Friday, July 10, 2009
Photos of the Day
Most mornings the butcher shop on the northeast corner of Ajijic's main plaza has a line-up of patrons as it opens for business. These customers are looking for handouts. Yep, free food. And, why not? A dog's gotta eat, eh? The kind folks at the Fuente Carniceria distribute fresh bones to the many plaza and town dogs that visit.
Everyone I know seems to mention from time to time how mellow the dogs in Ajijic are when compared with their experiences with canines in the U.S. or Canada. Our "town" dogs and "plaza" dogs are generally friendly, non-threatening, and seem to have a live and let live attitude toward animals of the 2-legged persusasion. It is rare to see anyone shy away from a dog sitting in the middle of a sidewalk or lying in a doorway. The only agressive or hyper dogs I see are tourists brought to Ajijic by visiting Mexicans, Americans, or Canadians.
There was a time in my life when I was more wary of walking by an unfamiliar dog. Once as a young paper carrier I completly ignored a German Shepard as he walked by with his master and he suddenly turned and without provocation bit my leg. The bite didn't break the skin, thankfully. Due to the fact that about one week prior to this incident I recieved a tetanus booster shot for a separate canine calamity, my mom and I determined that it wasn't nessesary to spend anymore time in a hospital emergency room. But, that's another story.......
We love our dogs here in Paradise. Now, as for cats....... in the two years of living here, I may have seen three or four, at the most, scurry about at night. The dogs can roam free here, but the cats seem smart enough to stay off the streets.
In the photographs are two patrons of the carniceria. One puppy left without a bone and the other is waiting just a little too far within the door. No one seemed to mind.
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Wednesday, July 8, 2009
United Airlines Broke His Guitar
When we went to Europe, way back when, we traveled with the then allowed 2 carry-on pieces of luggage. We were both afraid of theft and the extremely inconvenient loss of clothing and other possessions. The guy in the story below trusted United Airlines with hie beloved Taylor guitar. Its worth the time.
United Breaks Guitars
United Breaks Guitars
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Racism Rears Its Ugly Head at the Valley Swim Club
The folks in Huntingdon, PA should be ashamed of the behavior of the Valley Swim Club.
Absolutely shameful. Suburban Guerrilla has some details here.
Absolutely shameful. Suburban Guerrilla has some details here.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Cost of Living
Unfortunately, the morning began with Billy waking with a migraine. So, first order of business was to call our maid and cancel her work for the day (4 hours). Being who we are, we put her pay (35 pesos per hour -- about $2.60 US) in an envelope. After getting presentable I ventured off to our maid's mother's workplace to drop off today's pay. She wasn't there.So, I went off to have breakfast at our favorite cafe where they serve "gringo" breakfasts and lunches. I had David's Muffin for the very first time in the two years that we have lived in Ajijic. Forget McDonald's Egg McMuffin -- this was a masterpiece of fresh scrabbled eggs, bacon, and cheese on a homemade biscuit. On the side of the plate was about 1 1/2 cups of fresh fruit (strawberry, papaya, apple, banana). Cost? 37 pesos or about $2.75 US. Try buying that great breakfast in Michigan for that price.
Next, a haircut. 40 pesos or about $3.00 US.
And, as I left the barbershop I met our maid and her mother. Task accomplished.
Then, off to visit our friend Polo -- Dr. Polo Ibarra. We talked. And talked. We are friends so for the hour or so that we visited we each received "brief therapy" from one another. Cost? Zero pesos/zero dollars.
Priceless.
My final jaunt was to the grocery store. There, I purchased some comfort foods for Billy and a few other things to tide us over for a day since once back home my agoraphobia would kick in and I'd be stuck in the house until Billy drags me out in the morning. There at El Torito's many grocery items are imported from the United States. The prices of those goods are ridiculous. For example, a can of Campbell's French Onion soup imported from Texas costs a tad over 40 pesos or about $3.00 US. A can of Sopa de Cebolla (French Onion) produced by the Campbell Soup Company, Mexico costs only 16 pesos or about $1.16 US. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which can to buy. Yep, pay an arm and a leg for familiar foods or learn some Spanish and buy Mexican products and fresh foods and save money.
Living in Paradise -- Priceless.
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That a Boy, David Shuster
As I was watching MSNBC' Ed Show some asshole politician was all no no no no about the American people's desire for a public option health insurance plan. No way. No how. I thought to myself that the mainstream media ought to ask these greasy politicians how much money has the insurance industry and big pharma given to them. Full Disclosure damn it!! Let the elected representatives of the people explain why the people cannot have what they need and why they take money from the very folks that want to phuck us and take every last penny they can get from us directly and through our taxes. Phreaking government handouts......
Well, thank you very much, David Shuster of MSNBC. Watch.
How Can We Believe You're Not Influenced By All The Money You Get From Insurance Companies?
Hat Tip to AMERICAblog.
Well, thank you very much, David Shuster of MSNBC. Watch.
How Can We Believe You're Not Influenced By All The Money You Get From Insurance Companies?
Hat Tip to AMERICAblog.
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Monday, July 6, 2009
Mental Health Parity: A Wild Ride
I've blogged in the past about the insurance industry that pushes state legislators to refuse to support a mandate for mental health parity in every insurance policy. When I was a full time teacher the expenses for counseling services and psychiatric care were treated at par with all other health issues. Treating my injured neck would cost me a 10% co-pay for office calls and practically nothing for hospital costs. Receiving counseling and brief therapy visits with an actual psychiatrist were also 10% co-pays. Now that I am retired I have a new insurance policy that covered my 5 consultations with my neurosurgeon at 10% and, all of the disc removal, donor bone insertion, and fastening of 6 screws in the titanium support plate to fix my neck hospital costs were nothing. And, when I was still in Michigan retired and miserable after my father's and brother's deaths mental health services required a 50% co-pay. Psychiatrists are freaking expensive. I felt like the tax-payers were telling me that now that I'm out to pasture, so to speak, they'll still pay a fair share to fix me from toe to neck, but my brain can rot. Paying for treatment for my bipolar disorder meant sacrificing something in our meager budget.
I don't know if Michigan ever passed the mental health parity bill after we bailed from that misery. I do know that it is heartening to see a bell weather state pass legislation to mandate mental health parity. Of course, the insurance industry is going apeshit because the people's representatives in Massachusetts have given fair treatment to the folks that live with mental illnesses. (H/t to Crooks and Liars)
My brain chemistry is fucked up. Don't I deserve help to live with it? I'll pay my fair share of the costs, if I can, but it is horribly unfair to ask me to pay more to treat my brain's chemical imbalance than for my wonky thyroid which, by the way, can interfere with the balance of chemicals in the brain causing all sorts of shit like depression, rapid heart beat, screwed up libido, and other major problems.
Revelation.
As evidenced by this recent spurt of blog activity I must be on the up side of depression and riding a hypomanic incline. God, I love the coaster but the fucking drops are a bitch sometimes. The trigger that sent me into this last wild ride down may have been the health issue that alerted us to Jadzia's quick decline. I didn't want to deal with it. I couldn't take her to the vet. Billy had to at the end.
Another revelation.
Reading the Crooks and Liars posting about the Massachusetts mental health parity law thrust the issue of mental illness at me. Post traumatic stress was mentioned and suddenly I realized that for as many days as my depression cycle I did not think about the root causes of my very own version of PTSD. I depressed it.
Crap. Another trigger is just around the bend in the tracks.
You know, I loved Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and made my wife go on it with me several times during our visit to Disney World in Florida. However, this wild bipolar coaster ride is not much fun. I'll go around only once, thank you very much.
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