Tingting

87.50/hour in CH. We've had our gardener ever since we first moved here (15 years ago) and always give a % increase at the first of the year. He comes in, does his thing, and goes. We don't clock him or demand that he be here at "X" time, just that it's day A and day B. He has a key to the outer gate, arrives, does his job and then leaves. We may or may not see him, depending on what we have going on. If we need something special done, he cheerfully does it. If it means extra effort, we give him extra. Hubby often joins him for a chat and a beer. We give holiday pay, more than the aguinaldo at Xmas, plus a decent Xmas basket. Any time off needed is given, no questions asked, and we still pay. Why? He's honest and hard working.

Yeah, we noticed that, too. It was great for a long time and now....pfffft. BTW, I just that Eric had already posted about this, so that answered the question.

Our internet (good old Telmex) has been really spotty for the last few days. Yesterday, the phone was out for most of the day, but the net was in and out. Suddenly, the phone returned but the net is still super-spotty. Anyone else? This is in Chapala Haciendas. TIA

27 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

Probably all BS or one-sided and not representative; there's always going to be a stupido working somewhere. Brother just flew back to Canada on AA, with stops in Houston and Chicago, and got to sit wherever he pleased. No one was seating anyone next to anyone else. Only a handful on the plane.

Why let facts interfere with a good story? I didn't even have to look to see who posted it. I just knew.

With all of the other hyperbole out there (some legit, much not), why is it so necessary to add more? No, don't tell me...I already know.

First thing I saw this a.m. Love it!!!

No and no

Actually, you don't see that many folks wearing masks. Of course, it may be different in other areas, but that's been my experience so far. I did see 2 or three ex-pats wearing gloves.

On 3/23/2020 at 6:24 PM, Eric Blair said:

I am certain this would work to enforce the stay at home order(s) here.

This may sound very Orwellian, but considering the amount of people who have ignored the order(s) to not conglomerate in groups..

It IS very Orwellian and it's also a bit of martial law, no? And who determines all of this? You?

 

All people who go out for non-essential purposes, such as going to the beach, Malacon, etc. will be isolated in large tents with cots, I'm sure the military has these,given food/water, etc. They will be kept there for 14 days, and the 14 days will restart each time a new "violator" is found.

As a retired military member, you just reminded me of how much free time we had--surely perfect to enforce this new world order for 14 days. Yeah, give some 19 year old the power to enforce rules and violators...great idea!

 

Go out to shop? OK. But if it's just for fun/diversion, etc. they go into enforced isolation.

Ummmm...so shopping must be for essentials? So who determines the essentials? YOU? If I'm out for meat/veg/whatever and happen to find something that makes me smile, do I instantly go into your forced isolation?

 

Maybe a rule that first time "offender" will be escorted to their house, but if caught out again, it's isolation.

Great idea! Free cab ride home!!!

 

Remember, they are putting not just their own families in jeopardy, but every person they come into contact with.

I know many will find my "mind think"  nuts, but life has to go on. We all still need daily essentials like, oh, I don't know...food?...and since we're not all farmers, we have to go find it from somewhere and last time I checked, most veg doesn't last 14 days. There are folks who live day-to-day and 14 days of your imposed isolation means that they will be in deep doo-doo. So, do docs and medical folks also self isolate? Ah...so exceptions must be made. Unfortunately, life has to go on and that's true of our current situation.

 

I just watched "Outbreak," and some of the scenes were exactly what it is today. I saw a video of either military or police vehicles in N.Y. that duplicated a scene from Outbreak, sake with a hospital with patients lining the halls on gurneys. 

Desperate times call for  desperate measures.

Yeah, that always works out so well, doesn't it? And if someone fails in this isolation of yours, do they get shot? What is the punishment? Who determines it?

 

Hopefully, most folks understand where I'm coming from. I'm not knocking the precautions that must be done, but some of the things I've read are just beyond nuts. As I've said before, I still go out for shopping/banking/whatever is needed, but I try to keep my distance. I walk each day for exercise and continue my quiet little retired life. My hands are constantly washed and I wash my face, too, just in case. I work in the garden and putter around the home, but I'm not going to go into a little plastic bubble. If you feel otherwise, then your health isn't at risk since your self-isolation will ensure you never "bump"  into me. I genuinely wish everyone the best during these crazy times.

Another one for Roberto's tree service. The guys are very, very professional. Proper equipment is used, permits are done, and they do an amazing cleanup. We just had 5 large palms removed (!@#%^ black beetles got to them). It wasn't cheap, but we definitely got value for the money.

No, sorry, but I have a right to get food, pay bills, etc. I don't get close to others and won't hug/shake hands/etc, but I also am going to continue maintaining as normal life as possible.  If you are staying indoors/self-quarantined, then you have nothing to fear from my being outside. FWIW, I AM following the guidelines, such as they are, and will continue to do so to the best of my ability. For those of you who chose otherwise, great, but life goes on in spite of the world's latest catastrophe and work has to be done, families fed, period. 

Oh, and not only is " living life as normally AS POSSIBLE" my right, but how presumptuous of you to assume that I am not keeping myself up-to-date on world events. It's called having an opposing/different opinion and while I don't agree with your attitude, I respect your right to have it. 

Basic veg (carrots, potatoes, onions, lettuce), deli meats and as CG said, a lot of imported/upscale items.

I just went to several different locations today (bank, Soriana, etc). Yes, I washed face and hands up returning home. I think HappyJillin has It right and I will continue to shop/bank/get my massage as long as it's possible. Either this is the bug to end all bugs, or it's an overreaction. Either way, I'm not qualified to make that determination, so I'll continue to live as normally as possible until told otherwise.

23 minutes ago, happyjillin said:

Yes I am a lot  more than most. Lupe my massage therapist has lost 8 clients this week. All his clients are expats. He will not lose me. Our housekeeper will not be cut off nor am I Going to stop the construction on our house. We are going to take precautions as best we can, in any event. We hardly ate in restaurants and not much time at Soriana and Walmart  before this. Will keep our shopping to the mercado and  small stores as much as possible.

I have yet to see any dog, especially rescues, not bond with their owner  as long as love, food, love, patience, and more love were given in large doses. This isn't to say that MtnMama doesn't have a valid point, she absolutely does,  just giving another view as someone who has also worked with rescues and actually had a pet business.

P.S. I LOVE the names "Frick"  and "Frack!"  We have nicknames for our little terrors, too, but they can't be printed here!😯

Well, I feed ours food that I prepared (meat & veg). Despite using quality dog food, one of them is severely allergic to most pet foods because of the additives, grains, etc, and two others have slight allergies. After removing nearly every treat and anything with chicken (local is loaded with hormones), they're thriving. I don't want my allergic dog to have to take anymore cortisone shots (he's had 2) because of the side effects. At the time, having him not scratch his body raw was an improvement, but no solution. If you Google, there are all sorts of vet instructions on how to prepare a meal that meets most requirements. Considering these pooches were rescues and once eating God-knows-what, I'm pretty sure that the home prepped meals are an improvement...even with my cooking skills! 🤭

What happened? Tony's was once a great, consistent restaurant, even with the changes after he left for his other place. For a while, the food improved, portions were reasonable and the more upmarket touches were appreciated. Then, things started rolling down hill. Hubby was ready to throw in the towel a couple of visits ago when his ribs had been overcooked, cut apart, and downsized to the point of nearly insulting the diner (and when you compare the size, quality and taste to Adelita's, it's even more apparent how bad it's gotten). Still, we went back a few more times, hoping that maybe it was just a bad run. Not anymore. Today was it for us. I won't even get into the specifics of the precautions taken against the virus (but there were a lot of contradictions in how things were handled) other than to say it was nice that they tried. The restaurant was empty. The waiter seats us, gets our drink order and comes back with drinks and 2 dishes for the appetizers (usually chips, sauces and carrots & onions in vinegar). No appetizers, so we sat with empty plates in front of us. It took over 25 minutes for our food to appear...and the restaurant still was empty except for the staff and us. Hubby had fried shrimp with blue cheese. I had garlic fish. My fish was one step away from inedible. It was drowning in oil...so much so that it left me nauseous. The bottom half was so overcooked that I thought the skin had been left on. No, the cook had fried the hell out of one side and considered it done. So, the bottom was a potato chip consistency and the top was barely warm. It was cooked. Period.  I ate it because, well, I paid for it. Dumb, I know. My sides were green beans and refried beans. The refried beans were fine...not much you can do to screw those up, but the green beans were another story. They were barely cooked, not very warm, and mixed with way too many chopped almonds and black seeds (sesame?). Hubby's shrimp was fine, but the blue cheese was a little bowl, condiment size, of blue cheese that was barely enough for 3-4shrimp, much less a full plate. He also had the 2x beans and the same problems.

I hope that by writing this that someone at Tony's takes note and takes it seriously because I honestly loved the place and hate what I see happening.

I find it really sad that there is a great deal of helpful information buried under politics and personal attacks. I'm not qualified to make medical judgments about whether or not this is the end of the world, but I'm taking reasonable precautions (as listed in previous postings). Sadly, in this day of instant news/internet, there is a lot of bad wrapped in good intentions. For me, I'm not hiding out because life still goes on. I wish everyone on this board good health and hope that this soon disappears.

17 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

Not about sarcasm at all and frankly your post is rude, personal and out of line. 

We have two choices:  We can take whatever precautions are available and reasonable and prudent, as my wife and I have, and keep our spirits up and our sense of humor or we can wallow in doom and gloom and get nasty with anyone who doesn't care to do so as you have.   Let's face it, there's more than a little madness and humor in this scramble for toilet paper when faced with a respiratory disease.  These people panicking and packing the stores like scared sheep have earned some fun being poked at them.

It is a well known fact that positive mental attitude is key to health and surviving illnesses.  You may want to rethink your approach to this.

Adults don't go apocalyptic and learn by experience to take things in stride.  I have survived a lot of these predicted catastrophes and so have most of us here.  I'm the son of parents who survive the Great Depression and WWII.  I have COPD which makes me even more vulnerable.  I'll either survive this or I won't and moaning and groaning and weeping and gnashing isn't going to change that one bit except, as noted, it may actually make any illness I contract worse.

We're doing everything we can and have our affairs in order as people our age should.  

Lighten up please.  It will make things better for yourself and those around you.

Amen, amen, amen!!!

I regularly use ML and almost always use my US credit cards. I've never had a problem and have been extremely happy with my purchases. The communication and/or follow-up is always good, too.

I'm writing this not to beat anyone up, but just as a general word of advice for those of you who may be relatively new to the area or clueless/uncaring with all of the changes in the roads during this "wonderful" time of construction. I know that there are many problems, on all sides, when it comes to motos, cars and traffic, but please be aware of your surroundings if you're the one in the car. Yes, scooters/bikes/whatever dart out, but many cars also cut them off when the moto has the right-of-way. Yesterday, I was in the right-hand turn lane (NOT the ciclopista), signal blinking, in front of Steren and heading to the libramiento when a driver heading towards Ajijic had left some space in front of his/her car to allow a car turning left from Wal-Mart to enter. That would have been fine, but the driver went straight across to enter the turn lane and didn't have a clear view of whether or not it was already occupied by a vehicle and it was - me. The driver damn near wiped me out...and hubby was in the car right behind me. Two heart attacks for the price of one! Fortunately, I wasn't going that fast and could brake, but please remember that those on scooters/motorbikes and bicycles just cannot stop on a dime. Even though I was in my lane, not speeding, wearing my helmet, blah, blah, blah, being "in the right" wouldn't have made me any less dead had that car been even one second later. The sad thing is that I don't think he/she was even aware. 

Ferret, you have to order it 24 hours in advance...well worth it.

Good food, reasonable prices and you learn to tune out the noise. Only negative for us is that the service is a bit spotty. It's still a great place to go and conveniently located.

WOW! Thanks everyone for the info. I'm a technodino, but even I can see that the 48.58 (above) sure beats our 13-15 (when it works). The Telcel signal in the home is very strong, so this looks really promising.

On 2/27/2020 at 6:29 PM, chicamysterious said:

Thank you go solar I will pass that on I just sent it to the person who just got one via whatsapp. We will see.

Appreciate the help

Chica,

Apologies in advance if I missed something, but are you trying to deposit your $$ to a Mexican bank and it's a US check? I ask because I have TRICARE and do everything online. The bill is local, I fill out the handy-dandy DD whatever form (2462?), attached a scanned copy of the bill and relatively quickly (for the gov) the $$ is deposited to my US bank. I then turn around and pull out $$ from an ATM. If you want it for a Mexican bank, sorry for my missing that bit...I was dropped on my head as a child

Has anyone tried this company? We're sick to death of TelMex's inconsistent internet and are ready to try someone else. While our service is usually fast (for here), it's not consistent and the buffering factor is beyond acceptable.  We're in Chapala Haciendas, so I don't think Ilox is an option. Any ideas/suggestions, etc would be appreciated. Oh, and  we've already tried/are using range extenders, new modem, etc. TIA.

Slainte, while lakeside could have said it a bit more tactfully, that doesn't change the kernel of truth that was intended. There have actually been folks who have said, "Why should I pay? Let the gringos." Of course, the vast majority on BOTH sides are conscientious, I think we all just get frustrated at how little can be done to get the slackers off their asses.