pip squeeks

Meet the Pip - without a doubt the most demanding little creature I have ever run across. Way too small to adopt but the Vet at the local SPA convinced me to take her home saying she stood a better chance of survival with me than at the shelter. She has eye and digestive problems, like all the kittens at the shelter. Maybe she will pull thru. I found the black spot beside her nose fetching. Greg is not impressed but is satisfied to put up with it all as long as she doesn’t eat too much – he draws the line when she begins to nuzzle him like mom. She is cutting seriously into my work schedule, as she insists on being in the absolute middle of any action.

The natives continue to amuse. This last Sunday was the Fiesta de los Locos. The holiday, unique to SMA, is ostensibly rooted in celebration of St. Anthony of Padua, but those roots have been severely twisted over a couple hundred years and the fiesta is now mostly about the parade with unabashed commercial links. It is a parade that allows the locals to play music at Dbs above the norm and dress up in costume (particularly masks) and act foolish – including for those inclined to dress in drag. It attracts a large crowd because the participants are armed with bags of candy, which they throw out to the expectant crowd – particularly kids. Inverted umbrellas are the order of the day to catch the booty. Actually, a regular umbrella was a good idea to keep from burning up as the temps were well above 30. It is hard to imagine how it must have felt inside a costume let alone a mask. But parade they did – for well over four hours. I laid some tile.

My neighbor across the way woke me up at 3 in the morning last week. He claimed that some kids had stopped and were fixing to vandalize our cars. In addition to a very foxy wife, (and a new baby), he has a nice new “Altima” so we can understand the interest. He called the cops and they came in minutes on motorbikes. I am however, doubtful they were successful at apprehending the intended perps – whatever they were up to. I have little left to vandalize on the Chev.
Have been staggering over to my local sports bar regularly to watch the NBA finals. A weird collection turn up for these games – displaced Brits, a Belgian, a couple of New Yorkers, several Texans, 2 or 3 Mexicans, several women who have lived here for years, the odd Canadian (emphasis on the “odd”). A couple of Brits have just bought the local Irish Pub down the street. They have been making some serious renovations over the past month. One of the owners sounds like he knows what to do in the kitchen so I will be interested in dining there soon.

I went by the library last Thursday to see what their Spanish conversation sessions were like. I met a couple of nice people so I will go back. I am at the stage where I am not sure where I am at wrt to language study. Spending some time with these folks should let me know what I need to do next.

It is interesting to listen to different people I run into, talk about SMA. Some newcomers are bored and ready to move on quickly as they can find nothing stimulating to do. They find the tourist activities to be too “touristy”. Others are completely charged with all that is going on and trying desperately to take it all in and finding they do not have enough time. Everybody to his or her own poison I guess. Of course the old timers, who have lived here for more than a couple of years, have come to terms with all this and are content with whatever they do to keep themselves busy during the day. I don’t look at it in the same terms. There is more than enough to keep me busy here – as much as in any town. Whether one can meet people that are stimulating and friendly is the real test and while the jury is still out the prospects look quite good.

Took the Pip back to the shelter today as she was so plugged up she couldn’t breath except thru her mouth, no appetite and coughing badly. They will keep her over the week-end and see if they can stabilize her.