Pictures

I spent this morning cleaning up the photos on my computer, and I have updated my photo web presence. You can find my more recent items on Picasa and some older stuff on Shutterfly.

Who Needs a Cubicle

Please find me again at my new blog, Who Needs a Cubicle. See you there!

Goodbye New Mexico

I have abandoned my blog, and many of my readers, for way too long. The four hour daily commute has left me not being able to keep track of my life in my head, on (digital) paper, or anywhere else. And I certainly haven't been keeping track of other people's lives.

So I quit.


In less than two weeks, I will begin my pilgrimage from Albuquerque to California (again). Only this time, hopefully it will be permanent. I will be living in the Marin headlands and working in science communication for the National Park Service. This will be a 6 month stint, after which I plan to attempt to go into business for myself.

Matt, meanwhile, is looking for a job in the Bay area, and is flying out there tomorrow for an interview. So although we are appalling many people by planning to live apart for awhile, hopefully it won't be for too long.

So we are saying goodbye to New Mexico. I guess I need to change my blog address. In the meantime, I am contemplating how to pursue my web presence. I will update you if I choose to change locations or activities.

I apologize if you are getting this news in blog format. I am also way behind in calling people, and I am rather sick today, so I decided just to broadcast it to the world. I hope to talk to ya'll soon.

Pittsburgh Beerstravaganza

Here is a summary of our trip to Pittsburgh:

We visited some breweries and drank beer

(The Church)


(Pittsburgh Brewing Co)


(self explanatory)

We walked around in the rain
We watched a baseball game (eventually)


We went up and down some "inclines"
We attended a wedding


We also visited West Virgina and Ohio
Then we drank some more beer

I will post more pictures on Picasa when I get around to it. Overall though, Pittsburgh was much better than I'd expected.

The First Time Friends Have Come To Visit Us In New Mexico (Who Weren't Passing Through on a Cross Country Trip)

The first weekend in March, we had the pleasure of hosting Liz and Glenn and their 5 month old daughter. (I'm not sure the pleasure was as much theirs.) They arrived Friday evening, and we promptly swept them off to Los Cuates, our favorite New Mexican restaurant (although, admittedly, we haven't sampled that many). When the waitress asked "red or green," Liz innocently asked, "What's the difference?" Now, this is a perfectly reasonable question, as one is often hotter than the other, and also, Liz wasn't sure if they contained different kinds of meat since the meal she ordered specifically contained chili con carne. However the waitress snottily replied, "Well...one's red and one's green."

Yup.

She did later apologize, and I really should have prepared our guests for the rituals of New Mexico. When asked "red or green," you simply answer "red," "green," or "Christmas," or if you want a bit of judgment, ask for both on the side. Welcome to New Mexico.

Saturday Matt made us a pancake breakfast, then we trekked over to our garden to plant some potatoes, garlic, and carrots, after which we headed back to the panaderia for pizza lunch where the boys ordered both pizzas with the never-before-tried blue corn crust. It was not that great.
Then we checked out a yard sale, observed our landlady open our mailbox, look through our mail, then put it back in and close it...

Following this we walked down to Old Town to be tourists. Glenn was enjoying the shopping, but Liz not so much. And then we finally walked home, leaving our guests a bit exhausted.

That evening we went to OFBE's first ever baseball game, where I was left alone with a baby for almost 30 minutes. Let me tell you, I am not cut out to be a mother (and this was before I saw the following day's diaper debacle).

Sunday featured a trip to the Flying Star for spicy breakfast, as per usual, followed by a walk to the Rio Grande at Tingley Beach Park where they had recently cut down all the pretty green underbrush. The poor baby had gotten a small sunburn under her chin the day before and was not too keen on the heat. Nor was anybody else, except for me. Then we headed to the Frontier, the place where we were once frisked to get in and a girl tried to buy my shirt off my back. We sampled the "famous" cinnamon rolls, but again, they seemed to be a disappointment.

And so ended the visit of our first non-family guests to Albuquerque. Thanks for coming! We never mean to be bad hosts. If these activities sound fun to you, please stop by one day.

"you're stealing our river!"

I borrowed the title from the subject of an email sent by CR back in the old AZ. Big Bill held a press conference today regarding the designation of the Gila as one of the most endangered river in the US. Covered by the water writer, Shaun McKinnon, in the Arizona Republic. Yeah, back in 2004 the Arizona Water Settlement Act resulting in New Mexico getting a little extra water from the Gila because some people in Arizona were getting to use CAP water. Big, long, complicated story. However, the Act came with funding under stipulation that New Mexico had to use this water by 2014 (I think) or they would get no money. Consequently, a collaborative group in the Gila, along with the ISC, has been meeting to decide how to use the water. One of the many options brought up, and listed in the regional water plan, is to build a dam to divert water out of the river for use in a nearby area.

Today at Big Bill's press conference, it was reported that he said basically, no dams, no how, no way, under my administration. This is up for debate; many people think his words saying that we need to protect the river were misconstrued into meaning that means no dams. And somehow the New Mexico "state water agency" came off looking like the bad guy. I mean, they want to build a dam, and they won't even listen to their governor? 1) No such dam proposal has been made. 2) The Governor has not informed the agency of any such thing and did not even invite the agency to the press conference. Consequently, the office was in crisis mode today.

And all the people in Arizona think we are stealing their river, I'm sure. Oh well. Having worked in the media and done my best to get my stories straight, and knowing that this author at least (there are many other articles out there) is well-versed in water, it does surprise me that all this could be a mistake. Maybe the Governor really did say no dams. Who knows. He won't deny it now, because so many people are so pleased about it. And I won't say anything bad.

But seriously, can't people just talk to each other ever? It's a wonder anyone knows what's going on in the water world when it's always so darn confusing, even to those of us in the industry.

What month is it?

Yesterday morning, I was leaving KGS's house in Santa Fe at 7:30 in the morning, when things started falling out of the sky. It wasn't rain, it wasn't snow, it wasn't hail, although it looked kind of like it. Matt has confirmed my suspicion that it was graupel (sp?), some over 1/4 inch in diameter. I then got in my car and started on my 1 1/2 hour journey southeast to Estancia. While driving it started to snow, and while listening to the radio I discovered that not only was it snowing in Santa Fe, but also farther south in Albuquerque and Moriarty. Great. And I kid you not, I drove through a snow storm the whole way. Snow was still falling as I walked from my car into the Torrance County Courthouse.

I can't remember when the last time I drove through snow like that was. Sure I've done it driving home from work in the foothills, but then it only lasted a few minutes. Not 90. I drove through low-visibility, through snow sticking to the roads, to farmland covered in snow with plants or grass just peaking out. It really was like being back in Michigan again, driving through farms in endlessly falling snow. It was kind of cool. I can think that now because the snow eventually stopped and I did not get stuck in Estancia with my little Echo. However, I did drive through a bit of snow again on I40 between Moriarty and Albuquerque. In the second half of April. That was yesterday. Today it is supposed to be nearly 80 degrees. What in the world is wrong with this state?