Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Just Another Tuesday

World of Hurt
Three days later, and I still struggled to get out of bed. My quads just don't want to get with the program.

Maybe it's because I have one kidney, or maybe it's because I am not 25 anymore, but gosh, it sure is taking me considerably longer to recover from these little events.


Go Bother Someone Else
Knock- knock.

Who’s there?

Wedding.

Wedding? Fuck you, no one’s home.

And so goes the planning….


My Voice
So I rocked the vote today – P. Diddy would be proud.

But I have to admit that I was oddly emotional.

Maybe it was because today was one of the most (weather-wise) beautiful days, and those always make me a little more sappy.

Or because my polling place is next door (literally) to the house I grew up in, called home for 30 years, and haven’t seen since we sold it last year. And it looks so different…

Or because I forgot how truly breathtakingly beautiful my old neighborhood is, more so with all the colorful leaves.

Or because when the officials pulled my name, it was right next to my dad’s name, and I had to tell the polling people he was dead (and yes, I stood there and made sure they wrote "deceased" and his death date on it - I may be emotional but I am no fool).

Or because as I cast my vote, I knew that, in the state of Illinois, it didn’t really matter.

Or because all of this is really happening, and on the day I should feel so powerful a US citizen, I feel so powerless.

Whatever it was, I certainly had a reaction today.

And as I drove away (only after I peeked in the backyard of my old home), I took comfort in the fact that at least I cared this year, at least I paid attention, at least I didn’t just sit on my ass and let everyone else make the decision for me, and then complain afterwards.

My right as a US citizen is to vote, and I used it today.

And THAT, my friends, is Patriotic.

(UPDATE: I am really quite disturbed that the Chicago media - and a lot of national media- have already declared Obama a victor - and it's only 430pm here in Chicago, with several hours left to go before polls close. Moreover, they refer to his Grant Park rally as his victory celebration. But yeah, I mean, the media hasn't really been in the tank at all so I am sure this is a just a slip of the tongue).

19 comments:

Melissa said...

I actually was humming the Star Spangled Banner while reading that. LOL

Hey now you can go and get a free coffee from Starbucks. Just tell 'em you vote and they'll hook you up.

L8R!!

:) said...

Good girl. I early voted last week. :)

prin said...

Yey!!! Voting is awesome. :)

Go Mom Go said...

It felt strange to vote today as well. I think part of it is that my vote today for McCain...in Indiana...may actually mean something. When...on other election days it really hasn't.

I am with you though on the national media and Obama the victor...it has been that way all day.

Rest up.

Jumper 2.0 said...

Love the knock knock joke!

Loved the post!

And though I am not one to use the word too often (probably because I am not a Hannity fan), you are a patriot.

Jumper 2.0 said...

Ooops, capital P!

Patriot!

kodiacbear said...

It does feel pretty damn good!! Now it's the waiting in anst while the count comes in....

Anonymous said...

I thought the media was pretty restrained. Every channel I watched said that he had a big lead in the polls but not to read to much into that. Plus the Obama campaign called it a victory rally not the media. Btw Mccains was also called a victory rally until it wasn't. No matter who you voted for it was a very historic night and there is no doubt that there is no where but up for this country after these last 8 years. God bless America.

Maggs said...

What a great post. Hopefully everyone recognizes how lucky we are to get to vote...regardless if your vote 'counts' which, living in Hawaii, mine didn't really either.

starttothink said...

I thought about you yesterday, in Chicago. You're right. It must be the last level of Dante's Inferno. As much as I like Wrigley Field, I don't envy you right now.

Hang in there. The Obamagasm will be over soon. It has to be. Americans have a short attention span.

Andra Sue said...

Eh, mine didn't really count either. But we are lucky to have the opportunity to get out there and let our opinions be known. After all, if EVERYONE in non-swing states hadn't voted because their vote didn't make a difference, where would we be then??? :)

Now how 'bout picking out a wedding dress, hmmm? Snarky politics season is OVAH! Yay!

21stCenturyMom said...

I'm glad you can see that your vote was not wasted at all. You may not have voted for the winner but you voted - you exercised your right as an American.

Obama won and now we all get to get back to the business of celebrating democracy and being good citizens instead of ripping each other up and arguing over who is the better candidate. Ahhhh..... that spells relief.

KrissyGo! said...

I want to echo 21stcenturymom...votes always count, especially when they aren't for the "winner."

KrissyGo! said...

P.S. I'm with you on the media...how does "1% reporting" add up to calling a state for one candidate or another?

Vertical Man said...

Yeah, but it's a GOOD hurt, right?

Ellen said...

The Fall is my favorite time of year, but also the worst, bc thats when dad was really sick. Wish i could have been with you yesterday. Hugging you from over here.

Captain Cactus said...

I hope you realize that your vote always counts. The essence of democracy is the freedom to choose who you think will be the best leader for you. Despite all of the nastiness in the campaign, I believe that both McCain and Obama truly want to bring the country together rather than divide it, and, as Obama emphasized in his speech last night, your vote for McCain will drive him to work harder for your support. It may simply be rhetoric, but I hope it isn't. He had no reason for rhetoric at that stage and I hope for the country's sake that he meant it whole-heartedly.

Anonymous said...

Your vote ALWAYS counts. At the very least, you've earned the right to bitch about the administration for the next 4 years! McCain gave the best speech of his campaign last night - too bad it was his concession speech. If he sounded like that did during his campaign, I might have voted for him. I truly hope he and our president-elect are able to bring the parties together and get us back on track!

Eric said...

They did the same things with Kerry in 2004. This time, they were right though.