The big purchase I wanted to make this month was a TV. It would be the first new TV I’d have in 20 years (my last one was a gift, complete with a VCR!) and the shopping experience was overwhelming. I knew that whatever I bought would be “wrong” — I had no idea what size or features I might actually want without having experience with a modern day TV. Better to start inexpensive and then upgrade when I know more. So like with my appliances, I wanted to go for the best bang for my buck and also something very simple. Much pondering and research later, I decided to look for the least expensive decent quality smart TV I could find so that I could have Netflix built in and not have to shop for a separate device, like a Roku. I got a lot of advice from friends, especially regarding the size. After doing a bit of online research, I felt confident when I set off on Wednesday to pound the pavement that I would be able to find the right TV for me at this time.

First stops were Mega Balcones (since it has both an HSBC and Scotiabank ATM and I needed to make withdrawals at both) and then Bodega Aurrera next door. Mega didn’t have anything anywhere close to my budget and Bodega was just too disorganised — I couldn’t even tell what price went with what. Next stop was Walmart. There, I was offered a really inexpensive smart TV, but even with my non-existent TV standards, I could see how terrible the picture quality was. Since I was across the street from Coppel, where I bought my fridge, I decided to go there in the hopes that I might get lucky with a floor model.

I got lucky, scoring $4,000 off a display model LG (good brand!) 32″ smart TV! I love how the store clerks there really work with their customers and don’t just promote the most expensive thing possible. The TV I bought wasn’t even marked as being for sale as a floor model — I think the sales clerk made up a deal for me on the spot! So I ended up with a higher end TV at an entry level price. Am I a good shopper or what?!

Even though I had my truck, I asked to have the TV delivered. It arrived the following afternoon and was super simple to set up. I can access both YouTube and Neflix on it and I can also plug in a Windows-formated (MS-FAT) travel drive with movies, shows, or TV previously downloaded onto my computer (.mp3 or .mp4 format — nothing purchased from Apple).

So here I am truly living the life of Reilly, whomever s/he is.

The next size up would have been nice, but the jump in price was ridiculous. 32″ is perfectly fine for image quality even if I can only just barely if I squint read the smaller text on the screen. The coffee table that didn’t work as a coffee table is the perfect stand for the TV!

I really don’t want to turn into a couch potato, but couch time seems to be the best opportunity to tame my still too independent Bonita. She was fascinated by the TV last night. Can you see how she’s staring straight ahead at the screen here?

In this one, she looks sound asleep, but nope. She was watching the action on the screen!

Things are going okay with Bonita. She’s definitely settled in, but we haven’t bonded yet and she only comes to me in the mornings first thing. But even then, I have to stay at arms’ length. I try to get in several cuddle sessions during the day and I think that the lazy evenings in front of the TV are crucial to her adjustment to being here.

This morning, I went to pick up a couple of things from the garage sale site. I decided to walk there (almost 6KM) and then Uber back. It was nice to get to see what’s on that side of Paseo de Montejo. It was a really lovely walk, with good sidewalks the whole way. Mérida is in large parts very walkable and such a joy to explore.

So here’s a map of all that. The stop on Avenida Jose Diaz Bolio was for the bank.

First stop was to pick up a Wii gaming system to go with my new TV! I have wanted one of those since I first encountered them in Campbell River in the early winter of ’10. They are so outdated now that they’re incredibly cheap and getting the system was something easily affordable. I posted an ad last night to the garage sale site asking if anyone had one for sale. A man replied that his kids wanted to sell their Wii to help with the purchase of a newer console. Since these were enterprising kids who had bought the Wii themselves and were going to buy the new console on their own, I offered them a bit more money than I would have paid to buy the console and one from an adult.

The Wii is a very active videogaming system, so since the first time I played with one, I realised that it would be a great way to sneak some exercise into my day. A bit of Googling a few hours later after I got home and I found the game I actually wanted and which I’ll pick up tomorrow. It has sword fighting that you actually have to mimic so I suspect it’s going to be a lot of fun. 🙂 At any rate, the Wii was a very nice surprise as I didn’t realise that prices had dropped so low that I could just go pick one up! BTW, I was very proud of how quickly I managed to set it up!

The other item was the flamingo painting on the left here. It was a local artist who was trying to clear out her not so good paintings to hopefully recoup some of the money spent on the materials. There were several I wanted, but the cheery flamingo and evocative dragonfly fit best into my decor. No idea yet where they are going to be displayed!

The artist added me to her contact list for her next exposition and will advise me of other similar events. I know I don’t find much time to go out, but I also know that such events would be great opportunities to meet people I actually have things in common with so I’d make an effort to get off the couch if an invitation were received. 🙂

Oh my goodness. How did it get to be four o’clock?! Back to work I go. It hasn’t been a particularly productive week, but I’ve needed a bit of a break. I’ll be busy through the weekend and into the next week since one of my clients came out of retirement. I’m so grateful that business is so good!

via IFTTT

via IFTTT

via IFTTT

I couldn’t believe the dog I woke to this morning. I crouched down to greet Bonita and she jumped up and almost knocked me over! She’s also getting much better at coming onto the couch by herself and will come back even if she jumps off to investigate something. I’m thinking I’m going to have to drape the couches in sheets since she’s starting to want to lounge there even if I’m not in the living room and she doesn’t always stick to her blanket. I don’t want to discourage that since I want her on the couch when I’m there and I don’t want to confuse her about whether or not it’s okay. If she was younger, I’d train her to only come up when I’M there, but at her age, there are battles not worth fighting. It makes me happy to find her snuggled on a comfy surface rather than lying on hard pavement or tiles, even if the tiles are cool.

I had a short errand planned for today. Ever since I went to the Slow Food Market way back in August, I’ve been hankering to go back. But it’s not the kind of place that’s fun to visit if you’re on a super tight budget. Things are going pretty well right now, even with the visa renewal and new passport fees coming up, so I decided that I’d find 90 minutes or so today to pop down there, pick up a few treasures, and then come back to work a full day.

Bonita is doing really well with these short absences. It wouldn’t be fair to her to go out all day, but going out for a few hours is proving to be absolutely fine. Absence makes the heart fonder and all that!

Getting to the Slow Food Market from my house is absurdly easy and convenient. Click on the map to embiggen to see where I caught buses. The bus down is just one house from me and I didn’t have to wait for one this morning. I got off at the corner of Calle 62 and Avenida Cupules and then just had to walk two blocks to the market. When I was done, it was just shy of about four blocks down 72 and Avenida Colon to catch a bus on Calle 60 by the Hyatt Hotel. Then, off at the Instituto Tecnológico on Calle 60 and three blocks to home!

When I first heard about the market, I thought that it was a “Gringo thing,” but not at all. I’d say there were more Mexican vendors than Gringos and customers were about 50/50. The products are all local and mostly “organic.”

I wandered a bit at first to see what was available and then I started to avail myself of free samples. First thing that went into my shopping bag was a jar of pesto. Then, a bakery tempted me with loaves of apple/cinnamon/raisin and sun-dried tomato bread. I knew I’d have to slice them up and toss them in the freezer soon as I got home as there was no way I could eat them before they went bad! I found a basil plant that I need to find a pot to put it in and which I plan to really nurture. I’m almost out of the dried basil my neighbour Caroline had me take with me — really at the rationing phase — so it’s time to grow and dry my own!

Some Americans were selling pork ribs, pulled pork, and bacon. I was able to sample everything and it was hard not to buy one of each! But I have not bought bacon since I came to Mexico (!) so I splurged on their maple bacon. Next to last stop was one of the many vegan vendors, a lady who had nice trays of prepared lunches. I sampled a bunch of things and bought a tray of her lentil cakes with a side of cherry tomatoes. Finally, I sampled some spread made of cocoa and agave syrup and splurged on that.

The bacon was $80, the chocolate spread was $155, I believe the bread was about $140 for two loaves, the pesto was around $80, the basil was only $30, and the lentil cakes were $50. So I spent about $535 (about 37CAD). The chocolate spread was really the only thing that made me go woah, but this was a morning where I promised myself I’d buy anything I sampled that I liked, so I did!

I hadn’t eaten before setting out. There are a couple of restaurants at the market, but the one that was most appealing for breakfast I could not figure out how to get service at, even when asking the harried waiters. I decided that they didn’t need my business and instead found a couple running a tiny stand selling burritos, tacos, and tostadas. I got two tacos with chicken, peppers, rice, beans, cheese, pickled onions, and hot red sauce — think of Tex-Mex-style burrito filling on corn tortillas! I paired those with a delicious strawberry and watermelon agua fresca, all for $50. YUM! Sorry for the lack of pictures — my hands were full!

I left around 9:15 and was back around 10:45, mostly thanks to not having to wait for buses. Nice easy trip! I definitely could not justify going to Slow Food every weekend, but hopefully it’s a treat that I’ll be able to fit in every four to six weeks from now on.