For some reason, I cannot sleep. Tomorrow is destined to be a day of epic lengths, but my mind simply won't shut down. On that note, I thought I'd share the list of movies I'm currently waiting to see.

3 Idiots: Three college boys and the girl they all fall for; what can I say? It's Aamir Khan.

Tum Mile: I sincerely doubt this movie will be moving/touching/life-changing in any way, but it's not often a disaster-themed film looks... interesting.

Kurbaan: Seriously, this movie is just an excuse to let a very built Saif Ali Khan run around angry and half-naked. I cannot deny my own inability to avoid this very cunning marketing ploy.

Dhobi Ghaat: I have one word for you: Aamir Khan. Ok, that's two, and it's technically a name anyway. In all seriousness, I have high hopes for this film, simply based on its production crew. Every movie Aamir Khan has directed and produced has been nothing short of a blockbuster. Now, he's teaming up with his wife (Kiran Rao) for her directorial debut in a film that (if the title is any indication) is set in the heart of one of the poorest slums of Mumbai. Though the film is slated for a 2009 release, the lack of any substantial information or a theatrical trailer leaves me skeptical... My money is on a delayed release, probably sometime in late 2010.

That, and I'm waiting to see what comes out of the film festivals in the States. Yes, I'm on a Bollywood kick. No, I don't see that changing in the near future. I happen to like being fed epically impossible love stories in which there is (usually) a HEA.

Mi Vida (subtitulada)

Do you ever have that out-of-body moment when you see yourself --your actions, your words, your emotions -- through the eyes of those staring blankly at you and think that perhaps you need to be accompanied by a translation?

I'm not sure if language translation is really even a reasonable metaphor; honestly, sometimes it feels like a .mkv codec trying to read an .mov file (I'll let you figure out which party the highly superior .mov represents [.mkv--*blech!*]).

I've been told I have no ability to school my facial expressions (since I don't prance in front of a mirror to observe my own reactions to various scenarios, I'm unaware of the truth of this statement). If that were true, though, why would my words fail me as often as they do?

I think maybe I just need to stop watching foreign films. The subs make me angsty and emo. That, and epically tragic love stories don't do much for a cheery outlook on life-- or self-inflection, for that matter.

Ways in which living in Mexico reinforces my laziness

I told my little sister once that living here has liberated me of most menial tasks. She didn't believe me at first, but laughed when I gave her a few examples. I thought that perhaps I'd share the entirety of my daily schedule in order to show you just how lazy I have become (seriously; the biggest thing I dread about moving back to the States is having to relearn how to work).

7:03 --I stop at the red left-hand signal at the junction of my neighborhood and the highway. Gerardo, the man who sells donuts and cut fruit on the corner, brings me a concha and a bucket of mango and pineapple for my breakfast. I pay him out of the change I have collected in the ashtray. I never leave the car.

7:17 --I arrive at school. I turn on the coffee pot and go downstairs to make sure the kids' folders are in order.

8:10 -- One of my kids sets up the desks. Another turns on the projector and puts up the transparency. If I'm lucky, another goes to refill my coffee (voluntarily, with no prompting on my part).

8:30 -- Another student takes roll while her classmates try to guess the riddle on the transparency.

8:40-10:00-- I teach.

10:02-- One of my history 1 students begins class while I go refill my coffee (this is cup # 3 usually).

10:15- 10:50-- I teach.

10:50-11:20 -- The kids go to recess; I get to stay inside.

11:43-- One of my Science 1 kids begins class. Another hands out books. I watch.

12:00-1:40-- I teach.

1:40-2:30-- Monday-Thursday, I teach. On Fridays, my students teach.

2:31-- My students clean my classroom.

3:05-- I drive into the Wal-mart parking lot. A man washes my car for me while I'm shopping.

3:23-- A young boy bags my groceries. Another pushes the cart to my car. Then a man blocks traffic so that I can back out.

3:31-- I need gas, so I pull into a Pemex and tell the attendant what kind of gas and how much. Oh, I need air in my tires, antifreeze, and oil. I tell the attendant and he refills each while the gas is pumping. I pay and tip him and am on my way without ever having to leave the car.

3:52-- I stop at the stoplight in front of Las Fuentes; my cell phone is out of credit, so I wave down the Amigo!kit man and pay him for a new ficha. Again, I don't leave my car.


My day more or less ends there. I go home, I eat dinner, I grade, and I go to bed. On Thursdays, I go out and have fun.

Yeah, I hate pumping my own gas. That's going to be a rude awakening upon moving back...