Category: ABQjournal

And then there were three.

Was sad to read in the ABQjournal today that it looks like Bill Richardson is giving up his run at the Presidency.

I had rather hoped that he could hang in there at least until Super Tuesday. I had wanted to look down at my ballot and see a New Mexican’s name there. Don’t know if I would have voted for him (I might have).

I think he made a valiant run as the underdog in a race with some big names. He raised the visibility of New Mexico, for both better and worse, in my humble opinion. It hurts to hear on the news about what a poverty state NM is, how low are the test scores in the schools, etc. I know it’s true, but I hate hearing it blared out on national news.

It seems that Bill has gotten on the fighting side of the Clintons too. I’m sure that was a calculated move but I’m not savvy enough to work it out.

For now, I’m sorry to hear that the Governor of Oh Fair New Mexico is stepping out.

I give him applause for making a run at it.

And now, onward.

In a side note…I’m consoling myself today with the news that one of the candidates I’m considering from my open job is a graduate of NMSU. If I can’t New Mexicanize the country, I can start locally! heh!

Update to add an image. Now is that Larry? Or Moe? Wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh!!!!!

Happy First Day of the New Year

I’ll start off the first post of 2008 with what I believe to be a profound quote from an unlikely philosopher.

“The first step in creating the life you desire is stating just what it is you hope to accomplish and be willing to fail miserably in the pursuit of it.”

Yeah. I like it. I posted my obligatory resolutions list and have been thinking on them muchly since. The twist (pardon the pun) that Monk puts on it helps me calm down (the part about failing). So ok.

Onward.

Congrats to the team of New Mexicans (Jim Baca’s wife Bobbi, included) for putting together a humdinger of a Rose Bowl Parade Float which won the Grand Marshal trophy for creative concept and design (as reported in the ABQJournal)! Go New Mexico! Kicking the pants outta that parade! I did a quick Google but couldn’t find a photo online. Hope to see it soon. It makes me proud to be a New Mexican!

Hats off to the Las Cruces pecan farmers who are finally in full swing harvesting this year’s crop (as reported in the Las Cruces Sun-News). This is an “on” year for the trees, so they are expecting some 71 million pounds in-shell to be harvested. This is a late harvest due to weather so they are out there hauling tookus to get ’em all in. Hats off to my many friends who are making their living right now. I did my part, ordering way too many chewy pecan pralines from Stahmann’s and eating them with an evil cackle. The pecans of New Mexico, second in volume to Georgia but number one in my heart.

And finally, the Iowa caucus is but a few days away and I’m dying to see how our intrepid Governor Bill Richardson fares in the fight. He’s working it, really working it hard and I’m curious to see how this all goes. It’s just the beginning but sets a tone….just what note remains to be seen.

If for nothing else, Oh Fair New Mexico is in the national spotlight. Salud!

Well, the holiday decorations came down today. The Cute Boy™ and I sadly packed up the tree and ornaments and our rockin’ train and put them away. The living room seems so…empty. *sigh*

Time marches on.

As a final farewall, a photo of the train in motion. I adore it.

Photo by Karen Fayeth.

Aggies oh Aggies!

Being a proud graduate of New Mexico State University means that where I live now, I am subject to blank looks when I respond to the “so, where did you go to school” question (it’s oddly a big deal out here).

Occasionally I get hacked on. And it also means, that still, some fifteen years since donning a cap and gown, I still feel rather bitter about the < expletive deleted > Lobos. As the chant from the Pan Am Center goes, “Luck the Fobos”

So today, while sitting in a boring ass meeting with hostile senior executives of the company that owns my ass, I had occasion to surf over to the ABQJournal. And I smiled.

Headline reads: “Aggies Dominate Inside, Give UNM Second Loss“.

See, three days ago, the women’s basketball team whomped up on the Fobos (thus breaking a string of twenty-two losses in a row) and then last night, the boys followed suit, issuing a 71-62 beating. Yeah, baby!

I know they get to do it again in a couple weeks (this time at The Pit(s) and that is always tough), but for now just let me gloat.

With little to be happy about (the Aggies are 4-6 so far this year) I’ll take this bit of joy.

It’s important to stop and give thanks for the nice things. Smell the roses, so to speak….drink a beer to my alma mater.

W00t!

Ok, back to work, but here’s the tune I’m humming as I walk to the next building for the next ridiculous meeting.

__________________________

Aggies, Oh Aggies
The hills send back the cry
We’re here to do or die
Aggies, Oh Aggies
We’ll win this game or know the reason why
And when we win this game
We’ll buy a keg of booze
And we’ll drink to the Aggies
Till we wobble in our shoes
A-G-G-I-E-S
Aggies, Aggies, go Aggies
Aggies, Oh Aggies
The hills send back the cry
We’re here to do or die
Aggies, Oh Aggies
We’ll win this game or know the reason why

Follow up and updates

So thought I’d tack on to this post from last week regarding the fuel oil spill in the Bay Area.

Over the weekend I picked up the Friday edition of the The Examiner with a headline reading “Fishermen take to Bay as ban lifted”. Below that is a smaller headline “Officials say initial location of oil slick wrong”. I bought some coffee and grabbed a seat and got caught up on the latest. This story had dropped out of the headlines so I had no idea where it stood.

Long way around the barn, the fishing ban imposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger on November 13 has been lifted. The article says “…crabs and fish were found safe to eat…” but it doesn’t give any source, who did the testing, and what was tested. Pardon me for remaining suspicious. To add to the drama, the season was opened, but high winds kept most boats off the water.

Below this main story was a smaller one about how in the time immediately following the collision, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provided projections about how the oil would move which proved to be wrong. It would be easy for me to sit here and take pot shots, however, I can’t. I’ve been on that water. I’ve sat by that water. It’s notoriously unpredictable.

At the end of the day, it can be described as “a comedy of errors” which often happens in these situations. And plans are underway to figure out how to handle it better next time.

I’m hoping, now, at the end of the day, the fishermen can still make and sell their catch and we can put this environmental disaster behind us.

In other news…cue “nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye”, the ABQjournal reporting today that the City Council voted to put a hold on the traffic camera program, meaning no fines issued until a decision is made in January about whether to even continue the program. Talk about a comedy of errors! Drive on good people of Oh Fair New Mexico!

photo by Karen Fayeth

Little Green Apples

A friend and fellow blogger declared it “irrelevant blog title day“, so who am I to argue?

I have a lot I could complain about but have been listening to myself lately as I talk and I realize…I complain A LOT. About a lot. I was able to eek out a “I’m thankful” post for thanksgiving, but really, I gotta stop whinging about everything. Cuz that’s annoying. And when you annoy yourself, that’s bad.

I certainly *could*. I have a raging headache. Had to deliver a presentation to my management team that I was unprepared for and went up there and made it up as I went. Hell, my Director asked me a really good question and I made up the answer. Ssh, don’t tell her. But honestly, it went ok. The headache will subside. The busy week will end. My cat will still love me (in her not very loving way that cats have…see the “I’m mad at you” photo at the end) and I get to go home at the end of the day and hug The Cute Boy™ (who inspired my blog title. It’s from a Roger Miller song. Cuz he’s made that way).

Mainly, despite all the little kerfuffles life brings, things are good. I think I may have outgrown my job. Having a week away from it really brought that into focus. Despite fighting the good fight for my team in management meetings, I find I don’t really care that much, and it’s not a good sign.

I wanna be a full time writer when I grow up. I want to get paid for my words. And this job isn’t it. But so far my writing doesn’t pay and this corporate blah does. So I get up every morning and keep making it work. Because I’m made that way.

And despite finishing my 50,000 word writing project, it’s not done. And I find my “incentive” to write is dropping. Bah! Time to find a new way to inspire myself.

Basically, I’m just checking in to say I’m still here. It’s back to work and crazy days. And I’ll just continue to “make it work”.

I also realize I’ve wandered away from the original intent of this blog, to be about New Mexico. So it’s time to wander back. I’ve been reading the ABQjournal with amusement regarding the uproar over the alien ads, got a good giggle over the misspellings on the historic marker in Santa Fe and was skeeved out to read about the third confirmed hantavirus case this year (I’m telling you, people, don’t touch the fuzzy wild things. Just don’t).

Oh Fair New Mexico, good to know some things never change. God I love where I come from.

Photo by Karen Fayeth