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?

The Side of the Road

I was pulled over by a cop recently, for the first time in my life (other than the time I was a passenger in Dad's car). I had no idea why.

The given reason:

going 61 in a 55 zone.

6 mph too fast. This is generally in the range of my speed at any given time on road trips due to my lack of cruise control. I would say there is a good chance that at any given time I am driving the speed limit +/- 6 mph. In fact, the next time I passed the same copy (since he had turned around), I was driving 60 mph up a hill in a 65 mph zone. I am such a speed threat.

I almost laughed. And then I was confused because at the time he pulled me over the speed limit was 65. He claimed he clocked me in a 55 zone. I am convinced he must have clocked me while I could see the 65 mph sign and was speeding up towards it. Either way. Don't they have better things to do in Gila County? Like maybe bust meth labs? At any rate, he didn't give me a ticket - just warned me to watch my speed. I didn't even beg or cry. I was just confused. But for the remainder of my drive through Gila County, I was sure to drive the speed limit so I wouldn't actually get a ticket. Unfortunately this stretch of road includes the beautiful Salt River Canyon, with speed limits decreasing to 35 mph. Yup. That's how fast I drove. For multiple miles. I'm glad I didn't get run off the road into the canyon. Although there are worse places to be.

Women in America

I have been reading some recent Newsweek articles, and I felt I needed to speak to the status of women in (The United States of) America. The first article was actually a series of essays by women about gender, class, and Hillary Clinton. (http://www.newsweek.com/id/120064 and the what women want sidebar links) Many of these essays, written by older women, spoke of feeling solidarity with Hillary, of understanding the obstacles she had to overcome as a woman and the invisibility of many women her age. Many mentioned how unfair it was that it was socially acceptable to make fun of her pantsuits (do women have to wear skirts), her “cankles,” the ironing shirt jokes, and other sexist comments. This behavior was also tolerated at work. Anna Quindlen then wrote a great Last Word called “Still Stuck in Second” (http://www.newsweek.com/id/120049) that agreed with many of those essays. Racist comments are a big no-no, but sexist comments are often still tolerated. Somehow sexism is still acceptable while racism is not (although both are much more rampant than they should be in the 21^st century. Or any century really. And I am not advocating for anyone to base their vote on gender or race.). I totally agree with these essays.

What bothered me was the essays was a couple by some young women who stated that they didn’t have an affinity for Hillary, perhaps because they hadn’t experienced the same struggles as females that older women had. They cited high GPAs, high college attendance and graduation, good jobs. That’s great for them, and I am to some extent glad that women fresh out of college see this country as an equal place for men and women.

I have been out of college for nearly 5 years now, so I am probably a fairly similar age as these women writing the essays. But I have had a far different experience and a far different outlook on life. Maybe this is part of the reason I voted for Hillary. Statistically speaking, I am under 30, highly educated, and a fairly high earner, so I should be a de facto Obama supporter. But I am jaded, and I don’t react to the message of hope. And I suspect I am not alone. Here’s why:

1) I spent my first two years of college in engineering classes, often being one of few women in my classes. Female professors in this area were virtually nonexistent

2) After I transferred to the recreation department, much more full of women, a professor read a job announcement for a student to help with visitor surveys in the regional parks. The position was open to men only. No joke. This was in 2002. I promptly raised my hand to ask how this was okay, and the professor quickly said, “I’m just the messenger. Don’t get mad at me.” Okay so maybe he didn’t write the announcement, but couldn’t he have questioned it?

3) Shortly after class I stormed into the office of the professor who made this announcement. (The same one, by the way, who taught the class on management including sections on gender discrimination. Apparently he didn’t learn anything.) I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I let him know that it was completely unfair. He claimed to be doing it for my safety. I told him I didn’t need his protection. I really don’t remember how it went, but I did eventually get the job.

4) Out of three on-site surveyors on the job at the time, I had the highest survey response rate – about 98%. The two men had rates down around 90%. One day on the way back from class with the professor and a fellow surveyor, they started joking that I must have the highest response rate because I showed cleavage. Seriously. They said this in front of me. In 2003.

5) I was accepted into a graduate hydrology program at a highly regarded school for the subject. My entering class consisted of 16 women and 4 men. This sounds good at first glance. Before my class, however, the program was highly weighted toward men. So instead of assuming that we were accepted for our personal merits, many of the women started joking, half seriously, that the department was trying to fill a quota. We still don’t know what the truth is, but it is sad either way – sad if they accepted us to fill a quota, and sad that if we were accepted on our merits we didn’t even believe that highly in ourselves as women

6) My first job out of graduate school was at a National Lab. I was routinely in meetings with all men and no other women. Many of the state employees are dealt with acted like a good old boys’ club, and the university economist basically disregarded anything I had to say until my boss backed me up. He routinely left me out as an author on posters and papers. The environment was not welcoming.

7) I just started a new job with the state, and the sexual harassment video they showed included footage of a man grabbing his crotch. I found this offensive. The video was almost propagating the very thing it was designed to prevent. It reminded me of an office episode…

Now don’t get me wrong; I have worked with many men who treated me as an equal, and I have had bosses who obviously judged me on my merits, not my gender. And I will admit that I am suspicious of men. Maybe I don’t give them the benefit of the doubt. But in a work situation, I often feel as though I am being judged.

I don’t think I am alone here. Back me up girls.

Premonitions

So a few blogs ago I discussed a "scare" that our landlady had put our house up for sale but we decided it was not true. It turns out that was based on a false assumption, but today the landlady did in fact show up at our house with a For Sale sign. Weird coincidence. She is selling it herself, apparently because she cannot afford a real estate agent. She apparently also got trapped in a sub-prime mortgage. Way to go. So if anyone wants to buy a 736 square foot house in the up and coming part of Albuquerque (soon to match Santa Fe's Canyon Road!), all you have to do is part with $182,500. Personally I think it's way over priced, but it is in line with the other stuff on the market on Mountain Road. It is unclear whether she is selling both lots with it or only the back one. So anyway, I guess tenants are allowed to stay until the end of their lease even if there is a sale, but I'm thinking we need to start looking anyway.

I also finally got a formal offer from the State, and now I too will have to commute to my job. So Matt will be going an hour south while I go an hour north. So maybe we need to be closer to the van/bus/train stops anyway.

Well that's my life. What are you all up to?

It's Been a Long Time, I Shouldn't Have Left You

...without a dope beat to step to.

Name the song and the artist. Winner gets... the opportunity to visit me in Albuquerque (airfare not included). Sorry, I don't have much to offer.

Also I just wrote a whole blog and my stupid crappy internet disappeared it and I don't feel like writing it again. Maybe later. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe two weeks from now. It involved the fact that I have been writing for other purposes and therefore not writing on here.

And how I might have a new job.

And how I am considering attempting the write one page a day, in a year you'll have a book feat. What do you think?

Miscellany

Have you folks been wondering where I've been? Me too. Part of my absence stems from the fact that my less-than-one-year-old-laptop is a piece of crap. Expensive crap. Matt's 5 year old computer can run the internet faster than this thing. So at certain points in the last two weeks I've sat down to write a blog and never had the time. I'm not sure whether to blame Vista or Dell or Qwest, but it sucks. Big waste of money.

So anyway, how's it going? Still no winner in the Democratic race. I'm kind of ambivalent about it, because even though I'm on Hillary's side, I do think she'll have a hard time in the general election. People hate her. It is silly. Yes she voted for the war, but she's done a lot of other good things. And who didn't vote for the war (who was in national office at the time and isn't Dennis Kucinich). Anyway. I didn't really mean to blog about politics today.

Did everybody hear that Fidel Castro stepped down? Of course Raul might be more of the same and the US doesn't seem to interested in smoothing over relations.

Oh what else. I found a neat blog about this guy who rides the bus in Albuquerque everyday and tells stories about it. I haven't gotten through all his back blogs, but I still think my story about holding that lady's baby in LA is up there at the top.

Also Matt and my New Texico blog is still forthcoming. It will be good, so don't get impatient.

Also I finally got paid for an article I wrote in November. The guy wrote me a check for $93.13. Couldn't he have just rounded it up? I mean seriously. Incidently, I have now been paid twice for taking pictures. Does this make me a professional photographer? Haha.

There was also a scare last week that our landlady had put our house on the market without telling us. We're pretty sure it's not true, but there were surveyors here on Friday. Why does one survey their property at random times? In relation to this incident, Matt and I started thinking about buying a house. Prices are rock bottom right now! So much cheaper than when we were looking last May. So we'll see how it goes. (It would help if either of us had a stable future.)

That's all I can think of right now. Oh except for my other secret future endeavor which apparently has a 50% chance of happening. Which is good because there was a big fiasco at work today that involved people downstairs not liking my sense of humor. Or something. Not sure. And my supervisor telling me that she thought I was fantastic and that the churchy people downstairs can be a little touchy. Weird. And then I left the office for 3 hours. For a doctor's appointment. Bastards. I'll show them! Maybe.

I should just stop writing now.

Way to Go New Mexico

New Mexico is trying to steal the spotlight from... well, from anyone. My state is the last state from Super Tuesday to have a projected winner. Still no one has been named.

I myself worry about disenfranchisement. At the only voting site in our lone suburb, Rio Rancho, people waited 3-4 hours to vote, and many left. At other sites the wait was 2 hours +, and they were running out of ballots all over the state. Some people were told to write the name of the candidate of their choice on scrap paper. who thinks that vote will be counted.

Ah, New Mexico.

***

Also check out the election leaderboard at the bottom of the page.

Vote Today!

If you live in one of 24 states that is voting today (and I think most of you do), then vote! Even vote noncommitted if you have to. But just vote!

Hanging Out with Hillary

Last night worked much better. The line moved faster, I'm pretty sure everyone got into the gym, metal detectors were actually used and tickets collected. I guess good things do come from experience ;).

We were super close to Hillary - about 6 rows of people back, so good view. Several people gave speeches before she showed up, as she was running late due to her engagements in LA and Tucson earlier that afternoon. I was impressed with Henry Cisneros, former Mayor of San Antonio and Secretary of Housing under President Clinton. Awesome guy. Also, Dolores Huerta, founder of the United Farm Workers. And finally they brought Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Chelsea Clinton, and Hillary all up on-stage together. It was awesome to see women! (Now I realize it is also awesome for a minority to be a viable presidential candidate, but when I look at and listen to Obama, all I see is another slick white male who is maybe has a darker skin tone. I'm sure people could say the same about Hillary not being very womanly, but I disagree. And I am not proposing in any way that Obama is "not black enough." Just that he's more of the same. Except with a vision of change. But no experience. I digress.)

Hillary started out her speech talking about the environment, renewable energy, and green collar jobs. So of course I loved her from the start. Every subject she brought up she talked about specific things she would do to fix the situation. This was a far cry from Obama's talk about getting Bush out of the White House and bringing on change. Now, Matt will be the first to remind me that we didn't stay for Obama's whole speech, as it was too damn cold, but I think Hillary jumped right in. She concluded by talking about tonight's forum and telling us that she wanted us to know what she stood for and what she would do for us. Awesome. She really seems to have more concrete ideas than Obama. Also Obama apparently is in favor of the fence along the border. Honestly, a statement like that can only come from someone who knows nothing about the West or has no heart. I have to believe that for Obama it is the first, as I do think he is a good man. But he had never been to Santa Fe (not sure about Albuquerque) before Friday. Candidates who care about the West are very important to me. I am not an East Coaster, and I'm pretty sure I never will be.

That said, I am going to read my two Newsweek issues about each of the candidates in preparation for voting Tuesday. But I definitely am leaning strongly.

Hanging Out in Barack Obama's Motorcade

Oops.

I am not really a Barack fan. In fact, until yesterday, I'm pretty sure I didn't know there was a C in his name. Oops.

Now, however, I have had a brush with potential future glory.

We drove up to Santa Fe after work yesterday to attend a Barack Obama rally. He had been in Albuquerque earlier in the day, but, alas, I was working, so we had to wait until the evening one in SF. Some miles outside of SF, we ran into a couple buses on the freeway, with a few cars in between. Started to speculate that Barack was in one of the buses. Freeway traffic was pretty slow, so as we approached the necessary exit, Matt was forced to merge in between the buses. Somehow the other cars between the buses disappeared. As the buses started exiting, we realized that the 4 cars in front and the 2 cars behind were all unmarked cop cars. We were, in fact, in the middle of the motorcade.

The bus behind us started flashing its lights at Matt, but we were on a 2 way road with no shoulder. Where were we supposed to go? Finally a passing lane of sorts appeared, so Matt pulled off and the bus passed. When he put on his signal to merge back in, the copy behind his bus turned on his sirens and lights and passed us. Somehow Matt got in before the last cop car, though. Finally, at the next stop sign, the cop car behind us turned his lights and sirens on and swung out in front of us through the stop with the rest of the motorcade, with Matt following. Forgetting that it was a 4 way stop and the people waiting the other direction should have gone.

We were so close to the venue. If we had just stayed in the motorcade a few more blocks, we could have had prime parking! Alas, as it was, we didn't get there early enough to make it inside. Instead we stood outside and froze for almost 2 hours. We did get close enough to Obama to nearly shake his hand. He looks like he's maybe 30. I think he's lying about his age.

Tonight, Hillary.

I'm Back (and Alive!)

Hello there blogfriends. Have you missed me? I returned to Albuquerque yesterday after a peaceful two weeks without the internet (mostly), TV, or really any electricity at all. I have not recovered completely; my body is a bit out of whack. I fell asleep at 8:30 last night and woke up around 5:30. I can't really eat like a normal person. I left work at 1pm to work at home this afternoon because I thought I might pass out.

While I was gone, my husband wrecked his knee, there was a rent check catastrophe, and I got a $200 check in the mail for an essay that took me about 20 minutes to write. Pluses and minuses.

***

Two days later, I have yet to finish my blog. I worked from home yesterday and today, as my digestive system is oddly, though mildly, messed up. I bet y'all wanted to know that, huh? I am contemplating a trip to urgent care tomorrow if I'm not fixed, as I sure don't want this to turn into chronic giardia or something awful. I really have nothing else to say.

The rest of my pictures will be available on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/Bailliams/Ecuador

Goodbye for Awhile

Well, 3 down, many more to go. The Iowa caucuses are over with Huckabee and Obama the winners. The Wyoming GOP caucus is over (who knew) with Romney the winner. The New Hampshire primaries are over with McCain and Clinton the winners. (Little known fact - Clinton and Obama won the same amount of delegates in New Hampshire, so does it really matter who won?). Sadly, I will be out of contact for the next 2 weeks and won't know what's going on. Someone keep track for me. I still have to figure out who to vote for Tsunami Tuesday.

This will likely be my last post before my sister and I head off to Ecuador for nearly 2 weeks without electricty. Awesome. I will be gone the 12th to the 26th. Don't miss me too much!

It's That Time of the Year!

The Iowa caucuses started 14 minutes ago. At last polling, Obama and Huckabee were in the lead of their respective parties, with Edwards and Hillary coming in 2nd and 3rd for the Democrats. I can hardly wait to hear the outcome! Just think, 4 years ago Dean died (not literally of course) in Iowa. What will happen this year? Aren't you on the edge of your seat?

Also I heard a rumor on the radio that Richardson is telling his supporters to caucus for Obama. If that is true, I'm so glad I didn't spend 3 months in Iowa campaigning for him. What a waste. I think he should be the VP.

In other news, I hate cars. The Exploder has broken down. I had to get it jumped to get home last night, and today Matt couldn't jump it. And Matt no longer has AAA. So this could result in a hefty towing bill. Good times. He is hoping to fix it tomorrow by taking the battery and the starter to Auto Zone. Let's hope that works! Not sure how we will get to the snow on Saturday without the 4x4 :(

In protest against cars, I took the bus today.

For dinner: vegetable fondue. Yum.

I thought it was time to return to the news...

Lately I've been blogging about myself. I'm sure everyone's pretty much sick and tired of hearing about me and my not-so-exciting escapades, so I'd like to make sure I insert this important piece of information into my blog.

Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assasinated yesterday at a rally in the country. Bhutto was widely hailed as the voice of democracy for Pakistan, and she returned to the country in October after about 8 years of self-imposed exile. An assasination attempt on the day of her return failed, and she was placed under house arrest for her own safety for awhile. Yesterday the assasination attempt was successful.

Bhutto was the first female leader of a Muslim country, and the first female leader to have a baby while in office. Her father was hanged many years ago for his politics, and she saw her political career as her destiny. Both her stints as Prime Minister were cut short by allegations of corruption.

Bhutto was at a rally in preparation for the upcoming Pakistani elections in January. She was the best shot for a power sharing arrangement with Musharraf and for democracy in the country. So here's the question - what happens now?

Pakistan has had nuclear capabilities for many years now, developed in response to India's own nuclear development. The United States has long allowed this to happen, with Pakistan and Musharraf most recently an ally in the "War on Terrah." Now with the best chance for democracy in Pakistan lying six feet underground, what will happen? Will Musharraf continue to wield complete control? Will he unleash the nuclear weapons? A volatile situation has been made much worse with possible consequences for the entire world. And in most media, this was not even the top news story.

And here's another question. How can the United States not have had a female leader yet, when there have been at least 55 in the world in modern years in countries from Argentina to Yugoslavia? Seriously. The US should stop taking itself so seriously and begin to consider that maybe we aren't as advanced as other nations.

And while we're on the subject of politics, let's all start getting informed about the presidential election. The primaries are mostly all coming up in January and February. Now I would prefer you vote for a certain side, but whatever side you are on, just go out there and vote.