Dentista – Centro Dental

Posted on August 9, 2013 by admin

I am at the dentist for a cleaning. Not my favorite place to be. It has been over a year since my last cleaning which means this is probably going to hurt.

The cost for cleaning here is 200 pesos, or $16 US. That’s pretty cheap.

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Driving home

Posted on August 6, 2013 by admin

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We had a great weekend up Mt Lemmon in Tucson with Matt and Dana and Jeff and Beth. We left to return home yesterday at 3pm, just in time to hit some heavy rains. Driving in Mexico is bad enough dry, it’s much worse when it rains. Even so, we had some great views.

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Tucson

Posted on August 2, 2013 by admin

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Just arrived to Tucson. Picking up some things before heading up to Mt. Lemmon.

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Customer service in Mexico

Posted on August 2, 2013 by admin

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I took this photo tonight as a representation of typical customer service in Mexico. As can be seen in the photo,  we are quite the inconvenience to this “worker’s” phone time. Understandably, she has some important things to text to her friends.

I’m still surprised to see this in expensive stores (like this one) as it indicates the management just doesn’t care.  Owners here are absolutely incapable of making the connection between good service and more earnings.  Yet somehow these people still make money. That’s good news for me. It means I should have little to no competition here.

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Back to the US

Posted on July 29, 2013 by admin

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Last weekend we made the trip back to Tucson to visit Matt and Dana. It had been about three weeks since we were in the US, so it was nice to do some shopping and eat some good food.

We played poker Saturday night and I won. It’s been a while, so that was nice.  We had plenty of good wine and cigars.

We are on our way back this Friday for our first annual Tres Parejas reunion up Mt. Lemmon. Looking forward to it.

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Champion

Posted on July 21, 2013 by admin

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I dominated tonight.  I am the poker master.  We are spending the weekend with Matt and Dana. Good times!

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Taxes

Posted on July 18, 2013 by admin

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Nothing is done online here. All of our bills, including taxes, are paid in person. That can be a challenge,  as in the case of taxes, the government building closes at 3pm.

We just got our electric bill today and were surprised that it was only 1500 pesos (120 dollars). We both believed it would be around 500 US given the amount of air conditioning we have going.

Water is pretty cheap here.  We pay about 150 pesos a month. That is about a fifth of what we paid in the US.

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history of Mexico

Posted on July 17, 2013 by admin

Due to the move and other time demands, I haven’t spent much time reading over the last month. However, this morning I had the chance to finish A Brief History of Mexico by Lynn Foster. It was a helpful summary and I especially appreciated the emphasis on Mexico’s political history. The very first book that Yun and I read together was a history of Mexico. My hope is to familiarize myself with the history of the country so when we travel I can have a greater understanding of the things we see.

The appendices of Foster’s book had a nice summary. This is from the first appendix:

Official Name
Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Government
Under the Constitution of 1917, Mexico is a federal republic with a
centralized government dominated by the office of the presidency. The
presidential term is six years with no reelection. There is a bicameral
federal congress composed of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies;
legislators may serve only one term. The judiciary forms a third branch
of government; judges are appointed by the president.
   There are many parties, but the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary
Party) governed Mexico during most of the 20th century. Recent
electoral reforms have strengthened opposition parties such as the
conservative PAN (National Action Party) and the progressive PRD
(Democratic Revolutionary Party). In the 2000 election the PRI presi-
dential candidate was defeated for the first time in more than 70 years,
and the opposition parties gained a majority of the congressional seats
in both houses. In the 2006 presidential elections PAN candidate Felipe
Calderón Hinojosa won a narrow victory over PRD candidate Andrés
Manuel López Obrador, by a margin of only .58 percent.

Political Divisions
States
Thirty-one, plus the federal district which includes the capital.
Capital
Mexico City
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Mexico dislikes

Posted on July 15, 2013 by admin

There are a lot of things I like about Mexico. There are a few I do not.

Bank accounts.  My checking account charges $5 per month for a service fee. No apparent exceptions and the amount of money you carry in the account is irrelevant. Also,  I’m taxed on this fee. Disputing a fraudulent charge. Also a fee. Want your account balance? Also a fee. Transferring money electronically, also a fee.

You are allowed to wait in the long lines for free. Everything else has a fee.

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Guaymas

Posted on July 15, 2013 by admin

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We are in Guaymas for the weekend.  It is quite nice that it is only an hour and some away now. The water is warm.  Too warm really. We spent the day at the beach and in the estuary in San Carlos. 

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We headed to the estuaryto escape from these little blue demons. Never pleasant when one is stung or when the dogs try to eat them.

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