We have officially passed 2 weeks living abroad in Mexico. Dad has been checking on my house to avoid the Great Fridge Breaking Biohazard of 2018. The days seem to all blend together and without a work schedule, I honestly don’t know how I’d keep track. But I am and getting lots of work done in addition to working on my tan and swim technique. I’m now wondering how I can incorporate these kind of days when I go back to the real world. There is a pool at my complex but it’s not heated. Guess I’m just spoiled here.
I should probably tell you a little bit more about the complex and the people we’ve encountered. For those that don’t know me, except through the insight from this blog, I take a long while to warm up to most people. I prefer to be a casual observer or in the background. Contrary to the wild adventures I find myself on!
The location: My aunt’s condo is situated steps from the beach. In fact, her main residence is right on the beach with no other views except the coastline. And the one we are renting out is less than a 2 minute walk past the 2 swimming pools (one is heated and quite warm TBH). We call that the “old people pool” because that’s where they all hang out. I swim in my pool (the non-heated one) because it’s always less busy than the bathtub water one. And it’s closer to our patio. I’ve been doing laps because running is too hard on the beach – for point of reference, I can do a 10min47sec mile at home. Here, I do a 24min mile. I’m a nice bronze-y color from all the Vitamin D I’m getting down here.
The people: Where do I even start?! You’ve already met my Tia Maye and her friends Nancy, Bonnie and Lori. They read this blog and even Bonnie said they have to remember a writer is around during girl talk. I’m just happy I got called a “writer.” Hello Ladies!
Then there’s the friendly security guards who smile and say “hi” now that they know we’re “residents”. My favorite guard is named Maria. And Maria already has me pegged as a beer drinker since she saw me walk 2 days in a row to Oxxo (the 7-11 of Mexico). Every time she sees me now, she asks if I’m going to Oxxo. I think it’s funny and excellent we have beer in walking distance since we didn’t rent a car. What else do we need?!
I almost forgot to include my Mom’s fan club (I taught her well!). The other day, my Mom set up her painting easel on the lawn in front of our patio and I was doing laps in the pool. I noticed the gardeners hanging around, unsure of what to do, but knowing they need to finish mowing the lawn and mom was in their way. So there’s my mom, painting along, completely unaware of the Fan Club behind her looking up at the palm tree and back down at the crude outline on the easel. Normally my mom’s spatial awareness is at 5% on a good day (she would be a terrible eyewitness for this very reason). And when she is in the zone (or “at work” as she calls it) of painting and listening to Celine Dion or whatever moms listen to, good luck with that. One of the gardeners caught me trying not to laugh at how long they stood there not wanting to disturb the Artist but also wondering what the heck she was painting. She eventually noticed her Fan Club and began to move out their way. This is the painting she did (and let the record state that I asked her permission to post this picture but also that I asked her to take the photo so the painting is photographed in the way she wants it to be). She’s too busy lounging by the pool….
Finally, there are a lot of neighbors, tourists and people around. Most are friendly but I stick to myself and have headphones in when I’m at the pool. I enjoy time on my own. Or maybe not enjoy it but am so used to it. But hey, there’s still time to meet a cute guy on the beach, right?!
Yesterday we braved the busy carretera to grab a bite to eat at District (the restaurant we discovered on our first day here) and went home with some plans to put a protection spell over ourselves. Without going into too many details, don’t *uck with the brujas! I’m fairly certain the security guard keeping an eye on us while on the dark beach wondered what we were doing out there at night digging holes. Let’s just say the bad guy was dealt with! Some stories just don’t make the blog. We also know that karma is a biyatch so I have no doubt the Universe will take care of anyone who messes with us. If not, my Mom has the mal ojo (literally and the brujeria kind) so we are safe either way. It’s also funny to me that my aunt’s brothers lovingly call her “bruja.” We’re all definitely related – each and every one of us locas.
There She Goes... 