Tuesday, November 18, 2008

44 Things

Learn 44 things about your friends, and let them learn
44 things about you! I tag anyone who is reading this to post it on their blog!

1. Do you like blue cheese? I LOVE Bleu Cheese especially with bacon

2. Have you ever smoked? Unfortunately yes.
3. Do you own a gun? No, and I'm pretty sure that I don't ever want to.
4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? Cherry or fruit punch

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes, yes I do. But then, you would, too.

6. Do you eat hot dogs?Very very rarely.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Elf, Bad Santa and A Christmas Story
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee, tea or the occasional Diet Coke.
9. Can you do push ups? I haven't tried lately, so, probably not.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My engagement and wedding rings.

11. Favorite hobby? I'm still working on making more hobbies, so I am not sure yet.
12. Do you have A.D.D.? Quite possibly. At least I know that I have a really short attention span.

13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? The overall health of my body.

14. Middle name? Lisa
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I want to finish my phone work right now, I want to get started on that hutch, and I have to clean the kitchen – something smells bad in there.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Crystal Light, Diet Coke and Coffee
17. Current worry? Getting a job and my fertility.
18. Current hate right now? My ovum

19. Favorite place to be? In my husband's arms or having a warm cuddle with my puppy.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? By sleeping.

21. Where would you like to go? Somewhere, anywhere. I'd love to visit friends old and new, and different countries.

23. Do you own slippers? Yes, but where they are, I haven't a clue.
24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Black

Where is 25?

26. Can you whistle? Yes, yes I can.
27. Favorite color? Pink and Purple

28. Would you be a pirate? Oh hell, yeah! If for nothing else, but the costumes!
29. What songs do you sing in the shower?Usually Blister in the Sun. I have no idea why.
30. Favorite girl's name? Natalie Trianna

31. Favorite boy's name? Randy Thundercleese

32. What's in your pocket right now? Some change, some dollar bills and a doggie poop bag.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? My dog.

34. Best bed sheets as a child? Blue and red stripes and Bambi. I think I had some Bugs Bunny, too.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? Let's not go there.

36. Do you love where you live? Until yesterday, when Tyler's bike got stolen.
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 4
38. Who is your loudest friend? Ha ha ha! ME!

39. How many dogs do you have? Just my baby, Mario.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope my husband does.

41. What is your favorite book? Really, you want me to narrow it down? 5 bookshelves - you do the math.
42. What is your favorite candy?Just about anything – come on, I'm a diabetic!

43. Favorite Sports Team?49ers, Lakers. I draw the line there.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? Ooooh, Terry, that was a good idea – a roast! There are so many songs that I would want to use – but I trust in someone to be a good DJ and play the music that I like. Shit, I did the ones in my family.


Monday, November 10, 2008

My Friends

I wrote this originally for my Myspace blog, after some heated debate and un-friending happened between all people that I know. No one unfriended me, but there were some pretty heated words written. I needed them all to know how I felt about our friendships and our lives. Here is what I wrote:


Yep, I stole that from McCain - the line that I liked least that he used... even more than "But I was a POW!"

Anyway, I realize that many of us don't have the exact same beliefs, we don't have the same political party or religion.


I believe very much what I believe. I hope that you don't think that I have been shoving it down your throat. All I wanted was to encourage everyone to vote. I made it clear who I was voting for, but I tried not to get in anyone's face to try to change their minds. I hope that I succeeded in that.


I am very very happy that Obama won. I again have hope for the world, and for my life. I understand, to a degree, why the republicans and independents would be upset and saddened that their candidate didn't win. But the amount of back tracking and shit pulling that I have been seeing is killing me. Sometimes, even though I am pretty sure none of the outbursts are directed at me, I take them personally. I voted what I thought best for me and my country. Anyone who knows me knows how I was raised. You already know what I think. You know how I feel. Please stop telling me what an idiot I am or my candidate and the future president is. It hurts me to think that my "friends" would think that about me, and continue to pretend to be my friend.


If you are on my friend's list, there is a reason: I consider you my friend. And there is a reason for that. Whether it be because I love to talk to you about anything, I like your taste in music, I worked with you and we had a good time. Or because we both like to play Guitar Hero. Chances are, it has nothing to do with politics or religion. If you ever tried to push your religion on me, you probably didn't stay my friend for long. If you tried to argue your politics with me and got so angry with me that you couldn't speak and could not just sit and listen to my views and try to understand them, and maybe explained why you felt the way that you felt; maybe you are still my friend. I will not stand for racism, bigotry, or terrorism amongst my friends.


I hope you understand why you are my friends, and respect that fact. There is a huge difference between teasing me about what I believe and telling me how stupid I am while the spit is flying out of your mouth and you face turns red. We can just agree to disagree. If you no longer want to be friends with me because of my beliefs, let me know - un-friend me, whatever. But let me know why first. I'd like to know who to not contact ever again. And grow up.


Please respect my feelings and I will respect yours. I will tease you good naturedly about your politics, but I will never NEVER tell you that you are so wrong that I can't stand to be around you.


Thank you.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day! Did YOU vote?


The first time I voted in a presidential election. Nice pants.

Today is voting day. I voted. Did you?


I actually voted last week, since Oregon is a mail-in ballot only. I'm sure by the rest of this post, you can guess who I voted for.


Politics has always been a big thing in my family. Since I have gotten married, I have noticed things haven't changed much, just the people that are interested. I was raised to be a free thinker, choose my religion when I was ready, choose how I felt about politics and vote accordingly. As long as I voted. Never let my voice be unheard. My father paid very close attention to all politics. He was very emotional about how he felt, and never let anyone forget it. He was a die-hard liberal democrat, and even being in a conservative Southern California, let his voice always be heard. He changed several of my impressionable friends from republican to democrat. Some of them fight the good fight for it, too.


I remember sitting in the kitchen with my parents, going over the ballots and figuring out what to vote on all measures, candidates and anything else that might come up. We would have explanatory discussions, usually my dad would be the explainer, and then we would hash out our views. Only one time do I remember understanding a description of a measure better than my dad and explaining it to him. I was so proud. I believe I changed his original vote on it as well.


My first major election that I was able to participate in was the 1992 presidential election. I voted for Bill Clinton. I felt it was my first real contribution to “society.” I didn't register for the draft and I hadn't been called in to jury duty yet. My parents were so excited about it, that they waited for me to get off of work so we could all go together. My mom even took a picture. I was a bit embarrassed, still being in the teenage mode of being embarrassed by attention drawn to me by my parents. We went to Hawaii around the time when Clinton was to take office. I was glued to MTV for the inauguration ceremony. I was so excited about the difference that I possibly made. I was so excited about the future.


The second election (1996), I was not as enthusiastic. I was very torn between Clinton and Perot. I thought surely someone who could make and keep the amount of money that Perot had, certainly should be good for the country. But I also liked where the country was going under Clinton's rule. In the end, I voted Perot. We all know how that turned out. At that time, I was dating someone who was raised by a very conservative family, so therefore, he was also extremely conservative as well. We argued constantly about politics and the “evils” of Clinton. I was forced to keep my opinions to myself, if for no other reasons than keeping the peace.


In 2000, I voted for Al Gore. I really liked him, he reminded me of my dad. It was easy to identify with him. My entire family, as well as many of my friends were so disappointed and angry at the atrocities that happened in Florida. I may have mentioned this before, but when my father was dying he talked in his sleep a lot. One day, I was sitting on the couch by his bed and my mom was in the kitchen. Suddenly, my dad started talking. “George, George, George.... You bulbous bastard... George W. Bush.” It was so indicative of how he felt about politics his whole life. I believe he spoke for my entire family. Even though it was sad, we couldn't help but laugh. He passed less than a month later. And I believe that his words still ring true.


In 2004, I voted for Kerry. I believed he was the lesser of two evils. I wasn't that fond of him and his flip flopping, but he was supposedly standing for the things that I believed should remain my rights as a woman and a citizen. At this point, I was very concerned about keeping my healthcare affordable. I got in several arguments with some friends of mine, and they always managed to make me feel stupid, even though my opinions were valid to me. Unfortunately, Kerry lost. And the rest is now history.


This year, is a historic year. Not only do we have an African-American that won the Democratic nomination – with an extremely good chance at becoming our next president, but we also have a woman in the VP slot. While Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman (I believe) to be put in this position, Sarah Palin could very realistically be the first woman in the white house (as VP) and by default if something were to happen to McCain, she would become president. As wonderful as I think that the world has finally moved into doing something this big and accepting, I feel like I have to protect my rights from another woman. That frightens me. I think John McCain has a good sense of humor. But that's as much as I can like about him. I do not like his ideals, or his beliefs. I don't think they would be good, overall, for this country and it's inhabitants. I find Barack Obama to be a powerful being; in speaking, in inspiration, in ideals and beliefs. He inspires me, he makes me have hope again for my future and the future of the world... not just the country, but the world. I am terrified of what would happen if McCain were elected. I do think I have a bit of a crush on Obama. And that's ok. It's good to look up to someone who made it this far and may even be president.


I am excited about the election results. You can bet that I will probably be glued to the TV most of the evening. My husband and I discussed all the measures and candidates, just like I used to do with my parents. We agreed on everything. My parents were both registered democrat. When they would go to vote, people would laugh and ask them how boring their life was – they had nothing to argue about. I guess I have the same thing to look forward to. We are both bleeding heart, tree hugging hippie liberals and very proud of it.


While I do care who you vote for, I mostly care that you vote. Please – make your voice be heard.




Even if it IS for McCain.