They wait in the shadows...

Well I'm pretty sure that the position at the local university isn't going to work out. The person with whom I spoke today didn't seem very interested, but he directed me to another woman in the university who might have something for me. I have to give her a call in the morning. This is actually the second day in a row I've gotten bad news about it, so earlier when I was shot down I was feeling rather discouraged.

Fortunately, just yesterday or the day before I was given a sign from the heavens above.

I was eating these chips, right? There's this flavor here called Serrano, which is ridiculously delicious -- it's some variation on a jalepeno-type pepper. The same brand of chips has a habanero flavor as well, and since I live and breathe for spicy food, I snagged a bag. "Hot" doesn't even cover it. Normally I like the burn. It adds an element of danger, of adventure, of risk to ordinary cuisine. But these chips were just plain painful. They're the kind of torture you pawn off on someone you don't like. I kept on eating them anyway.

Suddenly, the clouds parted and I heard an angel hark from far away, and my fingers happened upon a most curious intruder in my bag of chips. I removed the interloper and lo and behold, I found a little Transformers toy. It was like Cracker Jacks, only not lame.

There's a surprise waiting in every spicy situation.

Feel free to spread that expression around. I'm gonna get people to start using it. "How's tricks? Not good, huh? Well don't worry, there's a surprise waiting in every spicy situation." Boom.

So, remember those mosquitoes I was pissing and moaning about? Well, I was starting to wonder where they went during the day. I mean, I know they really come out for the feast around dusk, but even in Minnesota you could find them any time. Here, the daytime is ruled by the common flies, and the evening is ruled by mosquitoes. One does not exist while the other does. It's like that old Greek tale about the sun and the moon. So I pondered the question of where they took refuge during the reign of the flies, and just the other day I happened upon my answer.



Yes, those are all mosquitoes. And that's only one corner. There's a big canopy of adobe above the back porch, and pretty much every shaded section of its ceiling was covered in mosquitoes. So they sleep away from the sun, upside down, during the day. Then at night they come out to feast on the blood of humans. Bram Stoker, eat your heart out.