PV #10

I felt like crap this morning. It must have been the champagne and the varieties of alcohol that I attempted to try, without having eaten anything. Luckily I didn't have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning. I had breakfast...rather, coffee, with Cat and Janet before leaving for the airport. I managed to get there just fine, and made it through security and ticketing without any issues.

Upon arriving at the gate, someone from Mexicana Airlines had changed the status of my flight to "closed." I wasn't so sure I knew what that meant, since in any foreign country, things don't always translate to English as it should. I was certain, however, that it wasn't "cancelled," which would have been far worse. It certainly threw several passengers into a dither (mostly the non-Mexicans), and it had the possibility to end some short lived marriages (as many couples were there for their honeymoon). In particular, a German couple panicked, so much so that the man blew a gasket, and then literally ran like O.J. to the ticketing counter...on the other side of security. Well, of course he was told that he was at the correct gate, and that they had just put "closed" on the screen to alert passengers that no more people could check-in. I found this strange in that NONE of the other flights had that happen.

Anyhow, upon the German guy's re-arrival at the gate, being all red-faced and sweaty, he started yelling at his wife for making him run all over the airport "like an old mule." I badly wanted to say, "you just looked like a jackass is all."

I made it on the plane just fine, and had my complimentary drink and peanuts. Unlike the airlines in the U.S., I got more than 4. How lucky.

Connecting flights in Mexico City was interesting as well. It certainly was much easier not having to go through immigration. While my connecting flight was very close to where I got off my other flight, the process by which we boarded Mexicana 802 was anything but. Everyone needed to get hand searched, and dispose of any liquids in order to get sent through. The airline attendant did ask for people to board that were elite members, with small children, or needed special assistance, however no one seeemed to pay any attention to her. Apparently everyone but me needed special assistance.

Once on the plane to Chicago, it took forever for us to get going, only to find out (thankfully) that the plane was having mechanical issues, causing everyone to have to get off the plane and go to a different gate where we waited for a new plane to arrive. And the same process with security started ALL over again...with the same result. We ended up leaving an hour and 20 minutes late, partially due to three Mexican fartknockers from first class that decided to tour the entire Mexico City airport before boarding.

Also interesting was the round American woman clad in her best tube top and daisy dukes ranting to the gate agent about the delay, and that she had to be searched again. In that get up, I'm sure it was no thrill for the security people to check her again either.

But we made it off from Mexico City without issues, except that the cabin temperature was about 87, the woefully slow service (such as sitting with finished dinner trays in your lap for 45 minutes), and a Mexican toddler two rows behind me that screamed the whole flight to the point of hoarseness. Thank GOD I saved enough battery power on my iPod. I don't think the experience could have been worse. Then again, where was the Empress to floss her teeth when you needed her to?

I mentioned to the flight attendant that it was really hot in the cabin, to which her response was, "it's much cooler in the back of the plane," which was extremely helpful given that we were on a completely full flight. Perhaps that is the Mexican way of handling conflict, since it reminded me of two times on our trip. One instance was where Janet, Cat, and Monette daily had to call to the front desk to ask for more towels. The third day they asked, they got a resigned "we know" from the staff member.

The second instance was at our last lunch when Monette received a very "smelly" seafood sandwich. Upon going up to the hamburger guy, the waiter came up behind her and asked if her sandwich was ok? Monette, not being shy, said that it smelled funny. The guy looked at her, chuckled a little, and nodded, as if to say, "yeah, I know." What the hell?

Anyhow, I made it to O'Hare just fine, and after having my bag searched in customs, I was able to make it to the bus in time for the 9:30 departure. But, since I was the only one on the bus, I had to go all the way back to the bus terminal, and wait for another 45 minutes for more passengers. I finally made it home by about 12:30, and was grateful to spend the night in my own bed.

The thought of getting up early this morning, however, is certainly NOT attractive. I will say that my vacation with my dear friend Monette, and her awesome friends Cat and Janet, were an incredible way to spend my 40th birthday, with many things to remember.

Now it's back to the grindstone.

PV #9

The same thing happened yesterday as always, minus having dinner. It was Caribbean night at the resort, and since we had already seen two minutes of the show before hand, we decided that drinking at the bar with our favorite bartender, Antonio (who also turned 40 while we have been here), was a far better option. After all, he hands-down makes the best drinks.

Again, it was hot, humid, and the shaded area where we sat this time by the pool was a very nice change. Cat and Janet decided they wanted to play Scrabble, only to find that the set had way more vowels than normal, and included double l's, double r's, a "ch" and an "n" with the squiggly line. Yes, the Spanish version. They made do with what they had, and had an opportunity to expand their knowledge of basic Hawaiian.

We did try to go to a small Mexican tienda along the beach so that we could find sarongs for the ladies, and some for my nieces. After dinking around for about 25 minutes, having the guy take literally all of his merchandise out of his 3 black plastic trash bags (having been put away from it starting to rain-the only time during the day it rained), he insisted that we pay $25 each for the basic rectangular pieces of fabric with some machined embroidery and sequins. When we offered $40 for the four of them, he quickly snatched them out of my hands, and started folding them to put them back in his bag, saying that he couldn't just give them away.

With the amount of tourists they have seen this year, he might have been better off giving them away...

Anyhow, we started heading back to the resort when he started trying to negotiate again, at $80 for the four sarongs. Needless to say, we kept walking as he muttered some Spanish insults at us in the process.

Still in our swimming suits, we hung out at the bar with all sorts of different people at different stages of their vacations. Many of the people that we ran into were from the Midwest, including a woman who was originally from Lake Geneva, and another woman whose sister lives in the small burg of Sharon.

On the other hand, we did manage to run into some obnoxious Texans with horrible Texified Spanish accents, who kept ending all of their sentences with the duo-syllabic word "shit" (more like she-ot). Antonio asked me in Spanish what the word was they kept saying (and making him repeat like a parrot), and when I told him it was the Texas accent for the word "mierda," his face turned bright red.

That was the last time he said that again.

Finally, Monette, Cat, and I felt that it was necessary to eat (as it was now VERY late in the evening). Antonio scored us a bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of the trip, and we went up and ordered room service.

In doing so, Cat had the opportunity to use her Spanish to order it. Of course though, with the booze, it was a bit tricky, especially because the guy on the other end of the line kept asking a bunch of questions in Spanish. Finally getting stumped, Cat started laughing, only to be told by the guy, "I do speak English, you know." We laughed even harder. Even the Mexicans have sass.

We finished the champagne and much needed food, and went to bed. It was late, but we certainly enjoyed ourselves, and had a lot of laughs. Reality set in when we realized it was the last night of the vacation. Sigh!

PV #8

Well, yesterday (Thursday) was pretty much the same thing. We woke up, ate breakfast, strolled along the beach, had a morning beverage, soaked up the sun, swam in the pool, and people watched. All the while we were constantly offered drinks during the day. I think I will need a new liver by the time I get home.

The highlight of the day was our evening dinner. There are a lot of options available here in Puerto Vallarta. The problem is knowing first what you want to eat, and then second deciding where to go. So we tried something different. After searching some websites on restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, and getting a lot of spam in the process, we decided to try Fodors.com to see if there were any recommendations. Of course, the recommendations were just as plentiful as the number of options in Puerto Vallarta, so the hope to narrow the choices down wasn't very fruitful.

But, we did look at one restaurant that had a great rating, with reasonable prices for food. Called "Langostino's," it was in Zona Romantica on the south side of the city. From the description, it was set on the beach and was supposed to have great food.

We got our reservation made with the help of the concierge, and then took a taxi to our destination. Janet decided to stay in for the evening, so Cat, Monette and I ventured off in the taxi. As we got closer to the restaurant, the area where the restaurant was was quite quaint, with lots of little cafes all over, small shops, and soft lighting all around the streets. It was very cool, and reminded me of a tropical version of a small European side street.

The taxi driver needed to get redirected to the restaurant, but once he did, we went down to the end of a dead end street. I was thinking for sure that we were lost, or that we were in for a big shock. The driver offered to go out and look to see if we were in the right spot. Coming back to the car, he gave the thumbs up, we got out, and he proceded to tell us that it looked really nice.

There weren't many people around, and we walked down the sidewalk along side of the restaurant, we made a quick left, and there it was. It was LITERALLY on the beach. We went to the maitre d' and he led us to our table. It was right on the beach. We sat, ordered our drinks, and proceeded to get our feet wet from the waves washing underneath the table. We were then moved to our second table, where we were just about set to order, and again, the waves washed underneath our feet, and it started raining.

Third time being the charm, we were finally moved into the main part of the restaurant, which had a beautiful view of the coastline, and an interesting walkway in front, where people would stroll by.

Then the food came. We had queso fundido with chorizo and mushrooms served on tortillas served in a clay pot, a mixed vegetable salad, and Cat ordered oysters Rockefeller (which we found they didn't have later on), which were replaced by breaded bay scallops with a spicy tartar sauce. We got the food, and realized by the portion size, it could have fed the whole city of Guadalajara. Furthermore, the food was FANTASTIC!

After that we chatted, and were then served our main entrees which two of us had lobster and steak, with baked potato and vegetables, and the other had coconut shrimp with a tamarind mango sauce. Again, the food was FANTASTIC!

We had a really nice chat with the woman that owns the restaurant, as she was very curious how we heard about her restaurant. I explained that we were looking for restaurant ideas on the internet, and that her restaurant had 2-3 reviews on Fodors.com that gave it the highest rating one can give. We then told her that was the reason for our visit. She had no idea what Fodor's was, and after explaining to her that it is a HUGE travel guide service, she was somewhat blown away. She went on to tell us that she doesn't advertise like many restaurants, and that she prefers to have her restaurant be known by word of mouth, as the best business is from the referrals her patrons give. I will say this: her restaurant and its food and service fully will live up to the expectations of the referral that one gives. We were far from disappointed, but rather just the opposite: incredibly surprised.

After dinner, the owner gave us an aperatif on the house (tequila) and then we were enticed to try Mexican coffee. It was quite a demonstration. It had lots of fire involved, lots of pouring and mixing a concoction of tequila, kahlua, and rum between two pouring scoops. Then as the fire was still going, they took sugar and cinnamon to coat the rims of the stemmed glassware, searing it to the rim of the glass. The drink was then poured into the glass, topped with some whipped cream, and voila, we had our drinks. Damn they were tasty!

What an enjoyable way to spend on of the last evenings of our vacation, and what a different way to do it. We headed back to the hotel, and arrived just after midnight. We thought we'd try to go up to the rooftop patio bar for a nightcap, only to find a small group of drunk Mexicans talking at foghorn level on a cell phone, and several not-so-happy employees earnestly waiting for everyone to leave. Alas, I guess everyone couldn't be happy...

Again, another great day was had by all, and what a finish to the evening! I would recommend Langostino's to anyone, especially for the ambience and the hominess of the restaurant.

Yeah....I'm loving vacation.....

PV #7

Today I just hung out. Monette and Janet went zip lining. I'm thinking more and more that I'm glad I was too fat for the activity, because after seeing them come back all somewhat grimy and jungled, I was quite glad I was able to teach one of the bartenders at the lobby bar to make a proper mint julep. And I had several samples of the work.

Anyhow, we spent all afternoon at the pool soaking in the sun. Prior to that, I received a really weird phone call from a guy representing himself to be from Orbitz, wanting to confirm my flight information and ensure that I had adequate transportation to the airport. He had asked me to meet him on the first floor conference center to go over my itinerary, and assured me it wasn't a time share.

I never went, since to me, it sounded like something fishy, and now I am a bit paranoid, and pissed off that somehow this person knows that I booked through Orbitz.
But, I had another drink, nd quickly forgot about this random phone call.

After the pool we went back to our rooms to get ready to head back into Puerto Vallarta to eat at a highly recommended restaurant called, "Barcelona." It was a tapas restaurant. The restaurant is located in the hills of Puerto Vallarta, and is on the third and fourth floors of the building. Getting up to the restaurant, it was a spectacular view of Banderas Bay, the skyline, and boats in the harbor.

Let me tell you this: it also was one of the BEST restaurants I have ever been to. Our menu was shrimp bisque soup, bleu cheese salad, curried checking salad with fruit, Potato tortilla, bas scallops with chorizo, baked goat cheese in a tomato sauce served on crostini, bacon wrapped dates, spicy sauteed shrimp, roasted beets with cheese, and baked eggpland. We all shared each other's dishes. I can honestly say that in all 10 plates we sampled, not a single one of them was weak. It was heaven! The waiter was kind enough to give us some basil ice cream (which was delicious) and some wonderful after dinner drinks to top off the meal. It was fantastic!

We managed to ferret out a taxi, not knowing that the taxi driver had no idea where the hotel we were staying at was. After a couple wrong turns, a couple of sets of directions, and a whole lot of back seat driving from my friend Monette, we managed to see a lot more of Nuevo Vallarta than we had planned. Ah well, we made it back in one piece, so I guess that is the most important thing!

PV #6

Today was the day we went on the Isis, a sailboat with Pegasus Tours. I have never been sailing in my life, and what an opportunity. We started the day off early, getting to the pier. We had a hard time, however trying to find the pier, as the taxi driver dropped us off at the mall NEXT to the pier. After searching, asking, pointing, and swearing, we all made it in time to our destination.

There were about 16 people on the boat with a crew of 5. What a beautiful day it was! The sun was shining, and a light breeze was blowing. Leaving the pier, we joined people from Iowa, Minnesota, and California who all seemed to be very nice. On our journey, we got to see sea turtles swimming in the ocean, as it is mating season this time of year (which we also had an opportunity to witness). After the totuga porn show, we sailed along to Las Marietas, a national park in Mexico, where we went snorkeling, got to see tons of colorful fish and coral, frigatebirds, and big brown boobies (the birds...mind you). We also got to see tons of the rare blue-footed boobies, and man are they fascinating! After an hour snorkeling, we were taken to a secluded beach on the large volcanic island in Las Marietas, and were able to take in some sun, swim in the ocean (and the water was turqoise blue and VERY warm), and have a couple of drinks before having a wonderful lunch with an incredible rice salad, carrots with a piquant sauce, and cookies for dessert.

We headed back to shore, where we had a stunning dolphin display. 4 pods of dolphins kept swimming near our boat, curious to see what was going on. They were absolutely amazing (and HUGE), and were so close that you could almost touch them. They would surface to take a breath of air, and then dive under the boat to the other side. I have never seen anything like it, and it was an absolute treat. We had an opportunity to experience sailing, and finally reached our destination at the pier at about 4 p.m. The crew was certainly most gracious, kind, and very hospitable, and the tour was an amazing experience that I won't soon forget.

We got back to the hotel, got cleaned up, went to dinner, and chatted. Janet and Monette decided to go back to the room (as they have to be up early tomorrow for their zip line tour), so Cat and I remained. Hector, our waiter, is quite smitten with Cat, and offered to take us out to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day (which is today). Somehow I think that the only reason I got invited was so that Cat would go.

After dinner we were able to see some fireworks at the hotel, and then after a couple of drinks at the bar, retired for the rest of the evening.

Today was a GREAT day, filled with fun, laughter, and some of the most spectacular creatures put on this earth. Nothing could be more enjoyable than that!

PV #5

Well, today was a day that the ladies decided was a spa day. I didn't really mind either way, because I am not one to really have to be entertained. I figured getting a pedicure would be a good thing. After all, with the callouses on my feet, I thought a little therapy in that area would be a good thing.

While we were getting everything set up for the day, appointments made, etc., we decided to go and check out the alternate tours that would be available. We checked out zip lining and going on a sailboat. We were all eager to try both of those options. Unfortunately, my fat ass didn't meet the weight requirement necessary to do the zip line. It was a bit humiliating to say the least, but then again, I probably would have crapped myself getting up to the necessary platforms, and I figured it probably would have been hotter than hell, sticky, sweaty, and somewhat unpleasant anyhow. I didn't mind just sleeping in, and getting my morning drunk on while the others planned to go. Besides, I have a hard time getting up on a step ladder, let alone be prodded and pushed, and strapped in so that my junk was pushed up to my uvula. I figured I wasn't missing anything. Cat, bless her heart, decided she really didn't need to go (as she had already done it before), and said she didn't want to go either.

After consoling myself in my pity, we did manage to book a sailboat trip that promises to look very good. The weather here has been hot and humid, usually in the lower 90's, and despite the night time rains, there really hasn't been an issue with any other precipitation during the trip.

So I went to my pedicure appointment. Francis was the wonderful young women assigned to do the pedicure. She was a delight, got things all ready, and started working the foot rasp to work the callouses off my feet. She did a great job until she got to my left foot. With what seemed to be much exertion, the was really going to town, exfoliating my feet, and voiding them from the unpleasant callouses. She used so much exertion that the rasp slipped out of her hands, hit my calf, and went smack dab into the middle of the foot bath. Peering over the Conde Nast travel magazine that I was reading in Spanish, I looked down at her, and when she saw me, she started laughing, and started laughing really hard for about 5 minutes. I have to admit, after a few self depricating comments (that I am sure she didn't understand), I was laughing myself. She then said, "I have NO idea how THAT happened," and continued to laugh.

Just about done with the pedicure, Francis went to dry my feet, when she knocked the leather foot rest into the tub as well. She then exclaimed, "I need to go home, this isn't my day." I will say, however, she did an amazing job, despite the mishaps. Furthermore, it turned an otherwise uneventful trip to the spa into one that was very memorable, all thanks to Francis.

Other than that, not much new to report, other than I'm not tiring of the drinks, sunshine, ocean, and pool, not to mention the incredible tan I'm getting.

PV #4

Well, today, I got to see hatching baby sea turtles on the beach. After having our usual breakfast, and then deciding to lounge on the beach, there was all sorts of commotion occuring closer to the shoreling. Apparently there were about 18 hatchling sea turtles digging their way out of the sand and started to crawl out to the sea. It was absolutely FASCINATING! They were only about 3-4 inches in length, and charcoal greyish black, fins flopping everywhere. It was neat to see the kids take them out to the water, and I got to hold one in my hand before letting it go. It was a very incredible experience.

There wasn't much else that we did today, except once again to lounge, relax, drink, eat, sunbathe, and think about what we could do tomorrow. I will say that we had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in the evening, and the dinner was VERY good. We further enjoyed the Mexican harpist playing live music while we ate. He was very talented, and it was enjoyed.

After having a long dinner and recouping from having a full day in the sun, we all decided we needed to call it an early night, and retired to our rooms. I managed to be able to watch some of the Packer football game before falling asleep right before the end.

Again, what a relaxing vacation this has been, only to be made better by the incredible travel companions of my long time friend Monette, and my new found friends, Janet and Cat. We've certainly had a lot of laughs, and we have really had a great time getting to know each other.

Looks like tomorrow will be a "spa" day. I don't know quite what to think about that, because the thought of someone giving me a massage makes me taste vomit. But, I said I'd join them, being the good "joiner in-er" that I am, and I think I will settle for a pedicure. After all, I do know I love those, and my feet really could use a de-callousing.

PV #3

Well, today started out with seeing if we wanted to have our dinner out on the beach for one night this next week. After looking at all of the options, we all decided it was best that we just stick to our current game plan, and just find a place that is really nice that we could all enjoy.

After breakfast, we decided to go "off campus" to Old Vallarta, and take a look around the port city. Puerto Vallarta is an older city, and the main central area (in my opinion) is very charming. Walking on one side of the street, there are a lot of shops, bars and restaurants all hawking their wares or services. On the other side of the street there are lots of modern sculptures in bronze, and were able to take some pictures overlooking Banderas Bay. I especially loved the fact that as we walked by, the hawkers kept calling me "Polo" from my t-shirt I was wearing. I have no idea what to think about that, and after awhile, I was wanting to call them something in English, however somehow I feel there would be something lost in the translation, thereby losing the intended effect. Aside from the constant barrage of trying to get us to look at their crap, there really wasn't much else to it. I wanted to say "pienso que todas las cosas son mierda." In English, it would have translated to "your crap is a piece of shit, I don't want it." Alas, I don't want to be that ugly Americano either.

We then stopped at a tequila store, and after trying about 6 different kinds of tequila, and getting some good information about what to do and see in the city, I ended up buying a tamarind flavored tequila which was delicious. After all, Victor was very charming to the ladies, and very helpful. I felt the necessity to buy something.

I can tell you that the weather continues to be hotter than hell, and today, the sun was out all day. We ended up going to El Marisco de Tito, which my lunch was delicious (I cannot say the same for the others). After a great lunch, we then decided to head back to the hotel to suck up some sun. We lounged around the pool for several hours before getting ready to eat. The guys in the palapa by the pool, Jesus, Hugo, Jose, and Cesar really do a fantastic job, and we never went dry the whole afternoon.

We then went to dinner at the Italian restaurant at the resort. I think I had lamb, but it really didn't taste like it. But the wine was flowing, and eh, I didn't really mind.

Puerto Vallarta, and this resort really go out of their way to make guests feel at home. I can't say that the food is overly fantastic, but it's plentiful, and they'll do whatever they can to try to make things the way you want them to be. The service, on the other hand IS fantastic. I'd definitely recommend this place to others, and stay again sometime.

PV #2

Today started off with going to breakfast and having a wonderful meal. I especially loved the taquitos with bacon and cheese (something that was probably really bad for me but tasted incredibly good) as well as the potatoes.

After breakfast we spent the majority of the time lounging by the pool, soaking up sun and enjoying the warm water in the pool overlooking the bay. Lunch unfortunately was not so great, but then again, we had great service and drinks constantly at our every beck and call. Again, you have to love the service here at the resort, as we found out that it only was at 30% capacity of what it should be.

Later in the evening, there was a Caribbean show that we didn't really see, but could hear (but saw briefly), and then spent time sitting at one of the bars having great conversation, and meeting people from all over. That to me is probably one of the best things I like, as with my group, we are having a ton of fun, and many people come up to us to talk.

After getting ready in the late afternoon (about 6 p.m.), we headed down to the Ocean restaurant. As we walked in, our two waiters from the evening prior were there. I wasn't so sure they WANTED to see us, as it seems like we take a ton of their time asking for all kinds of stuff (mostly drinks, but sometimes food requests), they are more than gracious in serving us. I'd have to say that our servers the last 2 nights have been outstanding, and have certainly been a joy to have!

in the evening, we watched the sun set, we then spent the time just enjoying each other's company, and drinking until we were told to get out. It's really my type of vacation.

Tomorrow, we're planning on taking a water taxi to old town to do some shopping, and then in the evening, we're planning to visit either a fine seafood restaurant, or a tapas restaurant.

We're having a great time, and it's going by very quickly. But I'm sure there will be more stories and pics. Until then, keep posted!

PV #1

Well, the great Mexican adventure started at 3:15 a.m. driving down to the airport to catch an early Mexicana flight out of O'Hare. I arrived a little before 5 a.m. with very little traffic and amazingly several people at the international terminal. Getting into the terminal, I realized that I had left my cell phone in my mom's car. After fretting about that for a little bit, I realized that it wouldn't have helped me much to have it since I don't have international service. But, that's the worry wart in me.

Getting through security wasn't an issue, and before going through it, I contemplated getting some coffee while I waited to board the plane. Turns out I should have taken advantage of it, since on the other side of security, it's completely void of any meaningful concessions, which NONE of them even served coffee. I was not a very happy camper, since I had no intention of having to go through security again.

About 15 minutes prior to the start of the boarding process, I was approached by a guy in his late 70's, rail-thin, gaunt-faced, and a bad yellowish blonde hair dye job, and immediately I thought it was the male version of the Empress from my previous adventures. It was very bad deja vu. He came up to me with his 4 pieces of carry-on luggage (and I thought you could only take one, but like the Empress, he probably didn't think that it applied to him), set it next to me, and asked if I would watch his stuff while he went to the other side of security to get coffee. Mind you, we're now 10 minutes away from boarding, and knowing security, I don't think he had any concept of time. The other thing was that he didn't want to have to have them re-check his carry on baggage again.

Being the good, responsible Samaritan, I respectfully declined. After all, I had no idea what was packed in his bag, and for all I knew it could have been an incendiary device only to be used later when we landed in Mexico City to hold everyone hostage....just like what happened the day before. He wasn't too pleased with my response, and said "so, I'm just going to have to have all of this re-scanned again." I said, "yep." After all, I am no one's lackey, servant, or bag sitter, and furthermore, I wanted to go on vacation, and not to have to deal with a potential international incident.

Anyhow, the service on Mexicana was fantastic. And, after having tamales for breakfast and whatever I wanted to drink, I couldn't help but think that U.S. air carriers could certainly learn a thing or two about service. It never ceases to amaze me, however, that I always seem to get stuck behind a person that constantly flops backward into his seat so that his face is practically looking up at me. Of course, unlike my flight to Beijing, this person was a short guy with a cheesy moustache, and a bad case of halitosis and sleep apnea.

I will say that the Bimbo cookies (I laughed at this), bun, coffee and other accoutrement were a nice change, and certainly far better than the ramen noodle fish soup that an airline attempted to serve me coming home from Hong Kong. I spent most of the time wondering how I was going to catch my next flight to Puerto Vallarta once I landed in Mexico City, since I had to clear immigration. That turned out to be a non-event, and took only about 5 minutes. Then it was just a matter of finding out where gate B was when all of the gates in the terminal were marked "1-36." After asking a couple of people (and mind you, they were ALL friendly) I got to this big lobby area (my Gate B) to wait for the regional jet gate assignment, since apparently in Mexico, it is a first come first serve basis.

Well, after about 40 minutes, I was able to get to the right gate and was off on the short flight to Puerto Vallarta. The only unsettling thing was that there was a woman sitting two rows in front of me that spent the whole time hacking, coughing, and gagging. I was pretty sure I was going to get swine flu.

I landed in Puerto Vallarta, and as my plane was taxiing down the runway, there was an immediate landing of an Alaska Airlines plane almost landing on top of our plane. And of course, that Alaska Airlines plane contained my friend Monette, and her two friends, Kat and Janet.

Customs was a breeze, but the swarms of hawking taxi drivers outside the terminal was a bit annoying. I just waited for the three of them to go through immigration and customs, and after spending 20 minutes with a guy offering free shuttle service to our hotel (in exchange for sitting in on a time share meeting the next day) we were off on our way.

The hotel is very nice, and the rooms are spacious and modern. So modern that I really didn't know how to turn any of the lights on, or how to make the air conditioning work. It has a jacuzzi tub out on the balcony, and it's got a beautiful view of the bay and Pacific Ocean. Upon arrival, we received hot herbal towels to refresh with, and were immediately served drinks. Now THAT's my kind of welcome.

We then went to the bar, and after eating a mahi mahi dish with bay scallop, octopus, and shrimp (which was very good), we spent most of the time at the table sitting, talking, drinking, and drinking, and drinking. 3 and a half hours later, we then went up to the rooftop bar to hear a decent band play, before retiring for the evening. Kat and Janet are super fun, and we enjoyed each other's company last night.

After getting back to the room, and trying to figure out how to turn the lights off, I ended up sleeping with all of the lights on, the ceiling fans at full blast (a la Hurricane Jimena) and the TV on. Oh well... they did say it was all inclusive. I figured the electricity was included.

Goss-Anon

I have to ask this question. I am completely vexed by how to handle gossipers. Through my work, my relationships with others, by extended family, and now by others that really have no involvement with my life or that of my immediate family's.

At work, I find it easy to handle gossip. The easiest way is to confront the person directly. The fortune I have is being their supervisor, and if they want their job, they stop immediately. Luckily my workplace has ridden itself of these types of people since I have been there.

With extended family, I seem to throw myself into the confrontation. I just think back to when I was at Thanksgiving at my aunt's house when my dad's other sisters were talking on the sly. One thing I was blessed with was an acute sense of hearing (which my co-workers often find themselves wishing they were in Milton just to have a private conversation), which of course they were ignorant to......HELLO.....I'm a music major.....Yes, I was the one at the dinner table to loudly ask why they were discussing their subject (that they didn't want everyone to know about) and throw the spotlight on them. Mind you, in my opinion, these two sisters are somewhat hardscrabble, so I wasn't surprised seeing them sit there with their pallid, shocked expressionless faces when confronted with my verbal spotlight. I got great satisfaction watching it....let me tell you, and the situation ended.

With close friends and immediate family, I usually don't have an issue, since I seem to just make a mindful correction to set records straight. After all, they're all very important to me.

But to others, especially people I don't really know, I have no problem relishing the sight of their extreme uncomfortableness when they have been caught in spreading rumors, innuendo, or flat out wrong information. The sight of them squirming, turning white as a ghost, nervously listening to your confrontation, and the sheer "not so fresh" feeling they get really is something I enjoy. It probably isn't very Christian of me, nor is it probably the nicest aspect of my persona. Then again, who can stand a liar. And basically, gossiping is one step before lying in my opinion. And I have no time for it, and there's nothing better than catching someone in the act, and watching them writhe their way out of it.

Recently I was made aware of someone shooting her mouth off about my family without having correct information. In this situation, the subject and content of what she was talking about was completely inappropriate and unfounded. Yet this person, a "Christian" woman in a position in her church (the largest protestant church by the fairgrounds in my hometown), felt the need to spread information to others without having any of the facts or even permission. What's even more annoying, this person isn't even involved with my family, aside from knowing who each other are. Furthermore, this person has a habit of doing this, to the annoyance of everyone.

I don't know what to do. I have some ideas, and believe me, I'm formulating words that I may say. I can assure you that if I EVER run into this person, she'll get more than an ear full. In the aftermath, she won't know whether she should scratch her watch or wind her butt.

I typically try my best to avoid people like this, but this situation has me so riled that I'm compelled to say something, and won't regret ANYTHING I say to her when the time comes.

Is it too late to bring back public shaming like the stocks?

Mexican Fiesta

To say that I need a vacation is an understatement. In looking back at the last 9 to 10 months, I came to the sudden realization that I really haven't had my evenings off. I mean, I love doing all of the things that I do all of the time, but to constantly have rehearsal 4-5 nights a week, church 2 times a week, and other meetings other times during the week, it really doesn't leave much time for me to do much of anything else. This is much to the chagrin of my friends that really have come to not rely on me to be able to do anything.

Turning 40 this year was really a non-event. I mean, I don't really feel much older. I am a bit smarter in my choices I make every day. I still have all 32 teeth, and my hair is greyer and thinner. My body is fatter, but I still feel really no different than, let's say, 35.

So when it came time to think about where I would celebrate my 40th birthday, a couple of friends and I decided several years ago that we would all celebrate in Mexico. Coming up with where was a little bit of a daunting task, but as long as we had lots of booze, lots of sun, lots of fun, it really didn't make much difference.

So over the last couple of months, trying to get our shenanigans in order was somewhat equivalent to wrangling cats: deciding where to stay, what destination to go to, what time of the year, what number of days, what to do, what airline to fly.....everyone seemed to have differences of opinions about what to do. I needed a whole lot of Maalox and some Xanax just to be able to deal with the constant juggling of schedules.

Well, we decided that we would go to Cabo San Lucas. Everything was all set....and of course there was some snags. Turns out that after all it probably was all for the best, as there was a huge hurricane that blasted its way through.

Puerto Vallarta was the alternate choice. I've been there before, but I've enjoyed it. And, barring no major issues, I'm thinking that this should be a great time. I cannot wait to be able to post either pictures or stories on this thing, so that you can get a glimpse of what I am getting myself into.

But, nonetheless, I'm looking forward to all of the things I mentioned, not to mention the much needed respite from my day to day activities.

Check back here often. I'll keep you posted!