I don't know if it is new mama hormones (probably) or what but sometimes, more often than not, this place is getting on my nerves. I don't know what the deal is - I used to *love* love* Guatemala, I mean I still do I guess, but lately I feel rather... not in love with it.

Before pregnancy I loved the randomness, the lawlessness, the gritty good times. Now I feel strangely obsessed with order, reason, rules, silence... none of which exist here. It's probably no coincidence I started feeling this way as my whole world-body-everything changed with pregnancy & childbirth. Ok, fine.

Our pre-paid, ahem pre-paid, $50 a month wireless internet has been out for 2-1/2 weeks now. As a back-up I use a USB modem which is very slow and I get kicked off every 30 minutes or so if not more often. It's not worth mentioning how totally annoying the past few weeks have been (ahhhh graduate school online, not what it is cracked up to be if there ain't no internet!) But the whole mess got a lot more annoying this weekend.

Apparently the internet is "back" yet my computer won't pick up the signal or something. So the internet dudes asked to take my laptop to their office to see what's up (mind you, I have used this laptop fine with their service since March or so AND the internet worked just the other day for a few hours...but aaanyway...)

So a guy comes by and I think: Wow I'm just forking over my Mac book right now... A few hours later I call and I'm like, Where's my computer? "Oh tomorrow in the morning...." I'm annoyed but I can live. Fast forward to this morning at 11am I call: Where's my computer? "Give me 2 more hours."

At this point I find out my laptop has been given to some old British dude.

2 hours later...

Where's my computer? "Give me 2 more hours, I'm working slowly because I'm not familiar with Macs."

(At this point I'm wondering A) Is this a front for stealing my computer?, B) If he's unfamiliar with Macs then he's probably breaking something.)

2 hours later...

No answer. No answer for an hour and a half! I started to freak out a bit. I gave up being polite and started calling repeatedly both numbers I have for their business. No answer. No answer.

Finally I get an answer at 4:30 and he says, "Oh I stepped out." I said I really needed my #($(#$ computer (I said it nicer) and so yeah, Gimme it. He says, I'll be by around 5-5:30. Sure enough around 6 I get my fricken computer back and I sorta snarkily say, So no internet still, right? And he tells me, Well if you didn't insist on having your computer and you could leave it with me for a few days... Days?!!!? Are you nuts?

So he calls me a bit later and says he opened up our internet to be used with no password for the meantime. So technically we have "our" internet, however it is very slow because no doubt the entire neighborhood of Santa Ana is currently logged on, too. Free internet!

To make matters even more fun, there is another "event" tonight sponsored by one of Guatemala's many ridiculous political parties so the bass is rattling the walls going on midnight now... The two Guatemalans in my life are sound asleep... I, on the other hand, haven't quite assimilated I guess.

So... taking a deep breath... I'm finding the way of life here to be newly challenging. Everyone lies, everything is noisy, everything is corrupt, nothing is paved... *sigh*

To end on a happy note, Arlo is doing awesome, huge, growing, happy, well-dressed.