The Invoices Are In My Head

As an undergraduate, Political Science was not my major like it is today; it was my minor. My major was actually journalism. Armed with a commitment to justice and a healthy respect for both the first amendment and the truth, I wanted to take down corruption in the establishment. When I got to my junior year, I was severely disillusioned with my major. I didn't really agree with most of the journalists and journalism majors I had met at that point. The idea of covering “school bake sales” took its toll on me. As quick as I could, I shifted my focus from journalism to Political Science, and found happiness again.

Last week was the Taste of Palestine on Thursday and the Business Expo on Friday. I also published my first two videos last week, which you can see on Palestine's snazzy YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CityOfPalestineTX

The city's camera is a professional, shoulder-carry camera that shoots video in a higher definition than real life. And people absolutely love it. A few people have asked if I was with the Herald or with a TV newscast. The professional camera seems to put people at ease. It gives me legitimacy so that, when they see a guy walking around filming them while they eat or filming their kids while they play at the park, they're less inclined to have me arrested. Most importantly, people love to talk to the camera. Taste of Palestine was just such an example. Half a dozen people stopped me just to talk. Rafael of the Texas Vineyard and Smokehaus gave me an advertiser's dream line, about getting to Palestine “as quick as [he] could.” My video is actually marred by my own voice through the camcorder's microphone because when I was trying to get closeups of the food, people would greet me.

Rafael of Texas Vineyard and Smokehaus

Then it dawned on me that I was covering the same kind of topics that had driven me out of pursuing journalism. This time was different though, because I felt like there was a purpose behind it. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I realized that the stupid minor details that I sought to avoid are a part of a greater whole. Also, I was getting fed. That probably had something to do with it too.

The next day I had the Business expo. For as small a city as Palestine is, I was surprised by how much of a turn out there was at both of these events. There was close to sixty each day and many people attending on the consumer side both days. I even saw a few familiar faces. Friday I was dressed in my 'American Victorian' wear: a cravat, my derby and a waistcoat. I had to shoot some video at the Texas State Railroad, by coincidence. I managed to get a very good shot of the train whistle blowing. As I stood beside the tracks though, I noticed that not only were people waving at me but a few were taking pictures. I guess I was in costume by accident.

I learned how to do some of the maintenance paperwork around the office this week. Invoices and credit card statements really aren't that difficult, but they are fairly tedious. Even the satisfaction of hitting something with a big stamp did not quell my mood. Still, looking at the paper clipped stack of completed paperwork gave me a perverse sense of pride and accomplishment.

The rest of the EDC crew went to the expo after I got back. I held the fort by myself until around 3 or 4. Wendy, Laura and Breezy had found out about my birthday by reading this lackluster piece of yellow journalism. I was given a late birthday card, some balloons and a delicious piece of pie from the Oxbow. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the pie crust was the best I've ever had. We went to Denby's, where I finally met Wendy's husband. I've officially met everyone's spouses. After a nice dinner and an unexpected birthday gift, I went home and got a cramp in my leg.

These were happier when I got them.

Saturday was the Negro Historical Preservation Society's annual Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth refers to when slavery was brought to a definitive end in the United States. In 1868, Texas was forced to draft a new state constitution, and allow the newly free men to vote on it. The Freedman's March ensued, where the new freedmen marched to courthouses all across Texas, guarded by Union troops, to vote for the first time. The celebration on Saturday started with a speech and re-enactment at the courthouse. I was not aware that the courthouse was half a mile away, and dressed in layers like I usually do. I walked off the pain in my leg about halfway there and arrived just in time to catch the re-enactment. It was quite an experience. My heart goes out to the guys who had to wear the Union soldier uniforms.

Once the parade was under way, I returned to my car and met up with the group again at Calhoun Park. They were already in the middle of a speaker, so I quietly found a place near the back to shoot. I was mistaken for the Herald Press again. I explained my mission,sat through the awards ceremony and left for the day.

Sunday was father's day and it was an unexpectedly hard one.

Monday was spent finishing up on paperwork from last week and helping Wendy prepare for her presentation on Tuesday. I'm all right with how the work came out and I think I was a help. I got nothing I intended to do done though. I also finished up the receipts and credit card statements to go out that afternoon.

Tuesday was probably the busiest its ever been for me. Wendy was appointed as interim city manager (Congratulations!). We had to be at the office by 7 to help set up for the Leadership Palestine event. I helped arrange the desks and chairs, as well as set out cutlery, plates and napkins. The entire affair was expected to last from eight to one. That is five hours. Just how much work and time goes into a presentation is unbelievable to me. I can safely laugh at my classmates who struggle to get five minutes of content out of their fifty power point slides when I return to school in the fall. We had two different caterings (one for breakfast, one for lunch) and a ton of left overs. I officially annexed the office next to the front foyer where I was originally set up. I spent some of the day recording voice with the door closed.

I skipped most of the meeting stuff to play catch up with my agenda. I did get two videos up and out. I get the feeling that being at least slightly behind schedule is par for the course. When I originally planned out my schedule, I was worried it was too light and that I would have too much free time. I won't say it's too much yet, but I will say I’m pleased that I didn't overestimate my capabilities.

Today was much more lax compared to yesterday. It's still busy, but it feels like there's not specifically a deadline today. I sat in on a meeting today to discuss Sanderson Farms some. We had to sprint back after that so that Wendy could meet with the mayor. There was a rotary meeting afterward, too. The outgoing president gave a long and winding speech that was interspersed with jokes. I drove back from that just in time to catch Breezy leaving for a meeting. I also had to do invoices, but I'm getting to be an ace at those. I even find it pretty fun to do, somehow. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

I've downloaded some documents onto my tablet to read this evening while I cut my teeth on bourbon (Philip Marlowe's drink of choice, which oddly, I've never had).

Speaking of hardboiled detective novels, this weekend I plan to use the gift certificate to the local bookstore that I was given. The rest of my week looks like a blur. Next week, however, I plan to go to the balloon base, which will require me to call ahead and verify on Monday. The fact such a mundane step has me giddy speaks volumes. Volumes of what, I don't know.

I will say that having an actual paper agenda to stick to helps me immensely by giving me a sense of control over everything that's going on. It may be an illusion of control, but is is a fine deception.

The Big Cut

This week started my first real experience in semi-professional video capture and editing. It never ceases to amaze me how far technology has come. Years ago, video editing was a much more time consuming and physically demanding process. Thanks to the advent of computers and digital video, a novice with a bit of time and dedication can make a half-decent product, provided that their creativity is flexible, their patience thick and their heart willing. I have a pretty powerful, but easy to use program and access to the city’s HD digital camcorder. I’m not going to say I’m a pro by any means. Even if technology has adjusted, so have the demands and actual professionals can whip out a product orders better than what I can do, with computers that are focused on this job.

I finally condensed the video I shot last week into a short video of just shy of thirty seconds. I sent it out and got some feedback. Surprisingly, what I’ve received was positive! My voice was not unbearable. I snuck up into the office at 6am to record my voice and get to work before a staff meeting at 8 Monday morning. I will need to reshoot a couple of things however, one of which will require me to wait until the weekend for capture. Breezy said she didn’t want to stomp on my creative vision but, to be perfectly honest, I don’t really have one. My creative vision is whatever they want it to be. None the less, I’m pleased with my first draft and looking forward to filming again.

After all, my vision is black and white, in a city where vice rules and crime never sleeps. Where a man’s worth is measured in grit and bullets…

Credit to Karva Javi on Flickr.

I was formally introduced at the city council meeting on Monday night. I’m impressed that Palestine has gone to such great lengths to make an aloof eccentric like I feel welcome, even though I’ll only be here for five weeks. Five weeks. It’s difficult to believe I’ve only been here two weeks, and I’ve got about three weeks left to go.

Mark Price was also sworn into the city council. It’s been in the works for a while, but he officially took the oath Monday night. Mark Price is an extremely likable man with a playful and bright attitude. He’s definitely a character that sticks in your mind. Congratulations to him and thank you for your service to Palestine, sir.

Mark Price being sworn in.

Last weekend was fairly uneventful. I went grocery shopping and did a little more tasting of Palestine. On that note, the Taste of Palestine is happening this Thursday. I’m hoping to be there to not only snag some footage but some food as well. I’ll hopefully cut together a short video on Friday for release on the city’s YouTube channel.

It’s one day after getting my schedule set out for the next three weeks and circumstances have already thrown it into disarray! I had planned to meet with the owner of The Redlands about producing a video for her; however she’s not able to meet me until tomorrow morning. And while I have access to the video camera, I don’t have access to the transfer cable, meaning I cannot really work on video editing until Thursday, when I can get it again. So much of my work for today has been pushed to tomorrow. What did I get done today? My work for Wednesday, which was mostly research and preparing backlog blogs that the city can post after I leave. I created and researched two blog entries and part of the events for next week. I want to call the venues that are having events for some more information I can publish. I even gathered some creative commons images to use.

One positive: Breezy brought me a pair of peaches today. Thank you!

Tomorrow, after I film my videos about the Redlands, I’ll start out writing my script for the video I was supposed to do today and wrap up my events for next week blog. That should hopefully put me back on schedule for Thursday, when I’ll cut up the videos I need to do and film some of the taste of Palestine. Friday, I’ll cut the Taste footage together and get some footage of the big Business Expo on Friday. These last two will take less time than the video I cut yesterday since I don’t need to sync up narration with video or do too much editing.

That would put me at the end of my third week here in Palestine, and I’ll officially be on the downhill.  I haven’t decided what I’ll do this weekend, but it’s only Tuesday. It might storm tonight.

Clouds gathered above in ill omen…

The Iceberg

Have you ever seen an iceberg? While it may look fairly small from the top of the water, it is huge beneath the surface. Just two weeks ago, I didn't know this department existed. This week has shown me that there is much more going under the hood of local government than I even considered. Palestine isn't a large city by any means, but the amount of work between private industry and the government to accomplish any one task is phenomenal. Wendy's position as EDC director ensures she has to interact with everyone. 

I've now been here in Palestine, TX for just north of a week. I spent Saturday doing a bit of wandering around Old Town and Main Street. I stopped at Granny Muffin Wines, which is just a few minutes walk from the Redlands. I should preface my gushing with this disclaimer: I love art. I love Americana, realism, surrealism, gothic and many more styles I am not qualified to list. Palestine's Main Street boasts a large collection of antique shops and art stores. Granny Muffin Wines' second floor is dedicated to painting. I purchased a bottle of wine for my birthday and brought it up to my room to chill before I continued my exploration. I purchased myself a wine set from an antique store for my birthday and treated myself to lunch ad Old Magnolia's. I went grocery shopping and was pleased to pull my bill under 50 dollars. That included the stuff necessary to make a birthday cake.

The work week has been busy - I'm starting to get a sense of just how hectic and fast paced the EDC is and must be. City officials in general seem to juggle a thousand things at once, between meetings, decisions, research, etc. How Wendy managed to hold out alone for a month is a mystery for the ages. On Monday we went to the Rotary club's centennial dinner. Several past presidents and other high profile officials in the organization were honored. I was honored too. Rotary International, through their emphasis of service, has helped severely curb the spread of polio in the world, to the point where only three countries really have issue with it any more. 

Have you ever seen a car hydroplane? That's been what I've felt like a couple of times. Just barely holding on as I follow through the whirlwind of meetings, research projects and plans. It's been enjoyable but I can see why people go to bed at 10pm now. I learned how to take minutes for a meeting. Twice I helped Wendy by keeping a back up for her. Then, I even got to record the minutes. It's all very formal. 

I received the camcorder on Tuesday and did some shooting with it that day. I stayed out for a good three hours, shooting random things around Palestine. I nabbed some shots of a decently busy Main Street, some flowers, a 'Palestine' city sign, Reagan Park and Splashtown. There's also some local art that the city of Palestine puts out and rotates on a fairly regular basis. The one piece that has stuck with me is a red, metal moose that is a few blocks away from the Redlands. I made sure to capture some of that since I've come to identify it with Palestine, oddly enough. My plan is to start cutting and editing all this video into something somewhat decent in the next few days, probably over the weekend. I'm wary about putting my own voice into anything and my editing skills, while decent, are not superb. My camera work less so. I think I can pull together a nice product though if I sit down and take my time. That camera class as an undergraduate had to be good for something, right?

Yesterday was another of those days that went by too quickly. I realized I was bereft of a means to connect the camcorder to my computer, so I stopped by the city hall to get a cable. My contact wasn't available, however I met a nice man who told me about some lakes and parks around Palestine that I should considering visiting and shooting. Shortly after I got to the EDC, I was told we were going to a meeting at city hall. This meeting lasted two hours. It's interesting to see the system of checks and balances of city government come into play. Everyone there at the meeting was dedicated to helping and serving the community. However, the different areas of focus foment a slightly antagonistic relationship. Everyone was civil, of course, and very friendly. However, some people were focused more on one set of regulations, some people on another set, some on city management and some on projects. All of them had to come together to a singular goal. It's interesting to see how so many different minds and people come together to accomplish something.

I went back to the EDC offices and continued some product research I had begun on Tuesday until about the middle of the afternoon. Wendy was going to Dallas to an EDC conference for Team Texas. Before going, I would have thought the membership was a waste of money. However, the people involved with Team Texas offer a unique opportunity for smaller communities to participate in networking they normally wouldn't have the budget for. Attending some of these events is several thousand dollars. Membership to the event is a fraction of the cost. It pays for itself. Dues not only pay for some members to attend national and international conferences as representatives of Team Texas, but to also host conventions themselves to bring in Site Selectors. Site Selectors are agents who are hired by companies to find them real estate to fit their needs. They look at laws, regulations, demographic information, land costs and a host of other variables to help their clients find the perfect plot for them. Thus, these site selectors and EDC directors have a mutually beneficial relationship. 

We got back from Dallas around nine that night. The streets were dark and mainstreet was locked up by the time I go home. Wendy's done a wonderful job of keeping me both busy and welcome. Today I finished up my pricing research as well as put together a rough schedule of what I'd like to accomplish and when I'd like to accomplish them. Tonight, the Texas Theater downtown will have its sign lit up, so I hope to grab some footage of that. It's a cloudy day, so the contrast should make a beautiful shot. I'll also get to play around with the scene selector on the camcorder. 

Tomorrow, I plan to start doing some research on ideas to blog about for the city. I may even write up a few rough drafts if I think I have something nice to produce. This weekend I plan to explore more of what Palestine has to offer in the food department. I'd also like to film a bit more and cut together that video. It'll be an adventure for certain.

Speaking of food, I get a food budget as part of my internship. It's generous enough to keep a single person fed for a month. I was rather pleased at getting myself under budget. However, between rotary, staff meetings and other events, I've been getting at least one meal given to me pretty much every day. Today Breezy, the new person in marketing, brought half a pie from her husband's bakery (Oxbow Bakery). Since everyone else is on a diet, I was encouraged to bring it home with me. I had a small piece of it for lunch. I believe it's banana cream with blueberries on top. And it is delicious.