Is it really December?

Austin, TX gave my mom a hearty, warm welcome when she flew in for a visit. With sunny skies and highs in the mid-seventies, I had all kinds of things to show off here. Weather like that makes everything so utterly charming and pleasant.

We walked the green belt along Town Lake, ate some great soul food and fish tacos, walked South Congress Avenue where my we were given a timely sighting to Leslie wearing a mini skirt and faux sheep skin boots. There were all kinds of adventures to be had.

Yep, there was even some tree climbing. It turned into a bit of an extreme sport.

It's too bad she has to leave tomorrow morning because I really believe there just won't be no sunshine when she's gone...

Christmas time is here...

DO DEE DO DEE DOooo

I have to say that this season has been a good reminder at how marvelous it can be to push obligatory Christmas traditions aside and do whatever it is that seems like a good idea. Really, it was so liberating to not feel like I had to bake a huge number of cookies to send out to all friends and neighbors while listening to every single Christmas album I have collected over time. Nope. There was no necessity to watch my favorite Christmas flicks or make sure I found myself a glazed ham to have a slice of before the 25th. Nope. And thank goodness I got through without even so much as watching one scene from "A Christmas Story". Sorry, I know it's a classic for lots of you but for me it has become as cliche and painful to try and enjoy as it is for many to receive a fruitcake or an ugly reindeer sweater on Christmas morning and feign excitement.

This is not to say I have ba-humbugged the whole season. (I've tried that somewhat before and it really just left me as frustrated as it had buying in to every little Christmas requirement) Quite the opposite happened really because with all those demands pushed aside I was able to make way for some great new events that gave me all kinds of holiday cheer.

Austin's "Trail of Lights" was one. I guess this could be considered a pretty traditional Christmas activity but it felt like a new experience to me. After rounding up some of our favorite peoples from the Shoal Creek Ward:), we headed downtown to pick up a shuttle that took us to Zilker Park's light spectacle. You can just imagine how excited we all got when we saw this amazing little number waiting in line for the shuttle. We knew there would be something really breathtaking when we got there if we were already seeing such fine holiday light workmanship...

It was really pretty dazzling though when we got there. With the meticulous lighting and the thematic scenes every few feet it seemed a bit like the Temple Square lights met up with O.C. Tanner candy windows. I was pretty overwhelmed.

And would you believe that this year it turned out to be the best idea ever to have a Crab Boil for Christmas Eve dinner than a ham or a turkey? Well, maybe that doesn't apply to everbody but it seriously applied to all us Sweeneys here in Ada. My gosh! Kielbasa, King Crab legs, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes and shrimp really was the good and proper way for us all to celebrate this fine season. There were traditional moments. We did use nut crackers to open up the crab claws and we ended with homemade pecan fudge.

YACK!

Today I grocery shopped to a mix of flamboyant Christmas songs. I know. I know. The controversy of when it is time to bust out Christmas yore is an old one. You either find Christmas the delightfully ubiquitous holiday that should last all year long, or you find it is insufferably dominating of any event after the 4th of July. All the same, I have to express my two concerns about shopping to "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" and "Let it Snow" this afternoon.

1. It is November 8th.

2. It was 81 degrees today.

Keeping it weird this Halloween season.

Yep. It's true. Austin just broke the record for the largest Thriller dance in the world. Something like 880 people? Check it out.

Texas Football Season

Football gets a whole lot cooler when you move to Texas. I still can't tell a holding penalty from a first down or what determines whether the clock is running or not - and who came up with the scoring system? No matter really. Because when you move to "Longhorn Country" all you have to know is how to eat several hotdogs in one sitting and when to yell at the refs with your fist in the air. Once you've got that down and put on your burnt orange T-shirt you fit in with all the rest of the veteran crowd. A big thanks to the Livingston's next door for showing us how it is done this afternoon. It was a pretty sweet upset when O.U. got hooked by them horns. Sorry Sweeneys. You chose yourself the wrong state to live in this season.

GRE scheduled for Dec 6

Right before I signed up last Saturday I took a verbal practice test. I did fine, I think, for a first time but I can't help counting on the non-competative nature of library science schools to calm my admissions-thoughts. Given the choice what would you guess about me and tests?

Cate : Computer Adaptive Standardized Tests

A. Peas : Carrots

B. Andy Rooney : Misanthrop

C. Humanities Undergraduate Degree : Lucrative

D. Michael Moore : Weight Watchers

E. Black Cats : Augury

Could it be true that I the most in common with Michael Moore and his eating habits when it comes to test taking abilities? I don't know. Maybe you have a better idea of the relationship between the stem pair...

Happy Autumn to y'all!

It doesn't feel like Fall yet here and not just because we are still getting highs in the mid 90s during the day. Well, that is part of it I guess, but I can't complain being that this last Saturday was perfect Barton Creek swimming weather. I spent nearly an hour stretching out my strokes back and forth in its balmy 67 degree, 1/8 mile long splendor.

I'll admit though that putting on my goggles and staring straight down to what was below my feet gave me a bit of a start. Okay, so I even choked on some spring water. Truly, it was not much different from what a serene snorkeling experience would be like among reefs in azure water I guess. But instead of blue the water it was slightly green and in place of intricate corals there were swaying leaves of plants that seem to reach up to me. When the sudden beds of algae appeared after several strokes of green nothingness and then fish would unexpectantly wiggle below my torso I began to feel a bit threatened. There was so much coming and going, rising and falling below me when I swam. It was just not at all like the blue stripe I normally follow while moving back and forth afloat a chlorinated, cement bottom swimming pool. I'll admit, I got really panicked down there.

I had to take a break after about half an hour and lift my face from the water. While I was drinking from my water bottle on the side of the pool I heard some local swimmers talking about their swim they just finished together. They seemed to know a lot about the pool and so I started asking them some questions about etiquette: what side to swim on to help traffic flow, whether one can swim during the winter there, and well...how are do you feel about the... uh... wildlife below?

In addition to telling me that this is the greatest place in the world to swim and that just like with most things in the city "there are no real rules" about how and what direction you swim in the pool, they also started telling me about encounters they had had with fresh water eels at times in the creek. Apparently, one of the swimmers had swam above one as long as her 5 foot frame. I tried not to respond too much before hearing what she had to say about it. "Yeah, it was one of the neatest things I have ever seen. It wasn't too excited about me one way or the other. It was just poking its head around in the silt and didn't seem too interested in my activities."

It took a minute to calm my initial horror at the thought of swimming in stride with an eel as long as me but then I got to feeling kind of like she did about it. It was pretty cool to be swimming with all these green creatures. I was sure I still needed some adjusting time and so I took another dive into the creek to test out my new approach. With a bit of effort the creepy turned to curious and then to absolute fascination and serenity. I mean swimming among band-aides swaying like algae and flailing babies in water wings all the sudden seems much more threatening.

Cinematic Pest Encounters

Does Utah even have cockroaches? I swear I don't remember any. That is to say that I don't recall any experiences like the one from this last Wednesday morning when I was opening my eyes after rinsing the soap out of my hair and coming nose to antennae with a roach on the shower wall. There is nothing quite like it really. It makes me think that maybe all those crazy terrible sci-fi movies like...I don't know maybe The Cockroach that Ate Cinncinati or RoboRoach seem a bit more relevant and threatening. I will say though that the cinematic drama of this experience was a little anti-climactic when the pest control guy came and he was nothing like the hard core John Goodman exterminator. But he did fill up our apartment with something toxic smelling and the roaches have been gradually emerging from their dark hiding places, laying on their backs, and going stiff on our floors. So he did get the job done as far as I can tell. It's just seems a shame that Mr. Ed Wood wasn't around before we gased them. I am sure he could have used this for some raw footage to make a new film to add to his repetoire.

Yee Haw!

How is this for feeling like a good and proper Texas resident? Matt and I got our Lone Star plates...

Now all I need to do to fit in more on the roads here is to abstain from using my blinker while changing lanes.

Oh and the best news. The super greatest part about Texas life now is that I have a job doing this. You see that lady's name Marilyn? Well, I am the new Marilyn. That is to say I am the new cataloguer and assistant librarian at Cedar Park High School. Yep, and thus I am awesome ....er... something.

As requested...

So I got tagged for the same-ish kind of thing by two different people. The questions are a little different (so I'll combine them a bit) and one said to use "flikr" to get the images while the other said "Picasa". I'm more familiar with Picasa so that's what I'll use, unless of course I don't like the looks of their pictures. That said, this goes out the Lance/Jenn combo and Joy. Anyone interested in answering these questions on their blog and attaching their favorite images to each answer, I would love to have a look see at how it turns out.

What is your first name? Cate-spelled like the beautiful Blanchett.

Favorite thing to do? Be outdoors...especially places where I can smell pine.

Favorite color? Most of the time I would say Yves Klein blue but the only image search I can do pulls up a stupid looking guy with a baby in an art gallery. So, how about when it comes to shoes? In that case I say red.

Dream career? Academic librarian.

Favorite time of year? Autumn

Guilty pleasure? Pop-tarts

Dream vacation? Petra, Jordan.

One word to describe myself? Keen!

Ba na na na na na na na...Ba na na na na na na...BAT BRIDGE!

Perhaps you are not yet familiar with the Bat Bridge here in Austin. If that is the case then please click here. And if you missed the above reference in the title then may I just point out that Bat Bridge sounds a lot like “Batman”. You know…the theme song…I know that it kind of ruins the joke when I have to tell everyone why it is funny but it also kind of ruins the joke if no one gets it. (NOTE: Mr. Swirly Patterns may disagree with this logic as he continuously makes jokes regardless of whether or not people understand them or find them funny but I am not Mr. Swirly Patterns. I cannot pull it off as he does.)

That said, Matt and I decided to celebrate our 1 week “living in Austin” anniversary by visiting the Congress Avenue bridge downtown at dusk. Maybe part of it too was that we had to console ourselves that all you Salt Lake jerks got to be at the FREE Andy B. and Josh Ritter concert at the Twilight Concert Series. You jerks. Yeah well, Matt and I went and saw 1.5 million bats fly out from under a bridge we were standing on…44 species y’all…that’s a lot of bats! And it really was a great evening to go and see them. I’ll tell you why.

The first day we moved in, Matt and I met a super nice couple named Cole and Holly. They really are great and not just because they are our only friends here so far but also because they love to tell us why exactly Austin is so “kick ass” (in the words of Cole). It really isn’t “Texas pride” as much as it is an “Austin pride” thing with them. And why shouldn’t it be? True, Matt and I were not nearly as enthused about the 4 block long street of bars and lounges in the heart of the city as Cole and Holly. But seriously, what other city has Mexican Vanilla ice cream, an art deco style power plant, half a dozen different farmer’s markets, or offers camping sites downtown along their rivers? Seriously people: this is a cool city.

If there is anything that these Cole and Holly folks like more than telling us about the “kick ass”ness of this city it is taking us around and proving it. Matt and I have found this to be a really great set up, especially on Bat Bridge night. C&H took us to get wraps at “The Freebird” on Congress Ave. so that we would have a place to park that wasn’t more than 3 or 4 blocks away from the bats.

Over dinner Cole, who is king of being the 1st to tell us about anything and everything Austin, brought up the “Keep Austin Weird” campaign. Sadly, I think it disappointed him a bit that Matt and I had already learned a little about it. But it was good to be reminded to expect the unexpected in this place as we exited the restaurant and crossed onto the sidewalk. About 5 meters ahead, a bearded and densely freckled 60+ year old fellow crossed onto the sidewalk about the same time. He led the way to the bridge in nothing but a g-string with a clothe devil’s tail hanging out the back, a halter top that covered his strikingly developed breasts, a garter pulled up his skinny left thigh, and of course stilettos. We all let him gain some distance as he hurried through a light to cross the street. When he got to the other side he started waving and blowing kisses at the cars passing by. “Just keeping it weird, here, Austin. Just keeping it weird…”

When we got to the bridge, there were peopled lined up all along the East side waiting for the bats to come. Below at a park along the bank of Town Lake kids begged their parents to buy them a light savers from the vendors as if it were Disney Land. Just when the edge of dusk began to sink into the city, the tourists boats lined up facing the bridge. Then, as if on cue to their 15 minute nightly gig, the bats came flying out from beneath the bridge. They came out in three different streams and then aligned into one thick current. It was really creepy, neat. Check it out.

Picasa

So I am trying out this Picasa business. Here's the link to my gallery:
http://picasaweb.google.com/CateSwe
It is a work in progress...then again so is life in general (especially since I've moved to Austin:)

Any advice on how to oraganize my albums once they've been uploaded to the web?

En route to Austin...

Just so y'all know, I've been in Oklahoma for the 4th of July weekend en route to Matt and my future 3 years in Austin Texas. And I must say that this really is a fine season for Oklahoma folk. I will admit that their "Fireball Classic 10K" gave me a slab of humble pie in the form of obscene levels of humidity and hills that out numbered the flat straight aways. That's okay though. What's great about this Sweeney family is that their only question about my racing the 10K when I came home was "did you finish?" Since I can answer that with an affirmative they have given me all kinds of validating praise without even knowing my time. I will say that I finished in what flames of glory one can after being assaulted with what turns out to be "one of the toughest 10K courses in the state". This is a bit of what I looked like at the end. Perhaps these pics will be worth more than my words here.

Truly what was noteworthy, however, is the "I'm not in Utah anymore" feeling I got when the fireworks came out that night. In the words of my Grandmother Brooks: My Land, it was a spectacle! The ones we watched that came from the park were the same post-baseball game effect one often gets in a stadium. The difference in a place like this is that you can set those same giant fireworks off at home! When anybody tries to pull the whole "everything's bigger in Texas"...I may just have to refer them to the following image taken of a good and proper Ada teenager in Oklahoma:

I was astounded. Really. Kind of scared but whenever it got bad I remembered the strategically placed kiddie pool in their backyard. Somehow I reassured myself with enough rationalization to enjoy the evenings "Zips" that skyrocket up in a whistle then flashed different colors while zipping towards us on the porch as if it had a honing device. I just visualized plexiglass in front of my face and was thus able to avoid being too much of the whiney safety supervisor trying to ruin everybody's fun.

Considering the circumstances, I am going to go ahead and say that I did pretty well with letting Matt have a bit of fun shooting a Roman Candle from his hand into the back fields of his yard but also limiting him to only lighting one of those spastic Zips. I do think that next time I could ease up a bit during the firework extravaganz. And of course I do have a score to settle with the Fireball Classic. Indeed, I hope to take part in another Ada 4th of July soon.

Tale from the Orem Recreation Center - The Stepford Spinner

What is it about my spinning class that makes me feel so damn stupid? Is it the fact that my instructor insists on my name being Linda even though I have been telling her it is Cate since February? Does it have something to do with the music selection including Grease Lightning sing alongs then techno rhythms and finally Cat Scratch Fever? Would it be okay if my instructor wasn't panting the words to John Mellencamp's Hurts So Good when we're "climbing a hill"? Would it be less embarassing if she stopped asking me to sing the words because she "knows that I know them"? How could I not know them after listening to them every Tuesday night for the past 5 months? Do we really need to draw attention to the fact that I now know every lyric by heart?

There are these moments during the class when I get this fear that someone I know but not well enough, someone who would judge me like a boy who I once liked and then dumped me or a girl who I always thought was prettier or cooler than me, will walk in and see me. And there I'll be spinning my legs, sweating like Rush Limbaugh in a Guatamalan summer, breathlessly singing the lyrics to Sweet Home Alabama. It's as if I am Jim Cary of a comedic Truman show that people get their kicks from watching me pant, spin, and not go anywhere while singing on demand. There is something so demeaning about taking commands from a woman with hotdog-bangs on a stationary bike. When she asks me to "add on more gear" to what I am already trying to spin I get this inclination to punch her right where her stupid, masochistic Stepford spinning grin is.

But none of this has prevented me from putting in my 50 minutes once a week. And I am pretty sure that this weekly sentence has had something to do with me taking 5 minutes of my 10K a month ago. So really I don't think I'll be giving this habit up too soon. I just hope that Night at the Roxbury songs don't start creeping into my running mixes. Once they do, action will have to be taken.

Texas Americana - Luling

Besides The Watermelon Thump, Luling offers some pretty enriching contributions to the American spirit. Check out these fanciful oil pump jacks. They went dormant for years because they weren't producing what they had been but now those few barrels a day really are adding up with the shortage. And they look so whimsical when you drive past them lining stretches of railroad tracks and fields of hay.

The stars at night...are big and bright!

I'm here in the heart of Texas; and from what I have more or less been told by locals not only will I be priveldged to live in the best dern state in the US (and the world for that matter) but I will be living in the best dern city in the best dern state; of course I am refering to the city of Austin. And damn it! I ought to be mighty proud of it!

One thing I have learned while I've been here is that I can still use terms that I once thought as merely cliche or too stereotypical for Texas like y'all, folks, kin to, mighty fine, yonder ways (more to come I am sure). Another thing to keep in mind is that since this is "big country" every place in this state that has a claim to fame is named "The (famous thing) Country". For example. There is a place with lots of hills in North Austin. Of course, that is called "The Hill Country". If you're driving by a town with lots of cows and make a comment, the local will be sure to take the opportunity to let you know you are driving through "Cattle Country". And so on. Though one of the most valuable things I have learned is that they have a social system set up down here that can bail you out of any poorly timed or potentially offensive comment in a conversation. The secret is that all you need to do is end the conversation with a "Well...God bless ya".

I must say that I am feeling that these Texans are onto something with this whole "Texas Pride" thing. There are truly lots of superior things here. I mean check out the size of this watermelon.

They're pretty tasty, juicy too.

Of course, these pictures were taken in a place called Luling that grows really great watermelon. Indeed, Luling is also known as "Watermelon Country". In fact, they even have a good and proper holiday for the fine fruits grown out here. It's called "The Watermelon Thump". It is supposed to be really something for this town of 5,000. I am only sad that I am going to miss the crowing of the "Watermelon Thump Queen" as Matt and I will not have moved yet.

And my oh my. Smoked BBQ is no joke with these folks. It's really something. Notice the orange hard-hat. I think it's for real. These guys were like maryrs for Americana working with these smoke pits. The thermometer read well over 90 degrees in there.

More to come...

Ends and Begins in the last month's time...

I said "goodbye" to my favorite 1st grade class;

and realized that I actually can love kids under the age of 8.

Also had a picnic goodbye to Jo and Kevin before they left for Wisconssin.

Yep, going to miss them too but I hope to visit them sometime in the Aurora Borealis season.














Last media shift at the library with my dear Betsy.
Thus, last time I will get paid to just talk to my friend for 3 hours...
And Matt and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary
or the happiest year of my life.

My Mom is Great Day

I know this is kind of passee blog material but I still can't pass up my chance to write a "my mom is the super much greatest" blog. Seriously, though, she is. I mean my mom could beat up your mom or something....

For her own sake, I won't eulogize her like a sacrament talk on Mother's Day Sunday that makes it sound like she is the icon of perfection. That would just make her mad. I mean, my mom has been known to swear on occassion (okay only that one time - like 20 years ago - it slipped at family night when someone gave her a "wild draw 4" card in Uno) But, I will say that she does have perfect legs. You can't deny that one mom:) And well that also brings me to an important point, she taught me how to love running and....well...that has been one of the greatest things ever.

Also, whenever I get complimented on something I am wearing it is something my mom either gave to me from her own wardrobe or talked me into buying for myself. But the great thing too is that she never "ahems" the clothes I pick out even if I look like a lost gyspy from a Matisse painting. SHOOT! I am starting to eulogize...

Anyway, I love her lots and I am all kinds of happy that I have as lovely a mother as I do. She is always up for a run, art gallery trip, backpacking adventure, an understanding listen about my punk 6th grade students, or a good sit on the hill at Sugar House Park. In fact, that's where this picture was taken. Just look how happy I am to be with her. That's because she's my mom and she is so super great.

May shower.

So did anyone else in Provo time their afternoon so poorly that they got dumped on with ice water and hail? My oh my that was a storm!

On my way out the door for my run I asked Matt, "You don't think it will rain or anything while I'm out...do you?"

"Nah. You might get some drizzle but nothing bad I don't think."

When I got outside it had that rain smell...that sweaty cement smell that I love about warm rainstorms. It was drizzling that lovely, serene kind of rain you sometimes get in the summers. I thought twice about the iPod but not once about how nice of a run it would be in weather like that.

The run went something like this:

Mile 1: pleasant drizzle

Mile 1.5: starting to rain a bit; pedestrians get a little over dramatic about getting wet (running around and covering their heads).

Mile 2: more rain and okay I'm cold now; "maybe I should cut my route short somehow...."

Mile 2.5: AHHHHH! Is that super cold rain or is that hail? Covering my iPod with my T-shirt is getting pretty pointless now and I am wondering if I will get to use it again after this.

Mile 2.75: get laughed at by these freaking people under Center Street canopies and pressed up against windows. "Oh man...you should run with an umbrella"

Mile 2.8: can't see....can't see...too much water...too much cold...can't see.....take cover in a Gurus restaurant (luckily there were no customers - I looked pretty embarassing and perhaps even slightly scandalus by Provo standards). Guy with blue hair asks if I "want a towel or something". I tell him "yes please and can I use your phone". Matt doesn't answer (come to figure out he is driving past at around that time to look for me but he didn't bring his phone)

Blue hair man tells me "sorry man...I'd give you a ride but these guys (points to the two cooks in the back) don't speak English". He gives me a plastic bag for the iPod. Thank you Blue Hair Man.

Mile 3: cold and going into full out sprints to make lights that have already turned yellow when I'm still 25 meters away.

Mile 3.5: step off a sidewalk into a puddle that turns out to be as deep as my foot to mid calf; a lady stares at me from under her full speed windshield wippers and stares. I want to punch her in the face.

Mile 3.9: two blocks from the house, Matt pulls up and throws the door open. I sit on a towel while Matt tries to gauge whether this is something that is funny now or not until later. Once I feel the heater as we park I tell him to run inside and get the camera.

How Austin Keeps Itself Weird...

Matt and I just got a package in the mail from U of Texas. Since we've been getting packages since January from a bunch of schools filled with brochures about how super awesome the faculty and dean think their school is, I didn't get too excited. But this parcel seemed like it could be a little different. It was packaged up in a bubble wrap manila envelope (which convinced me that something special was inside). I felt it and it was soft and lumpy...something special, soft, and lumpy.

Matt, the dear, let me open it. And indeed, U of T had sent us a very warm and hearty Texas welcome to their school this fall. Their welcome was complete with an aray of gifts including:

a UofT Law School Hat,

a bumper sticker, and my favorite: a spicey, cinnamon chocolate bat.

As exotic and tasty as it was, the chocolate bat demanded an explanation. After doing some research I learned that, at the estimation of 1.5 million Mexican freetailed bats, Austin is the home of North America's Largest Urban Bat Colony. And perhaps a bit more surprising is that they are so damn proud of it. The Austin City Guide's writes that, "each night from mid-March to November, the bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food." Wow. With a horrifically beautiful description like that who wouldn't be attracted to an Austin evening like that on the Congress Avenue Bridge? All this makes me think that this city has been successful in its Keep Austin Weird campaign. After living in Provo for the last 5 years of my life, bat colonies and all, I say more power to ya Austin. I am excited to meet you!

And I can't wait to eat all of those cinnamon chocolate bats you keep under your bridge.