Day 66 and forward to the peak

Day 66: Monday May 18, 2020. So let me see, where did I leave off? A Guy Clark song, I remember that much. I don’t know if I told you we had another request to show the house. Next Saturday, 10am. They’ll wear masks and gloves. They’re from Mexico City. We’ll see. As my other friend from Chicago says, if they come out in a pandemic, they’re motivated. He just sold his house after two years on the market – after showing it to clients in full PPE. Welcome to the new normal.

We’re both torn. I don’t know WTF we would do if it sold and there was a fast turnaround and the virus was still raging in Mexico. La Paz is a lot easier. I think we have to go there. Get halfway home and regroup. And plan to be back up north in Spring 2021. CW really made me nervous with his suggestion about going right back to Canada. I guess it would be possible but much more complicated flying two dogs and mandatory quarantine when we don’t have a place there right now except a trailer that’s not finished.  I can rent one but I have to do it sight unseen. And it has to be suitable to separate two dogs who fight. Assuming the old one and the one with the heart condition both survive a 6-hour flight. Or I go up, quarantine for two weeks, rent a place and fly back. Oh, it’s complicated. Not going to think about it until Saturday in case these guys are duds.

One dog walk done, trainer will be here anytime in the next hour or so. Off to do PADI and then more DogStar – I am almost done – maybe three more days of the book! Well, of typing it in. Then I’ll (light) edit part III and wait for this part to come back (part iv).

White wine bottles

I’m antsy, no doubt. Getting enough sleep but waking up several times. Just thinking about nothing really and trying to empty my mind when I wake up and it does work. I’m not anxious — per say. More like wary. Wary of what might come but whatever it is, I’ll just do it. I always do. Stop crying. Put another quarter in the jukebox. Off to at least one PADI lesson. Later.

Ok, almost done with the day, coming on 3pm. Won’t be done until 4-ish, but I’ve done three PADI topics, finishing off one subsection. And typed in a chapter. I may go back and do more. When it’s so close to the end, I should just keep going.

Our neighbor with whom we normally socialize and eat with once a week or so, had a rasping cough, then flu-like symptoms one week in very early March, just before we all went into lockdown. He got tested for antibodies – and he has them. So that was likely it. We were around him one night while he had it and was coughing a lot, so if we can find antibody tests at a private lab, we’ll get them. He was tested as he’s a provider (mask factory) to the government.  Neither one of us has had any symptoms that we can identify, so I doubt it but worth checking.

Day 67: Ok, one dog walk done. And we have two showings, one on Friday, one on Saturday, did I say that already? Masks and gloves on all. I may send one more email to Chicago, we’ll see. Ok, now the lesson done, dog is out with the trainer, I’ve taken two chairs back upstairs and swept the terrace. I need to tidy up outside today, and do the office – get rid of the dust – that’s my house cleaning chore. Tomorrow is the kitchen, Thursday will see all the floors washed. Despite declaring I wouldn’t do it, I have flowers being delivered Friday morning for the showings. Go big or stay home, I always say.

I still don’t know how it would work if it’s one of these guys and a short close – but CW and I discussed again last night and we’ll do La Paz from here. That is the simplest. Then, we’ll make our way up north. I think it was a bit of panic thinking to try to go all the way back to Canada from here at one fell swoop. Oy. The big thing is, we get our money out of Mexico. Well, the biggest, LOL.

Off to PADI and DogStar. No rest for the wicked.

Day 68: Yesterday was a short one. I was busy starting to clean the house. I did three DogStar chapters. I only have three left. Screw PADI for the moment, I will have lots of time for that, it’s DogStar and cleaning the house for the showings for the rest of this week.

I got up at 4:30 (2:30am Pacific) and sent an email to the Chicago buyer. What the hell. I consulted my most learned friend, the renowned astrologer Georgia Nicols, about the time and she was kind enough to tell me anytime after 9:30pm my time was better. But I’m asleep by then, so she also said 4:30am was fine. This scenario would be easier. We’d rent back from him and leave in the fall. But whatever happens. We can be out in 30 days. Just have to put on my big girl pants.

I’m torn about it all. So much simpler to sit here until there is a vaccine but then we waste a couple of years of our life. And we’re not spring chickens. Goddamn it. We need to sell this house. And do the work to get home. So much of my life has been spent getting home again. Is this going to turn all Wizard of Oz on me? That’s what DogStar is about, finding your way home. So no wonder the theme is on my mind.

The ‘Georgia‘ on the top right is of course, the astrologer. And the two-year window is something she must have told me because I wrote it down and printed out the next two years. I’ll look it up but I’m pretty sure it’s ‘opportunity’. And in my annual forecast.

I was first noting that more than 1/6th of those two years had gone by, January and part of February in a flurry of house showings and almost sales and the rest in lockdown (pretty much). I started wondering about that but then thought … what if the opportunity is in lockdown? I mean, already I’m going to dive again (maybe even treasure hunt) and here we are republishing DogStar (with the cover we wanted 20 years ago, LOL).

And, there are other projects bubbling. With some promise. Almost certainly due to lockdown. It’s the old movie trick: How can the worst thing that could happen turn into the best thing that could happen? There’s that whole art imitates life thing. I’ve seen that play out again. Especially anti-heroes with tragic endings.

Witness Rosie Rowbotham. Old story. You’ve heard it before. Those books I ordered from Amazon by the old husband of my friend Gaby who died in her 90s in 2015, the husband who went to jail for 40 years for cannabis – not the one who was the private pilot for Haile Selassie – are on their way from the maildrop in Texas. He worked with Rosie which is part of that whole connection – it will be interesting to read what he wrote. I have to stop ordering books. That means my friends need to stop writing such interesting stories LOL.

Okay, I’m back. Saving the last chapter of DogStar for tomorrow. Because I don’t want it to end (and I’m only typing it in). It’s a fantastic story. And we’re making it even better. It’s only 12:27. So now it’s time to clean the kitchen for the showings. There’s really no rest. And I’ll be early to bed again tonight, for sure.

Day 69: Only on to update you briefly today, just spent four hours washing the effing floors for the showing tomorrow and there is still a lot to do. But it’s for two showings. Fast update – DogStar all typed in. I cried. And I wrote it. Just haven’t read it in a long time. Anyway, that’s done. House is clean. I have to create a Costco order tonight, someone will go for me tomorrow and bring flowers for the showing. PJ walked twice, now he’s out alone with trainer, no lesson today, no time.

I have a shitload of work to do and some pretty exciting ideas bubbling around for projects with a friend – if you had told me at the start of quarantine that I would have no time, I would have laughed. Of course, if you’d told me that I’d spend four hours washing the floors, I’d laugh, too. Not doing this again, I hope. I hope it gets calm enough to bring our houseman back, we’ll pay for his taxi both ways so he doesn’t have to take transport. June. That’s when the lockdown ends. Only eight or nine more days. I can do this. Big girl pants.

The Chicago guy answered. Still VERY interested (his words) but won’t be down until late August or early September. Later.

Day 70: Now, it’s officially been 10 weeks. But I don’t even care. I’ve decided it’s not a bad way to live. I noticed that my iPhone was split this morning – it was the battery, swelling. It’s been replaced, without me leaving the house. The phone left for about two hours. That’s one part of Mexico I like. Pick up and drop off. Everything.

But now the touch pad is screwing up. Might be time for a new phone (it’s painful because it’s bloody expensive). We had a showing at 4:30pm. He stayed til 6pm. He loved it. Took video to show his wife. From Mexico City. Sounds like she doesn’t need to see it. Just approve the video. He looked like a little short stout divorce lawyer I had once. Very nice guy. But now I’m exhausted. Long story but a lot of work. Pool covers, dog fences, gates, make the beds blah blah blah. Bed singular, actually. Then close it up again. Then do the same thing by 8am tomorrow. But that’s easily done since I’ve been getting up at 4:30. Maybe I can sleep until 5am tomorrow. The house is spotless, I worked on it again today. If I never smell Fabuloso again, that will be too soon.

Ok – I must go watch half an hour of Dead to Me. Such excellent writing. Manana. I hope to write more because I’ve had thoughts.

Two more showings in the morning, one at 8:30am, one at 10am. Then we’re free. I’m making cannolis. And day drinking. At least, that’s my plan.

Day 71: We left the pool on the wrong setting and it lost about an inch, hopefully we can fill it up with the pittance left in our cistern as the overflow and the view really is the first thing you see when you come in the door. It’s one of those weeks/periods of days. If I go look, I’m sure Neptune (water) is sitting somewhere disadvantageous in my chart lately.

So, 10am showing on, 8:30 cancelled. Maybe they will reschedule. They work today, and wanted to come at 8am but that’s a little early, even for us. We’ll see. I think we are going to have to say weekend showings only – I can’t keep this up seven days a week without our houseman who I miss more and more every day LOL even though he only comes once a week 🙂

The cancelled 8:30 from this morning will be rescheduled, it’s a pair of doctors and I sure can imagine they’ve got emergencies happening all the time. Hopefully rescheduled soon. Both the people who saw it like it, last night and this morning. A lot. Want it like it. The agents said we might get two offers. I said get the doctors in here and make it three. And now I’m going for a swim and then I’ll make cannoli – photos to come.

Day 72: (Sunday, May 24, 2020) Got an offer yesterday (Saturday) afternoon from the guy who viewed Friday and took videos for his wife. An offer that was 30% below asking. We said: “No hard feelings, but no. Come back closer and we’ll negotiate.” We’re not starting from 30% below asking. F-ck that.

One walk done, waiting for the trainer for our lesson. In a week or two, we’ll reduce the lessons by half but still send him out on pack dog walks daily.

Did I mention that now my touch screen on my phone isn’t working properly? With some effort, I can get the phone to open. I really just have to bite it and buy one. But I hate this. Ugh. Today. Sometime today. Also Cannolis. I made four shells yesterday, more of a test. The dough is all made. I will fry the rest today, make the filling and take photos. I’m running out of photos and my phone is broken. Be patient with my choices, LOL.

So, Covid. It’s bad in Mexico now. We’re still climbing. One expert predicted June 20 for the peak. So we’re in for a while. That’s fine – we have projects. I still have that bottle of champagne that my friend bought me. I’m getting closer to drinking it, but I need those other two hooligans to coordinate their day drinking with me on Zoom (that’d be Jonna and Annie in San Miguel).

Okay, this is nuts. Skype opened by itself on me and tried to open a private convo with someone (on my phone). Shut that down (may delete app) and then just now, Pinterest opened all by itself. The phone was alone on the counter beside me. It pinged and I looked and there it was.

Clearly, the message is to bake and drink today — but what’s the guy on the bottom left doing there? LOL.

Okay, the guy with the offer is back and needs some information (about the improvements we’ve made). I’m going to quickly publish and get it for him. Wish me luck!

Be safe, be informed, be kind.