A weekend in Mexico

I wasn't really in Mexico for the weekend, sadly. It was just really hot, and we couldn't drink the water. And I had some chips and salsa, if that counts for anything.

People were so crazy about the water situation! (If you don't live in Boston, quick recap: a big pipe that supplies 2 million of us with drinking water burst on Saturday, and they had to start using untreated water from backup ponds and reservoirs. So we had to boil all tap water for a minute before it was safe to drink. AND make sure to let the boiled water cool down before drinking it, they had to remind the idiots among us.)

We were at a Kentucky Derby party at J.J. Foley's Fireside in JP when things went down, and while the bars and restaurants downtown responsibly stopped serving fountain soda and coffee, Foley's would have none of it — they poured me a seltzer at the end of the evening like nothing was amiss. "You'll drink pond water and you'll like it, kid!"

But they were pretty much the only ones taking it in stride. Everyone else was going bananas at the grocery store like it was the end of the world (or a 3-inch snowstorm); clerks were hauling endless pallets of water around and handing out gallon jugs like they were in the National Guard. Suddenly it was a bad idea to shower or wash your hands.

Has no one gone camping before, or swam in a pond? For the love of... it's fine! People, you can take a shower in water you would ordinarily swim in. Just don't drink it!

Anyway, thankfully that little plumbing emergency is all over now. A pretty quick fix, too!

In other news
Before we went to Mexico, I cashed in some of my Home Depot birthday bucks and built a trunk I'd been planning for some time. Check it out:

Gina thought I was building her a coffin!

Anyway I learned an important lesson: when you buy a 1x8 piece of lumber... it's not actually 1" x 8". It's like 3/4" x 7 1/4" ...ish. Same goes for a 10" board and everything else. I had meticulously (ok, hastily) drawn up plans based on totally bogus measurements! Am I the only one who never realized this?

I'll chalk it up to being 34: another year, another of the world's secrets revealed! By 35, maybe I'll understand the principles of time travel. Or how a toaster turns bread into toast.