Riding the Roller Coaster of Car Part Mayhem

My days have been a roller coaster of waiting for the top of the hill and then the subsequent plummet afterward. Up and down, up and down. If I come out of this without high blood pressure I'll consider it a win.

All that to say, I'm still carless in Guadalajara. 

Thought we had it all figured out only to turn around and find out that all the different parts of the puzzle to get the compressor to me quickly have fallen apart. 

So I'm back to square one it feels like. I can't believe how frustrating this all is. It's not just frustrating trying to get the ac compressor for my car but it's also very frustrating to not have my car for over 2 months now. 

Who could have known that finding a GM ac compressor in Mexico would be near impossible....or as it looks at the moment, actually impossible.

If anyone is in the interest of driving to Guadalajara muy pronto or is feeling generous to mail a car part to Mexico, I'm open to suggestions!

Really, the prices are so high for this part (in my opinion), that buying one in the USA and shipping it seems crazy, but that's my only option so that's what it will be. By the time this car is fixed I'm anticipating many many more road trips and a big celebration when I pass the 300,000 mile mark!

Since I purchased a bicycle, I'm much happier. I love bikes (although I prefer battling rocks and trees to cars). Luckily for me there are protected bike lanes in some of the larger streets :) It's given me the freedom to travel a lot further and get to more places without losing half or more of a day to do so. And it's good exercise to boot. I put the extra Denny Crane poundage on my back and settle into gear 24 and pedal my way through the city streets.

I was ever so hopeful that with the holy week vacation (now a couple of weeks past), I'd get to go mountain biking, but wouldn't you know it, that is when a gigantic fire started in the nearby forest. They brought in helicopters and ground crew and are still working on it. Needless to say, it was closed for the general public, so I was unable to go mountain biking :(

Denny Crane had a lovely Semana Santa. He got to investigate new places and smell all sorts of new smells. Unfortunately there weren't any doggie friends, but he did try to befriend a cat. The cat was not so trusting although the curiosity of the cat was extremely entertaining to watch!

I can't believe Denny Crane is still kicking along so well. He's 16 as far as I know and his blood work is good. Incredible. That boy follows my every step (literally). I think he needs some new friends lol, but he's a really good dog, gotta say. 

And...I've recently learned that I'm identified in GDL as Denny Crane's mom as opposed to Ronda. The dog is a celebrity and I'm merely the handler 😂

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!

Nothing New...Year

The holidays have come and gone. I didn't celebrate any of them. I didn't even know which days they were except for the lack of traffic outside. My fb feed was actually confusing because of all my friends in different countries. I had to go google what day it was because I didn't know if it was Christmas today or tomorrow or yesterday.

None of that really matters to me. It's just humorous. Holidays could be good educational days but in my life and my experience, instead of encouraging more regular family get-togethers and more consideration of friends on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, holidays are the perfect rationalizations.

That being said, I didn't celebrate any and have been having quite the experience here in Mexico.

It took just over two weeks to get rid of Montezuma's revenge. The day after I got an intense migraine that took a couple of days to recover from. Now that my body seems to have stopped fighting me, lol, I've gotten back to work on my new writing career. I'd tried to use WordPress for a month and realized it didn't actually have the same possibilities that Wix does so I chose to return to Wix. In just a couple of days I'm already happier and further along than a month ago so hopefully it will be up and running by the end of the Jan.

The latest thing taking up most of my time is the return to apartment hunting. The place I'm staying is literally snowing on me everywhere except the bedroom. So I've tried to move everything uncovered into the bedroom and only live there unless I need to use the bathroom or the kitchen. It's really gross and I'm not sure the ceiling isn't raining asbestos on my belongings and food, but I don't have a test to prove or disprove it so I just live with the assumption it is. From what I read, it's likely asbestos. The landlord has told me he will have it cleaned but I don't know when that will be. The windows have been painted open since I arrived also, making it much colder in the house. Those have also been promised to be replaced or fixed but time moves a little slower and the holidays made it impossible so I've had extremely unfortunate timing in these matters.

 

 

It's still fairly cold here with nighttime temps down in the 40s. This morning I woke up to 38 degrees so definitely heater weather. Still, once the sun is out for a little while, it warms up into the 70s and is very pleasant outside.

In the last trip in my car I discovered a leak in a hose. Had fun going to Autozone to get a new one and because it was AutoZone they just did the work for me which was helpful because all my tools are in the US. The new hose and two new clamps cost me a staggering 131.80 pesos or about $7.

I've found a local panaderia where I can buy multigrain rolls and Mexican pastries for pennies. Each roll is 8 pesos. I eat way too much delicious daily baked bread now....

I also managed to find the one and only Asian market and indulged in a box of ChocoPies and have some ramen for those cold and lonely nights lol. I've also found a few Korean restaurants. Each is slightly different in their inclusions so it's a surprise each first visit but I've enjoyed them immensely none the less. It is very strange to my brain to go to a Korean place and speak Spanish, especially if I'm speaking to a Korean. In these pictures I found a Korean restaurant that has Korean style tables. Well, almost lol. They have floor chairs instead of just cushions and you keep your shoes on instead of removing them at the restaurant entrance, but it's pretty close and I enjoyed it.

All in all, now that my body is back to potential work out status, I'm enjoying discovering the possibilities in Mexico. Sometimes it's still really tough and much nicer to stay in my bedroom watching football on my ipad and eating ramen than dealing with my brain switching to Spanish, but it's getting easier as the days progress and by the time I return to the States my English will probably be just as bad as the other times I've moved to foreign countries. I think they call this total immersion!

Stick Shift Stretch

There are those days where you wake up and find out it's not going to be anything at all like the day you might have imagined. And then as you go through the day, even what you thought it would turn out to be is completely and utterly different.

Today was that day.

I'll begin my day a little earlier.

The windows in my room don't close entirely and they face the street so I get a lot of the street noise. I actually enjoy it. The life, the energy, the feeling of inclusiveness, is one I like off and on. The cacophony of sounds usually forms a white noise of perfect sleepfulness for me.

This particular location has one caveat however. There is a large, and obtrusively loud dog across the street that is a fantastic guard dog in that every person or car or animal that wanders by the street is alarmed. Most nights this dog is fairly quiet, but last night, it was a torture room in my bedroom. Just as I would fall asleep the dog would bark and wake me up. I would listen for a few minutes and try to fall back asleep. As I'm just drifting into a beautiful deep sleep finally, again, the dog barks. This went on all night long. By morning I could barely talk without yawning and was having difficulty focusing.

This is where the fun began.

My couch surfing host came home from her early morning class and said her mother would prefer me to drive her mothers car to a house 3 hours away to change out a light bulb and hang a curtain. Spending the day driving was the last thing I was interested in. Really, I just wanted to go back to bed.

However, there was a key feature in this request that changed my decision. The car I was asked to drive is a manual.

It's funny to me that the daughter initially told her mother I couldn't drive a manual because my car is an automatic, and as she clarified later, she's never met an American that can drive a manual. Well, now she has.

That's not to say I'm any kind of manual driving wonder. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. I rarely drive them and am extremely unconfident in my ability to do so. However, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to further develop my manual driving skills, because the chance only comes every few years usually.

So with an exhausted mind and a stiff neck, I got dressed and said, "Let's do this! As long as I can get coffee on the road".

What an adventure then ensued.

Mexico is a country of speed bumps (topes) and so being able to constantly shift gears is a true necessity. I don't have any problem with that, but I had a rather frustrating time with getting this particular car not to kick me out of first gear after each tope. The daughter was extremely patient and kind as I stalled the car multiple times trying to get the gear shift to stay in first gear. After a few rounds though, I got more comfortable with the car, remembering that I've driven manual cars before. I could do this!

And I did.

I drove that car successfully all the way there and back, up and down 45 degree hill grades and managed to somehow instill a since of calm and confidence to the daughter and to the mother for driving her daughter on the busy highways.

I'm still not exactly sure how I did it, but I stepped outside my comfort zone and succeeded.

The success of my drive was not the pinnacle reward of my day though.

I was gifted with a local's knowledge of a small town beverage that people drive from all around to get in a little town, San Luis Soyatlàn, a good hour from Guadalajara. It was (and still is actually) originally a fruit stand and at the end of the day, they would take the leftover fruit and mix the juice of them with some soda, salt, and tequila. The locals loved it and as word spread, the little roadside stall became a sensation for this beverage. Since it started as a fruit stand, the workers didn't have cups to put the beverages in so they just used the plastic bags they had for selling the fruit. They still do that today, so when you buy a half liter or liter of Vampiro, it comes in a plastic bag knotted around a straw.  I can't say it was my favorite (because of the tablespoon of salt added), but it's apparently many people's highlight.

The "Fruit Stand"

Vampiro preparation

Tequila pour. You get to choose your tequila and how much you want :-)

The full Vampiro liter (okay, my new Mexican sister and I split it)!

Then I got to view one of the most beautiful villages just south of Lake Chapala, Mazamitla.

It's so charming and stunningly beautiful. There are hideous hills to drive, and teeth rattling (more like throw you out of your car jarring) original cobblestone streets, but the character of the village is extremely inviting. I enjoyed walking around it for a brief time and seeing the town square.

The road to the square.

Looking up.

The square with the church and a giant catrina. Notice how small the people are behind me standing next to her.

I also used my tall height to help change light bulbs and hang curtain rods, by which I was rewarded with homemade quesadillas with fresh local cheese inside upon my return home.

Ok, maybe I also used my monkey skills in addition to my height to climb onto the window sill to hang the curtains.
Can't say it was a bad view for curtain hanging!

There was no way I could have foreseen such a wonderful reward of local drink experiences, beautiful sightseeing, and some "little sister" bonding time.

I'm so glad I chose to make the difficult choice to stretch my comfort zone and put the pedal to the metal! The bonuses far exceeded the discomfort.

The Symphony Sensory Overload

Today has been a day of driving around yet again, although more driving than idling.

Being a professional classical orchestra musician, I feel, has prepared me well for today and the days to come. Why? Well, here's what is different about driving in Mexico first.

1) Driving rules are not the same in Mexico as the USA. I actually enjoy driving here much more, but I'm still constantly learning and questioning what is right and what is wrong and which rules I can stretch and which I can just outright break. Watch, try, and learn every day.

2) There are speed bumps (so tall my car drags bottom quite often even at the slowest drop) randomly with no notice often and giant potholes. Topes, as the speed bumps are called, sometimes have a road sign a few meters ahead of them. Sometimes they're painted yellow and white to stand out from the blacktop. But very often, they're just black and there is no sign so when you're driving trying to watch for everything else, well, my heart has lept into my throat more times than I care to admit.

3) Following Google Map instructions is only partially helpful. Meaning I have to listen to Google, zoom in to physically read the map, and watch all the road signs go by at the same time. Google consistently tells you to turn one road to early and doesn't understand the divided road system here so is constantly telling you to stay left or right at the Y when there is no Y and when there actually is a Y, Google almost always says to go straight!

4) Stop signs and right of way are a learned process more than they are marked. Best idea right now is to anger every driver behind me as I slow down at each intersection to figure out my particular driving rights. And most of the time it's impossible to see around the intersection until you're out in it so knowing right of way really helps, although I'm sure not always.

5) Many roads here are one-way and there may or may not be a sign painted visibly on the ground or posted on a pole or painted on a wall. I spent nearly an hour driving north on a divided road simply wanting to turn left anywhere. Google maps showed that I could but when I got to each intersection, there was a 'no left turn' sign that everyone seemed to follow so I did as well. Ended up having to wind through one-way neighborhood streets east of the road to cross the north/south bound road going west. Bloody nightmare!

6) Since I'm apartment hunting I'm a looking for "Se Renta" signs everywhere which keeps my head on a continuous swivel. As soon as I spot a sign I then need to either pull over randomly in the street or figure a way to drive back around. Either are spur of the moment decisions I hope don't end badly.

7) Investigating all the neighborhoods means I'm interested in what kind of shops and restaurants are around and how far they are from each other. It's been fun translating everything at the speed of driving. This has been my easiest task though I think.

8) In Guadalajara there are a whole lot of bicylists. Many times there are bike lanes as well which are nice and divided from the main road with concrete barriers. However, neighborhood streets don't have the bike lanes and even on the main roads, I feel like I'm the most grateful girl in the world to have a 2 door car with extra large windows. So far, no bicyclists injured in the house hunt!

9) In addition to the bicylists, there are mopeds and motorbikes everywhere. (Understandably, considering the car traffic). They drive similar to how they do in Europe (around and through all the cars). There are even patches of green at the front of the interesections for them to accumulate before the light changes. I am familiar with this and it doesn't phase me driving-wise, however, since I'm overwhelmed with looking for everything else, one still surprises me every so often. Thankfully, no motorbikers have been injured in the house hunt!

10) Parking and finding parking is an absolute nightmare. I have a long car for Mexico and that makes it even more difficult. Mostly though, there are just not many places to park. When you do find a spot, it's usually in front of a garage and you have to hunt for the no parking sign and move on. Then you find another spot but it's got a blue sign which means it's a goverment regulated spot so you have to pay for it through an app (and only the the app mind you). Since I don't have the app set up, I have to keep trying. It took me a half hour of driving around one-way streets this morning to find a parking spot for my first apartment showing. Sure glad I left early! Most important though is making sure you don't pass up any potential spot because by the time you can drive around, it will be gone. Finding the speed to drive where you can look and potentially stop, yet not anger the car trying to not park behind you is a 'fun' game I'm already tired of playing.

What it feels like trying to drive in Mexico all by myself.

So why has the years in the symphony orchestras helped me to drive here in Mexico? I believe the ability to read my music, watch the conductor, watch the section leader, watch the concertmaster, listen for doubling throughout the orchestra, listen for the melody if I don't have it, listen for the harmony and bass to perfect pitch, and also listen to myself has given me the tools to be able to simulataneously be successful in the midst of the sensory overload that is driving in Mexico.

Yes, I hit a few wrong notes or occasionally misread the conductor or concertmaster, as I occasionally drop in a pot hole or sail over a tope. But so far, my senses on high alert, my symphony of apartment hunting from the car has proved successful and extremely valuable.

Here's to making even more beautiful music in the world to come!

Holiday House Hunting

It certainly has been a unique set of events regarding my apartment hunting in Guadalajara. I arrived Sunday early evening and enjoyed a lovely night chatting with my hosts. All my research was as done as could be before heading into the actual city on Monday.

Turns out, Monday is a national holiday so everything is closed and everyone is out and about so traffic is abysmal and my lunch doesn't exist.

Also, today was the last day of the Mexican Black Friday: Buen Fin. Everyone was out to get the very last deals of the day. Whew, there are a lot of shoppers in Guadalajara! Almost felt like I was in Japan with the sidewalks and crosswalks so full they were spilling over into the streets with people.

After driving, or rather sitting, in my car for hours today, I've seen two apartments and had almost identical experiences.

I'm not a typical renter, even as an expat, in that I'm not retired, I don't have a formal job, nor do I know a land owner in Guadalajara (another city in Mexico doesn't work) which makes it apparently quite difficult to rent, even to non agencies. Both couples I visited today to see their apartments immediately retracted their generosity when they found out I didn't have the "formal" job, nor a land owner in Guadalajara to vouch for me. Both are required.

Interestingly, both gentlemen were quite willing to offer various alternatives, while both women were various levels of adamently angry with me for seemingly wasting their time and urged the rules that must be followed. Knowing I'd probably end up having to deal mostly with the women because of their ernest overtaking of the situations, I'm a little concerned with my current options.

I'm finally done with driving as far as apartment hunting goes today. I've seen quite a bit of the city and will see two more apartments tomorrow. Hopefully these will go better than those today. One is with an agency that specializes in expat situations so I'm crossing my fingers for more hospitality.

There were so many downsides to the holiday today. First was that everything is closed so getting a feel for a neighborhood is difficult because outside of Centro and a bit of Av Chapultepec, all doors were shut leaving an impression of undesireableness. Where things were open, pretty much the entire town was out walking and driving around creating a huge deadlock that is abnormal (I'm told), however, still my first (and only) impression.

Another downside was trying to eat. So many restaurants are closed that I walked an hour without finding one open and had to drives hours to a different part of the city to eat. Hours, mostly because traffic was a deadlock and I found myself on a north-bound street that didn't allow left turns for miles. Insane!

Good news is that I found a sushi and sake bar. Fried cheese and bananas, tepinyaki fish, and cold sake for me for dinner tonight! I ended back up in Chapultepec as it was at least the right direction toward home and restaurants were open when I drove through earlier in the afternoon. They aren't all open now, but at least there are a few. Thank heavens as I was really hungry!

Who knew lightly fried cheese and bananas on a stick were crazy delicious?!?!?

Meh. The appetizer was much better but my glass is almost empty :-)

One thing I have noticed that I really am excited for is the bike lanes in Guadalajara. There are actually a lot of them and bicyclists are everywhere. I'm excited to get out there without my car! If today is any indication, I'll get places much faster on a bike. Yes, if you're wondering I left my bikes in the USA. However, my couchsurfing host has a friend that is selling exactly what I need for super cheap (so I'm told) so hopefully I'll have a city bike within the week... Denny Crane in the basket on the front of course!

Still so much to do tonight to prepare for tomorrow. My host will be back at work tomorrow so I won't have my interpretter with me, which has really helped keep things short and understandable. My Spanish is just fine for a normal conversation but specific words for renting are not in my vocabulary yet. I'll be sleeping with a rotating Spanish dictionary tonight lol!