Largely Lifted for a Wildfire

Admist all the economy failing and the mud slinging and the electing, there is one, little piece of fantastic, exciting, positive news circulating around.


A native has returned home after nearly 60 years.
Five river otters — a species once found in streams and rivers throughout New Mexico — were released Tuesday on Taos Pueblo in the water of the Rio Pueblo de Taos.
The otters were trapped in Washington state under a reintroduction program that involves the pueblo, the state Department of Game and Fish, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the New Mexico Friends of River Otters, a coalition of citizens, agencies and conservation groups dedicated to bringing otters back to New Mexico.
River otters — highly social, playful, semi-aquatic members of the weasel family — are believed to have once inhabited the Gila, upper and middle Rio Grande, Mora, San Juan and Canadian river systems.
They were occasionally mentioned in the journals of early settlers, but there have been no confirmed sightings of river otters in the state since 1953. Their disappearance was blamed largely on decades of trapping and habitat loss.
A larger release of otters is scheduled on the Upper Rio Grande in November. The number depends on how many can be trapped, said Hans Stuart, a spokesman for the BLM in Santa Fe.
"We are so thrilled to see this species back in New Mexico," said Linda Rundell, state director for the BLM.
Game and Fish Director Bruce Thompson said protecting and restoring native wildlife is important to New Mexico's heritage and ecology.
"Today's release is a positive first step in an effort to return otters to watersheds across the state," he said.
And Melissa Savage of New Mexico Friends of River Otters said, "We are extremely excited that Taos Pueblo has taken the initiative to ensure that our playful furbearing friends are once again diving and swimming in the Upper Rio Grande watershed."
The state Game Commission in 2006 directed Game and Fish to begin efforts to restore otters. A department study identified several suitable sites in both the Rio Grande and Gila river basins.
Last year, the department, the BLM and New Mexico Friends of River Otters began working with Oregon to get otters for release in New Mexico. But the reintroduction was delayed because efforts to trap otters in Oregon were unsuccessful.
Twenty states, including New Mexico's neighbors of Arizona, Colorado and Utah, have successfully reintroduced river otters.


HIGH FIVE, LITTLE DUDE!

In my world, they do.

Classic Big Head Bedard!

Interweb, welcome Landon Leclerc into this bold world. My cousin Mike and his wife Kristen who live in North Carolina became parents on Sunday, making this great-grandchild number 2 for Grandpa Emile. Us Bedard's don't have babies too often (at least babies in America) so it's pretty exciting. And cheers to the new parents, new grandma Colette, Grandpa John and new Auntie Gina (who will spoil that child rotten. ROTTEN!) Only the best for our expanding family.

I went to Raton yesterday, hoping that talking with former bosses and former teachers would give me some kind of career insight. I didn't get too much, but I sure had fun. I learned at APD had an unofficial rule in the 70's where if you went on a domestic violence call and if after 10 minutes, you wanted to slap the lady too, the guy got away with it. Visits to Raton are nothing if not educational.

But it was great to sit down and drive/listen to music for 6 hours yesterday, especially after standing up all weekend. Last week drained my soul, I'm hoping this week will be better. But, I'm working the exact same amount, so I sort of doubt it. YAWN.

However, after today, I only have 20 days of work left at the job I can't blog about. Scary, right? Well, not that scary. I'll get paid til January. No, really.

The way it looks outside today is exactly how it looked when I left Niagara Falls for Quebec. This blows my mind.

Gas at the Chevron on Candelaria and Edith is $2.77 a gallon.

Tenderness on the Block.

Super excited when I discovered this at work today. I'm not the biggest gamer, in fact most video games intimidate the hell out of me. But, that one, I like. But the way it's set up where the "x" key is jump and the "z" key is fastness, I can barely function. It's like playing guitar left handed. I'm sure if I played more video games, it wouldn't be such a deal. Punishment in full force.

You what, Balloon Fiesta? You're pretty. Don't worry, no one disputes this. It's you're kind of magical in that cute, little way you're unique to New Mexico. But seriously, you impare drivers to no end. The ten days of the year you're around are the absolute worst. It shouldn't take me an hour to get to work in the morning. But, it does because of out-of-state drivers who gawk at you on the interstate, instead of paying attention to their driving, and cause wrecks. So, yeah, I'm really hoping you get rained out again this weekend. Because, guess what Texas? New Mexico loves nothing more than to take your money and produce zero in return.

Staying up late is not beneficial when working a 67 hour week. I sometimes wonder just how bad a Red Bull would be for me.

Connect the wires and plug me in.

First off, we need to talk about how freaking good this album is. It takes every piece of music every current piano-fronted indie pop band (which is an increasingly large genre, probably thanks to Mr. Folds) and shoves it down their freaking throats. It's just that strong. It's a true return to form, a CD that people who hates Ben after he dropped the Five will fall fast in love with. Songs for Silverman will always have a very special, sentimental place in my heart but that's not what this album is about. It feels like Ben had a pretty intense conversation with his producers before recording and said, "Okay. Just how much can I get away with it?". It's one of those albums that's worth buying solely because of the production, and also solely because of the song writing calibur. I heard about half of it live when I saw him in Michigan back in January, when some of the songs were still coming to be and he was at the tail end of recording. So, having the final, finished product, instead of low quality youtube videos is just phenomenal.

I'm not trying to say that is lacks emotion because any project that Ben Folds does is far, far from that. It's an intensely personal effort. One of the best things about Ben it's his comprehension of pop and what makes it good; his ability to have fun with music, but also to allow it to be painfully honest.

Anyway, really, really great CD. I'd buy it a lot.

It's October, by the way. That means one thing for me: Seasonal Retail. DUN DUN. I started working Job Number 3 at Spirit again on Friday, which means, not counting yesterday, I worked a 50 hour week last week. This week, counting yesterday, I'll work 67 hours. Similiar pattern to continue until the end of the month. So, if I'm absent, please forgive me. I'm probably sleeping. It's been a long, long time since I've been this busy. I'm trying to prepare myself, but I fear the worst: blind work-daze where I start having nightmares involving locking keys out of buildings and cash registers eating my face. But, I keep telling myself this is good and it'll help me build up my savings, not to mention keep me active. I must tell you, after standing for 13 hours this weekend, sitting for 8 hours today sounded mighty fine.

I'm working at the Spirit on Cutler, next to Linen's N Things. Come visit!


How on earth little Filipino man sounds exactly like Steve Perry is still a mystery. But, he does. It's freakish. Kyle, his cousin Brianna, Marky and me braved the elements on Saturday and saw Journey at the Pavilion. Completely worth it, if only to hear Neal Schon play the Star Spangled Banner to the best American pride graphics I've even seen in my life (and I've seen a lot of them). Lots of hits were sung, lots of emotional swaying was done, good Saturday night.

Lastly, I need to talk some more about Ben Folds. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I will die happy.

Lipstick.

You know those images you see on the internet and you find your brain going through all the possibilities of captions and IM's and myspace comments? Well, maybe you don't. But I do. And this is that image.

Sound of wheels making me crazy.

I'm watching Sports Center at work (no, really).


And even though I know no one else cares, Boise State's football field makes no sense.

Gonna watch TV and pray for decent re-runs.

In the seven years that I've been pierced I've been very lucky (and very careful) to hardly ever snag a piercing. Never experienced the dreaded piercing skin tear. But now, after Monday night, I know just how lucky I was because, SOB, does that ever hurt.

Once again, I'm a sick little bee. Maria believes it to be allergies. I think it's stress. I dislike my job JUST THAT MUCH that my body will get sick to prevent me from going to it.

I slept til 1:30 on my sick day yesterday, which actually made me a little mad. I missed out on hours of pointless daytime television, which is by far, the best part of a sick day. Watching paternity test results in the middle of phlegm-brain/pseudoephedrine stupor is just the oddest sensation in the world.

But, kudos to me for even being able to sleep yesterday morning after 4 Tylenol Severe Cold Daytimes. Ever since I spent that month off caffeine, my body's been super sensitive to it. Like, no Dr. Pepper after 7:00 kind of sensitive (ohai, imma toddler). Normally cold medicine wires me like non-other, but ever since the Great American Caffeine Swear-Off, Dayquil's made me downright loopy. But, nope, not yesterday. ZZZZ.

Today I ended up rocking an entire day at work, even though I only planned on a half. Actually, "rocking" is the complete opposite adjective from what I did at work today. But, tomorrow, oh, tomorrow is going to be downright brutal. Like, I may end up in fetal position underneath desk kind-of-brutal. Like, pretty lucky the windows on our 7th floor office don't open kind-of-brutal. Like, no, really, brutal. If you're oh so privledged to know where this mysterious job of wonder THAT I DON'T BLOG ABOUT is, then you might have a good idea as to why tomorrow is teh brutal. So, please, let the waves of good karma and nice thoughts wash over me. I'll need it. Freaking brutal.

By the way, P-Run, I totally saw that coming.