Pieces to the Puzzle of Life

Granny. This morning, as I bobbed around on the metro listening to my ipod, I received a piercing shot to my kidney. I doubled over and looked down to see a four foot tall, died hair, old woman pushing her way towards the door. Due to the metro’s daily overcapacity, I generally just get smushed and smashed against other people. There is little room for movement so dramatic physical encounters are rare. However, today, I was on extra early (6:15am), and I actually had a little personal space. Well, I had a little personal space until granny elbowed me in the ribs. Up until that shock, I had forgotten how grizzled older Mexican women are. This isn’t just a love nuzzle or tap. I mean, granny’s throwin’ ‘bows and knocked out my breath.

Ironically, as any Metro rider knows, at my stop (auditorio) the entire train empties. There is no need to jockey for position. You simply let the tide of people sweep you out of the train and up the stairs. It is actually a fun ride. Perhaps a little smelly and gross but fun nonetheless. But for some reason old women feel the need to push, or elbow in this case, to the doors of the train and then slow down the stair climbing/escalator riding process for everyone else. Once off the train, I was caught behind my four foot tall friend until I charged past and ran up the stairs.

At the same time, I was thinking, as she took great pains to step off the train and begin waddling to the stairs, how do they do it? She could easily be 100 years old, or maybe 60. The aging process is increased not only by the pollution, but by the fact that women begin working at age 4. It is impossible to guess an older woman’s age, but she is guaranteed to have at least six kids, dozens of grandkids, perhaps even some great-grand children, although she may only be 60. She can’t slow down. That is relative meaning that she can’t stop forging ahead. She has to be the first off the train, and I guarantee that if she was physically able to, she would be running up the stairs alongside me.

Don’t drink the water. Every time someone goes to Mexico, the first piece of advice they receive is: don’t drink the water, don’t eat cucumbers, lettuce, or much fruit. Well, I have news for you, 70% of U.S. cucumbers come from Mexico and a third of the lettuce does. Do you get sick from those? I don’t think so. Although I don’t drink the water directly (usually), I use faucet water to cook my pasta, use in my coffee, and brush my teeth.

Irony. They have Sam’s Price Clubs here. In these warehouse supermarkets, they sell pre-packaged, washed, cut, and prepared salads. If you flip the salad over it says, “prepared in the U.S.” with Mexican vegetables. How silly is that? Mexico sends vegetables to the U.S., and illegal immigrants cut and wash these vegetables, then send it back to Mexico in a plastic container to sell in Sam’s Club. What is wrong with this picture?

Absolut. There is absolutely nothing that Absolut adds to my life. Perhaps a bit of a headache, some fleeting moments of fun, and less than adequate sleep. I suspect that you have all picked up on my bitterness, and I assume that you all have deduced that this is because I got to work at 7am after 3 hours of sleep. I was “required” to attend another one of Morgane’s Absolut events last night: Absolut Kravitz. Lenny himself was suppose to play but for some reason he was unable to make it and DJ Latinsizer re-mixed his music instead. I awoke to the pounding of techno. Horrible.

Excess. Every morning, I am either spaced out or pensive on the metro, and this particular morning I was deep in thought. I have come to the same conclusion time and time again. Alcohol is bad. Wait, let me rephrase, excess is bad. The major problem with alcohol is that it leads you down the tempting road to excess. For example, when vodka shows up at the party, he never shows up alone. He shows up with all his friends, and they are all on the guest list.

Then, like six-degrees of separation, one friend invites another, and another, and before you know it, the party is bumping. There is no reason to pull the plug on the music. Occasionally the bouncer, aka stomach, will try and quiet things down a little bit. He will leave some of your friends waiting behind the velvet rope until the party is under control. But he inevitably lets them in and keeps the party going.

Excess is the one thing in life that we are all compelled to do, and it is something that is always negative. Doing anything in excess means that you have lost control and the consequences are harmful. I get Paco Taco cravings really bad. I mean, if I don’t get a bistec con queso-fix soon, I lose it. However, when I eat tacos, I shouldn’t eat the half dozen that I tell myself I want. If I do, I will complain about being full, feel miserable, and most likely be incapacitated for several hours. If I eat Paco’s tacos more than once a week, it is overkill and the flavor isn’t as special.

Let me give you an example of doing something good in excess. Sleep. If you sleep too much, get too much rest, you are lazy. Motivation is scarce and you are less productive. Another example is work. If you work too hard, you are negatively affecting something. It may not be obvious to you at the time, heck, it may never be obvious to you. Some things are very subtle. Working too hard is not good for your health, your relationships, or your mind. Breaks are vital to success in all of those categories.

Picnics. These are some of those “little” things in life that are just plain beautiful. On Sunday I went to meet Ismael, Sergio, and Monika in the park at the National Center of Art. We had planned to see the free EuroJazz festival later that day. Sandwich making commenced with a fury and soon we were kicked back enjoying the gorgeous day, the sun, and the gently swaying palm trees. It was a 10. And then, Mauricio showed up with a football (the American kind). And things got even better. The simple act of tossing a ball around barefoot is pure heaven.

So what do beastly old ladies, dirty water, booze, and picnics have in common? I guess you all have to figure that out for yourselves; however, I did fit these pieces together in my life.

Ride the wave. I don’t want to look 150 years old when I am 30, so I will not follow the grandmas’ examples. Instead, I will sit back and go with the flow when it’s appropriate. I will not let other people’s stress or pushiness subtract from my mood. I will not curse them in my mind when I am stuck behind a slow old lady or a dump truck. I will take deep breaths and relax.

Agua. Always be careful and cautious when it comes to water, but always use the water. If not, you are just a tourist. I have a weak and temperamental stomach, but I drank the water in Southeast Asia, South America, and now, Mexico. You can too.

M&Ms. Avoid excess. Don’t eat that whole bag of M&Ms. Take pleasure in the things that you do but don’t do them too much or too frequently. No overloads. The only way the little things in life maintain their appeal and exceptionality is that you need to realize their special-ness and celebrate it. Enjoy that ice cold coca cola sip by sip.

Right now my puzzle is put together. The pieces fit together like the stone bricks on an Incan temple. Yet, at any moment, it might fall apart and I will have to fit the pieces back together again in a different way. As a good friend says, “strikes and gutters, dude.” So, ride the wave and know that you are on it because one day it will crash, and you will have to find another wave.

Smile.