Hmmm ... Part Two!

I have a mouse, a rat or another type of rodent using my apartment as a route to parts unknown. EEK!

Three times in the last month, I've seen a brown rodent come in under the door, skuttle across the floor of my livingroom, right along the wall, behind the computer table and the TV table, to the kitchen, up the mop and out an opening in my kitchen wall.

I've taken to shoving two, folded, flattened cardboard boxes up against the door to block the opening. Last night, while I was lying in bed reading, I heard something. I snuck down the stairs, threw my flip flop at the door (the noise was coming from the other side) and turned on the light.

The noise stopped so I opened the door to find nothing. But whatever was out there was trying to chew throught eight layers of folded cardboard! I also had a bag of garbage on the stoop, which was totally ignored.

As a result, I am learning new Spanish words! A mouse is un raton, a rat is una rata and apparently a tlaquache is a big, dumb, ugly rodent from the opossum family. And a trap for one or all of the above is called a ratonera. The one I found tonight was only 65 pesos and big enough to hold a chihuahua!

I don't think he wants food so I don't think a trap or poison is going to work. I can't find the closest "Rent-A-Cat" in the phonebook so I think I'm going to try closing up the gap under the door with some wood. Hopefully, that will keep him busy for a while. I must remember to buy extremely HARD wood ... hmmm! :)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm ...

Oprah Winfrey is a powerful woman. Her latest crusades have the potential to change the face of America. First off, she is on a manhunt for child molesters. She is offering (and paying) $100,000 of her own money to anyone who helps apprehend these creeps. She first aired a show about this subject last Friday and by yesterday (Tuesday), TWO of them had been found and arrested -- one in the U.S. and one in Belize (all of places). She is extremely passionate about this since she is a survivor of child abuse. Her second crusade deals with America's poor ... the 37 million people that live in poverty in the "richest country in the world". If anyone can make a difference, it's Oprah! She has money, power and a huge television audience. If she ran for President right now, there is no doubt in my mind that she would win! Hmmm ...

I had someone I know ask me for money the other day. This has never happened to me before moving here. In over 20 years of my working life in Canada, no one (other than a panhandler) ever asked me for money, either at work or within my circle of friends. But it has happened here, three times, from three different people, in less than a year. I don't know what to think. I earn the same as everyone else at work. I know some people make more than me because they are on salary or work more hours. I just can't figure it out. I've always been good with money and I'm never without something in my pocket. Maybe people just sense that. I just don't understand it. Hmmm ...

Someone flicked the switch here on Sunday. What I mean is the weather has changed from sweltering hot (50C/125F) to relatively cool. The other morning (Monday?) at 7AM, it was only 20C!!! I've been sleeping under my sheet and blanket since the weekend. The breeze has coolish undertones and everyone is talking about the weather. But today, it turned hot and humid again. Something weird it going on! I think it is too early for the "rainy season" to be over. Besides, it is still raining every night anyway! Hmmm ...

There's a lot more where these came from. Why is that? Hmmm ... ??? :)

How Hot Is It?

Yesterday, the high was 90.3F or 32.4ºC but with the humidity, the heat index was more like 123.6ºF or 50.6ºC. It's almost too hot to type! :) And it felt hotter today. We might get hit with the remnants of Hurricane Stan. Even though the name sounds ineffectual, his leftovers have the potential to pack a wallop as he rolls through Mexico and affect us in some way. Locally, heavy rainfall causing life-threatening flash floods and mud slides may be possible during the next day or two from Acapulco northwestward to PV, especially in mountainous areas. Even as I type (10PM Thursday night), the rain has finally started.

I finally have a good cable signal! Things went awry about a week ago when my rather crappy television reception disappeared totally leaving nothing for me to watch but a fuzzy white screen. At first I just thought the cable was out (again). The internet goes down and the electricity goes out often down here. After about a week with no Law & Order, I decided to follow the cable from my TV to the roof. Once there, I discovered a pile of wire shavings and my cable lying on the ground. In its place, another coaxial cable was plugged into my spot. Funny thing -- that particular cable ran across the street and into the house/store on the corner! My neighbour and I removed the offending cable, replaced mine and secured it with electrical tape.

Today again, no cable. I wasn't home but my girlfriend was here, using my computer and watching my TV. Or at least she was trying to watch my TV and couldn't. Back up to the roof they went, only to discover that the cable thieves had removed the whole junction box and now no one has cable! Did I mention my neighbour is a smart guy? He gets DSL internet service through a cable company here and we share the cost by using a wireless router. One of the women at work gave me a whack of cable and a splitter so he used that to hack into the internet line and VOILA! I have a clean, clear picture on my TV now. So I guess the lesson is, don't pay extra for cable service if you've already got DSL via cable. The TV signal is imbedded in the line! (And please don't report us to the Mexican authorities!)

As many of you know, last Sunday was my birthday and I'm proud to say that I did absolutely nothing on my birthday except lie around in bed for most of the day. It's not like I had a choice. And before you think I was enjoying some type of steamy tryst with a red hot latin lover, I was hungover to a point close to death. LOL Foolishly, I agreed to let two of my co-workers (both young, handsome men but on the other team, if you know what I mean) buy me "a drink" for my birthday at our favourite martini bar. Several martinis and one mysterious frothy drink later, I found myself on centre stage at Paco Paco, an infamous gay bar here in Vallarta.

I paid 50 pesos to enter and received a free beer. I bought them each a beer and barely remember the rest of the evening! I watched them shoot a game of pool and when they decided to head upstairs to watch the strippers, I left down the winding staircase to street level. Once there, I realized I was in no shape to walk home, even if it was only six blocks. I also knew enough not to get into a car with a strange man so that ruled out taking a taxi. I headed back to the martini bar and found my favourite Canadian bartender closing up. He agreed to walk me to my door. Anyway, I missed a passle of phone calls in the morning from my family and friends because I couldn't make it from the bed to the dresser. What can I say? I'm an old woman ... haha!

My friend Linda sent me a lovely ecard with the following message: "Seems to me you've made it a life's mission not to be ordinary. And guess what? You've succeeded ...". Thanks Linda. That means a lot to me! And thanks to everyone else for their calls, emails and messages online. I've made some decisions about my life, as is my wont to do every year on my birthday. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions unless it is MY new year. Anyway, I am working out a few details but I hope to be able to share the news with you sometime before the end of the month so hang tight OK? Just don't get tight ... unless you really want to feel bad the next morning. :)

On Cutting My Hair (A Short Story)

DISCLAIMER: This was a true story, in 1992! So you can stop worrying, I haven't cut my hair.

Well after midnight, my tiny apartment in High Park felt like an oven. The heatwave gripping the city continued into the fifth day. I lay naked on top of my sticky sheets trying to feel a breeze through the small window in my bedroom. The fan on my dresser in front of the window pushed waves of muggy air back and forth over my tired, limp, sweaty body. A mass of overpermed hair, contained by an elastic band and an intricate series of barrettes, lay snarled on my sweat-stained pillow. I simply could not cool down. I hauled myself up and headed to the bathroom for another shower. As I padded down the hall, the tiled floor felt cool on my feet. My hair felt heavy piled on top of my sweating head.

I stepped into the shower and turned on the tap without adjusting the temperature. I had turned it to cold earlier in the evening when I got home from work. I didn't even flinch as the water hit me. This was my fourth shower in eighteen hours. I briefly considered the possibility that my rent would be increased due to my over-consumption of electricity and water. Fat chance, I thought. My landlord, Mr. Shang, loved me and hadn't raised my rent in over three years. At only $510 per month, including utilities, my apartment represented a bargain in Toronto's overpriced rental market. I inhabited less than 500 square fee on the top floor of an old house, conveniently located two blocks from the subway.

I considered sleeping in the shower and although it looked big enough to hold four adults standing, I couldn't lie down in the 4' by 4' stall. I reluctantly turned off the water and grabbed my towel from the rack. It still felt damp from my shower at six o'clock. Nothing dried in this humidity. With the snap of broken elastic, my hair suddenly tumbled down in a lank, tangled mess in front of my face. The sheer weight of it caused a metal barrette to fly off and hit me in the neck. I dropped my towel on the toilet seat and pushed the dark red scraggly jumble back from my face as I looked at myself in the mirror. A witch with dark circles under her eyes stared back at me.

I opened the door to the vanity under the sink and held my hair at bay with one hand as I bent over to scrounge around for an elastic with the other. My search proved fruitless. I remembered prforming a similar search that morning and finding only one elastic buried under a box of old makeup. I meant to buy some at lunch and forgot. I stood up and let my hair fall halfway down my back. It was so heavy when wet. Hot again from all my exertions, I removed the remaining barrettes and grabbed the wet towel. I hung upside down as I wrapped the towel turban style around my head. I straightened up and flipped the end of the towel behind me so I could tuck it under the edge running behind my head. I headed back to bed and prayed for sleep.

*******

Early the next morning, I left the house after another cold shower and decided to pick up a few necessities before the heat of the day struck in its entirety. I strolled through Bloor West Village on the shady side of the street, enjoying the relative coolness offered by overhead awnings. Suddenly, I found myself standing outside a beauty salon, reading the words "Grand Opening" across a banner in the window. I looked inside and saw a man standing behind a reception counter. He smiled and motioned me inside. I opened the door and entered the air conditioned sanctuary.

"Welcome! Hot enough for you?" he said.

"Too hot", I replied. "When did you open?"

"Earlier this week but our grand opening is today. I'm Roberto, the owner."

I glanced around the shop. The chrome gleamed on the salon chairs and the room was tastefully decorated in soothing tones of sand and peach. Three workstations displayed all the accoutrements of the trade -- blow dryers, curling irons, combs, brushes, clips and curlers. Three pristine sinks stood ready for business at the back of the shop. The shelves over them held large containers of shampoo, conditioner, hair gel and chemical solutions. The ceramic floor looked like it had never seen a single strand of hair. Posters of women and men, beautifully coiffed, adorned the walls.

"Can I help you?" he asked. He was around 40 years old, casually dressed in soft tan pants with a matching shirt rolled up at the sleeves and open at the neck. Fine leather sandals encased his feet. I did not detect an accent but his elegance and style made me think of Europe.

"Well yes, actually, I have this problem", I said.

"What is it?"

I moved my hand to the barrette as the back of my head and snapped it loose. My hair, freed from its restraint, escaped down past my shoulders.

"I think I need a cut", I said. "And I had a bad perm recently."

"What do you mean?"

I turned around and showed him.

"Oh my goodness! Who did this to you?"

"Someone I'd like to forget. Can you help me?"

He moved swiftly to the first workstation and swung the chair towards me. "Have a seat."

He swivelled the chair so I was facing the mirror. His face registered dismay at the condition of my hair. I watched him closely as his hands tenderly separated my locks into strands. He held the ends up in front of his face for closer inspection.

"Well, I can give you a trim but that really won't solve the problem. There's only one way to get your hair back into shape and that's a major cut. Let me do a sketch for you. Would you like a coffee?"

Suddenly my mouth went dry. "Something cold would be better", I said.

I looked in the mirror, trying to imagine what I would look like without this massive volume of hair. He handed me a cold glass of water and settled into the adjoining chair, facing me, his sketchpad on his knee. He looked at me and then proceeded to sketch vigorously with a pencil. He looked a me a few more times and then appeared satisfied with his result. He stretched across and handed me the paper with his sketch. I took it with trembling fingers.

"What do you think?" he said.

I looked at the picture in open-mouthed amazement. He had drawn a remarkable likeness of my face from the side. The hair in the drawing was short. Really short, with wisps around the face and neck.

"I don't know how else to fix it other than to cut it all off", he said sadly.

"I know it's bad but do you really think this is necessary?" I asked.

He came to stand behind me once again and turned me towards the mirror. The sketch rested heavily in my lap.

"There's nothing I can do to save it. It's in pretty rough shape. I think the best thing to do is to start fresh. What do you think?"

I looked again into the mirror. I looked at the sketch in my lap. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Do it."

I'm A Heartless Bitch!

Yes, it is official. I made an application and it was accepted. You can read more about it at www.heartless-bitches.com. LOL

We are finally getting some serious rain! We had a mini-drought for one whole week, during which temperatures climbed to more than 45C (115F) with the humidity. Everyone started getting cranky and sleeping at night was downright uncomfortable. The skies broke on Friday afternoon around 4PM at which time I left work and waded two blocks in ankle deep water. It rained so hard, I decided to take the bus four blocks instead of walking. I got soaked anyway but what a relief! Big rain again on Saturday night, with thunder and lightening. Cloudy and rainy yesterday and today. It's actually a nice change to have cloud cover instead of the same old boring, blue, sunny skies day after day and I never thought I would say that! :)

Most of the restaurants are closed for September and into October. There are only two places open on Basilio Badillo -- Fajita Republic and Panchos Tacos. I had dinner at the former on Saturday night, during the rain storm and while edible, it certainly did not impress me much. In fact, I've never understood why this restaurant does the business it does. The food is mediocre and the prices are pretty high. Three of us paid $250 pesos each for a dinner without any booze. We each had a small salty steak, five shrimp, a limp caesar salad and fries. The fries weren't bad. :( In comparison, I had dinner at Casa Naranjo last night with two girlfriends and we paid $230 pesos each for a fabulous dinner with great wine, yummy appetizers and delicious entrees. So sorry Linda, but next time I get to pick the place for dinner! LOL

Things are starting to gear up at work for the high season. A group of new recruits are being trained in anticipation of a very busy winter. The cruise ships are starting to return; in fact, there will be five in port this week alone! So far, no merchandise has arrived but it is out there, somewhere, and once it starts rolling in, it won't stop until Easter! I'm as ready as I'll ever be but I know this year is going to be incredibly busy. *sigh* There is already a list a mile long of suppliers from which we've re-ordered and my boss is still overseas (mainland China right now) buying all kinds of goodies for the store. So far she's been to London, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Barcelona, Hong Kong and points in between. So if you've never been into the store before, come this year! The variety of merchandise will be extraordinary.

Thank You!

Many thanks to everyone who wrote to me in response to my last blog. Your positive feedback has been so wonderful! Even my Dad commented on how much he liked it. I think it is important to acknowledge that all is not right in the world but also to remember there is something we can do about it. Anyway, your emails were all very sweet and I just wanted to acknowledge them.

I have been living here full-time for a year now, other than the five weeks I took off to Toronto this summer. It seems like I've been here forever some days. I guess I can now say I live here full-time. Actually, when people ask me how long I've been here, I usually say two years and neglect to mention the four months I spent working in Toronto during that cool, rainy summer in 2003.

And another birthday is looming in the not so distant future which means I will have to make more resolutions. Hmmm ... I think I've probably already made them but have yet to put them into operation. More on that soon. In the meantime, I found this really cool site where you can plug in your birthdate and get back a "blurb" about your personality. I'm always a sucker for this type of thing (and horoscopes) so here goes:

Your birth on the 2nd day of the month adds a degree of emotion, sensitivity, and intuition to your life. The 2 is a very social number allowing you to make friends easily and quickly. Yet you are apt to have a rather nervous air in the company of a large group. You have a warmhearted nature and emotional understanding that constantly seeks affection.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do on that date. It will be special this year because my friend Medina will be arriving from Canada the week before and she is staying for three months! YAY!!! Anyway, it is always a treat for me to spend my birthday with a close friend. Not sure what we're doing yet but a trip out of town might be in order since I have a five day weekend!!!

I'm Only One Person

In the middle of last week, I started to write another one of my silly, yet (I hope) informative blogs about living down here and I never got it done. Then I realized today was September 11th and now I don't feel like writing about anything frivolous. For the most part, I try to keep my blog light and interesting but today is certainly not a day for that. Is it just me or do the disasters befalling us all just seem to be getting worse? The death tolls keep rising (first 9/11, then Iraq and now Katrina) and the political climate turns more volatile with each year. I often wonder what the state the world will be in five, ten or twenty years from now.

Most people think that the politicians are the ones to blame but how did they get to their positions in the first place? Some will say the electorial system is fixed or they bought their way in with money and status. Is no one willing to take responsibility? Frankly, I think a society that, for the most part, idolizes wanna-be rap stars and wrathelike fashion models, is the culprit. When did we get to be so obsessed with other people's lives? Who cares about the Scott Petersens of the world? Why does Michael Jackson warrant so much air time when the people living next door need help?

We need to start caring about ourselves, our families and our communities. We need to start repairing this broken society of ours, the one littered with apathy, neglect and callousness. We ALL need to do something! It's not right to let your neighbour or your co-worker be the volunteer or the one making the donation or the one helping the unfortunate. We ALL need to do it. We need to build self-esteem as a world, so that we will be healthy enough to help others. I am so tired of the trivialities of our lives and the attitude that someone else will do it if we don't. You know what? It's not working!!!

And I'm afraid things are only going to get worse. :( Sorry to be so morose today but it is a terrible anniversary and, as far as I can tell, no one has learned anything from it. I'm going to try to turn it around, starting with me. What are you going to do?

Burned at the Bayview Grand

Someone sent me this by email the other day and I kind of like it: "...I remember when I got it about saints and goddesses. The difference, I mean. Saints are too good to be true, and goddesses insist on being both magical and real. It is because they're good and bad and because with them, anything can happen, that they're goddesses." This is an excerpt from Alice Walker's "By the Light of My Father's Smile". Thanks Katherine! :)

Today I coerced my friend John into giving me a lift out to the marina so I could hang out at the Bayview Grand with my friend Laura. John needed to go to Sam's Club and since I have a card (and he doesn't), we made a deal that he could use my card if he dropped me off afterwards. Turns out the item he needed to purchase didn't work when he got it home and I got sunburned. Oh well!

The Bayview Grand is one of these huge mega-condominium complexes out in the marina. Laura's friend is one of the original owners, having bought when the prices were high. Now they are very high. :) The grounds are stunning, with acres of well tended lawns, palms trees and flowering bushes. The crystal blue pools (4 in total) cover the area of two city blocks and are surrounded by white chaise lounges and covered cabanas which offer some coverage from the sun.

Her friend's villa is a two storey deal, with three bedrooms and three en suite bathrooms upstairs. The winding staircase leads down to the main level which includes the living room, dining room, kitchen, study, laundryroom, another bathroom and an outdoor patio. Our hostess was a former spa owner so the condo is decorated in soothing pastel tones of aqua and white (main floor), lavender, pink, blue and white upstairs. There is a whirlpool tub in the master bedroom as well as one in the living room, which affords the person languishing there an unfettered view of the Bay and sometimes, fireworks from the Marigalante. I enjoyed my day out there! :)

Back to reality now folks. LOL I went to Woolworth's yesterday to pick up a few things and went upstairs to check out the housewares. They are selling heaters next to the fans. ??? The artificial Christmas tress are out and there are hundreds of bikes and trikes hanging from the rafters. The aisles and walls are packed, floor to ceiling, with everything from dolls to plastic trucks. I wish I had a camera ... I guess it is never too late to start your Christmas shopping is it? BLECH!

A friend from Toronto surprised me by arriving in Vallarta on Friday, two days after booking her trip. She's here with her daughter and three of her 20 something girlfriends. Since she's not really into going to discos, we decided that the two of us would go out for dinner. I took her to El Arrayan because she's never been there before and wanted to try it. I had my usual: lettuce salad with jícama, toasted sesame seeds and Mexican herbs, with the house vinaigrette. Anne Marie had Nopal cactus pad salad, with panela cheese with a fresh marjoram vinaigrette. For the entree, I again had my usual: beef tenderloin with mole sauce made with 21 ingredients, ground and blended. Anne Marie had a boneless fish filet, grilled, with 'Axiote' sauce from Yucatán, ground annatto tree seed and other tasty spices. YUMMY!

If you think my memory must be fantastic to remember all those ingredients, think again. I copied them from the website! (www.elarrayan.com.mx) The new wine list was also a nice surprise. I had a lovely Syrah-Cabernet from Chile and A.M. had a red Mexican wine which was full bodied and smooth. If you haven't tried this restaurant before, give it a chance on your next trip to Vallarta.

It is still raining here, pretty well every day now which is a blessed relief from the heat. We have another couple of months of this weather so I am adapting. The nights are relatively cool (27C, 80F) LOL! I must be acclimated because I sleeping with the fan on low, under a sheet and a blanket. Hmmm ... toasty! That's pretty much it from paradise this week. Oh! I almost forgot! I bowled a total of 355 this week which was enough to beat Kathy AGAIN. This is my only goal. Hahaha

Bowling and Birthdays

I've rearranged my work schedule so that I'm off on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The main reason I did this was to satisfy my friend, Kathy, who challenged me to a grudge match at our local bowling alley. Collage is up north of Walmart so every Friday morning, a group of us meet at Andales for breakfast at 10:30AM and then car pool up to the bowling lane for a couple of hours of air conditioned fun. They have 20 ten-pin lanes and there are usually between 10 and 20 of us bowling. The cost is cheap ($7 for three games and shoe rental) and the beer/Cokes are very cold!

We give each other high fives for spares or strikes. The scorekeeping is all electronic and these messages come up when you get more than one strike in a row. Two strikes is a double and three strikes is a "turkey". An actual drawing of a turkey comes up on the screen and we all say "gobble gobble"! Anyway, two weeks ago I had a Friday off and went bowling for the first time since last October. Kathy kicked my ass so we had a rematch on Friday. Let's just say I got my game back and she's not bragging so much anymore. LOL

After bowling, Jeff, Kathy and I went for pizza at San Remo's. One large pizza with four toppings cost only $122 pesos (about $5 each). We then headed over to Que?Pasa as Lynnda had reminded us it was Larry's ... excuse me, Sr. Fox's birthday. (Larry looks a bit like Mexico's president, Vincente Fox, so everyone calls him "Fox"). Fridays are also "Jam for the Kids" afternoon at Que?Pasa. From 5 to 8PM, Fox and a bunch of other talented guys and gals get up and play music. Last week was particulary invigorating with a great crowd and wonderful music. The cake finally came out around 8PM and it was chocolate with a big guitar on it! Ymmm ... (see http://www.quepasabar.com./ for photos).

On Sunday nights at Que?Pasa, Lynnda shows movies and since it is the cook's night off (they have the grill going every other night), Lynnda usually makes something yummy for us to eat. Last night was no exception and we dined on caesar salad and lasagna. We also enjoyed ANOTHER chocolate cake since it was Kathy's 29th birthday (again). The movie was "Pay It Forward" which had us all crying in our drinks by the end. We watched the movie on a large, kingsize bedsheet strung across the back corner of the bar. BTW, the sun just went down here about 15 minutes ago (around 8:30PM) and I saw some big, black clouds moving over the mountains so hopefully, we're going to get some rain. I'll sign off for now and hope to hear from you soon!

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Remember my blog from earlier today? "Thankfully, I haven't run across any more of those BIG bugs." Well, that comment certainly came back to bite me in the ass! I just sat down in front of the TV, ready to enjoy my dinner along with an episode of Law and Order, when I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye ...

A HUGE bug wandered out from under my loveseat and headed under the coffee table. I jumped up to grab my "weapons", namely a plastic container, bug spray and a hammer. ;) In the five seconds I had my back turned, the goddamn thing had disappeared! I frantically moved furniture out of the way, looking for it.

Then I saw him, heading out the door. In the unlikely event that he decided it was too wet (it's raining again!), I turned the light on outside and opened the door. He had already climbed up the wall and was scaling my mop left on the landing to dry. I shook the mop so he would fall one storey to the ground below.

Why do I have the feeling that I am not going to get much sleep tonight? LOL

Back To School!

Yesterday was the first day back to school for a lot of the Mexican children here. All over town, I saw shining fresh scrubbed faces, crisp new uniforms and smiling proud parents. There were a few tears as well, especially for one little girl who obviously was not thrilled to be moving on to the next phase in her life. The youngest children are the cutest with their eyes filled with excitement, wearing large square name tags strung around their necks like badges of honour.

When I was home this summer, sitting in a movie theatre before the film started, they showed a number of interesting facts on the screen to entertain us. One stuck in my mind. Did you know that the average adult will eat approximately 70 bugs in their lifetime? Last night, before bed, I filled up my water glass to bring upstairs to my bedside. I placed it on my night table, turned the light on and discovered the glass was filled with tiny, thirsty ants. Good thing I only had one gulp because as I brushed my teeth, I found an ant on my toothbrush! LOL BTW, the mosquitos are back and feasting on me, especially after the rain. Thankfully, I haven't run across any more of those BIG bugs.

I've been out walking in the mornings, getting up around 7AM and doing "laps" on the Malecon for about an hour. In my opinion, this is the best time of day here. The air is fresh and the breezes are cool. It's been overcast lately and still quite dark at that time of the morning. If I'm lucky, I'll be on the Malecon when a well-lit cruise ship slips into port. As my walk progresses, the sun comes up over the mountains and burns off the clouds, leaving a crystal clear blue sky with just a hint of the heat to come over the course of the day.

The town is really quiet and a lot of the restaurants are closed until October. My fridge is fully stocked so chances are I won't starve to death. I ate out this weekend with my friend Scott for dinner. He had a craving for fajitas from El Brujo, which just happens to be right down the street from me. The restaurant, usually packed in the high season with a line out the door, was virtually empty! We enjoyed our fajitas (shrimp for me, mixed for him) and got caught up on all the things we can't talk about while we're at work. LOL

A few of us went out last night to "demonstrate" against the demolishment of Lazaro Cardenas Park. A short burst of rain delayed the proceedings by about an hour and probably inhibited a lot of people from coming out to join us. We are going to try to be there every evening this week, at 6PM, to show the City that we value this park, with its shade trees, palm trees, grass and wonderful seating areas. The huge, gaping hole in the empty lot across the street would be a much better location for a parking lot. If you're in town and read this, come out tonight!

On a sad note, one of the older, retired ex pats living down here is in the hospital with a very serious head injury. Bob Pugh was found by his landlord, near his home, unconscious, bleeding from the head. No one knows what happened and we may never know. Bob underwent surgery to stop the bleeding in his brain and has been in a coma ever since. His chance for survival is 40% but it looks like he will be in a wheelchair if he does survive, with limited mobility on his right side. Bob is one of the many characters down here. He was well read, witty and always had a glass of red wine in front of him. Send your prayers down here to Bob in Puerto Vallarta.

Big Rain Last Night!

We finally had a real tropical storm rip through here last night. Just when I thought it couldn't rain any harder, it did! I discovered that I have a river running through my apartment from my kitchen sink, across my living room floor (under all my electronics!) and out the door. Left alone, it probably would have just travelled through without incident but I decided to start sweeping and mopping. I think I made it worse by spreading the water around a greater area but at least now I have a relatively clean floor. :) The noise of the rain was so hard, I had the TV turned up to its highest volume and still had to read the Spanish subtitles so I could understand what the actors were saying.

I had plans last night to attend the first Girls Only Night at Que?Pasa. We were all bringing something to eat and planning to watch chick flicks. Unfortunately, the party was scheduled to start at 7PM during the height of the storm. I arranged for my friend Laura to pick me up but she called to tell me that she couldn't negotiate her stairs in the heavy downpour so we decided to wait a bit longer. Finally, she made it down her 85 stairs to her Jeep and headed over to my place. I prepared for my departure with my salad, my purse and a towel in a plastic bag. I wore flip flops, cotton pants rolled up to my knees, my jean jacket over a tank top and a ball cap. An umbrella would have been useless and I wanted one of my hands free.

Usually, Laura picks me up on the corner, 1/2 block from my door but I convinced her to turn the corner and pull up in front of my building. Once outside, I realized that the water on my cobblestone street was at least a foot deep and rushing like a river. I do not feel comfortable negotiating it when dry and felt that all that water could prove to be very dangerous. I decided to walk down to the corner as the water didn't seem to be so deep there. I was able to cross the street without getting too wet. The warm water came up over my feet but the cobblestones are flatter here because of the constant buses roaring down the street. I stood under an overhang and decided to wait for my friend. I was able to watch the storm (ever see pink lightening?) and stay relatively dry. Plus the temperatures had cooled considerably.

A car pulled up to the curb and three people jumped out. Two didn't even bother wearing any shoes, walking on the street, around the car and onto the sidewalk. One of the women shuddered and backed away from the wall, pointing to a dark spot. Her male friend looked too and then just laughed at her. I decided to investigate. Ever wonder where the big bugs go when it's raining? They were clustered in writhing reddish brown clumps on the side of the wall, waiting out the rain with the rest of us. There were almost a hundred of them, all clinging to the wall, antennaes flickering in the rain. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen! I still get the heebie geebies when I think about it! *shudder*

The rain eventually stopped so we could enjoy our potluck dinner at Que?Pasa and watch the movie "Million Dollar Baby". It was nothing like I expected! But I liked it. I slept well last night because of the wonderful cool breeze coming in my bedroom window. I got up early and went to the gym at 7AM. I've been at home ever since, puttering around and cleaning up after the rains. I plan on re-arranging my bedroom again so that if I am not home to close the windows, my bed will not get soaked. Right now it is right under the window but I think I will move it back a couple of feet and change the direction so that I can make better use of the breeze when it does come through. After I watch the Y&R that is, which is coming on now on The American Network. Talk to you later! :)

Getting a BANG Out of Church

Since Sunday morning, I've been hearing loud and continuous explosions close to my house. At first I thought someone was firing a weapon. Then I thought the Navy was out in the Bay doing something funny. Finally, someone clued me into the fact that the next neighbourhood, Colonia Caloso, was celebrating a festival involving their church and, instead of ringing the bells to get people to attend mass, they were setting off bombas (firecrackers) at the necessary times. What kind of culture feels it necessary to SCARE their parishoners into church??? Anyway, I haven't needed to use my clock radio all week to wake up. The "bombs" go off at 6AM, 6:15AM, 7AM and 8:30AM. Oh, and in the evening too for several hours! I am assured that this too shall pass ... LOL

I don't have too much else to report. I was down and out all day on Monday with some type of intestinal disorder which required me to stay close to my bathroom. Apparently, it wasn't necessarily anything I ate as a number of other people (Nationals and ex-pats alike) were all struck by this "bug". I got over it in about 12 hours. One of my friends was down and out for two days!

Speaking of bugs, I just had the scare of my life! If my hair wasn't tied into a tight ponytail on top of my head, I'm sure it would have stood on end all by itself. I actually decided to cook tonight and pulled my little personal grill out to cook two chicken breasts. Imagine my surprise when I lifted the lid and a HUGE beetle/cricket/cockroach-type creature stared at me, licking his chops. He scuttled into the grease catcher underneath and that's when I knew I had him! I grabbed a lid from a plastic bowl, slid the tray out slowly and covered it quickly with the lid. My unwanted dinner guest went out the window! Now I have to disinfect everything. *sigh*

On Being Assertive

Assertive behavior is:

Standing up for one's rights no matter what the circumstance.

Correcting the situation when one's rights are being violated.

Seeking respect and understanding for one's feelings about a particular situation or circumstance.

Interacting in a mature manner with those found to be offensive, defensive, aggressive, hostile, blaming, attacking, or otherwise unreceptive.

Direct, upfront, (not defensive or manipulative) behavior. Those using assertive behavior confront problems, disagreement, or personal discomforts head on, and their intent is unmistakable to others.

Verbal ``I'' statements, where individuals tell others how they feel about a situation, circumstance, or the behavior of others.

Taking the risk of being misunderstood as being aggressive, abrasive, or attacking.

Being able to protect one's rights while protecting and respecting the rights of others.

Risk-taking behavior that is not ruled by fear of rejection or disapproval, but is directed by the rational belief that ``I deserve to stand up for my rights.''

Rational thinking and the self-affirmation of personal worth, respect, and rights.

A healthy style in which to conduct interpersonal relationships.

Finding a ``win-win'' solution in handling problems between two individuals.

You might wonder why I am "blogging" this. Throughout my life, I have often taken flack for speaking up when others will not. I have been labelled a "bitch" because I refuse to remain silent. I've been told I "complain" too much because I am constantly standing up for myself in situations where other might walk away.

The other night, I was trying to get an umbrella strategically placed at an outside bar because the sun was bothering me and the other people at the table. My tablemates decided to solve the "problem" by moving their chairs back into the shade (and further away from the rest of us seated at the table). The waiter was totally useless and none of the so-called "gentlemen" at my table had the cojones to get up and do anything!

So I just kept bugging the waiter. There were empty tables on the beach with umbrellas but, for some reason, he couldn't bring them over (ie. he was too LAZY to do it). There was an umbrella stashed behind us but, according to him, it wasn't "working". After many, many dirty looks, he finally successfully placed the "broken" umbrella in the stand and opened it up. What a miracle! It worked! Needless to say, he did not get a good tip and I will never sit in his section again.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease." In other words, speak up if you want to get things done. Don't tell me I'm beautiful. I've heard that a million times. Tell me I am provocative, intelligent and assertive and I will acknowledge that you are a good judge of character. :)

Mother Nature Rocks!

Well it finally rained last night. After a week or more without any real rain (we had one hour the other afternoon), it was a blessed relief! And the thunderstorm that accompanied the rain were fabulous. Tons of lightening and great big CRACKS of thunder. During dinner at Archie's Wok, the power went out twice so we had to eat our wonderful Thai food by candlelight. It continued to rain for the rest of evening and the air cooled down considerably. I had to ask Greta to turn off the ceiling fan at Que?Pasa because I was too cold! LOL

I have met a couple of my blog fans this weekend. Carlos from Oklahoma kindly ordered my AVON products for me online and then delivered to them to me in the store. He asked me to donate the payment to the kids at the Refugio so the next time I see Larry, I will be giving him $100 pesos. Thank you Carlos! And I also met my friend Katherine, from Vancouver, who is down here "living like a local" for a week. She is hoping to move to Vallarta sometime in the near future and was picking my brain. I don't know how helpful I was after Happy Hour at CCs! :)

A couple of condo-owning friends are also in town this weekend and we were all talking about the upcoming high season. Between them, they own and/or manage about 10 vacation rentals here in Vallart and ALL of them are booked for Christmas and New Year's. And the town is very busy right now. The store was full of American tourists yesterday and there wasn't even a ship in port! I'm not sure where they all came from but a lot of them are first time visitors. The majority of them are leaving with very favourable impressions of Vallarta and promising to return.

I've also been reading a lot of posts on the Board from people wanting to relocate to Puerto Vallarta. I also have many friends returning for the season. This can only mean one thing: affordable rental accomodations are going to be at a premium! So if you can, get down here earlier, rather than later, in order to find a place to live. Hope to see you all sometime soon!!!

Paying the Landlord

The first time I met my landlady, I was so hungover, I didn't even feel human until 5PM. Unfortunately, she started banging on my door much earlier than that. It was my first three day weekend after the high season and I ended up on a tear the night before with my best girlfriend from work, Scott, and a few of his friends. Drinks at CCs turned into drinks with dinner and then nightcaps at La Noche. I thought I was going to DIE the next morning!!!

So I'm lying in my bed, naked, attempting to placate the jackhammer in my head with enough ibuprofen to sedate an elephant, when I realize that the banging inside my brain is actually being echoed at my front door. My door is wrought iron and glass. The noise was deafening. I stuck my head out the second storey window and surprised a woman standing on my first floor landing. She immediately started speaking in rapid-fire Spanish and waving a paper at me.

Hardly able to stand up, the act of switching my brain from hungover in English to la cruda in Spanish proved too much for me. My downstairs neighbour, Estelle, sensing my consternation, yelled up to me, "ESTA LA DUENA!!!" (It's the owner!) I had never actually met the owners before. I barely met their son when I paid first and last month's rent three days AFTER I had already moved in. Alejandro (the son) spoke English. His mother, Ana, did not.

I threw on a beach coverup and splashed some water on my face. After daintily picking my way down the winding cement stairs to my main floor, I opened the door. I don't remember her actually introducing herself to me and we didn't shake hands. Instead, she thrust a piece of paper at me which turned out to be the electricity bill and demanded I give her 100 pesos. (I could understand none of what she said except the money amount.)

The amount on the bill said 177 pesos. So why only 100 pesos for me? Because I shared the electricity with Estelle downstairs and, since her place is much smaller than mine, I was liable for more than half the amount. I may have been hungover but I'm not stupid! The bill covered the time period from March 17 to May 18 or 63 days. I moved in on May 1st. The way I figured it, I was responsible for 1/2 of 18 days worth of electricity or approximately 26 pesos.

I went upstairs to get my calculator and my money. I explained that I had only been living there for 18 days. La Dueña explained that Valerie (my friend and the previous tenant) was supposed to give me money to pay for her share. I knew damn well that Val's rent INCLUDED utilities and during her six months in residence, she had never been presented with an electricity bill. I told her Valerie didn't give me any money!

I did my calculations on the calculator and explained to her what I was doing. When I showed her I actually owed 26 pesos, she didn't seem overly surprised. I gave her 50 pesos and said thank you. She smiled and departed. After she left, I realized that (1) I was probably oozing vodka from every pore and this was hardly the impression I wanted to make on my new landlord and (2) I had conducted the entire conversation in Spanish without even being conscious of doing so!

Skype Me!

I started using this new VOIP-like service to call people for free using the internet. Actually, if you download this free software and then add me to your contact list, we can talk for free. You can also make calls internationally for less than 3 cents per minute. My wireless connection isn't that great (still only "low" as opposed to "very good") but I can still manage to carry on a conversation. Until my VOIP gateway gets here, this is working for me so check it out! (www.skype.com)

I've been getting emails from friends all over the U.S. and Canada, complaining about the weather. Toronto and PV shared the same kind of weather yesterday except that it rained in Toronto and it didn't rain here. Too bad too because we really need it to cool off and Toronto didn't need it given the plane crash that resulted from the inclement weather. What a miracle that no one was seriously hurt!

The power went off here tonight for about an hour and I think I had three cold showers during that time period. Actually, the water isn't really all that cold considering my water tank is on the roof and the sun beats down on it all day. It is pretty cool in the mornings but by the time I get home from work, the water is merely tepid. It usually starts to cool down around 2AM here. Right now (11PM), it is 29C.

In order to give you an idea of how hot it is, I will relate a story shared by my friend Laura tonight. She bought one of those portable air conditioning units for around $5500 pesos ($500US). It weighed 30 kilos and she carried it up the 86 stairs to her place, plugged it into the bedroom and sealed all the windows. Within an hour, the small water receptacle was full so she rigged up the hose to drain into a plastic container that previously held 40 lbs. of cat litter.

When she turned the unit on, the temperature read 35C in her bedroom. (Laura gets ALL the afternoon sun!). By the time the machine turned itself off, the temp was a balmy 29C and the 40 lb. cat litter container was full of water! Half way through the next night, at 2:30AM, Laura woke up drenched in sweat. The unit had stopped working and the hose venting the hot air outside was too hot to touch. So she rigged up a fan to blow on the unit to keep it cool! LOL

It would work for a little while, overheat and then shut itself off. She never could get the thing to work properly or for a whole night so she took it back. She told three people at the store that she really wanted it to work. They told her that it is too hot here to use this type of machine. So she got her money back and promptly went out to buy two more fans for $25US each.

BTW, there are no more fans to be found in Vallarta so if you want to make a small fortune, load up a truck and come on down! The hot weather is expected to continue into October ...

Relief, finally!

It's Monday afternoon, 2:55PM and it's actually raining! I can't believe it. It has been so hot and sunny, with no relief in sight. Every night the clouds roll in and then nothing happens. We had the highest heat index highest of the year so far on Saturday, July 30. It was 116-0ºF or 46.7ºC. I was just coming home from the Burros Bar around that time, after having two buckets of beer (3 Coronas each) in celebration of a friend's birthday. It was hot, hot, HOT!

I've been having a little bit of trouble coping with the heat during the day since I don't have a pool or AC. Last night was especially warm for me but I'm not sure if it is the weather, a hot flash or a by-product of the wine I drank last night after dinner. ;) I didn't get to sleep until 4AM. Good thing I am not working today. Once this episode of Law & Order is over, I am going upstairs to try to grab a siesta. This is a true tropical downpour!

Thank the Goddess! Cooler air is on the way ... :)

Lights Out!

It is Friday night and I was in the middle of watching a very important documentary on how to become America's next top model when the power went out! It didn't go out all of a sudden but gradually, with the lights flickering, then dimming and finally snuffing out. Fortunately, I have battery life on my laptop so I am typing this offline and I will copy and paste it into my blog later. All my watches and clocks run on batteries so at least I know what time it is! Not that that's important given the fact that I have the day off tomorrow, as well as Sunday and Monday.

So work this week was a bitch. You know what it is like when you come back from great vacation. You just don't want to be there and you hope against hope that all those awful projects you left for someone else to do would somehow miraculously get done in your absence. Yeah right! We received about a million boxes of shoes (thank the Goddess I don't have to deal with them!) and there is a small amount of jewellery to be marked. But I still managed to put in 8.5 or 9 hour days. I actually felt a little guilty leaving today at 5PM after only 7 hours!

We desperately need some rain. It is about 42C with the humidity and without the fans running, I am thinking of sleeping in the shower. I pressed a mysterious red button in my fridge this morning before I left for work and came home to a huge puddle of water in the middle of my kitchen floor. All the lovely icey bits are gone from my freezer but now I am worried about my chicken thawing. And forget making a smoothie with the mushy formerly frozen berries -- no electricity, remember??? I will tough it out for a few more minutes but I might be forced to actually put on some clothes and head out for a cold drink somewhere.

OK, after a shower by candlelight, I decided to join my neighbours on the roof in order to get some air. Apparently most of our block and the next had no luz and somehow, knowing that I was not alone (and therefore not responsible for causing the blackout!), made me feel better and the breeze on the roof was delightful! To the east, The Mother Nature Channel offered a lovely lightening show over the mountains, up behind Las Carmelitas. I might have to go up there one day to check out the restaurant. The view alone would be worth the price of taxi fare. The Neighbourhood Channel was very interesting. Our favourite show was I'm a Siamese Cat and I Am Going To Taunt Your Chihuahua Unmercilessly! LOL

The lights eventually came back on, as they always do, but we stayed up on the roof, enjoying the sights and sounds of our neighbourhood -- another interesting evening in Vallarta!

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Off To Work I Go!

I got my bank card back on Monday morning without incident. Actually, it was probably easier to deal with a problem like this here since the Bank is so small. I went in, told them my sad story, a bank employee walked into the room behind the banking machine and came out with my card. They had my passport photo on file so I just had to sign my name and PRESTO! I was back in business.

Speaking of business, I went into work today for the first time since my return to PV and put in a 9 hour day. *sigh* But the good news is I am only working 4 days a week until the end of August and possibly beyond. And we were asked today to set out our "dream schedule" for the high season. So I did as I was told and said that I only wanted to work five days a week with Sundays and Mondays off.

Oh! I ate at my first taco stand yesterday for lunch. My friend Laura had a craving for shrimp burritos and her favourite stand is a couple of blocks from my place. So we walked over and bought lunch for 30 pesos each. We brought them back here to eat so that she could see my apartment. The food was really good and I don't have any explanation as to why I've never eaten at a taco stand. I guess the opportunity just never presented itself before now.

My VOIP gateway arrived in Toronto the Monday after the Friday I left. Figures eh? So now I am trying to somehow arrange to get it down here. An internet friend has offered to bring it with him on August 4th from the U.S. I am hoping that I can arrange for the package to reach him before catches his flight. In spite of the fact that I don't have the product yet, I have already received an ebill for the services.

Anyway, I will keep this short. I am tired and my hands are sore from updating my boss's 200 page list of designers. She needs it before she leaves on Friday for her world tour/buying trip. I got it finished today, having started it before I left. Silly me to think that someone else could complete the job for me while I was on vacation! :)

My next task is to clean up the back room, organize our in-house designer, mark all the merchandise sitting around in boxes, work on the filing cabinet list for our 800+ designers and then, when time permits (remember I'm only working 4 days week), update Viva's party list before the high season. I think at last count, we sent out in excess of 10,000 email invitations to our last event.

Oh well! It looks like I am well and truly back to my life in Vallarta! Hope to see you down here soon.