The sad, but not unexpected, news broke Wednesday that Elizabeth Taylor died. She had been in declining health and in and out of hospitals several times recently, but 79 seems too young to die (I must be getting old to feel that way).
We got to see her live and in person in 2000 or 2001, I forget which year it was. She was a featured guest at the Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival. First we saw a screening of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and afterwards she spoke and answered some audience questions. Now, I have to tell you that when we went to see the movie, we had never heard of it and knew nothing about it. We were completely unprepared for the movie; I don't know if that made it better or worse. It certainly made it bizarre.
It's one of the most bizarre movies I've ever seen and it's definitely the most bizarre married couple I've ever seen portrayed in a movie.
After the movie was over, we had to wait quite awhile for "her highness" to arrive. Apparently she wasn't feeling well; the high altitude (7,000 feet) didn't agree with her. She was staying with a friend of hers, a local artist, R.C. Gorman.
It was worth the wait, though. I don't remember much of what she said, but I do remember it was interesting, even fascinating. I do remember one audience member asked her how making the movie affected her marriage (or something like that) since her co-star husband was also her real-life husband and the movie marriage was highly dysfunctional. She said that making the movie allowed them to "work through" some of the stuff in their real-life marriage.
One other memorable thing about her appearance was that she brought her dog on stage with her, a little white fluffy lap dog named Sugar. At one point she asked her assistant Ken to, "Come get Sugar" and he did.
Overall, we had a great time and I think Ms. Taylor did, too. It was exciting to see such a famous movie star so close. One of the TV stations in Albuquerque sent a reporter and cameraman to do a brief interview with her; it was really big news to have her in New Mexico.
Showing posts with label Taos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taos. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Going Postal
So why is it that all the post offices in Taos (at least two out of three) are sold out of rolls of first class stamps?
I needed to buy stamps for Page (my boss) so yesterday I went to the Post Office Express that is tucked into a corner of one of the grocery stores. That's the Post Office I use for most of my mailing and the clerk always asks me if I want to buy stamps (they're required to ask that of every customer). Nine times out of ten (more than that, actually) I don't need stamps. So yesterday I went for the sole purpose of buying a roll of stamps, but they were out and she wasn't sure when they would be getting more in. She did have sheets of first class stamps; I had a choice of "Love" stamps, which aren't really appropriate for a business, or "Reagan" stamps, and I couldn't bring myself to buy Reagan stamps; I just couldn't. Besides, they're kind of political (and Page is a democrat) and might not be appropriate for a business to be sending out either. So I declined.
Today I tried the Post Office in Ranchos de Taos; it's smaller than the one in Taos and never crowded. They didn't have rolls of stamps, either, although they expect to get them tomorrow. The only choice there was sheets of Reagan stamps, and when I smiled and politely said, "No, never mind" the clerk chuckled. This is Taos County, after all; it's 84% Democratic, one of the highest percentage of democrats in any county in the U.S. Is it any wonder no one wants to buy Reagan stamps?
Actually, compared to the current Republicans, Reagan doesn't seem that bad. I think he must be rolling in his grave at what the Republican Party has become (and wishing they'd quit invoking his name).
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Updates to the Updates
Good news and bad news.
The bad news is I didn't get the job with the Police Department. The interview went well, but I was one of five people they interviewed (out of lots of applications). Knowing Taos, they probably hired someone who is related to someone in the department. There's another possibility, though. When Valerie (the Assistant to the Chief of Police) called yesterday to say they'd chosen someone else, she told me that they're going to post another opening in a couple of days and she encouraged me to apply. The position is in the Records Department, but I forget the exact title of the job. Records Technician or something like that. Ron thinks maybe they hired the Records person as the Evidence Technician and that job would be a good way to get my foot in the door.
As long as they didn't hire me and confidentiality isn't such an issue, I can share with you what the Chief of Police (a very nice, approachable man, by the way) said to describe the police force: teenagers with guns. The other people from the department who were in the interview agreed with him.
The good news is that I think I have the job at the vet's, but I'm not completely certain yet. At the interview last Wednesday, we decided I would go in Monday morning for a couple of hours for what Dr. Kim called a Work Interview. It gave me a chance to sit at the front desk and see what the job would really be like. She said some people who've done that realize they can't handle the job. But I stayed for three hours and really enjoyed it. It was busy, but not crazy-busy. I've been there on occasions when it was crazy-busy and I think I could handle it. After just an hour, I was checking in people (and their animals) without any help. The computer system was easy to learn. I think I did very well. When I got home, I found out that while I was there, Dr. Kim had been checking my references. The woman I worked for in the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau said she gave me a glowing recommendation, that I'm detail-oriented and personable and easy to work with. I'll know by the end of the week if I got it.
The "Global Warming" continues. A front is coming through today that will bring bitterly cold temperatures. The lows for the next several nights will be well below zero. The constant freezing and thawing is wreaking havoc on the roads around here. Driving from home to town is like playing a video game of Dodge the Potholes. As the potholes increase in numbers and size, the game becomes more challenging.
I'll post when I have news about the vet job.
The bad news is I didn't get the job with the Police Department. The interview went well, but I was one of five people they interviewed (out of lots of applications). Knowing Taos, they probably hired someone who is related to someone in the department. There's another possibility, though. When Valerie (the Assistant to the Chief of Police) called yesterday to say they'd chosen someone else, she told me that they're going to post another opening in a couple of days and she encouraged me to apply. The position is in the Records Department, but I forget the exact title of the job. Records Technician or something like that. Ron thinks maybe they hired the Records person as the Evidence Technician and that job would be a good way to get my foot in the door.
As long as they didn't hire me and confidentiality isn't such an issue, I can share with you what the Chief of Police (a very nice, approachable man, by the way) said to describe the police force: teenagers with guns. The other people from the department who were in the interview agreed with him.
The good news is that I think I have the job at the vet's, but I'm not completely certain yet. At the interview last Wednesday, we decided I would go in Monday morning for a couple of hours for what Dr. Kim called a Work Interview. It gave me a chance to sit at the front desk and see what the job would really be like. She said some people who've done that realize they can't handle the job. But I stayed for three hours and really enjoyed it. It was busy, but not crazy-busy. I've been there on occasions when it was crazy-busy and I think I could handle it. After just an hour, I was checking in people (and their animals) without any help. The computer system was easy to learn. I think I did very well. When I got home, I found out that while I was there, Dr. Kim had been checking my references. The woman I worked for in the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau said she gave me a glowing recommendation, that I'm detail-oriented and personable and easy to work with. I'll know by the end of the week if I got it.
The "Global Warming" continues. A front is coming through today that will bring bitterly cold temperatures. The lows for the next several nights will be well below zero. The constant freezing and thawing is wreaking havoc on the roads around here. Driving from home to town is like playing a video game of Dodge the Potholes. As the potholes increase in numbers and size, the game becomes more challenging.
I'll post when I have news about the vet job.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Updates of All Kinds
Yes, I'm still here; I just haven't felt like writing anything lately. But this post will make up for it, I hope. It's going to be very long (and getting longer all the time).
There is a tiny pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel. A few days before Christmas, I applied for a job with the Town of Taos Police Department. The position is Administrative Assistant/Evidence Technician. They want someone with good computer skills, which I definitely have. Duties would include logging in new evidence and destroying old evidence. It sounds a lot more interesting than Algebra! And as Mom said, it would give me good material for my writing. I got a phone call yesterday from the Assistant to the Chief of Police and we've scheduled an interview for next Friday, a week from today. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Another good thing about the job is the location -- right next door to Ron's office. We may be able to carpool sometimes, or at least have lunch together now and then.
As I was writing the rough draft of this post, I got another phone call and have another interview scheduled for next Wednesday evening. This job is with our vet's office. It's another administrative job, but would also include working with animals (or at least cleaning up after them). The great thing about this job is that I already know and like everyone and they know and like me. Dr. Kim, the owner of the practice, is especially happy with the way we've rehabilitated two of our animals, Princess and King (King's story is coming soon, I promise). So keep your fingers crossed for that one, too.
Moving on to another topic entirely, if any of you see Al Gore, tell him to visit Northern New Mexico so I can show him there is no Global Warming here.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it snowed every two to four days, several inches at a time. We haven't had any new snow since Christmas (although we're supposed to get several inches this weekend), but we've had bitterly cold temperatures.
Tuesday morning, the low temperature was MINUS 14. Wednesday morning it was MINUS 8. On those days, the high temperature was 22. Yesterday it got up to 34 and that felt positively balmy. We've been keeping warm from the inside out -- hot soup, hot chocolate, and hot tea.
One more story, a long and detailed one, but it has a happy ending.
Last Friday evening, December 28, Ron was driving back to Taos from Angel Fire, a town on the other side of the mountains. He was driving his company truck, a huge 1992 Chevy Suburban. The road is curvy and goes over a high mountain pass and through a canyon. Some stretches of the road were completely covered in ice because the sunlight never reaches there because of the high canyon walls. In a way, the ice was a good thing because it kept him from going very fast. In fact, he was only going 25 mph when....
an elk jumped out in front of him!
He couldn't stop in time and his truck hit the elk with its left front, then came to a stop. The car following Ron also came to a stop and the people got out to make sure he was OK. There's no cell phone reception in the canyon, so they couldn't call the police. Both vehicles were still in the road and in danger of being hit by other cars, so they decided the people in the other car would follow Ron into town. As they discussed this, they saw the elk stand up, shake herself off, and walk away!
Ron was able to drive all the way back to Taos. The front grill area of the truck was smashed in and the left headlight was broken and the radiator was spewing steam and leaking coolant out the bottom.
Once he had a cell phone signal, Ron called me to tell me what had happened. When he got back to his office, he called the State Police and called his supervisor. Then he called me again, asking me to come down to the office to give him moral support. By the time I got there, the State Police Officer was just finishing up his report. He said there would be no citation, as it was obviously an accident. And he found clumps of elk fur stuck in the license plate frame, confirming that the vehicle had, in fact hit an elk.
So the good news is that Ron's OK (the Suburban is a very high vehicle; if it had been a regular car, the elk probably would have come in through the windshield). Miraculously, the elk is OK (too bad in a way; I was hoping for fresh elk steak). The truck should probably be considered totalled, but Qwest, in its infinite wisdom, doesn't want to waste a perfectly good 1992 truck and is going to have it repaired.
There is a tiny pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel. A few days before Christmas, I applied for a job with the Town of Taos Police Department. The position is Administrative Assistant/Evidence Technician. They want someone with good computer skills, which I definitely have. Duties would include logging in new evidence and destroying old evidence. It sounds a lot more interesting than Algebra! And as Mom said, it would give me good material for my writing. I got a phone call yesterday from the Assistant to the Chief of Police and we've scheduled an interview for next Friday, a week from today. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Another good thing about the job is the location -- right next door to Ron's office. We may be able to carpool sometimes, or at least have lunch together now and then.
As I was writing the rough draft of this post, I got another phone call and have another interview scheduled for next Wednesday evening. This job is with our vet's office. It's another administrative job, but would also include working with animals (or at least cleaning up after them). The great thing about this job is that I already know and like everyone and they know and like me. Dr. Kim, the owner of the practice, is especially happy with the way we've rehabilitated two of our animals, Princess and King (King's story is coming soon, I promise). So keep your fingers crossed for that one, too.
Moving on to another topic entirely, if any of you see Al Gore, tell him to visit Northern New Mexico so I can show him there is no Global Warming here.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it snowed every two to four days, several inches at a time. We haven't had any new snow since Christmas (although we're supposed to get several inches this weekend), but we've had bitterly cold temperatures.
Tuesday morning, the low temperature was MINUS 14. Wednesday morning it was MINUS 8. On those days, the high temperature was 22. Yesterday it got up to 34 and that felt positively balmy. We've been keeping warm from the inside out -- hot soup, hot chocolate, and hot tea.
One more story, a long and detailed one, but it has a happy ending.
Last Friday evening, December 28, Ron was driving back to Taos from Angel Fire, a town on the other side of the mountains. He was driving his company truck, a huge 1992 Chevy Suburban. The road is curvy and goes over a high mountain pass and through a canyon. Some stretches of the road were completely covered in ice because the sunlight never reaches there because of the high canyon walls. In a way, the ice was a good thing because it kept him from going very fast. In fact, he was only going 25 mph when....
an elk jumped out in front of him!
He couldn't stop in time and his truck hit the elk with its left front, then came to a stop. The car following Ron also came to a stop and the people got out to make sure he was OK. There's no cell phone reception in the canyon, so they couldn't call the police. Both vehicles were still in the road and in danger of being hit by other cars, so they decided the people in the other car would follow Ron into town. As they discussed this, they saw the elk stand up, shake herself off, and walk away!
Ron was able to drive all the way back to Taos. The front grill area of the truck was smashed in and the left headlight was broken and the radiator was spewing steam and leaking coolant out the bottom.
Once he had a cell phone signal, Ron called me to tell me what had happened. When he got back to his office, he called the State Police and called his supervisor. Then he called me again, asking me to come down to the office to give him moral support. By the time I got there, the State Police Officer was just finishing up his report. He said there would be no citation, as it was obviously an accident. And he found clumps of elk fur stuck in the license plate frame, confirming that the vehicle had, in fact hit an elk.
So the good news is that Ron's OK (the Suburban is a very high vehicle; if it had been a regular car, the elk probably would have come in through the windshield). Miraculously, the elk is OK (too bad in a way; I was hoping for fresh elk steak). The truck should probably be considered totalled, but Qwest, in its infinite wisdom, doesn't want to waste a perfectly good 1992 truck and is going to have it repaired.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Balloon Rally
This weekend was the 25th annual Taos Mountain Balloon Rally. These photos are from this morning's Mass Ascension, about 8:00 a.m.
We didn't have to go into town to see the ballons; they came to us, one in particular.
It landed down the road from our house. I could hear the pilot firing up the burner (these balloons use propane burners, not helium), apparently trying to get the balloon to rise, but to no avial. It wasn't an ideal landing spot; it was very close to a semi-busy road, the one that our dirt road leads to. I think they landed on a patch of grass near the intersection. The "chase crew" arrived soon after to help deflate the balloon and haul away the balloon, gondola, and passengers.
The firing up of the burners makes a strange sound, kind of like the sound of Darth Vader exhaling. I heard other balloons fire up their burners, too, as they drifted nearby (none as near as that first one). It was the only sound on an otherwise quiet morning.
Friday, August 10, 2007
A Country Morning
I love living in the country! Where else can you see the sight I just saw a few minutes ago? A boy, perhaps 12 years old, was riding an ATV on the dirt road in front of our house. He was holding a leash. Attached to the other end of the leash and trotting behind the ATV was a sheep!
I've seen this boy in previous years walking his sheep, on a leash, on the road, but this is the first time I've seen him using an ATV to walk his sheep.
This is the kind of thing you don't see in the city or the suburbs.
I've seen this boy in previous years walking his sheep, on a leash, on the road, but this is the first time I've seen him using an ATV to walk his sheep.
This is the kind of thing you don't see in the city or the suburbs.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Introduction
I live west of Taos, New Mexico in a house I share with four dogs, two cats, and one husband. This blog will include various adventures involving the animals (and occasionally the husband).
I'm a freelance editor and a writer. I'm trying to improve my writing career and increase the number of my submissions, and those adventures will show up here, too.
I'll also write about events in the news -- world, national, state, and local -- and my take on them.
Enjoy the ride!
I'm a freelance editor and a writer. I'm trying to improve my writing career and increase the number of my submissions, and those adventures will show up here, too.
I'll also write about events in the news -- world, national, state, and local -- and my take on them.
Enjoy the ride!
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