Pre-Holiday Update

November 20, 2008 – I just bought one of the more awesome things I have spent my money on in a while. For $10, I am now the proud owner of the Holiday Fire (which includes 10 Carols to “warm your toes”). I figured since I was hosting the holidays this year (mom is in town starting tomorrow for Thanksgiving and dad will be in town for Christmas), and my apartment is not equipped with a fireplace, we need an artificial fire. I have the option for “real” fire sounds, Christmas music, or a mixture of the two; and I can choose from a regular fireplace or a campfire. The novelty has not yet worn off in the office and I’ve been asked to bring it to work with me next week so we can keep it playing on a spare laptop to keep the holiday spirit alive.

In other news, my mother will be in town tomorrow and there is still a lot to do to get the apartment to make sure it is ready and she has a place to sleep and the bathtub doesn’t have a black ring because it stopped wanting to drain. Ah, the joys of houseguests. At least if something doesn’t get done, she’ll be really cool about – usually I don’t bother to clean at all when she comes, so the fact that I’m making the effort is proof that I’m growing as a person. Also, proof that I no longer have roommates.

My moment of bragging: holiday shopping is practically done. I made Dallas and Alicia’s gifts and both have minor finishing touches needed before I wrap them (in my hand stamped wrapping paper – seriously, I gave myself a blister stamping), mom’s gifts are all done and wrapped, Justin’s are done and wrapped, I made my own Christmas cards and I only have to get daddy and Bruce’s gifts (which are picked out, I’m just waiting to get paid).

Mom and I are putting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, so I’ll try and post some pictures once we get that done. I need to go pick up some colored lights to replace the white ones that Dallas and I had from our “designed” tree last year (I was out voted).

Hopefully this finds everyone out there happily getting ready to stuff their faces and not feeling the economic downturn too much (a girl can dream, can’t she?). Have a great day!

Holy Crap!

November 5, 2008 – Today I am basically useless for staying up all night watching history happen before my eyes, but it was totally worth it. I proudly voted yesterday for Barack Obama before taking myself out for blueberry pancakes to celebrate the day. Politics were on the minds of everyone I spoke to (my office was split 7 for Obama and 2 for McCain), and there was a sense of urgency. I’ve never been reminded to vote my so many people before. Even the people on the subway who are usually screaming obscenities or asking for change were reminding people to vote. Election parties were held all over town and when they announced that Obama had won, there were eruptions. My friends in Manhattan said you could hear the cheering spilling out of nearly every bar, out of apartment windows, from crowds gathered in Rockefeller Center. People honking and yelling a generally jubilant. In Brooklyn, we had the honking and the hoopla. Overall, it was incredibly joyful and peaceful and for the first time in a long time, I had hope.

I stayed up to hear the speeches. McCain’s concession speech was elegant and graceful. If he had spoken like that on the campaign trail and in the debates, the outcome of yesterday’s voting might have been very different. Obama’s speech left me – for lack of a better term – speechless. It made me cry, it made me feel proud, and it restored hope for the future. I liked the honesty, I liked the humility, and most of all, when the TV cameras panned over the faces in the crowd young, old, black, white, famous or not, everyone looked like they were inspired. Even if the road is hard and long and only half of what he wants to do is accomplished, when was the last time we had a leader who could inspire people to get involved, to want to be a part of something larger. My mother made a point of noting that when he gave his speech, he was standing alone on stage and the crowd was around him. There was no invite only, VIP section immediately near him (or at least that was recognizable to me), you saw Oprah and Jesse in the crowd with everyone else. If that isn’t a metaphor for what this whole thing is about, I don’t know what is.

As some of you may know, Bruce is a McCain supporter, so he has now declared this “the beginning of the end” and has said that he washes his hands of the whole thing (he voted his economic interest and isn’t taking it well that I voted my own economic interest as well). For the first time in a long time, I wouldn’t be afraid to go to a foreign country and say I was an American.

Above all, I’m very happy that I do not have to move to Canada. It’s cold in Canada (especially this time of year), and I don’t like the cold. Yay, America!