Bluelens

Today has been long and there are still a few hours of the event to go.

• Next hurdle has beem passed … And now we wait. #

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Next hurdle has been passed … And now we wait.

I haven’t been feeling 100% this week. Our normal routine was altered. Typically we get home, make dinner, catch up on the previous night’s TDS and Colbert, and then the rest of the night is up for grabs. The past few nights we have just wanted to pop in a movie and I laid on the couch until it was time for bed. Because of the way I was feeling I knew that although I wanted to stay up to watch Obama’s speech I knew that since I wasn’t feeling well AND that I needed to be at work earlier than usual that I should be diligent in getting to bed on time. I figured I could watch the speech in the morning.

So after Obama’s speech we went to bed.

I gotta say, his speech was something that should have been done back in 2004. This is the kind of approach that the Democrats have needed the past 8 years but have not delivered. - Side note, damn, why couldn’t the energy and speech that Kerry delivered a couple nights ago have been the way he approached the ‘04 election. Had THAT Kerry been campaigning I think he might have been victorious. - What made Obama’s speech wasn’t just the delivery though, you know he practiced every word to get just the right emotion, but the actual words are what grabbed me. He was more direct in this speech than he has been in previous ones. He gave details and outlined his goals and how to reach them. You didn’t have to decipher what he was saying and he wasn’t vague. I think this is the kind of speech that wasn’t for those already in his corner - although it only helps cement them in - but was more for the independents and the people who are part of PUMA (Party Unity My Ass).

Speaking of the PUMAs. I don’t understand these people. Because they don’t like who won the Democrat nomination they are jumping ship to vote for McCain? I just can’t compute that response. Because a person in my party didn’t get to the level I wanted them but another person did - who shares many of the same ideas and ideals as the candidate I was supporting - so instead I am going to vote for someone who shares in almost none of my own? WTF dude? The thing I love about this country is that we are free to make these choices - whether they make sense or not - and I can respect that freedom to do so, but that doesn’t mean I have to restrain myself from calling it as I see it - a dumbass move. If your plan works and your actions do elect McCain do you really win? Have you really taught anyone a lesson? I don’t think you have thought this out fully. But hey, this is America and you have the right to choose whomever you want.

Yeah, yeah, I hear you, “Oh look another gushing about Obama the saviour.” To that I say ‘lighten up Francis.’ You should know how silly that line of thought is, me calling someone a saviour, ha! I’m still critical of him but in this election he is the candidate that has more check marks in the ‘agree’ column than McCain. This should come as no surprise, I am a liberal Democrat and proud of it. Let me say that again I am a liberal and I’m not afraid of using the “L” word. Because of this it should be obvious that Obama would be the candidate (between the two) that I would gravitate towards.

So the speech last night was great in my opinion. I couldn’t wait to get to work and turn on my normal morning program “Fox and Friends” to see how they were going to talk about it. Because of McCain’s decision to announce his VP today they divided most of their time between speculation of his decision and updates on Gustav - which is actually very important and I’m happy to see they kept putting the weather info out there honestly. But I did hear some positive remarks from some of the talking heads but the sense I got from them was a lot of ‘meh’ about the speech. I did have to laugh though when they brought in a body language expert to read Obama’s body language during his speech. Would you believe the expert said that when Obama was talking about/to McCain his body language was expressing tension and he looked as if he was ready to debate and challenge McCain? Yeah I was shocked, shocked I tell ya! Yeah the expert was reading all sorts of signs from Obama that honestly could have been figured out by listening to his words. Surprisingly they (body language and words) matched up, who would have guessed?!?

So the morning after the big speech the talking heads are not all over Obama’s speech but are all over who McCain is going to pick for his VP - spoiler alert if you haven’t been paying attention, it will be Sarah Palin. I have to give it to McCain, his campaign did a wonderful move by stealing Obama’s thunder. Instead of everyone talking about Obama they are all talking about McCain.

McCain’s decision of the Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, will make this election even closer and more difficult for everyone involved. This decision can help draw the female voters and the PUMAs. Again I would hope that there wouldn’t be people voting strictly based on gender or racial reasons but on the issues. Sure there is a female on the GOP ticket but is that your only draw gender? Are you willing to look past the possibility that this female probably stands for everything you are against or is against everything you stand for? Sarah Palin is a very popular governor in Alaska. She has not been afraid to rock the boat in Alaska even if that involves upsetting higher level GOP officials in her state. It appears that she has been an effective leader over there and will bring some nice qualities to the McCain ticket. Because of her limited experience (was elected last year to her current position) this might help limit the attacks on Obama about lack of experience - that whole pot/kettle thing - so that that might be a helpful nugget.

All in all these past few days makes the election all the more interesting and exciting. I don’t think there will be any type of landslide but the final outcome will come down to small numbers. We will hear poll numbers everyday from now until the day after the election and I will make the prediction that they will all show McCain and Obama each in the 40s with a slight margin of error - basically a near tie each and every tie. Sure there will be the occasional spike for one or the other after key times - McCain’s announcement of VP (which is currently happening), after debates, etc. - but in general this is another election that will come down to the wire.

• Things are still lost but thank goodness backup copies are available. Just another timestamp in the saga #

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My typical daily commute involves me catching the bus to the metro station and then grabbing the line to work.  During this time I will pop in the ear buds, turn some music on and open my book.  However the past couple of days I have been unable to open my book and read.  Once the music starts I get transported back about 16 years - jesus 16 damn years, where did the time go.  Scrolling through the music on my PiMP I decided to settle on some Alice in Chains.  Once the guitars started in I was transported back to 1992-93.

After I got out of high school I moved to the other side of the state (N.C.).  I didn’t really have a plan of action that was based anywhere in reality.  I was following a girl and figured I would work a little bit and start taking classes at NCSU - studying film.  Not a bad idea entirely.  The only problem I had was being beyond broke.  I found a room to rent and got a job.  The room was in a nice enough house but the job didn’t really pay enough for me to be able to afford the room and all the other necessities of life easily.

Being broke and soon following without a mate or friends I reverted back to one of my school-era hobbies of laying in my room with headphones on listening to music.  Many people talk about relaxing and listening to music but they tend to pair it with doing other things.  When I listened to music that was all I did was lay back and get lost in the tunes that were thumping in my head.  Occasionally when the CD insert had lyrics I would follow along but everything else n the world would melt away.  This is how hours would cruise by without me even noticing

These were the days where on payday I would pay my rent, divide off gas money I would need to get me through the next couple weeks and with the remaining funds I would treat myself to a Taco Bell dinner (their famous $.79 menu) and then head to the store to buy the off brand foods that would sustain me (sort of) until the next payday.  Of course the money didn’t really hold out long enough for me to do ‘real’ grocery shopping.  I would get the blue box of cornbread mix and make that (without milk but using water instead - yuck) and that would hold me a couple days, and the large bag ‘o generic cereal would be my guide.  Having a job at a convenience store also helped as did roommates who took pity upon me and let me share in their salads.

I survived - scurvy-less - but I wasn’t miserable.  I figured this was what people were talking about when they referred to their ‘college years’ and how times were tough.  The only difference here was that I wasn’t in school and at the rate i was going would ever be.

So there I would be laying on the floor on my sleeping bag in my room listening to music and soaking in what was pouring into my ears.  During this time AiC was one of those bands that would get a fair amount of air time on WJMH.  So when the crunchy guitars and the unmistakable voice of Layne I was transported to that setting.

I switched to a different AiC album on the PiMP and was taken back to ‘93.  In ‘93 my situation changed a little bit.  I was no longer living in Cary, NC but was moving in with my best friend at the time and his family.  they had just moved from Shelby to Garner, NC so that John, their son, could go to NCSU.  they were kind enough to let me share a room with John for a reasonable rate.  I was still working at the c.store and because my rent was a little less my eating habits improved and I had a little extra money for music - the beginning of the CD collection I have now.

Although I now had company this didn’t change my music listening habits.  I would still able to lie  on my bedding - still no actual bed to my name - and instead of pop in the headphones we played the music on the stereo.  John and i would hang out like this for hours on the weekends absorbing what the speakers were throwing at us.  no bed, not much money beyond what I was able to scrape by on, but again, I was living in the moment.

Usually musical journeys of nostalgia will remind me of a place or time but after a second or two I return on my brief few seconds of being unstuck in time.  But there are times where I can’t seem to escape the trip, nor am I trying to.

Maybe I should start to talk about the times i was living in Cary and Garner.  Nothing too wild happened during those times but I think much of what I experienced had a major part in the final formation of who and what I am.  Besides, it is fun to grab those memories off the shelf, dust them off and share.  Maybe next time it will be some stories about me, my old ‘71 Plymouth Satellite and the tape playing on the clunky red Fisher Price tape player that I borrowed from my little sister.

Things are still lost but thank goodness backup copies are available. Just another timestamp in the saga

• Currently things are ‘lost in transmission.’ And the beat goes on. #
• They are trying to give a heart attck aren’t they. #

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Currently things are ‘lost in transmission.’ And the beat goes on.

They are trying to give a heart attck aren’t they.