Sowy

I've had some serious computer clusterbleeps with my computer and I have thus been absent. Also, I had tried to blog and the computer just decided to shut off because it felt like it. So that pissed me off of course and so then I didn't blog a couple of days after that.

Plus Saturday I went to Chicken Pizza aka Chichen Itza with Becky Lava Lava and that was like ALL DAY LONG and then after the long day I went out and partied and so you know what that means? Dead stupid Liz on Sunday and recovering Liz on Monday.

Anyhoo. I have a blog draft in the works and also I suppose I should show you some pics from Chichen Pizza and cenote Ik-Kil. Lord knows I'm not an avid reader. Although...due to the computer issue at work I'm reading about a prostitute. The book is called Eleven Minutes and it's written by the same guy who wrote the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho. He's pretty good at being a female prostitute too. Anyways, that Lisa is really proud of me and I guess I am too. But don't tell her that.

Not What I Expected Around The Corner

So I'm driving back to work after lunch and turn into the street where I usually park my car but something is in my way!!!

I swear a few times because I've developed some serious road rage here, and when I blink my eyes a couple of times, I see that it is a nice big brown horse and cowboy that are in my way!

WTF?

I wonder if they will get a ticket....

They were going down the wrong way on a one way street.....

???

Walking Along Puerto Cancun

Last week I decided to take Rivergirl's idea to take Diesel out for a walk along the semi-virgin beaches of Puerto Cancun to check it out.

Really I didn't want to check it out so much as to walk Diesel freely without him peeing on someone's back pack or stopping to take a shit in front of some pretty girl just trying to get a tan.

We entered through the first beach into the hotel zone and walked to the very first house within the zone where Puerto Cancun starts. There was a security guard there and I asked if I could walk my dog and he nodded and I said thank you.

Diesel loves the beach and more than loving the beach he loves to run on the beach. He gets that doggy smile when he's happy and that makes me happy and makes all of the hurtful stupid things in life disappear.

Puerto Cancun is full of a lot of controversy and honestly, it's just downright sad. It was a quiet peaceful place when Diesel and I visited and I know it will not remain that way. Instead buildings will be put up and area will be designated for people who have money to burn and that's pretty much about all.

Despite all of the drama that involves this place, we enjoyed our walk. We came across what I think were vultures or something similar. They were feeding on something and although they are about 4 times the size as Diesel, he managed to chase them off long enough for us to take a look. It appeared to be the remains of a 6 foot barracuda and although it was dead and half eaten, it was somewhat pretty in its own way. When we were done with that we moved on and took a look at the lagoon that flowed into the sea and appreciated the little creatures moving around and about in the slowly setting sun.

It really is a different world out there and the best part is that it is so close by but yet it seems so far away.

If you want to see what it's like, Diesel invites you to join us one day to see what it's like to forget about things like traffic and the fact that I don't think I'll be able to get that specially packaged tuna for a really long time now since Soriana is now out of it....

{Lets play a game. Can you spot Diesel in all the pictures?}

Off topic completely. Do you ever just turn on the t.v. so that there is some background noise? Even though you are showering or are blogging or cleaning? I decided not to today because I liked the sound of the birds and the traffic in the distance. And then my neighbour came home and started playing salsa music. He's now playing one of my favourite songs. I love it when things just work out.

It's been a good day. So suck it up folks because for once, I'm not bitching. Jejeje.

Learning About Things I Didn't Know I Had To - PART DOS

Before I moved here I pretty much knew zero about cars. I bought my car brand spankin new back home and have taken it in religiously for tuneups and never had a problem with it. If I did, I would simply call up my brother or my dad and let them be the hero that they love being and have them come save me. I never got to that point.

When I moved here I didn't have a car. I even went without one for a few years. But I got sick of taxi's and the lack of freedom I had with them, even though they were convenient and when I had saved up enough money, I bought myself my first used car. I named her Bootyliscious. She's a red Chevy Monza and she's cute.

Right from the bat there were several things I had to learn from it.

First off, I purchased it without test driving it myself because I forgot how to drive stick. I learned when I was 17 and then bought an automatic, so what would make you think I'd remember? So I had a friend re-teach me how to drive and within 15 minutes I was getting around just fine (yes I stalled but I still got around just fine ok!).

There were a few minor things that had to be taken care of and my friend gladly helped (simply because if I had a car, his life would also be easy). He checked the oil, told me how to make sure they changed it, changed some lights and we bought a gas cap for my gas tank. I really didn't think you could just go to Walmart and buy a gas cap, but apparently you can!

I also didn't know that Mexico is really great at taking a car and making it as cheap as possible. They have versions of cars here that they don't have back home that are seriously below the basic models. While my car is not a total shitmobile....it is certainly one of those, "where can we cut corners to make this car cheaper" cars.

So here I am after 2-1/2 years of owning my car and I've learned that I should listen to it, that it speaks to me, and if things don't sound or aren't running right, it means there is a problem...and that no, it's not just because it's a cheap crappy car.

I've had issues with my air conditioning on more than one occassion and that is probably due to the place I went to in the first place. But I figured if they didn't fix it right the first time, it's their responsibility to fix it right the 8th, 9th and 10th time without a charge. Apparently the panel controls for my a/c is broken, and I now have a jerry-rigged "switch" to turn my a/c off and on that hangs below my steering wheel. They told me that this only cost me 50 pesos to do, instead of 5,000 and really, I'm better off. The switch is now broken and the a/c doesn't go off at all. I'm sure glad THEY knew what they were doing because boy oh boy, what the heck would I do without them?

Anyhow, I've had various issues that I wish I did not have. And it seems that every time they fix something, a month or two down the road it is something else. I've finally found the 3rd mechanic that I am happy with both in repairs and price, plus they are just really nice people which is kind of rare to find here. I suppose if I had him first, I wouldn't have had as many issues as I've had. As a result it's cost me more money and the ability to listen to my car a whole lot better.

My guess is that if I had listened earlier on I would have not had to do so many other repairs. But what do I know in terms of the various sounds it should make and how smoothly the clutch should work or how accelerating shouldn't be as hard as my car was making it. Or how about that burning smell and the leakage coming from under my car that I should have paid attention to.

Because you see folks, it's not that it's just a crappy car and runs like crap. It's just that I wasn't paying attention.

Just goes to show how communication is sooooooooooooo important. Even if it's with an inanimate object. I didn't know I had to learn that!

Now I know better.

Check out my car at: http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-14772657-_JM

If they sell the car the link might not work anymore but this gives it multiple views :)

Another Cool Bug - Hittin the Jackpot!

Check it out:

I didn't paint it like that! I swear! Poor thing was on its back too and when I flipped it over....what a surprise! Was in my hallway like the other.

CABLE F'N MENOS

I had to write about it. I just had to do it.

Listen to this crap.

Cablemas, is the cable company alot of people use here. We like to call it "Cablemenos" because believe me they don't give you more. It is a big clusterfuck and a half. I've dealt with their incompetence on numerous occassions, and so have many of my friends. They've done all sorts of things like randomly take away channels you've paid for, come and disconnect the cable cord for no reason, not show up when they call and confirm an appointment, given you a remote where the connection for the batteries is reversed, cut your service for days and will refuse to give you an explanation for it and refuse to give you a discount for their screw up.

But you know, this one is just the icing on the cake.

Becky got her cable bill yesterday and for some reason they just decided to randomly change her address on the bill. When she called to tell them of the error that THEY MADE, they told her she had to bring proof of her address to the head offices.

I've got one thing to say:

WTF

When she told me about it I sort of didn't want to believe it but you know, this kind of shit actually happens so of course I sweared a whole bunch about it for fun. I made it very clear that she needed to call their offices, bitch them out and get THEM to change it because she need not waste her time and her money on cabs because they are fuckups.

So she just called. She tried to be really nice, and then was nice but firm, and then it was time to rip a new asshole, and she did, and we think they've changed the address.

Good for you Beck.

But you know, WHY? Because I just-don't-get-it!

God forbid we do things the logical way. Because you know, we just want you to pay for MENOS!

Learning About Things I didn't Know I Had To - PART UNO

(I originally thought that I could fit everything all into one blog. It doesn't look like that's possible so I will do this in parts. Stay tuned for the other parts!)

Forget college......move to Mexico!

Living in Cancun certainly has its challenges. No, I do not live on the beach, tan all day and sip margaritas. No, I do not party every night like a rockstar and stumble back to my superbly posh condo in the hotel zone. Instead, I live downtown, in what I'd like to call my nice, comfortable apartment. I have a job that I work Monday-Friday and have set hours and really, considering, my life here is a lot easier compared to others. Having a salary, set hours, a car and enough money to order sushi whenever I want makes me a pretty lucky person.

But living here has made me have to learn about many things that I never knew I would ever have to.

1. Gas. No, I'm not talking about the type you put in your car. I'm talking about that gas you use for your:

a) Hot Water Tank. You have to light it yourself with a lighter. It can often get blown out or if you are replacing a gas tank, you will of course have to re-light. If you have a crappy hot water tank, you might have some problems lighting it and problems with it going out all the time. I discussed the best way to light it with my father and he says that if you hold down the button for 30 seconds while lighting, the pilot should usually take over. He and I had a pow wow as he reminsced about the old days back in Italy. (Am I going backwards in time?) Once the pilot is lit, you can decided what level you want your hot water at. Sometimes you have a to use a little hot water first to get it going so that it bursts into a bigger flame so that you have enough hot water for your shower. If you are trying to save money, it's best to keep the pilot off and just light as you need hot water. This can be a pain in the ass however but again, it's more money or more of a pain. You decide. I often choose the more money choice! Now lets not forget, you must be careful because they can also blow up in your face and singe your hair and eyelashes.....another thing I have learned.....that I didn't know I had to.

b) Clothes Dryer. Yes folks! You can purchase dryers that run on gas. In fact, it is the most practical and cheap way to run a dryer. Apparently dryers take up a whole lot of electricity if they simply run on electricity. So we must ahorrar! We must save! Another thing I learned! Actually, I had a choice....gas dryer....or electric dryer. But the gas dryers are not only are they cheaper to purchase outright...but they are cheaper to run. I NEVER knew that before. But now I am all the more wise!

c) Stove with Oven (oven's are optional). I can't believe I even put that in brackets. I mean I'm not talking about hot-plates. I'm talking about a stove! Aren't they usually attached to an oven? Nope. They aren't. So get use to it! Now of course your stove top and your oven are lit with a lighter as well. Again, be careful...this can be a little more dangerous than singed eyelashes. In fact, I know of a story that didn't turn out so great. My friend is alive but does have a lot of scarring because of it. In addition to the complexities of lighting the oven or stove top, try and figure out the temperature of either of them. They aren't listed. They say, if you are lucky, "Min" or "Max" and you can figure out the rest. I've managed to bake two cakes by using my temperature intuition so I guess sometimes being so precise isn't always that necessary?

Ok. So We know that you can hook your dryer, your stove and your boiler up to gas and have them run all high tech (you know I'm sarcastic right?)......but where the hell does the gas come from? Tanks. Gas tanks. I have two so I am a millions times more lucky than people who just have one. Because when I run out of gas, I get my wrench, go outside, turn off the valve in the empty tank, disconnect it, attach it to the next tank, and open the valve to the new tank. Aren't I handy? Any Mexican men that see me do this think I'm super fragile and that this is a man's job. I say the hell with you. Your only purpose is to make me FEEL like I can't do it and that I NEED you but guess what baby, I know better. If I can knock a man down on his ass with my delicate fist, I can certainly change a gas tank....thanks!

So voila. I have my gas connected wooo hoooo!

Now what?

Yeah um, if you do nothing, you are screwed by the time the next tank runs out. (Btw, I use 20 litre tanks and they last about a couple of months and cost about 192 pesos a tank which is about $20 US.) Taking a cold shower in "winter" is not so much fun and having to use a hot plate to cook is a waste of energy so get with the gas schedule ok. So now all you have to do is call the gas company and expect them to show up when you say right? NO PROBLEM.

HA HA HA HA. Yeah right.

Apparently there is some sort of gas shortage going on so getting a gas tank is wayyy more complicated than it use to be. Even tho, before...it was still complicated....because of course they would never show up when you called.

There has been a sprout of a couple of new gas companies within the area because of the shortage, in addition to one of the largest companies, "Z Gaz" has chosen to make life more difficult. Now, whether you order, or go to the company with your gas tank, they not only want you to leave your gas tank with them, but they want you to pay for the tank, and then at a later date you can supposedly pick up your tank of gas, or have them deliver it to you. Um, no thanks. I give you my money and my gas tank and I get nada in return? Screw that!

Normally once you have a gas company you would only be able to exchange that gas tank, with that company. Now, it's a free for all. The gas company doesn't care, and the people don't care. They just want their damn gas.

So, here are the methods in which I have received gas:

1) Luck. The gas company just happened to be there already changing my neighbour's (Canadian Spelling!) gas tank. Woo hoo! I can't tell you what a high this is. All you druggies out there...you are wasting your time and money. Getting a tank of gas by having them magically appear when it's convenient for you is rare and special and terribly exciting.

2) I hear the gas tank music (really annoying when you want to sleep in on the weekend) and go running out naked, in my pj's, without shoes on...running down that street yelling gasssss, screaming out the window GASSSSSsssssss!!!! as if it were Romeo or something.

3) I've heard the clickity clank of the gas tanks and resorted to such things as I described in number two. My mother thinks I have developed super Mexican hearing for this. Because she doesn't hear anything out of the ordinary and before you knew it I have my wallet, my gas key and I'm out down the street begging for a tank. I've got the same hearing for the water man as well. Here we are relaxing and watching t.v. and before you know it I've sprung up and am out of my apartment, have run down 3 flights of stairs and have unlocked the security gate and i'm down the street all in the matter of 5 seconds.

4) Calling the company....any company, to have the phones not work, or have them tell me they will come, or won't come, whatever the result, if they don't come, or if they do, I'm not even home when they do...helloooo I work. I don't sit around and wait for gas all day....especialy when I can create my own JAJAJAJA. Bad joke.

5) Throw the empty gas tank in the car and go to some company, any company that will give you a full gas tank.

6) Chase after the gas truck in your car, or send someone else to chase after them.

7) Partner up with the neighbour (Canadian Spelling!). If I get the truck, I knock on his door, if he gets the truck, he knocks on mine.

So there you see it folks. Gas is an integral part of living in Mexico. And if you don't learn the ways....you will suffer! I have learned the ways.....and way back when.... I had no idea I'd have to learn about these things.

Thanks Beck!

Personally, I like to roll them up and twist them....but this is almost just as good....

CLICK HERE

Pop!

CUBA

New Years of 2005 I took a trip to Cuba with my friend and met up with a couple other friends. For me it was more of an educational trip. We stayed in a Casa Particular with a husband and wife in their 60's and hired a boy in the building to take us around town.

There are so so so so so many things to see in Cuba and I captured a few of them and wanted to share with you.

Here are some of my favorites:

Another Interesting Mexican Bug

This is another bug that I found that I thought I should document. My guess is that it's probably some sort of beatle but I could be wrong. I could also be wrong about the fact that it does not frighten me and is kind of cute. Kind of gives me the same feeling that a lady bug does. It's interesting and fun and you need not fear it.

It's been hanging out in my hallway for quite a while now and I see it and say hello to it. It has no problems climbing walls but does not jump, fly or spin webs. It is also quite big. Maybe the length of a ten peso coin and it is quite thick and not flat. I think I'll name it Verde Amarillo as it is such a distinguished name and well, those are its colors*.

Again, if you know what the hell this is, or if I shouldn't cuddle with it in bed, let me know.

*You know I'm originally from Canada and feel stupid about spelling the word "color" without the "u" . But I don't want any of you Los Estados Unidadenses to think that I don't know how to spell the word "color". I do. It's just that in Canada we spell it "colour". So I kind of feel like I'm betraying the original spelling that I'm use to. I get all stressed out about it too, depending on who I'm chatting with or who is going to read this. I will tell you that I will not say "rubber bands" and will stick to "elastics". So it's really a give and take situation. And you just better get use to it!

Birthday Pics

I said I'd post some so here they are!


This is the middle layer of my cake. As you can see I marked it in blood (just kidding...it's some food coloring spray crap). And also, I did not make my own icing:

This is my fabulously special birthday cake that miss leta helped me with. It would have looked a lot more tacky but leta restrained me from making it so:

This is before I got completely hammered:





This is Joyce at my birthday party:




My lovely friends group 1:

My lovely friends group 2:

Ged and moi singing Bohemian Rhapsody (thanks beck)by Queen:

Wearing my tattoo artist kit that that Joyce gave me:

Can't go through the night without a tongue pic! Leta decided to be half normal and just smile:

Thats all folks. Wish you were there!

Again, thanks to everyone that made it so much fun. You are the bestest friends ever! And if you break a toe, remember, you cannot get a refund!