Tuesday, March 31, 2009

from the "crocodile tears" dept.

The slow motion train wreck that is Glenn Beck:



Another FauxNews classic!

Cheers!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

from the "fame, fortune and romance PART 2" dept.

And look who's in the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Star!

from the "fame, fortune and romance PART 1" dept.

The experiment of living in Guatemala and writing for a living is working. You want proof? Check out the March 28th edition of the San Jose Mercury News HERE.

And, as it happens I am writing this in Houston... becuase I'm travelling back to Vancouver for a couple of weeks.

Cheers!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

from the "dental bonding" dept.

I visited my new Guatemalan dentist yesterday. To get there I had to take a boat across Lake Atitlan. I was accompanied by five others also in need of some work. Despite the destination, it was like a little roadtrip. And fun.

The bad news for me is that I need some work. Nothing too major, but it will mean building up a shattered molar and getting a crown. In Canada, this would cost me $1000 plus. Like I have that. But Dr. Mario will do everything for roughly $300. And there is little difference between his dental office and what you'd find up north. And the cost savings basically pays for my plane ticket home. And back.

In case I haven't mentioned it, I'm heading to Vancouver for two weeks to do some business crap, tie up some lose ends, and visit the doctor (free!). Then it's back to San Pedro for the rest of the spring and much of the summer. I'll continue working on my freelancing and trying to save some money.

If nothing else, I'll be hiding from the huge axe that is hanging over the Canadian media industry. And wearing shorts. Which I won't be wearing when I arrive back "home" on Saturday.

And so it goes...

Cheers!

Monday, March 16, 2009

from the "the hard part is done" dept.

It's done.

I've pitched my Chernobyl story to pretty much every English language newspaper on the planet. And I've heard back from enough so far to have made my little "live in Guatemala project" a success.

That said, there are hundreds that I haven't heard back from (boo!) so, beginning in the next day or two (I think I'll take Saint Paddy's day off) I'm going to re-pitch all those bad editors!

I also think I'm going to head "home" to Vancouver for a couple of weeks. I need to do some business stuff, taxes and set up an easy way to get my money down here. It works out well as my 3 month visa is about to expire.

Trying to find a cheap return airfare has been a challenge. $800 CAD seems to be the best. Yick.

More as it happens!

Cheers!

Saturday, March 07, 2009

from the "temper tantrum" dept.

Hi. Remember me?
The freelancer who has limited internet. And a crapload of emails to send.
Which is what I'm doing. And why I am not posting my typical blather.
Sales are good, though.
A full report soon.

Meantime, have a look/laugh at this:



Cheers!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

from the "guat that?" dept.

So. The freelancing continues. I've now sold (or almost sold) pieces to:

- Vancouver
- Cardiff, Wales
- Cork, Ireland
- San Francisco and the Bay Area
- Chicago
- Minneapolis (tentative)

This is good. But the money won't arrive for some time. Likely 30 days after the date of publication. In most cases that will be May. Ugh.

However, the last of the documentation for my 2008 taxes arrived and that means they can now be filed. I'm hoping for a substantial return, but only my accountant knows for sure.

My return flight to Vancouver is only three weeks away, but there is no doubt that I'll be changing that. If the freelance continues as it has, I'll likely head home in May and then return to San Pedro.

From all appearances, it looks like there are no more opportunities in the media world. Might as well stay put.

And speaking of staying put: here's a neat site if you find yourself stuck in an airport and need to catch some Zs: Sleeping in Airports.

Cheers!