The biggest and most important news on this post is the marriage of my good friends Lourdes Villanueva and Tim Olson. Today is the BIG day; they will say their vows and be joined for life in love and happiness. They met while Tim was here in Peru teaching English for a living and exploring the world. They fell in love and now Lourdes is in Canada getting ready to walk down the aisle. Her mother has flown up for the wedding. I wish I could have joined them but circumstances have prevented it. I can’t wait to see photos of the wedding and reception afterwards. The pic I have posted is an old one but I will put new ones here when I receive them.
I have been making steady progress on the edit of the Suitcase Murders. I’ve only got about 5 more pages left of editing and then I
need to write the conclusion to the book. It’s all mapped out in my head so I’m ready to go at it. I hope to finish it up before I return to the US. Then, I can hopefully get back on track with book # 2 and work on finishing it. I sent part of the manuscript for the Prince Charming Murders to another publisher this week. I don’t really expect to hear back from them for a few months. We’ll see how it goes. I’d like to work in a couple of short stories while I’m at it also. Time is the enemy here.
My article on Caral has been posted on the Living in Peru website. Here is the link if you are interested in reading it. http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-297-Caral-a-cradle-of-civilization-on-Perus-coast/ I hope you enjoy it and more importantly, I hope you get the chance to visit this very important site in Peru some day.
Naturally I met with friends again this week. Larry, Mark and I enjoyed coffee and conversation at the Patio Friday morning. We talked about healthcare both here in Peru and the US. Politics didn’t escape our attention nor did the states of the economy both countries. I personally am glad I’m not in the US at this moment. The inundation of political ads filled with hate and venom nauseates me. By the way, my name is Rodney Dodig and I’m running for President. Feel free to write my name in on your ballot if you feel that neither side is looking out for your interests. LOL After I left the Patio, I met up with Aaron and Kathy for lunch and more conversation. This round took on a more personal tone as the two of them talked about things that were going on in their 
lives. Both meetings were interesting and enjoyable. Before I left Miraflores, I walked over to the Mirabus tour booth again and jotted down some of their tours. We may get another group to visit some other places in Peru that I haven’t been to yet.
Lastly, I want to talk about Haters. This past week I received a “friend request” on Facebook from a name I didn’t recognize. Generally, I accept all requests hoping that it will generate interest in my books when I get them published. This person (and I’m sure it was a fake account), tried to engage me in a chat that involved slandering another friend I have here in Peru. He was spreading lies and trying to get me to spread them also. Very sad as far as I’m concerned. The end result, now I have to be careful who I accept as a friend on FB. I ended up unfriending and blocking that account immediately after telling the person off. I then forwarded the conversation to my friend so that he would know what was going on. What am I, back in High School again?
To end on a pleasant note, my week has been great. I’ve had fun with friends and progress with work on my book. The creative side of my brain is in full gear and the gym is slowly melting the pounds I have gained in the past year. I hope all of you have a great week, stay active and enjoy life to the fullest.
Tags: archaeology, Caral, coffee, friends, writing