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******
Tuesday
May 22, 2018
In the mornings I had been hearing Tom Thumb giving me the raspberry because my small feeders are empty, so I am again having to fill the feeder twice a day. Between him, his friends, and Andrea The Giant, they are certainly going through a lot of nectar.
Yesterday I decided to tackle the SRI online reporting for the IVA receipts and was rewarded with this:
I only had 24 receipts and the first 5 are from Coral, which are absolutely correct, so it is no surprise to me that SRI is again doing everything in their power to frustrate the older folks, totally contrary to guarantees in the Constitution, so that we will get pissed off and quit claiming the tax refund... Many older folks don't have a computer, or don't have the wherewithal to operate one, so this is just the latest in their despicable attempts. I have complained and will be going in to see the powers-that-be on Thursday.
Today Gustavo called me again for a favor to do telephone interviews on behalf of his daughter from Quito. The interviews were for prospective employees who would need to deal with North Americans and to test their ease and fluency with the language. I interviewed 4 gents who said their proficiency with English was in the 80-90% range. I didn't give any of them more than 65% proficiency but at least 2 of them were quick with their responses to the typical horrible interview-type questions. I recommended to Gustavo and his daughter that they talk to my friend Johanna who lives in Quito...
Then Gustavo and I wolfed down a late lunch and ran to the Cuenca Camera Club meeting at 3pm. Garry Kaulitz gave an enlightening lecture on the Art Of Seeing, which is not as easy as it sounds. Mostly our preconceptions about things seriously affects how we "see" them.
I took a very crowded bus home and ran into some English speakers, a young lady from Connecticut and a young chap from California. I really don't like the crowded buses which is the domain of the good pickpockets.
I had a third visit from a family interested in my house but they again low-balled on the offer and I politely, but firmly, said No Thanks, again. I am not giving this beautiful house away.
Then I went to join the offshoot from the Herederos for the first time. They call themselves on Facebook "Paseo de Motos - Adventure Team" and they now ride Tuesdays from La Merced, near the Goza Restaurant. However the meeting place will have to change because of parking issues with the Transito cops. The owner of Goza had a $76 parking ticket on his bike...
Again we had a very nice ride to the northwest corner of the city ending up at an amazing church in Sinincay. On the way there we stopped at some cascades for photos and I tried, and mostly failed, to get decent shots from a distance, illuminated only by the extra LED lights on 2 of our bikes. That would be a beautiful spot in the daytime for photos....
Then I had connected somehow with a restaurant owner on Facebook who has a place called "Q'Monstruo", meaning "how monstrous", selling burgers, pizza, and sandwiches on Paseo de Los Canaris. They are open from 7-11pm only, sSo we pulled in there to check out the food and found that the place was decorated with paintings of kid's monsters and celebrities, all done by her husband. Six of us ate our fills, with extra dishes of fries with juice, etc and the total bill was $15.75! I happily gave her a $20, much to everyone's appreciation.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.
Al
******
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| Rainy season mornings are getting tiresome |
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| Gathering at La Merced |
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| High in the Northwest corner of Cuenca |
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| Sorry for the bad shots from far away, in the dark |
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| I would need a lot more light to rescue this |
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| Oh well, we tried... |
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| Would like to shoot here in the daytime |
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| A little closer is not so bad |
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| Taken with my phone for a laugh |
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| Not bad for a phone camera... |
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| I love this beautiful church way up in Sinincay |
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| Great brickwork and towers |
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| Eight clocks on those towers! |
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| Everybody has a phone for pictures |
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| A little moon above the church |
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| Trying for the different angles |
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| Love this place |
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| OK, last shot... |
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| Painting at Q'Monstruo |
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| Jaqueline was very busy on her tiny grill |
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| Nice art by her husband. Who is the dude bottom left? |
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| Our riders tonight |
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| Good bunch of people, lots of fun |
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| Gustavo insisted that I be in one photo tonight. |
I only had 24 receipts and the first 5 are from Coral, which are absolutely correct, so it is no surprise to me that SRI is again doing everything in their power to frustrate the older folks, totally contrary to guarantees in the Constitution, so that we will get pissed off and quit claiming the tax refund... Many older folks don't have a computer, or don't have the wherewithal to operate one, so this is just the latest in their despicable attempts. I have complained and will be going in to see the powers-that-be on Thursday.
