Albuquerque, Day 2

What I'm Reading: Cutting Loose by Lise Fuller
What I'm writing: Untitled short story.

This was our "both of us free all day" day. The Plan: Walk up to campus to see how far the actual meeting rooms are from the hotel. Then we'd visit Old Town and/or try a restaurant recommended by our daughter from when she used to live here.

You have to remember, this is desert (like that – don't sweat) so it was more than warm, and it's at altitude, which for a sea-level dweller is another strain. Plus, the University is located uphill from the hotel. I think everything is uphill from this hotel. We left the hotel at 10:00 am.

The hotel is a "short distance from campus" according to the conference information. On foot, it's a 45 minute walk (in the heat and uphill). But, we scoped out where my husband would be spending most of his days, and I decided he'd be doing it alone.

It's now 11:00, and we debated the restaurant, which according to my husband was "at the other end of campus." Since Old Town is the opposite direction, it seemed silly to go there first (especially since there are so many places to eat there), so we decided on an early lunch; then we'd take a bus to Old Town.

"That way," he said. "It's about 3 blocks up Central. Corner of Central and San Mateo."

Hogwash. First, his map only showed bus stop intersections, which were about 8 blocks apart each. Why didn't he check it on the Internet first? Don't ask me – he's the former Boy Scout Hikemaster. Shortly before noon, and two blocks past San Mateo, we decided to park ourselves on a bus bench and have lunch in Old Town. If nothing more, we had a very up close and personal view of the old Route 66 and its colorful inhabitants. Especially those who ride the bus.

Old town was as I remembered, and we had a great New Mexico lunch, starting with a cold beer. The sidewalk artisans were out, and I found some new silver bling.

I must say the bus drivers in the Albuquerque transportation system are super friendly and one even made a special stop for us so we were spared at least another 3 or 4 – or maybe 6 or 8 – block walk from the official stop to the hotel.

Where I promptly made an appointment for a Deluxe Spa Pedicure for tomorrow morning. I'd have done it today, but my feet were too sore to think about letting anyone touch them. I had a nice bubble bath, read some more of Lise Fuller's book, and actually caught up with my real job work while my husband crashed for 2 hours.

And, to end the day, since these rooms have refrigerator/freezers, we bought some Haagen Dazs cherry fudge truffle for dessert.

A change of scenery and hi-tech clocks

We're in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the next week. My husband's got a professional meeting, and since Albuquerque isn't far from Colorado, where two of our kids live, we decided to make it a 'vacation add on'.

I was pleasantly surprised that our flights were all on time (one was early, which actually was a problem, since there were no empty gates and we had to sit off on the tarmac somewhere until one was free, so we didn't get 'in' until our scheduled time.)

I enjoyed my eBookwise on the plane -- although you do have to turn it off until the 'approved electronic devices' are permitted. Makes for good reading in the unpredictable cabin lighting. (And it makes a good nite lite when you're trying to navigate a dark hotel room!)

My husband's seat partner (we always fight about the aisle seat, so we were across the aisle on the flights) hadn't flown since 9-11, and she'd witnessed it in her rear-view mirror as she drove as fast as she could after seeing what was happening. She was not a happy flier as we bounced through some decent turbulence.

We arrived at the hotel, and my husband was very pleased with the room. "I didn't know we were going to get a suite," he said.

Well, dear -- the hotel is called the "Embassy Suites" and that should have given you a clue.

Only glitches: their internet connection took a bit of finagling, primarilly because their literature didn't match what actually happened on the screen. I'm also at a disadvantage because my work email system lets me receive, but in order to send, I have to use their very bare-bones webmail, and that's going to turn into a major pain. However, that does justify the cost of the hotel's fee to use their high-speed connection (tried the bootleg free stuff we could pick up, and it's too slow).

And the clock! It's this amazingly high-tech box, with push buttons pre-set for classical, jazz, country, etc. Only the reception sucks, but there's an MP-3 connection so if my shuffle works, I can listen to my tunes over the radio instead of through my computer's iTunes. But -- the clock has no visible way to change the time, and it was an hour off. Changing time zones is bad enough for me, but to have to do the mental adjustment was going to create real problems. After much trial and error, which included unplugging the clock and removing the batteries, a call to the front desk provided the secret information that there was a button somewhere to adjust for daylight savings time, which might solve the problem (or create a two hour difference). With the help of the ever-present Leatherman all-in-one tool, my husband ended up taking the clock apart, finding some more buttons, pushing them more or less at random, until he found some that made the time display flash. From there it wasn't too hard to adjust the time (which after his earlier trials, was now 42 minutes fast), and eventually, he even discovered the magic "enter" button which saved the settings. Don't ever let it be said we're not easily entertained.



They've got free happy hour every evening, which we were MORE than ready for after the clock adventure, and free breakfast every morning, and it's not the individually wrapped, mass-produced Danish and muffins. Nope--cook to order omelets, pancakes, plus fruit, cereal, etc., etc. And, there's a fitness center so I can assuage some of the guilt.

Today's a free day -- meeting starts tomorrow, so we'll probably take advantage of the time to do something together.

I'll be back if I discover anything interesting. I love the desert--and the mountians. Not too much in love with the change in altitude though. It's going to take me a while to acclimate.

My Ride Along with an Orange County deputy

I had the pleasure of doing a ride along with a deputy sheriff on Friday. I opted for the mid shift which gave me a chance to see both day and night. I also chose the sector in which I live, even though it might not have as much "action" as some of the other ones. I thought by doing this, I would learn more, as I might have more time to chat with the deputy. After all, I was doing this to learn about the 'little things' that will add realism to my books, as much as for the fun.

Their day begins at 3:00 pm with a briefing and runs until 2:30 am. As a rider, I was free to decide how long I wanted to stay. Since two days earlier, two deputies had been shot in a hotel parking lot, their briefing ran long, and it was close to 4:00 (I still think in am/pm time, although everything was done on a 24 hour clock system) before I met Chris, who would more or less be responsible for my life for the next few hours. I asked if he drew the short straw when he got the assignment, but he said he normally does the ride alongs in the sector because he enjoys showing the general public what they really do on the job. I was also a tad surprised that I was doing more than 'riding' because for most of the calls, he brought me along and introduced me as a 'colleague.'

We started, immediately on a call to check on a missing person. I learned that although these are "Patrol" officers, they don't have time to roam the streets looking for bad guys or anything suspicious. They go from one call to another. If it's not an emergency, he uses the time in traffic to run plates of the cars around him. Red flag for him—overly tinted windows, but he'll do random checks. He says it's surprising what will come up, but he does need probably cause to stop someone. He did this once, with one of the too-dark windows because the driver didn't come to a stop at an intersection. Turned out the driver wasn't the car owner, but all the information he gave was correct, and the guy's record was clean, so he just told him to watch his stops and to tell his girlfriend her car was in violation of the law. He's not out to write tickets just because he can. It's about establishing a presence in the community, and being reasonable.

The zone he works has 3 deputies, and they cover a LOT of territory. They also back each other up, based on who's where, so a deputy from another zone will come if they're closer or needed.

First observation: they don't routinely park in front of the address they're investigating. An exception would be when it's a routine call to get information about something that's already happened. However, we parked halfway down the block for almost all of his calls.

There are also priorities to calls, which I learned firsthand as he was listening (with immense patience, I must add) to a "Family Dispute" from a woman who wanted "them" to do "something" about her 25 year old daughter who was on drugs and stealing from her, although she had no real proof, and couldn't make up her mind what she wanted as Chris explained the consequences of each of his options. He had started to fill out a report form when he handed it to her and said he'd be back later to pick it up. I thought he'd just reached his limit in trying to figure out what she really wanted from him, but as we got into the car and he took off with lights and sirens (GREAT FUN!), he explained he'd gotten a Code 3 to another location where they were setting up a perimeter to catch a bad guy (which is the term he used with me, although it's not the one used when cops talk to each other). That was broken off when they captured the suspect, but we were immediately sent to an "Aggravated Assault with a Weapon. We first went to talk to the victims. They didn't want to press charges, but one of the things they had talked about in their briefing was "taking the streets back" and not letting criminals call the shots, so they're making their presence known. This was in an area he is called to regularly, and this time, he told me to stay in the car and lock the doors when he got out, and he pulled a shotgun from the trunk before he went to the apartment. As he put it, "They had a gun, so we go in with a bigger gun."

While he was gone, I listened to radio calls and watched the computer screen. Everything is done from his car, as much by electronic data transmission as the radio. The computer gives him different sound effects depending on what kind of a call it is – and I can tell you, nobody would miss a "Code Three."

He had no qualms about letting me read the screen (although I've got a stiff neck this morning, because it required some twisting). He even ran my driver's license and confirmed a point I used in my book (thank goodness!) that the pre-digital licenses don't have pictures on file. Another quirk – I got a new car last February, but when he ran my license, it didn't show up.

That's it for this post – my night at this point is about half over.

Criminals can be SO dumb

What I'm reading: Last chapters of Split Second by David Baldacci.

What I'm writing: Consummation scene of my short story.

On Wednesday, I was at the Post Office when numerous sirens called my attention to several motorcycles racing down the interstate. Shortly thereafter, several more cruisers followed, also running with lights and sirens.

I went home and turned on our local news channel. Seems that three guys were trying to break into a car in a hotel parking lot. This, despite the fact that the parking lot contained numerous cop cars. And the fact that registration had just opened in the hotel for a police convention on crime prevention, so the place was filled with law enforcement officers.

But, even more amazing (in a sick way) was that when these guys were approached by two Orange County deputy sheriffs, they shot them. Fortunately, one's vest saved him, as he took a shot to the chest. The other was hit in the arm. Both were released from the hospital.

Our sheriff was interviewed shortlly after the incident, and (as expected after getting to hear him at our Civilian Police Academy class), he was livid. They'd caught two of the three men (and believe me, when a cop is injured, law enforcement shows up in droves!) and he said he'd bet his paycheck these guys would have records.

Sure enough, between the 3 of them, they had over a hundred arrests. Makes you wonder what kind of support the court system is giving the community, doesn't it. The cops arrest 'em, the courts let 'em go.

I'm supposed to have my ride along this afternoon. Should make for some interesting discussion.

Palate Cleansers, Brainstorming and Plotting

What I'm reading: Split Second, by David Baldacci. Also finished 2 quick reads: Fresh Disasters, by Stuart Woods, and The 6th Target, by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro.

What I'm writing - a new, as yet untitled short story that's getting longer and longer.

I finished my Dalton & Miri novel and have set it aside so I can revise it more objectively. After about 3 days, the writing itch came back, but I wasn't sure where to begin. Too many choices. A sequel to one of my other novels? If so, which one.?

I browsed my old writing exercise folders and came across a short exercise assignment: "Use the word curmudgeon in an under 2000 word story. I looked it over, along with notes from my old critique group and wondered if/how I could turn it into something to submit to The Wild Rose Press, which meant it had to be a romance. Since the story was about a reclusive author dealing with his curmudgeonly old man neighbor, the possibilities weren't promising. But, it was worth thinking about how to work a woman into the story. Since I had the framework of my male protagonist, I needed an acceptable (meaning totally opposite) female character.

On Saturday, my local crit group met. We do our basic critiques for writing glitches electronically, so our face to face meetings are for brainstorming. Thanks to our back-and-forth 'what if?' discussions, tossing all sorts of possibilities on the table, by the time we finished, I had the major plot points worked out. In a short story, there aren't that many of them!

I realize that this is also the way I plot a novel, but in a novel, I have about 100,000 words to work through everything, so I do this over and over throughout the book. For a short story, it's kind of 'one stop plotting.'

Another thing I found as I started writing was that this story, my male protagonist insists on being the sole POV character. I've written most of my short stories from a single POV, but always the female. I'm going to have to get my husband to read this one all the way through--not just the sexy stuff.

I'm having a lot of fun, and since this is a contemporary, traditional romance, not a mystery or suspense, there's not nearly as much work as far as setting up a mystery/crime and dealing with all the clues, red herrings and other twists the genre requires.

The only 'drawback' to having the story virtually plotted out in its entirety is that since I know what's going to happen, I've lost some of the excitement of discovery and have to spend more time getting from point A to point B and less deciding what point B actually is. I let the characters guide me, but unlike a novel-length work, I have to keep cutting them off. There just isn't time to show their entire life history on the page, even though they insist on telling all sorts of pesky childhood details.

My goal is to have this finished before I leave town on Monday.

With Thanks

For all who gave their lives, and those now putting theirs on the line for us ... Thank you.

The Importance of a good proofreader

Recently my husband was given an award by the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine. It was supposed to be a surprise, but he told them he was too busy to go to their dinner (which was a shocker, since normally free food takes priority over just about everything), so when they told him he "had to be there" he was pretty sure something was up. Of course, I knew about it, but neither of us wanted to spoil the surprise for the other, so we each pretended to believe the original cover story, which was that he was presenting the award to a colleague.

More interesting, however is the story behind this plaque. The first iteration had the award given for Marine Mammal Conversation. Now, those critters might be smart, but so far, nobody's been able to do a whole lot of chit-chat with them. So, they sent it back and pointed out it was for Marine Mammal Conservation. They fixed that, but then my husband, after receiving this corrected version, pointed out that the man after whom the award was named was spelled Keyes, not Keys -- a fact driven home decades ago when my husband met the man who pointed out the spelling and pronunciation by way of introduction.

So, Dan -- because I know you're checking to see when this gets posted -- Here it is. And congrats again.

Civilian Police Academy - Over for now

What I'm reading: The Price by Joan Johnston

What I'm writing: Plot hole repairs

Last night was our final Civilian Police Academy class. It was a ceremony attended by the Sheriff, the Undersheriff as well as many of the department heads. The Sheriff spoke, thanking us for taking the class, and reminded everyone of the problems our community has trying to keep crime under control. Although it wasn't the speech I'd expected, it did pound home the point that the law enforcement community is overworked, underpaid, and under-appreciated, especially by the local media. (I think if personnel from the local news staff took this course, they'd change their tune). But then, anyone who knows me knows my opinion of the media is that they never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

We got lapel pins, keychains, and certificates:


We also had our pictures taken with the Sheriff. Maybe I'll post it when they send it.

Everyone in the class could see firsthand how dedicated the Orange County Sheriffs Office deputies are, and we have a lot more appreciation for their hard work.

And, of course, we had a great time getting to see some of their toys, too!

There's an Alumnae Academy that meets once a month. I think I'll be there! But next on my to-do list is my ridealong. I got the call yesterday, and my date is June 1st. I haven't mentioned it to my husband yet -- he reads my blog so I like to leave him a surprise or two. Besides, he made a point of NOT telling me he noticed my new slacks and shoes last night until after we got home.

A new portrait

Our latest portrait

Saturday night we were at a fund raiser for the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. In a slightly different approach to the inevitable roaming photographer, some of the Hubbs research staff demonstrated technology they use in their studies.

Here's a picture of me and my husband.

Farewell, Miss Snark

Yesterday I had to be at a morning Adult Literacy League session, and I didn't check Miss Snark's blog before I left. Instead, I logged in at about 3:30 pm and found her retirement post. I have to admit I thought it was a joke, that I'd missed April 1st. I read it about five times before it sank in. At the moment, the comment thread has over 400 posts. She is going to be sorely missed.

I thank you, Miss Snark, for your time, patience, wisdom and wit.