Category: Opinions

Gotta love it

It was just a brief story in the ABQjournal. Hardly a story, really. But it hit home with me.

In my “grown up life” I am a contracts professional. I negotiate contracts on behalf of my company with a variety of suppliers. I’ve been at this for the better part of fifteen years. These days I’m all embroiled up in the middle of a hairy deal. I have a great in-house lawyer that I work with, and one of her mantras is “we have to take care of this now, despite the fact that we hope we never have to turn to the contract”.

And truly, getting the contract language right really only matters when something goes terribly wrong. But having been on the receiving end of “terribly wrong”, I was always glad I took the time to get the words right. I’ve had to give a deposition to an Albuquerque Court based on one of my contracts. That’s how important the contract becomes.

So, of course, this was what I immediately thought of when I ready the article titled Land Grant Heirs: Treaty Promises Free Wood.

In the article basically, they are saying in order to resolve a dispute, they are going to have to turn to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, circa 1946. Man, when you have to turn to a contract that is some sixty years old, you know someone is gonna come out of this unhappy.

Ah well, better them (and their lawyers) than me.

Happy Friday to everyone! Here’s to a great, restful and safe weekend! I hope to finally shake this damn sinus infection. Sleep is my prescription for a happy weekend.

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Update: Well, right after I posted I toodled over to the ABQjournal and found this article. Seems St. Pete has decided to get involved, asking for fees to be halted while everyone scans the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo for their interpretation of the language. Forest Service says “no”. Things are progressing predictably…..

Is it really getting on time again??

The other day, my partner said, “I can’t believe it’s August, soon it will be Fall”. I shot him a whiny look. I *love* the summer. I’m at my best in the summer with the warm and the light and all that comes with summer. “But I like Fall,” he claimed. Yeah, I do too, but it’s always sad for me…it means winter darkness is just around the corner.

I loathe days when it’s dark at 5:00pm. I’m at work, working away and it’s pitch black outside. Wah!

I saw a harbinger of the impending fall in Wednesday’s ABQjournal. Evidently the debate is on whether to televise the burning of Zozobra this year. It’s scheduled for September 6. Wow. Already?

I’ve watched Zozobra burn both on TV and in person. I have to say, the impact is FAR greater in person. When you chant “burn, burn, burn” along with thousands of your closest, drunkest friends, you feel a certain tribal kinship that’s hard to find in other places. It’s joyful and sad and creepy and a passage of time all at once. And then you go to the Fiesta de Santa Fe and drink and eat to forget. But Old Man Gloom stays in your soul.

Info can be found here. In one of those “the more things change…” moments, I realize they are charging admission to the event. I remember when it used to be free. You just rushed the field, beer in hand, and staked your spot. Oh well…….

Jeez, already a few weeks away from Zozobra. The kids go back to school next week. Soon the State Fair will be here. Time, she moves too fast for me….

Value

Shamelessly stolen from Live From Silver City who stole it from NewMexiKen.

Herewith, the value of my little blog:


My blog is worth $5,080.86.
How much is your blog worth?

The paltry $5k is FAR more than I would have thought given the venerable NewMexiKen’s blog is worth some $27K. He’s been at his blog for four years! (by the way, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! That’s a huge accomplishment).

I’m also celebrating a milestone of sorts. The post this morning regarding the Bonds swat into the history books represented my 100th post. I started this crazy thing in March, on St. Paddy’s day, to be exact. It seems I should have racked up more posts by now…but oh well, I still consider 100 posts to be an accomplishment. The days of staring at the screen with rampant writer’s block surely account for some of the gaps.

And then there are times like today when I’ve written four posts in advance….who knows about the mind of a blogger?

Aaaand we’re back

Yes, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. My weekend in Oh Fair New Mexico was wonderful, due in large part to good friends and good eats.

We stayed at a great little place in Ruidoso called Alto Hombre Gordito. It’s wonderful. What it lacks in high class it makes up for in utter charm. This was my second stay there and it was even better than the first. We managed to book the last cabin at the end and felt truly away from it all.

My best friend cooked up a storm (the room had a full kitchen stocked with pots, pans and dishes). And the rellenos were truly divine.

Saturday was spent at Lincoln at the festival celebrating (if that’s the right word) the Lincoln County War and the escape of Billy the Kid (immortalized, of course, in the movie Young Guns).

It was rained like a mutha and when not raining, humid as anything, so it was a tough day. Nothing that a little funnel cake didn’t fix, however.

On the way back to our cabin we checked out the abandoned Fort Stanton and the Merchant Marine cemetary nearby. I’d never seen either or knew they were there, and neither had my friend, so it was awesome to explore a part of New Mexico we’d never seen.

That evening was spent seeing the Bellamy Brothers in concert at the Ruidoso Downs. I’d never been to the Downs before, so it was fun to see the venerable old track. It’s probably seen better days, but all things considered, it was in good shape. The concert was great (I’m probably showing my age being such a fan of the Bellamys). My best good friend and I sang along to all the songs (we knew ’em all by heart). The Bellamys opened the show by saying “we’re going to play some old songs….then again, all we have are old songs”. Again, it was humid as anything, and I worked up a sweat dancing in my seat, but it was a great time!

Sunday was a leisurely drive back to Las Cruces, many hugs and kisses on my two beautiful goddaughters (they both got an iPod shuffle so I’m the BEST Nina in the history of Ninas…at least in their minds for a minute! :) ), then back to the El Paso airport to get my heiny home.

I passed through the Albuquerque airport and in the layover was able to spend stupid money at the store there affiliated with Casa de Avila. I have always loved their store in Old Town. They have amazing jewelry, a bit expensive, but it’s the real (and good) stuff. A few years back when my dad was sick and I was flying in and out of Albuquerque quite a bit, I managed to treat myself to some beautiful pieces there. They didn’t disappoint this time, I got some unique stuff and went home broker and happier than when I’d landed.

Was happy to return to the Bay Area, get tight squeezes from my man, and sleep in my own bed.

I’m still sick, but have less sinus pressure now after a course of antibiotics. Let me tell you, a sinus infection at cruising altitude is a new kind of pain. Torture.

But I’m back. Work still sucks, but I’m a little bit happier. I found something I’d lost while back in New Mexico. I got to remember, “where I come from” and got right again. It was a great trip, I’m so glad I went. Tonic for a tortured soul…….

A nod and a hug to the teachers

Having just spent this past weekend with a whole passel of my favorite people, who also just happen to be teachers, I’ve been thinking a lot about the profession. My best friend is one of those rare breeds who actually loves teaching and can see herself doing nothing else. She once tried another career, only to return to the ranks of educators.

And this, her assured ticket into heaven, she teaches high school.

Over drinks and Navajo Tacos on the back patio, I heard her and many of our friends talk about their preparations to return to the classroom this Thursday to welcome students next week.

My friend teaches English, mostly, but also other topics. She spent her summer reading a list of books trying to find some modern American fiction to teach this year. See, she and her fellow teachers realize that teaching the “dead white guys”, while easy (because it’s been done so many times, teaching by rote is what it becomes), wasn’t igniting the minds of their students.

One of our friends said, “I want to make my kids lifelong readers. I don’t want to be that teacher that turned a student off reading for life”. I wanted to kiss her feet, hug her tight and weep a little.

We talked about current fiction, books that hold their own, have something to say, that will be fascinating for kids to read, and thus fire up their kids. It was a long hard battle to be able to teach, “Bless me Ultima” in the classroom…but it’s working. And when kids *want* to read, then learn, they become smarter, they help themselves.

So it was timely to read Jim Belshaw’s column in the Sunday ABQjournal. If you didn’t see it, take a look at “A Few Pointers For New Teachers” for a good chuckle. It’s a list of pointers from a fourth grade teacher.

My everlasting thanks to all the teachers who can do what I cannot….deal with snotty kids. And a special thanks to those teachers who actually, honestly care about doing a good job. You are amazing.