The frustration continues…

Oh me, oh my, when will it ever end?

It is now mid-December. We have lived in our house since September. And yet, we still don’t have the closing documents. The delays are interminable, and I am running out of patience.

“But you are in the house,” you say, so what’s the biggie?

Well, you see, we can’t prove we own the house, and, without that, we can’t get electricity in our name, can’t get our solar panels activated, can’t change our address at the banks and immigration, can’t get new driver’s licenses, can’t … fill in the blank here ________________. We are just stuck.

Paciencia is no longer an option for me. I feel like a blazing hot supernova on the verge of collapsing into a black hole. This reactor is going nuclear in very short order.

So, what are our choices? There is only one — drag out the NY Bitch and PUSH HARDER!!! My evil twin is like a twitchy trigger-finger. It’s inevitable that someone is going to get hurt. I just hope it’s not me.

And so life goes on.

Despite my efforts, I can’t stay angry or frustrated long. I still love my life down here. We are settling into some routines and learning the way around. We’ve made some friends. In fact, we had a “Friendsgiving” celebration here and invited a few of them. I made turkey breast, scalloped potatoes au gratin, sweet potato casserole and asparagus, and we had bruschetta along with cheeses and fruit. Lots of wine, which goes without saying. It was fun. The conversation was fascinating. Chucho doesn’t speak English and Lyn doesn’t speak Spanish. Everyone else could speak and understand both languages and so we spoke in both. Lyn was so cute, pretending to translate and engaging in the bilingual banter.

Last week I had trouble with a tooth and had to find a dentist. One of my American friends recommended someone, so we went. Those of you who know me, know I’m phobic about the dentist. This guy (Dr. Juan Carlos Calderón) was exceptionally kind and understanding. He and his wife have a practice; he does the adults, she does the kids. They are in their 30s and both speak excellent English, which helps, as when I’m nervous I can’t speak Spanish very well.

Juan Carlos was very kind, in fact he made a really good point about visiting the dentist. He said, “it’s not like anyone decides to go to the gym for an hour and then spend an hour at the dentist.” Profound.

Like me, he is a bit of a techno-geek. He had this really cool tool that digitally scans your mouth and creates a 3D image (practically a photograph). The details are amazing. He also has an x-ray gun–a small, handheld device that looks like a blow-dryer. I haven’t been to the dentist in while, so this may not be so new for you. I, however, was very impressed.

After discussing my symptoms and looking at the 3D scan, his initial diagnosis was that I need a root canal. Ohhhhhh deeeeaaar. He sent me to another imaging place for a panoramic xray to get more detail (see feature photo). Not sure what it shows. Yes, I have a lot of fillings from my childhood. They are probably causing some of the problems; however, I am not eager to do a lot about it. We will see. Maybe I will have everything done and have an entirely new smile next year. I’m thinking about it. There are things that must be done, and down here at least they are quite affordable. When is the last time you had a cleaning for $25?

I do have more news, but I’m tired of typing, so I will save it for later. Happy December-ish. Bah humbug, and all that.