A few days ago I was watching the workmen construct a house a block away from our second floor bedroom doorway. Although it was overcast and foggy, there they were, working away. The next day they were again at their task in the cold weather - 45F degrees is cold for San Miguel, even in the winter. The fog was just lifting from around the spiffy homes on the rise to the west.
True to the usual here, by one o'clock each day the overcast had cleared, the sun was out, and it was rather warm (some may say 'hot'). They followed the usual weather pattern; just a bit colder at the beginning of the day.
Friday night it poured down. I'm told that there was some terrific thunder and lightning (slept through that), but while watching the television in the middle of the night I witnessed a spate of rain that became quite heavy at times - and then moved on.
As expected, our street suffered. We live on a modest hill that runs past our house, so rainstorms wash the hillside down to the bottom of the hill, where the street meets up with the road from Celaya. Unfortunately, the Celaya road is on a higher elevation. So the city had graciously installed a large drain where our street must change elevation in order to join the Celaya highway. However, because everything gets washed down the street to the drain, it sometimes clogs up. And it's been doing this for years....
Enter the city's road department which installs a supplemental drain that diverts the overflow through piping at the lower level which comes out a ways down the Celaya road and dumps the excess water there. Of course that work eliminates the sidewalk up to the highway level, so they built a stepped rampway. This is an improvement to the dirt path that has existed - for years - since the original sidewalk disappeared.
Now, there are problems with the location of the discharge of that pipe (it's in the parking area of our local gym and members drive around and through it), but their answer to that (some concrete over the discharge pipe and some vertical pipes to prevent cars from driving directly over it) are miscalculated. It wasn't long (the first day) until a vehicle drove over the concrete panels and destroyed them. And after this big rain, the part of the dirt parking lot that was dug up (by shovel and pickax) so they could run the piping was a muddy mess. At least the dirt previous to their work had been hard-packed.
So life goes on. I'm sure the gym is not happy with their work or placement of the discharge area, but if it was placed further down the road it would interfere with the parking for delivery trucks to our supermarket. I suppose folks will eventually get used to it....
Monday, November 24, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Holidays
Just like life NOB (north of the border), Mexico has recently decreed that holidays that occur on weekdays should be observed on Mondays - to provide 3-day weekends for revelers.
Accordingly, Revolution Day (Thursday) is being celebrated over this long weekend. Not that San Miguel is particularly associated with the Revolution, but it's a nice place to go on holidays, so we're flooded with traffic from DF (day-effay) or Mexico City's Distrito Federal with their driving habits from 'the Big City'.
Now, we're used to this - crowds, honking horns and all. But this time the main thoroughfare into Central is chock-a-block with cars as a result of the work being done laying new electrical conduits.
The work is only half done, so there are interruptions to the smooth flow of traffic. It was evident when we walked into town the last few days, and quite evident when we taxied or bussed back to our part of town.
Of course the improved electrical service doesn't extend to our part of town, so no new meters, electronic readings, et cetera.
In other news, our friend Victor is in town for a few days from Puerto Vallarta to close up the family condo in Vista Magna and turn it over to a corporate long-term renter who will furnish it themselves and offer it to customers of their hotel who are looking for something a bit more more. His mother, who owns the property, is also in town; we enjoyed lunch with them both at Hecho en Mexico yesterday.
Mom returned as far as Leon late yesterday in order to return to San Miguel with more family members tomorrow. And we'll have a late lunch (well, not late by their standards) at Tacos Don Felix Sunday afternoon. Good times!
Accordingly, Revolution Day (Thursday) is being celebrated over this long weekend. Not that San Miguel is particularly associated with the Revolution, but it's a nice place to go on holidays, so we're flooded with traffic from DF (day-effay) or Mexico City's Distrito Federal with their driving habits from 'the Big City'.
Now, we're used to this - crowds, honking horns and all. But this time the main thoroughfare into Central is chock-a-block with cars as a result of the work being done laying new electrical conduits.
The work is only half done, so there are interruptions to the smooth flow of traffic. It was evident when we walked into town the last few days, and quite evident when we taxied or bussed back to our part of town.
Of course the improved electrical service doesn't extend to our part of town, so no new meters, electronic readings, et cetera.
In other news, our friend Victor is in town for a few days from Puerto Vallarta to close up the family condo in Vista Magna and turn it over to a corporate long-term renter who will furnish it themselves and offer it to customers of their hotel who are looking for something a bit more more. His mother, who owns the property, is also in town; we enjoyed lunch with them both at Hecho en Mexico yesterday.
Mom returned as far as Leon late yesterday in order to return to San Miguel with more family members tomorrow. And we'll have a late lunch (well, not late by their standards) at Tacos Don Felix Sunday afternoon. Good times!
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Contrasts
Talk about change - while I sit here at the computer peeling large chunks of skin from my sunburned body (a result of our trip a couple of weeks ago to Puerto Vallarta), it now raining for the third time in the last 24 hours! Once with extremely loud bangs, once with no thunder/lightning, and the latest time with only moderate t/l. What a difference.
Not that our PV trip was without precipitation, Although largely sunny and dry (not counting the humidity -- what ever made me think I'd want to live there?), the last night was a gusher. We were sitting outside at a restaurant on the malacón and rapidly moved inside after watching others dash here and there for shelter.
But three times in twenty-four hours? That's a new record for us, to be sure. (And there's still time for another cloudburst to roll in....)
In other news, we've decided to pull the plug on Club 33. With the remodeling of the Club and institution of a new, higher class of membership (Platinum - which seems to be populated with people who have too much money and very little sense), Club management has begun a push to eliminate Golds (the former top level of membership).
They have offered Golds the opportunity to upgrade to Platinum without paying a new initiation fee and pro-rating the dues. (Some Plats are upset with this; whatever.) And to help that along, they are rumored (the notices come out this month) to be raising the current Gold annual dues nearly double!
Since we haven't been able to visit the Club since fall of 2012, it would appear to be good money thrown after bad if we were to simply renew. And upgrading is out of the question altogether. Fourteen thousand dollars a year in annual dues (and rising) is not in the budget by a long sight. Our friends whom we have sent to the Club when they visit Los Angeles will miss out, but they're not paying for it!
My next post will probably be happier, now that the decision has been made. At least we'll be able to visit the club when we're at Disneyland for a wedding at the beginning of December (and still members)
And there's always the next cruise to talk about!
Not that our PV trip was without precipitation, Although largely sunny and dry (not counting the humidity -- what ever made me think I'd want to live there?), the last night was a gusher. We were sitting outside at a restaurant on the malacón and rapidly moved inside after watching others dash here and there for shelter.
But three times in twenty-four hours? That's a new record for us, to be sure. (And there's still time for another cloudburst to roll in....)
In other news, we've decided to pull the plug on Club 33. With the remodeling of the Club and institution of a new, higher class of membership (Platinum - which seems to be populated with people who have too much money and very little sense), Club management has begun a push to eliminate Golds (the former top level of membership).
They have offered Golds the opportunity to upgrade to Platinum without paying a new initiation fee and pro-rating the dues. (Some Plats are upset with this; whatever.) And to help that along, they are rumored (the notices come out this month) to be raising the current Gold annual dues nearly double!
Since we haven't been able to visit the Club since fall of 2012, it would appear to be good money thrown after bad if we were to simply renew. And upgrading is out of the question altogether. Fourteen thousand dollars a year in annual dues (and rising) is not in the budget by a long sight. Our friends whom we have sent to the Club when they visit Los Angeles will miss out, but they're not paying for it!
My next post will probably be happier, now that the decision has been made. At least we'll be able to visit the club when we're at Disneyland for a wedding at the beginning of December (and still members)
And there's always the next cruise to talk about!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Nearly There -- or, is that Here?
When I filed for a renewal passport on September 9th, I was given an estimate of 3 - 4 weeks. And it seems to be true!
After filing the paperwork and paying the fee at our Consulate's office, I was sent to the DHL office in Centro to arrange (pay for) secure delivery. They gave me a Waybill number for my trouble.
And although their website has always shown 'We don't have a record of this number,' it finally reflected a shipment to San Miguel yesterday. Repeated visits to the website has shown its progress from Ecatepec (a large suburb of Mexico City) through leaving Mexico City's hub at half-past midnight early this morning. Not sure if it will stop off in Celaya on its way to SMA, but the Consulate's estimate if proving correct.
Once I have the document in my hands, we'll be ready for our next trip to Orlando and a week-long cruise November 1st! That and 25 pesos will get me a small cappuccino and two rollies at the Mega coffee bar next door!
ADDED - And I do have the new passport in hand! Followed its track through Celaya and on to SMA, then zipped downtown (okay, walked downtown), stood in line, and picked it up! I think the clerk was surprised that I was there so soon after it was delivered.
In other news, our cruise line (Disney, of course) has posted shore excursions for one of our B2B2B cruises next May. Not sure why they chose the middle cruise (Northern European Capitals) to put up first, but that's what popped up on their website yesterday. We've picked out likely suspects, though we can't book them until the end of January. A lot more choices than the private tour company we were looking at (Swan Lake in St Petersburg - with or without a backstage visit, anyone?) and a bit more pricey, but still reasonable. More time at the attractions and options, and less time on a tour bus, it seems.
We're thinking a tour of Tallinn, Estonia with a concert of medieval music and lunch; a visit to Holy Blood Cathedral (with an interior visit, versus walking past it) and a canal boat trip through St Petersburg; a combination Land & Sea tour in Helsinki; and a tour of Stockholm including a visit to the Vasa, a warship which sunk in 1628 on its inaugural voyage which has since been reclaimed and is on display. We're still undecided about the Swan Lake performance in St Petersburg (the ship remains in port until nearly midnight to accommodate this, but it's so late!) and/or the visit to an Ice Bar in Stockholm. If the timing works out, a tour to the Ice Bar may win out....
Can't wait to see what they have in mind for the fjords and the Transatlantic crossing!
After filing the paperwork and paying the fee at our Consulate's office, I was sent to the DHL office in Centro to arrange (pay for) secure delivery. They gave me a Waybill number for my trouble.
And although their website has always shown 'We don't have a record of this number,' it finally reflected a shipment to San Miguel yesterday. Repeated visits to the website has shown its progress from Ecatepec (a large suburb of Mexico City) through leaving Mexico City's hub at half-past midnight early this morning. Not sure if it will stop off in Celaya on its way to SMA, but the Consulate's estimate if proving correct.
Once I have the document in my hands, we'll be ready for our next trip to Orlando and a week-long cruise November 1st! That and 25 pesos will get me a small cappuccino and two rollies at the Mega coffee bar next door!
ADDED - And I do have the new passport in hand! Followed its track through Celaya and on to SMA, then zipped downtown (okay, walked downtown), stood in line, and picked it up! I think the clerk was surprised that I was there so soon after it was delivered.
In other news, our cruise line (Disney, of course) has posted shore excursions for one of our B2B2B cruises next May. Not sure why they chose the middle cruise (Northern European Capitals) to put up first, but that's what popped up on their website yesterday. We've picked out likely suspects, though we can't book them until the end of January. A lot more choices than the private tour company we were looking at (Swan Lake in St Petersburg - with or without a backstage visit, anyone?) and a bit more pricey, but still reasonable. More time at the attractions and options, and less time on a tour bus, it seems.
We're thinking a tour of Tallinn, Estonia with a concert of medieval music and lunch; a visit to Holy Blood Cathedral (with an interior visit, versus walking past it) and a canal boat trip through St Petersburg; a combination Land & Sea tour in Helsinki; and a tour of Stockholm including a visit to the Vasa, a warship which sunk in 1628 on its inaugural voyage which has since been reclaimed and is on display. We're still undecided about the Swan Lake performance in St Petersburg (the ship remains in port until nearly midnight to accommodate this, but it's so late!) and/or the visit to an Ice Bar in Stockholm. If the timing works out, a tour to the Ice Bar may win out....
Can't wait to see what they have in mind for the fjords and the Transatlantic crossing!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Permanente At Last!
Yes, we're now in possession of our Residente Permanente cards! Yahoo!! Perhaps a third exclamation point is warranted - !
A friend's RP card was yellow; ours have a pale green background. Don't know that the colors have any meaning; perhaps they just changed stock? Michael's photo is fine; mine is a little washed out, but the cards are issued for an "indefinida" period and also allow us to work for pay - not that we will be doing so any time soon. After all, having the cards is the important part, not one's visage - though I wish mine was not quite as ghost-like!
Best part is that now we can travel outside the country and return without the danger of voiding all the credit for the years we've spent here as an FM3 & FM2 when we re-enter without a valid Residente card in hand. Took us four years to get there (through all the changes in immigration rules), but we're here! [If you've been following this blog, you'll know that our FM2s expired while we were out of the country and we needed to visit a Mexican Consulate while in Florida - which complicated things.]
We did pick up our cards on Thursday after we returned to San Miguel from Puerto Vallarta (last week), but we've been a mite busy since then so forgot to post! The cards (and our facilitator) were waiting for us in the garden of the Starbucks building (our facilitator's unofficial office).
This is a hard time for facilitators: After clients renewed their cards annually for so many years, we're suddenly all getting Permanentes and not requiring their services any longer - at least until the government realizes that it's not taking in the same amount of revenue and changes the rules once again.
You'll notice that our cards are for an 'indefinite' period, not 'forever' so I suppose they can require a periodic review (with a fee, of course) if they wish. Another advantage to the Permanente document is the permissible time out of Mexico. With a Temporal we were limited to 180 days in a five-year period; with the changeover to Temporal/Permanente that limitation went away.
Now to wait patiently for my passport renewal to arrive so we can travel to Orlando on November 1st. I was told by our Consulate's office that the passport should take about 3 to 4 weeks to be processed and delivered. The third week will be up next Tuesday, September 30th. Let's see if I get an email from DHL to come pick the document up! DHL does give you a website and tracking number with which you can monitor the arrival of your passport - all for the $200 peso fee! Yes, one must pay for the required delivery.... Can't have a passport falling into the wrong hands, now, can we?
A friend's RP card was yellow; ours have a pale green background. Don't know that the colors have any meaning; perhaps they just changed stock? Michael's photo is fine; mine is a little washed out, but the cards are issued for an "indefinida" period and also allow us to work for pay - not that we will be doing so any time soon. After all, having the cards is the important part, not one's visage - though I wish mine was not quite as ghost-like!
Best part is that now we can travel outside the country and return without the danger of voiding all the credit for the years we've spent here as an FM3 & FM2 when we re-enter without a valid Residente card in hand. Took us four years to get there (through all the changes in immigration rules), but we're here! [If you've been following this blog, you'll know that our FM2s expired while we were out of the country and we needed to visit a Mexican Consulate while in Florida - which complicated things.]
We did pick up our cards on Thursday after we returned to San Miguel from Puerto Vallarta (last week), but we've been a mite busy since then so forgot to post! The cards (and our facilitator) were waiting for us in the garden of the Starbucks building (our facilitator's unofficial office).
This is a hard time for facilitators: After clients renewed their cards annually for so many years, we're suddenly all getting Permanentes and not requiring their services any longer - at least until the government realizes that it's not taking in the same amount of revenue and changes the rules once again.
You'll notice that our cards are for an 'indefinite' period, not 'forever' so I suppose they can require a periodic review (with a fee, of course) if they wish. Another advantage to the Permanente document is the permissible time out of Mexico. With a Temporal we were limited to 180 days in a five-year period; with the changeover to Temporal/Permanente that limitation went away.
Now to wait patiently for my passport renewal to arrive so we can travel to Orlando on November 1st. I was told by our Consulate's office that the passport should take about 3 to 4 weeks to be processed and delivered. The third week will be up next Tuesday, September 30th. Let's see if I get an email from DHL to come pick the document up! DHL does give you a website and tracking number with which you can monitor the arrival of your passport - all for the $200 peso fee! Yes, one must pay for the required delivery.... Can't have a passport falling into the wrong hands, now, can we?
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Another Wrinkle
Okay; we leave for PV (Puerto Vallarta) tomorrow and I still don't have any 'official' ID. Saw our facilitator yesterday morning while enjoying our koffee klatch at Mega's coffee bar; no joy - not ready yet. Maybe they didn't include yesterday as part of their 'ready in 8 days' estimate. Or perhaps they were even closed on Monday? Holidays down here tend to complicate things. Most government agencies close for the Christmas/New Year's holidays as a bloc of time.
Here's hoping that it is ready for him to pick up today and that he'll have it if/when I run into him at Starbucks later today. Here's hoping I see him at Starbucks....
Not having the Residente Permanente is not a big deal. While it's true that I don't have either form of ID that shows I'm in the country legally, I shouldn't need it for our trip tomorrow to PV. After all, we're driving, not flying and there are no national borders to cross. I'd just be more comfortable to have something in case a cop pulls us over or stops us while walking down the street. I suppose I can try my Mexican Drivers License if push comes to shove. That's an official document, eh? Works in the States; might work down here.
The passport I have in my possession has holes punched in it and is stamped 'Cancelled' inside. Probably won't do me much good, though I have it in my possession. But it has the consulate's Visa glued to one page; that might work!
Don't know if I'll see the facilitator today or not. Michael needs to be home as much as possible to do stuff; we've got haircuts scheduled late morning (that's a walk into and out from Centro); the package that's taken 3 weeks to reach us via our mail handling service has finally arrived (and I've paid the fees via Paypal) so I need to pick that up (still waiting on the packages that have been delivered to them two and one week ago); need to stop by our bank to get some spending money for PV; and we need to brush out a dog and be home when the puppy farm person stops by the house to pick them up for their vacation later today.
Oh, yeah; need to throw some things into a suitcase for the trip and make some sandwiches for the drive to the coast, too. Unlike Los Angeles, there's not a fast food franchise on every corner. We are stopping in Guadalajara to 1) see Victor's mother, 2) leave his winter things with her, and 3) grab breakfast at this great restaurant, New York, New York, before heading further south.
It'll be a busy day!
ADDENDUM [9/25/14]
Okay; so the cards were not ready before we left town for PV. Now that we're home again, we've spoken to our facilitator and he has them in his possession. We'll pick them up from him at Starbucks later today! Whew, what an ordeal. I like things neat and tidy; this has not been so!
Here's hoping that it is ready for him to pick up today and that he'll have it if/when I run into him at Starbucks later today. Here's hoping I see him at Starbucks....
Not having the Residente Permanente is not a big deal. While it's true that I don't have either form of ID that shows I'm in the country legally, I shouldn't need it for our trip tomorrow to PV. After all, we're driving, not flying and there are no national borders to cross. I'd just be more comfortable to have something in case a cop pulls us over or stops us while walking down the street. I suppose I can try my Mexican Drivers License if push comes to shove. That's an official document, eh? Works in the States; might work down here.
The passport I have in my possession has holes punched in it and is stamped 'Cancelled' inside. Probably won't do me much good, though I have it in my possession. But it has the consulate's Visa glued to one page; that might work!
Don't know if I'll see the facilitator today or not. Michael needs to be home as much as possible to do stuff; we've got haircuts scheduled late morning (that's a walk into and out from Centro); the package that's taken 3 weeks to reach us via our mail handling service has finally arrived (and I've paid the fees via Paypal) so I need to pick that up (still waiting on the packages that have been delivered to them two and one week ago); need to stop by our bank to get some spending money for PV; and we need to brush out a dog and be home when the puppy farm person stops by the house to pick them up for their vacation later today.
Oh, yeah; need to throw some things into a suitcase for the trip and make some sandwiches for the drive to the coast, too. Unlike Los Angeles, there's not a fast food franchise on every corner. We are stopping in Guadalajara to 1) see Victor's mother, 2) leave his winter things with her, and 3) grab breakfast at this great restaurant, New York, New York, before heading further south.
It'll be a busy day!
ADDENDUM [9/25/14]
Okay; so the cards were not ready before we left town for PV. Now that we're home again, we've spoken to our facilitator and he has them in his possession. We'll pick them up from him at Starbucks later today! Whew, what an ordeal. I like things neat and tidy; this has not been so!
Friday, September 12, 2014
Wrinkles
So there were some wrinkles, of course. Our trip to our local Immigration office was not with drama. And I can't leave Mexico for a few more weeks.
INM first: So we went to the INM offices this past Monday, met up with our facilitator, Eduardo, and moved to the waiting area. There we sat for about an hour, waiting for them to call our number (#12). While waiting we counted many times that the single clerk at the window would search for a person's application packet and eventually have to walk to the office next door to find it. However, it wasn't a simple job of walking through a doorway or using a pass-through - no, she had to walk though the intake area (in the opposite direction), past her own office, and then into the office that had the paperwork (and the reverse trek with the paperwork). Not a big deal, I suppose, but when she had to do this with every customer it was tiring just to watch it happen!
So we waited about an hour for them to reach our number. While we were waiting, the person sitting next to us became ill. The room watched in horror as she bent over the empty chair next to her, retching. And she continued to slide until she was on all fours on the floor, retching as she descended. The office did call the Red Cross for assistance. We cleaned up her glasses which had fallen into the vomit so she would be able to see when she recovered and she finally was able to walk into the restroom where she waited for the Red Cross folks to check her out. She did remain to conduct her business with the INM folks; pity, as she had a lower number than ours!
A custodian person also finally showed up to mop up the mess and clean off the chairs. (It still smelled funny, so we stood the rest of the time in the intake area.)
They eventually called No. 12 and we went up to the window. Of course the clerk looked in the file drawers, searched the files on the table, and then went next door to get our paperwork packets.
After signing forms carefully (it must match the signature in our passport; I almost want to sign my new passport differently so it doesn't match - but that would be silly and probably result in travel delays...) and being fingerprinted, we were all set, having paid the fees before this trip.
However, because the office is waiting for a supply delivery, it will be next Wednesday before our cards are ready. Luckily for us, our facilitator will pick up the cards for us and we'll meet him at Starbucks to exchange cards for cash (his fee). One more thing taken care of - permanently, we hope.
Then on to the US Consulate's office in San Miguel. (And we are lucky to have a local Consulate's office so we don't need to trek into Mexico City repeatedly.) In the meanwhile, I can't leave Mexico - or enter another country - because I applied for a new passport. The timing was a little tricky. When we travel to the Scandinavian countries next May, my passport must be valid for an additional 6 months or the cruise line will not allow me to travel. It expires next June. So between now and then I needed to renew my passport.
Our current travel plans are: fly to the US for a cruise in November; the US for a Disneyland wedding of friends in December; Cabo San Lucas for a family vacation in January; the US for a visit to New Orleans with different friends; and the aforementioned Scandinavian cruise: 29 days aboard a ship as we sail from Florida to Copenhagen via NYC, Canada, Iceland, and Oslo; then Northern European capitals in Estonia, Russia, Finland & Sweden; and finally the western Norwegian fjords before we fly back to Mexico via Iceland & Chicago. All but the trip to Cabo will require a valid passport (Cabo still being in Mexico, I just need my Permanente card for ID).
So I decided to try and renew it before the November cruise - there was no really good time except around the year-end holidays, and Mexican government offices close for a few weeks then. The Consulate clerk told me that it should only take three to four weeks presently, and I've allowed 6 weeks, so we should be A-OK. A quick bus ride to the Consulate's office, service at the counter (the clerk dealt speedily with all the people ahead of me in line) and I already had the new passport pictures with me and the application filled out, and then a walk into downtown to prepay the DHL delivery charges. When Michael did his last year, the Consulate/Embassy used a different firm that had offices just across the street from our neighborhood.
Now I wait with my old passport which has been punched full of holes through the machine-readable numbers and stamped 'CANCELLED.' [Hope there's no emergencies NOB or I'll find out what getting an Emergency Passport entails.]
So not going anywhere until DHL calls to tell me that my new passport has arrived and I go into downtown to pick it up. Michael renewed his last year when we weren't traveling as often - the end of 2014 and 2015 is a crazy time for us! Guess I should have tried to match up my next renewal with his date. They didn't seem to care that I was renewing it 9 months in advance; what would they care about 21 months in advance?
And that's all the news that's fit to print. There should be general rejoicing next week when we get our Residente Permanente cards!!!
INM first: So we went to the INM offices this past Monday, met up with our facilitator, Eduardo, and moved to the waiting area. There we sat for about an hour, waiting for them to call our number (#12). While waiting we counted many times that the single clerk at the window would search for a person's application packet and eventually have to walk to the office next door to find it. However, it wasn't a simple job of walking through a doorway or using a pass-through - no, she had to walk though the intake area (in the opposite direction), past her own office, and then into the office that had the paperwork (and the reverse trek with the paperwork). Not a big deal, I suppose, but when she had to do this with every customer it was tiring just to watch it happen!
So we waited about an hour for them to reach our number. While we were waiting, the person sitting next to us became ill. The room watched in horror as she bent over the empty chair next to her, retching. And she continued to slide until she was on all fours on the floor, retching as she descended. The office did call the Red Cross for assistance. We cleaned up her glasses which had fallen into the vomit so she would be able to see when she recovered and she finally was able to walk into the restroom where she waited for the Red Cross folks to check her out. She did remain to conduct her business with the INM folks; pity, as she had a lower number than ours!
A custodian person also finally showed up to mop up the mess and clean off the chairs. (It still smelled funny, so we stood the rest of the time in the intake area.)
They eventually called No. 12 and we went up to the window. Of course the clerk looked in the file drawers, searched the files on the table, and then went next door to get our paperwork packets.
After signing forms carefully (it must match the signature in our passport; I almost want to sign my new passport differently so it doesn't match - but that would be silly and probably result in travel delays...) and being fingerprinted, we were all set, having paid the fees before this trip.
However, because the office is waiting for a supply delivery, it will be next Wednesday before our cards are ready. Luckily for us, our facilitator will pick up the cards for us and we'll meet him at Starbucks to exchange cards for cash (his fee). One more thing taken care of - permanently, we hope.
Then on to the US Consulate's office in San Miguel. (And we are lucky to have a local Consulate's office so we don't need to trek into Mexico City repeatedly.) In the meanwhile, I can't leave Mexico - or enter another country - because I applied for a new passport. The timing was a little tricky. When we travel to the Scandinavian countries next May, my passport must be valid for an additional 6 months or the cruise line will not allow me to travel. It expires next June. So between now and then I needed to renew my passport.
Our current travel plans are: fly to the US for a cruise in November; the US for a Disneyland wedding of friends in December; Cabo San Lucas for a family vacation in January; the US for a visit to New Orleans with different friends; and the aforementioned Scandinavian cruise: 29 days aboard a ship as we sail from Florida to Copenhagen via NYC, Canada, Iceland, and Oslo; then Northern European capitals in Estonia, Russia, Finland & Sweden; and finally the western Norwegian fjords before we fly back to Mexico via Iceland & Chicago. All but the trip to Cabo will require a valid passport (Cabo still being in Mexico, I just need my Permanente card for ID).
So I decided to try and renew it before the November cruise - there was no really good time except around the year-end holidays, and Mexican government offices close for a few weeks then. The Consulate clerk told me that it should only take three to four weeks presently, and I've allowed 6 weeks, so we should be A-OK. A quick bus ride to the Consulate's office, service at the counter (the clerk dealt speedily with all the people ahead of me in line) and I already had the new passport pictures with me and the application filled out, and then a walk into downtown to prepay the DHL delivery charges. When Michael did his last year, the Consulate/Embassy used a different firm that had offices just across the street from our neighborhood.
Now I wait with my old passport which has been punched full of holes through the machine-readable numbers and stamped 'CANCELLED.' [Hope there's no emergencies NOB or I'll find out what getting an Emergency Passport entails.]
So not going anywhere until DHL calls to tell me that my new passport has arrived and I go into downtown to pick it up. Michael renewed his last year when we weren't traveling as often - the end of 2014 and 2015 is a crazy time for us! Guess I should have tried to match up my next renewal with his date. They didn't seem to care that I was renewing it 9 months in advance; what would they care about 21 months in advance?
And that's all the news that's fit to print. There should be general rejoicing next week when we get our Residente Permanente cards!!!
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