El Presidente

Today was quite awesome on a number of levels. I got some actual work done on my poli-sci essay, bringing my total number of pages of factoids and ramblings to six! Oh, glory! I was able to amuse myself in economics by means of Cheerios drawings, a demonstration of the clear advantage of Cheerios over lesser cereals (I am looking at you, Corn Flakes!). And, oh yeah, incidentally, I got to see the President of Mexico speak. A few days ago I got an e-mail saying I was on the waiting list for the event, and I was one of the last people they let in today. I'm just glad I only overslept half an hour, instead of forty minutes! Anyway, it was very cool. He radiates optimism and charisma and has a fabulous mustache which looks as though it wants to burst its well-groomed confines and run, unfettered, through the wilderness. President Fox is all over the free-trade issue, and is an incredibly enthusiastic cheerleader for it. He steered clear of thornier issues less flattering to free trade, such as my mother's question: "Whither the Mexican middle class?" I do not know. But I do know that Mexico is starting a pretty big new health insurance program, and that now it only takes two days to register a business in Mexico, instead of several months (I guess if you cut off everyone's coffee breaks and siestas, then you're halfway there...).

As the Mexican delegation left, I was one of the kids pulled aside for a possible photo op. I proved insufficiently pushy to get close to Fox (hey, it's not like I had any trenchant questions) and in any case, any pushiness I could muster was more than outmatched by that of a klatch of moustachioed Latin media and diplomatic types. One outstanding man, dressed in Crazed Hiker style with Gore-tex pants and wearing a straw fedora with feathers in the hatband, was pushier than I and was heard to yell from the edge of the scrum, "President Fox, do you use solar power in your wonderful country?" He caught my attention, for some reason. Perhaps it was the knee-high socks.

Went rock climbing again Monday night, and it was quite awesome. I managed to get up a rather difficult stretch, the one on that 5.10 wall that threw me so badly last time. Once that was over, though, I didn't have the strength to get up the rest of the wall, so the difficult bottom two-thirds about did me in. How vexing. Oh well, next time perhaps. I was able to do a 5.8 route, though. Routes are exercises in willpower, because there are all these perfectly serviceable holds on the wall, but you can only use the ones with a particular colour of tape on them, regardless of whatever beautiful hold is temptingly in range. In this case, it was red, so I had to recoil from the green tape. It was quite the good time. I am also learning to tie my own knot, and hopefully to do it properly.

West Wing tomorrow! Hooray! And I am also going out to Old Navy with some of Les Girls to find a white dress shirt. Good luck, me. It is, once again, far too late o'clock. Goodnight, moon!