Don't pretend you're sorry

It was a backstreet kind of day!

I awoke to an impressive high tide, so I went down to the lower stairs and took a few photos. The resolution isn't too good, but I think you'll appreciate them if you enjoy ocean pics.

 

While I was standing a  few stairs up from the bottom, I realized how high the tide really was. We've been fighting to keep our lower gate open. Let's see if the video will load.You can see what we're dealing with.

At one point, water sloshed in up to the second step.

Today was the day we were supposed to go to the Mexican Consulate in San Diego and get our Mexican visas. The Consulate, as you can see, is in Little Italy, which has a memorial to our bank's founder, Amadeo Giannini. How's that for a complete and unnecessary segue?

Now, I have read online that getting a Mexican visa (of any sort except permanent) is a fairly simple process. I have no idea how anyone arrives at such a conclusion. I have written before about the difficulty of getting an appointment. We thought we had all of the bases covered. We showed up for our appointment, and at first they told us we didn't have one. I found us on their list. Then they had us correct our letter to the consul general -- twice! Then they wanted complete printouts of our bank statements for the past six months (as retired people, we have to have proof of sufficient income and state in our letter that we are not coming to work in Mexico). Thank goodness for the kindness and generosity of the (Latino) manager of the copy shop a few doors down from the consulate!

As it turned out, we needed extra time to get everything in order, so the young women in charge of visas gave us a return appointment after the place was essentially closed, at 3:00 p.m.  After giving us our visitor visas (good for one entry into Mexico), they told us to get them stamped upon entry and then remain in Mexico until our "green cards" arrive in as much as 30 days. To get them stamped, we would have to get into a special lane at the border. It's a good thing we forgot to do that because we're going to San Diego on Sunday and flying to Idaho on Monday to visit family in Oregon, so we'll have to do it when we come back in, or after Don's doctor's appointments early in January.  A lack of ability to reach a real person on the phone or get an expedited appointment has caused quite a challenge. Should I even be telling you this? We met a retired couple at the consulate. They are ex-pats who plan to stay in Mexico. They have already built a house and are living in it, even though they should have gotten their visas before they entered Mexico in the first place. Some people have no respect for immigration laws.

While we were on a lunch hour, Greg came down (in the middle of his sleep time) and brought Don the new phone that replaces the stolen one. He ate with us and went back home to finish sleeping.
We were pretty exhausted by the time we left downtown San Diego, but we weren't through.

We went to Chula Vista, where Don spent considerable time at the Verizon store, getting his new phone set up, and I dashed over to urgent care to take care of a medical situation I'd rather not discuss. The people at the clinic were super nice. I picked Don up, and we drove through KFC for a quick dinner. It had been quite a day, and I was on the verge of tears from exhaustion. As I ate my (delicious and exceptional treat) drumstick, my brand new crown came off! 

In every difficult day, there is some reminder of God's love. We saw this flower (and many like it) at the Giannini memorial. I don't know what it is, but it is delicate and beautiful, and I am grateful for it because it cheered me when I needed cheering. Goodnight, y'all.

Sail on the horizons gotta landfall rendezvous

The sea was churning all day yesterday, and the surf was high, no matter what the tide. Usually, the rock with the tide pools is accessible at low tide and inaccessible at high tide, but yesterday, the tide came in forcefully and went out quite a ways, leaving the leeward side of the rock exposed and then filling up for several yards toward the beach.  No matter what I try, I can't capture the phenomenon, but Don and I are tempted to sit for hours and watch the sea.  As I've said before, "going to the beach" is wonderful, but getting to know it is a whole different thing!

This video will give you a little bit of an idea about the surf. It's not Hawaii, of course, but it's pretty cool. You'll want to watch it full-screen and then press Esc to finish the post. Thanks for tuning in!

We went to the dentist in the morning (my new crown is seated -- long live the crown! -- and Don has nice clean teeth).  Then we stopped at a roadside purveyor of tamales and got two of nopales (cactus) and two of puerco. We could eat only half of each. They were delicious, but huge! We stopped by another roadside vendor and got a very ripe half of papaya, which we enjoyed with our tamales. (Yes, my homemade tamales have less fat and less masa, but these were a guilty pleasure.)

In the evening, we had an interview with our bishop. He doesn't speak English, but we did okay. Don picked up quite a lot. He amazes me. When we came out, two sisters I've gotten to know were sitting, waiting their turns. I said, "Not too bad. Five Hail Marys and ten Our Fathers!" Fortunately, they laughed.

After our interview, we went to Tacos El Chino and each had a vegetarian taco (nopales again with avocado) and a taco de adobada (marinated meat).  We think Tacos El Chino is the best taco stand in town. Four tacos, a quesadilla, and two drinks was about $8.50, plus tip.

We took a long walk on the beach yesterday. Otherwise, we did a lot of paperwork for insurance and other things. Overall, it was a wonderful day. #lovingvirginmargaritaville

Friends

Amigos Para Siempre

Yes, "Friends" is a song by the Beach Boys, so it fits my template!

What an amazing day!

It didn't start out too well for Don, who has been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks. He just couldn't get it together for 9:00 a.m. church, so I went by myself. Without him to remind me for the 30th time, I turned left instead of right and arrived late. Then again, when we had two blocks to walk to church in Boulder City, we were too often late, so this is just a new excuse.

After sacrament meeting, I went home for a bit. We left at 12:30 to go to our friends' Ivan and Belinda's party for their son Ruben's 15th birthday. When we got to a previously designated spot, we called them, got the address, and headed over. It turned out that the party was at a rented hall, as they are having work done on their floors. The hall was huge. We were way early because we arrived on time. We had time to get to know the honoree and his brother. Ruben goes to school in the U.S. (has dual citizenship) and is a baseball player. He's also a really nice, really polite kid, as are his siblings. Ivan and Belinda are super good people. Here are some photos from the party:

After leaving the party early, we made it to the last meeting at church. Then we went over to Jerry and Christie Garcia's for dinner. There were others there from our ward. We are just getting to know names. Jerry made carne asada, some sauces, beans, rice, etc. It was all delicious! He needs to be a professional chef.  We had a wonderful time. Here are a few photos. I didn't get many that turned out.

 

As you can see, we are beginning to develop friendships and a social life here. It feels good to be welcomed and wanted. Soon, we'll find out how we are needed. As the hymn says,

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place

In earth’s harvest fields so wide

Where I may labor....

We must have something to offer. We felt called here. We'll keep you posted!

Eventide

...Here we are
Pass the stone
Throw away
All you know
Bury it
Under dusk
Wash away
Paint the rust
 ... the Dodos

This will be a brackish post. Hope it's meaningful to you in one way or another. It isn't interrelated or chronological, so don't look for that.

Thoughts on Rust

One of my favorite songs is Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust." It isn't just the story of the song; it's little gems buried inside that I can relate to personally:

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual...

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said ...
 
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Could keep you unharmed...
 
 Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
'Cause I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid 

I wonder how many others find those lyrics, that voice, and the melody absolutely compelling. I understand that Judas Priest did a version of it. Heresy, I tell you! Anyway, I got to thinking that rust -- so abundant here at the beach -- might be seen as art in the right circumstances, so I went on a little safari around the neighborhood and looked at these examples.  In a couple of cases, it's more corrosion than rust, but I'm going to keep things vague.

How We Went to the Police Station in Downtown Tijuana

I'm afraid I don't have any photos for this one, just a quick story. On Friday, we were told by our Mexican renter's insurance agent that we would have to produce a police report in order to have our claim honored. We went to the substation of the Tijuana Police at San Antonio del Mar when the incident first happened on December 2nd. An officer came to the house and wrote some things down. Even though he told us we needed to go to the state police, I was doubtful and didn't do it. Since the insurance company was insisting, we had to relent. We went back to the substation and asked what to do. They printed out the address in Zona Rio (downtown TJ) where we needed to go. There was no way I was going to negotiate Tijuana traffic on a Friday afternoon, when I wasn't even familiar with the area we were supposed to be going to. I called our taxi driver friend and asked if he had time to run us down there. He found the place, paid a buck to park and walked in with us. He explained to the receptionist what we needed. She said we were in the wrong place (let that sink in). She sent us to another address, not far away. Ivan asked exact directions, including where to park.  He went in with us and waited with us for over an hour and a half. While sitting there, I noticed that TJ cops look like U.S. cops, TJ non-uniformed employees look like U.S. non-uniformed employees, and there is a certain look about lawyers that transcends the border quite easily!  Finally, we were called. The detective told us that Don couldn't go in because I was filing the report and Ivan was there to clarify or translate, and they a had a limit of two interviewees. This surprised all three of us, but Don quietly took a seat -- again! -- in the waiting room. The detective asked a lot of questions and typed very fast. Ivan repeated with absolute clarity everything I'd told him in Spanish, which pleased me because he speaks little English and couldn't have gotten the information elsewhere. After the report was done and ready to sign, he found an error in the amount of money that was stolen, so the detective made the change, and I signed the papers. After we got back into the cab, Ivan talked to his wife on the phone, and she wanted to talk to me. They invited us to their son's birthday party tomorrow. We have a dinner invitation later tomorrow, so we'll be juggling church, party, and dinner. We're happy to have friends!  For anyone thinking that everyone in northern Baja speaks English (something I've read here and there), I must say that I don't think we would have had a very successful time of it by ourselves. My Spanish might have gotten us through, but I doubt it. When the bilingual guy at the reception desk asked if I had a translator to help me with filing the report, I told him, "Yes, my friend is our taxista, part-time lawyer, and translator." I don't think he was as amused as I was. 

Eventide

My last walk was designed to occur as the sun was just about to go down. As you know if you read this blog, I love sunsets! It seems that any walk nets something different. Here, you will see some things that delighted me, plus a photo of our house from the beach and a photo of a neighboring guest house that caters to surfers. Enjoy!

Christmas by the Ocean

Where Love Is....

We attended our ward (church) Christmas dinner last night and have several photos to share. Here were some of the things we noticed:

*The time was designated as 6:00, but when we arrived at 6:10, fewer than a dozen people were in the building. This, apparently, is normal.
*People enjoyed visiting as families and friends while a number engaged in decorating tables and walls. At around 7:00, some of the men began building the manger. This included a wooden scaffolding, palm-frond roof (carefully woven into stretched wires), hay-covered floor, and hay bale for Mary to sit on.
*There was a program that included the Christmas story, read by the bishop; singing by the bishop, his wife, and daughter; a Christmas story told by one of the women -- very dramatically! -- and singing by a chorus of youth, led by the bishop. The meaning of Christmas was stressed in almost every word and action.
*Finally (at around 8:15), we lined up, one or two tables at a time, to get our food. An adequate number of women were present to serve (and make sure there would be enough food). By this time, the room was completely packed with tables, chairs, and people.
*Food included some Mexican stews, beans, white rice, slow-cooked pork roast, potato casserole, macaroni salads, and the best slow-cooked chicken ever. Desserts included cakes of various degrees of sweetness, Jello, rice pudding, and flan (what we brought, thanks to Costco). There was salsa on the table, and later on some chips showed up, but this was not what many of us in the U.S. would envision as "Mexican food," or at least not entirely. Drinks included horchata and punch. Everyone seemed to get enough to eat, and everything was eaten. A Christmas miracle, I think.
*Music played while we ate. Many of the songs were American standards like "White Christmas."
*After dinner, "Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus" came into the manger. After we'd had time to appreciate the scene, the children went out back to the basketball rim and enjoyed a pinata. The event was over at about 9:30. Cleanup had already begun.

We were warmly welcomed and sat with another ex-pat, Randy, and a family of three, including little Dillon, who formed quite a bond with Don. We are hoping that the pictures will help us to identify some of the members so that we will know who's who.  We had a wonderful time. Hope you enjoy the photos, too.

Our bishop

This is my new friend and her husband.

 

 

This is Gerardo "Jerry" Garcia. Below are his wife Christine and youngest. They are also  new friends.

 

This is Don's new friend Dillon and his parents

I took this seconds before the pinata fell.