Shipping Car to Puerto Rico

This morning I woke up with a knot in my stomach, intuition telling me something is very wrong.

Our repaired SUV is still in Mobile, Alabama. A contract signed and deposit taken to transport the vehicle to the Port of San Juan. This seemed fine. We’re eager to get our stuff in one place and be settled.

When I signed the contract on Monday, the agent told me that he had a driver in Mobile ready to take it. He needed a deposit, which I gave him.

In the next email the agent said that the hauler would be in Mobile to pick it up on Friday. The driver worked COD, so I needed to pay his fee in cash. He sent me the bank routing number and account number to deposit the fee for transport to Jacksonville before they would pick up the vehicle.

COD means cash on delivery to me, not cash on pick up. My deposit should have been a sign of good will and the lubricant to get things moving. I felt ill at ease being asked for additional payment up front and in cash only.

In an email I questioned when my vehicle would arrive in San Juan. Without an answer to that question, the agent informed me to deposit the balance into another checking account.

Admittedly I am not a very sophisticated woman, but this doesn’t seem right to me. Or am I just being paranoid?

  

Getting Settled, Or Trying

We’re in the tip of the Bermuda Triangle. No phone, internet broadband no longer working, or my husband’s glucometer. The carport light refused to be turned off, no matter how hard we wiggled the switch. The switch for the other light turned the naughty light on as well, but never off, had to disengage the breaker. If that light comes back on I am really going to be scared. Smile.

Liberty Cable in Hatillo, where we went yesterday to solve this ongoing problem has the very best staff. We loved the guard at the door. He couldn’t have been nicer, opened the door for us, showed us what to do. The lady behind the desk could not have sounded sadder, when she informed us we weren’t in their service area. Now, I know why my friend Gloria recommended them to me, good call my friend. We need competitive services in el campo.

After the big dive we just took, we need to be ultraconservative. What we have isn’t going to go far. Ah, the old wants versus needs.

Every time I get too serious about my troubles, the Great Courses DVD in the drive comes to life with the dramatic musical crescendo. I am really into those, glad I bought a few when we still had money.

Bands of white and darker grey clouds roll over the mountains. I love the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans in the morning. The roosters are crowing their butts off. There goes the Great Courses DVD again.

On Saturday morning the valley is alive with activity, after the tranquil weekdays, I enjoy the energy.

So far retirement for me is a cup of coffee on the porch, while watching the clouds roll in over the mountains. Of course, it’s followed by the journey of the day, which is Claro and AT&T in Plaza Del Norte, Arecibo.

The clouds over the mountains are getting darker, the under belly of the cloud pierced by the tallest spire gives rain. Shadows darken proud peaks looking now like an under world exposed. The netherworld grows with the grey in the clouds. Rain lightens the grey, as if the forces conspire. Who needs TV, when this drama unfolds?

The internet is another matter. I feel like a flipping addict. I’d better get a job, if I’m going to get Ground Control. Lord, I love the name. I hear a young Elton John’s Major Tom beckoning Ground Control. Their website is major sexy, pure power. I want it!

To advocate for the animals of the island, I need to be online. I just started a free online course on fantasy, how appropriate.

Hello to my good friends in New Orleans. I wish I could have brought you with me. Miss you mucho!

Retirement Reality

Retired, it’s been almost a month. The only thing slowed down is my rate of accomplishment. No phone, our SUV is still in Mobile, Alabama. The neuter program I want to put together for community strays is on a back burner until I get my act together.

We ordered phone service from Claro. Ten days later I found out they don’t have internet service where I live. What? No internet, well, I cancelled the phone thinking I’d get it somewhere else. For my part of the island there is no someplace else. When we first bought here in 2006 Verizon internet and phone worked fine. In fact that’s why we had Verizon, but then something happened and Verizon internet adaptor quit working here and then we had trouble with the phone. I think Claro bought out Verizon in Puerto Rico.

We need a phone, but not as much as I need reliable internet. Web surfing I came across Ground Control, which promises blazing speed and no outages. I got so excited my toes curled, and then I saw the price. Oh, baby, if I could afford it, the faster better internet would be mine.

The current budget will allow a house phone with unlimited calling to the states. We’ll go back to Claro on Monday for that. The broadband stick I have works best from midnight to six in the morning. I guess I’ll develop some new habits, like staying up all night.

It’s almost ten, still no internet access. I was having the same problem with Verizon in New Orleans. As much as I had no access there, I thought they were over selling their service. I don’t understand it, but it sure is frustrating.

On the plus side, I’m doing a lot of reading.

God Smiled on Puerto Rico

Can you picture God first imagining earth? Was it with the part of God’s mind from which sprang science? Or did God create the earth with an artist’s eye? 

Did God create the rules, or does God abide by rules?

I look at my beautiful valley in great admiration of God’s work. Green fields rise to meet white clouds. Orange blossoms punctuate hillsides with color. My eye is drawn to the lake. Cool blue demands audience.

Did God smile when earth’s creation was done? How could a creator not? We smile broadly when we do far less. Maybe we require disappointment to relish achievement.

Look at the beauty before me. Nothing we create advances near. My spirit settles here, anxiety fades.

God was in a good mood when creating Puerto Rico. I am blessed to be here. Gracias a Dio.

  

Retired in Puerto Rico

After a life filled with a sense of purpose, I worry about becoming stale in retirement. Sitting on the porch, an apt metaphor for those golden years; what could be better, right? Don’t get me wrong the view from my porch is outstanding. We get lost in it regularly.


I’m not ready to settle in for the view and gardening. My heart is young, if not wild; I have a passion for animals. The natural thing for me to do is find a place within the animal advocate community.

How can I help the animals of Puerto Rico? I am not going to open a shelter at my house like the women I admire the most. My husband and I have a contract that doesn’t include a kennel in the back yard.

What can I do? Let’s see: build a kennel from the ground up, build and run a business, train dogs, help people with dog problems. I am a certified Animal Control Officer in Puerto Rico. Yeah, that and two bucks will get me a cup of coffee.

I’ve volunteered with Adri, Amigos de Los Animales and  Alma Febus, ACO/CI, Bambi Rottweiler Service. These women are too busy to get together with me. And I mean that sincerely. It is my goal to do one good thing for each of them at a time because they are two of the best animal activistas I have met on the island.

In my opinion Puerto Rico is an excellent example of the way people have historically lived with dogs. Respecting what is, I am a proponent of trap-neuter, vaccinate and release. My payback to this beautiful island for all I enjoy will be that campaign. I’m glad we got that settled, without a direction. I feel lost.

You meet the best people when doing something good, so I’m going to start in my own backyard. Hello Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico the Good & Bad

Welcome to Puerto Rico, one the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, even rainy days are blessed with sunshine. The people for the most part are friendly. My neighbors are very nice.


Sam’s Club and Walmart stores are pretty much the same. Prices are higher since we’re on a little island, but things are accessible. Roadside vendors have the best fruits and vegetables, avocados you can only dream about back in the states.

Roadside vendors cater to locals. Returning customers are their bread and butter. The first time English speaking people buy from the vendor, we have to expect a higher price. I speak to them in my best Spanish to tell them I live here now. All have asked me where I live and do I like Puerto Rico. Many of these guys will then start speaking English. I usually recognize their English accents immediately.

On an island this size, chances are you’ll see people again, so making friends comes easy.

There are so many wonderful views here. We’re view junkies, if we see something pretty we’ll stop and stare. The view from our porch requires hours of inspection daily. The cattle are in different parts of the pasture and the clouds are so close.

Before you go thinking this is paradise, the utilities suck, in my opinion. I take that back, a bit. The electric company is not bad. Had minimal difficulties with electric, most problems have been weather related, which is expected.

Almost every day the water has been out for all or part of the day, today, 1/10/13, 6:20 pm, no water. By night it’s usually been back on, but since I use a clothes line to dry, washing clothes at night just feels wrong. Or more likely, I just don’t think about it at night. This daily outage pales in comparison to the year in which the water was out for eight months solid. Trucks would fill the rooftop reservoirs, if you were home when they happened by. Some days during that time I thought I would fall out of love with Puerto Rico, but that hasn’t happened.

The Puerto Rican Phone Company is giving me fits. I have an internet adaptor stick on a month to month basis, which I have for years. It sucks, forgive me, there’s no other way to say it. Actually it’s worse this time than the last time we were here. Within the week I’ve been down to the office for issues ranging from not being able to communicate with the server to SIM card not being activated. Five trips to Arecibo, I am having the same problems. I decided to give up the unreliable stick for a land line and internet combo the company offers. After filling out all the paper work, the guy tells me to stand in another line to find out why I have an outstanding balance and so am not eligible for further service. Since I’ve always been on a month to month basis, how could it be you say. Yeah, that’s what I said. I stood in the next line. The new man said, “You owe money,” I said, “No, show me for what.” He then told me I would have to call the company to find out for what. It didn’t come up on his computer screen.

“I am here at the company to do business. You call the department. I came all the way down here to get something. Let’s solve this now.”

“You can call the company on our phone, the man replied. He was kind enough to dial for me. When the prompts came on in Spanish he pressed the number for English option only to languish on hold. He hung up on his own company multiple times, and started complaining to me.

The phone company said that I skipped out on two months, about $75, which no one at the store could understand because it was clearly a month to month product. Now, being just a fabulous guy, my agent said, “If I would pay for one month, they would sacrifice the other.” After over an hour standing to discuss this with them, I agreed to pay the month. The agent politely helped me through the payment machine, smiled when he told me I could apply for the product I wanted, the house phone and internet service, in three days, when my account balance was at zero.

The moral to the story is that, unless you have a high tolerance for long lines and endless bullshit, Puerto Rico may not be the place for you. What helps make it tolerable foe me is that once settled, I, usually, only have the water company to bitch about.

There you have the good and the bad. The ugly is the animals starving in the streets, but that’s another story.

Retired to the Island

Online, 4 am Friday morning Blondie’s flight rescheduled to 7 am the following morning, which was just an hour before ours. We needed to get home and go to the store before Monday. Tuesday was New Year’s Day and everything is closed.


Our marbette is out the first, so no driving after the first except to get the marbette. The first time the sticker expired, we were stopped, just lucky I guess.

The taxi driver volunteered to take us to Orlando for less than I could rent a car for a day one way, so we had a driver from Mobile to Orlando, oh happy day. After weeks of stress, I slept rather well on the road.

The at United’s Pet Safe Program do a great job. Blondie checked without a hitch. Since it was only the third time being in a crate in her life, I am so proud of her.

A good friend met us at Aguadilla Airport at noon. By three pm I was in the store buying groceries. It’s so good to be home.

A little time to clean, and then I’d be ready to go back to the airport to pickup Blondie, who took the scenic route through New York. Does it seem like there should be a problem coming up about now? Yes, that would be no water. There seems to always be a problem with the water company. That’s probably why we all have 500 gallon reservoirs on our roofs. Having water during storms is just a happy bonus.

We were back at the Aguadilla Airport at midnight. He flight wasn’t due in until 12:40 am, so we parked where we could watch the plane come in. About 1:40 am the phone woke us up. A woman’s voice wanted to know how soon we could pick our dog up. From the sound of the barking in the back ground Blondie wanted to know the same thing.

The last day of 2012 we did as little as possible. The beginning of the New Year is celebrated with fireworks. Across our valley bursts of colors punctuated the celebration. Retired to the island; happy New Year everybody.

The Road Home

Hello Puerto Rico, it’s good to be here.


The journey from New Orleans started out late afternoon. Intending to get at least to Pensacola, I settled in for the drive. Our 1998 Mercedes ML 320 has always been a pleasure to drive. The Gulf Coast is a delight at dusk. The dogs were settled in, Blondie loves to ride. Chi-ping likes it less, but rides well. The cat complains for fifteen minutes, and then falls asleep.

Carl is speeding toward seventy. He nodded off as soon as we drove over the bridge.

Two loads of our stuff had to be taken to the storage locker before we could leave. My bones ached. We did all the moving ourselves. I didn’t think we had it in us. It may be a locker full of crap, but I like my stuff, so I’ll get to go back to the Crescent City to handle it.

Driving into the night with my thoughts, I reviewed my plan for the trip. A nine hour drive to Orlando, drop Carl and the animals at a hotel, drive to Jacksonville, drop the SUV at Crowley, take the bus back to Orlando, ship Blondie with United’s Pet Safe Program, catch our fight with Chi-ping and Smoki, and Puerto Rico here we come.

Yeah, that was the plan. I smiled thinking that, when I sat on my porch, it would have all been worth the effort; oh, how smug.

Before I could get too pleased with myself, we were just outside of Mobile. Chug, chug, the car lost compression. Oh, shit! We barely coasted to the side of the road. How lucky we didn’t roll back down. It’s ten o’clock on Thursday night. We’re on a dark stretch of road, dead. Joy to the world, now, what?

Calm down, take a deep breath, and calm down, take another deep breath. Let “Beni” rest. Beni is what we have always called the ML. Yes, we’re the crazies who name their things. Perhaps Beni needed to cough up a hair ball; it happens to old things. I’m getting ready to write a book on what happens to old things. Smile.

Google map reported a gas station only seven miles back. The gas station in the direction we are going is thirteen miles ahead. Being insanely goal oriented I chose to go ahead. At least I did, when I finally got the car started again. My hands gripped the steering wheel ever so tightly. Beni labored up another steep hill only to die at the bottom. What a fine situational move that was; now, we’re in a completely dark piece of road between two steep hills.

The dogs became aware of our tension, so they were up, and whining. Oh, no, no one is going out now. There could be snakes or anything out in the dark.

In the old days, we would have either waited for help or walked to a service station. I felt blessed to have a smart phone in my pocket. One of these days I should really learn how to use it. Deep in the valley so dark, I feared evil, shit, I became un-nerved. I found our location, tried to find a service station and lost my location. All I could think about was that I needed to have Blondie at the airport for a nine o’clock flight. After gimping to the services station seven miles back, we sat in the light of the station awaiting a tow truck.

Zen masters tell you to get into alignment with your new reality. I sat in shock. Accept my new reality, hell, I was looking for a trap door out of this game.

Perhaps a good sleep in Mobile La Quinta is what we need.