Category: New Mexico

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Evaporation!

Everywhere you turn….

Ok, I suppose some things are hard coded into my system. Cellular level and all.

Today promises to be a very warm day where I live. I woke up this morning and it was already getting hot, and so my mind thought, “hmm, wonder if it is too early to think about getting the swamp cooler set up.”

And then I remembered…I don’t live in the desert anymore.

Oh and by the way, evaporative cooling doesn’t work worth a damn where it’s humid.

Oh yeah. Whoops.

This all reminded me of when I looked for my first apartment in Northern California.

In Albuquerque I’d lived in a very large one-bedroom apartment up on the east end of Menaul. I was on the fourth floor and had a rocking view of the Sandias. Many of my utilities were taken care of, and I paid $550.

I was now looking at spending $1200 a month on a teeny tiny dark apartment in a crap neighborhood. And pay for it out of a salary that was only $5k more than I was making in Albuquerque.

Yeah. That was bad. But what I remember most was touring a pretty nice place that was in my price range (less than $1000 a month). It was clean, smallish, but suitable. It was a warm day down in the South Bay, and I inquired, “where is the air conditioner?”

The landlord responded that there wasn’t one.

NO AIR CONDITIONER!?!?! WHAT!?!?!?

I mean, to a girl from New Mexico, this is certain death! You don’t NOT have an air conditioner!!!

The landlord further explained that really, it’s not necessary. The really hot days are few and the wind off the Bay and the ocean keeps it cool.

I was skeptical.

Thirteen years later, I’ve still never lived in a place that had an air conditioner. Admittedly, there have been some still, hot days where I yearned for the simple beauty of a swamp cooler. On those days, I stay longer at work to soak up their climate control.

So while my home is a/c free, my car does have cooling. I won’t own a car that doesn’t, though I have friends who saved a few bucks by leaving that off. No way.

I have a vague feeling this is going to be a long, hot summer in the Bay Area where the tunnel of fans The Good Man sets up won’t quite be enough.

But then, when it gets that hot, the next day the fog rolls in over the hills and dampens the whole day and you freeze your tukhus off.

Ah…summer in the Bay Area. Swamp Coolers not required.

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor

Like many bloggers, as I write my posts and maintain my blog, I often I look at other blogs for ideas, inspirations, or what not to do.

Like…I hate blogs that are riddled with ads running down each side and between every post.

Then again, there are some sites that do ad placement in a tasteful way.

I’m torn.

About six months ago, I began my first foray into ad placement on my blog by placing a small, unobtrusive Google AdSense on my blog. It’s gotten a few clicks, nothing to write home about, and it’s been a good experiment.

Recently, I was contacted by the folks over at Made In New Mexico about an opportunity to do some link sharing.

I took a long time to think about it, as I was unsure about going there.

What finally changed my mind was that in this case I’d be supporting a business located in New Mexico selling New Mexico based products.

Helping the economy in my home state matters to me.

I’d bought from Made In New Mexico before, based on their ads in New Mexico Magazine, and I was satisfied with the experience.

I decided to place a new order using my own money, so I’d have current experience.

I went to their online store, shopped around, and bought two things:

A New Mexico license plate notebook (I chose the old fashioned yellow and red, but you can also choose the balloon theme plate):

( It sort of tickles me that it’s a trailer plate. Fitting for me, no?)

And a New Mexico flag (fresh outta the box, I need to steam the wrinkles out!):

The shopping was easy, the ordering process simple, and shipping happened the day after I ordered. Good stuff!

So based on a happy shopping experience and the kind folks who contacted me, you’ll now see a small ad in the right sidebar. If you click that ad, it will take you to the Made In New Mexico store and they’ll note that you came from my blog. If you buy, I might get a little something for it.

By the by, I wasn’t compensated for writing this post. If ya’ll buy some stuff, a couple sheckles might come my way. Mainly I’m happy to support a solid New Mexico business.

Thanks!

Come tip a glass with me!

Yes, tis time to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day again. The wearin’ of the green. The drinking, and the pinching (not necessarily in that order).

But St. Paddy’s Day means something different here on ol’ Oh Fair New Mexico.

Twas St. Paddy’s Day 2007 that my little blog was begun.

Three years and 860 posts later, it’s still going strong.

Look, three years ago, I didn’t know if I had a year’s worth of content in me, but I was willing to try. It was The Good Man’s idea to start a blog and damnit, I guess I have to admit he was right.

He really is, you know, a good man. Smart too. Dashing, handsome…but I digress.

My meager three years don’t come anywhere near the longevity and volume of blog friend, NewMexiKen. He just celebrated six years at his own url and is closer to seven years blogging and still getting ten to fifteen posts a day. I am humbled in his sheer blogging presence.

But my three years still beats the heck out of a lot of blogs I’ve seen rise and fall since I got my start.

Cheers! To Oh Fair New Mexico and another year of random acts of bloggery.

And Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To celebrate I took my new (to me) camera and snapped the prolific clover in the backyard.

I think it’s beautiful. My landlord curses at it.

And so goes the ways of my world.

(I don’t see any four leafers in there, do you?)

Making Our Own List

Recently, while flipping around my no-cable-havin’ television choices, I landed on the “Tavis Smiley Show.”

I’ve watched his show a couple times before, but what stopped me this time was his guest, Rosanne Cash, a talented singer songwriter. I’m a big fan.

It was a fun interview. Rosanne was feeling a bit more expansive than usual, which was nice. The central theme for the interview was Rosanne’s new album called “The List.”

The story goes something like this: When Rosanne was just out of high school, she went on the road with her dad, Johnny Cash. While on the road, all the various musicians she toured with taught her how to play guitar.

At one point, her father noted her deep lack of musical knowledge, and sat down with a pad of yellow paper and wrote up a list of songs that she should learn and know.

It was a gift of a father’s deep love and respect for musical history that he wrote out line by line on that page.

Over the years, Rosanne kept that sheet of paper, and learned most of the songs.

Well, finally, after having surgery on a benign tumor in her brain and coming through the recovery, she and her husband decided to make an album of songs that were included on the original list.

Over the years, Rosanne has been reluctant to show people the actual list, and keeps it tucked away somewhere safe. Her album gives you a taste of the songs that Johnny felt were key to his own daughter’s musical education.

This whole concept intrigued me, so I ran out and got the CD. I’m not on board with every arrangement on the album (call me a purist…or something), but deeply I respect the new interpretation of these classic songs.

So I got another copy and sent it to my best friend, mother of my two goddaughters. She and her husband are doing an excellent job in passing along a musical education to their children.

But for my best friend and me, music is everything. It’s the stitches that hold tight the tapestry of our lives, our memories and our friendship.

So included in the package with the CD, I sent a letter with my idea: Our own list.

I feel that we need to make a list of our own musical legacy for her kids just as Johnny did for Rosanne.

Well, my friend took to this idea with gusto, and our list making began.

I began jotting songs as they came to me in my notebook and it quickly grew to four pages front and back. I realized…this is going to be a really long list, so I began to think of how we could sort it out to make it easier to take in.

Over this past weekend, she arrived for a fun visit, and came toting a CD she’d burned of her own first volume of The List (and two bags of roasted green chile in her suitcase).

Her idea for sorting the songs is by category. Her first volume is “Songs You Wanna Dance To.”

There will be a “Songs You Wanna Drink Beer and Cry To.”

There will probably be a “Songs You Wanna Get Frisky To.”

And then, perhaps just a, “If You’re Gonna Be My Kid, You’d Better Know These Songs” CD as well.

We’re still working on the categories, but work is underway.

Over the weekend, The Good Man and I were both pleased and honored to have yet another friend from back in my college days visiting, too.

Friday night the four of us got together at my place. My best friend made rellenos and Spanish rice. I whipped up a batch of green chile chicken enchiladas and a pot of savory pinto beans.

There were margaritas, guacamole and a LOT of conversation about the list. Our friend, an Edgewood boy now living in Oklahoma, is like a long lost brother to me. He brought many excellent suggestions for the list to the table.

We cussed. We discussed. And together we’re creating something meaningful for my two godkids. In this music they will know their mom, and their godmom, our families, our history and our love.

Ooops, hold on a sec…just thought of another song I need to jot down…

The Awards they Coulda Given Out

So I actually watched the Oscars last night.

I never watch the Oscars. I almost never watch the Super Bowl, and I watched that this year too.

What’s going on with me?

Ah well, another blog post for another time.

I don’t usually watch the Oscars because I believe they represent an overblown, poorly scripted Hollywood wank fest.

And I wasn’t disappointed this year.

I only saw three of the ten movies that were nominated, that being “Up,” “Up in the Air” and then yesterday afternoon, The Good Man and I took in “Crazy Heart.”

Based on those three films, here are the awards I can hand out:

Best Use of Talking Dogs – Nod goes to “Up.” Squirrel!

Best Bay Area Reference – Fenton’s Creamery gets a place of honor in “Up” and I like it. An homage to a tasty place. Good eats deserve their own award!

Best Smuggy-Smug-Smugerson Face – Well the award seriously goes to George Clooney.

Best Really Incredibly Hot Chick Who Is Dancing Around the Age of 40 and Still Looks Amazing – Vera Farmiga. Hooooot in the movie “Up in the Air.” Massively HOOOOT in that red dress at the Oscars. And age appropriate for her leading man too, how ’bout them apples?

Best Pretty Young Girl Who is a Solid Talent – those crappy vampire movies notwithstanding, I think Anna Kendrick is pretty damn good. She stole the show from Clooney and made that movie worth watching, IMHO.

Best “Hey, I Can See Your Acting Skills Growing By Leaps and Bounds and I Like It” Performance – Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart. I’ve always been a fan of hers and I think this movie shows a huge maturity in her talent. She’s amazing.

Best Realistic Repeated Barfing by an Old Guy On Film – gotta go to Jeff Bridges on that. Ew. And yet, so well done!

And the big award of the night. The one we’ve all been waiting for:

Best Use of Downtown Albuquerque as a fill in for Houston – and the award goes to….”Crazy Heart.”

I laughed pretty hard at the scene where Bad is extolling the virtues of Houston as very familiar downtown Albuquerque landmarks roll past the car windows. They didn’t even try to obfuscate the Rio Grande Credit Union sign in a key scene.

Folks, come on up and get your trophy!