Pledging Allegiance to the Texas Flag

Day: 278
High Temp: 91F

Last friday morning at 7:45am, I found myself in a large room inside a temporary building, surrounded by a few hundred children all under the age of 10 pledging my allegiance to the Texas State flag.  It was my first experience pledging my allegiance to Texas, and with all the ridiculousness going on right now in the debate on what text books in Texas should contain I was thinking to myself, "Maybe not allegiance to Texas, but Austin... okay, I feel good about pledging my allegiance to Austin."

In a state where you spend the entirety of your 4th grade social studies class learning Texas state history, it should be no surprise this is a rudimentary part of the morning at UT Elementary School, but I was a bit caught off guard, nonetheless.

This all came about as I was invited to a monthly breakfast and tour that UT Elementary School hosts for University staff, faculty and any other interested community members. It's a chance to hear from the principal about what the school is doing right, meet the crazy-smart, well behaved and articulate students, and get a peek at how UTES is working with other urban schools to improve education for the underserved. It was really cool.

The scene of my allegiance pledging was the morning school-wide assembly. It's just 5-10 minutes each morning where the school comes together as a community to pledge allegiance in English and in Spanish, (and not just to Texas, but to the US flag as well), sing their school song (with UTES appropriate lyrics set to "The Eyes of Texas"), recite their "peace code" and hear any school announcements.  If it's your birthday, the whole school will sing to you at assembly (as happened for little Francisco the morning I visited). And if it's Friday you also get to hear a joke from one or two of the kids as a part of what they call "Friday Funnies".

The school is truly a model of how amazing urban education can be, if you just have a little money, and the luxury of small classroom sizes.  Of course, so few urban schools have those luxuries, so it was good to see how dedicated this school is to working with teachers and administrators from other Austin public schools, and how they supplement the teaching degree programs here at UT with unparalleled hands-on opportunities in the classrooms.

With their emphasis on early interventions (physical, behavioral, psychological, etc) and a thing they call "Social and Emotional Learning", this school is doing so much right. You can see the proof in the respect the kids have for themselves, their teachers and their school.  I was mightily impressed by these "Little Longhorns."

Poker Walk

Day: 272
High Temp: They say 86F, but it's past noon and only 67 right now

On Wednesday I participated in the UT Poker Walk, which is a fitness initiative that encourages faculty and staff to exercise. It's an odd event, but the basic premise is that you form a team (we were Healin' and Dealin'- get it? Nurses + Poker!) walk a 1 mile course, and along the way pick up poker chips from 5 stations. When you get to the end of the course, you turn in your chips, and the volunteer dealers deal you 5 cards. There is no discarding, and the top three best hands win prizes. I got a heart flush with a queen high. It may have been the best poker hand I have ever been dealt, including games when discarding was allowed. And it turns out that was enough to score me 3rd best hand out of 1100 participants. I won a new ipod shuffle. Sweet.

The event also pushed my UT free t-shirt total up to 4 (in as many months of employment.)  This place loves to give away t-shirts. I've added it to my longhorn water bottle, tip card, multiple pens and pencils, notepads, leather portfolio, refrigerator magnet and lapel pin.

So Much Catching Up...

Day: 264
High Temp: 94F

Hello friends.  I have been terribly delinquent in my blogging recently, and I can blame that mostly on the kicking into gear of my wedding planning efforts.  This Sunday will mark the anniversary of our engagement, and each day we get a little bit closer to the big party on October 9.  We are under the 6 month mark until the wedding, which means I am spending my lunch hours trying to stay ahead of the curve as far as booking vendors, planning decor, and creating schedules. It's crazy, and so much fun. But it hasn't left me time to blog! And so much has happened. Here is a brief run down of what you missed in the past few weeks:

FRIENDS
Good friends Adam Simon and Mackenzie Kyle visited for a few days at the end of April. They were driving cross country from Florida to LA, and made some time for us (and queso).  They surprised me by picking up my BFF Camilla in New Orleans, and bringing her along for the ride.  We were also luck to play foster home to Adam and Mack's adorable doggy Hannah while they were in town, as the hotel they booked was not dog-friendly. The highlight for me was the first night they were all in town, when we took both the dogs and ourselves to the unique Lustre Pearl (revisit my first visit to this esteemed and unique Austin local here) to drink beer and eat some of the best taco truck food in Austin. It was so wonderful to see them all, and the amazing high I was on being with old friends was only matched by the sadness of saying goodbye to them.  Good thing there was a....

WEDDING
Tom's little sister Erin got married the last weekend of April.  It was a whirl-wind trip for us to the Bay Area, with no time for wine tastings, or leisurely strolls through San Fran. We did, however, get to hug many of our favorite people, dance till we dropped, and celebrate a beautiful day with two people we love very much. Oh, and did I mention the Pyramid beer? That is one Horan wedding down, and two to go in 2010...

NEW TEXANS
The weekend we were camping we got word that the amazing Zach Gonzalez-Landis has decided to come to UT next year for grad school.  Even better news that that, he is bring his fabulous and hilarious lady Adrienne Dellinger with him.  YES! More friend reinforcements are on their way!

BABIES
No, not me.  If you are an avid reader of DMWL (which I am sure you all are) you should know from this post that Andy and my SIL Megan are expecting twins. Megan is due in early July, but was told, because they are multiples, to expect to deliver early. Unfortunately, after a very long drive to their new home in Springfield, Mo over the weekend, Megan went into pre-term labor.  She has been in and out of hospital for the past few days, and now it looks as though she may be there to stay.  The boys are at 31 weeks, which gives them an excellent chance of survival and a very low risk of complications, but we are all really hoping they stay put for at least another 4-5 weeks. Please send all of your positive thoughts (and cards, emails, cookie trays, etc) their way!

In other news, Tom and I are planning to go "tubin" this weekend.  A very hill-country past time, "tubin" is simply floating, but in inner-tubes.  Each person gets their own tube, and you also get an extra tube, with a bottom, to fill with ice and put your beer in. Then you lash all your tubes together and float en-masse at a snails pace while drinking beer down a river somewhere in the middle of Texas.

Long Live the Yardists!

Day: 247
High Temp: 69F (yep, it's a little chilly here in Austin!)

Tom and I had a crazy weekend filled with things we needed to do:
  -Laundry
  -Grocery Shopping
  -Get Haircuts
  -Packing for our upcoming trip to the Bay Area

and things that we wanted to do:
  -See a movie
  -Brunch with friends
  -Play with Homer
  -Check out the Austin Art Yards Tour

I am proud to say that, although it was what I would consider a very hectic weekend, we somehow managed to do it all. The highlight, was undoubtedly the Austin Art Yards Tour.

I am sure that many of you have heard the slogan "Keep Austin Weird." Well, the Yardists (yard + artists, get it?) are the people who, more than any other group, truly put the weird (or more like unique) in Austin.  They are a legion of people, both artists and normal people (yes, I just implied artists are not normal) who are dedicated to make their outdoor spaces just a little more beautiful/odd/whimsical/inspiring. Tom choose for us a tour route that would take us past the landmarks who call our south Austin neighborhood home.

One yard that I was particularly stoked to experience was the infamous Cathedral of Junk. Unfortunately, just days before the tour, the City of Austin officially announced that this landmark would be closed to the public (against the owners will) until future notice.  For more information on this government-gone-wrong story, check out this Austin American Statesman article.

We did however, get a chance to see:

Smut Putt Heaven- not sure where the name derives from, but this back yard was chocked full of mannequin and doll heads, glass bottle hedges, crutches. There were also dozens of bottle-cap snakes hanging from the grand live oak that is the yard's centerpiece.

Black and White- a front yard who's artist owner has decided to decorate with huge Picasso-esque black and white cardboard sculptures

Flower Power- Another front yard, this time featuring colorful metal flower sculptures, some of which turned on their center axis.

Flamingos du Jour- This wildly overgrown back yard has been besieged by a huge flock of pink flamingo yard ornaments of all shapes and sizes.  


Sea Yard- One of the most understated yards, this spot is best known for the under-sea mural that graces the entire back yard fence. It also features a stunning glass mermaid mural on the yard gate. We were lucky to see the owner Lois Goodman's sea tchotchke-bedecked car in the carport.  And Lois was there soaking up the many compliments that were coming her way, and talking with visitors about her art and her home (a stunning work itself!).

Flat Fork Studios- Our last stop of the tour, this spot was most notable for the GIANT chicken that is chained to a fence in the front yard. Not kidding, the thing is taller than I am.

It was an inspiring and fun afternoon, and made me appreciate yet another level of uniqueness that my adopted city has to offer. Long live the yardists!

Holding Back

Day: 243
High Temp: 74F


I wanted to share with you a situation and get some feedback on it.  Like many of you, I have a Facebook page.  I check it a few times throughout the work day, and generally find the random thoughts of my friends and family members entertaining and informative.  This is particularly true of the tweenage daughter of one of my cousins. She is on it constantly, and is always in the middle of hormone-fueled dramas with her school friends. It's quite hilarious, and it helps me remember why I am so glad to not be a teenager any more!


That was not the case this morning when I read her update that said "if you come to our country, learn to speak our language, or don't come at all. :)"


I find that ignorant and offensive.  Hoping that surely this young, smart kid was alluding to some kind of inside joke, I write, "that is a joke, right"


She says, "nope."


Me, "okay, well then I have to ask, you realize that "our language" wasn't here first, right? when your English speaking ancestors arrived, they were foreigners. basically, you are the product of immigrants."


I know it is Facebook, not the place to pick political or social fights with family members, but I just could not let it slide.  I spent a school year volunteering in the Chicago Public Schools, teaching a curriculum of human rights and tolerance with Amnesty International. I can get a young man who grew up in the DRC to come around to the fact that it is not okay to persecute homosexuals, then certainly I can help my sheltered second-cousin realize the ignorance of what she is saying.


To her credit (I think), she then posted, "Ohh sorry i have facebook mobile and i wasnt sure which status you commented on. And didnt know that:) thanks for lettin me know.:) Haha"  


I can see her rolling her eyes while posting it, but still, she seemed to at least gather that what she said was offensive.


Following that, this girl's aunt (the woman married to another of my cousins) said "I agreed because most immigrants from mexico are illegal and stubborn so the case is closed for me."


Well, that pissed me off.  I want to go back on there and say to the aunt, "Oh, well, if most Mexicans are illegal and stubborn, then of course, by all means, marginalize them!" Or to the young woman who originated this post, "Well yes, with adult roll models like these, I can see what you are a closed-minded xenophobe."


These people are my family, and here there are doing their best to prove another stereotype- people from Missouri are backwards, intolerant hicks. 


So, instead of instigating a huge war of the families (which I kind of want to do, because, lets face it, I am right, and I have mad debating skills), I am writing this post. What do you guys think. Hold my tongue. Fight against ignorance? Am I just self-righteous?




UPDATE: A few hours after my blog posting, I got a little notification on my Blackberry that someone else had commented on the original Facebook post which incited my little war. Nervous about what other horror may have been unleashed, I tentatively checked what was new. Turns out it was the offending tween's dad, my cousin, who had this to say, "Yeah, I just can't leave this one alone...my opinion, but this statement is a little narrow-minded, intolerant and certainly not a reflection on her father. I encourage free thinking but wowzers!"


Good on ya cousin Justin! Thank you for saying what needed to be said, in a caring and open minded way, and with a sense of humor and love. This probably had a more (positive) affect than anything I could have said.


And thanks for those who here, and over email, gave me their thoughts on this subject. It's good to know that you guys are out there fighting the good fight against intolerance too! 

Camping: The Menu

Day: 236
High Temp: 72F

In anticipation for this weekends camping festivities (and the anticipated "unplugging" that will happen during that time) I thought I would give you all a preview of what is on the menu for the trip.

Those of you who have camped with me before know I like to do so in semi-gourmet style. This likely stems from the influence of my aunt and god mother Patty, who on a camping trip many many years ago made me one of the most memorable and influential meals of my life.  She cooked up beef stew from scratch in a dutch oven on the campfire. And topped that (literally) with an amazing peach cobbler cooked on the lid of the oven. If there is one thing I would give up s'mores for, it would have to be cobbler. That meal taught me that you can eat good ANYWHERE, if you only care to (including the bat-inhabited sandy shore of a river in Missouri.)

For my own camping trip, I plan the menu for days and make a special grocery trip just for the ingredients (I spent over $80 last night for this trip, although that did include some non-food stock up items we need to stock up on before we leave, like batteries and bugspray.) I also like to try and pack as light as possible, finding several different ways to use one ingredient (take the Dubliner cheese in this weekend's menu).

This trip will be a bit more challenging than past trips, as Tom and I got rid of our little table-top hibachi grill in the move to Austin. Having not yet replaced the grill, it was my challenge to come up with a menu that could be either A. cooked on a skewer OR B. cooked in a packet. So no pizza this time and no turkey burgers. That said, I am still pretty stoked for the food!

Without further ado, I give you the menu:

FRIDAY DINNER
-Chicken, spinach and feta sausages on whole wheat buns
-Campfire baked potatoes with Dubliner Cheese
-Rising Moon Spring Ale
-S'mores

SATURDAY BREAKFAST
-Campfire toasted Bagles with cream cheese
-Bananas, strawberries and blueberries in a homemade vanilla-lime-agave yogurt dressing
-Campfire percolated coffee

SATURDAY LUNCH
-Sliced turkey and Dubliner cheese sandwiches with tomato, cucumber and avocado
-Crudites (carrots, broccoli, cucumber) and Humus
-BBQ Chips
-More Rising Moon perhaps?

SATURDAY DINNER
-Classic campfire packet dinner with chicken sausage, leeks, whole garlic cloves, zucchini, mushrooms and potato (and more Dubliner, if there is any left!)
-Corn on the Cob
-Tempra Tantrum Wine (tempranillo grenache blend)
-S'mores (no originality here, I have to have them every night that we camp)

Sunday morning's breakfast will likely just be the leftover fruit salad and bagels/granola bars. It is nearly impossible to come up with creative breakfast ideas without traditional cooking implements, besides we rarely start a new fire on Sunday, knowing we will be heading home soon.

Happy camping!

Camping

Day: 234
High Temp: 81F

We have, again, been having problems with our apartment. About 2 months ago new neighbors moved in next door. They are bachelors, and total douche-bags. I hate them. For the first few weeks, they were fine. However, in the past few weeks the have started to act like total assholes. They go out to the bars every Friday and Saturday night. When the bars close, they come home, and hang out on their back deck, making a ton of noise which wakes us up. I am talking 3 or 4am, laughing, incoherent ramblings and event the perplexing occasional appearance of ESPN radio. You know, sometimes Tom and I go out too, and nothing is worse than coming home, getting into bed, falling asleep only to be awoken an half-hour later.

(Okay, now I know you are all thinking, what does this rant have to do with camping? Bear with my while I suss out the finer points of my indignation, and we will get to the camping, promise!)

We have asked nicely, and we have complained. Our (nice) neighbors have complained too. We all call the security team for the complex, or we call APD. Then we wait until they show up, and eventually it gets quiet and we can go back to sleep. So far, the (asshole) neighbors just don't give a crap that they are waking everyone else up on that side of the building. The office management says they give them lease violations each time a complaint is registered, but no one is really sure what happens after that. Do they get kicked out after a certain number of violations? Have to pay fines? No idea. All I know is the us other 8 apartments on that side of the building and are good members of the community, who pay our rent each month. And for that, we are now subjected to this ridiculousness.

It makes me so sad. Since Tom and I moved over to this new building in October, we have been pretty happy. I guess I should have known a tolerable living situation in this complex was too good to last.

So, instead of waiting around this weekend to be rudely awoken again in the middle of the night, we are going camping. We are packing up our stuff (including a new, bigger tent that Tom and I bought right before leaving Chicago), and getting the heck out of town.  It's bluebonnet season here in the Hill Country, and besides that the weather is supposed to be glorious this weekend. Highs in the upper 70s, with lows down into the 50s. Perfect campfire weather.

It will be Homer's first camping trip, which is exciting. He is a little bit of a scaredy dog, but he loves being outside (even in the rain) and loves to eat bugs and meet new people, so I think he will like it.  The only things I am worried about are the fabled critters of Texas.  While I would be amused by a somewhat far-off sighting of an armadillo (I've never seen one) or even a scorpion, I am terrified of encountering a tarantula. Please god, keep the mutant spiders at bay.

Stay tuned to hear how the adventure turns out!