I am the most important person in the world!

Ever run into anyone with that attitude? Of course we all have. This week gave two great examples of that.

We had made arrangements with a person that was supposed to come get some stuff out of the house we are renting. He has been saying he would come for 4 months. I called him Saturday and we arranged a Tuesday, 10:00 am time. We don’t currently live in the house but are starting to move stuff over there. So, we made a special trip to be there at 10:00. At 11:00 that morning, I got a text message from him saying that the truck they had borrowed would not be available until 2:30 in the afternoon, so he would be there then.

Whatever happened to calling before the appointment to cancel? I messaged him back and said that 2:30 would not work as all of our afternoons were filled except Friday. I heard nothing back from him. So here I sit on Thursday night (after messaging him to check to see if he is showing up on Friday) expecting to get a phone call from him Friday afternoon, probably around 5:00, asking me why I am not at the house to let him in.

The second incident happened today when a taxi pulled into the lane of oncoming traffic because he felt like he needed to be ahead of the 7 cars in front of him. By doing so he blocked people from being able to pull into that street, which then blocked the people that he would have been behind from being able to pull out. So because one man felt like he was more important than everyone else, he made the situation worse and probably delayed his ability to reach his destination much longer than if he would have just waited.

As I was writing this, I thought of several more examples from this week, but I will stop at these two.

Proverbs 22:1

I was teaching a class yesterday using this verse which says: A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. In a nutshell it means that a good reputation is better than a boatload of money. It does not say that you can’t be rich and have a good reputation. But that you should not trade the good name for the money.

What I got from this after thinking about it some was this. If you believe this verse and practice it, it says certain things about you. You are honest. You are a hard worker. You obey the authority placed over you.

No thief believes and practices this verse. Liars don’t believe and practice this. Nor lazy people.

There are companies that have lots of money, but horrible reputations. They get there by being liars and thieves. But those who have good reputations can also have the money.

It is never right to sacrifice on the alter of money and riches a good name or reputation.

Wandering around Mexico City

Ten hour layovers can be fun, especially around Mexico City. The downside is when the layover is from 8 at night to 6 in the morning. I jumped into the METRO system after depositing my bags in a secure locker at the airport. I asked around for something interesting to see. Immediately I was pointed to the Red Light district and the bars. Neither of which I wanted anything to do with.

Then it was recommended that I try the Garibaldi stop. That is where I found close to 200 mariachi playing their music in hopes that someone would drive by and hire them. That was fun. I called my wife from there and let her listen to some of the music with me.

Then I hit Bellas Arte. A section of the Centro Historico where there are some amazing buildings with some of the most beautiful architecture.

Back to the METRO and on to the airport. Problem was the METRO stops running shortly after mid-night. I got within one stop of the airport and got kicked out. Taxi time. Not sure what you have heard about the taxis in Mexico City, but basically they are to be avoided at all costs–especially at night!

No choice. I took the taxi and lived to write about it.

String Quartet

Tonight I had a unique and wonderful experience. One of the retired couples I have met through the English library here in town hosted a string quartet concert in their house this evening.

The quartet is made up of a British and a Polish violinist, a Chech Republic violist, and a Russian cellist. They played Joseph Haydn‘s “The Seven Last Words of Christ.” It is a very somber, heavy piece. It ends with the musical scene of Christ’s resurrection and an earthquake. Very powerful.

I had never thought about someone hosting a group like this in their home. The quartet is made up of musicians from the Mérida Symphony Orchestra.

2 Hour Run!

I am coming to crunch time on my half marathon training. I needed to do a 10 mile run last week. For a new runner (less than 3 months), that is not something you do very fast. To help me slow down, I decided to run for 2 hours instead of for 10 miles. The 2 hour run put me at just under 11 miles. So I accomplished my goal and did not feel as though I needed to run fast.

This is the third really long run I have done. I did a 1 hour 20 minute run one week. The next week 1 hour 35 minutes and then the 2 hours this week. That goes against what the guidelines say. You should never add more than 10% to the time or distance from the week before. But, as a newbie, I feel compelled to break the rules a bit.

Half marathon distance is 13.1 miles. I will not actually be running a race. I will be running the same day as the Indy Mini is run, which is May 6.

Now the runs will taper to be shorter and I will have easier weeks giving my body the rest it needs to run the distance. Mentally I feel prepared since my goal is to run the half in 2 hours and 10 to 20 minutes. I ran almost that long this week and know that just a few more minutes longer is absolutely possible.