Just got back from Vancouver and Vancouver Island, jam-packed days with meetings and visits and research. Time sure flies when you’re busy. I spent four days in Vancouver then headed out to the Island where I spent eight days and then came home. All is good – things are in motion, so to speak. We looked at lots of rentals. And then we viewed a commercial building with living quarters that it for sale. It would be a perfect set up for the operation (Organic Alternatives – tinctures, oils and herbal remedies, Buddhist prayer flags and other goodies) and we’ll see. Organic health practices treat the spirit and the body – it’s an interesting path and one I’ve been on the edges of for years. I have a partner who needs to look at the building next week but sounds like it may be a go. I doubt we would put in an offer until December – we don’t really want it before March but we’ll see. I could finally have a place to sell my Buddha Balls.
What is most interesting, is how things are falling into place. It’s almost effortless and I have no sense of urgency. If it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. We have virtually nothing invested at this point other than time (and airfare). We will buy the building separately (with the same partner) and rent it to the business if that works out. The investment will be relatively minimal. When it was brought up by a very sweet and caring friend about being cautious investing any retirement money in ventures like this – the bottom line is that it’s only 5% of our new worth that we are risking – tops. And that’s allowing for lots of unexpected costs. Helps that we’re only in for 50% of the project and the Island is so inexpensive overall. Compared to Vancouver, for example. And if the business isn’t what we expected, we’ll likely end up shuttering it and selling the building and hopefully we are buying low here (I think we are). It’s almost a no-brainer.
Last night, my flight arrived at 11:15 pm and it was close to midnight by the time I walked down the hall to Puerta 10 and got an authorized taxi to Cuernavaca (often a 1 hour, 15 minute ride at that time of night, door to door). He was pretty excited, showed the ticket to the cars in front and back – his buddies – I guess a long haul fare is what you want. Traffic was bad in town – Friday night was to blame the driver told me – but once we got out of the city, we were fine. At least, until his GPS took him into Cuernavaca about 10 miles too far north. And took him on a road that really wasn’t a road – it was dark – the asphalt dropped like a cliff about two feet and we ended up stuck, rocking a bit on the edge of the asphalt mini-cliff, with his front wheel drive wheels spinning in the mud, elevated just slightly off the ground. In the dark, did I mention that? In a not-so-nice part of town. At about 1:30am. Oy.
Another cab, a Cuernavaca white cab (I was in a Yellow DF airport cab) stopped and helped us – they worked together to rock the car (one standing in the open trunk, jumping up and down), until the other got enough rock under the wheels that he could then drive forward. Teamwork. I held the flashlight on my iPhone. And he got me home eventually. But I don’t think he’ll be excited about getting a Cuernavaca fare again. I did tip him well. I wish I’d thought to take a photo.
And I did collect a bunch more air miles – almost have enough for a free ticket but we’ll see. Maybe I should save them for upgrades. On a five-hour flight, it’s worth it, I think. Especially when it’s not ‘cash’ – it’s psychologically easier. I expect to return in January or February – depends on how quickly we close the building. It feels like it will happen. If it doesn’t, another door will open. Or not. Que sera, and all that.
Speaking of flights, the Rolling Stones are coming to Mexico City in March. The tickets our friends are aiming for are $660 USD each. That’s dangerously close to $900 Canadian dollars, per ticket (Canadian dollars being what we earn our incomes in). Two of us = almost $1800. No way. $1700 Canadian buys two round trip tickets from Mexico City to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Or Buenos Aires or Lima or Bogota. Bruce tickets top out at about $200 – this price structure is a first for me. And I’ve seen hundreds of bands (not so many lately, 2012 was my last big concert). We can go into general admission – the Stones would be fun to see but they aren’t the highest on our list. I’d see Guy Clark or Rodney Crowell first. Maybe even Jimmy. Certainly Bruuuuuce. But I like the Stones and grew up listening to them. So I’d love to go. And fun to hook up with some San Miguel friends before and after. So, I’m pitching a piece to one of the local English language newspapers. To two of them, actually, but one at a time. I’ll do the story for the ticket, which they should get for free. Problem solved. If it works. If not, general admission.
I do feel as though we are entering another stage of our lives. New moon in Scorpio this week, a powerful one. New beginnings. The new stage has as much to do with the new house in Mexico City as it does with the new business. The Island business thing is maybe the means – the move to the big city is the end (as in means to an end). Maybe it’s the end of our wandering (or maybe not, LOL).
I’ve been thinking a lot of San Miguel lately. Reflecting on our years there and considering the future. It won’t be soon, because I don’t ‘see’ it when I think of it. There was one house we quite liked on the water (the reservoir in Frailes) which is off the market, but going back on at some point apparently. It might make a nice hideaway one day, but the winters are so cold. I guess it all depends on what else is going on in our lives. I don’t see it as anything but a cottage, a place to get away and write, or think. Not a full time place. Go to Costco when we arrive, then hunker down. Invite a select few over for drinks and dinner. And if we want entertainment or restaurants, well, we’d still be *living* in Mexico City. On the other hand, I’d be happy to open a business in San Miguel, as long as I didn’t have to be the face of it and could manage from a distance. It’s a pretty good gringo market for sales & services that make them feel like they are still north of the border. I see that. And I’m finally understanding the distinction between working on something, and working in something. But that’s another story.
And then I think… if all we want is a fort/cottage, that could be anywhere. Hell, if it was a part time place to sequester ourselves and reboot – we could go to the beach and plan not to be there in the summer/hot months. For that, we’d rent, not buy – rising seas and all that. Although I do miss living in a house I can fix up, I must say. Maybe a house in Cuernavaca as the part-time cottage would be better – not as far from the city which means we’d use it more often, even if just for weekends. A house in SMA is a half day minimally to get to from DF. A long half-day. A house in Cuerna is an hour or two, depending on traffic. All up in the air, anyway. We still own our house up north and I don’t see us buying until we shed that liability. Sometimes, it feels like there’s no time to waste. Right now, it feels like there’s no hurry. We really did like the look of that one San Miguel house. But it all depends on a lot of things, including how long our friends (and we) live.
Nothing will happen up north until the new year, but now that it’s November, that’s close. We have company coming from Ottawa for a week at the end of the month, then who knows where we’ll be at Christmas. I want to go somewhere, but Christmas is a dumb time to do it. We *could* drive to Acapulco (three hours) I suppose. But likely as not, we’ll end up here, working and eating left overs. I know I go through this every year but we aren’t Christian and Christmas is for kids. We may see our friends with the two-year-old and the two-month-old over the season so that will be fun. And I’ll put the jingle bells collar on Jorge the gargoyle, and we’ll light our punched tin Christmas tree. We thought about trying to get San Miguel friends down here but it’s just too far away and complicated and expensive. It gets easier when we are in DF.
I think I may have a Boxing Day party. I ‘ll consider it – could be kind of fun. By New Years, I’ll be starting to pack things up. I’m going to shed a lot more of it. If I haven’t worn it or used it in the last eight months, away it goes. Truly I may not get north again until February or March – we can put in an offer and do everything from here. Those new PDF signatures are great, they make what we used to call “mail aways” (can you imagine?) so much easier. And so that’s that. Still working away at mixed farming – writing some for the home decor magazine, finishing the memoirs with my old boss and planning out the wellness store. The stocks are up and down. Facebook just keeps going up. When the others I’m playing with come back to where they should be, screw it – I’m selling them and buying Facebook and Apple (and maybe one other) and then not even looking at them for six months. Because I’ll be too busy to pay attention. What I do know is, You can’t always get what you want. Until next time, remember: Canta, no llores.
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