And another flashback for you.

I'm telling you, my life there in the beginning was not that exciting. Not really in the middle or the end either, but I hope you enjoy my daily thoughts anyway.

This is still from Dec 4, my first full day in Los Picos...

9:53pm

I have watched a couple movies and am getting tired, but am sort of afraid of going to bed. I keep feeling things on me, on my legs, but I am sure it’s just nerves. I sure hope that’s it. I heard Laura come home and then leave again, she asked if I wanted to get some food but this pit is still here, and I am just not up to going out. I hear so much going on I wonder if I can sleep. I hate that I am such a wimp and I hope that this “adventure” (ha) takes that away from me.

It’s 7:56pm in Portland, if I were flying home today I would be landing in like three hours. But I don’t have anywhere to go there anymore.
9:57pm

December 5, 2004
8:33am

Slept okay, kept the tv on all night because there is no remote. It is hotter than the hounds of hell in here, fans whatever. I put my coffee pot together, that is a start, and am not in my jimmies anymore, but frankly what I have on is not much better. We have water, but it is a question now since we are going to the beach: do I shower first and then go to the beach or do I just wait til after? I need to get the protocol down.

My bed is comfortable but it’s warm in there and I don’t want to turn on the air for the cost of it. May have to tonight, though.

Good things so far – clean bathroom (but you just never know, you know how bathrooms are), and the tv has plenty of English speaking channels. The Golden 2 and the Golden show movies with like an intermission in the middle, instead of commercials every 15 freaking minutes. Then, in the middle of the night somewhere, they switch over to total Spanish speaking shows, so maybe I will learn my Spanish in my sleep.

Not so good – the floor is tile and it’s that tile that has the speckles on it – some big, some small. So the big look like they could be anything. A critter can be pretty crafty on a floor like this. And with my extra sensitive spi-dar, every time I turn around I think I see something. On the floor, and on the wall, what with all the black nails sticking out in crazy places.

Jury is still out on – this neighborhood is the loudest neighborhood I have ever lived in, and I have lived a LOT of places. The fact that nobody goes out until 11pm in this town means that nobody comes HOME until dawn. That will not happen to me. I cannot even imagine. That night out with Eder, while still on vacation, nearly killed me. I place all blame on my sickness on that night (okay, so I was complaining of nausea before we even left the Deli Mart but still). I haven’t come home at 4am in EVER. And I am NOT getting any younger.

I slept until 5am this morning then started checking the clock (another something I need). Truly thought I would get up at 7 (and was, to go the bathroom) but went back and slept til 8am. I guess it doesn’t matter, though, since I really don’t have anything to do anymore, but this. And put my shit away, except there is no place to put it. Storage is an issue. I really should have thought about that when I packed in the first place. But who knew.

Okay so today the beach. It should be ultra flattering to sit by Liz all day in a bathing suit. For Liz anyway. Think European. They don’t care what the hell they look like.

That’s all I have right now, I should make a list for stuff I still need. Oh how I long for the internet. I would love to know if I have any money left. Also I think I am going to take a shower but may wait for Laura to come over first, just to see if she does. Ciao for now.
8:50am

5:36pm
I just got home from Playa del Carmen with Liz and Laura. It was actually a good time, not that I didn’t expect it to be. We went to a beach club called Ancar, and it was nice – nice lounge chairs, food and drink service. I spent $100MX and had a large water and a shrimp quesadilla, but I also got to lay out in the sun all day and listen to music. The sea was sort of rough, tide was high, so I did not go in the water, none of us did. It was very relaxing, the wind was blowing and so it wasn’t sweaty at all. It takes about 45 minutes (for Laura) to drive to Playa, supposedly the same on the bus, I will ultimately look into that once I get online, as I don’t want to keep imposing, and sooner or later Laura will get a job and then where am I? I have yet to have had to take a bus or taxi around town which is good, I claim I am so independent and look at me!

Laura just tried to take a shower but no water again, lucky I had one today but I am all beach hot and plus coming in here is like walking into a sauna. I have the air on in the living room and will turn the air on in the bedroom tonight as it was 400 degrees all night last night and I can’t afford but this set of sheets! I started to put some stuff away, feeling more comfortable as the days go, but it is only day two right now so we will soon see.

I had earlier told Joan and Linda I would visit them on Monday but I am not so sure, Laura talked about running the rest of my errands tomorrow, again, a girl needs drawers, and hairspray, and a new shower head (this one sprays all over hell and gone, showering this morning was a challenge to say the least). I really need to work on getting this crap together though, and making it more homey, it would change the way I look at it I know. I don’t have much of a style to work with without spending any money, and Lord knows how afraid I am of that!

So glad I spent all that money on getting my legs waxed – totally hairy again and it’s only been 2 weeks, if even that. We won’t talk about the hair on my head though, I think pretty soon I am going to just have to get used to the fact that my hair will look like shit the whole time I live here.

I think I will watch some tv now and sort of chill. Might get some food later with Laura, we’ll see.
5:48pm

9:09pm

Yes, Laura came over around 6pm to see if I wanted to go to Carrefour, I got nothing else going on so I said sure. Threw some clothes on, and went out. We checked out a couple of things there, she got some stuffed grape leaves (?) and a phone card. From there we hit Walmart, with everyone else in the city. Packed. So packed, that even though we found everything we needed, the lines were so long we bailed on the cart and took off. She got hold of her friend Chris, a white guy from Indiana, and we met him for dinner at La Farola, an Italian place on Yaxchilan (first swung by Tulum to see another friend of hers, Jesus). Met that Chris for dinner, funny, funny guy, young, having some chick issues, that’s fine, isn’t that what your twenties are all about? Dinner was good, filling. No water so of course I have to go to the bathroom. Just got home, washed my face and did a critter check, so far so good, I should just learn not to look.

Not sure what tomorrow will be but probably will do the errand thing we tried to do today. We’ll see. I am going to watch a little tv with the air on, I got some color today and I feel it a little. But that is gooooooood.

Today has been a good day. Thanks.
9:14pm