Etc

Today is Mother's Day in the Southern Hemisphere. Feliz Día to all the madres out there.

Life has been good and busy in the past week. Who would have thought that unemployment could be so hectic? In the past 7 days, I have been diagnosed with tendonitis in my knee, I have chaperoned a birthday party in a house packed with 30 or so 4 year olds, I have been offered gold chains/measuring tapes/mini guitars on the train for "very special, extra low price," I have made an excellent version of my go-to curry (as well as an amazing homemade & super spicy fresh salsa), and I have finally been able to enjoy my correctly upholstered dining room chairs (that was a saga).

My knee is really ticking me off, since I can't run, and now that the weather is consistently nice, all I want to do is fly out the door with Josey and spend the weekends in the sunshine and getting a workout in all at once. I'm doing physical therapy which is kind of funny - the first day they probed me with some strange electrode device that apparently helps reduce inflammation (but ended up leaving me more sore since they poked my tendon so many times trying to locate where it hurts the most. I thought my shouts of pain were indicator enough), followed by a nice 40 minute long icepack session (and I had to put my leg through this weird plastic tube thing. Anyone know what that is?). The place where I go seems pretty good, but I still have a hard time adjusting to the bare-bones, semi outdated equipment and overall ambiance at some of these medical places. I still think it's funny that doctors' offices are often in apartment buildings (not sure why I even care to notice), and when the exam table is just like a wooden cot, I feel like I'm in a time warp. No matter. My knee should be back and kicking in a month or so ... Fingers crossed.

I've also started working as a nanny for the most adorable little muffins ever. They're such sweet kids, and I of course have a serious crush on the internationally chic quotient that the family has. They speak 3 languages and spend a good chunk of the year in Europe, have an incredible and gigantic Bull Mastiff who is as sweet as could be, and their house is (literally) out of a magazine (no, really. It's been featured in Elle Decor and other Argentine deco mags). I die. The kids are so funny and it's a nice way to keep my days/week structured. It's just 3 hours a day so I have plenty of time to do other things, which is also a nice bonus. I will also be working in the commerical/ad/marketing-ish area of a newspaper called the Argentina Independent (formerly known - and loved - as the Argentimes). This will keep my brain sharp and teach me some new and exciting things. Maybe I'll be able to sneak into the editorial side one of these days ...

Yesterday was spent in the sunshine with friends, followed by a nice sweaty gym session before running off to celebrate Mother's Day with Josey's parents. We drank too much grappa. Woke up rather early in spite of that fact and camped out on our rooftop (oh how I love our terrace. It's such a little goldmine for peaceful sunning and urban gardening) and read Scientific American, a little bit of TIME, and dove into a significant chunk of a rather lovely anthology of travel writing.

Have to be up with the sun at 7 am for PT tomorrow (at 8 .. why, why, why?) Also, why did the taxi fares have to go up another 13% just yesterday? Now I can't really argue for a $14 peso taxi ride when the bus only costs $1,10. Random thought: while shopping for a birthday present for a friend, I saw a dress that looks (almost) exactly like this fabulous little number that I picked up at Forever21 while at home. Mine is sort of this bright Caribbean-esque print (semi Ikat but not. I'm horrible at describing) with a shirred front and exposed zipper on top. It's quite charming, actually, and made of a nice silky fabric. The one I spotted today is of a flimsy cotton, with what seems to be kind of shoddy finishing and uglier colors. That dress cost more than $100 and mine was only $25 ! Viva USA and now I want to cry and never, ever buy anything here again. Grr.

Time to watch NatGeo and rest up before the birthday party. Farewell.