Well We're Movin' On Up, To The East Side, To A Deluxe Apartment In The Sky.
"Within, walls continued upright, bricks met
neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay
steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked
there, walked alone."
- Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
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It occurs to me that I have written extensively about the squat Tessa and I called home our first few weeks in Mexico. Despite its difficulties such a lack of shower, sleeping on essentially a cement floor, the lack of insulation, or windows that weren't just particle board haphazardly nailed to the window frames, the rodent issue (which Tessa dealt with in her typical brutally efficient manner quickly, she even left one of the rats dead and disemboweled in front of the hole the were entering through) or the frequently used Crack Shack in what would have been our backyard.
[["La Cabane à Crack", French makes it sound so much more respectable.]]
Despite all of those problems I can't but look back somewhat fondly on Carlito's Cafe. It was, well, it was what one expects from a squat anywhere, country be damned. Still, it had its charms, and no matter what it will always be our first "address" here in Mexico for however long we call this strange, wonderful country home.
[[Ah, (former) home, sweet squat.]]
What I have not written all that much about is the apartment we left Carlito's Cafe behind for. In terms of usable square footage we came out on top in the move, if only by a few feet. After all two-thirds of Carlito's was pretty much only good for Tessa to use as hunting ground for the local rodents, which she did enthusiastically. She seemed almost sad when the disemboweled rat she left at the entrance to their warrens served its function as a scarecrow a little too well. Rats are creatures of instinct, but they are also very intelligent creatures. My guess is they realized what was causing their brood mates to vanish at an alarming rate and when they found the uneaten remains of one of their larger males left essentially on their doorstep they decided to pack it in and move to a less dangerous building.
My Tessa is a smart kitty, and an excellent communicator.
[["You can fuck right off." Tessa, the great communicator.]]
So this brings me to the new place. It included a bed, a table, a few chairs, and a shower! That last amenity brought me no end of joy. Sure, the water is freezing, but its still a shower, and once I finally find a shop that sells 'electric suicide heated shower heads' I'll have showers with hot water, or a truly embarrassing death. Either way, I'll be clean.
[[Soon it will once again be time to play 'Shake Hands with Jesus'.]]
Now, rather than have me describe the place further through the haze of Jarrito's and vodka I've been enjoying all night, I'll instead delight you with some photographs of the opulence Tessa and I have been enjoying for almost a month.
[[My apartments courtyard at night. I know I've posted this before, but I just think the building is so cute when they turn on the Christmas lights.]]
[[First bit of art hung at Carlito's, and the first here as well.]]
[[Tessa's bit of the kitchen,, with evidence of her latest 'nip bender clearly visible.]]
[[The kitchen, with "alter" of random weird shit on the shelf.]]
[[Record player, with emergency ambiance candles, incense burner, and more art.]]
[[Finally found a place to display my mothers awesome Japanese fan, along with the decorative katana she gave when I started taking kendo & fencing lessons. The gas mask should give away the entrance to the bathroom, though this one is MUCH nicer than the one at Carlito's Cafe.]]
[[Tessa's 'apartment', complete with the new scratching post I got for her. I modified it with a bit of rope so her 'nip filled mice fit in the knots and she has to work to retrive them to play with. Not sure if she likes that or not...]]
[[The bed! Holy shit its great to have a bed again. I'm no longer eating codeine tablets like M&M's just to be functional in the mornings.]]
[[My TV shrunk in the wash! This smaller model works great for my once again transitory lifestyle. I'd be happier about it if my Xbox Ones power supply didn't blow out after less than 4 hours of getting to enjoy 'Fallout 4' again.]]
[[My work station. Vodka + Pineapple Jarritos, laptop, novel manuscript undergoing revisions. "Write drunk, edit sober" words to live, and work, by. Also found a nifty Aztec artwork inspired ashtray for my enjoyment of the occasional clove. A rare treat, since they aren't sold in Mexico. I still use the lovely cigarette case Donna gave me as a gift shortly before I left Pittsburgh.]]
[[Tessa helping me on cleaning night. I kid you not. After watching me sweep up the dried mud and detritus tracked in with my boots I found her brushing large chunks of dried mud into a pile in front of her little area. I watched her do this for about a half hour before I took this photo. She was gathering them from all over the floor and collecting them in this one spot, where I had been sweeping them the last time. Not sure if its behavior she will repeat, but she got much praise and treats. After years of me telling her to 'pull her weight' and help with the chores it looks like she finally is making an effort. To think, some people thought I was going to leave her behind when I moved to Mexico.]]
This post is a bit more self-indulgent than usual, and light on the weirdness most of my readers have come to expect. Don't worry, there will be more of that shortly. However I have been putting nearly all of my efforts into the novel since it has a publisher mildly interested, to say nothing of the flu that has been kicking my ass for almost a week.
I've started to suspect I might have malaria. Not that I have many symptoms of malaria, its just that I've been very sick and would love and excuse to drink more gin 'n tonics.
Ha! Like I need an excuse for that.
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