In Which Mesa del Sol is Tyra Banks and APS/ABQ is Jesse Ventura

Did you ever date or marry somebody who thought, down deep, that they were way better than you? Better looking, smarter, classier, more financially successful? But you were in love (okay, possibly lust) with this person, so you tried to impress upon them that you were smart, classy, upwardly mobile, and maybe, with some major medical procedures, capable of looking beautiful too?

And you found yourself trying really hard to do all these things, and basically talk this person into loving (okay maybe lusting) you back? For quite a long time? Even though it was pretty apparent from day one that this thing wasn't going to work out, and that, maybe, just maybe that look of condescending indifference was just never going to go away?

Well friend, if this has ever happened to you, you are just like the Albuquerque Public Schools and/or the city of Albuquerque. And that stuck-up boy/girlfriend (former spouse) you vainly tried to impress all that time is Mesa del Sol. And just like that doomed situation, you, me and everybody knows this relationship is just not going to work.

Mesa del Sol is too good for APS. It's too good for Albuquerque. Its got champagne taste and all we can afford is Pabst Blue Ribbon. It has "New Urbanism" and we've got the strip malls along Juan Tabo, and a bunch of mobile home trailers collected our falling down schools.

And Mesa del Sol, they know they are all that. They know they're hip, modern and good looking runway models. And APS/Albuquerque is just some truck driver showing their butt crack as they climb out of their rig.

But that Mesa del Sol sure is pretty. Well, actually it's just a bunch of desert with a road or two and building here or there. But they got all those signs up around their desert saying how "green" and modern and wonderful Mesa del Sol is/will be. They got those fancy airport terminal light poles with solar lights and futuristic curves leading to airport terminal looking half-constructed buildings where educationally swanky International Baccalaureate charter schools are supposedly to start up next year. Even if there isn't a school kid for miles and miles around.

In fact, you know Mesa del Sol is too good for ABQ because it ain't got no people living there. Nothing is prettier than a planned community before the community shows up. It's like the difference between a runway model wearing a suggestive Vera Wang dress and the runway model without the fancy dress. You'd think it be even better, but the dress ended up being sexier than the model.

And Mesa del Sol is that runway model. Mesa del Sol is "high maintenance", to use the crude parlance. Beyond high maintenance. It's kinda embarrassing to see truck driver APS/ABQ hanging out with Mesa del Sol. Somebody should go tell them to just give it up. That the city/District is just gonna get dumped when it's most convenient for Mesa del Sol.

But that Mesa del Sol sure is pretty. Or it will be when all those thousands and thousands of taxpayers are living there. Real pretty. Wonder what it must be like to be dating Mesa del Sol. Maybe I'll call her up when she dumps this loser.