
Almost a month ago I started feeling sick. Strange symptoms – first the left side of my neck hurt. The next day it was the right. Then my neck was fine and it was my shoulders that hurt. Then the baseball bat came out and beat the crap out of me. Acute pericarditis along with something bad going on with my lungs. I smoked for 30+ years and my lungs aren’t up for all that much anyway – so this was really unpleasant. The first week I had jolts of electricity go through me every time I took a breath. I think it was my heart complaining that it was on fire and THEN my lungs would squeeze it when I tried to breathe. Throw in some general aches and pains that thankfully 1000 mg of tylenol every 6 hours dealt with, some malaise, and not feeling like eating (still could taste/smell), and you have my last month.
So no updates here. My little Mazatlán Weekly project did get updated, with the exception of two days I just couldn’t move. So, was it Covid-19? Something in the jamaica I drank somewhere? Could it have been the rusty railing I licked (kidding!)? Whatever it was I really do feel like someone took that bat to me and beat me up but good. But I have wandered outside again – did some grocery shopping today. I’ve gone back to more frequent hand washings AND using my hand sanitizer though! I hadn’t gotten to the point where I ditched the mask when around people – and won’t now until I’m darned sure I won’t get that again. If it was Covid-19 then I really feel for the people who don’t get vaccinated/boosted and then get it – If it was Covid-19 and it hit me that hard I can only imagine what they would go through.
During my not very active month, I did find a fun plugin for Chrome (and possibly other browsers) called ‘Toucan – Language Learning’ (https://jointoucan.com/?noDashboardRedirect=true). It lets you select a language and then every website you go to some of the words will randomly translate to that language! If you hover over the word then you get to see the translation and hear the pronunciation.
I also had some very good experiences with Rappi. They’re a delivery system – all sorts of things can be delivered in addition to the standard food order. One day I even had them bring me more tylenol! My kitchen is pretty well stocked so I didn’t go hungry, but I did have three food takeout orders. Unfortunately I used Uber Eats one night to order a pizza from La Rustica. The app showed the pizza being made, then it showed a driver assigned to do the delivery. Delivery time kept adjusting forward until it went beyond the ‘latest delivery’ time. All the while the app showed the driver sitting at home (I’m just guessing where he was – but wherever it was he was there the whole time).
Regular Uber has cancelled on me so many times that now I just walk up the few blocks to Aquiles Serdan and grab a taxi from the sitio. I’ve had it with them, and I highly recommend that others use didi or a pulmonia/taxi as well. Fun thing is that after I had my pizza money refunded, I got on Rappi and placed another order (for a different type pizza – sorry La Rustica, I didn’t want the one you had sitting there for an hour) – which went very well. They were here before the estimated time!
Speaking of food orders – one of mine was for some Chinese take out from Wok Express. It was actually rather comforting Méxican/Chinese food. Not an ‘OMG this is great’ experience, but it was a solid 6 out of 10. I will have to say, however, that the second word in Chow Mein means noodles in Chinese. Mein does not mean rice – which is what my order came with. Other than that, and the [there always has to be] cream cheese in the egg rolls, it was satisfying to my suffering self.
So I mentioned I went grocery shopping today. I took a moment to compare prices to what I paid last year (don’t go there – I *do* keep track of my grocery purchases). Almost everything was up, and it varied from a little to a lot. White onions were almost doubled! Crazy. I know there have been problems with avocados and limes – which I never buy, but I feel for people on fixed incomes or who don’t get cost of living adjustments!

I do have something fun planned – I want to hop on all the buses and map them. Yes, I know there are already some maps. Yes I know that the one mainstay map did get a recent update. However I see MANY different buses going to Col. Juárez (they go past my apartment) – and I NEVER see them on any of the maps. I have an app on my phone that generates a map when I walk – and it works when on a bus too, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks when I’m feeling back to myself I’ll be able to get the project started! Until then it’s recover on the couch time!
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