May 2, 2008
I would like to start off this week by congratulating James Hunter, the editor of Bay Vallarta, for his editorial in the April 18-May 2 issue of that great guide. If you haven’t read it, try to find a copy somewhere. It is well worth it.
In his writing, Mr. Hunter expressed his honest opinion about the behavior of our city’s taxis and buses (of their drivers, to be exact) and their influence on the driving habits of the rest of the population. Mr. Hunter, I take my hat off to you. Unfortunately, I doubt that any of the powers-that-be read the Bay Vallarta, and even if they did -considering that it IS bilingual- I don’t know if they could do anything about it.
From what I’ve been reading in the papers since arriving in Puerto Vallarta, the unions are so strong that none of the subsequent municipal administrations have been able to change their modus operandi over the last decade or so…
I haven’t written much about our (in)famous telephone company lately, Telefonos de Mexico, a.k.a. TelMex. Well, last week, I had a very interesting experience with them… a first to be honest.
It turned out that on Saturday morning a telephone post located at the corner of Aguacate and Basilio Badillo, right near where the Tribune’s old offices were, fell down. I couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it was just old age. In any case, I guess it figured that if it was going to go, it would pull down its companions with it - which it did. Two more posts came tumbling down into the streets, pulling the cables attached to them down with them. I am inserting photos of the «deceased» so that you too may see how they lay there, unattended, for three whole days.
Sure, everyone in the area reported the incident, but that wasn’t enough to get any repairmen to the site on a weekend. So we all waited.
But the funny (?) thing happened when I tried to report the incident. I used my cell phone. It’s a Telcel, meaning it belongs to yet another mega company owned by Mr. Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico. Actually, he was the richest man in the entire world for a few months last year. In any case, I found out that none of the «emergency» numbers can be dialed from a cell phone. So I called the cell phone operator, and explained my dilemma. She listened, not particularly pleasantly, and then said, «Yes, you’re right. You cannot report it from a cell phone.» And she hung up.
So, for the first time in my life here in Puerto Vallarta, I went to an internet café, Dee’s Coffee Company to be exact. Don’t get me wrong, I love Dee, and her fabulous sandwiches, pastries and pies, and especially her espresso, but it just ain’t the same as working from home.
Tuesday morning, I got up early (which I never do), and got dressed, ready to go back to Dee’s, as my neighbor had told me that he’d spoken to a repairman who told him the posts would not be repaired before Thursday or Friday. But then my phone rang and I jumped off my chair. I hadn’t heard that sound in three days! As it turned out, it was my daughter calling me from Montreal. She wanted to know if I was angry with her as I wasn’t returning her calls… I explained the situation to her.
About an hour later, I received another phone call, this time from -you’ll never guess- a TelMex technician! He wanted to make sure that everything was ok, that both my phone lines and my internet service had all been properly reinstated, etc. etc. I thanked him profusely. It had only been three days!
Changing tracks, I finally made it out to Hacienda Xochitl. Yes, the name is a little hard for us foreigners to pronounce, but trust me when I tell you that you will absolutely fall in love with the place! There were five of us there last weekend (including our sometime restaurant reviewer, Gary Beck) and everyone spent the evening raving about the place, the food …and the service! At the end of it all came the biggest surprise of all: the bill. They could charge double and no one would care. That’s how reasonable the prices are, and how lovely, delicious the food.
Another restaurant news: Bruce’s Back Alley will now be called the Back Alley Steak House. I was speaking to Jason when he generously gave us some gift certificates to give out to the winners at our weekly Bingo game, and he told me that since they started serving lunches and making home deliveries, they’ve been going nuts. I am so glad to hear that. It really doesn’t matter what he calls the place, the food is super there too!
Well, that’s all I have to share with you this week, dear readers.
Remember, this weekend has been set apart for us to honor our moms - even more than usual. They deserve it! Next month, we can honor our dads... There is a quote from Washington Irving that I would like to share with our readers on the occasion of the very special day that is Mother’s Day: «A mother is the truest friend we have. When trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavors by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.»
Only some of us have children, but all of us have mothers. If yours is still alive, remember her on Mother’s Day. If not, remember her kindly. To all the mothers reading this, I wish a most Happy and Joyous Mother’s Day filled with hugs and sloppy kisses. Keep up the great work, ladies, and remember that ours is the only occupation that doesn’t come with a «How To» manual. We all do the best we can, don’t we? With time, our children do see the light and stop blaming us for their woes. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com
In his writing, Mr. Hunter expressed his honest opinion about the behavior of our city’s taxis and buses (of their drivers, to be exact) and their influence on the driving habits of the rest of the population. Mr. Hunter, I take my hat off to you. Unfortunately, I doubt that any of the powers-that-be read the Bay Vallarta, and even if they did -considering that it IS bilingual- I don’t know if they could do anything about it.
From what I’ve been reading in the papers since arriving in Puerto Vallarta, the unions are so strong that none of the subsequent municipal administrations have been able to change their modus operandi over the last decade or so…
I haven’t written much about our (in)famous telephone company lately, Telefonos de Mexico, a.k.a. TelMex. Well, last week, I had a very interesting experience with them… a first to be honest.
It turned out that on Saturday morning a telephone post located at the corner of Aguacate and Basilio Badillo, right near where the Tribune’s old offices were, fell down. I couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it was just old age. In any case, I guess it figured that if it was going to go, it would pull down its companions with it - which it did. Two more posts came tumbling down into the streets, pulling the cables attached to them down with them. I am inserting photos of the «deceased» so that you too may see how they lay there, unattended, for three whole days.
Sure, everyone in the area reported the incident, but that wasn’t enough to get any repairmen to the site on a weekend. So we all waited.
But the funny (?) thing happened when I tried to report the incident. I used my cell phone. It’s a Telcel, meaning it belongs to yet another mega company owned by Mr. Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico. Actually, he was the richest man in the entire world for a few months last year. In any case, I found out that none of the «emergency» numbers can be dialed from a cell phone. So I called the cell phone operator, and explained my dilemma. She listened, not particularly pleasantly, and then said, «Yes, you’re right. You cannot report it from a cell phone.» And she hung up.
So, for the first time in my life here in Puerto Vallarta, I went to an internet café, Dee’s Coffee Company to be exact. Don’t get me wrong, I love Dee, and her fabulous sandwiches, pastries and pies, and especially her espresso, but it just ain’t the same as working from home.
Tuesday morning, I got up early (which I never do), and got dressed, ready to go back to Dee’s, as my neighbor had told me that he’d spoken to a repairman who told him the posts would not be repaired before Thursday or Friday. But then my phone rang and I jumped off my chair. I hadn’t heard that sound in three days! As it turned out, it was my daughter calling me from Montreal. She wanted to know if I was angry with her as I wasn’t returning her calls… I explained the situation to her.
About an hour later, I received another phone call, this time from -you’ll never guess- a TelMex technician! He wanted to make sure that everything was ok, that both my phone lines and my internet service had all been properly reinstated, etc. etc. I thanked him profusely. It had only been three days!
Changing tracks, I finally made it out to Hacienda Xochitl. Yes, the name is a little hard for us foreigners to pronounce, but trust me when I tell you that you will absolutely fall in love with the place! There were five of us there last weekend (including our sometime restaurant reviewer, Gary Beck) and everyone spent the evening raving about the place, the food …and the service! At the end of it all came the biggest surprise of all: the bill. They could charge double and no one would care. That’s how reasonable the prices are, and how lovely, delicious the food.
Another restaurant news: Bruce’s Back Alley will now be called the Back Alley Steak House. I was speaking to Jason when he generously gave us some gift certificates to give out to the winners at our weekly Bingo game, and he told me that since they started serving lunches and making home deliveries, they’ve been going nuts. I am so glad to hear that. It really doesn’t matter what he calls the place, the food is super there too!
Well, that’s all I have to share with you this week, dear readers.
Remember, this weekend has been set apart for us to honor our moms - even more than usual. They deserve it! Next month, we can honor our dads... There is a quote from Washington Irving that I would like to share with our readers on the occasion of the very special day that is Mother’s Day: «A mother is the truest friend we have. When trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavors by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.»
Only some of us have children, but all of us have mothers. If yours is still alive, remember her on Mother’s Day. If not, remember her kindly. To all the mothers reading this, I wish a most Happy and Joyous Mother’s Day filled with hugs and sloppy kisses. Keep up the great work, ladies, and remember that ours is the only occupation that doesn’t come with a «How To» manual. We all do the best we can, don’t we? With time, our children do see the light and stop blaming us for their woes. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com
posted by Anna Reisman @ 1:00 PM
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