wow! what a novel concept: people don't pay because they CAN'T....
In my experience (both with my own debt and with other people's) most of the time you can't afford to pay...and, cc companies and collections agencies tend to think you just don't WANT to...I had one collector once told me - when I said I didn't have money - but, you ARE buying food, are you?...Yes, are you suggesting I should starve my baby to pay you back? I seriously hope that's NOT what you are suggesting!...I've also had similar experiences with other companies/collectors....Actually, the collectors that have been more successful with me in the past haven't been the menacing ones, but the sympathetic ones....not the ones that have said: 'but your minimum payment is $300, and you are offering to pay only $100!'....but the ones that have said: "ok, so you can't cover the minimum payment right now, but are willing to give us $100...do you have an idea of when you'd be able to make another partial payment?"....
Luckily, I'm at a point right now where I don't get calls anymore and where I can at least be sure I'll have enough for minimum payments...unfortunately, the balance is so precarious right now, that any major disruption (serious illness, decrease in current income level -or, say need to buy a car!) could easily alter that!
(If I were a deadbeat, I'd be drivin around in a brand new car bought with the proceeds of the apartment sale!!...but, NO, I didn't even see that money, I just transferred it straight to the cc's!)

1 liter boiled water (has to be cool)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

mix well. lasts for 24 hours, after that, throw away the remainder (sp?)

If the person is throwing up, has to be fed by spoonfuls, approx 1 spoonful every minute (even for babies - do NOT feed in baby bottle if baby has vomited)

You can also make some chamomile tea and ad 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt, for a nicer flavor...

OR, ad lemon juice...also for nicer flavor... (for older kids, for example)

The newspapers today are all about the Peace Accords and about whether they have been complied with or not...
I cannot believe that there are people who say nothing has changed...because my personal experience tells me things have changed...while I myself have been the victim of high crime rates (having my car burglarized 5 times!!), I have been lucky enough to escape violence...
And, while -as you have seen- I'm not in the best financial shape, and while I know that the generality of the people are struggling just to get by, I cannot understand how someone can fail to see that:

1. No longer do we have burnt busses in the middle of the streets
2. 12 year olds do NOT know how to tell the sound (or shape!) of an M16 from an AK-47
3. Military forces no longer patrol the city
4. Orders for Military Forces or the Police no longer include: shoot first, ask questions later
5. There is no curfew
6. Meetings of more than 6 people NOT belonging to the same family are no longer considered a crime
7. When faced with someone wearing army fatigues, you no longer have to look at their feet to know whether they ARE army or guerrillas
8. Children are NOT being taught how to make "molotov cocktails"
9. You can "confess" to any party affiliation you want, and not have to fear retaliation...
10. I haven't heard any bombings in the last 14 years!!
11. I see people under 22 just run over bags or boxes on the highway...people in my generation SWERVE to avoid them, meaning one part of us is still afraid it might be a landmine!
12. My niece -at 16- and my daughter -at 5- are not aware that if you hear shots you should "hit the floor, look for cover and, whatever you do, DON'T lift your head"
13- when I leave home every day, my daughter doesn't wonder whether she'll ever see me again (while this is a fantasy, because any of us might just die at any minute, unless you've lived it, you have no idea of the level of anxiety that it creates in a child to be aware that your parents might NOT make it back from work!)
14- When taking my daughter to school, I do not have to say: "don't look out" while passing dead bodies on the street (the way my dad had to when driving me and my sister to school!!)
Oh, and we lived in the part of the city that was the LEAST affected by the conflict!!!

No, I cannot believe people that say nothing has changed...and, while I do admit that much remains to be done, I don't think closing your eyes to whatever good has been done is the way to go!!...You know what I find funny? These people don't realize that the mere fact that they can criticize freely IS a change!!

A friend of mine sent me a CD via Amazon.com....supposed to be a surprise...I got a phone call from DHL yesterday at home, but I wasn't in, so the nanny took a message...I called them today...according to them, I have to pay $5.16 for taxes (ok) and $5.20 for storage at customs (not too ok, but, not much to be done about it)...and, THEY want $41.81 for their work getting it out of customs...ARE THEY NUTS?? ...can't they see that the CD cost $12??...- eventhough I didn't pay for it, I mean... THEY ARE NUTS... I asked them to send me the paperwork...I talked to our customs agent at the company I work for...she says to give her the documents and the $11 for the taxes/storage and she'll get it for me for free (I was expecting her to charge me at least a symbolic rate for it....but, hey, I won't say no to a freebie in this case!!)...so, eventhough I'll spend $11 on the CD, it's still worth it because locally they cost $20....buy, pay $52?? ..gotta be kidding me!!
The same thing happened to my boss, he bought a $20 teddy bear and they were charging him $70 to get it out of customs...he said: forget it! they can keep it! (and he's right!)
soooo...maybe I'll get my CD by Friday!! yay!!

First, thanks to all for your good wishes/prayers, etc...

It stopped raining yesterday night!! (finally!) and today, we have a fierce sun!! (which I hope lasts at least a few days, so that the earth can dry!)

The area where I live is safe and nothing happened (some houses about 4kms from home were evacuated, because they are built right on the mountain, but, where I lived there was no problem)...40,000+ people are in shelters nationwide and, at last count, there were 62 deaths due mudslides...it is said that we had the equivalent of 30 days of rain in just 4!!-and I believe it!

I'm back at work today - yesterday I couldn't come because the nanny didn't come to work and it was raining too heavily for me to venture out with my daughter!...The nanny says her house is safe - although some houses in her neighborhood were badly damaged...

Now we can begin the re-construction process, clearing away mudslides, rescuing bodies (some of which could not be recovered at the time of the mudslides because of danger to the rescue units), and life can start to return to some sense of normalcy...

El Salvador has declared a red alert due severe weather conditions (it has been raining non-stop for almost a week now!, and expected to continue for at least 2 more days)...most rivers are overflowing and the earth is so full of water already that there have been several mudslides...several important roads into the capital city are blocked due mudslides/danger of mudslides...15,000 people have been evacuated nationwide...There have been 36 deaths so far... The National Assembly had a special meeting today to consider decreeing a state of national emergency, which would mean that non-emergency government services and all private companies would be closed, so that workers wouldn't have to go to work....
On top of that, the Ilamatepec volcano in Santa Ana is showing renewed activity and is spewing ashes...Santa Ana is the second-largest city in El Salvador...

I had to bring my daughter with me to work today, because the nanny couldn't come and all schools are closed by orders of the Ministry of Education and the National Emergency Committee (COEN)...I'm trying to leave as much done as possible, in case I can't come tomorrow (if they DO decree the national emergency, it won't matter anyway, as there won't be anybody to follow up, but, just in case...)

Less worrisome right now is the fact that gas prices went up by $0.46/gallon on regular gasoline and by $0.63 in premium gasoline...

I have blankets, water, candles, canned goods and flashlights (+ batteries)...the only thing I DON'T have is a battery-operated radio (I know I had one at home, I know it was out of batteries...I went and bought the batteries, but I'm not sure whether one of my nephews/niece might have taken it, so I'm not sure I can find one...)

I am grateful that I paid my maid yesterday, because it means she has some cash on hand in case anything happens near where she lives...I already went to the bank today to get out some cash as well...My cousin called me and says she's been sweeping water out of her house all day...I don't even want to imagine what MY house will look like when I finally get there tonight! - I'm leaving early, though, because rain and darkness don't make the best driving conditions...plus, some streets are flooded....will have to check the news before leaving to see what the best route is....

Well, we had a pretty good scare with Hurricane Adrian....thank God it lost strength right before it hit the coast and turned into a tropical storm...typically, we get our hurricanes coming in from the Atlantic, and touching ground in Honduras or other countries, where they get spent and then we get mostly heavy rains...which still manage to cause a lot of damage...this time, Adrian was coming straight at us from the Pacific!!...
Things got really crazy, with everyone trying to stock up in case we couldn't go out for days!!... we pretty much had everything in stock, but I bought some more water and several bags of cereal (which we will use in a couple of weeks anyway!)...I gave some water and cereal to the maid, and some powdered milk, too...I KNOW she didn't have the time to go out and buy stuff, and, I don't imagine she had spare money to buy these things, either...thankfully, nothing bad happened to her or her family!! ...13,000 people were evacuated, mostly in the coastal area...we are still on the alert, because heavy rains in Honduras might flood their rivers (which flow into our rivers) ...