rock the vote

i'm going to bed completely ecstatic ce soir (tonight). i was supposed to go out for dinner and then to a ska concert with a friend, but she didn't feel like going out, which was fine because i wasn't feeling that great. i didn't go to class today because i didnt feel well and, well, because i didn't want to. and i can do that. so there.

instead i did some stuff online and then went to a movie - mama mia. skip it if you were thinking about seeing it. i understand that there are a kazillion excellent actors in it, but thats the point: they're actors. and someone thought it would be great to get them to sing abba songs. not so much. good effort to all of them, but none of them should quit their well-paying acting gigs to start a singing career. and i don't know much about singing, but i could tell that they didn't have strong voices.

anyway, i walked home, which was cool. and in honor of national cupcake day, i went to this really really cute and quaint bakery called, you guessed it! cupcakes! see how cute they are here. got home and had the cupcake and some wine - mmmm. then i took a shower to get ready to go out. when i got out of the shower, i discovered my plans were cancelled. i decided to go to the resto we were going to go to (monsieur vuong) and get my favorite dinner : glasnuddlesalat (glass noodle salad) with chicken. mmmmmm. it was delish!

so cut to what made me so excited tonight. i was watching the anderson cooper 360 podcast for the day and ... words can't describe how elated i was... i've started to get really involved (and since i'm thousands of miles away, by "involved" i mean reading a lot) about the financial crisis and the election. so AC360 is great because they give a good summary of everything that is going on. and what do i hear to my surprise?? north dakota, my dear and beloved fatherland, is no longer considered a "red" state. we are now PINK. zaz!!!!!!!!!!! obama is considering "a play for north dakota, west virginia, and kentucky." a state always considered conservative, and there is nothing wrong with being conservative, is now reexamining priorities! conservatives are realizing that those issues which are decidely different from liberals (abortion, war) are not as important in these times as the economy. my cousin dustin put it best when he said, "Why exactly anyone making under $200,000 would support McCain is beyond me. You can’t play the experience card anymore with folksie Palin running as VP. Unless, you are voting simply on pro-life or pro-choice. That seems a little selfish in these difficult times." my aunt brenda wrote an excellent summary:

"The outcome of this election will determine whether we will continue to ignore the deep problems our society and country face: 30% of our children living in poverty, racism, inequality of pay between men and women for the same job, global warming and environmental degradation, lack of health care insurance for millions of our citizens, growing inequality between the haves and the havenots, deteriorating infrastructure (roads, schools, electrical grid) and the belief that we can rule the world through military might."

if you haven't noticed, i am clearly liberal. but it doesn't matter, my main message is this: VOTE, people! i don't mean to use this as a political blog, but i do want to encourage EVERYONE to get out there and vote. we absolutely cannot become complascent with less than 3 weeks to go. and even if you are going to vote differently than i, it's so important to give your vote and have a say in how the future of our country - YOUR future - goes. you an check out anderson cooper here or subscribe to the webcasts on itunes - they're free! and lots of fun to watch. they are funny, as well. they're also doing a feature naming the top 10 culprits of the financial collapse, its very interesting.

i never did talk about this, but i always meant to do so: a few weeks ago, i had a funny ending to the night and when i got home on a saturday night at about 1am, i checked the mail and found - this is great - my ABSENTEE BALLOT!!! it was such a satisfactory feeling to have the piece of paper in my hands. i sent it back last week and then today, to discover that they might actually count my ballot if it's close, is sooo exciting! if you have an absentee ballot, make sure to send it in ON TIME.

oh right, also, so after i saw the AC360 news about north dakota, i called my old friend, josh boschee, who is in charge of the obama campaign in fargo to congratulate him and his team for all of their hard work. i think he was surprised to hear from me (we haven't talked in 9 years), but he said that 17% of conservatives in north dakota are thinking of voting for obama. this is life-changing. amazing! i am so proud of my fellow north dakotans. if you are interested in helping the campaign, send me an email or write a comment. i will give you contact information to get involved. less than 3 weeks - any time at all will make a great difference. i wish i were there to help, so help for me, people. we can do it!!