Settled in and planning more speeches!
Misc: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Tuesday 23 September 2008 - 17:10:14
We're happily settled in at our new apartment in St Anthony. I'm working at the downtown Target, and enjoying it quite a bit. We've gotten a car, which allows us some flexibility to find friends in the area. Meetup.com and its Speculative Fiction group at http://scifiwriting.meetup.com/2/ have provided some opportunities for social life.
Four speeches are now scheduled: one in Duluth on Oct 25, one for the Autism Society on Nov 12th, one for Fairview Community Center on Nov 19th, and one at Peace Church in Eagan on March 14th. The last is particularly significant, because the organizer has specifically told me:
"Please feel free to add this engagement to your web site as we will
welcome the general public and have room for up to 500 people in our
sanctuary!"
So, if you'd like to see us speak but you've never happened to be part of any of the groups we've spoken for, March 14th is your chance. It's open to anyone who wants to come. The speech will begin at 2 pm, and will go on until about 4 pm once you include the time that will be devoted to questions and book signings. Peace Church is at the following address:
2180 Glory Drive
Eagan, MN 55122
Hope that gives you enough time to make room in your schedule!
(Note: If you do come, be sure to have $5.00 ready to pay the entry fee.)
Four speeches are now scheduled: one in Duluth on Oct 25, one for the Autism Society on Nov 12th, one for Fairview Community Center on Nov 19th, and one at Peace Church in Eagan on March 14th. The last is particularly significant, because the organizer has specifically told me:
"Please feel free to add this engagement to your web site as we will
welcome the general public and have room for up to 500 people in our
sanctuary!"
So, if you'd like to see us speak but you've never happened to be part of any of the groups we've spoken for, March 14th is your chance. It's open to anyone who wants to come. The speech will begin at 2 pm, and will go on until about 4 pm once you include the time that will be devoted to questions and book signings. Peace Church is at the following address:
2180 Glory Drive
Eagan, MN 55122
Hope that gives you enough time to make room in your schedule!
(Note: If you do come, be sure to have $5.00 ready to pay the entry fee.)
Moving
Misc: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Tuesday 24 June 2008 - 10:23:55
John and I are moving yet again-- this time into the city of St. Anthony, Minnesota.
Like Richfield, where we live now, St. Anthony is on the outskirts of Minneapolis... but it is closer to John's workplace, and on better bus lines. We'll save on gas, and may even be able to go without driving for long periods of time.
For a while, I'll probably have to take an hour-long bus ride to my current workplace (the Bloomington Target)... but eventually I hope to be transferred to the Northeast Target or the downtown Target, both of which are much closer.
Our new apartment will be ready for move-in around July 11th. I really hope this will be more long-term than our previous apartments. It's a lovely place.
Like Richfield, where we live now, St. Anthony is on the outskirts of Minneapolis... but it is closer to John's workplace, and on better bus lines. We'll save on gas, and may even be able to go without driving for long periods of time.
For a while, I'll probably have to take an hour-long bus ride to my current workplace (the Bloomington Target)... but eventually I hope to be transferred to the Northeast Target or the downtown Target, both of which are much closer.
Our new apartment will be ready for move-in around July 11th. I really hope this will be more long-term than our previous apartments. It's a lovely place.
Happy Namesday to Me
Misc: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Sunday 18 May 2008 - 18:39:05
May 18th is the feast day of Saint Eric, and therefore the closest thing to a namesday that I have, since there is no Saint Erika.
I was never very interested in St. Eric himself; I just liked it when my parents made me a cake for my namesday when I was a kid. Austrian heritage is good. You can get a personal cake two days of the year.
I've always liked my name, though it always has annoyed me when people spell it wrong. It's very strange, but I actually get "Erika" misspelled more often than "Hammerschmidt." I guess it's just that when people don't know how to spell "Hammerschmidt," they ask, but when they don't know how to spell "Erika," they guess. There are three common spellings of "Erika." There are no common spellings of "Hammerschmidt," since it's not a common name at all.
Another strange thing: when I studied in Mexico and Spain, nobody ever misspelled my name. This is strange because the usual misspelling I get around here is a replacement of the "K" with a "C," which is exactly what one would expect in a Spanish-speaking country, seeing that the Spanish language barely ever uses the letter "K" in any word, and always uses a "C" instead. But they didn't actually make that mistake, ever. I guess it's the same issue as with "Hammerschmidt"... the name "Erika" was so unfamiliar to them that they always asked when they didn't know how to spell it.
And it turns out neither "Erika" nor "Hammerschmidt" is really that bad, relatively speaking. When I decided to marry John Ricker, I thought about taking his name, since it seemed like an easier name to spell and pronounce than "Hammerschmidt." But after knowing him a while, I started to notice that "Ricker" actually got misspelled and mispronounced way, way more often than "Hammerschmidt." Seriously. I've seen him get called Richter, Riker, Stricker, Bicker... I've never figured out what is the deal with that.
So I kept "Hammerschmidt." "Erika Ricker" would sound silly anyway.
Anyway, in honor of my namesday, here is a song from the poetry page on my website:
Oh, beautiful for E and R,
for I and K and A,
Oh, beautiful for all of these,
Especially the K!
I'm Erika, I'm Erika,
God shed his grace on me,
But not on those who write my name
And spell it with a C!
Book is out!
Update: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Thursday 24 April 2008 - 14:07:48
The new edition of Born on the Wrong Planet is now available to purchase from AAPC! It's a longer edition, with several new chapters about things that have happened since the first publication, as well as essays about various ideas that had been brewing in my head. I'm very happy with it, and so are the people who wrote reviews-- there's even one from Temple Grandin!
I've also updated the calendar, adding records of all the speeches we've given so far this year, and the ones that we are scheduled to give. There are quite a few.
A lot has been happening. We moved in September, and then John broke his leg at Lake Superior and was on crutches for the next few months. But we've been managing. Life's good.
Submitted by Erika Hammerschmidt
I've also updated the calendar, adding records of all the speeches we've given so far this year, and the ones that we are scheduled to give. There are quite a few.
A lot has been happening. We moved in September, and then John broke his leg at Lake Superior and was on crutches for the next few months. But we've been managing. Life's good.
Submitted by Erika Hammerschmidt
Calendar updated
Update: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Monday 23 April 2007 - 16:45:03
It's really been a long time since we've been invited to so many speeches. We'd gotten out of the habit of posting them on our website calendar.
Now, though, we have several speeches coming up, and they're listed on the calendar as of now. (Please note that most of these gatherings aren't open to the general public, and our calendar listings aren't invitations to them; we just mention them here to give you an idea of the kind of stuff we do.)
We had a wonderful speech on April 5th at Northwestern College. Many of the people attending were interested in having us speak elsewhere, including one who invited us to talk in the Northwestern College chapel in October.
That's all for now. I'll post more details when I get them.
Now, though, we have several speeches coming up, and they're listed on the calendar as of now. (Please note that most of these gatherings aren't open to the general public, and our calendar listings aren't invitations to them; we just mention them here to give you an idea of the kind of stuff we do.)
We had a wonderful speech on April 5th at Northwestern College. Many of the people attending were interested in having us speak elsewhere, including one who invited us to talk in the Northwestern College chapel in October.
That's all for now. I'll post more details when I get them.
We've been so busy...
Misc: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Saturday 10 February 2007 - 20:20:19
It's been a while since I've updated the page... a lot has happened.
We've moved to a new apartment, and I've moved to a new Target store. That's going pretty well. I like having my job within walking distance of home, although walking in subzero temperatures isn't all that fun.
John now has an official Asperger's diagnosis... no more NOS stuff. But that's just one detail in his very busy life, which is mostly occupied with going back to college for vacuum technology. He's at Normandale, and he has a job in the vacuum lab he studies in.
We haven't had many speeches this fall and winter, but we have at least one coming up in the spring.
My new book is getting quite close to being ready for publication.
We've moved to a new apartment, and I've moved to a new Target store. That's going pretty well. I like having my job within walking distance of home, although walking in subzero temperatures isn't all that fun.
John now has an official Asperger's diagnosis... no more NOS stuff. But that's just one detail in his very busy life, which is mostly occupied with going back to college for vacuum technology. He's at Normandale, and he has a job in the vacuum lab he studies in.
We haven't had many speeches this fall and winter, but we have at least one coming up in the spring.
My new book is getting quite close to being ready for publication.
Website change
Misc: Erika Hammerschmidt @ Saturday 25 November 2006 - 12:41:42
Just letting you all know that our website that used to be at zekibaka.com has moved to www.erikahammerschmidt.com.
Still has pretty much all the same stuff-- my writing, my art, and information about my books and speeches. Some new stuff on the jewelry page.
Just thought I'd let you know. Now must try and get ready for work.
Still has pretty much all the same stuff-- my writing, my art, and information about my books and speeches. Some new stuff on the jewelry page.
Just thought I'd let you know. Now must try and get ready for work.
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