Pinata time at the Austin Public Library!

When I stop and think about it, I am pretty surprised I got through an entire school year as an elementary school art instructor in a 60% Hispanic school and never thought to make a pinata. Well, with some trepidation about busting out copious amounts of watery glue to mache in a library, I took it out with those great kids at the Oak Springs Library. It has been a month in the making - with 4 layers of mache on an inflated punching bag, a couple of poster boards mached on for horns, as well as lots of colored tissue and crepe paper for decorations. And I have to say, that I am totally impressed with how they turned out.

One of our Oak Springs pre-teens was hard at work in making a tissue paper longhorn. Everyone that saw his contributions marveled at the creativity and precision of his work. He started taking it very seriously after that. So much so that when I asked him if I could get a picture of him smiling, he got a little stiff and said "I'm sort of...um... concentrating on this." It was a great moment.

Here's Gabby hard at work on her pinata.

We finished decorating and filling them last night, only a few minutes before the Oak Springs Christmas party started. All three were filled to the brim with bookmarks, stickers, chicklet gum (that busted up all of the concrete when they fell), weird foreign candy that came from the dollar store, and plastic animals. I can't describe the excitement of the evening. So so many kids chose pinata breaking over Santa pictures, an elf folding balloons, and listening to school choirs. Yep. It was quite the "hit". Terrible pun. Sorry...

Still, can you see the excitement on Daniel's face and the way he is standing in this pic?

When it got down to the last shreds holding onto the rope, I was consumed with anticipation. It would just kill me every time! Then when it broke, OUT OF THE WAY EVERYONE!

Usually the way it went was some disoriented kid with a bat would still be swinging while Lee, the security guard helping me, would try desparately to get the a hold of that swinging bat and take the blind fold off before any of the candy rushers got smacked in the face. Whew! There were some close ones too and I was just thanking my lucky stars that Lee was there. Here he is trying to explain the rules to an anxious girl who now has the bat, while wearing a blindfold.

Well, fun was had by all. I just love these Austin kiddos. Heck. Last night was so fun - I can't imagine anyone who attended would argue that it wasn't so bad to support your public library! Promoting literacy and community understanding can actually be lots of fun.

What Makes You Hard Core?

Today I went for a swim in that pool I love on Amherst Avenue. I thought twice before getting into my swim suit as the weather forecast called for snow. Which here in Austin the forecast of any kind of snow creates somewhat of an apocolyptic frenzy in everybody. People prepare for snow in much of the same manner that they do for hurricane - making sure they have food storage in case they get "snowed in", calling into work to make sure they can come in late in case the roads are dangerous, etc. The only difference is that when there is a hurricane, it is actually kind of scary and destructive whereas the snow we get is more comparable to a romantic flury you would see setting a mood in some cheesy chick flick scene on an ice skating pond or a carriage ride. It is more like that kind of snow than "The Shinning" but you wouldn't know it if you talked to anybody. Nope, any snow in Austin is as threatening to daily routine as a whiteout blizzard or golf ball sized hail, which is something that is actually known to frequent this region.

Back to my swim. Well, there isn't much to say except that it turns out that there is nothing more thrilling to me than swimming the backstroke with flurries of snow hitting my goggles and face. That pool is just magical in the winter.* The colder the day the better. Once temps drop below 50 degrees you are guaranteed a lane to yourself if not the whole pool. On those days, steam swirls up from the water so thick at night that you can't even see the other side of the pool clearly. Of course the transition from towel to pool is brisk and you learn how to put your cap and googles on in few short motions but once you get your stroke into a rhythm...well...it's a good time. Like running, I don't think outdoor winter swimming is for everyone but if it is for you then there is nothing that could make you happier than this pool was today.

When I got out and started heading to the car in my towel and flip flops a girl in a parka and scarf called to her dog through the tall collar of her coat. Then she took one look at me and said, "Did you just go swimming?!" I told her "yeah, the pool's heated though". I could tell she was thinking about whether or not that made seeing me in a parking lot with wet hair, a swimming suit, towel and flip flops normal. "Oh. Huh. Really?" I don't think she was "really" surprised by the fact that the pool was heated so much as the idea that somehow this would make up the difference enough in 35 degree weather for a person to jump half naked into a pool of water and swim around for an hour. That's fair enough though. I felt like telling her though that this is the only remotely "hard core" thing I ever do with myself. I will never be the type of person who will parachute out from a plane for the thrill of it. I don't jump off cliffs into deep water. I brake down every hill, no matter how small, when I am on a bike. But I swim when it's cold obligingly and even in cold water when there isn't a pool around. Yep. Maybe that's not that cool but I still think I fit Jack Black's definition of being hard core because outdoor winter swimming is living hard core.

*As long as it is heated of course. This experience wasn't nearly as enchanting on Tuesday when they decided not to turn the heater on that day even though it was only 45 degrees outside.

Can I tell you about our Scotland Secret?

It's been all I could do to keep mum about it but Matt gave me the go ahead so I am in the clear for announcing.

First let me give you a hint, it has to do with where Matt and I will be most likely be living from the Fall 2010-Fall 2011

One more hint....

Well, you probably are getting the jist of it. The thing is, Matt applied to do the LLM exchange program for his final year in law school at the University of Edinburgh. Getting his JD from UT and his Masters of Legal Research from the University of Edinburgh seemed like the perfect fit but when he applied for the program a couple months ago, it seemed as if it was too good to be true. The student exchange office was packed with peeps interested in the various programs. We were really not sure if any of it would pan out. Still, Matt applied. Of course, being a reserved and shrewd fellow in all things, he told me not to tell a soul that he did. I did my darndest not to and stayed good on my promise, until now obviously. That was at the end of September. Until then we have been waiting. And waiting. And....waiting.

It got to be too much for Matt last week, so he stopped by to the student exchange office a week ago and asked if he could update his information with a relevant course he wanted to add to his resume. They let him know that it was unnecessary as decisions had already been made and the emails would be sent out "on Monday". That started last weekend out with a bit of tension but we tried to distract ourselves well enough so that we didn't pass out from holding our breath for 3 days.

This last Monday came and went without an email. Same with Tuesday. It seemed that all hope was lost. I was ready on Monday night for the worst and was sure to stop at Whole Foods on the way home from work to buy Matt some organic Reese PB Cups and fancy Martinelli's apple juice as consolation. He accepted it all with a weak smile and didn't even have to tell me that the juice would still taste a bit bitter for a day or two. Still, he enjoyed the PB cups on Tuesday and we both found ways to convince ourselves that "we didn't need that stupid exchange program anyway"..."moving is such a pain"..."if they don't want us then heck! we don't want them!" You get the idea.

Well, of course, Matt still needed closure; so he stopped by the office a final time to get a sure answer. The office was closed but on the door was posted the list of all accepted applicants to their respective programs. And sure to Sweeney form, in such matters, we had assumed too much too quickly. Listed next to the Edinburgh Scotland exchange were the two accepted applicants. Mr. Matthew Sweeney was one of them. The email didn't officially go out until Thursday but it indeed came and we are oh so thrilled!

So I suppose it is off to another adventure. I hope that Edinburgh is as keen on "keeping it weird" as Austin is. From the stories that both my dad and Mr. Swirly Patterns have said from their missions, they keep it weird there in a whole new way. I will let you know the baked goods and bads of what that will mean for Matt and I next year. Stay tuned then I guess...

***Matt wishes me to post one disclaimer about all of this and that is that there is still one more step to finalize whether this actually happens. That is, University of Edinburgh needs to have two interested law students wanting to come to UT in order for the exchange to work. We won't know that until March, so there is still a slight chance that something could come in between us and Scotland. Still, I can't wait until March to get excited for this. In any case, it seems likely enough now that Matt has been accepted.***

Just in case you were wondering

Here is a short list of things that get on my nerves lately.

1. The absurd number of girls on UT campus (and neighboring areas with the same age group) wearing running shorts like they are regular clothes.

2. How it seems that 1 in 3 girls between the ages of 16-25 think that wearing running shorts is not at all sloppy or stupid looking.

3. Girls wearing running shorts with a sweatshirt and flips flops. Can anyone validate how this doesn't make sense?

4. Girls wearing running shorts who clearly .... how can I say ... do not engage in anything that includes physical exercise. Wearing the shorts does not make your legs look like a runner's. Far from it.*

5. The realization that running shorts are the new pajama pants of the south.

Oh well, I suppose it makes it a bit easier now that I have left BYU campus, as most of these girls have reasonably un-big hair and don't tend to wear an unholy amount of mascara. Still, let it be known that running shorts were not designed for fashion. They are clearly designed for a specific function and no amount of "built-in underwear" or colorful stripes on the side can compensate for failure to wear actual clothes to school. The sooner people can begin to respect this principle, the better this Austin community will be.



*Sure. You may say that I am being exclusive about runner's apparel since I wear running shorts when I run. By no means am I suggesting that my legs look any better than most of these girls, even though I do run. I do, however, respect that running shorts are utilitarian. As a result, I avoid wearing them in public at all costs. I respect that running shorts were created by the running geek and for the running geek.

For your convenience, I have included an image of the appropriate use of running shorts.

Dogtoberfest!

Get it?! It's a dog festival in October!! The second annual in Austin, in fact, and man was it fun! Matt and I met up with some friends just in time for the costume contest. When Matt heard that there was a costume contest he was a little reticent on coming. "What do we do? Dress up as dogs?" When he learned that it was the dogs who were competing with their costumes, he was all for attending. My goodness, it was a good thing we did. Otherwise we would have missed out on one of the most festive events of the season. It was a good time for all. Take a look...

Get it?! The dog is dressed up as a chicken!

Apparently this dog only needed a hood to pull off Chebacca.

Yappy dogs were even worth interacting with when they had on a costume.

In between rounds of the contest, the dogs decompressed by socializing,

getting a few belly rubs,and even dancing!Of course, what would be a dog costume contest without Wiener Dogs dressed up like a hot dog or a banana?
Is this cute or really upsetting? I'm not sure what yet...

And the grand prize winner, for good reason, goes to the Mad Hatter.
Such dignity.

What is great about this event, is that it turns out that dogs are not at all camera shy. Granted, they get easily distracted by things they can sniff and reeling in people who could potentially pet them, but they are easier to photograph than a happy group of children. Not only that but no body thinks you're a creep for wanting to photograph how great they look. Yep. This event was a marvelous idea. I can't wait until the 3rd annual Dogtoberfest! I think I will rent me a dog to dress up just for the evening....

Be Prepared! for a good Halloween season...

When Mr. Swirly Patterns came for a visit last week, I was struck once again with cult classic fever. There is not one person who can better help you catch the "Ed-Wood" bug than my brother. It's a good thing that he came in time for Halloween season.

For me, this is the most wonderful time of the year; but I have found that in order to experience the depth that Halloween has to offer, eating Abba Zabbas and Bottle Caps is just not enough. Lets be honest here, in addition to the candy and a costume, there needs to be some other things in order to assure a complete Halloween season. I have found that I need substantial time spent in drugstore aisles looking at bad makeup and rayon costumes. I also have found that including something pumkiny helps a great deal too. This can be applied in many ways (ie pie, cookies, bread, carving, seeds, gourds, etc). And of course, viewing at least one terrible (or very dated works too) Halloween flick is a necessity. I'll play viewer's advisory media librarian a moment here and recommend a handful:

- Shaun of the Dead
- The Fearless Vampire Killers
- Ed Wood
- Ghostbusters
- Teen Wolf (but not Teen Wolf Too - unless you are going for terrible and dated)
- Lost Boys
- Sleeper
- Revenge of the Body Snatchers
- Plan Nine From Outer Space (I don't have to have seen this one to know it should be on the list)

I have no doubt that you all would have some good suggestions to add to that list too. Feel free to fill in the gaps I have left. I think I have my main monsters covered here, except for trolls. Okay, I suppose I will throw in Troll 2 just to keep my bases covered.


And for good measure, I thought I would share some key insights we public library folk are trying to share with our community about how to survive a zombie attack. The teen users are particularly receptive to this information at our various "ZombieFest" events. Still, I thought all you "adults" out there might be interested in getting some tips about this too. I mean, you just never know when this information will come in handy...

1. Organize before they rise.
2. They feel no fear, why should you?
3. Use your head: cut off theirs.
4. Blades don't need reloading.
5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.
6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.
7. Get out of the car, get onto a bike.
8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert.
9. No place is safe, only safer.
10. The zombie may be gone but the threat lives on.

Red Hat Society off Burnett Road

Today when I went to get my hair trimmed at Baldwin Beauty School around 9:30am, I was a little startled when I went to take my seat in the waiting area. All I could see were two rows of white and grey headed ladies waiting to firm up their wispy permanents or get their weekly wash-and-style. It kind of stressed me out for a minute as I sat down to bobbing heads chattering about coconut cream pie and dropping lines like "just leave that government alone and they'll fix it" in my periphery. After a minute though I realized that this was the group I fit into this year. That is, the at home during the day group with no kids to keep me from getting things done; and most importantly, I am in that women's league too cheap to pay more than $5 for a haircut. Yep. I suppose I belong to this old lady club for the time being.

Heck. I already drink Yogi Herbal Tea.

I am going on an all yoga fitness 10 day diet starting next Tuesday. There's this yoga studio close to my apartment that gives a promo offer of 10 days of yoga for $10. If any of you out there have every tried to take yoga classes at a studio, you can vouch that this is a pretty sweet offer. I am not entirely sure why I think this is going to be something I enjoy or can even do as I have only done yoga maybe four times in the last five or six years. And the times that I did go I had a feeling that was pretty comparable to the one or two awkward middle school dances I attended with my BFFs as a tween. Like yoga, the room was uncomfortably hot and humid with sweaty bodies. I was so terrible at doing what I was supposed to be doing that I was conspicuous. People told me no one was looking at me but since I was looking at everyone else I knew that was a lie. And I noticed that even the people that were "good" at this ridiculous activity looked very stupid, maybe even more so than I did.

So why is it that I am so excited about taking up this offer? It started when I got talking to our Relief Society yoga class instructor.* She is a very convincing lady about her yoga ways and I couldn't help but get pretty...well convinced. Yep. That's all it took really. I wish I could say I had more reasons why I have come to the irreconcilable conclusion that I must devote more of my mind, body and spirit to the yoga way; but that was all there was to it. What can I say? She was very convincing.

Now I have checked out books, read the wikipedia entry on the different forms of yoga, started watching DVDs and of course signed up for this class. I feel like this new "lifestyle" in which I am about to engage adds a pretty cool mystique to my very extroverted self. I can especially feel this mystique when I carry around my book Yoga: A Return to Wholeness. I feel downright esoteric actually. And I like that.

But still, I can't help but think it is going to be a really great thing to do this. Ten days of Yoga might even change my life. Well, at least a little. Also, it's nice to try something new. Get involved in a new community of people. Yoga followers come in throngs here in Austin. Maybe it's the hippy "keeping it weird" factor but I like to think it is something a little bit bigger than that. Can I qualify the word transcendental with a "kind of"? Either way, wish me luck. I will be going on a running and swimming fast for the next 2 weeks. I just thought I would let you know about all of this too, just in case you are wondering why I am wearing stretchy gaucho pants next month.


*Yes we have a RS yoga class that I inadvertantly started when I started the "Fitness" mini-enrichment group for walking and running. Which ironically, the walking and running group has been sturggling along since May and the yoga group has been immensely popular. Another reason this whole yoga thing seems sort of cosmic for me to be doing.

Mind your scripture reading...

I was just reading from the Bible Dictionary a few minutes ago about the definition of the word "Zion". There was a passage that reads: "Enoch built a city that was called Zion". And for a moment my mind misread the passage as: "Enoch built his city on Rock and Roll". I was quick to correct myself and tried to better focus my reading. Still, I can't help but think that the Enoch's story might be been even cooler than it already is had built his city Zion on Rock and Roll.

Learn to be a Librarian

Well, I survived my "web institute" in Denton to jump start my MLIS program with them Eagles at University of North Texas. If that doesn't sound very impressive, let me just let you know that this institute consisted of four days straight of meeting and listening to 8 hours of power point lectures. The auditorium was full of about 200 other people and we all sat together learning about all the assignments we will have (it turns out to be lots) and hearing the professors go back and forth with the "you are going to absolutely die in the course" to the "oh don't worry - lot's of people have done this and so can you". I'll go ahead and say that it was actually helpful at first. You may even say there was some "synergy" in the room on the first day but that fades after going through the perpetual cycles one starts in those settings: eat, sit and drink, sit and drink, freeze from the AC, break - go to the bathroom, walk around outside, overheat and get a bit sweaty, return, sit and drink, sit and drink, freeze, lunch and so on. It was pretty cruel towards the end but I made it through. I think it may have even prepared me for the semester ahead in such courses as "Introduction to the Information Profession", "Public Library Management", and "Information Access and Retrieval" (why can't they just call that last one "Reference Work"? They seriously make us all sound like nerdy jerks when we call it that around other people.) The classwork will be pretty cool as I have a boatload of interesting sources to make into "annotated bibliographies". I also get to do these weekly "quests" for the reference class where I look up repudiable sources to find answers to questions like what a SAFFIR-SIMPSON DAMAGE-POTENTIAL SCALE is and how a HURDY DURDY instrument is played (if you're interested browse here under "stringed instruments"). Yep, it turns out that info science was a good choice for me. Despite the Medieval Club-soundingness of a quest, it turns out to be loads of fun. I'm not kidding. If you're interested in doing some yourself. Let me know and I will make up one for you.

Heck, I'll do it right now. You can refer to this Super Duper Resource List my professor gave me. You won't be able to access the UNT sites but I'll make up a question that doesn't depend on those sources.

Okay let's see...

Try this one:

#1 Using an encyclopedia only (either print or electronic), find out who is the wife to the Norse god Thor. Who are his parents? Cite your source(s) used (either URL or title and page # of book used).

Did you like it? Here's one more and then I have to start actually doing my homework. (Only Swirly Patterns can tell me if this one is really true).

#2 Using a dictionary only (either print or electronic), find out what term(s) the British use to refer to a Senior Citizen. Cite your source(s) used (either URL or title and page # of book used).

Aren't you jealous you aren't in library school? Hey, you can still come up with your own quests though! Post any that strike your fancy while exploring that Super Duper List of mine. Research is fun!

Summers get you through all the other seasons.

Yep. It's been awhile since I've last posted and with my library science program starting this weekend, two jobs that are now in full force, all the churchy stuff that goes along with being the R.S. enrichment lady, and getting enough "Cate time" (ie swimming and running time) and Matt time - I think I am going to be hard pressed to be a frequent blog poster. So I best not apologize as this is one of many late blog posts to come.

Still, that is not to say I haven't been enjoying myself these last few weeks. There has been a cake dome party, some scenic running, a reunion with my beloved Austin, TX (after a 6 week hiatus of living in OK), plenty of quality Matt time, and all kinds of great activities that leave you with a slight sunburn. The heat has been oppressive but I am getting so accustomed to swimming instead of running these days I have been able to weather it well enough. Still, hitting our 58th triple digit degree day today has made me welcome hurricane season with open arms (sorry Houston but that is just one less thing you have going for you).

When the going gets hot and I find myself spending an increasing amount of time under florescent light at work and soon to be school, I remember 2 things:

My watermelon cake

and my run up Ephraim Canyon on Skyline Drive with some great company and balmy, cloudy weather.

It was a great day to end all summers.

I hope the rest of you had a few days like that this summer to get you through the rough seasons ahead (well unless you live out our way in which case the summer is the cruelest season). Regardless of weather there is something about summer that all the Redfish folk of 2006 said that is sacred. If you haven't had a sacred summer there is still time for a skinny dip in a glacier lake, a Tiger's Blood snow cone in a hot parking lot, a tin foil dinner up the canyon, park picnic or something the like. If you have had a few sacred moments, then keep them safe. You'll never know when you're going to need them.

Which version would make it onto your iPod mix?

The Original from Europe?

or The Remix from Ash and Mom?

What books should you have read by now?

How was it that I was able to get through my entire public education and never had to read "The Grapes of Wrath"? It makes me a bit sad at the thought of having come this far in life without ever having read the book. I must admit though that if I had read it in high school rather than while living in Oklahoma this summer I would not be able to have such deep appreciation for passages like this...

"Al steered with one hand and put the other on the vibrating gear-shift lever. He had difficulty in speaking. His nouth formed the words silently before he said them aloud. 'Ma--' She looked slowly around at him, her head swaying a little with the car's motion. 'Ma you scared a goin? You scared a goin to a new place?'
Her eyes grew thoughtful and soft. 'A little,' she said. 'Only it ain't like scared so much. I'm jus a settin here waitin. When somepin happens that I got to do somepin -- I'll do it.'
'Ain't you thinkin what's it gonna be like when we get there? Ain't you scared it won't be nice like we thought?'
'No,' she said quickly. 'No, I ain't. You can't do that. I can't do that. It's too much -- livin too many lives. Up ahead they's a thousan lives we might live, but when it comes, it'll on'y be one. If I go ahead on all of em it's too much. You got to live ahead cause you're so young but -- it's jus the road goin by for me. An it' jus how soon they gonna wanta eat sore pork bones.' Her face tightened. 'That's all I can do. I can't do no more. all the rest'd get upset if I done any more'n that. They all depen on me just thinkin about that.'" ---page 124

It's better because it's in Texas America.

One of the most overlooked places for the Momon "you've been called on your mission to..." joke is none other than Paris, Texas. I mean, we make fun of Paris and Moscow Idaho all the time in that context. Why have we been overlooking Paris, Texas all this time? After having to take a pilgrimmage there to get my fingerprints (it's a bit of a long story and not particularly interesting) I found myself in Paris, Texas. Not a bad place really. In some places it had an utterly quaint feeling and in others some dumpy features. It was Small Town, U.S.A.

When I went there, I kept in mind something that I had learned from a friend that I had worked with at Redfish Lake. She was from Paris, Texas that is*, and she told me there was a replica of an Eiffel Tower there in town. So when I stopped at a gas station once I had arrived, I was sure to ask the clerk at the register where I could find this little tourist attraction. She gave me some rinky dink directions that I tried to follow in my head. When I asked a couple of questions she assured me, as you would probably expect, "It will be on yer left. Ya just cain't miss it!"

That got me confident enough to leave with her directions and go exploring a bit. I followed her instructions as best as I could and after a having to take a U-Turn at the very end I realized that the only instruction that had led me astray was the "ya cain't miss it" one. Really, it was about as easy to miss as a lone telephone pole out in a parking lot because...well...that was more or less what it was. That is not to say that it was a disappointing sight to see in the least. After all, there was a red cowboy hat on top AND it was in Texas. As far as I'm concerned, it was much cooler than that stupid looking thing in France. They charge you money to go up in that thing and there isn't even a beret on top. Seriously, who would take stinky cheese over pit BBQ? I ask you honestly...

*See how funny that joke can be - try it next time you see an opportunity!

Pop Hero Native to America

Really there is a lot to mourn with Michael Jackson's death yesterday. I think that had Sherman Alexie written his book Reservation Blues after yesterday afternoon, I am pretty sure he would have included Mr. Jackson in this passage...

“Still, Big Mom had her heart broken by many of her students who couldn’t cope with the incredible gifts she had given them. Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis. They all drank so much and self destructed so successfully that Big Mom made them honorary members of the Spokane Tribe.

Late at night, Big Mom’s mourning song echoed all over the reservation. The faithful opened their eyes and took it in, knowing that another of her students had fallen. The unbelieving shut their doors and windows and complained about the birds howling in the trees. But those birds weren’t howling. They all stood quietly, listening to Big Mom, too. She didn’t teach just humans how to sing. And those birds heard her mourning song, they also wondered which of their tribe had fallen.”

---- (page 201) Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

June Padre Island

Seriously, I just don't know what people are talking about when they say, "I just don't like Texas beaches". I've heard it a lot actually and it wasn't until last week when I visited Padre Island and Port Aransas with Momma Brooks that I was able to get the authority to respond to a line like that with, "what the hell is wrong with you?" It's true, there is no "surfer dude" about it but there is a lot to love on from a Texas beach. Why if you want to:

... stalk some neat looking birds like this one....

or learn about neat ocean things from a ranger who knows...

or see the release of the world's most endangered sea turtles (the Ridley sea turtle) when they are only 24 hours old and smaller than the size of a silver dollar...

or walk aboard the "Blue Ghost" - the U.S.S. Lexington - aircraft carrier...

or get a close up look at a Portuguese Man-of-War...

or just take some great pictures

Well then I suggest that you take a trip down to the gulf with a kite and a different expectation than what you may have gone to San Diego with. Don't worry you can still get a dynamite shrimp taco there.

Oh and one last thing....captions for this photo anyone?

WHEW!

What a month! Can I turn this campy blog of mine into a scrapbooky-like Sweeney update? Please? I'll make you a promise. I will make sure not to add a personal radio station that will blare my favorite 90s band out of your speakers (which you didn't even know were on). If I promise not to get weird scrolling features or die-cut decor ....

That's the last of the promises. Here is the post of the Austin Sweeneys update.

#1 First off, and perhaps most relevant to why I haven't had a minute to post a blog as of late, I got a new calling in my ward to be the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society. Yep, the fightin' Shoal Creek Ward of the Austin Stake has asked me to plan their enrichment activities and the like. No more painting wooden blocks to look like Christmas packages with phrases like *"Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present." Well, I suppose they weren't really doing that before I was called but still...I suppose I will keep us strong in not ever doing that. That said, I am actually super enthused about it all even though has been like accepting that a spiritual firehose of responsibilities gets sprayed at your face. Once I get the hang of it, who knows? Maybe I can anticipate becoming much like one of these stalward R.S. souls?

#2 I saw my mom get hooded as a "Master of Education" as the girl who likes Cheese on Rye described it. It was a pretty thrilling moment. She's a smart gal and I hope I grow up to be as smart and stunning as her.

#3 I also got to meet that delightful Thomas that made his debut just this last winter. It was pretty happy getting to know him a bit and catching up with his really awesome big sister - who does a great Pomp and Circumstance dance. That Ash is so nice. Besides just being great to talk to, she was always willing to share her Fig Newtons with me when I got hungry. I hope I grow up to be as nice as her.

#4 My dear friend Laura married her Phillip and I got to rendezvous with a few of the best folk from my P-Town days.

#5 Matt finished his finals and when he did that, officially survived his first year of law school. It's too bad he only survived with a mustache. He is already looking like a pretty sleazy lawyer.

#6 Over the best pâté and a knee buckling good chocolate hazelnut torte with apricot preserve at Chez Nous, Matt and I celebrated our 2nd year of marriage. And we both agreed it was the best year we had ever eaten...I mean lived (that one goes out to Swirly Patterns and the rest of you Brooks folk out there).

*Who said that anyway? Was it Joan Rivers or Eleanore Roosevelt? Whenever I don't know to whom I should attribute a nice sounding phrase like that, I default to Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandella. You can't really question either of those people can you...

How does one cope?

In the last couple months at work I have been taking inventory of the library's collection and weeding out old books that seemed to have too much florescent color and adolescents in tight rolled pants on their covers to still give relevant information on teens' social habits. I also took notice of titles like "America Online: and the new age of the internet", which gave away potentially outdated contents. Although it was tedious at times, I have found it be a good exercise for me to get a more comprehensive view about trends in our non-fiction and audio visual collections. For example, I caught onto one recurring theme which I first noticed while going through the science and health books.

A series kept popping up called "How to Cope with...". It was a pretty ambitious set of books that treated "How to Cope with": Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, AIDS just as seriously as the most pressing topics of "How to Cope with": Dating, Moving, Suburban Gangs and Teenage Moodiness. And although it struck me as funny that the last one was written for the students to read rather than for the rest of us that work for them at the school, I don't think it struck me as any funnier than the fact that I later found another series of "How to Cope with..." from the Agriculture class's audio visual collection. This series veered away from the emotional and physical concerns of teenagers in affluent Texas suburbia and focused on pressing issues for which seemed universal to us all. Indeed this series covered the ageless question of "Coping with Feral Hogs". Finally someone has found the courage to tackle this urgent issue and although I have not had the chance to view this film as it is in VHS format, I invite you all to learn more about how you can overcome the literal and metaphorical feral hogs in your life and become free of their ravaging effects.

Church Wisdom

I can always count on the church marquee along my running road to give me catchy and inspiration advice for the season. This Easter it has given me this to ponder...

"Christ had a grave....but it was only for a weekend."

A couple of months ago it read:

"Patience on the road, prevents patients in the hospital."

Try this one out loud for full effect. It took a second for me to even really get it at first but once I did, it was most rewarding.

More to come I am sure.

Neko

A week ago, Matt and I lived up to the Austin "live music capital" reputation and spent the evening with that soulful Neko Case at Stubb's BBQ. It was a great night for an outdoor concert. Aside from the wonderful 70 degree weather with overcast skies, the soft dirt ground made it not too painful to stand through the opening band, Shearwater. It turns out these guys are local favorites and although I didn't seem to quite catch their musical vision, I was totally compelled by this guy's performance.
Can you guess by which "guy" I was compelled? I'll give you a hint. Had he not been playing clarinet in a sleeveless pleather shirt I would have sworn he was missing from the 1988 filming of Willow. He must have been Madmartigan's stunt double. One way or another, he had presence. No matter how many veins surfaced in the lead singer's neck from wailing vocals, or how mysterious the bass player tried to play herself off as, I could not divert from the Willow man. I am still not sure whether or not it was a positive or negative fascination with him. Matt would call this "The Mime Effect"; it is so odd that it is nearly upsetting but you simply cannot take your eyes from it.

Willow man played all kinds of instruments from drums and clarinet to even a dulcimer for one song. When he hammered out that thing, he closed his eyes in some Transiberian kind of trance and his hairy bare arms and head acquired a blue halo-like outline from the back light. It was like unintentional performance art. I really don't know how to describe it. It was creepy-weird maybe transcendent kind of beautiful? Hmmm...I'll just stick with a confident "Mime Effect" description.

And Neko? She was beautiful (in a non-Mime Effect kind of way, of course). She really was beautiful. When she came out with her bright red hair and kelly green sweater, it was all I could do not to decide then an there to quit everything I was doing to play guitar and learn to sing something great. Sigh...I suppose the next best thing to being being a indie babe with powerfully haunting vocals is to promote research literacy in a library. I have to admit though that it was hard to remind myself that when I woke, up on less sleep than I should have gotten, that next morning and go to work.

Golf Ball Sized Hail?

Yep. It's real.

THE BAD NEWS: it's big enough to dent your car; it's also nearly deafening when it hits the hood or the top.

THE GOOD NEWS: it adds the most impressive touch to an Orange Spritzer (65% Sprite and 35% Orange Juice - try it)!

All us swimmers from the Amherst Community Swimming Pool found the good news to outweigh the bad.