Monday, November 03, 2008

Yes, it's been over a month, again, since my last post. I have been busy, honest! Emily and I have been taking Albanian classes full-time (5 days a week, 5 hours per day) for the past eight weeks or so, just long enough to know how tough a language Albanian actually is.

Twice a week we've gone to an introductory Italian class at NVCC. Since neither of us needs the credits and neither wants the stress, we're auditing the course. So, two nights a week we spend two and a half hours learning Italian. Compared to Albanian, Italian is incredibly easy: far fewer irregularities and NO cases! I had forgotten how much of my high school Latin was memorization of tables.

For most of the first eight weeks, Emily was on the morning shift and I was on the afternoon shift. As of today, we switched. As a result, I had trouble getting to sleep last night and then woke up around five o'clock this morning. After trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep for a bit, I got up around 5:30, a full hour before I had planned. Yuck. I was awake for my class, but by noon was beginning to get tired. Now I am quite tired, but know that I can't take a nap. Naps tend to make things worse for me: I get up from a nap groggier and later have trouble getting to sleep. Thankfully Heroes isn't on tonight, so I can go to bed a little earlier than usual perhaps. I'll be fine once I get used to the schedule. As it is, I came home today, ate lunch, checked email, did my homework quickly, did some laundry, watched a little TV, and am now awaiting Emily's return after her first afternoon class. I think she wants to go shopping, although just why eludes me at the moment.

The Italian class is mostly for fun, since we do intend to travel to Italy while living in Albania. In addition, we hope to visit Greece (at least Korfu, since it's close), Croatia (Dalmatian Coast here I come!), Monte Negro (pretty much sits between Albania and Croatia), Kosovo (as research for a future posting - one of only three places Emily can work with Albanian), Macedonia (ditto), and we are seriously pondering a return trip to Malta. With two R&Rs to London included in the benefits for serving in the undeveloped Albania, we could end up there instead. Right now it's impossible to say. If it sounds like we'd burn a lot of vacation time doing this, we would; on the flip side, Emily took very little vacation during our two years in Monterrey.

I have started a list of places in Albania that I want to visit, largely based on historic sites:

  • Butrint: Unesco World Heritage Site. Wonderful Greek and Roman ruins.
  • Berat & Gjirokastra: Unesco World Heritage Sites. Berat is home to an old citadel. Gjirokastra is often called the "museum town" and is home to a nice castle.
  • Durres. Home to a large amphitheatre.
  • Perhaps some caverns (Balkans are chock-full of them; the term "Karst topography" started with part of what is now Croacia, if I recall my Physical Geography terms correctly)
  • Pretty much any old castles or ruins I can find.
Other activities planned for Albania include 2009's NaNoWriMo. I would have loved to participate this year, but just do not have that kind of time. Next year I will be ready for it. I hope to draw some inspiration from Albania to flesh out some of the many story ideas I've jotted down over the years. Something I hope to start here and complete there is something like Conjuguemos, but for Albanian. It will be a labor of love rather than for money, but good experience I think. I'm planning an initial database, to be followed by a web interface later.

Next posting I will try and get some photos up. One last note: we really wish we could go to the Obama rally in the Manassas area tonight. Unfortunately with our split schedule (AM/PM), it just wasn't an option. We did manage to get our votes in last Thursday, since our absentee ballots were mistakenly sent to our old address. IF they successfully forward, twice, we'll probably see them later this month.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

It's been a month?!

What the heck? How could it have been a month since I posted? Sheesh, time flies and all that.

Updates:
Emily and I are learning Albanian, albeit slowly, 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week, plus homework. In addition, we are taking an introductory Italian class at NVCC two nights a week (2.5 hours each class), plus homework. Italian is way easier and is so close to Spanish.... Unfortunately it's the "disposable" of the two languages: if things get too difficult, we abandon Italian. We're only taking it for vacation/travel purposes. The biggest problem with the Italian class is the pace: glacial. The book isn't that big, yet it is supposed to cover four (yes, 4!) semesters of Italian. That would be 18 hours in one book! Given the confusion suffered by some of our classmates over various bits of grammar, however, I could easily see it taking an entire semester to cover a chapter in sufficient detail. What grammar is causing the trouble you ask? So far: syllables, adjectives, adverbs, and masculine/feminine/single/plural agreement of nouns and adjectives. Pronunciation contines to be a problem, although I have my own problems there, which I attribute to warring Spanish and Albanian neurons.

The house is fine. We *really* love the location. At a slightly brisk walk, I can be in class in 7 minutes. Ten minutes at a normal walk, 12-15 if you truly make it leisurely or you're in heels (not me, I'm just saying). We would love to buy in this neighborhood, but even with the downturn, houses are @ $500K. Sigh. Maybe one day I'll win that lottery or (as my parent's said when I was younger) my rich uncle will get out of the poor house.

On other news, when I read Sluggy Freelance this morning, there was a link to this video. I can only assume that's a mama bunny, but whatever the case, don't mess with that rabbit! (Unfortunately it's a MySpace video and doesn't give me an embed link.)

I managed to watch all of Heroes seasons 1 and 2 on DVD before the new season started. Emily only managed season 1 and the first episode of season 2. After that, I gave her a quick synopsis of the major plot points of the rest of the season. We happily watched the two hour (actually just two episode) season 3 premier on Monday. Woohoo! We finally have a clue what scary mom's power is, Sklyar is freaking more dangerous, and the previews for next week are a bit troubling.

We also watched the return of Big Bang Theory, our favorite sitcom (about the only one I watch regularly). Again, woohoo!

My only problem is that BBT was up against Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and I had to make a choice. Since moving back from Mexico, I've been unable to get my DVD player/recorder to work with Comcast cable. I hope this weekend I can find the time to completely disconnect, check cables/swap cables, and get it working.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

New Digs

As some of you know, when we returned to the States for training prior to our departure for Albania, Emily and I planned to buy a condo in the Arlington or Alexandria area. Unfortunately it didn't work out. We found a few acceptable places, but the condo fees were just too much, rendering it impossible to break even as a rental.

We got lucky. On Livelines, a Yahoo! Group designed for mutual support/commiseration of Foreign Service personnel and families, we found the perfect house: in Arlington, very close to FSI (Emily can walk to class in @ 10 minutes!), furnished, and adjacent to Alcova Heights Park. The owners are FS folks, too, currently abroad. We took the place over immediately after another officer, who was just wrapping up language training prior. The timing was right, the location perfect, and the house great. Best of all, rent is via per diem and all-inclusive, making our lives a lot easier.

Boots is having occasional problems with the hardwood floors upstairs and the Pergo in the basement den (she had the same problem in Mexico with tile and marble floors), but loves the park. She has become reaquainted with squirrels, something she didn't see at all in Monterrey, and soon enough we'll encounter a bunny or two on our daily walks; what more could she want? (Aside from cheese, of course.)

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Stability Index

NPR had an interesting story recently on the availability of Coca Cola as a measure of the stability of a country. I found it very interesting. It ties in nicely with an often-used measure of development by members of the Foreign Service: cost of a Big Mac. (In some cases acquiring a Big Mac involves a plane ticket to the nearest city that has a McDonalds.)

For every Foreign Service post there is a list of items to bring with you (because you can't find them there). Common items: peanut butter, salsa, "Mexican" food (actually Tex-Mex or American-style Mexican foods such as taco seasoning and shells), and often various Asian food items (unless you're talking IN Asia, of course). Many people help use this information to help them decide on where such a place falls in their priority, along with other factors such as language, climate, crime, pollution, pay, quality of housing and medical care, and, for those with kids, availability and quality of schools.

This started a train of thought: what other measurements do we use on an everyday basis to decide if something is good/bad/tolerable? As you drive through a neighborhood, what visual clues do you observe that frames your opinion? Lawn care? People walking the neighborhood and what they're wearing? Children playing? Graffiti? Skin color/ethnicity? Make/model/age of cars parked? Each person has his or her own criteria, I'm sure. After 17 years of marriage (celebrated just a few days ago, thanks), Emily and I don't have identical criteria. In one Arlington neighborhood, some combination of factors made her nervous and state that she'd probably not be comfortable there. I totally missed whatever it was. I admit the development wasn't as nice as some others, but I recall I really liked the mature oak trees that shaded both the front of the buildings and the street parking. Since we never actually made it into the unit, it really didn't matter. (We've since decided that the condo market in Arlington and Alexandria is just too expensive. Condo fees are ridiculous.)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

This pretty much sums me up:



View it here on its official site. Not having access to the hard copy of the Washington Post, I had forgotten about this comic strip. Now I'll have to wade through the archives.... *sigh* ...yeah, tough gig.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Movie updates

I think my last movie post was after seeing Iron Man. I did manage to see Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull while we were still in Monterrey, but that was about it. Since getting back to the US, I've only managed to catch Hancock.

As for Indy, I enjoyed it. I still like the first movie best and would rank this as my second or third favorite, probably third after Indian Jones and the Last Crusade (the second film, Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom, is my least favorite; I think the makers were trying far too hard to push the "gross factor" envelope just for titillation). I wasn't crazy about the scifi twist to this one and had some serious trouble suspending disbelief with the rain forest action sequences (one minute you need a machine to break trail for you, but the next there are parallel trails sufficiently smooth to race down at full speed?). The dialogue and action were pure Indy magic, though, so it all worked out. I did enjoy seeing Indy's old flame back in this one; that was a nice touch. The makers obviously set the stage for potential sequels and a "passing of the fedora" to a new generation, but I honestly don't know if that will ever happen. I doubt that a different cast (and possible director?) could pull off the same magic.

Hancock was better than I expected. Emily and I went to see it a week or so ago and both of us enjoyed it. It was grittier and less comic-booky than many of the "super hero" movies. I wish they had given more detail on the back-story, but I guess that would have detracted from where they were trying to go in general. I generally enjoy Will Smith and he didn't disappoint. Now that I think about it, this movie really only had four actors: Will, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, and Jae Head. The rest barely even registered. Given its commercial success, it could easily spawn a sequel, unlike the last Will Smith movie I saw (in Mexico): I am Legend.

At the rate I'm going I won't get to see several of the spring/summer films before they disappear: Prince Caspian (only one listing in my area now) and Incredible Hulk (dwindling fast with all the other summer films coming out). I might manage it, but I think I'll be lucky to catch Hellboy II, Wanted, and Dark Knight at the rate I'm going (not to mention the cost: way cheaper in Mexico!).

So, I recommend both Hancock and the new Indy movie. On the DVD side I have a bunch of titles to buy that I missed in the theater in the last two years: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Golden Compass, Resident Evil: Extinction, The Seeker... notice a trend here? I'm big into SciFi/Fantasy, comic book adaptations (although I didn't read that many as a kid), anime, and some action films. Most comedies end up annoying me more than entertaining me. I enjoy a good drama or period piece, but I generally catch them on TV or rent them. My reading runs the same way, although I do read a good bit of news online (politics, general current events, lots of science and tech, etc.).

Monday, July 21, 2008

Back in the USSR... er, the USA

It's been a few weeks since I posted. I blogged about part of our journey back from Mexico, then got too busy and didn't get back to it. We arrived back in the Manassas area on July 1. We're staying with Emily's parents during home leave (federally mandated vacation for Foreign Service personnel - time to "get reacquainted" with the home country and avoid "going native").

We had planned to buy a condo in the Arlington/Alexandria area, live in it during Albanian training, and then rent it out as an investment property while we're overseas. Unfortunately this didn't work out. The condo fees changed the attractively-priced condos (under $200K) into the equivalent of $300K properties. This changed the scenario from one in which we could break even on rent (or at least bleed cash minimally) to one in which we would lose a considerable amount of money every year. Since condo fees would be out of our control, there was no way to even be sure how much money we'd lose. (I've heard stories on NPR regarding condo fees and the current foreclosure crisis.)

It now appears we'll be renting a small house very close to where we'll be training in Arlington, close enough that we'll be able to walk to class every day and probably walk home for lunch as well. The best part is that the cost will be covered by our per diem, so there will be no net out-of-pocket expenses. Actually, I take that back: the best part is that it'll be relatively stress-free, unlike buying a new place, fixing it up, furnishing it, finding a property manager, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

Emily's been doing some landscaping around her parents' yard (I helped a bit). Meanwhile I wrapped up my last (extended) class from NVCC, a Java programming class. I am glad it's over. At the moment I'm only signed up for one class next semester, and plan to audit it: Introduction to Italian. Yes, Emily and I will be attempting to learn TWO languages before departing for Albania next spring!

I hope to do a post later today or at least this week of some pictures from our final days in Monterrey (some distant vista types, more butterflies and hummingbirds, etc.). Meanwhile, here's a picture I took a few days ago. A moth got in the house the night before and he posed on the bathroom soap dish, before I gently escorted him outside. I love the camoflage.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

And the journey continues....

Today we managed to make it back to Virginia, Bristol specifically. We're overnighting at, wait for it, the La Quinta Inn. We looked up the rules and it turns out we don't have to get our car inspected until we arrive back "home." In this case, Emily's parent's house, which is fairly close to our old house in Manassas, as well.

Tonight's dinner was, again, Taco Bell. Beer was provided by WalMart, Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale. For the first time in our trip, it rained a fair amount, thought thankfully it wasn't seriously heavy.

We hope to stop by my dad's place in Harrisonburg on the way, assuming all continues to go well on the trip.

My new favorite commercial: Mastercard's Mr. Bill. I've loved Mr. Bill since I caught his episodes on Saturday Night Live when I was in grade school or thereabouts. Gosh, commercials in English. What will they think of next?

Gas update: $3.99 outside Bristol, TN. Probably so high because it was a) not a truck stop and b) pretty much the middle of nowhere.

Monday, June 30, 2008

The Journey Continues....

I was wrong. Due to Rockwall's proximity to a big reservoir east of Dallas, hotels in the area (yes, even La Quinta) were too expensive for our government per diem rate. So we ended up *closer* to Dallas, in "East Dallas." Again, we stayed in a La Quinta Inn. The Inn in Laredo is a bit of a dive, or nearly that, but the clientèle in Laredo was far superior. Yes, in Laredo we did have a group of ten or so guys hanging out in the parking lot, clustered around a flatbed truck and drinking beer for hours and hours. In East Dallas we apparently had... um, ladies of the night?

As we pulled in to the fine establishment, we were a bit puzzled by the number of women hanging around, many in shorts. Later in the evening I observed several minivan taxis picking up numerous women and taking them elsewhere. Hmm. We can't be sure, but it did seem a wee bit suspicious. I mean, how many women wear low-cut blouses and daisy dukes at a particular location. Draw your own conclusions; we did.

We had a tasty dinner of fish and hushpuppies from Captain D's. A couple hours later we enjoyed our two remaining Shiners. Apparently the alcohol ordinances vary by county in Texas. Laredo was much like Virginia: grocery stores and convenience stores sold beer and wine. In the Dallas area, only liquor stores sell alcohol. We arrived late and there were none in our immediate neighborhood anyway.

On the plus side, the room had Cartoon Network and Saturday is Toonami time! Cartoon Network in Mexico was a varying mix of English and Spanish audio cartoons, but no Toonami and few of the action/comic type cartoons I enjoyed in the US. Emily let me watch it for hours: Ben 10 (the new series), Inuyasha, Samurai Jack (an oldie but a goodie - "You can fly?" "No, me jump good!"), and others. She's a good wife. :-)

So, we left the Dallas area and headed east. As we headed homeward, the landscape grew greener, with more and more trees. I saw cattle egrets, red-winged blackbirds (something I grew up with and have missed immensely in Mexico), blooming mimosas and sumacs, and increasingly familiar trees: oaks, sycamores, maples, and cottonwoods. As expected, I also saw a lot of pecan trees, which also grew in Monterrey.

We left Texas and crossed Arkansas. Emily commented on the signs on each bridge we crossed: bridge may ice in cold weather. "Cold weather! Home!" she said. We headed into Tennessee at Memphis, admiring the cool pyramid building. Our next overnight stop: Brownsville. Never heard of it? I'm not surprised. We're staying at the Econo Lodge. Brownsville apparently doesn't rate a La Quinta. Gotta love this 440 miles per day rule. Under the old rules we wouldn't be stuck between major cities like this, struggling to find a pet-friendly hotel that is within per diem rates.

Dinner consisted of KFC's new chipotle crispy chicken washed down with Sprite. Walmart doesn't appear to sell alcohol in Tennessee, or at least this area. Tonight we split a small bottle of Chartreuse that we got with a Christmas gift pack in Virginia at least five years ago, moved to Mexico, and packed in the car for the trip back. It amounted to less than a shot each, I'd guess. Tasty, though.

Tomorrow we'll complete our drive across Tennessee and overnight in Bristol, Virginia, possibly in the same La Quinta we enjoyed on our drive to Mexico nearly two years ago. We hope to get an early start so as to arrive in Virginia early enough to get our car inspected Monday afternoon. If not, we'll shoot for first thing Tuesday morning and hope for the best. Our VA plates are good (our diplomatic plates took so long that we ended up renewing our regular plates while we were in Mexico) and our emissions inspection isn't due for another six or eight months, but the safety inspection is about 18 months out of date. We'd rather not have to cross all of VA with an expired sticker. We could probably talk our way out of a ticket easy enough, but it would be better to just get it over with. We're hoping for no major problems/repairs.

Well, if we're going to get an early start, we gotta go to bed, not to mention reclaiming the laundry from the nearly-antique equipment here and taking the dog out for her evening constitutional.

Gas update: regular unleaded has been under $4 for our entire trip thus far. Best price: $3.75 at a Pilot station in West Memphis, followed by $3.82 at Walmart near Texarkana.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

We made it!

I write this from the lovely La Quinta in Laredo, Texas. Yesterday we cleared out of our house in San Pedro, hit the road, and Emily drove us all the way to the border. Once we reached Laredo, we stopped at the HEB for some dog food pouches and some beer, then swung by a Taco Bell for some gringo food, and finally checked in at the hotel.

After feeding the dog, we fed ourselves. We felt much better after some food and some fine Shiner Bohemian Black Lager. I stayed awake long enough to catch Letterman's Top Ten last night.

This morning Emily rose early, as usual and took her first real bath in.... ages, I guess. (We had only showers in Monterrey.) While I shaved, showered, and fed the dog, Emily headed out to take care of a few errands. Check-out is at noon, so I spent some time re-packing and cleaning up the room. When she returns, we should be able to hit the road fairly quickly.

Our destination for this evening is Rockwall, Texas, just northeast of Dallas.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Nature at its finest
Today I spotted a pale yellow butterfly doing its thing, fluttering from flower to flower in our yard. I hurriedly grabbed the camera and headed out, remembering to go into the menu and change the quality from "better" to "best" (Emily changed it for household inventory photos) as I walked out. I soon spotted the beastie and got a few decent shots.



The butterfly then headed to our larger lantana, the one actually planted in the yard. I followed and managed to get one shot.



I didn't notice at the time, but the butterfly wasn't alone. Apparently the butterfly didn't notice either.

Next thing I know, as I was trying to line up for another shot, the butterfly is fluttering like mad, but not getting anywhere. I started shooting like mad, but only managed a couple shots. Unfortunately I hadn't taken the time to turn off the "preview" (where the camera shows you a copy of your shot before moving on to the next; I've found this preview to be really annoying when dealing with non-cooperative subjects such as hummingbirds and butterflies), so only a few blurred shots worked out.


The butterfly soon escaped. I guess the mantis didn't have a good enough grip on it. I then got a series of shots of the mantis itself, which soon got tired of me. This guy is particularly spooky looking with that small, curled up posterior (vaguely scorpion-esque).



All this reminded me of a cartoon I once saw. The occasion was at my first "rock" concert, at least the first one I ever attended without parents/siblings and for which I paid: Weird Al. The opening act was his mentor, Dr. Demento. One bit of the show was a short (1:30) cartoon called "Bambi Meets Godzilla." So, with no further ado, here it is:

Friday, June 06, 2008


Plug for web comics part 1: Sluggy Freelance

Thanks to mentions in some John Ringo books (he's having a Red Shirt contest now, for those who might be interested in some literary immortality), I found Sluggy Freelance. It took quite a while to work my way through the archives, but I keep current with it now. This comic has been running for over ten years, and has two NPR interviews (one & two) to prove it. I don't always love an individual strip (not a huge fan of some of the parodies), but overall it's a lot of fun. Every day I head over and check out the new madness; it's become a part of my routine.

Sluggy Freelance revolves around a cast of characters including Torg (web designer), Riff (mad inventor), Zoe (babe next door), Aylee (alien), Bun-Bun (mini-lop rabbit seen above), Kiki (hyper ferret), Gwynn (bungling witch of sorts), and others who come and go as the stories progress. Creator Pete Abrams has parodied Harry Potter several times, various sci-fi classics, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Wikipedia as a decent summary. The strip is a mad mix of sci-fi, fantasy, social satire, and general absurdity. It's pure geeky fun.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Plugs for Things I Like

For the remainder of our time here in Mexico, I have decided that I am going to try my best to put in a few plugs for things that have kept me informed and amused during a time of major changes. For tonight, though, a bit of rambling dialog is in order.

Before Emily joined the Foreign Service, I was a productive yet frustrated IT guy, making good money and working too many hours. I left that job, learned a *very* little Spanish, helped prep our house in Manassas for rent, and then moved to Monterrey in the first stage of this grand adventure. I left behind job, family, and friends, although my best friend was right there by my side the whole time: my wife, Emily. She does her best to keep me sane and put up with my idiocies, er... that is, idiosyncrasies.

All I can say is, thank goodness for decent internet! If internet wasn't available here, I couldn't have gone back to school, kept in touch with friends and family (by email and phone - Vonage), or maintained my sanity in all likelihood. This is a subject of considerable concern in Albania, although we've heard some favorable news on that front lately.

As we prepare to pack out for training in the States followed by two years in Albania, I am trying to remain philosophical. I may be able to continue my studies in Tirana; chances are actually very good. I'm beginning to really feel that I need to contribute more, however, so I don't know how much longer I can do the full-time student gig. Do I want to go back to IT? I've worked in it for 10 years and loved computers for many years more, but maybe it's time for something new. We shall see.

I'm giving up nearly all my beloved science-fiction and fantasy books; most are packed for Freecycle and a few will be donated to the Consulate library. I have set aside a few books that either hold special meaning for me or that I've found hard to find in used book stores. All my signed first editions (not many, but a few) will go to storage. I'm currently debating about some certification books. Should I ship them back to the States and hope to find the time to actually use them? Should I give up on it for now and just give them away? I really don't know.

I'm giving up my regular computer; it'll be cleaned up and given to my brother before we head out to Tirana. I'll replace it with a laptop, a breed of which I'm not overly fond. I gave up my server, spare computer parts, and nearly all my cables. What's a guy without cables?! :-) That's okay; the computer stuff has gone to a good home. Hopefully Gerardo will put them to good use.

Well, I'll put this aside for now. Tomorrow I'll start my plugs, hopefully frequent, for Things That Keep Me Sane.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Reciprocity, anyone?

I generally avoid issues relating to my wife's work; it's a good way to get her in trouble. This is more of a general political-diplomatic issue, so, with her caveat that she's not allowed to post such things, I'm going to rant a bit.

First off, a brief explanation of the IVA tax. It's a value-added tax (VAT); details here. The tax doesn't apply to everything, so it doesn't help with much of the food cost or medicine, but it does apply to imported items and luxuries. If you go to a nice restaurant and order drinks, you will be paying IVA. If you have a sizable group of folks at a happy hour or a farewell dinner, the IVA can add up to a sizable amount.

American diplomats in Mexico are entitled to a refund of the IVA tax. Sounds great, right? There's just one problem: lots of hoops! First off, you can't apply for a refund on any purchase less than US $50. Some stores and the Pemex gas stations allow you to combine receipts obtained within a month into a single "factura" (tax statement/receipt) and meet the $50 minimum. (Telmex, the monopoly phone company, and Pemex also don't have to hit the $50 limit for filing.) If you miss that target amount, even if it's only by a few pennies due to the fluctuating currency valuation, you get nothing back.

So, you have some qualifying receipts - what next? Well, first there's a deadline: you must submit within 90 days (60 days is advised for us, since we have to ship our stuff to the Embassy - does it really take 30 days to travel there???) of the date on the receipt. Second, there's a form and procedures: fill out the spreadsheet, print it out, sign it, tape (not staple) each factura and accompanying receipt to a plain sheet of white paper, sign that, too, group the receipt/factura bundle with the spreadsheet, put it in an envelope, and send it to the US Embassy in Mexico City. At some point in the future, you'll get a refund. When? Who knows? (Turnaround has been several months for us.)

If you make a mistake on any part of the rules, you have probably lost any chance of getting your refund. Some of you may say, "but at least you're getting a refund!" True, but let's look at how Mexican diplomats are treated in the United States. A Mexican diplomat is presented with a tax exemption card. No sales taxes are charged on purchases made with this card. No muss, no fuss, no taxes.

Meanwhile the Mexican government decided to encourage tourists to visit Mexico by (wait for it) refunding the IVA tax at handy kiosks in airports. The story doesn't give all the relevant details, but here's a great little quote:

"Of the money they can claim back at airports, tourists will be able to get half in cash pesos, up to a maximum of 10,000 pesos ($955). The rest will be credited to their bank accounts or credit cards within 40 days."

Immediately?! Within 40 days?! Gee, do you think they'd mind if US diplomats started queuing up at these kiosks? According to our own government's web site, we're supposed to receive reciprocity; obviously we are not. The Mexican government is clearly more concerned with the happiness of US tourists than US diplomats. Perhaps it's time to write my representatives and complain about this specific issue or start a petition.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Oops, forgot one!

I forgot to include this bit: Christian Bale (currently playing the new Batman) has been cast to play in the next Terminator film and two possible sequels! Woohoo! I'm currently trying to keep up with the local rebroadcast of Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles and gladly welcome another feature film or three!
Emily and I have been practicing our Albanian vocabulary before bed most nights. I've learned a few words. Mostly I've learned just how painful the learning process will be, before we even get into all the compound tenses....

Saturday night Emily and I went to see "El Hombre de Hierro," otherwise known as Iron Man. I loved it! I liked the effects, enjoyed the sarcastic dialogue, and, what can I say, I'm a sucker for SciFi/Fantasy, which is the heart and soul of most comic books. Upon returning home, I immediately tried to find the soundtrack, but unfortunately they only seem to be selling the score.


I forgot to mention, I saw it in IMAX for less than six bucks. Gotta love that bit of Monterrey! Unfortunately that is my single complaint of the entire movie: the theater. The left side speakers faded in and out quite often, really detracting from the auditory experience of seeing any film in an IMAX theater. Even so, it was well worth it.

Spoiler alert:
my only complaint of the film itself was that Obadiah seemed to pick up the basics of suit function far too quickly for my liking. You could assume that maybe we didn't see all the training that Stark himself went through, but you can't make the same leap with Obadiah.

Rumor has it that if Iron Man does well, which by all accounts it's done very well, the studios are already looking into an Avengers movie. That could be fun.

Now, on to Prince Caspian, followed by the new Indiana Jones film (rumor has it it'll open in IMAX here, too!), and possibly The Incredible Hulk (sure hope they do a better job with this one than the last attempt in 2003) before we head back to the States. Unfortunately I won't be here for the IMAX screening of Batman: Dark Knight. Maybe I'll catch it at the Dulles IMAX.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Woohoo!

With a tremendous sigh of relief, reportedly heard as far away as Nuevo Laredo, I completed two of my classes recently (Biology and Geography), having already wrapped up an Advanced Composition class earlier. I extended a Java class until mid-July; given pack-out preparations, I needed the extra time. As I told one professor, I should have either taken no classes or maybe just one this semester. I'm burning out. My old brain can't handle this college stuff! :-)

So, I have some additional Java programming to do in the next six weeks and one more exam, but other than that, I am done. Whew.

Now maybe I can get back to a more reasonable schedule, to include walking the dog (now that her broken toe is completely healed) and more exercise in general, not to mention sorting my books into several piles: going to Albania, going to storage, donating, and possibly shipped to my brother. I believe the "donation" pile will end up being the largest. Most of my much-read SciFI/Fantasy paperbacks either have to be donated or shipped to my brother. Given that I can't ship media mail from here, only Priority Mail, it would probably cost about $30 to ship 20 pounds of books. I could probably replace them at a used book store at that rate.

What I do know is going with me is my reference and writing section. I expect that section to slowly expand over the years. My few signed first editions will go to storage, as will some hardbacks. (If anyone knows of a website where I can buy professional/library archiving materials, let me know quick!) Many of the computer books that Emily and I brought will go away; they've become too dated at this point. I might pursue a couple certifications if time permits during Albanian.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Critter Pix

A few days ago I spotted a lizard on the bricks of the patio. I grabbed the camera and sneaked outside, but couldn't spot it. Suddenly the lizard, an anole, dashed out of hiding and snatched a small roach as it ambled in the shade of the bush I was looking at. I had trouble getting the camera to focus on what *I* wanted, rather than whatever it chose, but I did get a decent action shot.



The greater tail grackle is one of the most common birds spotted here year-round. It's breeding season, so they are quite action right now. Boots has enjoyed chasing them out of our yard, repeatedly. She doesn't stand a chance of actually catching them and it makes her feel empowered, so I allow it. This male grackle was doing a bit of prancing atop our wall. I hope to get some better pictures of these guys later. In the right light, the black has green and blue overtones.


Today the woodpecker almost cooperated with me. We have several in our neighborhood (at least one mated pair), but I never manage to get pictures. Today this one was on the tree just outside the sliding glass door to the patio, but I didn't have a camera handy. I did get a picture of him on the other tree in the yard though, before he decided he didn't want an audience for his prospecting.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Too bad I didn't make the reunion...
...'cause I had ammunition!

No, I would not have gone psycho at my 20th HS reunion, had I been able to attend last October. And, yes, that does date me.

While going through boxes of stuff that were packed and shipped here that I never unpacked, I found a manila envelope containing the Senior Prophecy. In the spring of 1987 the senior class at Buffalo Gap High School was asked to fill out a short survey. Based upon that survey, personal interviews in some cases, and our general knowledge of our huge (@ 125 graduated, I think) class, Sean Neff and I composed a skit and performed it for the seniors. In this skit I played myself (a very complicated role, let me assure you) and Sean played a gypsy fortune teller. He wasn't a very well-to-do fortune teller; he couldn't even afford a crystal ball. Instead, he had a crystal bowl, complete with gold fish. Whenever he wanted more money he would complain that the future was cloudy, at which time I'd bribe him. He would then sprinkle in some food for the fish and things would clear right up. What can I say, we were operating on the cheap.

When I pulled out the slightly-yellowed notebook paper from the envelope, I immediately recognized Sean's handwriting. The first lines at the top of the page caught my attention, so I flipped the page and here was Sean's line:

"I see... I see... I see space, the final frontier. I see a ship boldly going where no man has gone before. I see Curt in the captain's chair.... Oh, he's just an actor. This is the set of Star Trek XIII: The Last Voyage."

I thought: how appropriate. All through college and beyond, Curt Sawyer has religiously maintained the roster of his ship, the USS Excalibur. Maybe the prophecy wasn't too far off after all.

Not only do I have the skit, I have our original notes, the surveys that people turned in, and other assorted bits. As I said... ammunition. Coulda been fun. Guess I'll save them for the next one. Let's see, I'll be home from Albania in mid-2011, so if we have a 25th, I might manage to make that... or I might already be at our next post. Only the Shadow knows.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Birds (and other beasties) of Monterrey
It's spring and bird-love is in the air. We have regular coo-fests and squabbles among the doves. I've heard the clay-colored robins (this site has the distinctive call they term the "mono-duet" that I hear frequently) this year, and seen a few, but apparently they've elected not to nest in my yard, which is fine by me. (See last year's problems here, under "critter updates.") I've heard, but not seen, what I believe to be Great Kiskadees, which we saw and heard last year. We also have what appear to be Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, or a very similar species. They don't nest in our yard, but do in our neighborhood somewhere. I also saw what I think was a pair of crows this morning, which is very unusual. I see plenty of great-tailed grackles, which are black, and buzzards, but no crows. Perhaps they're migrating?

We see a gecko on our front porch nearly every night and we've spotted several anoles this season (one in our yard, one in our neighbor's, and one the neighbor found on a plant in their house - they moved him outside).


In a case of extremely poor timing, a little hummingbird started building a nest in a tree in my yard last Thursday, while I was discussing tree trimming with the gardeners the landlord sent. I asked him not to cut that particular branch, but I guess all the trimming and activity was enough to scare it away. I saw it pop by a few times when things were quiet, but I've only seen a hummer back feeding on our lantana since. The few tiny twigs and bit of windblown insulation are the only signs that a nest was imminent.
I tried to get a picture of the hummer on the branch, but it was too skittish. Here's the best picture of the (barely-started) nest I could get:



Today I spotted what appeared to be a
Yellow-tailed Oriole in our neighbor's Jacaranda tree and also perched on a power line outside our bedroom window. It was feeding amongst the numerous purple blossoms. It would make a great picture, if only the bird wasn't so skittish and/or I had a better camera. (Note: if anyone has any digital camera recommendations, please let me know.) Nice pallet: light green foliage, light gray-brown bark, purple blossoms, and a bright yellow and black bird. You'll have to settle for a shot of a jacaranda branch, followed by two partial shots where I've circled the bird in red.




I also spotted one of the local hummingbirds (probably a broad-billed) and the local bumble and honey bees in the same tree. I'll try to get a shot of the bumblebees one day. They're large and solid black, unlike the black and gold we have back in the States.

I also spotted a migrant in our yard:
Danaus plexippus, a Monarch Butterfly. Here's a picture I managed to catch of it feeding on our lantana bush.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

A few quick updates
Travel - My trip back to the States went well. Visited with family, participated in my mandatory on-campus BIO lab, and did a little shopping. Watched the Transformers movie on DVD with my brother. It was okay, but it was a bit mature for the market for which they design the toys. Overall, I still prefer the cartoons.

Scary robot
Slashdot referred me to this YouTube video on Boston Dynamics' "Big Dog" robot. All I can say is... creepy. If I encountered that thing alone, particularly in the woods portion of the video, I might freak out a bit. Just a bit. :-)

Here's the video:


Weather update
Perhaps I'll post more about this later, but yesterday was a bit rough. I went to the Consulate in the morning to take an exam. That went fine, but when I left to catch my bus home I found that the pollution level had increased dramatically. Buildings less than 100 yards away were blurred. The hill that divides Monterrey from San Pedro, Loma Larga, was nearly invisible at a distance of maybe half a mile. You could smell and taste the pollution. The wind had picked up a little and it was gusting grit and dust everywhere. Altogether an unpleasant day was had by all. After catching my bus home, I did have one small high point. Walking from the bus stop to the house, I heard a distinctive tsk-tsk-tsk noise I've come to know well: hummingbird. I looked up and a small, dark green hummer with a bright red bill was perched in a tree overhead, looking decidedly unhappy over the increasing winds. Trash, leaves, and trashcans were blowing down my street. I managed to get our trashcan out to the curb just a few minutes before the trash truck picked up, and then quickly grabbed the empty can before it blew away.

We lost power briefly several times over the next two hours, with numerous flickers and dimmings, and then lost power completely around 1:30 PM. Power was restored about six hours later. Anyone know how long food is good in a refrigerator/freezer if the door is left closed? Guess I'll Scroogle it. Anyway, once Emily arrived home (had to manually open and shut the garage doors) we set about finding candles and flashlights. We baked a frozen pizza and ate it by candlelight.

As of 9 AM this morning, our cable TV still isn't working. That means we missed Jericho last night, as well as the opportunity to see if the Warner Channel carried the new episode of Big Bang Theory which we missed on Monday (Darn the revised Daylight Saving schedule! We're still an hour behind!).

With internet and power back and stable, I have lots of school work to finish (it's about mid-term time). Back to the salt mines.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Travel update and sad news
First off, I'm headed back to the States for a week. For part of that time I'll basically be unavailable by email (the horror!) since I'll be visiting my folks in the valley. I have to head back to do an on-campus lab in Alexandria. I'll also get a new student ID, maybe try to sell a few old books back, and take an exam. (I tried to take one here yesterday and the Blackboard system went down.)

For the sad news, I just heard that Gary Gygax has died. I never met the guy, but he and the other authors of D&D had a profound influence on me. D&D was a staple, along with SciFi/fantasy books and films, both a source of wonder and a good way to stay out of trouble. I credit D&D with vastly increasing my vocabulary and sending me off on many a fine quest to find more information on the origin of a particular mythos. Rest in peace.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Rippin' good time

Tonight I've completed an important pre-move task: ripping all our music CDs to MP3s. I've been working on it off-and-on for over a week now and I'm done (barring the discovery of a few loose discs buried in a drawer or something). I haven't done a disc count yet (I'll post one soon), but it amounted to 34 GB on a new external drive purchased just for music and iTunes.

Why? As a part of our "weight-reduction" plan (a household effects diet?), we're not going to take the physical discs to Albania with us. The discs will go to storage (so we're still legal) and the MP3s and iTunes' TV shows will travel.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Just a quick plug

I just wanted to give a quick plug to WUWM (University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee) radio, both NPR and, more importantly perhaps, WUWM2 "The Deuce." The NPR side of things has allowed Emily and I to keep in touch (in the same time zone) with current news. "The Deuce," WUWM's HD channel, is also broadcast on the web and has proven a godsend for us. We've been introduced to so much good music through this one station. I've been working my way through the MySpace pages for a number of bands this evening:
Silver Seas
Standfast
The Weepies
Midlake
Persephone's Bees

And probably my favorite band for the past... maybe five years?... Hem. I managed to catch three of their four DC-area shows before we moved to Mexico. I even bought tickets for an NYC show at the Lincoln Center, but had to sell the tickets (thanks, Craigstlist!) when Emily got her dream job with the Foreign Service (worth the loss, believe me). If you listen and like their music, I recommend you sign up on their list. I've gotten links to MP3s of various songs over the last few years as freebies.

We've bought at least two CDs based on music heard on WUWM's Cafe Tonight or The Deuce in the last year:
Brett Dennan
Carbon Leaf *

I encourage you to tune in to WUWM and The Deuce and take a listen. WUWM introduced me to another program I hadn't experienced in the DC area: Alternative Radio. Not all of the programs are of interest to me, but some are so I try my best to remember to tune in at 8 PM (CT) on Sundays.

* How odd that I'd hear a band from my home state (Virginia) for the first time over the internet from a Wisconsin radio station, while living in Mexico!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Spring must be here!

Why? Because the geckos are back! :-) (Sorry, no new photos - Emily has the camera!)
I spotted my first gecko of the new year tonight, plastered to the wall on the front of the house.

In a previous post from last year, I had a sky-shot of new leaves. We have those, too, but I think the old leaves took a little longer to fall this time. Our winter has been much warmer and far, far drier than last year.

As for an update, I've been busy with classes - too busy. I've never been a great student, but this all-remote bit is getting old. Thankfully this is the last semester I'll have to do it. With any luck, I'll be an in-person full-time student at the University of New York - Tirana once we get to Albania in 2009. Taking classes in person will be a pain, in some respects, but I'll honestly welcome the structure.

We still don't know when we're leaving Monterrey, only that my language classes run from September 2008 - April 2009. Emily still doesn't have a schedule, so we have no departure date. Hopefully we'll know soon, so we can start planning for the big move.

We are probably going to purchase a condo (or townhouse/house if we can afford it) while back in the States. We'll live there during training, then rent it out after we move to Albania. If we're back in the DC area for an extended period again, we'll probably live there, since we plan to get something convenient to the Foreign Service Institute and Metro.

I must say, NBC Universal, the owner of Battlestar Galactica, has greatly annoyed me. In December, they dropped the show from iTunes. I guess we'll have to wait until the new season comes out on DVD and pick it up while we're back in the States. Grr. At least Stargate:Atlantis is still available, although I think the season ends soon. With any luck, Big Bang Theory will make it back with a few episodes now that the writers' strike is over. We've managed to catch all but one or two of the few episodes released on either the studio channel (Warner, I think) or a re-run on the network. We are also watching Jericho, although we didn't see most of the first season, just the last few episodes of it and the new show that just kicked it off. I don't know when/if Smallville and Supernatural will resume here in Mexico. I think a few fewer episodes aired down here than in the States; we stopped getting new episodes before the Christmas episodes.

That's about all I have time for now. I have some class work to wrap up this weekend and, with Emily in Nueva York with her parents, I have nothing else to do . Other than TV... and games... and books... and a dog that really needs a walk... more accurately: I have no excuses.