Last post pre-Wilma

Things do not look so great. It's been raining since middle of the night and pretty windy. They have evacuated the ZH and I am clearing my tables and my floors and putting things on my bed, will move the tv into the bathroom when I am ready to clear out. The computer is the last thing to go. Heading over to the Ceruttis to wait it out.

I feel the same way I did pre-Emily but Emily barely got us. I am extremely worried about my friends here, not the expats so much but the guys I work with. Not sure if I can move into VCI as scheduled but will soon enough, I guess. I have the tv news on channel 5 and though it's in Spanish I can understand a little bit. Most of the computer models show it hitting us dead on, though a Cat 4 right now they expect it to return to a Cat 5 later today. Yay!

News flash from the tv - they are expecting it to hit us in roughly 25 hours, but the bands of the thing will hit us before that, it is all pretty unclear to me, even though we went through this before to some degree.

Everyone pray that the ZH is still standing at the end of all this, it keeps these families in jobs.

Here we go again...

Went to the new Walmarts today and it wasn’t that busy, busier than normal but there was no bread left. It’s getting windy but that’s just wind, and the latest prediction is that it will hit around 11am on Friday. I’m bummed as Victoria comes in on Saturday, airport permitting.

This is supposed to be a gigantic one and right now it’s heading for us, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope it takes a turn to some other direction other than ours. Let’s also hope that there isn’t a lot of major devastation in the hotel zone (or elsewhere). This just sucks.

My windows are still taped from Emily
and I am going to stay at Janet and Joe’s, who haven’t yet signed the contract on the new condo just in case their (our) place of employment blows down. That would surely put a damper on things.

Gonna go take a nap, working again tonight – I am now working Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and last night I went to bed at 3am again, same as Monday. Too freaking old for any of this shit.

Hang on tight!

No &#@*!%*& water

AGAIN. Spent a couple hours at Cancun Plaza pool today and I am all cholriney and of course I have NO FUCKING WATER in my apartment. Laura called Martha and learned nothing. This is just ridiculous.

How is a person supposed to LIVE like this?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

It’s Saturday, and it FEELS like a Saturday. Kind of funny because pretty much every day for me is a Saturday. I don’t go to conventional work and after 11 months of that, frankly it’s taking its toll.

I might be moving though (again). I posted some pictures a while back of a house that Janet and Joe were trying to lease/option but ultimately that fell through. The house was on the market for over a year and I guess it finally sold. Bummer, it was a cool house, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles I guess.

So this other place, they signed the application/contract yesterday. I think it was considered an application and then they will sign an actual contract Monday or Tuesday, but Carmen didn’t see any reason why they wouldn’t get it. Anyway it’s a 3 bedroom 2 bath condo in a complex called Villas Kabah, just off (you guessed it) Kabah in SM 38. It has a more open and space-effective floor plan than the one they live in now, more loungers at the pool (nice) and very tranquil grounds. Ground floor as well, which means if I move there I won’t be taking my life in my hands every time it rains. The rent is less than where they are now as well, and that means I would be saving some clams, which I can dig, and the oven actually works, so again, another plus. Plus there are hammock hooks in all of the bedrooms so it looks like that Joe will finally get to live his dream. I won’t go on about it though because I am bound to jinx it if I do.

Thursday night was another good night at the club, but a frigging late one, I got home at 5. F-I-V-E. Never done that, jeez. I had some beers and was approached by the obligatory token white guy, and the last table left at like 3:45 or something, and I was hanging out to cab home with the boys, minus Ever who chose not to come in again (drunk, that son of a bitch). It was a good night but busy without Rafa waiting tables (trapped as cashier thanks to Ever). By the time we dropped Rafa off at Picante and me off it was freaking the next day. I slept til 10:30 Friday morning and did much of nothing all day, except I got an hour in of sun at Janet’s pool and ran around some with them.

Joe and Janet also put in an offer on a condo to purchase at Cancun Plaza, down by the other end of the ZH. It’s a pretty old facility that was a hotel but is now mostly privately owned studio condos. The pool rocks. They are buying it with a couple of their friends in NY but the good news is we get to use the pool whenever we want. I think we are going today for a little bit as a matter of fact. So I better sign off and get dressed.

And call my landlord to give her my notice… Carmen called and they got the apartment so now all I need is a TV and a table to put my computer on. Sweetness. I have a pool!

Bitter

I hate blogging from here. Yesterday I had a great entry, well thought out, witty, entertaining, and when I went to post it my STUPID cable internet connection lost it. Cablemas sucks. Now it’s gone gone gone. And to anyone who tells me “save it in word before you post”, shut up.

So here is a blurb from the entry right before I lost it all. I saved this as draft because I was chatting and didn’t want to lose it. Then I added more (that was the witty part you don’t get to see) and when I went to publish it all vanished and I hate stupid Cablemas.

Yeah you know what, forget it. Apparently you can’t cut and past from the ‘Edit’ function on Blogger either. Fuckers.

and the sky is .... blue. It's Fall. Outside my window, leaves from the Flamboyan tree are blowing around in the breeze. It's 10am and it's only 82 degrees, and though my air conditioner in the living room is broken, I haven't missed it. If I was anywhere else I would throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt and run over to Starbucks. But I'm not. And I'm not complaining.Last night, Tuesday night of all nights, was a big one for the Over 30. Nothing, and I mean nothing, until 9:30 or so, and suddenly a party of like 16 came in and right behind them a ton more people. All the tables were pretty much full and the boys were jumpin'. Lots of singers, and they were just a really fun crowd. We actually did three sets of karaoke, with Greg painting 3 paintings in between (one at a time). I think I closed up karaoke around 1:30 or 1:45 or so. Really didn't mind it so much, because the crowd was really appreciative. I think it really just depends on the spirit of the crowd, because sometimes you can get a big crowd and there's just no good energy with them. So, though I was tired, it was a good night.

Well whaddya know, there it is. I hate this fucking thing.

It’s 10am and it’s only 84, blah blah blah, worked Tuesday night, big crowd, stayed til 3am, blah blah blah.

Bitter.

SO. I was looking at apartments on the internet (you know, that thing that comes and goes at will and causes you much pain and loss and tends to go out right after the STUPID company got your last payment) in the Beaverton area. I hate typing this because I just freaking did yesterday and now it’s redundant. I found some pretty bitchin ones in the Bethany area. Yesterday I also sent an email to Shelley about the possibility of a comeback to First American. I haven’t heard from her yet but that could mean she is slammed at work (likely) or doesn’t have the heart to tell me they don’t need me (more than likely, as I wallow in my bitterness). I also shopped online for cel service. Great plans to be had with free phones and all that happy horseshit.

I guess with my impending return to the “real world” looming ahead of me, bitterness is at the forefront today. I better quit while I’m ahead.

Saturday morning blathering

NOTHING new to report. Except it stopped raining (at my house anyway). Big cockroach flew into the bar Thursday night, of course it landed on the stage and terrorized me for a while until Rafa was able to tear apart the table and the stairs to get to it. So THAT was fun.

Made dinner on my new $17US George Foreman grill last night, arrachera and red pepper. Pretty simple, pretty good. Except now I smell like meat and that smell will hang around until I finish my cafe con leche and take a shower. I have a shit load of it left though and I am not big into leftovers, so we'll just see what I do about it. Will I make a taco or two out of it for dinner tonight? Cut it up some more and scramble it into some eggs? Hm. I have to say I don't see it happening. I figure that just about the time I start being Frugal Girl it will be time for me to shove off.

Speaking of which... I was cruising apartments last night on the net. I guess it would make more sense first to see where I am working (and that is provided that First American actually hires me again). But I only want new and clean and a washer/dryer in the apartment, not hard to find, I guess. I am thinking about this place in Bethany, since it's close to that mess of a Highway 26 and would provide me easy acess to downtown or Hillsboro, is stumbling distance to Starbucks and a bar or two, and has a big clean supermarket in the big planned-unit-development situation that it is. Then I have to buy a sofa, finally, for the first time since like 1989. I have pretty much everything else I need furniture-wise.

I guess I am looking forward to going back and working. It'll be a nice switch for me. Victoria is bound to fill me in on the absolute insanity that escrow can be when she comes in October (wait, what is today? She'll be here 2 weeks from today - sweet! Sun! Every day! Without having to pack a fricking bag!), and that will be enough to drive me about nuts with plenty of time for it to wear off by February.

This is so not about my life here. Well, kind of it is. Uh, bring it back to current affairs. I got my laundry in a day yesterday, what a shock. I think tonight I may meet that Kimberley for a beer or two, get out of the house and all that. Anto did another spectacular job of cutting my hair yesterday, and though it was under 4 weeks, I needed it. QTip Girl was becoming Lion Hair Girl and frankly it was not attractive. She didn't touch the bangs, though. The Sands is closed for maintenance week beginning today and I think if I waited until next week to get it cut I would probably only be able to get out of my apartment by walking sideways (you figure that out, I'm not explaining it). Meanwhile, my eyebrows have grown out so long they are hanging in my eyes.

All right this is long enough already. I'm done with my cafe con leche, and I guess I'll shower, since I have been up for 2 hours already and haven't done shit. I think I need to call Sandra. This place needs a good cleaning and it ain't gonna be done by me...

2 Day Trippin

Well let's see... how to write about the recent past events without taking up yards of blog space... Let me just say that it has been raining, alot. Rained hard in the afternoon Saturday and all night Sunday, and Sunday morning I left to watch football at Caliente with the Ceruttis around 11am. Left at 11, got in the car around 11:15, since the stairs are so FREAKING dangerous when they are wet. It would have been best just to slither down the stairs like a snake. Anyway, went and watched football all day, and it rained all day as well. By the time we were ready to go, around 5:30, the parking lot was completely flooded and the water was up half way up the tires on the van. We waded out to it (more or less) and on the way back to my 'hood we encountered much flooding and traffic. They dropped me off and left, but when I made it up to my apartment, no lights. No power, no fan, nothing. Pissed. I grabbed the phone and called Janet's cel and they came back and picked me up, as I had to get ready for work. I also called Martha (landlord) because when I called Laura (neighbor), SHE had power. So Martha did some checking and figured it was something with my meter (like this little piece that gets fried or something, I don't know, I'm an escrow officer, God dammit), and said it was too rainy to send "the electrician" out Sunday night, but would send him out at 7:30 Monday morning. Fine. I worked and went home at 12:30 to a quiet, stuffy, dark apartment. Blah.Monday morning, still raining. I was up at 7:15 and started pulling stuff out to start packing, since Janet and I were going to Florida that day, leaving at 12n. THAT was fun, poking in the even-darker spots of this freaking apartment looking for things I haven't used in months... I loved that... Anyway, 7:30 came and went and no sign of "the electrician", so I gave him til 9am and I called Martha. She said she would try to reach him, and that she herself was coming by 10am, but I was flipping out on her because I had to shower and leave the country and all that and this could not be a WORSE day for all of this shit to not be getting fixed. Not to mention all the food in my fridge (okay, there wasn't that much in there) that I lost and the freezer defrosting all over the kitchen floor. I was on the phone unloading all over poor Janet who had phoned to see how things were going (and who was rightfully excited about our little trip),when I saw “the electrician” walking up the parking lot: Wilberth, Martha’s handyman who had installed the hammock hooks one day, speaking a Spanish I could not understand while he pounded out holes in the wall like Fred Flintstone writing a letter. I hung up with Janet and greeted him at the door looking like the picture I am first thing in the morning, and blundered through an explanation as to what was wrong. He went downstairs to the meter while I continued to pack and about 15 minutes later I felt a cool breeze on my neck: the ceiling fan! Moments later Martha phoned and said she was downstairs with Wilberth and that she would be up in a minute, she was going to have him show her how to fix it in the future.

Now I am stressed and it’s 11am and I am not showered and … well you know how it goes. We got to the airport in plenty of time (quick detour to terminal 2 for Janet to get her papers to leave with an FM3) and our flight left a little bit early and arrived a little bit early, which was nice.

Our hotel room rocked – I thought (no, I KNOW) I booked a 1 bedroom suite, and we ended up with a 2 bedroom suite (2 full baths, full kitchen, living room, dining room) that was huge. Janet called it her happy place. We actually got to watch network TV and see shows that I didn’t even know existed. So that was nice.

Monday night we walked over to Borders Bookstore (woo hoo) and picked up a book for my friend Kimberley who lives here and couldn’t get the book shipped, then crossed the street to the Wild Oats (woo HOO) and picked up some hummus and some flatbread, some muffins for breakfast and some orange juice, and then next door to the Starbucks (WOO HOO) for a venti pumpkin spice latte (I was practically weeping while trying to decide what to have). We stayed up til like 1:30am watching network TV. Silly what you miss.

Tuesday we were at the mall next door from 10:30 until about 2:30 or so. Janet scored big time, huge bargains and got some really great stuff. I hit Victoria’s Secret and got some Ralph Lauren pants on sale (of course, on sale for Ralph means about $70), and then we took a little break and cabbed over to the Coral Ridge Mall, where there is a Target and a Marshall’s and that kind of stuff. I spent well over $80 (based upon my adage that you cannot leave Target without dropping $80) and got some good shit. We also picked up some taco seasoning (those little packets?) for Anto of all people, who wanted her tacos to taste like Taco Bell. That cracks me up. Anto was born in DF and raised in Cancun… We went back to the hotel and had a sandwich in the restaurant, then stayed up late enough to watch Boston Legal (yay).

Wednesday I was up at 6:30, and we were at the airport by 9am. Flight was about ½ an hour late but still we got back to Cancun with little issue at the airport (they xray all suitcases and mine was pulled for a hand search, either it was my gigantic curling iron or the George Forman grill I bought, but I wasn’t that concerned since the natural peanut butter I got for Kim was sealed). Other than that, no issues in immigration (didn’t get but 30 days, but I can live with that, looks like you’ll be reading about another immigration trip sooner than later). Back to all kinds of rain (raining for days) and my slippery staircase, but at least I still have power.

It was a good trip, worth it all around, and now I am pretty much set until February I guess. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens then.

Nice idea, trying to keep it short.

Trouble with the heat

Okay so last night, Joe and Janet were coming by around 6:45p to get me to get some dinner pre-work and then I was going in with them to be a patron and drink some beer. At about 6:35, there is a major pounding on my door. As a general rule, I rarely answer the door to someone I don't know, because I hate solicitors and I hate people who go door to door asking for money (they do this, it happens). I looked out the peephole and it was a policeman. Yeah, probably should answer that one.

So he has this paper and asks me if some woman whose name I did not recognize lived here. I said, no only me. And he asked me if I was her (really long Mexican name) and I laughed a little and said, no, I'm not Mexicana. He said the paper he has showed she lived here and let me look at it. I don't know exactly what it was, but it was very official looking, all notary stamped and such, and I imagine it was some kind of warrant or something similar, but sure enough, there was my address. I asked him (good time to practice the old Spanish by the way, never miss an opportunity...) from when was it that she supposedly lived here and he said from today. I explained she probably had given either an old address of hers or just completely lied (thanks for that) because even the mail that comes to this apartment has not had that name on it. He then asked my name, and wrote it down (great...) and asked me what I did for a living (escritora, sure) and how long I lived there (I told him since May, since that is what my current papers say) and then I told him I would give him the name and number of my landlord if he wanted to find out if that chick ever lived here. He took it. I also told him he could check with the building manager if that helped. He was pretty nice, and understanding with my crappy Spanish, but still I was kind of concerned what with immigration issues and all that. But I talked to Kim who mentioned that probably the police wouldn't report anything to immigration, but you know, you just never know.

After they left, Joe and Janet were out front, so we went to Caliente for some dinner and then on to the club. They were done around 1:15 or so, and Janet's not been feeling up to par, so already it had been a long night for her. Chris had come down around 10pm (he bought a car, a 98 Camaro, great looking ride) and we ended up hanging out with Anto and then later Greg and a friend from the radio station, another DJ named Quick (?) (meaning, I think that was his name, but will probably never know). Anyway we stayed on and ended up going home around 4am... Of course, first Saturday of the month so I had a 9:30am IWC meeting, and Kim was picking me up at 9:15am, so I got roughly 3 1/2 hours of sleep... got home from the meeting around 1pm, took over my laundry, and now here I sit. Oddly not that tired.

The weather has been really windy and there is a bit more rain than usual, but that's fine with me, except for the staircase issue, which is more of a challenge than I am prepared for when I am walking down with 7.5 kilos of laundry and don't have a free hand. I wonder what would happen if I fell? All my chonies spread out for the world (or at least Los Picos #4) to see...