Shhhhhhhhhhhoot.

Well, it looks like I've failed at the blopomo... I suppose I could go back and post-date some posts (ha!), but that seems rather silly. Oh well. I'll try and post more regularly, anyway.

Not much to report here; some interest in my resume, though, so I'll follow that up and see how it goes!

Reason 34293876592 that I'm a huge dork

Newsweek has a special edition out, which details the presidential campaigns from waaaay back before Obama or McCain declared their candidacy, through the Democratic Primary madness, up through Election Day. It is incredibly thorough and full of facts and observations which the reporters had promised to keep secret until after the election. This may seem rather dry and boring to you, but it's actually a fascinating read; I just spent the entire afternoon reading it cover to cover. Definitely worthwhile, go check it out!

And yes, sitting around and reading is generally what I do on a Saturday. Or any day, for that matter.

They can also eat a dozen bagels or an entire loaf of cinnamon bread

Apparently there's been much speculation about what kind of dog the Obamas should get when they move into the White House. Everyone is suggesting a poodle, and no doubt it'll end up being some sort of supercute retriever/lab mix, but may I suggest: a greyhound.

Oh, you want reasons?

1. They don't shed -- key, since Malia's allergic.
2. The family would like a shelter dog -- hello, greyhound rescue organizations!

3. Greyhounds need big spaces to run and a fenced-in yard. The White House lawn is perfect!

4. They're generally very low key and love kids.

5. They don't bark -- there's noise enough from the press, thank you very much.

6.

It's a small world, after all

So I applied for (yet another) job in the Boston area yesterday and heard back from the HR guy this afternoon. He said they weren't hiring for positions in that department, but they will be soon. Not the greatest news, but more hopeful than a lot of messages I've gotten.

And THEN he writes, "By the way, I went to [another high school in my district], just FYI."

How crazy! What a small world... So I wrote back, conveyed my amusement and the fact that my orchestra used to rehearse at his school, and he replied again(!).

So now I've got a connection with an HR person at this place where I'd like to work. That's more progress than I've made in the past two months! And all because of where I went to high school...

Obama wins!!

FINALLY. This is the most positive I've felt about my country in a long time. Now let's move forward, shall we?

(ps- sorry about the crappy post(s), Blogger seems to be having issues)

I'm looking at you, swing states

VOTE! You can get a free coffee from Starbucks and a free ice cream from Ben & Jerry's if you do, so there's no reason not to!

Obligatory post on the election

I have mixed feelings about the election this year. This is the first presidential election that I've really followed; I was away at school in 2000 and in Germany in 2004, so I didn't have either the desire or the opportunity to track the candidates' views on the issues, the scandals over misinterpreted speeches (i.e., "lipstick on a pig"), etc. Even though I did vote in the other two, I'm more invested in this one. Maybe it's a sign of maturity that I have actual views on the issues now, or maybe it's because I had to teach about American culture and politics that I've had the chance to figure out what I feel strongly about, and what I want a candidate to support. At any rate, my time isolated from American election politics has made it clear this time around:

1) How awesome the whole process is. It's a complicated, messed-up system that involves pandering to various subgroups of the population, lobbyists, and those who have the most money. Campaign funds play a disproportionately large role, and choosing who to vote for is generally choosing between the lesser of two evils. But where else do you see people so involved in the process? No matter who you support, there are camps upon camps of volunteers who make cold calls and send out mass mailings for no compensation other than the conviction that they're helping their candidate and, by extension, their country. I mean, where else can you see such an involvement in and dedication to the democratic process? (definitely not in Germany, where no one really cares either way about their representatives or what their government is doing, as long as they get to talk about how full of crap the US government is) It's pretty amazing. And watching people get so fired up is pretty cool; it reminds me that not everyone gets the same chance that we do to choose our own leaders*. (Seriously, WTF is with the parliamentary system? That's messed up.)

*cue national anthem*

BUT:

2) The whole process is incredibly dependent on the media. Spin, sound bytes, negative campaign ads vs. attack ads (apparently there's a difference??), newspaper endorsements, YouTube videos, SNL, and infomercials... campaigns depend on the media, and the media seem to depend on the candidates to keep people watching/reading. I wonder if this is a purely American thing; there were zero campaign ads in Germany, and I recall seeing AT MOST two or three in the UK. I actually didn't even know there was an election there until the day of, when we got a flyer under our door reminding us to vote. Even when it was time to elect a new mayor of London, there were no ads; he just suddenly appeared on the news one night as the new mayor. But here, the media plays such a huge role in US culture that I suppose it's only fitting that it plays a massive role in US politics and shaping history. The follow-up question to that, of course, is should the media assume the role it does, and how can we be sure we're getting unbiased information from any of the media outlets. (hello, Fox News!)

As a corollary to this, those political ads NEED TO STOP. Seriously. Along with the calls. Freaking SHUT UP already about Mesi, Ranzenhofer, Kryzan, Lee, Delano, Volker, Konst, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

I guess the point of all this rambling is that as much as I appreciate and am in awe of the process, I am SO ready for it to be over. Let's move on. Please?

*Yeah, yeah, let's ignore the Electoral College for the moment.

Three more things

...to add to yesterday's list:

11. Bacon. How could I forget bacon?! It's delicious!
12. Target.
13. Being able to watch TV shows over and over again online, without having to resort to some rather sketchy website from East Asia where I can't read any of the instructions. ("I wonder if this one means volume... Nope, that closed the window.")

Yes, I do realize that most of these revolve around food

Ten things I didn't realize I missed about the US:
1. (Non-alcoholic) Cider and donut holes.
2. Pumpkin carving.
3. The fact that everyone, kids and adults, gets into Halloween.
4. Not having to explain and/or defend the US, its government, or traditions like Thanksgiving or Halloween.
5. Tim Horton's. (all right, they're Canadian, but still)
6. Mulled cider. (yes, cider takes two places on this list, so sue me)
7. People acting not just polite, but friendly.
8. Watching current TV shows, on the day they air.
9. The vast variety of food that is Wegmans.
10. Newspapers with comic strips. (although they don't seem to be as funny as they used to be..)