Reflections on 2006
Well, it´s about the end of 2006, a time to reflect back on the past year and make some resolutions for the next. I am a little cheesy about things like this. I already picked a "medicine card" for 2007 - it was Horse, which is the symbol of Strength. I´m not exactly sure what that means, but I am assuming it means I have to be aware of and use, but not overuse or abuse my inner strength. I feel like I´ve actually done a pretty good job of it so far in 2006! (Maybe the higher spirit got confused and thought I was picking a symbol for 2006 instead of 2007.)
Oh, for those of you who are super confused, Medicine Cards are these spritual (read: New Age Native American) cards that have an animal on one side and a blue background with a lightning rod through it on the other side. You lay them all out and select one based on energy or light or whatever technique suits your fancy. then there´s a little book that explains what each animal symbolizes. When I was 10 years old I picked Lizard and it told me that I should pay attention to my dreams and keep a dream diary daily. I did. for one year I wrote down every single dream I had. And I do believe that because of that I still have extremely vivid dreams every night. And it´s so fun. I love dreaming.
okay, okay, totally off subject. I just get carried away. that´s why each blog is so long!
So, reflections on 2006 -
I spent New Year´s last year in Costa Rica with my B-F Ash - we had a fab time. I suppose that was the start for a year filled with Latino Adventures. funny how these things work.
Then the year went by rapidly with lots of work - interesting projects on snacking and snacking and more snacking - in front of the TV, at work, in the car ... I know a lot about how Americans snack. Pretty cool, or not. I definitly learned to run my own Ethnographic research consulting biz, too bad all that money wasn´t my salary!
And I had some lovely trips with my BF - wine tasting, which always amounts to getting wasted, making friends and eating fabulous food. Hawaii - what a lovely romantic getaway filled with snorkeling, waterfalls, fancy hotels, great meals and of course, more drinks, filled with umbrellas, cherries, pinaples, flowers and every other garnish you can possible shove into the top of a piña colada glass. Madison and Chicago - to E´s super fun wedding - complete with a country-side party and a keg. And lots of fun dinners and parties and events in SF. What a fab city. (wow, aparently 2006 was a year of drinking - mom, don´t worry, I´m not totally an alcoholic because I only drink with others ... perhaps a socialholic?)
Then came Mexico, which unfortunately coincided with the end to a long, wonderful and meaningful part of my life, but sparked the beginning of a new phase, one that is filled with new adventures, new cultures and people, a new language, and a whole lot of learning about myself and the world outside the US. And, well, the rest is in the details, in the blog!
And as I´m sitting in an internet cafe in Chiapas, Mexico, with my bro and his GF, I have to go and continue my travels. So, sometime soon I´ll write about my resolutions for next year ... and perhaps a better reflection on my mexico adventure so far. Feliz Navidad and Prospero Año Nuevo! Love to all my friends and fam and faithful readers.
Hiatus
okay, so this time you all have a right to be angry. I haven't written in three weeks. that's BAD AMANDA! Very BAD! But, the good news is, I have an excuse.
Here goes ... in the past three weeks my life has been more intense and crazy and stressful and fun and everthing than I can remember. Talking with one of my gringa friends here, we came to the agreement that Mexico is highly intense country and culture. And there's really no other word to describe it. And I think Mexico city, with 23 million people just takes that intense day-to-day way of living life to the extreme. And the holiday season brings it to yet another level.
The past three weeks have functioned basically like this> Wake up, exhausted and possible hung over from the night before, get my butt to work through traffic, run around all day in the office from meeting to meeting, crisis to crisis, barely having time to eat lunch - the sacred meal, remember - work till 7 or 8 when I start freaking out becuase the taxi is taking forever to come and I'm late to a date, class or something of the sort, get in the taxi - directing him to "drive like the wind" while we sit for 20 minutes without moving in traffic, I finally get to my event/class/date/etc., try to calm down and relax and pay attention and enjoy myself, meanwhile texting and making arrangements for the party to follow, get back into a taxi and "rush" through another hour of traffic to the party, where we hang out, drink, dance and I finally get home at 3am. Fall into bed and try to get a minimum amount of sleep so I can do it all again the next day. And the one day in the past two weeks when I cancelled because I just couldn't do it anymore, my roomates and I happened to open a bottle of wine, and another bottle and a few tequilla's later, it was 2:30am again before I got to bed! Insane. And the worst part has been that everyone's been sick. Everyone. All my coworkers, my friends outside of work, ME, everyone. We all have this lung infection with this horrible cough. It's just rediculous.
And of course on top of this there´s all the stress of being the "manager" at work now, having to critique all the creative, manage at least 30 different design projects, write presentations, manage timelines and budgets, meet with clients and be at their beck and call for whatever they need ... and then there´s my personal life, which has been a rollercoaster of emotions of relationships and feelings and changes. And the icing on the cake is doing it all in SPANISH. You have no idea how bad your communication skills can get when you´re physically and mentally exhausted. it´s so frustrating.
So, why so many parties? Only god knows. Apparently, it is the "season" ... every company has an end of the year party and/or meal. A lot of people graduate in December here - so there's grad parties. And I have an unusual number of friends with December birthdays - which of course require a party. And then a lot of families have Posadas - a typically Mexican party with Piñatas, parrilla (grilled meat), ponche (a hot cider drink), and of course a religous ceremony which involves singing a little song and lighting candles. So, in the past weeks I´ve been to: 2 posadas, 2 birthday parties, 1 graduation party, 1 end-of-the-year holiday party, 4 dinners with different friends, and 1 impromptu house party. oh, and had at least three nights working till after 11pm. They call this time period the "Guadalupe - Reyes" - the weeks in-between the Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (Dec. 12) and the Reyes Mágicos, which come to bring presents to the kids on Jan.6th. The chiste (joke) is that you have to drink everyday in-between the holidays. I´m sad to say I´ve missed one day.
And THAT is why I haven´t written in my blog and why I slept for 12 hours yesterday!
Ah, so goes life in Mexico. The good news is all this tequilla has cured my cough. Somehow, amidst all the partying and lack of sleep I got better. Thanks Agave, I owe you one!
magnet
So, I have this weird thing where I always meet people from places where I've lived ... or similar types of people from places where I've lived. Okay, I'm trying to pull together a theme for the next two subjects, and I don't know if it's working - I'm going to discuss Minnesotans and Gay boys.
First - Minnesota. As most of you know, I left Minnesota bored, bitter and cold. And vowed never to return. I don't really blame any one thing, I think it was living alone, trouble getting close to people, working at the same place for too long, and not traveling enough. And the cold and snow. At any rate, I have not ceased to meet Minnesotans wherever I go. It's weird and annoying. Because the Minnesotans I've met outside Minnesota are some of the coolest Minnesotans I've known, apart from Soph, of course! So, in SF I had a MN roommate. And then the first girl I knew in Mexico City outside of work was Minnesotan. And now another one of my good girl friends here is also from MN. Why are you people following me??
okay, case 2: SF and gay men
First off, I like gay boys. They're often funny, sensitive, into looks and clothes, and like drinking. I know, this is a HORRIBLE stereotype, but many of the gay men who I've befriended have fit this general profile. well, maybe not all have fashion sense - I think that's a generation thing. anyway, I definitely knew and worked with many gay men in SF, but never had any really good friends that were gay. And funny, I come to Mexico City and again, work with a good number of gay men (is it because it's design??), and now have a gay roommie.
The only annoying thing about being gay in Mexico is that it's not accepted as much. there is a gay district, called the Zona Rosa (pink zone). And there's a large community, but it's totally not talked about. for example, there are two guys at work who are most definitely gay, but they have never said it and never discuss it. but everyone knows. it's so strange. coming from SF, it's hard for me to get it.
When I first came here I honestly thought all the guys were gay. I mean, moving from SF where 1 out of every 4 boys is gay and all the straight guys look like shit and can't dance ... and then here all the guys wear hair gel and many wear tight jeans and they all love dancing. I was really tripped out the first time we went out dancing and this guy that I thought was DEFINITELY gay came up to me and asked me to dance. I just hadn't seen straight guys move their hips like that before!!
so, the girl roomie just left and we got a new one in to replace her. He's an American guy in his early thirties who's lived and worked all over the world. And upon hello it occurred to me that he's gay. Of course, I didn't know FOR SURE, but a week later when he mentioned a "partner" and later used the pronoun "he" I thought I knew. and my sleuth work was complete when I mentioned an esthetician I went to for a facial and he immediately asked, does she do
back waxing? WHAT? I have new-found respect for my new roomie - not only is he self-assured, social and confidently gay, he has no fear of coming right out with the back wax card. Awesome. You go dude. We're going to get along well.
Better now
So, I realized when I talked to one of my long-distance friends that I never reported on what happened
after the fever. I'm sorry! I didn't die. I sweat a lot, had hallucinations and aches. Then I got better. And had Argentine steak on Sunday.
I had walked past this little restaurant/bar a million times and never looked at what it was, though noticed it was always packed. Well, I stopped one day and realized it's a little Argentine restaurant, with a pub feel. So two weeks ago, when Ry was here we went there for dinner on Sunday. It was AMAZING. The meat is so yummy. (sorry veggie friends, but I'm such a steak-lover!) and I've noticed they have a great wine selection, though I've yet to try it. They're right next to my house and they even deliver! Anyway, I went again last Sunday with a friend - and sat in the same spot, at the bar, in front of the cute Argentine waiter with the pretty blue eyes ... mmmm. red meat.
okay, that was bad. to make a long story short, I got over the fever, was left with a cough, and had a nice steak dinner on Sunday.
mexico fever
And not in a good way ...
After the pool on friday I started to feel the aches and chills that signal getting sick, along with a raspy throat. - generally not a good sign - Then we went to see a movie, the Departed, which I thought was good but very violent. And upon leaving I thought my head would explode and my whole body hurt. so, I went home and went to bed, missing my roommates party, which I was quite bummed about. After a fitfull night of sleep and all day Saturday in bed, sweating, head throbbing and then freezing ... I think I can confidently diagnose myself with some sort of flu or sickness. I suppose it's not surprising as nearly everyone in the office has been sick lately. but I honestly thought I would escape it. damn-it!
I guess the night I got home at 2am from work, only to have to get up and be at the airport at 6:30am the next day, did not exactly help my cause.
Work has been busy and stressful lately, especially since i was promoted to manage all the pepsico biz. it's nice to have the responsibility and have the opp to lead, but it's also a lot of pressure and stress. I have to manage about 15 design projects - day to day and long term - as well as manage the designer time, my consulting team time, do strategic projects and try to get new business! It's a lot. so, hopefully I'll get over this fever soon.
