Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Year in Chapala 2014

Delighted and excited to spend January, February, March in Chapala and Ajijic. Our immigration to Permanent Residente will begin while we visit LOVE IN ACTION as volunteers. We get to attend our first Home Owners Association meeting at Villa Santa Paula.  Making new friends at church.

MUI BUENO MEDICAL and DENTAL
Clean teeth - $20
Tooth filled - $30 Porcelain.
Doctor's office visit including EKG - $40
Health insurance $300 annually

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE
Electricity CFE - $30 for two months.
Propane gas for cooking - $2O per month
Water for drinking - $4.5 per month
Property Taxes $150.00 annually
Internet + Netflix  $35.00 USD per month

AUTO PRICES
Premium gasoline - $3.18 a gallon. Regular $3.00
Wash auto - From $2.69 to $3.46
Lubricate auto, change oil and filter - $22
Car Insurance - 31.5 per month 5 year old car

MOVIES
Cost for ticket to movie theater (first run film) $3

MAID SERVICE
Basic house cleaning (4 hours) twice a month $36.00 USD

WAL-MART or Sorianno
Prices for groceries are great all year. Farmer markets or the “tianguis” (Mondays in Chapala, Wednesdays in Ajijic) is where most locals buy their VEGGIES.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Be Inspired

Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison to negotiate an end to white minority rule in South Africa. Mr Mandela died on 12/5/13. This Mandella speech inspired me to write, to lead, to live fully, to travel, and to challenge myself. "Our deepest fear is NOT that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, NOT our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does NOT serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were are all created by God to shine. We are RE- born spiritually to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; It's in everyone. SHINE because you were made FREE by God. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."He is a man that embodied astonishing grace and good humor. Rock concerts celebrated his birthday. Hollywood stars glorified him on screen. And his regal bearing, graying hair and raspy voice made him instantly recognizable across the globe. As South Africa’s first black president, the ex-boxer, lawyer and prisoner No. 46664 paved the way to racial reconciliation with well-chosen gestures of forgiveness. He lunched with the prosecutor who sent him to jail, sang the apartheid-era Afrikaans anthem at his inauguration. His most memorable gesture came when he strode onto the field before the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg. When he came on the field in South African colors to congratulate the victorious South African team, he brought the overwhelmingly white crowd of 63,000 to its feet, chanting “Nelson! Nelson! Nelson!” Incarcerated for 27 years, Nelson walked free from Victor Verster prison, near Cape Town, on February 11, 1990. Nelson Mandella wrote that his education as a lawyer helped him to cope while in prison. Mr Mandela wrote that not every prison warden or apartheid official was bad. He emphasized this throughout his writings. Nelson asserted that to get along in life one should see the good in all people. Nelson was aware of timing, and when the time was right, he initiated talks with the apartheid regime. After he retired from politics, when asked about what should be done, Nelson replied "talk to someone in politics, not me." Nelson was a man of faith, a humble man.

CAMELOT ?

How the story of Camelot really got under way - before the magic and the fantasy got in there - this film is the best truth of that Dark Age. HISTORIANS need to READ Linda Malcor's book 'From Scythia to Camelot' to fully appreciate the director’s cut or his preference of the real King Arthur. Expect authentic graphic violence such as severed limbs, spattering blood, and arrows through heads. It is the brutal reality of what combat with sharp metal objects looks like. The longer version also gives us an ear of the young Arthur and his conversation between Lancelot and Guinevere. The extra 15 minutes of violence and the love scene is what the industry rates as R. The producer includes his political viewpoints as he draws parallels in this film with todays nation-building in Iraq. In 2013 minorities make up a disproportionate portion of the U.S. military. He also discusses his influences and why Guinevere wore a leather battle outfit. Bringing in the history of the Sarmatians makes the movie authentic. Various historians may argue the point, much evidence does point to the use of stirrups by about 8000 Sarmatian cavalry in the Roman army as early as 175 AD. Viewers should listen to Antoine Fuqua's narrative before they watch the film. His narration explains how they had to change things drastically to make the mandated PG 13 rating. His explanation regarding his version of Lancelot and Guinevere is quite a statement as well. The alternate ending was quite real but depressing. The sword religon was a Scythio-Sarmatian ritual of the sacred sword, blood, plunging it into the earth. John Matthews, Historical Advisor on the film asserts that historical accuracy is very close. The movie is a story, not a documentary. The story of Arthur is as close as you'll ever get to the truth about Arthur. Lucius Artorius Castus really did lead a band of Sarmatian warriors from a land roughly between the Black and Red seas today. About 5,500 soldiers were posted to Britain – The soldier tales repeated by the Brits were the seeds from which the Celtic later tell of King Arthur. Arthur was a Roman officer stationed on Hadrian's Wall, here in the United Kingdom. King Arthurs deeds and courage paved the way for all the later Arthurs. The Arthurian history began in the 11th century.