and again and again.  Torrential downpour the likes of which I have never seen.  This knocked out the electricity.  Thankfully, we are on some sort of alternative power source.  But our ac, lights, etc. were not.  So there I was, trying to finish a package in a bay illuminated by only a monitor while sweating buckets, the audio

barely audible because of the noise of the rain pinging off the roof.  It was amazing.  I haven't stopped smiling

since.

Wishing for Wifi

Today is my first day off before the chaos begins. I coaxed Juancarlos at the front desk to let me use his Internet.

I love Juancarlos.

We got our schedules yesterday.  I work Sunday through Thursday 7AM until 5AM and then have two days off.  A bunch of us editors are thinking of traipsing around on our days off.  It should be eventful considering the British editors are a bit nuts and love to drink.  They have done this for nine seasons in Australia.  Apparently they get to stay at this posh hotel, but every season someone is banned from there and ends up at a place down the road.  They do love to drink.

In other good news, our hotel is getting wifi for the lobby. That means I can finally post some photos and videos.

To continue my streak of good luck, I have the one room that 

the wifi will reach.

I am off to go white water rafting. I am a bit tuckered since I 

spent the morning jogging through rain forests and

swimming in our pool. I think Elissa is starting to hate me : )

You’re in the Jungle Baby!

But hopefully I am not going to die.  Not that the jungle won’t attempt to kill everything that crosses its path.
 
We got to Cost Rica two days ago.  I think.  At this point I have lost all sense of time and barely know what day it is.  My flights were uneventful, though I did get to fly first class.  Everyone else on the crew was in coach.  I had agreed to fly out a day early hence they bumped me up.  I tried to avert my eyes as the rest of the crew filed past.
 
Once we got to San Jose, we all jumped into a bus and made the two and a half hour trip all the way to our hotel - The Sarapiquis.  It is beautiful, nestled next to a rain forest and right next to the Sarapiquis river.  No internet, no ac and lots of nature.  Somehow I got the best room.  It is on the second floor, has two bedrooms and has a great patio with a view of the jungle.  Plus, I have two floor fans, which is a huge.  Everyone else has one slow moving ceiling fan. 
 
We are roughly forty minutes away from base camp, which is where all the shooting and editing occurs.  It is massive.  Hundreds of people have taken over a resort and turned it into a little studio.  I would show you a picture, but one editor took some photos and they confiscated his camera and erased them all.
 
We also learned about how dangerous the jungle can be.  Killer snakes, killer frogs and fauna that will screw you up.  The first day I was here a tiny red frog crossed our path.  Adorable.  I did not touch it, which was smart.  I later learned it was poisonous.
 
The only negative of this trip is how much I miss my wife and dog.  Mostly my wife.  We have spoken everyday, utilizing my credit card.  I imagine that might be expensive.  I will try to keep you up to date as often as I can.  There is lots to tell.  And photos.  Lots and lots of photos.

So it begins.

Well, really so it almost begins.  I leave for Costa Rica tomorrow at 11am.  I have nothing packed, but I do have a large pile of stuff that I am bringing with me.  This includes some Russian literature, boots, a rain coat, advil, a camera and some pants that turn into shorts.  Those excite me the most.  Tonight I will spend a nice night with my dog and wife, doing some laundry and packing.  And then tomorrow, San Jose.  Until then . . .

Soon . . .

Soon I will be leaving for Costa Rica.  

Where will I be going?  Not sure.  

Where will I be staying?  No idea.

What will I be doing?  Editing for NBC's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.  

This blog is a way of keeping in touch with my friends and family while I am away.  Expect no spoilers or info about what is going on with the show.  This is just about me: an editor stuck in a jungle.