MeXscape

Sometimes I get just a little more than I can handle. My frustration level is unbearably high, and I rail and curse uselessly. When we got our electric bill and then an idiot broke our window, I had one of those moments when I wondered why I moved. If those things happened to me back in the US, I would be able to deal with them in my native language in a culture where I understand all of the rules. Sometimes things seem just do daunting here. But whenever I am slipping in to good old-fashioned mean, Mazatlan finds a way to make it up to me.

We all know it. It is unmistakable. It sounds like nothing else. And it is never a good thing. Things made of glass are meant to keep their form. Sometimes it can be inconsequential, even a joke. The discordant tinkling of a dropped tray of glasses in a restaurant is almost always followed by catcalls of, "Job opening!" Sometimes it is damned infuriating. And sometimes it doesn't sound like breaking glass at all.

Rainy season always brings new and interesting challenges, and this year is no different. For the first part of rainy season, we only had lovely, gentle, soaking rains, so I kinda forgot what a real Mazatlan storm can be like, but last night I was reminded.

It's finally gone and done it. It's gotten hot. Thankfully, our beautiful weather lasted until mid June, but the honeymoon is over. Old man summer is finally here. Anyone who has the temerity to go out in the middle of the day is going to get sweaty, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Most of us deal with the effusive perspiration in the normal ways: sweat rags, fresh clothes, frequent showers, and dependable deodorant. But a portion of the population – a distressingly significant portion – relies on perfumes. Ack.

I was delighted to discover a few weeks ago that Street View for Google Maps has come to Mazatlan. I spent hours looking around at pictures of this city that I walk every day. Kinda crazy, I know, but hey, I'm a geek. I stuck me that it would be a great way to show some of you who have never been here around my home town.