An Unexpected Tale of Political Activism

We can all agree that America’s politics has been a shitshow for the past two years, right? Starting the moment that the Orange Asshole was declared the president things got bad. Really bad.

I’ve been a registered voter since I turned 18. I was so excited to vote in my first election (midterms) and first Presidential Election (John Kerry in 2004). I was so thrilled to vote for Obama and Hilary. And devastated when she lost. But, I’ll be honest, I lived in a nice liberal bubble and had no idea how bad it would get.

I’m white. I’m cisgender, heterosexual, educated, middle class, overall healthy (I do have pre-existing conditions, but none are life threatening). I’m employed and have health insurance through my employer, and don’t fall into any at-risk demographic. By all accounts I’m “safe”. The worst thing that could happen to me, personally, would be jumping through hoops to ensure medication is covered. Mitch is at a slightly higher risk with more severe diagnosis that require regular medication, but again, we could manage and jump through the hoops. 

But too many other people aren’t safe. Black men are being shot and killed by police at an alarming rate, women are losing access to safe healthcare and abortion, undocumented people live in fear every single day, and children have literally been locked in cages. I could go on for days, but I trust you all know exactly what is happening as well. 

For a while I felt helpless and bordering on hopeless. Then the #RedforEd movement began. Educators were sick of our schools being underfunded and our budgets being slashed left and right, and robbed to fund private schools and charter schools that don’t have to follow the rules. I finally felt like I could make an impact! This was MY protest- it affected me and the kids I love so much. I was ready to fight!!

I had no idea what to do though- is I joined the Facebook groups, and said I was in and waited for ideas. I wrote and called my legislators, I told my story, I asked for the funds my kids needed. And as the momentum increased, so did my involvement. I kept others informed of actions, I “walked-in” every week, I wore my red, I kept telling my story, and I spoke up more and more. And the “walk-in” turned to talk of “walk out”. This was exciting and terrifying. Mitch and I talked and agreed: we would walk out. I had plenty of time off accrued, so I wasn’t too worried about pay, Mitch did not- he would only get paid for 1.5 days and if it went longer he would go unpaid. But the cause mattered, and we decided we could make it work. 

On the first day of the Walk Out we drove to Phoenix and marched with 70,000 fellow educators and concerned citizens. It was so hot! We had water, but towards the end I was overheated and under hydrated. I sat down in shade while Mitch walked the remaining half mile to the car- and so many people offered me water, asked if I was ok, and just showed they cared. Educators are the best! We had planned to return for day 3 at the capitol but a nasty stomach bug left me in bed instead. We attended some Tucson rallies, and were out of school for over a week. I was glad to go back because I missed my kids and I was really worried about my seniors as graduation grew closer, but I knew it wasn’t over. We hadn’t gotten what we wanted, but we had started a huge conversation and people were finally listening.

 Protest Selfies are a thing now.

 Just me, Mitch, and our 70,000 closest friends.

I had decided months ago I wanted to volunteer on a campaign, and even before the Walk Out, I decided to start small and local, and focus my energies where I felt I could make an impact. Enter Leila Counts. I had been following her on Facebook as she started her campaign for School Board and reached out to say I was interested in volunteering. We met over coffee and chatted and I instantly knew I had picked the right campaign- Leila is awesome! She’s not a politician, she’s a really down to earth, great woman. And she cares about our kids- which is what I want for my school board! Honestly, the idea of being a school board member is kind of nuts- its a ton of work and responsibility, making huge decisions about an enormous and incredibly diverse school district, getting bitched at A LOT, and it’s unpaid!! But I’m so grateful Leila wants the job.

I’ve also been to a few protests. I’ve been to big ones and smaller ones- protesting children being held in cages, our lack of a fair immigration policy, Black Lives Matter rallies, and some others. It’s been a learning experience and one I’m really grateful for. I worked hard to collect signatures for the Invest in Ed proposition- turning in over 75 signatures for the cause. And the day that I heard the state Supreme Court threw it off the ballot I cried. I felt so defeated. It took me a few days to pick myself up- thanks to so many passionate educators who kept saying “it’s not over” and “This is just a hurdle”. So after a few days of mourning and being pissed and all the stages of grief, I got to acceptance and decided it was time for more action. Just hoping a Prop would pass wasn’t enough, especially since that Prop was no longer an option. So I recommitted, put on my red, and declared I was going to keep fighting. 

 Another protest, another selfie.

 My motto.

This weekend, I stepped way out of my comfort zone and went canvassing. Canvassing is a fancy term for “knock on people’s doors”. The idea has always made me really uncomfortable, however it’s a really important and effective way of getting names out there and engaging voters. I was so nervous as I pulled up to the Democratic Party Headquarters on Saturday morning, but it went well! I knocked on over 30 doors, 11 of them had people who were home and answered, and those people were generally nice, supportive, and took my info and said they supported the #RedforEd movement or the candidates I was talking about (David Garcia for Governor, Leila Counts for School Board, and No on Prop 305). It was stupid hot out (I think it hit 98 by the time I made it back to that car after about 2 hours of walking around a neighborhood), but I felt like I did something. That night I also put up about a dozen signs in street corners- because simple actions help too. 

 Flyers? Check! 

 Lots of water and sunscreen too! 

I’m also recognizing and using my privilege more- and I think thats the most powerful thing of all. When I knock on a door the person inside sees a (fairly) young white woman with red hair. I’m short, chubby, and as nonthreatening as a person can be. I wore my Arizona Educators United red shirt, which is basically a giant sign that means “I’m a teacher”. White lady teachers are the least threatening and most approachable people pretty much ever. Everyone had or knew a nice white lady teacher at some point in their life. Everyone. But this means people will open their door. They’ll engage in a conversation. They’ll hear me out- who wants to be rude to the sweet teacher? Not too many people. So I’m going to continue to use that angle- and continue to educate people about the state of AZ and education. And kids in cages, and lack of an immigration policy. And that Black Lives Matter, and poor people are people. And that our kids deserve better. I didn’t see this activist side coming, but now that it’s here, it’s not going anywhere.

 Over a dozen signs on corners- we figured out a good system. If you see one knocked over or see a corner that needs one- let me know! 

Reflections on (Nearly) a Year of Marriage

I’ve been married for 11 months, which is close to a year, so we’re rounding a bit here. Overall, it’s been great! We lived together for over two years prior to marriage, so there weren’t any big surprises. I also happened to marry the most patient man alive. He doesn’t yell. Ever. I yell plenty, but he literally never yells back! So that makes things pretty wonderful. 

The thing that has really stood out the first year are the questions I get, so I’m going to answer the most common ones!

1. How was the wedding? It was good. It was a wedding. I had a great time, but it was a pretty standard wedding- pretty dress, nice tux, happy tears, food, drinks, dancing, cake. Both of our families are wonderful, so there were no drunken brawls or dramatic events. The biggest issue was the wind blew over the chuppah when we were setting up, but the rabbi had one and it worked great. I’m super grateful that so many people loved us enough to come and celebrate. And even more grateful that no one was weird or inappropriate and everyone had a good time.
2. How is married life? Exactly like unmarried life, only with more jewelry and tax benefits.
3. What did you do for your honeymoon? We didn’t. Not really. We will eventually, but it’ll just be a cool trip. We’ve done a lot of cool stuff this year, and I’ll get to those adventures eventually. I didn’t want to do a big trip right after the wedding- planning a wedding is a lot of work. So is planning a big trip- at least the way I do it. So I didn’t want to worry about planning another big thing. We went to Palm Springs, stayed in a mediocre hotel, but it was free in exchange for sitting through a timeshare presentation. I’ll do another blog about timeshares sometime- they’re an adventure. We did do some fun stuff- we drove in to LA (3 hours with traffic) and spent the day at Universal Studios- Harry Potter World is awesome and we had a giant pink frosted donut a la the Simpsons. We also ate wedding cake every night. I had not intended to save the top tier of our cake- in large part because it was big and I planned for people to eat it. But it got saved and given to us at the end of the night, so we threw it in a cooler and brought it with us. We did not bring forks, but luckily the hotel had sporks- so spork wedding cake it was! And it was really good cake!
4. What is your name now? Did you change your name? Are you changing your name?  It’s Conway still. No.No

4.5 Why not? How come? This one is a longer answer, so get ready. TL;DR answer: I don’t want to. Longer answer: I don’t want to, but for a variety of reasons. 

1- I go by my last name. I work in a high school, I AM Ms Conway (or Miss or Conway and once in a while Ms Kan-yay). I hear my last name far more than my first name. I answer my phone by saying “This is Conway”. I earned both degrees as Conway as well.

2- EVERYTHING is in my name. House, cars, bills, degrees, credit cards, you name it.

3- Laziness is a small reason too… Changing your name is a ton of work! I don’t want to do it.

4- My last name is really easy to spell and pronounce. People don’t screw it up very often (I get Conally more than you’d think), but everyone can say it. It’s easy!

5- Mitch is Jewish. His last name is Jewish. I am not Jewish. It felt a little weird to potentially take on a name with cultural significance that is not mine. I know people do it all the time, and that’s fine, but it didn’t feel right for me.

6- No one has asked Mitch this question! This is where I could rant about patriarchy, but we’ll leave that for another time.

7- And ultimately I just don’t want to. I like my name and I don’t want to change it. I’m positive I can have a happy, productive marriage and not have the same last name of my husband. 

In conclusion, married life is pretty great, would recommend. At least if you happen to be married to Mitch. 

The Engagement!

It's been a few months now, but I'm finally getting around to writing about the big night! It happened on November 5th. The actual asking wasn't really a surprise, but I didn't know what Mitch had planned. We've been talking about getting married for months- since even before our summer road trip. After the road trip talk got more serious- we spent 6 weeks together in a car and didn't kill each other- in fact we still really loved each other and wanted to keep spending time together! 

I may have been a bit persistent... we even discussed potential dates/time of year and settled on October. It's gorgeous in Tucson, we have a week off for Fall Break, both of our parents, and all of Mitch's siblings were married in the fall, and it gave enough time to plan. But after more than a few weeks and no "official" engagement, I was getting antsy! I mentioned, again, that I would like to get things going because I wanted to start planning and would need time. And pointed out that if we were shooting for October, we were a year out. Mitch responded with "Well, I've been trying to go bowling!" to which i answered "I didn't know bowling was so important- lets go bowling. I thought you were just casually wanting to bowl!" So we sent a date for "bowling"- November 5th, a Saturday evening.

November 6th is my dad's birthday, so my mom had invited us over for dinner on the 5th to celebrate. We agreed to bowling afterward. As i thought more about it though, I was a little worried Mitch was going to propose in the bowling alley. Not exactly the most romantic setting... yes we went bowling on our first date, but lets be real- bowling alleys are filthy and always smell like oil and grease and stale beer. Not what I had envisioned... But i went with it and figured, no matter what, I'm going to marry the man I love who is truly a perfect match. Then I had to worry about what to wear- I wanted to look cute, but also bowling appropriate. Oh the life of a woman... 

I have to admit- I underestimated him. We went bowling, just one quick game, then he said we were going downtown. We drove down to 4th avenue, just like we had on our 1st date, walked past Brooklyn Pizza (but skipped the slice since we had just eaten) and wandered into the Flycatcher. We ran into a friend who we had bumped into that first night (he really did his homework and planned for serendipity) and then he decided we needed a shot. Of tequila. Well tequila. I obliged and he told me later he needed a bit of liquid courage, but well tequila was perhaps not a great decision. 

We continued to walk, reminisced about that first date, laughed about how bad well tequila is, and I corrected his directions when he tried to turn the wrong way. He asked if I knew where we were going, and I told him I had a hunch and if I was correct, we needed to turn left and go under the underpass. He knew better than to question my directions, and we ended up where I expected- right in front of Borderlands Brewery. There was a private event (a wedding to be exact) going on, so we couldn't go in, but listened to one of the speeches while Mitch commented that he needed the bathroom. We checked a nearby port-a-potty, but found it locked. So we walked down the block to the Bates Mansion, formerly the Maker House. We had stopped there on our first date as well and played some old video games- maybe mortal combat? I know it involved fighting and I lost miserably because my tactic of "just hit a lot of buttons and move the joystick in circles" proved ineffective.

He insisted we go in so he could use the bathroom. I insisted we not since there was clearly a wedding taking place- we could hear the music from outside the walls. He walked in anyway, so I nervously followed, all the while glaring at him (and feeling particularly under dressed in my casual attire). I loitered in the entrance, hoping no one would see me and wondering what in the world was taking him so long. He FINALLY came back and told me to follow him. I refused, and said we needed to leave. He wouldn't take no for answer and insisted I follow. I nervously laughed, shook my head, probably called him nuts, and followed anyway. We snuck around the corner to a small room that was empty. It held a couch and a few chairs, a pool table, and empty hangers I assumed belonged to the groom and groomsmen. Laughing all the while, I told him I could not believe we were there and that we were crashing a wedding! He reminded me we crashed a party our first date (it appeared to be a company Christmas party at then AquaDec) so he figured it was only fitting. Then he slid off the couch and on to one knee and asked if I would marry him.

I laughed and said of course and kissed him. He snuck out again and went to the bar and got two glasses of champagne so we could toast. All night he had been checking his phone and he said he had to make a call. I was perplexed, but a few minutes later a woman came in and shook his hand and he explained he had called ahead to make sure we could sneak in. She also told him the dates he asked about were open, and she'd be happy to talk more another time. 

Like I said, I underestimated him! He did an excellent job of not only planning a great evening, revisiting our first date spots, but had been doing some calling to find out about Bates Mansion as a venue (spoiler: We booked it!). After the official proposal, we stole the bride and grooms Polaroids, snapped a quick pic for ourselves and one for their guest book, and walked back to Congress street for some Hub ice cream. I couldn't stop smiling. We stopped in to The SHanty to wish a friend a happy birthday and officially told him the news. We then stopped at my best friend, Steph's house, because we had parked in front of it, she knew what was going down, and I figured it would be a good time to get a photo.

We decided to be really classy and used the TV screen saver with a lovely image of London as a backdrop and did the classic ring-hand on chest pose. While kneeling in front of the TV and laughing. The ring was my grandma's ring from the 1940's. I've had it for years, my mom had it before I did and passed it down years ago. I've long dreamed of wearing it, but its clearly a diamond engagement ring so it has been sitting in my jewelry box instead. Mitch polished it and it fits perfectly and I love the classic look and sparkle as well as the sentimental value of wearing a ring that belonged to a woman that I loved and who inspired me so much.

There you have it- the details of The Engagement. But regardless of how it went down (perfectly, I might add), I'm truly so happy and excited to marry Mitch. I love him with my entire heart, I enjoy his company, he makes me laugh the way no one else ever has, knows just what to say when I'm down, and is the most supportive partner a girl could ever ask for. I am very lucky. 

 

Weekday Getaway

I’ve been quite remiss on the blogging. But here’s to a new year and getting back to it! I’ve got some back stories to get to, but in the meantime, I’m starting with the current: A weekday getaway to Sedona.

It started, like many of our adventures, with me stating “I have an idea!”. Mitch has mixed reactions to this phrase- about half the time it results in him having to do a lot of work (yard work, house work, etc) and the other half ends in a lot of fun. I like to keep him on his toes. This particular idea came after seeing a GroupOn Getaway for Sedona. It advertised a resort for $49 a night. I was skeptical. But when I clicked to get more info, it listed 2 nights for that price- the exact two nights I had been thinking of. So I booked it! Our semester ended really late this year, meaning we had an entire week off in January- just begging for a trip. Sedona was the winner!

We spent the first half of the break celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's eve. There were parties, presents, so much food, a lot of booze, and lots of house cleaning and yard work to prep. So a getaway seemed a perfect end to the break. And who can beat $50 a night in Sedona? I’ve been to Sedona several times, but it’s always just been to drive through, maybe a quick stop to admire the rocks, and then be on my way. Mitch had been there even less, so I booked it.

Two years ago, on what Mitch called our first “Mega Date”, we went to Phoenix for the day to go to Castles and Coasters. We’d only been dating about 2 weeks, so a day trip seemed like a big venture. In the course of planning this Mega Date I mentioned Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch and how I had never been. So we decided to stop. It was freezing, but really fun. So we decided to go back on this trip. It was significantly warmer and even more fun. Rooster Cogburn is a classic roadside attraction, in the middle of nowhere, with no real purpose other than to see and feed a bunch of animals. It’s awesome! We got our feed cups (prices have risen in 2 years- plus they added a whole new building) and headed out. We fed the donkeys, deer, and goats. Braved the ostriches (they’re really big and scary and want food!). We laughed at the goats up in the PentHouse and the Hole in the Wall gang- a bunch of goats sticking their heads and parts of their bodies out of holes trying to convince you to give them treats. We also fed the sheep (a new addition), pygmy goats (and discussed how we should have some… someday) and the cutest little bunnies ever! Bunnies!! A very wise new addition. Then it was on to the Lorikeets- they eat nectar from a little plastic condiment container. When you walk in, they swarm- lorikeets everywhere and all over. They pry off the lid and lick the nectar with their ridiculously long tongues. It’s hilarious and so much fun. Afterwards it was on to the brand new Ray touch tank where we got to feed them eel strips and pet their soft backs. All the while dreaming of having my own little weird ranch full of silly animals to pet and give treats to. Someday…  All in all a very successful first stop!

Next up was IKEA! Originally i figured we could stop there for lunch- because Swedish meatballs are amazing. And who am I kidding? IKEA is the best, so obviously we did some shopping too. We found a few odds and ends that we really needed (of course) and some snacks for the road. Swedish Cinnamon rolls are amazing too. But, much to Mitch’s dismay, when admiring the kitchens, I uttered those little four words “I have an idea”. We had been talking about our kitchen countertops and what to do with them and a friend had suggested butcher block as a solution to give new countertops without ripping out the current ones, that are original to the house. I happened to spot just such a thing in IKEA and convinced Mitch we should get it. We agreed to stop back on our way home since a 6 foot piece of wood wouldn’t fit easily in the car and we had a lot of driving planned. Spoiler: We stopped back on Friday and got it. It was so long it had to stand upright and literally divided the front of the car, so we spent the drive home from Phoenix not being able to see each other and talking around a giant box. It was awkward, but I’m sure it’ll be great once it’s installed. Updates will come soon!

After our successful IKEA venture we headed north and finally made it to Sedona. It was dark and chilly, but not too bad. As we checked in, the concierge offered us a $75 dining credit to use anywhere in town, all we had to do was attend an hour and half presentation on Time Shares sometime during our stay. Time we have. Money, less so. So we agreed. He made us a reservation at a fancy Fine Dining Italian place and we headed to our room to shower off the smells of meatballs and farm animals and attempt to look like classy people. Dinner was amazing. We went well over our $75 credit, but figured we still got a deal. Every bite was better than the last. Mitch enjoyed a (very expensive) scotch, I had wine. We got an appetizer, salads, lobster and shrimp pasta, and dessert. We would be so good at being rich people! 

The next day was cold, cloudy, and rainy. But we had already planned to drive up to the Grand Canyon, so away we went. We stopped in Flagstaff for brunch and to pick up some candy (aka provisions) and debated not going, but figured we had nothing else going on so why not. The canyon was cold, foggy, and a little drizzly when we arrived. It was also empty. So we headed into the El Tovar lounge and sat in the bar drinking hot chocolate. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. As we were finishing our drinks, the fog cleared some and the sun came out a bit. So we headed out to admire the view. I love the Grand Canyon. I never tire of the view and never ceased to be amazed at how spectacular it is. We walked along the rim a bit and headed into the visitor center. We caught a presentation on Elk by one of the rangers- fact: Elk are not native to the Canyon or anywhere in Northern Arizona. There was once a smaller breed of elk present, but they were hunted to extinction by early white settlers and the current Elk were brought in from Yellowstone to repopulate the area for hunting. Now they’re causing major damage. As the ranger called them, they are “exoctic invasive species causing great harm”. They destroy the native yucca and other vegetation and eat farm more than the native Mule Deer and Bighorn Sheep do, causing the little guys to have to forage for food that should be abundant. In all the years I lived in Northern Arizona and all the visits I’ve made to the Canyon, I truly had no idea. So here’s my PSA: don’t import wild animals from other areas of the country (or world)- no good comes of it! Armed with our new knowledge we left the park behind and headed back to Sedona for dinner and warmth.

Friday we had to drag ourselves out of bed and get to a different resort for our Time Share presentation. It was terrible. I hate sales in general, but this was even worse. There was a lot of circle talking and no actual info given. Long story short- we listened for over two hours during our “private” meeting and did not buy a timeshare. Also they’re not cheap, despite what the circle talking implies. They also do not have any locations on llama farms. We tooled around Sedona a bit after we escaped, admired the vortexes but didn’t get drawn into any unfortunately, trekked up to the Chapel in the Rock to take in the views and look at a giant mansion that may or may not belong to Nicolas Cage and then headed towards the freeway. We decided to make more use of our National Parks pass and stop at Montezuma’s castle- another favorite of mine. We marveled at the construction and placement and appreciated that we have air conditioning and heat and don't have to climb ladders and rocks to get home everyday. 

On our way out Mitch suggested we stop at the Cliff Castle Casino. He had almost driven in its entrance by mistake, thinking it was the national park, and it was next to the freeway. We decided we would gamble the change we had amassed- about $3, and leave either when it was gone or if we made $5. We’re clearly big spenders! We walked in and put $1 into a machine. The minimum bet was $.49- not what we had bargained for, so we quickly left that and paid better attention to the fine print. We tried to a few, with no luck, and wandered around looking for something good. Then we saw it: a machine that had golden tortoises on it. If we were going to win, this was it. We played our remaining couple of dollars, and slowly watched the balance go down, occasionally boosted by 10-20 cents, but still dwindling. We were down to under 10 cents, and betting 1 penny at a time, when we hit the jackpot! 5 golden tortoises in a row!! The machine pays out 500 to 1 for this. Winners!! And for those of you who aren’t math whizzes, 500:1 on a penny bet is $5. We knew we weren’t going to top the jackpot win, so we cashed out our winnings, high fived at our luck and the tortoises, and headed to the car.

We drove back into Phoenix, picked up our 6 foot long box of butcher block countertop and met up with Mitch’s oldest sister, Alana, and her family for dinner. She said the shabbat prayers and lit the candles and we ate traditional chinese take out. The nephews showed us their legos and cars and books and various other fun toys. It’s always fun to stop in and see the whole crew and something we always swear we’re going to do more. Maybe 2017 is the year...  

 

Some lorikeet love. 

 

Bunnies were an excellent addition! 

 

Cat pillow!!

 

This is real life. 

 

Some lodge hot chocolate and lounge lizard time. It was chilly out! 

 

The clouds parted for a few minutes. Pictures will never do this justice. 

 

Filling up our water bottle with fresh Canyon spring water! 

 

Fresh spring water! And rocking that wind blown look...

 This is an elk statue. Elk are an exotic, invasive species and are doing a great amount of harm! 

 

This view! 

Before: simple paupers. 

 

 After: wealthy winners! 

 

We knew tortoises were where it was at. If only we had bet more than a penny...

Camping is in Tents

Mitch and I headed out of town for another weekend away. This time it was for a fly-in, aka a hang glider and paraglider meet-up. The fly-in was near Flagstaff, out at the base of some of the old cinder cones and craters. The area was beautiful- desolate and serene.

We got in late Friday night, set up our tent, which luckily is quite quick and easy, and which we've gotten really good at, inflated our sleeping pads and spread out the sleeping bags. At the last minute, before we left, I grabbed two small blankets in case we got cold. We were so cold. The little blankets helped some, but we're not enough and trying to fit two people under what I meant to be a small couch throw wasn't easy. The night was spent tossing and turning and huddling together for warmth. 

I had already volunteered to go into Flagstaff to pick up some grass seed for Mitch's dad, so I added a warm blanket to my list. I may have found a few more items while I was there... But that's neither here nor there. While I went to town, MItch went to fly. Unfortunately the winds were high and unfavorable for flying so there was a lot of para-waiting followed by a disappointed drive down the craters.

But that night everyone was in good spirits anyway and we had a giant Bon-fire complete with s'mores and everything. It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday night- good company, good fire, enough heat to not freeze, and a super soft and warm blanket which led to a much better nights sleep.

The next morning the winds were still too strong for flying, so everyone packed up and headed their own ways. Mitch and I decided to check out nearby Walnut Canyon. I hadn't been there in over 20 years, but remembered getting to walk through the cliff dwellings. The park service has closed them off for preservation purposes, but you can still peak through the door openings and get a sense of what life was like all those years ago.

I did not remember the stairs. So many stairs. The views are stunning, the cliff dwellings incredible to see, but the stairs are brutal. It seemed like a million, but was closer to 300. If you want to see how out of shape you are, I recommend climbing 300 stairs at nearly 7000 feet. Bring water. Don't get me wrong though, it's worth the stairs.

After we left Walnut Canyon, we grabbed lunch in Flagstaff and drove south through Oak Creek and Sedona. The aspen are just starting to turn yellow, which made it an even better scenic drive and much nicer way to head south than the interstate.

From there we went to Arcosanti. Arcosanti is this weird little structure in the middle of the desert that was designed by an architect to be a more sustainable community. It has the feel of an oddly futuristic, utopian novel setting. The people were welcoming and kind and we took a tour, learning the history, how it was designed and built, and a bit of what they hope to be. The vision of the architect is certainly not one that will be reached anytime soon, he envisioned thousands of residents but only about 100 people live there at any given time. It attracts mostly artists and students of design and they offer 5 week long workshops to learn about the "arcology" that is their signature mix of architecture and ecology and "hand-on" experience (which sounds like free labor to me, but to each his or her own...). 

They also make bells at the site and we got to see the set up for bell making. This is really their only money making venture. They are made of clay or bronze and decorated by residents. In addition, every helps out with the running of the place. They all have their duties in the community and live in small apartments, either as family units, individuals, or with flat mates. They rent rooms and have a nice pool as well as performance spaces that host plays, musical performances, and other entertainment. I won't be moving in anytime soon (or ever), but it was interesting to see and learn about.

After that we stopped for dinner in Phoenix with MItch's oldest sister, Alana, her husband, Nick, and their boys, RIchard and Alexander. Richard is in kindergarten and showed us some of his writing skills and commented that he was glad I still liked Mitch even though he has a beard. Kids are the best. And then it was back home, to a nice warm, real bed, and the week ahead. It was just enough time away to relax, and so loosely structured that nothing felt rushed or stressful- it was the perfect camping trip. And I'm getting pretty good at camping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Mexico: Land of Enchantment

I've driven through New Mexico countless times, but only spent one night (in Albuquerque) ever. So when I heard my cousin was getting Married in Santa Fe, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to explore the so called "Land of Enchantment". Turns out New Mexico is a lot more than just a space between Arizona and Texas, and worth the stop!

We were lucky enough to have a half day Friday since we had conferences earlier in the week and were at school until 8pm. So we hit the road about 3, which slated us to get into Truth or Consequences about 7pm. Except I forgot we changed times... But luckily I called the hotel we were staying at and they told us it was no problem and they'd make sure our room light was on.

But first, we had to make a stop. To see "The Thing!"- the classic roadside attraction. I've been once, but Mitch had not yet had the pleasure. The Thing is great- it costs $1 per person and you wander through several buildings full of weird, old, crap. Calling them "oddities" seems really generous. It's dusty old crap. They have old cars and wagons, and one of the cars is "believed to have been part of Hitler's motorcade". I'd like to see some evidence for that one... There are also drift wood sculptures, old guns, an unmade bed, and terrible reproductions of antique torture devices. Like I said, it's great. After you wander through the "galleries" that haven't been dusted, possibly ever, you get to THE THING! You will be shocked. You will be amazed. And you won't get any spoilers here- gotta make the trek and pony up the dollar for yourself. And after you see The Thing, you can head over to the attached Dairy Queen for a treat or do some shopping in the massive gas station gift shop. There is no losing at The Thing.

But back to New Mexico... We figured we couldn't make the 7-8 hour drive to Santa Fe after work, so decided to stop about half way: in Truth or Consequences (renamed in 1950 to win a radio contest hosted by the radio show of the same name). It used to be called Hot Springs, which is more accurate but less memorable. I found what looked like a cute place that advertised a private bath that is fed by the local geothermal mineral water hot springs. I didn't know what that meant exactly, but it sounded nice. It was so much better than I expected!

The place has about 10 rooms in casitas. The building was probably built in the 1940s and has been somewhat updated. It was cute, quaint, they left our light on and left they key in the door. No one is on site for check in, and when you check out you just leave the key in the door to signal you're gone. The private tub was the best part- it was massive. It had tiled walls that went up at least 3 feet and required a step to get in. It was larger than a twin sized bed and could host a small party if you se desired. And sticking out of the wall was a knob and instructions to "turn slowly". And turn we did- and out of a PVC pipe in the corner came shooting hot natural spring water. Pumped in directly from the local hot springs. It took some easing to get all the way in it, it was so hot. But it felt amazing and water was almost soft to the touch and slightly salty to taste. And, I assume due to the salt content, made me very buoyant. And there was no odor- at all. We both enjoyed a couple of soaks in our 15 hours in TorC. Our room also had a wall hung fire place, which was hilarious and obviously turned on so we could lounge by firelight. The next morning we grabbed coffee and breakfast at a nearby cafe and then headed north.

Santa Fe is beautiful. I know everyone says that. They are not lying. The mountains drape the background of the high desert landscape. Our accommodations were what I was most excited for- we stayed in a 70's travel trailer on a llama ranch! Llamas!! The owners were incredibly sweet and call their place "The Enchanted Yurt Llama Ranch". They have 11 llamas, 2 dogs, a yurt, trailer, and their house. They greeted us when we arrived and introduced us to the llamas and had us feed them grass and some homegrown grapes. I was pretty much in heaven. And their view of the mountains was stunning- we weren't around for any sunsets, but I'm sure they're breathtaking.

The main event of course was the wedding, which included rehearsal dinner Saturday night. Mitch got to meet even more relatives on the Conway side. He met 3 more aunts and 4 uncles and an additional few cousins. He does not remember their names, but is forgiven because there really are a lot of them. We did invent a fantastic drink- grave Jarritos (soda) with tequila. Dangerously good. By the end of the night we had 7 or 8 shot glasses accumulated.

Sunday morning, prior to the wedding, we hung out and got to walk llamas! Llamas! They have been halter trained and have long rope leashes. We were leant gloves to avoid rope burn and our hosts, Bill and Robbyn, led us, and three llamas, down the road, to the park and eventually to the river bank. Their rivers are much like ours- dry. At one point my Llama, Legs, was getting a bit rowdy so Robbyn took him. She only had him a few minutes when he pulled away and took off, galloping and jumping in the grass as he raced across the park. Bill took off after him and apparently he got about half way down the road before he realized he had no plan, so he turned around and came back to Bill. Meanwhile the other two llamas, MItch, Robyyn, and I waited at the other end of the park and the other boys were very distressed and unhappy that Legs had taken off and whimpered in the most adorable llama way. Once Legs rejoined his pack, we continued on our walk. We ended up walking for about an hour and a half. I had put sunscreen on my face and was wearing a cardigan that hit mid forearm and gloves. But hadn't anticipated we'd be out so long. Neither had Mitch. He returned with a nice raccoon eyed look, meanwhile I had a burnt neck and about 3 inch stripe on my arm where the cardigan ended and before the gloves started. We were obviously going to bring the class to the evening affair.

The wedding was in downtown Santa Fe at the La Fonda on the Plaza hotel. It was amazingly gorgeous. The entire hotel was classic Santa Fe style with southwestern flair, stained glass, and beautiful details everywhere. The ceremony was on the Terrace with the cathedral behind it. Nicely done Nick and Anna! There was a short ceremony, food, drinks, cake, dancing, and at least 60% of the guests were related to me. All in all, an excellent time.

The next day we packed up and headed home, sad as we were to leave our new llama friends. The trailer was an excellent taste of "living tiny" which is our new favorite thing to talk about (Thank you Tiny House Hunters!) so it was a fun topic of conversation as we drove through the New Mexico desert back to our familiar Arizona desert. I tried to sneak a llama in, but they're not particularly small or sneaky creatures and Mitch said no. So, no llama friends in Tucson. For now.

 

What is it?!?

 

 

Our giant hot springs tub. 

Setting the mood with some firelight. 

 

 Truth or Consequences. Fire water indeed 

 

Tiny but adorable. 

 

 

 

Sometimes a llama just want to eat all the weeds. And tree. And grass. And more weeds. 

 

 

 

 

Seriously, is this a movie? Gorgeous setting, gorgeous couple. 

 

Our matching cufflinks and necklace. Rhodaquarsite we got at the gen show and Mitch surprised me with by getting set into a necklace (and making his into cufflinks). A perfect match! 

 

The parking lot of Meow Wolf. 

 

Mitch playing a tune. 

 We're in the fish tank! Weird lighting makes pictures hard at Meow Wolf. Just go for yourself. 

The Work Drudgery

We're just over a month into the school year, and I'll be honest: it hasn't been great. It started off with so much promise and then quickly crumbled. The counseling department is funded for 3 people- two "alpha" counselors, who handle academics, credit checks, and personal and social issues, and one "College and Career" person who handles all the college and scholarship applications, college rep visits, and career prep. This is a severely underfunded department state-wide, and national recommedations for a school with 1300 students is 5-6 counselors. So 3 is already stretched way too thin. And then one counselor got a promotion and the other one resigned, so my trio is down to 1. Me. And my mantra has become "I am only one person, I can only do so much". Coupled with several new people in other major roles that ensure the school runs, it's a setup for disaster. 

And while I've spent some time feeling sorry for myself, and venting to many, many friends, I really feel sorry for my kids. I love my kids. That's why I work in public education. We all know it's not for the money, which is dismal especially considering I have a master's degree. I do it for the kids, even the ones who drive me nuts sometimes. I'm so glad I'm a person the kids can trust, confide in, seek assistance from, and go to. I overheard a kid, who is a bit of a handful and frequent visitor to my office, tell her friend that "Miss Conway is chill- just ask her to help you" and it defiantly made me smile a little bit. Just this week I helped a kid apply for free lunch because he lives with his uncle who doesn't provide him any monetary support other than a place to stay, and the cafeteria was telling him he'd have to pay for food. I helped another kid write a letter to social security stating he is a high school student so when he turns 18 next month his grandparents won't lose the small stipend they get for adopting him which goes towards their rent and utilities. He had come to me earlier in the year worried his family would have no place to live, so helping him contact social security to ensure they get a little bit of money for a few more months was a huge relief to him.

These kids stories go so much deeper. So many live with relatives, have parents in prison or who were deported, parents who died when they were just children or who left and have no contact now. I also have over 100 refugee kids, whose stories are for another day, because they are filled with heartbreak but also hope. They've seen and dealt with so much more than most adults I know. And yet, they come to school, in whatever state they can, and do what they can. They want to graduate. They want to get good jobs. They want to have families and cars and houses and nice things some day. And they're being shortchanged by a system that doesn't support them. And because I am only one person and can only do so much.

I work in a school full of people who care. Teachers who will bend over backwards to find ways to help kids understand the material and pass. Late work? No problem. Tutoring needed? You got it. Extenuating circumstances that kept work from getting done? We'll figure it out together, don't worry. I am so grateful for each of the adults who chose every day to come to a school that is underfunded, understaffed, populated by kids from low income areas with parents who may or may not support them and give it their all. They certainly inspire me on days that I want to throw my hands in the air and say "I quit! I'm done! You dont' appreciate me anyway!" So instead of shouting my resignation, I go home, try to let it go (I'm not terribly good at this, but I am trying), and know I'll be back the next day because it's about the kids and they deserve people who care. People who will go above and beyond for no extra pay, no extra thanks, and often no acknowledgement at all. And when a former student stops by to tell me how much they're enjoying college and they have a job and they're so glad I helped them graduate, then I know it's worth it. 

And I'll keep voting and hoping others do to and maybe someday I'll be in a position that is better funded and I'll get a raise too. A girl can dream, right?