Hodge Podge Kind of a Day II

So much to say without any real theme to link it altogether. If only there was some sort of format that would allow for me to jump from one topic to the next without having to worry about transitions...Oh wait! There is. You get more bullets!

• Leading into this move, I was worried how Tiffy would cope with everything, especially the heat. As last reported in Crystal City, she adopted the Sheraton as our new home rather quickly. She also fared pretty well during our series of one-night stays. I wish I knew what she thought of this place. She knows the neighborhood pretty well including all of the homes that have dogs. And we do lots of exploring during our morning walk outside the gates. This morning, we went a long walk, and I thought it wiped her out. But when we got home, she was really frisky, grabbed a tennis ball and sprinted around our dining room table (Though that is her collapsed on the kitchen floor a few moments later). She hasn't gotten to do much sprinting in a long time, so I think she really needed to stretch out. As for the heat, we do well in the mornings and evenings. The afternoons can be dreadful, and what used to be a 30 minute walk is sometimes reduced to about 10 minutes - with breaks.

• Speaking of Tiffy, I had occupied myself before leaving with getting Tiffy's paperwork together. Boy am I glad. I don't think anyone even knew we had a dog in the car. If they did, they sure as hell didn't care. Though I suppose had I not done all of the paperwork, they certainly would have asked for it. Sort of like a few years ago, my dad bought a snow blower. It didn't snow for several years after that, so in essence, the thing did its job: it kept the snow away.

• Tea is okay, but it is a poor substitute for coffee.

• Verizon is on the verge of joining Papa John's on our very short, Do-Not-Patronize List. Natalie sent them an e-mail earlier this week asking them to cancel our plan, which is currently on a month-by-month basis. Sorry, we need to talk to you on the phone to do that. Okay, but we are in Mexico; our phones only serve as time pieces and paper weights. All, but wait. Call this magic number and your phone will work from any where, they say. Natalie called the number. You don't have to be Nostradamus to have predicted that didn't work. Fine, you can cancel via e-mail, but not until this billing cycle is through. Oh, and thank you for your five years of patronage, please consider us when you move back to the States. Here's the problem, Verizon, unlike Mexico, the U.S. has several cell phone providers, so (ear muffs), Fuck Off! (sorry about that)

• Did anyone know Mexico refers to itself as the United States of Mexico? How many united states are there throughout the world?

• I imagine every country is this way, but many Internet sites are in Spanish unless I use a different URL. For example, if I type www.yahoo.com, I go to Mexico's Yahoo! page. To get the English version, it is http://us.yahoo.com. I even had to adjust blogger's dashboard settings back to English.

• And finally, this never gets old to me. Any idea who the largest bakery in the world is? Bimbo. This brand, which is the only brand I buy here, also owns American brands Arnold, Boboli and Wonder and even Thomas English Muffins. On top of that, the American division of Bimbo is Bimbo Bakeries USA. I guess no one had the cajones to mention to them the way Americans use the term "bimbo." And like NASCAR drivers, sports teams here plaster sponsorship on their jerseys, so there are three Mexican soccer jerseys with BIMBO in big red letters on them.

And there you have it. Feels good to have gotten all of that out there.