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.

More Winter Merriment

1. River of Lights at the BioPark
I took my little sister here tonight, and it was pretty fun. I only took one picture though, and it is of my sister, so I'm not posting it. I know enough about the internet to know not to put children's pictures up. So sad...

Anyway, first they had this nature crafts thing that was free. They had all kinds of stuff to make. My little made two Christmas ornaments, a bamboo picture frame, and a bird-feeding pinecone. They also had a quiz you could take based on the nature info, and they were giving out prizes for all 7 correct answers. I was expecting something pretty crappy, but it turned out to be a fairly decent sized stuffed animal. Very nice!

Then we finally went into the actual River of Lights. The garden itself was really neat, and the lights were pretty. We had hot cocoa and churros for dinner. (I am such a good influence.) The last place we went though, an old lady face first on the sidewalk and was bleeding quite a bit. Luckily other people rushed over to help, because I didn't know what to do with a 10 year old kid who would probably be freaked out by it. I feel a little guilty, but what can you do? You can only rescue one person per week. (Unless of course that is your job and then you are AWESOME.)

2. Office treats.
All of our vendors keep sending us cookies and candy and cheeses and all sorts of good stuff. Luckily my officemate and I started taking walks at lunch; otherwise I probably would have gained a ton of weight. Sometimes I eat so much junk food I forget to eat lunch.

3. Matt is out at his field site doing field work with snowshoes on. Snowshoes!

4. And just so we know it is winter in Arizona, we are scheduling a hike up Siphon's Draw that might require a hat.
So from skiing to hiking, anything that will get me in shape for those 3000 vertical feet in Ecuador. Can I hire anyone to be my Sherpa? At least I have the altitude advantage. I can now hike at over 10,000 feet without dying. I even did it without my inhaler the other day.

5. And just so everyone knows, my awesome friend KGS was named Employee of the Year at the state water agency.
Yeah it's really got nothing to do with winter except it's the end of the year. I'm hoping she has enough pull to pull some strings for me. Hehe. Today my boss tried to tell me my job is like being a reporter. As if. Also did anyone know they now sell things like Chat Divas Barbie? What does that even mean? I was about to complain about the new GAME of LIFE being all about rock stars and prima donnas until I remembered that the old GAME of LIFE was about getting married and having babies. Probably not the best message for tweens either. That has nothing to do with winter or with number 5.

6. And finally, holiday cards.
I have only gotten through about 12 on my list of over 40, so sorry if you haven't gotten yours yet. And if you don't get it before Christmas. It will come eventually. And it might still be during the holidays.

7. Go out and enjoy the fun winter stuff in your town!

Stupid Computers (and Pretty Mountains)

I think I started about 30 minutes ago to attempt to write a new post. Lately my internet has decided to be super slow though. My mail functions properly, but almost all other sites, including Blogger, are dreadfully slow. I thought maybe the 8 updates I just installed would fix it, but no. Either Vista is still sucking it up or the internet company is punishing us for having a "network." Maybe we are sharing the available bandwidth.

Anyway, there really was a point to this.

I need to learn to carry my camera with me at all times. I have discovered that winter is an absolutely gorgeous time in Albuquerque. First there was the tree lighting and shop & stroll in Old Town (I have never seen this many people in one place in the Burque before).

Then there was the snow.

All this week I have been walking to the bus stop from my house past frozen puddles of the previous day's rain. And then I get on the bus and read a book for 50 minutes, and when I get off I step into snow. Not much - just a bit. Just enough to get my soles wet. And then I look up at the mountains and I pause in my tracks. The Sandias have been covered with snow from top to bottom. A thin layer, allowing the dark rocks to peek out. Allowing the cliffs and canyons to show up prominently. The trees at the top, also graced with fluffiness. Even the radio towers are beautiful - maybe it's snow, maybe it's ice - tall towers of white.

And then there was sunset. Walk out the back of my office building just before 5pm, and the sun is setting over the Rio Grande Valley. Walk out the front, and the sun is casting rosy colors on the mountains. I am used to mountains turning purple and looking like cardboard cutouts in the twilight, but there is something special about the pink hues topping the snow-covered peaks. The sky looked like candy, and clouds still eclipsed some of the peaks. The contrast of white and brown and pink was sumptuous and breath-taking.

And from my co-workers window, the scene was split down the middle by a giant flagpole with an even more giant American flag at the top. Nearly picture-perfect. Nearly.

I stood at the bus stop for about 5 minutes, just staring at the mountains. Mountains are pretty, I know, but mountains dusted with snow are superb.

Balloons!

I should've taken pictures with my phone, but I don't know how to get them onto my computer. I started work at 4:30 and was at Balloon Fiesta Park before 5am. It was frickin freezin. But it was pretty cool. I mostly watched balloons instead of working. And instead of paying $6 for a ticket, I got paid $9 per hour. Yay.

First is dawn patrol, where 10 or so balloons launch before sunrise with lights on to test the weather. Then is the Mass Ascension. Today was special shapes, so there were all sorts of cool things like witches, Smokey the Bear, turtles, Noah's Ark, a castle, a pink house, Pooh, the Energizer Bunny, two bees that kissed midflight, Darth Vader, and so much more. (Oh yeah, and the European crew for Darth Vader flew into the Sunport in full storm trooper regalia.) After they all launched, the regular balloons that were relegated to off-field because of the special shapes got to launch to play a game. They had to come down to the field and try to pick up flags off posts or drop streamers near posts in an effort to win prizes, but they couldn't touch the field. Then they would go back up. The box was working, so most of them could come back around for a second try.

If you are not familiar with balloon workings as I was not, balloons do not steer. They just increase or decrease the gas to go up or down. At different elevations the air takes them different directions. Albuquerque hosts the Balloon Fiesta because of the box. At a lower elevation, winds take you one direction, and then you can go up higher to come back. In theory you could land in the same place, although this hardly ever works. The box does not function all the time, but it was in full force for awhile today. It was so cool! Everybody should come visit for this event next year. I am going back on Saturday, but the weather might not be good enough for flight so that won't be fun.

I definitely came home and slept for about 3 hours in the middle of the day. I didn't want to sleep so long, but someone was supposed to call and wake me up and failed to do so. Men. I swear. Anyway, balloons! Yay!

$1000 per plate

That's right folks. Welcome to money. Last night I served a certain non-retiring US Senator from New Mexico, a freshman senator from Montana, the Mayor of the largest town in New Mexico, three super nice Secret Service personnel, and about 100 rich Democrats at an event that raised over $200,000, the most ever in New Mexico. Apparently catering is how you can hang with the rich crowd even when you're not rich. It's so interesting to see who is nice and who ignores you like you are invisible and aren't carrying a tray of tasty food. The senators were so-so. Could be better, could be worse. It was one of the easiest events I have worked. At least they weren't Republicans! Rumor has it Republican parties are not so nice. They are afraid people will see them drink so they drink half a glass of wine and leave glasses all over the place. And they aren't friendly. This is what I hear. I am not being partisan...

I Shall Return...

...to Arizona. My sister is coming in for a last minute home-viewing trip, so I will drive over to see her this Saturday through Tuesday or Wednesday (13th-16th/17th). This will make 3 weekends in a row I have been to Arizona - this is getting quite ridiculous. After that, I won't be back until probably Thanksgiving, as I will be starting my new job on the 22nd. Yay! Hopefully I can see everyone this time. Sadly enough, Matt will be in Tucson from today until Saturday, so we will miss each other in AZ completely. While he is gone I will be getting up ass-early in the morning to cater breakfasts at the oh-so-famous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. (You may think my definition of ass-early is around 7, but it is actually prior to 4. So there.) I am hoping I will have worked off the cost of my uniforms by the end of this week.

A Night of Beer (Just not for Me)

So yesterday I completed a 15 hour shift with my catering company. I got there at 6:10 in the morning and stayed until 9:10 at night. I could have stayed later last night but after I spilled a glass of water I decided maybe I should leave. The day involved two events and a bit of prep work. Then I went back at 6:10 this morning but I left 2.5 hours later.

But the big story is who I served. An elite party of Albuquerque VIPs (some of whom I had seen at a previous engagement, leading me to believe that there aren't many people in the Albuquerque elite) was gathered for a 6 course dinner with paired beers in honor of a certain founder of a Boston-based beer company. I'm pretty sure I signed a confidentiality statement, but I'm not naming any names here. He was sort of nice. About the 10th time I brought appetizers around he took one and actually said thank you. I only served 3 of the courses, but I don't think I'm into the whole fine dining experience. I would rather stick to buffets and cocktail parties. The hosts' backyard was absolutely gorgeous though. It was again over by the river, had a pool without any concrete surrounding it, an in-ground fire-pit, immaculate landscaping, and Italian fountain and so much more. This is how I get to see how the other half lives. The daughter of the hosts' was miraculously well-adjusted and helped out in the kitchen all night.

Now I have heard that the hostess tips extremely well (I think what this means is that she throws a lot of parties), but I left early so I don't know what that means for me. I wanted to stay to make sure but in the end I decided my future was more important than a big tip as I have two job interviews today and I didn't want to be a sleepwalker at them.

What's Going Down In the Hood

1) "The War Boys" is filming a scene across the street and lighting up the neighborhood. The only person in this movie that I've heard of is Peter Gallagher. Remember him from While You Were Sleeping? He was the oh so vain Peter Callaghan who Sandra Bullock dumped for his on-screen brother Jack, played by Bill Pullman. Good choice. Great movie. I actually did a comedic analysis on it in high school. Netflix it. (Picture taken by MB.)


2) A roadrunner (center of photo) was chillin' in the yard earlier this week.

UNM Football

So this Saturday I was at the UNM Lobos football game. Strangely enough, they have a little paw for a symbol and their colors are red and black. Eerily similar to Arizona. I think they are copycats, actually. (Hah, I didn't even mean to do that.)

Anyway, I didn't actually see the game. Any of it. Although I hear they won something like 44-0. How could I be at the game and not see any of it, you might ask? (Other than being my usual self and people-watching instead of game-watching.) I was catering. And the buffet and bar were both strategically placed so we could not see the game. It was unfortunate. And boring. And I have bruises all over my arms and legs from carrying stuff up several flights of stairs. So I have decided I don't need to go to the gym because I cater. Not that I was going to the gym. But you know what I mean. At least it wasn't raining this time!

Also, I have discovered that I work for the most expensive catering company in Albuquerque, but I think it is several leagues away from the company KGS works for in Santa Fe. Like not even on the same playing field. And I guess that is the difference between the Burque and Fanta Se. Because I went to a rich person's house here Thursday night but there wasn't a pig in the kitchen. Or a French chef.

Praying Mantis

I picked up this little guy somewhere on the Rio Grande Bike Path and transported him to Sonic. I think. First he really liked me. then he really liked my bike.

Bird Shit is Good Luck (or so I heard)

Getting Around the ABQ

Matt and I moved to our current location in order to facilitate walking, biking, and mass transportation. Matt rides his bike about 2 miles to the van stop every day. In order to do my part, I set out on my job search by foot today.

First I walked over to the Post Office near Old Town and near the Old Town Rapid Ride Station. This is about a mile walk according to MapQuest and .7 mile walk according to the USPS. I then took the Rapid Ride to the end of the line at the Uptown Transportation Center, where I would have about a 1 mile walk to the temporary staffing agency that was my goal. Folks, this Ride was not Rapid. It took well over 40 minutes to get there. No idea why. So over an hour including my walking. And I have a big, honking blister on my toe from walking in dress shoes. Meanwhile, my walk involved a bridge over the Interstate, where apparently it is cumbersome to place pedestrian buttons close to the actual crosswalk. By the time you press the button, the walk man comes on with 17 seconds, and you have to walk back to the crosswalk and across several lanes of traffic before time runs out. Its like a game. An annoying game. There are four of these crosswalks across the interstate, and they all go on for the same 17 seconds. There is no way you can get across more than one walking, and more than two running. This city is not set up for pedestrians.

Oh also on the bus, there were a bunch of homeless guys who all knew each other and were talking about what parks let you sleep in them, which is apparently now none. It was tragic and depressing. In LA, people that rode my bus were going to work. Although I generally didn't ride in the middle of the day.

I will spare you the details of my visit to the temp agency except to say that it was pathetic, humbling, and I got 73% on an Access test when I have possibly never used it in my life.

The return bus trip took only 30 minutes for some reason. Not that I'm complaining. It was much more Rapid of a Ride. And to my surprise, it was fairly busy, especially around UNM. Then I walked my mile home.

Later on I decided to go back to Old Town to drop off an application at a hotel, and then take the Rapid Ride downtown to go check out this Cafe that was looking for help. Upon reaching said cafe, I discovered that the owner goes home at 1pm. Couldn't you put this in your ad? I was planning to walk back home, just over a mile, but I decided to take a slight detour to Bank of America to get my accounts and my pin number taken care of. All set. Then I walked home. I finally stopped at a 7-11 to get a Gatorade. I am tired. And I smell. But at least I got exercise. And I only got yelled at a couple times.

Maybe, just maybe, alternative transportation will catch on in this town.

Happy Labor Day!

Under the guise of unemployment, I actually have Labor Day off. Isn't it ironic though that so many laborers have to work today?

Matt's parents came to visit us this weekend, bringing with them mint cake for Matt's birthday. This meant that 1) I don't have to bake a cake and 2) I got to eat ice cream. Yum.

On Saturday we went to the Old Town Plaza, the Albuquerque Museum, and about 4 innings of a really crappy Isotopes game which was rained/lightninged out.

On Sunday Matt made french toast and scrambled eggs. Then we went to the Santa Fe Plaza, took a nap, and visited Buca for dinner with Arun. And we played Yahtzee.

I am still on a job search. My plan for tomorrow involves paying $30 to attend an alcohol certification class so I can maybe be a server. That's just the update. I'll try to start actually blogging again soon.

Albuquerque

When Matt first told me that he was taking classes this semester, his round-a-bout way of telling me he had decided to stay in grad school (oh hey by the way, we're staying here), I was fairly upset. I had spent many hours applying to jobs out-of-state, mostly because I was excited about pursuing science communication and writing, and there just aren't any jobs in that arena here in the Burque. Plus we will probably be here for at least 3 more years, not just the 2 that had been originally promised to me.

Anyway, last night we went for a walk around the neighborhood. We live about 5 blocks from Old Town, where there is a nice park, lots of museums, and of course the Plaza with food and shopping (although a bit out of our price range.) And we live in a cute little adobe where it is 1:20 pm and I haven't turned the swamp cooler on yet. And the science center is hiring, so if I am lucky maybe I can get a job there. At any rate, I have calmed down a lot. This really might be a nice place to live. However, I think the job prospects mean fewer (if any) vacations and fewer extraneous purchases (including food and drink). After last year, we will have to adjust to the life of grad students - and I will have to stop worrying so much about saving money for the future. I have to go back to not worrying about responsibility. It's not like we have kids yet. We are still young and care free. No future security is necessary just yet. (Okay well I'm just giving myself a pep talk.) Anybody got any job ideas for me?

Why we don't have internet at the house

Hopefully Matt will be online sometime this Tuesday. Without going into detail, we have a crazy landlady and an even crazier electrician. One of whom will be paying my internet bill this month.

So soon we will both be internet happy again.

Our New House

If Matt's schematic didn't clear things up for you, here are some pictures of our adobe casita.

Leased!

Matt and I finally made the big decision. We finally decided to go through with it. We were super nervous, but it turned out well...

Okay so we rented a house in Albuquerque. Signed the lease on a 700sf casita that is super old but has been completely renovated and has a backyard big enough for a party. So if you live in the Greater New Mexico Area, be prepared. I will take pictures as soon as I get a chance.

We think we will be moving in starting next Wednesday, just in time for our lease here to be up and to clean out our house.

Also, as a side note, if you are ever in need of getting rid of furniture quickly, send out an email to a local college. We sent one to Matt's department around 4 pm yesterday and everything was out of the house by 8 pm. Speedy! And watching all those things go totally relieved my moving anxiety. Moving is so much easier with less stuff. Try it!

Albuquerque

We spent parts of Tuesday and Thursday in Albuquerque looking for houses and hanging out with our friend Arun on his birthday. We managed to get ourselves invited to his parent's house for his birthday dinner by calling his cell phone at about 10pm Monday night and having his mom answer. Oops. Apparently Arun, who lives about half a second from his parents, left his phone at their house again. So anyway, on our way to meet Arun for the family dinner, we thought maybe we should get him a card. And maybe a present. So we stopped at the Smith's by his house, picked up a great pickle card, a six pack of New Belgium spring seasonal, and a $1 DVD called Kill Cruise, starring Elizabeth Hurley. It was originally a German movie called Der Skipper and has been dubbed into English for our viewing pleasure. What a great movie! Not in the traditional, artful sense, but it really was hilarious. We kept inventing alternate scenarios, none of which ever panned out. I think appreciation of this movie is related to a very narrowly defined sense of humor, so it might not be right for everyone. But if you are bored and live near a Smith's that happens to carry $1 DVDs, I recommend it. Good times were had by all. The fajitas at dinner were good too.

On a more sour note, we still have not made a moving decision. We found this gorgeous casita in our price range that we are really tempted to lease, but then we found out that Matt probably won't be able to get a seat on the vanpool next year. In other words, if we move to Albuquerque, he would have to drive one of our vehicles 150 miles a day, 2-4 days a week. That would suck. Our latest possibility is to get one small place in both cities to try to have the best of both worlds. And I don't even know if I have a job, so that is another hitch. I had another interview yesterday, but I don't think I want to work for them anyway. So yeah. We have two weeks left to clear out of our current house, and nowhere to go. Except a storage shed. And LA...

Back to Life, Back to Reality

After we returned from the mountains, we had an ant infestation in our kitchen, so we decided to order pizza for dinner. For the second time since we have lived here, we ordered Pizza Hut delivery. For the second time, they failed to bring my soda. Since the delivery guy last time never brought one to me, I refused to pay this one until he returned with it. Shockingly enough, he returned in about 2 minutes (Pizza Hut is not very far away).

The weirdest thing about this is that neither time did the delivery guy seem surprised or apologetic that they had forgotten the soda. It was like it was a given. So my question is, are they really just stupid, or is this some sort of scam that they pull on everyone? I mean really, what are the odds that 100% of the time they forget the soda (despite the small sample size). And then say nonchalantly, oh, I'll have to come back with that. What is with this state?

In relation to state weirdness, when we were on the trip this weekend, two different people were describing how great their neighborhoods were. And then, as an afterthought, discussed the gunshots and drug deals and thefts that go on all the time. So crime is just a given to people in Albuquerque. Whereas I would not think a neighborhood was great unless it was low-crime. I guess this is something we're going to have to get used to.

Fair Housing Act my Ass

I look at craigslist about 200 gazillion times a day to try to find somewhere to live in Albuquerque. On May 4th, the absolutely best thing came up - A 600sf 2 story loft with patio and rooftop patio in the perfect area of town and within our budget. The property manager won't let us even look at it because she says it's not big enough for two people. Karen has informed me that their flat in Geneva is also 600sf, and it has two bedrooms! I tried to find out if this qualified as discrimination in the Fair Housing Act, but apparently 'familial status' only applies to people with children. What a bunch of ass! Shouldn't it be up to us to decide if 600sf is too small for us? This is the second time I have run into this in Albuquerque. What in the world is the deal with this state?