Monday, September 06, 2010

from the "getting down to business" dept.


Today marks the beginning of my second week of not having to go into the office. And, somewhat oddly, it is also Labour Day.

Since arriving in Vancouver Friday, I have been poking away at things. Getting my papers in order for the upcoming tax season (talk about getting an early start!), sorting through the detritus of my life that resides in a distant storage unit, and buying small things to make living abroad easier (velcro!).

This week will see the white-boarding of the next year. Formulating a game plan, if you will. Crossing out distractions and focusing on a single goal: Income. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but thankfully, a slow one.

In just under 3 weeks, I'll head south to San Cristobal, Mexico, armed with firm goals and a financial buffer. Then the hard work begins.

As I prepare to return to the coffeelands, I am glued to the computer, following the tragic news coming out of Guatemala. Rain, landslides, death. It's not pretty and there seems to be no end in sight.

My friends who live around Lake Atitlan have an additional worry: The lake is rising. Fast. Businesses along the shore are threatened and there is little they can do to hold back the water. If the rains don't let up soon, the towns and villages that ring the lake could be in serious trouble.

While it is wet in San Cristobal and Chiapas state, they don't seem to be suffering the same problems as Guatemala. This is likely due to better infrastructure.

The landslides in Guatemala mean that travelling on almost any highway is now very dangerous. The earth is saturated and very unstable. The latest death toll is estimated at 50. Not good.

This also means that visiting San Pedro likely won't happen for a while. If whole hillsides keep collapsing on the main roads, there will be no way to drive down. And there is no direct air service other than a circuitous route involving long bus rides and flights through neighbouring counties.

So in the interim, I have toes and fingers crossed for the people of Guatemala. And I continue ticking off items on my "to do" list.

And so it goes...

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