WonL

The random thoughts of an architect-turned- lawyer from the deep south living in Washington, DC...

Monday, November 29, 2004

What has the world come to...

...better yet, what have I become?

I decided to treat myself to a coffee before class this evening. Even more importantly, I treated myself to a leisurely stroll through the streets of DC from work to school. I am usually rushing those ten blocks so that I can get to class early and read more (whatever, I go there to socialize). Tonight, I cleared my head thinking only of the sky and my coffee. It was the fourth Starbucks that I passed on my journey that I decided to enter. With all of the coffee I drink, I have been practicing to get this right. Sick of always being corrected, I decided to give in to the lingo of the corporate coffee world. I walked straight up and ordered a "Grande Skim No Whip Mocha". The lady (in a typical SB 'i work here, you don't' tone) says you mean a "Grande No Whip Skim Mocha". Then, the manager/coffeemaker says "One Grande Skim No Whip Mocha coming up." Then, he looked at his employee reprimandingly saying "she had it right". HA! I beat the Starbucks lady. I got a smug smile on my face as I gave her my money. How sad is my life?

*note - to anyone who did not catch the difference the first time...you SO do not get it!

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Friends of Friends

I am sitting out back on the deck with my coffee, a blanket, and my laptop. It is such a gorgeous day. The sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky (at least above my house). There is a nice breeze, and peace and quiet. I just wanted to share this moment with you:-)

One of my favorite things about DC is friends of friends. I love making new friends and seeing old ones that you have met through other people. You meet new people and part of the fun is figuring out how they ended up in the same place as you. Last night was great. I took a whole night study break to have a "Thanksgiving Dinner Again" with friends. It was the bringing together of a lot of people from very different places to just hang out. Suzanne and Leslie did an amazing job. I didn't get to taste everything, because there was more food than anyone knew what to do with. Ham, turkey, pork, tofurkey, chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, 2 stuffings, a couple of gravys, applesause, cranberry stuff, corn bread, greeen bean casserole, green bean salad, rolls, mashed potatos, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin cheescake, pumpkin cookies, and even a pumpkin version of Mississippi Mud. S and L wanted everything to be perfect and it was! They had set up their living room to look all "fall" like and it was very inviting. I guess about 30+ people showed up in the course of the night. It was really nice. You know how sometimes, you go to a party and the people who know each other tend to stick together? I will admit that I do that sometimes. It was not like this at all. Everyone was very open. I was having a "what constitutes dating" conversation with some of my guy friends and the next thing we knew, every female around wanted in that conversation. We had a mini-battle of the sexes with strangers. It was great! I'd have to say the best part is when one of the girls (not knowing her boyfriend was back from the kitchen and standing behind her) asked about a time frame of dating before she could expect a ring. Talk about deer in headlights. I don't think that boy moved for 20 minutes!

After food, football, and a few drinks, we all went out dancing to Kristin and the Noise. I haven't seen them since Dewey this summer, so that was fun. I got a lot of complements on my hair too. (Happens when you go out to the Ballroom in corn rows!) It was a really fun evening! It was also nice to know that in my constant studying, I am missed by my friends:-) I needed that release. Back to the books.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Outlining

Prelude to my non-law school friends: For my exams (which start in 11 days). We are allowed to bring in any notes/books we want. The tests are from 3-4 hours and it is my understanding that this will be in 5 or so discussion questions. I have seen exams where the QUESTIONS are one page typed out. That is one hell of an answer. In answering, one really does not have the luxury of going back through the books/notes/handouts to formulate a consise, thoughtful answer. It's more like "hurry, get started". So, it is of the utmost importance to have an outline of everything from the entire semester that may provide a quick reference in the exam. Plus, the act of putting together this outline is supposed to help sort things out in your head. HA!

There are a few huge problems with me and "outlining" my notes. It's really easy when the prof. has put a power point slide in bulleted format and I just put that into my outline. It's a little less easy when I have notes in the computer, in the book, on paper, on napkins, etc. Furthermore, if I am having a non-organized day, I apparently just start writing. I don't put a date or a topic. So, here I am weeks later trying to figure out where those notes fit in. This becomes really hard when I see places in my notes that I have actually typed "blah blah blah". I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure CivPro Prof. did not say that. So, does blah refer to quasi-in-rem personal jurisdiction, or perhaps a duces tecum subpoena...no no no, it must be the 2004 amendments to Rule 11 that eliminate the safe harbour provision of sanctions. (Don't worry if you don't understand any of that...neither do I!)

The second problem is that I am already a pack rat! I keep every single thing pertaining to anything about my classes. Now, in trying to sum things up, I am supposed to choose what is the important information. Ummm, I would have to say all of it. However, it will not do me much good to try to flip through a 100+ page "summary" during the test. I have limited myself to a # of pages in the mid to low 20's. Contracts, I am good.

CivPro...another story. There are so many cases. In the beginning, I had such motivation. I would read a case, then brief it. (Break the case down into important elements - easily recognized.) Most of my briefs are about a page typed in bulleted format. I would print that out, bring it into class, and jot notes on it. I have a whole section in my notebook of case briefs that I can refer to if necessary. That way, I can use BRIEF synopses in the outline for the exam. This was all in the interests of "future" efficiency. Then one day, "present" efficiency won out. After about case #41 I got sick of doing that. In fact, I was lucky if I had time to read the case brief online, much less read/outline/brief the entire case. So, now I sit at the dining room table that I have confiscated finding myself pretty much going back to brief 20+ cases. Good thinking, LB. I must say, I am definitely better off than some people in class. One guy thinks it is wise not to do an outline; says he doesn't need it. YAY...that's two people I am sure I will do better than. If I can pick them off one at a time, I'll be okay:-)

Thursday, November 25, 2004

What goes around comes around

Right before I left for my family Thanksgiving, I called Theresa to see if there was anything I could bring. For over three years of weekly dinners over there, I have called to ask. For over three years, they say "no, just bring yourself." This time she said "actually, you can bring a bottle of white wine." Sure thing, no problem! As I drove to the grocery store and saw they closed at 4pm (it was now 4:05) I realized there was, in fact, a problem. I headed to Eckerds. HA! First, they are closed. Second, someone tells me they don't sell wine at Eckerds. What kind of state is this? I quickly drove to the next grocery store. Yay...people still going in! I saw a guy I knew in the parking lot. I went over to say hi and wish Jeff a happy thanksgiving. In chatting, he tells me I better hurry, they are about to close. I say bye and jog inside. DAMNIT...closed. So, I head back to the car whining that all I need is a bottle of white wine. Jeff then proceeds to open his car door, grab a bottle of white wine that he had just purchased and insist that I take it. HOW NICE IS THAT? It has been a while since I have seen that sort of unconditional niceness. Long live the South:-) What a genuinely sweet thing to do...really made my Thanksgiving!

Dinner was nice. Of course, the food was amazing...always is. It was also really nice to see distant relatives that I have come to realize I actually see more than my close relatives. I do have a headache, but I think that may be from the corn rows my cousin put in my hair while we watched a movie. (She wants to know what law school people will say about my hair...yeah, we will see about that.) Decided it was well worth giving myself the day away from the books to just relax with family and friends. After all was done, I still had time to pick up a friend from the airport and grab a drink. What a great Thanksgiving.

Giving Back

Where to begin? So many things in my life to be thankful for. Aside from the obvious: health, roof over my head, food to eat, Bush as president, etc. This year, I am thankful for everything that has led up to today. I am in a good place with good people...who could ask for more than that? This year, unlike the past few, should turn out to be a great Thanksgiving. I decided that since I have been so blessed this year, I wanted to spend my day giving back! I cooked for a women's shelter and brought the food over last night. (Don't pat me on the back just yet. Not real hard to make a green bean casserole. Plus, I was in charge of the gravy - which I opened two jars from giant and poured them into a plastic container. I did add some Tony Chacherie's to make it my own recipe:-)

So, today, I blocked out my time to work with an organization in DC delivering Thanksgiving meals to the elderly. Emmaus works specifically with helping elder adults stay in their homes so they do not have to move into nursing homes. Having done my thesis on this and having gone through this with my grandmother, I know how much it means to an elder adult to remain in their home. It's that sense of familiarity and independence. Home is that place where you feel safe and comfortable...we all need that. If delivering meals and/or doing some grocery shopping is all it takes to allow this person the peace of mind of living in their own home, then it's the least I can do to help. They said to show up at noon. I showed up with NUMEROUS other volunteers, which I must say, warms the heart. Apparently, things went much smoother than they had anticipated and since the cooks finished up early, they went ahead and started to deliver the food around 10 am. Well, now they have plenty of volunteer drivers on hand, but not many deliveries to make. I was paired up with "Mr. Pat" and we were given our list. We had three apartments to deliver to in the same building, not to hard. We grabbed our dinners, and headed out. First apartment, no one there. Mr. Pat takes out his cell phone as I am trying to smell the door to see if there is an odor like on Law and Order. We call home base and they say just bring that dinner back and don't worry. Okay...next apartment, "no one by that name lives here". Hmmm, you sure? Last apartment - Mr. Remmie. Nice older man. He said "come in, have a seat." Mr. Pat said "we can't, we have more food to deliver, can you just sign saying you received your food?" Okay, bye! Back at home base, they say "okay, we are all done...thanks for your help."

WHAT? I got here 30 minutes ago. THIS is what I have been looking forward to all week? This is no sacrifice on my part. I got no warm fuzzy feeling for doing this. I didn't even make anyone's day. What the heck kind of volunteering is this? I feel cheated that they delivered all the food before I got here. I just wanted to FEEL like I "gave back" something. And yes, of course I realize the absurdity of all of the words I just typed. At least I tried. So, I guess I will head to the extended family's (Carlo is back from Pakistan) for an evening of wine and food and wine and I'm sure a few comments about how Bush did not deserve to win - fun times! I wonder what Italian's have for Thanksgiving anyway.

To anyone who is reading this...I am thankful for you!!!

Monday, November 22, 2004

Pretty pictures

When I first met Samer, I was intrigued by his photography and the way he sees the world. A few years later, his pictures are still a highlight of my week. Anyone who does not know how we met, it's a story worth telling. (In fact, we re-tell this story everytime we drink with new friends:-) Anyway, I was taking a trip to Iceland, and it would be my first time leaving the country. I was doing some online research and found a website of a guy who travels to Iceland every year. Most people don't know about this amazing untouched destination, so I really enjoyed his insights. His photos were amazing! I emailed up this random guy not actually knowing anything except that his first name was Samer. I just wanted to tell him I really loved his pictures and would appreciate any advice he could offer us in terms of what to do or see. I had emailed him from my work account, trying to be all professional. He replied with some great advice, where to stay, etc. In the very last line of his email, he said "by the way, I live down the street from your work."

First thought...stalker!
Second thought...address at bottom of work email, duh!
Third thought...what a small world.

We emailed back and forth a few times about Iceland and then, I headed there with D. When we got back, I told Samer about my trip. Obviously impressed with my FIVE PAGE synopsis, he ended up booking the same hotel and the same tour. In fact, the tourguide actually remembered us...crazy Americans he almost lost on the glacier. (Okay, perhaps it was D he remembered.) He suggested when he returned and things settled down, we should meet up for a drink, look at pictures and swap stories. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous about meeting up with some random guy off the internet, but whatever. If only I had known what a freak he actually was...hehehe (kidding). Anyway, we met up at Four Courts had dinner and drinks and then it was time to go. He offered to walk me home and I said don't worry about it, I am only a few blocks from here. So, we were walking and talking. Umm, this guy is still walking with me...hmmm (back to the stalker thoughts). So, he said "where do you live"? I said "see the big building right there? I live in a townhouse right behind it." "Aaahhh," he says "see the big building right there? I live in it." He lived in the building next door! How random that of all the people in the world I could've emailed for Iceland help, I pick the guy next door. So that is how I met Samer! We still do dinner and drinks often and he is such a great friend to have. Funny how people can be brought together in the strangest of ways.

This whole story does have a point. He's traveling right now and posting his photos along the way. I wanted my friends and family to be able to share in his travels along with me! I am just in awe of the beauty in some of these pictures. Of course, it helps that the photographer knows what he is doing.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Pity party over...

...OCD setting in. (I guess 12 hours of drinking and watching football can do that.) So, now it's time to hit the books. And I mean really hard. Walking to the Metro after class on Thursday, a school friend was saying that he really didn't know how to study for this. I told him what seemed to work for me...put all of your notes into outline form. This is a common law school practice. Supposedly, it's the act of organizing the notes that is helping you study. Makes sense. I've been doing this all along, so one may think I am in pretty good shape. Here comes the problem: I have read every case, have taken comprehensive notes, have now organized them in outline format (contracts outline is already 26 pages)...and I still don't know what any of it means! Just because it's in a nice roman numeral format does not mean that it makes sense. Nor does it mean that I can regurgitate any of this information on my exams. Then, let's add in all of the extra materials that are supposed to be helping to sort through everything. Hmmm...seems like just more reading to me. Why can't someone draw pictures of this? I need visuals. I am not talking about CivPro Prof's "vin diagram" that he uses to describe every aspect of the class. There comes a time when circles just don't explain much anymore. I'm talking real pictures. Show me what "duces tecum" looks like. (I really don't know why, but those stupid words have been in my head for days.) They do have some sort of flash cards for law school exams, but I am not sure if I feel like forking up anymore money. I seemed to have acquired this bad habit. Someone tells me of a "gotta have" law school/exam prep/study aid book, so I go out and get it. I read the covers, skim the contents, etc. and then put it in the pile with the rest of them. I guess they don't do too much good if I don't use them, huh? So, I am now banning myself from turning to any new items until I have read the old ones. It's a plan! I guess I should start now.

Friday, November 19, 2004

Why I am scared of doctors...

How is THIS not in the "offbeat news" section? The man used a SPATULA!

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Ramblings of a 20-something drama queen

I think Law School fosters depression. I read once that your first year of law school can be the lonliest time of your life. I don't know if it is the hours and hours of sitting alone with my head buried in a book. Or perhaps it is the days and days that go by without even seeing my roommates. It could also be the multiple outings and bonding moments that I cannot be a part of due to these school obligations. It could also be the up-coming holidays and knowing that I am spending them studying. I really don't know what it is, but it is messing with my head. I feel like I don't have anything in common with my friends anymore. The people at school that I do actually have things in common with are too busy or pre-occupied to just sit and hang out. I went through this extreme amount of stress during architecture school. I guess the main difference was that we went through it together. Our class grew and changed and became each other's support system. It's really hard to do that with people you have only known for a few months. It's also really hard to do this alone. So, I turned to my real support system tonight.

B...I LOVE YOU! It is an amazing feeling to have a friend that you can pick up the phone and call out of nowhere and it's like you never left each other's side. (Even if he is talking from the toilet!) In all honesty, people like that are really hard to come by: a person that you can just call up, say "hi" and they hear in your voice that something isn't quite right; a person that knows exactly what to say to make you feel better; a person who can pick you up off the ground from 1500 miles away. It's really hard not having that person beside you to give you a big hug that you sooooooooo badly need. On the other hand, the words of a friend can be pretty powerful. In speaking with B tonight, he made me realize just how many people I have like that in my life. I am an extremely fortunate person to have such great friends!!! So, B, tonight I shall have a great nights sleep and I owe that to you. Thanks for being such a rock in my life. I miss you:-)

Did I crack?

In architecture school, during our Thesis, the professors bet on who would crack first. Yay...I won! I will never forget that day, either. We had some visiting professor from Canada come in and critique us. For whatever reason, I was chosen as one of two to present my work. That man tore me apart. After that, I went outside to smoke a pack of cigarettes and vent. There was a group all sitting around trying to cheer me up and I then got hit in the face with a vollyball. (random) That just made me lose it. I spent the next hour balling my eyes out and releasing all the stress. Hector (teacher) just laughed. He said this happens to everyone. (Although I will admit that it was not as bad as seeing B's reaction when he woke up to find that he had fallen asleep and crushed part of his final model.)

And then there's law school. Some of those people are really starting to crack. In speaking with some full time folks last night, they are really freaking out. I promised myself from day one that I would not crack this time. Then came yesterday. Co-worker is dealing with the two year anniversary of her mother's death. There is an extreme parallel in that situation to the death of my grandmother this past January. We talked about that for a while...sad. Then, at school, I had to admit to Prof. that I was not prepared for class...just sealed my fate! Afterwards, school friend BIT MY HEAD OFF for no reason. He said he was really stressed out. With all the stuff going on at school, I missed my best friend's birthday. Guess I have to get a new card, as I had signed it "so glad I get to spend this day with you." To make everything worse, I got home to find an old friend was killed in a car accident. He was really MJ's friend (and boss) and I know how close he was to that man. I think MJ always looked at him as a father. He was always so nice to me. I called MJ to offer my condolences and he really didn't want to talk to me. That felt really good. So, I cried. I grabbed a beer and balled my eyes out. I don't think I was cracking because of the school pressure, but maybe I was. Who knows. All I know is yesterday sucked! Today is another day:-)

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Funny Story

Our I.T. guy came into the office to check our computers yesterday. I cannot believe they pay this man so much money to come in every month and run a virus scan. Meanwhile, I run virus scan, scan disk, disk defrag. and AdAware bi-monthly. Hmmm...perhaps I should take up a new career. KIDDING MOM! Anyway, I get annoyed when he comes in because he tries to be all flirty and I can't really understand him very well. So yesterday he looks at me and says "You got a lot thicker. Last time I saw you, you were thin. Now you are thick." Okay...there are just so many things wrong with that. (Aside from the fact that I get that from my grandma every Christmas.) Anyway, my blood began to boil and I just looked up and rudely said "WHAT?" Mind you, I really did not want him to repeat it. Anyway, he said "your reading...you have done so much...thicker part read than last time when it was thin." Aaaahhhh, good thing I held my composure, otherwise, I would've completely torn into this poor clueless guy.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Quick Vacation

I love having friends come in town. I get to play tour guide and do all of the touristy things that I don't make time for in my own life. This weekend, a sorority sister from Louisana (now living in Boston) came and stayed with me. Only twice did I do any law school stuff. This is not including taking her to see school. What a gorgeous weekend. It was funny, because by the end of the weekend, she was getting sick and probably would've been happy just sitting at my house. No way, dude! This is vacation!!! I made her truck it all over the city. I think I was just so thrilled not to be reading cases that I felt like the energizer bunny as I made her walk across the Key Bridge with me after shopping in G-town and on the way to meet up with friends. It was really nice to sit around and catch up with her. She keeps in touch with a lot of folks back home that I don't, so it was nice to hear what is going on. It was also really nice for the two of us to pat ourselves on the back for getting the heck out of there. You know how it is when you leave a small town and it all just stops? No one changes and nothing keeps going and that makes you realize that when you were there, you weren't really going anywhere either. Some people have it in their blood to love that life and there is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, some people really don't have the mental capacity to sit tight. I think Dani is somewhere in between. I am so proud of you for following your dreams DB! I hope wherever you end up in after December, you are happy. But mostly, I hope that they start paying flight attendants more money!

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Bishop Sullivan

That WAS the name of my high school. I hated that school. I remember whining to my parents for four years and they just chalked it up to me complaining. (hmph...can't imagine). It wasn't until my younger brother got kicked out of school for playing with himself that they realized something was wrong (I mean with the school). I shifted between public and private school from K through 12 and TRUST ME, there was a heck of a lot more immoral things going on in the Catholic school. I saw more drugs, sex, and deceit at Bishop even though the public middle school I attended had frequent bomb scares. There was so much corruption, there was even some instance where some chick ran around a parking lot naked hopped up on something, but the poor child "must have been pressured". Being the guidance counselor's daughter and all...she would've never gotten into that on her own. ANYWAY! She still came back to win Athlete of the Year or something in the school. I guess that record time of her naked Albertson's sprint really impressed the school officials. Seriously, though, there was a ton of corruption. I got out of the school just what I needed, great grades and a high class rank because pretty much everyone was dumb!

I had a point to this. Oh yeah...so, Mom calls this morning to tell me they are changing the name of my high school. Apparently, the Catholic priest scandals have hit home. I am no wealth of knowledge on molestation or anything, but something does not sit right with me. What bugs me about all of this is that this guy is going to come forward and claim to have been molested by a priest 29 years ago...this priest having been dead for over 20 years! The guy cannot even defend himself. What an easy target. Maybe when I am a lawyer, I can head down south and defend my church. I can tell them there is no need to settle every case. Their reputation is already a bit more than tainted, so why not fight it! The current Bishop "publicly apologized and offered 'profound regret' for the alleged acts." ALLEGED ACTS! They are not even admitting to anything, as they should not be anyway. Why not leave it at that? If this "victim" wants to persue this, let him have the burden of prooving it! (Perhaps had we taken that route, the Salem witch trials would've gone a bit differently.) I bet if this guy knew that he would have to provide evidence of molestation by a very revered man who has been dead for decades, he may not have been so quick to cry wolf for a quick buck.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

The other side of work

The minute I write the post about how wonderful my work lunch was, JB pisses me off. He does this thing that really annoys me. Okay, he does a lot of those. Aside from being a pompous, overbearing, demeaning, name-dropping, rank-pulling JERK...um...well, that's it. That's all there is to him. Anyway, he has this annoying habit of throwing his trash at me. I am talking anything from candy wrappers, to junk mail, to faxes from people he doesn't like. It doesn't matter that there are about SIX trash cans within the near vicinity of my desk. Oh no, he likes to throw his crap at me or onto my desk. Perhaps I am strange, but I don't find this in the least bit cute. (Maybe about as cute as someone putting ice cream on my face.) Anyway, the first few times he did it, I threw away his trash. Then, I started telling him "you know there is a trash can right there"? He would not respond...only walk away. I decided on a different approach. Today, after he threw his mint wrapper onto the book that I am in the process of reading and highlighting, I decided to throw it on the floor. Yep, so now his mail, faxes, food, and anything else he feels the need to throw at me will end up on the floor. Real simple for me, all I have to do is push it about a foot and it's off of my books:-) I think this should work just fine.

Perks of my job

One of the men in my office has been in Iowa working for the Dems during the election. I was handling some of his stuff while he was away. To thank me, he wanted to take me and co-worker to a nice lunch. It turned into an office-wide lunch (all 5 of us:-) We went across the street to the Mayflower Hotel and had lunch at Cafe Promenade. This historic place was amazing. This is where many of the Presidents ate daily, Monica Lewinsky awaited her video interviews and some Presidents even lived in the hotel temporarily. Aside from the link I posted, I did actually get to hear all of these stories at lunch. The folks in my office are all very Washington DC and have been prominant in this city for quite some time. Our waiter knew them by name and impressively, our waiter had actually been waiting tables at that restaurant since 1984 (before it was even named Cafe Promenade). Anyway, I was treated to veal and spinach over pasta with a glass of Australian Merlot and ended with a lemon sorbet topped with fresh raspberries. That sure beats the Betty Crocker bowl of noodles I had anticipated having for lunch. It was such a gorgeous setting and the conversation was nice too. I had actually anticipated a heavily democratic conversation, so one of my class mates had given me some reading to cram with to be prepared. Thanks, TJ, but Specter didn't even come up! They are spoiling me at this job!

On a random note...I don't have any weekend plans, so may drive to Boston for the weekend!

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Accepting the verdict

I read a FABULOUS article this morning called "Accept the Verdict" by Anne Applebaum. She says:

"Let's face it: If it's really that close, as it was in 2000, either candidate could plausibly be declared the victor. And the best outcome for the country would always be for the apparent loser to concede and for the nation to hand victory, quickly, to whoever the apparent winner might be. What would, over time, destroy the majority's faith in the process is a system in which every election was litigated or a system in which the result was regularly and doggedly disputed."

Props to Kerry for being the "bigger man". And PROPS to Bush for running a great campaign and getting elected to a second term as President of the United States of America. I hope everyone can now start to move forward. Although I will be the only one, I will be smiling on the streets of DC today!

I said I wasn't going to do this!

refresh...Ohio...refresh...Ohio...come on Ohio!

For the first time since I have moved to our nation's capital...I wish I wasn't here. I am so proud of my President and even if he doesn't win, I am so glad I voted for him. I can't say that here. My roommate tonight actually told me I should hide my car since I have a Bush sticker on it. Today, with a Bush pin on...I got cursed at and I think even honked at. I had to call home for some re-assurance, as everyone around here is so full of hate right now. Regardless of what happens, I will hold my head high tomorrow. Maybe if my car gets broken into, I can call the press and become a beacon of freedom of political conviction...and get a new car!

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

The Pres.

Today marks the third Presidential Election I have voted in. Today marks the first time I have ever had a warm feeling in my heart knowing that I am actually exercising my right as an American. Between the events of Sept. 11 and living in our nation's capital, I really do see things differently. I think it also has to do with the people I have met since living here. I actually have friends who don't have the privilege of voting in this country. That is unheard of in my life and it took that to make me see that this is actually a privilege. If I could sing, I would be busting out “Proud to be an American” right about now.

To me, part of being an American is supporting our President (whoever it may be). In my first election ever, I voted for Bill Clinton. I also supported him when he led our country. I did not agree with everything he said or did, but come on, I don’t think there is a person on Earth with whom I would agree wholeheartedly. That is not what matters…what matters is that as part of my patriotic duty, I think it is extremely important to remember that America elected to put the President into office and the President is working for America. I am really sick of hearing anti-Bush (or anti-President for that matter) talk. To me, this election has not at all been about what the opposing candidates could do, it has merely been about how to beat out the President. That sickens me! Everyone keeps talking about how other nations see us…well, right now, we are the group that elects someone to lead them and then doesn’t even stand behind that person.

I hope things are different in this election. Inevitably, approximately half of the country will not get their first choice of candidates. SUCH IS LIFE in this election! I think we should all be given a week or so to get over it (drink, cry, scream, whatever)…then, go back to being AMERICANS and support our leader. Don’t get me wrong, if Kerry wins, I am sure I will be in a bad mood for a while. Then, I will bow my head and pray that he makes honest decisions based on the best interest of this country and based on a long-term safer world to live in, as my current President has done.