I drafted this on January 21 and apparently didn't publish it

We have a new president.

Just in case you didn't notice, I thought I'd throw that out there. Just in case you are unaware of how I feel about our new president, I thought I'd fill you in.
I watched the inauguration of our 44th president in the Student Center on campus yesterday (1/20/09), along with many fellow students and instructors. I am amazed me at how many [young] people were there. Clearly, this younger generation is much more informed that my own older, wiser generation - and I don't say this merely because they were there en mass. The evidence of their knowlege has shown itself as I sat in classes, in the library, walked around campus, with these kids. It seems they have an opinion, they know how to back that opinion up, and they move forward in doing something about the things they care about. Adversely, a lot of my friends, family, and acquaintances seem uninformed and unmotivated.
When I was a teenager (sounds like something an 80 year old would say, huh) I worked in the county elections office. I was registered to vote at 15 (ok, I filled out the registration card and the head elections clerk held onto mine, as well as my best friends, who also worked there with me). I looked forward to turning 18 and being able to vote. I voted for Ronald Reagan that year - which was 1984. Admittedly, I probably wasn't as informed as I should have been nor as I have strived to be since, but I voted and I cared.
Back to the uninformed and unmotivated people ... everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a right to an opinion, which goes back to that whole electoral/democratic process. However, my biggest pet peeve is that there are so many people who feel they have a right to express said opinion without any foundation or actual argument to back up the opinion AND the fact that many of them didn't vote! ARGH! My younger brother, who is an extremely intelligent man (he has an MBA to prove it) was of the opinion that Obama would turn us into a muslim nation and there was nothing we could do about it if he was elected (so he didn't vote). It's probably a good thing I heard this second hand through our mother. He wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes with me ... as it was, my wonderful mother simple sat and listened to me rant about the process and the fact that we have a 3-tiered government and that it would take more than one man (regardless of office) - even if Obama were elected president (this conversation took place sometime in October) we have a congress in place as a checks and balance for that esteemed office. See ... here I go again on a rant. I'll just say this. Being the fabulous mom that she is, she asked me why I felt as strongly as I did about Mr. Obama, and of course I obliged. One does not need to listen to the rhetoric of the media, etc., although it is good to listen with one ear to understand some things better; however, since I do research for a living I tend to fall back on it whenever I have a question. I formed my opinion on my own by doing my own research ... and also by participating in some conversations.
The thing that gets me now that President Obama has taken the Oath of Office, is the lack of respect. I understand that not everyone is in favor of [him] or his processes. My problem comes with the lack of respect for the office. Regardless of the person filling the shoes, the office demands a level of respect. For those of us who supported Mr. Obama in his quest, we see him as a change; change is generally a good thing - if nothing earth-shattering happens in the process, hopefully something useful has been learned. Those nay-sayers have this way of thinking that "we" (supporters) see him as a savior ... the man who is going to fill in the hole that we, as a nation, have dug ... and that he will fail, at which time they'll jump up and down and celebrate [his] failure. How can they not see that his failure would be our failure?
Just my opinion.

I am amazed

I have always been acutely aware that I am not one of those people who collects friends (like my beautiful daughter, Brandi, has a talent for). However, it amazes me that the few friends I have now, have been with me through it all ... thick and thin, good and bad, blah blah blah.


While I realize most people see me as an outgoing person who makes friends easily, the people who know me also know it is not an easy feat for me to be outgoing. I've always said that it would be so much easier to stay in bed/at home and hide from the world. Honestly, people scare me. I am most boisterous and loud and obnoxious when I'm the most nervous.


I recently read something in a magazine that gave me one of those "uh huh" moments ... "When a local shop owner told me my smile always catches his eye, I realized I'm the only who pays attention to my extra 10 pounds." This is something I struggle with every day. ok, it isn't necessarily the extra 10 pounds, but a long list of things I constantly stress about. All of these things have come front and center now that I'm back in school. I'm 42, sitting among 18-22 year olds, the same people I'm currently competing with for scholarships and grants and will soon be competing with for a job; I'm 42, nearly 6' tall and not in the same shape I was in 20+ years ago when I was these kids' age; and do I dress to fit in and actually fit in or do I look like a 42 trying to be 20 again. I sit in classes, in labs, in the library, walk across campus and see friends together ... people who know each other - even if they didn't before they started classes, they know each other. They want to be lab partners (two 18 yr olds took pity on me) and work on projects for classes, go to required concerts and museum's together. I need to say here that I don't want to be "friends" with any of these kids, but I am envious with the ease in which they slide into these friendships, how easy it comes to some people. But I'm thinking maybe I'm the only one who notices that I sat in the student center and watched the inauguration by myself. I was, afterall, just one in a sea of people laughing and cheering and crying, and I didn't notice that there were probably several other people there alone, not feeling self-conscious-like they stuck out like a sore thumb.


I didn't start this entry as a pity party - don't want it to come across that way. I started it because I have some wonderful friends who I love dearly. Friends I have known - one since the 4th grade, getting in trouble with for passing notes or chewing gum in Mrs. Trainer's class and vowing to never wear a dress in high school; the one when we were military wives and young mother's trying to figure out our lives and eventually going through divorces (yes, more than one for each of us) together; and the one who didn't want to be my friend because she didn't think she was worthy. These are the friends who, over the many years of graduating from high school, of moving across the country and back again, and losing contact for years at a time, can come together again and pick up where we left off - no recriminations of why didn't you call or write or keep in touch - just a hug and a smile, an hour here and there of catching up or a minute to say hi I still love you. These are the friends I cherish every day, even though I don't take the time to tell them as often as I should.


I appreciate every day the friends I make along the way. And while they may not become life-long friends, I've decided that it's worth a little effort to make friends ... even if it doesn't last a lifetime or even past next month. You never know who'll be around in 5 or 10 years to give you a pat on the back and make your day!

My day of service

Monday, January 19 was Martin Luther King, Jr. day. The lawfirm I work for gives us this day off, but they call it a "day on, not a day off." In exchange for not having to show up to work we are asked to do some type of volunteer service, charity work, something along those lines. We also have a blood drive at the office the Friday before.

A group of us from the office served lunch at St. Vincent's - a homeless shelter downtown. It is absolutely amazing the amount of organization in serving a simple meal (ok, not so simple ... talk about carb-loading!). They definitely have it down to a science! In talking to Agnes, the gal who was in charge of the kitchen, the majority of their help comes from volunteers, such as myself. They also have several people through workforce services who are there for the work-through-learning program. Most of the food is donated by local grocery stores and it is all prepared on-site. On Monday we served just over 700 people. They were expecting closer to 1000, since so many restaurants and businesses were closed for the holiday. The "regulars" and full-time people working there were truly concerned about why/where people were.

While I didn't have much opportunity to look up and really take it all in - it's truly a well-tuned machine - when I did have a chance to glance up, the place was packed! Absolutely amazing that there are so many people in need. I am truly grateful for what I have and the opportunities that I have been given. As much as I complain about homework and school, I am very lucky to be able where I am in life right now.

I met a neighbor

Last Friday I was enjoying a few quiet moments before I went off to work. In the midst of my trip to lala land I heard a faint little knocking. Now let me just preface the rest of this by telling you that I live in a condominium, and while it's fairly quiet, there are times that certain noises resonate, so I tend to either not hear or just ignore them. So when I heard this knocking, it wasn't very loud, so I kind of ignored it. But it persisted, so I went out to look thru the peep hole. I didn't really see a person, but I saw this little flurry of activity, so I got a wild hair and opened the door. Another side note - I have met very few of my neighbors. While there are 18 units in my building and I share a common hall with 5 of these units, I rarely see any of my neighbors, so I don't know many of them. So when I opened my door, one of my neighbors was walking back to his place. I had seen these neighbors (I even said hi) but I've never met them, so it was a little awkward. Anyhoo ... he came back and proceeded to tell me that it is a Korean (they're Korean) tradition to make rice cakes on a child's birthday and share them with friends (how'd I get so lucky to become their friend?!!?). At least that's what I gathered from what I could understand - ok, his English was very good, but with the awkwardness and my inability to respond - so I asked if his little girl (did I mention she was with him and the one who knocked) was 2 and he seemed impressed that I would know that (yay for me!). So he hands me this pretty little cake, which is about 6x6 square with 6 different colored layers, wrapped in plastic wrap, still warm, and smells yummy (cinnamon & nutmeg)! I [awkwardly] thanked him and wished his little girl a happy birthday.
That was my random little moment last week. School started this week, so you may or may not hear from me more. I have a pretty heavy load this semester, so ... we'll see what the near future brings!