Here’s my son recieving training this summer from an intern who is a freshman at UNM. He’s learning how to work at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum. He’s been going there since he was a young child and it’s such a great place. It is important to me to raise a thoughtful, creative, cultured child, whom could give back to his community.
This summer I decided it was time to take active steps in teaching him how to develop a good work ethic. We both became official volunteers at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum. What a great way to give back and teach kids something valuable in the process!
Going though my personal archive and realized I hadn’t shared these memories on-line! I really miss this conference and working for and with wonderful, creative spirits every year.
I had a great learning experience at the 2016 Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (SWPACA) Conference thanks to scholarship funds. If I can’t find outside funds to attend this conference again next year, I would gladly pay my own way. I thought ARMA San Diego was the best conference I had been to until SWPACA. I love being around like minded intellectuals. There is really nothing like it. I do want a PhD someday.
I made it a point to keyword search the program (which was close to 150 pages) for the words archive(s), culture, history, and New Mexico. I focused my time at the conference on those sessions for the greater good. I love learning things to benefit both my knowledge and my agency. Everytime I could, I supported New Mexico professors and students by attending their presentations. There was so much great research presented during this conference. I also made a presentation there.
I did attend a small handful of sessions that were chosen because of personal interest. One was a session titled “Myth and Metaphor in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien,” which happened to be delivered by a University of New Mexico (UNM) professor. Another awesome presentation gave an analysis of “Penny Dreadful,” which I love, by a teacher from Texas. That session featured another presentation on the research of a UNM professor and student on violent video games and children. There was one on how Batman’s suit employs STEM!! Then there was one on fetishism and the villainess. You know I went to that one!!
The mission of SWPACA is “to promote an innovative and nontraditional academic movement in Humanities and Social Sciences and to celebrate America’s cultural heritages. To provide an outlet for scholars, writers, and others interested in popular/American culture, to share ideas in a professional atmosphere, and to increase awareness and improve public perceptions of America’s cultural traditions and diverse populations.”
————————————– This interview is from the 2014 conference. It just went up on the Wordharvest channel on YouTube this week, so I wanted to share it. I’m honored to have my interview footage alongside those of several famous and infamous authors. Unfortunately, the sun was in my eyes, so I’m squinting through the whole thing!
Coincidentally, the video footage was edited by a guy from my gym. He recognized me and told my boss he knew me. He knows me from a very different world LoL. He was proly like… “is this the same gal? Hummm?” I never knew he did stuff like this. I guess you never know what iron lovers do on their spare time eh?
I’m looking forward to the 2015 conference. The author of Longmire will be there to talk about the move to NetFlix, which is awesome!!! I loved meeting him even though I don’t love any cowboys. Maybe I’ll ask him if he killed off Chase since I’ve only watched the first episode. I thought it was kinda symbolic in my real world.
This year (and probably next) I took off from work for the day to promote my local ARMA chapter. We set up a booth during the 2015 Legislative Session. The chapter is slowly growing and that’s good to see. We had a recent change in leadership, so we will see how that goes. I was nominated for President and Secretary, but decided I couldn’t swing that right now. At present, I’m the Director of Outreach.
I did a lot of networking (both personal and professional) during the session this year. I got to see my friend Linda who was working for Senator Michael Sanchez of Belen at the time. I visited with an old friend, Representative Jim Trujillo of Santa Fe (and Pojoaque~ my home town). We talked about when he coached baseball back in the day for “the twins” (my brother and sister). I even got to chat with Diane Kinderwater that day. She is the Director of Communications for the State Senate. I knew her from years ago when we both worked for a former gov.
The best person I networked with and who I am still in contact with was Dr. Meredith Machen. She is the current President of the League of Women Voters, founder of the Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe and former Vice President of the Santa Fe Community College. She invites me to all sorts of events for writers now. I am so glad I met her. She is well connected in the world of writers (including poets). We know many of the same people, but had never met.
Since I was a young girl, I have loved people. Networking is a necessary part of personal and professional development. Even if people tried, they couldn’t take the networker out if me! It comes natural to me and I love that. My sister always teases me because I know people everywhere we go. She always says “you should run for governor lol.” Maybe I should.
Last week I went to a conference in Austin, Texas to make a presentation and accept a leadership award. I learned so much during the course of the week and networked with many people. I visited the beautiful capitol and the Texas State Archives while I was there.
Austin is an interesting city to say the least, and I can see why they have the saying “keep Austin weird.” After 5 was always a trippy adventure… from the crazy street people, to the bat bridge, to good eats. I didn’t take photos of the weird stuff though!
Amongst a gazillion bars, there was one real gym. It was a Gold’s. I like having a few drinks occasionally, but a gazillion bars is a far cry from my cup of tea! In my off work/downtime, I had the most fun on Lake Travis on my last day there.
•••Amazing Stonework Here•••
•••TX Archives actually had up a NM Archives Poster and a View of the Capitol from my Hotel Room Window•••
•••D Loooooved This Car and Lady Bird Lake•••
•••Me and D on the Bat Bridge on Congress Street and Our Ride in an Electric Car•••
•••♥ed the digital setup to take trippy selfiez there!! Here is my BizMIX self portrait!•••
Railyard Fitness hosted a MIXoff competition on Thursday night between 15 of this year’s young entrepreneurs. We were there to support my friend Meghan and her husband Andrew. They are finalists this year which is exciting! Meghan has mastered “the pitch” for Pedal Speed Bags.
•••Meghan giving "the pitch" 😁 to Rachel, Mike, Gail and Laura•••
There was a DJ and the food and drinks were provided by Boxcar, which is the Railyard’s newest bar/restaurant. BizMIX provides a way for people to network and collaborate with other inspiring, creative people. “MIX provides a mechanism for the development of ideas, businesses, and projects with corollary opportunities for promotion, recognition and start-up funding.”
•••Me, Laura (my adorable and funny friend on a visit from El Paso), and Rach•••
Each competitor carried a balloon through the music laced crowd and pitched their project for votes. The finalists are “vying for massive amounts of money, marketing and mentorship.” Of course we all voted for Meghan and Andrew. She is so inspirational. Later that night she texted to say thanks for going and I told her I loved to see a strong, smart, creative woman in her element!
Fingers crossed for Pedal Speed Bags!! Meghan and Andrew deserve to win!
Yeah… I would say crime writing is a viable option for me. I knew that before I worked and attended day one of “Finding Your Inner Sleuth.” It was a great day. I love learning and with every bit of knowledge I get, I feel more and more empowered. I want to be both a physical and intellectual monster! I’ll be Queen of Iron and Ink!!!
All of the presenters did a great job today! I had such a good day. My bosses keep pushing me to write a book, and I’m getting closer to jumping. I love that I have found my place in the world of writers. I fit in there like hand-n-glove. I learned some interesting things from Detective Mark Manary, Christine Barber, Dr. Irene Blea, Laura Sanchez, and Don Bullis.
I’m looking forward to working in Albuquerque again tomorrow! I wanted to share some of the photos from today and a few of the more interesting things I learned. Here is to a killer future of crime writing!!!
Interesting things about Detective Mark Manary:
å He went into homicide work because he is the survivor of an unsolved cold case. In 1989, his father was murdered.
å His career in law enforcement started as a military cop with the Air Force.
√• He went to a Handwriting Analysis School, where he “learned so much about writing and the use of words.” 💜’ed that!!
å He is President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP- Albuquerque Lodge#1).
å He had to read and look at data for six months straight to get up to speed on the West Mesa murder cases.
√• His first step as lead in the 118th West Mesa Murders Task Force was to secure the records room. He allowed only two keys. 💜’ed that!!!
Interesting things about Author Christine Barber:
√• She is an amazingly smart woman, former journalist/editor, and friend who I have known for years. 💜 her!!!
å She took the show hands down today!!!
å Her current research into the West Mesa murders will likely give Detective Mark Manary great tips.
√• She is working with an anthropologist who is using scientific techniques to conduct soil analysis for potential West Mesa murder burial sites. 💜’ed that!!!
√• As part of her research for her new book “Rules of Survival,” she has completely emerged herself into the world of sex workers in Albuquerque.
√• She is now publishing the “Bad Guy List.” It is a freaky scary, but informative printout which highlights Albuquerque’s criminal activity.
√• She knows a lot more than anyone I know about serial killers, sex acts, what they cost, who is involved, and the dark fate of Albuquerque’s sex workers.
√• I met Christine years ago… not as an archivist, but as a writer. I invited her to the archives to conduct research for her book “When the Devil Doesn’t Show.” That book is about David Parker Ray, the “Toy-Box Killer” from Mountainair, New Mexico. He was a suspected serial killer. Though no bodies have ever been found, Ray is said to have murdered at least 60 people between Arizona and New Mexico. Together, Christine and I uncovered possible burial locations on mining property owned by Ray.
These are photographs from a recent work trip to Tierra Amarilla in Rio Arriba County. It is about a two hour drive from Santa Fe. Four of us went out there last week on a site visit. I was really impressed with their Records Management Program. It was so touching to see the hard work that has been done.
That county is currently building an archive to preserve history. The county had a handle on security of their records and they were using biometric technology. I enjoyed some yummy udon noodle soup for lunch at a cute little coffee shop there. It was a good, informative trip.
•••On the 19th I made a presentation on behalf of ARMA. The presentation was given to staff members from the NM Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management during a "brown bag noon hour." It was fun. I had a tour of the facilities and networked with some interesting people. One of the men in the audience was getting flack for eating chicken for "breakfast, lunch and dinner." He shrugged off the comments from his coworkers and freaked out when I asked "what are you training today?"•••
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Meridith Machen. When I met her, we spent a good amount of time talking about writing. We knew many of the same people, though we had never met. Machen has Ph.D. in English from UNM. She is also the founder of Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe (LVSF), and is the former Assistant Vice President of the Santa Fe Community College. She had many good contacts and ideas to share with me. I’m not sure how she finds time to be the President of the League of Women Voters? She’s a great role model and as it turns out, a wonderful woman to network with.
When I met Dr. Machen, she invited me to an anniversary celebration for the LVSF. That was just in conversation, but after asking for my contact information, she actually contacted me. She suggested I attend a Santa Fe Reads event and then she sent a separate message suggesting I contact an editor she knows to publish my poetry. I was surprised that such a busy woman made time for me. I actually felt honored. She is well known here. Her efforts with regard to education and helping illiterate people change their lives is widely respected.
••Email from Dr. Machen as she begins expanding my network.••
When I walked in, I immediately saw Dr. Machen and I apologized for being in gym attire. The first words out of her mouth were “did you know that E.A. Mares passed away?” I told her I had heard and that it was very sad. The man with unbelievable talents should have been around longer. It is always a sad time when a poetic soul is lost. E.A. Mares was known as “Tony.” He was a Professor Emeritus of English with UNM. I think the most touching moment of today was when another author (who I really like) read a Mares poem.
The full house was welcomed with a proclamation issued by Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales. Today was officially “Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe 30th Anniversary Day!” I was saddened to learn that almost 50% of New Mexico residents are illiterate. What? That was hard to believe, but this group would know the numbers because they are trying to change that.
The event sold out. Luckily, my ticket was on will call. Unfortunately, my boss Anne didn’t make it to the event, but her contribution was still publicly recognized. The other authors who offered readings and thoughts were Sallie Bingham, Natalie Goldberg, Valerie Plame Wilson (the former CIA agent), and John Nichols. The moderator was Mary Charlotte, host of Santa Fe Radio Café. This was an extraordinary panel of people. My two favorites…hands down were Nichols and Goldberg. They were both funny and witty. I discovered that Plame Wilson is still very green in the world of writing, though her career with the CIA is undoubtedly interesting.
Today I had a well rounded look at how these people became writers. That was the best part of the panel discussion. The words and personalities of Nichols and Goldberg really resonated with me. As writers, they make a real difference out there. Following are a few quotes and thoughts I jotted down today.
“We [writers] are always at work.” •••John Nichols
“Everything in life is interconnected.” •••Natalie Goldberg
John Nichols talked about being in remedial reading as child. Now he is a famous author.
John Nichols honored a fellow writer when he talked about the loss of E.A. Mares. Nichols choked up when he read a poem about the death of Tony’s 20 year old daughter. I cried too. It was very touching.
John Nichols called New Mexico a “cultural mezcla.”
John Nichols talked about loving all genres of music and types of writing because Flaubert said a writer “should know everything.”
“First you read to them when they are one, and then two, and then three and four and… well then you just threaten them.” •••John Nichols (giggling when talking about children reading books in a media saturated world)
Natalie Goldberg talked about the importance of penmanship, how it is disappearing from the curriculum, and teaching penmanship to young people.
Natalie talked about not having books in her house when she was little. She says this contributed to her need to express herself and eventually become a writer.
“Literature will prevail and it will make people hunger for it.” •••Natalie Goldberg
Stay hungry. Stay focused. Grow my wingz. Grow my gunz. Grow my legz. Kill my A-Chain. Kill my P-Chain. Keep my protein up. Love the haters. Pursue knowledge. Feed my mind. Feed my soul. Feed my heart. Stargaze. Write everyday. Practice creativity. Expand my networks. Give more. Expect nothing. Hope for everything. Touch greatness. Work hard. Dream more. Never deny love. Never back down. Never give up.
Highlight: Hangin’ with two of my favorite woman of the law with a love of writing. It’s great to seeBetsy and Sana every year at the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference.
~Betsy, Sana & Felicia~
Highlight:CB McKenzie (winner of the 2013 Hillerman Prize for best 1st mystery) giving me a free copy of his book with an autograph which read… “To our favorite person, Felicia.” Also~ seeing the oversized poster I designed for him up in the bookstore. He is a really nice, personable, funny man with a Ph.D. I’m sure it will be great working with him!
~CB McKenzie Stuff~
Highlight: Hangin’ with my friend and fellow team member with a Ph.D.,Susan Waterman. She is an editor by profession. Susan is really in tune with nature and is such a special woman. I have enjoyed working with her over the past few years.
~Susan & Felicia~
Highlight: Chatting withJohn Fortunato before I knew he would be crowned the 2014 Hillerman Prize winner for best 1st mystery. Then…watching him get crowned while discovering he is also an FBI agent who formerly worked for the Gallup “Resident Agency.”
~John Fortunato (2014 Hillerman Prize Winner)~
Highlight: Sitting on a table at the keynote dinner with three amazingly smart women. The keynote speakers were New York Times best-selling authorJohn Sandford and the infamous “father of Rambo” and thriller writerDavid Morrell. The women were impressive though. I shared a table with a mathematician (with NASA), a former news producer (for channel 7 in Los Angeles), and a former software engineer (for Los Alamos National Laboratory). All of them are writers.
~John Sandford & David Morrell~
Highlight: Realizing (yet agggggain) the power and value of what I was a part of for the last few days. I work for two amazing women...Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg. They are wonderful people. This is the full-page ad I designed for them because they deserved to be in the spotlight on the 10th anniversary of a great conference.
Lover of REALNESS... smart people with large brains... strong people with human weakness... all things divine and magical... and anything that makes my heart beat, my mind race, my body hurt, or my soul ache.
My Voyage Through Time 
SPEAK ON IT