Technically, I am in Human Resouces, and Dwight was asking about human anotomy... I'm just sad the public school system failed him so badly.

I would like to have a one-sided discussion with myself about the upcoming Oklahoma vs. Missouri game. Before I initiate my dialogue I would like to offer my congratulations to all of you Kansas fans out there (Tony Smith and others). Mark Mangino’s coaching has far exceeded my expectations and I assume he will continue to make decent progress barring a coronary. Todd Reesing has actually blossomed into respectable QB and Aqib Talib is a damn fine athlete that I would be proud to have play for my team. But what does a 5-0 record (4 of those wins and the huge stats are against superfluously lollipop-ish nobodies) get you? I guess a 20th ranking just because you beat KSU in Manhattan. But really do you want to give KSU so much credit that beating the likes of a NCAA violating, underachieving football team like them vaults you from being unranked to 20th? The only other ranked team with as much of a cream puff schedule is Hawaii and they can hardly help that fact considering they play in the WAC. I guess I am just a bit bitter that 11th ranked Mizzou is predicted to be blown out against OU. Really? Really? I agree that it is going to be hard fought game considering it is to be played in Norman. OU is a good team, but not great as some of the OU teams of lore. They already lost a game to Colorado (a solid team but 4-2 nevertheless) and they barely beat a pedestrian Texas squad (who lost to a very pedestrian KSU squad). I am not trying to say that Mizzou is a world-beater, but to predict a blow out, be reasonable. Mizzou-OU will be a good game that should be a good yardstick to measure how Mizzou will fare against good defenses (one that matches up quite favorably for OU against Mizzou’s offense). I am also angry that it will not be televised, not that we have TV’s readily available to watch American football. The shirts we are pictured in are courtesy of the Columbia Meschers. Erin wears hers daily and refuses to take it off unless we are washing it. GO TIGERS! Enough about that, on to all things Jamaica.
The husband of our landlord came home this last week. He is a delightful person with an amazing outlook on life. He laughs regularly and seems genuinely pleased to be sharing his home with Erin and me. He is somewhat of a famous musician as he is one of the heroes of Calypso. He spends half the year now traveling on cruise ships playing for passengers and writing music. His passion for music is infectious and makes me want my guitar sent down. But this half of a year away fell during our initial time here. I marvel to think how different our host family experience would have been different had he been here from the onset.
So instead of a weekend of confinement Erin and I visited our friend Matt. He lives on the south coast in a beautiful area. The pictures that are posted are of views that one would see walking out his front door. The hills in his area are luscious shades of green and the ocean is not too far away. It is nice to get away from the tourist Mecca that is Montego Bay. It was a pleasant feeling not to be noticed as tourists. This change in perception made me very jealous of Matt’s location. It seems to me that he is getting more of the quintessential ‘peace corps experience.’ I guess that getting the stereotypical PC experience is pretty difficult to get in Jamaica, or not as every PC experience is probably vastly different and I should not be vain enough to assume I know what it should be. It is what it is. Anyway, we had a great time hanging out listening to music and eating Matt’s vegetarian meals. The only bad part of the weekend was having to leave.
So Erin and I have a very busy week planned. We continue our after school homework program and we have a retreat this weekend that we are to prepare a session about sexual health/HIV/personal hygiene/decision making/budgeting (we should find out Thursday…hopefully). This week two of our friends, Ryan and Tiffanie, are having their birthdays and subsequent parties this weekend. Also Erin’s roommate, Meg, is flying in on Friday night and my father is flying in on Saturday afternoon. To top it all off we are moving no later than Oct 15th but quite possibly earlier. It will be a hectic especially if we get told we can move in the 13th or the 14th. Whatever happens should be a good time and there should be plenty of stories to write about on the ol’ blog. This is especially true with our first human sacrifices to the Jamaican taxis and the first ones to experience Country Western Music night at the beach café. Well E-Dawg is in a sour mood so I am going to go try and pull her out of her funk for the second time today.

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles…
Patricio