Legal to walk another 6 months

What an experience. What a day. What a really long day to test my patience, my feet, my Spanish, and my dedication to finding the best perspective and having a positive attitude.

Trying to survive in a foreign country with a second language has certainly been a challenge (every time). Trying to survive in a country (that often works under the table) during a worldwide pandemic has been an even greater challenge.

Before the virus started, I had a job lined up in the US and the intention to start my temporary visa for Mexico (which must be started outside of Mexico). A month before my trip was planned the border was closed as well as the consulates and concert halls. Day by day I read and watched and waited to try to figure out what the best plan was. Day by day my "plans" changed.

Several times I visited the immigration office and every time I was turned away and told to wait. I was a bit worried but I waited. I waited until after my visa expired and I kept waiting as they kept instructing.

Considering the situation progression, I decided to seek additional advice. I paid a lawyer to help me. He filled out lots of paperwork, which I signed, and told me he would make an appointment for me as soon as possible at immigration and an associate would accompany me to help me.

Fantastic I thought. Yes, I've paid more than the cost of a new visa, but I'll finally be able to get an appointment and get help to secure a new visa. Granted, not for my car (thus the title that I'm legal to *walk* for another 6 months), but it's much more reassuring to have a current visa, especially if I can't leave for much longer.

Three weeks later I finally had my appointment. It's a good thing I kept up with the lawyer as I never received the email with my appointment information.

So that brings me to today.

It was an early morning for me as I prepared everything for Denny Crane to stay home alone for the day and made sure I had everything I needed for my appointment at 9. I was told to arrive early. and I arrived five minutes before 9, looked for the associate, but didn't find him. I messaged that I was there and received a message about 10 minutes later that said he was late and was parking and would be there soon. Another 10 minutes later he arrived. Unfortunately, he was 20 minutes late to my 9 o'clock appointment and I was told it was too late. I was not allowed to enter. I didn't understand everything that transpired afterward but I did understand that I needed to wait. And that is what I did. I waited.

Waiting outside immigration. Yes, that is a blow up sanitization walk-through tent just inside the door.

I was finally permitted to enter my appointment around 10 minutes after 11. I did not know before hand that I was going to be standing for the entirety of my appointment and to try to give a proper impression, I wore my business attire (khaki pants and black blouse with sweater). What is included with my business attire are my high heels. My khaki pants are too long for flats. Well, I most certainly did not enjoy standing in place for an hour in high heels after waiting for 2 hours.

But, you do what you need to and I stood there and answered all the questions and signed all the papers. All of this without any help that was promised. I had envisioned a private appointment where I had a translator to help me, but the reality was I stood in a general room alone because the associate was not allowed to enter with me. I did my best to do everything in Spanish and was almost completely successful, which was an amazing feeling. After an hour I was told to wait more, so I regressed to my previous waiting game and waiting another two hours.

Nope, can't say it's my happiest face after half a day of waiting and standing.

At 2 o'clock I tried to get back in to the second part of the process but the doors weren't open. I did have a bit of good fortune in that about ten minutes after 2 they opened the doors so I was permitted to wait inside instead of outside where I was quite cold. However, nothing was happening inside. I sat and waited and waited some more. A half hour later there was finally movement and after waiting for the couple in front of me to sign their new visas, I was finally granted the opportunity to finish the process and sign my new visa, thus granting me the legalization to walk around Mexico for another 6 months.

My car permit is also expired and so far the government isn't extending those permits. I'm not sure why, but luckily for me, I live very close to everything so I don't need to drive often, but it's still disconcerting to know that my car is illegal every time I want to go to a restaurant or Costco.

So after 8 hours (Poor Denny Crane. He held it all day. He's such a boss!), I returned home with blisters on my feet and barely able to walk, very very hungry as I hadn't eaten all day, an incredibly full bladder from not having a restroom all day, and extreme tiredness from waiting all day lol!

Now it is on to another waiting game where I wait on the virus and the countries of Mexico and the USA. What will transpire in the coming 6 months I can not say, but I'm very thankful to have my new visa to wait it out and see!

More adventures than the high seas

I don't even know where to start.

Writing another post has been on my mind every day for months now. Somehow every time I sit down to write, the desire and inspiration vanishes and I see the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and the pile of dirty clothes, and the feelings of loneliness and hopelessness overtake me. Self isolation hasn't been the kindness company.

Today is different. Just a little.

Today, I made a pot of percolator coffee. It's weak because I have no idea how much coffee grounds to use because I never ever ever make coffee. I've never purchased a coffee pot or coffee to make any. But my new apartment happens to have an old fashioned (and quite nice quality) coffee percolator, so I purchased a small bag of coffee the last time I ventured out to the store.

Last night, I passed the time eavesdropping mosquitoes and swinging an electric racket around wildly in the air in hopes of being able to sleep at some point. I think I got about 4 mosquitoes and 4 hours of toss and turn, mosquito nightmares, sweaty sleep. Just enough to wake up and feel too awake to sleep, and too tired to work.

What more perfect day for me to try to make a cup of coffee.

So yes, today is slightly different as instead of tea, I'm drinking a much less pleasant flavored beverage (mostly because I don't know the right measurements) and doing my best to continue on with the chores at hand (although failing miserably to achieve them in a quicker time line).

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The real question though, is how did I get here, to this apartment and with a pile of dirty dishes and clothes every day it seems.

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Well, if you read the last entry, I was living in an asbestos infested, mold growing, and air infiltrated apartment where I couldn't cook or live without breathing problems. It was lovely....

With the knowledge that my visa for Mexico would expire in a couple more months, I looked tirelessly for a new apartment with a 2 month lease possibility. Painting over the existing mold in the apartment did not solve the problem and the landlord was unwilling to cover my housing costs in order to fix it properly.

With the best fortune, somehow I managed to get my deposit back after only two months living there after signing a year lease. I've heard so many horror stories about getting deposits back and the girl that left the apartment next door had to fight for just half of hers so I'm happily shocked to have all of mine.

It was another month of looking full time for apartments once I realized I wasn't going to be able to fix my housing problem internally. All my work on my website was back out the window and I struggled to breath indoors so tried to take my workouts outside, but the dust level outside was also quite high and taxing.

I'd been in Guadalajara for approximately 3 months.  The first two I was couchsurfing and looking for apartments every day and one month into the new apartment I was back at it again.

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Facebook marketplace is the old craigslist of the USA. I found a place willing to rent just two months with the option to extend. It was furnished and secure and had a covered parking space. It was also clear on the edge of town and had two stories (Denny Crane can't do the stairs and therefore barks incessantly at either end if I go to the other level). But two months...no problem.

I signed the lease, handed over my deposit and felt extremely grateful to have found a place with a 2 month option for the same price as my old place and I wouldn't need to buy anything.

Moving day arrived and I realized the secure dead end private gated street didn't have room for me to drive my car into my parking space while the neighbors car was parked in front of their house. I believe I had to ask them 3 or 4 times that day to move their car so I could either get into my garage or leave my garage. I was not off to a good start. But they assured me that during the weekdays their second car that parks in the street is never there. Hah.

I quickly learned that was not the case and had to arrange my days around when their second car was gone. If I heard them leave or looked out the window and it was not there, it was a mad dash for the keys and my purse and Denny Crane to run out the door before they could return. I barely made it once as they pulled into the street just as I was leaving my garage. By the last day of the two months, I found it ironic more than frustrating.

The very last day I pulled into the street to find their car in the same place in front of my garage so instead of asking them to move it, I simply parked in front of my garage and waited for an angry neighbor further up the street to let me know they couldn't leave because the street was blockaded by my car. Luckily that never happened and eventually the neighbors left and I was able to correctly park my car in my garage.

Boy am I wary of secure one way dead end streets in Mexico now.

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In the beginning to middle of my two month lease in the new house was when the USA started to take action with travel bans and border closings.

I had planned on going back to the US to play a couple of concerts and get a bunch more of my stuff and see my family. Now I had no idea what to do.

With the situation changing daily I read as much information as possible about what could happen if the borders closed and my visa expired.

To this day, nobody still really knows.

But I went to immigration several times to no avail, spoke with others in the same situation to no avail, and even questioned a couple of immigration lawyers in fb to no avail. The best answer I got was, hang out and wait and when you leave, buy another visa.

So with this information, that is what I decided to do.

But that meant, do I extend the lease on the house in the location I dislike with the parking problem or go back to looking for another place, again.

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I went back to house hunting. I think I've house hunted in Guadalajara more than I've done anything else. If there wasn't a pandemic I could pursue a real estate license here. I certainly know all the listing websites and neighborhoods well enough.

I decided to look for a cheaper place and after a month of searching yet again, I found one. I managed to get a 6 month lease since I have absolutely no idea what in the world will happen so 6 months is a little easier to handle than a year.

The location is stellar first and foremost and I have an uncovered parking place that I can access all the time. It's those little things.

However, this is the first apartment building I've lived in here as opposed to more of a townhouse situation.

Ugh. I hear every conversation, toilet flush, dish washed, music selection. I haven't complained but my neighbors have complained. Apparently it's okay for them to molest my personal ear space from 7 am onward until 1 am many nights but it's not okay if I do the same. When I say the same, my movies are so low in volume I actually have to focus in order to follow the dialogue because the neighbors conversations/music/movies are significantly louder than mine.

Denny Crane is much happier here though. It's all one level so he can always keep an eye on me and he has a large dirt garden to use for his bathroom just outside the door. I've been here a month this Friday and he is definitely starting to settle in to his new home.

I've spent the last month mostly super deep cleaning and rearranging furniture and getting settled myself in terms of which rooms are the most annoying to reside due to the neighbors.

I'm looking forward to practicing violin and getting complaints about that very soon. But let's just say that I'm fairly certain my violin practicing is a higher quality than the neighbors karaoke sessions, piano and ukulele tinkering, and whatever else comes out of their apartments.

I've definitely learned that I value a quiet residence potential. I'm not always quiet and don't expect everyone else to be either but as I'm typing this I'm listening to one neighbor on a conference call, one neighbor watering their plants in the hallway, and another neighbor singing to the radio as she's in the kitchen. (And yes, she's an absolutely hideous singer, if you can actually call her a singer).

Only 5 months left. In the next 5 months who's to know what will transpire. My visa is now expired as is my car permit. The border is closed and the isolation continues.

If I can get my coffee recipe right, maybe, just maybe, I can get the motivation to really get things done like any good introvert would do during this time....if I can just find that inner introvert in there somewhere I'll be all set!

Finding my daily inspiration inside a hairless coconut after some Insanity!