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Day 14
I had a slow start of the day. That’s because I have zero plans until mid-day when I’m meaning a guy for coffee in town. More on that later!
I did however utilize some of the groceries I bought yesterday and made a complete… good ‘ol U.S.of A breakfast…YEAH J
How’s this for s start of the day…fresh coffee (new coffee maker)…Mango Juice…Pancakes…and bacon. I do however need to make some adjustments due to…
(I’m pretty sure) the altitude…as Aunt Jemima’s Pancakes did not have the same consistency as they normally would. This…(as always) following the normal directions).
Anyway it felt good to actually make my own breakfast again while sitting in my own kitchen…and just chillin’ J
Now I’ve spent a couple of hours on the old laptop and it’s in need of re-charging. Being that I have about three hours to kill before my “coffee meet”…I guess I’ll read a bit and I will report back later as to my latest observations and updates.
OK…Times Up J
Well…had a pleasant time meeting my new acquaintance Gerard. He’s been living here on and off for about twenty years and…for the last few years he’s been a steady resident. In fact he’s married to a Cuencano.
Anyway…after coffee and some talk…and due to the hour…we decided to have dinner.
I of course (being that it was on the menu)…had a burger and fries. Not the best…but it was pretty good and filed the my stomachs yearning for Americano Norte fare ;)
As always happens…it was soon time to head home. Of course it was raining (pretty heavy too)…and I couldn’t wait to see how long it would take to get a taxi…if ever.
Did you ever have a “jaw-dropping” moment. Well that’s what I had. As I exited the restaurant…right there in front of me was a cab…with the riders exiting. WOW…not only did I get the cab (without even getting wet)…but I was “not” ripped off. The cab fare was the standard buck and a half.
The downside of all this (and you knew it was coming) was when I got into my apartment I discovered I had lost my new cell phone. This of course meant that the next day I would be…getting a replacement phone day….HOORAY L
BTW…this makes three phones in about three weeks…wonder if that’s a record…hmm.
Well friends we draw the curtain on an other day in EC.
Manana J
Day 15
You know…feeling that one is compelled to write is one thing. However when there is nothing to really write about…that’s entirely “a horse of a different color”.
That my dear friends and family…is exactly what happened today...na-da!
Of course…that is with the exception of replacing my cell phone…(again).
So I will leave you with that…and tomorrow is another day…”way” south of the border.
Day 16
I’m trying to decide if living away from cuidad (city) centro is good or bad. On the one hand…living on the perimeter of town is definitely healthier as the air is cleaner and of course it is quieter…probably a lot quieter. On the other hand it’s a good hike into cuidad centro (and beyond). Know don’t get me wrong…my place is very nice…the area is quiet…the rent is really good. Also the inexpensive cab fares offset the almost daily hike(s)…as does the knowledge that the walking is damn good exercise.
I guess what I’m experiencing is what the “experts” call “the separation process”. The big downside to living here…as opposed to my living in Thailand (personally speaking)is the “opposite sex” factor. My feelings are…if your not a “bar person” (which I’m not)…and being part of the “older generation” (which I am) well…it can and is proving to be a rough transition. It’s also not an easy thing to accept. Hopefully…I won’t need to accept the above…but will triumph in the long run. I guess time will tell.
OK…enough of that!
Just came back from another grocery shopping foray to Supermaxi. This time…on the West side of town…which by the way is a lot closer to my habitat. It was also…maybe a bit smaller than the first store I visited…but it was much less crowded and more to my liking.
So...it’s now about 2 p.m. and I have zero plans for the rest of the day. I may just relax and putter around the house…I’ll see. Tomorrow however…I’ll be out and about… followed by Friday’s weekly Expat meeting at Zoe’s…which is always enjoyable with the real possibility of meeting somebody new.
Later Guys J
May 8, 2010
The first thing that you might have noticed…is that I am no longer starting my “daily happenings” with “Day # so + so. This is two-fold…as it makes everything easily identifiable to you. In addition…it gives me a solid hint as to…well…what today is!
I’m sure you’d agree that this can be a handy thing especially if one has an appointment…or dare I say it…a date ;)
As for my days roamings so far…yours truly had a relaxing breakfast (home made) and then meandered into El Parke Centro. As I was sitting in the park people watching…a gent sat down next to me and said something in Espanol. I politely said…no habla espanol. He smiled and slowly started speaking in broken English. Well …I now have a new acquaintance…who goes by the name of Marcello (not sure of spelling). I would imagine we’re in the same age group…but I’m very bad when it comes to guessing peoples ages although I’ll take a guess and say somewhere around 70ish. In talking I discovered he has a son in…of al places…Ft. Lauderdale, FL. This by the way…for those who do not know is where …I lived for 10 years before my move to Thailand. Anyway we had a nice conversation (albeit…in broken English & Espanol).
Now…this where my antennas started to “twitch…as he was telling me where he lived and that there were many Gringo’s in the area of his Casa Apartemento. He went on telling me (remember…broken English) about the view from his apartment…and if I’m not mistaken…he was asking me to go with him in his car…see his apartemento and have a drink.
SIRENS IN THE HEAD TIME!!!
Now…I could be way off base here…as the Cuencanos are extremely friendly and open…but my years and experiences of living in New York City most of my life…then followed by South Florida and Thailand…well let’s just say I put a lot of faith into those antennae. In…as I go to the park (or at least walk through it) a few times a week well...we’ll see what happens if and when…I meet Marcello again.
My next stop was at Carolinas Bookshop. The reason for going was 2…maybe 3 fold.
I had tried calling to make sure of the schedule for my Spanish Classes that start next week... upstairs from the bookstore and for some reason…I could not get through. It turns out that I had one too many digits in their phone number…DUH!
The other reason for stopping there was that I was in the mood for another cup of coffee and…they always have some fresh brewed Java at no cost for their clientele.
Reason numero tres for going was…there is always a good chance that you’ll meet other Gringo’s there (sort of like a Gringo hang-out). Well there were a few Gringo’s there…one whom I’ve been introduced to already. I’m glad I ran into Bob again because during the conversation I asked if he was going to the Expat get-together tonight.
Interestingly he said he was but..leaving early so he could go to the “pre-opening dinner” at the new California Kitchen {“no” not the same as the chain restaurant in the states}.
I had forgotten about the pre-opening for the restaurant…and am now going to go with Bob and the rest of the crowd for the festivities. So…that should be fun and maybe I’ll meet some new people…and maybe meet someone of the female persuasion ;)
So until later compadre…
OK…back from dinner and some friendly talk. No luck...nor any opportunity of meeting any women…but I ended up with enjoying some really good food. My dinner companion ended up being Bob…as we walked together to the California Kitchen from Zoe’s (Expat meeting place). Everyone else that I knew…were already seated in a group. Actually this was a good thing as it gave me an opportunity to strengthen a budding friendship with Bob. I won’t go into a lot of the dinner fare and talk etc. However I will say that the food was excellent (I brought half home) yet...I felt it was a bit pricey for Cuenca. In addition to the food…I also had a glass of wine and coffee. So I guess the cost wasn’t too bad if I didn’t have the extra goodies. The conversation however…was very pleasant and I was glad that I went.
By the way...remember the story I told about Marcello? Sometime during or maybe after dinner with Bob he mentioned...hello...almost the same story as I told you earlier. Yes...it seems Bob had nan almost identical run-in with Senor Marcello. Incidentally...my antennae were "right on the money". So...dinner had a positive result for yours truly and...probably saved me a lot of anguish and/or embarrassment.
And with that…as I am once again ensconced in my apartemento…I will say good-night or as the case may be…Buenas Noches Senor y Senora y Senoritas.
Hasta Manana (until tomorrow)…
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