Sunday, 21 May 2006 So…living in the Accountant’s office for just over a week now (6-months since arriving in Mexico, I’ve lost count of the number of places I’ve lived in, I’m so sick of living out of a suitcase!).
The phone connected on Wednesday, I made a load of illicit phone calls to Oz & NZ on Thursday night & Friday in the wee small hours of the morning here. You’ve read that message by now.
Having been given carte blanche to contact all & sundry on Saturday, I had another dialling frenzy..triggered by receiving a call from Tim! The only people I haven’t talk to are the Aussies & Kiwi’s that have a life & don’t sit by their phones, or don’t have voice mail, & my Russian buddies ‘cos I didn’t have the country & area codes for them. I’ll work on the phones codes..so stand by!
Ben (full of the flu), Claire, Karyn, cousins Robyn, Christine, Kevin & Phillip, Aunty Margot, nephew-in-law Mark (my party-girl niece has friends staying from out of town..massive boozing going on there), Kathy Clark (full of the flu & pregnant), Cathie Wedekind, Suzie Martin, Jon Later, & my brother-in-law Alan..it was wonderful hearing so many Kiwi & Oz accents..CRIMINY you lot are ‘BROAD!..a little freaky discovering I have an alive & kicking Kiwi accent. I never really thought I had much of an accent, & have worked hard over the last 18-months to put it on ice, but talking to friends & family it came out in full force..something I’m not very pleased with.
It’s odd..in Russia & Mexico, I seldom hear my own accent, but recognise it when a student repeats a word I’ve worked hard eradicating their ‘foreign’ accent from. YIKES..No, say it more like ‘this’!
You’d think I’d hear my own queer accent more with being surrounded by people who speak nothing like me..but no!
That aside, it was awesome to use my Kiwi-isms & be understood without a 2nd thought. When I say “Rubbish!”, meaning I think someone is talking twaddle, they just don’t get it!
“Rubbish? What’s that?…Oh, you mean ‘trash’? No? Ooooh, what you’re saying is ‘B-S’ (bullshit)!” sigh..yes..if you insist. God forbid I actually ever hit them with ‘twaddle’!
Both mucky ankles almost repaired, I went for a stress-relieving hour-long stride a couple of days ago. Bad move! I was wearing shoes I bought the 2nd day I arrived in Mexico with no sign of trouble. Not that day! The result being that I have a nasty blister on my left heel, a really fat & bruised right ankle again, and pockets of pus & blood where my right heel used to be. I can hardly stand or walk all over again..the infection in my right heel is REALLY bad! No ‘professional’ shoes & garb for me for the next couple of weeks. I’m becoming a bit fed up with these back-to-back injuries.
Monday, 22 May 2006 Oops-a-daisy..I was given bad advice on Saturday. As a result of my frenetic dialling over the last 4 days, the office phones were cut off! “Excessive Use” was the reason..apparently the phone company freaked out over the sudden spate of international calls to the antipodes from a firm that’s shown no previous sign of international dealings. A quarter of me is mortified..a quarter is slacked off because I’ve had to pay a 1000 peso’s to the phone company as a show of goodwill..a quarter is unrepentantly joyous at having spoken to my family & so many lovely friends..the last quarter of me thinks it’s hilarious! Anyway, for those of you whom I promised to call in the next week or so, sorry..we’ll have to take a rain-check; not because I’ve lost any credibility with the Accountant, but because I really am embarrassed about disrupting his business for half a day. I’ll try to convince him to get a ‘Friends & Family’ type deal like the one I had in Guadalajara (WISH I’d taken advantage of THAT while I was there..coulda, shoulda, woulda!)
Friday, 2 June 2006 Disaster! Having paid that 1,000 peso’s last week, we’re now being pressed to pay a further 1,500 peso’s..like NOW! Wanna know how much I clocked up calling you all? 4,000 peso’s..which equates to something like US$400.00! Not a bad effort for 4 days! Rene & I fronted up to the Collections guy, Daveed, today. Rene did all the talking, I did all the nodding & apologies..”yes, I made all those calls, I’ve been away from home..Oz & NZ..for 18-months..I really needed to contact my son..I’m so sorry”...”It’s ok, I can understand” said Daveed. Payment deferred in consideration for gratuitous English lessons with Pru..the word’s out..”her lessons are ‘dynamic’ & her methods are ‘very unusual’ AND you get to learn both American & British English..two for the price of one!.” Apparently, there’re about 20 people ready to sign up for lessons with me just with this phone company. (tick..tick..tick..700 peso’s per person, per month..that means 14,000 peso’s..plus my other 8 students, 2 of whom are paying 350 peso’s each for 4 hours a month, 2 who pay 700 peso’s for 8 hours a month each, 3 students who pay 1,000 peso’s a month for 12 hours, & the last who pays nothing but is worth his weight in gold when it comes to fixing my laptop & i-Pod problems.
Hey; I LIKE these short e-mails! It feels much more ‘normal’.
I DO have some long ones drafted up, but I’m trying to think of how to shorten them.
Buenos Noches! Pru XXXX
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