Category: Everything (Potpourri)

25 Things about Me that You Might Not Know

A fun game has been going around Facebook. Someone will post several factoids about themselves, ideally tidbits that most of their FB friends don’t know. Anyone who “likes” the post will then be given a number, for example “7,” and that person in turn is supposed to list seven factoids about themselves. At first I just read, but when I, without thinking, clicked “like” on a couple of lists, I was given the numbers “13” and “8.” I slept on it, and the next day posted a list of 13 factoids about myself (I went with the larger of the two numbers).

Ciudad Perdida 49

At first it was hard – as a blogger I automatically lose some degree of privacy – but it ultimately was a fun exercise. I thought I’d re-post my 13 factoids below, plus another 12, to come up with a better-sounding “25.” And don’t worry – if you “like” this blog posting on FB I won’t give you a number. I do, however, hope you’ll comment about any particular factoids that surprise you. My hobbies are as diverse as my friends, so if it all sounds like a bunch of random potpourri, well…that’s kinda the point. 🙂

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Día de Muertos 2013

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a festive, uniquely Mexican affair that occurs every November. A Mexican resident for over a year now, I had the privilege of taking in this colorful holiday in full last week.

Day of the Dead is, as the name implies, a time for remembering the deceased. It actually takes place over two days, not one – November 1st and 2nd. On the first, Mexican families make a pilgrimage to any cemetery housing the buried remains of child relatives who died way too young. Here, the living relatives tend to the graves, sweeping away dirt and fallen leaves, laying orange flowers in memory and making ofrendas (offerings) – toys, food, or religious trinkets – and spending some hours “visiting” with the dead and toasting their memories. The ritual is repeated on the second, but this time in honor of adults who left this cherished plain for the next world.

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El Clima

It is officially fall in Mexico City, and there is a noticeable chill in the air. But the weather has been strange for months now – and it’s definitely thrown me for a loop.

You may recall in my Top Ten Mexico City post of last January, I noted “The weather” (el clima) as one of the ten things I liked most about Mexico City. Chingado, was I wrong.

Mexico City and the surround central highlands are considered “high desert.” For the altitude (roughly 7,300 feet above sea level), this implies chilly nights and mornings, pleasantly warm afternoons, and lots of glorious sunshine to break through the thick layer of smog. And almost no rain. This holds true from November through mid-May, but something daffy happens every summer. Starting sometime in late May or early June, it’ll rain in the afternoons – usually around 4 p.m. – and quick thunderstorms will strike. You wouldn’t want to be atop Teotihuacán’s Pyramid of the Sun, say, during this time. The rain seldom lasts more than an hour, and the next morning is dry and sunny until noontime clouds roll in and the sky opens up that afternoon. The rain might hold off for a day or two here and there but in general, it’s as regular as clockwork.

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What Constitutes a Country?

Last week, I posted a bit of fun nostalgia about My Crazy Traveling Friends…Whom I Love. In the opening paragraph, I suggested that I have had to slow down my travel pace so that, for the foreseeable future, my country count will only slowly climb from its current number, 70.

I originally put an asterisk next to that 70, but promptly removed it as I knew the explanation for said asterisk was too lengthy for an already-wordy blog. In other words, I’ve been to 70* countries at last count…but for the sake of travel, just what constitutes a “country,” anyway?

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My Crazy Traveling Friends…Whom I Love

A few years ago I came up with this random travel goal: for my country count to always be at least twice the number as I am years old. I am now 38, and have set foot in 70 countries at last count. I have hardly traveled at all this year, and most of my 2012 travel was to Mexico, so I’m six countries behind my goal as a result.

But it doesn’t matter so much anymore. I don’t feel the hurry-up-and-travel clock ticking the way I once did, and frankly, the exhaustive travel pace that allowed me to visit so many places – most of them over a single eleven-year span – was starting to wear me down. I won’t make it to anymore new countries for the remainder of 2013…and I doubt I’ll hit up any new countries in 2014, either. (The money has finally run out, Loyal Reader, the money has finally run out.) If this makes me sad, I at least take some degree of comfort knowing that I’ve seen more corners of the world than perhaps any of my crazy traveling friends…the majority of whom are no travel slouches themselves.

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Where am I #14

The monument in the photo below was originally meant to be a government palace, but construction plans were altered literally as the foundation was being poured. Today it features an underground museum and a top-floor observation deck, while the surrounding plaza exists as a popular gathering place for buskers, protesters, college students, and campaigning politicians.

Where am I?

whereami14

Travel Movies

I mentioned in my Sidebar: Summer Movies 2013 blog entry that I would follow-up that critique of the season’s summer films with some potpourri about travel-themed movies. As I see it, there are two kinds: The Classic Road Trip Misadventure, and The Fish out of Water Tale. On my honor, I’ll keep this short. No, really. 🙂

The Classic Road Trip Misadventure

This sub-genre of travel cinema usually makes for a fun time at the movies. Here, the protagonist is sent on his/her way for a reason – often a family emergency – and he/she (I’ll just say “he,” “him,” or “his” going forward) is forced to share his bumpy journey with someone very unlike himself. The two will ultimately find some common ground by film’s end, and if they aren’t good friends by then they’ve at least garnered some sort of mutual respect. These films were huge in the 1980’s.

Examples: “Midnight Run,” “Planes, Trains & Automobiles,” “Rain Man,” “Twins.”

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