4/10/26 Efforts

Let’s talk about feelings.

As may be evident from my lack of post, I’m feeling a bit unmotivated. Or maybe I’m feeling I’m volatile. Which is preferable actually. I think I’m ultimately feeling very optimistic, but perhaps not so resilient, so I plan and I get excited, but I’m still a bit less bounce backable. But I’m feeling more capacity for pivoting, more patience for navigating complex things, more curiosity. In some ways maybe that is back to myself? Taking on a bit too much.

There’s a lot in my life right now that requires maximum effort. In a good way. Very little is simple or a direct path. I’m finding that I’ve lost confidence in knowing when to cite- direct quote- easy, but at what pont does it go from being a rephrase to my thought that’s a compilation of info I’ve learned? So I’m trying to navigate that and re remember how to write academically and I think really learn for the first time how to write an analytical essay. Then there is the chaos that are my work projects. In some of those I am inventing the project, devising its plan, and executing. Those, being a bit more self contained, are actually a bit easier. It goes something like “How do I increase our value and engagement across the state in emergency response” and because no one else is thinking about it, whatever I do is a step. The second project goes something like “bring our tech into the future”. This involves lots of people with no expertise and no time. I also have no expertise and very limited time and have never participated, much less led, any project of this nature.

And then, of course, your basic Mexican stuff. Although I am happy to report that last Sunday, 3 trips later, I successfully acquired my Monedero Naranja. This is essentially the grocery store rewards card. It applies to most grocery stores, however you cannot apply for one in all grocery stores. And now it is mine. This may be a rather stupid accomplishment, but it feels like checking something off a list. It is truly astonishing how many things, tiny and not so tiny, have to add up to feel established somewhere.

This was part of a much larger trip I embarked on to Polanco last weekend. The goal: Go to Williams Sonoma to get an apron (again complicated Mexico things made this a necessity), go eat tacos, go to Museo Jumex, then to City Market, then to Home Depot, then Churreria El Parador.

And damn y’all, I only missed the last one. It was largely a day of epic success. The adventure, like so many, started with a subway trip and then a brief walk.

Bought a quality apron, so very excited by that, but really oddly could not find a glass measuring cup. You know the normal pyrex one with the red writing on it? Yeah, no. And, this was probably my Spanish, but the team at the store seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.

The walk to Parque Lincoln was lovely. Polanco is such a strange place. It’s beautiful in so many ways, with great parks and trees and then it’s also where the US retail stores live, like Louis Vuitton, and the fanciest restaurants in town are over here. But Parque Lincoln is one of my favs. It’s about a city block wide (real city, not Portland) and maybe about 8 blocks long? One side features an auditorium, there is a temporarily closed aviary, quite a bit of sculpture and few large reflecting pool kinda spaces. Though apparently on Sundays people bring their remote control boats. From what I could tell, this is very much NOT a kid activity.

It also features both Lincoln and MLK Jr statues. Apparently, President Johnson gave it to Mexico. There’s also a sign that read “Dedication to the Daughters of the American Revolution”. No idea.

Museo Jumex was a bit of a let down. I’d been wanting to go to this contemporary art museum for sometime, but hadn’t gotten my act together. Apparently everyone is ready for the World Cup, so the museum’s exhibitions are entirely soccer focused.

The vibe was pretty cool, you walked through a dark hallway with the sounds of stadium (Ole, ole, ole, ole) and roaring crowds into a large open space when they’d covered the floor in well… dirt? I don’t know? Something was definitely not turf nor grass, but maybe one would play soccer on it? But I didn’t find the art particularly compelling.

Afterwards I headed to the grocery store and procured myself the aforementioned card. Then a quick stop to buy dirt at Home Depot and I ubered it back to my place.

I think I’m feeling rather listless.

It might be time for another tattoo….
Scratch that, it is time. Appointment booked.

Fran and I had a fairly amazing dinner Thursday night at Martinez, a French place near me. We ate a lovely fish tartar, which was lemony, but also very reminiscent of a mignonette sauce, a sliced fennel salad drowned in roquefort dressing with walnuts, and a perfectly crispy roasted half chicken in mustard sauce served with greens and potato puree. All washed down with a nice rose de pinot noir. Finished with a cheesecake, that was beautifully vanillay, you could see the bean, and quite nice, but just a really solid cheesecake, not like mind blowing. Fran was pretty literally licking every plate. I was very proud of her.

In other adventures. I found a mouse. Little friend was trapped in my inside patio, where I generally do laundry and things. When I first saw her, she was standing up on top of the water spigot. It was flipping adorable. And I thought, ok, it’ll get out however it got in. Fast forward a day or two and she had not escaped. Then I found her on top of my sheet drying on my laundry rack and I was like “oh dear, we on some level have to contend with this”. As though she were trying to help me out, little mouse friend conveniently climbed in a bucket I had out there with a few rags in it. I sprang into action. Leo was locked in the bathroom and I grabbed a baking sheet to cover the bucket. I was successfully and released little mouse friend into my front patio which features lots of tiny exits. I did not, however, fully close my sliding glass door and the mouse immediately ran into the house. Fortunately she did not far and it was actually quite easy to chase her back out into the yard.

Tacos of The Week: Turix

This place is famous. There is a line to prove it. It feels no frills and non touristy. You probably are gonna sit on the stoop. And They make cochinita pibil. And then they put it in a taco, a panucho, a tamal, or a torta. El fin. Cochinita pibil is commonly (and foolishly) described as pulled pork in American parlance. But no, this is a Yucatec masterpiece. Traditionally the Mayans used a pibil technique for cooking wild game, essentially a buried pit oven, in this case generally covered with banana leaves. With the arrival of the Spanish, they began using pork. Slow cooking an entire suckling pig in achiote, from the annatto seed, it imparts an earthy, slightly peppery flavor and a brilliant red/orange with dying capacity to match any beet you ever met, and Seville or bitter orange.

Cochinita is almost uniformly served with pickled onions and the option of a very heat forward (but also very delicious) habanero salsa. I also had an agua de maracuya. This is definitely reminiscent of a spicy thai/thai iced tea combo here. I really love cochinita.

Turix has some juicy ass cochinita. As you can see below the tortilla literally gets sopped in the sauciness before the meat and onions go in. There’s nothing classy about eating this, think biting into a really ripe peach, except there’s holes at either end. I’ve learned to bring wet naps and not wear white. It’s totally worth it.