Motoring in Texas

Mi Tierra, San Antonio, TX
 
Appears that a goodly portion of Austin truck owners are trading them in for Green cars. The gas price hit gas-guzzlers big. My Kia took $52 to fill. Seriously thinking alternative transportation. It's a huge honking shame that Austin doesn't have a better public trans environment. Too little thinking ahead back in the 60's and 70's, and a little too freaking late in 2011 to be snatching back our rights. Which have slowly been eaten away.

Well, we said it would happen, and it still is.

Speaking of education, or the lack thereof, what immediately spooks me is that on a perfectly good Friday afternoon, the Austin Public Libraries in my immediate vicinity were closed. CLOSED!

That's alarming for so many reasons on so many levels:

• Writers are particularly voracious readers, usually poor.
• Libraries are particularly fabulous family activities, especially on weekends and early evening.
• School library resources are dwindling.
• We HAVE to keep reading and writing, we're already beginning to lose our language.

Scary.

And a shout-out to all my pals at SXSW interactive *waving*!

Retirement: Month Four

Last sunset of 2010, Texas Hill Country.

December--four months, one-third of a year into retirement and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. Beginning to wonder if I'll ever grow up.

Slow but steady progress towards making sense of things. And the Best. Christmas. Present. Ever. My daughter surprised me with a visit and the news that she will relocate in Austin within the next year.

That's huge. For the last fifteen years we have been separated by so many miles and so little money to visit I despaired we'd ever see each other again. To keep hope alive, I'd look forward to the next time we could be together. I've never insisted on adhering to traditional holidays, especially since she felt the need (and I concurred) that those special times were more important for her to be with her dad and his new family than with me. I can make a holiday out of any day of the year. Her presence is what makes it special for me.

To be sure, I have my own family to celebrate those occasions with, and that's been wonderful. It's just more wonderfuller now.

Reconnection: 2010 was full of surprise calls and e-mails from old friends who found me via Facebook, Twitter, the Showco listserv, and plain old Google. One friend UPS'ed me an antique Blue Willow mug that she had been carrying around for 35 years to return to me. Green (the band) reunions at James Neel House of Music were great fun, interesting to see where dynamics have changed, where they haven't.

Trying to reconnect with myself. Dealing with depression in a new way (shit happens--you won't be stuck forever) and peeling back resistance to commitment. Learning how to care for an aging body. Accepting good things as well as bad.

New Year's Investigations (as opposed to New Year's Resolutions): The word "resolutions" has several connotations. I associate NYRs with grim determination, mindless exercises in habituation, failure, and general dissatisfaction. For 2011 I am looking deeper. Redefining "resolution" to mean "problem solving," "arrival," "completion." Bringing curiosity into the mix. Jumping off cliffs. Cracking facades. Opening doors.


1. Music: spring concert season begins soon! AVAE is doing a piece (Poulenc Figure Humaine 1943) that I've wanted to perform for a very long time with a group that has the talent to execute. Thanks, Ryan!

Knocking the rust off the old flute chops. Wonder of wonders, one of the few things that was pre-organized before the move. All my flute music is safely stored in a clear bin, so was easily retrieved from the unlabelled boxes. There are a few items I keep close: my flute, passport, and a palm-sized turquoise bear fetish. Piano as well, all in a bin.

2. De-clutter: The unprepared move knocked me for a loop. I miss my old tree house, but my new place is definitely more conducive to fashioning a physical environment that is safe, healthy, and wildly creative. Several sub-categories: prioritizing what needs to go, what can stay; acquiring items that will enhance the above (computer chair, clothes dryer, slide/neg converter). Photographing items that I might sell on Ebay or Etsy. Accepting that I will probably NEVER mend clothing, replace buttons, etc. Aggressively dealing the unaccustomed onslaught of paper mail triggered by retirement (enough, already!)


3. 52 Weeks to Awesome: This is one of those serendipity things that showed up at the right place, time, and price. Already reaping the benefits from the bonus goodies alone--a lovely, hand-drawn watercolor Goddess calendar to brighten up the workshop wall as well as keeping me on track. Homies Pace and Kyeli from the Connection Revolution don't know me yet, but I'm looking to blow their collective minds and find myself in the process. Or vice versa. Scrumptious, either way. Evolution.


4. Rehab: Next purchase? A pair of supportive walking shoes. Austin has two awesome feet stores--Caravel and Run-Tex. I'll be searching for the ones that make walking more enjoyable. Especially now that it's as cold as it's going to get for the year--can't walk outside in hot weather, too many unhealthy heat/UV reactions. Psyche--look for ways to share PTSD recovery with those still inside the horror.

5. Simplify, simplify, simplify: Simply, make room for wonderments, good deeds, insane creativity.

6. Milestone birthday: The ol' Six-Five. Or as I like to say, "eighteen with forty-seven years of experience." Because that's what it feels like. Really.

Closet cleaning time

It occurred to me that this is the perfect time to clear out old clothes and stuff. And more stuff. Start putting redundant kitchen utensils, the things that I really don't need, are cluttering the place up, and would be better used in a shelter or someplace around Austin. Maybe get a drive going or something.

To that end, I began cleaning up the computer area. As I stretched under the desk to snag the last yellow page, I glanced at it.

"I need to clean up my writing space."

That's all. No telling how long it had been there. Six months? A year?

Then I starting thinking about one of those listy things, you know, "Nine jilliondy leventy thousand things I found under my desk." Don't ask me to put that in numerals.

Apropos of nothing, I really like Cynthia Boaz' latest post on Palin. We graduated from the same college. Which is not why I like her writing. I like her writing because it's how I'd love to be able to write. That's my secret goal as a writer. Find other writers who reach in and rip my heart out by way of my imagination, with a strong, authentic, and truthful voice. Molly Ivins was one.

My friends Little Feat are going to be on Conant O'Brien this Monday night, Sept. 22. They'll be a treat. Dave Brubeck is at Jazz's Alive in San Antonio this Saturday. He wrote some stuff for a friend of mine, THE most gorgeous baritone, Kevin Deas, and there's at least one recording out somewhere.

I'm disturbed by the number of PC games I discovered everywhere...30 and counting. Well, that's what e-Bay's for. Anybody interested in an alpha list of what I'm chunking? Would it be obtuse to say that I'm bored with the computer games I have? If anyone knows of a great game along the lines of Oblivion or Two Worlds, anything with Radiant AI, let me know. It must be my vagabond tendencies. Or childhood fantasies. Or both.

Craig Ferguson on Late, Late has demonstrated an incisive, observant critique of American politics and voters. He's a recent citizen, and takes it dead seriously. He offers a fresh and patriotic perspective on what it really means to be an American.

News flash: Two Worlds is coming out with a new TW: Temptation. I'll HAVE to sell off my old games to get it when it comes out. Kinda like videos. Some movies I like to see in the theater, some I'm more than willing to wait til it comes to the local vid store. You know you're pretty deep into gaming when you buy a new game at full price, even though you know that if you wait a year or so, it'll go down. Or browse Half-Price Books or other book stores, or even Good Will and St. Vinny--sometimes you can find something there.

Or I could be cleaning up my writing space.

Zona Rosa Writing Day

(Publishing an old draft)

Today would have been Zona Rosa day, except it's Labor Day, which I'm taking to heart and working on my blog. The workshop is scooted to next Saturday, and I'll be there, listening to remarkable writing and sharing what I've done. Need to carve out some time for more extended pieces than blog posts, right after I get my house in order. Now how much of that is excuse, and how much is being pushed out the door by accumulated detritus? The following was from the August workshop...

Today was the first Saturday of the month, which means the sub-rosan Zona Rosa Austin meeting. It always feels good to do timed writing, it's like going to the gym and working out.

For me, it's the short ones. Two ten-minute exercises before lunch wore me out. I highly recommend stretching writing muscles using this technique, setting different periods of time.

La Zona Rosa herself, Rosemary Daniell, has hinted that there's a hot new book out there with stories by a galaxy of insanely good and sensually seasoned women writers, including herself. You can be sure I will buy a copy. At Book Woman, of course.

As soon as I get the press kit, I'll post it.

Rosemary and Jody--thanks!

Rosemary Daniell was gracious enough to publish a post from my blog on the Zona Rosa Web site. Thanks, Rosemary! And thanks to Jody Schiesser, her stellar Webmaster, as well. Be sure to check out his stuff.

Day 2, SXSWi

Got a really nice surprise coming out of the first session this morning. I have a new job title! Information Writer II, which means I write about anything and everything.

"Writing, Better" was a panel made up of an "amateur" writer, Greg Storey of Airbag Industries; a "reader," Ethan Marcotte, of unstoppablerobotninja.com; Bronwyn Jones of Apple.com; and Erin Kissane of Happy Cog Studios and editor of A List Apart.

Learned a new term: chillaxed—doncha love it? Normally I'm leery of jargon, but this is such a great word. High points:

Storey—(chillaxed coiner)—"the Internet is a mosh pit," "keep whittling down your style til you find your groove."

Marcotte—"Paradise Lost is the biggest mix tape ever." "Find your rockstars--riff (don't rip) off someone else's life style, like jazz."

Jones—"Talk with, rather than at your readers—write in conversational style." "Write in e-mail!" "Keep your voice with you no matter the medium."

Kissane—"Know your audience, who you're writing for." "Focus, structure, clarity= plan, outline, write, revise."

Consensus advice: Don't let anything stop you from writing.

Interacting at SXSWi

Day one at SXSWi went fairly quickly. The registration process is as organized as it gets, I guess. At least this year they used badge photos from last year, so that shortened the time spent in huge lines. Met some nice gentlemen from Nova Scotia. They were duly impressed with our ephemeral good weather; they came from frigid cold to mid-80's or so. They were entranced by Austin, and said they'd try to get out as much as they can.

Heard Evan Smith, Texas Monthly editor, list his five things you have to do while you're in Austin for SXSWi. One of them was to get out and walk, especially at Wild Basin. Good idea. Texas has three seasons: ice cold or boiling hot, bookended by 1-2 weeks of primo conditions: dry, nice cumulous clouds, warm air, but with the ground still a bit chilly from winter on one end, and the same on the other, except the air is cooler and the ground is baked.

We are in drought, as usual, and I'm heartbroken that we probably won't have a good bluebonnet display this year. We need winter rain for them to prosper, and most of our precip was ice. Not to say one of the 4 weather systems that seem to battle over Texas at any given time might not bring a little moisture. Cloud tears, I heard someone say. "The Little White Cloud that Cried." One of my favorite tunes from childhood.

SXSWi, anyone?

South by Southwest interactive is drawing near...

The university has requisitioned a gold pass (interactive and film) for our group, and the anticipation is mounting. Austin transforms from a fairly sleepy college town into a beehive of activity during SXSW. We don't get passes for the music portion, but I don't care. I had a grand time last year, and met lots of brilliant, friendly people, and learned oodles about what's happening on the WWW.

I'm looking forward with great excitement to connect with folks I met last year, and meet new friends. And of course learn lots of new tricks.

Are you planning to attend SXSWi this year? Get in touch with me by commenting on this post, and I'll try to arrange a meet-up.

I know Liz Henry will be here, she's leading some sessions. And of course the ubiquitous Bruce Sterling. Dan Rather will give one of the keynote addresses, and His Wakiness, Ze Frank will be in attendance. The Sims daddy is scheduled, and more Web gurus than you can shake a stick at. And it's OK to end a sentence with a preposition. I said so.

The BlogHer ladies are coming, I hope we have a gathering at some point. I'd love to meet Ronni Bennett, and some of the silverback women bloggers. The boomers are hitching up to the 'net, and my new friend from the Boomer Chronicles may grace Austin with her presence.

This has been a phenomenal year of networking and meeting visionary bloggers and communicators. It has certainly enriched my life, and I've only scratched the surface. To think SXSW is growing annually is mind-blowing. As long as I can live in Austin, I plan to attend this event, if I don't do anything else.

One teeny problem is that I have a March 15 deadline for a fairly hefty, in-depth article about the tenth anniversary of our division's Innovative Instructional Technology Awards Program (IITAP) that's presently eating my lunch. The program awards cash prizes to faculty who have developed instructional tech for their classes, and so much is going on at UT that I'm totally inundated with history and descriptions of brilliant Web applications for the classroom. It's totally cool, I'm just a little worried about delivering on time, there's so much to include.

I have a pretty good angle, but the volume of interviews, notes, and putting the pieces together is taking all my time and effort. Would that I had an assistant to take care of the more pedantic chores--scheduling interviews, transcribing notes, doing laundry and dishes.... I need a housewife or househusband!!

This is going to be a dynamo month. A concert on March 31, SXSWi, the article deadline, and a couple of professional development classes just for openers. Then there's the Zona Rosa writers group, side editing gigs, not to mention my day gig--I'll be lucky to get to April in one piece. And I desperately want to visit my daughter in Boston and meet the Boomer Chronicler.

So if you're heading to Austin for SXSWi, let me know--let's get together!

Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

There was a full moon over Austin the night Molly died. I had flashed on her that day, and actually sent out an update on her health to everyone I thought might be interested. I took a few minutes to enjoy the moon on the way home from work that evening, and woke up to NPR Thursday morning to the news that she had passed away at 5 p.m. the day before.

Thursday morning I went to the Texas Observer Web site, to read their beautiful piece, and scanned the comments section, noting many friends. I wanted to gather my thoughts before commenting, and when I went back to the site on my lunch break I was astonished to find that the volume of comments from friends and even strangers who recognized what a truly courageous and great writer she was had totally crashed their server. Her last post was true essence d'Molly and is her most passionate ultimate rallying call ever. She makes me believe that the pen is mightier than the sword, especially when it speaks the truth.

Articles and memorials are pouring out all over the Internet for this remarkable woman, one of my three greatest sheroes--Molly, Ann Richards, and Barbara Jordan. They did more for me in my life and career than anyone outside my family. They taught me courage: they showed me that Texas women don't have to cave in to the typical "old boy" slings and arrows, but can take a place at the table with wisdom, humor, reason, sanity, compassion, and grace. They gave me hope. They gave me role models.

I met Molly on several occasions at friends' homes, but never had the honor of moving closer into her circles. She did "bless my heart" when I told her that of all the writers I knew, I kept up with her even while living in Australia for two years, and that I counted on her to tell the truth about what was really happening.

So many of the posts express loss, and I also wonder "who will write the truth for us now?" The answer, of course, is that there is no one who can write like Molly. She was a "one-off," with more influence and fans than she probably ever realized. We can't let her down. We must get out our pots and pans and long-handled chuckwagon chili spoons and beat them until they hear the truth in Washington. We can't let her flame go out.

I like Bill Moyers' post the best so far. He wrote it for the Observer, but I read it in Common Dreams. Another indication no other person's passing has seen such a deluge of loving posts than Molly's.

Rosemary Daniell and the Zona Rosa writing group

Last Saturday was a day of spiritual and creative breakthroughs. My writing teacher, Rosemary Daniell, the High Priestess of the Zona Rosa writing group, was in town giving a workshop to the Austin/San Antonio Sub-Rosa women who are obsessed with writing. I attended a prior workshop last May, and immediately knew that this was the place for me. Rosemary, author of Secrets of the Zona Rosa, The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself, Fatal Flowers, and others, was as usual, a rock of support and information. Mainly, she brings out the best in any writer. Her books on writing are among the most down-to-earth, just-in-time, get to the guts of the matter how-to books I've ever come across.

And the woman is a goddess. A genteel, sexy, brilliant, competent recovered Southern Belle, she has influenced the works of many of today's well-known authors. She is a consummate editor, and delivers the goods in a loving manner, tinged with a saucy Southern flirtatious approach.

She encourages women to write their truths, and helps them do so in a professional, confident manner. She believes that women have a vital imperative to reveal their inner selves in a way that is most natural to them. At the same time that she gives writers invaluable tools and cues to tighten and craft words to their greatest effect.

Rosemary is a breath of fresh air, a scintillating jewel, and writes like a fallen angel. I am proud to link to her Web site, and I urge any writer to take advantage of her wisdom and experience and juiciness.

You can buy her books on Amazon (only four left in stock, more on the way), Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books sites. If you're a woman, and you're serious about writing, Rosemary is your go-to guru.

Gender issues in wikipedia

Recently tripped over a new group in Wikia called wikichix, a listserv comprised of several WP editrix, plus interested individuals who have some concern over the preponderance of articles which seem to display gender biased slants. Not to belabor the pc POV, after hearing of the battles fought behind the scenes over these issues, I'm taking a fresh look at Wikipedia, with an eye to lending a hand where appropriate. For instance, there are several entries about derogatory terms vis a vis females, but none on male derogatory terms. We all know that WP is not the be-all and end-all, but it's a good idea, I think, just needs some balance.

The discussion is even more interesting to me in that several of the members are in their 50's-70, and have the long view of the feminist movement to draw from. What's scary is that gender bias is still around, after so many decades of addressing the issue. What does that say about American values? I also realize that other types of bias are still in play, it's not limited to gender. Makes it even scarier.

Not that I'm Snow White. I found myself sliding down the slippery slope of ageism. It cuts many ways. I'll be interested to see how this all plays out. Stay tuned...