Nothing New

I see it has been two years and more since my last post.
Anything more recent has been posted to my website barrygriefer.com in the form of photos, videos and some narrative.

Taking the Kids to School in Zacatecas

The building in the background it a large primary school.  Grades 1-6, I beleve.  There are enough classrooms for 4 classes per grade.  Even though a lot of the kids live within 4 blocks of the school, many parents drop the kids off in the morning around 7 and pick them up at 2.  Class starts and ends early because 2PM is the traditional "comida" hour.  That's the big meal of the day.  Supper may be anytime after 8PM.  It's one of the nice things about local culture that many families can take the one or two hours to enjoy the meal and family.  More and more stores run a 9 to 9 schedule or at best an 11 to 9 schedule that don't allow employees the 2 hours for lunch.  Manufacturing companies often run an 8-8 1/2 hour schedule providing a hot meal during a half-hour lunch break.

I'm happy I found a place where the traditions that make the Mexican culture attractive still abound.  It's no longer true in cities of 500,000 or more.

No, Not by Burro

Far from the beliefs of some misanthropic people outside Mexico, mail is not delivered by burro.  These motorcycles are very handy in the steep narrow streets of the historic center of Zacatecas.  Mail is not as heavily used in Mexico as in the US.  Families tend to live close to each other, visit each other daily or weekly and spend hours on the phone with out of town relatives.

I now have had several months experience with Seguro Popular and a much broader perspective.

The idea that it's Mexico's answer to Universal healthcare is very definitely false.
1)  It's totally voluntary.
2)  It's not financed by a special tax, funding comes from the federal government's plus premiums paid by the top 20% of wage earners.
3)  Since that top 20% is covered by Social Security, Company health plans or Private Insurance, it's pretty much an exclusive club for the bottom 80% and only that part of the bottom 80% that aren't covered by Social Security or a company plan.

There are severe limits on the level of care Seguro Popular can offer even though a treatment, procedure or test is authorized.  Only certain generic medications are available and only if the local health center's allotment hasn't run out.  The reagents for some very common blood tests may not have been ordered because federal appropriations haven't been approved yet.  You may have to schedule routine tests 3 to 6 months ahead of time because there aren't enough specialists to go around.  You may have to travel hundreds of miles for certain treatments because there aren't any suitable facilities in you local area.

Is the a harbinger of things to come under Obamacare?  I already see healthcare providers making provisions to conserve income and protect themselves as much as possible from the direct demands of Obamacare, 

A recent AARP Bulletin had an article warning working age people to put aside lots of money for future medical care.  Having been insiders to the original Obamacare deal, should you be on the lookout for failures in the "promise" of Obamacare?

Navigating one part of Mexico's "universal" healthcare system.

I had written that I'd signed up with Seguro Popular in September. This week I took a stab at seeing a doctor.

I live in the historic center of Zacatecas, 4 blocks up the hill behind the cathedral. The Health Center (Centro de Salud) is about 2 miles from the nearest bus stop which is about a half mile walk from my house. The bus

costs 3 pesos for Seniors with an INAPAM card. It's probably walk able by a slightly different route which I haven't investigated yet. I mention this because walking is imperative for managing my diabetes and high blood pressure.

I took my first shot Tuesday morning, arriving at 8:30AM. It looked like a mad house, with people milling about or lining up in what looked like endless files. A young lady in a lab coat was passing by so I got her attention and asked what I needed to do to see a doctor. She said she was a student and didn’t know but led me to one and then another window where I found out that you had to go to the window with the "Fichas" sign and they'd give you a chit with an office number and a turn number. But, it was Doctor's Day and they wouldn't be giving them out till 11AM because all the docs were at a breakfast. I thanked the young lady and said I probably come back the next day. I hadn't had breakfast because I expected they'd want me fasting and decided I'd rather eat than wait.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I arrived around 8:00AM and it looked like bedlam again but I already knew where to go. I got my chit for "consultorio 6," turn #3. I presented my chit to the nurse at the desk out front. She said that were 3 people ahead of me, I should have a seat and she’d holler when it was my turn. My turn came and she took a history, blood pressure, blood sugar, height, weight, and waistline and filled the personal data page of a booklet that lists the basic services Seguro Popular provides and contains pages to record visits, tests and treatments. Now it was time to wait for the doctor whose shift was about to start. When my turn came, the doctor spent plenty of time getting to know me and going over my needs and concerns. As we were finishing up, he hollered over to the person in charge of the lab and asked if there was still time for me to get blood drawn. No, they’d already started processing the morning’s collections. The doctor gave me a lab order and a cup to pee in, telling me to see his nurse at 8:30AM next morning for laboratory chit and to bring the full cup with me. I left, got the bus to downtown and decided to have breakfast at McDonalds. The time on the cash register receipt was 11:29AM. The waits did seem long, longer than the actual time. I’m not really sure how much time was just waiting and how much was time I was actually being attended to. Three hours doesn’t seem that long compared to driving times and wait times I faced in the US over the years.

= = = = =

The next day, Thursday, I was there at 8:00AM and went directly to the nurse’s desk where she gave me a laboratory pass and told me to go to the Seguro Popular office and get a receipt for the lab work.  She also told me to come back after I finished at the lab, the doctor wanted to see me.  It turns out the Health Center is a State of Zacatecas operation and they do have paying customers, something I’ll look into in the future to salve my curiosity.  I headed down the hall to the Seguro Popular office where there was a line about 20 people long.  I passed the time just chatting with people about nothing in particular.  My turn came and it was a simple matter to show the doctor’s lab request and my “policy” proving I had Seguro Popular. 

The next step was to check in with the laboratory, another line, this one with 30 people.  While standing in line, a phlebotomist verified demographic information and took a couple of additional pieces of information and handed me the form saying results would be ready at 4PM the next day Friday.  When I got up to the window, the clerk took my lab order, the form the phlebotomist gave me and the laboratory pass and stamped them with a code number.  She then hand wrote 4 labels each with the code number and a procedure code.  One was for the urine sample which I put on a tray next to the window, the other 3 for the vacutainers which the phlebotomist on the next line handed to me after applying the labels.  This one was only 15 people long.  That phlebotomist also reminded me results would be ready at 4PM the next day Friday.  This line ended at a little room where two phlebotomists we drawing blood.  With that taken care of I went back to the waiting area by the nurse’s desk.  The doctor hadn’t come in yet, he should be in “ya merito,” almost immediately and that there were two patients ahead of me.  The wait didn’t seem too interminable, the doctor arrived and took care of the two patients plus 3 or 4 interruptions.  My turn and about the time I was walking into his office/examination room, two other doctors came by looking to go to lunch.  My doc said he wouldn’t be long and they should sit in if they wanted.  Well, it took a good bit longer than I would have suspected.  I was asked about my background and why I came to Zacatecas and we detoured into philosophy and politics a bit and then my doctor explained his diagnosis of my problems and the next few steps in his plan including meds from those available through Seguro Popular plus certain ultrasounds at the General Hospital.  He gave me an order for the Hospital and told me go the next day and look for Dr. Navarro in the X-ray Dept., referring to him, Dr. Molina.  The four of us chatted a bit more and then it occurred Dr. Molina to call Dr. Navarro and set up an appointment for Friday at 5:30PM.  I didn’t have to wait long for a bus back to downtown.  I stopped in at my favorite gordita place and got some for breakfast and lunch before treating myself to a cab up the hill to the house.  I had to call the lady who cleans up for me on Fridays to see if she could come early so I’d be sure to be able to pick up the lab results around 4PM.  No problem.

= = = =  =

I was out there at 4PM today, Friday, and sure enough the results were ready.  Instead of going back home, the General Hospital is only about a half-mile from the Health Center.  I took a little walk to kill time before 5:30 and stopped at restaurant for a soft drink right across the street from the Health Center.  It’s a fairly upscale place with nice décor and attentive staff.  I guess I’ll go back and see what the food is like.

I got to the General Hospital around 5:20 and asked for Dr. Navarro.  They didn’t seem to recognize the name and the best they could offer was wait a half-hour or so and see if he shows up.  I wandered around built.  The place looks modern, opened in 2010, and kept well maintained.  I don’t know how many beds, but it has all the departments you expect in a major facility.

About the time the half-hour was up, a “doctor-looking” gentleman walked out of a door marked Ultrasound.  I asked him if he knew Dr. Navarro.  Of course, he’s a colleague and a friend.  Do you know if he’ll be in today?  No, they should know at the reception window.  I already asked.  He took me over to the window and talked to one particular person who hadn’t been there when I arrived.  Dr. Navarro left a message that he wouldn’t be able to make it today.  After a little bit of back and forth I settled for an appointment next Wednesday at 5PM.  Nobody thought to give him my phone number so he could contact me and maybe the people I talked to first didn’t recognize the name because of my accent.  If we connect on Weds. All will be forgiven.

BUYING BUS TICKETS

This morning's walk was broken into three legs due to a trip to the bus station to pickup/buy tickets for an upcoming trip to McAllen.  Total distance 1.65mi.

I'm in Mexico and it's still Mexico.

The way you buy bus tickets on the Internet changed about 3 months ago making it almost silly trying to do so.

You still can't buy tickets, even on the same company, where you change busses.  Each leg has to be a separate purchase.  And of course, you have to buy from each company's website separately.  You can't even print you boarding passes online, you have to go down to the bus station with the originalo and copy of you voter's credential if you are Mexican or you passport if you are a foreigner to pick up your ticket.  You can wait till 30 minute before departure to do so, but I like to have my tickets in hand well before the date even though there has never been a problem.  The only reason to buy online is to save time at the ticket counter which can be considerable.

Two bus companies are involved because I take a bus to Reynosa on ODM, take a taxi to Mexican Immigration and walk across the bridge because the jitney from Reynosa to McAllen won't stop and wait for me while I got through Mexican Immigration.  The ODM bus, if it runs at all, gets to Reynosa and the taxi to Mexican Immigration early enough that there's not much of a line at US Customs and Immigration.  Coming home, I get a Grupo Senda bus in McAllen that does wait for me at the border where I have to go through Mexican Immigration again but connects with another ODM bus in Reynosa that gets me to Zacatecas.  Checking out and checking in with Mexican Immigration is a condition of my permit.

This morning I was able to buy my ODM ticket from Zacatecas to Reynosa, but I had to call an 800 number to get the code numbers I needed to be able to pick up the ticket.  I was then able to buy my Grupo Senda ticket from McAllen to Reynosa and print out a confirmation to take to the bus station.  When it came to buying the ticket Reynosa to Zacatecas, the transaction rejected for no logical reason.

OK, confirmation and code numbers in hand I headed out for the bus station.  The bus pulled into a gas station about 300 yards short of the bus station and a bunch of us got out there to walk.  

Between the 2 bus companies, it took less than a half hour in line and at the counter picking up and/or buying my tickets.

On the way back, I got off at the nearest stop to my bank, went to the ATM and walked home.

Yesterday, Apr. 3, 2012, was kind of a weird day.

I have 4 doctors’ appointments coming up May 1 & 2 in McAllen. I like to make my arrangements early because bus seats and hotel rooms can be in short supply at times.

First order of business was to make hotel and rental car reservations. Along the way I found out that the AARP discount at the hotel I like to stay at saves enough that two night’s savings pays for membership. I guess I knew that for some time, but was too fed up with their political maneuverings to stop cutting off my nose to spite my face. I signed up for AARP.

I like to get into Reynosa, Mexico (there hasn’t been through service to McAllen for about a year now) early because the peak period of people crossing on foot is between around 7AM and 9AM. The bus I take arrives at 6AM and I can make it to the car rental place in McAllen by 9-9:30. A half milligram of alprazolam gets me 7 to 8 hours sleep on the bus. Even though the Internet showed a few seats available on the bus to Reynosa and the buses for the return trip, it was obvious the best seats were blocked for bus company and travel agent use. The next order of business was to go to the bus station and buy the tickets. You can do it online but you have to trust that the system will be up and running at departure time. Experience convinced me that it’s best to just go to the bus station as soon as possible and buy the tickets there.

Going to the bus station can be a 10 minute cab ride for about $2.50 or a 15 min walk plus a 25 cent, 15 minute bus ride. In no hurry and wanting the exercise, I chose the latter. It also gave me the opportunity to check my P.O. box and got to the ATM, a good thing it turned out to be.

At the bus station, there were seven people behind the counter but only one person was actually dealing with customers. One or two of the others were counting cash (shift change?) and the rest were chatting, shuffling papers or on their cell phones. The one guy dealing with customers was slow and struggling to take care of the one customer ahead of. I had experience with this guy in the past and knew he was just slow. I tried to get another agents attention, no luck. They would answer questions but not sell tickets. After about 10 minutes, another agent must have finished what she had been doing and called me over. The customer ahead of me still hadn’t been able to buy his ticket. I gave the agent the details of the trip I wanted, stated that I’m eligible for the Senior discount and she pulled up the seat selection screen. As I would have predicted, 35 of the 38 seats were available. The Internet had shown that only about 6 seats were available. I selected my favorite #7, aisle seat close to the front where it’s quieter on the side opposite from the driver where you get just enough more legroom to make it worthwhile. I paid with my credit card and was off to buy my return tickets from another company.

What happened here was pretty unusual. Normally, if the system is up, buying tickets is quick and easy.

It took only about two minutes at the other company to get to the point of paying for my tickets but after a minute’s delay, the credit card terminal timed out because it couldn’t connect to the system. After trying and failing a second time, my choice was to come back later or pay cash. I elected to pay cash and have all my tickets in my pocket.

So far, 3 anomalous incidents, one of which is “routine” for Mexico, bus company websites not telling the truth about seat availability. The other two incidents, system reliability and “personnel” quirks, are infrequent enough to be truly anomalous.

I got a bus back to downtown immediately on leaving the terminal but had to get off before reaching my stop because the police were blocking off the center of downtown for the evenings Cultural Festival events. That meant only an additional 50 meters on my walk home. Anomalous event #4.

I arrived home to find Cristy just getting out of the shower. Water had filled the cistern while we were out and the landlord had turned on the pump to fill the tanks (tinacos) on the roof. My turn! I shed my clothes and jumped in the shower. Got myself good an wet, lathered up, and at the precise moment I started to rinse, the water started to turn cold. I managed to get reasonably rinsed before freezing or running out of water. The pilot light had gone out on the water heater.

Later in the evening Carol , one of our neighbors, accompanied us to hear Pablo Milanés, one of Cuba’s top Trova singers in Plaza de Armas..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trova
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEn6WZN-8Vw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u436OUA6phU

It was a nice evening.
Here are a few photos showing what the Plaza de Armas looked like.

Carol and Cristy

Holy Mole and other expenses.

We had to go downtown anyhow after the morning's purchases at the tianguis. We needed to get a couple of prescriptions filled and Cristy decided she wanted make a special kind of mole that's not based on lard or lots of grease. Mole is a traditional sauce that has a lot of ingredients that produce a mix of flavors that is unique to Mexico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)

Note the comment about mole poblano traditionally being served with turkey. We'll be doing a post-Thanksgiving turkey on Monday or Tuesday.

The reason for trying Cristy's recipe is that it can be kept low fat, low salt and low sugar, meeting all the goals of my post bypass diet.

The ingredients are:
Chile ancho
Chile nopalero

Garlic
Mexican chocolate which contains raw sugar and cinnamon
Pepper
Bay leaves
Cloves
Sesame seeds
Saltines
Almonds
Sugar
Salt
Just enough oil to fry the chiles and sesame seeds

If you would like to try mole just Google "recipe mexican mole" without the quotes.

Besides the mole ingredients, we also picked up some strawberries at about 96 cents/lb, peanuts and raisins I use for snacks.

The mole ingredients and snacks plus a taxi ride back up the hill came out at about $17. Mole is not an everyday delicacy unless you buy a small jar of commercial mole in the supermarket, the same brand as found in the Mexican Foods section of US supermarkets, good but not as good as homemade.

It was

Today Was Tianguis Day

Today was tianguis day which I blogged about last week:
http://gudgrief-mentalramblingsmexico.blogspot.com/2011/10/when-we-first-moved-to-new-apartment.html

Cristy and I went again today to avoid having to go downtown or even Walmart if we could .

We ended up buying a bunch of stuff that may meet out fruit end vegetable needs for 5 days to a week. The list includes:

Bananas (6)

Oranges (6)
Mandarin Oranges (12)

A cantaloupe

Red Tomatoes (2lb.)

Green Tomatoes (2lb.)

Guavas (1lb.)

Onions (2 large)

Cucumber (1)

Little Green Lemons/Limes [Limones] (12)

The total bill was 52.5 pesos or around $4.00 using the rate the last time I bought pesos.

Rice, beans and tortillas are equally low priced which explains how the poor can eat healthily on a meager income.

When we first moved to the new apartment, the landlady told us there was a "tianguis" every Friday the next street over. I got out early enough this morning to have a look for the first time.

A tianguis is an open air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day. The word tianguis comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire.

You can have a breakfast of fresh made, hand made gorditas with a wide variety of fillings washed down with atole:

You'll find a selection of clothing and personal odds and ends:

Household items:

A nice mix of fresh fruits and vegetables, a convenient way to avoid an extra trip to WalMart or the market downtown.

There are two "corner stores" within a block of the house.

They are almost literally "holes in the wall."

The sign over this one is actually for a law office which takes up most of the building.

This is the "little store" which is an alcove off the entrance and no more than 20 sq. ft. big.

There's a bakery in the same block,

And a unisex salon. The sign says "about hair."

There's also a tortilleria a block over and a block up the hill. Fresh and hot out of the machine and they reheat soft and chewy instead of dry and hard like most of the prepackaged ones do. Sorry, no photo, got plenty of tortillas in the house and am going to be in Mcallen most of next week.

I have to admit that I have back slid because thare isn't a whole lot of incentive to get roam any significant distance from home. My appetite has come back in spades. If I'm awake, I'm hungry and have gained around 10lbs. since getting out of the hospital. I'm going to have to find filling snacks that are low cal, low sugar, fat free and salt free. Is that even possible?

I'm about to become a Neo-Luddite

Here's what happened.

It started with my desktop going belly up and going to cost more to repair than a new one.

I don't want to think of buying a new computer now, so I had to come up with a cheaper alternative.

I already had two USB hard drives for photos, back ups and other old stuff I wanted to keep. I use a USB keyboard on the laptop when I'm at home and a USB marble mouse. They already use two of the three USB ports on the laptop.

The desktop had two hard drives and was connected to my Home Network.

What I did was order USB two cases, took the drives out of the desktop and mounted them in the cases. Just to have the luxury of having them all online at the same time, I got a 10-port powered USB hub "thinking" that with 6 USB devices plugged into the laptop, the hub would need power. Duh, I forgot that the keyboard and mouse don't need power and the hard drives are self-powered.

I got everything cobbled together and it was working fine until the next set of Microsoft updates came down. Instead of rebooting, the laptop shutdown. Using an old trick, I disconnected everything including the 120V, took out the battery, held down the power button for 10 sec., re-installed the battery and tried to power up on battery only. It worked fine.

I connected everything up and rebooted on AC power. Worked fine.

Tried to put it to sleep. Shutdown completely. Wouldn't start up again. Went through the ritual to get it started again. Connected everything back up except the AC and tried to put it to sleep. It slept. Took it out of sleep and tried to get it to hibernate. Hibernated and woke up no problem.

I called tech support with the details. He had me disconnect everything and reproduce the failure without any USB devices connected. Then he did a search through his and HP's knowledge base and came back with the suggestion that if there was a BIOS update, which there was, I should download and install it. I did that and we went through the steps to recreate the failure and it sure looked like the BIOS update did the trick. So, the Microsoft Windows updates caused me to need to update the BIOS. It's getting so complex, anything's possible.

After thanking the guy for sticking with me for over an hour, I hung up and reconnected everything USB hub and all. Duh! Bigtime! The failure came back.

OK, with no USB devices plugged in, everything works fine. I started with plugging the AC in and the mouse and keyboard directly into the laptop instead of the hub. Everything worked fine. I plugged one hard drive into the hub and connected it to the laptop. WA-LA! The problem came back!

With that, I lost it! I had to go off and calm down. Once I got myself together again, "a light bulb" went on. Stuff connected through the powered hub causes the problem! After a bit, it hit me, "What if I unplugged the power cord from the hub, would the hub still work?" Worth a try, no? That did it! My system don't need no powered USB.

Sweet, Sour, Spicy and Mouthwatering

Years ago while visiting relatives in Tennessee, it blew me away that they sprinkled salt on watermelon and cantaloupe. Till I tried it.

Years later, I saw Southerners putting hot sauce on fried eggs. It didn't blow me away, I tried it and could appreciate the attraction but never made it a habit.

The kids used to love Mexican chile candy. Just like the powdered sweet sour candy in the US but with a dash of chile thrown in. Or a jam-like concoction based on fruit pulp laced with chile. Not bad.

Then Cristy came up with something else a few days ago.

She cut up some cantaloupe and watermelon in bite-sized cubes and sliced some jicama in thick strips. Next she sprinkled lemon juice over all three arranged on a plate. This was followed by ground black pepper and a secret mixture of ground chile she bought at the market in Zamora. To die for!

If you can find ground chile (not chili powder) it's worth a try. It should be good on almost any fruit you can serve sliced. It might take some experimenting, especially the ground chile, to get the right balance of flavors.

Here’s a good article on the price of gas.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/13/news/economy/gas_gallon/index.htm

It took me a long time to understand the Law of Supply and Demand. We covered it in high school and the most important point was missed. Even in college Economics, the point was glossed over. It wasn’t until many years later I heard Milton Friedman explain it with the proper emphasis.

First, let me give an example I run into on almost a daily basis. The taxis around here do have meters but almost all of the drivers claim they are busted. When I take a taxi from the bus station to home and the meter does work, the fare comes to about 35 pesos ($2.88.) With a broken meter, they usually ask for 30 pesos ($2.47.) Sometimes, one will ask for 45 pesos ($3.70.) That’s almost 30% over the going rate and although I can afford the 82 cent difference, does it make sense to get taken? So, I go, “¡A poco! íMe cobran 30! (WTF! They usually charge me 30!) Right away, we settle for 30 or 35.

The missing point is that price settles where the seller is WILLING to sell and the buyer is WILLING to buy.

Just for drill, a barrel of oil that’s used to make gasoline yields about 42 gallons of gasoline. I can’t find a good figure on what percentage of oil produced is used to make gasoline. Let’s say half.

The average price of a gallon of gas is around $3.15.

A monthly Metrocard for the NY Transit System costs $104.

The average tax on a gallon of gas is $.41 or 13%.

Any monopoly other than OPEC would be loudly condemned by progressives, liberals and Democrats. They split up Ma Bell, didn’t they? OPEC can and does fiddle with supply to get the best price it can for a barrel of oil.

Speculators bet on the change in the future price. Thanks to several factors in addition to holding their oil till the “right time”, they make large profits. Is that their fault? Are they any eviler than anyone who buys stock in a company expecting to rake in big profits for retirement? Judging what effect speculators have on the price of oil is clouded by OPEC, state and local taxes and other government actions.

Now, a quick look at oil company profits. The billions of profits look obscenely large. Put it in a perspective that maps to a simpler concept. Sell off all the oil companies’ assets and let them invest the proceeds in US Treasury Bonds. The income from those bonds would be very close to the profits they make by being oil companies. What! Yes, it’s true. Along the way, millions of people would lose their jobs. Businesses that depend on the oil companies would disappear. There would be negative effects throughout the world economy. So, these “evil greedy bastards” must be staying in business for some other reason than just being evil and greedy.

How about a look at the demand side? When I lived in Las Vegas, I used a gallon of gas a day on average. 250 workdays a year at $3.15 a gallon cost me a little over $65/mo. to go back and forth to work. That guy in Queens or Brooklyn who owns a car anyway and commutes by subway for $104/mo, how is he better off? Given that that $104 fare is already heavily subsidized by taxes, his real cost is a good bit higher. What does that do to all the hype about mass transit?

Looking further, how many people spend $1000 or more on a big screen TV, pay over $150/mo. for cable TV, over $100/mo. for cell phone service, $25 or more for two people to go to the movies once a week. Am I dreaming or can the vast majority cut back on something they can absolutely do without and not lower their quality of life?

You really want to lower the price of gas or its future equivalent (biodiesel, hydrogen, wind, etc.?) Can you find anything quicker and cheaper than allowing the development of all the energy resources in the US without government interference or prohibition or subsidies?

Security Renewing US Passport in Mexico

It was a seven hour bus ride Monday night to Monterrey to renew my US passport, arriving a 6AM. I wanted to do it in San Luis Potosi where there's a Consular Office and is two hours closer. The Consul General was in Zacatecas a few weeks ago and I asked him specifically if you could pay with a credit card in San Luis. He answered with an unequivocal yes. When I called San Luis to make an appointment, I was told that if I wanted to pay with a credit card, it had to be Monterrey and that I needed to take my old passport, two copies of the page the picture's on, my original birth certificate and two copies, another form of picture ID and two copies and two passport photos. Nothing was said about security and nothing about printed on the appointment slip.

I made my appointment for Monterrey.

I arrive at the consulate, walk up to the bullet-proof teller-type window and show my ID and he asks me if I have a cell phone. "You have to turn the cell phone off," he says. I do so. The he asks if I have any other electronic equipment. "Well sure, I have my laptop in my backpack." "Oh, you can't bring it into the consulate." Pause. . . "You'll have to find some place to store it." Pause. . . I turn and walk a few yards down the street and a Mexican says good morning in English as he passes. I notice he has a security badge, turn, say excuse me and explain my problem and ask if anything can be done. He asks me to wait and goes into the consulate. He comes back out saying that the guard knows where I can check my backpack. Back to the window and the guard tells me where to go. It's a block down and is a business that makes copies and helps people fill out US Consulate forms. 20 pesos ($1.60) for the checkroom service.

Back at the consulate, the guard buzzes me in to a security area. Stuff on the belt, walk through the arch, pat down which didn't even come close to my "package.' Another teller-type window to get a visitors badge and I'm allowed to enter the waiting room and take a number. There is only one person ahead of me and I get my turn in about 5 minutes. Another teller-type window where the lady wants only my old passport, application and photos. Then she runs my credit card for the $110 fee. So far, everyone has been Mexican and except for the minor ommission by the first guard, all have been professional, helpful and courteous. She askes me to take a seat while my documents are being checked. In about 5 minutes I'm called up to another window. Everything is fine and all I have to do is to take a form and my receipt to the courier service a block down to arrange to have my new passport delivered when it comes in. The only hitch there is that in Zacatecas, they don't deliver to your door; you have to pick it up at their office. That's not big deal either. Maybe six bucks in cab fare and it's close to where we do our main shopping so we can kill two birds with one stone. The new passport should arrive in about two weeks.

It would have been nice though if the appointment form that I printed off on my computer had included a complete and current list of security procedures and what the provess consisted of.

Actually, things went so quick, I caught an 11:30AM bus back to Zacatecas after arriving at the consulate around 9-9:30.

Altitude

A friend asked if it's difficult living at 8000-8500 ft. above sea level.

Well, backpackers, hikers, athletes acclimatize in just a few days.

Couch potatoes like me take a bit longer.

After 3 to 5 days I stopped feeling discomfort walking up and down 3 flights of stairs.

I needed to stop and rest walking up a 200 ft. long 20 degree slope.

After month, that wasn't a problem anymore,

There's a quarter mile 30-40 degree hill leading from downtown to a park we go to frequently.

The first time I tried it, I had to stop twice.

That's not a problem now.

From there to the house is about another half mile uphill with grades as steep as 60 degrees.

The few times we've done it, it was very slowly and we stopped to catch our breath about halfway.

Not feeling we need to be heroes, we walk downhill to the park, nearby restaurants and shops or downtown and take a taxi back home.

New York 10-25 to 10-30

Where to start? The photo above is as good as any.

Pizza at Lombardi's, first pizzeria in the US. Like nothing in Mexico or available at any of the "white bread" chains in the US. Fairly thin, crisp crust, black on the bottom but not burnt, exploding with flavor. Add Jewish deli, the whole schmear, corned beef, pastrami, knishes. We had to have pizza and deli twice each. Real danish, tender, flaky and just a hint of crispness. Then there was Pad Thai, hot dog from a pushcart. Even the Ruby Tuesday's on 42nd St. was good for a change of pace.

We stayed at an old, cramped hotel for a reasonable price. Great location, right on Riverside Drive with a great view of the Hudson and park. Good, safe neighborhood with easy access to subway and lot's of markets and restaurants.

Cristy was blown away by the architecture, from the brownstones to the apartment houses to the skyscrapers as far as the eye could see, making even boulevards dissolve into alleys in the distance.

The size and scope of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, just the size of the building was eye-popping for her. She remarked on so many people walking the streets at any hour day and night more than once.

We were lucky to have a good bit of fall color and that added another point of wonder for someone who hadn't been in the Northeast before.

"West Side Story" was extremely well done and this updated version included a lot of Spanish seemingly done just for Christy.

We hit Grand Central Station around rush hour. Cristy was surprised at the crush of hurrying humanity, the vastness of the building and that there was a market selling just about any kind of food right in the station

We wandered by Rockefeller Center at night just after they opened the ice skating rink for the season and were treated to a live concert while watching the skaters.

The weather was strange the night we went to the Empire State Building. They said there was 10 miles visibility when we bought our tickets. It was completely socked in as we got out of the elevator producing some weird effects on the nearby buildings. In a few minutes the fog/clouds blew away giving a clear view for 360 degrees. The fog kept blowing in and out while we were there creating something special. Videos coming with the rest of what I shot in NY. It may take a few days/weeks to wade through it all.

We also spent a good bit of time wandering through Central Park enjoying the weather, fall color and people watching.

Can't forget 5th Av. by day and by night. Ditto times Square and the Theater District and Macy's 34th St. A whole block, 8 stories; nothing like it in Mexico. Took the opportunity to buy a much needed down coat for Christy. Zacatecas is not Cancun or Zamora, for that matter, weather-wise!

Can't forget the Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan for great views of the city.

An unforgettable trip. Lot's of photos and some video coming. Stay tuned.

Party at the Landlords

Independence Day was Thursday, but a lot of people only worked a half-day to get ready for the festivities that night. abd lot of them don't go back to work till Monday. Party time!!!!



Our landlord threw a party last night that actually started around 4 PM, but we didn't show up till about 11 because we had another event to go to. No particular reason for the party except some friends we in from out of town.



Just drinks and snacks but there was a professional guitarist and the wife of one of the guests is an accomplished singer, so it was a sing-along till 4AM.



More photos here:


http://picasaweb.google.com/gudgrief01/LICFIESTA#5518335991138881762

Independence Eve 2010

Lazy day today, Mexican Independence Day. Watched the festivities from Mexico City after sleeping in till late.

Last night we went to a restaurant overlooking the main plaza in Zacatecas. Dinner was green pozole loaded with hominy and shredded chicken in a spicy broth over which you pile in lots of shredded lettuce, sliced radishes, and chopped onion. Along with lots of tostadas and beer we were too full for the tamales that went with the meal. they were nice enough to pack us a bunch to make a quick breakfast this morning.

We had a good view fo the ringing of the Mexican version of the liberty bell and the shout of independence which includes recalling the names of the heroes that won Mexico's independence from Spain in the revolution of 1810. This being also the centennial of the 1910 Revolution, the names of those leaders were included. Ground and aerial fireworks followed, topped of by a singing star, Lucero, performing songs from both eras.

Nowness

My mind got to pondering some things that just popped up randomly. That's a dangerous thing at my age. There's not telling down what labyrinthine paths it will wander. The result could just as well be senile silliness as some minor insight.

I'd appreciate if any native Spanish speaker from any country would confirm, clarify or contradict the following.

I think we understand that the concept of time and timeframes in Mexico and other parts of Latin America is very elastic almost to the point of being amorphous.

We usually translate now as ahora. Strangely, the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines it as "in the present" and "within a short time." Well, it seems that both of those timeframes can extend into anywhere within the forseeable future.

Ahorita and ahora mismo which are supposed to mean "right now" don't add much of a sense of urgency or immediacy in most cases. Suppose I call my landlord to come open the patio so they can fill the gas tank. He might answer "ahorita" and take 20min. to an hour to arrive. In reality, all it means is, "right now you're at the top of my list. It's possible, even likely, something will distract me, or seem more interesting or urgent and that will be reason enough to delay me. If he had just said "ahora" it would have meant as soon as I clear my agenda and if nothing else interferes. Response times in both cases could very well be the same.

Then there is ya which is usually translated as already, but already in the Jewish or Yiddish sense which conveys a sense of immediacy or urgency as in "eat already!" meaning "dig in right now!"

In Mexico, there may be no difference if the landloerd had said Ya voy "I'm coming right now." All the above disclaimers apply.

If you get insistent and call back, you might get ya casi "almost right now" as a reply. If you call again out of desperation, ya mero "within a hair's breadth of right now" is a likely response. All these qualifiers do is mimic your own sense of urgency and probably don't have any positive effect on response time.

Rainy Sundays Never Get Us Down

Sunday evenings, we've gotten into the habit of taking a stroll in the park, then going for dinner at a modest little restaurant that has excellent steaks and a variety of Mexican dishes. Afterwards, we go to a little hole in the wall that does a great job on crepes with Nutella and fresh strawberries. As soon as we walked out the door, it started to drizzle. We hesitated a minute but decided to chance it but limit it to the restaurant and crepes. We were only slightly damp after the 10min. walk to the restaurant. Tonight we both chose tacos, more on that later. And the crepes were cream cheese with blackberries just to be different. We stopped by the neighborhood supermarket before heading home. The rain, which had stopped while we were eating, began again, now something more than a drizzle. On leaving the market, it took a while to flag a cab and in spite of umbrellas we were beginning to feel wet. As soon as we got home, a downpour started in earnest, lightning, thunder and strong wind. This was the first rain in almost 3 weeks. I guess the rainy season isn't quite over!

At the risk of repetition, I feel compelled to describe how they serve tacos in sit down restaurants everywhere I've been in Mexico. They lay out 4 or 5 warm, freshly baked 3.5" soft tortillas on a plate that's too small so they overlap by 50% and Dump the meat or meat and cheese mix on top. The meat is hand chopped much like they do in Japanese restaurants so it's small chunks rather than the ground mush at Taco Bell. Add some grilled onion and a hefty helping of pico de gallo and there's no way there isn't going to be a whole lot left over. No problem, just ask for more tortillas. Tonight they brought 5" tortillas instead of the smaller ones they served to begin with. I easily got 2 well filled tacos with those. If you remember your formula for the area of a circle, you'll be able to verify that a 5" circle has over twice the area of a 3.5" one. So those two additional tacos equalled 4 of the smaller ones meaning the 5 taco order actually yielded 9. Not only good eating, great value.