108 Parrots flying … IDK

Day 108: Monday, June 29, 2020. I cannot believe that June is almost over. It was always my favourite month up north. Down here might be July or August, I’ll keep you apprised as we go. And of course, Wednesday is Canada Day, July 1. Markets will be closed in Canada but I will be working. I’m not sure when US markets close, the 4th is a Saturday this year.

A celebration of Joel’s life is scheduled for July 4, this Saturday at noon on Zoom. Noon seems a little early but we’ll see. I’ll absolutely be there.

And yay! My Irish passport finally arrived (renewal in January). It was up north, I was going to pick it up in February/March but alas. I had it sent down FedEx a couple of weeks ago. It got sent to Michoacan and was on the delivery truck I could see online but I don’t live there. I managed to suppress my panic for at least a week (what if someone in a cartel takes it and pretends to be me in the EU?) and now it’s here. And in my hot little hands. Good til 2030. I cannot do this ‘what if’ stuff in real life, I  need to keep it to fiction! Ack!

Ok, still on my (paid writing) project, so not sure how much I can write this week here. We have a house showing Thursday but it conflicts with the show taping and they are just on their first pass and can come back in a week or two. Fine with me. Thursday is reserved for the show, anyway. 

Day 109: No showing on Thursday, confirmed. Maybe some other time. I can’ think about showings right now, I have too much other stuff going on. And the agent determined this is the first pass of several, they are from out of town, and want to get to know Cuernavaca a bit.

Day 112: Yes, I have been away that long. And now it’s evening so I won’t actually be here too long today. Tomorrow is Joel’s wake on Zoom, starting at noon and then I have two Zoom meetings back to back.

One Zoom is regarding the writing project I’ve been on for the last three days straight, except yesterday afternoon when we taped the Boom Bitches™ Cocktail Party about 1.5 hours this time with a marvellous dance maestro who choreographed Dirty Dancing, among others. Very, very interesting cocktail party guest. It was our best taping yet.

And then this morning, we had really unfortunate news – one of the Boomer Bitches™ has too many previous commitments and can’t continue – it’s taking too much of her energy. That’s the other meeting today, the remaining Bitches and producer, to discuss alternatives. Likely, we’ll audition a third bitch but make the role a little different. We have ideas. Even the auditions could make good show material. It’s a good concept. We won’t change the concept – just the structure. More to come. We won’t make our launch date, it will have to be pushed back. But hopefully not for too long. And in the end, no one is in a hurry to launch too early. It needs to be right.

What else? Two showings cancelled this week – when we told the agent to find out how serious they were or if they were just looking. Neither has the budget for this house. So no showings. Just as well in the time of Covid. This is a view house. The pool and pond are fantastic, the tropical wall is fantastic, the house is fanatastic. But, it’s a view house. First and foremost. That’s what they’re paying for, partly. They have to want a view. Or they won’t buy this house. That’s my theory. The view totally sold us.

Ok, Chicos, manana. I know. I’m still missing the tilde. Thing. My friend told me how to do it but I have to find her email and print it out. I saved it but I should have printed it out right then. But, I didn’t. How’s that for filling up space? More tomorrow and I hope I can write enough to publish on Sunday. Tomorrow is a busy day but other than meetings, I’m not going to work tomorrow. Except the herb garden. I need to plant the herb garden.

Day 114: Sunday, July 5. Joel’s Zoom wake was lovely. Then, I had a session to meet about our show and figure out what to do. Because one taping got screwed up, we only have about four hours of tape with guests right now – which might have stretched with a bit of additional Bitches taping into four or five half-hour episodes. I’m just not sure we can use it if we are replacing the host who quit. Maybe we can just use clips of the guests. I guess we’ll see if we can make it work. I would hate to lose those hours. FM. Who the f-ck knows. It’s always something. No one died. But I am disappointed.

I suppose this was a typical Mercury Retrograde thing – everything screws up in that period which thankfully, is almost over. Susan Miller has some great July horoscopes posted – check them out. They’re long – but they are free. She’s late every month on her forecasts and people freak out. What part of free don’t you understand, LOL? But it’s a bad habit of hers and the world has surely noticed.

I keep thinking about the show. guess if we don’t find a host we like, we just scrap it. And maybe put together a pitch to go straight to broadcast with the concept, with some actual actors in the roles. Make a pilot. The concept is good. Ah, we’ll see. Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses and throw the whole thing in the trash. Don’t throw good money (or time) after bad. Decisions, decisions.

Our heleconia are truly beautiful and numerous. Everything is looking green and lush. It’s really a shame that the summer is the nicest part of the year here, as that’s when it’s nice on the Island. The weather here is perfect. That’s one thing I will always credit Cuernavaca with – wonderful weather.

Did I mention we have a showing at 3pm? Just got the call at 9pm last night. We’ll see. I’m in no hurry anymore. Covid, mostly. And dogs. But f-ck, I hate being on hold. Still, good things on the horizon.

Did I tell you about DogStar, the book about Patsy Ann, the Official Greeter of Juneau Alaska? I know I told you about the update and new edition on its way. The proof copies are on their way to the maildrop in Texas (will arrive tomorrow) and will take about 10 days to get here after that. It would have been longer to have Amazon ship them directly to Mexico. Go figure.

But there’s more. A week or two ago (you see how nonchalant I am?) – the producers with the option called and seem pretty sure that they have a sale, it’s a cute story, actually. Bernard, who was the French co-producer on The Adventures of the Black Stallion some years ago, was pitching it to someone at a big show in the EU, at an animation company booth and the guy in the next booth overheard him and chased him down the aisle when he left.

The guy loves the story. Wants the story. Is passionate about it. Works for a big animation company in France. (Bernard, btw, always said that this was a story for animation). But this guy is leaving the animation company and starting his own. He wants DogStar for his first project once he moves on it.

Then, Covid hits and the world goes quiet. But he stays in touch. And last week (or the week before) he calls. He tried to leave, but the company wouldn’t let him go. They made him head of all projects with some big title and lots of power. DogStar is the first project they will do as they return from lockdown.

And, for the first time in my life, over maybe 10 different options over 20 years, I’m calm and merely thinking … Show me the money. I love how it’s playing out. It is a cute story and maybe I’ll use it somewhere, but for now, that and $5 buys me a latte at Starbucks. I have no f-cks left to give, as I explained to a friend yesterday. And it’s a great place to be.

Day 115: Monday, July 6. Yes, this is now week 2 for this blog post. I didn’t have a lot to say last week, I was busy, then stunned by the turn our show took. Just looking at the calendar. Maybe we should just scrap the show. I’m not feeling so good about it.

Joel’s wake on Zoom was nice. People there from other parts of Mexico and the US. His 50th birthday would have been a month from now. So young.

My mind has been so full. And America has been so stupid. Check out these two images. Image 1 is from mid-May. They all but had Covid beaten back. Image 2 is from today 🙁

Makes me wonder how fast we can get back to Canada. Scary shit. Glad I don’t live there. Won’t drive through, that’s for sure. I chant for those I love who do live there.

We had a showing yesterday at 3pm. They liked it. They want more bathrooms – the house is a 4/3 and if you add the bungalow and service quarters, it’s a 6/5. But this is Mexico. The half bath does not count and the bedrooms each need their own bathroom. We’ll see. They are thinking and might offer.

I don’t even care anymore. If it’s not gone by September (end), we will regroup and find a housesitter. Maybe add two bathrooms before we vamos. If I could just make some money, it could rot for all I care. I’m sure that sounds harsh, but it’s not meant to be. We made a huge mistake buying here instead of renting. I’m just ready to take my lumps is what that is. It won’t rot. We’ll put someone in it. And it will sell at a low enough price.

Ok, now I have a whole week to write again, I’m not so worried. Manana.

Day 116: I just found out why I am so afraid of dentists and why I have to be put out for even teeth cleaning. When I was younger, like single digits, there was a dentist on Gerrard at Broadview who I went to (so did my cousins and everyone I guess). Just saw on an old Cabbagetown Facebook post that his name was Dr. Leggit and Broadview and Gerrard. I had totally repressed any memory of him. I wonder what he did to me, LOL. Here is a Facebook post about him from an old childhood classmate – which is what kind of twigged my memory.

“Oh god do I remember him, he wrapped a sheet around me then strapped me down to the bed , put a net with Vaseline on it and poured ether through it. Then he yanked one of my molars out that only needed to be filled. I was terrified after that to go back to him. I was only 10 years old.”

So, I’m guessing that’s why I have a completely irrational dentist phobia today. I don’t care to go any deeper, that’s far enough, LOL. I love Facebook.

It’s only 4:30am. I was awake at 3am, lying on my back, thinking. I guess that’s meditating. Thinking about the show. I had high hopes for it but I’m ready to strike the studio and say f-ck it. But I like the concept a lot and think it would sell fairly quickly once we launch (within six months). But I guess I’m looking for the lesson.

I don’t like to waste creative effort but maybe it’s best just to just cut our losses now. I was having fun, though, I must admit. We had some interesting people in just the three sessions and had interesting people coming up. The jury is still out on the future of Boomer Bitches™ but it’s not looking good for the defendant, LOL (the show).

I’m going to stop thinking about it. Because if the dog hadn’t stopped to shit he would have caught the rabbit. Which basically means: if it hadn’t happened like it did – full stop. It did. So the sentence ends there – everything else is irrelevant. Big deal, we didn’t catch the rabbit. Next time we’ll be smarter about it. And if not, que sera, sera. Those are the breaks. Tough luck – move on. Stop crying, put another quarter in the jukebox (reference from video at the end, btw).

Let’s talk about Covid. What’s happening with it? America is going wild with cases, Mexico is going wild with cases (we are inside the walls and will be for frigging months, I so wish I was back in BC). Canada has done very well. Europe is coming out of it. Latin America is also bad, so is India and Pakistan. But per capita, America wins for the most cases and most deaths. And it was all avoidable.

The good news is, for the rest of the world, anyway – we seem to know a lot more about the disease and how it behaves. The inflammatory system is a big trigger. I know I have arthritis in my hip and I do take Tumeric caps every day and it keeps the inflammation down. We also take vitamin D and try to eat well, We get exercise. We stay in. I mask up to walk the dog. We have a lot of lovely exterior on this property, so we don’t feel housebound. We have a lot to be grateful for.

Tests are being developed that can provide results in an hour – and that will help. One of the antibody treatments is already going into late-stage clinical trials. People are working on the 24/7 – still. And will, likely forever. We still don’t know jackshit, I guess. I read the other day that some scientist said it could just “go away”. I gather SARs went away. But it hadn’t infected nearly as many people. And I don’t think this is going anywhere.

No one knows. I don’t like to go to dark places, but sometimes I do. What if it never goes away? I guess we just learn to live with it. A different life, though. Don’t even get me started on that. I should have been in Vancouver three times this year already. Our house was sold already – we rented in La Paz for April. Lots of things changed with Covid.

But I feel okay. I think we will turn the corner, as a planet, in a year or two. And I think things will look very different. I hope the EU, particularly Germany, fills the hole the US has already left – before China does. Still, China plans to share vaccines with the world, the US plans to patent and hoard it. So who is a better global leader? I know, it’s not as simple as that. I desperately want Meng to be freed, though – for legal reasons (not political ones). But I digress.

We live in tough times. Not so tough for us and probably not so tough for most of you. But tough for other people, really tough. I am trying to be as kind as I can. I sit here, worried about taping a show in the casita and people are worried about getting enough to eat.

Thankfully, Canada has taken care of many of its less fortunate people (and we still need to do more) but think of other countries that have been hit harder than us. India, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia (although they probably have food for all, nasty communists), Mexico, the US for that matter. A lot of people in the US went to bed hungry before Covid. Economies around the world are a mess. I really don’t know what is going to happen but I do know if I think about that too much, it will wind me up and I’ll get crazy.

There’s a lot of fog in the barranca (my view) today. But it comes and goes. Thick as pea soup, as they say on the water. I can’t see further than 100 yards right now. But two minutes later, I might look up and it will be clear.

I’ve just realized that I need to clip our Rosemary bush and keep it cut back. No idea why I didn’t think of that before. Not sure what to do with all the Rosemary. I’ll hang some and put the rest outside for people to take.

Day 118: After this post, I’m going back to regular blogging. No more counting days. We’re going to be in this situation for a while more. At least a year until things are more normal and probably more. So no point. Plus, I’m losing track.

I have been busy. Really busy. A couple of paid jobs this week, one a script edit, one a new blog assignment. We have a showing on Saturday at 4pm. Today would have been our recording day for the show but of course, we’re kind of on hold. To say the least. But then I remember the 99-yard-line. Surely I’ve told you that one?

It’s happened to me, blink and you miss it. We wanted to turn diving glow sticks into stir sticks for drinks – long before retail glow sticks existed at the dollar store. They were only diving supplies. Got all hung up on regulations. Gave it up. If the dog didn’t stop to shit … and that’s how that goes, right Dad? (His expression.)

A friend sent a link to a marvelous story today, I think you should all read it.

Post Corona: The Cosmic Opportunity

it’s about optimizing your time. And about growing. He’s got a good blog. Very focused. Not really like me. This isn’t a magazine blog. It’s a letter to some friends blog. Or a really long email 🙂

Day 119: Listening to The Cape. I know you’ve heard it many times through the years I’ve been doing this (Guy Clark). But click on the name and you’ll hear it again. God damn, I miss him. So grateful to have known him in his prime. This voice sounds so different than his voice at the end of his journey. It’s a little nerve-wracking to think that so many of the creatives are gone. And JackyJack (Jerry Jeff Walker) sounds like he may be next 🙁

Anyway, I digress. The song. Really, we have to keep jumping off the barn roof until we’re dead. That’s the truth. Please keep Rodney Crowell safe for a while, whoever is in charge. (The song on the RC link was written for Guy Clark and the line “we’re still learning how to fly” is a nod to Townes). Terrible singer. Wonderful songwriter (he wrote Pancho & Lefty, for one).

Ok, enough of that. I did clip the Rosemary. Above is before, below is after.

When I do something, I don’t do it halfway, LOL. I gave as much away as I could and we bundled the rest to throw on the bbq.

Ok, now it’s getting too long. I have a lot to do anyway. I will talk to you again but will publish early Sunday. Getting on quitting time (beer-o-clock) anyway. I will let you know how the showing goes tomorrow.

Day 120: Saturday, July 11. That’s it. Nothing left to say. Can’t wait until tomorrow to post. Oh yeah, the showing today was cancelled. IDC. That’s part of my new shirt.

See you next time. I’m probably going to stop counting. In a week or two.

Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay kind.