Sue

End of Session Fill-In

March 13, 2009 by Sue 1 Comment

1. When I look to the left, I see books.

2. My living room is the room that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work itself out.

4. Lobbying done dirt cheap!

5. Keeping an eye on the legislature is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any chocolate feel free to share.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching Star Trek Voyager episodes, tomorrow my plans include only necessary survival work like laundry and dishes and Sunday, I want to get extra rest!

Success: the Book Awards II

February 28, 2009 by Sue 1 Comment

I have finished the first official reading challenge that I signed up to complete: the Book Awards II Reading Challenge. Here are my reviews for the books I read:

Stones for Ibarra, by Harriet Doerr, National Book Award: I really enjoyed this book. It is set in a small village in Mexico and the main characters are 2 North Americans who move there to run an old family mine. The emotional journey taken by the couple, especially the wife, is fascinating to watch, as she admits the beauty of the place while denying some of the essential aspects that make it beautiful. I love “story within a story” books and this one has it. We learn about many of the denizens of the village, although some of the images are clouded by the wife’s viewpoint and sometimes it’s unclear how much is true and how much is her perception. We also learn about the couple and the secret they share that colors and hangs over the entire book.

1776, David McCullough, American Compass Best Book of 2005: I really enjoyed this book. Besides learning some cool Revolutionary War stuff, it was a very enjoyable read. The style was easy to read and follow. This was my first McCullough book and it’s easy to see why it has become such a bestseller. Definitely recommend.

The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde, Alex Award: This book was so imaginative and at times hilarious. This is one quirky author and I totally fell in love with this book. I am definitely going to read more Thursday Next books because this one was so fun.

My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult, Alex Award: This was a great book except for the gratuitous use of the “f” word throughout. I’m not a big fan of reading profanity so I found it quite jarring and definitely unnecessary. Other than that, the book was sooo interesting. The topic was a girl genetically engineered to be the perfect donor for her older sister who has a rare form of leukemia. But the book was really about the dynamics of family relationships and how they deteriorate in the face of continual crisis. The narrator changed with each chapter and sometimes the narrator carried the story forward and other times the narrator gave us the backstory. It was fun to hear from all the main characters except the sick daughter who is the focus of the entire family’s existence. I was also on the edge of my couch waiting to learn the truth about so many little mysteries. Why does the lawyer have a service dog? Who is the arsonist? Why is the daughter really bringing the lawsuit against her parents? The ending was a huge surprise that caught me off-guard, but it was satisfying in its own way.

The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler, National Book Critics’ Circle Award: The point of this book is the emotional journey taken by the main character and it was more enjoyable than I imagined. At first, the character is amusing, but not that sympathetic, but he grew on me. I cheered for him by the end and then watched the movie on Netflix.

Rifles for Watie, Harold Keith, Newbery Award: This is a Newbery Award winner and an interesting story. It told about the little-known campaign in Indian Territory, modern-day Oklahoma, and some of the details were fascinating. I also liked the way the main character, Jeff, grew from a boy anxious to fight into a man able to see both sides of the conflict and understand both.

Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse, Newbery Award: I enjoyed the prose style and the sparse writing style. The author made you wait to find out the details of the story and it was an interesting story. Worth reading and another on my Newbery list.

The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg, Newbery Award: Such a nice book. This is a story-within-a-story, which I like. I’m not sure why that appeals to me, but whatever. This is the story of a group of 6th graders on a Knowledge Bowl team. The real story is that each one tells his or her journey to that point in first person, and the journeys are so interesting. It is also a story of friendship and the group dynamics of how a friendship develops. The characters are very deep and intriguing for 6th graders. I really liked this book.

Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech, Newbery Award: I didn’t think I was going to get into this book from the jacket blurb, but it turned out to be an engaging story. The intertwining of Sal’s and Phoebe’s stories was clever and the way Sal found her own truth through telling Phoebe’s story was authentic. We often don’t understand our own story until we observe another’s life and watch their struggles. This was a good book with some plot twists at the end that left me satisfied.
The messages left anonymously on the front porch were great:
“Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins.”
“Everyone has his own agenda.”
“In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?”
“You can’t keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.”

The Giver, Lois Lowry, Newbery Award: This book was awesome, just as everyone has told me. What an interesting concept to live in such a structured world-totally makes you think about perceptions of emotions and their worth. I loved this book.

Week 3 in review

February 15, 2009 by Sue 1 Comment

went to church, conducted a ward choir rehearsal and a stake choir rehearsal, trained music people in our ward
went with Brian to his follow-up appt. with the surgeon and things are looking good
drove in a lot of falling snow
attended lots of House and Senate committees
had some lunchtime meetings at the Capitol
read and sent many emails
saw “The Curious Savage” four times
stayed up late at a party on Friday night
had a fancy dinner with Scott’s parents and siblings for Valentine’s Day
read “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”
got a dozen red roses
redeemed my iTunes gift certificate I got for Christmas
backed up all our purchased music from iTunes, just in case
got tired

Do a good turn daily

February 3, 2009 by Sue Leave a Comment

Yesterday I had an interesting experience that demonstrated to me how we politicos on the Hill are seen by the average citizen.

I had left the Capitol for a meeting downtown and was returning during the lunch break. I dashed into the cafeteria in the East Bldg. and grabbed a wrap and bag of chips to carry to the lunchtime coalition meeting I needed to attend. Because of the timing of my meeting, I was almost an hour late for the coalition, so I was in a hurry. I exited the cafeteria doors, headed for the revolving door to get me onto the plaza, when I noticed an elderly couple standing tentatively near the doors and watching all the people zooming through the doors. Just as my mind registered the fact that maybe they needed help, the gentleman moved to stop me. He politely inquired if I could help them. I responded, “Of course”, and asked what they needed. Turns out they had come to the Hill for a public tour of the Capitol and had no idea where to go. I explained that they were in the wrong building and gave them directions on how to find the tour guides in the Capitol. They were so appreciative and told me they were glad that they had decided to stop me and ask for help.

I smiled and told them “No problem”, but as I raced across the plaza, I wondered how long they had been standing there hoping for help. I replayed in my mind the busy advocates and lobbyists running back and forth and realized that we are an intimidating group. Did they stop me because I was wearing a Utah PTA badge or had a friendly face? I hope it was because of both. I hope I looked friendly and not distracted, and I hope my badge made me seem non-threatening.

Week No. 1 ends

January 31, 2009 by Sue Leave a Comment

This was the first week of the Utah Legislature. I listened at home on Monday and Tuesday while watching over Brian’s recovery, but on Wednesday it was off to the Hill. Up early, home late. I spent Wed-Fri up there talking to legislators, reading bills, listening to committee hearings, and digesting budget numbers. Same old, same old.

So far, the bills I’m following are flying through committee because several of them were worked on heavily during the interim and were passed as committee bills. This allowed them to be heard first or go straight to the board so I’ve been busy in committee and working with sponsors on details. Most of the bills don’t have fiscal notes which is also allowing them to move quickly. Because of the budget woes, fiscal note bills are being held.

Some of the bills I’m currently following would increase the statute of limitations on felony child abuse homicides, amend the definition of incest, allow a perpetrator of domestic violence in the presence of a child to be prosecuted for separate offenses for each child present, and prohibit a sex offender from requesting, inviting, or soliciting a child to accompany them. This tightens up the current statute. I have several others, as well, and you can see that I get into some interesting testimony.

The 2009 budget amendments were approved in Executive Appropriations yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a seat in the room and not in one of the two overflow rooms. $15 million was added back to public education during the meeting, making the cut there only 3%, instead of the 3.8% of other state agencies. For the most part, they were able to find money to backfill many of the vital human services in the section of the budget that I follow. So most programs will not be cut drastically in 2009. But discussions are going forward in the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee on the fiscal year 2010 budget and programs will have to be cut.

Overall, it’s a grim year up there. One amusing note: it was really weird to be hanging out in front of the House doors yesterday waiting to speak to some legislators and find myself standing by Mark Walker. He resigned his House seat last year amidst ethics allegations in the State Treasurer race, was charged, recently plea bargained to a misdemeanor, and now is a registered lobbyist for some health organizations.

As a volunteer child advocate, I am not a registered lobbyist, which means that I do the same work but don’t get paid for it. On the up side, I have a better reputation than some of the paid lobbyists, so there are compensations. 😉