I voted today. I don't know how many elections I've voted in now, but I think it is somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen since it's been eight years since I've been legally allowed to vote and I vote in just about every election, even the May general election, which usually just includes ballot referendums such as levying a one-cent sales tax to pay for a bond, etc., etc. And I like educating myself on just what the bonds will pay for and amusing myself with the fact that a lot of people my age vote in presidential elections only and don't bother to educate themselves on saying no to say yes to the Trinity referendum, etc.
Anyway, I voted. And I've never been so thrilled to not vote for someone in the two party system bwahahahahahahahaha. All I have to say is $700 billion my ass. After mulling it over one dollar at a time (which is to say, 700 billion times), your humble blogger got realll annoyed with both of the major presidential candidates, decided to continue forward with her plan to vote for the lesser of two evils, and then changed her mind again to vote for neither candidate and just write in Big Bird for president because that's about how much I like our options right now. (P.S. I really miss John McCain's "Straight Talk Express" days.)
And then I got realll annoyed that if you don't vote it's like you're a bad American and a baby-killer and our founding fathers died for our country etc. And I got realll annoyed with the idea that educating yourself and deciding NOT to vote is in no way considered an expression of your opinion by the public at large. But, as much as I did not want to vote for anyone in the two party system, I figured I ought to vote for the congressional folks and senators and such.
Anyway, there was a point to this post and I promise I didn't intend to just go on and on ranting for paragraphs. My point was 1) if you don't feel you can vote your conscience, don't vote against it; and 2) if you do decide you can, in good conscience, cast a vote, consider political philosophy rather than simply a few key issues. What I mean by that is: ask yourself what you feel government ought to do by its very definition and then vote according to that philosophy rather than just voting against the guy who supports abortion or for the guy who supports lower taxes. I think I've got a pretty clear idea of the governing philosophy's of John McCain and Barack Obama, so I voted with those in mind.
(Which is to say I voted for neither of them. Which was pretty much a direct result of the aforementioned $700 billion handout tantamount to corporate welfare/a big wet sloppy kiss from the federal government. Which is different than I originally intended to do because I really do like John McCain because war heroes and veterans just get to me.)
In 2005, there was a referendum on the Texas ballot to define marriage as between a man and a woman and to effectively make same-sex marriages illegal. I was working at the Trib at the time, and people had these really strong opinions about how if gay people get married it somehow invalidates straight peoples' marriages blah blah blah. I voted against it, but it passed anyway, since Texas is the conservative bastion that it is. I thought about it this morning on my way to my polling place and I remembered that at the time of the 2005 election, there were a lot of other contributing factors that had me all bothered about whether or not such an amendment should be part of the state's constitution. And then there was the whole issue of how it's a big deal to alter the constitution. Ya know? Anyway, I voted against it and was really struck by how strongly I still feel about it, even today. No matter what you believe about gay marriage, the idea that it should be the state's job to define something as spiritual and private as marriage is almost ludicrous.
So, if you do vote, at least think about more than just who likes the environment more and who wants to drilbabydrill and whose vice presidential pick you don't like.
30 October 2008
20 October 2008
It's his birthday, so it doesn't seem fair
We are officially moved in. Yesterday, we woke up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. (on a Sunday OMG) and drove to meet the movers at the storage building. They packed all the contents of Brandon's and my storage unit plus the furniture we'd kept in my in-laws' storage unit. From there, we drove to my in-laws' house to pick up more stuff, then finally went to the condo and had everything unloaded by 11 a.m.
Well, I should say, the movers had everything unloaded by 11 a.m. As for Brandon and I? There are still storage totes and boxes everywhere. We spent Sunday unpacking, and today, on his birthday, Brandon is unpacking more crap and attempting to stretch our limited amount of storage space to fit in all those wedding gifts.
And we've already had a few early marriage type incidents. For example, yesterday, I wanted to put some pine cones from the craft store into a vase I'd used at the wedding. The vase already contained a pink candle and some of those shiny marble things. So, I figured I'd pour the marbles into a plastic baggy and save it for the next special occasion (like sister Carole's lingerie shower in January!). Anytime I pour something into a baggy, I generally stand over the sink to do it so whatever it is won't get all over the place. Of course, marbles aren't food, so when one accidentally goes in the drain, your husband has to break out the pliers to reach down in to the sink to remove the marble. And nobody move because if anyone breathes he will lose his grip on the marble OMG. Thanks husband.
Brandon has been having a slightly difficult time with our available space because of his very tall stature. He is 6'4" tall. Our bathroom has a dropped ceiling, at 7' tall. So, Brandon getting undressed to take a shower in the bathroom=smacking his hands on the ceiling.
Walking down the hallway also is problematic. The person who lived here before us thought it would be a good idea to install a porch light type fixture where the hall light mount goes. So, while it doesn't bother me because I'm short, Brandon has already smacked his head on it.
As the title of this post mentions, it's his birthday so it doesn't seem fair that he is unpacking a million boxes and smacking his head on light fixtures.
We spent our first night in our new place last night, which for me brought mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm really happy we are finally on our own. On the other hand, I'm now paranoid about people who like to poop in trash cans in other peoples' houses. Not a good feeling. There is a guy who has been skulking around the neighborhood the past two days that we've been there. He came up to Kathy (mother-in-law) and Brandon yesterday while I was somewhere else and started asking a bunch of questions about the break-in, the police, etc., and he volunteered that he used to live in the complex but is moving to California and staying in a hotel in Dallas in the meantime. Which, if it's true, why is he just hanging around in our neighborhood. Go away Creepo. And I've never been afraid of strangers or burglars or anything. I figure you just have to be careful and aware and know your neighbors and all that. And now I'm aware and trying to get to know my neighbors but not just because they are nice people but also because I'm secretly wondering if one of them pooped in a trash can in my house.
I'm hopeful that once the place is organized and tidy, I'll feel better. At least I won't feel there are a million places to hide (like behind storage totes and haphazardly arranged furniture) once things are in their proper places. Pictures to come when things are in place.
Happy Birthday Brandon!
Well, I should say, the movers had everything unloaded by 11 a.m. As for Brandon and I? There are still storage totes and boxes everywhere. We spent Sunday unpacking, and today, on his birthday, Brandon is unpacking more crap and attempting to stretch our limited amount of storage space to fit in all those wedding gifts.
And we've already had a few early marriage type incidents. For example, yesterday, I wanted to put some pine cones from the craft store into a vase I'd used at the wedding. The vase already contained a pink candle and some of those shiny marble things. So, I figured I'd pour the marbles into a plastic baggy and save it for the next special occasion (like sister Carole's lingerie shower in January!). Anytime I pour something into a baggy, I generally stand over the sink to do it so whatever it is won't get all over the place. Of course, marbles aren't food, so when one accidentally goes in the drain, your husband has to break out the pliers to reach down in to the sink to remove the marble. And nobody move because if anyone breathes he will lose his grip on the marble OMG. Thanks husband.
Brandon has been having a slightly difficult time with our available space because of his very tall stature. He is 6'4" tall. Our bathroom has a dropped ceiling, at 7' tall. So, Brandon getting undressed to take a shower in the bathroom=smacking his hands on the ceiling.
Walking down the hallway also is problematic. The person who lived here before us thought it would be a good idea to install a porch light type fixture where the hall light mount goes. So, while it doesn't bother me because I'm short, Brandon has already smacked his head on it.
As the title of this post mentions, it's his birthday so it doesn't seem fair that he is unpacking a million boxes and smacking his head on light fixtures.
We spent our first night in our new place last night, which for me brought mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm really happy we are finally on our own. On the other hand, I'm now paranoid about people who like to poop in trash cans in other peoples' houses. Not a good feeling. There is a guy who has been skulking around the neighborhood the past two days that we've been there. He came up to Kathy (mother-in-law) and Brandon yesterday while I was somewhere else and started asking a bunch of questions about the break-in, the police, etc., and he volunteered that he used to live in the complex but is moving to California and staying in a hotel in Dallas in the meantime. Which, if it's true, why is he just hanging around in our neighborhood. Go away Creepo. And I've never been afraid of strangers or burglars or anything. I figure you just have to be careful and aware and know your neighbors and all that. And now I'm aware and trying to get to know my neighbors but not just because they are nice people but also because I'm secretly wondering if one of them pooped in a trash can in my house.
I'm hopeful that once the place is organized and tidy, I'll feel better. At least I won't feel there are a million places to hide (like behind storage totes and haphazardly arranged furniture) once things are in their proper places. Pictures to come when things are in place.
Happy Birthday Brandon!
16 October 2008
Crazy Aunt Katy gets hitched
We did it. We got married. Today is day four back in the office. I spent the first day or two back ever so productively perusing the Facebook photo albums of the many gorgeous friends of mine who made the trek to Lewisville for the wedding and then to Lucas for a sweet after-party. The only thing as great as getting married is having dozens of your closest friends and family from all over the country and from various unrelated groups descend upon your home town for one rockin' day of partying. It was sweet. Wish you could have all been there.
Contrary to my fears about wedding preparedness, we had far more cupcakes, groom's cake, and punch than necessary. There are now dozens of cupcakes in my mother-in-law's freezer awaiting our next trek downtown to pass out bagged lunches to homeless people. It's kind of cool that our friends in the city will get to share a little bit of celebratory cake with us.
And now, let me just share a few details about the past few days. Finally, FINALLY, after weeks of wondering if we were going to have a place to live when we got married, the condo my in-laws purchased and that we planned to rent from them closed. It was a short-sale, meaning a banker somewhere had to approve the sale amount. Finally, on Tuesday, that approval came through. Tuesday morning, my in-laws closed on the condo, got the keys, and headed over to Brandon's and my new home to check things out and begin the preparations for us to move in.
And. OMG. You guys. I cannot EVEN express to you the nastiness we have encountered this week. First off, when my in-laws arrived, the door was ajar and a window was broken. Upon pushing the door open, they were hit with a wave of stench and a view of general disarray.
It appeared that after the former owner moved out, someone else had moved in. There was stuff all over the place, junk in the bedrooms, BBs (BBs?????) on the floor of one bedroom, cigarette burns in the carpet, and trash everywhere.
And, the smell! Someone had, um, needed relief and found that relief in the bathroom and FAILED TO FLUSH FOR DAYS. Sick! Once we DID flush the toilet, the smell began to dissipate. Still, a bit of it lingered, and we couldn't figure out why.
I wondered into the bathroom to clear out any trash (don't worry, I was wearing gloves) and happened to glance down into a leftover trash can to find that someone had TAKEN A POO in the can! Can you believe that? I grabbed the can and ran for the dumpster hollering to Brandon that I'd located the source of the stench. After that the smell really began to go away and things were uphill from there.
On Wednesday, professional cleaners came to scrub that place down. Tomorrow, carpet people are coming to install new carpet in the bedrooms. And on Saturday, movers will come and move all our junk from a couple of storage units in Lucas out to our new home in Plano. We can't wait. You must come visit.
Anyway, that's all I've got. If anyone deserves a nice clean place to live, Brandon says it's me for being a trooper with cleaning out the poo condo.
P.S. The wedding is a complete blur, but here's a picture if you're curious about what we looked like. This is when we're charging up the aisle after being declared husband and wife to the vocals of Stevie Wonder singing "I'm Yours (Signed, Sealed, Delivered)." Pretty awesome.
Contrary to my fears about wedding preparedness, we had far more cupcakes, groom's cake, and punch than necessary. There are now dozens of cupcakes in my mother-in-law's freezer awaiting our next trek downtown to pass out bagged lunches to homeless people. It's kind of cool that our friends in the city will get to share a little bit of celebratory cake with us.
And now, let me just share a few details about the past few days. Finally, FINALLY, after weeks of wondering if we were going to have a place to live when we got married, the condo my in-laws purchased and that we planned to rent from them closed. It was a short-sale, meaning a banker somewhere had to approve the sale amount. Finally, on Tuesday, that approval came through. Tuesday morning, my in-laws closed on the condo, got the keys, and headed over to Brandon's and my new home to check things out and begin the preparations for us to move in.
And. OMG. You guys. I cannot EVEN express to you the nastiness we have encountered this week. First off, when my in-laws arrived, the door was ajar and a window was broken. Upon pushing the door open, they were hit with a wave of stench and a view of general disarray.
It appeared that after the former owner moved out, someone else had moved in. There was stuff all over the place, junk in the bedrooms, BBs (BBs?????) on the floor of one bedroom, cigarette burns in the carpet, and trash everywhere.
And, the smell! Someone had, um, needed relief and found that relief in the bathroom and FAILED TO FLUSH FOR DAYS. Sick! Once we DID flush the toilet, the smell began to dissipate. Still, a bit of it lingered, and we couldn't figure out why.
I wondered into the bathroom to clear out any trash (don't worry, I was wearing gloves) and happened to glance down into a leftover trash can to find that someone had TAKEN A POO in the can! Can you believe that? I grabbed the can and ran for the dumpster hollering to Brandon that I'd located the source of the stench. After that the smell really began to go away and things were uphill from there.
On Wednesday, professional cleaners came to scrub that place down. Tomorrow, carpet people are coming to install new carpet in the bedrooms. And on Saturday, movers will come and move all our junk from a couple of storage units in Lucas out to our new home in Plano. We can't wait. You must come visit.
Anyway, that's all I've got. If anyone deserves a nice clean place to live, Brandon says it's me for being a trooper with cleaning out the poo condo.
P.S. The wedding is a complete blur, but here's a picture if you're curious about what we looked like. This is when we're charging up the aisle after being declared husband and wife to the vocals of Stevie Wonder singing "I'm Yours (Signed, Sealed, Delivered)." Pretty awesome.
01 October 2008
What it ought to do
My dear friend, Erin, asked for a post about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She asked for it, so here's my opinion: I am OK with her as the VP pick.
I realize the squawking began a long time ago about her lack of experience and how it completely trumps John McCain's main advantage against Sen. Barack Obama. Except for the whole thing about John McCain being at the top of the ticket instead of Palin. So, it's not quite the same thing. Obama should really switch spots with Sen. Joe Biden. Then we'd have a more evenly matched race, in my humble opinion. So anyway, I like her. I don't agree with everything she and McCain stand for, but I like their fiscal policy and that's the only thing I think about when I vote anyway.
I've gotten into some conversations about politics recently with my fellow journalist colleagues (most of whom are "Commie Liberals"...cheers!) in which I hear things like:
"I just can't be OK with someone who believes in Creationism because that means he's stupid."
or
"Yes, but clearly abstinence only sex education doesn't work if her daughter is preggers."
And I would just like to set the record straight on one thing. Ahem. The problem with arguments like these is the fundamental difference in one's belief about what government ought to do. And here's what I mean by that:
I can't possibly agree with everyone on everything. I 100 percent don't believe that Creationism should be the primary theory taught in public schools. I do not care how people want to handle sex education in schools. I couldn't give a tiny rat's ass about whether someone is a gifted speaker.
And that's where I get stuck. Because here's the thing: while, yes, I do want everyone to be able to get quality, affordable health care, and, yes, I do want people to be able to buy homes, I just fundamentally believe that it's not the government's job to make sure all those things happen. It's not their job to take care of us. That's not where our help should come from. I honestly think it's really sad that when a hurricane hits, people get mad about not being taken care of when what I see on the TV screen are able-bodied people who could easily get their hands dirty and get to work.
It may sounds heartless, but I'm pretty sure that when some entity such as a governmental institution takes on the responsibility that the individual ought to have, it can only lead to a failure, a breakdown, long lines to see the doctor, and a lack of the good stuff that makes up the American Dream. (The dream, not the right or the entitlement.)
So that's my thought. I realize I've sort of drifted from the original topic of Sarah Palin. But, the reason I am OK with her and OK with John McCain is not because I agree with all their positions. It's not because Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house. It's because the kind of government they would run would (in theory) be less intrusive than the kind Barack Obama would run. And I just simply believe that my freedom means I have to take care of myself.
I realize the squawking began a long time ago about her lack of experience and how it completely trumps John McCain's main advantage against Sen. Barack Obama. Except for the whole thing about John McCain being at the top of the ticket instead of Palin. So, it's not quite the same thing. Obama should really switch spots with Sen. Joe Biden. Then we'd have a more evenly matched race, in my humble opinion. So anyway, I like her. I don't agree with everything she and McCain stand for, but I like their fiscal policy and that's the only thing I think about when I vote anyway.
I've gotten into some conversations about politics recently with my fellow journalist colleagues (most of whom are "Commie Liberals"...cheers!) in which I hear things like:
"I just can't be OK with someone who believes in Creationism because that means he's stupid."
or
"Yes, but clearly abstinence only sex education doesn't work if her daughter is preggers."
And I would just like to set the record straight on one thing. Ahem. The problem with arguments like these is the fundamental difference in one's belief about what government ought to do. And here's what I mean by that:
I can't possibly agree with everyone on everything. I 100 percent don't believe that Creationism should be the primary theory taught in public schools. I do not care how people want to handle sex education in schools. I couldn't give a tiny rat's ass about whether someone is a gifted speaker.
And that's where I get stuck. Because here's the thing: while, yes, I do want everyone to be able to get quality, affordable health care, and, yes, I do want people to be able to buy homes, I just fundamentally believe that it's not the government's job to make sure all those things happen. It's not their job to take care of us. That's not where our help should come from. I honestly think it's really sad that when a hurricane hits, people get mad about not being taken care of when what I see on the TV screen are able-bodied people who could easily get their hands dirty and get to work.
It may sounds heartless, but I'm pretty sure that when some entity such as a governmental institution takes on the responsibility that the individual ought to have, it can only lead to a failure, a breakdown, long lines to see the doctor, and a lack of the good stuff that makes up the American Dream. (The dream, not the right or the entitlement.)
So that's my thought. I realize I've sort of drifted from the original topic of Sarah Palin. But, the reason I am OK with her and OK with John McCain is not because I agree with all their positions. It's not because Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house. It's because the kind of government they would run would (in theory) be less intrusive than the kind Barack Obama would run. And I just simply believe that my freedom means I have to take care of myself.
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