Me desperté al poco rato de haberme acostado. El sueño que me hizo llegar temprano a casa después de la fiesta, se fue y me dejó una idea borrosa en la cabeza. No desperté drogui ni nada por el estilo. El pedo es que si estaba sacado de onda. Ni siquiera recuerdo haber estado en un sueno locochon ni nada por el estilo. Hacia mucho que no le ponia a las drogas. Que explicacion podia hayar en todo eso?

Depósito de Chingaderas

Elías llamó cerca de la media noche. Yo dormitaba en el sillón -Sara estaba en otro de moods otra vez-; levanté el auricular al primer timbre para que ella no se despertara. "Pensé que se iban a ver hoy, wey", acusó Elías tranquilamente. "Mmmm... ¿vernos? ¿quiénes?" "Jade y tú, qué ¿no?" "No, wey, quedamos en nada". "Nosotros tampoco", dijo mientras un "bip" intermitente sonaba en su teléfono. "Se está bajando la pila de esto... Adi....". No supe si en verdad se acabó la pila o si Elías me colgó para seguir buscando a Jade en otros números. Los últimos días habían sido de los más pendejos que uno puede imaginarse. Corrían de un lado al otro insultándose con una sutilidad que nunca era sutil. O si no él en su plan de querer hacer menos a Jade, de aplastarla, y ella, pues, pues nomás callada echando miradas que lo hacen a uno sentirse culpable-triste-emputado por presenciar ese rídiculo castigo. No sabía por qué me habían escogido a mí de su pendejo. Como que no podía imaginar que montaran su show enfrente de otras personas. No que yo quisiera la exclusiva, pero no fue sino hasta después que supe que con todos se portaban igual, e igual que con todos los demás, yo era otra pared en la que jugaban su rebote marital. Ya más de una vez alguno los había encarado reclamándoles su fiajción de cachetearse muy discretamente, según ellos, en frente de los demás. No funcionó. Casi todas las historias terminaban con una escena del show de Cristina. Sara los conoció mucho antes que yo, mucho antes de que ella y yo comenzáramos a vivir juntos, mucho antes de que ella y yo nos conociéramos. Sara y yo quedamos en vernos a la salida del edificio de ingeniería en la universidad. Era martes y yo ya iba un poco retrasado. Seguro que Sara me iba a echar una de sus miradas. Raro. Cuando llegué ella aún no estaba. Pensé que habría ido al baño o algo, ¿no? Después de media hora, empecé a viajar que Sara se había ido bien encabronada. "Fueron diez minutos; 'inche mamona". Entonces no sabía que aquella vez ella me hubiera esperado los diez minutos y hasta un poco más. Hoy una espera de esas sería poco usual. Ya iba a dar la hora. Yo me quedé sentado en la puerta del edificio. Platiqué con un par de personas y miraba pasar chicas que iban y venían. Ya cuando me estaba hartando, apareció Sara enmascarada en una "muy apenada" sonrisa. "No me pude quitar de encima a una amiga (Jade) que llegó llorando a mi casa". Ya más tarde, sobre la comida, Sara me platicó las lloriqueadas de su amiga Jade y de cómo siempre hacían un desmadre ella y su novio. "Es que son buenas personas, pero a veces parece que nomás salen para malviajar a los demás con todos su pedos. Son chidos, te digo; se me hace que te caerían chido a ti..."

The Strokes

I don't really know how to start this. I'm still asking myself whether I liked The Strokes' new album or not. I know it's good. But I cannot really find a balance in it. When they first came out with "Is This It?," in 2001, audiences and critics praised them for resucitating the almost dead rock scene. Yeah, there are bands like Radiohead and... well, just Radiohead and perhaps Café Tacvba if you're some kind of music savvy. The Strokes opened the door to many bands that attempted to imitate the style, a trend that today places us in this retro-punkish-super pop era that many were affraid of experiencing again. There's nothing to be done. "First Impressions of Earth" works only for those hardcore fans of these New Yorkers. This won't be a record to remember nor a record to forget. It's basic function is to illustrate the process the band is going through: maturity. Lacking form and penetration, Julian Casablancas' lyrics show a personal confrontation with critics. "I've got nothing to say/I've got nothing to say/ I'm no in dismay" says the chorus of "Ask Me Anything." And for moments this would seem quite true. Casablancas denotes a struggle in the attempt of finding a better songwriting, a need that his strong and strident vocals, ironically enough, hide many a time. Guitarrists Alberto Hammond and Nick Valensi deploy their best studio sessions, that ressemble any of their live performances. They sound precise and acute, while bassist Nikolai Fraiture accomplishes once more to settle the sometimes frantic, the sometimes delicate rhythms that characterze him. In terms of execution, the band demonstrates that they might be onto something. Too bad that the once-proclaimed kings of rock showed they were not such.

Azafrán

It was too much food. I had more than enough. I kept eating, but I couldn't help it. One of my most hidden inner forces made me devour whatever was on the plate before me.You might think I went to one of those all-you-can-eat joints abounding in our region. It isn't that I am against them; I actually list a couple of them among my favorite food spots. The truth is that I ventured into the world of high cuisine and experienced more than what I expected. My taste, tired defying any logic when it delves into the not-when-sober delicacies of Chicos Tacos, seeked to broaden my perspective and took me to one the best places I've ever eaten: Azafrán.Embeded on the west side of El Paso, Azafrán (Spanish for saffron) especializes on delighting its patrons with international cuisine. A wide array of dishes containing beef, poultry, vegetables and seafood --sometimes all of them combined on the same plate--, entice any palate. Yes, high cousine is synonimous of high prices, but sometimes appearances deceive and one must try something before refusing it.Azafrán makes you walk in perplexed of the extravagant decoration with its aquariums and waterfalls on the wall.The menu, as mentioned before, offers anything from Mexican dishes, pasta, salads and many other things, with an average price of $18. This is not a place in which you cannot even pronounce what you're ordering. The list of dishes tells you exactly what you're going to eat, mouthwatering combinations that make the minde fly away from the regular "to go" combos with extra large fries and soda available at any junk station. The food is so delicious at Azafrán that the "wallet-ache" vanishes before you notice. After choosing my seat and getting iced tea($5) and water, Tracy, my server, waited patiently for my order. She helpped all along the way with suggestions and remarks on how the cheff prepares every single portion of food. The chicken with marinated artichoke hearts, shrimps, escalop and mushrooms tempted me, but my pasta heart took over me. I ended up ordering linguini with shrimps and prosciutto in a vodka sauce ($15). But before I decided for this dish, I look at the appetizers section on the menu and opted for the interesting shrimp quesadillas ($12). I didn't know what I was going to get. The cheese and shrimp mixture proved to be an excellent companion for the red tortillas and the piquant guacamole side that came with them. The delicate assortment of red triangles adorned the plate in such an artistic manner, that it took me long before daring to reach in for the first quesadilla. Tracy recommended that I should also try the home-baked bread with sesame seeds and cream that would join my main order. Azafrán service is expedient. I was bearely thinking of timing the food, when Tracy came opening space for my plate and asking me if I needed anything else. I was perplexed (and half full already). But I acquiesced to a glass of wine. When the wine menu came I searched for any of the economic and practical Chilean brands, finding the excellent Reserva Santa Rita sold by the bottle ($24). I just wanted a glass. But far from souring my meal, I digested this episode sampling a glass of Altus ($5), an Argentine Merlot. Its strong aroma and dry flavor were proof enough of its place among the wines of the Azafrán house. The prosciutto gave the dish its strong flavor, while the shrimp proved once more to be the perfect companion for the pasta. The tenuous flavor of the vodka sauce splashed my lips, and I caught myslef dripping it several times onto my blanket. After a few stops along the way, I finished my linguini just to be tempted once more by Tracy. "You should try our desserts," she almost ordered me; and I, almost in a state of candid oblivion, accepted without any hesitation.The dessert menu displays sweet delicacies like chocolate bathed strawberries, mouse, and flan napolitano. My taste and imagination were shaken by the cheesecake with pecan crust ($7), perhaps the one with the simplest name, but the also the one with the highest remarks from Tracy. "We whip our cheesecake to point of puddin," she said.When she brought it, I tasted the most exquisite cheesecake ever. Its jelly consistency played with the pecans to create a glorious ending to my sensorial feast. I took my time, though I was already running late. But if there's a cheesecake that deserves my time, this was the one. Sweet, solid and placid delight that I munched on tranquilly, you gave me the key to lock the memory of one of the best meals I've ever had!When the check came, Tracy recommended me to come back on Sunday. "We have a buffet and you can try all our dishes from $17."Well, I might be adding another all-you-can-eat place to my list. Average price for a meal for two: $70 Location: 5411 N. Mesa Telephone: 581-8100. Specialty: International Cuisine No reservations needed, unless special occasions (Mother's Day). Live music every Thursday night.