to air is human

Some preconceptions take time to be eroded away by facts.

I brought a carpetbag of notions with me when I moved permanently to Mexico in 2009. And I was foolish enough to write an essay on the thirteen factors I would use to find a place to live. If you are interested, they were:

• university nearby
• archaeological sites within driving distance
• central location for other archaeological sites
• warm, sunny days; cool nights
• new acquaintances -- some with a love of food
• the challenge of a new language
• time to read; time to learn; time to rest
• daily learning to survive
• facing mountains of difficulties -- and being repeatedly crushed
• long walks with Professor Jiggs before breakfast and after sunset
• living outside of a car
• offering help to others
• graciously accepting help from others

You do not need to read too far into that list to realize that, by buying a house in Barra de Navidad, I either ignored my own desires or I changed my mind -- or maybe both.

The "warm sunny days, cool nights" is half right -- even though "warm" and "cool" are adjectives not often used here. "Hot" is.

I suppose because I was looking for cool nights, I never seriously considered air conditioning. Fans, cold showers, and a pool carried me through seven summers.

For some reason this summer has been different. A lot of it has to do with Barco. Even a golden retriever born in Mexico is still a golden retriever and is not well-equipped to deal with our summer heat.

So, I finally broke down and decided to put air conditioning in my bedroom. I told you about it in weather or not.

On Thursday, the installer (Gabby) showed up with the ordered equipment, and we did a quick review of my bedroom. I was a little surprised when he told me I would need to install a door between my bedroom and bathroom, and that I would need to enclose two openings that repeat the architectural lines of the house.

When I told him that was not going to happen because I wanted to retain the lines, he informed me that would be fine, but I would need a larger compressor. That sounded like a great solution -- even though it doubled the price of the job from $7,000 (Mx) to $14,000 (Mx). Still a bargain at $740 (US). It would also mean waiting until Monday for relief.

Gabby worked magic and called me this morning to tell me the equipment had arrived. And I could be cool by nightfall.

All went well. The plumbing the builder of the house had installed was easily found. The compressor was hoisted on top of the pavilion above my bedroom and matched up perfectly with the installed plumbing.

It was all going too well. There had to be at least one major muffler-detaching tope in the road. And there was. Electricity.

None of the breakers in my two boxes carried power to the area over my bedroom. With a little bit of ingenious re-wiring, a circuit was created -- without a breaker. The breaker will be installed on Monday.

But the good news is I now have air conditioning. Barco is curled up like a sled dog -- just as sleeping golden retrievers should look, instead of sprawled on he floor like road kill.

And, for the first time in this area, I actually feel cool enough to have a good night's sleep.