walking to school every morning i pass a taxi stand (this is about the length of one block-just one curb- and at the corner is a little shack where the dispatch, normally a kid, sits and watches a big tv), and every morning i see some strange movie, normally dubbed or subtitled from english. at 6am or so, the tv i see is usually the last thing on my mind, but i always glance at it as i walk on past.

today, as i was coming to school, i saw something i thought i would never see on mexican news. blacksburg, va. virginia tech. massacre.

almost all of my students today asked me where i was from again. had i ever heard of a uni in virginia called virginia tech?

the questions that people often ask, regarding the usa and its proclivity toward violence, begin again. this time, however, i do not feel so separated from the questions; i do not have the same sort of detached perspective i usually do when i answer them. i saw some pictures of the campus today, mainly of police and wounded students. i have not seen the campus in about 4 years, and it was sad to see it the way that i did. i hope that if anyone reading this knew someone on campus that day that they are ok. i guess there is not much else to say.

Drawing to a close, this semester will be one that at the very least leaves an aftertaste. Not that I dislike getting up and being at work before the sun rises. Nor that I decry going to work six days a week. Even the fact that I regularly spend 12-16 hours on campus is not enough to really get me in a pissy mood (although many would argue that I am often in this kind of mood, or at least that I am an irritable person - enojon is the word used here, and as you might have guessed, it is stronger than the English near-equivalents I have listed). I have made a promise to myself this semester not to bitch about things that I cannot change. Clearly, I have failed to accomplish this completely, but like all ideas in this vein, thinking about it has been helpful (at the very least I like to tell myself this).

Either way, there are just over two weeks remaining until exams. Amazing how fast it has gone (which is probably a testament to the idea that staying busy makes time seem to pass more quickly). But, it is sad that I have not done much traveling this semester (none, really). On the bright side I have gotten to know the city much better and visited many places and areas that I have never seen before. A friend who I met about two months ago and said my Spanish has improved a lot (I saw her for again on Saturday after not seeing her since February). Unfortunately, I had to stop taking my Spanish class because this semester because there was no time. On the bright side I have been seeing a girl here, so I practice my Spanish with her a lot. Give and take. My writing in Spanish is still quite horrible, syntax, etc. (you could also argue my English is not perfect either), but my conversational abilities have improved greatly. Mainly, it is the same problem I have felt since I arrived: reading books in Spanish is awesome, but no one talks like authors write, so in a sense it is not productive.

I read a quote from mark twain the other day I found very funny. The gist of the quote is: every time you want to write the word ¨very¨, write the word ¨damn¨. That way, when you go back and edit, you will simply remove the word.

Spring is here in the city. But it is much like a flagstaff, az, summer in that the nights are still chilly- this makes me happy because I like to sleep in colder weather rather than the heat. The campus is beautiful: green trees, manicured bushes, walks, flowers, everything. There is a small army of grounds crew here that begin at the crack of dawn and go until near midnight. They are here when I arrive at 6am. Weed eating, leaf blowing, watering, grooming in general. Unnecessary? Of course. But it looks amazing. There are lots of benches and areas to sit in the shade (8400 feet up, the sun is still intense) and the whole campus is wireless internet (along with power outlets everywhere), so you can do work wherever. I must admit this is an island in the middle of a sprawling concrete cacophony. And I definitely appreciate how peaceful and safe it is compared to other parts of the city. Living within walking distance means I don’t have to ride transit during the week, so I feel quite isolated at times. But, it is like having a pool in your backyard: you just have to go out and jump in when you feel tired of the everyday.

Ok, I never had a pool in the backyard.

The earthquake here last week never even woke me up. Everyone in my building, except my coworker and fellow compatriot, went into the courtyard (this is merely a fancy name for a grassy area between my building and the landlady´s house) at 2am. Good Mexicans. In 1986 there was a huge quake in the city that killed thousands of people, so since then, the people have learned their lesson. Of course, they forgot to wake us up, but no matter.

All of my students were shocked that I did not wake up for the quake. I told them I lived in Oaxaca for a year and there are quakes all the time there, so I was somewhat used to them. Ya, I am so cool. I know.

While in my class I checked my email and saw a headline on msn about Blacksburg. My first reaction was happy; I thought tech had done something good for a change. As you well know, the news was not good as I had hoped. I am not sure what to write about it; I think perhaps it is better to say nothing right now. On that note, I think I will go.

zoos. i went to the zoo on sunday (this was a 3 day weekend, no work on monday to honor the president Benito Juarez´s- and c´s also- birthday- yahtzee) with a friend. i got a little sunburned, damn evil sun, but not bad. i also saw elephants and lots of monkeys. i really like monkeys and have decided that one day soon i, too, will own a monkey. sure, i could go to the market here, where they sell everything, and buy an illegal one (and yes, this thought has crossed my mind at least 4 times), but i have chosen against it. my friend who is a vet tells me bad stories about how i would be contributing to the brutal monkey trade, horrible treatment on their journey from the jungle, etc. i basically stopped listening when i heard that i would be asked to leave my apt if her mother, my landlord, found out i had a monkey. sure, the other stuff is concerning, but let´s get down to brass tacks- i, will, will not be homeless just to have a monkey. now if a place opens up that allows monkeys, well, that might be another story.

i am toying with the idea of getting a used motorcycle. ít will occupy my time (working on it) but might also kill me. up in the air on that one.

not up in the air on buying socks tonight. laundry was closed yesterday because of the holiday and i have run dangerously low because i was lazy and did not walk the laundry down the street last week. oh well, i will buy a pair socks to tide me over until i can get my clothes back on thursday.

speaking of laundry, yesterday i cleaned my apt (i know, i am also surprised) and as usual, i mopped myself into a corner. luckily, this is a planned corner, also where the door leading out of the apt is found, and i do this when i mop to make myself leave and let the floor dry. so, i have the plastic bag of laundry (big and clear so that everyone can see my dirty underwear- actually it is what i receive my laundry in when they clean it so i just use to stored the next load) outside on the balcony ready to rock and roll as i make the last sweep and i am off.

i realize i am wearing flip flops, a tshirt and shorts. it is hot, high 80´s, so this should not be a problem. well, yes it is. no one wears shorts here. well, almost no one (me). flip flops, for guys, are also out. t-shirts, a former staple of my attire, are also out. yup. i wear a collared shirt, pants and shoes every day of the year here. sundays included. even going to the grocery store i dress up more than i did when i taught college in the usa.

ok, so i make my way down the four blocks to the laudry place where they wash my clothes, avoiding the stares of the 10am holiday crowd loitering in the streets, trying to blend. right.

as i near the laundry, i notice the metal storm door is closed. dammit. i walked all way, embarassing myself as the rest of the mexicans stare at the gringo, for nothing. well, i was sweating and dirty (i had been cleaning a not-so clean apt) and decided that i needed to giddy-up over to the other laundry place. i walked five more blocks only to find them closed.

thus, my walk of shame included me returning with head low (could not look the people in the eye who i had just seen 5 minutes earlier). i had brought no money, or i definitely would have scored a cab and avoided it all, but i did not plan ahead as i was mopping myself into the corner.

wait, zoos! i forgot about that. i learned that elephants in captivity have developed a bad habit of rocking back and forth which essentially involves them producing a chemical that numbs their brain to the outside world. this only happens in captivity. also, zoo keepers (even the name ¨keeper¨ sounds negative- nothing escapes. they might as well just say wardens) cut the wings of the parrots and other beautiful birds so that they can be ¨free¨ from cages yet incapable of ever flying.

this might be the first time i have ever been to a zoo. this was probably the last time. disturbing to say the least.


i also saw a kind of monkey that is strong, and mean, enough to kill people.

in an effort to improve my spanish (spice up my life), i have been watching an awesome telenovela (soap opera) called destilando amor. distilling love. it revolves around a tequila producing family and one particularly sumptuous sass-machine by the name of gaviota. or mariana, as she has recently had her name changed to fit with the new life/personality she has made up for herself. i liken it to a mexican dallas, with adhd. the novelas here only las about 7 months, and then they expire. they are all this way, which is cool because actors play new characters every year or so. this is also damaging for people who love the shows though (this is pure speculation, i never liked (watched) la fea más bella and anyone who claims this is lying like j.r.).

so if you are asking yourself what the hell i have been doing for the past month, well, here we are. i also shaved the beard. after 3 months it was a sad day. my students freaked out (the kids this semester had never seen me without it- and as there are about 3000 high school kids here, well, you get the point), which was pretty funny. or sad. the girls unanimously proclaimed: you look better. they could not quite understand how in english this means you looked like chewbaca before. meh. i miss it though, especially as it is chilly again here.

i work a lot, which does not really translate to free time for writing the bloggy blog. six days a week at school, often over 12hours a day (not the 6th day) takes its toll after a while. i am thinking of retiring. what? 25 more years? screw that.

as far as mexico goes, things are relatively tranquil. well, i saw on the news some riots in merida where, surprise surprise, one george w. was visiting. i also saw some footage from guatemala that showed how the people showed up by the thousands to welcome w. i am not sure when throwing metal fences at police replaced cheering and waving the stars and stripes, but leave it to the guats to change things up.

3000 pesos later i am clear to live and work in mexico for another year. yippee. it is strange to think that i pay just to be able to live here. damn immigrants. we should all be deported for complaining.

on a side note they opened a new hooters near my house. since my buddy and i have been making our own salsas (past 4 months or so), we have been talking of going to hooters and seeing if their hot wings (they call the hottest ¨muy macho¨) are really hot or if we have progressed beyond them. i think we have not, but my friend thinks we have. as you know i am a gambling man, so 50 centavos (5cents) is on the line here. the only problem, as another friend pointed out, is that the building is essentially made of glass. and located on a busy street corner near a mall and movie theatre where many students hang out. oh well. next time chipper jones comes into town, we are definitely going.

and after writing more about hooters than the general situation in mexico, i leave you. onwards and upwards.

is a virginia jim kind of like a virginia slim? i agree my bearded brother in arms, the true search is for a woman who loves beards. if i may dip from the ¨state¨ stash- ¨well that´s fine for him, but i´m still alone.¨ ¨why don´t you try taking some of your own advice?¨ ok, the last part was definitel more than a stretch, but i felt i needed to finish the cycle.

co-con¨beard¨tadors is rockin. and much like, ¨i´m nice outside¨ will never be too much of a stretch not to make sense. true, it is rather european, but i have always thought that about you ¨virginia¨ jim. euro-jim. how is the married life? canoe on open water? driftin on smooth?

cozumel. beautiful. i have never been there. you should have a killer time. if i buy a jet in the next week i will meet you there and be back home for dinner.

i switched banks yesterday. other than wanting to put a quick and silent to my life 45 minutes into the first transaction, things went smoothly. i am now with a new, better (sure) bank that at the very least is open past 4pm. because you know, 9am-4pm are perfect hours for people who don´t work. and let´s be honest, who with a job would go to a bank? all the time i spent unemployed centered around me hanging at the local bank: nothern arizona credit union, wells fargo in san fran, vt credit union in blacksburg. they were hoppin.

either way, ames, i will be sending you a new card very soon.

wait wait wait. hokies 81, n carolina 80? va tech swept unc? va tech beat duke? va tech and uva are tied for 3rd in the acc? basketball? another big east team, boston college, is number 1 in the acc?

can it be? the football schools are beating the basketball schools?

happy v-day everybody. my school, being very business-minded, has had booths set up for days selling everything valentine. you can even get married for 20 pesos. you get fake rings, a certificate, photo in black tie, etc. and boys can marry boys, girls can marry girls, hell, you can marry five people at once. polygamy. a little bit o´ utah in mexico. somewhere, mr. smith is smiling.

i might actually do something, buy flowers, for vday this year. maybe i am getting weak in my old age. my students, some of whom are the sellers of balloons, candy, ribbons, hearts of all shapes and sizes, have asked about a love interest. i simply tug on the rather full beard i am sporting and tell them that beards do not attract women. i explain that you do not grow a beard to get a girlfriend. this intrigues some. then, ¨why did you grow a beard william?¨ lazyness is my favorite reply.

the beard is in its final days. after two months it has reached burly and now borders on frightening. in other words, i am stretching the boundaries of professional appearance. again. at least my beard and hair are one color (this is a first) except for the gray in my hair. which, still increases. soon i will be all grey i fear. oh well. then i will dye my hair blue and call it school spirit (our colors are blue and white).

so ya, i will let you know how it goes tonight. considering i go to bed by 1030 and my friend does not return from work until 9, it will be rather short whatever it is. maybe a walk. there are 24hr flower stands everywhere in this town (no joke, 24/7/365), so we may walk down to one and see if she likes any. is this something i should do before i see her? i think my lack of understanding of flowers would preclude me from purchasing them beforehand. advice?

in all its glory, i present to you, la jalisiense. it is a cantina (bars where only men were allowed until about 25 years or so ago) where i have passed a few friday afternoons. my buddy c, far right, white blazer (after labor day?) and seated, is a teacher and writer who has his picture on the wall (just above my head in the photo) along with a blurb about his first published book. but, that is not why we are there. to c´s right (your left), is father m. not a priest. p, another teacher where i work, is next to him. r is next to her and the owner of the cantina(black shirt standing) is flanked by daniel (right) and his son(name escapes me). in front is s, p´s husband. awkwardly leaning to get into a shot i presumed i would not fit into: billy. this was back in november, pre-beard days (which is rather burly right now and will be shorn soon), and during my friend´s dad´s visit. the place is great- guns on the wall (supposedly one was used to kill santa ana, and despite the rust and general decrepitude of the piece, i doubt it.), pictures of mexican and central american military men, famous people from latin america and now my friend c. white dude from houston. natually. we tip well= they love us there.

i just finished my own version of hell week. two 16 hour days at work in a row. sweet. well, i have been here for 12 hours today, but, it does not seem so bad. not sure why. i am surviving.

going to more museums on the weekends than i was in the fall, so that is a good thing. one thing mexico city does well is museums. hundreds, probably thousands of them. on everything. i went to the children´s museum a few weeks ago. ya, it was awesome. i was a little big for the playland, but i got to do handicrafts, painted and made a star out of paper i actually recylced myself (i also had fun acting like a child- my friend and i painted each other´s arms when the kindergarten teacher was distracted- who was throwing that paper?). my friend and i had a great time there. we also went to a planetarium a few weeks ago, and the palace of fine arts and monument to the revolution before that as well as four or five others in the past month or two.

well, i am out of here. hope you all have good week.

one of the pictures was from the bullfights, the other was from the roof of my house when we grilled a few weeks ago. i won´t tell you which is which in the hopes that you mistake my roof top to look like the inside of a colliseum and the inside of the plaza del méxico to look like, well, a ratty rooftop.

i am giving a toefl exam this morning to 75 kids who want to go to the school where i teach. they are all eager, snooty, better dressed than me (this takes very little effort actually consdering my rotation of shirts that i wear to work is an astounding 7. i know. i took mcmahon´s advice and decided to really reach for the stars).

i guess it has been a spell since i wrote. lots going on here, but mainly work. a 5am wake-up call, daily, has been strange but i am adjusting. there are definitely some positives to it, but of course it is not the easiest. especially considering i used to work at 130pm when i lived in san fran. but that was years ago.

five weeks in and the beard is rockin. the cool weather, no longer cold really, makes it nice at night, but the warm sunny days make me want to shave. i will try to post a pic at some point. i think this is the sixth winter in a row that i have grown a beard. not shaving is absolute heaven. i recommend all the boys try it at least once.

classes are great. i teach part of a lit. class at the university here, and although it started out strange, it has become better the last few weeks. the schedule itself is ruthless on mondays, i teach 7 classes, and wednesday and friday (i teach 6), but tues thurs is not too bad. good kids mostly. i cannot complain.

hope you are all well up there. know that i am well, albeit a little tired some days, and enjoying myself. my buddy watt wanapha came down to visit the other weekend and we had a grand time. two visitors in one month after a year hiatus. damn. either way, it was good to see him (we went to tech together and both studied philosophy)after a five year break and to talk with him. he is a great kid and kicking ass in ny as an attorney.

hasta luego cuates

so. very. tired.

i arrived this morning around 630ish, meaning i woke up before 6am and arrived when it was still quite dark. so ya, i did take the extra classes. i now teach 7 classes. 5 hours in a row, from 730am to 1230pm. then i get one hour off and go back and teach again from 1330 to 1430. then two hours off and another 40 minutes teaching a university class for my friend. wow. i am worn out. i will definitely make more money this semester, but damn, i am going to work my butt off. oh well, tuesday is a lot better.

Isn’t it ridiculous that I make decisions based on monetary considerations? If I choose the logic that says take the highest offer, work for more, refuse a piddling amount, why I am here? See you in Saudi Arabia.

What does it mean when I, others, say that I, we, no longer speak the same language? A paradigm shift is a bullshit, 21st century phrase that only signifies if you understand your present paradigm. If not, wander along and leave the thinking to the media which tells you what to eat, wear, say, watch, read, study, love, hate, forget. Remember.

Can you really change in 18 months? What is it that you changed? Did you change it, or did it change you? What does ¨it¨ mean? These are the ramblings of one looking for an answer using a system of signs that, although they permit, do not promote, introspection.

There is a story that Socrates (or Plato, depending on whether or not you even believe Socrates existed) related in one of his early teachings. When writing was first created, the god who created it took the idea to the wisest person he knew. This person, a king, offered numerous objections, rather criticisms. He said that writing would make people forget. If you don’t have to memorize anything, i.e. you can write it down, then what will you remember? Also, the king said it would make fools feel they had knowledge. Anyone can go to a teacher and listen, take notes, then repeat the words written on the page. This, in no sense, signifies understanding, knowledge.

As you might imagine, the god was none too pleased with this reply. He had created the first artificial technology, writing, and wanted what any inventor, and god for that matter, does: praise. Not receiving the appreciation he felt he deserved must have been quite a blow. But, he was a god, and in general, life is pretty good for the gods. Eternal life, wild and outrageous powers, good times.

My argument lacks both novelty and entertainment value. Those two definitely work against me as the old and boring are often brushed aside in favor of something shiny, shimmering, still in the plastic. Retire meant community.

Walking around this city you see the influence of us(a). actually, you must work not to see it, and then, really, you are simply lying to yourself. Progress. Such an innocent word on its surface, especially as a verb, yet the problems arise when you make it a noun. As in, ¨gazing out from her 25th floor apartment balcony, the steel, glass and general progress the city had made were blinding.¨ she cannot see anymore. Probably does not want to, truly. Can you explain to someone without vision what a skyscraper looks like? Can you impart the sound of a jackhammer to someone without hearing? These are artificial creations, to be sure, but substituting these for natural examples makes no real difference. Language, then, fails. The break down occurs, and you either move on to something else and forget, or, repeatedly knock your head against a wall. Which is better? The result is roughly the same.

Is progress really a gift? Everything I see here tells me it is. The people are often eager to remind me of wonderful advances the city/country has made in the last 15 years. I am typing on a laptop by the way. My hypocrisy knows no bounds.

So maybe this lack of understanding is simply a feeling. Poets, authors, bryan adams and the bee.gee´s have been trying to educate us on the finer points of feelings for a long time, yet I think we still have not come to understand them very well. If we did, would we still need these people or simple rewind the tape and listen to it again?

Have I explained it? Does it seem like I really even tried?

I must say relationships down here are interesting. Dating, in general, involves something more than what I was used to. Of course, every ex of mine would probably say my main problem was not really trying. Not investing. Sure. I wont disagree simply because I, apparently, could care less. So what is different down here? Knowing that there is difference between us, more than male/female stuff, simple communication becomes rather interesting. When we all speak the same language, we think we understand. When we don’t, we know that we are missing something. But somehow, you cannot really know what that something is. I would argue it was always a lie to assume we understood each other. The same language ensures that the words will be familiar, not that the meaning, intentions, feelings, implied by those words will be comprehended. I have dated girls that speak excellent English and those that speak none. As you might have guessed, the level of English has nothing to do with it. It is the part where you want to understand the other person that makes one viable and the other a flop. So is that so different from any other relationship?

I use the dating metaphor for a reason. At some point or another, everyone reading this has been on a date of some kind, or been in some kind of loving relationship (gender is not important here). I cannot assume any more than that, but I would imagine there has come a time (unless you happily married/became the permanent partner of the first person you ever dated) when you think that you and the other person do not really speak the same language. The words are there, clearly there are some types of feeling (revulsion, hate, indifference, etc.), but the words you both use no longer (if they ever did and you were simply not delusional-in love) signify the same thing. Then, you may make the analogy that one person is speaking a separate idiom (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) than your own. Try explaining that to someone not involved and you will often receive a look of sympathy, which probably implies that the person either does not really care or thinks you don’t know what you are talking about. Either way, you come off sounding odd.

Hence, me saying that I do not speak the same language as many people in my own country seems either quite strange or stupid. However, that has no bearing on the fact that I feel as I do.

On a side note, I feel like a teenager again. I met this girl about 4 months ago and have had a lot of interaction with her since, but now somehow I feel different toward her. But then you don’t want to make a move and look like an idiot if she does not feel the same way (our relationship is not one of simple friendship, it is a little more complex than that). So what do you do? Well, if you are a coward, like me, you do nothing different. You make an effort to see the person more, but then you wait. Why? Weakness is all I can imagine. Well, that is not true. of course I can rationalize it any number of ways to make myself feel better, but I wont. In the end, I might just simply enjoy feeling strange around this person.

I built a table today. Pretty exciting. Went to the home depot, bought some 1x4´s, ½ inch plywood for the top (I doubled it up). 42 inch square top, 32 inch legs (I am finally putting into practice my dream of making things my size- I have often thought sinks, toilets, counter tops, etc. were made for people not my size). I am making it like a cantina table (which if you have not been to mexico you probably don’t understand). Each leg is two 1x4´s nailed together at a right angle (this make a small pocket in between them) which opens to the outside, and inside this angle I made two shelves, about 20 inches apart, so that you can put a drink, or two, in the leg- this frees up the surface for cards, computer, books, food, whatever. I am going to make a lip around the top edges that will rise about ¼ inch over the top of the surface- this will make a shallow, I don’t know, pool for lack of a better word. The logic behind this is that if my friends and I play cards you can toss a card across the table and it wont fall on the floor. Basically, I have created something that would be excellent for small children and babies- difficult to knock something off the top onto the floor and it keeps liquids away from the action (like a high-chair probably). I did not have a table before, so now I can type at home, do work here more easily, have people over to eat without having them sit on the floor or eat from their lap in a plastic chair. Mighty domestic of me. I also now have a place to put things when I come home from school, etc. otherwise, everything goes on the floor. Not really hygienic I guess. I suppose it is time for me to start getting it together. It also implies a sense of permanence I was never really ready for before. The less you have the easier it is to leave it. That might say more about my personality than I care to admit, but there it is.

I am going to build bookshelves next. My dad and Anthony can be proud that I finally put to use the skills I learned with them. Working with wood is fun. A hammer, nails and tape measure really go a long way. I also have an artist friend who is going to paint the table for me. Not sure about the design just yet, but I will try to take a picture of it at some point to show you. Somewhere in Richmond jimmy d is proud of me. Or paul, z-moves, sinc. I am certainly not on a par with them, but hey, you have to start somewhere.

in every situation there are always surprises.

first of all, happy holidays to all. i hope the xmas and new year went quite well. feliz año nuevo y espero que todo fuera bien para todos.

i came in a little early today (there are no classes but i thought i would get here around 8 because starting next week i teach every day at 730am) and had an unexpected visitor.

my schedule for next semester was fairly good: mwf- 730-1030 (3 50minute classes), break, 1330-1430. tu/th- 730-830, 9-1030, break, 1330-1430. i was teaching 5 classes for a total of 19 hours a week. last semester i only taught 5 classes, 15hours a week, and was not too stoked about the money i was making (hence the private lessons). last semester i had a lot of free time. what we do with our free time is often unproductive(professionally) and in this city, requires some sort of money. in other words, i was spending almost as much as i was making each month. not good.

thus, a bump of 4 hours would increase my salary a fair amount, and with the other private lessons i was giving, should have given me plenty of work while silently removing some free time. i was pleased for the most part because i would be giving a literature course and a media, culture & criticism course. smooth sailing.

upon my arrival at 8am or so, i walked into my new office (i now am on the opposite corner of the top floor with an office overlooking the green side of campus- two walls are actually floor to ceiling windows and glass; i also only share the office with one other person- my new supervisor j, who is from canada) and sat down to read for 20 minutes or so. ever since moving offices a few days ago, i have felt great because it seemed as if i were starting over again in some senses.

my surprise came around 9am when my buddy c came into the office. he is a coordinator of a class i thought i would be teaching next semester, but at the last minute i was offered something different. he was definitely supposed to be in a meeting (there is a faculty meeting for those full-time staff), so i thought he was playing hooky and wanted to go get a coffee or something.

he first asked my schedule for next semester, though he knew it (he also lives in the apt under me and we hang out fairly often on the weekends and during the week- we also go to the gym sometimes and we went to coffee shops in the mornings over xmas break to get work done- he is finishing his phd thesis). he then asked me if i wanted more hours.

ok, take a look at my schedule again. i teach 3 consecutive hours (2 diff classes) monday wednesday and friday. 3 hour break until 1330 when i teach another hour. tuesday is not as heavy. do i have space? sure. keep in mind i will also be working once a week or so giving 45 minutes of lecture to a college course (substituting for this same person), and also once a week i will be proctoring a toefl exam (3 hours, usually in the evening or on saturday mornings).

what time are the classes and when? 2 new classes, one new course(writing intensive), from 1030-1230 mwf. in other words, my new schedule would be from 730-1230 mon, wed, fri (3 different classes) and then one hour off and teach again from 1330-1430. 5 consecutive hours. i have never taught that much at once. i have only had 3 different preps (preparing 3 separate classes) once, back in 2000 in the o.c.(virginia that is). 6 more hours of teaching would give me 25 hours a week. not a lot compared to some schools in the usa, but for someone who worked only 15 one month ago, it feels like a lot.

so, what do you think i did? did i take the job? or, did i pass on it because it would overload my schedule, give me no break or preparation time during the day, and generally wear me out?

million dollar question

semester begins on monday. yeehaw

happy birthday amy! this damn blogger thing is not working again i am afraid.

another update- the last post i wrote over a week ago and have been trying to publish. maybe i will keep this site. i must say i hate blogger right now though.

in oaxaca there is more violence and almost 7 months later there is no solution to the conflict. 7 people died last weekend and it will probably just get worse as neither side appears to be giving anything.

hokies? uva(uva, by the way, means ¨grape¨ in spanish- vt means nothing. not sure what that says). i did not watch the game but read about it today. sweet. action.

i went to a blues festival on saturday. this city is incredibly fun and has something new everyday. i cannot say enough how happy i am here.

hope all is well up there. we are in exams right now so i am at school less but grading more. give and take.

I am done with blogger. i made a few posts that showed up blank over the last two weeks, and it sapped my desire to write more. if you have ever written a document/paper and had the computer not save it before being able to print, etc., then you you know the feeling.

I am going to look for a new blog site that is better and actually works.

it has gotten quite cold here. nights in the 30´s, days in the low 40´s. i have a vest and a rain jacket. slightly unprepared for this weather, but i bought a new blanket which keeps me warm at night. just like air conditioning, there is no heat in this country (outside of upscale hotels where i dont go unless a friend comes in town that works for a big company that will pay all sorts of cash for a huge, comfortable room- yes, for this and other reasons, i want my friend to come back and visit again). thus, most teachers are sitting around in their offices in big sweaters and gloves. the students look like icecubes. for the most part, i love it. when it gets cold i put on a stocking cap and am fine. i love the cold. i cant wait for it to snow (it snows in the surrounding mountains). most of the cold weather has to do with the location i believe. we are well over 8000ft, higher than flagstaff actually, which offsets the fact that we are so far south. chilly.

to counteract this, i have been eating incredibly spicy food. i now make my own salsa, which really has been a long time coming, and doing a fantastic job of it. two of my friends who live in apt building and i cook about twice a week, and one person always makes the salsa (we all like very spicy food). it has been a lot of fun actually. i like cooking in general, but it is more fun with a few friends and a dart board. it passes the time i guess.

i also began making hot wings. really, this was bound to happen as my penchant for our fine feathered friends has exponentially increased each month i went without them. i also make my own sauce for these bad boys, which although does not quite burn your fingers, sets every other part of the skin (and tongue) it touches on fire. not a good idea to touch the wings and then touch any other part of your face (a lesson i learned when trying to blow my nose- the sauce is also a wonderful decongestant.) good times.

yesterday was revolution day. holiday. long weekend. i stayed in town and hung out with friends and actually did some work yesterday. the runner-up in the presidential election officially declared himself the ¨official/moral¨ president of the country and a few parades were canceled due to protestors marching in the streets. good to know that almost five months later there are still problems with the presidential election. no was killed, however, so i think that is a positive.

i have my schedule for next semester. i will not be full-time in name, but will be working almost 19 hours a week and getting paid more. although i wont make as much as a full-time person, it will be more than enough to relieve me of having to do private lessons. i also will have a new schedule- i start teaching at 730am every day. this is good and bad. more good than bad though as i will finish each day at 1330. this leaves my afternoons free, although i will be teaching a small portion of my friend´s university literature classes twice a week. he has meetings during the first 30 minutes of each class, so i will begin with them. pretty good deal, he pays me, and i get to teach the literary theory component of the class- cuban b, who is taking another lit theory class right now knows how much fun this should be. no, i actually like theory and only teaching these kids basic concepts and major theorists should be fun.

i am no longer teaching esl classes. i am teaching 3 literature classes (folklore-mythology from all over the world, including a lot of native american works) and two media and culture classes. the second set of classes should be very interesting as it is essentially a rhetoric and lit course blended together. this schedule is perfect for me. i am actually teaching the courses i went to school to teach. i did not think i would be able to do this in a foreign country. in short, i am extatic. i am also going to start of literature group with a colleague of mine and we are going to recruit other professors and university students to participate. our goal is to create publishable texts: articles, short stories and poetry. this is also something quite exciting as 1 year ago i never imagined anything like this happening.

as usual, i am quite upbeat about everything. a few weeks ago there was ver bad news from my pops, not a health concern thanfully, and though this put me in a bad mood for a while, you cannot live like that forever.

i will extend an invitation to any and all who would like to visit mexico, but i know that it is extremely unlikely anyone will take advantage of it. understandable. if peaches is still out there, please know that you are also invited. do you have any more hints for me peaches? your identity is as unknown to me as the number of times i have died my hair.

and jimmy d, yes, you are correct. i do need a digital camera. let me get through december and once i start getting paid again in late january i will make an investment.

on a side note, i have thought of unplugging my refrigerator to save money. if the air in the house is as almost as cold as that in the frig, it would be silly not to do so (unless you want to argue that the internal thermostat would automatically stop the motor from coming on if this were indeed the case- you would be wrong bc the freezer portion is also located inside the regular frig part. and as the only thing in the freezer is coffee my friend caro brought me in september, i think this would be ok.).

if any of you have any favorite mark twain short story title you want to share, let me know. i am working on the assignments for my folklore-myth class and want to find some good writers(preferable from the usa and also from the south) to introduce the kids to. if these stories can be found online, well, you just made my job that much easier.