The third week of May, 2012...
The last time we moved, it turned into a one day BLAST. The amount of damage and destruction was lamentable. This time we have taken all this week to pack up the delicate stuff and we have moved it ourselves a little at a time. Today, the truck and our help should (may?) arrive. A last minute mens meeting date change diverted most of the hopeful recruits we had lined up for getting help with the big furniture, a truck and a trailer.
Yesterday was a very interesting moving day:
*A person we are counseling called with a big crisis, he HAD to talk to me NOW. So I loaded the van and told him that I could talk with him while we took and unloaded stuff. I don't think that those boxes were put where we wanted to put them, when I am distracted the wierdest things happen.
*People kept calling to tell us why they could not help, Im not sure how many times I had to pull off the road to answer the cell phone. After telling us this most of them wanted to continue with LONG casual conversation. Im sure that I made the "bad missionary" cultural taboo gringo mistake when I said "hey, um... Im idling on the side of the road with stuff in the van and my wife waiting at the house to help me unload it, maybe, could we please chit chat at a less pressing time?"
*I went to buy gas for a van, as I left the street was unusually heavy with traffic so I just left the gates open. When I got back 4 big dogs were clawing and biting at the chicken wire trying to get into our chicken coop. Sahara (our Belgain Shepherd who was chained up- Yes, someone in Ensenada keeps their dog restrained) was going bananas, Linda was getting the garden hose to squirt them, the owner was in the park, sheepishly whistling for his 4 big unleashed killers to please come back. I felt that the scene before me was somewhat symbolic of an invisible diabolical strategy to foil our attempts to transfer our belongings from one residence to another. Does the enemy of our souls have some special thing against moving?
*In the late afternoon someone called from San Diego all frantic because they were bringing a load of building material to Ens. and they did not make it to the border on time, Mexican customs for big items had closed till Monday. He had been told to get there early enough to avoid this dilema, but he said that a trailer broke down on the way. ANYWAY, they needed a place to dump the contents of a 20 foot trailer until they could come back and complete the run. The Mex. brother asked me about a friend of ours from Laurel Bible Chapel who... we impose upon way too much for this kind of favor. Big sigh! By this time I was almost crossed eyed with frustration.
Now, it is 7:05AM, moving day. We will see what joys await.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
House Hunting and Other Joys
First things first, why disturb an insanely busy life with a big housing change? 1.We need to move closer to the church and where the bulk of the believers live. Convenient for us, but most importantly, convenient for them to stop by when ever they wish. 2.Transportation costs continue to grow, living an extra 10 minutes away from your work zone does increase cost. If we found something close enough for us to walk to meetings, the grocery store, and other offices that we frequent that would be a big boon to the pocket book and the exercise regimen. 3.At our current house the rent is pretty steep. When we moved here, the market did not present any other alternatives. The house is worth it, but it just draws too much from the economy right now.
Our hunting adventure has been interesting. We have looked at some situations that would make living in a tree look more attractive. Almost every house has what I call the "childrens toy box" architecture features. Just look in any childs toybox and you will get the idea; disorder, things haphazardly thrown in without much thought, home features that appear upside down, doorways too small or crooked for an erect homo sapien to walk through, stairways that sneak up on you as you are watching the precarious steps below, suddenly you hit your head on the inadequately cut cement opening above.
Number 1: Four BR, 2 1/2 bath, lots of fenced parking, very secure, patio & yard space.
The first house we looked at had most of the features that we wanted, except that it had a bizarre ownership situation. We would rent from the 'legal' owner, but the other owner (illegal?) may show up at any time and might not be too pleased with strangers occupying his hideout. Um, cant really say more about that one, yeah. The BAD, living with feelings of being a perpetual trespasser.
Number 2: Three BR, 3 bath, 2 kitchens (one burnt), very small secure patio, parking for 2 1/2 cars- if you can get them out or in!
The second house had a completely normal down stairs with 3 bedrooms, the owners attend the down town church and we are good friends so that made it more appealing. The price was tremendous, but, the upstairs has a totally weird layout with an external stairway only, and it was partially repaired after a fire in it's second (?) kitchen. It is located on a very busy 2 lane street that should have 4 lanes. Every time that we have driven by in the past week, people were 'popping' into the stores on either side of the house, and parking their cars right in front blocking the gated drive way. This is something that really burns my cookies. These same people would kill us if we even dared to cover up 5 inches of their driveway making their exodus a little difficult, but they come, and block a driveway completely and smile and give the "don't worry, I'll be righty back" sheepish smile. The traffic noise was intense, even as we were looking at the back bedrooms I wondered how we would survive so much noise. The GOOD, price The BAD, still far from the church, NOISE, vehicle access
Number 3: Four BR, 5 bathrooms, studio apt., very secure patio/parking for 3-4 cars, luxurious (not what were looking for), close to church.
Then there is the Hollywood Mansion. Here is one of those houses that we would not even look at, except for the fact that one of the believers from our church has an arrangement with a friend and has obtained this place and wants to rent it to us, at an insane price. The owner does not care to make money, he just wants to keep it occupied so that vagrants, squatters and other undesirables don't break in and dismantle the walls to get out copper wire and copper tubing. Some vacant houses here have had illegal pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises move in. When the federal government raids one of these homes, whether it is rented legally or not, the government will take the property from the owner with out hesitation or recourse; often the government will bring co-conspirator charges against the owner of a property used for these purposes.
The GOOD, confidence with owner, good price, quiet neighborhood, very adequate for our massive entertaining activities, walking distance from church, grocery store, mail service, live in same neighborhood of about 1/2 of the believers from the church.
We advised the office that handles the rental of our current house that we will be leaving in the next couple of months. We are praying that the disengagement from them will be favorable and without problems.
This is an ongoing story, will add as things progress.
Our hunting adventure has been interesting. We have looked at some situations that would make living in a tree look more attractive. Almost every house has what I call the "childrens toy box" architecture features. Just look in any childs toybox and you will get the idea; disorder, things haphazardly thrown in without much thought, home features that appear upside down, doorways too small or crooked for an erect homo sapien to walk through, stairways that sneak up on you as you are watching the precarious steps below, suddenly you hit your head on the inadequately cut cement opening above.
Number 1: Four BR, 2 1/2 bath, lots of fenced parking, very secure, patio & yard space.
The first house we looked at had most of the features that we wanted, except that it had a bizarre ownership situation. We would rent from the 'legal' owner, but the other owner (illegal?) may show up at any time and might not be too pleased with strangers occupying his hideout. Um, cant really say more about that one, yeah. The BAD, living with feelings of being a perpetual trespasser.
Number 2: Three BR, 3 bath, 2 kitchens (one burnt), very small secure patio, parking for 2 1/2 cars- if you can get them out or in!
The second house had a completely normal down stairs with 3 bedrooms, the owners attend the down town church and we are good friends so that made it more appealing. The price was tremendous, but, the upstairs has a totally weird layout with an external stairway only, and it was partially repaired after a fire in it's second (?) kitchen. It is located on a very busy 2 lane street that should have 4 lanes. Every time that we have driven by in the past week, people were 'popping' into the stores on either side of the house, and parking their cars right in front blocking the gated drive way. This is something that really burns my cookies. These same people would kill us if we even dared to cover up 5 inches of their driveway making their exodus a little difficult, but they come, and block a driveway completely and smile and give the "don't worry, I'll be righty back" sheepish smile. The traffic noise was intense, even as we were looking at the back bedrooms I wondered how we would survive so much noise. The GOOD, price The BAD, still far from the church, NOISE, vehicle access
Number 3: Four BR, 5 bathrooms, studio apt., very secure patio/parking for 3-4 cars, luxurious (not what were looking for), close to church.
Then there is the Hollywood Mansion. Here is one of those houses that we would not even look at, except for the fact that one of the believers from our church has an arrangement with a friend and has obtained this place and wants to rent it to us, at an insane price. The owner does not care to make money, he just wants to keep it occupied so that vagrants, squatters and other undesirables don't break in and dismantle the walls to get out copper wire and copper tubing. Some vacant houses here have had illegal pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises move in. When the federal government raids one of these homes, whether it is rented legally or not, the government will take the property from the owner with out hesitation or recourse; often the government will bring co-conspirator charges against the owner of a property used for these purposes.
The GOOD, confidence with owner, good price, quiet neighborhood, very adequate for our massive entertaining activities, walking distance from church, grocery store, mail service, live in same neighborhood of about 1/2 of the believers from the church.
We advised the office that handles the rental of our current house that we will be leaving in the next couple of months. We are praying that the disengagement from them will be favorable and without problems.
This is an ongoing story, will add as things progress.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Cornered and Desperate to Get Out!
Last night we were invited to a social event where the friend of a friend was going to tell us about a new coffee product. Um, I really don’t choose to go to this kind of thing on purpose. But Linda insisted that I need to get to know people in the community and develop my social skills, so against my better judgment, we went.
The sales man was totally enthusiastic, no, he was way too enthusiastic about his product. But the product was not the best part, the clever ‘pyramid sales structure’ was this amazing thing that was going to magically take us all to easy money heaven. De ja vu! Leon’s inner voice //I’ve been here before, very bad feelings are welling up from my past, creeping up into my consciousness like evil worn out underwear.//
I could see it coming, the big psychologically cloaked ‘condemnation’ that a thinking person gets when they dare to say NO to a salesman on drugs, “you’re so stupid for not allowing me to stimulate your excitement for my product beyond your reasoning ability; and make an irrational decision to give money and time to something you know nothing about!!” “Ack! Gag, Sputter!” This is the personality that ticks me off, it is the reason I don’t buy cars from a car lot or answer the door when the JW’s show up. I am an analytical thinker, I don’t get excited about things because some salesman’s body language, insistent voice, & ridiculous facial expressions are screaming “free gold, come, dive in!” In fact, I can already sense the cloaked insults that come as I say “NO thank you, I don’t make spur of the moment career decisions.” Working in the Emergency Room for 5 years trained me to firmly resist the ridiculous ranting of Chicken Little’s, and Lemmings and the euphoric invitations to share in their orgies of wild release from the scourge of self-control. Although, I remember laughing a lot while watching the chimps go berserk once at the Sacramento Zoo, but I do need to mention that on that occasion I also stayed outside of the cage.
Wouldn’t you know it, he singled me out of the crowd and baited me with questions that would make saying NO, spotlight me as STOO-PID. I am imagining this guys sales training session, the executive sales lead man, let’s call him ‘Slick’, says “Butch, choose the person in the crowd that looks like they’re really thinking, you know, someone who is not being fooled with the appeal to emotion.” “Then say these trick questions, like, ‘so buddy, have you stopped beating your wife yet?’” “You will effectively convince all the lemmings in the room that the most analytical person present is hiding the fact that they are going to endorse your stuff!” Im pretty sure that these tactics were used to get whole nations to support bad ideas like, Communinsm, Disco, Facism, 8-track stereo, 'More Spending solves Debt- Politics', and Global Warming.
One nice thing about being this side of 50, I forget experiences like last night with joyful ease.
The sales man was totally enthusiastic, no, he was way too enthusiastic about his product. But the product was not the best part, the clever ‘pyramid sales structure’ was this amazing thing that was going to magically take us all to easy money heaven. De ja vu! Leon’s inner voice //I’ve been here before, very bad feelings are welling up from my past, creeping up into my consciousness like evil worn out underwear.//
I could see it coming, the big psychologically cloaked ‘condemnation’ that a thinking person gets when they dare to say NO to a salesman on drugs, “you’re so stupid for not allowing me to stimulate your excitement for my product beyond your reasoning ability; and make an irrational decision to give money and time to something you know nothing about!!” “Ack! Gag, Sputter!” This is the personality that ticks me off, it is the reason I don’t buy cars from a car lot or answer the door when the JW’s show up. I am an analytical thinker, I don’t get excited about things because some salesman’s body language, insistent voice, & ridiculous facial expressions are screaming “free gold, come, dive in!” In fact, I can already sense the cloaked insults that come as I say “NO thank you, I don’t make spur of the moment career decisions.” Working in the Emergency Room for 5 years trained me to firmly resist the ridiculous ranting of Chicken Little’s, and Lemmings and the euphoric invitations to share in their orgies of wild release from the scourge of self-control. Although, I remember laughing a lot while watching the chimps go berserk once at the Sacramento Zoo, but I do need to mention that on that occasion I also stayed outside of the cage.
Wouldn’t you know it, he singled me out of the crowd and baited me with questions that would make saying NO, spotlight me as STOO-PID. I am imagining this guys sales training session, the executive sales lead man, let’s call him ‘Slick’, says “Butch, choose the person in the crowd that looks like they’re really thinking, you know, someone who is not being fooled with the appeal to emotion.” “Then say these trick questions, like, ‘so buddy, have you stopped beating your wife yet?’” “You will effectively convince all the lemmings in the room that the most analytical person present is hiding the fact that they are going to endorse your stuff!” Im pretty sure that these tactics were used to get whole nations to support bad ideas like, Communinsm, Disco, Facism, 8-track stereo, 'More Spending solves Debt- Politics', and Global Warming.
One nice thing about being this side of 50, I forget experiences like last night with joyful ease.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
This thing I have about Sleep
I am a little finicky about getting a good, peaceful nights rest. Maybe one reason this is so important to me is because of the constant ringing of Tinnitus I suffer with, it sets me on edge with the nonstop noise all day. Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep helps me to get my wits toned for another day. Quiet evenings are one of the reasons I like it where we live now. Our last house was up on the North edge of town up against a mountain, except for the occasional plethora of stray dogs bursting into the canine version of "The Hallelujah Chorus", we mostly enjoyed quiet evenings.
The last two nights here have been a bit more of a challenge though. Across the basket ball courts in the park on the next block facing us there is a car wash that the owners seem to be keen on renting out for Disco and Karaoke festivals. I imagine that they must be renting the sound system from the national soccer stadium in Tijuana. The mind numbing volumes that they play the music at would transform the gentlest of neighbors into enraged homicidal maniacs. The music is bad enough but they have been giving children the microphones to entertain themselves at the expense of thousands of people laying in bed at 3AM, staring into the violated darkness, trying not to think of doing something illegal.
The last two nights here have been a bit more of a challenge though. Across the basket ball courts in the park on the next block facing us there is a car wash that the owners seem to be keen on renting out for Disco and Karaoke festivals. I imagine that they must be renting the sound system from the national soccer stadium in Tijuana. The mind numbing volumes that they play the music at would transform the gentlest of neighbors into enraged homicidal maniacs. The music is bad enough but they have been giving children the microphones to entertain themselves at the expense of thousands of people laying in bed at 3AM, staring into the violated darkness, trying not to think of doing something illegal.
Monday, October 17, 2011
October 17, 2011
We are thankful for safe travels and good visits this weekend. We came up to Wrightwood, CA for a planning meeting at camp for the Spanish Family Camp coming up in November. Also the believers at Grace Bible Chapel in Fullerton, CA had asked us to visit and tell them about the work in Ensenada. It was good to see many friends on this trip and have a break in our routine. We stopped by Paul and Becky Kerseys house in Westminster, to pick up the T shirts he bought for camp (quality brand, super cheap!) and had a great time visiting with them. We both feel rested and are ready to get back home. Our book keeper is sending some documents from Nebraska by overnight mail that we have to sign and re-mail so we will be in San Diego an extra day to visit with Gracie. That’s fine! We haven’t been able to visit with her for two months!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Televisions, Autos- boring! Now their stealing copper wire!
The economy in NW Mexico is pretty bad. How bad? Well, we need to distance ourselves from our regional economic perspective and really do the math (converting $'s to pesos and converting the average US wage to the average Mex. wage) to see how hard my good friends and neighbors here have to work to survive. Lets really put ourselves in the Baja, Mex. workers shoes and see what they're up against.
Comparing the average Mex. worker wage with the US wage gives us roughly a 7.5 to 1 ratio. Lets call this ratio the "Comparative Cost" or CC. What does that mean? It means that if the average person in San Diego, California is making about $11.00 an hour, here in Ensenada the average laborer is making about $1.47 an hour. From talking with a lot of my friends, this is a fairly accurate figure for here. Just a note: Ensenada is much more prosperous than other parts of Mexico, people flock here looking for the highly touted 'good paying jobs' and excessively rumored 'strong economy'. Sure, gas & diesel are cheaper here, for US incomes, but the real question is how hard does the purchase of gas, diesel, milk, eggs, & cheese impact the economy of the Mexican worker. This will really make your eyes bug out! We are groaning with $3.80 to $4.00 a gallon gasoline in the States. Here in this oil producing nation, the gasoline is fluctuating around $2.40 a gallon. If you do the math with a Mexican income, it is as if they are paying (remember, CC)$18.00, US dollars, a gallon. No wonder no one wants to steal cars with V8 engines! The 4 cyl Toyota's and Nissan's are still hot items though. One gallon of milk cost us yesterday 43 pesos, that is equivalent to $3.48 in US dollars at today's wildly fluxuating exchange rates. But you can see why for many Mexican households milk is a luxury at (CC)$26.10 per gallon. A flat of 30 eggs cost us 50 pesos, that figures out to about $1.62 US dollars a dozen, the CC is $12.15 US dollars per dozen. I won't even mention cheese, It has always cost twice as much here for a comparative quality cheese in the US.
Electricity costs: this has been a challenge for me to explain to people in the States. This is going to get a little 'nerdy' at first, but please bear with me, clear understanding of electrical usage and expense is going to be more and more important as time goes by for all of us. It is essential to understand electricity usage before it becomes an out of control money pit, draining our precious few resources. I will endeavor to bring understanding to this for two reasons, first, so that my friends and family stateside can be thankful, even in these days of crisis and increasing cost, for how good they really have it. And secondly so that you can understand what many in other parts of the world are struggling with.
A few internet searches revealed that the average US household uses about 950 Kwh a month of electricity. I checked with two friends in the Pacafic NW and found this to be accurate. I found our own Pacific Power and Light bills from 1995, a family of 5 living in Yakima, Washington, and our average use was 700 Kwh per month. Technical stuff: A kilowatt hour (Kwh) is the standard measure of electrical usage and it is how our bills are calculated. A 100 watt bulb that is left on for 10 hours will consume approximately 1 Kwh of electricity. Our freezer here in Ensenada uses about 1.65 Kwh of electricity a day in summer. In our time here we have always tried to limit our use of electricity. from 2001 to 2005 our average monthly usage here in Ensenada, Mexico was 410 Kwh/month. From 2007 through current our average monthly usage has been about 316 Kwh/month. There are two reasons for the decrease of use, the prices have been going up causing us to conserve and convert to fluorescent lighting and more economical appliances, and in the past we had all three children living with us as well as 2 or 3 guests. We have strictly limited or stopped the use of the toaster oven, microwave, and the electric coffee maker in exchange for the use of the gas stove & oven for cooking.
Help! Someone is swiping my wallet!
This past winter the Mexican power commission made some outrageous rate adjustments. If we as a residential customer use more than 250 Kwh per month, we are upgraded to the distinguished 'Luxury Power User' status. What does that mean in billed cost? It means a bold faced GOUGE! It means that we have two curves to cope with, the per bill rate curve and the yearly use quota scale. These two pricing modifiers "piggy back" causing the cost of electricity to increase almost exponentially! "Excuse me folks, I've used up my quota for the day, I have to shut off my PC and continue writing this article tomorrow." Well, that's where we are headed! Practically speaking, last spring our electricity costs went up from a difficult .14 cents US dollars per Kwh, to and impossible .37 cents USD per Kwh. If that rate was charged in the "average" US home your electrical bill would be more than $350.00 per month.
Needless to say we have been scrambling to keep our electricity bill as low as possible. Five years ago we left outdoor fluorescent lights on all night for security. Now our home looks like a haunted house. Then we left our PC on all day (about 180 watts), now we turn it on standby every chance we get (about 11 watts). In the past we left our laser printer on standby, now we only plug it in to print. The laser printer must keep some internal parts hot to enable quick print times, this means that there is frequent 800 watt power pulses as the device is kept ready for any immediate possible use (the energy cost we pay for convenience is astounding!). Our VCR and TV were using 38 watts just sitting there, shut off, 24 hours a day. Now they are left unplugged when not in use. I purchased an economical device for measuring Kwh usage (www.smarthome.com search for "kill a watt"). While using this simple device I learned that our freezer is 20% more economical if the windows in the back room are left open during the summer days and we don't go beyond 90% full load of food and If we defrost it periodically. On the hottest days I put a small fan by the freezer compressor to help cool it, even with added usage of the fan, the freezer is 5% more efficient. Over time we have opted for the front load clothes washer. This has been another BIG energy and water saver!
I am thankful that we have been able to evolve into a more energy efficient mode. Unfortunately, it has come at a cost. The front load clothes washer cost almost 3 times more than what a top loader would. But it uses about 1/3 the amount of water and here in Baja, water is very expensive. I wonder about my Mexican friends, their money situation does not allow for these options. Here you can buy big, older American refrigerators cheap, but they consume 2 to 3 times more energy than a newer more efficient model. Confronted with the option of paying $150 for an older used American model or $800 for a new refrigerator, guess what many Mexican homes end up with? Only to have to shut it off after a couple of shocking power bills and push it into a corner of the patio as a monolithic monument reminding us of the long lost times of cheap electricity.
The surge of industrial growth in China has caused steel and copper prices to go sky high here in Mexico. Thieves here will have all the wiring stripped out of a vacant house very fast. Some have even managed to steal copper wiring right off from the power poles! People have been stealing anything they can resell. Power meters are stolen from homes and sold in Guatemala, Water meters are stolen at night and sold to whoever will pay without asking any questions. In the past, most crime has been linked with alcohol abuse, drug usage or just laziness. But the economic situation has increased the desperation of the average person on the street and now some are committing crime for lack of food and shelter.
We definitely live in a different world, and things keep on changing. We must keep ahead of the raging currents to survive.
Comparing the average Mex. worker wage with the US wage gives us roughly a 7.5 to 1 ratio. Lets call this ratio the "Comparative Cost" or CC. What does that mean? It means that if the average person in San Diego, California is making about $11.00 an hour, here in Ensenada the average laborer is making about $1.47 an hour. From talking with a lot of my friends, this is a fairly accurate figure for here. Just a note: Ensenada is much more prosperous than other parts of Mexico, people flock here looking for the highly touted 'good paying jobs' and excessively rumored 'strong economy'. Sure, gas & diesel are cheaper here, for US incomes, but the real question is how hard does the purchase of gas, diesel, milk, eggs, & cheese impact the economy of the Mexican worker. This will really make your eyes bug out! We are groaning with $3.80 to $4.00 a gallon gasoline in the States. Here in this oil producing nation, the gasoline is fluctuating around $2.40 a gallon. If you do the math with a Mexican income, it is as if they are paying (remember, CC)$18.00, US dollars, a gallon. No wonder no one wants to steal cars with V8 engines! The 4 cyl Toyota's and Nissan's are still hot items though. One gallon of milk cost us yesterday 43 pesos, that is equivalent to $3.48 in US dollars at today's wildly fluxuating exchange rates. But you can see why for many Mexican households milk is a luxury at (CC)$26.10 per gallon. A flat of 30 eggs cost us 50 pesos, that figures out to about $1.62 US dollars a dozen, the CC is $12.15 US dollars per dozen. I won't even mention cheese, It has always cost twice as much here for a comparative quality cheese in the US.
Electricity costs: this has been a challenge for me to explain to people in the States. This is going to get a little 'nerdy' at first, but please bear with me, clear understanding of electrical usage and expense is going to be more and more important as time goes by for all of us. It is essential to understand electricity usage before it becomes an out of control money pit, draining our precious few resources. I will endeavor to bring understanding to this for two reasons, first, so that my friends and family stateside can be thankful, even in these days of crisis and increasing cost, for how good they really have it. And secondly so that you can understand what many in other parts of the world are struggling with.
A few internet searches revealed that the average US household uses about 950 Kwh a month of electricity. I checked with two friends in the Pacafic NW and found this to be accurate. I found our own Pacific Power and Light bills from 1995, a family of 5 living in Yakima, Washington, and our average use was 700 Kwh per month. Technical stuff: A kilowatt hour (Kwh) is the standard measure of electrical usage and it is how our bills are calculated. A 100 watt bulb that is left on for 10 hours will consume approximately 1 Kwh of electricity. Our freezer here in Ensenada uses about 1.65 Kwh of electricity a day in summer. In our time here we have always tried to limit our use of electricity. from 2001 to 2005 our average monthly usage here in Ensenada, Mexico was 410 Kwh/month. From 2007 through current our average monthly usage has been about 316 Kwh/month. There are two reasons for the decrease of use, the prices have been going up causing us to conserve and convert to fluorescent lighting and more economical appliances, and in the past we had all three children living with us as well as 2 or 3 guests. We have strictly limited or stopped the use of the toaster oven, microwave, and the electric coffee maker in exchange for the use of the gas stove & oven for cooking.
Help! Someone is swiping my wallet!
This past winter the Mexican power commission made some outrageous rate adjustments. If we as a residential customer use more than 250 Kwh per month, we are upgraded to the distinguished 'Luxury Power User' status. What does that mean in billed cost? It means a bold faced GOUGE! It means that we have two curves to cope with, the per bill rate curve and the yearly use quota scale. These two pricing modifiers "piggy back" causing the cost of electricity to increase almost exponentially! "Excuse me folks, I've used up my quota for the day, I have to shut off my PC and continue writing this article tomorrow." Well, that's where we are headed! Practically speaking, last spring our electricity costs went up from a difficult .14 cents US dollars per Kwh, to and impossible .37 cents USD per Kwh. If that rate was charged in the "average" US home your electrical bill would be more than $350.00 per month.
Needless to say we have been scrambling to keep our electricity bill as low as possible. Five years ago we left outdoor fluorescent lights on all night for security. Now our home looks like a haunted house. Then we left our PC on all day (about 180 watts), now we turn it on standby every chance we get (about 11 watts). In the past we left our laser printer on standby, now we only plug it in to print. The laser printer must keep some internal parts hot to enable quick print times, this means that there is frequent 800 watt power pulses as the device is kept ready for any immediate possible use (the energy cost we pay for convenience is astounding!). Our VCR and TV were using 38 watts just sitting there, shut off, 24 hours a day. Now they are left unplugged when not in use. I purchased an economical device for measuring Kwh usage (www.smarthome.com search for "kill a watt"). While using this simple device I learned that our freezer is 20% more economical if the windows in the back room are left open during the summer days and we don't go beyond 90% full load of food and If we defrost it periodically. On the hottest days I put a small fan by the freezer compressor to help cool it, even with added usage of the fan, the freezer is 5% more efficient. Over time we have opted for the front load clothes washer. This has been another BIG energy and water saver!
I am thankful that we have been able to evolve into a more energy efficient mode. Unfortunately, it has come at a cost. The front load clothes washer cost almost 3 times more than what a top loader would. But it uses about 1/3 the amount of water and here in Baja, water is very expensive. I wonder about my Mexican friends, their money situation does not allow for these options. Here you can buy big, older American refrigerators cheap, but they consume 2 to 3 times more energy than a newer more efficient model. Confronted with the option of paying $150 for an older used American model or $800 for a new refrigerator, guess what many Mexican homes end up with? Only to have to shut it off after a couple of shocking power bills and push it into a corner of the patio as a monolithic monument reminding us of the long lost times of cheap electricity.
The surge of industrial growth in China has caused steel and copper prices to go sky high here in Mexico. Thieves here will have all the wiring stripped out of a vacant house very fast. Some have even managed to steal copper wiring right off from the power poles! People have been stealing anything they can resell. Power meters are stolen from homes and sold in Guatemala, Water meters are stolen at night and sold to whoever will pay without asking any questions. In the past, most crime has been linked with alcohol abuse, drug usage or just laziness. But the economic situation has increased the desperation of the average person on the street and now some are committing crime for lack of food and shelter.
We definitely live in a different world, and things keep on changing. We must keep ahead of the raging currents to survive.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Top Shelf Cristianity
Top Shelf Christianity
Aren’t we putting maturity in Christ and opportunities to grow in leadership beyond the reach of others when we boast of our unique and long gone opportunities? Do we give others the impression that beyond what they know, there exists a surreal Elite Christianity waiting to give them special certifications, if they can just experience the right kind of activity or meet and rub shoulders with the right popular personalities? Don’t get me wrong, I have been blessed by well known radio ministries and have even met some of these people. But I believe that it would be terribly wrong to wear these issues like a decorated general before those that I am discipling and try to WOW them with the idea that I have a special inside angle on Christianity because I met or was taught by ‘so and so’. It is almost as if were saying “just try to top THAT!”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)