Lies and Propaganda

Getting Down with my Bad Self

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Shout out!

To: Adam: you must be in 7th heaven. BoSox: Hooray for the team of Destiny! J: Thanks for letting me stay "up" to watch the game. (i.e. not making me go to bed when I missed innings 4-8 due to me "resting my eyes") Jen: Not misinterpreting my "wouldn’t it be cool if you taught your bird to speak in an accent" comment I left on your answering machine. That is why you are my friend. Jenny: Way to keep things rolling in Florida! Jmom: Excellent work getting to come back for the holidays! Miami: Watch out, we are taking the town by storm for new year's. (at least, that is the current plan....) Mo & Dan: Thanks for entertaining our idea of a good time with S'mores and pumpkin carving! My mom: Lease is signed, so it's official....she's moving OUT! Go mom! We will be there soon! Prez race: the only good thing I can see here is that it will be OVER soon. It's stressing me out.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Voting paranoid

This morning when I was driving to work, I passed a bunch of people who were stationed in Rosslyn holding signs for Kerry. It was weird, because there were like 6 or 7 people on the over pass...two with a LARGE sign, and then all the others with smaller ones. Why do people have to hold them? Why can't they affix them and leave? There was a guy right before the key bridge as well, changing directions to face oncoming traffic with the lights. I honked. But it was strange.

It made me think of my dad. One thing you need to know about my dad was his flair for "non-traditional" viewpoints on things. (That is putting it mildly. And nicely. I don't want to speak ill of the dead.)

When I was a kid, I once asked him during a presidential election who he voted for, and he replied, "I'm not going to tell you." After much pestering, he said, "Well, what if they decided to hang all the people who voted for a certain candidate? Then where would you be? Would you be glad I told you then?" Of course, I had no response to that. So he never told me.

Many years later, after several fights over "that liberal rag bullshit" known as the New York Times, I can only have guessed who he voted for. But at the time, it sure was a strange response. He just didn't tell me. It was weird.

And I thought about that this morning watching the Kerry supporter standing on the side of the road. Someone COULD just kill him for being a Kerry supporter. I don't know if the world is beyond that or not. And it freaked me out a little bit.

Could dad have had a point?

Monday, October 18, 2004

On Being Married

In honor of our three month anniversary (which was last week)....

Being married is always having someone who:

Helps you clean
Feeds the kitty
Makes you laugh
Helps you paint the living room pink
Makes you watch football, and you not mind QUITE so much anymore
Hates the awful people you work with more than you do
Reaches the tall shelf
Keeps the bed warm
Tickles you
Watches bad tv monster movies so you can fall asleep on the couch
Kills the big bugs
Lets you try out interesting culinary experiments
Compliments your new shoes
Picks out the best pumpkins
Calls when he will be home late
Grills the best fish
Holds your hand at the emergency room
Accepts all your odd "home improvement" choices

and
Makes me very happy.

happy three months to us!




Saturday, October 16, 2004

What a difference

a day makes!

(although, I would like to register my disappointment at Blogger for not being able to count. It keeps telling me I am on my 99th post. And I have posted at LEAST 3 or 4 more since then....)

Today we:

went shopping
bought and planted flowers
hung pictures
unpacked more stuff
cleaned and re-arranged the upstairs guest rooms

It feels good to be getting things done.

I always feel at home when my girl goes up...Audrey, that is. We hung my Breakfast at Tiffany's poster tonight, so now I really feel like it's my place. Ah, home sweet home!

Friday, October 15, 2004

Flashback 2000

During the 2000 presidential election, I was teaching in Texas. The kids were all riled up the day after the election, when no winner was announced. We talked about it, and how just a few votes might make the difference. I was interested then to see how it might affect the next presidential race, when most of those kids would be of age to vote.

Much has happened between then and now, but I suspect that the increase in voter registration isn't JUST due to the polarizing status of this year's election.

One of my students back then had asked me who I voted for. I told them that after much indecisiveness, I voted for Gore. They were floored (I mean, it was Texas, you know.) To be honest, I had trouble voting that way at the time, because as Govenor, W had just given every teacher in the state a $3,000 pay raise with the budget surplus. It was hard to argue with that. But, when the Republicans were in the White House, my dad lost his job in the oil business, and my mom moved back to Pennsylvania, where she could get work as a teacher. She took both of my little sisters with her, while dad and I stayed where we were in Houston. It was one of the worst times of my life.

So, was I about to vote to put another Republican (who in my mind had caused the painful demise of my family structure) in office? I didn't think so.


People don't understand that.

And look where we are now.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

everything's fine

except for when it isn't.

weekends are only long enough to get done all the stuff you didn't have time to do, but HAVE to do, during the week. So, weekend was spent doing laundry, dusting, cleaning, doing floors, taping up living room walls, running errands for both home and school, catching up with a few folks, attending pre-scheduled events...and...getting ready to go back to work. Oh, and some fighting and making up.

PS--I also got rear-ended on Friday on my way to school.

I need a vacation.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

and I been locked out....

At Home Depot yesterday morning, where I spend a good chunk of time in my profession, I provided myself one of those magic moments when the stars align, and everything shuts down.

I somehow managed to turn my steering wheel into a position that locked both my steering column and ignition. Trusty husband was in a training class in the city...no use waiting for rescue. Stuck at the depot, I began harrassing passers-by to assist. Two tried valiantly, to no avail. I was heading back into the store (they have tools in there, right? Surely someone in there will be able to wrangle it free, right?) when I happened upon an official-looking fireman/police/crime scene guy. I dragged him over the vehicle, and wouldn't you know, he steps in and TOUCHES the ignition with the key, and it rolls right over. Sheesh. I felt like a moron, and spent the next few moments professing how stuck it had been just moments before. Whatever.

I was back on the road a scant 45 minutes later. Stupid car.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Beantown blues

oh, and our weekend was lovely!

I really liked Boston. More than I can admit to my husband, who is DYING to move there. (although, I hear the local economy is pretty bad, and housing costs will kill someone, much like dc) I am not too excited about it being 40 below zero, though. This texas girl has thin blood...I get real cold in VA all the time! This will take further ruminations....and plane flights to see everyone I know...hmmm.

But it was great to see Adam, K and the baby, her family, and Kellie of the H clan. Fun!

We had a great time.

Sooo not ready to be back at work. blech.

VP on the DB

Tonight the veeps debate. It will be interesting to see how like "law & order" Mr. Edwards portrays himself. Or, is he going to work on that "plainspeak" which makes Mr. Bush so popular. I hope not.

All these folks who have latched onto Bush because "he sounds like a regular person, just like me" are out of their minds. You better believe I don't want some regular schmo who sounds like they know what I know. I want someone smarter--WAAAAY smarter than me, in charge. Because I know that I don't a) have all the answers, or b) know enough in order to figure out the best answers. I want someone in office who does.

Even if I don't understand all them high-falutin words he uses.