2000-11-08
feeling kinda
i was a little light headed walking over to the voting place - the kind of light headedness that makes you look at your neighborhood as if it were all new. thankfully, it was pretty mild last night, and the moon was up; the clouds gave it that lovely bluey haze that makes the moon look like an opal. i walked thru a small knot of people, talking and laughing. one of the guys says 'ask those guys - he's a winner!', pointing to another guy sitting in a discarded plastic bucket seat, the kind they have lined up at the laundromat so you can watch your laundry tumble around in the dryer. 'yeah, he's a big winner', says another guy, chuckling. i glance over at the big winner; he's sitting there, ragged t-shirt pulled over his generous stomach, a Local cap on his head, scruffy and unshaven, laughing thru the gap in his teeth. and i think, big winner indeed. he's happy.
when i get down to the voting place, i groan because there's a huge line of people all the way out to the corner, and i dread running the gauntlet of supporters with picket signs. then it dons on me that not a one of them has a sign. they're all there to vote. it renewed my faith in the voting public to see so many people out. and the discussions on line were all about the pros and cons of the 10 referendum questions. not only were they here to vote, they has researched the questions. very cool. i met our state rep, who was handing out cookies and referendum leaflets, in case anyone wanted last minute info. about halfway thru the line, i started wondering when the inevitable was going to happen - we vote at the local fire department. sure enough, the alarm goes off, the line scatters, and the tower truck goes sirening out of the station. if that doesn't blow someone's concentration while filling out a ballot, i don't know what would.
i almost didn't get to vote because my voice is so hoarse, i had a hard time explaining where i lived to the person at the checkin table. third time was the charm, tho. when i got home, i flipped on Comedy Central to watch the returns. now, before you rush to judgement, understand that The Daily Show had Bob Dole as one of the political commentators. the man is damn funny, y'all. dust dry sense of humor. and the show was live, so they got away with all kinds of stuff. at one point, Jon Stewart, my Perfect Boyfriend, asked Dole if this was the kind of election that would drive a man to drink. Dole didn't even miss a beat - 'well, we don't have to worry about that with Bush, do we?' damn! grab that knife out of the man's back! and Lewis Black... Lewis Black. thank goddess for the side effects of LSD. the man is ruthlessly funny. he covered some of the more controversial referendum questions up for vote around the country, such as banning gay rights and bi-lingual education, and somehow (i was laughing too hard to remember all the segues) ended his tirade by saying he had thought about moving, but decided that he'd stay in NYC with his Hispanic-speaking, black gay lover. 'mi amore, emmanuel!' or words to that effect... oh, you really had to be there.
i watched the returns with increasing fascination until about 3:30. Peter Jennings pulling an all-nighter has to be seen to be believed. finally, i went to bed, convinced that we would have to suffer thru at least four years of mismanagement, and dreading the thought that Roe v. Wade could quite possibly be overturned. then as i was walking in to work today, i bumped into my state rep. this is why i looked familiar to her last night - i walk by her house every day. she gave me the news - that we still don't know who our next president will be. that put a huge smile on my face for the rest of the walk. isn't this crazy? in this age of spoon-fed media pablum, where everything is reduced to sound bites and instant gratification, we may not know until the middle of next month. unbelievable.
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i am sick of being sick, people. this thing has been dragging on for nearly two weeks, and frankly, i'd rather have The Plague right about now. it's gone from exhaustion to a cold to a flu-like thing, to a sore throat, to some bronchial hack that will probably stick with me for months, as it did last time. when i started losing my voice this weekend, i kinda hoped i'd end up with that sexy Lauren Bacall kind of voice, so i could re-record my voice mail message at work. no such luck; be careful what you wish for. i ended up sounding like Minnie Mouse after a serious bender. it was so bad i had to have someone else call in sick for me Monday.
at least i've been able to spend some time on getting my computer up to snuff. props to those who've helped. i'm all the way up to OS9, folks - and nearly into the new millenium. threw some extra RAM in, and the speed is great. tinkered around and got all the essentials up to day, and nearly have the settings tweaked to my satisfaction. of course, i managed to break a few things in the process, but what's an upgrade without problems? boring, that's what. 8)
and i finished a fabulous book. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is Gregory Maguire's second book, and it's as spellbinding as his first, Wicked. Maguire takes the Cinderella story and weaves it anew, setting it in 1600's Dutch Haarlem. as with Wicked, where characters you thought you knew are spun around and seen fresh, it's an unexpected vantage on a tale we could probably all recite by heart. the historical setting seems appropriate, and adds a pleasurable layer of ideas and images. beyond that, tho, it's a thought provoking look at beauty, charity and love. go - read it - let me know what you think.
on a personal every-ego-likes-being-stroked note - whoo hoo! i'm very excited to get my first public review. check it out... Launch is a section of Diarist.net, where up and coming journals get their 15 clicks of spotlight. if you happen on this link in the future, please check it out - even if my review isn't there, there will certainly be something worth discovering.
