Shaine Mata Blog

For some mystical reason, I get my paycheck direct deposited a couple of days before everybody else I know. I got mine on Tuesday. I'm already down a good chunk before even starting the new month. Where does my money go? Well, I spend $295 for rent, which is all bills paid. I got REALLY lucky here in Austin. I also paid my mobile phone bill last night. That includes my phone and my wife's. OK, I splurged. I bought another year of Flickr Pro. Our intern, Alex, also bought me lunch this month, so I bought lunch for both of us yesterday. I sent my wife some money even though she gets paid Friday. I have a student loan payment to send out. Of course, there is auto insurance. I'm averaging about $20/wk of gas in the van. So I'll budget about $80 for the month. At the rate I'm spending money, I've still got a hefty chunk left over. I can save on gas as soon as the cold weather passes. Furthermore, if I'm not driving, I can save on insurance. When I can do that,...

I don't know if you've noticed, but Rep. Peña's blog has been updated to the new Blogger. He decided to get it overwith before the session really got underway. This doesn't mean any major changes, yet. Those are in store for later. One thing you will notice, however, is that his address changes to www.acapitolblog.com instead of the temporary acapitolblog2.blogspot.com that he had. For now, the temporary address redirects to the new version. Later on, we'll move things to the old address, acapitolblog.blogspot.com, which Google has freed up again. You'll be able to access the blog under both the old address and the www host address. I also took the opportunity to change my other blogs to the new Blogger. The big benefit for me is that it consolidates all my blogs on the same account. The downside is that after session, I will go back and tag all my old posts. We are talking about hours of labor.

After work, we took a trip down to the House Committees offices on the E2 level. Our Chief of Staff James, who has had experience setting up committees thought that Alex, our MALC intern, and I would benefit from knowing our way around the Committee Offices. Well, the office has been vacated by the former Chairman and his staff. We checked out what was left behind to get an idea what we need to do to prepare for the work ahead. I think we're off to a good start. The only thing we need to customize is the letterhead. Other than that, everything necessary to run a committee is there, except the people. We'll address that shortly.   Personally, I know that working for a Rep. is supposed to be a lot of work. I would not know one way or the other with this being my first session. Working for a Chairman should be a LOT MORE work, which I look forward to doing. I would like to, if given the opportunity, to work at the office of ...

The Majesty , originally uploaded by shainelee . I'm on the way back from a reception with the Texas Association of Interior Designers. It was a well done event held at the Driskill Hotel. I had a good time with the people there. I learned that the program at the University of North Texas has 300 students enter their interior design program. By the end, it comes down to 30 students who graduate from the program. That tells me that they have some damn good designers coming out of that school. As usual, I come back to the office from these events and marvel at the majesty of the Capitol. It just humbles you to have access to such a beautiful structure any time of day (or night).

Reps. Lucio, Peña, and Guillen , originally uploaded by shainelee . I had an opportunity to capture all three Representatives during a casual encounter. It would be nice to include other Rio Grande Valley Reps, but it's tough to get them all together at the same time when they're not on the floor. I hope other opportunities present themselves when everybody is not in a rush to go somewhere. In any case, this photo is somewhat representative of the lower Rio Grande Valley. Rep. Lucio represents some of Cameron County. Rep. Peña represents most of Hidalgo County (in terms of physical area), and Rep. Guillen represents Starr County and other areas up to a portion of Laredo. Missing here are Reps. Oliveira, Martinez, Gonzalez, Flores, and others in neighboring districts. If I can get any combination of RGV Reps together, I'll be sure to take a snapshot for historical purposes. I'm sure I'll have pics with different combinations of Reps.

Texas House of Representatives , originally uploaded by rustyrabbit . I arrived in Austin on January 2, 2007 to start looking for a place to live. The legislative session began January 9. It's my understanding that the House gets to work after the first week, usually. This has been an unusual year with the Speaker's race and delays in the committee assignments. Now, the committees have to staff up and get things ready to start processing bills. But that's coming right up. What have I done in this time? Well, I've been scheduling things for my Rep. I've been attending staff briefings and classes. I've attended receptions. I've met many people who have stopped by the office. I've made a ton of phone calls. Of course, we also have to shoehorn reading the news into all of this. The news and blogs have certainly been plentiful this session. One very useful thing I have done is meet with a scheduling master. I won't mention her name because I don...

T-Mobile Dash , originally uploaded by daverebelxt . My billing cycle at T-Mobile doesn't end until Feb 10, but I checked my minute usage and was curious how it all breaks down. Specifically, I wanted to know how many minutes were mobile-to-mobile, how many were nights, how many were weekend, and how many were daytime sans mtm. The Breakdown Thus far I have used 972 minutes 542 of those are mobile-to-mobile, most likely to Mrs. Mata and the little Matas 245 weekend minutes 112 nights 651 peak, of which roughly 300 are mtm. This means that thus far, I would have used about 300 minutes not including weekends, nights, and mobile to mobile. Of course, these numbers will change as I approach the end of the current billing cycle. I suspect my usage should fit in around the 600 minute plan with the nts/wknd and mtm free. Another thing you should know about your rate plan is that if you are getting close to going over, you can ask to upgrade your plan immediately rather than at th...

I've spent the last couple of hours cleaning out my Outlook Inbox. It bothers me to have a billion emails in my inbox. You won't believe how many emails come to me every day. It's around 1 jillion or so. I was nearly done when my connection died right before midnight. I'm sure the IT Dept. Took the Exchange server offline for a daily backup. I will have to resume my inbox cleansing in the morning. It's probably a good thing, I'm beginning to doze off sitting here.

Finally, the suspense is over. Rep. Peña is Chairman of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. The announcement came by email. It's not on the house website yet. The Rep also got appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee. Congratulations to Rep. Guillen for his assignments as well. He is Vice Chair of Appropriations. Guillen will also sit on Calendars and Natural Resources. This is cool stuff. No, wait. It means more work.

Ethics Training , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Cheap day , originally uploaded by shainelee . I had a taco for breakfast this morning. I saw that they have oatmeal back there, so I may have that next time around. Today has got to be my cheapest day at work. I spent $1.62 on that taco. AEP had a staff luncheon at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin. That was both interesting and satisfying. Things got busier after lunch despite the delay in House Committee assignments. After work, I went to a staff draft event. There was no fancy dinner, just sausage on a stick and beer. I met some pretty nice people there, though it took me a while to warm up to them. I'm not naturally good at meeting people. Once I have somebody's ear, we can usually chat well. It's just getting a conversation started that's difficult for me. After a beer, things get easier too. I'm starting to run into familiar faces now. This makes it easier to meet other people. Despite my success at meeting others, I have to admit that there is ...

Going Back to the Office , originally uploaded by shainelee . I just finished talking to some great people from Laredo at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin. They were there for the Laredo Day at the Capitol reception. That was one of the best ones yet. I got a couple of souvenirs that I'm dropping off at the office. Although I'm already becoming jaded with some aspects of working at the Capitol, walking up to the structure at night is still impressive.

Direct audio reports by Shaine Mata. Who has time to read a blog entry? Just click and listen. MP3 File

Meeting with City of Laredo , originally uploaded by shainelee . Rep. Peña meeting with leaders from the City of Laredo.

I was just setting up my bed with real bedding. I've been sleeping in a sleeping bag on the bed since I moved in. This is the same sleeping bag I used when I stayed in a tent while looking for an apartment in Austin. During my trip home this past weekend, I brought a couple of sets for the bed. Getting to the point, I bumped my elbow and felt the sharp pain that I've had since last Tuesday when I fell on the ice. Yesterday, I went to the Doctor of the Day at the Capitol for some help. During the legislative session, there is a nurse practitioner and a Doctor of the Day to help deal with the more common maladies and injuries for the staff. They make it difficult to miss a day of work that way. You can't call in sick because there is a doctor who can write you a prescription free of charge on the job site. After some twisting and bending of my arm, it's unlikely that I broke anything. We could feel something abnormal, so the doc prescribed high quantities of ibuprofen to...

I got the opportunity to catch the President's State of the Union Speech at UT tonight. One of the MALC interns, Laura, invited me to join her at a class event for her Media Effects in Politics class by Prof. Talia Stroud. I even took a quiz on what we think the President will mention during the speech. We left a reception, after eating of course, to come to the event. We did not know there would be pizza and drinks, the staples of a college diet. It turns out that there was a reporter and a photographer from The Daily Texan, the campus newspaper, covering the event. On some level, it's fascinating that the class is about the media and politics, and it's being covered by media (and a blogger) about a political event. Only in Austin.

I was a bit bummed out today. More than likely because I'm away from my family after a couple of days with them. Soon, after the committee assignments come out, I'll hopefully be busier and can stay focused on the work at hand. For now, everybody is on a sort of standby, just waiting to see where the chips will fall. We can speculate about what the future has in store for us; but in the end we won't know until it actually does or doesn't happen. Either way, I hope the work is fast and furious. Otherwise I'll be disappointed with all the hype.

The Department of Public Safety Officers Association is offering a brief seminar as a public service to female employees of the Texas House of Representatives. Each woman attending will receive individual training and a canister of pepper spray. The training will be held Friday, January 26 at 11:30 and 12:30 at the House Members Lounge E2.1002. RSVP 451-0571. Sandwiches and refreshments will be served.

I've just returned to Austin from the Rio Grande Valley. The trip was uneventful. I did have some concern about a wheel bearing that is going bad on the van. After tonight, I'll drive it sparingly until I can find a shop that won't charge an arm and a leg to fix it. If that's not possible, then I'll have to get my hands dirty on a weekend and take care of it. I don't have another trip planned for the RGV for a long time. There is one project that may require a trip down, but it's for a computer client of mine that's not related to my work here. People still call me from my former life as a computer tech/handyman.

Direct audio reports by Shaine Mata. Who has time to read a blog entry? Just click and listen. MP3 File

I'm just experimenting for now.

Iced up van , originally uploaded by shainelee . My hands are freezing, so typing is not easy. This is my rust bucket covered in ice.

Ghost Town , originally uploaded by shainelee . On any normal day of the week, MLK Blvd is full of traffic. Today, it is empty for the most part. The City is pretty much shut down due to the weather. Everybody at the Capitol has left early. I'm headed home too.

Snowing at the Capitol , originally uploaded by shainelee . We discovered, while going out to an inaugural reception, that it's snowing in Austin.

Governor Rick Perry Sworn In , originally uploaded by shainelee . He is now the longest-serving Governor in Texas history. After swearing in, you could hear cannons firing outside.

Lt Governor David Dewhurst Sworn In , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Rep. Peña Ready for Work , originally uploaded by shainelee . We are getting ready for the Governor's Inauguration.

I made it. , originally uploaded by shainelee . Yes, I made it walking to work this morning. There was not a lot of traffic. The roads and sidewalks were icy. On my way, I thought I would stop at a Whataburger for a taco and a coffee. It was closed! There were a couple of guys standing at the door, but it was locked. I just kept going. It was cold, but not too bad. Once I saw I-35 up ahead, I knew I'd made it. My wife called and I chatted with her. That's when I stopped paying attention and hit an icy patch on the corner. There is no dignified way for a grown man to fall. Lucky for me, I packed a change of clothes in my bag. I landed on that and my elbow. I lost a little skin. I got up and picked up the pieces of my phone on the ground. Surprisingly, my wife was still chatting. So I slowly made my way across I-35 over the bridge. There were news vans parked on the bridge filming traffic. I guess they are expecting some wrecks today. The whole bridge was iced over. I got down to...

The homestretch , originally uploaded by shainelee . Once I got to the Frank Erwin Center, I knew I'd made it.

Frozen bus stop , originally uploaded by shainelee . I had the choice of either waiting for the bus or forging ahead. Good thing I kept going. I did not see one bus on MLK.

Start of my trek , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Temperatures are going to be below freezing tonight and tomorrow. The Governor's Inaugural Parade was cancelled. I can deal with that. What causes problems for me is that parking assignments will be waived. That means that parking will be a free for all. I can't decide whether I ought to wake up extra early to drive over to win my parking space or if I should walk over. I was in Austin when it snowed back in 1995-1996. All we heard the entire day was sirens. The whole town essentially shut down. As I type this up, the local station is scrolling a list of schools that are shut down tomorrow. If I drive, I risk hitting an ice patch. I can deal with that on a flat surface. It's another thing entirely to do it on a hill. As we all know, Austin is all hills. I'm considering walking to work. That would eliminate the parking AND the driving problems. It would also help with the exercise problem.

Making it on a budget , originally uploaded by shainelee . My experience may be more or less similar to that of other staffers during this session. This came to mind today while the House discussed the issue of salary caps. If you are making the cap, you may live fairly well in Austin. You'd have enough to rent a decent apartment and maybe even go out to eat. Chances are that if you are earning less than the cap, it's much less than the cap. Chances are that you are either making the max or are not even close to it. That's human nature; and the Reps are human. If you are in the latter, you can't afford to eat out. In fact, you can't afford to eat at the Capitol Grill either. Let me do the numbers for you. If you spend $6 per meal, that means your cost for lunch and dinner is $12 per day. Let's assume you skip breakfast. You will spend $48 a week working 4 days a week. $60 per week in a 5 day week. That's $240 per month, not including weekends. Hous...

Visit with Rep. Ryan Guillen , originally uploaded by shainelee . Yesterday, I had some spare time to visit other offices after work. I did not realize that so many people take off as soon as 5 o'clock comes around. I'm still trying to meet people and make friends. I stopped by Rep. Guillen's office and met his staff. They are a good bunch. Their boss was there too. We talked shortly. He's a funny guy. He's not funny in the sense that he jokes around; rather, he has funny stories.

Governor Rick Perry Speaks to the House , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Craddick Sworn In , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Craddick Wins , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Standing Applause , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Wow! Pitts is withdrawing from the race. I was expecting a vote. Mr. Pitts is certainly a gentleman with his concern for his supporters. Classy guy. He got standing applause.

It's been a long day waiting for the House to come to an agreement on how to vote for the Speaker of the House. I've been in the office most of the day answering calls and greeting visitors. The proceedings have taken a really long time. With the House being at ease for a while, I took a break to eat and take care of other needs. As occasion would have it, I have the opportunity to sit in the gallery with Miss Peña, taking photos of her dad. Amendment 35 was just passed. We are getting ready for the real business of the day. Based on the majority rejecting "secret ballot" measures, I think we can tell which way the election will go.

If the House gets through this Speaker's race, Lon Burnam will have a start of Legislation Session open house at GW-8. It will be on while supplies last. I had never tried such a combination. Thanks to the coordinator for such a good idea.

9 - Tacos with TXU at the Capitol Grill 9:30 Dem. Caucus Meeting 3N.4 10:00 Tamales with Rep Delisi and staff. 1W.5 12:00 Legislature convenes 2:00 Valley Delegation Reception 9:00 Rep. Truitt Celebration at the Broken Spoke My legislative friends, you shall not go hungry today.

It Still Amazes Me , originally uploaded by shainelee . I went out for a walk down Congress tonight to see if I could find any dead birds (just kidding). I went to see if I could find any affordable places to eat or maybe run into a blogger or two. I had no luck on either task. I'm just going to have to hit HEB on the way home. It's cheaper to buy healthy food there than at restaurants. I can't figure out why healthy costs more when you dine out. Watch me run into a blogger at HEB. As mentioned in the audio post, I have to start early tomorrow. As I approach the Capitol, it still amazes me that I have unlimited access to the place. As a kid, I used to go down to the Capitol to hang out in Madison, Wisconsin. I would just walk around for hours. Now here I am working in one. Wow. People tell me that I have a hand in shaping the lives of people and that I wield all kinds of insane power and influence. Even here, I don't see it. I get more satisfaction from helping...

As more news comes in, it turns out that more than a dozen birds were found dead last night. According to Capitol Letters, it's between 40 and 60.

Congress Shut Down , originally uploaded by shainelee . I heard from our intern, Alex, that Congress was closed this morning. Between two and one dozen birds were found dead. The street is shut down pending investigation of their cause of death.

Going Back to the Capitol , originally uploaded by shainelee . I've done enough walking for today. I'm going back to the office to prep for tomorrow. I'll be posting pics I took to my Flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/shainemata).

Freedom of Speech , originally uploaded by shainelee . This area next to the Main Building at UT often serves as a location for people to speak about whatever cause they support. One of the best programs I saw was "Ask Cliff". Cliff made it a point to explain that most bible, and by the same token, academic misinterpretation results from reading out of context.

Save the Forests? , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Funny Story , originally uploaded by shainelee . My freshman year at UT, my roommate was curious whether he could climb up the side of the Simkins dorm to the roof. He did it. Then he could not get down. He stomped on the roof to get our attention so we could help him get down. We called the fire department and they got him down. Just in case, he was referred to a counselor to make sure he wasn't depressed.

A while ago, I got a call from a friend. She woke me up. Only a few people are welcome to do it, so don't feel free to call me late at night. In any case, she once worked as a Legislative Aide and she called to tell me how excited she is for me. In the same breath, she tells me that, if I survive, things will be great afterward. She suggested I visit a friend of hers who is working this session. Friday, a High School friend dropped by the office to say hi. He is working the session at a Senator's office. I was going to go with him for a drink, but I failed to write down the name of the place and to get his mobile number. I drove around 1st street searching for a place whose name I could not remember. I'll have to call him up on Monday and apologize for not showing (and get his number). I also began making calls to people to let them know that I'm in Austin now. In business, this is called maintaining your network. This is a major reason why I got a phone plan with a rid...

Listen to today's audio post. My day includes work at a preschool and blogging at RGV Life , and home. See my regular blog at Yahoo 360 . MP3 File

South to the Twin Staircases , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Capitol from Employee Entrance , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Capitol Dome from Center of Extension , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Capitol Extension Lights , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Side Hall , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Skylight Space Looking Up from E2 , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Skylight Space from E2 , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Capitol Dome Through E2 , originally uploaded by shainelee .

E2 South , originally uploaded by shainelee .

E2 Further North , originally uploaded by shainelee .

E2 North , originally uploaded by shainelee .

The Tunnel , originally uploaded by shainelee . E1 and E2 have tunnels like this that connect the Capitol to the Extension. You lose mobile phone signal in there.

Great Chamber from the Top , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Great Chamber , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Six Flags , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Again, Facing South fro E1 , originally uploaded by shainelee .

E1 Facing South , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Capitol Dome Through the Skylight , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Cafeteria Hall , originally uploaded by shainelee . This is the hall that takes us to the Capitol Grill. I've never seen a steak or other grilled item there. To me, it's a cafeteria.