Job opportunities continue to trickle in. I setup two more interviews this week, and, since things for next year are taking shape slowly, got started on some summer plans. It looks like I may be able to teach a course in Cornell’s Summer College program for high school students. It’s a good opportunity and will pay pretty well, though I would have liked to spend the summer doing research and getting ready for the fall. I suppose there will be some time for that, too.

I also finished my dissertation changes, and I have obtained all required signatures. I was hoping to file the dissertation this afternoon, but I got started a bit late this morning, had a few appointments during the day, and didn’t quite have things ready to go before the Graduate School closed for the weekend. In any case, I printed out what I anticipate will be the master copy that I use for photocopying. I left it on my desk at school so I’m not tempted to look at it again before Monday, since I’m sure I would manage to find something that I wanted to fix. (I’m not saying that I don’t want it to be perfect. I do. I’ve proofread the entire document several times. At some point, though, you need to declare victory.) Besides, Monday is Cinco de Mayo, and that seems like a good day to file.

The dissertation changes this week took less time than I anticipated — especially one change that I’ve been particularly dreading, which in reality was quite painless — but they took a lot of energy. That’s why I didn’t get the two other job applications I was planning for this week out the door. Alas. Maybe I can put them together this weekend.

Tonight we went with a Texan friend to the new Mexican restaurant in Cortland, Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant. I’m not sure exactly how long ago it opened. I saw it recently on a return trip from the Syracuse airport, and I thought it looked worthy of investigation.

To give you a bit of background, the Mexican food in this area is abysmal. Truly abominable. There is a local taco joint that I visited three or four times before I could convince myself that it was really that bad. I kept thinking, “Well, I really want something Mexican. Surely I can order something that will at least remind me of Mexican food.” No such luck. There’s another place in town that’s a decent restaurant, but they’ve tried to be fancy and fuse Mexican and American cooking. It works okay, but it ain’t Mexican.

Anyway, Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant was quite good. If I were to list the top Mexican food I’ve ever eaten, then Garcia’s probably wouldn’t make the list. If I were to list the top Mexican food I’ve eaten in NY state, though, Garcia’s makes an easy number one. (I haven’t eaten at any Mexican places in NYC, though, so my experience is limited.)

As with most halfway decent Mexican restaurants, Garcia’s was a dive. The parking lot wasn’t paved and was pitted with giant potholes full of water. At the back of the parking lot, cars were slowly circulating around Lake Garcia, lest they sink into its murky depths. (It probably wasn’t more than 6 inches deep, but it’s hard to say about these things…) They brought out salsa and chips to start. I knew as soon as I tasted the salsa that we had found a winner. It pleasantly sweet and spicy, and the chips were fresh. We also ordered the cheese dip, which was also very tasty, though they didn’t bring us very much.

I had one of the combination platters, which included a chalupa, a taco, and a burrito. The chalupa was good, though the shell was a bit soggy. I also enjoyed the burrito. It was served covered in a sauce, sortof like an enchilada, which I found unusual. The taco was adequate, but nothing to write home about.

Becky had the vegetable fajitas. The menu was very specific that they fajitas would be served with two tortillas. No more, no less. We thought this sounded a bit stingy, but she went ahead and ordered them. The skillet of fajita filling was enormous. I would guess that there was enough filling for at least eight fajitas. This made the presence of only two tortillas seem all the more absurd. We got the rest of the filling to go in a box, though; I’ll get some tortillas and have it for lunch. (Does anyone have any idea why some Mexican restaurants are so stingy with the tortillas for fajitas? We’ve noticed it other places as well.)

Our friend had another combo plate, the details of which I don’t remember. Her assessment of the food was about the same as ours. They won’t be wining any trophies, but it’s the best Mexican going in this area. So, if you’re in the Ithaca/Cortland area and have a hankering for Mexican, I can recommend it. Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant is located on Route 13 outside of Cortland, across from Wal-mart and beside McDonalds.

I should note that my experience of people with mental illness in Ithaca is probably biased by the fact that we live in a building located only one block from the county mental health center. Further, I shouldn’t really complain about my encounters, none of which have ever been physical and most of which I have been able to laugh about later. A couple of days ago I saw a man leaving the mental health center hug a woman on the street who made it very clear that she did not wish to be hugged; I don’t think he even knew her. I don’t think he meant any harm, but she was obviously very frightened. (I would be, too.) That’s a little more scary.

I’m also sensitive to the fact that dealing with mental illness is a difficult problem for society. I, for one, am glad that we no longer think it is appropriate to lock people up in institutions except in extreme situations.