My Luck Could Change

Gobble, Gobble, Toil and Trouble

So...I don't know where to begin.  Which is probably one of the main reasons why I haven't begun in so long.  I guess I'll work my way backwards...

Happy Thanksgiving!  Mine was pretty lonely.  We were invited to an orphan Thanksgiving and I would have known a lot of people there, but Adam just wanted to go to Black Angus instead.  So I let him win and then he spent nearly the whole dinner trying to pick a fight.  So yeah.  Pretty lonely.

But last night at the Ken Club was fun, minus the whole "I smell like shit because I never got a shower or a chance to do laundry today" and "I'm the biggest klutz in the whole world" factors.  I was telling Matt and Kelly a story about how earlier that night in class when I had gotten up to grab my jacket off the back of my desk I managed to launch my desk into the front of the classroom...so while I'm gesticulating wildly to better illustrate my story, I dump Kelly's entire beer into Matt's lap.  Yeah.  But then I got wasted and stupid and ceased to care about all those things like dignity and all that.  Frank, Leah, and Ben showed up, much to my suprise and I did my best to make them feel better about themselves by making an ass out of myself.  Yeah.  Can you tell I'm in one of my depression-hangovers with all this self-depreciation?

For the first time ever someone came up to me to say they recognized me from my blog.  Of course they did this when I was drunk so at the time I thought it was the most amazing thing ever and probably got pretty close to squeezing the life out of her.  I need to quit going to bars with so much money in my pocket and letting people buy me drinks.  Nothing good ever comes out of it.  Although, getting recognized for something I hadn't put any work into in a month did give me the impetus to get back here tonight...

I wasted my entire afternoon yesterday on getting a 32" Trinitron TV for only $180.  It was lacking a power cable, but Adam was able to use his 6 years in the Marines for some good for once and now I've got a big ass TV.  With our little TV I could barely read the guide anymore...so just think of all the money I saved on not having to buy glasses!  It all evens out in the end.

One of the reasons I've been so preoccupied lately has been our apartment search, which is finally, thank God, OVER.  On Dec 11 we move into a HOUSE (!!) less than 2 miles from where we live now.  It's no Tuscan villa, but we're still upgrading to a back yard, washer/dryer hookups, and a 2 car garage.  Pomegranite tree out front, some limes in the back.  A HUGE park right across the street and only a half mile to a Penasquitos Canyon reserve enterance so I'll have no excuse to not walk.  I'm praying that we'll like the place enough to actually want to live there for a while...I'm getting really weary of moving so much (this will be the 6th time in 4 years).

I'm burnt already, so I'll throw some new pix up to my albums instead and be done with this for the night.  Deal?  Deal.

 

I'm Not Dead!

But thanks to all of you for your concern.  I've been hermetic lately, what with all the househunting and school procrastination finally catching up with me.  But I've got a vacuous holiday weekend coming up and I promise to get back on my regular posting schedule then.  I'm sure you're all sick of my maps by now anyway.  Pictures on the way!

Free States vs Slave States

Via the vernerable Rox Populi via Sensory Overload

New Map

I SAW RED

I left the house last night feeling triumphant, and went to bed feeling empty and alone. For a second there I truly believed that there were enough people on my side. I've been writing all day. Calling people all day. Trying to share this pain. Now, I realize while I may not be truly outnumbered (if you include all the apathetic young people on my side), I'm extremely outgunned. Today is a day of true mourning for all us lefties, but there's already sparks of a renewed fire and fight.

I may have another post on the election with all the thoughts I've been spewing all day on other people's blogs whenever I was able to steal a minute. Mostly just to save for posterity for myself, although I doubt I'll be able to forget this feeling for a while. I've felt anger before. Anger at being lied to. Anger at being cheated. But never quite on such a national scale with no reprieve in site for what will feel like decades.

What the hell do we have to do to get kids my age to vote? Beyond all our rational arguments, we gave them their rock stars, their movie stars, their movies....their free clean underwear and ramen. We gave them their immediate information available 24 hours a day and wireless. We whispered about real threats of draft and depression. WHAT MORE CAN WE POSSIBLY DO?

I guess, for me, it starts with making my son excited about voting. Telling him that once every four years, on Election Day, ordinary people get to be super heros. To make him so proud of his "I voted" sticker that he had to dig in the hamper to grab it for today off yesterday's shirt. Because really, I don't know what more I can be doing.

Had to write my second of three papers for the week for my spanish class. This one was easy and short. My next one, on Orozco, will be a doozy. Research n shit. And, yes, I know, my spanish isn't that good, but remember, I'm technically only halfway through the third semester right now. So there. Er, here:

Kerry In a Landslide!

Check out this poll at the SF Gate

Voting felt so good today. I finally got to do the thing I'd been waiting nearly 4 years to do - vote bush out of office. According to the latest Zogby predictions, Kerry takes it with 311. And Slate's exit poll reporting looks extremely optimistic, with Kerry leading Minnesota 58-40. Swing state my ass!

I'm beginning to have faith in my generation. We're online, we're informed, and we're active. For the first time in a long time, the future of America is actually taking a stand to affect the future of America.

I'm starting to bite my nails. I need some results, damnit.

Diarios de motocicleta - una revista

For some strange reason I thought I'd be done writing this and get to bed early. It's 2 am. I'm tired. But, for anyone who cares, here's my review of the Motorcycle Diaries, in spanish, sin accentos.

Diarios de motocicleta es una pelicula muy importante que cuenta el cuento del gran viaje de Che Guevara y su amigo, Alberto Granado, por Sudamerica. Usando los diarios reales de Guevara y Granado, esta pelicula pinta una obra muy creible de la transformacion de Guevara a un heroe revolucionario. Ganador de tres premios de Sundance, Diarios tiene todo lo que una pelicula debe tener: aventura, comedia, amistad, amor, y una moraleja fuerte.

Weekend Update

I'm stealing some time tonight away from paper-writin' to finally get something new up on my blog. Erwin left yesterday to go back to Iraq for a third time, so now, without him distracting me from things like bathing, cleaning, homework, blogging...I'm back in action. A bit. Here's some pictures at least, if not great, intelligent, entertaining words, to keep you up-to-date.

We had a great last weekend together. Last weekend at the Zombie Lounge, Gary gave Erwin and I tickets to go see him on stage with his David Bowie cover band at 4th and B's Dead Man's party. So we got all gussied up. Erwin, in the perfect costume, me, in the last thing they had at the store that would fit me.

But that wig. Scary. Brought out that part of me that bought the whip in the sex shop next to the Alibi a couple weeks ago. Very tempting to dye my hair black and get a Betty Page 'do. I'd need new clothes though. And some bazongas. And more of a rock n' roll lifestyle. It's in me though...I can just see myself, after I don't have to worry about Jeremy like I do now, pulling the whole mid-life crisis thing and going all rockabilly. For now, it's wash and wear, tshirts and jeans. Anything else wouldn't be compatible right now.

Only stayed at 4th and B for a bit because I wanted to run into my new friend (?) Charles at Nunu's. Where we were the only dressed up people there. Erwin was even more of a star that night than he usually is, the whore. Letting everyone squeeze his water-balloon titties, showing off leg. Gah! I'm tempted to leak those pix back to his command in Iraq to get some Kliger-esque reprieval of his tour of duty.

Saturday morning Erwin, Adam, Jeremy and I headed up for a day at Legoland, thanks to cheap tix off craigslist. The rides are all geared towards preschoolers, but it was perfect seeing as how Erwin and I were still a bit hungover from the night before and even the 3 mph train Jeremy and I rode on made me a little woozy. Here's Jeremy and I in a little leaf boat in fairy tale land:

After Legoland we all totally ran out of steam and ditched out on our party to spend the night at home and getting some last minute shopping done before I had to ship my man back to Iraq. Sigh. Headed up to Temecula last night to go trick or treating with Ana and Joe and their umpteen kids:

Election Day is tomorrow...I've been invited to go down to Golden Hall to check out the election results, but I don't especially trust the person I'd be going with and everyone's got work or night class or a gig tomorrow, so. Looks like I'll go to class after all and then spend the evening in pajamas, biting my fingernails and laughing maniacaly once I know I won't have to spend another 4 years staring at bush.

How do I know Kerry will win? For one, I have faith in the American people, especially young voters this year. For two, the polls are reading Kerry in a landslide. Third, the Redskins lost. According to that article, the Redskin's last home game before an election has correctly named the winner for the last 17 elections. As both a football hater and Minnesotan, I guess this was the one time in my life I was routing for the Packers to win.

Anyway...I'm out of blogging practice, what with this paper (in Spanish!) I've got to write on the Motorcycle Diaries stealing all my attention. For the love of God, vote tomorrow. More after the results.