Ay caramba! My poor neglected blog. The last few weeks have been insane with work and activities. FINALLY, I have a chance to sit down and write a few things.

So what’s been happening? Barack Obama fever seems to be sweeping the nation, at least on the Democratic side. I am still a Hillary supporter, but I must admit I am impressed with Obama as an orator. His speeches are inspiring, but I still question whether he has the experience to work the political game to its fullest and achieve the “change” and “hope” he pontificates. If he becomes the frontrunner for my party, then I will vote for him. We definitely need change in the White House.

Brianna Denison’s body was recovered in south Reno and there were memorial services this week in her honor. This town is still on edge as her murderer, a serial rapist is still on the loose. We are all looking out for each other’s safety, but I hope carrying a big can of pepper spray will be enough defense if I am ever confronted.

It is dumping snow right now. I’d say an inch has fallen in the last hour. I must confess that I am ready for spring although the skiiers will be jumping with glee come tomorrow. Plenty of fresh powder. It seems to be a good year for mountain sports, much better than last year which saw most resorts close a few weeks early.

Well, my long overdue post is pretty boring. I am yawning and my eyes are drooping, so I will say adieu or, actually, adios, since I opened this message in Spanish.

 Hasta manana….

A recent Utne Reader blog profiled a unique website called One Million Monkeys Typing, a collaborative writing site. Writers can start a story or add snippets to an existing story. Popular stories grow like trees and can produce offshoots for other stories. Unpopular stories wither and die. I just reviewed the site today and read snippets from Cimarron Lake. I think this site is extremely clever and I plan to explore my own writing options on the site. Check it out!

It probably is no surprise that this nerd girl is also a former theatre freak. My love for acting most likely started when I was a little girl. I would write holiday plays that my younger sister and I would perform for my parents. I finally ventured into acting seriously during college and became a regular of my college’s theatre department and local community theatres in Billings, Mont. When I moved to Missoula, Mont., I discovered the Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT), a theatre company that provides week-long theatrical residencies in communities across the country and stars local children. The concept of MCT’s tours is that MCT staff visit communities, audition local school children, rehearse a play in one week, and perform to parents and community members at the week’s conclusion. Recently, a documentary about the theatre was produced, aptly named the little red truck in honor of the MCT tour vehicle that rolls into many a town to engage children in the performing arts. Check out the trailer and hopefully you’ll see a little red truck roll into your community soon!

Wow, this last week was insanely busy for me at work. Plus I started a new graphics communications class at the local community college and celebrated birthday #41. Today I am finally getting a chance to catch up with my blog.

A lot happened politically over the past few weeks, especially with John Edwards dropping his run for the presidency. My husband was an Edwards supporter, mainly because Edwards comes from humble roots and has “known pain” – the loss of a child, a wife suffering from cancer, and his blue collar upbringing.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a Hillary supporter but I have been a little unhappy with some of the nasty comments the Clintons made toward Barack Obama over the last couple of weeks. Thankfully, Hillary and Barack seem to be on friendlier terms, although they are still pitting a tough race against each other. Super Tuesday will reveal a lot.

Sexual assaults on the UNR campus remain a hot topic among students and faculty, and another assault by gunpoint in October was disclosed – this time in a main parking garage on campus late at night. This makes me extremely nervous as I have a full day and evening of events scheduled next week and will need to access this garage for my event guests. I really wish security could be beefed up on campus. I would even advocate for additional campus police on foot, especially at night. UNR has been good about promoting the use of the Campus Escort Service. Because the new student union is open so late and the administration wants students to remain longer on campus, using it as their “living room,” I fear it may be creating an easy atmosphere for predators. Personally, I carry a big can of pepper spray. I hope I never have to use it.

My apologies for my earlier somber post. A triple set of bad news does not make for a great day.

But on a happier note, I have a new ”crush” on a Scottish collective called Snow Patrol. I bought their latest CD today called Eyes Open. I had heard a couple of their songs – “Chasing Cars” and “Shut Your Eyes” – played on my favorite radio station, the X, and REALLY liked them. The entire CD is great. Many of their songs start out very quiet, almost ethereal in sound, but then crescendo into a driving rock beat.

What I’ve read about them is that they are pretty popular in the UK and have jumped across the pond with a big splash, getting a lot of air play here in the states. So check them out – www.snowpatrol.com.

Man, there is some bad mojo looming about today. When I arrived at work this morning I saw an email from the campus police that a 19-year-old girl was missing and most likely abducted from her friend’s house located very close to campus. A newspaper bulletin indicated that the FBI is now involved in the investigation. There have been two assaults to females near campus in the past couple of months so, understandably, all women on campus are a little nervous. My husband even bought me pepper spray because I walk a fair distance to my car each night. I hope this young woman is okay and will be returned to her family soon!

My second set of bad news arrived shortly after the campus police alert when I learned that one of my former bosses had emergency surgery for a brain tumor over the weekend. She came out of the surgery okay, but there are still a lot of tests and possibly treatments she will have to endure. I am anxious for her and her family.

And finally, this afternoon a friend IM’d me to announce that actor Heather Ledger is dead. Now that boggles my mind. I’m not really into all the celebrity gossip and broo-ha-ha, but Heath Ledger was an extremely talented, young actor and I really admired his work, from Monster’s Ball to Brokeback Mountain. I LOVED him in Lords of Dogtown and his performance in Brokeback simply broke my heart. I just don’t get it.

I live in the Reno area and got an opportunity to experience yesterday a historic event for Nevada – our first caucus. It was an interesting process although I’m not sure how “democratic” it was considering many could not attend since they had to work – like my husband, for example. Being the first caucus, most of us didn’t know exactly what to do in the beginning, including some of our volunteer leaders, but we stayed calm, kept our senses of humor, and muddled through the process. Basically, it was a big head count.

Regardless of party connections, I think all who participated were extremely happy with the turnout. I live in a rural area north of Reno and we had about 200 people attend. Personally, I was happy with the results of the Democratic caucus with Hillary Clinton winning, although it had its share of controversy. The local newspaper reported today that Barack Obama requested an investigation into the Nevada Democractic caucus as many precincts closed their doors at 11:30 a.m. when the state party had mandated that the doors remain open until noon. I am happy to report that my local precinct followed the state party guidelines.

Ultimately, I would prefer that primaries be held in my state rather than caucuses as this would provide everyone a wider opportunity to vote. But the caucus experience was about as “grassroots politics” as one can get – every individual vote truly counted. It is heartwarming to see that the average citizen is becoming more active in the political process and takes this process seriously. “Staying the course” just ain’t working these days, Dubya. Americans want change. I can’t wait for Super Tuesday!

Dr. Seuss first used the term “nerd” in his 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo to describe an imaginary creature. Well, we all know that nerds are very real and thriving in this world (I’m talking about you, Bill Gates). Maybe I’m a little bold in calling myself the ultimate nerd girl, but hey, if the shoe and spectacles fit, so be it.

I possess a thirst for knowledge and an interest in so many diverse things that I need a place where I can pontificate. So, I have created this blog to cover all those nerdy (and maybe not-so-nerdy) topics that interest me. If you want to join in on the conversation, please do. One thing about nerds, they welcome everyone into their zoo.