3/20/2011 - Muffler

A muffler is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. The muffler reduces exhaust noise by absorption – the exhaust is routed through a series of passages and chambers lined with roving fiberglass wool – and/or resonating chambers tuned to cause destructive interference wherein opposite sound waves cancel each other out. Changing the muffler can change the sound of a car's exhaust system considerably. Removing a vehicle's muffler or installing a less effective muffler than the original can cause the vehicle to violate noise regulations. Nevertheless some vehicle owners remove their car muffler in the belief it will improve performance, or just to make them louder.

Indeed, we never appreciate what we have. For all the years I lived in NYC and Saint-Petersburg I constantly complained about the traffic noise. Little did I know! The traffic noise of NYC is nothing compared to the unmuffled (or maybe demuffled) horror of this little Mexican paradise. None of the islanders seems to have heard about the muffler. I can kind of understand (though not condone) how some macho men would want to have no muffler on their motorcycles, but family men! girls! respectable looking ladies! Honestly!!!

I've been trying to figure out how I can make a difference here, for my own sake and for all of us who appreciate silence. If you have any ideas on how to launch an effective muffler campaign on this island, DO share!

Canadian myth busted

I have been to Canada a couple of times during which I didn’t get a chance to interact with “real” Canadians a lot, but I’ve always heard the nicest things about them. Canadians always smile. Canadians are capable of seeing the bright side of any disastrous situation. Canadians are the most polite lot. According to the “How I Met Your Mother” show, you push a Canadian and he apologizes for being in your way… But is that really so? Well…

I didn’t want to leave my properly A/C’d house to have lunch out the other day and voted in favor of ordering in “Chicken Teriyaki” from La Parrilla Cozumel. This dish has little to do with the real Japanese chicken teriyaki, but it’s delicious nevertheless and you cannot beat the price – 35 MXN pesos ($3) for a very hearty portion. As I had ordered from them before, I didn’t really expect any foul, but after working in the financial industry I should have known better. Indeed, “prior performance does not guarantee future results”.

So I place an order on the phone and switch off my A/C because I know that with this noise on I won’t be able to hear the bell. I wait and wait and wait. Finally, the bell rings. I run from the second floor downstairs, grab the keys, shoot, the keys fall down on the floor and get entangled, I lose a couple of seconds fumbling through them, but finally manage to open the door, run to the gate and… see the guy get on his bike and shoot away from me. I try to shout after him, but (remember the muffler problem in Cozumel?) he obviously cannot hear me. OK, no problem, I think. I call the restaurant again and explain the situation. A very annoyed voice responds, “Well, I was there for more than 5 minutes. I was honking and yelling loudly, too, not only ringing the bell”. I find it hard to believe because actually I’m super sensitive to even any minor honking, so I say, “Ha, weird that I didn’t hear any honking or yelling.” All of a sudden the voice’s annoyance turns into rage, “ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME??? THIS IS FUNNY TO YOU??? I WORK VERY HARD TO MAKE MY DELIVERIES EFFICIENT FOR HOURS AND HOURS AND YOU ARE LAUGHING AT ME???” Click… beep-beep-beep. He actually hangs up on me! Totally taken aback, I call back and offer, “My apologies, I certainly didn’t mean to offend you, in fact, I’m not laughing at you at all. Can we just please resolve this misunderstanding?” He yells, “DO NOT EVER CALL HERE AGAIN! THIS RESTAURANT IS NOT FOR YOU, UNDERSTOOD? FUCK YOU!” Click… beep-beep-beep. He hangs up again. In total disbelief, I decide to give it another try and call again, “I understand that you may be having a bad day and I’m sorry for that, but could I please have my food?” “WHAT??? – he bellows. – “HOW DARE YOU CALL HERE AGAIN? YOU WERE LAUGHING AT ME! LAUGHING! IT’S FUNNY TO YOU! WASN’T I CLEAR – DO NOT CALL HE-RE E-VER A-GAIN! NE-VER! FUCK YOU!” And the familiar click, this time totally expected.

Later on I learnt that the deliveries at this restaurant are done by its owner, a Canadian guy. As I mentioned above I ordered from this place before and I actually saw the guy a couple of times. He was most agreeable and polite. I respect everybody’s right to a bad day, but isn’t that a bit extreme? Firstly, it’s just a silly misunderstanding, things like this happen sometimes, it’s O-K. Secondly, I wasn’t disrespectful and even when he got offended in the first place by my “Ha”, I actually apologized right away. And if nothing else, what happened to the good old “The client is always right”?

P.S. I’m Facebook “friends” with his restaurant, so I’m currently debating if I should post this story on their FB page that has 354 followers… What do you think?