I remember how Jen loved the jolly jumper. Seems Kyle takes after his mom...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Not Progress
Five years ago Miguel got his first passport. I don't know how we prepared for it, but I recall that we went into the office with a pile of papers - originals and copies, he got his picture taken at a booth right there, and later that afternoon we walked out with his new passport. All accomplished in the same day - just show up, wait your turn, wait some more while they process your papers, and finally have the passport in hand.
Today we showed up at the same office - a little later than we'd planned on (10:30 instead of 9:30). A mob of people were outside the glass doors, which were guarded from within. It became clear that they were controlling the people moving in and out of the office area. A big sign on the window suggested it would be better to arrange an appointment rather than just show up and wait in line. There were two ways to arrange an appointment - a phone number and a website.
Miguel asked the woman ahead of us if we would get in, and she said it was uncertain. But she was prepared to wait, so we decided we would too. Then she mentioned that we'd need to prepay for the passport at the bank, but the form to take to the bank was inside those secured glass doors.
Miguel is not as aggressive as I am when it comes to asking what the process is. He was content to stand there waiting for something to happen, while I wanted to push my way to the front and ask my question about the form. Luckily Miguel noticed that the photo office also took photos for visas - we needed those for his visa to visit Canada. So off he went to get his picture taken.
While Miguel was gone and I was left holding our place in line, the guard opened the door and asked who was there without appointment but needing information. A bunch of us made our way to the front, and when I told her I needed the bank form, she ushered me in. When Miguel finished with the photo he came in to join me in the new 'people-needing-information' line.
We got what we needed and were told there was no point in waiting in line as they would only be letting three more people in without appointments. So we went outside, filled out the bank form, and then walked to the bank and got in line to pay the passport fee.
When we got home I went online to try to arrange the appointment, per the instructions on the instruction form we'd been given, and the big sign on the window at the office. No luck, the url didn't work, it was a broken link, and all other pages led to the same bad link.
So we tried to call, and got a busy signal. Miguel informed me that the guy at the office had told him to call, but that he would have trouble getting through. I hit redial, got a busy signal, hung up and hit redial again. Over and over until we finally got connected, only to lose the connection before we ever got to talk to someone.
More redials, more busy signals, and finally a second connection and a real man on the other end. He put Miguel on hold while he looked up his name in the computer, and then came back and asked for another piece of information and put Miguel on hold again. And shortly after that I heard it - the tone that meant that the guy had inadvertently disconnected us. Grrrrr....
More redials, more busy signals, and finally we got through a third time. The woman on the other end was much faster, and we got through all the questions without ever being put on hold. At the end Miguel was given a date, a time, and an appointment number - and from what he said, he cannot cancel or change the appointment, he has to show up.
So show up he will...all on his own as we will have guests checking in that day and someone needs to be home to greet them. So much for the plan to get the new passport and then fill in the information on the Canada visa form and get that mailed off via Fedex while we were already in Cancun.
Oh well...we did not get done what we had hoped today, but at least we have an appointment. With the way they 'improved' the process, I feel lucky we are this far into it.
Today we showed up at the same office - a little later than we'd planned on (10:30 instead of 9:30). A mob of people were outside the glass doors, which were guarded from within. It became clear that they were controlling the people moving in and out of the office area. A big sign on the window suggested it would be better to arrange an appointment rather than just show up and wait in line. There were two ways to arrange an appointment - a phone number and a website.
Miguel asked the woman ahead of us if we would get in, and she said it was uncertain. But she was prepared to wait, so we decided we would too. Then she mentioned that we'd need to prepay for the passport at the bank, but the form to take to the bank was inside those secured glass doors.
Miguel is not as aggressive as I am when it comes to asking what the process is. He was content to stand there waiting for something to happen, while I wanted to push my way to the front and ask my question about the form. Luckily Miguel noticed that the photo office also took photos for visas - we needed those for his visa to visit Canada. So off he went to get his picture taken.
While Miguel was gone and I was left holding our place in line, the guard opened the door and asked who was there without appointment but needing information. A bunch of us made our way to the front, and when I told her I needed the bank form, she ushered me in. When Miguel finished with the photo he came in to join me in the new 'people-needing-information' line.
We got what we needed and were told there was no point in waiting in line as they would only be letting three more people in without appointments. So we went outside, filled out the bank form, and then walked to the bank and got in line to pay the passport fee.
When we got home I went online to try to arrange the appointment, per the instructions on the instruction form we'd been given, and the big sign on the window at the office. No luck, the url didn't work, it was a broken link, and all other pages led to the same bad link.
So we tried to call, and got a busy signal. Miguel informed me that the guy at the office had told him to call, but that he would have trouble getting through. I hit redial, got a busy signal, hung up and hit redial again. Over and over until we finally got connected, only to lose the connection before we ever got to talk to someone.
More redials, more busy signals, and finally a second connection and a real man on the other end. He put Miguel on hold while he looked up his name in the computer, and then came back and asked for another piece of information and put Miguel on hold again. And shortly after that I heard it - the tone that meant that the guy had inadvertently disconnected us. Grrrrr....
More redials, more busy signals, and finally we got through a third time. The woman on the other end was much faster, and we got through all the questions without ever being put on hold. At the end Miguel was given a date, a time, and an appointment number - and from what he said, he cannot cancel or change the appointment, he has to show up.
So show up he will...all on his own as we will have guests checking in that day and someone needs to be home to greet them. So much for the plan to get the new passport and then fill in the information on the Canada visa form and get that mailed off via Fedex while we were already in Cancun.
Oh well...we did not get done what we had hoped today, but at least we have an appointment. With the way they 'improved' the process, I feel lucky we are this far into it.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Miscellaneous Monday
When I went to write this blog, I was presented with a pop-up from Blogger informing me about 5 new views for the blog. Blogger said that I would have to allow these views from my settings in order for readers to be able to view my blog in the new ways. I checked it all out and am left wondering why I should care about controlling how others want to view my blog - as postcards, as a sidebar, as a mosaic, etc? It all looks good to me, all I really care about is that people read the blog. Let me know if you've tried the other views and what you think about them.
Loco's test for ehrlichiosis shows that he is now clear. "Stop the medication", the vet told me. I have no idea what level his platelets are as this was a different test and only showed whether or not he has heartworm or erhlichia. The vet does not want to check his overall blood again, he expects that Loco's platelets are normal as he is the picture of a happy, healthy dog. He even rolled around the floor on his back while the vet was here, just to show how happy and healthy he is. Honestly, I'm not sold on the fact that his platelets are not of concern, however, lacking any ability to transfuse blood anyway, I guess there's nothing else to do but move on and just let Loco live a normal life and hope he continues to do well.
Saturday I decided to cook weiners and sauerkraut - I'd been waiting for a day when we didn't have house guests so I wouldn't put them off with the smell, and today was the day. Miguel has never tasted it, but he wasn't home and I didn't know if he would be home to eat, so I made what I felt like having. The sauerkraut didn't brown as I would have liked, I think I need an iron skillet for that, but it tasted ok anyway. Miguel showed up hungry and I was sure he would hate the sauerkraut, but...surprise! He liked it. We never eat hot dogs here, but mixed with the sauerkraut, it didn't seem like eating hot dogs. There is a type of empanada they make here, chicken tinga, and it tastes a lot like sauerkraut (I think the cabbage is treated with lime instead of vinegar). I actually don't care for the tinga at all, but I do like sauerkraut.
Yesterday was a lovely day spent with Miguel just enjoying life here on the island. We took our morning coffee up to the third level and later picked up tostadas and salbutes, orange juice and watermelon, and went to eat beach-side. I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually got bored sitting and looking at the sea, and it was hot despite the breeze. When we got back home we laid in our hammocks with a lovely view of the front garden, and were cooled by a nice breeze from the shade offered by the plants. We both drifted off to sleep. Later we went up in the pool with a plate of guacamole while the chicken and vegetable medley roasted in the oven. I used to cook meals like that quite often but our lives became too busy and it was hard finding time to cook smaller meals never mind ones that need several hours in the oven.
Last evening when I went to make coffee, I couldn't find our coffee mugs. Finally I realized we must have left them up on the third floor after our morning coffee. Feeling tired and not up to climbing stairs, I decided to get them the next day. As I relaxed in the tub last night, I heard a crash and a smash, like glass breaking, and so was forced to go up and investigate. Yup, one of the mugs had fallen off the sink and smashed to bits. Luckily it was the one that had a crack anyway. So we're now down to just one of those mugs, we'll have to try to find similar ones the next time we go to Cancun. The size and shape of the mug shouldn't matter, the coffee inside is the same, but it's the tactile senses while holding the mug that make it an experience.
Speaking of enjoying a cup of coffee, here's a thought-provoking message for you to ponder...
Life is like Coffee Movie
Now, to get some work done...
Loco's test for ehrlichiosis shows that he is now clear. "Stop the medication", the vet told me. I have no idea what level his platelets are as this was a different test and only showed whether or not he has heartworm or erhlichia. The vet does not want to check his overall blood again, he expects that Loco's platelets are normal as he is the picture of a happy, healthy dog. He even rolled around the floor on his back while the vet was here, just to show how happy and healthy he is. Honestly, I'm not sold on the fact that his platelets are not of concern, however, lacking any ability to transfuse blood anyway, I guess there's nothing else to do but move on and just let Loco live a normal life and hope he continues to do well.
Saturday I decided to cook weiners and sauerkraut - I'd been waiting for a day when we didn't have house guests so I wouldn't put them off with the smell, and today was the day. Miguel has never tasted it, but he wasn't home and I didn't know if he would be home to eat, so I made what I felt like having. The sauerkraut didn't brown as I would have liked, I think I need an iron skillet for that, but it tasted ok anyway. Miguel showed up hungry and I was sure he would hate the sauerkraut, but...surprise! He liked it. We never eat hot dogs here, but mixed with the sauerkraut, it didn't seem like eating hot dogs. There is a type of empanada they make here, chicken tinga, and it tastes a lot like sauerkraut (I think the cabbage is treated with lime instead of vinegar). I actually don't care for the tinga at all, but I do like sauerkraut.
Yesterday was a lovely day spent with Miguel just enjoying life here on the island. We took our morning coffee up to the third level and later picked up tostadas and salbutes, orange juice and watermelon, and went to eat beach-side. I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually got bored sitting and looking at the sea, and it was hot despite the breeze. When we got back home we laid in our hammocks with a lovely view of the front garden, and were cooled by a nice breeze from the shade offered by the plants. We both drifted off to sleep. Later we went up in the pool with a plate of guacamole while the chicken and vegetable medley roasted in the oven. I used to cook meals like that quite often but our lives became too busy and it was hard finding time to cook smaller meals never mind ones that need several hours in the oven.
Last evening when I went to make coffee, I couldn't find our coffee mugs. Finally I realized we must have left them up on the third floor after our morning coffee. Feeling tired and not up to climbing stairs, I decided to get them the next day. As I relaxed in the tub last night, I heard a crash and a smash, like glass breaking, and so was forced to go up and investigate. Yup, one of the mugs had fallen off the sink and smashed to bits. Luckily it was the one that had a crack anyway. So we're now down to just one of those mugs, we'll have to try to find similar ones the next time we go to Cancun. The size and shape of the mug shouldn't matter, the coffee inside is the same, but it's the tactile senses while holding the mug that make it an experience.
Speaking of enjoying a cup of coffee, here's a thought-provoking message for you to ponder...
Life is like Coffee Movie
Now, to get some work done...
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