You Can Have Anything Done in Mexico

Saturday night I went to a huge concert. A Japanese percussion ensemble was performing live outdoors. There must have been 30 thousand people there! It was very energetic and inspiring.

At some point during the concert I lost my car keys. I did not realize this until I returned to the car and started searching my pockets for my keys.

I did not panic but I was frustrated. My friend Pablo and I back tracked our route and searched for the keys but it was already dark. The concert ended at 11 pm and people hung out until 1 or 2 am. Eventually, I got desperate and ended up taking a taxi back to the house.

Like back in LA most places are not open on Sundays. I waited until Monday (today) to call a locksmith. I looked in the phone book and there were literally hundreds. I basically had to do one of those "close your eyes and just point and call that one" type of decisions. I did just that! Actually I played it smart and called about 10 and then picked the one that charged the cheapest to come and check out the car problem.
Basically, I could not open the car not start it because like I said, I lost the keys. Also, the low-jack system was active so I could not even use my remote to open it because it would go off.

So this nice guy shows up downtown where my truck was parked with a tool box and immediately gets to work. Since I had previously called, he had already selected keys that were made for Nissan trucks and cars. He found one that was just the right size but still had to cut it into shape. He ended up opening the car with whatever that tools name is that they stick into the side of the glass to open the car and removed the door key hole. He took it apart and began using a regular shop file to design the key. He was very precise and eventually made me brand new key that both opened and started the truck! I was very happy. They only charged me $400 pesos which is about $36.00 USD

I appreciated the fact that he did ask me to prove that the car was indeed mine immediately after opening it! I showed him my paper work and he began working on the key.

I was very happy and enjoyed my drive home. Actually, I did stop by Wal-Mart to get a car wash for $50.00 pesos....that's about $4.50 USD
They power washed my car and used the high intensity water pressure gun to wash my tires, then they sprayed it with some kind of bug/dust remover, they ran it through the machine and hand dried it and cleaned the inside. I was impressed and the price was fantastic! Then I came home and waxed the truck! (Waxed cars actually get better gas mileage because there is less friction on the road as you drive!...just thought I'd point that out)

So here I am, chillin' at home. I've got some cold beers in the fridge and tomorrow we continue with Mahler Symphony No 5.

Today we worked on Movements I and II.
Mahler is not only technically and phrasingly challenging but interpretively difficult as well. He is very specific about what he wants and our director, having studied in Germany, is very good with German music. It's going to be an intense week.