20 Down 30 To Go

So, if you thought the assessment from the Mexican government back in March was reasonable (we'd have a three month slog,) so far we are about halfway into it.

Which means no real plans can be made until June or July.

So we wait.

And as we wait, we deal with cantankerous ATMs that are chintzy in giving out cash.

Hopefully, that problem will resolve soon, because I need to make one more withdrawl to pay for the apartment for another month.

That should work out.  I have the money so that's not a problem. It's just that the ATM is making such a fuss over things.

Once that's solved I'm home free.  The plan is to celebrate May Day, Shauvot and my birthday bigly.

And I am looking forward to the end.  Right now, life is all coronavirus, all the time.  It has taken up a lot of work time, and it's really stressful.

A lot of people are disappointed that business income insurance does not cover pandemics.  Meanwhile there is a lot going on in the legislative and judicial arenas.  Dealing with the emotional aspects of it is grueling.  What is really sad is some of them deserve a break, but won't get one.

The lawyers and the big guys will win.  As well as a few others.

Everyone else will get scraps.

What else is new?

So, we shall see how things play out.

What can really suck.

One of the things that I have noticed while waiting is how much people are complaining about how icky life is right now. The Facebook Ad bots are putting up promotions for celebrating suckiest birthdays ever right now.

And the I got cheated out of a 50^th birthday celebration is on hold for now.

But if people want a situation that sucks I’ll give you one.

Five years ago, I was dealing with the fact that Rick could not control his emotions and spent a lot of time screaming and throwing fits. Having to tell him it hit the point where his caregiving needs outstripped my capabilities really sucked.

It was a crazy time, but ultimately, the chapter ended.

I know this too will pass.

And I will celebrate when it does.

Hope

While COVID 19 rages on, everyone is looking for a light at the end of the tunnel.  And while waiting for that I know of at least three people who will celebrate coming out on the other side by going on trips to see relatives.

The first person on the list is a delightful young man who works as a cook.  We got together after he got off work and he mentioned that when things died down, he planned on going to Oaxaca to visit his family.  We talked a lot about travel plans and he mentioned that I would like the Oaxaca coast as well as the city of Oaxaca.

The second person on the list is my Aunt who wants to visit my cousin in San Miguel de Allende.

The third person is me.  I want to get some beach time in, visit friends in LA and visit same cousin in Guanajuato and visit relatives in Houston and Austin as well as see a love interest in Dallas.

Maybe if the planets line up, I can do both Oaxaca and Guanajuato.

Who knows?

I hope we can all travel soon.

Lucky Night 13 of the Omer

What  long workday

Coronavirus does that to you if you are in insurance now with all the business interruption claims.

But that's not what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about the fact that I suspect I'm putting roots down in Tijuana.

The apartment is working out.

I bought some kitchen stuff, and will probably buy some more.

As part of cooking for myself, I now am grocery shopping and doing my best to eat right.  Arroz integral and Pasta integral are not easy to find, but the regular kind works and I like the fact that the pasta is sold in 250 gram packs because I have a bad habit of eating the whole package.  Low sodium chicken stock is a Costco item and pricey compared to Knorr cubitos de bullion.

I also have mastered the art of lighting a gas stove with a Bic lighter.  Matches are impossible to find here.

I'm also beginning to realize that Tijuana is turning into home.  Maybe I have construed it as home since I met Rick's great nephew, but now push has come to shove.  Due to the border being closed to non essential traffic, I am here for the duration and now get to figure out how this is all going to work out.  To make it more interesting not only do I have a de facto relative that wants me here, but also a very nice young man who I manage to make very happy.

We have been on a few dates, but for quite some time, we wanted another sexual crack at each other.  That happened recently after I was supportive of his attempts at social media marketing.  He was thrilled that I responded to his efforts at it by showing up at the restaurant he works at now and getting take out.

So we shall see how things evolve.

I knew it was coming

The hotel I have holed up in for the duration is closing for the duration tomorrow, which means I am packing up and moving.

I found something else three blocks away and will hole up there for the duration.  I think it will work out as it is in an apartment building.

I'm also glad to see metrics for getting back to something resembling normal.  My metric is simple.  I will only return to the US when the border is open to non essential traffic.  The plan is to take care of some US stuff and then go on a blow out trip to visit family with a little beach time.

The beach time is important because Coronavirus has taken over my work life.  As there will be litigation, I will be dealing with it for a long time.

Hopefully the root cause of the problem will be resolved soon.

Seventh Day of the Omer

So, this Passover is ending.

And I may start wandering to The Promised Land.

The hotel in which I am living a hotel existence may be closing due to non occupancy (It's me and one other person.)  I get it, but I have to conjure up a new plan.

Been there done that

I have started with Roman letters
Then Greek
Then Cyrillic
Then back to Roman

This is nothing new.

It will all work out.  How do I know?  I got paid, so I can stay down here another two months.

Maybe longer.

So, I will just keep waiting until the border reopens to non essential traffic.

We shall see when that happens.

Hooray! It Was Nice Out.

It took long enough, but today was a really nice day weather wise.  High in the mid 20s.

I also decided to celebrate that tomorrow is Day Seven of Passover.  The little things are important now until things die down.  I also need to do a better job of regulating my COVID 19 news intake.  It's become a significant amount of income for me and that means I deal with it during the day, and honestly want to do something else than see what is going on during down time.

But I still have to keep up as the solution for small businesses who are losing income will either be legislated or litigated, and I need to talk to people about it.

Here is hoping things get better soon.

Quick Hi on Day Five of the Omer

As I try to stay sane, I did my good deed for the day.

I made a little boy happy.

After losing his job in a bar, he now works in a restaurant.  Doesn't make any tip money, but he did do some social media marketing for them.

I visited the restaurant, and mentioned his efforts.

He was thrilled.

The thank you I got was very nice too.

Chalk one up for AMLO

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away - THEY MADE  A MOVIE!

And the Russians and the Saudis got in a snit over oil production and decided to let the taps flow freely.

And Mexico's economy took a direct hit as a result meaning that the peso crossed a psychological barrier of 20 to the dollar for the second time in four years.

Then COVID 19 damaged the country meaning if it was nonessential, it shut down.

So, according to the dashboard maintained by Johns Hopkins University, as of today, a little over 50% of the COVID cases have been resolved.  While that is chugging along, AMLO cut a good deal for Mexico regarding an agreement to cut oil production (they're not cutting as much.)

Looking forward to seeing the results.

Oh, and happy Easter.

Day Three of the Omer

I decided to be serious about counting the Omer this year.

It will give me something to do while I wait for the US to get it's act together and combat coronavirus.  From my point of view, it looks like a big old mess on that side.  I sincerely hope that the whole thing ends sooner rather than later but every time I hear the US President open his mouth, I doubt it.

I really miss hanging out with my friends.  Takeout is not the same and I want to have a drink in a bar.  I know it's for everyone's own good, but still.

Other than that I'm fine.

Or is that FINE?

Anyway while riding the storm out I explored Orthodox Judaism.  I celebrated Passover by having seders on the first and second night using two different Haggadot.  The second one pointed out that it never mentioned Moses.  Once.

Why?  Because finding your way out of your Egypt and heading toward The Promised Land is up to you.

Dovetails nicely with the religious people in my circle whose it question is, "What is your Egypt?"

Mine centers around the Promise of the US and still believing in it.  How that plays out between now and the end of the year will be interesting.

Thinking about five years ago

As I wait coronavirus out, I am constantly thinking about five years ago.

Five years ago at this time, Rick was actively dying.

To make matters worse parts of his brain that controlled emotions and crying failed him.

I dealt with screaming

I dealt with anger issues

I dealt with crying

But somewhere inside him, he knew to help out on a subject that was near and dear to me.

So, when my therapist wanted to borrow us for a school project she was doing, he was great.  It involved how people with Alzheimer's processed music, and she wanted to use Rick to do some illustrations.  It was one of the two visits during this time that I will always remember.

I also wondered when that chapter would end.

It ended three months later.

And this chapter will end too.

I just want it to end yesterday.

Next Week's Plan

Holy Week (at least the non - Orthodox version) starts on Sunday.

In normal times, this would be a sellout week for tourism in Mexico and it would be impossible to go anywhere.

These are not normal times.  The hospitality industry is decimated thanks to COVID - 19.

That said, I will do an anything but Kosher for Passover seder.  Why?  Well, it celebrates a bunch of people who were told to hunker down because something really bad was happening.  Ultimately they got out, but then started a trek into the unknown.

Guess that is what we are doing now.

Stay safe and sound.