Our Man in Antigua

as in doing my ’10 taxes for my favorite agency, the IRfu…kingS…’need to change my mailing address but which one to use..MO or FL? ‘that time of the year, crunching numbers, re-reading the journals to remember when/when/$$…depressing? yes…liberating? not really…mainly just brings back memories of making a helluva lot more money(and spending it)…hey, being an impoverished writer is the name of the game, eh? if so, I’m exceeding all expectations..’cry for me, Argentina’..fine..we’re losing a few people this week..Yo Yo(did he take that name from Catch-22?)forgot to ask..’Plumb Bob..my tag, per our mutual experiences in land surveying..and Lisa J…kinda like the old expression that the good ones die early, substituting that the good ones leave early…with a BIG exception..Camilla A..bartender-ess at O’Lot…I had to ask the question, ‘when are YOU leaving?’..answer…”I’m not” …whew…good news..other news…Da Vinci on 6th is closed, lights off and no one home..maybe, just maybe, a soft  opening this week or next..Hector? considering re-opening on Monday nights in May…good..that part of town(my barrio)is getting deader and deader..Red’s? stick a fork in ’em..they’re done..Road Kill/Daikari, Kafka…lo mismo..Studio 35, Gaia? only Cashbar seems to keep the torches lit…Sangre? hah…double hah..if their business plan is to lose money, then they’ve gotta helluva an accountant…pay him double..ran into Lex Cargo in the park earlier…’truly enjoy talking with him..cosmopolitan, traveled,  yes, he dresses a bit eccentric but he does it with style and panache…Monday night on the cobbles? can you say ‘quiet?’..dos Reilly’s a dead zone, Black Cat packed…people on the sidewalk..Wednesday night is packed with several options…Raul of Los Nietos playing at Las Palmas..8pm, GST(thank you Carla)two functions at Angie Angies..5pm onweird..Pangea’s new lounge doing a Thursday ‘happy hour’ 7-9..hell, I’m happy by then, one way or the other..oh, you noticed? for you gringos, there’s a US Embassy Town Hall meeting Tuesday at La Encantada..5ish..9th/5th ave sur..no news re BAC other than two people I know were popped on Saturday plus another gringa tourist…what is it gonna take before they do something other than changing the guards? the horse($$$)is gone..locking the stable or firing the groom doesn’t do anything, other than look like you’re doing something..it’s lame…very lame..I had hopes and expectations, after last week…idiots..”it’s Chinatown, Jake..” right..the beet goes on..and on.. four and a half months later after the Moon Travel Guide specifically nailed that branch, that bank..months of meetings with embassies, a few hundred complaints…what’s it gonna take?…once my taxes are nailed/filed/done i think it’s time for another dose of slime flung their way…substantiated/supported/verifiable slime…as we used to say in the mental health business, ‘not to make a choice..is a choice’..substitute ‘decision/effort/change’ and there you have it..nada, zip, zilch, bagels..yes, i’ve been told ‘confidentially’ that they’re making internal changes..after the fact..after the thefts…the $$$ is gone and that hasn’t stopped…plug the dam, stick a finger in the dyke…no, dike…oopsy..sorry…take a deep breath…inhale..exhale..in comes the good air, out goes the bad..om, mani padme hum…dial tone of the universe..ah! good news! Salty Beaver Beach Lodge? reporting back to back full occupancy for the new units, at least on the weekends..I’m booked for a couple of days next week…can you say ‘tequila sunrise?’