tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76740330404034395542024-03-18T21:34:10.310-06:00CliffjumpersThis is about two middle-aged Canadians who are, for better or worse, entrepreneurs with a vision for software success, risk-takers( because you have to be to try starting a software company), and, for most of the year, Mazatlecos, living in Mazatlan, Mexico. Join me on the crazy journey to success or failure, and read about our life in Mexico.Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-67065510603258806022015-07-04T13:13:00.003-06:002015-07-04T13:13:33.915-06:00A New Website!Recently I decided to upgrade this blog - and re-name it. Everyone can use a fresh start once in a while, right? Now I have my own domain name - <a href="http://www.vagabondgene.com/">www.vagabondgene.com</a>. The name was chosen to reflect what I consider my genetic makeup. As concluded by scientists recently, 20% of the human population have a single gene that is strongly associated with the strong desire to roam, to explore, to travel.<br />
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The new blog will not continue to mix in posts about software - it is strictly for topics related to my travels and living in Mazatlan. The new website format gives me a wider array of options for design and posting pictures.<br />
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So please go take a look and don't forget to Like the new Facebook page also - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/vagabond-gene">www.facebook.com/vagabond-gene</a>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-14462994188645297352015-06-13T12:20:00.001-06:002015-06-14T14:55:11.362-06:00Airbnb - I'm a fan.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My second article published on www.mazatlanmycity.com</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love
Airbnb!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many people
have likely heard of Airbnb by now and maybe 50% (I’m guessing) of you have
tried it, either as a Guest or as a Host.
I am writing this for those who are curious and would like to know more
about it from a first-hand experience basis. I do not receive any compensation from Airbnb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have
stayed in 10 or 12 different properties in 4 different countries, ranging from
a room in a house to a full two-bedroom apartment. Right now, I have listed our condo in
Calgary on Airbnb for the rest of the year and will be experiencing what it is
like to be a Host. Since I will be in
Mazatlan and my husband, Mike, is working on contract in Winnipeg, I thought I
would try it and earn a little money from it.
I could just rent it out, furnished, in a normal way as I have done in
the past with a house we owned, but using Airbnb as my middle-man gives me a
good layer of protection and regulation.
Guests must have a profile on the site which Airbnb verifies as true. If they have stayed in other Airbnb properties,
the Hosts will have put up a review of that Guest that you can read. You can decide to rent to only people who
have good reviews if you wish.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However,
Airbnb provides an insurance policy of sorts for any damage or theft done to
the property by a Guest and acts as a mediator should any problems arise
between the Host and the Guest. So, even
if they have had no reviews yet, a Host does have a certain comfort level from
that. Airbnb handles the payment from
the Guest by charging a credit card after they have checked in – if the Guest
does not contact Airbnb and say there is a problem upon arrival, then the funds
are released to the Host in full. It
goes to your bank account electronically.
You can even specify that you charge a cleaning fee and a security
deposit, extra charge for extra people, and Airbnb will collect that as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As an
experienced Guest, I can say I have not yet been disappointed with any place I
have stayed. Hosts shoot for a 5 star
review from you because it enhances their online image and they can begin to
charge more and get return customers. However,
there was one host who thought it was acceptable to keep the cat litter-box
right inside the entryway by the front door where you came in! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">When you go
to the </span><a href="http://www.airbnb.com/"><span style="line-height: 107%;">www.airbnb.com</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;">, enter the city where you want to stay and the dates (it
isn’t necessary to enter dates at first if you just wish to browse), and also
check off criteria such as you want to share a room, have a private room, or
rent the entire place. You can also
search by pet or children-friendly, among other things. The appropriate listings will come up with
pictures and a map where they are located.
The profiles of each property normally have a very detailed description
and other information, as well as reviews by other guests and the star
rating. You can send an inquiry only if
you wish to ask for more information.
Once you put your dates in and send off a request to book, the Host can
either approve it, deny it, ask for more information from you. You will see the total price of the booking
when you make a request and if you wish you could send the Host a message and
try to negotiate a lower price. Usually,
the Host has pricing by night, by week, and by month with discounts for longer
stays. But you can also ask for a
special deal and if the Host agrees he/she sends you a “special deal” offer
that you can accept or not.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had an
inquiry myself today for my condo and used the “special deal” feature to send
to the potential Guest, but it was not accepted in the end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Arrangements
for your arrival at the property differ with each one. At the very first one we stayed at in
Dartmouth, NS, our instructions were to enter the back yard and get the key
from under a can in the back shed! The
owners were just renting a room with bathroom to us in their house, but they
were not going to be at home when we arrived.
So we let ourselves in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At another,
just recently in the UK, the instructions were to take a gate key off of a
hidden part of the gate where the key was taped to it, then open the gate, and
once inside the gate, open a box where the house-key was hidden and let myself
in. In this case, the studio apartment
was in the back of a big Victorian house with a separate entrance and the
people who lived above me were unrelated to the owners of the apartment. It was self-serve all the way. The owners were not even in the country. They were in easy contact with me by texting
and they did say there was a local person available if I had need of her. I was quite happy with the apartment which
was well-equipped with small kitchen completely outfitted with pots, pans,
dishes utensils, a few spices, instant coffee, stove, fridge and even a
clothes-washer. I walked down the street
to a small shop and bought a few eggs, milk, and bread for breakfast. There was already some butter in the fridge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One Host in
Calgary had 3 bedrooms for rent in her house, one with an ensuite bath and the
other two shared a bathroom. She had
coded electronic door locks on each bedroom with a chalkboard hung outside that
had the code written on it. You could
then change the code for your stay. She
lived in the basement, but was rarely there.
I had let myself into the house with a key in the mailbox.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In Malaga,
Spain, the owner of a two-bedroom apartment was also the owner of the
restaurant it was above. I arrived and
found the owner in the restaurant and he showed me up to the apartment and left
me with the keys. My son, Tim and his
friend Amanda arrived later at night after I was already in bed and the owner
let them in. If had any questions or
issues, he was right downstairs. He also
gives a 10% discount on purchases in the restaurant for Guests. We left when the restaurant was closed and so
we were told to just leave the keys in the apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At another
apartment in Malaga, my flight arrived very late and I told the Host I would
not be at the apartment until after midnight.
For an extra fee, she arranged for two nice Spanish ladies to meet me
outside the apartment and let me in.
Otherwise, I would have picked up the key from a little café across the
street.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love the
creativity and flexibility of this new “sharing economy” service!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the
Founders of Airbnb first got started in 2007, they were young and broke and
decided to advertise on a blog that they had two air-mattresses for rent in
their apartment. They succeeded in
renting them for $80 a month, which was the reason for the name Airbnb. They went on to try to build a business out
of it and created the first website but for months and months they only earned
about $200 a month. They went to a
well-known VC for funding and were turned down.
The VC stated that he did not see any potential and that people would
not be interested in allowing perfect strangers to stay in their homes. Later, they were able to raise a first seed
round of $600K in about 2010, after the drummer of Barry Manilow rented an
entire house on Airbnb. A year later,
they raised several million more from several investors, including Ashton
Kutcher. Airbnb is now valued at $10
Billion. Yes, with a B.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you
haven’t tried using Airbnb, I highly recommend it!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PS. Our condo has now been rented through Airbnb until Aug. 31! It is not the norm to rent for this long on Airbnb - short terms of a few days or weeks is what Airbnb was designed for, but since I am a beginner and don't have any reviews by Guests yet, I decided to do this mid-length rental and know that I have the solid income for that time period.</span></span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-61202011041236415322015-05-20T08:09:00.002-06:002015-05-20T08:09:19.937-06:00A series of articles for MazatlanMyCity.comThis is the first in a series of articles I am writing for MazatlanMyCity.com and posting as blog posts after they have been published.<div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A trip on my own</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometime in March of this year, I began to think about
taking a trip somewhere in May. It was a
nebulous plan at first but I knew I wanted to tie it into the need to drive my
Jeep to the border before May 24, and a visit to my father in Toronto for his
birthday on April 26<sup>th</sup>. I
also knew I should check in at Calgary, where Mike, my husband, was to take
care of some business matters and perhaps get a little more work done on our
condo. How could I tie this all
together?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I browsed the home-sitter site, Housecarers.com, with no
idea what I was looking for. I like the
idea of travelling to a place and staying put for a while to immerse myself in
the local culture and surroundings. I’m
not the “tourist” type, who wants to see all the common sights, and check them
off my list, all while staying at comfortable hotels. Or going on organized group tours. I don’t mind an organized day tour of a new
place to get an overall feel for it – like a “hop on-hop off” open-top bus. That to me is the best way to go the first
day – it’s organized and informative but flexible. I don’t like to be herded around in a group
and forced to stand and listen to someone talk about something I may not be
interested in. I also enjoy solo travel
– not all the time, but there is a special level of enjoyment to be had from
travelling alone, especially for a woman.
It can be challenging to take on things like finding your way around,
driving in a strange city or country, functioning in another language, dealing
with the unexpected – but therein lies the deep satisfaction and building of
confidence in oneself. You come to feel
that whatever happens, you can handle it.
It is freeing too. You can do
what you want, when you want, without having to consult and compromise with
your spouse or travelling companions.
Not everyone would enjoy that, I know.
But I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A couple of listings caught my eye – both in Spain. I had not thought to go to Spain before. I am generally not that interested in Europe
unless it’s something out of the ordinary.
And this certainly looked unique.
A tiny mountain village near the coast of Southern Spain. Two weeks in a home with 3 cats and a dog to
care for, but with plenty of other spots close by to explore on foot or by
car. I applied and got a response from
the owner, a UK woman named Wendy. I
asked for more information on everything, and more pictures too. She sent them and also said I would need to
rent a car for myself to get around. I
was intrigued. It looked rugged and
remote but still only 20 minutes from the coast and beaches. She said she often rented out the house as a
holiday home and took care of other holiday homes for people. It had to be comfortable and attractive if
she was able to rent it out to people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I looked at flights.
I knew if I could get to a point in Europe inexpensively, I could then
take an inexpensive flight within Europe on the little discount airlines like
Ryanair. My favourite airline, Westjet,
had limited European flights from Canada until later in May and I needed to be
in Spain by May 6.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An overall plan began to formulate. Starting with a drive from Mazatlan to
Phoenix in April. Then parking the Jeep
in storage there and flying to Calgary.
After about 10 days, a flight from Calgary to Toronto with a 2 day stop
to visit my dad and mom (both in care for Alzheimers). Now I needed a flight from Toronto to
Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I looked at Icelandair which had a reputation for
inexpensive flights, and saw on their website that since all their flights stop
in Reykjavik anyway, they offer a free stop-over for up to 7 days on your way
to Europe. Hmmmm. Should I?
Seemed a shame not to take them up on that. I researched hotels and possible Airbnb
rentals – my other favourite way of staying somewhere when I travel – and made
the decision to book and stay 3 nights there.
I really only had a vague idea of what it was like there – I knew there
were geysers, volcanoes, glaciers and hot springs but it hadn’t really caught
my interest to go there before. Didn’t a
volcano erupt there not long ago? Well,
I could at least say I had been to Iceland even if I didn’t like it, I figured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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by Jón Gunnar Árnason (1931 - 1989). Sun Voyager is a dreamboat, an ode to the
sun. Intrinsically, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered
territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then, I looked at where to land in Europe. I have been to a few places in Europe, and
most recently to Paris, but that was 10 years ago or so. I decided on Paris because the timing of the
flights and cost looked good and the flight from Paris to Malaga, Spain was
only 2 hours or so. Now, I could have
just had a layover in Paris and hopped on my next flight, but again I figured,
well, since I’m going there anyway, I might as well take a couple of days to
re-acquaint myself! Ha! Okay, let’s look at Airbnb and Expedia for a
place to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(You can start to see how I get enthusiastic and start
extending and expanding my travel – sometimes to the point where I realize later
I have committed to too much! Travel
from place to place can be exhausting – especially airports. I forget all that when planning my trips.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p>Nevertheless, I found a small hotel in Paris that was quite
reasonable and got good reviews on Trip Advisor for location and, at the very
least, cleanliness and internet in the room.
The reviews did all mention how small the rooms and bathrooms were but
that, for the price, it was a good enough place to lay your head at night. I had stayed at a small pension in Paris
before so I knew about the small rooms and limited facilities – possibly even
needing to bring your own soap. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then I researched online a possible guided day tour since I
was only there 2 days, and found a unique-sounding “foodie” tour of an ethnic
area in Paris for 4 hours. It sounded
really good and the size of the group was limited to 8, which appealed to me
because I hate large groups. So I booked
that too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whoo hoo! I’m only getting started!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wendy had told me that the best airport to land in in Spain
was Malaga. Her home was an hour and a
half east along the coast from there and I would need to drive. Okay, so I am going to be in Malaga, and I’ve
never been there, so why not arrive a couple of days early and explore Malaga? Here we go again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time I found an Airbnb apartment right in Centro for 3
nights, on the recommendation of Wendy, who had a friend stay there
before. I left off renting the car until
I needed it to drive to Rubite (pronounced Ruubeetaye.) I booked a hop on/hop off open air bus city
tour. I knew next to nothing about
Malaga but by reading up on it online, it certainly sounded very interesting
and with a lot of history including Phoenicians, Romans, Moors….oh my.</span></div>
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Cathedral of Málaga is a Renaissance church.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once my son, Tim, heard about this house-sit in Spain, he
was bitten by the travel bug too and told me to plan on him joining me there,
at least for part of the time. Yay! What more could a mom ask for! An adventure with her son!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, it all began on April 11, when Mike flew down to
Mazatlan and drove the Jeep with me to Phoenix.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next article – Reykjavik!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-77984008720916173222015-03-15T13:39:00.000-06:002015-03-15T13:43:14.219-06:00Software update for those interested<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I received a nice compliment today from a couple here asking about Mike and the software company. They've met Mike and are from Nova Scotia - actually the woman went to the same High School as Mike but 10 years earlier. She follows my blog too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They said Mike was a very lucky guy to have a wife like me supporting him. I said I'll tell Mike you said that, thank you. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Things are moving and shaking in software, and we have revenue trickling in. There are at least three Channel partners now who are beginning to include Move in their own projects for clients. It continues to be further developed as different clients request further adapters and functionality. Mike has been hiring offshore programmers for short jobs - they are relatively inexpensive and usually excellent. Our co-founder and lead developer, Andy, has been working in a full-time job so sometimes he just doesn't have time to do what we need done - and it's a good idea to begin finding and familiarizing other developers to have ready for future needs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our website is undergoing a complete overhaul and upgrade. Man, our current one sucks! That will help a lot to raise our profile in the business world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every day now there seems to be fresh good news from Mike. He's been doing some local networking and finding many new potential customers and channel partners that way. One good thing about him not working somewhere on a consulting job - he has time to do that kind of thing. But he continues put his name out there for gigs - it's been another long dry spell for that which is nerve-wracking. Fortunately, software has been bringing in some revenue and Mike has done a couple of small consulting jobs from home. He has bumped into a potential investor along the way too, and will be talking to him more next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mike's son, Matt, a business and communication graduate of University of Ottawa, has been working with Mike a lot too! Working remotely from Toronto, he has been re-writing an Executive Summary, creating cash-flow spreadsheets ready to show to potential investors, writing content for our new website. He has been very helpful and he also allows me to step back more. Mike seems to have a thousand things on the go to work on, and respond to, every day so it's great to have a right-hand man helping him, as well as me. He really does need a full-time executive assistant at this point, but this comes close. And Matt is being so flexible with us on getting paid. There are projects in the pipeline that he will be paid for as a Business Analyst by the client too. He plans to go to Spain in the fall to complete an International MBA program which I'm sure will be very exciting - and useful if he should choose to come work for us full-time eventually.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm happy to be here in Maz for now and stay involved online. I will soon have to return to Calgary for year-end tax filings with the accountant and also plan to visit my dad for his birthday, April 26, in Toronto.</span><br />
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Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-48382448051477991242015-02-15T16:09:00.001-07:002015-02-15T16:09:36.043-07:00My weird life....<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm back in Maz. It's Carnival - which means lots of ear-drum busting sound stages steps from my apartment, and huge disruptions of normality in getting around for a week. Oh yes, and parades and fireworks and festivities and costumes. I'm sure it's all lots of fun. But I would rather not live in the middle of it all, and so I de-camp to my favourite hotel north of the downtown and use some of my timeshare points to stay for more-or-less free since we had already made the expensive decision years ago to buy the timeshare. Might as well use it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am getting the usual questions from my circle of friends here. How long are you staying? How is Mike? Where is Mike? When will Mike be down? Except for where and how Mike is, I can only say I don't know. My life and my comings and goings are always in flux. Most of the time, I like it that way. I like unpredictability and serendipity. I embrace it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While I was in Calgary this last time, I actually submitted an application for a job at Canada Post. I do this kind of thing from time to time - I begin to think sometimes that <i>maybe</i> I should get a job. Our financial life is, and has been, so unpredictable and, at times, downright panic-inducing. Sometimes I think I should do something more than be chief cat herder, financial manager, personal assistant, head butt-kicker, operations manager, lead life organizer, and concerned worrier. And I apply for a few jobs. Usually, I hear nothing back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This time, after I got back here this week, I did hear from the Post Office. They wanted me to come in and interview (I guess) and fill in a number of forms. Think of that. I could be the 3rd person in my family to become a - <i><b>postal worker. Yikes!</b></i></span><br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></i>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Don't get me wrong. I am not disparaging postal workers or other government union workers - or even union workers who don't work for government. Many of them are now retired and living in Mazatlan on a nice pension.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I know I am not alone in feeling this way because I have met like-minded people - Mike is one of them. I have always been extremely allergic to the idea of working at a "job", 9-5, Monday to Friday, with two weeks vacation a year, for 25 years or so, and then retiring. The very idea makes me shudder. Even though I know, right now I could be approaching an early retirement with a nice pension - one that would pay all of my living expenses, and then some, if I lived somewhere like Mazatlan. Not so sure about living in Canada.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Doesn't matter. I could also have been doing that for the last 30-odd years and be dead or ill by now. What good would that have been? I only have to look as far as my own parents to realize that life offers no guarantees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, here I am again in Mazatlan. My husband is elsewhere. We work together by internet and phone. I never know where he will be working, or not working. Maybe he'll have a chance to come down for a few days. Maybe I will go to where he is for a few days or weeks. I have something of a life here and getting away from here means getting my dogs looked after while I am gone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's complicated. It's messy. It's unpredictable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't see how it could be any other way. People must wonder how Mike feels about me being here on my own while he is somewhere else - working. It must look like I get to loaf around in paradise, going to parties and the beach while he slaves away in less appealing locations - like winter in Calgary, or in Kuwait. Maybe they don't realize how much work it is for me to be here. Believe me, I am always on the job. Always in touch with what is happening with our businesses, always responding, always thinking. There is no 9-5, no Monday to Friday - for either of us. There is no "off". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And yes, we like it that way. For now. I could ask Mike to stop working on our software and get a full-time job. I could suggest that he give up all further ambition about it and join me here for 6 months a year and work in consulting for the other 6 months. I could even tell him I would move the dogs back to the Calgary and get a full-time job if he did the same for the next 10 years. All in the interest of some predictability and being together all the time like most couples.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He wouldn't do it. Would. Not. Do. It.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, while I make my weird life more interesting by spending time in Mazatlan with my dogs, don't ever assume that I do this in protest, or in selfishness. This is just my weird life - our weird life.</span><br />
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<br />Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-43655693906846356472015-01-29T10:16:00.001-07:002015-01-29T11:05:53.310-07:00My father, Tony Jessup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last week was a difficult and stressful one. My dad, sitting here with my mom a few years ago outside the nursing home where my mom was in full-time care for Alzheimer's, had reached a crisis point that we children had to respond to. He lived by himself in the house shown below since my mom had to go into care. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They had emigrated from the UK in 1957 to Toronto, and after living in a couple of rentals for a few years, this was their first and only home purchase in 1962 - for $14K. They had very little money and had a first mortgage of $9,500 and a second mortgage from the builder for much of the rest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can remember my mother telling us how much they pinched pennies to make those mortgage payments. I think it took about 10 years to pay the whole thing off, which was their biggest desire. Now it is worth many, many times more - a shocking amount more - mainly for the large lot it sits on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My dad, we noticed, had begun having memory problems about 4 years ago. Nothing too serious, just age we thought. Still, when I would call and tell him I was flying in to visit and gave him the date, time, etc. to pick me up at the airport, he would call back again and again to ask me for that information. The same thing happened to my sister, who lives in Denver. And there were other things. But all in all, he seemed to be managing fine by himself. He refused any help offers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He is a man of routine; and his routine was to go visit my mom for a couple of hours in the morning, come home and have lunch, then go to the community centre and play snooker (pool) with a group of men. On Fridays, he went food shopping too. This routine is what gave him the ability to continue to manage himself living alone, even as he descended into Alzheimer's himself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We found out he also has Alzheimer's last week. He had gone to visit my mom in hospital where she had been moved due to a flu outbreak in the home. It took him out of his schedule and to an unfamiliar place. He left the hospital and began walking - taking a taxi was beyond his cognitive ability - and was lost for 5 hours. The police finally located him 16K from the hospital. The state he was in and the state of the house (they went into his house to look around) caused them to decide to get him admitted to the hospital - the same hospital where my mom was - on a 72 hours mental health hold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was the best, and the worst, thing to happen to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A CT scan revealed multiple small strokes had been happening and the brain showed signs of progressed Alzheimer's. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My sister and I arrived and went to work, along with my brother who lives 2.5 hours away, to get him into a retirement home with a secure floor for residents with dementia. He was never going to go home again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This might seem cruel to some, but my dad is an incredibly strong-willed and stubborn man - combative even - and if he were allowed to go back inside the house, we would have an impossible time getting him back out. And home-help, even full-time, which is what would be necessary, was not an option for us. None of us live close enough to monitor that kind of situation, and my dad would have fought it endlessly. We have tried many times to get him to accept part-time help, meals-on-wheels, a cleaning person even once a month - not a chance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My dad is extraordinarily attached to that house. Now, in his state, it is almost a child-like attachment. His recliner by the big patio door looking out onto their rockery and garden, mature trees in the yards behind and beside him, was his joy. Whatever joy he still had.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The last time I saw him in September, we sat together there, and he told me once again how he could never leave the house. He would never have a spot to sit and look at the nature outside anywhere else, he said, and he would miss it terribly. Then he said something shocking. "I think about offing myself sometimes - but your mother is still alive and I couldn't do that to her". I paused and looked at him and asked, "Do you really think that way, dad?" He nodded. My heart sank, knowing he was reaching the end of his rope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still, I had to leave him like that. We kids seemed to have no options available to us. We had called every social service we could think of. None could help us until he went to see his doctor and got an assessment done. And short of physically dragging him there, he wasn't going to go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After that, he stopped being able to use his phone. He stopped hearing it ring, and could not figure out how to dial it. He stopped remembering his pin on his credit card, which he used exclusively for shopping - my brother would pay his bill online for him. No-one could reach him to check in on him. My brother and his wife went up a couple of times and tried to get him to accept help. The only saving grace was his next-door-neighbour, a Vietnamese woman, who would pop in to check on him and report by email to me that she saw him coming and going and seemed to be okay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We knew that it would take an emergency, a fall, a sickness to be able to step in and do something against his will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now he is in a very nice place, with excellent trained people, regular nutritional meals, and activities - even snooker - to participate in. But he is fighting it with all his might still. His cognition is really very bad. Short-term memory is almost non-existent. But he knows my mom is out there and so is his house, his chair by the window. He will be taken to visit my mom when they feel he won't fight coming back into the home. For now, we are not to visit, to give him and them time to get him settled and into their routine for him. He likes routine. I hope he can find a measure of happiness in his remaining years.</span></div>
<br />Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-77644218835018411282014-11-27T21:28:00.001-07:002014-12-15T13:47:49.347-07:00Adventures driving in Mexico with Big Red the Jeep<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jjxD16zrZY9naoB-_3LMdOJqkXw5yVxcqlIdtgqK48qkF816iKCBRR7Yb4z0axa6eEoCRJ9GQL14iTZILHlN6tSgoyIe8tYe8mhsWd529S-MYiChuS9dF9709HGJwF5ORVSfGGEEJLEi/s1600/BigRed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jjxD16zrZY9naoB-_3LMdOJqkXw5yVxcqlIdtgqK48qkF816iKCBRR7Yb4z0axa6eEoCRJ9GQL14iTZILHlN6tSgoyIe8tYe8mhsWd529S-MYiChuS9dF9709HGJwF5ORVSfGGEEJLEi/s1600/BigRed.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I recently drove with my most excellent house/dog-sitters, Anne and Mike Howard of www.honeytrek.com, who are globe-trotting travel bloggers of some renown, from Puerto Vallarta to Austin, Texas. I needed to renew my permit for the Jeep for another six months, which means a trek to the border and re-entering with a new permit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anne and Mike had been staying at my apartment with the dogs for about 6 weeks while I was up in Calgary. They fell in love with Mazatlan, my dogs, and apparently many people here returned the love. They were very popular people, and for good reason. They are young (both still in their 30's), energetic, engaging and friendly people with many fantastic stories of their travel adventures on an extended honeymoon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I flew to Puerto Vallarta because flights were much less expensive to there from Calgary. They drove down and picked me up at the airport - then we were on our way driving north. We stopped in Tepic, Durango and Saltillo for a night each, then up to Austin where they had friends to stay with before flying back up to New York.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I planned to meet up with a fellow driver in Laredo, Texas, a border town, the next day to drive tandem with him back over the border and back to Mazatlan, 1060 kilometers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, my Jeep had other plans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had experienced some signs that all was not well with the Jeep when we sat at the border crossing on the way up for over 2 hours in the heat, idling the motor. But, after a some TLC at a Pep Boys after crossing, it seemed to be fine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I left the hotel at 5 am in Laredo to get to the border crossing, 4 kilometers away, at an early hour when it wouldn't be busy. My travelling partner was driving behind me on the highway when the Jeep suddenly began back-firing and stuttering. I pulled off and he followed me to a parking lot. The Jeep died. I told him to go on without me, I would have to get it towed to a Pep Boys for repair - and god knows what was wrong with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He had it set in his mind that he was going to drive the entire distance in one day and so was not about to delay his travel - he left me in the dark in an empty parking lot in a border town. I didn't know quite what I was going to do then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As bad as that guy might be, another guy was great. A man in a pickup pulled up near to me (I was a little nervous about that) and rolled down his window. I rolled mine down a little. He asked if I was okay - did I need help? What a lovely man - he was Mexican-American. He drove to a Pep Boys to see if they were open (they weren't) and then came back and called a tow truck for me to get towed to the Pep Boys and wait for them to open.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They opened at 8. I sat in the Jeep needing a bathroom but finally got in and explained the issue. They took the Jeep in and said it was a blown distributor. It was replaced and I was back on the road by noon - $500 lighter. But it could have been worse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then I was faced with driving on my own across Mexico. I debated with myself about it, but in the end I sucked it up and figured I had no choice - anyway, a lot of people do it every day and the toll-roads are excellent. I actually decided to wear a black, loose-fitting shirt and no makeup or earrings to make myself as non-attention-grabbing as possible. Anyway, a middle-aged woman with short grey hair, in a 1998 Jeep, isn't going to get much attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first day, leaving around 1, I drove to Saltillo and stopped for the night before dark at 5ish. About 300 kilometers, but with an hour of processing at the border for my visa and the car permit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day, I was on the road at 9 am and drove the rest of the way, descending out of the mountain passes 30 kilometers from Mazatlan before dark. The Jeep ran like a dream.</span>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-46946102651876964262014-11-10T15:59:00.000-07:002014-11-10T15:59:23.957-07:00A post for Blanche Clarke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have been busy renovating our condo in Calgary this fall and I just wanted to write a short post with pictures for Blanche, Mike's mom, who turned 91 on Oct. 25. She has a laptop and is trying to learn how to use it more, but one thing she <i>can</i> do is find and read my blog regularly. Sending pictures to her by email for her to see is still a challenge but I'm sure she will master that by 92! And then - Facebook! Don't get me wrong - she is as smart and sharp a 91-year-old woman as you are likely to find. I hope I do as well as she is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The bathroom was updated with new ceramic tile flooring, cabinet with deep drawers, counter-top and sink in one, new light fixture, mirror and paint. I should have taken a before picture but suffice to say this is a HUGE improvement!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUmIwtnm3aNAox8U-SjCUKVmhKyKKuz-n7JNsmhx8KDtKxjfsgpuo9Tk2kvuTKEvBUET2WhxZIIR-yvgTOFiz4qfYx73osRAa0Zw3RbUQJW0wBpM7BewHUwj6WBI_yiz12b0iiN_Z768N/s1600/DSCN0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUmIwtnm3aNAox8U-SjCUKVmhKyKKuz-n7JNsmhx8KDtKxjfsgpuo9Tk2kvuTKEvBUET2WhxZIIR-yvgTOFiz4qfYx73osRAa0Zw3RbUQJW0wBpM7BewHUwj6WBI_yiz12b0iiN_Z768N/s1600/DSCN0366.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And, finally, here is a picture of a picture she bought for us from a local Nova Scotian photographer as a house-warming gift so that we have a little bit of home to look at.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just the kitchen to go but I think that is going to have to wait until spring. We've been lucky so far with weather but winter has arrived and since I want any sawing or cutting tiles to be done outdoors on the patio (the dust it creates indoors is horrendous), I'll wait for warmer weather.</span><br />
<br />Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-17143085516279857852014-10-02T12:00:00.001-06:002014-10-02T23:17:31.557-06:00The universe is shifting.<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before I jump into this post, I just want to note that the post "How to find a rental and live cheaply in Mazatlan" has surprised me by being the most read post - 10 times more popular than any other post. Obviously, I have struck a cord of interest and various articles I have read in major media lately confirm that. With Baby Boomers retiring en masse and wondering how the heck they are going to be able to do that in North America, they are looking at Mexico as a viable alternative.</span><br />
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I will probably write a follow-up post on that subject but I just want to mention now that some of the rules for becoming a resident of Mexico have changed and there are many places online you can go to get this information. It's a little complicated, particularly if you want to bring down a vehicle, so I strongly recommend that you google "residency visas in Mexico" or something similar and inform yourself.</span><br />
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I have been a busy woman this summer. After returning in June, I left again six weeks later to go up to Calgary where Mike started a new consulting job. Our intention was to find somewhere to rent but instead we did something I never thought we would do again. We bought a condo. Real estate in Calgary is booming, unlike many other places, so the thought that we could actually buy something was astounding. We moved in almost right away and rented for a month while the mortgage was processed. That was a lot of work for me - our financial status was iffy given our struggles in the last two years, but I managed to pull off a miracle of shuffling money around to at least make it look like we were a good bet to the mortgage company. They really have nothing to worry about, we have recovered quite well since Mike went to work for Chevron in 2013 but banks are nigglers.</span><br />
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So this is all part of the "shift".</span><br />
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First: After about 5 years of Mike NOT working in Calgary, making my staying in Mazatlan during winter months make sense (I did visit him in various work sites like Sacramento and Houston), it now appears that Mike will be permanently located in Calgary.</span><br />
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Second: After more than 5 years of developing, pivoting, promoting, begging and struggling, Qtility Software has paying customers - oil and gas companies, government departments, and others. That means I need to be there to help manage it until we find someone to replace me. Mike is under contract to consult until the end of December and is walking a fine line between obligation to the consulting client, and being CEO of Qtility Software. There is a blending there because the consulting client is the one who is selling our software to their clients. We are working on some kind of partnership deal with them to make sure the blending is clear to prevent conflict of interest issues.</span><br />
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And so, I am going back again, less than a month after getting back here in Sept. I have lined up a great couple for house/dog-sitting - they are world travelers with an active blog and travel business. <a href="http://www.honeytrek.com/">www.honeytrek.com</a> Very interesting story and I am sure they are going to love Mazatlan.</span><br />
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I have to come back in late November again in order to drive my Jeep back to the border to renew the sticker for another 6 months. No getting around it. After that, we'll see. If I have to spend a winter in Calgary, I am very happy to do so if it means that I am helping to get us to the point when Mike and I are free to have adventures - together!</span><br />
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Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-73719954376718993992014-06-25T11:29:00.001-06:002014-06-25T12:18:46.612-06:00More details and where I stayed in Calgary, Vancouver, Houston, and Durango.<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I used Airbnb properties a lot on the May trip and only had one slightly bad experience - in Calgary. I won't even post the link to that property because I can't recommend it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The owner seemed to think that an open cat litter box just inside the front door where people came and went was just fine. What? Do you have a problem with animals in the house, she asked? It states right in the profile that there are animals, she said. No, I said, I love animals, but an open litter box in that location is just unpleasant, not to mention something of a health hazard. I wouldn't subject my own friends and family to that, let alone paying guests. She didn't get it, and claimed that there was no other spot to put it. C'est la vie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Vancouver, I stayed for two nights at an older, 1930's row house in the Mount Pleasant section of Vancouver, and area that was great for walking and stopping at interesting shops and cafes/restaurants. Hosts were a younger couple who were very nice. <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2045298">https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2045298</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Calgary, for one of the other nights, I stayed at a good, comfortable house that we had stayed in before. <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/764034">https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/764034</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Houston, I stayed with an older, single retired man, a long time resident of Houston, and his dog Duke in gorgeous area of Houston called The Heights - leafy, green and very interesting architecture in that area. It was very comfortable and I had my own ensuite bathroom which is always nice. <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/598228">https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/598228</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gwen and I stayed at a Wyndham hotel in San Antonio using my time-share points. It was fine, but nothing special and I am always annoyed by the salespeople there trying to get me to go to a breakfast presentation when I am only there for 2 days!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We stayed in Durango at Hostal de la Monja, a hotel housed in a beautiful 200-year-old building across from one of the Cathedrals and right on a walking street, closed to traffic. It used to house nuns at one time. The rooms were very spacious with 20 foot ceilings, two double beds, and air-conditioning. It was a treat to be there for two nights. There is a lobby bar and restaurant - breakfast was included. The staff were wonderful and there was parking behind the hotel in a secured lot. <a href="http://www.hostaldelamonja.com.mx/">http://www.hostaldelamonja.com.mx/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We absolutely loved Durango, a colonial city dating from the 1500's. It has recently become a tourist destination for those who live in Mazatlan due to the opening of a new toll highway and the second largest suspension bridge in the world between Durango and Mazatlan. It cuts the time of the journey from the border of Texas to Mazatlan by about 4 hours I am told. We found it to be well-maintained with actual clean, modern bathroom buildings and SOS phones placed frequently along the way. Not to mention incredibly scenic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Durango was VERY clean and orderly. Everyone we met was so pleasant and helpful, and happy to see tourists from north of the border in their city - something they are not used to yet but they seem to love the fact that we want to visit the city - they are very proud of it. The architecture, museums, walking streets and parks are all so worth going for. We had dinner at two different restaurants that we just have to go back to. One called El Esquilon and the other La Fonda de la Tia Chona. Unique interiors and ambiance and excellent food for such reasonable prices, especially when compared to prices north of the border.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I tried a dark, rich mole sauce that had the taste of a hint of dark chocolate and cinnamon, on chicken in Tia Chona, and a lighter-flavored yellow mole at El Esquillon. Both were delicious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have to go back!</span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-46075460924759020412014-06-23T15:32:00.004-06:002014-10-02T23:19:08.451-06:00Catch-up long overdue<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK4bpqHb8cXac2mAoHeUOOwIL4fGtUx9jcWKJKm2Qr8JK9LmdG-csLu0uCiSpPPM6DexMyQuNq2sG_J84d3GpRguF5jVsT-gM1hI3yD9xMTUUb-HIiQ2SC0veI8rqtGsdOkyp4lIwO02y/s1600/Gwen+and+Sue's+adventure+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK4bpqHb8cXac2mAoHeUOOwIL4fGtUx9jcWKJKm2Qr8JK9LmdG-csLu0uCiSpPPM6DexMyQuNq2sG_J84d3GpRguF5jVsT-gM1hI3yD9xMTUUb-HIiQ2SC0veI8rqtGsdOkyp4lIwO02y/s1600/Gwen+and+Sue's+adventure+(1).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My friend, Gwen, and I had an road-trip adventure together in May. The '98 Jeep parked in Houston since Mike left there in April needed to be driven down to Mazatlan. I asked Gwen to meet me in Texas and play co-pilot and navigator.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since it was to be my first time driving through Mexico, I wanted company. And since she said enthusiastically agreed, we decided to add a few days to the trip and explored San Antonio, Texas first for a couple of days, then made stops in Eagle Pass on the border (for the night), Torreon, Mexico the second day (for the night), and then Durango, Mexico for two days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We reached Mazatlan on June 1st, after getting a flat tire about 40 kilometers out. It was fixed by a very nice Federal policeman (see picture) soon after it happened in 104 degree heat (phew). We were slightly panicked by that time and yet, afterwards, we congratulated ourselves on our "most excellent adventure" that will be told and re-told to our (eventual, hopefully) grand-children. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We rested up for a night then flew to Mexico City for two days.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6o-QubFIepXPtXZP5WwqfqeNQ97UB6DXb7AGCRe_36RrmIG3SnJlcNjvxVFHyfcteuvNsNpiQ81b2yy4UpxgyLKmNbV8PuTWkD-ImqxIpqvFjoWYn6pbbTvnkCJSViHj1j9MoX0kDRpjs/s1600/kind+police+officer+changing+our+tire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6o-QubFIepXPtXZP5WwqfqeNQ97UB6DXb7AGCRe_36RrmIG3SnJlcNjvxVFHyfcteuvNsNpiQ81b2yy4UpxgyLKmNbV8PuTWkD-ImqxIpqvFjoWYn6pbbTvnkCJSViHj1j9MoX0kDRpjs/s1600/kind+police+officer+changing+our+tire.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was all after nearly a month in Calgary and Vancouver, BC, catching up on business and personal stuff, and visiting my two sons, Tim and Simon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was a VERY busy month.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My house-sitters have gone on to the rest of their adventure, after admitting they had been bitten by the Mazatlan bug and had loved it here, even in the extreme heat. They are somewhere in Europe now. I am getting occasional emails. They did a great job, and many people here have told me they spent time with them and found them to be a wonderful couple.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I've been back since June 4th and Mike will be here on June 28th for two weeks in between contracts. The new contract is in Calgary! No more Kuwait (or will there be?)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We may have some very big news on that front - coming soon!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am flying up to Calgary on July 18th for two months. No house-sitters this time - the girls are going to stay at their beach vacation home with my dog-sitter and their canine boyfriends.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are a few pictures from Gwen and Susan's Excellent Adventure:</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_Gpfaxlj2awc3XZ_1cXjvE-IGtIQ26fK8Uhz0_70JoqkRfXapT7dpWzq9sevyw4RnGy_fXoBzldyidsE_2WsXMXkOmSsEOaqAmFsi8vllfQZflS1nSUEI-xLgbxESGsu6DjI45gOKeMc/s1600/tallest+bridge+on+highway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_Gpfaxlj2awc3XZ_1cXjvE-IGtIQ26fK8Uhz0_70JoqkRfXapT7dpWzq9sevyw4RnGy_fXoBzldyidsE_2WsXMXkOmSsEOaqAmFsi8vllfQZflS1nSUEI-xLgbxESGsu6DjI45gOKeMc/s1600/tallest+bridge+on+highway.jpg" height="216" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Durango Highway Bridge</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIGYU8K7Xd33B0a9y00JvtzK4g5eDIdfsAXKilJ5CeH5knjfZTRkqjkbkO2S6qHUDC7B1wqOnJk5zM5-GiqB8pNsMdJ83Qu6BFldFqr3L6FgqlGEK7S7qGf9-QBxkS8EoQKY_EtjLh1VF/s1600/horse+and+cart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIGYU8K7Xd33B0a9y00JvtzK4g5eDIdfsAXKilJ5CeH5knjfZTRkqjkbkO2S6qHUDC7B1wqOnJk5zM5-GiqB8pNsMdJ83Qu6BFldFqr3L6FgqlGEK7S7qGf9-QBxkS8EoQKY_EtjLh1VF/s1600/horse+and+cart.jpg" height="252" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fellow travelers on the road.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqKdijQJv9CjtYmCohWAHC4jrf0D9Gv30P8O3Dk9R9cPzN4v8EMQLod2GOiHirJ6f7tgH2oKJO9Dz0VmdZKj09mWJKZEXhsfmjVJhPdMkL1N7LbnjjW3DKqsQutCWe7gALn4VW4Zg4vmR/s1600/cathedral+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqKdijQJv9CjtYmCohWAHC4jrf0D9Gv30P8O3Dk9R9cPzN4v8EMQLod2GOiHirJ6f7tgH2oKJO9Dz0VmdZKj09mWJKZEXhsfmjVJhPdMkL1N7LbnjjW3DKqsQutCWe7gALn4VW4Zg4vmR/s1600/cathedral+at+night.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral in Durango at night.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1eSYk2Yfd-yPXgf29GsePVKIbk7WcI9yMhBUnpXnjwviVyMjJBQ1rx6cCN9hi-wMwkx61XnYtGu42jt3MkY83Seo4cqVZYVbitR6wS1gSwYNx2zF1T57eGLXZwrVdaZitALmN188n5I1/s1600/in+the+middle+of+the+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1eSYk2Yfd-yPXgf29GsePVKIbk7WcI9yMhBUnpXnjwviVyMjJBQ1rx6cCN9hi-wMwkx61XnYtGu42jt3MkY83Seo4cqVZYVbitR6wS1gSwYNx2zF1T57eGLXZwrVdaZitALmN188n5I1/s1600/in+the+middle+of+the+road.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Durango highway between Durango and Mazatlan</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-48707142651110247652014-04-14T16:30:00.000-06:002014-10-02T23:22:11.411-06:00More on the House-sitters<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jen and Steve from Ontario, Canada are now here in town, staying in a nice place for a couple of weeks before taking up residence in my apartment May 1. They will be house and dog sitting for a month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have learned some more about them and their motivation to sell everything and quit their jobs in order to fulfill their desire to travel for a year more or less, depending on how long the money lasts. They have been regular, normal people for 20-plus years, working and raising a family. When the kids moved out (for the last time) about three years ago, the itch to do something radically different began to grow. Some family members began to have life-threatening illnesses, and their own family doctor, a very healthy man who exercised and ate healthy foods his whole life, suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack. The phrase, life is short, began to be a mantra for them. They realized that working another 20 years with the idea of retiring and travelling THEN was something that life could simply not guarantee for them. That was when they put their plans in motion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Telling friends and family was at first greeted with great surprise and concern that they may have lost their minds, but, they say, most people came around and supported the idea eventually. They know they will have to return to a "normal" life in about a year, and go back to working for the next 20 years in order to officially retire around 65, but taking this adventurous sabbatical will, I think, open their eyes and minds to many new possibilities and ideas for their future. Already, in just a couple of days of being in Mazatlan and meeting expats and snowbirds and hearing their stories, I can just hear the wheels are turning in their minds. Taking the plunge and doing what they are doing cannot NOT change them - forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am very happy to be their first stop on this journey and I will try to help make it a great experience!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For those wondering - I found Jen and Steve on the website <a href="http://www.housecarers.com/">www.housecarers.com</a> There are three websites that I have used. The housecarers one, <a href="http://www.trustedhousesitters.com/">www.trustedhousesitters.com</a> and <a href="http://www.mindmyhouse.com/">www.mindmyhouse.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I, myself, have a profile on housecarers.com as a potential house-sitter. I think it is a great way to travel the world inexpensively and uniquely. Yes, there may be pets to take care of but not all of them have pets, and taking care of a cat or two is much easier than dogs. So, if you have an adventurous streak and love to travel, check out these websites for yourselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of course, one consideration for travelers should be emergency medical insurance. My new portable business as a Skymed representative for Mexico now allows me to offer emergency medical evacuation services - something most people assume is a part of their travel/medical insurance policy, but if you read the fine print, being evacuated to your home city is something you will have to pay for upfront and claim back - if you qualify and meet the restrictions of the policy. It can cost many thousands of dollars upfront - who has that much room on their credit cards in an emergency? Skymed is a service offered to supplement your emergency medical policy and once approved you can never be cancelled for any reason. You, your travel companion, your family, your vehicle, even your pets will be transported home at your request should you have a medical emergency while travelling, and you will not have to pay a dime upfront or file a claim, nor are there any deductibles. I am very happy to be able to offer this valuable service. For more information:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">www.skymed.com/susanjessup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">email: sjessupskymed@gmail.com</span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-64052537490552929982014-03-13T13:01:00.000-06:002014-10-02T23:22:53.070-06:00Upcoming story of another adventurous Canadian couple<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIr6ABpu3N55Kx9IGXaeEpQJA60seJ84suLGgn_AH3YXD2hZQIFRWlt2qQ5Jdd-ZTwqTVzoc8Dp8-et0vrNNgDFMxZHOXEvab2D3XBBKeh1nJzIg4CQ6ykD_T495brb0dNtEGkvHO-HVpE/s1600/2014-01-16+15.08.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIr6ABpu3N55Kx9IGXaeEpQJA60seJ84suLGgn_AH3YXD2hZQIFRWlt2qQ5Jdd-ZTwqTVzoc8Dp8-et0vrNNgDFMxZHOXEvab2D3XBBKeh1nJzIg4CQ6ykD_T495brb0dNtEGkvHO-HVpE/s1600/2014-01-16+15.08.29.jpg" height="219" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olas Altas Beach with son, Tim.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will be writing more later about the Canadian couple, Jen and Steve, who I have found on <a href="http://susanjj.housecare.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_blank">www.housecarers.com</a>, who will be my house/dog-sitters for the month of May. I chose them over others because of their story. Here is what I know so far:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They live(d) in Barrie, Ontario and recently sold their house and stored their belongings with a new life plan to retire and travel the world doing house-sitting. Their first stop will be Mazatlan. They have never been to Mexico. They don't speak any Spanish. I admire their moxie, and am happy I can help like-minded adventurers get started on what will surely be an eventful and memorable time of their lives!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a visit with their son in Edmonton, Alberta, they plan to fly down here in April, ahead of starting the house-sit for me so that I can spend some time familiarizing them to Mazatlan and my dogs. They are very excited!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My plans are to fly to Houston on May 1st and meet up with Mike there when he returns from this last stint of two months in Kuwait. From there we plan to drive our Canadian-plated Versa up to Las Vegas for an industry conference from the 5th to the 9th of May. After that, Mike will fly back to Houston and possibly back to Kuwait again (we aren't sure of the length of time he will be in Houston this time) and I will carry on up to Calgary to return the Versa to it's legal home in Alberta. I will have to find a parking spot for it but that shouldn't be a big problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I may also be spending some time there looking at possible house or apartment rentals again. It is possible that after this contract ends in July, Mike will be taking a contract in Calgary for six months or more. We are weighing all the pros and cons on this because Chevron has verbally stated they expect to keep him on after July until at least the end of 2014. But will they guarantee that with a contract? That remains to be seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the meantime, Mike has a contract offer in hand from July to December in Calgary. Its a good feeling to have that much security.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After some time in Calgary, I will fly back to Houston and pick up a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee we bought recently from a friend and drive it back to Mazatlan. I hope Mike will be around to drive with me, but if not, I have great instructions and recommendations for the drive through Mexico. Many people do it frequently without a problem and with the new highway from Durango to Mazatlan, the trip time has been cut dramatically and made safer too. There are places along the way I am tempted to stop and explore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Road trip in Mexico anyone?</span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-43433438525026427512014-02-21T11:24:00.003-07:002014-06-23T14:36:42.898-06:00A great video on retiring and living in Mazatlan.<a href="http://youtu.be/74m4QCZFHeo" target="_blank">A great comprehensive video on retiring and living in Mazatlan.</a>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-43649259674172106352014-02-17T10:22:00.000-07:002014-10-02T23:23:31.893-06:00Back in my happy place<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYD4kl_1pje46_nAl26y1CPwOQlLl_8s2DXi0skZMM0LIF69G9EzJKYSeg8RRZcpZPhyz7NYnswkziemODoVMri3f8ucogKGexEUnFnBFEHo76r5Mqnht3tcH-PCgNcwLf0WLr25UEawXS/s1600/2014-01-16+17.21.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYD4kl_1pje46_nAl26y1CPwOQlLl_8s2DXi0skZMM0LIF69G9EzJKYSeg8RRZcpZPhyz7NYnswkziemODoVMri3f8ucogKGexEUnFnBFEHo76r5Mqnht3tcH-PCgNcwLf0WLr25UEawXS/s1600/2014-01-16+17.21.01.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annie, Teddie and son Tim</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our lives are a continuing work in process. The other day someone asked me, shaking his head, "How the heck do you keep everything straight?" I looked him in the eye and said, "I'm a genius." Then I laughed because that's not true, and sometimes I screw up. Despite my desire to simplify life, it resists simplification. It may appear to many that I am a young retiree. At best, I am semi-retired. I choose to live in a place where I would retire to, because I can, but it is not without challenges.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On my recent trip up to Canada to take care of things there, such as visit elderly parents, see my doctor to reassure him I am still alive and taking my medications. (Well, not ALL of them that he has prescribed - we have an understanding - I don't blindly accept the medical and drug companies' recommendations, but he continues to try. This time he finally told me that the protocols for cholesterol have been changed - statins are NOT necessary, and, in fact, studies have shown that although they lower cholesterol, that has made no difference in preventing heart attacks. I could have said I told you so but I didn't.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll just drink red wine every day, thank you very much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Along the way, many people inquired about my tan. Had I just come back from vacation? When I briefly described my lifestyle (it's rather distracting and surreal to be talking about it while my doctor performs a pelvic exam), invariably I got responses such as - oh, that sounds wonderful, I wish I could do that too but I have another four years to retirement - or, I want to do that but I have a house, cars, and stuff here, but boy I would be happy to have a hot-dog stand on the beach and live there instead of here right about now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My answer to all of them, if I had responded with something more than a smile because I didn't have time for more, would have been - it just takes imagination. You have to step back, look at what is and imagine (as in "image") something different. What would it take? Would waiting four more years to retire really make a difference? Do you really need all your stuff? If you sold it all, would that finance an early retirement in a relatively inexpensive place? Take a first step - you don't have to make a huge decision all at once. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started by coming to Mazatlan on vacation and talking to others who winter or live here full-time. I scoped out the landscape of renting, transportation to and from Canada, all of details I felt I needed to know to take another step. Then I took that step, then another, and another, until I had finally sold most of my stuff, including my house, and rented a year-round apartment. And I enjoyed myself in the process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, there are in-between lifestyles that don't include selling everything and renting year-round. And some people wouldn't want to spend all of their time here - a month or two or three away from the deep freeze winter-time of their home is bliss enough. But going all the way and making a place like this the home base certainly cuts living costs back dramatically, which is all it might take to be able to retire or semi-retire.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even with lives as complicated as ours, Mike and I, it is workable. And man, it is complicated. And changeable. A contract consultant has no security, no assurance that the client will continue with the contract he has (there is always a clause that allows both parties to end it with sometimes just a week's notice), or that the contract will be renewed. On this contract, Mike can be sent to work in any of the client's locations around the world. He, too, has to get up to Canada from time to time to visit his mother, see his doctor, and we have to make and take opportunities whenever we can to spend time together - either here or wherever Mike happens to be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We still have to maintain some kind of "residential" status in Canada, even if it's just a mailing address for now, to keep our health care there and for business purposes. Then there is the Alberta-plated Nissan Versa currently in Houston that I have to drive back to Canada and find a place to park it.....maybe in April or May.... And the Jeep Grand Cherokee we just bought from a friend in Georgia that is being trucked to Houston and licenced/registered in North Dakota (no residency requirements) that I have to go up and drive back down here....maybe in March....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yeah, it's complicated. But if I can be here, in my happy place, I can handle it.</span>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-84123688786148582132014-01-03T12:26:00.000-07:002014-10-02T23:25:30.617-06:00What a difference a year makes!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07Ai4gsVSqXkRRsVOmD4MrM07DsP37fmLQzgWutRO7xkWI-ilm6SOOBaFLmWQ8QGWDobqsBICyfn2INEe-xKRQ5RUgQQL7Q9lFHZDZ6iWrWxGb4wQLPgJDu_Tw1U1IpJU_s0t8cssS5aA/s1600/DSCN0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07Ai4gsVSqXkRRsVOmD4MrM07DsP37fmLQzgWutRO7xkWI-ilm6SOOBaFLmWQ8QGWDobqsBICyfn2INEe-xKRQ5RUgQQL7Q9lFHZDZ6iWrWxGb4wQLPgJDu_Tw1U1IpJU_s0t8cssS5aA/s400/DSCN0129.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Teotihuacan Pyramids, near Mexico City</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mike and I in Mexico City</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This time last year, my anxiety level was beginning to build. Worried by the sudden end of Mike's contract in New Jersey Dec. 7 and the prospects for a new one starting in 2013, I could not relax and enjoy the holidays as much as I did this year. And my concern was warranted - I had no idea at the time that it would take until May 20 for anything substantial to begin. Mike started a six-month contract for Chevron in Houston, which would turn out to include a two-month stint in Kuwait at an exceptionally higher rate than he was getting in Houston, which was pretty good anyway. </span><br />
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We were deep in the hole after last winter, and got through it with a little (ok - alot) help from friends and family, so the income was a welcome relief. In addition, the projects at Chevron that Mike is involved in provide the perfect opportunity to introduce our software into the mix. It provides a key functionality that no-one thought was possible and will speed up and simplify the process. For now, he is keeping it low-profile and just plugging into the project plan until it becomes self-evident. Kind of like a "puppy-dog sale". You know - leave the puppy with them for a while for free and they'll never give it back. And - there are upgrade projects like these planned in outposts for Chevron all over the world in the next year....</span><br />
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This season has been so much better! Mike flew in from Kuwait on Dec. 19 to Mexico City, where I met up with him for a three-day stay before flying on to Cozumel for a week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Historico Centro in Mexico City, a perfect location for getting out and walking around in the historical area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Cozumel, we stayed at the Coral Princess which we liked very much for the direct access to deep, crystal clear water and coral reefs, and for the size and feel of the hotel. We much prefer a smaller resort like this one, and getting into town was just a $5 taxi ride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cozumel is a popular cruise ship port city on an island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Renting scooters to buzz around on is popular.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And now we are back in our apartment in Mazatlan. On Jan. 6, Mike will fly to Houston for a week then back to Kuwait for three weeks. We had a small get-together for our friends here last night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, what will 2014 bring?</span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-28794679447536377202013-11-12T15:38:00.000-07:002014-10-02T23:26:34.074-06:00A side trip to Guanajuato and Guadalajara<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On my last journey back to Mazatlan from Alberta and Houston in September, I took an opportunity to take a side-trip on the way and check out Guanajuato. Since I was taking a direct flight from San Antonio, Texas to Mexico City on the Mexican airline, Interjet, that arrived at noon, I decided to take a luxury bus that afternoon all the way to Guanajuato, which was about six hours away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those who don't know this already, the luxury bus system in Mexico is excellent. There are several competing companies such as ETN and Primera Plus with a wide-ranging choice of routes and frequency. Their websites are fairly easy to navigate even though they are in Spanish - Google translates them anyway. One can purchase a ticket online and just show up at the counter at the bus station, or just go to the station and purchase on the spot. There are discounts for booking and paying online.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were buses leaving Mexico City every half hour to Guanajuato so I decided to fly in and get a taxi to the station before purchasing in case there were delays. I landed at noon and was on the bus at one. The ticket price equaled about $35. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a protocol at the bus station one must follow and it's a good idea to know this ahead of time if your Spanish is limited. At the ticket counter, the clerk will show you on their computer screen the choices for departure times, then your choice for seat location. Once the ticket is purchased, they will circle the post number where the bus will pull into. Generally, you are allowed through a security checkpoint about 30 minutes before departure time. Before that you will wait inside the terminal area. When the bus pulls in and about 5 minutes before departure, one lines up in front of a cart by the bus where you will be given a bag with a sandwich and asked what you want to drink. They do have water in bottles as well as soda. This is included in the ticket price. Then you can get on the bus and find your seat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At your seat there will be a head-set for watching a variety of movies on the TV screen on the back of the seat in front of you, if you wish. I found they had some fairly good movies with good choices. The seat reclines almost flat and there is a pull-down foot-rest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been on several bus trips in Mexico now and have found the buses to be clean and very comfortable, and the drivers are extremely good. The ride is smooth - no speeding or reckless driving. I arrived in Guanajuato around 6 pm and took a taxi to my hotel right in the center of the city, Hotel San Diego. In the picture above, I am looking down on the roof of the hotel next to the dome of the Church of San Diego and adjacent to the main public square, Jardin de la Union.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a fantastic location for just stepping out the door and going for a stroll around the historic area. I won't be going into any touristy descriptions of Guanajuato and what to see - there are plenty of websites for that. I found it just delightful, colorful, and architecturally a lot like the centuries-old towns of Italy or France. I stayed 3 nights. The Hotel San Diego is comfortable but basic accommodations in an old restored building keeping in character with the surroundings. There was an elevator, but it was old and manually-run so after getting myself stuck in there once and not knowing how to open the doors, I used the stairs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took a guided tour one of the days in a van with two women from Monterrey, Mexico who didn't speak English, but the tour guide spoke both languages. I think I saw many of the tourist highlights, including the gruesome but interesting Mummy Museum. The earth in the area has a unique set of properties that preserve bodies of the dead in a mummy-like fashion. The mummies there are sent out to various scientific facilities all over the world to be studied since they are so unique.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the 4th day, I took a bus to Guadalajara, which took about 6 hours, and stayed the night - only exploring the immediate area of the hotel since it was evening, but it there was a beautiful public square and cathedral nearby and I was able to get these beautiful photos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the morning, I took another bus through the Sierra Madres mountains to Mazatlan. That was the most beautiful and scenic ride of the three, and also took about 6 hours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is sometimes more enjoyable to take trips like this with another person or persons, but I get something out of doing it by myself too. I guess I feel more adventurous!</span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-8884406128504186492013-11-03T13:12:00.002-07:002015-01-29T09:19:37.120-07:00How to find a rental and live inexpensively in Mazatlan - Part 3<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably the most-read posts here are the ones about the cost of living in Mazatlan so I thought I would do an update. Is it still cheap to live in Mazatlan?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I now live in a spacious two-bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a secure building steps from the ocean. Because it wasn't furnished, the rent for a one-year lease was 4,500 pesos per month - or about $350 Canadian or US. It isn't fancy. It's a little rough around the edges. The kitchen needs an overhaul, and the bathrooms an update. But, it has a front patio with lush plants that were left by a previous tenant, a utility room off the kitchen for a washer and dryer (I only bought a washer - used - for about $300), a cement sink, the water heater and gas tank. It is open-air - the back wall is a lattice of brick facing the back parking lot. I'm on the ground floor so no stairs to climb but any patio furniture will have to be chained down because it would be easy to steal at street level, whereas my upstairs neighbours have a small deck but can leave their furniture out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gas tank costs about 400 pesos to fill - usually about every 2 or 3 months depending on usage. It is used to heat the hot water tank and for the little second-hand gas stove in the kitchen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pay the landlord 100 pesos a month for water that comes from the tinacas (big water storage units) on the roof - that's water for the kitchen and bathrooms. I buy bottled water for drinking - a cost of about another 100 pesos a month because I use the convenience of having the building maintenance guy bring the big water bottle to my door when I put an empty one out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Electricity is normally only about 200 pesos a month but goes up to about 500 a month with using the air-conditioner in summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Megacable kind of rips me off for internet - I may look into switching to the only other service, Telmex. Megacable forces me to take a package that includes cable TV and phone in order to have internet which is 649 pesos a month. I don't own a TV and probably won't. I can't stand watching TV with commercials anymore and watch movies or TV series on Netflix instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, all told, my monthly fixed costs add up to about $460 a month on average.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food and entertainment. Well, that is quite variable depending on how often I eat out (lots). But, someone on a stricter budget could eat well at home for about $200 a month by mainly shopping at the Central Market. Going out is a lot cheaper than in North America - a lot cheaper. I was just up in Canada and the US and, particularly in Canada, eating out is a budget-buster. Here you can still have a full meal for about $5.00 to $10.00 if you don't drink alcohol, and even then, the beer is cheap - about $1.50 a bottle, or less. Drinking wine is more expensive at about $4.00 to $5.00 a glass. Mixed drinks might be somewhere in between unless you ask for an imported brand. Mexico produces a brand of vodka and gin that is cheap but not great. And, of course, there are plenty of brands of tequila.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The variety and quality of restaurants have increased in the last three years, with new ones popping up every year. I must admit that it is a popular activity in my group to make the rounds and try them out, or to just hang out at one of the favourites. Most of them are indoor-outdoor, and along the malecon in Olas Altas where I live, it is just wonderful to sit and watch the sun go down and all the people walking along the waterfront with a group of friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Going to the movies is refreshingly inexpensive. There are several good multiplexes that run new releases in English for as little as $3.00 per ticket. Even the popcorn and snacks are reasonably priced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also buy a travel health insurance policy for emergencies but for minor illness, I can see a doctor in a local clinic for about $30 and prescriptions for most common medicines like antibiotics are cheap. I can see a specialist for just about anything the next day usually for about $40 to $50. The best money-saver though is dentistry. The dentist and endodontist I see are extremely professional, pain-free, and the prices are a fraction of what I would pay in Canada. My husband recently needed two root canals and two crowns. He was able to get everything done in 5 days with no prior appointment for about $1,200. Can that even be done in that short a time in North America, let alone at that price?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently went and looked at some alternative properties just to see what was out there. I was considering renting a house instead of an apartment because I have the two dogs who might be better off with more access to the outdoors. I am rather stuck on living in Old Centro though, and I love being so close to the waterfront, so my choices are limited. There are many other areas to live though. I did see a one-story home in Centro, but 8 blocks from the waterfront. It was two-bedroom, one bathroom, very spacious with a modern kitchen, a washer AND dryer, two outdoor patios and a secure parking spot. It was furnished too. I could have rented it for about $450 to $500 a month if I committed to a one year lease, but the previous tenants had rented for 6 months for $600. The big drawback for me? The distance inland. But it was closer to the Central Market and about equal distance to the main public square, Machado Square. So, for now I have decided to stay where I am. I hate moving anyway.</span></div>
Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-60229009192008901342013-10-18T16:25:00.001-06:002014-10-02T23:28:22.885-06:00Ku-what?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Annie and Teddie on the patio in Mazatlan.</span><br />
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In my last post I asked "What next?"</span><br />
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Mike just left Maz today after a short week visit before heading up to Halifax to visit his mom, Blanche Clarke, who turns 90 this month, and then he flies to Kuwait for a two-month work project.</span><br />
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Yes, Kuwait. I'm not so concerned about his going there as I am about the future projects in places like Nigeria, Angola, and Bangladesh. Nevertheless, he is happy for the opportunity and, of course, the higher-than-average pay rate. All of this has come as a result of his recent contract in Houston for Chevron. Chevron is conducting systems upgrades on their document management software in every outpost all over the world. Mike is to be their "man on the ground" in many of them, one at a time. Even better - he will be using our software, MOVE, on the projects with Chevron's approval. It fits right into their requirements. That alone makes this all worth it.</span><br />
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So Chevron gave him the okay to come to Maz for a week and work remotely, then a week in Halifax, before flying to Kuwait. He had some time for fun and relaxation but also had extensive dental work done - two root canals and crowns - all within 5 days. But if you are going go through that you couldn't ask for a better place to be. He will be back for two weeks at Christmas.</span><br />
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I've been back since the middle of September, settling back into the uniquely enjoyable lifestyle here. A few snowbird friends from North of the Border have begun to trickle in for the winter, but the main flock will be here by mid-November. Our favourite watering hole, Macaw's, which is like our local "Cheers - where everybody knows your name", re-opened after a month-long closure for September. It's a short walk from my apartment and they welcome my dogs too. Since it is an indoor/outdoor place, they happily sit by my feet and receive the petting and greetings by patrons there. Often I am just walking by, not intending to stop in, and they naturally swerve towards the open door and my usual table.</span><br />
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The weather has cooled off somewhat but still quite hot for walking around in the middle of the day. In fact today I got a fright when my 13-year old lab-mix, Annie, suddenly began seizing on the sidewalk near home. It last about 30 seconds and then she lay down and wouldn't get up. I was alone and didn't have my cell phone with me. Eventually, I managed to carry her home and called the vet, Cesar, who came to the apartment within 10 minutes. She was still not moving much but I got her into the air-conditioned bedroom on the bed and Cesar looked her over. He couldn't find anything wrong neurologically, heart or blood pressure were fine, and her temperature was just slightly elevated. He gave her a shot and said it was probably caused by an electrolyte imbalance from the heat. So she will be getting Pedialyte and TLC for a few days to see how she gets on. She is resting easy now. </span><br />
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Two snowbird friends have been waylaid with health issues and will be very delayed in returning this winter, if they get here at all. Our community here is like a little village. Everyone cares about everyone else. It's like nothing I have ever experienced anywhere, anytime, in my life. No wonder we all love it here.</span><br />
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Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-1166389463450278692013-08-15T10:59:00.000-06:002014-10-02T23:30:05.246-06:00I think this a good thing...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the last 4 or 5 years, Mike and I have thought about selling our house in Alberta. We've talked to real estate people, tried out the "sell it yourself" services and actually put a sign on the lawn a couple of years ago. We always ended up putting it off by renting it out for 6 months or so at a time We didn't like the price we would get for it, based on comparables in the neighbourhood. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then one real estate agent said something to me when I told her we had bought it new with no money down, and taken a big line of credit on the equity of the house a year after we bought it, when the value of the house had jumped from $255K to $425K in one year (I know, astounding - and the value now is about $350K). We had taken it to invest in the software company and consolidate debt. She said, "You have already benefited and profited from this house - why wait? What more do you want?" It made me look at things differently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So when the present tenants (they moved in March 15) made us an offer - which we thought was a great deal - for them - but meant we wouldn't have do anything except move out our accumulated "stuff" that was already in boxes and stored in the basement - we took it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a terribly trying winter with no income (but hey, we were in Mazatlan - can't complain TOO loudly), Mike is now in Houston on a great consulting contract that is supposed to be long term - as in a year or two. He is staying in a one-bedroom apartment in a great complex with lots of lush gardens and walkways and swimming pools - which is good because Houston is got to be one of the most boring cities in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been there with him on and off. We are beginning to catch up on debts and bills. The proceeds from the house will go toward that filling that hole too. It won't completely wipe them out by a long shot, but its a good start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All our stuff fits in a 10 X 15 storage unit. And I don't really think we would want to keep half of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My 1999 Toyota Sienna van here in Alberta needs $3000 work on it to be able to be driven long-distance - and the AC just conked. I had an offer of $1500 for it and although it was handy to have here to drive around in May when we were here for a week, and this trip up for two weeks, I think I should sell it. I've been lucky that nothing else conked - like the timing belt which needs replacing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so it goes - a lot less possessions and a little more freedom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I return to Mazatlan Sept. 12 - earlier than I planned but my excellent house and dog-sitters asked for it so that they can go explore a few more places in Mexico before returning to their home in Belize.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What happens from then on?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mike in Houston, me and the girls in Mazatlan? Or will something else happen to change all that? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay tuned...</span></div>
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Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-91377657548583653602013-06-01T09:50:00.003-06:002014-10-02T23:31:36.053-06:00There is a Chinese curse...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"May you lead an interesting life."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm back in Mazatlan for the foreseeable future - by myself but with my two faithful furry companions. May has been a blur.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Planned:</b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Get up to Alberta (via shared ride to Texas and then a flight) for a week or so to take care of a few things, see my doctor, accountant, etc. and return with a new 6-month tourist visa. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Unplanned:</b> Mike's 2-3 month contract in Indianapolis turns out to be only 2 weeks. Client decides to ignore Mike's recommendations and project plan that he spent 2 weeks working on (that they hired him to do), and postpones the rest of the project. Internal employees decide to do the project their way and blow up their systems (figuratively). They had taken a look at our software which would have saved a ton of money and time, but still decide to do things the "old" way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Unplanned:</b> May 5th - Flying to Las Vegas from Maz to meet up with Mike who drove madly from Indianapolis to do some networking at an industry conference for the software.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Unplanned:</b> After driving up to Calgary from Las Vegas and getting everything on our list accomplished, including trading in our Murano for a Versa, Mike is hired for a contract in Houston and has to fly there right away. I "volunteer" (no choice really) to drive the Versa to Houston so he will have a car to drive and save on rentals. This does allow me to stop in Denver and visit my sister and family for a day - hadn't been there in 6 years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Unplanned</b>: Arrive in Houston and help Mike move into a house which he will share with another guy, a relatively inexpensive accommodation option. The contract does not pay expenses on top of the pay, but the rate is higher. Keeping expenses low is in our best interest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Unplanned:</b> Flights back to Mazatlan are expensive so I fly to Mexico City and take an overnight bus to Maz, which takes 12 hours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, I'm not complaining - I do like spontaneity and I think I am one of the most adaptable people on the planet - but seriously, I am ready for a modicum of predictability after the winter from financial hell and a whirlwind May. Somehow, I don't think I'm going to get it for long....maybe I should make a plan. </span><br />
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Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-7178988863573948102013-03-24T12:37:00.003-06:002014-10-02T23:32:40.213-06:00A stressful (yet productive) winter...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV56-YU6-ZbAcsTBNLyCX8y2L45uT1lgVKzt2D5OUasbItHO6iWgOA4L1MoNti7jfW61FtyTdrmRoygSfnenMHUDFngWx7pboDSCKxgpIDybmCGRkuqEZhiCQKVlJhK6Iz_NIyzjiBBW8/s1600/P1000480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV56-YU6-ZbAcsTBNLyCX8y2L45uT1lgVKzt2D5OUasbItHO6iWgOA4L1MoNti7jfW61FtyTdrmRoygSfnenMHUDFngWx7pboDSCKxgpIDybmCGRkuqEZhiCQKVlJhK6Iz_NIyzjiBBW8/s400/P1000480.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has been our home since Jan. 1 and as it turns out we have spent a lot of time together in it, working our hearts out and chewing fingernails.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last post on Jan. 23 is laughable (well, maybe not <i>laughable</i>) - if I had known then just how long Mike would be out of work I would have freaked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right now he is in the car driving between Hattiesberg, Mississippi and Carmen, Indiana. He finally has a contract to go to. He left last Tuesday and flew to Dallas, got our car out of long-term parking (I don't want to tell you how much THAT cost), and then drove to New Orleans to attend part of an industry conference and do some networking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of February we had a crisis point. Should we continue to pay rent here and wait a little longer to see if a contract would start soon, somewhere, or cut the cord, sell our few pieces of furniture, break the lease, and go back to Alberta. Our house which had been rented out until March 15 was coming available and we could move back in. In the end, a dear friend loaned us some money to keep going. Why come all the way back to Alberta where it is much more expensive to live, and lose the little bit of income from renting the house out, when surely the tide will turn any day? I thank that friend for kindness from the bottom of my heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now it is approaching the end of March, and the tide has turned. Not only is Mike about to start work again - the contract will include the use of our new software product, MOVE. The needs of the client are a perfect fit for it. We'll either let them use for free and gain a great reference account, or maybe we'll actually make some money from it and it will be the first sale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The very positive outcome of this winter in Maz (unemployed and desperate) is that we didn't mope around - we got to work on MOVE - writing executive summaries, business plans, marketing plans, investor presentations, customer presentations, shaping the message and working our contacts. Andy worked too - thank you Andy! Now we have gained an "angel" who is willing to introduce us to his investor friends, and an appointment next week to demonstrate MOVE to the acquisitions department of EMC - the software company that our product complements. We also have an invitation to do a presentation for an angel investment group in Vancouver, BC - but it has to be in person so since they meet every month, we have asked to wait until May when we'll have the means to fly up there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My stomach is still in knots but I have lots of wonderful, supportive friends here in Maz (and in Alberta) and I feel satisfied that we have done everything we possibly could to get through this winter (of our discontent).</span><br />
<br />Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-9505236030050759362013-01-23T16:00:00.001-07:002013-01-23T16:00:57.703-07:00Darkest before the dawn?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There have been so many times (too many) when we have been nearly at the end of our hopes and money, no contracts, no-one getting back to us - and then, a miracle happens and a job, or money, or both show up out of nowhere. The stress leaves a mark though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The last couple of weeks has been like that. And then, good things started showing up. Of course, not without great efforts by both of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are doing a lot of networking these days on LinkedIn - it's a great resource for business. Everyone on there knows that everyone else on there is there to make business connections and to try to sell something - but not by hard sales methods; a softer approach is the protocol. And "can I be of help to you, or can we help each other somehow?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In addition, our poor slave (oops, I mean developer) Andy has been putting in enormous amounts of time and effort on the software, with great results. We now consider him a co-founder. No-one works for nothing or next-to-nothing unless one is an owner. We would be nowhere without him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We put a free downloadable copy of the software out there and invited people to try it. It's still considered a beta product so we have to let people try it out and let us know if they run into issues, bugs, or would really like it to do something more, maybe some new features that would be useful to them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Out of nowhere we get an email from someone in Spain, someone working in one of the biggest consulting firms in Europe, who says he is using it to do ACTUAL WORK for a big project, and he really likes it but there are a couple of bugs that need fixing - could we do that right away? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Andy and Mike jumped on it right away of course. A bug fix has gone out. Mike also found out exactly what the project was trying to do with it which is valuable information because we can market it to other firms who are going to do the same sort of thing. No, we can't charge this company for using it, but the testimonial will be incredibly valuable. And, maybe they'll volunteer to pay us something for it, who knows. His feedback was that they are trying out different tools on this project and ours is the best - easy to use, works great. Nectar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There have been other great connections and interested parties as well. Too many to describe. But I can say that an actual sale of the software, including some customizing work to make it do exactly what they want, is in the works. Its not a big sale but it will feel so great to actually sell something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, none of this brings in cash in the near future so Mike still has to go do some consulting. If only he could get a contract that allowed him to spend time here in Mazatlan and earn money too, and also allow him to conduct software business on the side.........hmmmm. Ha! This exact wish was answered today! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Maybe we should do more "putting your intentions and desires out there in the universe". I know one - wouldn't it be great if someone with bags of money came forward and said they wanted to invest in our software! Then Mike wouldn't have to do consulting work to pay the bills!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Come on universe!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">More to come.....</span>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-84871790702290382002013-01-09T14:01:00.001-07:002013-01-09T14:01:38.735-07:00Moves and MOVE<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SYk8exH44p6XbbsvI1JGlFfmOTaYjXfG-1deHWJ2YurEPT1OxHjVWcJT_g_yVKMTNN5FQSsu8_c7fo4ZJ9zPrNPtWOSrrwokraUFIrFYUtLXMTFmu2NiBVbLw7OYvsVbl7bjZV47MC2X/s1600/Mexican+moving+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SYk8exH44p6XbbsvI1JGlFfmOTaYjXfG-1deHWJ2YurEPT1OxHjVWcJT_g_yVKMTNN5FQSsu8_c7fo4ZJ9zPrNPtWOSrrwokraUFIrFYUtLXMTFmu2NiBVbLw7OYvsVbl7bjZV47MC2X/s640/Mexican+moving+van.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexican Moving Van</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been a couple of weeks of moves for four couples including ourselves - everyone has new digs! We slowly purchased enough used furniture and household items to be able to move in and be comfortable. One of our finds was a 3-piece living room set sold to us by another expat. How to get it from their house to ours? A truck (called an Orega) taxi with an inventive driver willing to put the loveseat on the roof and secure it down with a bit of rope. We got some startled looks and laughs from people on the short trip - it was fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The apartment itself was still pretty dirty the day we moved in. It had all been swept but everything needed wiping down and mopping. The kitchen was the biggest challenge to set up for functionality. It doesn't have a stove yet and it had precious little counter or work space. The ceramic sink is shallow and pockmarked, with old taps that are very low - hard to get anything under them. It does have a large built in pantry with shelves - good for storing dishes as well as food items. The landlord loaned me a large wood cabinet with a drop-down table top and shelves. We added a butcher-block work island on wheels and purchased a microwave, borrowed an electric frying pan and was given a coffee maker. The fridge had a 3-prong plug with only a two-prong outlet nearby so an adapter was brought in by the building maintenance man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, its a functional little kitchen now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few mexican rugs on the floors and voila its home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a mexican apartment to be sure - and nowhere near being air-tight. Noise is always an issue in Centro but its all part of the atmosphere and charm of Mazatlan. We are thinking of it as you would a summer cottage - not all the comforts of home and a little rustic. Fun!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the work side Mike is still unemployed and cash is getting tight. All of his contacts and leads went quiet over the holidays and have just started picking up again. We have going full-force on talking up and promoting the software in the past few days, following up on a stellar demo done for some very important and influential people before Christmas. So, some results are beginning to pop up - both on the job front and on the software. A very large company in the US has requested a demo with great enthusiasm - it seems there is a huge need for what we've got and we are going to go gang-busters as much as possible while Mike has the time. Will it pay off before the money runs out? Unknown. But we can't wait and worry - that serves no purpose. We'll figure it out as we go.....like we always do.</span>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674033040403439554.post-67105517983394011762012-12-16T14:31:00.001-07:002014-02-20T12:09:36.464-07:00From New York to Mazatlan with an unexpected event.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our new apartment building - the light green one.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Whew! Its good to get here and kick back and park myself and dogs for a few months. I'm still living out of suitcases and carrying around my "portable office" - a large computer bag on wheels stuffed with files and papers. But this is about to change, at least with respect to Mazatlan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have secured a two-bed, two-bath first floor apartment in a 4-story apartment building in Centro a half-block from the ocean and malecon. This is to become our full-time residence where we can leave our Mazatlan things over the summer. Several friends live in the same building year-round so we have built-in care-takers if needed. The price? $340 a month plus utilities. How could we not take it? It's an older building and the kitchen is definitely of the mexican variety (no counters, no cupboards except a large shelved pantry) but this can be remedied easily with a few pieces of standing storage furniture and a table for a counter. Even a big secured parking area in the back if we choose to keep a car down here.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we have taken a new step in the direction of permanent residency in Mexico. Maybe there will be another twist in the road sometime but for now this seems right for us. Every winter we spend here makes us feel more and more at home - in fact, attached to the place. We love coming down and meeting up with friends from last winter, catching up on all their summer doings and sharing in new developments for them. Several of them have also found new places to rent full-time (and one couple bought an old, small mexican house last winter and are now in the midst of renovating - to be finished they hope by the end of December).</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfWvL_VNqYnO-K8iRwvnBauNMeG8MWtW_Vd8Bur2XQJV2pNKeq4MW7ZbiMYAPr_DCZcm86lUYsVBd16xSQwTPsav6jqv91Gvec8rw0T8R_t1qll_rhLYPkK0MxsEIwnZTk5NK4YmUlAid/s1600/P1000448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfWvL_VNqYnO-K8iRwvnBauNMeG8MWtW_Vd8Bur2XQJV2pNKeq4MW7ZbiMYAPr_DCZcm86lUYsVBd16xSQwTPsav6jqv91Gvec8rw0T8R_t1qll_rhLYPkK0MxsEIwnZTk5NK4YmUlAid/s640/P1000448.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The patio with plants included!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every winter there seems to be new shops and restaurants and art galleries to see. The centro area has really become a mecca for artistic types. Every month there is an "Art Walk" on a Friday evening when people can wander from gallery to gallery, having a glass of wine and and snacks in each one, taking a look around.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life is both the same in many ways as living north of the border - we go food shopping, run errands, cook, do laundry, see the doctor or dentist, take our pets to the vet, pay our bills - and also very different. The lifestyle is relaxed and easy-going, with so many more opportunities to casually meet up with friends for a drink or a meal or a show without having to drive for miles, find parking, or spend a lot of money. We spend a lot of time outdoors, especially for meals. We can sit for hours in a public square watching local families walking or sitting together, just out for an evening stroll. We might catch random acts of fireworks, or folkloric dancing, or parades - these things seem to just pop up unexpectedly. We can watch a world-class live performance or concert in a historic, beautiful old theatre for next to nothing. And then there is the beach and ocean just steps away. Where else can you live like this?</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJbFLY7QGtSVmWlopl6MUjlqn-8mkOQcR3j9JRJb1PNs9xZ33hyphenhyphenhgUPbcNQX3sfbBYbpGVo3s7ao1FByk5yYuTdS7YSu1MtGgczW_E2kZYm52bLPdHLHlAdZzilB5NJYsJyep4ombL9OE/s1600/P1000452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJbFLY7QGtSVmWlopl6MUjlqn-8mkOQcR3j9JRJb1PNs9xZ33hyphenhyphenhgUPbcNQX3sfbBYbpGVo3s7ao1FByk5yYuTdS7YSu1MtGgczW_E2kZYm52bLPdHLHlAdZzilB5NJYsJyep4ombL9OE/s640/P1000452.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">End the street just steps from the ocean and malecon.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what is the unexpected event? Well, Mike was not due to be down here until Dec. 22 but his work contract finished unexpectedly early in New Jersey so he has come down two weeks early and now has time to work on the software during weekday hours. We decided to focus some time on getting things going while he has the chance and before everyone takes off for Christmas. We have a new product that is very promising as an easy thing to sell, and now have two key phone meetings set up for next week. Oh, that this goes somewhere finally and Mike can stop consulting and work on our own thing! From Mexico perhaps?</span></span>Vagabondgenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215780083780044505noreply@blogger.com2