The donkey who fell down into a well

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well..

The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up..

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and happily trotted off!





Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.



Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
Free your mind from worries - Most never happen..
Live simply and appreciate what you have.
Give more. Expect less




NOW ....... Enough of that crap. The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.



MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

(thanks Henry!)

f

It Finally Happened...!!

How to tell if you are really learning a language:

Today was a significant day here in Queretaro on my Mexican Adventure in that something occurred and I didn't really realize it until about an hour after it happened. Yes, it's been raining for days now and that is a very rare event during this time of year, let alone for days on end, but that's not what I'm talking about here.

I was actually thinking in Spanish...!

The reason this is notable, at least to me, is that it is when our brains are creating new neuron pathways on a large scale - the brain is literally being re-wired. This point of brain (re)development is where we start to counter the effects of aging by adhering to some basic principles spelled-out to me a few years ago.

How to tell when you are in the presence of greatness:

My friend Paul Winner, a leading neurologist studying the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's, dementia/memory loss and other types of neurodegenerative disorders, extols the importance of keeping the brain fit the same way that we should keep our bodies fit with exercise.

http://www.palmbeachneurology.com/ourdoctors/doctors/winner.html

He gave a presentation at our last symposium that was really monumental to the event and I think everyone came away with a whole new appreciation for 'brain science' and how to make real changes in out lives that would create a real impact long-term.

He approached the microphone with the same basic questions as we normally do, however Eben Pagan, the host of the symposium, weeded-out some core issues with Paul and he struck gold when they delved into Dr. Winner's professional efforts. Paul spoke for the next 15 minutes and gave an impromptu presentation of his lab's research at that time - I think it rattled the entire room to the foundation, and I am not exaggerating this point; any of my friends reading the blog who were there can corroborate this. When he finished his synopsis, the Sheraton LAX ballroom erupted into wild applause from both a deeply receptive and appreciative audience.

To see it for yourself, google "eben pagan leadership symposium" and you should be able to find some of the event, hopefully Paul is a featured speaker (found a pic with Eben and one of his surfer-dude marketing gurus, lol - kidding bro!).

Anyway, to save you the time trying to ply out the meat & potatoes of it all, Paul gave some specific examples of how the brain dies and also, how it can be kept fit. He spoke of several examples of people he had studied over his career who were able to maintain a high degree of mental alertness, (similar to that of people of university age), well into their 90's and beyond!

He and his team had spent many years looking closely at not only the physiology of these people, but also their behaviors. While some possessed special traits that allowed their impressive faculty, the vast majority of them had developed habits that proved to be the source of their unusual mental resiliency.

How to tell if you are keeping a 'fit' brain:

(The rules for a life-long healthy brain - seriously, write these down and post them on the fridge!)

I took the liberty of putting these 'rules' into an easy to remember format that I refer to constantly. I hope it helps any of you interested in this area of human development and aging, as I have noticed a difference in my own lucidity and mental agility in maintaining as much of it as I can over the last few years.

1. Travel - visit a completely new place in the world at least once a year and take-in as much as you can absorb; paying close attention to new sights, sounds and smells.
2. Speak - learn a new language (to the point of thinking in it...!) every ten years
3. Switch - be sure to often change the hands that you use for things like shaving, combing your hair brushing your teeth... even playing table tennis!
4. Walk - exercise at least 3 times a week, and just walking is super-powerful in fighting the big 'A' ; there is a deep connection between physical and mental activity.
   
5. Play - learn to play an instrument, or sing, (or both...!). If you know how to play an instrument already, learn another!
6. Do - if you do crosswords, do Sudoku (or just mentally try to count your change before the cashier can tell you). If you're addicted to Sudoku, open up to the Sunday Crosswords. We need to do BOTH word and numerical exercises often, and puzzles can be a great method of stretching the sides of the brain.
   
7. Live - work hard to experience and understand new things, ideas, tastes, and even paradigms often. Your brain will thank you each time.

I hope this is as valuable as it was to me.

http://www.drwinner.org/

Remember:

"if you don't use and develop it, it dies!"

f

a little about Gigbag, (finally, lol), the blog's namesake

Gigbag: The Year in Review
Well, it's been an amazing time for us at 'Team Gigbag', with both good time and some tough ones also. Luckily, the good ones have vastly outnumbered the tougher, and it's especially because of the people that comprise the Team, both core & extended. (btw, I use Jake & Elwood, as they seem to represent much of the attitude of our little company; hopefully their respective estates won't be too annoyed at my occasional liberty..)

This last year has seen much progress with the company, but the site construction has stalled a bit, but only for a short time, hopefully. My Partner Mike convinced me that my original approach was too limited and that the only way to launch Gigbag.com was to, "do it right and do it BIG!" rather than the phased implementation that I had originally envisioned. We definitely need to have the broad functionality of 'our little site' in-place and available, otherwise it has no real appeal to the broad populace and therefore will not be successful. Further, the passing of time continually increases the chance that another company/group will release their own version of gigbag, rendering our efforts worthless. We have to act now and do so aggressively, thus the complete re-calibration of our design implementation.

but enough of the dry stuff...


A Global Revolution and an Enterprise of Equal Scale in the Making
One of the principal elements of Gigbag that will really improve the 'footprint' both around the country. an worldwide, is our network of musicians that we have developed this last year and will continue to do so in the coming ones also. In my travels I have had the good fortune to meet many, many people that work within the live music industry and were interested in participating as representatives for our site. This ever-growing network will serve as boots-on-the-ground in their respective areas of the world and conduct an informational campaign with both venues and bands, showing them how Gigbag works and providing basic-level customer service as required. Once a toe-hold has been achieved in several cities around the nation and we have a solid functionality in-place, then come s Phase II - Spiderwebbing!

Spiderwebbing is the term we coined that describes the effect that takes place once the popularity of the site begins to increase: the venues & bands that use Gigbag will, in turn, have some/all of their business counterparts (for bands it's venues and for venues, it's bands) also sign-up and use Gigbag's functionality, this will translate into a massive growth in these markets, as the fans & patrons of both also learn about the site from not us, but the BANDS & VENUES - they do the advertising for us... and what follows is a slow but steady revolution that transforms the live music industry as we know it.


Now all we need is the Moolah
With the change in our strategy comes the need to raise a substantial amount of capital to put into the programming costs. I had spent several thousand myself on our first programming venture, which did accomplish a great deal in the User Interface design and especially, definition of functionality. We began the whole process having a decent idea about what we wanted the site to do, however, after playing the "what if..." game for six months solid with my programmer, we realized that we had much more that would be required of the 'ol Gigbag, if we were to really make a difference in the industry and improve the situation substantially, as we had originally set-out to do.

Gigbag evolved into a functionality that was both complicated but also powerful in scope. The team in Phoenix re-designed the entire User Interface (UI) in a week and what arose was a completely new look & feel. It made sense, was elegant, and further, was compact design that could be used along the broad scope of the functions Gigbag had to offer. We had our designer do a mock-up and got it ready for primetime (all platforms), he sent it to us and I found out that everyone else was "underwhelmed" - shit...! haha Really, what the problem seemed to be was that the look was not as professional-level as was expected by those who are better versed in design than I. In our next effort, this will be overhauled and if required, given a complete makeover/facelift/boobjob/whatever... lol

So, in our search for investors, the obvious first question is always, "let's see your business plan" I hadn't even thought about that the whole last year, but realized the moment that I was asked, that I should have done that even before designing the UI - shit...! lol

No, seriously, for those unfamiliar with it, a good Business Plan serves as the foundation for any major business operation and is often the difference between success and failure in the business world. Further, it becomes the roadmap for how to run your business and steers one's decisions in a clear and transparent manner, leaving only the details of each decision's implementation & execution the only remaining work to be done. The better your plan, the easier it is to operate your business!

For our company to even begin to solicit serious money from serious investors, we needed a business plan, and that has been the focus over the last, and next, several weeks. My target for completion is the end of the year, at the latest; obviously, the sooner it is completed, the sooner we can submit it to investment groups, and (hopefully) the sooner we go into development of Gigbag.


Marketing Plans, Revenue Projections and Mission Statements - Oh My!
And so, the effort continues to define in a reasonable manner what Gigbag will look like as a business and what real expectations are in order when looking at our capital requirements vs. revenue, etc.

What we have found is breathtaking: in the first year of operation, we were already profitable well-before the end of it, and by the second year, depending on budget allocation, had made substantial repayment of the initial investment made. In our projected fiscal budget, it would be relatively easy to at least double any investor's money within a three to four-year timeframe, which would put it at least a 25% per year return on their initial investment.

However, if what I believe is true regarding our revenue calculations, we may be able to greatly improve that ROI (return on investment) even more. This next few weeks' findings will steer that offer significantly. Gigbag will be both a good thing for the live music industry and a profitable thing for those who decide to invest in it.

Perfect Pitch
(or at Least the Search for One)
One thing that I've been working on for the last month was Gigbag's 'Elevator Pitch'. While surfing the various angel investor sites, (groups of investors that focus on particular areas, industries, etc for their investment), on site asked you to upload your elevator pitch, which is meant as a 1-2 minute presentation that one may give to a busy investment representative while they are in between meetings.

A brilliant concept, in my opinion and something that I'll try out here in my little blog to all of you, my friends & foes alike! lol Here goes:


" Do you enjoy music? Do you like to watch bands play?

Yes, terrific!

Wouldn't it be great if, no matter where you were in the world, if you wanted to see a live music show either that moment or several months from now, in your home town, the other side of the state, or travelling on vacation anywhere in the world, there was one place that you could go to find it and it would always be easy, accurate, and especially, it was always free...?!

Would you use it? Of course you would, along with, what we believe is, anyone else who has Internet access and loves music, which is a large part of the industrialized world. That's what we are building at Gigbag.com: an international database of all live music events that is both customizable to your musical preferences and is updated in real-time, unlike any other website on the planet.

And as I said before, always free!

With the proliferation of the Internet and its users increasing geometrically each year, we are designing a website that will use this valuable content to provide marketers targeted access to a highly-desirable and affluent global population that is broad in its demographic range. This is the business model for Gigbag.com and it will become a major force in Internet advertising.

We know that anyone who wishes to become involved in Gigbag will have the opportunity to both help transform the world by increasing the amount of music in it, and at the same time profiting nicely from it. Those who do so will be very glad they did."



Feel free to contact me directly at fstraub@gigbag to provide any feedback, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if you're interested in becoming part of Team Gigbag and investing in our company, you can also contact me the same way; I would love to tell you more about the company and where we are headed.

fs

Day of the Dead and a big, steaming bowl of VUDU' CHILE

Living in a new country is to experience constant personal growth & development on a nearly daily basis
(...thus constantly having to admit that one's previous ideas were wrong!)
When I first started planning the trip down here, I made the assumption that in Mexico I would probably not get an opportunity to celebrate the holidays here, as I probably wouldn't be close to anyone enough to do so. Had I known the culture was so welcoming, that would not have been a consideration. Further, having lived in Arizona for so many years, I thought that this time of the year was relatively quiet in Mexico - I was wrong again.


In Arizona, the Mexicanos there tend to, based on my recent experience here, tone-down the day known as "Dia de los Muertos" which translates into day-of-the-dead. It's steeped in the Latin American Catholic tradition with the days before it serving to build into a culmination that is to most here, a nationally-recognized holiday that is only neo-religious; I call it that as it seems to have transcended the mere religiosity of Catholicism (but it dates back much further, btw). It now has become to the people of central Mexico a time of gathering with one's family and remembrance of one's ancestors with trips to the cemetery and even creating a place in their home for those remembered to re-join the family, have some food, a drink and even have a cigar. As Santa's cookies and milk magically disappear, so does the food, tequila and the fine cigars.

Similar traditions have existed throughout the history of early civilization and even pre-civilization, and what I have witnessed these last few days certainly hearkens back to this building block of what would become religious philosophy concerning what happened to the 'person' inside this shell we call mortality. But I digress..

'Dia de los Meurtos' falls during the holiday season that much of the western world celebrates as Halloween; the days of the holiday go (something) like this:

Oct 30: Devils Night
Oct 31: All-hallows Eve (Halloween)
Nov 1: All Saints Day
Nov 2: Dia de los Muertos



Swimming with the current
(...or how to survive living one block away from a massive party that lasts an entire week!)
I knew living down here in Centro was going to be difficult now and then, especially considering I would be trying to park a truck the size of a battleship on streets centuries old (and narrow to boot) - and within the vicinity of several large Catholic churches. For the uninitiated, these serve as cultural gathering/rallying points for a myriad of festivals, and of course, the plaza in front of the Gran Hotel/Harry's - my second home here, is Ground-Zero.

At the beginning of last week as I sat out at my usual perch tapping away on this laptop-thingy, several trucks began unloading what looked to be staging equipment. As soon as the lights were unpacked, it confirmed my guess. The scale, however, was far beyond anything that I would have even ventured, as it took up much of the far end of the central plaza, soon afterward massive tents were erected covering the balance of the open space, turning the whole view brilliant white as sunlight hit the canvas in the afternoon din. It was a harbinger of the week ahead and I had no idea of the crazy train headed my way...

The next late afternoon, as I headed back from work (we usually break about 6-ish) the traffic was even worse than usual, believe it or not, lol. Actually, compared to Miami, this place is a cake-walk, and that doesn't even include the one-fingered waves one receives on your morning commute through Hileah - with Alabama tags. Don't get me wrong, Miami is a cool town; I just don't miss that drive.

So I gave up looking for parking after 30 mins of the stop-and-go gaggle f**k of cars and paid the lady at the Estacionarse Publico (parking lot) to keep an eye on things for about 16 pesos/hour. Making my way down to have my usual 7-Anos Havana Club Rum & CocaCola Light was like running the weekend gauntlet - but it was only Wednesday! I found a spot at Harry's way in the back, as people were literally spilling over both sides of the railing; had I not been good friends with the staff, I would probably STILL be waiting for a seat, haha.

The stage out front was a parade of Mexican music and cultural acts that ranged from ultra-modern to several from indigenous tribes chanting incantations that have endured more than a thousand years. When they do this en masse, the trance effect is breathtaking; I witnessed probably several hundred people throughout the square, dressed in everything from Gucci to loin cloths dancing in rhythm with the drums' hypnotic pulse.

The rest of the week, once I learned when was the right time to look for a parking spot, was amazing. The acts that graced the stage increased in talent and apparently, in notoriety also, including a presentation by the Governor of the state one evening.


Meanwhile, in a sleepy little town nearby
My friends who play in the band Vudu' Chile that, on occasion, let me wreck a couple of songs by sitting-in with them, insisted that I attend a gathering that they were hosting in San Miguel de Allende. Turns out that the ex-pat community up there does Halloween in a big way, throwing a terrific costume party with hand-crafted beer and the best $1 margaritas I've ever had, (and that's not just because I had... shit, I can't remember how many, actually, lol), but we'll get to that in a bit.

So my usual costume for such events is Jake Blues (the Blues Brothers) which is a simple yet functional getup, especially if one is going to play bass that evening (i.e. nothing to get in the way of the guitar, etc). A simple assembling of ray ban wayfarers, a mini-fedora, a thin tie and a black suit with white shirt, set-off with white socks, of course. I have probably enough versions of this basic ensemble in my closet to clothe both Jake AND Elwood, plus Mr. Fabulous and even the 'Duck', but it never occurred to me that I might need any of it in such a "remote" part of the world - I was wrong yet again.

















60's Retro in a land that remembers it's past, not yours!
(...or the search for outdated shades, a funny tie and a weird-looking hat)
Walking through the mercados here in town, I noticed that several impromptu costume shops had a costume version of the fedora that Michael Jackson made famous. "I know that hat..!" was the eureka-moment that was the impetus for the next day's quest, complete with Knights with outrageous French accents hurling livestock at me! (actually, it was even more fun than that..)

I immediately bought a small stack of the hats from the gent running the tiende (shop) as they were only $3 each and 'the lads' may need a last-minute costume for their gig. I figured that I would find something better, but just in case I had a 'plan B' in place so I kept one when I gave the balance to my friend David, the singer of Vudu' Chile.

After another 30 mins of walking, it was obvious that I need some professional help with this one. I flagged-down what turned out to be one of the kewlest cabbies in town and we went shopping! With all of my trudging about town, within 10 mins he took me to one of the biggest Mercados I had ever seen, packed with more items for sale than I had thought possible and people also packed into such a small space, reminiscent of the Egyptian Bazaars. It was an awesome experience, especially with my cabbie as my guide/translator. We found three hat shops straightaway and a few were close with their versions of the infamous fedora, but alas, no 'tobacco' (cigar). What a great place, however , and now I have THE spot to go in Queretaro (Qro. is its abbreviation) for pretty much anything except for plasma screen TV's; they have everything else. I could have driven around this town for weeks and never had found this hidden place; hopefully I can find it again(?).

Btw, it turns out, Mexico is NOT the place to save money, that is, if you are looking for non-Mexican items. Often Mexicans will pay a 20% to 50% higher price than that of the US, and sometimes much, much more. One of the principal items in such a costume is the now-classic, Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses (called 'lentes; in Spanish). There are several versions of these coming in a myriad of colors, but Ackroyd wore the standard all-black & Belushi wore the tortoise framed browns, those being the most rare to locate in my experience. I found some imitations for sale, but they were basically the kids' version and didn't fit my big ol' noggin.

During my escapade with my new cabbie friend, he took me to several "tiendas optica" high-end eyeglass & sunglass shops that carried Wayfarers, and they did carry the all-black version. What I thought was a direct hit turned into a dud - the going rate for a set of these at a nice shop in a mall in the US is about $100. These places apparently cater to the upper classes of Mexico City and not tourist Gringos, so to offer them is a status symbol in itself. They were charging, after converting to dollars, more than $250 for the same set of glasses. As the blood went to my feet, I did an about-face and considering abandoning this whole endeavor completely.

Despondent and in shock, I hopped back in the cab and asked my friend to take me back to Centro so I could get a quick bite and re-think this scheme. We arrived at the plaza in front of Harry's and I was charged $16 for an entire afternoon of driving. Just before we parted, the cabbie suggested one more shop for me to try, that being the one he dropped me of in front of.

Not getting my hopes up I entered the shop (a regular eyeglass/optometry shop, it turns out). There on the end of the display sat not just any of the versions, but the exact ones Belushi wore, which I had pretty much abandoned searching for in the US - here in Qro less than two blocks away from my apartment! Holding my breath, I asked what the price was and... we had a bingo! I had finally found a set of these and in of all places, who'd a thunk?!

Okay, the last time we needed a set of the narrow-styled black ties for the band in Alabama, we actually had to make them ourselves as it's just not a common design, at least nowadays. Here in Mx, I figured that I would have to buy a standard and have it altered, or something in that direction. When I went to the tux rental place to see about renting the black suit required, they not only had a perfect match for the suit & white shirt, but they even had THAT tie... son-of-a-gun, I was locked and loaded.





Tofu tacos 'to die for' and a few too many margaritas
Arriving at the Club de Leonnes (Lion's Club) San Miguel, with the help of a cab who led me and my LR through the many winding streets of the historic district, one could see that it was going to be fun. In costume, sans shades, I entered the club and immediately a large fellow, who I found out later was the association president, loudly protested, "Who let the Feds in?!" Laughing, I reached for the shades and donned them, to the cheers of several people there at the entrance. Apparently I was not the only one to choose that guise as a lady said, "they've been waiting for you!" (who, me?!)

The association was the San Miguel Vegetarian Society, or something like that. They promote organic food production and sell it at a local market where many of the Americanos shop for such items. The group had included a big spread of food to go with the event and the salsas were particularly good, in a country that is famous for its salsas, btw.

I entered the main hall and up on the stage were "the lads" of Vudu' Chile, all wearing the hats and doing their best impressions of that infamous band that wrecked half of the Chicago Police force's squad cars. I was greeted by David with a a booming, "Welcome fellow Blues Brother!" in the middle of Julian's terrific guitar solo, and the crowd sounded their approval - it was to be a good night indeed.

Apparently there were a lot of single ladies in attendance that evening as I had to fight them off with a stick (yaaaay! lol). To pick a favorite seemed at the time at least, like bad manners as I was new to this group. Just then I noticed two older "young ladies" were out in the middle of the floor having a blast; they became my dance partners for most of the remainder of the evening. The two ol' gals probably were pushing 60, (if not pulling it a bit), but they were more energetic than most in their 30's - I was worn-out after just a few songs!

During a trip to the men's room I remember walking in and being frozen in my tracks as I caught my image in the mirror: it was almost scary how I'm looking more and more like Belushi's 'Jake" every year (so is that a good thing... or really bad?!), lol.





Later that evening Javier the bass player invited me up to play a couple of songs. Of course I was not in any shape to do so, however he insisted so I stumbled onto the stage, kicked over some one's beer and proceeded to play along with one of the funkiest versions of Suzie-Q that I can remember. It was one of the best Halloween parties that I've ever attended.


Dirty Martinis with Cultural Icons
The last day of the Festival in Qro. was completely incredible, and I had no idea what I was watching until it was over, in most cases. Harry's not only was packed, it had a table in front marked "Reserved" for a VIP that was expected soon. Apparently it was someone with clout as they were able to keep a table empty for that long in a mobbed nightclub in the teeth of such a party. "Who the heck can do that?", I thought. Turns out, it was the semi-illusive owner of Harry's, an 'Americano' who's name is....

nope, it's Bob.

Bob is one of these Am. ex-pats who went to Mexico to make his fortune and apparently he has done this in spades. He is said to own houses in San Miguel, where there is another Harry's, and Cabo San Lucas, where he'll probably put another one some day soon. At his table that evening, once he arrived, was seated several friends and what looked to be a few 'hangers-on" as would be expected with a guy with some money, in any part of the world.

I waited inside the bar working on my laptop, as it was the only place that I could find and I had a few web design pages to finish for Gigbag. Happily tapping away, Bob, whom I had never met prior, walks up and loudly proclaims to the whole bar, "you're looking at porn while Tania Libertad is about to perform in a few minutes?!" Par for the course, I guess, but I was hoping for more from someone of his ilk - and who the heck was Tania Libertad?

I was on the list for a table out front to see the music, but I was not going to get my hopes up. However, just as I was about to resign myself to only hearing the show and not seeing it, the lead hostess appeared told me that a couple had just vacated what was, my favorite table and asked if I wanted it? It was probably like watching Wyle E Coyote disappearing with papers and dust flying where he had once stood - I bounded to, and took my place at one of the best places to view the show. A Vodka Dirty Martini was ordered immediately to celebrate my good fortune but alas, it would have been even better had someone been there to share it with.

The headliner for that evening, which was to be the closing act for the entire festival, was lady known throughout the Latin world as "Tania Libertad", who I had never heard of, let alone seen play a show. It was explained to me that she is similar in reputation to that of possibly, Joan Biez would be in the US, as she is not interested in commercial success. However, that is probably where the comparison would end as she is a classically trained mezzo-soprano with an amazing range that is also quite powerful. She was born in Peru and has a huge following here in Mx, along with much of the rest of the hemisphere. She travels with a quartet of musicians all of great talent and they perform a list of songs that are steeped in the history and tradition of Central & South America, as it was explained to me.



I remember catching myself with a tear rolling down one cheek, thinking that I have no idea what she's singing, but the emotion she is able to communicate and instill was inescapable - or was it just me? Looking around the mass of people I saw very large, football player-sized men openly weeping. The elderly couple next to me was holding each other closely while the woman wiped the tears from her gent's face; a very touching and beautiful scene to watch.

After the show was over, the plaza slowly emptied and I worked a bit more on Gigbag pages while also working on another martini. I watched the cleaning crews and roadies work their magic for a couple hours as they re-claimed the plaza, slowly restoring it to its former state a week prior. As Harry's also slowly emptied, the folks remaining consisted of most of its regulars, myself included.

Suddenly, a buzz took over the hotel lobby, which adjoins the entrance to Harry's, as some of the security chaps cleared the area and a petite Tania Libertad arrived right behind them, a small entourage trailing her. I found out later that Bob had summoned her through the Hotel staff to come down and have dinner with his friends and him. As she made her way through the place, she was hugged, kissed, photographed and just generally adored by the patrons of the restaurant, all the while patiently greeting the next person in the small throng along her route to the back where Bob waited. As it passed my humble little table she even wished me a good evening, which was, I guess not surprising in this very warm and friendly culture. Had this happened up north, security probably would have tackled and dragged off to ensure their celebrity didn't have to see any of the riff-raff.

The buzz died down and they dined for another hour and I tapped-away, revising a few more pages of Gigbag. I could hear the laughing of the large table of the two entourages getting louder as the evening wore on and the alcohol flowed, Bob the host usually being above the others. Bob had a reputation among the patrons of Harry's as a fun person who tended to, shall we say, imbibe freely.

Suddenly, (there seemed to be a lot of those that evening...) I hear Bob loudly call out from the restaurant to his staff, "Let's hear some Michael Jackson!" Within a few seconds the mellow jazz on the house system was replaced with, at almost full volume, 'Billie Jean'. The group arose with Tania in the lead and she marched toward the front in-time with the music, smiling and waving to everyone, her long flowing gown and entourage behind her, similar to the way a professional wrestler would exit the arena after having defeated their foe.

A fun & surreal ending to a wonderfully surprising evening.

fs

Driving in Central Mexico - a unique experience...!

(excerpts are from previous email)

The location: Central Mexico
Here in this part of Mexico, the weather is usually great with a high of 80-85 (degrees F) and a low in the 55-65 range. Queretaro sits at a lower latitude than the entirety of the US, minus Hawaii, but just under 7000 feet altitude and the landscape is essentially mountainous desert, but with a lot of foliage and larger trees. Heading off-road, the terrain becomes quite rugged and only the well-prepared should dare venture in those areas. Help can be a very long walk in any direction, should you require it.


The Roads - Welcome to Land Rover Country!
The roads, in general, are a good mix of brand-new highway, city street, cobblestones from the 17th century, diesel truck route (potholes that swallow VW's!) and the occasional burro pathway they call a 'road' - truly Land Rover country - glad I brought it! The good news is, that 90% of the places that we gringos wist to get to are reasonably finished, some actually brand-new, financed by the rush of incoming dollars/euros/yen, etc from the many factories operating here in the city and just north of it.


Another big push that is occurring in Mexico is the RUTA 2010 project, which is also a big influx of pesos to prepare certain roads for Mexico's Bicentennial. coming up next September 16. If you plan to be anywhere in this country at that time, it will be a huge celebration and Queretaro is essentially their Philadelphia, so welcome to 'ground zero' for the festivities.

Driving in old San Miguel:
The other weekend, I was driving in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, (about and hour NE of Qro.), which is built partially on a mountainside and its historical center is almost all cobblestone, some of it still from the 1600's, so I'm told. Several of the streets are nearly a 45 degree incline (not exaggerating, either!). Going down them is relatively easy but you have to literally stand on the brake and switching-on the LR's hill function helps also. Going up them is actually fun in the Discovery as you put it in LO and do a nice, steady climb and leave all of the others green with envy, haha.


The only thing that tends to be an issue is the Land Rover Discovery's width: there were a few streets that were so narrow that I didn't dare attempt them. At one point I had approx 1" clearance for each mirror! I had the whole street's attention as they watched to see if the 'gringo loco' would end up having to back up the whole way, but luckily they were not given such a spectacle. I found a parking spot (whole separate issue - jeez! maybe I'll cover that in a later entry) and walked over to the Starbucks (yep, even here...) for a well-earned coffee and relaxed in the courtyard there, cira 1810, I was told.


Life is good here.


frank

Personal Ad Secrets

How to Read Personal Ads:

WOMEN'S ADS

Adventurer - Will sleep with all your friends
Average looking - Has a face like a basset hound
Beautiful - Pathological liar
Redhead - Bad dye-job
Contagious Smile - Does a lot of Ecstasy
Emotionally Secure - Medicated
Outgoing - Loud and Embarrassing
Free spirit - Junkie
New-Age - All body hair, all the time
Friendship first - Trying to live down reputation as a slut
Fun - Annoying
Gentle - Comatose
Open-minded - Desperate
Good Listener - Borderline Autistic
Athletic - No boobs
Old-fashioned - Lights-out, missionary position & nothing else!
Passionate - Sloppy drunk
Poet - Depressive Schizophrenic
Professional - Certified B**ch
Romantic - Looks better by candlelight
Social - Been passed-around like an hors doeuvres tray
40-ish - 49
Young at heart - Wears 'Depends'
Widow - Drove first husband to shoot himself
Curvy - Fat
Feminist - Fat ballbuster
Voluptuous - Very Fat
Weight proportion w/ height - Huge and Fat
Reubenesque - Fat as a house!
Wants Soulmate - Stalker


MEN'S ADS

Athletic - Watches ESPN all day
Educated - Patronizing jerk
Good looking - Arrogant jerk
Very good looking - Dumb as a board
Likes to cuddle - Insecure mama's boy
Free spirit - Will try to bang your sister
Open-minded - Will try to bang your roommate
Friendship first - As long as friendship involves nookie
Stable - Arrested for stalking, but not convicted
Fun - Good with a remote and a six pack
Honest - Pathological Liar
40-ish-52 and looking for 25-yr-old
Mature - Older than your father
Physically fit - Does a lot of 12-ounce curls
Huggable - Overweight and more body hair than a bear
Average looking - Unusual hair growth on ears, nose, & back
Poet - Wrote ex-girlfriend's # on a bathroom stall
Sensitive - Cries at chick flicks
Very sensitive - Gay
Spiritual - Got laid in a cemetery once
Thoughtful - Says "Excuse me" when he farts

Frank
(aka: Huggable, lol)

howdy from (way) south of the border ...!

Scene:
a man oddly-dressed stand atop a hillside and appears to be creating massive explosions with the wave of his hands.

They call me, frank...?

yet more explosions and then a bit of applause.


Life has taken an interesting turn - even moreso than what is my usual, which my friends will agree is quite dynamic. Between the all of the trips and projects undertaken, even I lose track of where reality stops and my life takes over (...if that makes any sense, lol).


A little about me:

I'm an aircraft/aerospace guy who's spent most of his time on this '3rd rock' building, flying, studying, repairing, researching, busting his knuckles on, and in general, immersed in airplanes. Ever since my dad gave me a model of a wood & fabric fighter from the Great War, I have been smitten with the damned things and even when, " ...I tried to get out, they pulled me back in."
I know that the profession, and my resultant lifestyle has at least in part, left several once-great relationships in it's wake. I feel that while I'm very lucky in my work to be in my current position, it has come at, some would assert, great cost to those I have tried to build a life with. To them, I say thank you for trying to be patient with me and I'm especially grateful that they did not get angry enough to stab me in the shower. lol
I try not to annoy my friends with the subject, for those not interested, please forgive the occasional digression into the subject.

Further, I found that my once-dabbling into the area of musicianship had become a major focus in my life, at least on a semi-amateur level while working as a consultant on the Gulf Coast of the US. One thing that that experience taught me was how the live music industry works, at least on the lower levels, and that it is a real pain in the ass! I can remember spending entire days on the phone and traveling around, trying to find gigs for my band and the logistics required certainly added to the grey hair that Boeing initially gave me.
This was the impetus for 'Gigbag'.

As the blog's title suggests, I and my friends both near and far have embarked on an Internet project called 'Gigbag.com', which, with a lot of hard work and just a bit of luck will become a part of the lives of anyone who enjoys and/or is involved with live music. But more about that later...

Now, due to my current change in constraints, I find myself deep in the heart of Mexico still consulting for the airline in the US, (which I travel to on occasion), yet living in a fascinating place called 'the cradle of independence'.

To not document it would be a loss to posterity, in my most humble opinion.

Btw, I'd also like to include some fun into this blog so as to not make it too serious. I include jokes, etc also to give insight into my so-called sense of humor. I promise to only post the ones that really make me laugh and not just something to fill the gaps, so-to-speak.



Blog entry No. 1, here we go:

(crafted from an earlier email)

Just doing the usual, sitting here at the patio of Harry's sipping on 2-1 margaritas (goooooooood tequila for about $1!!!), working on the laptop. The rum here is also exceptional, with the top-shelf brand being Havana Club 7 Aneos (aged seven years in Cuba); amazingly good and quite inexpensive, of course.

I have a new home! I spent the weekend house-hunting and found a cute little penthouse very near the center of town. It has a decent view and, unlike most of the places down there, it's quite modern. The owner/builder of the penthouse is an old ex-pat Scotsman who has lived in the city for several decades and re-built the whole building almost completely, leaving the original facade outside, which is required by the city preservation laws.

The entire area is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site as most of the buildings date back to the 1600/1700's. When I look out my patio, to the right about 50 ft away, I see a wall that was constructed about 300 years ago and you can see how the builders used a decorative spiraling brick pattern, just to an a little elegant flair to it. It makes me happy every time I see it knowing that centuries-old creations, even minor ones, can connect people from such different times and cultures. It can be a magical place, this Mexico.

There is a smaller international airport just outside of town, designated airport code QRO. It's serviced once a day by Continental through Houston Int'l, who flies CRJ's as their primary regional fleet.

For about $85/night, you can live in a former palace of what was once the seat of government when Mexico was once the largest jewel in the Spanish empire. Weekdays are nice, but weekends are the best time to be here as that's when all of the big festivals happen - a big party practically right in my front yard.



Yes, life is really good here in Mexico, but a bit lonely not being fluent (yet!). Luckily there are enough people that I meet who do speak at least some English, and all of them are happy to have someone to practice their English with. With time and a lot of practice my Spanish will improve so that will change very soon.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

frank