sha v 3.1

Last night Walter, Matt and I saw Howard Dean speak on campus for the ASSU Speaker's Bureau. We heard about it last-minute, so we had to sit in the upper balcony, but we were still able to see and hear fine.

The first thing I noticed was how much more of a dynamic speaker he is than John Kerry (who, by the way, seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Has anyone seen him lately?) I think that Kerry probably had a better chance of winning than Dean since he knows how to play the game of politics (or politricks, if you're Ozomatli), but Dean is a much easier candidate to stand behind. He is idealistic but not to the point of naïveté, (check out those special characters!) and he isn't afraid to tell people things they might not want to hear. He was even more outspoken than usual, because he's no longer campaigning, and he certainly did his share of Bush-bashing and Republican-bashing.

He spoke a lot about the future of the Democratic Party, and how they don't need to become "Republican Lite" in order to win elections. He stressed the importance of standing up for what you believe and having strong convictions, and how voters respond to that. He related the story of an Evangelical Christian who was volunteering for his campaign. He asked her how she could possibly support him, given his beliefs on gay rights and abortion. She told him that although she was "troubled" by some of his beliefs, at the end of the day, she wanted someone with strong convictions leading our country. Interestingly enough, this is exactly the same reason many people voted for Bush. Perhaps the Democratic Party *shudder* has something to learn from him.

He also talked about the role of the media in our country, and how 90% of the country gets their news from one of 11 major media corporations. He spoke about how news has degenerated into entertainment, and how media corporations are bowing to their shareholders rather than doing truthful and intelligent reporting. He did say that we're in for a change, though, because most young people get their news from the only two quality sources: the internet and The Daily Show.

And for the record, yes, he did do "the scream". It made my night. But he did also explain how the media misrepresented the event, and how even he wouldn't have voted for him if all he saw was the way it was reported on the major news networks.

Dean also spoke at length about signing Vermont's civil unions bill during his time as governor. It was an extremely unpopular bill, and he said that many people asked him if he signed it because he had a gay family member or a gay friend. He said he didn't (that he knew of) but that he signed it because of basic human decency. I thought this was refreshing, because it reinforced the idea that you don't need to be a member of a minority to care about what happens to them.

Overall, I thought he had a lot of good ideas and interesting things to say. Hopefully we haven't heard the last of him in the political arena.

Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday we had 6 guests over for Thanksgiving dinner. This was our second Thanksgiving we've hosted, and this year went a bit smoother. Besides turkey, we made a rib-eye roast, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, sausage stuffing, greens, and cranberry sauce. Diane brought sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. The turkey and the roast took a bit longer than expected, which we would like to attribute either to a weird oven or a busted meat thermometer. Diane's cousin also brought over a puppy (not to eat) that they were sitting. He was really cute and had a little bit of turkey too. We had to keep Enzo in my room, seeing as he has anti-social tendencies. I gave him some rib-eye roast, though, so I don't think he was too unhappy.

Overall, I thought it was a really successful dinner. Despite any hardships, setbacks, or disappointments this year, I was surrounded by good company, plentiful food, and am in good health as another year comes to an end. And if I've learned anything this year, it's that I have the most wonderful friends in the world. And that is indeed something to be thankful for.

Well consarnit, my posting has been rather lackluster lately. Maybe it's because my life is painfully boring. Or maybe it is.

1) Saw with Matt. I thought it was pretty good. Definitely kept me entertained. Not as bad as the reviews would suggest.

2) Finished unpacking. Holy crap. My room is the cleanest it will ever be, so if y'all want to see some amazing clean-ness (at least for me), stop on by before Hurricane Sha hits full force.

3) Fixed the toilet. Mariel says this means I could have been an ME major. I think this means I could have been a plumber.

4) Picked up the new U2 album. I think it needs a few more listens before I can form an opinion. But it's U2, how can you go wrong? Oh, except Pop.

5) Played with a coworker's Nintendo DS. It's pretty darn cool... I may just have to add it to my collection o' handhelds.

7) Had a dream last night that I was singing onstage with Ozomatli. In Spanish. A sign that I've been listening to their albums too much? Perhaps. "Cada dia yo veo la destruccion..."

We're having some peeps over for Thanksgiving, so this should mean lots of cooking and lots of (hopefully) good food.

So I realized today that I forgot to tell you, gentle readers, about an interesting happening a couple of weeks ago. And what better time than now, I ask you? Indeed.

On November 1st, Cheryl, Mariel, and I decided to have dinner together to discuss the California ballot measure that would be up for vote the next day. Nerdiness aside, this ended up being a moot point, since we forgot to bring the pamphlet describing the ballot measures to dinner. Not to be discouraged, we forged ahead and had a nice Japanese dinner.

When I got home, I noticed that one of the boxes on the floor had been nudged open, presumably by Enzo. A little farther away, was an empty chocolate bar wrapper, surrounded by bits of chocolate on the floor. Uh oh. As we all know, boys and girls, chocolate can be toxic to dogs. I called up the animal hospital and after telling the woman on the phone Enzo's weight, as well as what kind of chocolate it was (Ghiradelli's semi-sweet baking chocolate), she disappeared for a while to consult the vet. When she came back, she said that the amount of chocolate Enzo consumed was borderline toxic, and that I should try to induce vomiting.

After telling me how I could do it myself (turkey baster and some hydrogen peroxide, for those of you who are curious), or I could bring him in and they would do it for me. Not wanting to take any risks, I brought Enzo in.

After examining him, they gave him a shot and put him in one of the kennels to wait. Well, we didn't have to wait long, as after about 30 seconds, let's just say that the chocolate was out. But it didn't end there, no sir. The vet came in and told me that he needed a warm water enema to help flush things out. Mmm...

When that was done (Enzo was one unhappy little pup), they gave him some IV fluids, and he was ready to go. As I was getting ready to leave, one of the technicians asked if he had a crate in the car for him. I said that he didn't, and she answered, "Oh. I'm going to give you a towel for your car seat, because it could get messy." Eww...

Fortunately, he made it home without incident. I hope Enzo at least enjoyed that chocolate bar, because it ended up costing me $183. Dumb dog.

It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks, filled with fun and adventure. And vomit. I was sick on Monday with some sort of crappy stomach flu, so I stayed home and watched about 10 episodes of The OC from the first season box set. Can we say, "awesome"? Tuesday I was feeling okay enough to go to work, and borrowed Mean Girls which was pretty funny and confirmed that yes, girls are bitchy. On Wednesday we suprised Matt for his birthday by taking him to dinner at St. Steven's Green, and buying him some nice new (er, new to him) furniture off of Craig's List. It was quite an ordeal getting the sofa up the stairs to his apartment (I helped by taking pictures and laughing) but it's nice to finally have sitting surfaces in his place. It really cramps his DDR style, though, so hopefully he doesn't mind too much.

This past Saturday we had a girls' night, um, afternoon out, and saw The Incredibles and had Indian food. Not at the same time. I thought the movie was good, which makes me happy. When I first saw the trailers, I wasn't sure if I would like it. Sunday I hung out with Marsha, my friend from high school (and, incidentally, the only one of us who hasn't gone crazy,) and watched Super Size Me. Unfortunately, I think the message was lost on us, as every time he showed McDonald's food, we would say, "Mmm... that looks good!" That night, I went to a birthday dinner for Walter, then headed up to a show at The Punchline. It was the first time I'd gone to a comedy club, and it was pretty funny. If by "funny" you mean "filled with innappropriate jokes about babies."

Naomi was also staying with us over the weekend on her whirlwind tour of the Bay Area. She's been in Japan for the past two years, so it was good to spend some time with her, however brief.

Hopefully things will slow down a bit this week... I'm getting too old for this!

A few days have passed, a few angry rants have been spouted, arguments had, and here we are, on the eve of another 4 years of Bush. What is worst to me about this election is not just that Bush was re-elected, but that it has revealed to me just how socially conservative our country is. Exit polls (yes, exit polls are of dubious accuracy, but work with me here,) indicate that nearly a quarter of voters believe that "Moral values" were the most important issue in this election. More important than the war in Iraq, more important than the economy, more important than education. And yet how can these people call Bush a moral man? How can you call a man sending our soldiers off to fight an unjust war "Pro-Life"? How can a "compassionate conservative" want to write an amendment to the country's Constitution to deny rights to its own citizens? Perhaps it's naivete, or perhaps it's just the product of living in the Bay Area for the past 6 years, but this honestly took me by surprise. I had more faith in our country's capacity for tolerance, and I was sorely let down.

So what now? It's easy to be angry -- it's easy to say "F- You Red States!", to talk about seceding, to talk about moving to Canada. And yet, rather than being angry, we need to accept that, like it or not, George Bush was chosen in a fair election. For whatever reason, 59 million American voters believe that Bush was the right choice. Instead of being resentful, we need to pick ourselves up off of the floor and try to start putting the pieces of our shattered country back together. I believe John Kerry was absolutely right when he said that our country is deeply divided. But we need to let these 59 million people know that there are alternatives to Bush's policies of fear and hate. Nobody is claiming that this is easy or even fair, but there is that faint glimmer in me that believes that people are fundamentally good, and it refuses to go away.

Upon reflection, I have come to understand that now, more than ever, we need individuals who are willing to stick it out for the long haul to effectively challenge and educate their peers about the skewed values of corrupt leaders and the human rights offenses which frequently accompany their policies and their theologies of war. A goal equally important to education is that of teaching people to genuinally care about what is going on. There are so many decent people here...so many people just on the periphery, who if they only had a little more information and support, would let their caring, nurturing sides shine through.

Besides the John Kerry banner to the left and the occasional Run Against Bush mention on my marathon page, I've mostly kept quiet about my political leanings on this page. (In person is a different story, and if you've ever had the misfortune of experiencing one of my rants, I apologize.)

But we now find ourselves on the eve of an incredibly important election, and I am scared. Why am I scared? Because it is less than 24 hours before the election, and it is a very real possibilty that we could have four more years of George Bush. I don't want, and I don't think our country can handle, another Bush term. The time for change is now.

- A President who will not go into war under false pretenses.
- A President who will protect a woman's right to choose.
- A President who can make the United States once again respected and admired.
- A President who will not write discrimination into the Constitution.
- A President who can pronounce "nuclear."
- A President who does not turn his back on the world when the world reaches out to him.
- A President who does not create an atmosphere were "Muslim" and "Arab" are four-letter words.
- A President who believes in the value of stem cell research.
- A President who can admit and correct his mistakes.
- A President who does not use his faith to make decisions for a country where millions do not share his faith.
- A President who will protect our air, water, forests, and oceans.
- A President who can provide health insurance for my three friends who have none.
- A President who will not provide tax cuts for the wealthy while ignoring the other 98% of the country.
- A President who did not ride through life on the coattails of his father.
- A President who does not have an evil running mate.
- A President who does not fight a war where more soldiers die after the declaration of "Mission Accomplished."
- A President who will not be voted Best Movie Villain.
- A President who does not think it's funny to comment how a C-student can become President.
- A President who fulfills his military service to his country.
- A President who does not see the world in a "good vs. evil", "black vs. white", "Cowboys vs. Indians" way.
- A President who isn't a complete moron.

Will we get all these things with John Kerry? Maybe not. But it's clear to me, as I hope it is to you, that our country is in serious need of a change, and getting George Bush out of office is a hell of way to start.