RGV Life

Mobile audio blog entry by me, Shaine Mata, for RGV Life. Mobile entries are on the go blog entries whenever computer access is not available. MP3 File

Tonight was the last Parent meeting at the Migrant Head Start school where I work. Parents came in from Cumberland and we had the school bus bring in parents from New Richmond. We received word tonight, from the higher-ups, that we might stay to work an extra week. This, of course, is great for many of the parents as it saves them from having to pay for childcare until October 6th, the last day of work at Seneca. There is a need for the service, but we've already gone through our budget. The main problem is that the staff has already made preparations to leave next week. Many of us wouldn't mind a little last-minute income, but we don't have time to make the changes necessary. It took us a while to get this far during our lunch breaks.   In my case, I already gave written notice to my landlord that I'm out next week. My utilities and other services are scheduled to be shut off. In addition, we reserved a U-Haul for our trip. Other staff will be leaving thi...

Upon returning to the Rio Grande Valley from my migrant adventure next week, I'll have some time to resettle myself and my family. There is much catching up to do. There will be job hunting to do. Personally, I don't know what direction I'll be going. For the sake of self-preservation, I've historically sought low-hanging fruit, jobwise. Unmetaphorically speaking, I've looked for jobs that I would have no problems getting for the sake of not being unemployed. Consequently, I've lived in poverty for a long time. When there is a job requirement written in a job description, I've taken it literally, not applying for stuff where I don't meet a requirement or two. I should probably apply for those jobs anyway on the chance that my other qualities will compensate. But, what shall I do? Retail? Call center? Maintenance? Writing? Perhaps a sales job? I would love a technical job. One of my favorite jobs was as a cable puller for a networking company. Computers a...

My wife and I took the opportunity to visit the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, MN on Sunday. She has been wanting to go to a Ren Faire for ages, but something or other comes up, or we're broke. We've known about the festival in Minnesota all month. Given that we will be leaving the region to go back to Texas next week, we decided to go to the festival. It was a three hour drive to get there and, obviously another three hours to come back; except, we got lost to and fro due, so it took a few minutes longer both ways. The festival was great! It was definitely much better than we both expected. We thought there would be more tents. We were suprised to see that the festival has permanent structures and covers a very large area. In addition, the parking area alone was monstrous. The only thing that comes to mind to compare is the parking at Fiesta Texas . The big difference is that the parking area is unpaved; it's all grass. What is even better about the whole f...

Today, we reserved a U-Haul trailer so that we can take our stuff home. It's a little 4' x 8'. We don't have a lot of stuff, but it's more than can be held in an Aerostar. The stuff we have is too bulky for the van, but probably not big enough to fill the trailer. If possible, we'll take out a seat from the van and throw it in the trailer so that we have plenty of room in the van.   Other preparations we are making include informing the apartment manager of our intent to leave, getting our utilities and cable scheduled for disconnection, closing our mailbox, looking for boxes, and the usual stuff when you move. Most of the stuff we have, we bought under the assumption that we would discard it.   There are also preparations back home. My wife has already been in contact with Human Resources to get things underway to return to work. My son is already schmoozing over the phone for his return to his grandparents. In my case, who knows what awaits me back i...

Each city in the Rio Grande Valley has its own issues with which to contend. Some have to deal with growth. Some have to deal with corruption. Some have to deal with budget problems. As a region, however, the Rio Grande Valley has some common issues. I gave some thought to some of the recurring issues that affect the RGV. I've identified the following: immigration, border security, health issues like diabetes and tuberculosis, education in public schools and colleges/universities, poverty, crime, flood prevention, and water. I'll go into greater detail.   Right now, one of the bigger issues is immigration. The way immigration affects the RGV is rather obvious to residents, but I'll spell it out. Given that the RGV is on the U.S.-Mexico border, we see a great deal of both legal and illegal immigrants. The main attraction for both types of immigrants is that of culture. Immigrants from Mexico are able to enjoy a culture very similar to their own while enjoying some of th...

Every year in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, the region is flooded with Winter Texans. A Winter Texan is the local term for visitors from northern states who travel South for the Winter season. They generally start arriving around September or October, depending on when the cold starts to set in. Winter Texans then stay until Spring and head back home. The whole reason for the annual trip is to escape the harsh cold of the northern states. The Rio Grande Valley used to be called the Magic Valley because local farmers could grow pretty much anything throughout the entire year due to its tropical climate. Our winters in the RGV rarely have freezing temperatures for more a couple of nights at a time. This is Fall weather for Winter Texans.   The signal for Winter Texans to start heading South is generally when the frosts start to set in. This week, we are expecting temps to dip into freezing in the evenings. The Exodus has started. Today, I went shopping at one of the local groc...

My wife and I have been discussing what we will do upon our arrival in Texas. I know that Texas is a large state, but once there, we are practically home. In any case, as soon as we see the first Whataburger, we are stopping. We really miss the occasional nice, juicy Whataburger with jalapeños. And there is always their delicious grilled chicken sandwich. In just a little over two weeks, we'll have the pleasure of savoring these delicious Texas classics. We can't wait.   Other things that we will do include going through all of our mail, making sure all our bills are paid, and just catching up with friends and family. On more practical matters, we have a rust bucket van that needs a few tweaks to get the air conditioning working. It isn't an issue in Wisconsin as the weather has been very cool. We also need to have some body work to remove rust. We'll probably have the work done across the border in Reynosa.   The Mrs. will be looking into getting back t...

Ann Richards had my respect. I am saddened by her death. I have two things for which I am grateful to Gov. Richards: South Texas College and The University of Texas-Pan American . Both of these institutions have been there for both my wife and for me to improve ourselves. That is something for which I am eternally grateful.   Even though she was a Democrat, I respected Ann Richards because she said what she meant. I like people who are candid. Perhaps I may have disagreed with the Governor on some issues, but I knew where she stood and why she was doing what she was doing. Others in public office should learn from such a great person like Gov. Richards and try to emulate her forthright manner. I am proud to have had Ann Richards as my governor.

I was reading The Los Fresnos - Port Isabel Tribune  and I read a small piece about the Queen Isabella Causeway Collapse. This happened a few days after the terrorist attacks back in 2001. At first, it was thought to be another attack. Later, it was determined that the collapse was caused by poor navigation.   My wife and I got a chance to visit the causeway during reconstruction. We went to the fishing pier and watched as the construction crews worked to rebuild. They worked around the clock. For a while, they set up ferries to carry vehicles across the bay. We tried to ride the ferry, but the lines were really long. Instead, we hung out in Port Isabel and had a good time.   I feel sad for the people who died at the causeway and I hope that they and their families are able to find peace.

We were informed that the federal team sent to review our Head Start center would not come today. Our center is roughly 3 hours away from the nearest center and about 4 hours away from our regional office in Oshkosh. The distance made it too inconvenient to have the team visit us in person. They conducted phone interviews instead.   There are mixed emotions amongst the staff. On the one hand, there is relief that we are not going to be closely scrutinized. On the other hand, we've put a lot of work into the center and were prepared to show it off.   Well, this week is practically over. After this, there will be two weeks of work and then we will shut down the center. In October, we all head back home to the Rio Grande Valley.   We have a couple weeks to finish up all paperwork. That's all of our focus from this point on. Ignoring that sentence ending in a preposition, we have our work cut out for us in our remaining time. But it won't be quite as stressfu...

RGV Life explained. Current situation. Some things I knew. Some things I learned. What I am taking away from the experience. MP3 File

We are currently experiencing a Rio Grande Valley Winter here in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The temperatures during the day have been in the 60s with lows in the 40s. Obviously, it's nice to be away from the heat back home. However, we are beginning to worry that we may experience a frost or two before we head back home. There is always the possibility of an early snow. We are absolutely glad that we won't be here for the 50 below temperatures that Rice Lake experiences in the Winter. For now, we have the windows closed and the heaters on. The leaves are beginning to change colors. Where the sun used to rise around 4:30 am, it is now rising at 6:30 and getting later. We used to have sunlight until about 9 pm. It starts getting dark earlier too.   When we get back home in the RGV, it will be warm. Then it will start to get cool. Then it will warm again. Two RGV winters in one year.

I did a degree audit earlier today. It's no big deal; UTPA has a feature on their website that automatically spits one out for you to check. In any case, I have 21 hours to go before graduation. It's all Senior level courses plus an hour of Kinesiology. Woohoo! That's nothing. That's a little less than 2 semesters. That's a couple summer sessions and a semester. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. On the other, I'm going to have to bust it a little to earn enough money to pay for the courses. When you go to school, it doesn't just cost the money you shell out. There is also the opportunity cost, what you must give up while you pursue the one option. An example of this is that it would be next to impossible to have a full-time job while taking senior level courses, unless you have some really flexible job or graveyard shift. Senior courses aren't generally held in the evening and don't offer to...

 I've decided to add a couple of newsfeeds from Google and Yahoo! to SpinRGV.com. These feeds search through news for any stories with Rio Grande Valley in the story. The searches also filter out stories about the rio grande valley in New Mexico to keep them out of the feed. There may be some redundancy in the stories, but it ought not be a major issue. This way, I hope that we get a wider base of contributors without using up much space on the front page. Check out the new AOL . Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.

There is one problem that affects both migrants families and non-migrant families. From my perspective, it is more pronounced because I get a first-hand look at the effects of the problem. Given the ubiquity of the problem, I'm sure that many readers of RGV Life will identify, or at least understand. The problem for most families, both migrant and non, is that of raising children. None of us get instructions. We rely on what we know, instinctively, and what our families taught us. You don't need a license or special training to have children. Most of all, there is little agreement across cultures and even families as to how children should be raised. The only universal concept is that children must be taught. You teach them knowledge, emotions, physical development, culture, and even some wisdom amongst so many other things. My point is that our youth depend on us, society and parents, to teach them. Teachers are, no doubt, a big influence of children. Parents, or the lack the...

Local schools drag their feet to avoid helping migrants. MP3 File

Situation: -dry conditions -migrant jobs are slow Plans for the future: -go home -reconnect MP3 File

Mission CISD has created new podcasts to share the district's news. I tried using the existing script on SpinRGV to add the podcast feed, but was not able without some reprogramming. Given my limited time at the moment, I chose to use FeedBurner to format the feed publication on SpinRGV. You can go directly to the district's website to download the latest podcasts. Or, you can download directly from SpinRGV.com.

I've added At the Museum to SpinRGV, tonight. Of course, I'm always looking for blogs that deal with the political landscape of the Rio Grande Valley. There are a couple blogs that are more personal than political. In any case, I hope that the new addition brings more discourse to SpinRGV visitors.

Here I am listening to my Yahoo! radio station , ready to crash out. Today is another working Saturday, the fifth in a row. I'm looking forward to another day of work tomorrow. There is a good chance that I'll have a 6th working weekend as our deadline draws near. Once the federal review team is gone, I may have a free weekend before heading back to the Rio Grande Valley. Last night, we visited one of our co-workers who had a bonfire going. They basically light up logs and sit around drinking. This is cool because evenings are starting to dip into the 40's already. The bonfire is, therefore, very handy. We stayed out there for a while and had fun chatting. I've been invited to go duck hunting next weekend. My critical thinking skills weren't in effect after a couple beers, so I agreed to go. I guess the trip shall have to be postponed. I've never shot a shotgun or gone on any kind of hunting trip. If it happens, it should prove interesting. I understand that duc...