Mind Scraps: Ice Queen in Mexico

01.03.10

The nights are chillier than I anticipated. It takes a bit of will-power for me to unearth myself from my burrow each morning. I sleep on an extra mattress on the floor, layered in clothes and buried in blankets – head and all. I seem to be much colder than anyone else though. What’s up with that?? Why am I always freezing?? I know women are known to be more chilled than men, but I feel as if my chill is always more extreme than the icy woman norm. Right now, it’s daytime and I’m shivering. No one else is…

I recall that when I worked at Missourinet, I always brought my wool coat to wear… even in spring and summer. The indoor A/C made the office feel like Antarctica to me. Everyone else gave me crazy looks and made jokes. So, I’m thinking I have a serious cold issue. Thoughts anyone? How can I get my frosty fingers and icicle toes to warm up?

****

I have fellow Couchsurfer Koko to thank for putting me up. Koko is “muy padre” as they say here in Mexico. He has long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and small, square frames rest on his nose. He’s super easy-going and fun to kid around with… not to mention his great, free-spirited, semi-goofy laugh. Koko makes a living as one-man band commercial producer for a Mexican furniture company. He shoots the vid and edits the final product.

****

I finally met Mickey face to face at Kaldi Café. The coffee is good enough to drink an espresso black… as it should be since the joint is an artisan shop that roasts its own coffee in house. Art and photographs scattered about the walls. My kind of place. Found my work hangout in Chihuahua…

Mickey is grisly man with a strong southern accent. Clear, kind blue eyes peer out from his gray hair and beard. He’s another easy-going soul who is fired up about his film project. I am definitely excited to be a part of it all too. I’m trying to get him on board with proper social media and viral marketing.

I also met Nubia, the film crew’s production coordinator. Everything about Nubia says “sweet.” A very sincere woman who looks much younger than her years… not that she has that many anyway. She and I worked on translating an interview that will be sent to a local newspaper.

David works at Kaldi so I saw him again as well. Just five more members to meet on the film crew!

****

Koko’s roommate Ulysis invited me to go walking with him during the evening at La Deportiva. The grounds of La Deportiva include a walking/running trail (my guess is its a 1/2 loop), baseball fields, indoor complex (for weights, aerobics, martial arts, etc) and more. I walked one lap and ran about two and a half. Geez, is this girl out of form. And to think I once was ready to run a marathon. I think this trip to see the Running People in the Copper Canyon is going to spur me to finally get back into a proper training regimen. Totally buying into the whole barefoot running craze, I ran in my flip flops. Until I had started researching the Tarahumara, I had no idea about this concept that high-tech, super-cushioned running shoes could be bad for you. But, as I read, it all made sense. My feet have always gone numb in my tennis shoes and soccer shoes whenever I ran. And if it was cold outside, my feet always stayed cold regardless of how many socks. Explains why I prefer to wear flip flops during my travels, whether its walking down a street or hiking up a volcano.

Thus, running in my flip flops in the chilly evening air… I was finally warm. Even my feet were warm. I guess that’s the answer to my cold issue. I need to get the constant exercise back into my life.

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Koko and I pop over to visit another Couchsurfer, picking up Sammy at the Supermarket along the way. We went to catch the tail end of practice with Freddie’s band. Freddie, another pony-tail man – this one with curls, made quick, easy conversation before having to duck out. Nonetheless, Koko and I kicked it with the band members and other friends, jamming out to techno pop, talking world politics and simply making fun of each other. I entertained most with my non-stop beat bouncing – partially because I can’t hear music and not dance, partially to fend off my eternal chill. Muy buena gente. Muy buena Boehmia.

I’ll get the vid I took of the band posted asap…

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 3:46 pm. It is filed under alive, Latin America, Mexico, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.