Adventures in a new land.

Since I wrote last, a lot has happened (or not, depending on your point of view).

First, we successfully navigated the passport renewal process and received our new 10-year passports within two weeks! Amazing! We immediately forwarded them on to the realtors in order to complete the purchase of our home.

That was last week. Still waiting….

We also met the contractor and his team at the house to talk about renovations. If you recall, the house on the outside hadn’t fared very well over the last few months. Well, sorry, but the inside was worse. The walls were crumbling, there was trash everywhere. It almost looked like someone had been squatting there. The musty smell of a beach house that had been shut up for many months was pervasive.

Interestingly, upon entering, Lyn and I had very different reactions: mine was “oh no!” and Lyn’s was “this isn’t so bad…” Go figure. I suppose I was remembering more fondly the photos from the real estate listing, while Lyn really hadn’t remembered the house much at all. He was happy that the rooms were bigger than he thought and that most, if not all, of our furniture would fit in the house.

Once we got all of the windows and doors open, the house brightened up a bit and my faith in my decision returned. I was still a bit concerned, however, as we had no idea how much the repairs and renovations would cost.

Ultimately, we had a great meeting with the contractor and his architects about what we wanted done. They understood our vision immediately and offered some ideas about moving certain walls, etc., that we hadn’t even considered. And, ultimately, the contractor believed we could get everything done for under $60K US. While that’s a lot (the house was only $73K), when you consider it includes doubling the square footage, adding a pool and a casita, and even possibly a rooftop palapa, and upgrading all of the house’s plumbing and electrical, adding air conditioning, moving walls and making cosmetic and structural repairs, it is actually quite amazing.

Of course (this is where the “still waiting” comes in), nothing has happened since then. We are

1. still waiting on the close
2. still waiting for the estimates
3. still waiting for the renovation plans

Meanwhile

In the interim, we decided that our current Airbnb is just too small. Given that we work here as well as live here, we feel really cramped and isolated. It’s a great location if you are vacationing! I would highly recommend the location, the property and the host. However, two adults, a dog and two cats, and two on-line teachers, is just too much.

So, we decided to book another property on the beach for the month of March and the first week I April. Since we still have no idea when the house will be livable and we are expecting guests from NY at the end of March, we decided we should bite the bullet and rent something larger right on the gulf.

In addition to having two bedrooms — one with a king-sized bed — and the usual things you expect in an Airbnb, it also has a pool and a terrace and a parking space. It is quite close to our new home, too, so perhaps we will get some design ideas while we are there. I am particularly looking forward to being to walk right into the water! Instead of a zoom beach background, I will have the actual beach behind me in my classes. How cool is that? It is a lot more expensive, but I am thinking of it more as an actually vacation.

I really need it

Yep, I need a vacation. Even after I had 6 weeks off. My stress level is high. In addition to moving with three pets in the car and the many hurdles we have been going through with our new house, I, like so many other Americans, I spent a week watching with horror at the impeachment specter. There was no doubt in my mind BEFORE, and certainly no doubt AFTER the house managers made their arguments, that 45 incited an insurrection and should have been held accountable.

I had no illusions about the income, but I held out hope anyway. I was, indeed, disappointed. The US no longer holds a moral high-ground in the world.

I’m embarrassed when my Mexican friends ask me “What the fuck is going on in your country?” How do you explain to people who see the US as the Promised Land that the values of honesty, integrity, accountability and the democratic principles upon which the country rested for more than 200 years have been replaced by unbridled greed for power, position and wealth?

Shame on all of the senators who voted to acquit. Shame on them for neglecting their duties under the Constitution. Shame on them for the cowards they have become and the damage they have inflicted on what (until now) has been the most successful democracy in history. Make no mistake — History will remember you, and it won’t be in a good way.