Monday Aug 11-Passed Customs inspection
Tuesday Aug 12-recoup from long day in Guayaquil
Wednesday Aug 13-Was told to sign papers at Bank (papers not there)
Was told to have letter notarized and sent to Cuenca (told would arrive next day)
Thursday Aug 14-no papers at bank, notarized letter did not reach destination
Friday Aug 15-still no papers at bank, not until Monday. Notarized letter did arrive.
Monday Aug 18-still no papers at bank, maybe at 3:30pm
Tuesday Aug 19- papers finally at bank to sign...but they weren't. Had to wait almost 2 hours
Wednesday Aug 20-no news
Thursday Aug 21-bad news must pay customs agent $560
Friday Aug 22-no news. total cost in holding fees since inspection=$980
We've had quite a morning, the highs are so high, but the lows are very, very low.
Have been rather depressed about this container business, coupled with the sparse living conditions, it gets to ya. It's been almost a month in the unfurnished house, and almost two months that the container has been here. It's a roller coaster, as the above timeline illustrates a little, and as difficult as that is, it's nothing compared to the fact that my Grandmother is dying. My mom is loosing her mother...THAT's difficult! Grandma is 97 1/2 (at this point those 6 months really mean something), she's been ready for some time, and we all have peace about it, but now that hospice has been called in, it's suddenly really REAL...Grandpa went "home" back in 2007, and what a tough ol' girl that she lasted this long, but until recently she was still having a good time.
We visited before we left the States in early May, and she was pretty alert, tired, but alert. But as this month of August has unfurled she has deteriorated quickly, Mom probably is annoyed with me bringing up our big dogs, but when it was time, they deteriorated quickly too. We had them 15 years, and watching them age and turn into ghosts of themselves, was really hard. Finally they had had enough, and we sent them "home", but we wrestled with that decision for over a year! I wish we could send our human loved ones "home" when they were ready, lived a big, full life, but were tired beyond belief. I'm so sorry Mom, wish I was there to hug you!
This is one of our favorite pictures, we lovingly call it "dos weirdos". Loki, the black lab/ pitbull and Gargoyle our German Shepard/pit mix, and Mike in the motor home moving across country from Idaho to North Carolina in 2006. Boy they loved that trip!
I guess the moral of this story, is to count your blessings, not the dollars a day life might cost you. Everybody's got something going on, and sometimes they just need a hug. Go find someone and give them a hug...that could be dangerous, find someone you KNOW, and hug them. We've also learned (again) here in Ecuador that a smile goes a long way. Chins up! The adventure continues...
At this point would you recommend a person go for vacation first and check it all out before considering such a move. I know for me when on vacation I want something equal to my home or better, not less and certainly no hassles.
ReplyDeleteAssume you guys are still on vacation except for Mike's internet business? How are jobs there. Wonder if potential businesses.... another hassle.