Thoughts of a Chicana Feminist

Gas stop

2007-11-17T16:51:00.001-08:00

They are selling chorizo at this gas station in Fresno.

Email from Hillary Clinton

2007-11-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

I walked around with a "Hillary in '96" button on my backpack when I was a student at UC Davis. I mostly liked it because people would notice it and want to talk about it. I thought it was a nice pipe dream.

So here we are over a decade later and I am loving that I get emails from Hillary, Bill and their Democratic buddies. For example, in my inbox today I see,

"Dear Erica,

Today I went back to college, and I remembered what inspired me to change the world.

For me it was Vietnam and the fight for civil rights. Today's younger generation faces a new set of challenges: a mismanaged war in Iraq, a growing national debt, a war on science, global warming -- and I see that same desire for change that I saw back when I was in school...."

etcetera and so forth.

I stopped reading at "a war on science".

Geez, do we really need to claim there is a war on or against science? I understand fear is often a motivating factor for many people, but not me. It turns more off...tunes me out. I might have to go back and re-consider Obama as my candidate for the primary.

Good Advice

2007-10-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have a friend that eats extremely healthy, but not in that annoying "I only shop at Whole Foods and eat organic and free-trade foods that will make my yuppie friends think I am cool" sort-of way. Nope. Her taste buds simply prefer the good stuff...well, at least most of the time.

She was watching Oprah recently and wrote down a list of "super foods" they evn, Oprah evangelized. The lists are pretty good minus the four-legged animal guideline. I like meat no matter how much I try to convince myself I shouldn't. Carnitas and carne asada are like water - a necessity.

Eat every week:
1. Garlic
2. tomatoes (sauce)
3. olive oil
4. spinach
5. raw nuts (almonds)
6. pomegranate

Good oils are liquid at room temperature:
1. Olive
2. Sesame seed
3. canola
4. flax seed
5. grape seed

First 5 ingredients of packaged foods should NOT be:
1. sugar
2. high fructose corn syrup
3. enriched white flour
4. saturated fats (four-legged animal)
5. partially hydrogenated oils
6. trans fat

Twitter has made me a lazy blogger

2007-08-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

I can't deny it to myself any longer. Twitter has made me a lazy blogger.

I rarely, if ever, invested much time in drafting blog posts. I generally sat down and slammed out whatever was at the forefront of my mind (which is what I am doing now). 15 minutes after I sit down I can press a publish button and be done with it. Happy that I purged a bit of my knowledge into the black hole of the web.

However, 30 seconds of my thumbs tapping at my cel phone keypad gives me a Twitter of 140 character or less post - straight to the web and my friends cel phones.

I love the sound-byte quality of Twitter, but am beginning to miss the depth blogging brings.

I won't be giving up Twitter any time soon, but I've made a tentative deal with myself to blog more often. I guess we'll see what happens.

We Need to Talk

2007-07-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

In case there was any doubt, here is some hard evidence she is in charge.

It Was All for Mary

2007-07-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

I feel privileged that I got to take part in Rina's journal....and I am hoping that the money Rina raised will help a woman like Mary.

Every Three Minutes

2007-07-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Every three minutes someone in the walk was given one of these ribbons that you see Rina wearing. It represents the reality that no one knows when they may be diagnosed with the disease. When Rina was given this ribbon at mile 8.5 of day two it brought the reality of the illness to me.

Mary Davis' world was forever changed when she received her diagnosis and Rina saw it happen, unable to do more than be there for Mary. After that every step Rina took was made with greater purpose and with immense hope that one day a cure will be found.

Breast Cancer Center

2007-07-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

This breast cancer center exists because of the generous support of the Avon Walk. Over the past several years the race has given 16 million so it may exist. Walking past it was a great reminder that the money donated goes to helping real people be treated for breast cancer.

Art

2007-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

At a rest stop with a rock 'n roll theme, I ran into this cone with cones. It made me laugh out loud.

The view from 20th

2007-07-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

Rina climbed the hill on Connecticut between 16th and 20th. It was steep and hot, but the view was fabulous once we got to the top.

No Cancer, "That's hot!"

2007-07-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Parking is a Science in San Francisco

2007-07-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

The great part about the 2nd day of the walk is that it took the walkers through the different neighborhoods of San Francisco. I geeked out on this outdoor parking lot where hydraulic lifts would lift customer' vehicles so other customer's vehicles could be parked below them. Pretty damn sweet.

An Appreciation of All Things Corny

2007-07-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Me and my friends don't take ourselves too seriously. When we encountered this Randy Jackson reference we had to stop to capture the corny moment.

Day Two

2007-07-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Rina did fabulously on Day 1, so I decided I wanted to be sure I was there every step of the way on Day 2.

When I got to her hotel that morning she had this memorial for Mary. She wore it with love for her friend.

Rest Stop 5

2007-07-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

It was long day for Miss Rina. She got up before the sun rose, so making it to mile 22.1 in such great spirits was inspiring to me. I think I would have been grouchy by then ;)

Humor

2007-07-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

At every corner walk crew members and signage kept things fun with humor. This sign was placed at just the right location when walkers may have been asking themselves "Are we there yet?"

Water Beetles

2007-07-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

It was so, so, so great to have Leah in town! She found this water beetle. You can't tell from this picture, but it was rather large.

Tu-Tus for Ta-Tas

2007-07-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Every rest stop had a theme. This one in Mill Valley was "Tu-Tus for Ta-Tas". It was very sweet to see mothers and daughters wearing tu-tus cheering the walkers on, knowing that a cure for breast cancer could one day save the lives of the girls there.

Mill Valley

2007-07-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

Several miles later we met Rina in Mill Valley. In addition to quality wicking fabrics, body glide protected Rina's feet from the rub of asphalt and rocky paths.

Leah, currently training for a triathlon, coached Rina by shouting "Quick transition!" and giving Miss Rina pep talks.

Avon Walk Kick-Off

2007-07-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

My good friend Rina did the San Francisco Avon Walk in honor of her friend Mary Davis that passed away earlier this year from breast cancer.

I am proud of Miss Rina's accomplishment! Not only did she walk 39 miles over a two day period she also raised over $2000 for the cause. I think Mary would be proud as well.

So here (and the posts that follow) is some of what I saw as I watched Rina's journey unfold.

HOOKER FOR HOOTERS

Me, our friend Leah, and Rina's mom (Remi) surprised Rina on the Marin side of the Golden Gate bridge. With cow bells and signs, we cheered for the walkers as "Hookers for Hooters" sang "I Will Survive" and would announce the presence of "the few, the proud, the men!"

Open Source panel podcast at SXSW 2007

2007-07-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

I presented at SXSW 2007. They just posted the podcast. Check it out.

Nerds for iPhones

2007-06-29T09:30:00.001-07:00

People lining up for iPhone.

Shadows faster than light

2007-06-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm fascinated by this concept.....

A Response to WigDawg's Blog Post on Retinue

2007-06-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

I ranked 18....but, hell, I'll take it. Simply because...

I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way

and yet I still managed to make the list. I put together a list, but not quite as exhaustive or interesting as WigDawg's.

Xicanista's Retinue

My ever amazing daughter that makes me a better momma every day

All of my bad-ass friends that have become family - Sam, Momma Duck, the Slowski's, my homies J and R, and the steadfast Piggy Petunia

Profesora Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell

The many women that have (knowingly and unknowingly) shaped my feminism - Ines Casillas (friend and profesora), Amy Dean, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Ana Castillo, N.O.W. members, 9to5'ers, Cathy Deppe, Janel Martinez, Karen Martinez, Ellen Spertus, Kimberly Blessing, and my sister

Objects: my autographed copy of Massacre of the Dreamers,
my home where I find peace and safety in the midnight hours of complete stillness and quiet, my cel phone, jeans

WigDawg

The many people that bring reflection and laughter to my life....they know who they are.

WigDawg on Retinue: I'm no king, no prince, no royal. Still, I've got a retinue and they are there daily, at my side, within me, guiding.

Amen, my brotha'.

Claiming My Identity

2007-06-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night I happened upon a paper I wrote a while back...10 years ago, in fact. I titled it "XICANISTA POR VIDA". The title's font is stylized, tacky, in all caps... Evidentally I wrote it for a Chicana/o Studies 120 class. Turned it for a grade on April 22, 1997.

Thought I'd republish it here because they are words worthy of reflection and a true representation of how I first came to claim my xicanista identity.

Xicanista is the newest term I use to describe myself. It most accurately portrays who I am. I have not always identified this way. It has taken me 21 years to find this term and even now I wonder if it incorporates my complexity. I am a woman, a feminist, a Chicana. I am also the eldest child in my family and college educated. And now, more than ever, as I approach graduation, I fear the future, but desire it anyway.

I chose to identify with the term Xicanista after reading Ana Castillo's Massacre of the Dreamers last summer. Before that I identified with the term Chicana and before that I identified with the term feminist. In high school I did not have a word for myself. My dad would tell me that I was Mexicana. You have to pay attention to the "a" at the end. That meant I had to help my mom keep the house clean, help take care of the kids, and treat men con respeto. I hated that. I was never treated with the same respect. Wearing dresses, crossing my legs, and putting everyone's needs before my own made me hate being Mexicana. For a while I thought that this was all being Mexican had to offer me.

I attribute my feminist ideology to my dad's twisted views of femininity. I rejected his expectations of me in subtle ways. It started with me refusing to play with dolls. It slowly progressed to me refusing to close my legs when I had jeans on. He would walk by and slap one of my knees in. This would make me mad. My mom supported his efforts. She wanted me to be a "girly-girl" I did not want to. So when I first heard the word feminist in high school I took it as my own. It was my way of openly defying my mom and dad. I called myself feminist at the dinner table and I swear my dad almost choked on his tortilla from laughter. Everyone else laughed, too. He insinuated only lesbians were feminists. That scared me, but I stood by my position. I suppose I really just wanted to piss him off. I told him he was sexist and that got him mad. He told me I could not call him a sexist until I was financially stable. He told me I did not know what I was talking about and that one day I would fall in love with someone more sexist than him. That would be my punishment. He laughed some more. After that I really stood by the term feminist. I felt like I was rejecting my Mexican-ness, but I felt it was necessary.

Garza and Gallegos's discussion of environmental influences and personal choice partially explain my rejection of ideals of femininity. Brunswick's lens model suggests that "in any given situation an individual is faced with a large number of stimuli, each with a varying respective probability occurrence, along with associated repertoire of possible behavior, also with varying probabilities of enactment"(1) Although my family stressed repressive standards of femininity, I also received other "stimuli" from peers outside of my racial group. I saw that other fathers did not treat their daughters in the same way. For this reason I began to think patriarchy was specific to being Mexican. Obviously my conclusion was misguided. However, it demonstrates how "a highly Americanized Chicano, in comparison to a highly Mexicanized Chicano, would have a higher probability of exposure to and hence adopting Anglo cultural constructs, resulting in behavior congruent with Anglo norms."(2) In other words it serves as an example of how multicultural individuals such as myself, feel as though they have a broader range of choices.

I was never sure what it meant to be Mexican. Other than believing it meant male control of my life, I thought it meant low riding, family violence, being poor, uneducated, and (ironically) hard working. In a way I felt like I was all of these things. But at the same time I did not feel Mexican enough. Other Mexicans criticized my inability to speak Spanish fluently, the way I dressed and my choice of friends. I understand Spanish but native speakers have always made me feel self-conscious of my inability to speak it fluently. I did not feel it made me less Mexican. I eat beans and tortiallas for dinner and go to quincenearas. I never dressed Mexican enough for other people in my neighborhood. I was considered white washed because I did not dress like a chola. I tried being a hair-bear, but my straight hair would fall to one side no matter how much hair spray I used or how tight my perm was. My parents would not let me wear make-up so I definitely did not fit in with the other girls my age.

The issue of language still bothers me. As Hurtado and Gurin suggest, as a self-identified Chicana I "downgrade standard English and favor Chicano dialect."(3) I cannot speak perfect Spanish but I can seak Spang-lish. I believe that my Spanish-English combination does not make me less Chicana. Some believe that my inability to speak soley Spanish is a sign of "selling-out". I am no perceived as having strong ties with my ethnic identity. But as Hurtado and Gurin point out "approval of bilingualism is thus conceived here as a reflection not of stronger ethnic identity but of particular meanings that ethnicity has assumed for Mexican-origin people".(4) It represents a range of values and traditions in Chicana/o culture and all cultures in general. I believe Chicanos sometimes fall into the trap of essentializing culture. The criticism of my Spanish speaking ability is an example of that.

My chicanisma is not a reflection of bi-culturalism. It is a reflection of multiculturalism. I decided to make friends with other "marginalized" kids throughout my years in school. My best friend is Lakota Indian. She has been my best friend since I was nine. Her family is very similar to mine so I always felt at home with her. My other friends were generally of mixed race (Japanese and White, Mexican and Black) and/or extremely poor. None of us fit "our" category well, so we lumped ourselves together. Although I did not realize it at the time, we exchanged a lot of cultural practices and values. We all learned how to be comfortable outside of the group we claimed membership. Looking back, I think this may have been the best thing that happened to me because it has taught me how to interact with groups of people that are not my own. I believe it has made me more multi-culturally minded. I see people in relation to one another, or in relation to socially constructed categories. I believe it also allowed me to be tracked into college bound classes. Since I was not the "typical", teachers and administrators paid some attention to my educational needs.

I began to re-embrace mi mexicanidad when I came to college. Being Mexican means more than I thought it did. It also means having a rich, complex heritage. It means it is o.k. to be me, especially in the Chicano context. I have come to believe that I am "Mexican enough" for myself. This is partially due to being socially accepted by my peers in Davis. I have met people born and raised in Mexico for most of their lives. I have also met people that speak less Spanish than I do. They all call themselves Chicano. I represent a "version" or "form" of Chicano culture. I "have generally positive feelings abou it but exhibit few specific ethnic behaviors associate it".(5) I feel I am helping the culture evolve. Most of the theories regarding Chicano psychology seem as though they cannot get beyond the dichotomous division of Mexican/American. My identity as a Chicana is more than that. My version of Chicana identity is more fluid, salient and multicultural, but nonetheless I grew up in a Mexicano home and identify with the culture.

Coming to UCD also made me realize that patriarchy is not limited to Chicano culture. Patriarchy pervades all societies in different ways. As evidence of this I poit out that "feminism was not correlated with indicators of Latino(a) identity or American identity."(6) My feminist title is no longer a reaction to my patriarchal upbringing. It is an articulation of my female experience. It is a term of empowerment. I do not have to adhere to perversed ideals of femininity or sexist cultural practices. As a Chicana y feminista, I feel I am acting on my own terms. I am the center of my personal universe. No man or ethnocentric person has the power to rule or rock my world. I have always thirsted for this personal power and now I have it. I have gained respect for myself. I cannot attribute these feelings to Anglo or Chicano values. In my mind, it is simply who I choose to be.

What it means to be a feminist, to be a Chicana, to be a woman is not merely one thing. Definitions of myself are fluid and salient. I cannot be one thing without simultaneously being another. Although psychological analysis attempts to account for simultaneous, multiple identities, I believe semantic limitationswill never allow any field of student to essentialize behavior and attitudes into an accurate science. For now, I refer to myself as Chicana feminist or Xicansita. It is a term not widely used. It allows me the flexibility to be who I am and who I want to become.

Garza, Raymond T. & Placida I. Gallegos. "Environmental Influences and Personal Choice: A Humanistic Perspective on Acculturation" In Hispanic Psychology Edited by Amado Padilla. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, pp 5.

IBID, pp 8-9.

Hurtado, Aida & Patricia Gurin. "Ethnic Identity and Bilingualism Attitudes" In Hispanic Psychology Edited by Amado M. Padilla. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1995, pp 92.

IBID, pp 93.

Phinney, Jean S. "Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem: A Review and Integration" In Hispanic Psychology Edited by Amado M. Padilla. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1995, pp 60.

Felix-Ortiz de la Garza, Maria et al. "A Multicultural Dimensional Measure of Cultural Identity for Latino & Latina Adolescenes" In Hispanic Psychology Edited by Amado M. Padilla. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1995, pp 33.

Raices De Mexico

2007-06-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

I've never watched anyone dance Jarabe Tapatio that many times in only 4 months.

Lost Stairs

2007-06-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

The twittered reports of my backstairs being torn off my building were not exaggerated. A picture of the after-math.

NetSquared Project winners

2007-05-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Maplight.org $25,000
Miro $15,000
Freecycle.org $10,000

I'm blogging at NetSquared

2007-05-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

The road to Tahoe

2007-05-24T20:59:00.001-07:00

It was so beautiful. This picture gives it no justice.

Davis pork soup

2007-05-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Not quite pho. Still darn good.

Crazy tooth

2007-05-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

Crazy @ the nut house

2007-05-24T20:50:00.001-07:00

Mothers Day

2007-05-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

My baby found an egg shell.

Flashback

2007-05-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, its true. I haven't always been this cool. Once upon a time there was a bit more nerd in me, and less geek...a time when fashion eluded me. My excuse? I was 13.

Go ahead. Laugh! That is really BIG hair. (I was aspiring to full hair-bear status. Never made it.)

Chorizo on a Sunday morning

2007-05-11T17:50:00.001-07:00

There is something special about a house that smells like chorizo on a sunday morning. A 1/2 pound of vinegar and chili powder heaven.

Food blogging

2007-05-11T17:47:00.001-07:00

Can't have the perfect burger without the perfect beer.

...Beer

Work meetings

2007-05-11T17:45:00.003-07:00

Work meetings are best when they come with delicious food.

Burger and...

Where's Panda Sushi?

2007-05-11T17:45:00.001-07:00

We regularly read this book about a little girl bear takes sushi to lunch at school and kids make fun of her. They tease her because the raw fish and seaweed are gross. In the end some kids figure out that its not gross and there is some appreciation of different cultures message.

Anyway, given my 2 megapixel cel phone camera is fun to play with we decided to try to 'find panda sushi' amongst the drawings of delicious looking sushi pieces in this book we read. We all agree panda sushi is so cute!

Panda sushi is @ home amongst the other pieces.

A Book at the Beach

2007-05-05T15:09:00.001-07:00

I spent a wonderful, long afternoon with a book at the beach. It was sooooo great.

After the Monologues

2007-04-30T22:47:00.001-07:00

Folklorico

2007-04-30T22:39:00.001-07:00

FSD

2007-04-30T22:37:00.001-07:00

Before

2007-04-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

A Close Up

2007-04-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

The front tooth came out

2007-04-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

More accurately, it was pulled out.

An afternoon @ Ikea

2007-04-22T11:12:00.001-07:00

Multiplication by Silly Face (aka Cutie Pie)

2007-04-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

1*1=1
^

2*3=6
^^^
^^^

6*6=36
^^^^^^
^^^^^^
^^^^^^
^^^^^^
^^^^^^
^^^^^^

1*2=2
^
^

1*13=13
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^
^

1*googlian=googlian

Smart + Cool = Awesome

2007-04-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Pure brilliance on a white board.

Thus, smart + cool = xicanista

xicanista - smart = cool
xicanista - cool = smart
awesome = xicanista + cool
awesome = smart + xicanista

This was authored by the world famous mathematician Silly Face (aka Cutie Pie).

Silly Face is (awesome)squared!

A Day at the Salon

2007-04-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

We recently got our hair-did and nails done. So much fun!

Signs of home

2007-04-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

LOL!

2007-04-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Holding it down - Feminist, Technologist, Visually Impaired

2007-04-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

http://kestrell.livejournal.com/329906.html

Creation

2007-04-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

I quote Petunia - "I have made many things in my life... finger paintings, paper butterflies that used to hang in my room, a baby."

She always has a way of putting ordinary and extraordinary together; in ways I don't expect.

I so wonder, "What have I made in my life?" (in no particular order and without forethought)

A baby that has grown to an amazing girl

A bunch of web pages

Lots of people laugh at my social commentary

People face many truths - without censorship, without apology, with full commitment to righting wrong, with intention to make a better future

Many cups of coffee

More chorizo than you could shake a pig at

Crazy dances in my living room

Others think twice, thrice, many times about their relationship with technology and thus the world; with one another

Art projects from Michael's

Never completed crotched blanket

Amazing friends like Petunia

Thanks for the inspiration, Petunia. Happy to see you bloggity, blog, bloggin' again.

A Saturday morning

2007-04-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

I should be finishing my taxes. Instead I'm bloggin-baby! I woke up early this morning, hooked up the nano, listened to Shakira (Fijacion Oral, of course!), and then went back to bed after enjoying every delicious morsel of her voice. I'm fully rested and am resisting the idea of becoming fully caffinated.

I wish I had money for a new pair of shoes....

Bloggity, Blog, Bloggin'

2007-04-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at my desk, sleeping with my eyes open. The 1/2 cup of 'Bucks I've downed in the past 15 minutes hasn't done a thing for me yet.

Mornings like these are good for blogging. Push out all of the clutter in my mind. I haven't had time to blog...for months, really. Or perhaps, I'm just not taking the time I once did for this kind of thing. Instead I've been HAPPILY bouncing between having fun with friends and making things happen at ABI.

On the friend front, I've been spending a lot more time with those that matter most. Between the food, cocktails and hikes, I'm having amazing conversations. We share one another's pain and success. We are finding humor in the complexities of our humaness. Ok, I'm starting to sound like so dull self-help book, so let me tell you what it comes down to - I'm happy, fulfilled. So much of it is due to my friends - old and new.

On the work front, there are days I wish I could put another 3 or 4 hours a day in, so I can feel caught-up (whatever that means), or just ahead of the curve. With ABI growing so quickly I know its a pipe dream. Things are moving along. Women of Vision in about a month. Awards nominations full speed ahead. Website nearly ready for launch. And best of all, the Comm's team is throwin' down daily.

That's my bloggity, blog, bloggin' moment for now.

The kind of thing I want to do some day soon

2007-04-09T17:21:00.001-07:00

http://www.netsquared.org/projects/proposals

It's why I got into computing.

Is that a light bulb in your pocket?

2007-04-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

Or are you just happy to see me?

LOL!

And I quote,

2007-04-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm all about electronic greeting cards.
-- from the taquilla laden lips of Laurie

Tacos y Cerveza

2007-04-03T14:35:00.001-07:00

You know what I mean ;)

Orphaned .OST

2007-04-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

I got an orphaned .ost. .OST is a file that Outlook creates when you first define a profile. For security purposes you cannot associate an .ost file with any profile. It can only be opened by the profile that created it. The problem? Well, if you delete a profile the .ost file is left behind and there is no way to open it because you cannot prove that you are the user associated with it.

There are bunch of free utilities that pop up to convert .ost files to .pst - .pst can be associated with any profie, btw. But I haven't found one that works.

I wonder why Microsoft doesn't give an warning message indicating the .ost file will become orphaned? Or at the very least give you fair warning that it is going to delete your .ost file. What's the use of keeping it if you can't access the data held inside of it?

One of those days...

2007-03-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

I had one of those days where everything I touched broke - literally - or maybe I mean virtually. Either way, I'm not happy.

*IRRITATING*

Ok, I'm done.

Beautiful Liar

2007-03-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Mad props and thanks to my brother. He sent me an itunes gift of "Beautiful Liar", a duet by Beyonce and Shakira. Beyonce sings in Spanish like Christina Aguilar (just not quite right, but not at all bad). Shakira throws down as usual. The video is hot! Check it:

Ayudando La Raza

2007-03-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

I got this notice via the UCD Chicana/o Alumni list. A small donation can go a long way. If you don't live in the Davis/Sacramento area, send a few dollars.

Mujeres Ayudando la Raza - UC Davis

Madison Migrant Camp

As a community service based non-profit organization, Mujeres Ayudando la Raza will begin accepting donations for our annual migrant camp community service event. Items collected will be distributed amongst the 88 families that reside at the Madison Migrant Camp. Donations will be accepted until Sunday, May 13th

DONATIONS MAY INCLUDE (BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO) NON-PERISHABLE
FOOD ITEMS, CLOTHES, SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND TOILETRIES

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

For pick up information please contact:
Jeanette Plascencia
Co-Community service officer 2006-2007
migrantcamp at gmail dot com

Community Next - February 10, 2007 @ Stanford University

2007-02-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

10:45am

Components of building a community…the rules of engagement…
Tara Hunt, Citizen Agency

What can you learn from a community? Community does not equal marketing strategy. Markets are “conversations”; market places are full of conversations amongst peers; need to respect these conversations

10 WAYS TO SHIFT YOUR THINKING

Become a community evangelist

Shift your measures of ‘success’

Embrace the chaos

Find your higher purpose

Understand who you are building that app for

INreach, not outreach

Design to delight

Be part of the community you serve

Marketing is not an after thought

Have patience

11:15am DIY – tools for creating, analyzing, and marketing your own online community

Hiten Shah, Crazyegg

Matt Roche, Offermatica

Mike Jones, Userplane

Joe Hurd, Videoegg

Rohit Bhargava – moderator

What do you think makes an online community successful?

Joe Hurd: Understand why your community needs your tool; we use video.

Matt Roche: Democratized marketing
- “over taking of America by the 8th grade”; like binder with stickers; shows how little we have our ability to express ourselves; i.e. employees of walmart – work all day, unable to talk all day, go home and purge – tell everybody everything; everything in corporations is filtered
- finding truth through volume – put it out there and see what happens

Mike Jones: Deciding what tools to use
- Regardless of what you choose it must be a genuine experience; whether the content is relevant; authenticity
- Apps and modules are the means

Hiten Shah: User engagement

How would you evaluate whether or not you are ready to integrate one of your tools or building their own?

It’s not as easy as “if you build it they will come”.
Can’t just say “it will be viral”; viral marketing is a myth; just jargon for spam and banner ads
MySpace was built one user at a time; every night they were looking for users

Have dialog with community; listen to what they want and give it to them; if you aren’t ready for it; then you need to change their tune

Speed – you don’t ‘design’ a site; you discover one

What makes a community stand out?

Book – The Tipping Point (Community with traction; then making it explode)

Get someone inclined to bring communities together on the job; not business execs/not the easy targets; get the ones that aren’t easy targets

Niche communities – small communities; great volume of communication; they reach particular sizes and begin to break out

Monetization – What strategies? Will communities online ever exist without a monetization model?

Put ads in videos – there are ways to blend ads in with high click rates without bothering user

Choose ads or pay for ads – distribute money to those who post apps on their sites

Develop apps for average users or super users?

Balancing act.

Mix and match.

In video 1% creators; 99% viewers. Giving regular users tools to become part of the 1% in hopes of growing to 2%, then 3%, etc.

Factors – Always better to make it simpler regardless of the type of user.
Shiny object factor – Constantly need to offer something new to keep their interest.

How do you measure passion and engagement? Time on site, number of articles they read, etc.

Points every time you login, refer a friend, etc. (like token idea in Kintera system); rewards participation; motivation to return

Also good for community; measure engagement to demonstrate strength of community; no standard analytics

1:10pm - SkinnyCorp method for creating online awesomeness and other cool stuff
Jeffrey Kalmikoff and Jake Nickell, Threadless

Puzzle: “Using math to find a missing piece of a community”
I started skateboarding without calculating my potential success or failure rate.

PROJECTS
Threadless “nude no more” – people submit t-shirt design; high scoring designs are sold

Started on ‘dreamless’; founder won contest; when dreamless went out of business they created threadless; gives art a space to be produced into a product. Lesson learned – keep fundamental core; add to it, but don’t fundamentally change it

Naked and Angry – same concept as threadless, except tiling patterns. Ties, wallpaper, etc.

Extra Tasty – not product oriented; you submit recipes; recipes scored; highest scores become drinks of the day

www.threadless.com
iparklikeanidiot.com
set of social experiments

Add the fun factor; add the fun factor; LinkedIn is a good example of good scalability, good purpose, good UI. But you don’t hang out there.

? Does ABI want women technologist to hang out online?

Not awesome ways to make money on the internet: identity theft, phishing, advertising (myspace)

FOUR COMMANDMENTS

Allow your content to be created by its community.

Put your project in the hands of its community.

Let your community grow itself (give them incentive; nurture them so they contribute back and tell others about it)

Reward the community that makes your project possible

? Get call for artist from Eric for GHC 2008 ?

The quality of the submissions has gone down as the community size has grown. Why is this?

How does the scoring work? The score is hidden until it is done.

Do people who score get rewards? Not right now. May in the future. Name in the hat – win swag that has been donated to the company to registered users.

Have you ever introduced a feature that users reacted really negatively to? Every time something has been changed you get negative feedback in 24-48 hours. Never rolled back, but do need to make adjustments.

? Community self polices – how does this work on Systers?

2:00pm - Community Choice: “Community ecology: Finding balance when working with fan groups” - Jake McKee

What happens we you start working with a group that already exists?

Case study - Lego had fan groups; went to them. Adult consumers.

Monetization vs. support? It’s a balance between these two. What’s our ROI, Lego kept asking.

Everybody goes home happy. Fan groups get what they want. Marketing team gets what they want out of the deal.
HOW TO BE SURE EVERYONE GOES HOME HAPPY

Redefine Success

Share. A lot. (aka ‘transparency’ ‘openess’)
Scary concept to many people on the business side; give people small details. It makes them feel like they are on the inside.

Constantly adjust

Skip the NDA (non-disclosure agreement)

Set and maintain expectations

Train your colleagues

2:45pm - A Report from the Trenches
Fred Stuzman, claimed

What are the social needs of your users?
How is your social community providing utility to your users?

Primary and secondary relationships
 Primary: family
 Secondary: co-workers, classmates (these fluctuate through life)

As we move into new networks we have actual information needs.

Situational Relevance
Facebook – social need
Last.fm – content niche
The singles bar metaphor – eventually single person finds someone they don’t need to return to the bar; no worry because there will always be more people who are single and looking. ?What do you do when your user is ready to leave?

Social Objects

Friendship (interactions)

Profile

Images

Comments

Objects are posted; we have social interactions around them.

Redefining Social Networking

Social networking is not purely people-centric.

Objects we collaborate around provide a shared social experience

What are the limits?

Network Effects and Value Creation

Metcalfe’s law – more the people join a network, the more valuable a network becomes. Assumed telephony network – binary choice; you can pick it up or hang up. Social networks more complicated that this single binary choice (member, not member)

Social communities offer a rich experience.

What is the initial value of communication?
Flickr
CORE VALUE hosting
“Multiplicative - Network Value”  rating, sharing, etc
* greater than core value

Tranformative Power of Networks
In the future will all of our interactions be social?

Takeaways

understand privacy expectations of users

Niche properly into situational relevant areas

Leverage social objects

Understand the network’s multiplicative effect.

Take things people are already doing and add value to it. ABI example – people are submitting applications to universities, scholarships, etc. Network could add value to this process.

How to set-up a subdomain

2007-01-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

I've used cpanel to setup subdomains for websites I've worked on. It hides all the work so when I had to create a subdomain for a virtual privates server where cpanel is not installed I had to figure out how to make it happen. I won't explain all of it right now, but I'll tell you a first step.

STEP 1: Add the subdomain as a cname to your resource list.

See this page for an explaination of cname (canonical name).

The Vagina Monologuesare coming to San Jose

2007-01-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

Visit vday.org

Two computer science programs at Mills College aim to build second-career confidence

2007-01-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

I was recently interviewed for an article published by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. The article is on Mills College's Interdisciplinary Computer Science program. Honestly, it is the only program of its kind that I could find back in 2000, and I haven't found anything similar since then.

Back in late 1990's I seriously thought about going to law school even though I was finding more and more interest in computing. At the time it seemed like an unreasonable leap of faith that I would be able to study computing. With a degree on in the social sciences and my work experience focused on people, not machines, my choices were slim.

After deciding that I didn't want to get a JD, I figured I had two basic choices:

I could go to ITT Tech, Devry or some other vocational school

Or, I could try taking classes at the local community colleges until I had learned enough to convince someone to let me get a shot at a second undergraduate degree - this time in CS - or in a graduate program

The benefit of doing a vocational program was in 9 months I could be 'done'. The down side was I knew I'd learn how to use a bunch of programs, but I wouldn't learn the science. Plus the income potential from vocational learning is not as great.

The benefit of the community college strategy was the cost is low (per unit its really affordable and you can deduct it off your taxes) and I could create an appropriate pace (one class here and there) since I still had to work to keep a roof over my head. The problem is it would take a MILLION years (ok, it was really only 5 or 6) to learn enough to make myself desirable to a traditional program.

I literally jumped up and down and celebrated when I found the program at Mills. I could get in my demonstrating I am an intelligent person interested in technology. I could learn the science and it wouldn't take me 5 or more years to get to where I wanted to go.

My point - If you are a woman that enjoys technology and want a more direct path to making a transition into it, Mills is the place for you.

And in case you are interested, I have my master's thesis posted. It will give you an idea of how I applied my new found knowledge to all that I had learned before going to Mills.

Meet Ms. Dewey

2007-01-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this new search engine called Ms. Dewey? I don't know if I love it or hate it. One one hand its very fun, hip, chic, etc. On the other hand it looks like a sexualized Mr. Paper-Clip Help strategy.

I'm going to use it a while and see what I think about it....hmmmm.....

A Shopping Trip

2007-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

Before I Die or in the Next 5 to 10 Years - revisited

2007-01-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Back in 2005 I wrote a post about some things I want to do in my life time. I took a look at it this morning and discovered I'm not actively trying to make any of them happen.

I thought about feeling guilty about it, or making some kind of resolution to make at least one of them happen, but in .5 seconds time I decided neither was the right thing to do.

Instead I thought I'd post my current ambitions that I am actually making happen.

Getting and staying healthy - I joined a gym and I am having so much fun doing going!

Traveling internationally - I still want to go to Mexico city, but decided to set my ambitions a little further away. I am trying to save some money to go to Spain in 2008. Its going to be a stretch, but I'm going to try. I figure if I don't save all I need I can "settle" for Mexico.

Better manage my career - Up until now I've gone from job to job because each opportunity that was offered to me had the potential to give me a different challenge and skill set. I want to more purposeful in choosing my career direction, so I am starting to talk to people about their experiences and how they've managed the things that have come their way. Not only am I getting great food for thought I am getting to know some people on a different level. It is pretty satisfying.

With all of that on my plate with the regular things that happen (work, home, taking care of my kid) 2007 is going to be just as busy and challenging as every year before it. I'm feeling wiser and stronger more than ever so I'm thinking that it will be ok.

Adelante!

In Appreciation of Rich Newton

2007-01-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

It was about a month ago I heard that Rich Newton had been diagnosed with cancer and just a short time ago I found out he has already passed on.

Rich was a Board of Trustees member at ABI. I was impressed by his sincere commitment to women and technology. He was a role model for men; open-hearted and -minded to sharing leadership with women. He is already missed.

About Rich: http://www.anitaborg.org/about/rnewton.php
An article about his passing: http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196800538

Chicanas on the Verge

2007-01-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

Even though I have a Master's degree and enjoy people paying me to work, from time to time I wonder if I should be in academia. After all that is what I was mentored to do.

The top ten lists Chicanas on the Verge put out made me laugh so hard. What would smart Chicana students do without all of those amazing Chicana professors out there?

My favorite top ten was this:

""CHICANA GRAD STUDENT ADDICTIONS"
Chicanas on the Verge...
TOP TENS

As a caveat, we'd like to say that we are not
proud of our addictions.
All we know for certain is that the
first step to recovery is
admitting you have problems...

10. Pedicures/Manicures

9. Hair products (to make our hair curly, straight, soft,
wavy, anti-flyaway, glossy, slick and for frizzy,
color-treated, coarse, dry, chlorinated, stressed and
sassy hair -- we've tried them all)

8. Lip stick/gloss (we'll put it on anywhere, anytime, no
concern for who's watching -- perhaps not in front of
people who might want to hire us)

7. Over-achieving

6. Dancing (you know you're an addict when you dance
until your partner's hands slide right off your back
because you've been dancing for 3 hours and now
you're all sweaty along with every other body in that
hot, steamy club)

5. Ibuprofen

4. Caffeine in all its enticing forms. This includes
chocolate, coffee, and diet coke

3. Red red wine

2. Sexy men (particularly those with salsa rhythms
running through their veins)

1. Books (you have to read a ton in order to complete a
PhD program anyway so you might as well make them
your number one addiction)"

It was like they read my mine.

Con safos, Mujeres!

Annoying Microsoft Excel Problem

2006-12-30T13:53:00.000-08:00

I created a new workbook and merged a bunch of worksheets into a single one. The worksheets came from several different documents and to the eye they appeared to have the same number of columns. However when I tried to sort the newly merged data I kept receiving this error message:

"This operation requires the merged cells to be identically sized."

I messed around with the alignment options under Format/Cels. Nothing seemed to work. I searched for a better answer and found Microsofts mumbo-jumbo work-around at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813974.

I read it and immediately said 'forget about it' and decided to do a more common sense thing. I saved the merged document as a tab delimited doc. I then opened that tab-delimited doc in Excel. When the formatting was lost I could see there was an "invisible" column in there. I removed that column since it was extraneous. Reformatted the doc so it was easy for me to read again and then did the sort.

The old export-it-out-as-text-an-import-it-back-in trick did it again. It's like re-booting Windows 95. Magic.

An Appreciation for Messiness

2006-12-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

Someone I know (She will remain nameless.) pointed me to this article after our talk about being ok with our messiness. Other may not understand, but others are just like us.

So I am "Saying Yes to Mess" as the NY Times suggests.

"It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands."

A Walking Table

2006-12-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

Since I'm short and hate the idea of scraping the tile in my kitchen, I *LOVE* this table.

This sucks

2006-12-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this. It was published by sfgate.com.

'La Bamba' Star Arrested

Actor Lou Diamond Phillips has pleaded no contest to charges that he beat his girlfriend up during an altercation in August.

Police went to the actor's Northridge, Calif., home following reports Phillips was attacking his girlfriend Yvonne Boismer. The authorities found the couple in the middle of a heated argument.

Following the actor's arrest, his spokesperson insisted the whole matter was "a misunderstanding," but now Phillips has accepted he was hitting his live-in lover.

He has been sentenced to a year of domestic violence counseling and 200 hours of community service. He was also placed on probation for three years.

Pies Descalzos

2006-12-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

Huanani-Kay Trask, poet

2006-12-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

My friend Dylan introduced me to Trask when I was an undergraduate at Davis. He was kind enough to give me Light in the Crevice Never Seen, a book of Trask's poetry. Some of her words...

Sons

Your grandmother said
about your grandfather
"I gave him three sons."

Yesterday, a man told me
to give him trust.

Is trust like a son?
Or less, not being generative
phallic, or immortal.

Did she tell me about
her giving
in pride or warning?

But I have no sons
to give, no line of
immortality.

I am slyly
reproductive: ideas
books, history
politics, reproducing

Skippyjon Jones

2006-11-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

And quicker than one could say "Chihuahuas, cheese, and crackers," every kind of bean came spilling out of Alfredo Buzzito, the Bumblebeeto Bandito.

Rather than taking a nap

2006-11-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little sleepy, but rather than taking a nap I thought I'd blog. I haven't written a good post lately. Mostly been throwing out tid-bits of knowledge, perspective....

I've had fun celebrating the bdays of my scorpio friends and off-spring. Good parties, wonderful conversations, joyful and peaceful moments come one after another. An excellent start to my 31st year on this earth.

Every now and then I get on a roll with one-liners. I either spit them out faster than the speed of light or I set up others to throw out some charming/funny/memorable observations. Let's see if I can remember a few...

"I'm breakin all the rules.": - Sam's Cache Creek philosophy
"Six pays 7 to 6": - Gambling Bob's constant reminder to me at the craps table
"I'm bringing sexy back!": - Big Aa's ego via Justin Timberlake's lyrics
"Am I being punked?": - My chiquitita's response to the question "What is 8 + 8?"
"Love is loyalty.": - Another pizza and beer epiphinany brought to the table

ok...changed my mind. I'm taking a nap.

A nice trick for getting system information on windows

2006-11-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

I was trying to determine what graphics card was installed on my desktop. I found the answer by 1) Clicking 'Start', 2) Clicking 'Run', 3) Typing 'dsdiag', and 4) Giving it permission to do some type of update

I also was able to save the information it displayed by clicking the 'save all information' button in the window that opened up. BTW, I found the graphics card info I was looking for under the 'Display' tab.

A Tyler Perry Movie Quote

2006-11-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

"There is no sin in getting weary. The sin is in giving up."

Women of Vision Awards seeking nominations

2006-11-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Thursday, May 3, 2007
Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, CA
http://www.anitaborg.org/womenofvision

Nominate a Woman Who Inspires You
Deadline: January 5, 2007

On May 3, 2007, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology will honor and share the stories of three women that have changed the world for women and technology at our annual Women of Vision Awards banquet. We invite you to nominate a woman that has made a significant contribution for an award in one of these three categories: Innovation, Leadership or Social Impact.

Innovation recognizes a woman who has contributed significantly to technology innovation either through creating technology or approaching the technology development in a new and innovative ways.

Social Impact recognizes a woman who developed or applied technology with a significant impact on society, their community and the world.

Leadership recognizes a woman who has led an important technology development or innovation and made a significant contribution to the technology industry.

Vote Cindy Chavez for Mayor

2006-11-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow's election day. I am hoping that Cindy Chavez comes out victorious in San Jose's mayorial race.

Say It Right

2006-11-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

She's on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/nellyfurtado)

En Route

2006-11-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

In search of the Promise Land I am finding myself.

Dia De Los Muertos

2006-11-02T09:35:00.000-08:00

Una cancion in honor and celebration of those that have come before us

Art by Eduardo Oropeza (more about the art)

Calaca de Tupac

2006-11-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

I ran into Senor Chip's blog the other week. His calaca of Tupac captured my attention.

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

New book by TD Jakes

2006-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Diego and Shakira

2006-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

I've died and gone to heaven. A pic of Diego Luna and Shakira at the MTV Awards - Latin America.

Chicano Coffee Shop

2006-10-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was in one of my old hoods this last weekend and found a Chicano coffee shop. They serve lattes and chorizo burritos. Talk about heaven!

Skip Starbucks and go give your money some hard working Chicanos.

Elvra's Coffee Shop
2206 Lincoln Ave
San Jose, Ca

(Its right off Curtner Ave)

Xicanista Feliz

2006-10-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Artist Goli Mahallati

2006-10-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

I ran into the works of Goli Mahallati at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. Her paintings had vibrant color, amazing texture and expressed immediate emotion. You can see a slide show of her work at http://www.gallerialuna.com/eventwindowt.htm

Ugly Betty

2006-10-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I can so relate....[FLASHBACK] 22 years old, on a plane, trying to fake the funk in a Mervyn's "suit" on my way to the East Coast to negotiate some partnerships...

How come every time you come around...

2006-10-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

...my london bridge wanna go down?

The Killers

2006-10-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch him now, here he come

He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young

Can we climb this mountain I don’t know
Higher now than ever before I
Know we can make it if we take it slow
Let’s take it easy, easy now, watch it go

We’re burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young

And sometimes you close your eyes
and see the place where you used to live
When you were young

They say the devils water it ain’t so sweet
You don’t have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch him now, here he come

He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young

(Talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when) when you were young

I said he doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus

But more than you’ll ever know

I'm going to GHC!

2006-10-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

The day has finally arrived (well, tomorrow it will!). I'm off to San Diego to help make the Grace Hopper Celebration happen.

I'll be bloggity, blog, bloggin'. Check it: http://ghc06.blogspot.com/

MLK Jr on Science

2006-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I came across this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

Is this true?