Four, count ’em FOUR, trips to Telcel later, I finally have a Mexican phone number. Going to Telcel is like going to the DMV. There’s a person up front who establishes your need and hands you a ticket with a number. You then stare at a screen which designates number to counter (e.g. I have number XF1 and I will be directed to counter 23) and seriously there’s a LOT of counters. This time the woman at the front kiosk actually tried to help me a bit and then when I finally got called to my counter she was nearby and did a warm hand off which included informing the person that I spoke Spanish, so that felt good.
And this means I can order water again! Yay!
It’s been a kinda fun week at work. We’re introducing a new tool into our phone system and it’s a bit of a crash course which is exactly the kind of chaos I love. It’s also meant a number of impromptu meetings where everyone is slightly confused, but leaning into the teamwork. Which I also love.
Thursday was show night! There’s a venue about a block and a half away from me called Dada which I’ve been wanting to check out. It’s up some very narrow stairs, but opens to a sizeable place with high ceilings and a dedicated stage. One wall was dedicated to David Bowie posters, I don’t know if they had they them made, cause they were awfully uniform, but also representing different Bowie personas. The bands started considerably later than advertised…. but I am also now obsessed with Stereo Animal.
All bands were female fronted, though I remember La Otra Gente also formerly having a female drummer, but Stereo Animal was really awesome. A two woman act with great energy and just badassness. So good. We wound up leaving before Troika, the final band, in part because they were a little more hardcore than I was feeling (therefore exponentially more hardcore than anything Fran was up for) and it was already almost midnight on a school night. But so good. The Mexican music scene appears to be a little more nascent on the merch front than their US counterparts, which generally I’m cool with, but I would happily have bought some vinyl had it been available.
And Saturday I submitted my Preliminary Analysis Plan, a sharply curtailed 800 word doc outlining in narrative the broad strokes of my research paper. This also meant I spent hours this week poring through international economic law as I’ve decided to look into the impact on smallholder farms and indigenous communities should Mexico move forward with its GM corn imports ban. For a mini background, because of the USMCA (NAFTA 2.0) the United States has vigorously objected and Mexico lost its suit within the USMCA to move forward with its ban. It’s really very interesting in that I don’t think I was fully aware how these trade agreements could limit a nation’s legal autonomy. Under the agreement, Mexico cannot ban imports of GM corn. The US is the top corn exporter in the world and Mexico is it’s number 1 importer (you’re forgiven for thinking it was probably the other way around). More interestingly, part of Mexico’s defense argument was based on the non binding UNDROP (United Nations Declaration on the Right of Peasants) which was found to be wanting in the face of the trade agreement. And in fairness it’s a non binding declaration, it’s not law. But I still find it crazy that the interest of a regional trade agreement would be found superior to a declaration regarding basics protections of people. This world is fucked. And I mean that in the more optimistic send of “is currently fucked”, not a predetermination of our future course.
We also had a guest lecturer this week who works in design (product? project? I’m unsure) who introduced us to a few concepts in design that were fascinating. The first the little friend to my left here. This is called the double diamond. The idea is that you spend a lot of energy at the beginning of each side just building a quantity of ideas and then move to refinement. You’ll notice is that it is mirror processes, but with a heavy separation between the problem space and the solution space. In fact he recommended building physical into moving from one space to another, in an office setting this could mean having different rooms, one designated for problem definition and one for solutions, and the team would physically move themselves. Because, as he told us, it’s very difficult for the human brain to not start solving. And actually, try it, it’s really freakin’ hard. But he encouraged us to really spend time in the problem space and come up with many different problem statements, apparently in his industry they aim for like 150 of them, before moving into solution. The goal is to really understand the contours of the problem and get further into its root. Moving to solutions that problem is taken as a “How might we…” The goal is to create a statement that does not include the solution (aka: how might we provide more food to hungry children) and that leans into empowering the local community. (How might we promote nutrition education and access to healthy foods to families in x community facing x barriers?) Both broadening and deepening the problem. It was fascinating and as he gave us mini challenges it was very apparent that this is not how we are taught to think.
Tacos of the Week: El Compita
This was not desperate. I’ve been aiming to check them out for a bit. Epic birria de res loaded with white beans, cilantro, and onion. Birria is a stew like concoction of shredded meat out of the state of Jalisco. Goat, lamb or beef is slow cooked in a sumptuous broth of chiles, garlic, and spices (actual recipes are closely guarded). The broth is usually served separately, sort of the taco equivalent of a French dip sammie. For tacos, first the tortilla is dipped sauciness, warmed on a griddle, piled with juicy meat and beans. I had a regular taco and quesobirria which is basically just with cheese. Damn they were good. Though I generally love cheese and am a huge advocate for its inclusion, I am finding that I prefer my tacos without. Will return. They also have to go packages of birria, consomme and fixings.
Year One Project 
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