First, friends, forget that you forgot my birthday. Let’s move on. But check out the pictures anyway, since I got a new haircut and am starting to paint on my canvases, beginning with red and some interesting people and moving on to dancing horses. I am also hoping to make sort of hippie-type bead strings to hang in my windows, but instead of using beads I am going to use pieces of broken glass wrapped in wire and connected to make a chain. I think the light should reflect nicely from those, and there is an abundance of glass on the ground and in the form of empty bottles of all kinds around here. I am also thinking of printing a picture on a banner or something and hanging it behind my bed as a headboard. Or something. And since I am talking about interesting design concepts, check out www.greatgreengoods.com, because it features a lot of really cool items made mostly out of recycled, reused or sustainable materials.
That leads to the main focus of my work recently, which is planning and attempting to implement a comprehensive Corporate Responsibility project (which we hope will lead to the creation of an area or department down the line) here at Casa Herradura. We are a bit behind the curve so far, but Brown-Forman is going to release its first CSR report in the next couple of weeks, and we have approval for our plan and activities. The starting point is a company-wide recycling program (Guadalajara, Plant, Mexico City) and campaign to reduce energy use, and then we will be working to do things like make the marketing more responsible, purchase “green” cleaning products, protect natural resources like water, reforest certain areas, contribute to the local communities, etc. It is a big goal, but it is definitely the part of my job that I like best. Otherwise, I am working on an Objectives plan, where I will be in charge of helping everyone in the company set objectives on a quarterly basis that contribute to the long-term goals of the company. That will enable me to get to know everyone, and will show how persistent I can be in tracking people down and demanding their participation.
Aside from work, I have been exploring my neighborhood, and I have some very good things to describe. Food-wise, my top-two favorites are Beirut and Toyo. Beirut is a Lebanese restaurant that has wonderful things like baba ganoush, falafel tacos, mint-flavored water and shisha (hookah) pipes (although I haven’t smoked yet). One night Oscar and I went to eat dinner and we got rained in, so we hung out for about 45 minutes extra observing the Lebanese family members, who were smoking the pipe and telling stories that seemed hilarious, although we couldn’t understand. Toyo, also known as “Sushi & Beer,” is wonderful because the chef really is Japanese (as opposed to being Imitation, like fake crab meat or something) and he makes excellent sushi rolls and cones and incredible udon soup, and they sell about 100 different imported beers from all over the world (and beer-related memorabilia covers the walls). For a good local option, there is a new 2 for 1 meat restaurant (about $6 for two people to eat a plate of meat each), where they serve baby white potatoes covered in chipotle salsa and really tender steak. My least favorite options currently are any restaurants that serve seafood, as the last time I ate mariscos Oscar had to stand in front of me so people driving by wouldn’t see me puking next to the road. It was certainly a good thing it rained that night.
Otherwise, the grocery store is in walking distance too, so I have mostly been cooking things like bean and vegetable stew, cannelloni with assorted fillings, fried apples, rice and garbanzo and spinach medley (an invention, yes), beef fajitas, etc. And I have done my share of drinking good, cheap wine and mixing some drinks like the Finlandia Lily for my friends. And then, there is a Pub down the street that has beer by the liter, including lots of beer from independent Mexican brewers and pretzels (a small milagro, I think they are specially imported or something).
Also nearby is Blockbuster, and since I don’t have or plan on buying a TV, I have taken advantage of the fact that my company computer is a laptop and that I am a “Distinguished Associate” which infers certain privileges like extra free video rentals. I finally saw Little Miss Sunshine, The Holiday and I am gearing up for The Unbearable Lightness of Being tonight (which, for those of you who don’t know, is based on the book of the same name by Milan Kundera, who is a genius and I highly recommend his works). For live entertainment, I can go to Expo Guadalajara, which is a big exposition center that hosts all kinds of events, such Expo Mascotas. Oscar and I went to see lots of puppies, kittens, reptiles and the assorted monkey a couple of weekends ago, and I was highly tempted to come home with a Great Pyrenese, like the one in the picture, although it is only two months old and already “eats a whole plate full of food everyday!”, not to mention that it will soon weigh more than me. So, I am going to stick to my plants and rooftop composting project for the time being and maybe invest in a good stuffed animal if I need something fluffier.
In more enlightened news, here are some stimulating articles from the NY Times:
About Mexican immigrants who bring back more than money… also HIV that they contract in the US for various reasons and that is now spreading among rural populations in Mexico.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/world/americas/17mexico.html?em&ex=1184817600&en=7c41a234f27dc0e7&ei=5087%0A
About the mere three-mile but big cultural divide between two border towns.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/travel/18frugal.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
And, a list of quick and easy summer recipes to end things on the light side and keep you well-fed for less.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/dining/18mini.html?em&ex=1184904000&en=c7b9dea42eb9cefa&ei=5087%0A
And, a good bit of a poem, since my Mom sent me some poetry books recently:
The last section of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem “Renascence”
The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky, --
No higher than the soul is high.
The heart can push the sea and land
Farther away on either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two,
And let the face of God shine through.
But East and West will pinch the heart
That can not keep them pushed apart;
And he whose soul is flat -- the sky
Will cave in on him by and by.
