Viva Las Vegas

We close on my new house today! I am off to Vegas to meet with the painter and to hang out with my family. I'll take lots of pictures and post them on Monday.

Photos

Click here to visit the photo gallery of the Nevada State Legislature.

Did You Know?

I was sitting at a table in the cafe the other day and one of the other girls I was sitting with asked a question not really expecting any of us to know the answer. Much to all of our surprise, I knew! It was then that I realized that I know some of the oddest things about the Nevada Legislature, Jeopardy weird. Let's see how you do!

Who is second in the line of succession for the Governor's office? (Name is fine, but title is better)

How does one become the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the Assembly?

What has to happen in order to amend the Nevada Constitution? (There are multiple correct answers!)

What does it mean to place a bill on the Secretary's desk?

How often does the legislature meet (does not include special sessions or interim) and for how long do they meet?

If the President of the Senate and the President Pro Tempore are both absent, who presides over the Senate? (Again, either the name or the title will work.)

Which senate district(s) have multiple Senators?

Who has the majority in the Assembly?

What two sport events are legislative traditions?

Who's portrait overlooks the Assembly and why?

And the bonus...

Where is the legislature located and why?

Some of these are easy, especially if you are a regular reader; others are a bit more difficult! Try your best, it's all for fun! I'll post the answers a week from today.

Another Cool Quiz.

Your Brain is 53.33% Female, 46.67% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

WhatGenderIsYourBrain?

Here We Go Again.

Okay, deadlines met, all bills still alive are now in the other house. Now what?

Now, we start all over again.

Committee meetings have already begun and we are back in the swing of things. No more eerie silences, no more reading romance novels during long floor sessions. Committee meetings are being scheduled again and so the fight to get things done your way begins again. We have until May 20 to get bills out of their new committees and where the building has that beginning of session feeling, some things have changed. Alliances have been made and broken and emotions are high. Added to that you've already stated your position, so your opponents are ready with a good defense. You now have to work harder and be more dilgent to get your position heard. Though you may want to, now is not the time to relax, but instead to be on top of your game, always keeping in mind 'There is more then one way to kill a bill, but only one way to pass it.'

Opps!

Here is the link to the cities quiz.

Coutdown!

41 days till the end of the legislative session.

47 days till moving day!

The Calm Before the Storm.

I walked into the legislative building today and there was this eerie quiet all over. Usually there are people just hanging out, trying to grab the attention of various lawmakers. There is a certain excitement in the air, a low buzz of activity. This was not the case this morning. I walked in and there was barely anyone about; no one was sitting at the tables in the cafe and only a handful of members occupied the lobbyist room. Everyone is tired and simply wanting the day to end.

You see, today is yet another deadline. Today is the day that all bills, except those exempt, are supposed to be passed out of their first house. If your bills hasn't come up for a vote by midnight tonight, your SOL. Both houses will be going into their first floor session for the day at 10:30 and the excitement and fun will begin once again. In the mean time, the quiet is kind of nice. At least it gives me the opportunity to get some work done.

This is cool!

American Cities That Best Fit You:

75% Atlanta

55% Honolulu

55% Las Vegas

55% Los Angeles

55% Washington, DC

Which'>http://www.blogthings.com/americancitiesbestfitquiz/">Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Countdown!

42 days till the end of the legislative session.

48 days till moving day!

Coming Soon!

Yes, I know it has been forever since I have written anything, I have been very lazy.

I was working at the bookstore the other day and I realized that there are so many good books coming out!

4th of July - James Patterson
- This is the fourth book in the Women's Murder Club series
Release date: 5/2/05

A Date with the Other Side - Erin McCarthy
Release date: Any day now (yes, this is a technical term)

Countdown - Iris Johansen
- This is the next book in the Eve Duncan series. The main character is her adoptive daughter Jane all grown up!
Release date: 5/10/05

Black Rose - Nora Roberts
- This is the second book in the In the Garden trilogy
Release date: 5/31/05

Devil's Corner - Lisa Scottoline
Release date: 5/31/05


I can't wait!

Countdown!

47 days till the end of the legislative session.

53 days till moving day!

Snow!?!

Snow? In April?

The past two days I have had to put up with snow. Now this wouldn't be so bad, except this weekend it was beautiful; like 75 degree, capri wearing, sunroof open weather. On Monday, I was at the Borders in Carson to get a CD before going back to the office (which is literally five minutes away) and catching up on paperwork. It was bright and sunny in the Borders' parking lot, yet snowing at the office. Huh?

No more snow! It's April and I have cute new capris to wear! Stop with this crazy weather. Today the weather is supposed to be in the 60s, hopefully too warm to snow, though it is northern Nevada so you never know.

Okay, I just checked the weather report, rain all weekend!!
(so much for living in the desert) :)

Countdown!

52 days till the end of the legislative session.

58 days till moving day!

Time Management

Right now I don't have time to do much of anything but work and sleep. It's okay, I love my job. However, there are days when I wish I had more time.

I love watching television. I have favorite shows like The Amazing Race, Alias and West Wing and I have others that before I started working in Carson, I couldn't live without. However, getting up at 4 am makes it very difficult to watch The Daily Show at 11 pm. I also miss shows like Countdown with my man Keith because I am no longer home in time to catch it.

Never fail, I have found a solution.

As I have said before, I believe T.V. on DVD is a fabulous invention. (I recently just picked up season 4 of The West Wing and season 2 of CSI Miami) I can also read weekly recaps of my favorite reality shows (Amazing Race and Survivor - thanks to Bryna) on TVTome.com and my news shows like Countdown and The Daily Show have blogs and websites that I can visit while at work supposedly paying very close attention to what everyone is saying. :) (Wi-Fi and a laptop can entertain you for hours when your stuck in a committee listening to people talk about labor unions.) This allows me to have my daily fix of my shows. I know it's not the same as actually watching the shows, but it'll last me until June!

Countdown!

54 days till the end of the legislative session.

60 days till moving day!

The train just keeps coming.

April 15 means something dreadful to a lot of people. For those of us who work in the Nevada Legislative building, it means you better get your bill out of committee. Yes, Friday is yet another deadline. All bills, except those previously exempt by the money committees, MUST be passed out of their respective committees in order for them to sustain life. On paper it doesn't seem so bad, but in real life it means unannounced work sessions, long committee meetings and even longer days.

I am loving it!

Countdown!

56 days till the end of the legislative session.

62 days till moving day!

Apple iPod

I don't have an iPod and I am beginning to feel as if I am the only one. The other day, I borrowed a friend's iPod and I loved it. I usually just try to find a quiet place to sit and work, though that's often harder then it sounds. With the iPod I could really sit anywhere even the very noisy lobbyist room. The best thing was that I only had to carry around one little thing and I could listen to many different things. With a CD player or even my computer, I have to bring multiple discs or be stuck listening to the same songs over and over again. I was totally impressed. If you don't have one, I recommend that you go out and get one, they are truly fantastic!

Maybe if I am a good girl some other iPod user will buy one for me..... :)

Countdown!

57 days till the end of the legislative session.
63 days till moving day!

My new house!

Here is a picture of the living room in my new house! I tried to post the outside, but the picture was in the wrong format. (Please ignore the girl in the pink shirt. We had just came back from a 4.8 mile hike!)

Happy Birthday Becca and Michael!

My cousins Michael and Rebecca are celebrating their birthdays both today and yesterday respectively. I tried to post a picture so everyone could see their cake, but my program wouldn't let me. :(

To see a picture of the cousins, please visit my mom's blog!

Happy Birthday Guys!!

Artistic Expression

Check out the Slate.com. They have several beautiful and artistic cartoons honoring Pope John Paul II. (Yes I know the site tends to be liberal, but this man extends party lines.)

http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/

Another Soap Box

I read the three major Nevada papers every morning, mainly to see who made the legislative section. While I was doing my daily crawl, I discovered an interesting article. The article was on Senate Bill 145 which proposes to give more compensation to police officers and firefighters who are seriously injured in the line of duty.

Now before I continue, I have a disclosure to make. My father has been a police officer my entire life and where he has been injured while at work, it has never been serious. I also received my degree from the UNR Criminal Justice Department and spent many semesters using examples from workmen's comp. Added to that, members of my family and several of my friends serve in either police or military positions. I have often been called sympathetic to those who choose to do such jobs.

Whew, got that out of the way.

The reason I am writing about this particular issue today is because of the article I came across in the Las Vegas Review Journal. A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper was quoted in the article saying "We protect you and we put our lives on the line. If (injury) happens, I want this (compensation) to be higher." This to me causes problems. Whatever the reasons you become a peace officer, you don't do it for the money and if you do, your in the wrong business. Instead, the reason you do it is simply to 'protect and serve'. Correct me if I am wrong, but do you not go into that kind of job knowing that you may be injured or even killed? Are you telling me that you will risk your life, but only if you know that you'll be compensated at a level YOU deem accurate? Is a construction worker who helps to build our high rises worth any less? Is that not also a hig-risk job? (By the way, the trooper who testified is passing his time making a living as a motivational speaker.)

Peace officers are city employees and often times city employees have some of the best insurance plans. Added to that, being injured on the job falls under the category of workmen's comp. In workmen's comp law everything is given a price; you break an arm, it costs this much, cut off a leg, this much. This is universal no matter where you work. Why should police and firefighters be put into a separate category? Does this not just create a split between those who have high-risk jobs versus those who don't?

I am not trying to invalidate the bill, simply the trooper's argument for it. Fundamentally, I think that if we are going to raise the compensation for police and firefighters, we should raise it for all of workmen's comp and disability. I believe that those who risk their lives for others are true heroes and the majority would say that any type of injury or death is simply part of the job.

Daylight Savings

Twice a year we change our clocks to reflect daylight savings. In the spring we jump ahead and in the fall we get an extra hour of sleep. Who knew that something so simple could be so controversial.

There is a bill that gets introduced every year in the Nevada Legislature that wants to get rid of daylight savings for Nevada. It is not because the sponsor of the bill doesn't want to change their clocks, it's because of the state's 120 day time limit.

The Nevada Legislature has a 120 day time limit to pass all their legislation for the biennium. However, with daylight saving right in the middle, we lose a whole hour of time. Believe me this hour makes a difference. So to make up for the loss, our time limit is 120 days plus one hour; meaning we go until 1am instead of midnight. Much legislation goes on in this last hour; in the 2003 session many things that had been overlooked due to the major tax packet, were passed through.

This bill would change that, we would still get the same number of hours; however, instead of going until 1am we would stop at midnight. We would be like Arizona and Hawaii, never changing our time! Would this effect other things in our state? Would we have to move our prime time to 7pm like Arizona?

All I know is that last hour before sine die is energetic and suspenseful simply because you feel like you're on borrowed time. I wouldn't want to lose that energy!

My Friend Bryna!

I met Bryna my first day in the dorms. We were gathered in the Sorority Girls' room talking about who knows what. She was the worldly one of the group; she had been in the dorms a year, knew all about the campus and was engaged! (to a West Point boy at that)

It wasn't long before Bryna became one my closest friends in Reno. Even when I had the roommate from, well you know, she was there to let me escape to her room. She invited me into her home and shared her parents with me when mine were 500 miles away.

In June of 2002, she married the love of her life (Neal for those of you who don't know and Captain Neal for Jessica) and began a new chapter. Shortly after her graduation from UNR, she and Neal moved to Seattle where she teaches high school math. (Why she wants to teach math, I have no clue)

Bryna turned 24 today and I wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Pope John Paul II

1920 ~ 2005