The heat that oppresses

Yesterday, rubber from a blown tire was seen melting on an Austin highway. I wasn't surprised when I heard - even most of the elements on the lower two rows of the periodic table can't stand against the heat in Texas.
For most of the United States, summer officially begins with the solstice, which happened last week. However, Texans traditionally brace themselves for summer starting in mid-April. By the time the solstice rolls around, we're knee-deep in what I refer to as our state's fifth season, which I have not-so-affectionately dubbed "super summer."
Any Texan reading this will know exactly what I'm talking about. For any non-Texans, let me elaborate. Super summer begins and spreads across Texas in a wave-like pattern - south Texas gets hot first, and the heat moves north until residents of Lubbock are screaming like crawfish being poured into a pot of boiling hot water.
After the heat settles in, it makes itself comfortable. It busies itself 24/7 keeping everyone oppressively hot, whether the sun is up or not, and invites its friends humidity and UV rays to come hang out. Often, the trio of pranksters spends the season sunburning skin, frizzing hair, burning butts that sit on leather that's been in contact with the sun and generally wreaking havoc.
Other defining characteristics of super summer include temperatures over 100 degrees, extreme droughts, burn bans and the absence of rain or any type of H2O in general. If you're non-native Texan visiting between April and October, be aware of these signs and conditions.
This year, it looks like the heat is setting in right on schedule as the Central Texas area is set to reach up to 108 degrees before the weekend. While the next few months are predicted to be less scorching than this time last year, everyone should still prepare for outrageous conditions. My parents are braving the heat in south Texas as they participate in a mission project this week, repairing a 52-foot roof with new boards, tar paper and shingles. It almost shiver to thinking about it, but it's much too hot for that.
I'll be doing my own sweating this weekend, thought not for as good a cause, as I attempt to move all of my possessions from Central Austin to the Northwest area. While I'm excited about my new place, I'm dreading the way my body will be screaming at me as I haul boxes up and down two flights of stairs. For those of you who are wondering, yes, that is a long distance to go in 108-degree weather.
All of this complaining, though, won't change the fact that super summer is here and nesting in like a bad room mate. All I, or any Texan can do now is figure out how to deal with it and keep away from heat exhaustion.
As for me, I'm planning on plenty of swimming, cold glasses of water and keeping the A/C in the office firmly planted no higher than 72. I'm also hoping that as Google finishes the Google Glass, its next project will be air conditioned clothing.
Until then, I advise those under the summer weather to bring out the flip flops, fill the kiddie pool with bags of ice and keep hydrated when working or playing outside.

Photo via icanhazcheezburger.com

Me: A still life

Korri Kezar, 1993, age 3

My full name is Korri Dean Kezar.
I was born March 22, 1990, to my parents, Michael and Victoria, and am the third of their four daughters. Such a large female population made using the bathroom in the mornings when I grew up pretty hectic.
I was born in San Antonio, Texas, spent my first few years in Moore, Texas, and grew up primarily in Devine, Texas, a small town of about 4,000 people south of San Antonio. Devine is home to the best tacos on Earth and some of my best memories.
I enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin in fall of 2008. I graduated three years later, in May 2011, with a degree in journalism and a concentration in newspaper journalism.
After I graduated, I started my job with Austin Community Newspapers, which is the flagship company of the two papers I write for, the Cedar Park-Leander Statesman and the Pflugerville Pflag. Our system also includes newspapers in Round Rock, Bastrop, Smithville, West Lake, Lakeway and other areas around Lake Travis.
But I always think the most interesting facets of me go beyond my basic information and resume. Many people, when they read articles or stories, hardly think about what the writer behind the information is really like. And why should they? I can't think of anyone who's ever told me they approached a New York Times article with the intention of reading a reporter's biography. I certainly haven't.
However, now that I have an outlet to give more information about myself, I thought I would seize the opportunity. And maybe it will help anyone who reads this blog understand where my points of view originated. So, I now present, Korri Kezar: A Still Life, a more in-depth view of my life as I've seen and still see it.
I was born in San Antonio to my parents, Mike and Vikki, two strong Christian individuals who, to me, embody the American dream of working hard to get from the bottom to the top.
I have three sisters, two older and one younger. Stacey and I are 13 years apart, Jennifer is 11 years older than me and I'm two years older than Shannon. All three of them have strong personalities and diverse sets of talents. I do stick with my earlier statement - sharing a bathroom with them and my mother was nothing short of chaos.
I attended school in Devine, from elementary to high school. I graduated in June 2011 ranked fifth in my class, which helped me snag admission into my dream school, UT Austin.
I went to college with my best friends, which made making the shift into adulthood seemingly easier, and staying immature more appealing. While there, I worked for the Daily Texan, which was the college's only newspaper at the time, before moving on to become a founding member of the Horn, a publication started entirely by undergraduate students as an alternative to the Texan.
Journalism is my passion, and I feel fortunate to have found it without too much wandering aimlessly through life. My parents, especially my mother, were strong supporters of my venture into the field.
My parents are also a big influence on my life overall. They instilled in all of their children Christian values, which are the cornerstones of my life. They taught us to work hard, have a good ethic and not be afraid to take risks.
My sisters, too, have been pivotal in shaping me. Shannon and I, being two years apart, started developing a close sister relationship when we had both left high school and figured out that having the same DNA was not a prerequisite for ripping into each other all the time. Stacey is most like me in personality, and Jenn is a strong, independent force.
So that sums up my life perspective a little more fully, I think, but I want to add in the fun things that define me as well. For example, I was voted most likely to jump out of an airplane and into an ocean full of sharks by my friends.
When I'm not working or blogging, I may still be writing in some capacity. Other times, I can be found with my family and friends, reading, playing with my cats, practicing hot yoga, watching HGTV, scuba diving or furiously tapping away on my phone.
Some of of my life's best moments so far include becoming a Christian, studying at Yale University for a summer, being published in the New York Times, being an aunt to two nieces and a nephew and meeting my boyfriend Michael.
To wrap up my study into my own life, I'll end this post with a few of my goals: to become the best journalist I can, to publish a novel, to learn another foreign language and to be remembered as a good Christian.
And with the way things are going, I'd say I'm in pretty good shape.

Worthwhile writing

I first started writing "Things I know for sure" about a year ago.
Last July, after I had worked for the Cedar Park Citizen, Leander Ledger and North Lake Travis Log for a month, my editor asked if I would write something for our editorial pages.
My first problem was coming up with a catchy name that described my writing style and message. At that time, I was 21-years-old and newly employed at my first professional job. Realizing the position I was in, I went with "Things I know for sure," a play on my age and lack of experience.
I realized as I started writing columns for the paper more often that the title also described my content. My writing isn't always the sagest advice, but it is filled with my personal beliefs and what I've learned in just over two decades.
I just celebrated my one-year anniversary in the newsroom last week. In a year, we have gone from three papers to one, and now produce the Cedar Park-Leander Statesman. In my yearly evaluation, I wrote down expanding myself as a journalist as one of my personal goals. With that in mind, I decided to turn my column into a biweekly blog.
Who's going to read it? I have no idea. Anyone who thinks reading another person's life perspective is funny, insightful or just interesting. But whoever reads it, I hope they come away from it with a different view point, or something to think and talk about.
That's how I'll know my writing is worthwhile.