My sensitivity is one of my benefitting factors in being a good writer. Last week someone asked me if I thought being a woman impaired me from completing the same tasks as men. 'How interesting...' That's all I could think as the bright-eyed student sat across from me, eager to learn. I secretly always thought it was an advantage. To look beyond what happened to someone and see, really, who they are and what they are feeling. People like to talk to me, and I'm not exactly sure why. I'm talking about complete strangers, walking up and talking to me. Asking me about guavas, my glasses or just a lonely person wanting human interaction. I saw Hemingway's quote today, again (I have it tacked up in my apartment) and really thought about it. I wonder what his truest sentence was? I wonder how many untrue sentences all of us have written, how many lies have complicated lives? I'm not sure what my truest sentence is. But I hope to find it soon. Maybe it changes as we change. Maybe we just have to write what we know, right now. And on this November day, in Austin, Texas, the sky is half gray and half blue. My black nail polish is chipped and my crime beat shift starts in about an hour and a half. And I still have to walk home. So right now? I gotta get moving. (cross your fingers so my laptop and I don't get rained on...)

I lied when I said I would be better at updating this blog. I've had this more than a year and, I know, I'm awful. I'm PAYING for this I should be taking advantage of it, right? WRONG. I downloaded Wordpress so this and my homepage wouldn't look so darn cheesy, but I can't figure out how to use it exactly. So I'm leaving comments open for some advice. I am cursing my too-cool attitude I threw my computer science teacher seven years ago. That was the first and only D I got in college. No wait, so was statistics. Okay, so two D's. That's not bad, right? I even bought a new laptop so I can get rid of the crappy, slow but free desktop here. (It's still sitting on my kitchen floor.) This is me and my very special family. On the far left is my wonderful sister-in-law, Mary, then there's my brother who jumped in last minute with a mouth full of seefood (haha, Jethro) Me with the glasses and earrings, my sister Niza and my mother squeezed in the side.
Obviously, we know what we are doing.

Of downloading Wordpress and getting a new computer at home.

 

This is silly, I know. If I have a Web site, I should update it.

 

I plan to be better at it. So, check back in about a month, OK?

 

Hope all of you are doing well.

Which is a bummer because I really talked about current events, the weather, the drought, the murder case, and changes in media. But now I am agitated and lazy. Comments left open.

It's really a trying time for us newspaper folk because we don't know where we are going. All online? Smaller groups of reporters? Multitaskers?

I think we may go back to what newspapers started out as: community news. Just local events. Most of us get our national and world news from radio, TV or the net anyway. Why do we still want to tell stories a day late?

Sure people argue that papers have more depth, more details and more information, but with the on-the-go life now, who has time to read a story that takes up two pages of a newspaper? (I don't mind personally, but I've talked to many people who get discouraged if there is even a jump!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, I realize it's been three months since I've written. It wasn't a mistake. In the last three months I've had a world of change from a new beat, to a new apartment, to a new life and a new year.

Some things in my life have caused me to become distracted, disoriented, and a bit depressed. But I feel like I am back on track now. And it feels good to be back to me.

ALASKA!!! Wow!  I know I groan and complain of all the mugginess that encompasses Austin for 95 percent of the year.

Tonight I eat my words. It's freezing out there. A couple of weeks ago when I left my Yoga class, it was snowing. Flakes. In Austin!!! I wonder if it will snow tonight?

I'm getting tired of bringing in my plants, taking them back out, only to have to take them back in. (only down side to having succulents.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In less than a month, I will be back downtown (in our main office) and no longer in the bureau. Hoorah! Don't get me wrong, I loved that beat, I probably said so a million times, but I just love changes and challenges.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And of course, I turn my back for .2 seconds and Cielo is all over my black pea coat. Great. I will have white and gray cat hair on that coat for weeks.

She looks quite content, the little so and so....