Homemaking

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The Kind of Typing Weekend I Like

I have a client who only lets me have two files at a time, usually about 60 audio minutes or half a day’s worth. So I can’t take more work until I’ve done at least one of my files and oftentimes, the work is all gone by the time I’m through. It’s frustrating and I’m hoping that they’ll increase my allowance at some point. But sometimes, there’s a large volume of work and an email goes out saying that extra files could be assigned to typists who want them.

Well, on Friday, there was a call out to anyone who could take a significant workload for the weekend. I requested what would be an insane amount for most of my other clients, but isn’t for this one since the files tend to be easy. To my delight, the order was filled immediately. And then, another client asked me to take work for the weekend. When I turned him down, he said that he had a different, and huge, job that I could do for Wednesday morning. So that was four really solid days of work sorted.

Friday was also really full, but I had to get away to Progreso for a few hours to pick up something I’d spotted on the garage sale site I belong to. I am being very careful to not “peso dribble” and pick up stuff just because I will have a house to fill soon, but sometimes, there are things, like the sheets, that would be absolutely stupid not to pick up. And then, there are times like last week where something you’ve wanted for a bit comes up at the right price and you say the hell with it.

One of the things I’ve noticed in a lot of Mexican homes are ceramic containers holding water. A bit of research told me that these are known as “water crocks” in Canada and the US and they are a natural way to keep water cool. I really liked the idea of them and thought that if I ever had a house here, I’d want some. For one thing, they are much nicer storage containers for water than are the 20 litre plastic jugs and their dispensers are much less work than the plastic jug pumps. I thought that if I ever had a house here, I’d want one for the kitchen and one in every bathroom where folks brush their teeth.

The jugs are all essentially the same shape, but come in many different colours and patterns. As former collector of Blue Willow china, I’m really fond of blue and white and the odd time I’d looked at these jugs when out and about in Maz, I noticed a pattern I particularly liked, with flowers and checks.

So when this showed up on the garage sale site this week, I knew I had bought my first functionally decorative piece for my new home, whatever it ended up being:

The seller wanted $500 (40CAD) and accepted $400 (32CAD), which seemed a very fair price to me. I really like it! I filled it and it sits by the coffee supplies and kettle and is very convenient. I do tend to drink water cold out of the fridge here (something I never did in Canada), but if I forget to fill the jug, the water in the crock is definitely at a more drinkable temperature than that in the plastic jugs.

The trip allowed me to see a bit more of Progreso. It’s a pleasant enough town at that end, but, really, I want to live in Mérida, at least to start.

Since I was in town, I went to Bodega Aurrerá to pick up a few things. I walked in to be met with a wall of Tecate Light on offer for a decent price, so I immediately put a six-pack in my basket. I was then at the butcher negotiating for a bone for my dog when something told me to check my email. My longest held client had emailed me a half dozen times in the last hour with the last email having the subject line to please email or call him ASAP.

I found a quiet corner and called (YAY for a North America plan!). Turns out there was a problem with the order I’d returned that morning, something pretty major, but not exactly a mistake on my part, just a miscommunication. If I could fix it in the next few hours, everything would be fine. So of course, I went through the store too fast to get out of there ASAP and forgot three quarters of what I’d come in to buy. But, hey, I had the beer, coffee, and a bone and eggs for my dog, so I guess that was the important stuff. 🙂

The coffee was notable. My last time shopping at Mega in Maz, I was able to sample a drip coffee made in Maz and found it very good. I filed away the information, but never acted on it. Guess what coffee I found at Bodega Aurrerá? I was so relieved because the last coffee I bought at Soriana was fine, but not spectacular and I wasn’t looking forward to possibly buying unsatisfying coffee again. This stuff from Maz is really good!

I got in and had a ton of stuff to carry into the house. The dog tends to be a bit of a brat when I come in carrying shopping, trying to rip my bags and trip me. Before I’d left, I’d told him I’d have a bone for him when I got in if he was good. So it’s a funny coincidence that he let me bring in all my shopping without interfering! He was very happy with his bone. 🙂

I threw together a very quick lunch with a yummy preroasted chicken I’d also picked up and then fixed my client’s file. I then worked very late on a number of different jobs.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty much the same, just tons of typing, but at all sorts of different jobs in different domains. It was all surprisingly interesting. I was able to break for meals and at a reasonable hour both nights to play with my dog (who is showing amazing progress at learning how to play fetch!), swim, and enjoy a beer before going to bed not to late.

Monday and Tuesday are probably going to be more gruelling since I’m working on tedious focus groups. Wednesday is the day I’m going to pick up my desk and bookcases since I was asked if I could pick them up earlier than Friday and my promised help says Wednesday is the best day for him. That works out super well since the cleaner will be coming and I’ll have to vacate for a few hours anyway. By the time we get back here, he should be done with my suite and we can just move the furniture back in. I’m desperately trying to clear my Wednesday schedule since I’ll have to dismantle my temporary desk and then set up my new one, but we’ll see if that happens.

I then have myself promised straight through into the start of next week. It’s nice to be busy and to know, based on my current receivables, that I’ll be able to really start house hunting in the next couple of weeks!

So that’s all the latest news here. I expect the next post will be me showing off my new desk, or command centre, as a friend who saw a picture of it described it. 😀

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No Time To Get Into Trouble

Just a quick update since I’m apparently not providing sufficient proof of life…

My days are extremely full and something has to give. Blogging just isn’t something I feel like devoting much energy too right now unless something really major happens with my day.

Work is very busy and I’m working very long days, but I’ve also had plenty of time to keep up with my chores and manage some repair work on the house. As long as things keep up into the fall and the move into the new house, there are some major work-related lifestyle changes or adjustments ahead at the start of 2018. I feel really blessed.

At any rate, after repairs were completed on the water pump (which ended up having two separate issues), it was time today to move to the roof, which has been leaking. Thankfully, my hosts have a good friend with a reliable work crew so getting repairs done has not been stressful, only a matter of coordinating schedules.

The guys don’t speak English, so I’m learning new words, like escombros (debris) and brocha (which would be pinceau in French or a brush of the type used for painting in English (both French and Spanish have a different word for that and a brush for hair or teeth)). They were shocked that I didn’t know the latter, but, hey, I pick up my vocabulary as needed!

Late morning, I called my hosts’ friend to ask how much I should be paying the guys and how much of a lunch allowance to give them to go pick up something because I wasn’t at all prepared to feed two strong hardworking men. It’s great to have someone I can call on for questions like that now. He’s a wonderful man and I’m lucky to have met him. He even said he’ll help me get my desk and bookcases from La Ceiba next week!

Before any of you mother hens start clucking, this is the first summer that anyone has been in the house full-time and it was expected that there might be problems. I have been left with financial resources, trust, and autonomy to deal with things. 🙂

Puppy sitting is going as well as it did in Europe. I’m teaching the little fellow to play fetch now. It’s very slow going, but I think we made a breakthrough today at last. One of the last things I do every night is laps in the pool and he gets further exercise chasing me from one end of the pool to the other! He’s just really droll and a joy. The pool is also a joy!

I can’t believe I’ve been here on my own a full month now. I checked in with my hosts today regarding the work updates and sent pictures of the yard, pool, and dog to show that I’m keeping up with things. We’ve been getting a lot of rain, so the garden went from being a massive chore to barely being one at all. I’ve been using the time I save from not having to water to keep on top of the weeding.

I’m eager to start househunting, but still don’t have the means to do that just yet. Once the June receivables come in at the start of July, I can start looking at houses on the lower end of my budget. It’s a bit frustrating to be scrambling to much to put together three or four months’ worth of rent ahead of time and having to focus on the lower end of my budget when I could handle a monthly rent that is quite a bit higher. But I really do have to focus right now on how much I can reasonably expect to be able to save up by August and, really, it’s not a bad thing to have to rein in my rent budget. I do have to stress that I’ll have to compromise on house finishes and location to stay on budget, but I can still get the three-bed, two-bath I’ve been dreaming of, no problem. A pool might be trickier, but it’s on the wish list.

One stumbling block I’ve come across is a unique Yucatán requirement of having a lease guarantor who owns property in Mérida (aval de propriedad). I’ll cross the bridge if and when I come to it, but I’m glad I learned this. I had to do a lot of research to understand what the term meant since it didn’t translate to anything meaningful and I found no expat resources about it. Again, I was grateful for my language skills! I’ve seen some ads say that the owners will take an extra month or two of deposit in lieu of the aval de propriedad, so I may have some leeway. Anyway, forewarned is forearmed!

Well, another full day has come to a close. Time for a swim and some puppy time before I collapse to do it all over again tomorrow. Thank goodness I’m in paradise or this workload would be unbearable! 😉

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Into Suburban Hell for a Good Cause

One of the things on my to-buy list when I got here were bedsheets. I wanted to wait to see what size bed I would have and buy sheets to fit it, then I’d buy that size of bed when I got a house. I determined that I have a full size bed (matrimonial) and off I went to price good quality sheets in 100% cotton that wouldn’t pill.

I didn’t have much luck. Even though fabric is super cheap here, decent sheets were over 100CAD a set at places like Sears, Liverpool, and Costco!

So I placed an ad on a local classifieds Facebook group describing what I wanted. I actually wouldn’t mind gently used sheets because then I’d know for sure they wouldn’t pill.

Tuesday afternoon, I got a message from a gal saying that she had a lot of used linens from a hotel that shut down, all in good condition, and she happened to have two sets of full size sheets (the rest were queen and king). My ad said I preferred dark coloured sheets, but these were white. Otherwise, they were everything I wanted. Moreover I’d said I’d be willing to pay $250 for a set in my ad, but I could have both sets for $300, plus five big face cloths for just $35. Was I interested? Um, yes!

We made arrangements for me to meet her in Fraccionamiento Las Americas, on the north side of the perificico coming into Mérida. This is a new neighbourhood in the cookie cutter, American suburbia, car-centred style that sounds like my idea of hell.

She said to meet her at the Oxxo coming into the neighbourhood and send her a text when I arrived. I told her I’d be there around ten and was there right at ten, so I expected to have to wait for up to an hour for her to show up. I don’t know when I’ll get over my pathological need to be on time when it is an impediment here! At any rate, she texted me right back to say she’d be five minutes and almost exactly five minutes later, there she was!

The sheets were absolutely fantastic, lovely thick cotton that will wear well and be easy to wash. There are a few tiny spots, but nothing alarming, and they are plenty good enough for a guest bed, hence why I wanted two sets. The only thing I’m not nuts on (and why they are so cheap) is that they are all flat sheets. So they’ll be a bit more work to make the bed. However, I had no trouble at all getting the flat bottom sheet to stay in place in Hebden Bridge so it really isn’t a big deal. The face cloths are brand new and amazing quality.

Transaction complete, I was able to drive around that glorieta (pauses to translate that into English, having forgotten the word, LOL), I mean roundabout,  you see in the picture to head back to the highway, and then take advantage of a retorno almost right there to head back north. I ended up being gone about 75 minutes total.

I am going back next week to pick up giant bath towels, more face cloths, and bathrobes. I better have guests at some point to put this stuff to good use! 😀

Post edited to add: all the spots came out with a bit of bleach, detergent and sun! Don’t they look great?!

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A Not Particularly Restful Day Off

Oof, it’s been a really full day, but hopefully one that will have worn me out enough to get a solid night of sleep. I didn’t sleep a wink last night, the second time that’s happen in the last week, which tells me that I’m spending too much time in front of the computer, finishing too late, and not giving myself time to decompress before bed. At any rate, I wanted to run into Mérida today to do errands and I had someone coming by between eight (when I said I’d be up) and ten (when I said I wanted to leave) to come look at an issue I’m having with the water system.

I got up at eight as planned, made Puppy a nice breakfast (he loves scrambled eggs), and made myself a coffee, which I enjoyed outside in the courtyard for the first time. As I did so, I surveyed the absolute wreck that was said courtyard and the pool because of the winds and rain we’ve had all week. I’m never hungry when I’ve slept poorly, so once I was done with coffee, I got to work setting the pool and courtyard to rights. By the time all of that was done, it was nine and the helper was honking at the gate.

Thanks to the troubleshooting I’d done, he was able to quickly determine what was wrong with the water system (pump keeps cycling because the system isn’t staying pressurised) and he also had a look at the roof leaks. He told me to get some sealant at Home Depot today and he would have “his guys” apply it this week. He also told me to try to get another pressurizing tank for the water system, but if Home Depot didn’t have them, he had another source and would pick one up himself. Before anyone gasps, I was left funds to draw on for such situations! My hosts are lucky to have such a wonderful friend and I’m glad the ice is broken so that I have someone to call on for help if anything else crops up. I thought he was just “the solar guy” and didn’t realise the relationship was so close.

I was hungry by the time he left, so I had my leftovers from last night (mmm…), moved some money around so I could make a couple of withdrawals, put on a pretty outfit, and headed out around ten.

First stop was the Scotiabank at the Liverpool mall. Their ATM was out of order. I went to another one a few kilometres away, well out of my way for Home Depot and my other stops, and it, too, was out of order. Augh! I was therefore looking at nearly $20 in ATM fees at another bank since I would have to make several withdrawals.

Next stop was Gran Plaza, a mall, because I knew there were several banks there so I could do my withdrawals. I figured I could also do a couple of errands there and then come back after Home Depot for groceries since there’s a Comercial Mexicana there, which is the name Mega goes by in this part of Mexico, apparently. But it’s definitely the same store, has the pelican logo and everything.

Getting to Gran Plaza involved a lot of driving around in circles looking for the entrance to the parking lot. I know that I’m going to learn my way around here and things will get easier, but that was surprisingly frustrating today and more energy than I’d planned to spend so early in the day!

At any rate, I finally made it to the mall and did my withdrawals at the Santander. I decided that since I was there and had all my paperwork, I would try to open an account. There was a long line for the tellers, but I saw a stand at the back with a sign saying to sign up to see an executive. I looked at the sign up sheet and the first “reason for visit” listed was to open an account, so I figured that I was doing the right thing by adding my name to the list and then taking a seat instead of standing in line.

I waited for quite a while, probably close to 30 minutes, before my name was called. The man who helped me was kind enough, but told me that Santander doesn’t open accounts for folks on a residente temporal visa status. He said that every bank is different and he suggests I check with HSBC, Banamex, and BBVA Bancomer in that order. I don’t want to go with HSBC because of the dearth of ATMs and Bancomer will never see me again after they were so hard to get my money back from, so that makes Banamex my next choice (especially since there is one in Progreso). Unfortunately, the one by Gran Plaza was closed today. So opening an account is on the list for this week.

I really wanted to go with Santander because I like how their ATMs give small bills, but temporary residents can’t be choosers, apparently. I understand that Mexican banking has tightened up their regulations because of the war on drugs, but it’s a shame for folks who are trying to get settled in this country. They’ve very likely lost my business for life. Who am I going to be loyal to, the bank that said they don’t want my business until I’m a permanent resident or the bank eager to help me settle in on this first stage of my immigration journey? At any rate, I knew the bank account thing would be work and I’m not daunted.

Next, I went to a store called Compu8 to get a cable for an external hard drive and some ink for my printer. Dang was the woman there cranky! She was one of those rare store clerks I’ve met who prefers to pretend she can’t understand me than to serve me. Thankfully, after what happened at the City Deli on Isla as well as the Velcro Incident, I know I’m not the problem and don’t let myself be intimidated. I got the cable I wanted (pricier than I would have liked, but necessary) and they also had the ink (cheaper than expected).

Then, I thought I might as well check out the food court since I was getting peckish again. Chinese sounded good and the stand that got my business was the one handing out free samples. 🙂 I couldn’t believe how generous the portion was and I actually ended up not being able to come close to finishing. But dang was it all yummy. I got chicken balls cooked in orange juice with big chunks of pineapple, chow mein, and broccoli.

Next up was Home Depot (almost right next door), where help and my plumbing vocabulary were lacking, but with some perseverance, I was able to confirm they didn’t have the right kind of tank. Thankfully, the sealant was easy to find and someone helped me with it because it came in a very heavy bucket! A cart guy at the exit asked if I needed help getting the bucket into my truck and my answer was oh… yeah. 🙂 He asked if I had a roof leak and I told him how I’m minding a house and the owners are in Canada and nobody’s ever been here during the summer and, well, I practically took a shower in my bedroom last night, the recitation of which left him in stitches. He asked me what I had to seal (glass against cement) and he said that I had the right product (Thermotec) and that it is excellent. Well, it’s what my hosts wanted, but it’s good to hear another positive review of it.

I then went back to Comercial Mexicana and managed to find parking fairly near the store. My list for there was all the imported sauces and condiments I can’t get at an average Mexican grocery store. I got most of the stuff on my list, just missing tahini, but I have another source for that that I’m holding out for. Their bakery had the black bread I loved in Maz, but not the raisin bread. I treated myself to a pair of goggles for the pool ($25, $30 off!) since I like to swim underwater and my eyes have been getting irritated. I’d been tempted to buy a pair before, but the ones I’d seen were over $100. So I knew I was getting a great deal. I didn’t buy anything I could get at an average store since the prices are so much higher. But I got sushi vinegar, sesame oil, sweet chile sauce, udon noodles, etc. The only thing I struck out on was the Earl Grey tea, but I have a few more places to look for it before I give up.

My final stop was Costco where I dropped a whopping $2,300, but it was absolutely a planned and smart shop that should save me from having to go back into Mérida for groceries for a while. It was the shop I wanted to do when I landed, but didn’t have the money for.

I’ve been looking for a drying rack for my clothes, really necessary now that the rain has started, and Contessa suggested I look at Costco. That was good advice because they had a really heavy duty stainless steel one for $550. That’s something I’m going to need in my own home when I move, so it made total sense to drop the pesos for one that pricey, never mind that I haven’t seen any drying racks at other stores!

I also stocked up on meat and a bunch of things that made sense to buy in bulk, like these bags of limes and lemons for just 4.50CAD and 6CAD respectively (WOW). I can just throw the fruit in the freezer and pull out singles as needed. Once nuked for 15-30 seconds, they’ll produce more juice than when fresh.

Philadelphia cream cheese lasts forever and I was able to get four bricks for just $90 or 6.75CAD, when one brick is normally about 4CAD in Canada. Cream cheese is a total luxury back there, but here it really is a staple (and goes so well with black bread!). I also got a giant bag (900G) of grated Parmesan for just $193 or 14.50CAD. I buy a small wedge for that price in Assiniboia

I think the only thing I felt stupid paying for was $250 for four big containers of Clorox cleaning wipes, but they really do help me stay on top of my housecleaning and were a great deal. Well, I was delighted when I checked my receipt to discover that I got a $64 discount on them, so they only cost me $186! So, really, even though I was shocked that I dropped over $2,000 in one trip, there was nothing I didn’t need that didn’t make sense to get a bulk purchase discount for.

One other thing I like about Costco is that you get a discount if you pay with cash rather than plastic. I saved $150 on top of my other discounts for using cash!

Well, that was enough money spent for one day and I was beat, so I headed straight home, really enjoying the drive now that my truck is running well again. 🙂

At home, Puppy was on his best behaviour. He let me tie him up so I could open the gate and bring the truck into the yard to unload and laid quietly until I was done unloading and unpacking. We then played for a bit before I jumped into the pool!

Well, I thought I was going to get a full day off, but I just looked over my task list for tomorrow and realised that I’ll have to get a very early start to get through it. So I’m going to try to get a start on it right now, but I firmly plan to quit before eight!

The cleaner is coming on Tuesday and I’ll try to get away again to do a fun trip to Mérida. We’ll see how well that plan works out. 😀

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Working Too Hard

Ouf, it’s rare that I think that I’m working too hard, but when I’m transcribing 100+ minutes of audio daily while still maintaining a spotless home and garden, there’s no other way to put it. The days are really running together, but, thankfully, I’m managing to get some quality sleep so I can start fresh every morning. I’m really looking forward to a day when I can drive into Mérida, park, and just amble for an afternoon, but I don’t see that day coming anytime soon.

This continues to be a novelty for me since the famine days of sitting around looking for work really aren’t that far behind me. One of my clients asked me to let him know when my queue is empty so he can send me more work and I was able to honestly tell him that that is not likely to happen in the near future. My queue has been sort of like a merry-go-round where clients have to catch an empty spot when it goes by them because it’ll disappear quickly!

I’m not exaggerating when I said that I landed here broke the likes of which I haven’t been in almost two years and so I would be a moron to turn down work just because I’m tired. Once the May income starts trickling in at the start of June, I’ll have earned myself some breathing room, but, really, I need to keep up this pace straight into July.

Yesterday afternoon, I had to go get groceries. It was one of those do or die moments since I was out of just about everything but rice and peanut butter. We had an impressive storm in the late afternoon as I was finishing up work on a new movie project. The amount of rain made me worry that the roads in my neighbourhood would be impassable, but when I went out about 30 minutes after the rain stopped, everything was fine.

I decided to just go to Bodega Aurrerá in Progreso and come straight back since I had more work to do in the evening. There, I was able to get some of the things on my list, including the so important beer, and a few treats, like dulce de guayaba letting myself be tempted at the till by a display of cacahuetes japoneses, or cracker nuts. I’ve been making some decent tacos at home for my lunches, so I also bought some commercial salsa verde and guacamole to put on them.

I’ve somehow found an hour every night before bed to work at my Spanish, so I also treated myself to a new notebook for that and a package of 10 different coloured pens, a very inexpensive gift (about $50 total) that made my “schoolwork” more fun that night. I’m working on a new verb tense, the imperfect (one of the past tenses) and treating it like a vocabulary lesson. Instead of using the standard verbs, like hablar and comer, to learn the new tense, I’m using new verbs that I’m struggling with, like dejar and romper.

I am once more grateful that I can go from French to Spanish because that makes learning Spanish so much easier. Dejar, for example, translates as “stop” or “leave” in English, but not in the senses that immediately come to my mind. Stop is more like quit (eg. smoking) rather than doing so in a car and leave is more in the sense of something being dropped off than exiting a room. There is no ambiguity as to the meaning if I go from French and so I’m once more understanding what an enormous challenge learning Spanish would be to a native English speaker with no other points of comparison. I mean, the imperfect of, say, comer (to eat) is  comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían. In English? It’s ate, ate, ate, ate, ate, ate!

So it’s really just routine here in paradise, but dang, the living is easy. 🙂 Now, I have to really get to work!!!