i dont know how i forgot to write about this when i was in new mexico last month, but i did.
we were in taos, which is a small town with ski resort and one of the oldest still occupied dwellings in the usa (the taos people have lived there for about a 1000 years i believe). cool place to visit if you find yourself in new mexico and want to see indigenous housing that is still in use and well preserved.
anyway, we were in taos for the afternoon because we got out of class early and there was a bus going that way from the campus (and as the campus was 5 miles from the nearest town, there was that desire to escape). after a thoroughly obnoxious 2 hour bus ride in a high school type bus (uncomfortable), we spent about 2 hours at the small reservation. then, with about 2 hrs more to kill before returning to summer camp (pretty much it was summer camp in that everyone ate at the cafeteria, and you had to get there with your friends or you would be sitting with the losers-arguably as we were all teachers we were all losers, but i digress.) i was with a texan, a canadian (we teach in mexico) and a guy from mexico (he teaches in houston). we walked around for a while looking at the cheap crap on sale at every little store (who doesn´t want their name engraved on a cheap key ring!) and then we decided to eat.
there was a little restaurant close by, and as i had pretty much determined to eat appetisers everywhere i went in the usa because my favorite food from the usa is still bar food, i flipped through the menu looking for some sampler platter. to my surprise they had fat tire (new belgium brewery out of northern colorado) beer and i was stoked. this was once my favorite beer, at the very least favorite beer company, in the usa and it was happy hour so it was cheap. i made some stupid comment about how much i loved the beer and my friends decided to get it as well because i recommended it so highly.
the waitress arrives and i was so excited i jumped at the hesitation by the others to order first.
¨fat tire, please.¨ ¨sure, can i see your id first?¨
what? id. i am 28 years old.
¨sorry, new mexico state law requires me to see everyone´s id¨
no shit. i worked at a bar for years in college, i know the law. but damn, no one actually follows that law. if they did, where would tips come from? how would 19 yr olds go out and have fun with their older friends?
my friends produced their passports and i sat there looking stupid.
about a year ago i decided to stop carrying a wallet as a precaution against theivery and general imbecility (loss). since then, i dont use any identification when i go anywhere. i carry cash and sometimes a bank card. i went to buy some clothes with my friends a few weeks ago and was confronted for the first time in mexico by someone asking me for an id to accompany my card. i was more shocked that they would not sell me the clothes without the id and i cursed them as i left the store, swearing never to return. and i shant.
thus, carrying a passport outside of the airport was not even a consideration. wtf? i am, dammit, 28 years old.
immediately i thought back to the beard days and wished i still had it.
the waitress got back around to me and asked for my id again.
my first question was if they had sweet tea. no.
i ordered water.
then i remembered how kids under 21 drink with their friends who are older. my friend from texas arranged all the drinks in the center of the round table, then, she quietly passed me her beer.
17 July 2007
13 July 2007
strange to think that in less than one week i will be in virginia. my friends from here ask me if am going to be nervous going home. i dont think i am but, it is still a long way away so maybe i am just not thinking about it yet.
this week and next i am pretty much by myself on campus. all the full-time profs are on vacation, except one or two, so the buildings are pretty much empty. i love it. it is nice to read in my office and know that no one will be by to bother me. because i am just starting full time, i dont get the two week summer vacation, but it is cool with me because i am still getting paid this summer. unlike last summer when i made no cash for about 1.5 months. also, i worked a lot of hours last semester, so i have saved a good bit of money anyway. although working the entire time means i dont go away to visit other places so that means i am not really spending any loot. anyway.
i must say that pirate dvd´s have taken over the lives of myself and a few friends. 2bucks for a movie? sweet action.
recently we watched rome, from hbo. i was sad that the second season meant the end of the show, but it has also been one of the best shows i have seen recently. of course, battlestar galactica is amazing. there are about 10 of us who have seen all the episodes and have strange dialogues that most people dont understand who never saw the show. but you know this has all happened before and it will all happen again.
currently, i am watching deadwood and the wire from hbo. both are great.
in the end, it was a choice between crappy dubbed televesion (desperate housewives, ghost wisperer- i hope you dont know this show-, bones, gray´s anatomy, dr house, and telenovelas. i still like the novelas, i have to admit, but it is so much better to watch tv without commercials.
i love the weather in this town during the summer. the mornings are chilly, around 55-60, and the days never really get over 88. nearly perfect. it rains, monsoon style, almost every afternoon between 5 and 8, for about an hour and then everything is nice and cool at night. mosquitos do suck, but what can you do. could be worse.
well, i have another two hours to kill so i am off to the library to rent some dvd´s for the weekend.
this week and next i am pretty much by myself on campus. all the full-time profs are on vacation, except one or two, so the buildings are pretty much empty. i love it. it is nice to read in my office and know that no one will be by to bother me. because i am just starting full time, i dont get the two week summer vacation, but it is cool with me because i am still getting paid this summer. unlike last summer when i made no cash for about 1.5 months. also, i worked a lot of hours last semester, so i have saved a good bit of money anyway. although working the entire time means i dont go away to visit other places so that means i am not really spending any loot. anyway.
i must say that pirate dvd´s have taken over the lives of myself and a few friends. 2bucks for a movie? sweet action.
recently we watched rome, from hbo. i was sad that the second season meant the end of the show, but it has also been one of the best shows i have seen recently. of course, battlestar galactica is amazing. there are about 10 of us who have seen all the episodes and have strange dialogues that most people dont understand who never saw the show. but you know this has all happened before and it will all happen again.
currently, i am watching deadwood and the wire from hbo. both are great.
in the end, it was a choice between crappy dubbed televesion (desperate housewives, ghost wisperer- i hope you dont know this show-, bones, gray´s anatomy, dr house, and telenovelas. i still like the novelas, i have to admit, but it is so much better to watch tv without commercials.
i love the weather in this town during the summer. the mornings are chilly, around 55-60, and the days never really get over 88. nearly perfect. it rains, monsoon style, almost every afternoon between 5 and 8, for about an hour and then everything is nice and cool at night. mosquitos do suck, but what can you do. could be worse.
well, i have another two hours to kill so i am off to the library to rent some dvd´s for the weekend.
09 July 2007
rainded out. this is what happens when you wake up extremely early, eat a lot of food, play football and frisbee in the rain and then find out that the rain is not going to stop and you must drive 2hrs back home. we all managed to stay upright because our shoulders are wedged together (in other words, we fell asleep). forks? well, that is a funny story....
pretty much the coolest guys in town (left to right: rafa, neill, billy, clark). this is a great shot where all of us are looking in different directions (it is about 8am, we have been up since 415 or so). this is a small town near sahagun where the acueduct is and where you can buy goods. the day looked perfect at 8am. things change rather quickly in the mountains (we are around 9500 - 10000 feet).
03 July 2007
stemming from the start of my last entry is this: the world seems to wait years in between major events. lots of years between world war 1 and 2, am i right?
the point? after two years, the billy returns. ok, i did go back to the usa two weeks ago for a conference, but that does not really count. i saw no one i knew, and hung out with teachers and worked. not a real visit. plus, the people harassed me at the airport about why i had been absent for two years from the usa. what do i do in mexico? teach. why? umm... how long am i staying? 5 days. why so short? i have to go back to work.
and so on.
anyway, i return july 19th and leave the 24th (thurs arrival, tues departure). if you are available and able, come to va and see me. i will regale you with lively tales and treat you to some salsa i am bringingback. watch me struggle in public as i randomly speak spanish to people because it has been two years since i bought anything without speaking spanish. i think it will be amusing. it may be the last time you see me with short hair for a while also, and that, in itself, is a treat. or not.
right. i hope you can make it. if you cannot, i will understand (but secretly curse you- i also have many many stories of witchcraft which i am, literally, afraid to write on this blog for fear that something might happen to me).
two years is a lot, especially if you are a dog (because then it is 14).
the point? after two years, the billy returns. ok, i did go back to the usa two weeks ago for a conference, but that does not really count. i saw no one i knew, and hung out with teachers and worked. not a real visit. plus, the people harassed me at the airport about why i had been absent for two years from the usa. what do i do in mexico? teach. why? umm... how long am i staying? 5 days. why so short? i have to go back to work.
and so on.
anyway, i return july 19th and leave the 24th (thurs arrival, tues departure). if you are available and able, come to va and see me. i will regale you with lively tales and treat you to some salsa i am bringingback. watch me struggle in public as i randomly speak spanish to people because it has been two years since i bought anything without speaking spanish. i think it will be amusing. it may be the last time you see me with short hair for a while also, and that, in itself, is a treat. or not.
right. i hope you can make it. if you cannot, i will understand (but secretly curse you- i also have many many stories of witchcraft which i am, literally, afraid to write on this blog for fear that something might happen to me).
two years is a lot, especially if you are a dog (because then it is 14).
interesting thing about the world in general that the usa does not really share. sporting events, major events, take place every few years. world cup: 4 years in between. copa america: 3 years. america´s cup (sailing): ni (no idea, but it is not every year).
my point is that the rest of the world seems to have more patience than we do in the states. super bowl: every 12 months. every major sporting event has championships every year. ok, mexican soccer has 2 champions a year, but that is off the point.
perhaps this is why when i go to take a shower at 7am and there is no water, no one else seems overly concerned. i roll into work looking dishevelled and rather rough, but then again, it is summer. i really cannot describe to you, have you never experienced it, the feeling of having shampoo in your hair, soap under your arms and no way to rinse it away. just getting your eyes open at that point aint so simple. you must find the towel, and if you are like me and shower immediately after waking, you really are not quite awake yet, so that damn towel could be anywhere and the longer you take to find it the more searing pain you feel as the soap works to clean two objects that were never meant to be cleaned with soap. i am talking about the eyes here people. sensitive.
if you are up for something different, i have an idea for those of you who live with others. roommmates, wife and children (jam dougherty i am looking at you on this one, of course i do no believe you have not sired a youngun´ somewhere along the line), if you are in mexico, mother, father, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, grandparent, cousin, etc. all of these would work.
step 1. reconnoiter your property (i count rental property as your own as long as you occupy it). get to know things like the electrical box, plumbing pipes and, while you are at it, learn how to turn the hot water heater on and off. these are good basic things to know. they have nothing to do with our experiment, but consider step 1 the precursor; you cant take calculus without algebra can you? can you? this is a question people.
step 2. now that you are familiar with pipes and such, you probably know that you can shut those pipes and restrict, nay stop, the flow of water coming from said pipes.
step 3. yes, you know where this is going, but continue with the steps. it is about the process. the journey not the destination. the path not the... whatever, you get it.
step 3. (the last step was not really a step) wait until someone gets in the shower and turn off all televisions and radios. wait maybe 3 minutes. if possible, talk to the person in the shower and find out where they are in the cleaning process (shampoo, conditioner-if they use it- soap, shaving, etc.). ideally, you want shampoo in the hair and soap on the body. this may or not be possible, but you know, we all gotta have goals in life.
step 4. find that shutoff valve and close it. slowly. you want to do this slowly because you want the person in the shower to hope the water will come back. if you are really cunning and creative (notice i am not using words like ¨cruel¨ ¨evil¨ ¨ruthless¨ ¨heartless¨ or any of these pejoratives you might be considering) then you will shut off the water only partway, then turn it back on. if you have you turned off all electic appliances (and sent any children outside), you may hear sound wonderful sounds of anger and disbelief coming from the bathroom. this will be the person in the shower coming to terms with the unexpected. do not shy away from this. embrace it as a fruit of your labor.
step 5. once shut off, run, do not walk, to the bathroom (with a camera if possible).
step 6. enter noisily. dont try to hide anything. let the profanity be your guide here. snap your pictures (digital, film and mental) and laugh and laugh and laugh.
step 7. depending on the stage of undress, send me the pictures. or, better yet, start a blog and post them on the internet.
step 8. never tell the other person how to turn the water off. you may have to lie at this point. stand firm. you are morally right on this (say that if necessary and then tell the person, if they dare question how you are ¨morally right¨ that even asking that question of you means they have much to learn. drop them a copy of aristotle´s ¨nichomachean ethics¨ or even ¨crito¨written by plato. they will never read it, so you are totally safe and, of course, morally superior. if they do read it, well, send me an email and we can discuss your options and i will send you some other authors to peruse, namely nietzsche, who will fill you with a sense of superiority no matter what).
feel free to thank me later for this idea. onwards and upwards.
my point is that the rest of the world seems to have more patience than we do in the states. super bowl: every 12 months. every major sporting event has championships every year. ok, mexican soccer has 2 champions a year, but that is off the point.
perhaps this is why when i go to take a shower at 7am and there is no water, no one else seems overly concerned. i roll into work looking dishevelled and rather rough, but then again, it is summer. i really cannot describe to you, have you never experienced it, the feeling of having shampoo in your hair, soap under your arms and no way to rinse it away. just getting your eyes open at that point aint so simple. you must find the towel, and if you are like me and shower immediately after waking, you really are not quite awake yet, so that damn towel could be anywhere and the longer you take to find it the more searing pain you feel as the soap works to clean two objects that were never meant to be cleaned with soap. i am talking about the eyes here people. sensitive.
if you are up for something different, i have an idea for those of you who live with others. roommmates, wife and children (jam dougherty i am looking at you on this one, of course i do no believe you have not sired a youngun´ somewhere along the line), if you are in mexico, mother, father, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, grandparent, cousin, etc. all of these would work.
step 1. reconnoiter your property (i count rental property as your own as long as you occupy it). get to know things like the electrical box, plumbing pipes and, while you are at it, learn how to turn the hot water heater on and off. these are good basic things to know. they have nothing to do with our experiment, but consider step 1 the precursor; you cant take calculus without algebra can you? can you? this is a question people.
step 2. now that you are familiar with pipes and such, you probably know that you can shut those pipes and restrict, nay stop, the flow of water coming from said pipes.
step 3. yes, you know where this is going, but continue with the steps. it is about the process. the journey not the destination. the path not the... whatever, you get it.
step 3. (the last step was not really a step) wait until someone gets in the shower and turn off all televisions and radios. wait maybe 3 minutes. if possible, talk to the person in the shower and find out where they are in the cleaning process (shampoo, conditioner-if they use it- soap, shaving, etc.). ideally, you want shampoo in the hair and soap on the body. this may or not be possible, but you know, we all gotta have goals in life.
step 4. find that shutoff valve and close it. slowly. you want to do this slowly because you want the person in the shower to hope the water will come back. if you are really cunning and creative (notice i am not using words like ¨cruel¨ ¨evil¨ ¨ruthless¨ ¨heartless¨ or any of these pejoratives you might be considering) then you will shut off the water only partway, then turn it back on. if you have you turned off all electic appliances (and sent any children outside), you may hear sound wonderful sounds of anger and disbelief coming from the bathroom. this will be the person in the shower coming to terms with the unexpected. do not shy away from this. embrace it as a fruit of your labor.
step 5. once shut off, run, do not walk, to the bathroom (with a camera if possible).
step 6. enter noisily. dont try to hide anything. let the profanity be your guide here. snap your pictures (digital, film and mental) and laugh and laugh and laugh.
step 7. depending on the stage of undress, send me the pictures. or, better yet, start a blog and post them on the internet.
step 8. never tell the other person how to turn the water off. you may have to lie at this point. stand firm. you are morally right on this (say that if necessary and then tell the person, if they dare question how you are ¨morally right¨ that even asking that question of you means they have much to learn. drop them a copy of aristotle´s ¨nichomachean ethics¨ or even ¨crito¨written by plato. they will never read it, so you are totally safe and, of course, morally superior. if they do read it, well, send me an email and we can discuss your options and i will send you some other authors to peruse, namely nietzsche, who will fill you with a sense of superiority no matter what).
feel free to thank me later for this idea. onwards and upwards.
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