I’m thinking of getting a work permit to become a freelance photographer for gringo real-estate agents and developers around here.

http://www.hiredavid.com/architectural-photography-residential.htm

But i dont know anything about the work permit laws. There sure seem to be a lot of Americans working in the real-estate industry around here, so i suppose they’ve gotten permits. Any ideas?

We don’t have our TV down here yet, as Les may have mentioned, so I’m really having Cowboys withdrawal. True, I fled the States in 1972 because they were doing so badly and I just couldn’t take it any more. But now in the 21st Century, I really need my weekly fix. Summer is especially unbearable. Baseball? Really now.

NFL games may be on TV here from time to time – I don’t know. Maybe they’re even on weekly, but the chances that each week the ‘pokes will be on seems rather slim. I had hoped we’d get streaming video of the ‘boys games, but we don’t, because of ‘licensing problems.’ (Same problem with Hulu, or USA channel, or any of the other networks that stream video in the states.) But there is a solution!!!!!  The NFL – never ones to miss out on a chance to make a buck – offers streaming radio of the games! So, for a small fee, I can listen to any of the games on my computer, just like I used to listen to them on the radio when they hadn’t sold out. Kind of fun and reminiscent of my youth, actually. But still not like watching Tony Romo throw a 60 yard pass and hit Miles Austin in stride.

It’s getting close now. I remember when it was 10months away. Then 6. Now it’s just 20 days!!!

Some big questions have come up, andI hope you all have some answers.

1. We’ll be driving through Laredo.  What advice you have? Where are some good places to spend the night on the way down?

2. At the consulate where Les got her FM-3 (quite an easy process), we were told that the household inventory had to be in ‘Good Spanish’. Our movers showed us a contract saying they would make an inventory in ‘Standard American English.’ I called Teresa down at Strom White Movers in Ajijic, mentioned the disparity, and she assured me it would all go ok. I’m just a bit concerned how all this will go. At the bprder. will they require the household inventory be in Spanish, not English? What experiences have you had?

We’ve got this uppity cockatiel see. Gilbert. Once of Gilbert and Sullivan. But I woke up early one morning to find Sullivan dead at the bottle of the cage. Gilbert was whistling with a michevious grin on his face. I think he wanted to be a solo act.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to find out what we need to do to bring a cockatiel into Mexico. I talked to someon in Seneseca, and they he led me to a page where there was a drop-down list of different species. He said I should use the instructions for Canarios Mascatos. ‘Make sure you use Mascotos’, the said.

Well, I couldn’t find any canarios at all. sure, birds of prey, wild birds, armadillos, antelope, emu, giraffes, your occasional tapir – but nothing that fit a pet bird! Anyone know what the rules are for this?

Judy bought Gilbert a mirror a few days ago. I’d been told never to give a cockatiel a mirror, and now I know why. He’s discovered his new BFF in this 3-sided mirror!

I don’t know why the sound doesn’t work – but imagine you hear some loud, off-key, shrill, singing.

Hey again. Two posts in as many minutes!

I’m  coming down lakeside in mid-August to look for a place to rent for a year.

Judy and I are looking for something in the $650-$800 range, with $800 just a little further than I’d really like to go. We’d love Ajijic of course, but upper Ajijic would be fine, as would some of the other communities lakeside. Maybe San Antonio or San Juan Cosala.  Anybody got any leads or ideas?

Also, how long does anyone think it would take me to find a rental we’d like? I know that sounds like a stupid question, but it would sure help me book the airfare if I knew there were plenty houses on the market, of if there were just a few.

I hope to see you when I get there–

–David

I just mentioned Ken Luboff’s excellent ‘Living Abroad in Mexico’ – where he names some of his favorite restaurants, hotels, B&B’s, and ex-pats he knows around the country. And of course there is Mexperience.com. A website chockful of information. Now Nancy, at CountdowntoMexico (see the blogroll on the left) has mentioned another one to us: The Expat Community Blog (see the blogroll again). It’s not just for ex-pats living in Mexico, or from the US, but for ex-pats from anywhere living most anywhere. There’s a great Mexico section where you can post questions for other ex-pats to answer. And a list of the blogs of other ex-pats in Mexico. A great resource, and a fun way to meet people as well.

In honor of our having posted over 50 posts (and because I’ve kinda figured out how to do it) Comments are open!  That means you can comment on any post. Ask a question, make a remark, whatever. Of course, Les and I have the right to refuse to publish anything, but this should be fun and give people a chance to get involved in our trip!!!

Comment away!

One of the very first things you’re told to do is divest yourself of “stuff” – shades of George Carlin’s ’stuff‘- when planning to move to another country. I thought I had pretty much minimized my stuff already – but our garage tells a different tale. Right now it seems like an overwhelming task. It’s not – I’m simply learning to focus. Focus has always been hard for me. This move however, is so exhilarating, fraught with excitement, riddled with questions but based on fact – we are doing this and it will be great!!

Les (Judy)