A Hectic Two Weeks

Had a wonderful trip to Querétaro to meet with my two closest friends, and the results were marvelous. One lives in Querétaro, one in Mexico City, and of course moi, in Monterrey. One is Spanish, one is Mexican, one is, of course moi, gringa. We've been friends for over 30 years and in spite of our cultural differences, we've always been on the same page.

However, because of the altitude difference, I didn't go out to run. We have had rain, and our weather continues to be cooler, so slowly, slowly, I'm working my way back into shape after a summer that has convinced me and my husband that next year we are going to spend it somewhere else. Mexico City or Querétaro, for example.

While wandering around in the supermarket, still in my running gear, a woman (also in running gear) came up to say how much she admired me. I was taken aback since I didn't know her, but she is out in the park when I am and watches me struggle past her at my geriatric jog. This gal has just begun to go out and walk, having become terminally bored on her treadmill, so I told her to stick with it no matter what. Now she waves each time she sees me.

It also appears that our team is about to get team tees, which according to Adrián, will be phosphorescent green. Or, as I imagine he really means, radioactive green...Maybe he should put a disclaimer on the back of mine in order not to discourage potential trainees: "This old gal has a training tee only because she bought it, folks." Either that, or maybe he should mention my age: "Sixty-seven and still hot-footing it! Join us and wind up like this old lady--except for the wrinkles, we can prevent that too!" You never know what will be a selling point.

And speaking of selling points, here in the land of the overweight and obese, a regular meal supplement war has broken out. There is the York system, and now the Cambridge system, both of which cost a king's ransom and promise to make you look like...hmmm...well, take your pick, your fantasy is as good as mine. Two friends of mine are selling the competing brands. I got one can as a protein supplement, but it tastes like medicine. My other friend gave me some samples of the next brand, so I will try one tonight. I am not optimistic, but this friend and his mom and dad have lost a lot of weight and claim the stuff is delicious. I suspect the parents have invested in the project and this has affected their perception of the taste. I happen to be of the Julia Child persuasion, with a marked dislike of the food police: nothing is good for you, except things you wouldn't feed a hog; you are encouraged to avoid gluten even if you are not intolerant, and yesterday on television a couple of the food police were preparing a pizza made of some kind of bird seed (I kid you not) mixed with herbs and Parmesan cheese, covered with roasted garlic and onions and more cheese, baked in the oven till the crust is "crunchy"--I don't buy that, it looked pretty darned floppy to me. There they sat, the two food coppers, as the credits rolled by, choking down the birdseed pizza in very small bites. Why can't we just have good, unprocessed fruits and vegetables and proteins in moderate amounts and enjoy our meals, for gosh sakes?

If any of you have ever watched "You Are What You Eat", you know what I mean. This Gillian character locates real fatties and subjects them to the same process each week--she scolds, she horrifies, she browbeats them into eating almost purely vegetarian meals, some of which look ghastly. Don't get me wrong, I love vegetarian, but I've tried one or two of her recipes, and no thanks. And this gal may be saving the lives of the people whose diets she revamps, since she also gets them off their butts and moving--but how tiresome the show is!! I don't like seeing fat people being used for entertainment purposes, but I guess if you volunteer for it, who am I to complain?