Work

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Early Morning Chill

I always put the laundry on first thing when I get up and I was blasted by cold air when I stepped out the door around 6:15! It was only 9C/48F outside! I started the machine, then went back inside for a cardigan and a five peso coin before heading ‘downtown’ to pick up some tortillas.

Isla residents rise early, so there was already quite a bustle on the streets. It’s neat to watch children and workers not only leave Isla to come to work, but also arrive on Isla for work. I encountered one of the servers from a beach restaurant arriving from Maz, which surprised me. Isla feels so much like a suburb, not an employment destination!

Tortilla production was in full swing when I arrived. I now know how to order them like a local. The Gringos usually use their fingers to show the stack size they want, but locals arrive with exact change and specify a monetary amount. Five pesos is just right for me to have some the first day and then pop a few in the freezer for the next day or two. I’ve been buying too many eight peso stacks from the boy who goes door to door and they go stale in the freezer before I can finish them.

Bread is cheap in Mexico, but whenever I buy tortillas, bread comes off as being expensive! I’ve been having too much bread lately, not aided by the fact that the veggie guy has been selling some really nice buns. So I did the smart thing, bought a bunch of buns, got them out of my system, and now never want to see another bun for the rest of my life (or at least the winter 馃檪 ).

There’s really nothing nicer in the morning than a still hot from the tortilleria tortilla with bit of grated cheese that just softens, not melts, from the residual heat. Well, unless it’s also accompanied by strong Mexican coffee! 馃檪

Off to work I go. Going to be a full few days into next week, but nothing too tedious and I’ll have my evenings off.

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A Weekend Off

I haven’t had a real weekend off since I arrived on Isla, a couple of days that I choose to take off rather than them being imposed, days where there is absolutely no need to be glued to my computer hoping that a last minute project will come in, and which I can truly enjoy because there are plenty of projects behind me and I know when the next ones are coming in.

I finished work around 11:30 yesterday (Friday) morning (putting in a full five hour day!) and then spent a few hours updating my professional website before giving the house a thorough cleaning. After that, I collapsed with a movie and a beer, stepping out to get some hot dogs for dinner. I went to bed early since I’d been up since 5:00.

It was 6:30 when I woke up this morning and I enjoyed the incredible luxury of fixing myself a cup of coffee and going back to bed with it! I obviously don’t bother doing that in Miranda since once I’m down that ladder, I stay down!

I stayed in bed for a good hour reading and playing games on my iPad. I finally got up, put some laundry on, took out the water bottle, brought a full bottle in, and made a ridiculously huge breakfast.

After I ate, I went over to my landlady’s house and, yay, she was finally home! I paid my rent and told her that my roof had leaked during the recent rain, just in the bathroom, and it had messed up the ceiling paint. (By the way, roof and ceiling is the same thing in Spanish, techo.)

We then discussed something important. Drum roll please… I told her I am 90% certain I want to rent this house again next winter! I’ve been looking at other options and have decided to play it safe and just come back here. I really do like the house (and location!), I have laundry and internet, and the rent, while a bit higher than I’d really like to pay, is very reasonable. She said to call her late this summer to confirm. Of course, it’ll be a shorter stay next year, five months instead of six, and so I’ll probably arrive at the end of November and then leave mid-April.

All that done, I packed up my tote bag and headed to Maz, with the plan being to visit the aquarium. I arrived on the Maz side only to realise that I had never actually looked up where the aquarium is exactly. But I’d seen plenty of signs for it and had a pretty good idea of where it was, so off I went. I’ve come a long way from the frustrated gal walking around in circles!

I took Guti茅rrez N谩jera towards the Malec贸n, got myself a grapefruit juice, and then turned northish (Golden Zonewards) one block before the Malec贸n. I just walked this road for quite a while, enjoying how peaceful it was. I could periodically see Avendida del Mar (what this stretch of road along the Malec贸n is called), so I had quite a few landmarks.

No idea what this building is, but it made me laugh.

No idea what this building is, but it made me laugh.

Detail of the exquisite doorway.

Detail of the exquisite doorway.

And then, I spotted a big blue building off in the distance.

Could that be...

Could that be…

It is!

It is!

Well, that was easy. 馃榾

I’ll do a separate post about the aquarium!

I came out of there after a few hours and spent two hours literally just walking aimlessly. I found myself on the Malec贸n, the hilly part of Centro hist贸rico, Olas Altas, Plazuela Machado, the Mercado, and then Zaragoza, at which point I was ready to go home. I had vague plans to get lunch, but it was just too dang hot!

I did get some ice cream from my favourite vendor. I now know that it is called nieve de garrafa (English article) and is a water based fruit sorbet native to Mexico. They had pineapple today for the first time, and I got that with mandarin and prune.

One of the many papier m芒ch茅 statues along the Malec贸n.

One of the many papier m芒ch茅 statues along the Malec贸n.

Colourful houses on a street in the hilly part of historical Maz.

Colourful houses on a street in the hilly part of historical Maz.

A sweet little bench across the road from the Malec贸n.

A sweet little bench across the road from the Malec贸n.

Devil's Cave.

Devil’s Cave.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

I got in around 2:45 after stopping for fresh tortillas and made a salad with some cream cheese roll ups and a beer for lunch.

It’s been a wonderful day with lots of entertainment, sun, and exercise! I’ll finish it up by getting some shrimp burritos from Miguel’s and watching a movie.

Tomorrow will be an at home day where I’ll catch up on bookkeeping and admin tasks and do a project for Contessa. None of this counts as work in my book!

Off to prepare my aquarium post. First, I need to splice together a movie!

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Living la vida sencilla

It’s that time of the month where I invoice clients and tweak the new month’s budget while looking ahead to the next few months. This is getting more and more critical as May is already looming and I need to make sure I’m well buffered for the drive home since I don’t know how much, or even if, I’ll be able to work on the way back. I did take a special extension on my health coverage to the end of May that I don’t want to waste, so I am thinking of getting a couple of weekly rentals at various places in the States.

But I digress. Despite its frighteningly slow start, January ended with a bang. I worked my tail off, but was also paid a bonus amount for the project. So not only did I end up exceeding my minimum earning goals for the month… I just met my ideal target. I just about never make that amount, but it’s something to shoot for. That ideal target would cover bills, allow me to live comfortably for a month, and also leave a generous amount for my buffer/emergency fund. So I am in good financial shape for the first time since I left home and February is off to a busy start! The tide is turning!

One thing that helps is just how simple my life here is in Mexico. Really, what do I have to spend money on? About 95% of my budget goes to food (groceries and dining out), 2% to beer (both at home and at bars), 1% to public transportation, and 1% to household and miscellaneous small outings. I feel like I have a fantastic quality of life and that I am well stimulated. Much as I miss home, I know that my budget is going to balloon there when I have a property to maintain again. 馃檨

Doing this math made me feel a lot less troubled by how my dining out habit has increased in the last few weeks. I have to eat anyway, so why not enjoy the local culture that way? Yes, I could slash my budget by eating only at home with a very simple diet, but, seriously, how frugal does one person have to be before it’s enough?! 馃檪

One comment I get from people is that I have to watch the dining out because it will mean weight gain. Well, I guess it depends on what you eat and I tend to make sensible choices. I’m very happy to say that I haven’t gained a pound since I got here, but I lost two inches around my waist, which means that I’m building muscle from all that walking and losing fat. So my simple Mexican life is working well for me!!

 

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Relocating the Hurt

There is a qu茅b茅cois expression that says, “changer le mal de place.” Literally, it means relocating the hurt. More figuratively, it means taking a break from a tedious routine. Having had a few tough work days, knowing that the week ahead is going to be brutal, and being blessed with easy files for today, I decided to take a long lunch break in Maz.

How wonderful it is for the city to be so close by that I can get there, meander around, have a meal, shop, and be home in just two and a half hours!

This was the first time that I went out with several stops in mind and didn’t at least glance at a map before leaving. I know where everything is now and actually getting quite good at finding the most direct route between A and B.

My first stop was the Santander bank in front of the Cathedral on Angel Flores. A few donations and an unexpected prepayment on a translation project meant that I could take out 1,000 pesos, which will go a very long way if this past month is any proof of that. I still had 200 pesos from my early January withdrawal!

From the bank, I went to Olas Altas to get sushi, but, alas, they were closed. 馃檨 It was past 1:30, so I was quite surprised. I decided to instead check out a recommended burger joint, but they, too, were closed! Since I was in the Plazuela Machado area and have been craving chocolate for days, I decided to get dessert first and stopped in at the gelateria where 25 pesos got me a teeny scoop of craving busting goodness.

I then headed out towards the Mercado and decided to try lunch at Panam谩’s bakery, which looks a lot like a Smitty’s restaurant or a Denny’s, a very Ameri-dian diner-style spot. I was given both a Spanish and English menu and had time to compare them.

As suspected, they were quite different, with the English menu omitting many of the Mexican dishes and adding more American dishes. The average price point on the English menu was also higher than on the Spanish one. I ordered the chicken enchiladas with creamy green sauce from the Spanish menu, hoping that they would be similar to the ones I had in Texas.

Unfortunately, no. And the Texas ones were actually much more authentic Mexican fare than Panam谩’s version, which were rather bland and featured processed American cheese!

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Now, don’t get me wrong, the meal was fine. The sauce, while not super flavourful, was good and the roasted chicken filling was incredibly satisfying. Add in the huge helping of beans and I was stuffed. The meal was worth the 83 pesos I paid (plus tip), but it wasn’t one I’ll repeat.

It was getting close to two by this point, so I decided to head home by way of Ley. I really didn’t need anything, but I keep going to Ley in the hopes that they’ll have restocked an incredible all natural pineapple-coconut yoghurt I got there way back in late November or December. Today, they finally had some!

My knee was really bothering me today, so I decided to go home by Zaragoza rather than Leandro Valle, but then decided to instead meander through the small streets to create a more direct route to the embarcadero. That worked splendidly and I really enjoyed making my way through a warren of narrow cobblestone streets, so reminiscent of ancient Scottish cities, to emerge right in front of the entrance to the dock.

I spent just under 200 pesos today on public transportation, lunch, dessert, and groceries. Mexico continues to be incredibly affordable and I have succeeded in ‘changer le mal de place.’ Now, back to work. It’ll be a bit of a marathon session!

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Dead Silence on Isla

I went to bed around midnight to the sound of loud, but not obnoxious, partying. I was so tired I didn’t even need earplugs!

Next thing I knew, it was 9:30. I can’t remember the last time I slept straight through for that many hours! I know I’ve bee feeling run down, but didn’t think I was that sleep deprived!

Isla is eerily quiet this morning. We’ve had quiet mornings, but not like this when even the roosters are sleeping in!

I’m taking today off to take care of chores, watch movies, do a puzzle, read, and go for a walk. My state contract begins on or about Tuesday next week and will keep me busy full time with decent income till I get home, so a day or two to breathe (I do have work for the weekend) is well earned.

I try not to make a big deal over an arbitrary change in numbers, but I can’t help remember where I was this day 15 years ago, at the dawn of not just a new year, not just a new century, but a new millennium.I was on the cusp of making the first major change in my life’s direction (leaving university to go to trade school), the first step to asserting the person I wanted to be rather than the person I was told I should be.

That bright young thing of 20 would have still be in utter disbelief to know of all the places she would see in the next decade and a half, much less that she would be ringing in 2015 from Mexico.