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October 26, 2006
Sickness.
Midterm elections are here, and my Outrage gland is in overdrive. I'm grappling with recurring nausea, TMD and high-normal BP. How's by you?
The upside (or downside) is that the high levels of righteous indignation in my bloodstream have focused my attention on the political landscape -- even more than in the last two presidential elections.
Why should I, a San Francisco liberal, follow races in red states like CO, TN and OH? I'm quite comfy here inside my bubble, and if current trends hold, it looks very much like Speaker Pelosi will be grabbing headlines next January.
I'm paying close attention because we are at a make-or-break point in American history. Upon more reflection, I believe that moment is actually behind us.
We broke, by the way.
I won't enumerate the missteps; if you don't have some vague idea of how far off the rails we are, you just aren't paying attention. That's how bad things are -- me, Mr. "Even-Steven Libra Hey, What Works Best for Everyone?" could give a black mission fig about your opinion if you disagree with me on the Major Issues of the Day.
Until November 7, I'm managing my condition with small actions that help me feel slightly less helpless. For example, the week Congress legalized indefinite detention, I joined Amnesty International.
Today, I read Michael Schiavo's blog and made my first political contribution. Ever.
Seriously. Read this, and tell me how it makes you feel.
Had enough?
P.S. Despite a rage-filled spleen, I managed to watch this and this without projectile vomiting. Good for me.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 11:43 PM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2006
That special day.
I have a birthday coming up, and I have no idea what I want.
I've had this problem ever since I relinquished my membership in Howard Johnson's Birthday Club. I'm sure my father's quite glad he's no longer on the hook to take me and my friends out for grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream.
I've never been much of a self-celebrator, so nativity commemorations have always been managed by friends and family. I have a hard time cultivating a sense of entitlement, so asking others to buy me things once a year is far outside the comfort zone.
Chatting with Ella last week, I was practically interrogated with Gitmo-style subtlety. "There has to be something," she urged.
I don't want stuff (with the possible exception of some music, movies and books). I want more time with Liz, well-defined plans for the future and the inspiration and energy to do good work I can be proud of. I want to be on the way to something.
For my birthday, I want the contractors creating the cacaphony next to our house to take the day off so we can sleep in. I want phone calls and emails from everyone I care about in which they tell me all about how they're doing, good and bad.
I would like some clarity and peace of mind.
And maybe a fat slice of poppyseed cake from Sweet Inspirations.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2006
Notations.
Casting about for something to read on the streetcar, and my eye fell upon a battered copy of The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan.
I enjoyed reading it, so much so that I broke one of my cardinal rules: I lent it to a friend.
Tom was a great person, and I mean him no disrespect when I write that I never expected to see the book again. Rachel found it when we were sorting through some things.
I should have known he'd want to hold on to it. Subtitled "A Plant's-Eye View of the World," Pollan's book covers the development of four plants through their relationships to humans: the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato. Anybody who knew Tom will tell you how much he truly loved apples.
I'm not at all resentful. He marked it up with notes and snippets of purple Post-it paper, bold marks in the margins to emphasize paragraphs.
Ideas that didn't conform to his views were crossed out with Xs, but he'd artfully annotate where he did agree: "god-mother gives food not govt." There's also notations about flight schedules and an Apple logo sticker.
Weird, him being here and not-here at the same time.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2006
She said "yes."
Details to come.
Posted by Your Protagonist at 06:29 AM | Comments (0)