Life Is Worth The Risk

Birthday!

Don’t really feel like writing, but:

Birthday was yesterday

Chaos has entered into my life again

I am unwilling to let plans get fucked up

Richard III will be awesome. 

Secrets! No secrets!

I came up with a clever idea recently.  I’d post it here, but since it’s a secret and I suspect this thing is actually followed by some, they might see it and then it wouldn’t be worth anything anymore.  So, suffice to say, I feel clever about it.

Moving on: my classes are easy!  Yay!  This is a first in the history of ever for me, as I confess it has been extremely aggravating to listen to other people constantly talk about how easily life is at the University here.  I don’t know how you people with your 3.7 GPA’s pull it off (aside from being miserable misanthropes), but it is nice to not get the C’s I was accustomed to 1st year.

Friends are home!  It is nice to have them around, last quarter was nearly unbearable with it’s combination of incredibly hard work, stressful events, and having one’s closest friends absent made it nearly too much.

I’m not dating anymore.  I’ve waffled a bit on this, but I think it’s a good idea - all of my romantic interactions in the last six months have basically been crippled by the fact that they didn’t match up to a certain someone, and I don’t think it’s fair to them for me to continue to put myself out there.  Also, I just don’t really want to.  I know what I want, recognize that I can’t have it (at least not now, anyways), and am okay with that.  Strange days, huh.

Fireworks are not the best way to wake up

I slept restlessly last night - I kept having this dream where everything in Alexia’s house was some kind of unopenable compartment, and I was convinced that I could open them if only I knew how.  I would wake up almost every hour, go back to sleep and have the same dream, trying - trying always to unlock those compartments that seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the expansive estate (the dream estate was significantly larger than the actual one, which is still very large for Mexico City).  I finally fell properly asleep at around 3AM, and woke up at around 8 (thanks, jet lag!).  I sat on the computer for a bit scanning popurls for the latest and greatest in the internet, and then took a shower.  The water, although a perfect temperature, didn’t really come out with any significant velocity - this may have been due to half of Mexico City taking a shower, but regardless it made the episode a rather sordid affair.

Starting at around 9 I could here these terrific explosions happening nearby.  My first thought was that there was some kind of cannon blast happening - perhaps an early independence day commemoration (Mexico’s independence day is Sept. 15).  I would later become convinced that it was gunfire (after a series of blasts in quick but non-sequential succession), and would ultimately be put to shame by Alexia’s mother, who revealed that they were fireworks.  Ordinarily, I would question the wisdom of fireworks at 9 in the morning, but it seemed to make sense in my sleepless state, so I let it go.  At around 10 I called Alexia’s house (the main house, anyways) from my little guest abode, and was told by Mrs. Dillon to come over and have some breakfast.  I was greeted by Alexia at the door, and we strolled over to the kitchen for breakfast.  

Breakfast was cooked by one of the several servants of the Dillon family (toast with scrambled eggs and milk, in case you were curious), and then Alexia and I hopped in one of their several cars (noticing a trend here?) and drove out with the objective of getting on the tour bus that goes around Mexico City (el turibus, if you will).  We drove around for probably 20 minutes trying to find parking before finally paying for parking in a tiny lot near el Auditorium, the main concert venue at Mexico City.  As it would turn out, our choice of parking was ideal as the tourbus picked us up right in front of el Auditorium, and we were on our way!  The tourbus works a lot like the ones in Bristol do (and I’m sure like the tourbuses in almost any major city), which meant that we were given headphones and were allowed to listen to a recorded voice telling us about the various sights and sounds as we drove around.  Oh, and did I mention that the tourbus was a double decker?  So cool.

We rode around for a bit (at one point, I was absolutely walloped by a tree branch in the face as I was not paying proper attention), and I took photos as we drove.  I must have taken about 250 pictures today - probably of that only 5-10 are really good, but there was so much to see and capture.  Mexico City is beautiful, but for me it is the people that are so fascinating.  Expressions, moments - there were two pictures that I wish I could have taken - one was this girl talking to her boyfriend with a look of sad loss and confusion, and another was in a similar position but with a look of utter joy and love.  Both were very touching, and perhaps it is because of that that I didn’t take the pictures.  Still, the image is burned into my memory regardless.  We got off not too far from la Plaza de la Constitucion (accents omitted), and walked through the city streets until we got to the plaza (also called el Zocalo).  We walked into el Catedral, which was huge and beautiful and kind of sad and empty at the same time - I am left with the feeling that many of the cathedrals serve now as more tourist attractions than actual sites of worship, despite the city’s highly Catholic nature and populace.  After el Catedral, we were going to go to the ruins located near el Zocalo (el Templo Major), but apparently all museums and their ilk were closed today (on a Monday?  okay…), so we walked on to the Palacio National, which we walked around in and took more pictures before hopping back on el Turibus to go and meet Jorge for lunch. 

As we walked around, Alexia pointed out that many of the people that were hawking wares in the streets were of Aztec descent, and had made their various items themselves in their homes.  We also saw men dressed in traditional Aztec garb with giant incense burners, cleansing the bodies and souls of those kind enough to give them a few pesos.  I took a few pictures, but sadly none that really spoke to the majesty of their apparel and appearence.  

Jorge works in the tallest tower in Latin America as an accountant for a major banking firm, and so we waited at the bottom of the tower to meet him for lunch.  Looking around, it became apparent to us that the good weather we had endured earlier in the day was about to depart, and so we counted ourselves fortunate that we had time to drive to the restaurant and seat ourselves comfortably before the downpour truly began.  I feel obliged to fill in some more details about Jorge, as I’ve left him sort of as an empty character thus far.  Jorge is 34, and has been involved with Alexia for two weeks, but I think that the two of them are actually in love with each other.  Jorge is extremely animated, very funny, generous, clearly successful, and a great mealtime companion (:P).  His smile and laugh practically define his features, and similarly his tendency to burst into dance when there is no music serves as an adequate representation of his personality as a whole. 

The restaurant where we ate lunch was named Saks, and the food was absolutely delicious.  We shared fried cheese, and I had a bowl of tomato soup and a steak (did I mention that yesterday I had duck tacos?  did I mention that all of the food I have eaten here has been delicious?).  We talked about diabetes, about the city, about what to do now that it was raining, about children and camp, and about life itself.  I am slowly piecing together the circumstances that must have been in place for Alexia to have found Joslin - she herself is diabetic, she’s only had the disease for 3 years, and her control is not perfect (hA1C of 9.something).  I don’t know how she heard about the camp yet (perhaps Ben?), but at least I understand a little more about how she came to work there.  I also found out something really disgusting about some people who worked at camp, and I remember why information is not always a benefit to possess.

After lunch, Alexia and I decided not to get back on the tourbus, because what’s the point of being on the tourbus if you can’t be on the top of the double decker?  I mean, really.  So Jorge drove us to el Auditorium, where we picked up Alexia’s car and drove to the mall to do some shopping.  I ended up getting a book and a t-shirt, and we were going to go see a movie when the two of us sort of hit a brick wall of exhaustion, having walked around all day, and so we decided to head home.  Alexia is currently trying a CGMS, and it had kept her awake all night, so the two of us had both gotten very little sleep, and a movie probably wouldn’t have gone as well as it should have.  So we drove home in yet more rain and traffic, and that is what brought me to where I am now: sitting comfortably on the sofa in the guest building, typing this up and chatting and thinking about what an awesome and lively place Mexico City is turning out to be.  

A few notes in summary:

• I am glad that this is no “I got drunk at Cancun” trip.  I am actually going places and learning about the history of the city and about its culture and life, and to me that is so much more memorable and worthwhile.  Also, the pictures I have are going to be awesome.
• We had initially intended to head to the beach at Vera Cruz over the weekend, but Hurricane Fenix has put something of a wrench in the works as far as that goes, so we are looking into alternative plans.
• I am cooking dinner for Jorge, Alexia, and (hopefully) Carolina on Friday. 
  
• Tomorrow, weather permitting, Alexia and I are driving to Teotihuacan, which will be SO FUCKING COOL AND I WILL TAKE SO MANY PICTURES.  Failing that…Harry Potter in IMAX?
• Also apparently there is a safari-style zoo in the area that Alexia has offered to take me to, which will be so cool.  Also, a jazz night at a local museum. 
  
• This was a great idea. 

Objective Reporting

Goodness, life has been moving so fast lately.

I don’t really know where to begin with all of this - there’s so much that’s happened and that I have to say.

I’m lying on a bed in the guest room at Alexia’s home in Mexico City.  I say guest room but really it’s more like a guest building - it’s literally an edifice set aside from the main house with a bathroom, a bedroom, and, well…all the comforts of home.  Including, apparently, a giant (giant) television, a sofa, multiple fridges…(holy shit, this computer just told me it was 9 o’clock).  I flew into Mexico City around 2PM today and was met by Alexia, Jorge (Alexia’s boyfriend), and Carolina.  Jorge drove the bunch of us to this flea market (you’ll have to forgive me for not remembering the specific name) where we walked around for a bit before having dinner at a local restaurant and then continuing out into the market again.  I kind of went on a quest of sorts to find these…charms/runes…with Aztec symbols on them.  The quest ended up being a success, but the more impressive part of the market was just how things were.   It felt almost…lawless in a way.  While we were eating people kept coming up and offering us things, or running in and hiding behind people and all of the restaurant staff would come over and try to shoo them out but this one little girl kept hiding behind this young woman’s chair and hugging her and holding on and just refusing to let go…it was sad, in a way.  She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight.  

I took some pictures using the new Nikon D80 - not nearly as many as I should have - and was left unsure of what to think.  Having a camera does something to one.  It’s hard to describe it, but when you have a camera in your hand you start looking at the world as if it is a photograph, always wondering what would make the perfect shot - you look up and down and left and right and all you can think is: “Is the lighting right?  What would this mean?  Does it emote?”  It is very strange.  

I did something very strange earlier today.  It was at once characteristic and uncharacteristic.  I sort of - well, I poured my heart out in an email to Heather.  It seems like a bad way of going about it, and I certainly concede that, but - I’ve been holding this in for so long, I was going to explode.  I had tried calling her a few days beforehand, but no luck - it’s probably an absolutely stupid thing to have done, but…I love her, and it is so powerful of a feeling that if I were to just give up and not try, not try and offer and give up everything - I would not be able to live with myself.  

So…there that is.

There’s also England, and madness, and all the wonder and power that is my friends and family and loved ones.  These are emotional days for me.  Thank you - all of you - for being there.  You’re a crazy bunch, but you’re the best bunch in the world and I wouldn’t trade you for anything. 

In transit

I’m in Newark International Airport waiting for my flight to Bristol to board.  A few notes and thoughts and recollections: 

• My VSE game has been proceeding in a very interesting fashion.  The one thing I have learned from both it and from The Intelligent Investor is that the stock market always overcorrects.  From this I have also learned that my prediction of when to buy an index fund would have been correct, and had anybody been in a position to listen to my advice they would have made 9% in four days.  Ah well.
• The parties and events and things over the last few days have left me both exhausted and somewhat confused.  I learned new things about friends new and old, and the end result is that I’m really not that big of a fan of some of my friends.  Upon thinking about it, I realize that this is probably the reason why people differentiate between “friends” and “best friends”
• I have now seen the same guy walk past me for the third time.  He looks lost every time. 
  
• This Great Wall of China trip might actually happen.  So might the Antarctica trip.  I’ll need a mentor for the Antarctica trip, though.
• I need to really get out of my shell while I’m in England this time.  Go places I haven’t been, start pushing at the edges of the network. 
  
• I can go to Ireland!  I actually already had friends living in Ireland!  Man, I’m dumb.
• Cat has this unique ability to disappear at fun events.
  
• I found a really cool script and I think I’m going to try and get it working on the ol’ tumblog.
• I need to find a Ruby on Rails project
• I’m teaching Ruby to Emily Bargar! 
• I should find a way to convert my knowledge of videogames into money.
• I probably shouldn’t make public blog posts in a crowded airport, especially when my flight is about to start boarding.