Report # 1038

Well this is different ! I have no idea if anyone is continuing on Xanga, and I'm not sure exactly if anyone else has updated, but if anyone is still here they can leave me a comment ! My last day before I started my new job was on Thursday, August 29. I went to the Galerias mall and met my friend and we took a taxi to go to VIPS to have dinner. We got 30 % off so that was nice.

I went to work on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 pm, though it took the managers quite a while to get everything organized. We had all of our pictures taken so we could get our security badges later on, and then we all headed into a classroom. And I can tell you the three days that I've been in there have felt a lot like being back in school. The trainer is pretty good at what he does though, so he has made it pretty entertaining.

The first day was kind of boring as there were just all of these people from different departments talking to us about every little thing; security, company policies, paying schedules, what our wages should be like, bonuses, being sick or late, and so much more. We even had little quizzes after all of the presentations. We also had to do a presentation of another employee in front of everyone else so that was kind of cool.

As the days have gone by, we've started to learn more about the actual job, and yesterday in fact, we got a huge Kohls customer service book, so there will be a lot to learn. And of course before we learn the system on the computer, we need to actually know how to help customers and present ourselves, so that is the stage we are at now. All of the other employees, trainers, and managers are very friendly and helpful, so I think as long as I do my very best, this will be a good job.

There will be a lot to learn, like with most new jobs, but they have a very supportive atmosphere here, and the people who do very well have promotion opportunities. So basically if I am never late, never miss a day, and do well on the job I will be able to have success. I finally got around to going grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon, though I had to walk all the way to the other Soriana as the one I went to before had a fire and will be closed for two weeks.

I also went to the movie theatre on Sunday afternoon and I saw The Heat, which was the comedy movie with the two female police officers... it was a very funny movie. I ran for the first time today since I started working, so I'll just have to get myself up a little earlier in the day to give myself time to run. Because I'm pretty sure with a job sitting on a computer all day, if I don't get myself to run, I'll certainly put on weight !

So everything has been pretty well, and I've been busy. I won't have my next day off until Sunday, but that's ok I've had enough days off in the last year. Seeing as this whole Xanga migration thing really screwed up my posting schedule, I'll try and get it back on track by posting again on Saturday. I will have to see if anyone else is still around or how to continue from here on, as I'm still pretty lost !

Anyways, for the next question:

What are your impressions of Xanga 2.0 ?

All I can say is that I don't have enough knowledge or experience to really know anything about it yet, so it will be a wait and see approach. I wish everyone all of the best with everything. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Saturday, bye for now.

Report # 1037

Well in less than 24 hours I will be at work for my first day at my new job, though it will start with two weeks of paid training, with less hours and a lower salary of course. I am ready to get going as it's been so long so there is not point of sitting around any longer doing absolutely nothing, so I am ready to get going and start working, learning everything that I can and do my very best. On Monday I went to Cinépolis and I watched a Mexican movie, No sé si Cortarme las venas (I don't know if to cut my veins) It was just about a bunch of people living in an apartment complex and their life problems and how they intereacted with one another, so it was interesting. I only ate have the popcorn, so I really have to stop ordering the large popcorn and cut it down to a medium size.

I walked to Las Alitas and had something to eat there for dinner and then I headed home. I had gone for my run in the morning, so I had got that done for the day. On Tuesday I went with my roommate's friend to Chipinque, which is the beautiful park in Metro Monterrey up in the mountains with a beautiful view of the whole city and metropolitan area. It's always cooler up there and the air is so fresh, and there are just are so many great trees that Monterrey doesn't exactly have right in the city. We took two buses to get close to the park, and then we took a taxi up to the entrance, which only cost 30 pesos (like less than $ 2.50) We could have taken the taxi all the way up, but we would have had to pay a lot more, and including the price of entering with a car, so it's just not worth it.

We walked for a number of hours, and Samantha wasn't quite used to such a workout, so she got pretty tired. I kept telling her we were almost at a place with drinks and snacks, but it always ended up being a littler further than I thought it would be. We finally found a place with picnic tables and vending machines, so we were able to sit down and buy some drinks and snacks. After taking a break for about half hour we found a nice trail to descend and we made it all the way back down to the entrance. A taxi came and picked us up and took us to the San Agustín mall and we took a bus downtown. We met up with María, my roomate, and some of her friends and we walked along the Santa Lucía river walk for an hour or so and then one of the guys who had a car drove us back home.

We all picked something to eat at the local food stand and sat and talked at the table for a while before going to bed. I had walked like five hours that day, so I certainly got my exercise. I have been staying up way way way too late this week, and going to bed at totally ridiculous hours, but from now on I will get myself into bed before 2:00 am... I know I've said that before, but I really do mean it. Yesterday I headed downtown and got myself a bus pass, which I put about 500 pesos on to it, (40 dollars) It's not a monthly pass, but a pass that can be refilled when its empty. It does make the buses a little cheaper, as well as provides discounts in many restaurants so it's a useful pass to have.

I wanted to go grocery shopping, but I will wait until after my roommate's friend goes, as it will be a lot easier to stuff things into the fridge. I think she heads back on Saturday, so maybe on Saturday night or Sunday when I'm off, I will go buy a bunch of things. I stopped at VIPS for lunch yesterday afternoon and then picked up a frappuichino from El Globo before heading home. After some cooler, cloudy, and rainier days, yesterday felt pretty warm and sunny. It was probably around 33 C (92 F) Today I was in bed until 12:00 pm and I've done absolutely nothing, so it's been a very lazy day. After typing this up and commenting everyone, I'll definitely head out and walk around.

So that's really about all of the news for me. I've been thinking how I've been at so many jobs and never have lasted more than 2.5 years. I really would like to find a job and stay with it a lot longer term, so if things go well with this company and everything works out it would be nice to stay for a longer period of time, but of course if there are better opportunities with a higher salary or its just not a good working atmosphere I would change, but I'm hoping that everything works out well and I will do my very best. For the next question:

What are the shortest and longest periods that you've stayed at a job before ? Why did you leave each ?

I will leave you all with pictures from Chipinque. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Sunday, if this whole Xanga 2.0 thing works out, bye for now.

Report # 1036

Hey everyone, I hope that you've all had an amazing weekend and a great start to the week. I just got back from a run as it's a cooler and rainier day. In fact I got rather wet as it started pouring pretty hard, but that's ok as I always have a shower when I come home anyways. Yesterday I met a friend at Paseo Santa Lucía and we walked downtown and to the restaurant Trece Lunas, which is the oddest restaurant I have ever eaten at in my life. I was there once before, right before New Years, and it's just a very fascinating ambiance. You can bring your own felt marker and write on literally anything, tables, sofas, chairs, walls, and there are strange lights, chairs hanging from the walls, and of course most of the employees fit the mold with lots of tattoos and piercings.

The food is good so that is what is most important ! I ordered what I thought was some focaccia bread with cheese and a side of french fries, but it ended up being a pizza and potato chips.... some places have odd ways of calling items on their menu ! With this place people really have to enjoy talking and waiting because the food always does take some time to come. Afterwards we walked through downtown and took the bus home. When I had arrived at Fundidora Park it was kind of hot, but it clouded over, and got super windy, and rainy, so it really cooled down. The weather can really change fast in Monterrey.

My roommate has a friend of hers from Veracruz staying here for the week, though oddly enough while her friend was here, my roommate had to fly back to Veracruz for one day to sign some papers. So in the morning I went with her friend to Soriana and she bought a bunch of groceries. I will be going back there on Thursday probably and buying lots of groceries so I'll have lots of food at home in preparation of starting to work on Friday. My roommate's friend made a nice lunch of some sort of fajitas with meat and cheese and vegetables with a salad and Jamaica to drink, so it was a great meal.

In the evening I walked to Starbucks, and it really started raining hard. Luckily I got there before it started pouring. I ended up doing something that I had never done before in my life..... I ordered two frappuichinos in one visit. I drank a venti vanilla frappe with shots of mocha, and after I had a grande cinnamon horchata frappe (which was there for limited time only). I also had some bagels with cream cheese, though it wasn't quite the same as Tim Hortons. I should have just had water after the first frappe as that is way too much sugar for one day, but I survived. I certainly won't do that again though !

As I headed home I noticed a nice rainbow over the mountains of Monterrey so I was able to get a few pictures of that on my cell phone. I've been pretty bad this week in terms of getting to bed, staying up way too late. Of course with my job, I'll never be starting any early than 12:00 pm, so I can stay up kind of late, but really I've always had kind of a rule for myself that I should never stay up past 2:00 am. So over the next few nights I'll try and get myself in bed before 2:00 am, so I can wake up no later than 10:00 am. On Friday I went to Cinépolis and I saw The Conjuring. It was a very scary movie that dealt with demonic possession and a haunted house, but it was like sooooo many other movies which have been very similar. It was certainly scary though as the guy behind me actually screamed a few times !

I stopped at Subway on the way home and then just went for a run in the evening and that was pretty much it. I also had run on Saturday and of course today, though I missed yesterday. So after today I just have three more days off, so I better enjoy them. I'll have to go shopping, probably on Thursday, and I would like to get a bus pass, so maybe I'll do that on Wednesday. Today is my dad's 56th birthday, so Happy Birthday to him ! My parents are now both 56 years old.... which makes them exactly double my age. This will really be the last year that both of them will be at least double my age or more, so of course that means I'm getting old too.

These days most people aren't having kids in their 20's, well unless it's an accident, so I can imagine the next generation will be mostly consisting of much older parents. Not that this really matters to the kids as they'll be born and age just like anyone else does. I think my parents are a decent age though, as I think it wouldn't be too ideal to be raised by teenage parents, and of course I don't think most kids want to graduate high school having friends think its their grandparents attending either. Ultimately though it really doesn't matter, while certain years are more ideal to having kids than others, as long as the parents are good parents, that's really the most important thing.

I don't plan on having kids, so I never think about this stuff, though the people I have met who do have kids, in their cases it was a real surprise. From what it seems, most people are waiting until their 30's or even closer to 40 to have kids. I think people these days are just in no hurry, and they'd rather establish themselves and put themselves in a good financial and position of more experience before bringing kids into the world, and I think that bodes well for the future. For the next question:

How old are your parents ? Do you think there is an ideal age to have children ? What age do you want to have kids/had kids at ?

I wish everyone all of the best with everything. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Thursday, bye for now.

Report # 1035

Hey everyone, I hope that you've all had a fantastic week. This week I had been getting everything ready that I needed to get ready before heading back to the company office yesterday. On Tuesday evening my friend texted me and asked if I wanted to go to a taco place and have something to eat. I had made some chicken and vegetables just a couple of hours earlier, so I wasn't all that hungry, but I said I would go. I rushed up to the park and ran my 10 laps in about 40 minutes, and then headed home and had a shower before returning to the restaurant, which is right by that park. We just ate and talked for a couple of hours. I had two tacos with cheese and some little pies as well as a man had come in and was selling them... the apple pies were still hot.

On Wednesday I went to Cinépolis and I saw Red 2. I had seen the first one in theatres almost three years ago, so I wanted to see the second one as well... it was a good action movie. I went to Carl's Jr. later in the day, and for my run in the evening and that was about it. Yesterday morning I woke up at 8:00 am, and was out of the house within 20 minutes. After taking the two buses, I got to the office in about an hour, though it probably could have been a bit quicker if traffic wasn't so bad. I had to fill out more forms, and do even more exams. This time I had to do listening exams and email composition exams, responding to hypothetical customers and their situations. The listening exams were interesting as I had to listen to different types of customers and try to choose the best answers to help them.

Later on I went with two other guys and we were shown the floor where we would be working, and we each got to sit next to an experienced employee and listen in to a call. The call I listened in to went very well and the lady was very polite, though I'm sure the customers calling in are not always like that. Afterwards we returned to the office, signed a few more papers and that was finally it in there. I'll be starting on Friday August 30, with two weeks of training, 3:00 pm until 9:30 pm, and after from 12:00 pm until 9:00 pm, which will both be six days of week, so I'll definitely be busy. I saw some posters around the offices talking about a company bus that leaves in the evening, which would be able to take me home more directly, though I'm not sure if it will work for me, so I'll have to see.

Before going home I had to do a drug test, which was the first time in my life I had to do that. It isn't the most pleasant experience as they give you a small container and tell you to go to the bathroom, and outside there is a guy standing with the door half open. Luckily I was able to get that down and get out of there pretty fast. Afterwards I stopped at the San Agustín mall and picked up a house phone from Best Buy. I never really thought about having a house phone here, but its packaged with the internet, and I can use it to talk with my grandmother who never uses Skype, so it will work out. I had lunch at Focaccia, which still has there promotion of two side dishes, a main dish, and a desert all for 115 pesos. ($9.50)

I headed home afterwards and tried to hook up the phone, but then realized we didn't have any more outlets. I walked up to a small shop and was able to get a very cheap extension and now the phone is connected. I was able to talk to my grandmother for the first time since I got to Mexico, so that was very nice. I also did my 10 laps around the park, and in the evening I had a Skype call with my parents. So today marks the start of my final week of these extremely long and forced vacations, so I will have to enjoy these seven days because after it will be mostly work every single day, which I'll be ready for.

A few weeks ago, two brothers in New Brunswick, aged 4 and 6 were killed when a python escaped from a store that carries exotic pets, and crawled through the vents, arriving upstairs and strangling them when they slept. This story has really added to the controversy of owning exotic animals. A number of years ago in British Columbia, a tiger mauled to death a woman, on a farm which also carried exotic animals. These are just two examples, but I'm sure if someone would look into this more, they'd find even more examples of wild animals being held basically as pets, who have killed or severely injured people. Of course this isn't the fault of the animals. They have been put in unideal situations, forced to live in small spaces, and being treated as if they are just like a dog or a cat. Wild and dangerous animals have no places in the homes or stores of anyone.

Some jurisdictions have passed laws banning the ownership of these animals, but clearly more places need to get on board in making these types of laws, and strictly enforcing them. Tigers and Pythons don't belong in any small store or house of anyone... they belong in their natural habitat, or at the very least, in a certified zoo where they are treated properly and kept in a safe place. Hopefully more people start understanding this, because it would be such a tragedy to have more needless deaths from people owning and storing exotic and dangerous animals irresponsibly.

And very sad is that a lot of these times there are no places for these animals, and they are put down, which is just horrible. So the people who are keeping these poor animals inappropriately in their homes, farms, small stores, they need to have the animals confiscated immediately, ensuring that they can find a safe place to keep them, preferably in a zoo, if it's too late to put them in the wild, and then these reckless owners need to be fined extreme amounts of money for their negligence. I really hope I never again read about some poor person being killed by a wild animal being treated as a pet.... one time was one time too many, and it's certainly happened more than once, so I hope enough lessons have been learned to ensure this never happens again. For the next question:

What should be done with exotic and wild animals, particularly dangerous ones, who are being held as pets or in small stores, illegally by their owners ?

Well that's all for this week. I hope that everyone has an amazing weekend. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Monday, bye for now.

Report # 1034

Hey everyone, I hope that you've all been having an awesome week so far. I went out to the Galerias mall on Saturday evening to meet up with a friend, though she didn't arrive for an hour and a half later. I spent my time sipping a frappe from Starbucks, and well eating a donut from Krispy Kreme.... it was kind of a dessert before dinner. When she arrived we had dinner at Chili's and sat and talked until midnight. I had to take a taxi home as I don't think there would have been any buses running at that time, but I arrived home around 1:00 am and went to bed after a while.

I went for a run on Sunday afternoon. I really shouldn't be running too much in the sun, but some days I just don't want to wait until the evening, and just get my run over with early. The clock/thermometer in front of a building by the park said it was 43 C (109 F), but that was absolutely impossible.... if it had  been that hot and I had been running for 40 minutes, I don't think I would have survived ! I think it was probably around 33 C (92 F) as it certainly wasn't as hot as it had said. The time was off as well by one hour, so someone really has to do some maintenance on that clock. Later in the day I headed out to Cinépolis and I watched The Big Wedding, which was a very funny movie, though another one of those movies with a lot of stupid humour.

Last week I went off on people who use their cell phones in the movie theatre, but this time I had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to a lady playing with her phone during the whole movie. She hadn't actually been talking on it, but she was certainly texting or something. Eventually she asked me if she could make a call so I just gave her the phone seeing as I didn't want to cause a scene, though for some reason she wasn't able to get the number dialed... maybe it was wrong. Finally she just got up and left half way during the movie. I don't think I'll ever understand some of these people. I got home around 9:00 pm though I don't think I got to bed until 2:00 am, so I was super tired yesterday morning as I woke myself up at 7:00 am.

I took a bus downtown and then took another bus, but apparently the bus I took has two versions, one that says direct and one that doesn't. I took the direct one, so it didn't take me right by the migration place as the other one always did so I had to get off and take a taxi. I've been to that migration place many times and that had never happened before, so I don't know if they started a new route with the same bus number, or I had just been lucky enough to never manage boarding that other bus. Once I arrived at the migration offices I was able to pick up my visa, though I wasn't too impressed when it says it expires on July 12, 2014. Seeing as they didn't actually give it to me until August, they should have given me the full year from some day in August ! I suppose it's just another way to squeeze out a little more money out of people.

Seeing as the company was on my way home and I had not been able to get a hold of anyone by telephone I just headed there myself. I talked to a security guard and he sent me to the recruitment building on the other side of the street. There I waited for like an hour and a lady finally called me in. I explained the situation to her and she said that I needed some other letter that I didn't have, and asked me if I would be ok speaking on the phone mostly in Spanish, as she told me 80 % of the calls would be in Spanish. I just told her I would, even though I think I would be a little over my head trying to help customers on the phone in Spanish.

I can talk with people just fine, but I've never done any type of work over the phone before, and the customers calling in expect fast service and probably aren't always in the best of moods, so it would be very important that I fully understand and be able to say things 100 % correctly, 100 % of the time, so it certainly would be a challenge. The lady talked with some of the other people that had helped me during the visa process and then told me that I had to meet with the same lady who interviewed me in November, in the other office, and she would be able to help me.

So I took a taxi to the other office, and headed in, and once again I had to wait about an hour. I finally was able to see the lady and explain to her the whole situation. Apparently in the other office it's mostly Spanish workers, but in this office is where they have more of the English work. She told me there was a campaign starting on August 30, working with customers from Kohls and that it's not hard work, and there would just be two weeks of training. I would be working 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm Monday to Friday and Sunday... so six days of work a week !

This is actually quite common in Mexico as I've talked to a number of people who work six days a week. I won't complain as I've had basically a year of vacations so I am ready to get working and keeping busy and doing my very best. The salary would be a little higher than I was told last year, as I would be getting around 9000 pesos a month (719 dollars) plus 5 % bonuses for always arriving on time and another 5 % bonus for assistance. I was relieved to hear that it would all be in English for now as it will be a lot easier to get used to the job and see how I do. I won't be working where I originally thought, as the place I thought I was working was the head office, which I went to a few times, but I'll be working where I had my original interview. Unfortunately it will be a little longer to get there, but nothing I can do about that.

So even though I got the visa and was being told about the start date, I was given even more homework to do. The company didn't have my test results saved from last November, so I had to spend another hour doing the english/computer test, which I really didn't like because I did it once before and it's just a long and time consuming process. The company also seemed to want everything but the kitchen sink as well. They wanted two photos of me, which I was lucky to have extras from my visa photos, so I was able to give her those, as well as a copy of my visa card, passport and birth certificate.

They also want a proof of address, and I had to go and get a number from the Mexican social insurance place. Also they want two reference letters, even though I gave them those last November, and a copy of my schooling, I guess to show I'm not a high school dropout. I was told that I could come back on Thursday morning, giving me 3 days to do all of this. I left the office and headed downtown and had lunch at VIPS before picking up a frappe from El Globo and heading home. When the roommate arrived at home I explained the situation to her and she called the guy who administers the property to bring something to prove that we live here, though I don't know when he will do that.

I went for a run last night and I stayed up until around 1:00 am before going to bed. I woke up at 9:00 am and then decided to go to the social security place. I noticed that we got the bill for the internet/telephone, so even though it was in my roommate's name, I was hoping that could count for proof of address. I walked the majority of the way, though I took a taxi for the last five minutes as I didn't know where the place was exactly. Things there worked out a lot better than I imagined. I was given a number at the front desk, and was called up to a window within 10 minutes, and after waiting for around 20 minutes, everything was done and I had gotten myself a number. They didn't ask for proof of address, but they wanted the company number as well, so I was lucky that I had brought the paperwork for that.

I took some photo copies and headed out and walked home, picking up a fruit smoothie and then just having some waffles and eggs at home. So in the next day I will just have to print off my school credential and some reference letters, and see if that internet/telephone bill will be good enough for proof of address. Aside from that I should be ready for Thursday morning to hand all this stuff in and to officially say that I'll be starting work next Friday. It's been such a long process though I am really, really hoping this truly will be the end and I really do start in 10 days. I am ready to get going, learn everything I can learn, and do the best that I can and succeed. So if all goes well on Thursday I will be able to enjoy one final week of days off and then it will be work, work, and more work !

I've read about some places wanting to create special license plates for those people who have been arrested for drunk driving, so for the next question:

Do you support the idea of making people arrested for DUI put specialized license plates on their cars, why or why not ?

That's all for today. I wish everyone all of the best with everything. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Friday, bye for now.

Report # 1033

It's a good thing I just checked the migration website as a note was posted on Thursday that my visa document has been issued, so I could have picked it up yesterday, but I didn't check on Thursday night unfortunately. I wasn't really checking everyday, because I thought it wouldn't be ready until August 23, as I was told two weeks so it was a surprise. So definitely first thing on Monday morning I will go to the immigration office and pick up my visa. Unfortunately I spent the last week trying to communicate with the lady from the company, and she was literally impossible to get a hold of. The one time I thought I had her on the phone, I was put on hold forever.

Aside from the email I sent her on August 9, I re-sent it again this past Wednesday, and tried calling numerous times each day, but never go through to her. I really wonder what that lady does all day never to be at the desk answering the phone. So on Monday I definitely need to get a hold of her and figure out what day I can start working. There is another lady that I could try and talk with, but I've never really talked with her about this stuff, but I will have to talk to someone if I can't ever get a hold of this one lady. I've waited long enough for all of this, so I am just ready to get started as soon as possible.

On Wednesday I went to Cinépolis and I saw Mud, which was about a fugitive living on an island who befriends two young boys who help him... it was a pretty good movie. I came home in the evening and went for a run around 6:15 pm and then had a relaxing evening. On Thursday I finally watched the last Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. I was going to watch it in the theatres a year ago, but after that shooting happened I never got around to going. It was an entertaining movie, though these Block Buster movies no longer seem to want just crazy villains, but full blown terrorists. I went running at 4:00 pm, and I can say that was just too early with this heat. It said it was 36 C (97 F) and by the time I got to the eight lap I was definitely slowing down. I did manage to do my 10 laps, but I definitely won't run again that early until it's cooler.

I went to Cinépolis again yesterday and I saw Grown-ups 2. It was even more crazy and ridiculous with more gross humour than the first one. It's just one of those movies that while it its very funny at times, it doesn't really have any story to it, and gets a bit too immature and ridiculous at times. After the movie I went to IHOP and had dinner and ice cream later on and just came home and had a relaxing movie. I managed to get the laundry all done which was good. There are a couple of things that need fixing in the house, such as the toilet which kind of leaks water, and one of the kitchen sink faucets that doesn't work, so hopefully someone will come and fix those things soon, but aside from that most things have been working well.

So I'll enjoy these two weekend days, and then Monday will be a super busy day of me running around and trying to get everything set up to begin working ASAP. Today I wanted to talk about a story that has certainly interested me. I will say that for the most part, laws are here for a reason and they need to be followed, but there comes a time when there is a case that happens, that people, juries, and the judge need to use common sense as well, and this happens to be one of those cases. An 18 year old Florida high school girl is facing charges because of a sexual relationship she had with a 15 year old girl who she was dating. From what I read, in Florida, this girl could be called a sex offender and be forced to stay in prison for as long as 15 years !!!!!

I really hope common sense prevails in this case or I think a lot of people will be wondering what on earth the judges and juries are smoking in Florida. We are still fresh from all the uproar over the Trayvon Martin case, in which a police office basically murdered an un-armed black kid by shooting him in cold blood and escaping any form of punishment. Clearly a lot of people view that case as an example of racism and discrimination, and if a simular type of wacky decision comes out in this case, people will think of it as sexism as it was a same-sex relationship between two teenagers.

Now if people want to read more and see what this girl looks like here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/florida-student-18-criminally-charged-lesbian-relationship-article-1.1348422

Anyone who can honestly consider that girl a pedophile clearly doesn't know what a pedophile even is ! This isn't a case of some mentally ill adult man preying on a child, it's a case of two teenagers that really were in a relationship. Now I don't believe that people in high school should be having sex, but it's going to happen sometimes, and to try and press criminal charges in a case where it was 100 % consensual between two teenagers, just three years apart in age is a gross exaggeration of what has occurred. From what I read, the age of consent in Florida is 18, so did these girls make a mistake ? Yes obviously they did. They should have just been in a non-sexual relationship and waited a few years, but to suggest that the older girl is a pedophile and deserves to spend 15 years in jail is ridiculous.

I think the court needs to just throw this case out, warning that while teenagers in high-school should not be having sexual relationships, especially when someone is under the actual age of consent, but that in this very unique and special case, it was just two high-school girls of taking things too far, but neither one of them should have their lives ruined and turned upside down over the simple fact that they were in a consenting relationship and unfortunately decided to make it sexual. Now just to make it 100 % clear I'm obviously completely against any forms of sexual relationships, or any much older person with a younger person under 18, and of course in these situations, there needs to be a look at charges.

Those older people who think its ok to be with children are complete sickos and they should be sentenced severely and given psychological treatment. In a case of two high-school students, both girls even, any jury, person or prosecutor who is trying to make the argument that this 18 year old high-school girl is a pedophile and should be labeled as such and sent to prison for 15 years should be ashamed of themselves. I'm glad I did more research on the internet as I just read a plea deal has been offered and the older girl will have a chance to avoid going to prison but will still have to admit some guilt, but won't have to worry about having anything on her record.

So it does look like if this is accepted the girl will be able to carry on with her life. I also read that the prosecutors have said that the girl has continued to talk with the younger girl with who she has had a relationship with. If this is true, that would not really be a good move, as both girls just need to put this behind them and move on. I'm sure there are strong feelings between both of them so it's difficult, but with all of the circumstances and what has happened, they can't both possibly have a healthy relationship or even stay in contact. I am certain there has been some discrimination just because the girls happen to be lesbians, and the media has certainly used that to make the story sound more interesting than it otherwise would be, but at the end of the day, everyone just needs to be treated fairly.

I imagine some people just want to punish the 18 year old girl for the simple fact that she is a lesbian, and that is repugnant enough. As I said much earlier, I just hope common sense prevails, which it looks like it might have at least a little bit, and that these girls can both get back to living normal lives, though that 18 year old girl is clearly known now to many people, so unfortunately she has become a known personality. I did read she has received a lot of support through letters and petitions, so it's nice to see there are good people out there and that she hasn't had to go through this all on her own.

What lessons should be taken away from all of this from others ? That people should really wait to get involved with someone sexually, at the very least until they are both adults, that it's not easy being gay, and that when someone disagrees with something fundamentally, they will work hard to destroy that person, just based on the simple fact they are different. So a fascinating case, I just hope it works out better than the Trayvon Martin case did, I don't think the Florida court system needs to outrage any more people ! For the next question:

What are your thoughts on this case ? Do you think the 18 year old girl should be punished ? Do you feel discrimination has been involved over the fact that the case involves lesbians ?

Well that's all I have for today. I hope that everyone has an amazing weekend. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Tuesday, bye for now.

Sources: nydailynews.com. Florida girl, 18 arrested and expelled after relationship with 15 year-old classmate. By Erik Ortiz/ New York daily News. May 19, 2013

rawstory.com. Kaitlyn Hunt accused of further acts of 'lewd and lascivious behaviour' with underage girl. By Scott Kaufman. August 16, 2013

dailymail.co.uk. Kaitlyn Hunt Update: Plea deal offered Fla. teen charged over same-sex underage relationship, report say. By Iris Carreras. August 15, 2013

Report # 1032

Well another three days have passed which brings me to another blogging day, though I really don't seem to have all of the ideas that I had for this that I once did. I guess since I haven't been reading the newspaper every single day, and with over 1030 entries, one just runs out of things to talk about. I enjoyed the cooler, cloudier and rainy weekend weather as it was a great break from the heat. On Sunday afternoon I walked to Soriana and bought some more light bulbs, which were definitely needed and then stopped at Carl's Jr. As I headed home it started to rain, but I got back home and inside before it started pouring.

On Monday I went to Cinépolis and I saw Pain & Gain, which was basically a very silly and violent action movie with Mark Wahlberg and the Rock about body builders in Miami who get involved in criminal activities to live the "American Dream." It was kind of a mix of being super silly and ridiculous, though the director certainly went out of his way to make it bloody. I stopped at El Pollo Loco on the way home and in the evening I walked up to the park and ran for around 40 minutes. Yesterday was a pretty lazy day as I stayed in most of the day before walking up to Cabo Grill for the 2x1 taco day. I watched a movie on the computer, The Brave One, and went for another run in the evening, and that was about it.

The lady from Teleperformance has not responded to my email that I sent on Friday, so I don't know if that means she didn't get it or she accidentally deleted it. I tried calling her yesterday, but I didn't get her until after 4:00 pm and then she put me on hold. I was waiting for like 10 minutes and then I just hung up. This lady can be very hard to communicate with at times, so I will have to try more today. It's not like I'm in a hurry as I won't get the visa until August 23, but I do at least want to know if she got the email and if she can get me a start day, and about the bank as well, so I hope to talk with her today. In the past few days I had Skype calls with my parents, and my aunt and grandmother, and brother, who was also in Calgary at the time, so it was good to talk to family for the first time since I left home a month ago.

Seeing as I don't really have anything else to talk about today, I'll just go off on those extremely rude and stupid people in the movie theatre that I've seen a few times here. Basically all the movie theatres warn people before entering.... please turn off your cell phone.... but surprisingly so many people either don't understand this simple request, or they just choose to ignore it. So during most movies here the cell phone of at least someone goes off during the movie. Now I can understand maybe someone truly did forget to turn it off one time, so I have some sympathy. If they answer it right away and turn it off... then ok they are forgiven, but I've seen two times in the last month where this did not happen.

Two times the people actually answered their ringing cell phones and started talking in the movie theatre during the middle of the movie. Are they people just that inconsiderate or are they completely stupid ? One of the times a bunch of people were actually telling the person to shut up, which was nice to see, but a lot of times the other people can't be bothered as they just want to watch the movie and hope the person shuts up soon enough. It's just ridiculous that adults can't even follow such a simple rule, and not only choose to fully ignore the rule, but go and have actual conversations during the movie like they are sitting in their own house alone in front of the TV.

I kind of wanted to go up to the person and dump my Coke on them, but obviously that wouldn't go over to well and I'd end up in more trouble than the person on the phone. It's sad to say, but it's gotten to the point where movie theatres can't even allow people to enter with cell phones anymore, because people just don't listen and follow the rules. It is like they need to have everyone give up their cell phones during the movie and take a number to pick them up after. It sounds like that would be overreacting, but after witnessing these ridiculously selfish and stupid people time and time again it doesn't seem like a horrible idea.

There are also devices that can be installed that make cell phones not work in the movie theatre rooms, but I suppose that would be considered dangerous, seeing as if there was an emergency, such as that lunatic entering the movie theatre in Colorado last year, people would want to be able to call for help. So a better option would be to give people a chance in the theatre to push a button or something and warn the staff about someone being too nosiy and disrespectful during the movie... either on a cell phone or just not shutting up in general by talking too much. Then the staff could come in, ask the person(s) to leave and ban them from the theatre for one year !

And would this lose some customers ? Certainly ! However, I think more customers would be likely to come back if they see the movie theatre staff taking action against these idiots, allowing them to enjoy the movie in peace. It would be nice though if movie theatres didn't have to go through all of these drastic measures, but for that to happen, people would have to do something in the theatres that they are not accustomed to doing before.... following the rules, and unfortunately I don't see that happening anytime soon !

For the next question:

What do you think about people who are disruptive in the movie theatre ? (Either by talking with others, using their cell phones, or whatever) What should be done to make the experience better for everyone ?

Well that's all for another day. I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of the week. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Saturday, bye for now.

Report # 1031

Hey everyone, I hope that you've all been having a great weekend. I didn't do much of anything on Thursday aside from watching movies and going for a run in the evening. I watched Freeway, Rest Stop, and a Mexican movie, Nosotros Los Nobles. (We/us the Nobles) The first two movies were horror movies, with deranged killers... I do like those movies sometimes, and the Mexican movie was a comedy about a rich family whose father pretends they lost all their money to teach his spoiled kids a lesson so they have to live like poor people for a while. It's nice to have the internet to be able to look at so many movies and pass the time.

Before going to bed I checked the migration website to check the status for my case, and it's a good thing I checked because there was added information saying that my payment had been processed and to go to the migration office. Luckily it was Thursday night and not Friday night, so I was able to go the next day. On Friday morning I went to the migration offices and the lady told me to go to the third floor. I had always been on the second floor before, so I must have made some more process. There were some American, Chinese, and Spanish and Venezuelan people as well, so I wasn't the only one from another country going to work here.

I had to stand in line for a while and I made it up to the front desk and after a few minutes the lady told me to take a seat. I was called up again in about 10 minutes, and I had to ink all of my fingers from each hand and make fingerprints. It was such a dirty task and after trying to clean my hands, they all got black, so that part wasn't very fun. I also had to sign another paper, but there were no more forms to print off and fill out thankfully. I was given a piece of paper with a CURP number, which I think is the Mexican version of a Social Insurance Number, and I was told that I could come back in two weeks to pick up the visa.

So it looks like I have another two weeks of holidays, though if all goes well I'll get the visa on August 23 meaning I could start working the week of August 26-30. I called Teleperformance, but I was told the lady would be away until Monday, so when I got home I sent her an email telling her all of the news and asking what I should do about a ban card. I think some companies in Mexico prefer to do business with certain banks, so if she tells me which one I should be able to go and sign up for a bank account here, and if not I'll just pick one out myself.

So more progress has been made and if everything goes well I'll be working before the start of September which really all I can say is it would be about time. On Friday afternoon I went to Cinépolis and I saw Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. It was an interesting type of fantasy/action movie about children of Greek Gods. I cam home in the evening and I went for a run as well once again. Yesterday it clouded over in the afternoon and it absolutely started pouring. The streets were kind of flooding a bit, which always seems to happen in Mexico when it rains, and the temperature dropped down to maybe 25 C (77 F) After two weeks straight of like 38 C (100 F) weather everyday, it felt so refreshing to have rain come finally.

I watched the Wonderful Oz in the afternoon, and in the evening I headed out and enjoyed the fresh air after the rain had stopped. This morning I got out of bed before 11:00 am and I decided to go for my run. It was sunny, but still cooler than the previous days, so i was able to run in the day. I didn't have to use any air conditioning while I slept last night, and I'm not using any right now, so I will have to enjoy these cooler days as I think the temperature will get back up to where it has been after tomorrow. I've read a lot lately about Russia's new law against homosexuality. It's been even a bigger conern with the 2014 Winter Olympics coming up in Sochi.

I even read there is a petition demanding to move the games from Sochi to Vancouver, which hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, and that petition has almost 50,000 signatures. And I've also read that this has about a 0 % chance of happening, as it would be very difficult and expensive and just nothing that the International Olympic Committee would like to do. It is troubling though that Russia has come up with such strict laws against people, just for being gay. Now if the Russian government is just making strict laws against homosexuality acts in public, that's one thing, but if they are threatening to possibly jail people just because they are gay, that is clearly wrong.

There have also been some talks about boycotts, but most of the world leaders have been against this as they realize that in a boycott the only ones who get hurt are the athletes who have trained so hard for so many years waiting for this once in four years  opportunity. The IOC has asked the Russian government to make clear certain aspects of the law, so hopefully we all know a little more about how the Russian government will deal with potential situations soon. Clearly though, Russia is failing to respect the rights of a number of citizens in their country, and the world should hold them to task for this human rights violation.

Aside from some people talking about a boycott and signing a petition to move the games, some people and even businesses have stopped purchasing the Russian Vodka, in an effort to speak out against the anti-gay law in Russia. So I hope people around the world, companies, and political leaders speak out against this archaic and unjust law in Russia and do their best to pressure the Russian government to lighten it up as much as possible. If enough people speak out, and enough pressure is put on the Russian government, and enough money is lost from the Russian economy over this law, I would think eventually some positive changes should be made.

Regardless what ones' personal views are on gay people, I would think any decent minded person in the world would agree that jailing someone just for the simple reason of being gay or acting gay is 100 % wrong. If Russia fails to soften up their views on this matter and only looks to enforce these strict regulations, not only will their 2014 Olympics be operating under a huge dark cloud, it will certainly not be such a happy celebration and as successful as an event as it could have been, and that will be a great disappointment. And the Foreign Affairs minister of Canada made a good point:

"We are concerned, obviously, about Canadian athletes and other participants, spectators and attendees of the Olimpics there. But we should be very clear: they're going to be there two or tree weeks. The people of Russia will have to deal with this law 365 days of the year, every year. Let's hope that decency will prevail." - Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada, John Baird.

sources: globeandmail.com, Harper joins controversy over Russia's anti-gay law. The Canadian Press. August 9, 2013.

Mr. Baird makes a great point. While the concern in Russia has been magnified around the world because the Olympics will be there in February of next year, it's important to note that the law will effect mostly Russian citizens, and they deserve to be able to live in a free society without facing consequences for the simple matter of being gay. So it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming six months and during the Olympics and if anything changes. I certainly hope some positive changes come out of all this pressure being put on Russia lately, for the sake of the athletes competing in Sochi, and more importantly, for the Russian people in general. For the next question:

Do you think the 2014 Olympic games should be boycotted or moved over the Russian government's new anti-gay law ? How should other countries in the world respond to this kind of controversy ?

I will leave you all with some pictures that I took of where I'm living now, and of how wet it got here the other day. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Wednesday, bye for now.

Report # 1030

Hey everyone, I hope that you've all been having a great week. I'm typing this up in the apartment as the internet has finally arrived... it certainly beats waiting until August 20. The signal is very strong by the kitchen and in the bedroom, so it works perfectly. So now just about everything is in order except the most important thing which is to get that visa soon and start working. On Monday afternoon I went to see Nomads, which was about a woman in NYC doing a documentary about people who commit suicide by jumping in front of the Subway train in Mexico City. It was an interesting movie, though I didn't find it all that fun to watch.

In the evening I went to the park and ran around 10 times, which takes about 35 minutes, and then returned home and had a shower. On Tuesday I walked up to Cabo Grill as it was their 2 for 1 taco day. I saw the same waiter that I saw a few weeks ago and he remembered me so he shook my hand. I came home in the evening and talked to the roommate for quite a while and made a sandwich before going up to the internet cafe for one last time. I was at McDonalds yesterday morning and a nice older guy started talking to me.... it's always nice to talk to new people. I came home in the afternoon and the guys arrived to install the internet. It was a pretty big job as they were here for probably three hours.

It's still been incredibly sunny and hot everyday, so I really can't wait until this summer passes and it cools down outside. I go running between 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm when the sun is pretty much set, so as the days get a little shorter and cooler eventually, it will be a lot nicer. Last night I watched Iron Man 3, and it was a pretty good movie, though I don't know what the director was trying to imply with the Mandarin, it almost seems like he was channeling Bin Laden and implying that maybe he was some made up character... I would think the Mandarin character in the movie would really incite some controversy among some people.

Over the years I've read and seen on the news a number of stories about negligent people living their kids and pets in hot cars. Not only is this an incredibly stupid thing to do, it can end up being a criminal issue as well seeing as in many tragic situations children and pets have died from being left in hot cars for too long. Clearly more education has to be out there teaching people that this is an incredibly stupid idea.

While it honestly seems like it should be common sense that it's an incredibly stupid idea to leave a child or a pet in the car on a hot day, so many people don't get the message. So it comes to the point where I believe anyone who has done this before and put their children and/or pets in harms way have them taken away for a while, and be forced into taking some sort of class educating them on an issue they clearly know nothing about. I would say maybe they should spend sometime left alone in a hot car as well to give them at least some what of an idea of what someone stuck in a car would face, but I can't imagine any government approving that form of education !

Clearly there has to be a police presence or at the very least security guards monitoring all the parked cars in parks and store parking lots when it's warm outside because it's an extremely dangerous thing to leave someone in a hot car, and it's happening just way too often. It's sad enough hearing about poor helpless children and pets being left in hot vehicles and being found in time, but to read about the ones who die is just a complete tragedy. Personally I think leaving children or pets in the car on any day of the year would be a stupid idea as all it takes is one nutcase to break in and take the child and/or pet away... and that would be just as tragic as knowing that someone died in a hot car.

So in general parents need to just stop leaving any living species in their vehicles, no matter if it's hot, cold, or normal ! And until these negligent and short on brain cells parents learn their lessons, unfortunately resources, which could be used on many other important issues, will have to be put to use here, protecting children and pets from the ones who are failing to do so the most, the ones these children and pets trust the most..... their own parents/owners. I just hope one of these days people start getting the message that leaving any child or pet in the car is just a horrendously horrible, stupid, and dangerous idea, because just reading about one case of a death from this sort of stupidity is too much !

And if despite all of the efforts from police, security officers, and public announcements, people still aren't getting the message, well then they clearly need a lot more than education classes.... they need to spend some time in jail ! I would hope this issue doesn't continue to spiral out of control, but I can't say I'm all too optimistic that things will improve greatly... hopefully people can prove me wrong though. For the next question:

What are your thoughts on parents who leave their children and/or pets in the car on hot days ? How should these people be educated and punished ?

So next time I'll post a few pictures of the apartment, so that will give me something to do today, take some pictures. I wish everyone all of the best with everything. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Sunday, bye for now.

Report # 1029

Hey everyone, I hope that you've all been having a great start to the week. Once again I've walked up to Mc Donalds where I'm taking advantage of the free internet and a/c. On Friday my roommate told me that she had done the contract for the internet, but they won't be able to install it until the 20th. I really could never imagine that a company could be that slow with their service so it's certainly frustrating. On the bright side the washing machine has arrived and hopefully in the next week I get an answer about the visa. So things are coming along, but a lot slower than I would have liked.

On Friday afternoon I went to Cinépolis and I saw Now you see me, which was actually a very good movie filled with surprises. I came home in the evening and just had a sandwich and that was about it for the day. I went to Las Galerias on Saturday and met a friend at the mall. We had lunch at Wok and walked around for a few hours. She got a new cell phone, so I waited with her in the store for a long time and after we had some ice cream. It certainly isn't as easy to get to that mall as it was when I was living in the area before. I had to walk for about 20 minutes, take two metro lines, and then a bus, and then walk some more. Maybe there is a more direct route, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Yesterday I went to Parque Fundidora and walked around Paseo Santa Lucía and the park with a friend and we just sat and talked for a while. It was cloudy for a bit, but the majority of the day was super sunny. Basically most of these days get up to 38 C (100 F) so they are very hot days. It will be nice once the summer ends and the days cool down at least a little bit. We went to Café Punta del Cielo and had some frappes and took the metro train and the bus to get home. So today I just plan on doing laundry finally, and maybe going for a run in the evening. A few weeks ago I heard that Mexico has passed the United States and is now the fattest country in the world, and of course this is very troubling news.

No country should be happy to have a title such as that, and it shows that things really need to change. I was talking to someone and she told me that exercise just isn't in the culture for most of the people here. This really didn't seem like  a great answer for me, because last I checked, getting exercise and staying healthy is just as important in any country in the world. Now I can understand that no one is going to want to be outside when its super sunny and 38 C (100 F), but there are early mornings and the evenings, when the sun is down and it feels a lot fresher. Also there are lots of gyms and fitness centers that people could go to as well.

Now I understand that a lot of people won't be able to afford fitness memberships, but a person could easily stay in decent shape just by running daily for a bit, or even walking regularly. Another problem I find here is the working schedules for a lot of people. Many people work over 10 hour days, six days a week... they just don't have time to exercise much, as they are obviously very exhausted after working so much. The government should really work on putting more labour laws out there as people are getting worked to death almost, and their health is taking a major hit because of that.

I believe that if these people were able to work a number of hours less each week, and devote some of that time to exercise, they would not only be healthier employees, but happier, making them more productive and allowing the companies to reach their goals even with their employees working less time as they would be far more motivated to do well. No one can take shortcuts when it comes to fitness, and a healthier country is a more productive and happy country. So I hope someone in the Mexican government is paying attention to the news and understands that this is a major crisis and something that needs a resolution.

Now Mexico is number one, but that doesn't mean the majority of the other countries are healthy either. I would expect the U.S. now to be the second fattest country in the world, and from what I read, Canadians haven't been so healthy either in the past few years. So the whole battle with obesity and exercise is a global epidemic. And every government from each country should be coming up with a plan to combat this problem. If nothing is done, I can only see things getting worse and worse, and in another 50 years, we will just be a society with mostly obese, unhappy, unhealthy and unproductive people and there are no positives from that.

Technology probably hasn't helped much either. With internet, cell phones, and a connection to social media, a lot of people are just staying at home and communicating with their friends that way instead of going out like they would have done in the past.

I've met some people who are even texting when they are out with me.... that bothers me so much ! I wish people could just leave their phones alone sometimes ! Now that doesn't have too much to do with what I was talking about, but I just had to through it in there. I just strongly encourage everyone to find time to get exercise everyday... half hour is good enough really. Whether it is going for a walk, running, bike riding, going to the gym.... I just say to everyone, please do something ! If no one does any of this, their bodies will pay the price, and whether they realize it or not, they won't be as healthy as they should be and it would be a tragedy.

And to some of the people who say that they always stay skinny, no matter what, well just because they are super skinny doesn't mean they are all that healthy either. There is no substitute to good exercise, and eating little doesn't take the place of getting that exercise... in fact its a terrible idea to just eat less in an effort to get healthier. So in case anyone has missed my point, the most important lesson for everyone here is to get exercise ! I don't care how you do it, just find a way to get out everyday and do something ! Your body will thank you, and chances are you'll add many more years to your lives by living your life in such a healthy manner. For the next question:

Do you think governments have a responsibility to deal with the obesity problems in their respective countries or should it be just something that everyone worries about themselves ? What can be done to better promote healthy living a healthy lifestyle ?

Well that is all I have for today. I hope that the week goes well for everyone. Take care and I'll talk to you all on Thursday, bye for now.