On Paxton: A Blog of Thoughts and Mexican Tales
Bienvenidos
After 7 weeks living just outside of Mexico City, I have decided that it is time to share some of my tales from Mexico with you, a future devoted reader (FDR). This blog will not be about Mexico alone, for I have spent depressing amounts of time refining my other interests (e.g. YouTube and historical lists) that I plan on exploring in a reader-friendly way.
In this introductory post, I will interview myself so that you can better understand what is going on.
What’s up with the name?
“On Paxton: A Blog of Thoughts and Mexican tales” was inspired by my biblical history class, which should go without saying. Not only was Religion 110 my first college course, but it also fulfilled one of my liberal arts requirements (nice!). Of most importance, it was where I turned in a paper worth 40 percent of my grade that I titled “On the Gospel of John.” It was a bold strategy, but it paid off. This success gave me the confidence to use a wide range of paper titles over the next four years: “On Obamacare,” “On the Enlightenment,” and, for my independent study, “On three books that I read.” It is important to appear smart in many facets of life, and for “On a blog,” I wanted to stick with a timeless strategy that always works in all situations.
Who are you…?
I’m Paxton and I am currently teaching English near Mexico City, where I am also a walk-on wide receiver for the varsity football squad. Go Pumas. I graduated college in May, ending my career as a D-III golfer. A friend from this program recently asked me what it would be like to live in my head. I will try to take you on this perilous journey. If my mind is the chocolate river from Willy Wonka and you are on the boat, I will ensure, for the sake of safety, that the rowers keep on rowing at a leisurely pace.
How often will you publish posts?! (read: how many times will I decide whether I should give you a sympathy page view?)
The timing of these posts will vary, for I am a world-class procrastinator. That being said, the plan is to send a new post to the comfort of your inbox on Sunday mornings. My goal for “On Paxton” is to emulate the H1N1 flu–healthy and preventative if injected in small doses, but take a dose too big and nobody wins.
What are you possibly going to write about?
1. Crazy things that happen, written from my highly impartial perspective. As I write this post, two neighboring teachers in my office are chatting at ‘chainsaw airport’ level. This event is not something that would qualify for the blog, but it serves as an excellent example of my fact-based and scientific approach to life. Fake deportations, my experience as a walk-on, and the foibles of badly misunderstanding cultural norms will, however, qualify.
2. Imagine an offspring of a BuzzFeed article and an annual shareholders’ report from Microsoft, where the Microsoft report knows that a late-night YouTube rabbit hole secretly sired her child (my post). This child was raised to love lists and to convey valuable information, but the YouTube rabbit hole gene cannot be suppressed, and the grown child lashes out with confusing tangents and pent-up links to videos. This is my stylistic goal for the blog.
3. I have become an incredible chef in my short time here, graduating from scrambled eggs to higher-order functions like boiling noodles. I will often include a recipe that piques my interest at the end of my posts so that struggling college kids who can’t boil water or Michelin chefs wanting to gain new culinary perspectives can grow alongside me. Also, I will frequently include a YouTube video of the week in lieu of a recipe.
Why are you doing this?
Millennials don’t write enough blogs, so I am trying to reverse this trend. Of more importance to my FDRs, this will serve as a way to explore topics of interest with me and sometimes better understand Mexico through a new lens. It is an awesome place, and the parts that frustrate me are not the common misconceptions that many people hold. I will sometimes include anecdotes about teaching English in case my former (or any) teachers in the U.S. stumble upon this space.
Ok, cool, thanks for your time. I know you’re super busy most of the time walking an hour to school instead of paying 10 pesos ($0.55) for a van. Where else can we find you?
My pleasure! I have a YouTube channel and I have been promising my seven subscribers more content for months. Great news, it’s coming soon. See you at the next post :)
Peanut butter tortilla roll-ups
Time: 2-4 minutes
Ingredients: 2-6 mini tortillas, JIF peanut butter, 1-2 banana(s), honey. Optional: Nutella, cream cheese, apple, protein powder.
Serves: One person. Dumb question.
Instructions: Get a butter knife and slice the banana like a normal person would (ye who bifurcates bananas know who you are). Apply the peanut butter slightly off center of the tortilla. Add the honey (and optional ingredients) and the banana. Roll up and eat without pausing to be mindful. Make sure the ends are folded or honey will seep! Repeat 2-6 times based on the level of hunger or target weight. Good for football players who want to gain lean mass and move up the depth chart. Best prepared before bed. ¡Provecho!
My next post, on (Mexican) American football, will be out this week!
