Alliteration

"Hurricanes, hot, humid."
--by K, regarding September in Cabo

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Protection

When I first moved here, I laid in the sun every weekend. EVERY weekend. Yeah, I had SPF on, but still - I was ALL about the sun.

Now, about a year later - I look down at my cuerpo (body) and see that I have a solid dozen or so NEW age spots that I didn't have last year at this time. On my face, too. (ugh.)

I now, stay out of the sun.

Each time I'm in it, I can't help but think, "Ah! My hair color is fading! Ah! I'm getting age spots!"
--
Amazing how time changes perspective.

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Viva Mexico. ONLY in Mexico.

This is an actual email from my sister the VP of the company I work for, regarding the maids who clean our carpeted office.

Hee hee. Only in MX.

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Hurricane update

Hello friends - indeed, Hurricane Henriette is soaking/smoking Cabo.
Power is set to go out today (from the city) at 1 p.m. and it's been raining for hours and hours.

As luck (and God) would have it, my sister, niece, C. and I are in L.A. today. Will be shopping and seeing Wicked later.

My brother and new sister (bless their hearts) are back in Cabo holding down the forts and watching Buttercup and Fergie. (THANK YOU!)

Apparently no one is allowed to drive anywhere and it's just...not...fun...at...all.

So - my family is safe...just waiting it out.

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Now THIS is a good lunch.

Fish Tacos from Rosy's.

Delivered.
Amen.

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Extermination Update

The house has been fumigated again and we have been safe and good.

We actually have a formal agreement now and will be exterminated on a monthly basis.

So, who wants to come visit?

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Only in Mexico

See? They're technically using this toilet bowl scent thing correctly.
Yeah, it's supposed to hang on the toilet...

And, they are technically hanging it on the toilet.

Just not in the bowl.
--
I love it here sometimes.
Who needs to dissolve that air freshener thing in water when the actual air will suffice?

(This is the ladies' loo at Barometro.)

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'Aint no sunshine

view from my window at work

I guess now is currently Mexico's "rainy" season. Let me tell you -- I LOVE it.
It's still hotter than all get out (think, super-humid) -- but it's so nice to experience weather variances. NOT sunshine everyday. (I know, "shut up, K."), but really. Who doesn't love a good overcast day? It just screams, "Stay in bed! Watch a movie!"

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My favorite Spanish words:

1. cuerpo (body). I think this is the cutest word.
2. esquina (corner). I don't know why, I just think it's cute.


Well, right now... that's it.

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So, I'm in the shower this morning.

I usually dry my eyes with a dark colored wash cloth, you know, just in case I still have eye makeup on. (I don't like to get it on our white towels.)

I grab the brown wash cloth and guess what crawls out of it, onto my face then down my body?

As I screamed?

A cockroach.

We haven't had a cockroach in our house for quite sometime. 'Tis time to be fumigated again.

**Recovering from the heart attack still.

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*Sigh. What I wouldn't give for a Petco or Pet Supplies Plus.

So I go to the one pet store in San Jose today. Ok, probably in all of Cabo.
It's about as big as master bathroom with double sinks.

This store. Oh, this store.

First off, I go in there looking for a simple item: a pet crate for Fergie. I explain this, in Spanish, to a woman who proceeds to grab my puppy who is sitting at my feet and starts kissing her. She apparently works there? And there's a pre-requisite to wear pink bubblegum looking lipstick? Ugh. Get off my dog. Where's my wash hand? (Hand wash to those of you who aren't Chloe.)

Do they have a dog crate for 3 lb. Fergie? No.

But, they have two cat ones.
And one ugly, yellow and black bubble looking one. The door doesn't swing open, instead - it actually has to come off it's hinges each time you open and close it.

It's ugly.
It appears that it has been used. (Hair in it, dirty, etc.)

And, it's $34.

UGH.

There were no other choices.
I had to do it.
C. and I now call it the, "Bumble Bee." When Fergie is bad, she has to get "stung" and go in it. (We thought we were clever.)
--
Variety.
Sometimes I would just really like variety.

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I throw my hands up... Figuratively, well...and literally.

So, far the past 7 years, we (C. and I) have abstained from meat. (We eat fish.)

We've endured people admonishing us regarding this personal choice.
We've heard people say, "I could do that...but wouldn't."
We've heard people say, "You CAN'T EXIST WITHOUT meat!"
We've heard people tell stories about cavemen.
We've heard about how "men need meat."
--
It's gotten old.

At every cookout, dinner with new friends, breakfasts, restaurants - you name it, we've had to explain that "no, we don't want the side of bacon, sausage patties or sausage links." And, "Yes, I want a egg mcmuffin with no sausage, bacon or whatever. JUST EGG AND CHEESE."
--
So, all this said - living in MX is tough.
Options for meatless eaters who hate to cook because it's too hot are slim.
There is no morning star here.
Hardly any Boca. It's bad.
--
So, we're eating some meat. Slowly.
My goal is to eat it every month. (maybe.)
--
I still hate pork. I don't want to eat chicken. And I will never, ever eat a hot dog. (Blech.)
So, in an effort to take care of my body's protein's needs, I am going to attempt to include some meat. Maybe. Maybe.
--
Hear me now: I will go back to a meatless life as SOON as I get back to the States. I will. Amen.

(C. will, too.)

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Will Dean affect Cabo?

I'm hoping not.
Really.
(We're located at the very tip of the peninsula to the left of the dark green.)

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Tonight I showered with someone...not my husband

That would be this cute little guy. A teeny, tiny gecko. Maybe an inch long.

See him? To the right of the conditioner?
SO cute.
(There's one on my living room ceiling right now, no bigger than an inch from teeny nose to tail.)

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It's the little things

While logging on to the Comision de Federal Electricidad (Electricity) website yesterday, I noticed that they had an "English" option.

Wah-lah! I clicked it, and I could understand the website!

So thrilled. (See below.)The best part about it, is that I could create a username and password to get into my account, pay my bill online, etc. (Wah-la again!)

Read below. Then smile. If you didn't catch that, read again.

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The electricity is back on

In the States, it would essentially be humiliating if any of your utilities were to be turned off.
Here, it's just the way business is done.

In terms of electricity, here is how I understand it:

1. The customer is billed every two months.
2. A physical bill is sometimes, not always, dropped off at the home/condo/apt. (I don't know how the bill gets to the home.)
3. The bill will be dropped off wherever: in a door, on a car, on a meter. Who knows. It's like a scavenger hunt.
   
4. The physical bill, when you get it - is usually on average 2-3 days late. So, if you wait for your bill, it's too late. No A/C for you.
   
5. If you just move into a house, you don't know what your meter # is, therefore you can't get online to check your bill. Instead, you have to wait for the first bill before you can know where you stand. (I.e. you have to have your electricity turned off at least once.)
   
6. If you're late, (which everyone is) - they come to your house, red tag your meter, and turn off your electricity.
7. In order to get the electricity back on, you must go down to the electric company to pay your bill. Or in my case, beg someone else (thank you so much D!) to do it for you.
8. After you pay, your electricity may or may not be on that day. Depends on if someone can get to your house to turn it back on.

My thoughts:

• If there was an actual MAILING system in Cabo, life would be easier.
• Thank goodness from here on out I can go directly to the website to pay my bill.
  
• This country is not very proactive. Instead, they're re-active. Instead of getting bills out on time, in a central location, so that they could get paid on time, they get them out late, send workers out to turn of electricity, then send workers out to turn back on electricity. Huh? Wouldn't work better for the company to just get the bills out and paid? No turnign on and off all the time?
  
• Utility billing here is odd. I got my water bill yesterday. On the hood of my car. I actually got two. For the same meter. With two different totals. Again, huh?
  
• They don't put bills in envelopes here. Nope, just a bill. Open.
• No utilities are in the renters' names. They're only in the name of the owner. Interesting.

Moral of the story: don't take your envelopes for granted, the U.S. postal system for granted, or the fact that you speak the language for granted.

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No electricity this morning.

Living in Mexico is fun.

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The fastest service. Ever.

Listen to this: This morning I talked to the Los Cabos A/V guy about getting dish satellite in our house. (We lived without it for about 3 weeks, not bad, we didn't mind really...) Anywho, I talked to the guy this morning and it was installed today by 6 p.m.

What?! (EYES WIDE OPEN)

That NEVER happens here.

Whether it's illegal or not is none of your concern. Bottom line is that we have a SIX FOOT WIDE DISH bolted to our roof ensuring that we pick up all U.S.-based channels. I'm assuming Toledo channels, too. All for just (?) $950.00 USD. (That was a fun check to write.)

So, here we sit. On a friday night. Eating a pizza and sharing a 40 oz. Miller Lite. Watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel. It's a good night. A good night, friends.

*Note: We still don't have the main networks - but will get them later. Just not the west coast feed, the East Coast.

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I have an unhealthy addiction to Kinders

The Kinders I prefer are the long ones, filled with the white chocolate, or leche, or something. However, I do enjoy the kinder sorpresa (surprise) eggs filled with small choke-able toys. I think they are from heaven and I am unable to eat less than 3 at a time. (I'll be honest. Of the long ones. I don't eat three eggs at a time. I'm not a pig.)

Well, get this: a squirrel in Finland shares the love for kinders.

Reader below:
HELSINKI (Reuters) - A Finnish squirrel with a sweet tooth heads to a Finnish grocery shop at least twice a day to steal "Kinder Surprise" chocolate-shelled eggs.

"I named it the Kinder-squirrel, after the treats. It always goes after them, other sweets do not seem to interest it as much," the manager of the store in Jyvaskyla, central Finland, told Reuters.

The confectionary, which is intended for children, has a toy inside.

"It removes the foil carefully, eats the chocolate and leaves the store with the toy," Irene Lindroos said.

Unfortunately, the bushy-tailed thief does not clean up after itself, but leaves the wrappers behind, she added.

Squirrels have a well deserved reputation for being clever and adaptable animals. Many a home owner has seen the small rodents raiding their supposedly "squirrel-proof" bird feeders.

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The Stove is here!

It showed up!
C. went and picked it out and it arrived!
It's a Bosch 6 burner. Fun!
(As if I cook.)
First meal on it: velveeta shells and cheese!

(Sorry for all of the exclamation marks. It was an exciting day. I'm sure you understand. Try living with out a stove for nearly 3 weeks. You'd be happy, too.)

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