Archive for Malcolm

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Pan-Asian Flavor Arrives in Merida (Finally!)

Until we moved to Yucatan, I don’t think we fully realized exactly how much Chinese and Thai food we ate on a weekly basis. I’m not talking authentic Chinese cuisine, with its soupy combinations of animal feet in a stinky broth, or chicken heads lovingly skewered and roasted over an open flame in the back […]

3Jun2008 | Malcolm | 17 comments | Continued
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Photonotes from a 30th Birthday in Cancun

Jillian planned a fantastic mini-vacation from our lives (which, incidentally, look an awful lot like a vacation, anyway) to celebrate my 30th birthday in Cancun. Though we only spent a few days, we had an absolute ball, and I entered my third decade in style. A few quick photo notes:

Pre-check in at the Westin, a lovely hotel […]

29May2008 | Malcolm | 8 comments | Continued
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Baseball in Mexico: Saturday Night with the Merida Leones

Think baseball isn’t a big deal in Mexico? Think again. The country-wide championship win of the Merida Leones in 2006 made Merida’s hometown AAA team nationwide news. It has also made tickets harder to come by, so we were very fortunate to have some friends score us some tickets for Saturday night’s game versus the […]

20May2008 | Malcolm | 5 comments | Continued
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Economic Discrepancy

M: Don’t you think it’s weird that my dad’s electric bill gets such a bigger subsidy from the government than ours does? I mean, does CFE honestly think that Telchac Puerto is a poorer town than Chelem?
J: Yeah, seriously. They have a lighthouse, for chrissake.

14May2008 | Malcolm | 5 comments | Continued
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Expatriation is Freedom (But Not the Way You Think)

During a Jillian-imposed viewing of Lord of the Rings last night, it dawned on me that I am perhaps happier now, living in Yucatan, than I have ever been in my life. And as that bearded dude droned on about the Fellowship, that computer-generated monster said, “my precious,” over and over again, and I drifted off into the […]

14Apr2008 | Malcolm | 8 comments | Continued
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Easter Sunday at the Bullfight

Recipe for an ideal Easter Sunday:

1 part sitting on the deck eating shrimp
1 part tequila
3/4 part Controy
1/2 part duck
2 parts off-season bullfight in makeshift ring in Chelem

Serve piping hot and enjoy.
Serving Suggestions:

24Mar2008 | Malcolm | 11 comments | Continued
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Faces of Olivia: Portraits of a Street Dog

In our opinion, our dog is one of the finest specimens of a Mexican street dog you could ever find. She is loyal, smart, utterly breedless, and incredibly thankful to have a home. We dress her in bandannas, take her on walks, and laugh at her face. When she is soulful, we call her Olivia; […]

14Mar2008 | Malcolm | 3 comments | Continued
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Building Community with the New Yolisto

About a year ago, we launched a website called, “Yolisto,” which aimed to be a kind of Craigslist-inspired community classified advertising website for residents of the Yucatan. The initial response was quite positive, earning us a few posts and even a shoutout on Yucatan Living. The site worked well, and people seemed happy to have the […]

4Mar2008 | Malcolm | 1 comment | Continued
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The Times Square-ification of Downtown Progreso

Presumably as part of the beautification of downtown Progreso that we wrote about recently, the city recently erected this electronic billboard on Calle 31, right next to the school, the municipal building, our office, and the town square. Its placement seemed odd, and its purpose unclear…until the electricians unceremoniously lit it off last night. It […]

22Feb2008 | Malcolm | 1 comment | Continued
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The Police in Hillsborough, Florida are Amazing

“If they’re trying to figure out if someone’s in a wheelchair or not, there are many other ways you can do it besides dumping somebody on their face.”

True words, Brian.

13Feb2008 | Malcolm | 0 comments | Continued
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La Tratto, Dehydration, Star Medica, & You: A Cautionary Tale

This article was supposed to be a review of La Tratto restaurant, the hip Italian eatery that makes up part of the trifecta in the Trotter family empire of restaurants, so let’s start there and pretend that the evening progressed normally.
La Tratto is located at #479C on the Prolognacion de Montejo, between the glorieta with the […]

12Feb2008 | Malcolm | 8 comments | Continued
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Gringos Restaurant Closes Doors: What Went Wrong?

Gringos Restaurant opened in Chelem in February of last year, with an advertising blitz and the announcement, “Finally… American food in Chelem.” The restaurant appeared to be doing everything right. They had the menu, the spectacular beachfront location, and the much-needed community events and features, including nightly movie screenings on the beach, karaoke parties, huge […]

29Jan2008 | Malcolm | 8 comments | Continued
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