Tag Archives: stress

May28

Way Too Many

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Way Too Many

For the past month I have been scanning photos. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are way too many. Why on earth did we take so many pictures? Why are there so many albums? The albums have been sitting in waterproof bins in my son’s basement for fourteen years. Has anyone even looked at them? This is 2024. Digital is the way to go.

In roughly the past ten years, I’ve had four surgeries in three different countries, sought asylum in two foreign countries during Covid and have moved from city to city in foreign countries. But none of this has been as stressful and gut-wrenching as going through these photo albums. I hope this doesn’t sound too crass but so many people in these photos are now divorced or dead.

I think I need a new project. But first I need to finish this one so I can get back to East Wenatchee. I need some normalcy in my life again. But I think I still have to wait a while for that to happen. My new ETA to the USA is now mid-June. End of May was unrealistic.

Caution to my readers. If you ever decide to do what I’m doing, you better hope that you’re in a place where it rains every single day so you don’t mind being holed up in a room with a computer and a scanner for hours on end. So far that’s been my experience this May in Winnipeg. Rain, rain and more rain.

But I’m strong and I can do this.

Mar18

Destress

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Destress

In the course I’m taking, we have now gone from recognizing habits to stress management. And that is a topic that I’m sure everyone needs help with in their lives right now. But first I’ll digress to the habit that I decided to deal with in this course.

Months ago I decided that I was spending too much time on social media. I stopped scrolling. Next I started unfollowing friends. When I go on Facebook I check out the expat and travel groups I belong to. I check out the writers groups. I tell friends that they need to DM me if they post anything important as I don’t scroll. And I’m now at a point where I follow only a handful of the six hundred friends I have on Facebook. I also dissed Instagram and Twitter long ago.

But the habit I’m focusing on now is cutting back and watching the news online. Talk about stress! Is there anything going on in this world right now that comes close to resembling positivity? Between the wars going on, the politics, the food recalls and the crazy weather………that’s a real cocktail for stress. But the big one for me right now is Boeing.

Door plugs, blown out tires, planes freezing in midair, cracked windshields, missing panels………I can hardly wait to board that flight back home in two weeks! I’ve almost forgotten the days when I used to enjoy flying. Now it’s just the most efficient way to get from point A to point B and it is far from enjoyable.

This is my new strategy. I check my newsfeeds in my email every morning. And when I’m online, as tempting as it is to click on that little news button, I’m limiting that as well. And I’m only reading the headlines. If it’s another article about a plane with a malfunction or an emergency landing for sure I’m going to ignore it. I’m determined to keep my cortisol levels down.

Of course watching the movies on Lifetime may help my Spanish but probably increases that cortisol level. The movies are primarily labelled as thrillers and my Spanish vocabulary now includes words such as stalking, harassing, kidnapping, hostages, nightmares, killers and sexual assault that tend to show up in daily newscasts around the globe but that I hope will never be a part of my own daily life.

Time to meditate. Peaceful. Tranquil. Calming. Think I’ll envision an ocean and billowy clouds today.

May2

Adiós April

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Adiós April

April may only have 30 days but it’s been a very stressful 30 days. May has begun, looks more promising and is most welcome in my life.

I made the decision to remain here in Mexico. I have been bombarded with emails from ROCA in Canada urging me to change my mind. For the most part the communications have been misleading and have contained inaccurate information. Nonetheless it has been stressful to receive these emails. I actually was already in the process of renewing my FMM when ROCA sent me an email stating that I would be in Mexico illegally if I didn’t return to Canada immediately.

I am grateful that Mexico is allowing me to renew my FMM. But the process is tedious with a numerous documents and necessitated three visits to INM. Thank God my friend Raul came with me to translate as nobody speaks English in the immigration office. It’s enough of a challenge to try to understand Spanish as native speakers talk fast. And now their words are being muffled by masks.

Earlier in April one of my credit cards was compromised. Liverpool used to be my favorite department store here in Mexico. But not anymore.

My debit card expired in April as well. At least when my son couriers it to me the envelope will include the replacement credit card as well. Will get my money’s worth out of that envelope.

My son also forwarded my tax return that necessitates an electronic signature. Of course my phone was being ornery and wouldn’t allow me to sign. But I was able to do it on my laptop.

Mexico then moved to Phase 3 from Phase 2 due to COVID-19. The icing on the cake.

Farewell April! You will not be missed.