Mexico is full of a lot of things cheap booze, pirated videos, burritos and of course Mexicans. However what I didn’t realize was that Electricity Bills in Mexico are 3 times what they are in Canada. My parents are snowbirds, and they live in their newly purchased home for 6 months out of the year. So do a lot of other people. Other people such as a man I wish I had a chance to meet.

After nearly a week of positive stories from my mother and a promise to meet this amazing man at a local Hanukah Party. I never did meet him. However I do have stories!

It turns out this man (I never did remember his name) lives in Mexico along with his wife. They, like my parents, live in their home for 6 months out of the year. Seeing as how electricity prices are so high, and half the year the home isn’t even occupied. This man thought of a great idea to put solar paneling on the mirror door (roof) of his home so that when he and his wife were back in America the home would store energy. During the 6 months of store time he was able to have enough solar powered energy to live for the 6 months and still have some left over. NOW! You may be wondering what he does with the leftover energy before he departs home. He sells it back to the Electric Company and in turn gets money. He then leaves for another 6 months and the process starts over again.

Before I tell you he takes his pesos and goes laughing to the bank, I’ll let you know that this man has also started a chain reaction amongst other full and half year residents in the area. They realize that the fee of setting up the Solar Panels and changing their lives will not only have a positive long term effect on their wallets BUT also the environment.

I wonder if a positive difference in Toronto could snowball as much as in Mexico.

I wonder why Mexican made electronics are more expensive in Mexico but sold for much cheaper in America and Canada.

I wonder why children and people generally look and feel happier although bare less physical items and deal with a lot more life struggles in Mexico then that of America or Canada.

I wonder why Mexicans have this open willingness to help out even if their situations don’t support it.

I wonder why the days go by quicker but I feel like I’m accomplishing more in Mexico than that of Toronto.

I wonder why I still live in Toronto.

I have no windows looking out into the world from my office. Just these blinding lights and uncontrollable heat. The 13 floodlights force so much extra heat into this office unit and use so much energy that a usual bulb lasts 3 weeks max. One of my bosses (the meaner of the two) forces us as employees to leave our office lights on, EVEN IF we’ve left the office for the day. You may be thinking that, that doesn’t make much sense, well HEY! I feel the exact same way. When I challenged him last on the leaving lights on issue, his reply was

“What if an important client comes in to meet with me and all the private office unit lights are off? Then they’ll assume no one works here and that we’re all part-time staff and lazy”

(ehem, speak for yourself….)

Now that reply didn’t make much sense to me because…

A) We literally have maybe 1 visitor a week – if that!

B) We’re a small office, but we use as much energy to power our unit as the Lawyers office across the hall. However they have 20+ employees. We only have 5 full-time and 3 part-time.

This issue aggravated me so much I went out a few months ago and purchased Lumark Energy Saving Light Bulbs on my lunch break. I came back after lunch and immediately took out the step ladder and replaced random lights around my office that would house such bulbs (not all the lights in my office will accept the Lumarks). I was hoping the meaner boss wouldn’t notice this change. But funny enough Monday morning came around and the bulbs were the first thing he noticed.

“What the fuck are these cheap bulbs doing in the lamps?” was his reply after finding them.

Many of us have tried to explain to him that IF he wants to leave the lights on during the day there is a much better way of going about it. After working here for over a year I’ve realized with him there is NO compromising.

Perhaps if he switched to a more energy/cost saving light choice then maybe he could actually “afford” to give me a raise. (Slight irritation in that sentence….)

I’m wondering what to do now…