Happy New Year!

Another year ends, with a new one soon to begin. I’m off to Oaxaca tomorrow so this is my last post of 2007 before I log off in a few moments. Five days without my computer…how will I cope? I have my cameras, so fear not, there’ll be a flurry of posting upon my return!

I just had a look back through my blog archives for the last year…see a blog is well worth keeping! Aside from the photos, there’s plenty of memories embedded in the bits and bytes at Opera’s HQ! 2007 started good, with me still in Milwaukee on holiday. In April my mum visited just in time for a 6.3 earthquake, the strongest since I’ve been here. In May there was the despair of Liverpool losing in the Champions League Final, but I did get to see Steve Skaith perform in Coyoacan before he left Mexico for good, heading back to the UK. I became a published photographer, and set a new world record (kind of!) on the Mexico City Metro system. There was a memorable holiday in Huichapan over the Independence Day weekend. Bob and Homer turned 2 years old, with Bob winning the inaugural Turtle Derby to the sound of Benny Hill. I turned 35 in October and to celebrate I went to see the Doors live at Auditorio Nacional - a great performance and a highlight of the year for sure. And this month I went ice skating in the Zocalo, which definitely wan’t something I’d have anticipated at the beginning of the year!!

It’s been fun - I hope you had a good one too. If not, I hope you enjoyed reading about me having a good one! Better luck next year! Happy New Year to you, whoever you may be. Adios for now…

Happy New Year!

Another year ends, with a new one soon to begin. I’m off to Oaxaca tomorrow so this is my last post of 2007 before I log off in a few moments. Five days without my computer…how will I cope? I have my cameras, so fear not, there’ll be a flurry of posting upon my return!

I just had a look back through my blog archives for the last year…see a blog is well worth keeping! Aside from the photos, there’s plenty of memories embedded in the bits and bytes at Opera’s HQ! 2007 started good, with me still in Milwaukee on holiday. In April my mum visited just in time for a 6.3 earthquake, the strongest since I’ve been here. In May there was the despair of Liverpool losing in the Champions League Final, but I did get to see Steve Skaith perform in Coyoacan before he left Mexico for good, heading back to the UK. I became a published photographer, and set a new world record (kind of!) on the Mexico City Metro system. There was a memorable holiday in Huichapan over the Independence Day weekend. Bob and Homer turned 2 years old, with Bob winning the inaugural Turtle Derby to the sound of Benny Hill. I turned 35 in October and to celebrate I went to see the Doors live at Auditorio Nacional - a great performance and a highlight of the year for sure. And this month I went ice skating in the Zocalo, which definitely wan’t something I’d have anticipated at the beginning of the year!!

It’s been fun - I hope you had a good one too. If not, I hope you enjoyed reading about me having a good one! Better luck next year! Happy New Year to you, whoever you may be. Adios for now…

Mexico pricing sucks!

For electronics, anyway. I posted recently about the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 digital camera. With every passing day, I want one more and more. It shall be mine. But not from a Mexican store. This camera retails for as little as US$326 in the United States. I found one today in Sanborns. Admittedly you’d expect it to cost a bit more in Sanborns. But US$560?!?! Bloody ridiculous! It’s nearly double the price! Why anyone buys products at these rip off prices I’ll never know. I want an MP3 player and this camera. The price difference between the US and Mexico is so massive that I could fly to a city in the States, buy them, have a nice day out, fly back, and feel content that even with the price of the flight included - I saved money! Seriously - I don’t know why groups of friends don’t pool together the cost of a flight, send one of them over to bring back a few goodies.

Mexico pricing sucks!

For electronics, anyway. I posted recently about the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 digital camera. With every passing day, I want one more and more. It shall be mine. But not from a Mexican store. This camera retails for as little as US$326 in the United States. I found one today in Sanborns. Admittedly you’d expect it to cost a bit more in Sanborns. But US$560?!?! Bloody ridiculous! It’s nearly double the price! Why anyone buys products at these rip off prices I’ll never know. I want an MP3 player and this camera. The price difference between the US and Mexico is so massive that I could fly to a city in the States, buy them, have a nice day out, fly back, and feel content that even with the price of the flight included - I saved money! Seriously - I don’t know why groups of friends don’t pool together the cost of a flight, send one of them over to bring back a few goodies.

Shoes and Haircuts

Paola looks happy. There’s a reason for this. Shopping and hair cuts. We can’t go anywhere without her buying a new pair of shoes. Of course, they are all ‘essential’ purchases, out of necessity, not shoe addiction. Today she needed them for work because these ones are blue. I’m pretty sure she has about a dozen pairs of shoes that are blue already. But such is life.

Shoes and Haircuts

Paola looks happy. There’s a reason for this. Shopping and hair cuts. We can’t go anywhere without her buying a new pair of shoes. Of course, they are all ‘essential’ purchases, out of necessity, not shoe addiction. Today she needed them for work because these ones are blue. I’m pretty sure she has about a dozen pairs of shoes that are blue already. But such is life.

Coyoacan

More photos coming soon.

I live in Delegacion Coyoacan so not surprisingly I visit the Centro Coyoacan regularly. And why not? It’s a really very cool place! Safe, clean and full of bohemian stuff! And markets selling trinkets and tourist crap, for sure. It was home to Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky - you can visit their homes which are now museums. There are plenty of fabulous bars, restaurants and coffee shops about. And plenty of street entertainment. I had lunch there at my favourite restaurant today, the Moheli, and a walk around. And took a few photos too, surprise, surprise…

Coyoacan

More photos coming soon.

I live in Delegacion Coyoacan so not surprisingly I visit the Centro Coyoacan regularly. And why not? It’s a really very cool place! Safe, clean and full of bohemian stuff! And markets selling trinkets and tourist crap, for sure. It was home to Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky - you can visit their homes which are now museums. There are plenty of fabulous bars, restaurants and coffee shops about. And plenty of street entertainment. I had lunch there at my favourite restaurant today, the Moheli, and a walk around. And took a few photos too, surprise, surprise…

Kwout and Ancient Pyramids

I’ve found a very cool new program for bloggers. Kwout lets you select an area of any web page, takes a screen shot and wraps your image in a border/shadow and links it to the originl web page. A bit of code to copy and paste, and you’re done. I’ve selected an article about a new pyramid found in Mexico City that suggests the Aztecs were building a hundred years earlier than originally thought.

Aztec ruins found in bad neighborhood - Science- msnbc.com via kwout

Kwout and Ancient Pyramids

I’ve found a very cool new program for bloggers. Kwout lets you select an area of any web page, takes a screen shot and wraps your image in a border/shadow and links it to the originl web page. A bit of code to copy and paste, and you’re done. I’ve selected an article about a new pyramid found in Mexico City that suggests the Aztecs were building a hundred years earlier than originally thought.

Aztec ruins found in bad neighborhood - Science- msnbc.com via kwout