Peñasco Recap

So, in order to keep my mind busy, I've decided that I will, indeed, fill you in on my travels during my absence from bloglandia.  This is installment one: Puerto Peñasco. 

So, for the weekend of my daughter´s birthday (which also happened to be Valentine's Day weekend), we decided to take a trip over to Puerto Peñasco (aka Rocky Point, to the gringos).  Just some background, since anyone not from Arizona may not be familiar with the area: Rocky Point is the major vaction spot for all the party-going college students from Arizona, since it is only about 3 hours from Phoenix.  All the 18-20 year-olds like to go down there to get drunk and act foolish.  Fortunately, they were not present in February.

We did, however, arrive just in time for the Pride celebration, which was hosted at our hotel.  Although happy that there were no college girls in bikinis to feel intimidated by, I was positively morose that there were transvestites/transexuals present that were absolutely more gorgeous than me. But overall, it was a really fun experience.  I just wish that we had been able to see the parade so could have taken some pictures. 

There was also a carnival going on across the street from the hotel, which made for one night of fun, and several nights of fruitless pleading from my daughter. Unfortunately, we did not go the first night when my favorite banda, Banda Limón, was playing. I can just imagine the looks on the locals' faces when they'd see this huera belting out Tantoooo pasadoooo, tantaaaaas cariciaaaas... mumble mumble mumble... Derecho de antiguedaaaaad. But I had really wanted to see them live.  We did, however, put our daughter's life at risk and let her go on several of the overpriced carnival rides.  I am not fond of portable carnivals at home, but the though of Mexican portable carnival rides made me slightly nauseous.  So David took her.  And the ferris wheel did not come crashing down, even with the two-seater chair that five people were squished into, or with the two lovebirds that were shamelessly and conspicuosly making out for the entire duration of the ride.  It did appear to be by pure chance, however, that the carousel stayed in one piece, but Alexia seemed none the wiser, so it was all good.

We also spent some time in the water.  The Gulf was still too freakin cold to do any swimming, but we did get in a water fight, resulting in me tackling David in the waves, and both of us with water and sand in our clothes.  Alexia tripped and fell in the water, and as a result, was kind of terrified of the ocean for the rest of the trip.  We did swim in the pool, though, which was nice, and we saw some beautiful sunsets.  

We of course had our share of Peñasco-style fun too.  After the baby was asleep, we split a bottle of Captain, much of which later ended up on the floor of the shower, sadly enough.  And after imbibing to the point of half-consciousness, David and I ended up spending some "private time" on the balcony.  Myself being, um, kind of clothing-impaired. Um... yeah.  For the record, I'm not usually the type to get super-drunk and do crazy shit, so this was slightly out-of-character for me.  And just about as mortifying as it was amusing in the morning.  Wow.

Health Update

So, against my usual judgement, I actually went to the doctor yesterday, and was reassured that my intestinal distress was probably just a virus, and that I should probably not drink the water upon my return to Mexico.  I also discussed the depression and anxiety that has been wreaking havoc on my life and productivity, and it was recommended that I try Wellbutrin.  However, because I'm on insurance through the state, I have to undergo a psych eval before they can prescribe it, so that's what I get to do today.  I'm not excited.  Without getting too in-depth here, let me just say that I spent 4 of my precious teenage years in therapy for a condition that I did not have, related to abuse that did not happen.  I am not in denial, I was literally led to believe that I had repressed memories, and got so confused, I hardly even trust my own mind anymore.  The world of psychology can be scary.  However, I hate failing or dropping all my classes each semester, I hate being distant with my daughter, and within the past month or two, I reached a point where I felt right on the verge of an intentional downward-spiral, and I have reached the realization that trying to do this own my own is not working.  And as much as the idea of being on psych meds pains me, if that is what is necessary for awhile, then so be it.

Moving right along... the doctor also agreed to oversee my impending attempts at weight loss (that have been impending for approximately 3 years now :-P), and I'm hoping that between my mental health issues being treated and my healthier lifestyle, my migraines and chronic stomach issues will start to disappear too. 

Also, I watched 'Girl, Interrupted' last night, mostly because I am in love with Angelina Jolie, however it was the wrong choice the day before being evaluated for mental illness.  Ah, well.  Wish me luck.

Much Love,

Jen

SB 1070

Oh yeah.  I forgot to mention all the craziness surrounding Arizona's new immigration law, and living in Phoenix, how much I effing hate this state.  More on that later, just didn't want to forget.

Peace.

Long Time, No See

So I know that I've been a horrible blogger and essentially disappeared for like sixish months, and I don't even have a really good excuse.  Since I'm prone to writing novel-length blog posts anyway, I will spare you all the recap that a good bloggie would write after all this time.  Suffice it to say that David no longer has a job at the fabrica (which sucks), we have now added Puerto Peñasco and Hermosillo to our list of Mexican cities visited (each of which really deserve their own post, but due to the lazy nature of this blog's creatrix, this is unlikely to happen at the present), been stopped by a crowbar-wielding federal and I am experiencing, for the first time in the (almost) year that I've been going to Mexico, extreme intestinal distress, which according to WebMD sounds like either giardia or hepatitis.  Although I never dreamed I would say this, I am really hoping that I have some rogue parasites in my body in lieu of liver disease.  I am guessing this is the case since my daughter was having similar stomach issues, and neither of us is an intravenous drug user, or having sex with risky partners.  Not to my knowledge, anyway. 

In other news, my daughter is starting to learn some Spanish (though not enough to satisfy her Machiavellian Tata) and loves running around and playing with the kids down there, even though they have no idea what the other is saying.  She has unfortunately also become fluent in radio skank, thanks to her half-sister and cousin, and possibly some indiscriminate music-listening by her mother.  She knows all the words to the super-annoying "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, and has developed an equally provocative preschooler-dance to accompany it, the likes of which would probably be found on YouTube if I were one of those parents.  Soooo, I've had to revise my in-transit-to-daycare playlist.

Also, I dropped out of school, and decided to change colleges and career paths yet again.  I am now considering pursuing a degree in elementary education.  I figure it's the perfect path for a high-school-and-college dropout. Ah, well.

Anyways, just wanted to get something posted, but hopefully I'll be back later with more details about my recent experiences and perhaps some pictures.  Mexico never ceases to amaze me.

Ciao,
Jena D

The Twilight Zone

So. As much as I really hate to admit it, I jumped on the wagon.  The Twilight wagon.  My grandma gave me the books more than a year ago.  Before everybody and their mother became obsessed with the books.  before the movies.  Before the painful reminder of my early teen years, the years of the psychotic Harry Potter infatuation.  But I digress. 
Against my usual protocol, I did watch the Twilight movie with my man over the summer.  Well, parts of it... It's impossible for us to make it through an entire movie without becoming.. distracted.  But again, I digress. The books have been calling to me for quite some time.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for vampires.  And several-hundred-paged books.
And so, now that the semester is over (I cannot begin to express my gratitude for that...), I decided it was the perfect time to take a holiday into the dark realm of obsessive novel-reading.  I spent the last 2 days reading all 4 books cover-to-cover, hardly able to stop long enough to fufill my motherly duties.  I am lethargic and cranky from staying up past midnight 3 days in a row to get my fix.  I'm pretty sure I have instilled a deep hatred of reading in my daughter due to my unwillingness to watch Ice Age 2 with her for the million-and-second time (this week).  But I enjoyed it.  It felt so good.
Anyways... It totally threw me off.  It gave me too much too consider.  I identified too closely with the characters.  I felt like they were my friends.  And now it's over.  The books are done, there is no more to come, no more to anticipate, its done.  This probably sounds ridiculous.  It probably speaks to the current state of my life (and mind).  But it made me think...  Maybe.. Maybe I still do want to write...  My past fan fics (gawd, how humiiiiiiliating) have been well received, and I started a novel back in high school, but that never went anywhere.  But I would enjoy it.  And it comes naturally to me.  I have a geeky adoration for words, languages, all things literary.  I am just concerned about originality, creativity.  I've read so much, countless books and whatnot, how could I ever come up with anything that had not already been done? 
In the meantime, the pain from finishing a beloved series is still fresh in my heart, so I must deal with the present grief before any other considerations. 
Please excuse the complete irrelevance of this post.  I just had to get it all out, preferably without my family thinking I was nuts... well, more than they already do.  I really wish Photoshop was real life, because I would love to undo the Gaussian Blur that has quite obviously been performed on my line between fantasy and reality.
Oh boy.
Peace & love,
Jen

This [ ] close to a nervous breakdown...

I am going sooo crazy.  I was hoping this last little Mexico trip would give me some r&r time, but all it did was increase my urgency to get this semester over with!  I have missed do much school between Mexico trips and health issues (pneumonia for me, the flu for my daughter) that I have no idea how I'm going to pass my classes this semester.  And if I don't pass, I lose my financial aid.  And if I lose financial aid, there is no way in hell I can pay for school.  And I actually, for the first time, really love my classes.  I want to pass so I can move on to the higher level stuff.  I actually see graphic design/or photography as a viable career solution, even long-distance after I move to Mexico.  I'm just so stressed out.  Which, of course, brings on the killer, debilitating migraines.  And high levels of anxiety, which in turn, make me not want to leave the house, which in turn, make me miss more school.  Ugh.

At least I've joined a gym (finally), and working out does seem to help my mood.  And hopefully it will eventually help me get rid of the 60 pounds I've gained since I got pregnant with and gave birth to my daughter.  Almost 3 years ago.  Yeah... 

It doesn't help that I have crazy dreams, like the one I had the other night about my man and some crazy Mexican sancha.  At least I kicked some ass in that dream, which would probably never happen in real life.  Hopefully I won't have a real-life sancha-ass to kick.  Or, I could always pop a cap in Sancha and slap him dow-ow-ow-ow-own... Lol. Good times.  Anyway.

And, as ridiculous as this is, I am trying to distract myself by planning our wedding.  Which is not going to happen until Fall 2011, or probably later, at the rate my school is going.  I am frickin stressing out about a wedding that has not even been officially proposed yet, that is about 2 years away, and am literally losing sleep at night over it.  Damn, I'm a nutcase.

And I have 3 pairs of pants and 1 long-sleeve shirt, and no money, and it's starting to get cold here.  And Christmas is just around the corner.  And I feel bad because I know my man could use some things too, and he's only bringing home $800 pesos a week, and I know he's trying to save up for an engagement ring and Christmas presents.  At least in Magdalena, eveyone is broke.  'Cept the mafia, but they don't count. 

But I'm done venting (for now ;) )  Tomorrow, I'm back to school, to learn all there is to know about Photoshop, and hopefully, to try to save my grade.

*Much Love*

Back To Reality...

Well, I really haven't been doing too well with keeping up with this blog.  Life has been pretty crazy though, what can I say?  In any case, I just got back from another trip to Magda, and I swear, I'm not so naive as not to realize that things would be different if I lived there permanantly, but I swear it feels more like home than frickin' M-town.  Ugh.

The trip was a spur-of-the-moment thing on Friday, and everything about it was perfect.  I was a little nervous because it was the first time I have driven down there in the dark, although I am finally learning to drive "Mexican-style".  However, David was able to catch a bus up to Nogales, presumably to drive me back down.  However, he decided to drink a bottle of Presidente on the way to meet me, so I kindly declined his gracious offer to chauffeur, figuring that my sucky driving was still less risky than his intoxicated driving. 

Huerita was so happy to see her daddy, of of course, the feeling was reciprocated.  It always melts my heart to see my two greatest loves together.  It also generally makes for some great photo opportunities.  Which I love.  Cuz' I'm a photo geek. 

Father & Daughter (I swear!)

My two favorite people kicking it in SONORA, fool!

We did the usual; sampling a different local "restaurant" each night, since the apartment he's renting from his parents still doesn't have a fridge or stove, hung out and watched movies, narrowly avoided spats about how I'm raising my daughter ;), etc.  We did get to drive part of the way up El Cerro de la Cruz (I think that's what it's called?) and *gasp!* take some pictures.  One of his parents' chihuahuas had puppies, and I got to meet the puppy that David chose to keep.  He named it Akira, after the Anime.  Yes, I know.  And I don't even like chihuahuas.  But I have to admit, the little guy was cute.  And so was the dog, lol. 

 

David &Akira

David @ El Cerro

La Huerita enjoying the chilly Mexican weather

The view from the Cerro

In all, it was a great trip, and just what I needed.  I'm seriously on the verge of a nervous breakdown here with school, my daughter, money (or the lack thereof), the holidays coming up... You name it, I'm trippin' about it.  But Mexico is kind of like my drug, it slows everything down for me, and relieves me from the burden of reality for a few precious moments.  And then comes a 5-hour drive home, and all my worries come rushing back.  But that is how it goes.