Viva Mexico - Zolo Ma cheese mo

“Deep down I’m very superficial.” - Ava Gardner

While traveling, I’m always riveted by the sights, sounds, weather, and experiences of wherever I am and part of that includes people watching. Or people watching me. At least that’s what I thought was going on.

Let me set the stage. Groom and my traveling companion to Mexico, the person who made it possible for us to go by receiving a week’s stay at a resort as a business-related incentive, and used his accumulated airline miles to get us there, is nicknamed Zolo. For those of you haven’t heard this part yet, he misread my handwriting and interpreted the date of 2010 as Z0l0 and he’s been known as Z0L0 ever since.

To say Zolo is a character would be underselling things. For those of you who have met him, you know what I mean. He’s got a booming voice, a white beard and his personality is larger-than-life. He often wears patchwork pants and whether he’s being compared to Santa Claus, Popeye or a Sea Cap’n, people gravitate to him like a magnet.

Now, I know he’s friendly and very popular here in our town, we can’t go anywhere without people calling out his name and saying hello, but quite honestly, I didn’t know how his style was going to be received within a different culture.

Ha! No need to worry.

Let me take us back to the beach, on our first full day there, when the three of us went sightseeing in Puerto Vallarta. We’re sauntering along the boardwalk with the ocean on one side and interesting shops lining the other. I’m trying to take it all in, including the people.

I can’t help but notice how many smiles I’m getting. As I walk by I take note of all the staring and friends punching each other on the shoulder to get their attention and pointing my way. Well, why not? I’m looking not so bad, I’ve got on a nice outfit, oversized sunglasses, I’m feeling so happy and excited to be there, why shouldn’t folks notice the beaming American girl?

After quite a bit of this, I wave to the next group of people who are smiling at me. But they don’t wave back. And that’s when it hit me. Nobody was looking at me. All that attention was going straight to our 63-year old friend! Then I started laughing, relieved nobody knew what going through my head.

I asked Zolo if he realized he was causing a stir and as soon as he looked up and realized it, men and women came out of the woodwork to talk to him and have their photo taken with “the rock star.”

We sat down at a beach front restaurant and hadn’t even ordered water yet when one woman came up to him and told him how darling he was and they started chatting and exchanged email information. While we were in class one day, he went on a “jungle tour” and by the end of it, a woman had slipped him a napkin with her contact info on it.

Oh, my goodness, he danced and flirted his way through Mexico. They loved him down there.

And on a related note, today is Groundhog’s day. Rumor has it Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow so predictions for an early spring are in the air. This is good news, considering all the snow blanketing much of the country. A week from today, the three of us are supposed to be in New York for Fashion Week and to celebrate my birthday. Hmmm, will those patch pants end up on the catwalk?

Woo Hoo! Goin’ to Mexico…Thanks in Part to the Kalliope Artist Fellowship

I’m writing this on 1-11-11, although it’s starting to look like it won’t be finished until tomorrow. But how cool is the date? And here’s some extra alignment. This morning, I open the book I’m reading and the quote for the day is “Pack my bags, going to Mexico.” – Steve Miller Band.

Why is that alignment, you might ask? A few entries ago, I mentioned that Groom and I were dreaming of a white Christmas…in Mexico, and that there would be a story to tell at a later date.

Today is the later date.

Let’s just say that Santa Claus was verrrry generous to us for Jesus’ Birthday and slipped an all-expense paid trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in our stocking. A friend’s humorous response to us when she heard the news was, “Well, it’s obvious you have a much better relationship to Santa than we do.”

I laughed and thought that’s not exactly Whom we have the relationship with. I know I’m a bit of a maverick believer, but it puts a smile on my face and a giggle in my heart when I think to myself (or say aloud sometimes), “Jesus wants me to have this new pair of shoes!” or “Jesus would like me to have a trip to Mexico,” and naturally I’d hate to disappoint Him.

Why do we have plans to visit Mexico? Last October, Groom and I attended a class with jewelry-guru Richard Salley. At the end of the day, Richard invited us to the inaugural workshop he’s teaching with his wife, Jane, who is also a talented artist. The name of their week-long class? “Fun with Dick and Jane.” Love it.

We immediately wanted to say Yes! and join them. The thought of spending time in warm Puerto Vallarta during the chilly month of January, learning new jewelry-making skills delighted our sensibilities.

But how??

Funny enough, I was listening to Mike Dooley’s audio book, Infinite Possibilities, gifted to us by God’s Minion and he says, “Don’t worry about the how.” Oh, okay.

The phone rings. A friend tells me about a grant opportunity. A woman wants to give money to an artist for “for travel, enrichment or the development of new ideas.” Shazam! Going to Mexico to thaw out winter bones and learn stuff certainly qualifies. We filled out the paperwork and jumped through hoops. Then it was time to wait.

In the meantime, I’m still listening to Mike Dooley. He suggests “acting as if.” Well, I could act as if we were going South of the Border. I purchased a 20!! calendar and marked out when we’d be gone. I looked up flights and took note of the routes. I went shopping, sifting through racks of clothes, imagining a wardrobe that would be perfect for both torch enameling and sipping margaritas on the beach at sunset.

Groom and I created a vision board, photoshopping ourselves in the tropics and included a picture of Richard Salley and his wife Jane, with descriptions of the workshop. We oohed and aaahed over the online images of the beautiful hacienda where the class will be held. We booked a housesitter.

The day of the grant award arrived. Alas, we were not the recipients (it was a basket maker). From the moment I heard the news until a coffee date with a girlfriend, I had 15 minutes to process the loss, as I did not want to bring my disappointment to the café with me. So during that 15-minute walk downtown, I had a conversation with myself in which I made peace with it. By the time I was sipping a cup of French roast, I had released it.

The next day, I receive a phone call from a friend. The first words out of his mouth were, “Boy, is it a good day for Cindy.”

It is?

Oh yes, he continues, and what follows is the rest of the story…

It’s at the end of the year (December 2010), and his business is just about to close for the Holidays. He receives a phone call from a vendor wanting to unload a bunch of raw materials. Our friend neither wants or needs it, especially as it will just sit there without purpose and count as inventory.

A few hours later, the vendor calls back. The guy really really wants to sell his product and offers it at a discount and throws in an “incentive.” Our friend gets a sudden “gut feeling” and agrees. Within minutes of buying it, his office phone starts ringing off the hook. He receives four, last minute orders that eats up everything he just purchased.

If he had received the orders first and then bought the goods to fill them, he would have paid full price and not been bribed. There was only one hang, he said. The incentive, a beautiful condo, was only available for one particular week in January, but did Groom and I want to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? Oh, and he had more than enough frequent flier miles to get us there from buying all that material.

Hmmm, let’s see. We were invited to Puerto Vallarta in January. We didn’t know how. A grant opportunity arose. We applied. We listened to Infinite Possibilities. We acted “as if.” We did not receive the grant, but kept a positive attitude. We were invited to Puerto Vallarta in January, all expenses paid the NEXT day.

Oh, we’ll have to think it over, I told him. NOT. Ha, there was certainly a lot of whooping and thanksgiving and joyful celebrating in our household that day. Thank you Jesus!

“Pack my bags, going to Mexico.”