Wednesday May 1, 2013

Wednesday May 1, 2013  update #439

I had my first good night’s sleep in weeks and wanted to stay in bed but I had so much to get done today.  Bella was even up early because we had a 10 o’clock appointment with Seguralmeida to research their health insurance offerings.  Cristina had emailed us setting the appointment for today so imagine our surprise when we arrived to find the office closed.   We called her and barely got an “I’m sorry”, just a request if we wanted to reschedule because today is a holiday.  Ecuadorians don’t seem to think that missing appointments is a big deal at all, and they don’t know our idea of proper etiquette or Gringo values at all.   I just told her that I would be in contact later after I had cooled down.

Bella had seen an ad for loveseat recliners and a sofa recliner on sale in GringoTree.   Both of us are not really happy with the 2 sofas we had purchased in haste on arrival so we went over to see them.  They were located in a fourth floor west end apartment with killer views but sadly lacking a terrace.  These folks are moving and this furniture won’t fit, except he was keeping the matching chair..   The fellow showed us his original receipts and they were letting the furniture go for less than ½ price.   They were the right colour and very cushy so we made a deal to take them.   I have missed my recliner since we left Canada, especially when I have a cold and need to rest slightly upright.   It is a lot more money than we would normally spend but the sofa and loveseat will complement our living room nicely and last for many years.   Bella has had the luxury of a recliner in her room for months and is now spoiled too.  Nothing beats a comfy recliner.

We then worked on striking a deal with Hearts Of Gold to donate our old set in exchange for help with transporting the new set.  Since Hearts of Gold is physically moving locations tomorrow we will have to try to arrange something next week.

Bella and I tried to get money out of a Banco Pichincha machine because all the banks are closed today and it wouldn’t accept my PIN number.   We ended up scraping nickels and dimes together to get a cheap lunch at Pizza Hut.   The taco salad was actually excellent!

Bella slipped off to her Bridge game while I came home and carefully drafted a strong note to Seguralmeida recounting our unsatisfactory experiences with their office and how my Blogs are now reflecting that.  I pointed out that service is the number one issue with Gringos and that if they don’t know this, and act on it, they should not solicit Gringo business because they are only fostering a bad reputation with their indifferent service. 

I had planned to do many other things today but those plans got waylaid by this nasty experience. 

Tom Thumb and an interloper were seriously sparring outside my window today so I took a lot of shots and have very little to show for my effort, but better than nothing I suppose.

I heard from Ed and Lynne that the Montezuma’s Revenge has subsided and that they are truly sorry to be leaving tomorrow.  They will be a good addition to Cuenca when they return as they are fun people and will catch on to the language quickly.   Come back soon.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/