Welwitschia mirabilis, in all its glory

if you enjoy plants, biology, or just thinking about what we are and what life can be and has been and maybe will be, i think you might enjoy learning about this strange creature. south africa in the building.

Solaris author Stanislaw Lem dies

wednesdays are busy generally with me. within the realm of working with people, you just really don't know what's going to happen in your day. the weather was humid, making the walk between schools a little less than dreamy. usual stuff at school. afterschool was weird. it was crazy as usual, projects pace. at the end of the day, we as a group left the building and i was told my help was needed at the corner of the property, where a seldom-used baseball field borders the train tracks. i found a group of children tormenting a poorly male grackle, eyes all dried up and neglected. it seems the animal was being kept in a cage, and now they got it out and were throwing it around. i got there just in time to watch it pitched over a fence. i simply retrieved the bird and it was warm with its heart beating. a few seconds later, as i started back to the car, it died. still warm, my wife and i drove home and i buried it at home near a tree i planted last week. neglected tortured bird that few people care about when healthy is planted next to crepe myrtle that will most likely be hacked back by unskilled landscapers who will do this practice because they think one is supposed to. respect for life, at the daily level, seems superficial or incoherent. i love life, and i respect the living, regardless of what happens.

empece mis clases 'cara a cara' hace una semana i me parecen mas amables e interesantes que los cursos electronicos de los tres meses pasados. Ya recibi un 'a' en el examen para practicar. sin embargo, tengo un poco de miedo de fallar por cualquiera razon. soy un tipo de persona que siente mejor con algo despues de pasar lo dificil, y no un momento antes. vamos a ver despues. escalon por escalon, como ha sido dicho.

may family reunion

may family reunion

so, dan, i found your website and am posting it here for the 20 beloved readers that come through here each month. if you're not dan, you can listen to what i'm talking about here.

I Love This Guy
Originally uploaded by bluehour.

surely you have time to read 'reviews of new food'

today i received an email from an old friend who has been a very active and travelling buddhist since i've known her (12 years more or less). for three years, she was in silent retreat at diamond mountain located in a very dry and remote area of arizona. hej, what an intriguing place i found in what goes on there and the creative group work put into its architecture. and it's less than 1000 miles from me, making that close by texas standards.

writing about texas, the trains have been blowing harder past our house after someone was killed on the tracks this past monday. apparently, the deceased was an 18-year old deaf beauty queen who was taking a shortcut to her mother's work. the night after it happened, i heard the horns so loud that they woke me up (which they rarely do), and i found out a few days later on BBC, to which i am a reverent reader.

so, i am finished with my online classes and most of my pre-service stuff for my teaching certification minus one teacher interview which is in transit, this being the 6th grade counselor at my school. i don't know if it will be easier, harder, or just different. it's the tests really that i'm not considering to be very pleasant.

(this picture was taken off the internet - even the color is the same)

as an update to the last post, the solution is to come home early before the rain set in majorly (it rained all weekend). i spent part of yesterday trodding through mucky junkyards in south austin in search of new visors for our nissan sentra. i didn't expect it to be like a dreary graveyard, where the cars occupants certainly suffered as a result. plus, it was like my car but all violated and crushed up and stripped. plus, i had to pee like no ones business, which was fortunate to be at the back of the place with no people around. it's not everyday i get to pee on a car.

how to plan a trip when rain's on the edge? what's one to do with spring break when you can't go outside? raingear?

Furry 'lobster' found in Pacific

lobster chic

one step out of the way

i thought i would be happy to be finished with about two months of online classes, but i ended them on a mad note. the test seems wrong. the program seems not to get me ready for the such big endeavor as being a teacher, not yet. there is a break, however small, next week. then i'll have hopefully something different to say this.

today was kite festival in austin. i went last year. this year was very similar, except that it was humid and kites had a hard time for the lack of wind.

i was lent a book today called '100 exitos musicales' which is oldish and has all these songs in spanish i don't know how to play. looking online for them is gross, as mp3 hunting is questionable. i did find 'las mananitas' sung by nat king cole. strange world.

succulent planter

IMG_2889
Originally uploaded by dawidek.

this is a new planter I made. The plants in there have little 'skylights' at their tops to diffuse light. how cool, eh?