driving like a mexican... in ny

driving like a mexican in nyc doesn't actually work. i know new yorkers are supposed to be crazy drivers, but they have nothing on your average mexican driver just heading to the superama.

anyway, been here for 5 days and almost feel like i never left. seriously, this is exactly what april was like, bikram in the morning, random errands, lunch with friends and the occasional movie mixed with random to-dos in the evening. and drinking. seriously, i'd forgotten how much drinking we do in this city, and how easy it is to hemorrhage money. the money part is also serious. i walk out the door and that's like a$60 surcharge. i'm not even sure what my money has gone to, but it's definitely loving that spot a lot more than it likes my bank account. that said i have purchased some LOVELY turquoise jeans. clearly i'm taking my blue phase seriously.

still acclimating to being able to understand everyone. it's so... different. i keep wanting to move into aggressive hand gesturing and loud talking (like that really helps) but catch myself and sure enough, everyone i hang with in nyc totally speaks english. let's see if brazil stumps me as much, as i'm not even a little prepared for brazilian portuguese.

talk soon!
m.

dallas! really?

trapped in dallas for the evening. i say my plane push away but i wasn't on it and american airlines put me up in a hotel. dallas? really? there are maybe 50 other cites that i would be excited to be stuck in. dallas wasn't one of them.

that said, i had a pretty ok time here. there was the taste of dallas happening and i had some life changing crawfish and blackened shrip situation on the street. i also got to catch up on nyc life with my sis while enjoying a beer at the west end pub. i think my waiter was micro-flirting with me. whatever, in the end he gave me happy hour prices at midnight, so yay! anyway, home tomorrow. apparently lemuria is picking me up at the airport and we are running to bk to see maiysha. from the plane. so i suppose i will be smelly at my summer 09 nyc/bk debut.

anyway, had a great final july day in gdl. i braved the public bus system on my own and went to tlaquepaque. on my own. on the public bus. with no real direction. have i mentioned i was alone? i spent more time trying to figure out where to get on the bus than i actually spent on the bus. and then there was the staring, hoboy, there was staring. in taxi's i dont really have to appreciate how much i'm stared at in gdl. but there's nothing like being on public transportation alone to put that all in perspective. i bought beautiful things at tlaqupaque, including a shirt that i only purchased because i didn't understand it.

hell, a girl has to have reasons, even if they don't make sense.

then, after my bus adventure, i went to a resturant named 'la dolce vita' in centro magno for dinner with a glitterly assortment of mexicans. i think any place named 'la dolce vita' brings out the glittery set, internationally (imani, you may recall the 'dolce vita' in firenze). there i finally had a pizza in mexico with mozerella rather than queso gouda. yay! also had a yummy grappa. when i get back i'm taking erin!

excited about ny. excited about not being in dallas.
first class better be awesome tomorrow!

until!
m.

hummingbirds

a few weeks ago when erin and i were cleansing we happened upon a semi-hidden restaurant that we hoped would carry miso, which was our daily treat during those 5 days of liquid nourishment. they did not carry miso, but they had a lovely garden with hummingbird feeders that were very popular with the local hummingbird population. we drank tea and watched them come back and forth and i struggled with photographing until i realized i could just film for a few seconds.

little known fact: whenever erin sees a hummingbird she yelps HUMMINGBIRD! in her unexpectedly high pitched hummingbird voice and points at it. she uses the same high piched voice on unsuspecting mexican gentlemen of a certain age, especially when we get water delivered. HOLA SEÑOR!

home to ny soon, i suppose the tone of this blog might change then for a spell until i'm back to gdl. what wonders await?

besos,
m.

traditional mexican moji

here's a tape of me twirling, and erin looking past my madness while trying to watch greys anatomy.

this is the traditional mexican outfit that i purchased a few weeks ago. still trying to figure out where i'll wear it and in the interim i wear it around the house.

yup, that's my crazy you smell.

m-wah,
m.

happy independence day!!

this is the first year in forever that i missed sara and dan's annual cookout. darn it!

anyway, no one in gdl is paying attention to this darn american holiday, including us. we did laundry.

oh, as of today my mom is following me on twitter, that's kinda funny!

kisses and lonches!
m.

blackout pt. 2

yesterday was my second blackout in guadalajara. the first happened in may and seemed a little scary, but this one was smooth like butter. we were driving to a meeting and all of a sudden a huge tropical rainstorm hit and lasted for the 30 minutes. just so you know, that storm didn't stop anyone from driving like a mexican, i'm talking left turns from the right lane, passing without signaling and all. no one cared that the rain affected visibility, clearly being able to see while driving is something that stops babies and suckers, but not mexican drivers.

anyway, since we were on our way to an appointment we kinda kept on going with our life.

4 hours later when we drove home as we passed the local blockbuster we noticed a commotion. the whole street was blocked off, and it's a major street. here are pics of the tree that crashed into the truck, as well as the main power lines to our block and rerouted traffic. meanwhile the blackout and all barely put a dent in anyone's life. our local restaurants just pulled out the candles and it was business as usual, with a few extra people on the streets, chilling.

erin, 6 and i were fine. after the last blackout erin had purchased an emergency lamp that is quite illuminating. we turned it on, set up my laptop to play party tunes for the pup and then went to a rather romantic candlelit fondue dinner. i tried to play footsie with erin under the table but she was having none of it.

afterwards we ran into some sort of critical mass-type bike parade, but couldn't be critical mass because clearly the cops weren't opposed to the event. bikers who had stopped biking were being cheerfully carted with their bikes by municipal pickup trucks. when i ran out of the car to take pics of it all the bikers waved and cheered at me. mucho awesome.

unfortunately motion night pics aren't the best. sorry i didn't use the video feature.

anyway, until!

besos,
m.