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.