ZIH 2023-24

We set the alarms for 4am. I was up about 1:30 and fell back asleep until about 3:20am. I realized it was fruitful to try to get more sleep. Dominique happened to be up around the same time so we decided to finish the prep for the place until Sigi arrived about 5am to ensure we got into a taxi without odoing anything stupid. We trudged up to level 5 on the elevator and were off to the airport. When we arrived the place appeared not to be open. As it turned out it was open but a couple was standing outside as it was cooler than inside. We entered and got to the end of a line in front of a number of checkin counters that were deserted. About 15 minutes later the staff arrived and started checking people in about 20 minutes later. Gong show #1 Our tickets included one checked bag each, however there was a 1,750 peso charge for the bags. That's about $37 CAD for each bag. Dominique pointed out that there was a disclaimer on our receipt from where we booked the trip about how the airlin

Bridge then work around the house. We hit Irma for bfass and the coffee tasted a little off. We presumed it was the milk sio asked for a replacement. That was the same as the first so no coffer. I had the hot cakes and Dominique some scrumptious egg dish that was very spicy. We enjoyed the ambience at Irma, especially the wind wafting in from the bay. Back at the hacienda, the prep started and, if we were to estimate hoe much work was still to be done using the baseball diamond analogy, we were approaching the plate. We covered everything in sight with sheets to protect the goods from the harsh salt air. At one point, after running out of things to cover, I tried to cover my girlie. As the afternoon wore on the place looked more and more like we were leaving. That's a good thing. We headed down to Arcadia at the main beach about 4:15 and enjoyed the surf and each other's company. We got into a discussion about the size of cities in Canada and were surprised to discover Ottawa i

As so eloquently put by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer in their 1970s song. I have been lucky so many times in my 74+ years on this planet. Some of the highlights ... the experience having four offspring and, to date, four grandchildren being in the right place at the right time, being Miami Beach in September 1990 for an Oracle user group conference that ended up sparking a torrid career in high tech discovery of high grade dysplasia, a precancerous diagnosis during a routine scope in 2013 that was arrested by a right hemicolectomy participating in the Canadian government's retraining program in 1983-84 that allowed me to take the four semester course at Algonquin College that kickstarted my ventures into high tech getting to know some folks from the Boston area that catapulted me into the Oracle Press publishing initiative with McGraw-Hill that led to the sale of hundreds of thousands of our/my books over a 15-year period having first-hand experiences in poor east Africa that put into

Oh my ... how time flies. It seems like only yesterday that it was Wednesday. The place looks like someone is leaving in a few days. The mattress in bedroom #2 has been tood up with the mattress cover side pointing out. The first two kitchen chairs are parked on the cement couch in the L/R. Dominique will ask Paty to drop in after the bridge game Saturday so we can discuss the idiosyncrasies of looking after our place until our return. Doing the extended walk to the end of the canal path past Soris. We will pick up some shredded pork to make sandwiches for the flight(s) on Sunday. We are so close to the end of the line as far as getting the place ready. Other than the Fire TV sticks, the balance of the work involves moving stuff around and covering furniture. These will happen as late as possible on Saturday evening. Chicken for dinner tonight then the last two nights we will eat out. We have been very fastidious ensuring there is as little as possible left in the freezer by the evenin

Set a modern day record for this year ... woke up about 5:20am then back asleep alomist immediately until 7:10am. I need more of those type of nights. Dminique up about 8am and busied herself finishing off the prep for the ribs we are having for cena. Out for our standard walk by 10:10. Down Calle Adelita an down Playa Prncipal for coffee at Cafécito.  We are there for coffee and carrot cake at least twice but sometimes more a week. It is right on the water where the fishing boats park early in the morning to unload/sell their catch. They pick up speed as they approach shore and the boats slide up the beach. I am surprised they don't do any damage to the bottom of sus barcos. (their boats). We then cut over to Cinco de Mayo and had a goodbye visit with Irving at Pepe guitar. I bought two sets of strings and he gifted me a third set ... very nice of him. We gave him a mickey of Oso Negro vodka for which he was grateful. We walked down Morelos until it joined del Palmar. We stopped a

 ... to a sunny day. Not sure what will end up going down the balance of the day, maybe a walk. There are three types of players that attend our online games ... Those who pester and pester me when they believe the score they have obtained on a board needs adjusting, then keep hounding me when they don't like my decision Those who politely ask me to have a look at their score on a board; I look and respond with my findings. Those who DEMAND I look at a board with something like Boars 8! For these people I am tempted to respond with either nothing or a comeback resembling Please have a look at Board 8 ... thanks! Played bridge early afternoon. Did not do well, but it was fun nonetheless. Can really tell we are leaving in five days ... stuff is flying out of here at a feverish pace. Mi chica is busy packing and I did a bit myself. Most of the packing I still have to do has to wait until the last minute ... lots of electronic crap naturally as well as wrapping some other stuff in plas

During dinner last night, the magneto used to light the burners on the gas stove would not stop clicking. We tried lighting all the burners then shutting them down but that did no good. Eventually we tripped the breaker after finding which one fed electricity to the stove, with plans to speak to Sigi in this morning. He came up and said what we did was right, but suggested the next time, do what we did, count to 10, and flip the breaker back on. S igi was out with his eclipse glasses and I had a quick look at the eclipse. I do not believe that was the sun as it looked like a crescent moon. It was just a sliver when I saw it and maybe it was the sun. We were up early in anticipation of our trip to Intercam bank. I got out some rice and mixed it with some scrambled eggs to make breakfast. Then I remembered the magneto on the gas stove was misbehaving yesterday and we tripped its breaker to get the clicking to stop. Dominique wondered if we could cook it in the air fryer so I thought I