So many times we have waited to cross the border but this time we sailed right on to the bridge and waited for about three cars to clear out in front of us. A long day of driving but an easy border crossing.
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Crossing the Border One More Time
So many times we have waited to cross the border but this time we sailed right on to the bridge and waited for about three cars to clear out in front of us. A long day of driving but an easy border crossing.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
No Television
One of the things that makes it easier to live here is the fact that we have been able to turn on the television and be "connected" with the USA but we have not had television since we returned to San Miguel. Actually it was going out when we left San Miguel back in May. That is the satellite service was going out not actually our television. We have survived for three weeks with absolutely no television. I would have thought that Ned would be a basket case by now but he has weathered withdrawal very well.
It is a long story about what is wrong. My friend Al tells the long side of the story here on his blog Rancho Santa Clara. My short story is that we were bootlegging satellite television from the States. We paid the provider of the service in the USA but they thought that they were providing service to someone in the northeastern USA. It seems that Mexico doesn't authorize the satellite company to provide their services in Mexico so we couldn't claim our actual address. That worked okay for us but not so well for Mexico. Although we would have been glad to pay a Mexican company for the service if they offered the same programming.
It seems that satellites get old and have to be replaced. Our service provider had to move to a new satellite and they set up their service area much more in-line with the boundaries of the USA. Maybe we could get the signal if we had an 8 ft. dish. Have you seen our house? Eight foot dish, goodbye terrace.
There aren't many options. The local cablevision company does have some USA programming but have you ever had to watch Joey the weatherman from Erie, Pennsylvania? They pick up the three networks from some, shall we say, less than mainstream locations.
Or there is another possibility, another bootleg situation. Good Morning.....Canada!
It is a long story about what is wrong. My friend Al tells the long side of the story here on his blog Rancho Santa Clara. My short story is that we were bootlegging satellite television from the States. We paid the provider of the service in the USA but they thought that they were providing service to someone in the northeastern USA. It seems that Mexico doesn't authorize the satellite company to provide their services in Mexico so we couldn't claim our actual address. That worked okay for us but not so well for Mexico. Although we would have been glad to pay a Mexican company for the service if they offered the same programming.
It seems that satellites get old and have to be replaced. Our service provider had to move to a new satellite and they set up their service area much more in-line with the boundaries of the USA. Maybe we could get the signal if we had an 8 ft. dish. Have you seen our house? Eight foot dish, goodbye terrace.
There aren't many options. The local cablevision company does have some USA programming but have you ever had to watch Joey the weatherman from Erie, Pennsylvania? They pick up the three networks from some, shall we say, less than mainstream locations.
Or there is another possibility, another bootleg situation. Good Morning.....Canada!
Monday, May 31, 2010
USA - Memorial Day
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Driving North
Our route to the International Bridge II takes us near the zoo. So we were on high alert as we drove along the Rio Grande. We didn't see any building that looked like it had been damaged. We did see men playing golf and on the other side of the road there were baseball games in progress.
I'm not minimizing the terrible situation along the border. Too many people have lost their lives and too many people have businesses that have failed because the tourists aren't coming south. I just wonder how the majority of people who live in the cities like Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Juarez can live with the stress day after day.
But there is something else that I don't understand. The cartels are battling for the routes to the US so what happens once the drugs get across the border? And they must be getting across the border or they would not be so profitable that the cartels fight about them. After they get across do they just magically move across the US? Is there little need to pay bribes, corrupt police or kill many people to protect their routes?
I'm just asking.........
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
High-rise Condo Life
Earlier someone asked me to let them know what I thought about living in a high-rise condo. I never thought I would say this but I could live in a high-rise condo. I don't think I could have said that five years ago. Now we have stayed in a friend's condo for a couple of months and we have been renting another condo for the last two months so I can speak from experience. Here is what I'd be looking for if we were going to buy a high-rise condo.
Just like when you are buying a house the most important thing is location, location, location. Both of the condos we have stayed in are close to family, friends and restaurants and places we like to frequent.
We would find a building that has the level of services that would make us comfortable. That means security, maintenance and some offer some personal services as well such as changing out a high light bulb or taking groceries or packages to the condo. These things might be a nice feature if you are living alone or a little shaky on a ladder. we would definitely want more than a body at the desk 24/7. We would want a staff that has been around for a while and knows the owners.
Some condos seem to have been built with the idea that the owner would only be heating soup so they have a minimal kitchen. Both of the ones that we have been in had small gallery kitchens. But I've looked on-line and there are condos with "real" kitchens. One drawback is that all the condos I've looked at have electric kitchens. I would miss my gas cook top.
We would pay attention to where our parking spot would be and how we would get "stuff" to our condo. One of the condos was quite convenient and we could even get assistance from the staff if we needed it. The other one hasn't been as convenient.
Not all condos have a balcony. We want a balcony. One large enough to have a little container garden although if you travel a lot that could be a problem to keep watered.
Along with the balcony, we want a view of the city. We love looking out at the weather and the lights at night.
It seems to be easier to find a maid for 1/2 days or two times a month when you are in a condo. I think some maids work for a number of people in the condo so that they end up with a full schedule.
We think it is easy to travel from a high-rise condo. Lock it up and go. You have security and someone collecting the mail.
We would want a condo that is totally owned by individual condo owners that has restrictions about the owners leasing them out. Long term rentals would be okay but short-term rentals would not. The reason I say this is because we are currently in a building where about one-half of the units are owned by a management company and they rent the condos out for short-term rentals, like us. This means that there is a lot of turn over so you don't always know the neighbors. Also if the management company owns the majority of condos, then individual owners don't really have any control over the building.
We would get a good grip on condo fees and what they cover. The regular fee is pretty easy to determine but the hidden issue is assessments if long term maintenance dollars have not been put aside over time. For example, the owners might be facing a significant assessment for repair and updating of the various systems in the building like elevators if sufficient funds have not been set aside.
Is there something else you want to know about high-rise condo living that I haven't answered? Ask away.
Just like when you are buying a house the most important thing is location, location, location. Both of the condos we have stayed in are close to family, friends and restaurants and places we like to frequent.
We would find a building that has the level of services that would make us comfortable. That means security, maintenance and some offer some personal services as well such as changing out a high light bulb or taking groceries or packages to the condo. These things might be a nice feature if you are living alone or a little shaky on a ladder. we would definitely want more than a body at the desk 24/7. We would want a staff that has been around for a while and knows the owners.
Some condos seem to have been built with the idea that the owner would only be heating soup so they have a minimal kitchen. Both of the ones that we have been in had small gallery kitchens. But I've looked on-line and there are condos with "real" kitchens. One drawback is that all the condos I've looked at have electric kitchens. I would miss my gas cook top.
We would pay attention to where our parking spot would be and how we would get "stuff" to our condo. One of the condos was quite convenient and we could even get assistance from the staff if we needed it. The other one hasn't been as convenient.
Not all condos have a balcony. We want a balcony. One large enough to have a little container garden although if you travel a lot that could be a problem to keep watered.
Along with the balcony, we want a view of the city. We love looking out at the weather and the lights at night.
It seems to be easier to find a maid for 1/2 days or two times a month when you are in a condo. I think some maids work for a number of people in the condo so that they end up with a full schedule.
We think it is easy to travel from a high-rise condo. Lock it up and go. You have security and someone collecting the mail.
We would want a condo that is totally owned by individual condo owners that has restrictions about the owners leasing them out. Long term rentals would be okay but short-term rentals would not. The reason I say this is because we are currently in a building where about one-half of the units are owned by a management company and they rent the condos out for short-term rentals, like us. This means that there is a lot of turn over so you don't always know the neighbors. Also if the management company owns the majority of condos, then individual owners don't really have any control over the building.
We would get a good grip on condo fees and what they cover. The regular fee is pretty easy to determine but the hidden issue is assessments if long term maintenance dollars have not been put aside over time. For example, the owners might be facing a significant assessment for repair and updating of the various systems in the building like elevators if sufficient funds have not been set aside.
Is there something else you want to know about high-rise condo living that I haven't answered? Ask away.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Time for Home Schooling?
In the Houston Chronicle today there is an article about the State Board of Education developing a new text book.
The first draft for proposed standards in United States History Studies Since Reconstruction says students should be expected “to identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority.”
One Republican on the board, Ken Mercer, thinks that the viewpoints should include what is liberal as well but the conservative side should also include James Dobson's Focus on the Family, conservative talk show host Sean Hannity and former Arkansas Governos Mike Huckabee. Others think that the text book should include Rush Limbaugh and the National Rifle Association. Also two of the reviewers have suggested that César Chávez, the late farm workers union leader, be removed from history books because they deem him an unworthy role model.
Isn't this chilling?
This is the first draft of the textbook so who knows if it will end up with a balanced view of the United States history since reconstruction or not. But if it didn't and I had kids, I guess I would have to think about home schooling to insure that my kids learned a complete history since reconstruction.
The first draft for proposed standards in United States History Studies Since Reconstruction says students should be expected “to identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly and the Moral Majority.”
One Republican on the board, Ken Mercer, thinks that the viewpoints should include what is liberal as well but the conservative side should also include James Dobson's Focus on the Family, conservative talk show host Sean Hannity and former Arkansas Governos Mike Huckabee. Others think that the text book should include Rush Limbaugh and the National Rifle Association. Also two of the reviewers have suggested that César Chávez, the late farm workers union leader, be removed from history books because they deem him an unworthy role model.
Isn't this chilling?
This is the first draft of the textbook so who knows if it will end up with a balanced view of the United States history since reconstruction or not. But if it didn't and I had kids, I guess I would have to think about home schooling to insure that my kids learned a complete history since reconstruction.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Right to Bear Arms
Just because the constitution give us the right to bear arms, is it "right" to do it anywhere?
This week seeing a man in a crowd outside the building where the President of the United States was making a speech walking around with an assault rife was chilling. But let's take the politics out of it. What if someone was walking around the crowded Houston International Festival with an assault rifle, how would I know if this was someone just "exercising" their constitutional right or a deranged man about to start shooting in a crowd of men, women and children?
This week seeing a man in a crowd outside the building where the President of the United States was making a speech walking around with an assault rife was chilling. But let's take the politics out of it. What if someone was walking around the crowded Houston International Festival with an assault rifle, how would I know if this was someone just "exercising" their constitutional right or a deranged man about to start shooting in a crowd of men, women and children?
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Homemade
One of the best things about our little apartment is the kitchen. No, it isn't a great kitchen but it is a kitchen so we can cook in-house. Tonight dinner just hit the spot since we have been eating out for a few days in a row. I roasted a couple of tiny cornish hens, boiled Olathe corn on the cob and made a salad tossed with feta cheese. While I was shucking the corn the smell of the first cut of spring grass sprang up. That was followed by the smell of the roasting hen that was filling the apartment. It is a joy to watch the hens transform from raw to a deep golden crispy skin that when pricked let the juices run clear. I even like cutting up a salad and gaging how much orange bell pepper and red cherub tomatoes to cut up to add color, taste and texture to the greens. Yes, I do like cooking.
While the cooking was happening I kept thinking about Michael Pollan's article in the New York Times Magazine today, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch. He starts the article by talking about Julia Child, her delight in ingredients and preparation and the impact she had on cooking in America. And of course, he mentioned the movie that will be out in a few days, Julie & Julia. I'm looking forward to seeing it. But I digress. The article is kind of a history of what has been happening in the kitchen since the 1950s and he ends up connecting that back to what is happening with the growing girth of the country. "The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity. "
The article talked about how until recently we didn't eat things like french fries everyday because to prepare them took effort and time in the kitchen so they were a "special" food that we ate sometime. Now we can drive-thru and get them day or night. It also talked about the work and calories that cooking food from scratch requires. Subtle changes but very significant in our eating patterns.
Michael Pollan's article isn't just about food. It is about Julia Childs, the movie Julie and Julia, our history, our culture, and the food industry. He is really quite an amazing writer to pull all these things together. If you find time to read it, I think you'll find it thought provoking.
While the cooking was happening I kept thinking about Michael Pollan's article in the New York Times Magazine today, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch. He starts the article by talking about Julia Child, her delight in ingredients and preparation and the impact she had on cooking in America. And of course, he mentioned the movie that will be out in a few days, Julie & Julia. I'm looking forward to seeing it. But I digress. The article is kind of a history of what has been happening in the kitchen since the 1950s and he ends up connecting that back to what is happening with the growing girth of the country. "The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity. "
The article talked about how until recently we didn't eat things like french fries everyday because to prepare them took effort and time in the kitchen so they were a "special" food that we ate sometime. Now we can drive-thru and get them day or night. It also talked about the work and calories that cooking food from scratch requires. Subtle changes but very significant in our eating patterns.
Michael Pollan's article isn't just about food. It is about Julia Childs, the movie Julie and Julia, our history, our culture, and the food industry. He is really quite an amazing writer to pull all these things together. If you find time to read it, I think you'll find it thought provoking.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day
We are visiting in Houston and many of the houses in West University have flags out today to remember those who have served our country and especially those who have lost their lives in doing so. God bless all the men and women and their families who are in the armed forces today wherever they may be.Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Historic Day
Today I think that most blogs will have some mention of the Inauguration of Barak Hussein Obama as President of the United States of America. I thought that I would write about it too but everything I start to write seems trivial to what I am feeling. I simply do not know how to express my feelings about today.
I grew up in a house with parents that were prejudiced about all people that were not white. And if my Father were alive today he would be upset that a black man was being sworn in as President of the United States. Back in the 1950's I remember seeing on TV and reading about the civil rights struggles in the South. And now here we are in 2009 and a black man is being sworn in as our President. I don't think that our racial issues are over with, but I'm very hopeful that we are turning a corner where children who are not white believe that they too have the opportunity to be anything they want to be. This is a historic day for our country.
Our country is overwhelmed by problems on all sides from the economy to the "wars," to security within our own borders, to international relations.....the list is long. All I can do is pray for President Obama that he has the intelligence, the mental toughness, the diplomacy, and the ability to inspire all of us to help, even sacrifice if necessary, to solve many of our problems.
My Prayer is God Bless the United States of America. God Bless President Obama
I grew up in a house with parents that were prejudiced about all people that were not white. And if my Father were alive today he would be upset that a black man was being sworn in as President of the United States. Back in the 1950's I remember seeing on TV and reading about the civil rights struggles in the South. And now here we are in 2009 and a black man is being sworn in as our President. I don't think that our racial issues are over with, but I'm very hopeful that we are turning a corner where children who are not white believe that they too have the opportunity to be anything they want to be. This is a historic day for our country.
Our country is overwhelmed by problems on all sides from the economy to the "wars," to security within our own borders, to international relations.....the list is long. All I can do is pray for President Obama that he has the intelligence, the mental toughness, the diplomacy, and the ability to inspire all of us to help, even sacrifice if necessary, to solve many of our problems.
My Prayer is God Bless the United States of America. God Bless President Obama
Friday, January 16, 2009
Shopping Mecca
The United States is a shopping mecca. We are in Houston and we have been hitting the stores like Target, Costco and Micro Center. I'm not buying much but I'm spending a lot of time just wandering up and down aisles.
The longer we live in Mexico the more amazed I am when we come back to Houston and go into the stores. You have so many choices and the prices are so good compared to Mexico. In San Miguel you do not have the variety of choices.....endive, probably not.....radicchio, never seen it in Mexico. Need an external hard drive? I doubt you would find more than three choices and I don't think you would find a 2 terabyte external hard drive at all. At Micro Center there must have been 10 brands with three or four different gigabyte sizes for each brand.
Since the last time we were here a new Costco has opened in the inner city. I've never seen a Costco like this one. Most of them are similar, even the ones in Mexico although they may not have as good a selection as the stores in the USA. But this one had the widest variety of "stuff" I've ever seen and at great prices. The meats and fish looked so good. There were 2" thick filet mignon.....5 of them in one package for $26. I didn't look at price per pound.....I was so overwhelmed at the value but I'd say that each filet was 5 to 7 ozs. Then they had whole Alaskan king crab.....about $4 a pound, so the two crabs cost about $18. One of my favorites, rack of Australian lamb, $10.99 a pound. Each rack cost about $12 to $13. Or thick cut lamb chops for $6.99 a pound. Yes, yes, I know this doesn't sound much like everyday food but sometimes you can afford a treat......especially at these prices.
The way the stores are decorated and the aisles are arranged are all about enticing you to "shop." It is hard to resist buying things that you don't really need. Maybe that is why some Americans have been spending more than they earn.
The longer we live in Mexico the more amazed I am when we come back to Houston and go into the stores. You have so many choices and the prices are so good compared to Mexico. In San Miguel you do not have the variety of choices.....endive, probably not.....radicchio, never seen it in Mexico. Need an external hard drive? I doubt you would find more than three choices and I don't think you would find a 2 terabyte external hard drive at all. At Micro Center there must have been 10 brands with three or four different gigabyte sizes for each brand.
Since the last time we were here a new Costco has opened in the inner city. I've never seen a Costco like this one. Most of them are similar, even the ones in Mexico although they may not have as good a selection as the stores in the USA. But this one had the widest variety of "stuff" I've ever seen and at great prices. The meats and fish looked so good. There were 2" thick filet mignon.....5 of them in one package for $26. I didn't look at price per pound.....I was so overwhelmed at the value but I'd say that each filet was 5 to 7 ozs. Then they had whole Alaskan king crab.....about $4 a pound, so the two crabs cost about $18. One of my favorites, rack of Australian lamb, $10.99 a pound. Each rack cost about $12 to $13. Or thick cut lamb chops for $6.99 a pound. Yes, yes, I know this doesn't sound much like everyday food but sometimes you can afford a treat......especially at these prices.
The way the stores are decorated and the aisles are arranged are all about enticing you to "shop." It is hard to resist buying things that you don't really need. Maybe that is why some Americans have been spending more than they earn.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mortgage Mess
I'm hearing all this stuff about ways to help the mortgage holders, caught in this credit collapse, avoid foreclosure so they can stay in their homes. This sounds good but I don't see how it is going to work.
Let's just say that Joe bought a house on Harmony Lane and he is only paying interest on the house because he didn't have the money to put down on the house or to pay the principal but he is sure that he will be making more money in a couple of years or he'll sell the house for a profit. Mary bought the house next door. She saved up for a down payment and she bought a house on which she could pay the interest, principal and taxes. It was a stretch but she is making those payments every month.
A couple of years go by and Joe now needs to come up with the real cost of the house but he can't so he is in trouble and headed for foreclosure. On top of that the real estate bubble has popped and he can't sell the house for as much as his mortgage obligation. Mary's house isn't worth as much as she paid either but she is still meeting her mortgage obligations.
So from what I'm understanding about what both the candidates are saying about helping people in foreclosure, the government will somehow help Joe by giving him better interests rates and/or by refinancing the house at its current value.
Am I misunderstanding or misintrepreting these proposals or did Mary, faithful Mary who makes prudent decisions and lives up to her obligations, just get screwed.
Let's just say that Joe bought a house on Harmony Lane and he is only paying interest on the house because he didn't have the money to put down on the house or to pay the principal but he is sure that he will be making more money in a couple of years or he'll sell the house for a profit. Mary bought the house next door. She saved up for a down payment and she bought a house on which she could pay the interest, principal and taxes. It was a stretch but she is making those payments every month.
A couple of years go by and Joe now needs to come up with the real cost of the house but he can't so he is in trouble and headed for foreclosure. On top of that the real estate bubble has popped and he can't sell the house for as much as his mortgage obligation. Mary's house isn't worth as much as she paid either but she is still meeting her mortgage obligations.
So from what I'm understanding about what both the candidates are saying about helping people in foreclosure, the government will somehow help Joe by giving him better interests rates and/or by refinancing the house at its current value.
Am I misunderstanding or misintrepreting these proposals or did Mary, faithful Mary who makes prudent decisions and lives up to her obligations, just get screwed.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Cost of Partisanship
Did you see the HBO mini-series on John Adams? I did not see it but I have it on my Netflix list and I have recently read the book by David McCullough from which the mini-series was taken. I don't know how the mini-series treats all the amazing correspondence that the book includes. Maybe we should leave email and sound-bites and go back to the pen and ink correspondence of John Adams day where principles and concepts were carefully developed in letters and pamphlets. You can read about the respect he had for others, for the land and for his country through the massive correspondence that he produced. And you read of a most incredible love and partnership in the correspondence that he exchanged with Abigail. And unfortunately you can also read about false and negative campaigning even in the early days of the USA.The whole book has been especially meaningful for me because I've read it during this election campaign as well as our current financial crisis. All I could think of when the House and Senate were going back and forth about the 'bailout' bill (I still can't call it a 'rescue' bill) was what Adams thought of political parties.
"There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures in opposition to each other," Adams had observed to a correspondent while at Amsterdam, before the Revolution ended. Yet this was exactly what had happened. The "turblent maneuvers" of factions, he now wrote privately, could "tie the hands and destroy the influence" of every honest man with a desire to serve the public good. There was "division of sentiments over everything," he told his son-in-law William Smith. "how few aim at the good of the whole, without aiming too much at the prosperity of parts!"
John Adams was a man with an amazing mind, a visionary and yet a man who loved the simple life of farming. Reading this book brought me back to the vision and principles on which the United States of America was created. I wish we could go back there again.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
That's Not What I Was Trying to Say
I've been stewing all week about a comment from Anonymous that I received on this blog entry, Hospital Angeles de Queretaro - Part 2. The entry was written about a year ago and is about a medical procedure that I had done at the Hospital Angeles. Anonymous said:
I've been living in the United States for two year... I've been living in the United States for two years and let me tell you that the american health care sucks! doctors all they care about is money, I think in Mexico health care is way better than in the States, but as always you see Mexicans as if we were living in the jungle.
Wow, when I read that comment I immediately went to look at the blog entry to re-read what I had written that gave Anon the impression that I thought Mexicans were living in the jungle. I'm still not sure why Anon interpreted what I wrote this way. I also worried that perhaps Anon was a regular reader and thought that all of my writing reflected that I had a bad impression of all things Mexican.
When I wrote the entry I was thinking that my audience or readership was mostly expats or people who think about being expats and one of the questions we always get asked from other people who sometimes think about living in Mexico is about medical care in Mexico. So most of the report was a comparison of having this same test in the USA and having it in Mexico. There are differences and I thought that it might help some expats to know what the differences are even if minor.
This medical procedure wasn't an emergency. I did not have to have the test in Mexico. I could have waited until we went back to the USA but we wanted to start to find doctors in Mexico and explore medical care here. It would give us a lot of peace of mind to know what to expect if we should run into an emergency situation. And I summarized with the following:
This report may sound negative but I didn't have a bad experience yesterday. It is just that things are different in Mexico. And of course, I'm comparing my experiences from Houston's gigantic world class Texas Medical Center where besides many hospitals and medical schools there are numerous clinics that specialize in single procedures like cataract surgery or colonoscopies. We have friends who have had major abdominal surgery or orthopedic surgeries in Hospital de Angeles and they have been very pleased with the care they received from their doctors and the hospital staff.
The bottom-line. The hospital was clean, people seemed to be well trained and efficient but just as in most things in Mexico, you are responsible for yourself.
At any rate, Anon, if you read this let me assure you that I respect Mexico and Mexicans and I'm thankful that I can live here. Mexico is different than the USA and I love looking at and trying to understand those differences. Oh, and by the way, since that was written I feel even more confident of using the medical care here in Mexico.
I've been living in the United States for two year... I've been living in the United States for two years and let me tell you that the american health care sucks! doctors all they care about is money, I think in Mexico health care is way better than in the States, but as always you see Mexicans as if we were living in the jungle.
Wow, when I read that comment I immediately went to look at the blog entry to re-read what I had written that gave Anon the impression that I thought Mexicans were living in the jungle. I'm still not sure why Anon interpreted what I wrote this way. I also worried that perhaps Anon was a regular reader and thought that all of my writing reflected that I had a bad impression of all things Mexican.
When I wrote the entry I was thinking that my audience or readership was mostly expats or people who think about being expats and one of the questions we always get asked from other people who sometimes think about living in Mexico is about medical care in Mexico. So most of the report was a comparison of having this same test in the USA and having it in Mexico. There are differences and I thought that it might help some expats to know what the differences are even if minor.
This medical procedure wasn't an emergency. I did not have to have the test in Mexico. I could have waited until we went back to the USA but we wanted to start to find doctors in Mexico and explore medical care here. It would give us a lot of peace of mind to know what to expect if we should run into an emergency situation. And I summarized with the following:
This report may sound negative but I didn't have a bad experience yesterday. It is just that things are different in Mexico. And of course, I'm comparing my experiences from Houston's gigantic world class Texas Medical Center where besides many hospitals and medical schools there are numerous clinics that specialize in single procedures like cataract surgery or colonoscopies. We have friends who have had major abdominal surgery or orthopedic surgeries in Hospital de Angeles and they have been very pleased with the care they received from their doctors and the hospital staff.
The bottom-line. The hospital was clean, people seemed to be well trained and efficient but just as in most things in Mexico, you are responsible for yourself.
At any rate, Anon, if you read this let me assure you that I respect Mexico and Mexicans and I'm thankful that I can live here. Mexico is different than the USA and I love looking at and trying to understand those differences. Oh, and by the way, since that was written I feel even more confident of using the medical care here in Mexico.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Twisted, Tangled, Jumbled
To me the financial situation of the last few days is twisted, tangled and jumbled. I wonder if we will ever get it untwisted, untangled and unjumbled.
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Smartest Guys in the Room - Again
Just seven years ago, we had the failure of Enron. Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind wrote a best selling book, ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room which was the inside story of one of history's greatest business scandals. The investors and employees lost everything while the top executives walked away with over one billion dollars. Before that back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, we had the failure of the Savings and Loan industry. That cost the taxpayers about $125,000,000. Again there were a lot of 'smart guys' that walked away with the profits for flipping properties and with commissions for making loans to risky real estate ventures. Somehow the 'smart guys' think up some tricky accounting systems that allow them to look brilliant because they seem to be able to make things so complicated that everyone else hates to look stupid and point out that the emperor has no clothes.
Now here we are again. The Smartest Guys in the Room thought they would outsmart economics and plain old accounting. This time the Smartest Guys in the Room head up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I'm not going into all the details about the government taking conservatorship of the two companies. You can read that in the newspapers, Newsweek, etc. But I'll quote Mr. Paulson, Treasury Secretary,
“This turmoil would directly and negatively impact household wealth: from family budgets, to home values, to savings for college and retirement,” he said. “A failure would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance. And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation.”
We've seen on TV and read about all the risky home loans that have been made in the last five years by mortgage companies and banks who received commissions and bonuses on the volume of business they generated. Loans to people who could never pay the loan back, loans for more than the worth of the house. Many of those loans are now in foreclosure with more to follow. What this conservatorship boils down to is that the government will directly back the great majority of the nation's home mortgages and that includes all those in foreclosure and that will be in foreclosure. And who is the government? And where will the money come from? Us the taxpayers! Yes, we have to pay the cost of these bad loans because the money has to come from somewhere.
This makes me furious! All of us who bought homes that we can afford, all of us who saved for retirement or to put our children through college, all of us who lived on what we earned and paid our debts, should be furious. Now we are saddled with debt that was caused by 'the smart guys' who thought they could game the system. It threatens everything about our standard of living, everything about our grandchildrens lives. Where were the government regulators? Where was the Congress?
I don't want this to be a political blog but I'm angry and I just had to write about it!
Now here we are again. The Smartest Guys in the Room thought they would outsmart economics and plain old accounting. This time the Smartest Guys in the Room head up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I'm not going into all the details about the government taking conservatorship of the two companies. You can read that in the newspapers, Newsweek, etc. But I'll quote Mr. Paulson, Treasury Secretary,
“This turmoil would directly and negatively impact household wealth: from family budgets, to home values, to savings for college and retirement,” he said. “A failure would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance. And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation.”
We've seen on TV and read about all the risky home loans that have been made in the last five years by mortgage companies and banks who received commissions and bonuses on the volume of business they generated. Loans to people who could never pay the loan back, loans for more than the worth of the house. Many of those loans are now in foreclosure with more to follow. What this conservatorship boils down to is that the government will directly back the great majority of the nation's home mortgages and that includes all those in foreclosure and that will be in foreclosure. And who is the government? And where will the money come from? Us the taxpayers! Yes, we have to pay the cost of these bad loans because the money has to come from somewhere.
This makes me furious! All of us who bought homes that we can afford, all of us who saved for retirement or to put our children through college, all of us who lived on what we earned and paid our debts, should be furious. Now we are saddled with debt that was caused by 'the smart guys' who thought they could game the system. It threatens everything about our standard of living, everything about our grandchildrens lives. Where were the government regulators? Where was the Congress?
I don't want this to be a political blog but I'm angry and I just had to write about it!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Border Tactics
On a regular basis the San Miguel "chat" group called the Civil List gets into a discussion about immigration laws in Mexico, how difficult it is to get Visas, FM3s, or FM2s. There seems to always be someone who thinks that the Mexican bureaucracy is inefficient, excessive and/or overbearing. We have never found that to be the case. All in all, maybe some of those who are complaining should take a good look back North of the Border at what is happening.
Recently at a party we were talking with a couple who have a second home here in San Miguel. They recounted bringing a sum of cash to Mexico, a large sum but not more than the $10,000 which by USA law must be reported. They were questioned about what they were going to do with that amount of money in Mexico. Excuse me. If they weren't breaking any laws in the USA or Mexico, why did the government need to know what they planned to do with their money. Another time when returning from Mexico they were questioned about what they did in Mexico for 21 days.
Back in April, a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you're entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days.
Border agents now scan license plates and passports of all exits and re-entries by USA citizens at land crossings as well as by air and all of this is being stored in a traveler database. Ellen Nakashima in an article for The Washington Post, writes that the information will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations. There are a lot more issues about this data base that should worry all of us because depending on the way it is used, it could become worse than THE WATCH list which theoretically only lists someone for a reason. I hope you will take the time to read the article.
Another blogger, Eddie Willers, wrote this week in his blog, Adventures of a Third World Shopkeeper, about his experience at the McAllen border. He has a British passport, is married to a Mexican, and works in Mexico. Although for a number of years he has regularly crossed the border from Mexico to the United States with his British passport with out a problem, this time he was denied entry. Read about it here.
Hey, all I'm saying is that this just doesn't "feel" right to me and it seems to open the door to more and more ways of invading our privacy. Once they have the data, who will use it and how will it be analyzed?
Recently at a party we were talking with a couple who have a second home here in San Miguel. They recounted bringing a sum of cash to Mexico, a large sum but not more than the $10,000 which by USA law must be reported. They were questioned about what they were going to do with that amount of money in Mexico. Excuse me. If they weren't breaking any laws in the USA or Mexico, why did the government need to know what they planned to do with their money. Another time when returning from Mexico they were questioned about what they did in Mexico for 21 days.
Back in April, a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you're entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days.
Border agents now scan license plates and passports of all exits and re-entries by USA citizens at land crossings as well as by air and all of this is being stored in a traveler database. Ellen Nakashima in an article for The Washington Post, writes that the information will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations. There are a lot more issues about this data base that should worry all of us because depending on the way it is used, it could become worse than THE WATCH list which theoretically only lists someone for a reason. I hope you will take the time to read the article.
Another blogger, Eddie Willers, wrote this week in his blog, Adventures of a Third World Shopkeeper, about his experience at the McAllen border. He has a British passport, is married to a Mexican, and works in Mexico. Although for a number of years he has regularly crossed the border from Mexico to the United States with his British passport with out a problem, this time he was denied entry. Read about it here.
Hey, all I'm saying is that this just doesn't "feel" right to me and it seems to open the door to more and more ways of invading our privacy. Once they have the data, who will use it and how will it be analyzed?
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