Jenn, aka JeSais (I know)

It used to be fun to travel.  I remember people used to dress up to travel. (They apparently used to serve CAKE !)

NOW you have to wear shoes that slip off easily–  and no you can’t walk through security with flip flops (lord knows what you could hide in your flip flops).  And then there’s things to consider like belts and sweaters and jackets and such.   And really, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I DON’T believe its about security, I think it’s about control…  but that’s fodder for another post.

Complaint number 43 is the baggage fee. I used to be one of those people who never checked baggage.  If I couldn’t carry it with me, it wouldn’t go…   I prided myself on my ability to pack efficiently, and wear everything I brought with.  Now what’s the point.  With all the restrictions on what can be brought aboard, it’s become a pain in the neck to carry-on.  I mean, what’s a person to do when they can’t bring their meat cleaver aboard?**

Here’s what I recently wrote to US Airways regarding the baggage fee that I had to pay on my recent trip to Hawaii:

First of all let me say that the $20-25 bag check fee is ludicrous. It is, however, a nice way to make your customers feel like you are nickel and dime-ing them to death…. where it would be better in my opinion, to just charge an extra $20 on the ticket.

What with all the restrictions on what you can and cannot carry on board,  it is damn near impossible to fly without checking luggage, so why not just fold that cost into the price of the ticket?

On 12/19 I checked in ONLINE and paid for my bags… I opted to pay for my bags coming and going to save $10 and did it all at the same time so I would not forget… UNFORTUNATELY I did  not realize that with a flight that has a connection / code share arrangement with, say HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, that I would have to pay Hawaiian Airlines when I checked in for my return flight. Apparently codeshare does not mean “bag fee share.” That should be made more clear.

And so, to fly my bags with me, I was in essence charged twice for my return flight.

In the future, trust I will fly Southwest where ever possible…

To USAirways credit, they did reply:

Thank you for contacting US Airways regarding our baggage charges. We regret your displeasure and appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

Given the issues our industry continues to face in these volatile economic times, all airlines must look at ways to offset our increased operating costs. We continue to center our attention on providing the products and service based on value and our customers’ preferences. Our baggage policy allows customers who need to check baggage the option to do so for a nominal service fee, while allowing the core price of tickets to remain competitive.

A request for a refund has been submitted to our Refund Department on your behalf.

BLA BLA BLA BLA…

I still, however, contend this is NOT good customer service.

**strange that “meat cleaver” is listed as the fourth item on the list of prohibited sharp objects …  who  carries a meat cleaver?

I have been quite remiss in updating this blog, but rest assured it is NOT because I’m not writing (though truth be told I could be writing more).

Last semester I took a Fiction workshop.  And I grumbled and groused the whole way through.  I found writing fiction to be difficult, overwhelming, kind of like shopping in a big box store:  shelves filled with product, no one to help you reach the stuff way up high, too many choices.  With creative non-fiction you’re limited by “the truth” (however you define that).

The first story I submitted to workshop was not completely embarrassing. I had one character (very loosely based on a friend’s ex-husband) who was obsessed with Thomas Kinkaide paintings and villages.  An interesting character, but I never could figure out how to create an authentic confrontation and make something happen in the story…
The next story I tried to write was strongly based in setting, a place I love dearly, Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego County.  Specifically a part that a friend and I used to call The Hill of Truth–  the mile walk from the far end of the parking lot to the top, 3/4 of it up hill.

An excerpt:

About half way up The Hill is a small landing with a big torrey pine leaning out as if to catch a glimpse of the landscape below. This is my rest spot, my tree.  I don’t really need a break– I’d been hiking The Hill at a more leisurely pace– but I stop anyway.  From here, the coast highway swirls into the village of Del Mar along the beach, and if I’m lucky I’ll see a train roll through, skimming the top of the lagoon before ducking under the highway to hug the cliff heading north.

….

This road is narrow, and cuts into the hill revealing the earth’s strata and geological upheavals. As I take the next switchback, I see a history displayed in rich warm colors, layers of eons, some nearly vertical, some displaced by tectonic shifts and earthquakes.

….

The earth still shifts here, chunks of cliff falling with some frequency. And some days if I am paying attention, I see new pieces on the side of the road, new bits of history on display….

But every scene I wrote started to sound like a bad YA novel: betrayal, boys and bad dialog. I didn’t turn it in.

And then I heard a story about a woman that wouldn’t stop crying.  And so I wrote what I called “Morning Coffee,”  (I wanted to call it “Mourning Coffee” but restrained myself).

Dan Mueller insisted should be called “Our House is Like Switzerland.”

Dan had also said that my story reminded him of Bartleby the Schrivner by Herman Mellville, a story that I had never read.

The final requirement for the class was to revise a piece to completion, and submit it somewhere.  And so, when I found this literary journal, Bartleby Snopes, named after two famous literary characters one of whom was Barleby the Schrivner, I thought is was fate. Or something.  I was compelled to submit my story there.

And it was accepted!

Now the fun part…  some things you may recognize:  my green coat, my cousin Katie’s blue hair, and big ole orange tom cat who liked to be vacuumed, my two cats…   the rest is fiction.

Looking back, and of course with the success of publication under my belt and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with that, I think maybe fiction can be fun.  Like collaging, you can take a little bit from here, a little bit from there and paste it all together and create something.

This semester I’m back in the world of cnf, but taking a class about the novel.  One of the requirements for that class is to plan our novel, so who knows!

Unless you’ve seen 600+ hot air balloons aloft at one time, it is hard to explain.  I left the house at 5 a.m. to be at the park for Dawn Patrol then the mass ascension at 7:15 a.m.  No time for coffee, too early for breakfast, I practically sleep drove to the Park and Ride station.  It was dark.  We arrived at the park and it was still dark.  I found coffee, and spent the three dollars in cash that I had on me.  The event begins with Dawn Patrol, which is when a select group of balloons launch prior to the mass ascension.  This allows the other balloon pilots to see how the balloons are responding to the weather.  It was amazing to watch these balloons in the dark, aglow from the inside from the blast of lit propane.  Once the mass ascension began I went from amazed to astounded, overwhelmed and I cried because it was so beautiful.

Imagine my surprise when in my email InBox I found this:

!!!CONGRATULATION YOU ARE A WINNER!!!.

My first thought was that some vendor or customer had seen the news about my IMAGE OF WELDING award, and was sending salutations.

And then I read on…

The Board of Directors, members of staff and the International Promotion Department of the SWISS-LOTTO Satellite lottery, Netherlands, wishes to congratulate you on your success as the STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years’ SWISS-LOTTO Satellite lottery Netherlands International Promotion (SLP) .The late notice was due to mix up email addresses, no tickets were sold, and you were randomly selected as a winner.

This comes with a prize of Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Euro (Ђ750,000) Euros in the SWISS-LOTTO Satellite Software email lottery in which e-mail addresses are picked randomly by Software powered by the Internet through the worldwide website.

Your email address was amongst those chosen this year for the SWISS-LOTTO Satellite lottery. And this promotion is proudly sponsored by the SWISS-LOTTO NETHERLANDS organization. The selection process was carried out through random selection in our Computerized Email Selection System (C.E.S.S.) from a database of over a million email addresses from the World Wide Web. Each email address was attached to a ticket number and your email address with ticket number: KY/098/HG/7BN was randomly selected as the star prize winner amongst other consolation prize winners.

Your email address, attached to Ref number 18, 43, 5, 7, 14, 17 with Serial number SLN/2378-32 drew the lucky Numbers 56, and consequently won the lottery in the “A” Category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of Ђ 750,000 Euros.( Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Euros).

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European Booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. In View of this, your Ђ 750,000 Euros will be released to you by our accredited claims agent located in Europe. Our European agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your winning funds as soon as you contact them.

To file for your claim, kindly fill the verification form below and send it to the accredited Claims Manager, Mr. Luis Johnson of the claims department through email, stating your receipt of this notification. He has been mandated to offer you assistance and facilitate the urgent delivery of your prizes.

sigh.

… the image of welding at least. I was just informed that I have won the IMAGE OF WELDING AWARD:

Congratulations! The American Welding Society and Welding Equipment Manufacturers Committee are pleased to announce that you have been selected to receive the 2009 Image of Welding Award for the Individual category. You will be recognized for your exemplary dedication to promoting the image of welding in your community at the AWS and FABTECH Welding Show in Chicago, Illinois.

We invite you to join us to receive your award at the Image of Welding Awards Ceremony on Monday, November 16, 2009, at 11:15 AM, at the McCormick Place Convention Center. You are welcome to invite your family and friends to celebrate this wonderful achievement.

SO… if anyone is going to be in Chicago, and wants to come to a luncheon with bunch of welders…  well let me know!  ’cause I’m going to get my award in person!

Here’s what “my boss” said in the application:

Jennifer took the lead on developing two industry leading blogs for Arc-Zone.com: JoeWelder.com and CarmenElectrode.com.

As Jennifer learned more about the welding industry, she became fascinated with the stories behind the people in the industry, and particularly the women in the industry, of which there are few. As of 2006 only 6% of welders were women according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in spite of a projected shortage of welders, and the fact that there are good paying jobs out there.

With a hat tip to Rosie the Riveter, the iconic World War II factory worker, Jennifer developed a regular feature on the CarmenElectrode.com blog called “The New Rosies.” (http://www.carmenelectrode.com/category/the-new-rosie/) Through this column she has profiled women who weld in a variety of industries, chipping away at some of the lingering stereotypes about women who weld and some of the misconceptions about what kind of work welding is. With the JoeWelder.com blog, Jennifer initiated a feature called “Show Me The Metal” (http://joewelder.com/category/show-me-the-metal/) to profile all kinds of interesting welders and a variety of welding applications.

Both of these endeavors have showcased the incredible people in our industry to well over 130,000 web views world wide in the past year alone.

Jennifer has also contributed to the Arc-Zone.com technical library, writing white papers on everything from tungsten electrode preparation to safe welding practices. She has also written several articles for industry trade magazines and contributed in several online forums, including guest posting on other industry blogs. Educating the industry has become a major goal for Arc-Zone, because as Jennifer likes to say, “it’s not just about selling stuff.”

Or maybe just a gardener. I’m not sure what the difference is….  but the fact is that for the first time ever in my life I have a vegetable garden.  And it is so awesome!

I’m growing tomatos, squash, corn, peppers, eggplant, melon, sunflower, basil, cilantro and other various herbs (all legal) Here’s some pictures…

This picture was taken on May 31. The tomatos were planted around the 20th of May.  I bought tomato plants rather than try to start from seeds. There are four different varieties. I also bought the eggplant (to the left of the tomatos)  in 4 in. containers–  two japanese eggplant and one regular.

To the left of the eggplant is the squash that didn’t seem too happy there…  a few did germinate, but they have since been moved.

To the right of the marigolds is cucumber not yet sprouted.

I’ve dug channels around the garden to move the water, though mostly I’m using the buried sprinkler hose to water the soil deeply.

These pictures were taken on June 17. you can see how well they are doing, and the eggplant to the left are flourishing.

I planted sandia peppers (the local chile) and to the right of the tomato you can see how the cucumber is doing, and the large patch of green is cilantro…   salsa!!

Along the back wall you’ll see some spindly plants–  that’s some sunflowers that were started from seed, and left in the tray too long. I’m hoping they will thrive now that they will have some nice rich soil.

In case you don’t know about the Rainbow Family, they are a loosley organized group that gathers every year over the 4th of July holiday to pray for peace.  The gathering history goes back to the early 70s with roots clearly in the counterculture movement of the 60s. In other words, it’s big ole hippie camping fiesta and this year I’m going.

A Little Background….

If you know me, you know I’m really not much of a hippie,  though I did smoke a bit more of the ganga then was good for me when I was in high school.  I attended one small regional gathering in California in the early 90s and also had the opportunity to work as a member of the Please Patrol for the Woodstock #2 in 1994.  That concludes my hippie credentials.

One of my dearest friends Karin, however, is a long time Rainbow gatherer and could probably be classified as a hippie. She pretty much embodies so many of the ideals associated with that culture:  commitment to engaging in community, questioning authority and working for positive change, recycling, love of the evironment, organics…  I’m sure you get my drift. One of the things I love most about Karin is the fact that she lives her beliefs to the best of her abilities.

Karin tried to get me to a Rainbow Gathering (circa 1992) once before… and I chickened out at the last minute.  It was all Fred’s fault, but that is another story all together.

This year The Gathering will be in New Mexico, in a town called Cuba which is not too far from Albuquerque. It is a great opportunity because it is so close– and Karin is coming, and so is The Other Karen.  And so, after all these years of hearing about gatherings, I’m going to go and check it out for myself.  Maybe write an essay or two about my experiences.

One of the things that fascinates me is the fact that there are so many misconceptions about Rainbow family members and what kind of people they are.  From the lens of mainsteam society, Rainbow family members look like a bunch of tie-dye wearing wingnuts.  In terms of mainstream society, many of these people don’t fit in. They are marginalized for a variety of reasons.  But the fact is that many many more of these Rainbow family members do particpate (sometimes more fully than others) and succeed in mainstream society. Karin has a good paying computer job, owns a home, pays taxes and takes care of her disabled mother.  The other Karen is a theater manager turned stay at home mom (and doing a remarkable job with 3 toddlers) married to a doctor. Through Karin I met one long time gatherer who is a  business owner in Santa Fe.  Other Rainbow family members are lawyers, computer geeks, artists, musicians, therapists, yoga instructors,  and even former military. They come from all walks of life, and as is true in any other society most are good, but a few are bad.

The other thing that fascinates me about The Gathering is the fact that there are serious civil rights issues involved, most notably the right to peaceable assembly and the freedom of religion.  If the governement can restrict the rights of the Rainbow Family, who’s next?

I will be going way WAY outside my comfort zone. I don’t like strangers saying “I love you sister.” I don’t like strangers hugging me.  And I’m nervous about the potential run ins with the forest service law enforcement officers–  they have a history of harassment, most notably last year firing rubber bullets at the crowd in kid village which has been documented by the ACLU.

I don’t expect to be hassled personally, but you never know.  Like I said, it’s an opportunity and will be at the very least, an interesting experience.

I love audio. I love radio. I love literature. And I’m a geek…  and, since I don’t have nearly enough to do (HAH!)  I’ve started a literary audio magazine (online only), Writers Out Loud: Literature for the Ear.

A special thanks to Midge Raymond, who eagerly submitted the first piece, The Ecstatic Cry, an excerpt from her book Forgetting English. I’m honored to have a prize winning writer want submit a piece to this new venture.

I’ll officially launch the site after this semester ends–  mid May, and plan to do some full-on media blitzes.  If you’d like YOUR piece to be showcased alongside Midge’s DO submit your work.

I’ve put the call out to some really fine writers I know, and am hoping they will follow Midge’s lead, fire up Garage Band on their MAC or download Audacity for their PC and have fun with sound!

Last week when I was visiting San Diego, my friend Ralph and I toured Flat Stanley around town.

It was a blast.  We hope Stanley comes to visit again.  

The Flat Stanley project is a combination community art project / literacy program / geography lesson that kids in the 1st or 2nd grade do.  Kids get a Flat Stanley to color as they like, then mail him off to a friend or relative that lives in a different locale.

Our Stanley came from Ralph’s seven-year-old nephew Ryan, who lives in Illinois, a town called Huntley that Ralph, who grew up in the city of Chicago, says is the Algonquin word for “way the fuck out there.” Note, it is fifty plus miles northwest of Chicago. 

Stanley enjoyed his tour of San Diego, especially since the weather was sunny, and mid-seventies, while the weather in Illinois was still what could only be classified as The Dead of Winter.  

Check out the photos from Stanley’s San Diego tour here–> be be warned the page will load a little slowly.  Lots of photos.  Lots of megabytes.

According the to the Wikipedia article on the Ladderback Woodpecker, he’s out and about year round. However, I just noticed him for the first time the other day. I did not have my camera, but this little guy was peeking his head up above the fence. A wooden fence. I hope he had a nice little snack.

Although I’ve always said that San Diego does indeed have seasons, they really are more subtle.  Here in New Mexico, there is a surprising amount of spring action going on.  

I feel like a total dork walking around town stopping to closely examine each and every budding plant along the way, to touch them, to smell them.  It’s all so alien to me.  Who knew a desert would be so green!

The trees are budding as I noted a couple of days ago, I’m seeing birds that I’ve not seen, and everyone is sneezing–  juniper and chamisa in bloom and what looks like some fruit trees bursting with pink and white flowers seem to be the main culprits.  

All of the sudden I’ve got the urge to do yard work.   I started yesterday cleaning up a small flower bed in my back yard that has some tiny daffodils peeking out of the ground.  They just really needed to be free of the leaves that had fallen off the big elm tree.  Of course it didn’t stop there….  I had to clean up the leaves in the side yard too.  Raking, sweeping and shoveling leaves.  It felt good to be outside.  To do physical work.  Of course now I am sore, but it feels good.  I am eager to do more.

If only I had more time.