welp

Breaking Bad has come to an end. A sad as it is, I think the ending was supremely perfect. I’m also glad it didn’t drag on until long after its prime (The Office, I’m lookin’ at YOU). Although I was still a bit under the weather, we took my cousin-in-law on an epic tour of BB sites around Albuquerque. We capped off the day by coming home and watching the last episode with some beers and chips w/ green chile dip. I may or may not have had that for dinner. May have.

In other news, I have a job interview later this week for a pretty good gig at the local university. I try not to get my hopes up anymore, given my track record, but I am staying optimistic that it could work out. It would be nice to know that at least one of us has a job that is for certain relatively permanent. We love it so much here and it would break my heart if we had to leave.

argghh!

Of course I get sick right before we have a weekend packed full of social obligations. I’m not sure if it’s some kind of respiratory virus or just a wallop of allergies, but I felt like absolute death last night. Yesterday, I went out for happy hour drinks with some friends, and felt really hammered after drinking two margaritas over the course of 3 hours. That should have been a sign that something was not right with me, because I normally hold my alcohol far better than that!

I was up from 3 until about 4:30 this morning feeling terrible: congested, nauseated, couldn’t stay out of the bathroom, achy, and feverish. I took a bunch of drugs this morning, did two sinus rinses (more like exorcisms…geez), and drank about a gallon’s worth of hot water with lemon and tea. Admittedly, I am feeling better, but I hope to be able to rest and recoup tonight and tomorrow morning so that the rest of our weekend goes smoothly. Tonight, we have a party to attend in honor of some friends who are getting married this weekend. We’re going up to Kactus Brewing in Bernalillo tomorrow afternoon, having dinner w/ Scott’s colleagues tomorrow night, and hosting Scott’s cousin for a full day of Breaking Bad-related fun before watching the series finale. (Pause to wipe tears.) I seriously can’t be sick this weekend! 

Please don’t let this be a portent of things to come. I thought that having sinus surgery would more or less eliminate these problems, but that hasn’t really been the case so far. 

otoño

It’s clear and sunny during the day, cool and crisp at night. Fall in Albuquerque, I think I love you. 

My mom’s visit was short but fun. We took a day trip to Chimayo and Taos, tooled around Albuquerque, and enjoyed some of the best bites and brews the city has to offer. It was a bit odd sitting in a bar with my mom while we drank a beer called “Witch’s Tit,” but it was so delicious. Pumpkin spice beers are definitely one of my favorite things about this time of year. She got to meet some of our friends, so she could be at least somewhat reassured that I was getting out of the house and spending time with decent people on occasion. Overall, it was a good weekend. It’s far more fun to host guests when you actually have places and things with which to entertain them. 

Today yielded a bounty of adorable clothes from Buffalo Exchange, a nice afternoon snack and beer with a friend, and an invite for a phone interview for a job. Things are good, and I am increasingly glad that we took the plunge and followed our hearts. 

like the deserts miss the rain

Not much to report here. We’ve had a humdinger of a monsoon this summer, with a lot of the rain coming over the past week. At its worst during the drought, the Rio Grande by our house was running at less than 100 cfs (an unprecedented low). Last night, it was running at nearly 5000 cfs. Unbelievable! Every day has been mostly cool, cloudy, and rainy. In other words, pretty much nothing like one would imagine in New Mexico. I stayed in a lot because there was road flooding, and the lack of sun really killed my motivation to do anything other than watch hours of Law and Order: SVU and drink hot chocolate. Not that I’m complaining. The poor people in Colorado got devastated by insane floods and landslides, and we are so lucky here. Can’t say no to some weather-induced sloth, even if I often did not put on “human clothes” until nearly 5:00 some days.

The job search churns on, with few answers and much frustration. I’m doing a lot of networking and taking on small projects in hopes of finding something more. Having a spouse whose job includes health benefits allows me this luxury, and I am grateful for this despite my moments of discouragement. We are already formulating a backup plan should the worst case scenario come to pass, and I feel like it’s a viable option for me.

It’s not yet Fall here, but the cool night air heralds its impending arrival. I’m really excited to see the aspens turn and hundreds of hot air balloons fill the skies. One could be unemployed in much worse places!

zozobra!

albuquerque’s best

This past weekend, we hosted my aunt and uncle from Tucson. One of the many factors that played into our decision to move out here was that we were somewhat close to them. Needless to say, I was excited for their visit.

On our first day, we got burritos at El Modelo, toured Old Town, and had a healthy dinner at Vinaigrette. Saturday morning went at a leisurely pace, and we didn’t leave the house until nearly 10. We visited the downtown growers’ market, had lunch at El Pinto, and then drove to the top of Sandia Crest. We had a nice hike at the top of the mountain, shaded by the trees and cooled by the high elevation.

That night, I made a Spanish feast of shrimp paella, gazpacho, tortilla de patatas, pimientos de padrón, and flan. It’s always a treat to have people over so that I can go all out. My aunt had no idea that I could even cook, so it was a nice surprise.

Sunday, we visited the Nuclear Science Museum. My uncle is an astronomer and physicist, so it seemed a natural destination. To be honest, I don’t feel like I learned much. I am really fascinated by all things scientific, and so I constantly read science books and watch documentaries on scientific events. None of this stuff seemed new, and there was an unsettling emphasis on and celebration of the military applications of nuclear energy.

We lunched at Budai (highly recommend!) and then visited the Pueblo Cultural Center. We had the pleasure of watching some dancers from the Zuni Pueblo, and the collection of Pueblo art and relics is truly magnificent. I look forward to many return visits here. Our evening meal was Italian, where I made spaghetti all’amatriciana, a roasted pepper salad, and Ligurian olive balls. We watched Breaking Bad together, even though my relatives don’t watch the show. They managed to enjoy it, and we thought it was one of the best episodes of the season. Four more episodes…

Monday morning, we had a lovely breakfast at Java Joe’s and then bid them farewell. My mom is visiting in a few weeks, so it was nice to get an idea of what out-of-towners like to do here in Albuquerque. We moved so far from everyone we knew, so it’s nice to have familiar faces visit.