Month: October 2006

Exchange a VCR and buy a belt

There is a chain of discount stores here in Mexico that Wal-Mart bought out some time back called Bodega Aurrera. As we were in need of a new VCR and my wife was headed to Aurrera to do some shopping, she picked up a combo DVD-VCR player today. I mention Wal-Mart because, regardless of some people’s opinions, it is still one of the easiest places to exchange or return merchandise in my opinion. Most stores here will require that you fill out the warranty card in the store each time you purchase an electronic item. This causes you to have to return the item to a certified repair center or directly to the company. The store will not take the item back even if it was dead right out of the box.

We went back to Bodega Aurrera (Wal-Mart) this evening to return the unit. They switched it out without any problems. When we got it home, we found that it worked perfectly.

While there I needed to purchase a new belt. We did not see any right off in the men’s section. I thought it was odd and teased to my wife that it probably was not the season for belts so there were none on the racks. After a fruitless hunt all through the section I went and asked one of the workers in the men’s department about them.

I laughed with the answer all the way back to where my wife was standing. It seems that they have not received their shipment of belts yet for the upcoming season. So, yes, there is a season to buy belts.

It is funny that they sell pants year around.

On a cooling trend

100 degree daysAt least the low temperatures are getting lower. It has been down right cool the last couple of mornings. 73 degrees is a welcome change.

But, as you can see the high is not getting any lower. That changes today though. We had an early morning storm come in and it has rained off and on all morning. Looks like it will clear up this afternoon, but not enough to give us 100 degrees. We will probably only hit mid 90 today.

Of course the humidity is high, but with sub-90 degree weather up to this point, it feels very pleasant. Now we just have to decide what to do with this nice weather. Maybe I will try my hand at an evening run. I don’t normally have Monday evenings free, but I do this week.

It would be perfect golfing weather if the cost of golf was reasonable here. From what I have been able to find out, the local course cost $60 (USD) per round. That was before it was taken in by Jack Nicklaus and has been converted into a Nicklaus Signature Course. I think it probably costs a good bit more now.

Last three rounds

This is the continuation of the chess tournament that my son and I were playing in. We finished the event this evening with both of us having 2 points out of a possible 6.

My rounds:
Round 4 was lost to Andrés. I was not sure how to evaluate him as a player going into the round. I had seen him play in an earlier round. He became pretty frustrated with his opponent’s lack of attention to the game. The other player was not just up and down quite a bit throughout the game (which is not unusual), but he was goofing around with other players like he would rather be out on the playground wrestling than playing chess. The opponent was about 12 years old and I would guess Andrés to be 16 or so. He ended up tying that round. When we played I tried to get an early win with a “Mate al Pastor.” I am not sure what it is called in English, but its translation is “Shephards Mate.” It is a short 4 move checkmate. It did not work. I don’t remember much from the round other than I lost.

The fifth round was a bye. Automatic 1 point.

My opponent never showed on the sixth round. I won by forfeit. A cheap way to win, but a win none the less. Some day I will win a game on my own. Until then, I will be happy to take a hand out.

My son’s rounds:
He had a tough fourth round. I did not see much of the game, but when I looked back and saw his game on occasion, I noticed that he did not have many pieces on the board while the other player had most of his pieces left. Needless to say, my son was in material trouble throughout the game and the resultant loss was not a surprise.

Fifth round pitted him against Sarah. She was probably 10 years old and the daughter of a chess teacher. She did a good job, though sick with a cold, of winning the game. She had to think to do it, but she was confident in her moves and knew her end game strategy well.

The sixth round netted my son his second point. He won against a young boy of probably 7 or 8 years of age. Somehow the boy got my son’s queen early and really had a material advantage for a long time during the game. But little by little he lost his advantage. My son was able to get him trapped on the back row behind several of his own pieces. It only took a rook to get the mate.

Awards ceremony is Tuesday. We certainly did not place, but we will go to the event just to cheer everyone. This was a rated tournament. My son has an official rating while I do not. I am curious as to how this event will affect his number and where I will land after the event.

Ever been scared senseless?

Thursday I got sent from the kitchen at the retreat where I spent the week to tell some of the men it was time to eat. I ran down to the abandoned buildings where they were and called them back to lunch. Since I had not been in the buildings, I got curious to check out one of them.

The camp where we were has been abandoned for 10 years and was just purchased this last May. There is a 4,000 square foot house on the property, but it is one of the structures that has not been brought back to life yet. It had a beautiful fireplace that just called me in to check it out. Since there was no glass and part of the walls are missing, it was pretty open to the world.

I walked in and noticed all the ceiling fans piled up in the room next to the fireplace. I also noticed that many of the walls were black towards the top like maybe there had been a fire in the house. Not that the walls were burnt. This is México where all the walls are made of blocks and concrete. So the house will not burn, but could show smoke damage.

I began to think why there might have been a fire in the house. Maybe vandals. Then I slipped into the bizarre and started thinking about Satan worshippers. I rounded the corner of the room and saw the front door for the first time. It was big and very nice. As I was looking at the door and thinking about Satan worshippers and possible human sacrifices, the door pushed open. Not like it was just wind, but like someone was walking through the door. I was in a position that I could not see what was on the other side. Then the door pulled closed like it would after someone walked through it and closed it, kinda strong and violent.

Now I have Satan worship, human sacrifices and ghosts going through my head. I knew it had to be harmless, so I walked toward the door to investigate. About the time I got to the door to see what was up, when one of the men stepped from around the side of the wall (which was missing) right beside me. I am sure I turned totally white. I know I was ready to run back through a wall while wetting myself.

Fortunately my mind processed what was going on faster than my body reacted.

Back from Monterrey

I just got back from the large city of Monterrey in northen México. I was there from Monday evening to Friday morning. I was not actually in the city all of the time, but between the towns of Allende and Cadereytes for most of the week.

I had a conference with other missionaries and pastors working with the Deaf. Most of the attenedees have been friends of mine for a while, and all of them I knew previously. Therefore it was a great time of getting together with friends and accomplish some planning and much needed encouragment for one another.

I got to run a couple of days while I was gone. I did not run this morning since I had to be headed to the airport by 5:00 am.

Monterrey is a place where T3rry could feel right at home. It reminds me a lot of Knoxville. Except the mountains around Monterrey are more along the lines of the Rockies as opposed to the Smokies. But the way the town twists and turns with very few straight roads and nothing is flat is what will make you think of Knoxville.

I will give you more stories from the week in the next few days.