Random Halloween Rambling

By the time I got off work today, it was already dark. Ugh. I really hate that. It just makes a for a long, dull night. It's a nice night for trick-or-treaters though, because the weather is really nice. Of course, it gets nice after I replace all my summer clothes with my winter clothes. I put my pumpkin out on our front stoop, but I haven't had one trick-or-treater. I mean, I understand...if I had kids and lived here, I'd take them to the real houses in the neighborhood next door and not wander through apartment buildings, but it's still sad not to get any kids. Guess I'll have to eat all the candy I got for them myself. I did see lots and lots of costumes this weekend as the whole DC college and twenty-something crowd was out partying around the city. Lots of political costumes...big shocker in this city. It's kind of fun to get on the Metro and be sitting next to someone dressed up. Kind of makes everything a little surreal. It would be more fun though if it were a random day and not Halloween. Maybe I'll do that. Mom, send me my wedding dress. I think in addition to the grocery store, I'm also going to wear it on the Metro. Get my money's worth out of it, you know.

I was thinking back over the costumes I wore through the years, and these are the ones I most remember.
-In kindergarten, I was a dinosaur. It was a crazy costume with a huge tail and coverings for my hands and feet. It weighed a lot and was hard to skate in (Halloween Roller Skating Party), but I won some costume contest for it, and I thought it was pretty darn cool. Of course, like all my costumes, my mom made it.
-One year I was Pippi Longstocking. I put wire from hangers into my braids to make them stick up. It looked cool, but it wasn't really comfortable. I think I have permanent dents in my head from the wires.
-One year I was this weird combo of princess and something very sci-fi futuristic, outerspacy. That was a strange costume, and I have no idea what inspired it. Matthew and my neighbor Cristin had similar costumes, so there must have been something to it.
-Another time I was a gypsy. I liked that costume, except it was really, really cold that Halloween, and the shirt for it was tiny and left my stomach bare. I think my mom made me wear a long sleeve shirt under it, which really ruined the effect.

Ah, Halloween. It's not as fun when you're old. I mean you can still dress up and go to parties, but it's just not the same without glow sticks and huge bags of candy. I really miss the glow sticks.

Comments on Today's News

*I'm not surprised but I am disappointed to see that Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the Supreme Court. While it was clearly in the best interest of the White House and the Republican Party, I was hoping for some ugliness. And I'm scared to think who the President will now nominate. With his party falling to pieces in so many ways, he's got to pick someone with conservative written right across her/his face in order to do some salvaging of his support base if nothing else. I think it was made pretty clear over the past couple of weeks that big-time Republicans aren't going to be happy with anyone who doesn't have a clear history of being anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, anti-anything progressive or liberal. Bleh.

*I think the people in Florida need to shut up and suck it up. They made their bed and now they have to lie in it. I'm sick of hearing about FEMA not doing this or the government not doing that. Hurricane Katrina was an anomaly. While I think even the people there could have been better prepared, it was somewhat excusable that people didn't have everything they needed or didn't get out of town. No one really expected the devastation Katrina brought. But what excuse do these people in Florida have? They saw Katrina and its terrible aftermath. They saw the inability of the government to take care of the masses. They had plenty of time and warning to get their butts out of town or at least to stock up on provisions. So really I feel no sympathy for them. People need to learn to take responsibility for themselves and quit shifting it elsewhere. It would make our country a better place.

*Come on, Astros. Not even one win? I must say I'm disappointed. But I'm not 100% surprised. One of the things that hurt the Astros the most was age. Clemens couldn't even make it past two innings. And Bagwell...is that really who you chose to pinch hit in the 7th inning of what could be the final game? I know he's the face of the team. I know he's been waiting for ages for this opportunity. But, when the World Series is on the line, you can't get a soft heart. You have to do what's best for the team, and that wasn't choosing an injured player who hadn't really gotten a hit all series to come to bat in a decisive moment. It was just one of many bad decisions throughout the Series for the Astros. Better luck next year.

The Urge to Go

There's no denying that fall is here. Even though most of the trees seem to be skipping the changing color phase, there's no doubt it's fall. The sun's not as strong. The wind is brisk. The hours of daylight just keep shrinking. And it's all got me feeling quite restless. I feel like I need to go somewhere or do something. I need to move, travel to a new country, go back to school--anything that will keep me from the stagnation of winter.

I think part of my feeling of restlessness has to do with the fact that I've now moved into my second year of being in the same place. It's been a while, since freshman-sophomore year of college to be exact. Then it was Germany for one year, Houston for one year, Athens for one year, DC for one...now two...and who knows who many more years (but better not be more than another 2 or so). I'm also in a job that is permanent - not permanent as in a lifetime career - but permanent in the sense that it's unlike my other jobs which had end dates decided on before the start date approached. And I'm married. My life suddenly seems very permanent. It's very strange after having had such a nomadic existence for the past few years.

And it's not as if I haven't gone places this year - we've been to Hawaii and Belize. I've been up to NYC and Philadelphia. I've been out to California and up to Seattle. But I haven't lived anywhere else. I haven't had the challenge of figuring out how to get groceries or practiced asking for a bus ticket multiple times so that I don't mess up the language. I've always just been a visitor. And what I want to do is go explore, go live new cultures, go get lost, and then find somewhere really cool. I just want to move around and see the world before I'm too old or have too many responsibilities or am too materialistic to take a job that pays only $650 a month but offers fantastic opportunities.

But I'm going to have to learn patience, since we're here until Jeff is done with his PhD. So in the mean time, I need suggestions on how to keep myself occupied. Maybe taking some classes will help. Maybe learning a new language. I don't know, but if you have ideas, please send them my way. I need something to get me through the winter. Once the weather warms up, I'll probably be happier just to do nothing and enjoy it. But for now the restlessness has kicked in. And it doesn't help that Jeff's in Sweden either. I'm jealous. I know he's working hard, but it's another country, which in my book makes it automatically a million times better.

If Only I Knew The Right People

I think I missed my chance. If you know me, you know that I like to make up songs. Well, I don't know if I like it so much as I just do it. I make up songs for everything. I make up songs about doing the dishes and getting out of bed and dusting and eating. And I love to make up songs about Jeff. They just come out without me even thinking, and they usually don't make a lot of sense. But they're pretty funny. Kind of weird, huh?

The thing is, this is apparently a marketable talent. And I had no idea. I've just been doing it for free all these years, when I could have been doing it to make money. Case in point - Nissan commercial. If you've been watching the playoffs, you've probably seen it, because they play it often. A guy is zooming around in his car and the driver (presumably) is singing some song that has lines in it like "I'm gonna honk my horn. I'm gonna let you honk my horn." When Jeff and I first heard it, we cracked up laughing. He looked at me, and I at him, and we both just died laughing, because we know that I totally wrote that song. And now it's on TV in a primely-placed commercial. Too bad I didn't copyright it.

And if you're thinking, okay anomaly, check out current Expedia and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercials. Nonsense songs are hot, and I am the queen of nonsense songs. So if you know anyone in advertising looking for the next hot song, send them my way. I've got a whole repetoire that I'd be more than happy to share if the price is right.

What's Up Your Sleeve, W?

W's nomination of Harriet Miers for Supreme Court Justice has thrown me for a loop. Usually he is so easy to read, but this time he's got me confused. I truly thought he would nominate a hard-core conservative. He's entering his lame duck years, and this seems like the perfect opportunity for him to be able to throw his weight around for years and years to come. Plus, as his presidency and his party fall apart, it seems he ought to be doing all he can to shore up support among his bases. He's certainly past the point of being able to bring others over to his team, so he might as well do what he can to keep his supporters strong and away from any thoughts of defection. As happy as I am that he didn't do this, I'm also a bit concerned. I mean, the President, as much as I dislike him, isn't dumb - at least not when it comes to things like this. Sure, Harriet Miers is a loyal friend, but there's got to be more to it than that. As innocuous as she seems, I feel like there's got to be some big hidden thing we don't know about. Really, I just can't see him going soft now. He has absolutely no reason to. It's not going to win him support from his opponents and it's just going to cost him friends. So what's the big secret? I'm a little nervous.

I am, however, enjoying watching Republicans get all up and arms over her nomination. While just two weeks ago, they were declaring it imprudent for a judge to reveal how he would vote on certain issues, they've now changed their tune. They must know where Harriet Miers stands on absolutely everything. How much more obvious can they be in their partisan politics? Hey, it's your president's pick. Shouldn't you just support the choice? Isn't that what good Republicans do?

I also find it humourous, in a disturbed way, that multiple politicians are stating things like they won't vote for her unless they are convinced she will overturn Roe v. Wade? Hello, last time I checked, judges weren't supposed to guarantee votes on issues. That's kind of unethical. And it's not as if she can just take her place on the bench, have a huddle with the other judges on her team, and decide that for this play, they're going to overturn Roe v. Wade or any other decision. For them to even consider an issue, whether abortion, euthanasia, medical marijuana, treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, or anything else, a case has to be brought before them and they must rule specificially on that case and its merits. Remember, they are the judicial branch and not the legislative branch. They do not introduce issues. They simply rule on issues based on the Constitution. Do our legislators need a primer on the three-branch system of government? I'm sure there are plenty of elementary school teachers who could step up and provide it if necessary.

Anyhow, I'm interested to see what will come of all of this. I'm hoping for a full implosion. It will be fascinating.