For saying what we would all like to say.

Let me add this: honestly, I wasn't a fan of Romney to begin with, but even if I disagree with him ideologically, I respected him (well... more than I respect GWB), until this speech.

Romney, you dropped out of the race because it was clear that you weren't going to win the nomination and that you were wasting millions of dollars. And, while I could never have hoped that you'd just be man enough to admit when you had been beat and bow out gracefully, I didn't expect quite the level of slimy spin that you put on your leaving the race. Do you really expect intelligent (and I *do* think that republican voters are intelligent, too) people to believe that your dropping out was self-sacrifice, that you were doing it for your party, nay COUNTRY! And in order to combat terrorism? Well, I think Jon said it best.

Well... I voted. I was really torn between Obama and Clinton. I think either one of them would do well as president and a win for either of them would be groundbreaking for the United States in terms of combatting/ overcoming the sexism or racism that exists in this country. I really hope that we, as a country, are at a place that we can set aside
prejudice and vote on a candidate based on his/ her qualifications and
stance on the issues, but I think it would be
foolish to not consider the roll that  -isms may play in this election. I know the writing was on the wall after John Edwards didn't carry his home state, but I wonder if his choice to drop out before Super Tuesday was to better position himself as the choice of running mate for whoever emerges from the Barack- Hillary Rumble.  The psychology of choosing a running mate for the Democrats in the this election is interesting-- whoever wins will be asking America to overcome a huge prejudice in order to elect them. Would Obama or Clinton fare better in a presidential race with a white man as a running mate, as opposed to another running mate who also comes to the table facing another widespread form of prejudice? I hope not, I'd kind of like them both on the same ticket. And the, or I should say, a problem for Edwards is that he has already run and lost as a vice presidential candidate. Anyway, this is all to say it will be interesting to see how this plays out and that I desperately hope America rises to the occasion.

Today is my last day at work. I'm so sad about having to say goodbye to everyone!

For those of you who don't know this story, here is a little true Thanksgiving tale to keep you amused on this Christmas Day...

So... back in my single days, my mom came to visit me in Boston for
Thanksgiving. Initially, we planned to make a little dinner for us and
a few of my friends, but then said friends ended up going out of town.
No problem, thought I, we'll go to a restaurant! I knew it could be
tough going, but I figured we'd find something... and find something we
did .

We drove a ways out to a favorite restaurant of mine, all the while
keeping tabs on the places we passed that looked open (not many, one,
to be exact). Of course my favorite restaurant was booked up, so we
headed back to the one place we saw that looked open, a restaurant/ bar
in Allston. So we park the car and walk in and wait to be seated. There
was a big group of people gathered along a long table in the bar area,
but otherwise the place looked empty. Finally the waiter comes up to us
and with a strange look on his face says, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we're here for dinner," I say, hair freshly done and dressed in
my Thanksgiving finery. In the back of my head I was thinking, "Can you
help me? Don't you know the drill by now? People come in, you ask how many in the party and you seat them. Not that complicated."

Awkward pause.

"Okay... you can sit here," he said, showing to a table in the eating area right by the door.

So we sit down and wait for the menus. And we wait. And finally the
waiter comes back with two plates with the usual turkey, stuffing, etc.

Okaaaay ... so, I said to my mom, "I guess they just have a set Thanksgiving menu."

When he seated us, I was sitting where I could see the bar seating in
front of me to my left and the entryway to a banquet area in front of
me to my right. My mom was facing me and couldn't see either.

About 5 bites into my meal, I look into the banquet area and see some
people who are dressed in obviously very worn clothes and that's when
it hit me...

This was a free meal for the needy.

I quietly filled my mom in and we both turned bright red .
When the waiter came back over to bring us our drinks, we explained
that we didn't realize that they were just hosting a dinner for people
in need, we thought they were open and we were happy to pay for our
dinner. The waiter just laughed and refused to take our money.

And that Thanksgiving has forever become known as the Thanksgiving That
We Took Food Out of the Mouths of Hungry People.

Until I have time for a real post.

For Tabitha and Erin, so they will know that I'm am thinking of them both...

Quiet

Loud

Your results:
You are Wash (Ship Pilot)

Wash (Ship Pilot) 75% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 75% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 70% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 60% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 55% Alliance 45% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 40% Inara Serra (Companion) 40% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 30% River (Stowaway) 30% A Reaver (Cannibal) 15%

You are a pilot with a good if not silly sense of humor. You take pride in your collection of toys. You love your significant other.

Click here to take the "Which Serenity character am I?" quiz...

I think I've mentioned my brother's friend who runs a coffeehouse in Seattle. I don't think I've mentioned that she is obsessed with Firefly/ Serenity. She has never said anything to me about it, but she has hosted Serenity/ Firefly nights at the coffeehouse and has a huge cloth Serenity banner hanging on the wall. Anyway, I finally got around to watching Serenity. Then I watched it with the director's commentary. Then I bought it and bought Firefly. And now, here I am, five years later, pissed at Fox for cancelling what I think is a very good series and very interesing premise. And, I'm ticked at Fox because the one new show I was even slightly interested in watching this season, New Amsterdam, appears to be being saved as a midseason replacement.

Grrr. Arrgh.

Disclaimer: The problems I am about to bellyache about are, admittedly "high class" problems. Which means that I recognize that I am fortunate to have the about-to-be-mentioned (is there an opposite of "aforementioned?") "problems." To break it down, keep it real, skip to the point (too late!), when I say "I have to quit my job," I should say, "I get to quit my job." Was that drawn out enough for you )? Ah, well, if you're looking for brevity, you've come to the wrong blog. Commence bellyaching.

I have to quit my job.

I don't think I've ever been exactly shy about discussing my love-hate relationship with my job.  I've had some rough transitions into new jobs but this was by far the roughest. Steep learning curve and not exactly a no-pressure, consequence-free environment in which to learn it. I lost 15-20 pounds in the first six months because my anxiety level was so high that I could barely eat on days I was working. Though the anxiety decreased as my mastery of the job increased, I still have problems sleeping the night before work (as in, I can't fall asleep, and when I do I am very wakeful). The other hurdle, other than the actual work itself, that it took me a long time to get over was feeling accepted. When I first started, I was so consumed with just trying to get through the day and get everything done that I wasn't very chatty with my coworkers. Also, given the rough start, I got the feeling from certain people that they thought I shouldn't be there-- some of that was real and some of that was paranoia-- anyway, it didn't exactly add to my feeling comfortable or accepted.

I hate saying goodbye. It took me so long to feel like part of the team, to make friends, to develop the camaraderie I feel (most of the time) at work. But as Madonna wisely points out in The Power of Goodbye, "Freedom comes when you learn to let go."

I suck at letting go. And now that I know I have to do it (and soon), I find, to quote Morrissey, that Everyday is Like Sunday-- though my meaning is slightly different than the song. I mean everyday is like Sunday, in the sense that it feels like Sunday-- enjoying what is, tinged with the dread of what is to come. Everyday, I look around and see who and what I will miss, fearful, hopeful of what will fill the void.

*My dad always used to start launching
into this poem when it was time for me to go to bed and so I have come
to associate it with endings.

Protected blog entry to come shortly.

(tagged by Tabitha)

8 Random Things:

1. The main reason I prefer driving over taking public transportation (other than motion sickness and convenience) is so I can sing out loud to the radio/ CDs.

2. I prefer to sleep with pajamas on, as opposed to in the buff. And it's not a modesty thing, I just feel more comfortable wearing PJs. Ditto for underwear.

3. I *hate* the taste of alcohol. Very, very rarely I find a drink that I don't mind too much (Boston Beer Works has a Blueberry Ale I like), but even then I usually would rather have an iced tea or a soda. The other thing that reinforces my dislike of alcohol is that the first effect I feel is dizziness, which I don't particularly enjoy. Add this all together and it means that I have only been drunk once in my life.

4. I was way into astrology when I was a teenager. In college, I took an experimental design course and we did a project having to do with the accuracy of astrology and in the course of doing that experiment, I read that essentially every other study that's ever been done about astrology has shown it to be BS. And now I believe astrology to be BS. And yet, I think I very much fit the description of a Cancer.

5. I love the water, but the ocean scares me. I didn't want to go see Titanic because sinking into the middle of a vast, freezing cold ocean is one of my greatest fears. When we flew to NZ, I just mentally had to try and not think of the gigantic ocean that sat sloshing below the plane waiting to swallow it up. I don't know how I feel about going on a cruise. We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. I feel better about being in warm waters.

Okay... three to go... I can do this...

6. I tend to have relationships where I am either primarily the listener (most of my relationships, I would say)  or the talker (fewer and farther between, tend not to last as long) with very few relationships that strike a balance. And, actually, my DH is only exception to this rule I can think of right now. And I think it stems from my relationship with my mom, she is definitely the talker in our relationship, though it is more even now than it used to be.

7. I'm not a huge fan of silence. I often turn the TV just to have background noise.

8. When I was a kid, I developed the ability to wake myself up out of nightmares. I found that if I woke myself up and went right back to sleep, the nightmare would continue, so I would make myself sit up and I would hold my eyelids open and count to ten, then go back to sleep. It always worked.

I would tag people, but I think mostly everyone I know has been tagged-- but if you are a regular blog reader of mine and you want to do this meme, consider yourself tagged.

Captain Pajama Shark