End of the Blog

Alright, kids, I'm writing to let you know that this is going to be my last post on here. Initially this blog was going to be a new, fun outlet for me. With everything going on at my job, and the fact that I'm just lazy, it's become more of a chore. So I'm shutting it down. I may continue to post things on myspace from time to time. For the 3-5 of you who ever actually read this, it's been good conversing with you. :)

This is why I voted for Obama.

This is out of character for me, but this is not a big "I'm right and you're wrong" post. You all know how I feel about the candidates. This is my response to those who think I'm "dumb" for being a Democrat. I don't vote in response to candidates' "plans" for the country. I vote on their opinions. I vote for whose opinions I share, because those are things on which you're either for or against...period. My top concerns, and those on which Obama agrees with me are:

1. Animal rights
2. Energy
3. Roe v. Wade
4. Gay marriage.

Of course I'm concerned about healthcare, the economy, the war, etc. I just don't feel I can elect someone on their plan for those issues. Why? Because we can't predict the future. You can plan all you want - we just DON'T KNOW that those plans will work - no matter how solid they are. You can't tell me for sure that Obama's healthcare plan will be successful, just as you can't tell me that McCain's would have been. Anyone who has ever held an elected office knows that sometimes you have the best intentions to change some things, but sometimes for whatever reason, you can't. Do I realize that Obama doesn't have the power (alone) to necessarily do a lot on the above issues (Roe v. Wade particularly)? Of course. But a Democratic House, Senate, and White House do.

I also support Obama because of his phenomenal speaking ability. According to the McCain campaign, being a good public speaker does not qualify you to be President. Well, by itself, of course not. But I think it deserves far more credit than most people give it. Why? Because a good speaker can persuede people to join you. Anyone who has taken a public speaking class knows the power this can have. A polished speaker can have extreme effects on our foreign affairs. A polished speaker can unite our country and give us hope. And finally, a polished speaker can spur action. I see this on a daily basis with my boss. I've literally seen people who were completely indifferent on issues listen to him speak with passion, and not only become passionate themselves, but hold on to that passion for the future. This is why I believe that America has made the right choice.

Sometimes My OCD Excites Me

I love anything that facilitates organization. Labels, lists, forms, spreadsheets, filing trays...the list (ha!) goes on. Today at work we finally got nameplates for our cubicles. My love of organization coupled with my self-centeredness made this a very exciting event. Few people understand this, but Husband never fails to amaze me in just how well he knows me.

I told him casually that I received my nameplate today. His immediate response? "Yay!" I told him how much I appreciate having someone who understands my eccentricities enough to know how exciting that is. "Of course," he replied, "I know my wife." Then he continued with one of the best explanations I've heard: "It's like a label...for YOURSELF."

Sometimes it's nice to have the little reminders of why you married someone.

If I Were a Bum

Husband and I were going to a fundraising event on Sunday morning, where we had to walk through the park. There was a tent set up in the park, and since it was very early in the morning, and it's a city park, I figured it was either a bum or some way-too-enthusiastic hippy.

Me: That's smart. If I were a bum, I'd go buy a tent with what money I had.
Husband: Yeah. Or booze.

In other news, I had to get off the bus early this morning because some dude was accusing a woman of stealing his wallet, so the police were called. The guy had gotten off the bus, then chased it down when he realized he didn't have his wallet. He went back to the seat he had been sitting in, and when he couldn't find the wallet, accused the woman he'd been sitting next to of stealing it. He told her he needed to search her bag, and when she refused, he had the bus driver call the police. That poor woman was trying to go to a class; just a minute prior she'd just been sitting on the bus minding her own business. Next thing she knows she's accused of theivery and has some random dude chasing her around the bus. I only wish I could have been there when he realized that he left his wallet at home or something.

Why Your Mother Told You Not to Talk to Strangers

I ran into my neighbor today and I asked how she'd been. She told me about a rather unsettling incident that happened to her last week.

Apparently she was outside walking her dog in front of our building. A perfectly normal looking man was walking his dog, coming from the opposite direction. As he passed by her, he lunged forward, and right in her face, shouted "F*cking c*nt!" She thought surely he must be on the phone or something; it was just weird that he got right in her face. Confused, she turned around to look at the man as he was walking away. He was still looking right at her, and yelled "I hope you die from breast cancer!" Ummm, WTF? Really - W. T. F.

As scary as that is, I also find it highly amusing. Even so, I believe I'll be having my black-belt husband refresh me on my self-defense skills.

An Exciting New Business Opportunity!

Husband and I were in San Diego on vacation last week. My dear spouse, in his never-ending quest to find some way to obtain income so he can quit his hellish job, came up with a new money-making scheme.

Sitting outside at a cafe, looking up at the stars on a beautiful, peaceful night, we had the following exchange:

Husband: I want to own a star someday.
Me: You can do that now. I think you can just go online and fill out a form, actually, and then they send you a certificate.
Husband: No, no. I don't want a start NAMED after me. I want to OWN one. And then I want to charge people tax for the light that originates from that star.

A bit implausible, yes, but genius.

I've Got a Form for That

So I've been pretty MIA lately due to my massive to-do list at work. Part of this list includes filling out forms for everything. Seriously, I spent probably 7 hours today doing nothing but filling out forms for various things. Basically, ever since our company was acquired by a giant corporate behemoth, we've been instructed to start putting new cover sheets on our TPS reports. Except that really, it's more like I have to fill out 3 forms so that 6 different people can sign off on the cover sheet so I can send the TPS report to a client and therefore, you know, DO MY JOB.

As you can imagine, all this form hullaballoo is rather frustrating. Today, my boss came up to me and said he had a question to ask me. I told him he had to fill out a form to ask me a question. Of course I was kidding, but he turned around and went back to his desk. He returned to me with the following form:

Question Request Form

Boss Man would like to ask Jamie a question. Please approve.

____________________ Contracts Administrator

____________________ Legal

____________________ Unit Manager

____________________ Office Manager

____________________ Group Vice President

____________________ Parent/Guardian

____________________ Executor

____________________ The Pope

This man is one of the few reasons why I put up with this company's crap.