The Essayist - I looked up the dictionary definition of this today, and it was very informative. An essayist is 'a person that writes essays'. Now I understand. Clear as mud.
Actually what I later discovered was, an essayist is someone who writes, in their opinion, about a multitude of topics. They can concentrate on the more profound and intellectual topics we humans experience, or just provide their opinions on the less extraordinary things found in our daily lives. They can write in prose or verse, but prose is the normal.
Because these essays are the writers own opinions or reflections, they are open to discussion or criticism by those with different outlooks on the subject. I think most modern day essayists can be found writing articles for magazines and periodicals. I generally don't read these types of prose, however, there are some that I believe I read everyday without actually realizing it.
For instance, bloggers commenting on current new articles, that write numerous paragraphs explaining their opinion on subjects can be considered essayists - although many of their essays are quite short in length. One useful essayist I find in my work as a novel writer, is the critic or reviewer. These kind folks analyse a writers work, and write an essay outlining their opinions of it's value. Other essayists write reviews of products we use in our normal daily lives.
When I first started investigating the essayist, I had assumed that they were simply opinionated writers trying to prove their arrogance by writing intellectual pieces on a variety of intellectual topics. How wrong I was. They are actually quite useful in today's society.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Transfer of car ownership in Mexico.
Well I renewed my Mexican Driver Licence for another year recently; then proceeded to buy a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire from my Landlord in Cuernavaca. I think I got a good deal, and paid approximately 2,500 Cdn for the car. It needed a few repairs, but is in perfect working condition now. Remember if you are buying a car in Mexico, stick with the older models of Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler and of course Volkswagen. Also remember if you happen to buy a new vehicle, the Dealership repair shops are rip-offs. Find a good cheap mechanic instead.
So, I finished paying off the car a few days ago, and it was time to do the transfer of ownership. Instead of going to the main office up north, we decided to go to the central, and much smaller, office downtown. I'm not sure if it was a mistake or not because it was quite busy too. Also, let me mention, that one of my fellow tenants last year was an employee responsible for installing the new, improved computer system for these types of transactions. I heard the company sold the system to the Government for 50,000,000 pesos (about 4 million dollars Cdn), and I must say, it sucks.
Outside the office was a photocopy business, and they are making a fortune. Any vehicle transfer involves at least 5-10 photocopies, and we were not excluded. We needed a copy of the registration, a copy of my Temporary Resident card, a copy of the original vehicle registration from the dealer, and copies of the past 5 years of tax receipts. Taxes must be paid annually on all vehicles, but used vehicles are much less. Mine was 250 pesos per year, and this amount decreases as the vehicle gets older.
We first joined the long information line with all of our original forms and copies. After about a half hour, we reached the first clerk, and she handed us a new form to enter the ownership transfer information. The bill of sale was not sufficient.
We then had to join the second lineup to get these forms processed. Because my Resident photocopy was not adequate, I had to run next door to the photocopy store and get an enlargement of it. This took some time, and meanwhile, Raul waited with this second clerk to ensure they continued with the processing. The clerks had trouble with the new system, and then after about an hour of waiting, instructed us to go to the photocopy store and use their internet to obtain a Mexican form stating I was a Mexican citizen - which I'm not. Raul told them this, but they insisted.
We both went next door and obtained a printout stating that I wasn't Mexican, but I was assigned a temporary tax number anyway. After about another hour of the clerk entering and re-entering this data, we finally got the transfer document and the estimate of cost of the transfer. It included a 350 pesos amount for the transfer tax, a 250 peso amount for the 2015 taxes and a 147 amount for the transfer itself.
Then we proceeded to lineup number 3. This was a much shorter line, fortunately, and I was able to use Visa to make the payment. I was then given two more forms showing the payment and then we went to line number 4. The last one, but much longer than all of the preceding lines. I stood in this line and inched forward for just over an hour, and we finally reached the clerks. Fortunately a clerk from lineup #2 moved over to this lineup to give the clerks a hand. This seemed to move the line ahead a little faster thank goodness.
After re-entering all the information one last time, I was given a form to sign and enter my cell number; and was then given my registration form and 2015 tax decal (which had to later be applied to my back window of the car. Total time for this transaction was about 5 hours. I must say that I wasn't impressed with this new computer system. But I must also say - it was an experience. Hopefully paying the 2016 taxes will go a little faster next year.
Oh, one last thing, one of the problems they had at lineup #2 was that I only have one last name. The computer system was designed for Mexicans, who have two last names (father and mother). So my last name on the registration now ends with XXX. Too funny, but at least now, I finally own the car. Now to file all the original forms in a safe place at home so no one steals them. If they have the original registration from the dealer, they own my car.
So, I finished paying off the car a few days ago, and it was time to do the transfer of ownership. Instead of going to the main office up north, we decided to go to the central, and much smaller, office downtown. I'm not sure if it was a mistake or not because it was quite busy too. Also, let me mention, that one of my fellow tenants last year was an employee responsible for installing the new, improved computer system for these types of transactions. I heard the company sold the system to the Government for 50,000,000 pesos (about 4 million dollars Cdn), and I must say, it sucks.
Outside the office was a photocopy business, and they are making a fortune. Any vehicle transfer involves at least 5-10 photocopies, and we were not excluded. We needed a copy of the registration, a copy of my Temporary Resident card, a copy of the original vehicle registration from the dealer, and copies of the past 5 years of tax receipts. Taxes must be paid annually on all vehicles, but used vehicles are much less. Mine was 250 pesos per year, and this amount decreases as the vehicle gets older.
We first joined the long information line with all of our original forms and copies. After about a half hour, we reached the first clerk, and she handed us a new form to enter the ownership transfer information. The bill of sale was not sufficient.
We then had to join the second lineup to get these forms processed. Because my Resident photocopy was not adequate, I had to run next door to the photocopy store and get an enlargement of it. This took some time, and meanwhile, Raul waited with this second clerk to ensure they continued with the processing. The clerks had trouble with the new system, and then after about an hour of waiting, instructed us to go to the photocopy store and use their internet to obtain a Mexican form stating I was a Mexican citizen - which I'm not. Raul told them this, but they insisted.
We both went next door and obtained a printout stating that I wasn't Mexican, but I was assigned a temporary tax number anyway. After about another hour of the clerk entering and re-entering this data, we finally got the transfer document and the estimate of cost of the transfer. It included a 350 pesos amount for the transfer tax, a 250 peso amount for the 2015 taxes and a 147 amount for the transfer itself.
Then we proceeded to lineup number 3. This was a much shorter line, fortunately, and I was able to use Visa to make the payment. I was then given two more forms showing the payment and then we went to line number 4. The last one, but much longer than all of the preceding lines. I stood in this line and inched forward for just over an hour, and we finally reached the clerks. Fortunately a clerk from lineup #2 moved over to this lineup to give the clerks a hand. This seemed to move the line ahead a little faster thank goodness.
After re-entering all the information one last time, I was given a form to sign and enter my cell number; and was then given my registration form and 2015 tax decal (which had to later be applied to my back window of the car. Total time for this transaction was about 5 hours. I must say that I wasn't impressed with this new computer system. But I must also say - it was an experience. Hopefully paying the 2016 taxes will go a little faster next year.
Oh, one last thing, one of the problems they had at lineup #2 was that I only have one last name. The computer system was designed for Mexicans, who have two last names (father and mother). So my last name on the registration now ends with XXX. Too funny, but at least now, I finally own the car. Now to file all the original forms in a safe place at home so no one steals them. If they have the original registration from the dealer, they own my car.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club
A few years ago, my sister visited Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic and fell in love with not only it, but one of it's residents. She visited the relatively new Lifestyles Resort and she and her girlfriend attended one of the sales meetings. That is if you can call a Time Slime pressure sales tactics a meeting. My sister told me about this fantastic investment and I told her it sounded like a glorified Time Share. She disagreed.
Now my sister and her friend are not stupid people by any means, but finding oneself on a beautiful island, enjoying a fantastic well-deserved holiday with music and drinks, tends to clouds one's judgement a little. Needless to say, they both ended up buying memberships to the club for 50 years. My sister bought the gold membership (I believe) for approximately $35,000, paying 1/2 down and committing to payments for the balance. Her friend paid a little more for the platinum membership.
It wasn't long after that the 'Club' enticed them into buying one of and exclusive 50 shares in the resort; with promises of far greater benefits while vacationing, and not only that, the opportunity to put their shares to work for them in the form of a rental business. The cost was only a minimal $85,000, and after a discussion back in Canada, the girls decided to buy in and form a business to recover their investment.
The promises made were:
1. Only 50 shareholders in the club
2. Dividends paid annually at $5,000 per share
3. Unlimited access to certain VIP beaches and restaurants only for shareholders
4. Availability of Villas and Cart Transportation on all of their vacations.
5 Years Later, what they got:
1. Almost 1,000 shareholders in the club
2. Dividends given in benefits at the resort, not cash
3. Now there are 1,000 shareholders using the VIP beaches and restaurants, not 50
4. Villas and Carts have to be fought for, and reservations not honored.
The girls have now discovered that they were given a false set of goods, and that their investment will not pay off in the way they had hoped. The only way they can recover any of their money is to plan vacations at the resort (during non-peak periods to take advantage of their benefits), and use their dividends to pay their villa fees and all-inclusive fees. At least in this way they can recover at least some of their investment. They could still send guests using their share, but with services declining because of increased numbers of shareholders, they would be embarrassed to send anyone.
I understand the owner, who lives on the resort some of the time, now has bodyguards on a 24 hour basis. I think he needs them.
The moral of the story - don't be pressured into buying into these schemes. Take a break from the salesmen and give it some serious thought. Some people do like this form of vacation. Finally, get everything in writing, and don't let them distract you when reading the contract. I think I prefer living in Mexico for 7 months a year on just under $5,000.
Now my sister and her friend are not stupid people by any means, but finding oneself on a beautiful island, enjoying a fantastic well-deserved holiday with music and drinks, tends to clouds one's judgement a little. Needless to say, they both ended up buying memberships to the club for 50 years. My sister bought the gold membership (I believe) for approximately $35,000, paying 1/2 down and committing to payments for the balance. Her friend paid a little more for the platinum membership.
It wasn't long after that the 'Club' enticed them into buying one of and exclusive 50 shares in the resort; with promises of far greater benefits while vacationing, and not only that, the opportunity to put their shares to work for them in the form of a rental business. The cost was only a minimal $85,000, and after a discussion back in Canada, the girls decided to buy in and form a business to recover their investment.
The promises made were:
1. Only 50 shareholders in the club
2. Dividends paid annually at $5,000 per share
3. Unlimited access to certain VIP beaches and restaurants only for shareholders
4. Availability of Villas and Cart Transportation on all of their vacations.
5 Years Later, what they got:
1. Almost 1,000 shareholders in the club
2. Dividends given in benefits at the resort, not cash
3. Now there are 1,000 shareholders using the VIP beaches and restaurants, not 50
4. Villas and Carts have to be fought for, and reservations not honored.
The girls have now discovered that they were given a false set of goods, and that their investment will not pay off in the way they had hoped. The only way they can recover any of their money is to plan vacations at the resort (during non-peak periods to take advantage of their benefits), and use their dividends to pay their villa fees and all-inclusive fees. At least in this way they can recover at least some of their investment. They could still send guests using their share, but with services declining because of increased numbers of shareholders, they would be embarrassed to send anyone.
I understand the owner, who lives on the resort some of the time, now has bodyguards on a 24 hour basis. I think he needs them.
The moral of the story - don't be pressured into buying into these schemes. Take a break from the salesmen and give it some serious thought. Some people do like this form of vacation. Finally, get everything in writing, and don't let them distract you when reading the contract. I think I prefer living in Mexico for 7 months a year on just under $5,000.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
What kind of writer are you? The Screenwriter
The Screenwriter (sometimes called Scriptwriter) -what I describe as a much more difficult occupation than the novelist. Of course, many screenwriters are either novelists themselves, or they use novels to create their screenplays.
Screenwriting is difficult because of the medium required to produce your work. In the old days, much of the writing was done for radio, thus the term 'scriptwriter'. A writer was not able to describe and set scenes for the audience and use special visual effects because this was not possible through a completely audio scenario. How a scriptwriter made his script more effective was through the use of various sound effects and tonal changes in voices. Of course, because the characters could not be seen, a person that could use different voices could, in effect, portray numerous characters in a story.
Today, because radio productions are few and far between, most of the scriptwriting is done for movie or television screenplays. Screenplay s vary in length depending on the length of the production, shorter for most TV programs, but longer for movies. But they are all consistent in their presentation and follow a standard 'screenplay' format. There are a couple of different styles, but only one format.
I have just begun a new career as an author of books, but one day I hope to face the challenge of writing either a separate screenplay, or one based on one of my books. I have started to learn the process of developing characters through the use of both prose and dialogue, but the ability to tell a story primarily with dialogue would definitely be something interesting to tackle. I think I'll wait a couple of years though.
I am going on vacation for two weeks, and may not be able to get any updates written on this current topic of types of writers, but will definitely have the next one done sometime in early March.
Screenwriting is difficult because of the medium required to produce your work. In the old days, much of the writing was done for radio, thus the term 'scriptwriter'. A writer was not able to describe and set scenes for the audience and use special visual effects because this was not possible through a completely audio scenario. How a scriptwriter made his script more effective was through the use of various sound effects and tonal changes in voices. Of course, because the characters could not be seen, a person that could use different voices could, in effect, portray numerous characters in a story.
Today, because radio productions are few and far between, most of the scriptwriting is done for movie or television screenplays. Screenplay s vary in length depending on the length of the production, shorter for most TV programs, but longer for movies. But they are all consistent in their presentation and follow a standard 'screenplay' format. There are a couple of different styles, but only one format.
I have just begun a new career as an author of books, but one day I hope to face the challenge of writing either a separate screenplay, or one based on one of my books. I have started to learn the process of developing characters through the use of both prose and dialogue, but the ability to tell a story primarily with dialogue would definitely be something interesting to tackle. I think I'll wait a couple of years though.
I am going on vacation for two weeks, and may not be able to get any updates written on this current topic of types of writers, but will definitely have the next one done sometime in early March.
I dream of the day when ALL politicians are held accountable.
Is it just me, or do politicians seem to make big promises, get elected, and then fall somewhat short on those promises or dismiss them altogether? If I applied for a new position and made promises about my qualifications and abilities to my new employer, then totally disregarded them, I would be FIRED - not later but sooner.
If I made errors on my expense reporting over a period of time, I would not only be FIRED, I would probably be charged with theft and may even serve time in PRISON.
If a friend of mine helped me get my foot in the door and eventually get a new job, and I then changed policies within the company to benefit these friends financially to pay them back for their assistance, my employer would surely FIRE me.
We won't even go into what would happen if, after I was hired, I changed the internal company policies to give myself raises in pay and increased benefits. What company on earth would allow it's employees to give themselves raises and benefits? Gee, I think my CPP payments are too low, I'll just give myself a raise - I deserve it. No, I think I would be FIRED.
And of course the large corporations that fund elections for various politicians are just providing legal contributions; it really isn't bribery. But let any common citizen do the same and off to PRISON. I don't believe it. It just hit me. There are two sets of laws in the world. One for the rich and one for the poor. Silly me.
I dream of the day when politicians are truly held accountable for their words and actions and a few of them actually go to JAIL.
If I made errors on my expense reporting over a period of time, I would not only be FIRED, I would probably be charged with theft and may even serve time in PRISON.
If a friend of mine helped me get my foot in the door and eventually get a new job, and I then changed policies within the company to benefit these friends financially to pay them back for their assistance, my employer would surely FIRE me.
We won't even go into what would happen if, after I was hired, I changed the internal company policies to give myself raises in pay and increased benefits. What company on earth would allow it's employees to give themselves raises and benefits? Gee, I think my CPP payments are too low, I'll just give myself a raise - I deserve it. No, I think I would be FIRED.
And of course the large corporations that fund elections for various politicians are just providing legal contributions; it really isn't bribery. But let any common citizen do the same and off to PRISON. I don't believe it. It just hit me. There are two sets of laws in the world. One for the rich and one for the poor. Silly me.
I dream of the day when politicians are truly held accountable for their words and actions and a few of them actually go to JAIL.
Friday, February 6, 2015
What kind of writer are you? The Speechwriter
The Speechwriter - now this is a truly noble occupation. I think if this was my career I would ask someone to please just shoot me in the head. Not only is the content a pile of bullshit, it is written for the lowest of the lows in most cases - politicians.
Not only do their clients/bosses lie their way into a job, they spend their entire career paying back their financial supporters once they have been elected. To do this they change whatever laws are necessary to help these manipulators. Then they leave a few years later with a big fat pension that they didn't earn, but the public has to pay for - forever.
Now, I'm sure some speechwriters truly believe their job is honorable and that the work they produce is valuable, but they obviously don't have the forsight to see the Big Picture. They are writing for liars and scum, and their finished product (the speech) is a farce. Maybe one day they will realize this, and make the politicians write their own BS.
My suggestion for speechwriters - firing squad.
Next week - The Screenwriter.
Not only do their clients/bosses lie their way into a job, they spend their entire career paying back their financial supporters once they have been elected. To do this they change whatever laws are necessary to help these manipulators. Then they leave a few years later with a big fat pension that they didn't earn, but the public has to pay for - forever.
Now, I'm sure some speechwriters truly believe their job is honorable and that the work they produce is valuable, but they obviously don't have the forsight to see the Big Picture. They are writing for liars and scum, and their finished product (the speech) is a farce. Maybe one day they will realize this, and make the politicians write their own BS.
My suggestion for speechwriters - firing squad.
Next week - The Screenwriter.
Monday, February 2, 2015
When is a writer's 'marketing' annoying?
I am a fairly new addition to the online writing market. I think I've done almost everything that everyone else has done to promote my first two books; like set up a facebook page dedicated to my writing and books and set up a Twitter account and Blog. I have politely added new friends, trying to ensure that we have interests in common. I've even gone off the beaten path from time to time and added friends that are musicians, myself being a bass guitar player.
I have noticed, however, that some of my recent 'friends' not only post indiscriminately on my sites, but they seem to have joined every writers group currently registered on the internet. Not only have they joined these multitude of groups, they appear to have a never-ending supply of daily posts at their fingertips. One particular 'friend', I have noticed, posts about 20 times a day on these various sites, which are unfortunately sent to my personal pages.
Now, I'm not sure if this 'writer' actually has this much to say, or if they feel that posting absolutely everywhere will market their skills at the same rate of speed as they are posting. If they are trying to accomplish a fast-track for their book sales, in my opinion, they are just doing the opposite. I have now had to block a couple of these promoters so that I can actually read posts of some importance. Not only have they forced me to delete them and their hundreds of posts, I have made a resolve to stay as far away from their writings as possible.
Their attempt of promoting themselves and their works has had the exact opposite effect that they probably desired. Please, please, stop posting so much - you appear desperate, and are driving sales down, not up. Just my opinion.
I have noticed, however, that some of my recent 'friends' not only post indiscriminately on my sites, but they seem to have joined every writers group currently registered on the internet. Not only have they joined these multitude of groups, they appear to have a never-ending supply of daily posts at their fingertips. One particular 'friend', I have noticed, posts about 20 times a day on these various sites, which are unfortunately sent to my personal pages.
Now, I'm not sure if this 'writer' actually has this much to say, or if they feel that posting absolutely everywhere will market their skills at the same rate of speed as they are posting. If they are trying to accomplish a fast-track for their book sales, in my opinion, they are just doing the opposite. I have now had to block a couple of these promoters so that I can actually read posts of some importance. Not only have they forced me to delete them and their hundreds of posts, I have made a resolve to stay as far away from their writings as possible.
Their attempt of promoting themselves and their works has had the exact opposite effect that they probably desired. Please, please, stop posting so much - you appear desperate, and are driving sales down, not up. Just my opinion.
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