An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be

I'm feeling rather optimistic today. I went to the grocery store and spent 1 peso over my budget (10 cents, for those who are thinking in dollars). I got a cab ride home with a friendly driver who said pay what I'd like. I'm starting a new job on Monday. I checked my weight today and, even though I haven't been following the diet, I haven't gained back ANY of the weight I lost (in fact I was .1 kg lighter).

I'm about to decide on a new book to read. I'm about to have a filling dinner. I'm about to do some lesson planning.

What have I done today? I slept off my last Zombie Day, talked with good friends such as Guillermo S., Luis G., Brett T., Jamie L., Bitia B., and Eliud P, and spent a good deal of time relaxing. I received a long message from Dr. B, and I got to write him back on the book that both of us have read and enjoyed.

I reached the store before it started raining, and it had stopped before I left.

People who talk with me lately recognize the optimism coming out of me, and I am happy. I want to talk about how this came about, what preceded it, and what followed it.

At the end of May, I decided that my long-distance job search wasn't going to yield any fruit. I decided that I had to be in Mexico for it to be successful, so I bought a plane ticket one night. On the plane two weeks later I said to myself, "Buster, you're a complete idiot, you know that, right?" (I actually did say that)

But then I started smiling. It was a giddy, infectious smile. As I soared off in a plane to another country with not much of anything but my guitar (which I was going to leave there), I felt like I was freed from something. I took a job, returned home to say goodbye, and again, as I was on the bus coming down here (and quite scared due to the sketchy Greyhound buses), I thought, "You must be a complete idiot." But soon this was cleared up when I found myself translating a conversation to a guy and spending the rest of the night talking about life in the US and life in Mexico.

The morning I woke up in the Mexican countryside, some friendly immigrants who had helped me carry things said that we'd be stopping for breakfast. I had a hot chocolate (Mexican style, with cinnamon) and felt the cold air. I put on a sweater and fell back to sleep. A few hours later, the bus drivers decided they were hungry, so we stopped at a roadside restaurant where I filled up on quesadillas (at that point, my stomach was filled to capacity after the 2-day trip).

Seeing the city, I felt happy. And because of all I've learned in just two months, I feel happy, self-confident, and more lucid than I've felt in a while. I feel like my future is a bright one, and I am able to forget about myself more often and help others.

Whether you believe in coincidence or God, I believe that all of this has happened for a reason. Every event that brought me here, and the life that lead up to this point, with ups and downs, was worth it. I am happier than ever, although I miss my family dearly.

But it's important to keep smiling. There's peace in knowing that all things, good and bad, must end.

~Buster