I Now Understand Why Everything Takes so Long in Mexico

Carl Sagan once said that if you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you first have to create the entire universe.

I'm beginning to think he wasn't talking about pie.

Living down here in Mexico has taught me that every project has a hidden family tree of other projects. I wake up thinking, "Today I'm finally going to hang that cabinet." Simple enough, right?

Except first I need to patch the wall.

To patch the wall, I need plaster.

To apply the plaster, I need a putty knife.

To buy the putty knife, I need to go into town.

Before I go to pick up my things, I need cash because half the little hardware stores don't take cards.

To get cash, I need an ATM that actually has cash.

Eventually I get home, ready to begin, only to discover I also need wall anchors because I don't trust the walls.

Back to the hardware store.

Then I realize I need the right drill bit.

Then I discover I really should buy a hammer drill.

Then I need extension cords.

Then safety glasses.

Then a level.

Then paint to touch up the spots I just chipped.

Somewhere along the way I need nails.

But of course, you can't have nails without steel.

You can't have steel without iron.

You can't have iron without minerals.

You can't have minerals without rocks.

You can't have rocks without a planet.

You can't have a planet without a star.

You can't have a star without a galaxy.

You can't have a galaxy without a universe.

So, in a very real sense, all I wanted to do was hang a cabinet. Instead, I found myself retracing the entire history of creation.

Carl Sagan was right. Every "simple" project is really just the visible tip of an impossibly long chain of prerequisites stretching all the way back to the Big Bang.

Which explains why it took me three weeks to accomplish something I confidently announced would "only take an hour." Still, I think in the timeline of the entire universe, I think 3 hours ain't so bad afterall.