Thanks be to Three Rivers

Gifts come wrapped in strange packages.

Last night I was laying down to spleep at the early hour of 9 pm, glad to be in a bed, and glad that the weather here in Mexico city is chilly enough to require more than just a sheet. The only thing the I noticed earlier in the day about the sleeping situation is that the bed is just barely long enough. No problem- I employed the same diagonal sleeping strategy I've used for the past month. I'm laying there just getting ready to sink into the sea, when the old familiar high pitched hum begins (seriously- how do they time it such that it's like always right before you are getting ready to nod off?). Mosquitos.

Being my exhausted and slightly sick self, I was not in the mood to be expending any extra energy hunting down the suckers. So I did the pull-the-sheet-over-the-head move. That worked for about as long as I could reasonably breathe- all of five minutes. Seriously, how do people actually pull this one off- my bunkmate was fast asleep with the covers over his face looking like a corpse (exactly the image I had of myself had I continued the technique). Then I opted for the pure mind over mosquito technique. This technique is a lot like when you're camping and your cozied up in your bag and at like 6 am you feel your bladder starting to chirp at you, but you just tell yourself that your fine. What ends up happening of course is that you realize you were a moron to have that thought in the first place and you end up looking for a real solution. Obviously the solution to the latter problem is a bit more straightforward.

So then being so pissed that the conundrum I had worked so hard to control (my room in my host home was my own and I made sure the windows and door stayed shut at all times)- was back. I mean I'm sharing the room with like 5 other dudes and when I showed up, the windows were open, and at the time it felt good. Now it was like 10:30pm and I was seriously having thoughts about splurging for the private room in which, presumably, I could control the mosquito problem. However, after slowing down and thinking about it- I realized that assumption could very well be false and then I would have re-packed my stuff, moved rooms, and paid twice as much money for the same piece of poop. Then a voice spoke to me.

The voice said, "dude- you totally have a mosquito net in your backpack from that time at three rivers sam gave you the extra one he had". Something like that anyway. A smile replaced my previously furled brow. I went into the backpack, doing my best to not make a ton of noise (but not really caring that much at this point), and after digging through the first layer of clothes found the Green Goblin (that's what I'm calling him). A perfect little elastic band stitched around a nice thin layer of mesh and...army green. Money.

The mosquitos continued their assault- carrying on as if nothing had happened. But after several foiled attempts, they simply went north for my bunkmate (poor bastard, I could hear him swatting away until sleep finally came). But before I totally went off to dream land and I thought about how the Green Goblin had made its way from the mountains of Montana from the backpack of one of my former students, to allowing me to sleep for at least several hours here in Mexico City. Thanks be to Three Rivers.

Well, it's 9:30 am here and it's chilly wearing the sandals I've got. I must admit that I'm both pleasantly surprised and also somewhat bracing myself for the humidity and heat of Hotlanta.

Tomorrow morning at this time I'll be at the airport. Phil- keep the windows closed. Als and Gabi- get ready for some sweaty uncle Ike hugs and kisses. I'm thinking I'll do a bus tour of the city today- seems a good way to spend the day outside without exhausting my still somewhat sick and delicate flower self. 

Now I'm going to shave my pigote.