HE WON!!!

I'm so happy with the results (and relieved).

I'm exhausted now.  I think I need to go to bed.  I think I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how the California proposition stuff works out. 

Besides the whole G website thing, this is really good.  Thanks to Nicole for posting it.

MSNBC was just talking about the younger people voting and how their perceptions of the issues are different from the older voters (unfortunately, I think I'm closer to this category than the younger voter people).  How they might be talking to some of them years from now remembering how they participated in this historic election. 

As I listened to them talk, I though about my 3 nephews.  They are all in their early 20s and for one of them, it's his first presidential election.  All three of them called me to ask about the issues, the presidential candidates and the California ballot measures.  Not only does it thrill me to no end that they value my opinion enough to ask me, but that they care about the process. That they understand how incredibly important it is to participate.  That they wanted to know more.  That they all got their butts out of bed and voted. 

All three of them have driven me crazy at times over the past 20 years but today, well today I'm just plain proud of each of them.  

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

It's only 12:30 and I'm already starting to wonder how I'm going to make it through the day without a major anxiety attack.  I took the day off so that I could stay home and peacefully watch the election results.  I knew that if I had to go to work I'd never get anything done. 

And now I'm sitting here obsessing about it.  I'm trying to be so positive and yet I remember 2004.  I remember thinking there was no way in the world that Bush would get re-elected and I was completely devistated when he did.  I'd really really like to believe that this time will be different.  But I remember that disappointment and I don't think I'm prepared to have it hit me again.     

I got up early this morning to meet my dad and we both went to vote.  If you haven't had the chance to get your vote in, please make time to get to your polling place today.  I've heard so many people complaining about the state of things from the economy to the war to health care and voting is a way to make your opinion count. 

I've been sucked into the vampire world of Twilight (and the 3 subsequent books).  I didn't expect to get so involved but I borrowed the book from a friend and read it in 2 days.  I then proceeded to read the next 3 books the following weekend.  I just couldn't put them down. 

And while I'm not very happy that the Harry Potter movie got pushed back, I'm glad that Twilight is taking it's place in late November.  You can see the trailer here. 

I really did have every intention of watching some of the Republican Convention this week.  I remember last week after Michelle Obama's speech thinking, "I just can't image Cindy McCain being this articulate.  I'll have to watch next week to see."  I remember wondering who McCain was gonna pick for the VP spot to go against Joe Biden since he kicked ass at the DNC.  I remember watching the news on Monday morning hearing about Palin's daughter and waiting for the national news to start talking about it (and it probably would have been the headlining story if it weren't for a hurricane). 

So I kept watching the news on Monday and waited for things to get interesting.  But instead of getting interesting, my interest went flying out the window.  I think I got as far as hearing Laura Bush and Cindy McCain asking for hurricane relief donations when one of them said something that just rubbed me the wrong way.  I'm not sure which one it was but she said something along the lines of "we need to take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats."  I could be crazy but doesn't this statement imply that a Republican hat is different than an American one? 

Yes, I know it's nitpicky to call out this one silly little thing and even though I know it was meant with in the spirit of "let's all pull together to support our fellow americans", it was the proverbial straw that sent me over the edge.  I had to change the tv channel.  Even now as I sit here, McCain is speaking and my tv is showing a re-run of CSI. 

As much as I'd like to think that I'm open to hearing the Republican side of things (and I think it's important to do so), apparently that isn't so much the case.  So tomorrow I'm going to watch the speech online, listen to the speech while I'm working, do my best to read McCain's speech.  

OOH, they just had a news teaser saying that protesters briefly interrupted his speech.  Perhaps I will watch...     

I don't understand why the major television media seems to be tippy-toeing around the "issue" surrounding Sarah Palin's family situation.  Let's get real here.  If Barack Obama's daughter was 17 and 5 months pregnant, the media (and the Republican party) would be having a field day.

I understand that they have asked for their privacy to be respected and family, particularly children, are said to be off limits in the race for president but let's at least have a discussion about the issues it brings up.  Let's talk about the candidate's plans to curb teenage pregancy.  Let's talk about talk about sex educaton and abstinence and how effective (or ineffective) those two things are.  Let's talk about whether or not it's a good idea to encouraging teens to get married just because they got pregnant.  

Sure it's great that Sarah Palin and her family are being supportive of their daughter.  It's great that they all have DECIDED to keep the baby and that the two teens are PLANNING to get married.  And isn't it wonderful that they were afforded the choice to decide? Just because the decision wasn't the same as other women, doesn't take away from the fact that in this wonderful country the option was there for them to CHOOSE.  I shutter to think of there being no choice.   

I just find it sad that what should have been planning for college, planning for a career, planning for living a life as an independent young adult, is now planning for a child and a marriage.  Far more sad than that is the fact that the planning all came at the wrong time.  If someone had planned to stop at the corner drug store to pick up a condom, none of this would have ever happened.         

The people out there that think because they tell their kids things like "good Christians wait until marriage" need to realize that not only will their kids still have sex, they will have unprotected sex.  Yes, advise them that the responsible thing to do is to wait, and then tell them that when the time comes, the responsible thing is to be protected. 

I doubt that this situation has changed Sarah Palin's opinion on sex education (which is kinda sad) but I hope that it inspires some parents out there to at least have an open conversation with their kids because just telling them don't do it, isn't enough.

I went to sleep last night thinking "I hope it's Joe Biden."

I've still been sort of backing off the political news with the intention of avoiding overload before the home stretch. I'd catch a snipet here and there so I knew Obama was going to announce his VP pick and caught a couple of names that were being tossed around.

Those that know me personally know that I haven't made a really big secret of the fact that I wasn't completely thrilled with Obama being the candidate. I think that mostly I felt his lack of experience internationally could be problematic.  Especially in light of the Georgia/Russia conflict and the deal that Condie just brokered in Poland, not to mention the mess in Pakistan. (Wow, I guess I have been watching the news, huh?)

But now, with Joe Biden I see this is a ticket I can support.  Sure, he's blunt at times but most of the time he's just saying it like it is, which is part of his appeal.  But his experience on foreign policy sure does help cover any Obama "lack of experience" doubts.

I think there are still some concnerns about trying to get former Hillary backers to support Obama and I really hope that the decision to have Joe Biden as a running mate will be one that they can support.

I've been trying to find some interesting things to do locally that require very little cash.  Over the weekend, I went to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and had a really good time.  I don't think I've ever been before (and if I went as a kid, I don't remember) so it was very interesting.  And my niece Avery really loved the Butterfly Pavilion.  You can see the set of the butterfly pics by clicking here