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August 30 International MSNToday, as I was browsing the news stories on MSN, I noticed a news report on Hurricane John that is in the Atlantic Ocean and threatening to reach the Mexican coast. I wanted to share the story with my Canadian family and friends to give them an example of how strange the weather has been this year. However, when I tried to blog the story, the MSN page I was taken to was written in an Asian language! I have enough problems learning Spanish, so I think for today, I will just add the news link here ;0)
As for the strange weather here, Hurricane John might not be making dangerous waves, but we have still been having a ton of rain in the evenings. My roses are starting to die from too much rain! And yet I hear that Canada is having a nice end of summer. Lucky Canucks - enjoy your upcoming long weekend! June 29 Tickle TimeJune 07 Talking about Ben Harper: "Steal My Kisses"
Ben Harper: "Steal My Kisses" May 12 8 Lives Left.Last night I was watching an old episode of CSI. I usually switch between Sony and Warner channel since they can be SAP'ed and have the most shows I don't mind watching. Alex had already fallen asleep next to me after another 12 hour day at work.
Grissom was spouting one of his famous annoying one liners - the producers always put a dramatic pause after he delivers them and usually I question myself again why I watch the junk they put on TV. Anyway, Arnie was being a "trick cat" and jumping up and down off the open window ledge. This always makes me paranoid since the ledge isn't very wide and it's a good 12 meter drop from the window ledge to my flower bed below (cacti and roses). Since he was making more noise than usual I became more interested in his antics than the pathetic actors on TV. Suddenly, the cat was no longer on the ledge..panicing I went to the window and couldn't see him anywhere. Calling Arnie's name, I woke Alex and we both quickly searched the rest of the house...Arnie was nowhere inside. Alex finally found him outside near the front steps, with no injuries from his tumble out the window; apparently missing the cacti and rose thorns...one life less from his nine! April 28 Nostalgic.nos·tal·gi·a
NOUN:
Last night it rained again. Strange weather since the hurricane season doesn't start until next month. Alex had mistakenly downloaded some of my Tragically Hip songs to his Ipod the night before and he was suprised to hear them on his drive home. He defined the music as nostalgic...too sad he said for a long drive home in the rain. Nostalgic...defines perfectly the mood of their songs. It made me think of how their songs always get my blood pumping faster and usually start daydreams of the past. That Night in Saskatoon...a defining few minutes in my memories..Gord Downie commenting to the crowd at Edgefest '98 about the full moon overhead before strumming into Ahead By A Century. I was trying my hardest to etch every part of that moment into my memory...the moon..the music...Gord...being with friends. At that exact moment, everything seemed perfect and the future lay ahead with vast possibilites. Nostalgic! To the other biggest Hip fan I know (besides my dad), I hope that Heaven has a 24/7 Hip station. I miss you, fully and completely. January 06 Arnie.Happy New Year. A new year. A new pet. On New Year's Eve, Alex and I found the sweetest kittie at the pet store. Among five other kitties, he was standing in the middle of them all, meowing at us through the glass. Like some of you know, I have a weakness for animals when they seem to acknowledge me (Louie was bought after he licked the glass in front of me).
Alex named the kittie, Arnie, short for Arnoldo (hee hee). The past week he has been adjusting to his new home and getting used to his new canine friends, Louie and Petite. He is a good little kittie but spoiled already; he meows when he wants to be cuddled. Louie and Petite are getting more used to him. Petite loved him from first sight but Louie is taking longer to make friends (he tries to bite Arnie's little ears constantly).
Pictures soon to follow. December 15 One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.Well, after many mishaps and mass chaos, I have made it safely back to Mexico, after a brief but long trip home to Prince Albert.
Travelling through the states was a big mistake...mental note - always pay the extra money to take the direct route through Vancouver. United States customs was short of a nightmare and delayed us several times, the worst causing us to be stuck in L.A. overnight on our way to Canada. Prior to the trip, I had been excited to see LAX and the Minneapolis airport...new places are always exciting...but venturing into United States terriority proved how insane their attack on terriorism has become...not all people are terrorists or want to live in the states...a statement I wanted to scream at airport officials when we had to take off our shoes, belts, and jackets just to walk through security.
Our early Christmas in Prince Albert was enjoyable and I ate as much of my mom's turkey dinner and desserts as I could since I couldn't take any back with me. The perogies were amazing and I'm sure my shape resembled one once we left for Mexico.
Preparation for our Christmas here has begun..this weekend we will decorate our tree. Dani started to decorate the house while we were in Canada..it is actually starting to feel like Christmas...well, minus the snow and cold (hopefully Canada will get more snow so that all our friends and family can have a snowy holiday).
Once again..Happy Holidays...can't wait to hear how everyone's Christmas holidays go. November 29 Less Than A Month Before Christmas.Less than a month before Christmas...where did the time go?
On Saturday we started our Christmas shopping, well okay, I did more shopping for myself than the people on my list but everything is done better under pressure. There is still time. I'm still trying to decide who will get the $150.00 donation to World Vision for a goat...a priceless gift...and it will keep me laughing for the rest of the year. A real goat would be even better.
 The mall that we usually shop at, since it has a Gap boutique in the Liverpool department store, gets a three storey real Canadian Christmas tree for the holidays. It was gorgoeus (picture to follow once it is downloaded off the cell phone). It smelled so good and reminded me so much of my Canadian home, I could have cried.
Alex and I are going to P.A. for an early Christmas next week and will stay for a week in the Canadian cold (keep your fingers crossed for us that the warmer weather lasts while we are there). I'm looking forward to my mom's Christmas supper...cabbage rolls and perogies..I can't wait.
We will wait to decorate the house and tree once we return from Canada. Tentatively, Christmas in Mexico is being celebrated at the house...I'm alittle anxious about making turkey supper for around twenty people but it will definitely be a challenge. At least this holdiay I'm a little better equipped to work the gas oven. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday preparations...I look forward to hearing about everyone's celebrations.
Happy Holidays! November 16 Happy Belated Halloween!A couple weeks late with this posting, but I wanted to write about Halloween in Mexico none the less.
Halloween here is celebrated on November 1st (All Saints Day) and November 2nd (Day of the Dead). As a celebration of the people that have passed before us, these two days focus on remembering and honoring the dead. Alex's grandma set up an alter in the hallway with candles, flowers and food offerings. It is said that on the night of the 1st, the dead return to visit with the living and the altar welcomes them into the house. The little ones can go trick or treating both nights and most adults celebrate on the night of the 1st since the 2nd is a national holdiay from work.
Alex and I stayed home and carved our little pumpkin with help from Cheo. It was her first time carving a pumpkin so she was a bit hesitant digging out the seeds but we had a good laugh in the process. Our little pumpkin was right at home on the altar.
Six Flags.Sorry I haven't written for awhile...life has been busy with Alex's grandparents moving out of the house and with me becoming the head chef...so far so good lol.
A couple weekends ago, Alex, Dani and I took Paola, Monica, and Cheo to Six Flags. I was excited since it was my first time but I was a bit nervous about keeping the girls in sight at all times...the park is huge...think West Edmonton Mall Fantasyland on steroids and outside.
Finding the park proved to be an adventure in itself and we took the wrong exit off the freeway...it makes me nervous when even Alex gets lost in Mexico City. But the park was on the northside of the city, a part I hadn't seen before...new shops to look at and the work in progress of a freeway in the sky. I guess it's a continuous bridge over the existing freeway, one that is built to withstand earthquakes. It reminded me of something out of the Jeston's cartoon.
Finally we arrived at the park, and after a bathroom break, we decided the first ride of the day would be the Rio Salvaje (River Rapids ride). Still not sure if this was a good idea or not. As we were standing in line to get on the ride, I was amused at how many people were buying water ponchos...thinking to myself, "Isn't that the point of the whole ride?" Anyway, we ended up buying one to wrap our bags and cell phones in, just in case. The ride was insane...I don't think I even get that wet when I'm in the shower!!! The six of us were drenched once we got off the ride. Luckily for me (with strong sarcasm in my voice), my jeans stayed wet until we left the park seven hours later.
The next seven hours were packed with screams, giggles and good food. Alex and I braved the Kilahuea (much bigger version of the Drop of Doom at West Ed). I can't remember ever being that scared in my entire life...sitting in the ride, you are hurtled up this tall piece of steel and then once reaching the top, dropped without any warning...I screamed the entire ride and was too scared to even enjoy the great view of Mexico City from the top. It took several minutes for my heart to beat normally after the ride. I must be getting old.
Lunch was chicken tacos and fries with cheese, salsa, and mayo (rico!) We also had nachos, potato puffs and chocolate filled bread. Adding food to my stomach and then going on more rides is never a good idea, so I sat out for the last spinning ride and enjoyed the view from the Wheel of Fortune (Ferris wheel).
Seven hours total..no missing children...and we will have to return to go on all the rides we missed.
October 28 Athabasca U.After numerous battles with my student advisor, I finally received my textbooks for my four month term at Athabasca University.
Yes, I admit that I was becoming a full time web surfer and needed something to do with my time, but upon receiving my books...I think reading the online verison of Flare was less work!
I´m enrolled in:
ANTH 310 - Primate Behavior
WMST 333 - Goddess Mythology, Women´s Spirituality and Ecofeminism
PSYC 315 - Psychology and the Mass Media
ARHI 201 - A Survey of Western Art
PSYC 343 - Issues and Strategies in Counselling Women
I promise after this semester to grow up, become an adult and find a real job. Tee Hee...anyone want to hire a B.A. in Psych? October 17 Chapultepec Zoo.On Saturday (Oct. 15, 2005), Alex and I went to the Mexico City zoo. We spent most of the afternoon there, walking for over two hours and the park closed before we could see all of the animals. The zoo was gorgeous with many palm trees and flowering trees but unfortunately most of the animals were having siestas while we were there. We took pictures of our favorite animals (mostly the giraffes and elephants). On the way out of the park, the paths, lined with food stands, were hard to resist. We stopped for our second lunch of the day (the first being McD´s in the middle of the zoo - good but the smell of animals was hard to ignore) at one of the outdoor stands. For only around $6 (60 pesos) we had chicken tacos, beef tacos, and Sangria (minus the alcohol). A cheap fun afternoon since there was no admission fee for the zoo.
Later that evening we drove to a small town that is about 10 minutes away from the house. It was awe-inspiring; a traditional Mexican town with cobblestone streets, entertainment around the town square (fair rides and games, food booths and street markets). At the edge of square stood a georgous church. Unfortunately due to the time, we couldn´t walk inside the church, which has gold flake painted walls. We were wedding crashers for a few brief moments outside of another church, where we watched part of a wedding ceremony (I wanted to see the bride´s dress but the ceremony was neverending). From a drink stand near the square, we bought a vodka drink that came in it´s own clay jar (my first piece of Mexican pottery). Having finished our drink, we both needed to find a public bathroom, but with none in sight, we paid 5 pesos to use one in a restaurant off the street. The condition of the bathroom was such that the owner should have paid us 5 pesos to use it (tee hee) but when you have to go, you have to go.
More pictures to come once they are downloaded off of the cell phone. October 09 Happy Thanksgiving!Happy Thanksgiving in Canada! Words can´t describe how much I´m missing my mom´s thankgiving dinner! Hope you are all enjoying your turkey and time with your families! October 07 Future Forecast: Five Hundred Pound BeautyToday´s lunch was amazing!!! The much awaited green chiles with cheese. Cooked with tomato sauce and eaten with tortillas! Amazing...my favorite dish yet. The potatoe soup to start was also good...at this rate I will be five hundreds pounds by Christmas. October 06 Mystery MeatI don´t recommend the pig skin.  Good thing I didn´t know what it was when I was eating it.Domestic Goddess in TrainingMy Spanish grandma is the matriarchal force within this house. From waking to bed, she strives to serve each member of the household through cooking, cleaning and care...a lost art it seems in Canada - perhaps the result of a combination of greed and the strenght of feminism present.
This morning as I ate my breakfast that had been waiting for me (watermelon, flan, a glass of milk and more flan & chocolate cake), I watched her prepare our meal for this afternoon. Green chiles stuffed with cheese and rolled in flour. The chiles were cooked in a frying pan on the stove...once stemming hot, she peeled away the top layer of each one, removing any spots that had turned dark from touching the pan for too long. After cleaning, she cut a slit in each, cutting out the pocket of seeds and brushing out seeds that stuck to the insides. Stuffing each chile with stringy white cheese, she rolled them in flour...they already looked good enough to eat. Having already watched her for several minutes without the ability to comment in Spanish...I thanked her for breakfast and left her to enjoy her domain.
I still have much to learn...maybe the days of McDonald´s drive thru are gone  October 05 Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz"...you have a rare opporutnity for perfect bliss, and you would be ill advised to poison your life with either academia or drug dealing" (311).
Become a Mexican citizen and go to university for FREE! October 03 The Tragically HipOn November 1st, The Tragically Hip are to release a Limited Edition Box Set titled "Hipeponymous"...it includes a 2 CD set, a live concert DVD and a bonus DVD box set.
Keep an eye out for me in Canada...I would love to know the price and where I can get one! Dead animals in Mexico CitySince I can only write so many versions of my daily experiences in Mexico, and I keep forgettting who I have written to and who I haven´t...I have decided the next best thing to do is to blog my expereinces...lol...get ready for a good daily laugh.
Also since I haven´t had a chance to email everyone...I will start with my first dead animal in Mexico story. Hopefully in the future, this dead animal theme will end!!!
Alittle background first...
Alex´s grandma keeps three cages of pet birds that she keeps outside during the day and then brings into the laundry room at night. Two weekends ago, one of the birds kept escaping from it´s cage in the laundry room. Alex would catch it in a towel, put it back in the cage and then had to repeat the exercise two more times before the bird would stay in the cage. The birds are cute and have the cutest song...Louie seems interested in them too but I try to encourage him to stay away from the cages in case he gets too curious.
Anyway, on with the story, last week I was in the laundry room looking for a sponge to clean up a spill on the tile by the bedroom. I reached for a red bowl that was on the shelf, hoping to find something that would clean up the mess...beneath a bathroom brush and some scrubbing pads was....one of Alex´s grandma´s birds...very dead! Since I´m trying to make the best impression possible with my new family members, I didn´t want to be the one to tell her that the bird had died...I quickly put the bowl back on the shelf and decided to let Alex handle the situation once he returned home from work.
In the end, Alex´s grandma had been aware of the bird´s death but for some reason had felt the need to keep it in the bowl before disposing of it...hmmmm...no more questions asked lol.
Now today´s dead animal story...
Today as Alex´s grandparents and I were enjoying our lunch (beans and tortillas with a spicy green sause..very good just not sure what it was called), I noticed that Alex´s sister´s dog, Petite, was jumping in and out of the hedge near the side wall of the house. Not really knowing what she was doing, I motioned for Alex´s grandparents to look too...we watched her for a few minutes but continued to eat our lunch. After a few more minutes, I looked out the window again to see if Petite was still in the hedge...just in time to see Petite leaping out of the hedge with a long grey thing in her mouth! I shrieked when I realized what it was...A RAT!!!! OMG..the grossest thing I have ever seen in my life (I don´t think I have ever seen one in real life before other than in a pet store)!! It was so gross...all I could do was laugh hysterically (with Alex´s grandpa) as my Spanish grandma calmly walked outside and disposed of the rat in newspaper for the trash. One more dead animal to add to the list! |
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