I'm NO LONGER undocumented...

Well, I went today to the Mexican Consulate here in Atlanta to pick up my work visa. I now have official status: No inmigrante visitante con actividades lucrativas. I'm not sure how lucrative my activities will be, but hey, what do I know?

It was fun going there--there were about a million people (Mexican, I assume) having picnics, sleeping in their cars, letting their kids pee in the shrubs. I guess they had to wait a long time to get whatever they were getting. Mine was pretty easy. I just had to go one day and fill out a form and pay some money, (and hand over my photos). Then, the next day (today), I went to pick it up my FM-3. I felt sooo Janet Jackson at the velvet rope. The security guard didn't even try to stop me--I just walked right in, and walked right out. I almost wish that I had had some excuse to hang out for awhile, and chat the people up, maybe share a sandwich or take a nap in the car. I would've liked to have been united in the waiting, swap some stories or complaints.

But at least now I have the right to import my household goods, and work for money while I'm in Mexico.

One Big Eye

The Horror! I woke up a couple of days ago with one big pink crusty eye. That's right, Pink Eye! (I don't know where I got it, but I'm blaming it on that money grubbing dentist). It hurt, and was itchy and I feel like a monster.

I called the doctor, and the nurse said to me in all seriousness, "if it doesn't get any better [after taking the prescription drops], then go immediately to urgent care." Is my eye going to fall out? Am I really supposed to go to the emergency room? Am I qualified to determine my own medical condition? It freaked me out a little.

And I couldn't help remember what happened to Mary Ingalls when she got the fever in her eyes. She went blind, but eventually got over herself and had a successful career opening a blind school with husband Adam. Which was fine for the prairie, but I don't want to open a blind school!

I'm treating it like any other illness--I got movies and magazines, and some treats, and I just sort of lie around and complain to anyone who'll listen. I've been walking around with a cloth and the disinfectant, cleaning everything that I've touched, looked at, or thought about in the last few days. This place has never looked better! I'm also brushing up on my braille, just in case.

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

So I had originally planned this blog to be all about my observations on Mexico City, and also a way to keep everyone updated on what I was doing, a sort of a holiday newsletter, only more frequent and less boring...

But. it isn't much more frequent, and I'm not sure about the boring. Plus, I don't have any Mexico City comments just yet. So we'll start with this...

Right now, I'm on vacation, and just got back from a fun-filled holiday ramble through the Southwest with the entire clan: My mom and dad, two sisters, one brother, two in-law spouses (spice?), three nieces, one nephew, two dachshunds, six other assorted family friends, and a cat on leash. And we mustn't forget Jesus, the co-pilot (actual sticker on one of the convoy, which included three camper trailers, a rental car, and the Buick of motor homes, my dad's Holiday Rambler!)

I can tell already this has the makings of a boring vacation slide show--I'll try to be brief,

In sum, it was mostly driving. Drive 6-10 hours, get out, see a sight, take a picture, get in, drive some more. Make camp, shower with several retirees at the RV resort, sleep, strike camp, drive several hours, etc.

Ten stops, with an exercise in word economy: (I completely intend to post more photos, as soon as a certain sister gets her act together, and gives them to me!)

1. Monroe, Louisiana: bugs in the showers.

2. Amarillo, Texas (Cadillac Ranch): surprisingly in the middle of a mucky cow pasture. Cows don't take kindly to strangers, Cadillacs or not.

3. Petrified Forest/Painted Desert: Rocks that were trees. Desert painted, but all earth tones. Windy, too!

4. Acoma Sky Village: Some native people used to live on a high mesa without water, but now it's just tourists.

5. Albuquerque, New Mexico: transmission trouble on the Holiday Rambler. Enlightening 1-hour test drive, me alone with local mechanic. Discussed Bush, sticking it to the Man, and drought. I liked the guy. The photo is Mary Poppins, the dog, doing her impression of that guy. Or maybe Willie Nelson.

6. Williams, Arizona (Grand Canyon): Big hole in the ground. Impressively big. Saw some Amish, and wondered if their buggies had trouble on the hills. We were trying to get a photo of the Amish, who were just behind me on the left. Didn't work.

7. Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona: one night in Camp Crack, under the overpass. Next three nights in hip old-town Scottsdale. Adobe. Heat. Cactus. I really liked it. A lot. (This is the one-armed man who took a liking to Jenny....How U Doin'?)

8. Roswell, New Mexico: Saw UFO museum/research center, and an 'alien' on life support... I believe.

9. Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico: Another huge, impressive hole in the ground, this one covered, and with a 50's style lunch counter underground. I also liked the rental bikes at the campsite.

10. San Antonio, Texas: the Riverwalk looks almost disney-esque but surrounded by urban blight. Apparently the policy is to keep indigent population patrolling streets around, but not actually in, the Riverwalk.

Well, that's the sum of my fun family road trip. More photos to come...