ho hum

I am currently trapped at my desk, waiting for a phone call, which is now approximately 45 minutes late. This is seriously cramping my lifestyle, my life style being that I really need to get a cup of coffee. My big fear, whenever I have a phone interview, is keeping people from pounding on my door and barging in my office, which they normally do in 15 minute intervals. I took measures by arriving early, locking the door and posting a sign that says, "Stop! Please Do Not Disturb, on the phone." This has had absolutely no impact whatsoever, as people continue to bang on the door and then try desperately to open it, even though it's locked. I may have to start posting a guard.
Tomorrow marks another successful edition of Julia Goldberg's Successful Project in Aging, which I plan to commemorate by: having lunch with the boy, getting a massage, and having some sushi with a few friends. I am sure I will then have to go to sleep early to recover from so much activity. Maybe I should start taking Geritol.
Last night, we went to see Control, the new Joy Division movie. It was a scad long, though good, although I could have done without the two drunk men in front me talking. I have resigned myself to the fact that my movie karma is as bad as my airport karma is good. Movie theaters: If there's a drunk or a talker in the theater, he or she will be in front of me or in back of me. Airport karma: No special searches yet, knock on wood.

somehow this just says it all.

Radius Book launch!

So I'm out and about looking for books for this year's gift guide, when I fall in love with one particular book (not gonna tell you which one and ruin the suspense). Lo and behold, I see it's from a new local press, Radius Books. The name sounds vaguely familiar, but it took me several days to realize it's the new press started by my friend Darius Himes. And, yes, I'm still including it because I didn't realize it was his press until days had passed (and I just had to doublecheck how to spell his name, which is not a good sign). The launch for the press is this Friday, 6 to 8 pm
in the old Luna Building, 519 Cerrillos Road, (between Paseo and Manhattan and next to Sage Bakehouse) and I hear it's going to be lots of fun. So take a break from movie watching, be sure to stop by!

sharing the couch

I ran around a lot this weekend (errands, AID & Comfort etc), but my best times were hanging on the couch with Nero, although he gets grumpy when I ask him to share his lounge space.

I am thankful

Thankful that I actually managed to plow through this day, which, at 5:30 am was looking a bit unwieldy. Highlights:

1. Staff photo taken. I haven't actually seen the photo yet, but thanks to all my America's Top Model watching I at least managed to look at the camera and smile (who says you can't learn anything from TV?)
2. Writing contest winners finalized and notified! (And most were really happy, so I got to spread joy, just like Santa...if Santa had something to do with Thanksgiving and was real.
3. Executed the Secret Santa gift exchange at SFR. And, as per usual, screwed it up and now have only one name left to draw and two people who need to draw names. Maybe I should be in charge of the nation's nuclear arsenal.
4. Witnessed the rescue, by the wildlife center (I think) of a baby bat on our front porch who, the rescuer said, was cold and dehydrated and would be rehydrated subcutaneously and relocated to a warmer environment (I sorta thought bats were a little more self-sufficient; this was one was kind of mewling...guess I know what I'll be dreaming about tonight).
5. Hit one bookstore for gift guide, scheduled two others for Friday and Monday.
6. Worked on editing this week's paper.
7. Set up SFR talk interview for Friday.
8. Wrote on blog!
So have a happy Thanksgiving. I had hoped to have sushi with the boy but, it turns out, sushi places aren't open on Thanksgiving, so he's cooking. I have the feeling he wishes he wasn't, but his other option was to go out (and nothing is open) or have me cook, which would have meant eating a bagel, or maybe a frozen waffle. And there's only so much gratitude you can summon up for someone who toasts your meal.
Happy holidays everyone. Be back on Friday (at work at least).

been playing around with my new camera

Nero, in his favorite sleeping position.

My piano, which I really must play more diligently this week.

Twilight on the wall by the unworking fireplace.

A very silly self-portrait, inspired by, I'm afraid, a few episodes of America's Top Model. America's old and tiny top model, perhaps?

Hit the Rodent

Of what, you may be wondering, is this a photo? Ah, well you should ask. This gizmo, as far as we can tell, holds photos and, when you wind it up, gizzers around with them in a strange spastic manner. This useful device was unearthed from under my desk during this afternoon's Disgusting Rodent Incident (DRI).
I've known for several weeks that there are mice in the building, but I had convinced myself that they would be staying in the front of the building (the power of positive denial thinking) and were not, therefore, my problem. Today, while typing, I kept hearing a strange rusting sound underneath my desk, as if someone was down there rifling through papers (an intern? A gnome?). I tried to ignore it and then, when I could no longer, I went to the front of the building and semi-hysterically grabbed our Advertising Director, who has a certain take-charge attitude when it comes to...um, everything.
Generally mice don't hang out in one place (Right? Don't they mostly dart around?) but, I decided, this one was probably trapped under a pile of file folders, water bottles and old newspapers. (Or possibly was building a nest out of same). Seriously, the under my desk area is kind of as insanely messy as the rest of my office, probably more so, and I couldn't even begin to fathom sticking my head down there and pulling things out while waiting for a mice to run up my arm (I actually just threw up a little in my mouth just from typing that sentence). Our AD had no such issues (she's been catching mice for weeks and releasing them outside). She and our receptionist closed my door and set to work. The result was they learned the mouse is coming in and out of my heating vent under my desk (so that's where my heating vent is!). So they closed it and put a trap out just to be safe. They also found the weird gizmo above. Plus an old photo of my ex-husband with Kita and his dog and a black belt. Score! I really needed a black belt. And some pretty nice purple nail polish. And Osama bin Laden. OK, not really, but the rest is true. Plus a calculator and some CDs. And it's very unlikely, they say, this particular mouse will come back through this particular vent because it would have to move seven phonebooks off of it to do so. And really, who needs heat?

studies show

The use of studies, surveys and polls in journalism is either increasing or I am just noticing it more. Lately it seems that a large amount of what I read is either the result of a recently-conducted study, survey or poll. My faves this week:

1. Tom Udall's announcement that he will run for US Senate, coupled with Daily Kos' polling that if he does, he will win. (So much for suspense).
2. Santa Fe's food isn't as good as the food in other tourist cities, according to an online survey via Travel & Leisure and CNN Headline News. (Is it really headline news where tourists like to eat?)
3. The New York Times reports that just because students have behavior problems does not mean they are doomed, according to two new studies (jeez, I could have told them that).
4. Curvy women are smarter. That's what I'm talking about. Although this study is semi-debunked, you gotta love the headline. Slate rocks.
5. MIT economists have released a study showing that technology isn't going to help combat climate change. If I read this right, they seem to be recommending charging $6 a gallon for gasoline, proving once again the usefulness of academia in public life.
6. A task force shows that NM schools are consistently underfunded. And if we don't do a better job educating students, no one will be smart enough to conduct studies like this in the future!

Studies I'd like to see (and would conduct myself if I wasn't so busy blogging and putting out a newspaper.

1. A study showing how many times road workers are given the finger by passing motorists in the course of the day.
2. A poll on how often people really buy new toothbrushes.
3. A survey of 100 Santa Feans to determine what percentage of residents have actually worked for The Santa Fe Reporter (with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent of course).
4. A study that provides with me an estimate of how often the 8-ball in the classified department actually predicts the future.
5. A study to determine the likelihood that someone will provide me with a snack in the next hour.
6. A study to determine, ahead of time, how many hours of phone calls it will take to set up all the endorsement interviews for all the '08 elections.

Youtah

It seems fitting that I've just read of Tom Udall's decision to run for
the US Senate while sitting in the Utah airport. But it's amazing I can
even read or write at all given that I got about 10 minutes of sleep
last night. I'm glad I don't fly places overnight on a regular basis;
it's really too much. Nice wedding, though.

the 24-hour trip

The boy and I are off in the morning for a 24-hour trip to Portland to attend the wedding of my friend, and predecessor, Audrey. She called last night on the way to try on her dress, which would be a little last-minute for me, but Audrey marches to her own beat, which is one of her many excellent qualities. I have probably spent more time figuring out what I am wearing to her wedding than I did to my own, owing to the fact that I get a little flustered around social events in other cities, since Santa Fe's fashion style is so laid back I could probably wearing my pajamas to a wedding here with little notice. US Airways somehow or another screwed up our seats so, as far as I can tell, the boy and I are not sitting next to one another, a fact I've decided not to mention to him until we're boarding since there's nothing I can do about it now. I was intensely relieved that today was payday since I thought it was next week and had just checked my bank balance and felt a sense of pending doom about filling up the car for the stupid drive to Albuquerque ($3.19 a gallon? Why?). And I've packed three different wraps, which is ridiculous, and am on my way to packing three different dresses. What is wrong with me? We are going to be away overnight, in part because Peter is only available for dogsitting overnight, plus see bank balance statement, and the boy has school on Monday and, of course, I got a little paper to put out. Speaking of which—

I think it reflects poorly on me that I find this so funny, but I really, really do.

the paper chase

There comes a point, in my office, where the OSHA hazard reaches such a critical juncture that not only can I not find anything, but even I am distracted by the mess. My office has reached that point and then some, but I am ignoring it until I get through the ignomonious task of sorting all the writing contest entries into their respective piles. I am, these days, my own intern and when people ask me if I have an assistant I give a sad little laugh that sounds very much like a cough.
Yesterday was one of my favorite holidays: FALL BACK DAY! Part of my weird penchance for privacy includes a love of the early morning. It's not enough for me to be alone in my house, I can only really feel alone if I know that the vast majority of people in town are still asleep. FALL BACK DAY is great because I am up even earlier than usual! Unfortunately, by the time it hits 8 am, so are many other folks. The other downside of FALL BACK DAY is the early onset of darkness. I don't actually mind that for my own sake (it could be dark all the time as far as I'm concerned; except when I'm at the pool or the beach) but I do mind it for poor Nero's sake. Yesterday, he seemed to get very frantic, starting at about 4:30 pm. I could almost see him thinking: "Listen, we got less daylight. You need to take me to the dog park EARLY. If go at the normal time, it will be DARK and I won't be able to see what I'm humping." By the time the boy was off work and we were actually at the dog park, Nero had worked himself into quite a state. He ran and ran and ran up to every single dog, wagging his tail so hard, one person remarked that it looked like it was going to break in two. Nero learned how to hump just last year and, while I'm grateful he doesn't hump every dog, he does usually find one dog to jump on, despite my explaining to him, repeatedly: "You have no balls. I was there when they were cut off." (In point of fact, I assisted in the surgery and held up his balls in order for them to be cut).
The great family visit is over, culminating in a nine-person dinner Friday night. Some of you may recall that last year I found out that, via marriage, I have some kind of familial connection to state Supreme Court Judge Patricio Serna. Anyway, the cousins through which that bond exists drove down here from Colorado, and a friend of my mom's flew in from Texas, and Serna and his wife also joined in, thus the 9-person dinner. There was lots of talk, earlier in the evening, of family and traditions. For example, it turns out that it is actually a genetic trait that women on my mother's side of the family are bad housekeepers. And independent, although in my grandmother's generation, this was apparently difficult to pull off because the women tended to put off their careers for their husbands. Case in point: My grandmother only finished two years of law school (I personally find it kind of remarkable she went to law school at all back then). My mother's cousin also pointed out that on my mother's side of the family there are only seven living relatives left (that counts me). I guess we are doing our part to combat population growth. He also wanted to know the reason I have blue eyes, since every other person in my family (on both sides) has brown eyes. According to my mother, this can be traced to my maternal great-grandfather, who was, allegedly, Lithuanian. I say allegedly because it turns out there is actually no information about virtually any of my ancestors, and no trace of them (my mother attempted some kind of geneology search). My cousin had thought my eye color might be related to some long-ago Cossack rape. (The first time I'd heard that theory).
Unsurprisingly, on Saturday, when the family visit came to an end, I took a very long nap. Sat. night, a group of us went to St. Francis where we had abysmal service, although there seemed to be some kind of movie-related drama going on...I couldn't figure out what it was though, I'll have to see if I can do so today. What else? Oh yeah, Tom Udall. Clearly he's the Dems' best bet for that seat and I'm guessing he'll go for it. It's the right thing to do, although I guess it looks like Chavez could take down either Wilson or Pearce too. (My money is on Wilson to win that primary). I sort of wish Udall would stay put, since if he runs it looks like I'll have to conduct endorsement interviews for the third congressional race with every Democrat breathing in northern New Mexico.
Ah the burdens we bear.

so much to say

and yet this picture really says it all.