The local forum for Merida has gone away and I'm in withdrawals. I do love forums but more than that, this one had the information and recommendations from hundreds of expats in its past files that were invaluable. I've met so many wonderful people through it as well. It's a huge hole in my daily life.

Also, when I'm in a fix and trying to find something quickly I have no easy way to do it. I could call a bunch of the great people I've met here and ask them personally but it seems rather inefficient and kind of intrusive. So, I've decided to do my asking on my blog and hope that some of the readers who are local can help me out.

The first and most immediate thing I need is a good insurance agent who carries ING. I'm partial to that company for car insurance and (shhhh...) my Mexican insurance on the jeep expired TODAY! Sheeet! So, anyone in Merida know a good agent I can call tomorrow and hopefully get my butt covered?

I do have a good agent in Playa del Carmen who covers our little Mexican truck but I thought it would be better to start with one here. Because... I am also looking for ING medical insurance as I've heard good things about it. If I don't find someone here tomorrow, I'll call my agent and insure the jeep and RV out of Playa.

Mimi returned today, she seems fine although the procedure sounds horrible. She had her gums lifted, bone grafted, stitches between all the teeth in one quadrant of her mouth. She has 3 more quadrants to do still, at least she gets several weeks break between them.

I met Henry at the house and then hung around awhile longer to wait for Mimi's bus. It's really convenient that the bus station is just a block and a half away. If I ever decide to get over my bus aversion I might try it, it certainly seems efficient, comfortable and easy.

They tore out the sidewalk in front of the house while I was there. It was damaged and they are installing lights and want to fix the slope away from the house. No problem, get the guys with the pick and just break it out. There would have been dozens of permits and signs and yellow tape required to do that in the US - what we had were a couple of orange cones.

I took a walk around the block while I was waiting for Mimi and discovered we have a Mystic Temple just a half block away. The signs on the window say "Feng Shui - Love - Aromatic Candles - Mantras - Amulets - Incense - Quartz - Luck - Books - Irrigations" Irrigations? WTF? Well, it was all in Spanish so maybe there is another meaning that my dictionary isn't giving me. The word is Riegos if anyone else has more info. What's coming to my mind is not too pleasant. The sign in the window also said they are looking for employees, the whole place looks new and very clean and tidy. Maybe I should have them come over and check the feng shui, say a couple mantras and maybe do some irrigating to see if it gets the house done this year.