Shaine Mata Blog

Tomorrow, All Hallowe's Day (All Saint's Day), is my first day at work at the District 40 office in Edinburg. My instructions are to dress decently, but comfortably.

I've been busy this week, in addition to getting my affairs in order, reading about politics in Texas. Mr. Peña was kind enough to recommend a book I should read to get a heads up on what I'm getting into. Ignoring the preposition at the end of that sentence, I am learning much about the history of Texas politics, thus far. The link is above if you are interested. I can't help but observe that many of the things that we find offensive about politics these days pales in comparison with the events of the past. Yet, it's no excuse for anybody to abuse their power. My soon-to-be employer has asked that I keep him grounded should he start to step out of line. He could have hired somebody who would write puff pieces to no end,; but, he didn't. You have to respect somebody who is not afraid to lay out his work in the open for all to see. The way I see it, Mr. Peña hired me, but I work for the people of District 40 like everybody else in his office. Our job will be to play ...

I found out that Rep. Peñas website , in conjunction with his blog , was ranked 5th amongst campaign websites in the State of Texas by CapitolInside.com , last week. This is despite The Rep. running unopposed in this election season. Mike Halley attributes Mr. Peña's lack of opposition to the well-made website and his open discourse with his constituents. Congratulations to Mr. Peña.

A while back, I audioblogged about going for barbacoa. I also touched on barbacoa in other instances ( 1 , 2 , 3 ). Well, today, I went out for another pound of the delicious meat. Just to recap, barbacoa is not the same thing as barbecue. Barbacoa is cooked meat from the head of the cow. The best meat comes from the tongue. Some people can manage to pick the meat off the skull. That creeps me out, so I buy barbacoa already picked off the head. As usual, I went to De Alba Tortilla Factory & Bakery in Mission. I like that they have two options for buying barbacoa. They have regular and especial. Regular barbaco is very greasy. When you make yourself a taco, the grease just drips out the back end. Don't get me wrong, it tastes great. However, I'm committed to my people for the long haul, so I want to avoid clogging my arteries as much as possible. Therefore, my family pays the extra dollar for barbacoa especial. The meat is leaner. The only thing dripping out the back end of...

I finished filling out my job packet on Monday night, a full week after receiving it. It took me so long because there are pages and pages to fill out. I actually had most of it filled out on the first day. I was not too clear on what to do for the insurance forms. I admit that I put it off a couple days because it seemed pretty daunting. I did make a call to the Personnel department in Austin for some help. The person who helped me out was great. She was very knowledgeable and willing to explain anything for which I had questions. Best of all, she gave me a link to the ERS website, http://www.ers.state.tx.us/ , where I could get more details than I would over the phone.My main trouble areas were making decisions over the health insurance and dental insurance. If you are a single person and become a Legislative Aide, the state will cover all of your health insurance costs. In my case, I am married with two children. This means that a significant chunk of my insurance cost will be deduc...

Firing up the grill , originally uploaded by shainelee . There are some families that fire up the grill every weekend here in the Rio Grande Valley. Mine is not one of those. Once a month is about the norm. Those families that cook out more often usually live out on a ranch somewhere or on the outskirts of town. The guys will park their car or truck nearby and leave the stereo blaring with Tejano or conjunto music. My barbecues are more sedate. I'm in it for the food more than an excuse to be outside drinking beer. One thing I do share in common with tradional RGV barbecues is an insistance on using mesquite. Lighting it can be a bitch; the flavor it imparts on meat is worth it. As I type this up, my eyes are watery from all the smoke. Despite all that, I missed the familiar scent of burning mesquite. Lucky for us my father-in-law had some logs lying around. I'll be in Madero for the rest of the day.

I've come to realize that, more than anything, being a Legislative Aide is an information-based occupation. The job is mostly information management. There are newspapers and other references to read. There is research to do on topics that are on the agenda. There is correspondence from constituents to read, work on, and file. There are people to know, meetings to set up, social networking, and all manner of information sharing. Even the gossip around the Capitol will be information-based. Most of all, there will be tons of phone calls. What got me to think about this is my recent need to cash in my bonus minutes on my phone. I'm not officially working yet, and I've put in more minutes on my phone than is the norm for me. I usually struggle to use 300 anytime minutes a month; which I rarely do. I may return to normal once I start working in the office and have access to a landline. So, even though I won't be burning mobile minutes, I expect that I will be on the phone o...

Still messing around , originally uploaded by shainelee . I'm still trying to get my phone to post pics to the blog. I went and got a virgin camera phone and I intend to use it. This isn't the most flattering pic, LOL. Feel free to leave a comment on any scary posts like this.

Wild Rose Memorial Hospital , originally uploaded by shainelee . Alma wanted a pic of the hospital where I was born for the scrapbook. We took this during one of our visits to Wautoma, WI.

One thing that Alma and I missed about being in the Rio Grande Valley is that we could not get fajitas up in Wisconsin. A friend of ours would go to Wautoma on occasion and take some to Rice Lake, but they weren't as fresh. Fajitas down here don't last as long on the shelf. The biggest reason is that they aren't prime cuts of beef, so they are affordable. If there is one thing the RGV has, it's poverty. Fajitas are the affordable choice for everybody to barbecue. If you want to go cheaper, then chicken will fit the bill.   We are going to buy some fajitas this weekend and head over to my in-laws to cook them on the grill. One of the things that makes the Rio Grande Valley home for us is the availability of the foods we eat. Oddly, tortillas were readily available in all the grocery stores.   Next food, barbacoa.

Going through stuff , originally uploaded by shainelee . We are going through our stuff to get rid of extra items. I found this in the closet, my dad's old jacket. I'm going to call to find out if he wants it back. Frank, call me and let me know if you want it back or if we can sell it. We will be having a yard sale at my mom's next weekend. Our apartment is cluttered with stuff we had and some stuff we brought from Wisconsin. I hate having too much stuff. It just fills up space and doesn't let you think clearly. A cold front came through the valley last night. It's in the 50s right now.

Well, it's been our first week home. We pretty much just took it easy after moving back in to the apartment. Magnus is not in school yet. We need to get something notarized. He'll probably begin school on Monday. Tien is doing OK. She is was in her groove with my mom. Now she's adjusting to ours again.   I've been working, although I don't officially start work until November 1st. There are some things that I'm doing to prepare before being on the job. Mostly, I'm trying to get to know everybody at the office. It's a government job, so I'll be working 9 to 5. That's a perk of being on salary, I suppose.   Our concern for now is how to deal with the need for 2 vehicles. Alma has borrowed her parents' car for now, but we can't do that forever. We have enough for a down payment; but if we get the car now, we'll struggle to make the payment in November. So, we should wait to get a car in November so that we can make a payment in Dec...

Today, I accompanied the District 40 team, headed by Mr. Peña , to the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. I got a chance to meet Gene Espinoza at the door. It's always fun to meet another blogger. I also met several other people, from the RGV Food Bank, to the Boys and Girls Club, to Time-Warner Cable, and including the lovely Miss Edinburg. The Edinburg Chamber did a great job of organizing the event. Attendance was well over 125. The topic of the Chamber Luncheon was a Panel Discussion on Legislative Issues. The legislators on the panel were Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa , State Senator for District 20; State Rep Aaron Peña, Jr of District 40, and State Rep Veronica Gonzalez of District 41. They each spoke for a few minutes and answered questions from the audience. I'll leave the details for them to fill in on their own press releases. Of significance to me was learning what happens at these events and what my job duties will be. Of course, I'll be responsible fo...

I've decided to turn on comment moderation for this blog. I will be working for Mr. Peña, but in a way I am also working for the other state representatives. After reading some of the comments on the first post, I realize that there is a distinct possibility that some readers may post some ugly things about our legislators. Even if I restrain myself from being critical, ugly comments by readers could be construed as my endorsing such views. My concern is not litigation. It would be like squeezing water from a rock, not much to give. I simply need to live up to my responsibility to all members of the legislature. In not so many words, I don't want to detract from the work being done in Austin by allowing vicious attacks to be posted. Disagreement is OK. It's how you disagree that determines whether your comment is posted or deleted. Although, I don't foresee such situations happening as I will try to provide all sides of an issue. All I can do is research all aspects of ...

AOL (http://www.aol.com) has come up with a new program called OpenRide. It's basically a browser similar to Opera (http://www.opera.com) and FireFox. The touted features are that you have tabbed browsing, integrated email client, media center, and other stuff. Of course, I want to try it out. The only drawback is that I have a slow internet connection until our DSL gets connected. So, I have dusted off my old shell account at http://www.silenceisdefeat.org to browse the web while the huge file downloads. OK, so it's not a root account. But it does bring bring back memories of when I first started on the Internet. It was my first year at UT (http://www.utexas.edu). When you signed up for a computer account, your options were few. I started off with a VAX account. Talk about an obscure OS! Then, when the Internet gained popularity, I moved to a UNIX account. The web consisted of a few pages accessible by Lynx and NCSA Mosaic. More often, I would use Gopher. IRC was popular. New...

As revealed in my other blog, RGV Life, I have joined District 40 Representative Aaron Pena, Jr and his team for the 80th Texas legislative session. The Rep has his own blog, so this blog won't be a repeat of his work. Here is what to expect from reading Session 80 . Writing from the perspective of a legislative aide. Some of the issues that concern the team regarding our district . Elaboration on some issues. Some issues may require further explanation. Requests for information. We have a pretty sharp team, but we don't know everything. On occasion, I may request public comment on issues. Keep in mind that providing references gives you more credibility. Philosophical is good, but we need data to back us up. Here is what you won't see on this blog: Gossip. I will see and hear all kinds of things that may or may not be true. Session 80 will not be a Capitol gossip column. Arguments. If you plan on commenting to draw me into a heated discussion, forget it. This is an inform...

Today, the Mrs and I ordered DSL service through AT&T. We should be back online soon. Our Rioplex wireless modem has always had lousy reception at home. we kept it because it was better than dial-up. we will also be getting a new computer. our old laptop was bought for schoolwork, not audio, video, and photo editing. It struggles. I'll be needing to do these things. -- Shaine Mata http://www.missiontexas.net http://www.missionhsreunion.com

I finally got all of our backed up mail sorted out. we did not opt for mail forwarding because we did not want to carry all those papers back. most of our accounts can be accessed electronically. paper statements would have been redundant. in any case, i'm done and ready for bed. -- Shaine Mata http://www.missiontexas.net http://www.missionhsreunion.com

This message is from a Virgin Mobile user. Enjoy. _____________________________________________________________ My family and I are glad to finally be back in the RGV. We arrived very early on Sunday, giving us cause to sleep late. We visited my in-laws and had menudo. We unloaded the U-Haul and then made our way to my mom's to watch a movie. We left the unpacking and "moving in" for today. There are other details to address as well. We left the meter running on our utilities, so we are in luck with the hot weather. It's a big change to go from snow to 90 degree weather. Thank God for air conditioning. Our apartment is our refuge. Our van was fine without A/C up north; not here. We still have to get our Internet going so that I can catch up with the news. We will go with Rioplex Wireless for now. Perhaps we will get DSL for more reliable connections. Thanks for all the welcomes. I've got other news to write about, which you no doubt read at Aaron Pena's...

We made it to the RGV last night around 2 am.

We have entered texas. We are almost home. One more day of driving. It is nice and warm here.

We have entered iowa.

Tonight, my wife, son, and I are staying at a Super 8 Motel. We cleared out our apartment and have almost finished cleaning it. We want to get our deposit back, so we rented a carpet cleaner to do the job ourselves. Tomorrow morning, we will go into the apartment early to clean the bathroom and kitchen before going to work. Once that is done, we would essentially be killing time until we are released from our jobs. All our meager possessions are in a U-Haul trailer we rented. All we can do for the moment is haul it around with us everywhere we go, which consists wholly of work.    We would have spent the night at the apartment except we already had our utilities disconnected. In the Rio Grande Valley, this is quite alright. A night in the dark wouldn't hurt. This week, however, a cold front has decided to make its way through the Rice Lake, WI area. We are expecting snow over the next few nights. Obviously, we would prefer to sleep than shiver at night....

Today was the last day of school at the UMOS Migrant Head Start center in Rice Lake, WI. I got my last look at my class of toddlers. In all likelihood, I won't see any of them again, unless I take the seasonal job again. From here until the middle of next week, the staff will be cleaning up and putting things in storage. That kind of work flies by, so our last day of work will be coming up soon.   I have mixed feelings about today. On the one hand, I am glad that the daily 12 hour grind is over. The job isn't tough; it takes forever for each 12 hour day to pass. When you work hard, in contrast, time flies, somewhat. I'm glad I am done changing diapers every couple hours. No more wiping noses. No more washing your hands constantly like you have OCD. I do wonder what will become my toddlers in the years to come. I wonder through what paths their parents will le...

A few weeks ago, I reviewed my progress. I have 21 hours to go for graduation! See more progress on: graduate from college

I finally got my cable reconnected after having it prematurely cut by the cable company.Withouth cable, we have no weather channel and no internet.  I requested to have it shut down on the 10th of October, which is our last expected date here in Rice Lake. Now, I am hearing some talk of extending us for a few more days, which will cause further delays on our return to the Rio Grande Valley. All of this complicates stuff for us. We'll manage somehow, I suppose.   I'll get going on the SpinRGV press releases as soon as I get a chance. I'll probably be able to do it Thursday evening.

Still without internet. Using phone to text message or record blog entries. Will depart for RGV on oct 9th.