Up to date

Sooooo... what's new? Last week was oddly busy for me. I got home from Merida on Tuesday night as you know, then Wednesday I spent around here I think for the most part, getting some chores done. Wednesday night I went to Caliente with the Ceruttis to watch the Rose Bowl - what a great game that was! Since I don't like USC as a general rule, I wasn't that concerned with the outcome, though it would have been nice to see them go undefeated. But it was also nice to see them lose. College football is a complex issue.

Thursday I hopped the ADO to Playa at around 10:30am and met up with my friend Angela - Angela works at First American Title, and we worked together in the Main office before I moved down here. She was down for a wedding for just a few days, with a couple of friends. It was a really nice day. We walked around and shopped some, had a bite to eat, then hung out at the beach bar at Playa Ancar and had a couple of beers. They walked me back to the bus station on Ave 5ta around 6:30pm or so. They had plans to go to Chichen Itza the next morning, so I am interested in hearing how the rest of their trip went. Really good kids (early to mid 20s so of course they are kids) with great attitudes and it sort of gave me hope for some reason. I even overlooked the fact that they're Beavers. Perhaps I am aging...

Anyway I got home around 8pm and chilled for a while. I love the Playa trip as it costs like $7US round trip and it's just really convenient. Friday I had plans to meet a couple from Alaska who were down staying at the Royal Sands for the week. I had read a post on a message board looking for info on moving down, and for some reason I answered it (I never do, the whole explanation is just exhausting). We corresponded for a while before they came and then ultimately landed on meeting up on Friday for lunch. It was chilly in the zh so I bussed (BUSSED? Oh my hell I MUST be broke!) down to the resort and met with them. They are a successful young (mid to late 30s?) couple and they are looking to maybe move down in a couple of years for about a year or two. We talked about the differences between living here and in the states, some of the documentation requirements, the pluses and minuses of bringing a car vs buying one here. I had set them up with Carmen (a realtor friend) earlier in the week so they were happy with having met with her. I think lunch lasted around 2 hours or so, then I swung by the salon to say hi to Anto, then hopped the bus further south to the Solymar where Janet and Joe are living.

It's not a bad property. I am so spoiled by the Royal Resorts that it is hard to look objectively at other resorts, but Solymar is not so bad. Janet and I hung out for a while and I hopped a bus (I am insane) back at about 5pm. Solymar is pretty far down the zh, so the bus was pretty much empty when I got on, but by the time I got to Ave La Costa in centro it was wall to wall people and it took some pretty intricate contortions to get off the bus when I did. The busses here just don't stop packing people on - not uncommon to see people standing right next to the driver on the drive. Sardines have it better.

So I have been running all week, but I get a text from Kim saying she was toying with hitting La Taberna for her last night out before Margaret (her daughter) came home from Colorado. I agree it would be a good idea. We met at 7:30 and headed out. It was a good crowd - though I wasn't planning on a late night. Lynda texted and said she heard we were there, would we be there for a while as she felt like going out. Come on down! Arturo met with us after work, and the usual CancunAssist crowd was there as well, in its various stages. After a while it got too smokey for some, so Lynda, Kim, Arturo and myself made our way over to Los Arcos and sat outside. Steve joined us, and then after a couple more beers we all trooped to the bar next door that is upstairs (don't know the name) and has a great cover band. Steve (from Nottingham England) told us that whenever he walked in they played a Coldplay cover, and they didn't fail us. Soon we had pretty much the whole table that started at La Taberna over at this other bar. Good music, great people. Elizabeth was convinced at about midnight to join us, and we hung out there until about 3:30am. People started sort of drifting out, so Lynda, Elizabeth and I decided to hit Canta Bar, a karaoke bar over in Plaza Las Avenidas. There was a line and a cover but Elizabeth is wiley and she got us in for free.

The place was a big warehouse with no atmosphere and a shitload of people, so we got some drinks and made our way upstairs, then chilled and watched the people below. It was a karaoke bar but not many people sang and there wasn't much rhyme or reason to it. I won't go back. Their book was a joke. Joe needs to get My Place up and running soon, Cancun needs it. Special thanks to Elizabeth and Kim for being my bank that night, and Lynda as well for throwing down for a beer or two - I know I am not supposed to go on about, Liz, but it's a big deal to me so consider the subject officially closed. You guys are the BEST.

We hung out there a couple more hours and of course when I was dropped by taxi back at my apartment it was 5am. Great. 5am, for the love of God I am 40... Needless to say I spent most of Saturday alternately sleeping and drinking water. Absolutely useless day, which is why I don't like staying out so late. Thank God this trend only just started, I don't know if I could have kept it up for a whole year.

Sunday was a football day - spent at Caliente with the Ceruttis. Joe won some cash and made a good connection regarding the business, and so we went to dinner at Alfredo's. Jamming food and service. I told Joe and Janet that if we are ever feeling low and unpopular, Alfredo's is the place to go for a good ego boost. They just fall all over us. Sometimes you need that.

I stayed in Sunday night (for God's sake) and then yesterday was sort of an errand day. It's Tuesday now, so I am all up to date. Janet goes to Boston tomorrow until Monday, but I am sure I will find some trouble to get into. No real plans for today anyway. Just hanging out and not working, because that is coming. Hijole...