Living the Surreal Life

There are some moments in life when you have to take as step back to realize not just what you're a part of, but how extremely lucky you are to be a part of it. This entire weekend was one long, extended moment such as that. For four days, I was lucky enough to step out of my real and normal life into a world where we truly were a part of history.

The weekend began on Saturday, where I had one important mission: find a dress for the inaugural balls I was attending on Monday and Tuesday. Boy, there's nothing like waiting until the last minute! I left the house relatively early (for a Saturday) and drove out to Tysons Corner. In store #3 (unfortunately Nordstrom), I found a perfect gown. Although it wasn't in the budget I'd written for myself the week before, I thought it was still a worthwhile purchase to make. I'll hopefully have pictures eventually. For some reason I could justify the dress, but not a new digital camera - my previous one was lost to my debauchery on New Years Eve - even though this was an overly historic weekend, and it would have been nice to have a camera. Sometimes, I just can't explain my own logic.

On the way back home, I stopped at the grocery to buy alcohol for the house for the weekend and then got ready for the three parties I had that night: a former Iowa campaign staff from the last 20 years party at Vegas Lounge, a Hillary staff party at Stoneys, and Beth and Kristine's Awesome 80s party. I think the highlight of the night was Carmela's stirrup pants. And just to clarify here, she did not find them at Goodwill or something, she still owns them. Andrea was voted prom queen of the 80s prom, but that was because she stacked the room with the 5 people staying at our house. Kind of like a caucus... Anyway, we rolled home around 3am and were back up early the next morning to attend a breakfast honoring the new Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. It was a fun time with lots of talk about corn and beans and cotton. I spent the rest of Sunday half watching football and half passed out on the couch attempting to watch football.

Monday, the roomies and I left early again for a Friends of Hillary event. It was ridiculously overcrowded, so a good portion of our time at the event was spent mingling in the downstairs lobby of 1825 K St. I finally snuck into an elevator, at the protest of all the lame people around me who were too scared to ignore authority, and made it upstairs where Bill and Hillary were greeting more throngs of people. Since I'd already met and had pictures with both of them, I decided to forego that madness and eat a cookie. Half an hour later the other people who'd come with me arrived upstairs. We took some pictures and abandoned ship back to the downstairs lobby.

I was then shoved into a black SUV and driven to a hotel to pick up my tickets to the inauguration and Biden ball. During this experience, I decided that it would be nice to have my own driver. That just waits for me outside. So I don't have to walk in the cold ever. While I'm not sure it's practical to add this to my goals for 2009, I figure maybe by 2012.

Alpha and I made our way up to Silver Spring for 3 purposes: 1. It was time to eat, the cookie wasn't going to be enough, 2. I needed a purse for the inaugural ball I was attending Monday night, and 3. I was getting my hair done at Condi's salon again. We stopped into New York and Company where there were no cute purses. Same situation at DSW Shoe Warehouse. I complained about the price of everything, telling Alpha I really only wanted to pay $10 for a purse. On our way to Marshall's, we stopped into Nine West, where all handbags were 50% off their already marked down price. So I found one for $10. Ask and ye shall receive.

For lunch, I begged Alpha to let me go to Chickfila. I don't know how happy she was about this decision, but perhaps she at least enjoyed my childish delight at eating the Original Chicken Sandwich and waffle fries.

Next was the salon. Condi obviously didn't get my memo that we were supposed to hang out again, but I did get a nice updo. I then ran back to the metro, because my driver also didn't get the memo that he was supposed to pick me up, and got back home to finish getting ready for the Texas State Society Black Tie and Boots Ball.

Read and Stephanie, two friends from Texas, were both coming. Stephanie unfortunately had "hair problems" and then "metro problems" so it took here a while longer to arrive, but she made it there eventually. In the meantime, Read and I saw Neal McCoy and attempted to get close enough to the stage to tell him we were from Longview too. I was also going to mention the one time I saw him at Subway. Sadly, we failed in this endeavor. Then, some random guy came on stage and said he had a big surprise behind the curtain. Well, let me tell you, I can never resist a big surprise behind the curtain, so falling for his evil trick, we moved toward the other stage to see. It was Denzel Washington!!! Ok, so that really is a good surprise behind the curtain. I'm glad I'm so easily overtaken by silly gimmicks.

We then randomly ran into another person from high school. After that, we explored the other rooms - there were 6 stages at Black Tie and Boots. Everything is bigger and better in Texas, folks. I was looking for the two Texas Senators. I wanted to encourage Kay Bailey Hutchison to vacate her Senate seat and run for Governor - I have this really great plan to get a Dem elected to the Senate in Texas, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I also wanted to find John Cornyn so I could poke him in the eye for being a jerk on the pay equity for women issue. Had I known on Monday night that he was also going to hold up Hillary's confirmation hearing on Tuesday, I would have poked him in both eyes. Fortunately for him, I never found him.

Tracy Byrd was the next performer we watched. Back in the day when I was young and only listened to country music, he was one of my favorites. Watermelon Crawl - excellent song. As was Keeper of the Stars. He played both of those and a bunch of others. The biggest surprise was when he played 10 Rounds with Jose Cuervo. I'd totally forgotten that was his song - and it has a special place in my heart from college. I used to always say that Jose was a good man, because he stayed with you through the night and would even go to class with you the next morning. Particularly the day after I turned in my honors thesis. I don't remember how many rounds I did the night before (see the song lyrics - maybe Jane, Sam or Loveleen can remind me), but we were at Chilis in Framingham where they gave the most generous pours.

Stephanie joined Read and me after picking up some energy company owner named Abe. And then at midnight they turned to a cash bar - a little annoying considering the cost of the ball tickets. The last bus back to the metro was at 1:15am and since we were in some random city in Maryland, we decided to go with the metro instead of risking a $100 cab. Perhaps a bad decision in retrospect because we got stuck waiting for the train on an outside platform for 18 minutes. And it was windy and cold. But all in all, an excellent night. When we finally got home around 2:45am, I grudgingly set my alarm for 6:30am to get up to attend the swearing-in.

As usual, I have trouble waking up in the morning. So I actually got out of bed around 7:00, dressed in 6 layers, and headed off to the mall. The 14th street buses were all full, so I finally gave in and resigned myself to walk the entire 3 miles. It was warmer to walk though, and an exciting morning so it ended up being quite nice.

I got to the purple gate line an hour after leaving home, and was stuck in a 2 block mass of people. I don't like "people" all that much, so this was an unhappy occasion. I made my way to the wall of some random building where people were moving and crawled through a shoulder height tree, 5 bushes (some prickly, but thankfully I had on 6 layers so I couldn't feel anything) and another regular height tree. Then the cops were yelling about the purple people going to line up in some tunnel. Well, I like tunnels less than "people" and the idea of being stuck in a tunnel with "people" did not sound like my idea of fun.

So ignoring the cops I went back into the mass of people that seemed to be closer to the front of the line. After not moving for another 30 minutes, I called Alpha and told her I was going to abort the First St. entrance for the Louisiana Ave way. Rumors had been circulating through the crowd that the New Jersey to Louisiana line was moving, and I felt it couldn't be any worse than being crushed by the 2000 people standing around me. Getting out of the middle of the crowd was harder than I anticipated, but me being the natural leader that I am, had convinced 5 random strangers that my Louisiana Ave plan was the way to go. So I put the two large people in front to the clear the way for the rest of us. We all finally escaped and lo and behold, I walked right into the gate at Louisiana Ave (only after Mariah Carey walked by me and I got really excited - more on her later).

The next couple of hours involved standing and staring at trees. Our position on the Capitol lawn was ok, but two trees blocked our view of the stage and another tree blocked the big screen. Whoever positioned that screen is an idiot. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

The swearing-in was amazing. There was this feeling emanating from the crowd around us that I'm not sure I'll ever feel again. Maybe if a woman ever gets elected. But then I'll probably just be sobbing and won't notice anything else. I particularly enjoyed singing "na na na na, hey hey, goodbye" to President Bush. When President Obama came on, the swells of cheering were everywhere. From where we were standing, we could hear the rumblings coming from the millions on the mall, usually a few seconds after we finished cheering. It was such a happy day. Everyone around us was pumped. We were hugging and laughing and celebrating. The sun even decided to shower us for the swearing-in. So a little after noon when he took the oath, the sky was blue and the sun was bright. Maybe there is something to this hope thing. We took lots of pictures of the screen blocked by the tree and of us standing in front of the Capitol. What a day!! And it wasn't even over yet!

After PRESIDENT Obama finished his speech, I crawled back to Columbia Heights and refreshed myself with Mexican food, as any true Texan would do. I then went to bed to rest my legs for another night of inaugural balls.

I met Fadia and her friends and walked to the Convention Center for the Neighborhood Ball. It was the only ball open to the public and was also the most awesome. We made our way to just three people back from the stage and got to see: Shakira, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys. Barack and Michelle did their first dance as the first couple three rows away from us while Beyonce sang "At Last." It was so touching, I cried. But it might have been an emotional hangover from the previous performer, Mariah Carey. I LOVE her. I liked her way more in her Fantasy and Always Be My Baby days, but it's lasted all this time. I almost broke off our relationship when she stole my bf Derek Jeter, but they're not together anymore, so Mariah and I have weathered that storm. I figured she would sing some awful new song like Touch my Body, but she instead treated us to "Hero." It was more than my over-excited self could handle. She really has a tremendous voice. And I love that song. And the whole day and moment then. Just too much.

Other resolutions I made: Learn to dance like Shakira (damn, that woman is hot), carry Kleenex in my purse, and suck it up and buy a camera the next time I'm attending the most historically significant events of my lifetime.

After the best ball ever, I headed over the Biden home state ball. I got to see Barack and Michelle dance again. They danced to "At Last" again, I thought that was a little suspect. Clearly, they weren't anticipating ball hoppers like me. The Marine Corp Band played it this time though - they were less impressive than Beyonce, no offense to the Marine Corp Band. Then I got another huge surprise, Maroon 5 came to play a whole set at the Biden ball!!!! They played 5 or 6 songs, but finished with my favorite, Sunday Morning. When they finished I tried to sneak Jason in, but in the chaos of the Washington Convention Center, we settled on a picture and another visit to DC soon.

So I resolved that inauguration parties are the most fun ever and that I'm going to do it all again in 4 years and every other time we put a D into the White House.

This whole weekend also confirmed that winning is fun and losing sucks. Keep that in mind, kids. Your parents may tell you that winning isn't the only thing, or that the most important thing is that you tried. But they're liars. Winning is the best. THE BEST. Hell yeah baby. I love winning.

Now, time to go make us a new America!!

2008: And That's a Wrap

It seems appropriate that before getting too consumed in 2009, I reflect back on the year that was 2008. It was quite a year. I did things I didn't expect to be doing, lived places I never could have imagined living, and was joined on this road we call life by a bunch of new friends.

I'll start with a recap of the basics:
States I lived in: 9 (Iowa, South Carolina, California, Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio, PA, Virginia, DC).
Miles traveled on my personal car: over 5,000
Miles traveled by air: 36,278 (approximately)
Sonics I found on the road: 6 (2 in Denver, 1 in Iowa, 1 in Las Vegas, 1 on way to Cleveland for GOTV, 1 on way home from Cleveland for GOTV)
Primary days I lived through: Don't even want to count
New countries visited: 2
New baseball stadiums seen: 1 (that is a true disappointment)
Best hotel: Omni Parker House in Boston still wins my vote
Best book: Devil in the White City
Favorite new song: Take a Bow - that Rhianna, so sassy!
New things done this year: got a pedicure and massage, took an overnight train, minced garlic

The year started in Iowa - with just three days until the Iowa Caucus. New Years was nothing to speak of as we spent it at the office preparing for the Caucus. The Caucus was nothing to speak of as not only did we lose, we came in third. It was a truly disappointing loss. And then I had to drive to South Carolina. The people that were in South Carolina with me know the hell that awaited us there. I will never go back to South Carolina, not even to golf.

After South Carolina, I traveled with AFSCME for quite a few states and made a lot of great memories on the road.

Most of what I remember about LA was how warm and sunny it was there. Shannon and I tried to go canvassing everyday because it was such a change from where we'd been before. We found the weirdest bar I've ever seen across the street from our hotel called Zip. It was an outdoor/indoor bar with fire pits and buttons on the table. When you wanted service, you pressed the button and a doorbell rang throughout the entire place and somehow the waiters always knew which table needed something.

It was also in LA that I realized my life had reached a new low point. After dinner one night, we walked out of the restaurant and there was a billboard with Joe Torre on it in a Dodgers cap and a caption that said, "Welcome, Joe!" I asked Brian why on earth Joe Torre was in a Dodgers cap, and as it turns out, he was the new coach for the Dodgers. Somewhere in the previous 7 months of campaigning I had missed that memo, and knew I was 100% out of touch with the things that normally matter to me in life. Other great memories from LA: being asked what I thought about Hustler as we walked by, and asked the exact same question as we walked by again. I suppose you all can guess what my answer was. Oh, and winning California wasn't so bad either.

After LA, we flew to Seattle...a lovely city in the upper northwest. We got to stay at the Crowne Plaza downtown. I love the Crowne Plaza because they give you a relaxation CD and linen spray in the room. So when I was ready for bed I sprayed by linen spray and listened to my relaxation CD and generally felt at peace with life. In the mornings we went down to the market to buy breakfast and cheese and other snacks for the hours of phonebanking. Unlike California, we did not win Washington. And weren't even close. The caucus I attended there was the biggest sh*t show I've ever seen. I don't really want to talk about it.

Dejected after Washington I flew to Wisconsin, the coldest place on the planet. It was -5 when I arrived in Madison and was assigned to Wausau, WI. So I drove 2 hours further north where it was even colder. Wausau was an odd place. Shannon and I worked out of the Labor Temple, and spent a lovely Valentines Day there for the Labor Temple dance. Tiny, our friend at the labor temple who was not tiny, had a band and he'd invited us to watch. The great thing, in addition to seeing Tiny play, was that beer was free for the ladies. And then it became $1 after 9pm. It will be hard to top that Valentines day. There was also a 24 hour gym in Wausau. Why? I'm still not sure. I couldn't find a gym in South Carolina, but sure, Wausau, 24 hours. I was actually kind of sad to leave Wausau, the people there were all so friendly and loved us. When we got to our hotel at night, the staff would always say, "Welcome home" and they had free cookies at the front desk! I wasn't sad to leave the -5 though.

Next was Ohio. There I got to live in an exciting place called Dayton. The only actual thing exciting there was a Potbellys. Ohio was great, we won. I don't have a ton to say about it otherwise. The neatest moment in Ohio was when my mom called me on primary day (it was also primary day in Texas for all you non-politically obsessed folks out there) to tell me how amazing it felt to get to vote for a woman for president for the first time in her life. Those are the days you remember what you're fighting for.

After Dayton I took a short break to visit the family and then went back to Iowa for the County Conventions. This again, is not a time I really care to relive. Iowa burned us twice, and it's close to being with South Carolina on the "states I will never go to again" list. On the bright side, I did some shopping and found a nice Easter outfit at the mall there. They also have Sonic in Iowa.

Philadelphia was next. I went out to Harrisburg since I'd worked there in 2 previous cycles. I wasn't there for too long before I was moved back down to Virginia to work on a superdelegate project out of Hillary's headquarters. I think the best part about that was the someecard that was circulated: "Pretending to understand superdelegates may be the key to getting laid this summer."

I went to my one new baseball stadium of 2008 when I attended Opening Night at Nationals Park. I scored some sweet tickets for Jeff and me at the last minute and we sat next to Jason Campbell (the Washington Redskins QB for all you non-sports fans out there). We came up with a plot where, a foul ball would be hit into our section and Jeff would shove me to get to it, and I would "accidentally" fall into Campbell's knee and take him out for the season. I would have been a hero of the Dallas Cowboys nation. I bet Troy Aikman would have even divorced his wife and married me. However, nothing that exciting happened. The Nationals won on a walk off homer and Jason did borrow our program. Neat.

After 2.5 months of trench warfare in superdelegate land, the campaign finally ended. It was around this time I decided I earned enough money to buy a bottle of Cristal. Sadly, the bar I went to for the final night of primaries didn't have Cristal...so that is still a dream to be realized. It will have to go on the goals list for 2009. We did go with a $150 of champagne - thank you for expense accounts that belong to other people and not me (Lauren). A little later on we were thrown out of the bar that shall not be named. The owner claims that I cursed out the bartender, but I assured him, that me, being a southern lady, would never do such a thing. So I don't really know what happened there. I do remember asking him to turn on the sound for Hillary's speech that night. He said no. I said, "Look. I've spent the last 10 months of my life working for her. I could have had a child during that time."

He turned the sound on.

A few days later there was the speech at the Building Museum where I begrudgingly cried in public. We also had a really nice staff party at Hillary's house - though it was bloody hot outside. Then we had several more staff parties at bars.

I then did the very democratic thing, and filed for unemployment. And decided I would learn to cook and do some other things. Oh, I also shopped a lot. One thing I learned about myself during my brief unemployment is that I can't afford to be unemployed because it gives me too much time to spend money. Everyday Carmela came home and was like, wtf, what did you spend money on today???

Next was Europe!! Woot! It was my second trip to Prague and my first trip to Salzburg and Munich. As I told some Germans that I met on New Years Eve, my favorite thing about Germany was the meat and beer. So delicious. Prague is quite possibly one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. It was nice to be there for a second visit. We toured some parts of town we didn't see the last time. In Salzburg we did the Sound of Music tour - delightfully corny but I recommend it highly for anyone traveling to that region. I don't think I made a fool of myself anywhere there (Sam?), like I'd done the previous summer in Copenhagen where I sang a Living on a Prayer solo in the bar because apparently the Danes don't all sing along when the Bon Jovi classic comes on. Instead, they just stared at me and wondered what in the hell was wrong with the crazy American. Anyway, back to the meat and beer in Germany. They do it right there. They have meat and beer everywhere. Including public parks. They had a lovely beer garden in the middle of the public park. And when I ordered chicken, I received an entire chicken (I had tired of sausages the night before at the Hofbrauhaus). For dinner that night, I ate apple sauce. I think, for the only time in this Texan's life, I had eaten too much meat. So apple sauce was all I could manage for my final German meal. Lame.

After Europe, I came back to a new job in DC. Life got pretty boring at that point. So plenty of time for me to think about how much it sucked that Hillary lost. But it also gave Chris, Paul and I time to plot our move to Savannah. Thankfully for us, the housing market is crashing so we should be able to buy our southern plantation house. We're also going to gift a park to the city to win favor with the locals. More to come on that in future years.

Thankfully, I attended the Democratic National Convention and made the last minute decision to attend Barack Obama's speech in the Broncos stadium. He talked about the different values that Democrats and Republicans have and I was like, "Oh, that's right. Damn." So I was on board then, and even said "Yes We Can" a few times. The DNC was a delightfully fun time. All my friends were there. It was like we all decided to take a super fun vacation to Denver. Having recovered from Germany, I ate steak 3 times while I was there.

Back in DC, life continued at its boring pace. All I did was complain about how annoyed I was to live in Ballston and have to commute back and forth everyday on the Metro. The only good thing about Ballston was $2 pint night on Tuesdays at Bailey's Pub. Yes, I know you're jealous that people don't name pubs after you, but I'm sorry. Not everyone can be named Bailey.

Football season was a savior to boring life. Beth, Kristine, and I were able to find several great bars to watch games. We finally settled on one and have become regulars. I have quite the interesting set of football friends there: A Giants fan, a Redskins fan, a Seahawks fan. Go figure. Lucky for Kristine, her team is still in the playoffs. Mine isn't. Tony Romo lead us to another great year.

The other non-boring times included the time Beth and I randomly got tickets to the NKOTB concert. In a suite no less. We only stayed to hear Natasha Beddingfield. We abandoned NKOTB to watch the vice presidential debate. It was also fun when friends like Fadia came to visit. We went salsa dancing, met some interesting people, stayed out too late, and so on. So basically, I was able to replace the zillion hours a week working with spending time with friends. That's not such a bad thing.

The campaign itch finally came scratching in October, so Lauren, Julie and I planned a road trip to Cleveland to work for the last week. They worked for Obama and I did c3 work for Election Protection. The best part about this trip (other than winning obviously) was being able to stop at Sonic on the way there and on the way back. It had been a while since I'd had Sonic. We decided then to start a SonicForDC campaign, but we've kind of let it go. Again, that will have to be a 2009 goal. Oh, the other super fun thing in Cleveland was the bowling alley Heather and I stumbled upon on the same night I said I wish I could find a bowling alley. Not only did we get to see the best football game EVER (when Texas Tech beat UT), but they also played this throw back to the 90s I think - the song that went, "What's up, Dallas, what's up? What's up Dallas, what's up? Hey Dallas, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it," and so on and so forth through every major and not so major city in the United States. I hadn't heard that song in years, so I was really excited.

Around the end of November, Carmela and I finally escaped from evil Ballston and moved. Andrea decided to join us in the venture. I'm not going to lie, we have a pretty sweet apartment. And now that I have a big TV and Rock Band I don't plan on leaving anymore. The months of November and December 2008 were also particularly rough on my checkbook, so best to stay home and save money in 2009.

The thing I learned about myself the day after Thanksgiving (when Carmela and I moved and did crazy shopping) was that given the opportunity to buy a 9 foot tall Christmas tree, I will do it. And I did. The other thing I learned about myself was that I don't realize that my inability to pull a tree off the stack of other trees to set it up straight is the first sign that the tree is too big. I mean really, is there such a thing as a tree that's too big?? Other things I didn't think about included: how difficult it is to wrangle a big ass tree into a tree stand, how difficult it is to put lights on a 9 foot tall tree when you're only 5 foot 7, how difficult it is to put a tree star on a 9 foot tall tree when you're only 5 foot 7, and so on.

The last month of the year was pretty freakin' fabulous, as Clinton Kelly would say. I LOVE Christmas. And since my Christmas was stolen from me last year, I made up for it 100x over this year. Andrea, Carmela, and I threw a big holiday party at the new apartment, I bought a big tree, I went slightly overboard decorating, saw the Trans Siberian Orchestra winter concert, saw Handel's Messiah, and went to Boston to see the Pops Holiday show. And to shop and eat clam chowder and do other fun things. I had to take an overnight train to get there because of the ridiculous snow in the northeast, but hey, I had never taken an overnight train before so it was all good.

Texas was next on the list to spend time with family and friends at home. Nothing uber ridiculous happened here. I did go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra winter concert again. Kathleen abandoned me and did not come home for Christmas so I had no one to sit on the sidewalk with. That's what we do in Texas. Sit on sidewalks and talk, and drink things from Sonic. It's 70 degrees there during the holidays, so it's good sidewalk-sitting weather.

I finished out the year with a bang in New York City. I would love to show you the pictures, but I had so much fun I forgot to take my camera with me when I left the club. So on the list for 2009 purchases (that already includes a charcoal grill and the bass guitar for Rock Band) a new digital camera will be added.

And that was my year. I was out with a bunch of Hillary staffers a few nights ago and I asked my friend Denise if she thought 2008 was overall good or bad. I still haven't figured out if it was overall good or bad. There were clearly some very rough parts of life this year, but I walked away with a bunch of new experiences and friends, so it wasn't all bad. I guess it was just a year, and I'm excited about the blank slate that is 2009. Oh, and also about inaugurating a Democratic president in less than 20 days.

Happy new year!

Time to Plan for 2009: My Summer Baseball Trip

A few weeks ago I was in Detroit and Cleveland for business. I don't know many people (read: none) in Detroit or Cleveland so in the few minutes of spare time I had, I decided to go by the two baseball stadiums there - rather than go sit alone in a bar.

Detroit's stadium was ridiculously cool - see the giant angry tiger pictures on Facebook. The Jake, which has been renamed after some god-awful investment bank or something lame, also looked like a great place to catch a game. So I was observing a focus group in Cleveland that night and all of a sudden it came to me: "I should plan a midwestern baseball trip for next season and actually watch a game in these stadiums. And while I'm at it, I could add on a few others I haven't been to."

Thankfully, major league baseball is considerate of people like me (crazy) who get random ideas at rather inopportune times - I mean, the baseball playoffs hadn't even started yet. But alas, the ENTIRE season for 2009 is already out. I pulled up the schedule online and started in late May going day by day to see when I could find a week that all the teams would be at home. Truly, that's the biggest challenge of planning a baseball road trip.

Well, around June 21, I struck gold. After consulting with my roomie, we decided to tack on a Nats game to the beginning of the trip - so we'll start in Washington with a game and end in Baltimore. Here is the plan:

Friday, June 19
Blue Jays @ Nationals (Stadium 1 - already been there)

Saturday, June 20
AIRPORT

Sunday, June 21
Houston Astros @ Minnesota Twins (Stadium 2 - never been there)

Monday, June 22
Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA (Stadium 3 - never been there)
Yes, even though I lived in Iowa for 5 months, I never went to the Field of Dreams. It's shameful. Just shameful.

Tuesday, June 23
Minnesota Twins @ Milwaukee Brewers (Stadium 4 - never been there)

Wednesday, June 24
LA Dodgers @ White Sox (Stadium 5 - already been there)

Thursday, June 25
Chicago Cubs @ Detroit Tigers (Stadium 6 - only saw the scary cats outside)

Friday, June 26
Cincinnatti Reds @ Cleveland Indians (Stadium 7 - once again, only stood outside)

Satruday, June 27
Kansas City Royals @ Pittsburgh Pirates (Stadium 8 - already been there)

Sunday, June 28
Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles (Stadium 9 - already been there)

Monday, June 29
Call in "sick" to work

Tuesday, June 30
Also call in "sick" to work - it's really really bad, I swear

So there you have it. If you're trying to see me in DC between June 20 and June 28 I won't be here. I will be out loving the best sport in the world. And knocking a few more stadiums off my list.

Summer of 2010: West Coast Tour. Get excited.

Oh, and I am still accepting road trip buddies for aforementioned trip. I think it's best if we go in multiples of 4 so it makes it easy for cars/hotel rooms. We'll fly from DC to Minneapolis on Sat. the 20th and then rent a car and drive back to DC. So if you don't live in DC and want to come, plan accordingly.

Now, back to this year. Go Red Sox!

Great Salon Article on Feminism, Hillary, Palin

Zombie feminists of the RNC
How did Sarah Palin become a symbol of women's empowerment? And how did I, a die-hard feminist, end up terrified at the idea of a woman in the White House?
By Rebecca Traister

Sep. 11, 2008 | I have been dreaming about Sarah Palin. (Apparently, I'm not alone.) I wish I could say that I'd been conjuring witty, politically sophisticated nightmares in which she leads troops into Vancouver or kindergartners in the recitation of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." But, alas, mine have been nonsensical, kiddie-style doozies in which she kidnaps my cats, or enjoys a meal with my girlfriends while I bang on the restaurant window. There's also a chilling one, in which a scary witch stands on a wind-swept hill and leers at me.

What troubles me most -- aside from the fact that there is suddenly a Republican candidate potent enough to so ensnare my psyche -- is my sense that these are dreams in which it matters very much that Palin is a woman.

I have been writing about feminism for more than five years; I have been covering the gender politics of the 2008 presidential election for more than two. And I am absolutely gobsmacked by the intensity of my feelings about Sarah Palin. I am stunned not only by the way in which her candidacy has changed the rules in the gender debate, or how it is twisting and garbling the fight for women's progress. But I'm also startled by how Palin herself is testing my own beliefs about how I react to women in power.

My feelings about Palin have everything to do with her gender -- a factor that I have always believed, as a matter of course, should neither amplify nor diminish impressions of a person's goodness or badness, smartness or dumbness, gravitas or inconsequence. Why are my rules changing?

I am still perfectly capable of picking out the sexism being leveled against the Alaska governor by the press, her detractors and her own party. Every time someone doubts Palin's ability to lead and mother simultaneously, or considers her physical appeal as a professional attribute, or calls her a "maverette," I bristle.

But that's the easy stuff. The clear-cut stuff. I'm far more torn about the more subtle, complicated ways in which Palin's gender has me tied in knots.

Perhaps it's because the ground has shifted so quickly under my feet, leaving me with only a slippery grasp of what the basic vocabulary of my beat -- feminism, women's rights -- even means anymore. Some days, it feels like I'm watching the civics filmstrip about how much progress women made on the presidential stage in 2008 burst into flames, acutely aware that in the back of the room, a substitute teacher is threading a new reel into the projector. It has the same message and some of the same signifiers -- Glass ceilings broken! Girl Power! -- but its meaning has been distorted. Suddenly it's Rudy Giuliani and Rick Santorum schooling us about pervasive sexism; Hillary Clinton's 18 million cracks have weakened not only the White House's glass ceiling, but the wall protecting Roe v. Wade; the potential first female vice president in America's 200-year history describes her early career as "your average hockey mom" who "never really set out to be involved in public affairs"; and teen pregnancy is no longer an illustrative example for sex educators and contraception distributors but for those who seek to eliminate sex education and contraception.

In this strange new pro-woman tableau, feminism -- a word that is being used all over the country with regard to Palin's potential power -- means voting for someone who would limit reproductive control, access to healthcare and funding for places like Covenant House Alaska, an organization that helps unwed teen mothers. It means cheering someone who allowed women to be charged for their rape kits while she was mayor of Wasilla, who supports the teaching of creationism alongside evolution, who has inquired locally about the possibility of using her position to ban children's books from the public library, who does not support the teaching of sex education.

In this "Handmaid's Tale"-inflected universe, in which femininity is worshipped but females will be denied rights, CNBC pundit Donny Deutsch tells us that we're witnessing "a new creation ... of the feminist ideal," the feminism being so ideal because instead of being voiced by hairy old bats with unattractive ideas about intellect and economy and politics and power, it's now embodied by a woman who, according to Deutsch, does what Hillary Clinton did not: "put a skirt on." "I want her watching my kids," says Deutsch. "I want her laying next to me in bed."

Welcome to 2008, the year a tough, wonky woman won a primary (lots of them, actually), an inspiring black man secured his party's nomination for the presidency, and a television talking head felt free to opine that a woman is qualified for executive office because he wants to bed her and have her watch his kids! Stop the election; I want to get off.

What Palin so seductively represents, not only to Donny Deutsch but to the general populace, is a form of feminine power that is utterly digestible to those who have no intellectual or political use for actual women. It's like some dystopian future ... feminism without any feminists.

Palin's femininity is one that is recognizable to most women: She's the kind of broad who speaks on behalf of other broads but appears not to like them very much. The kind of woman who, as Jessica Grose at Jezebel has eloquently noted, achieves her power by doing everything modern women believed they did not have to do: presenting herself as maternal and sexual, sucking up to men, evincing an absolute lack of native ambition, instead emphasizing her luck as the recipient of strong male support and approval. It works because these stances do not upset antiquated gender norms. So when the moment comes, when tolerance for and interest in female power have been forcibly expanded by Clinton, a woman more willing to throw elbows and defy gender expectations but who falls short of the goal, Palin is there, tapped as a supposedly perfect substitute by powerful men who appreciate her charms.

But while the Republicans would have us believe that Palin can simply stand in for Hillary Clinton, there is nothing interchangeable about these politicians. We began this history-making election with one kind of woman and have ended up being asked to accept her polar opposite. Clinton's brand of femininity is the kind that remains slightly unpalatable in America. It is based on competence, political confidence and an assumption of authority that upends comfortable roles for men and women. It's a kind of power that has nothing to do with the flirtatious or the girly, nothing to do with the traditionally feminine. It is authority that is threatening because it so closely and calmly resembles the kind of power that the rest of the guys on a presidential stage never question their right to wield.

The pro-woman rhetoric surrounding Sarah Palin's nomination is a grotesque bastardization of everything feminism has stood for, and in my mind, more than any of the intergenerational pro- or anti-Hillary crap that people wrung their hands over during the primaries, Palin's candidacy and the faux-feminism in which it has been wrapped are the first development that I fear will actually imperil feminism. Because if adopted as a narrative by this nation and its women, it could not only subvert but erase the meaning of what real progress for women means, what real gender bias consists of, what real discrimination looks like.

Perhaps that's why my reaction to Palin is so bone-deep, and why she is shaking some of my convictions about how to approach gender. When, last Sunday, I picked up the New York Post, with its front-page headline "Ladykiller: Hillary to Check Hockey Mom" next to photos of Palin in porno librarian mode and Clinton with her teeth bared, I didn't roll my eyes in disgust at the imagined cage match. Instead, I envisioned it. And I enjoyed it. I was overcome by the desire to see Clinton take on Palin, not only checking her but fouling her, smushing her, absolutely crushing her. Get her, Hillary! Don't let her channel all the energy generated by you and your Democratic supporters into anti-woman, pro-God government! You are the only one who can stop her.

It's true that the last time I had this kind of visceral yearning for a politician to save the day was on the evening of Sept. 11, when the only person whose face I wanted to see on my television was Bill Clinton's. Perhaps when the Clintons took office in my 18th year, they became imprinted on my brain as my presidential parent-figures, my ur-protectors. But it's hard not to notice that if that's the case, it's Bill I want to nurture and soothe me, and Hillary I want to show up, guns blazing Ripley-style, to surprise the mother alien just as she is about to feast on independent voters, protectively shouting, "Get away from them, you bitch!"

There I go again with the hyper-feminized anxieties. I think it's mostly that I want Hillary Clinton -- the imperfect history maker whose major selling points for "First Woman..." status, in retrospect, included the fact that she was not a Republican, not pro-life, did not believe in teaching creationism alongside evolution, had never inquired about the feasibility of banning books, understood the American economy, supported universal healthcare and did not kill wolves from planes -- to make Sarah Palin go away and stop threatening to make history I don't want to see made.

It is infuriating that Clinton, her supporters and, yes, also those Obama supporters who voiced their displeasure at the sexist treatment Clinton sometimes received, and also female voters, and also females full stop, are being implicated in feminism's bastardization.

But if we inadvertently paved the way for this, then the Democratic Party mixed the concrete, painted lanes on the road, put up streetlights and called it an interstate. The role of the left in this travesty is almost too painful to contemplate just yet.

For while it may chafe to hear Rudy Giuliani and John McCain hold forth on the injustice of gender bias, what really burns is that we never heard a peep or squawk or gurgle of this nature from anyone in the Democratic Party during the entire 100 years Hillary Clinton was running for president, while she was being talked about as a pantsuited, wrinkly old crone and a harpy ex-wife and a sexless fat-thighed monster and an emasculating nag out for Tucker Carlson's balls. Only after she was good and gone did Howard Dean come out of his cave to squeak about the amount of sexist media bias Clinton faced. That may not be pretty to recall, especially in light of the Grand Old Party's Grand Old Celebration of Estrogen. But it's true. And it's also true that if there hadn't been so much stone-cold silence, so much shoulder-shrugging "What, me sexist?" inertia from the left, if there had been a little more respect (there was plenty of attention, of the derisive and annoyed sort) paid to the unsubtle clues being transmitted by 18 million voters that maybe they were interested in this whole woman-in-the-White-House thing, then the right would not have had the fuel to power this particular weapon.

Which leads us to my greatest nightmare: that because my own party has not cared enough, or was too scared, to lay its rightful claim to the language of women's rights, that Sarah Palin will reach historic heights of power, under the most egregious of auspices, by plying feminine wiles, and conforming to every outdated notion of what it means to be a woman. That she will hit her marks by clambering over the backs, the bodies, the rights of the women on whose behalf she claims to be working, and that she will do it all under the banner of feminism. How can anybody sleep?


-- By Rebecca Traister

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/09/11/zombie_feminism/print.html

Denver Part I: Better Late than Never

Life since the DNC has been crazy on a lot of fronts, so I haven't had time to sit and recap the trip. But now seems like a good time, so here we go.

I arrived in Denver on Saturday night so I could have all day Sunday to get myself oriented, start tracking down credentials, and other good things like that. I met friends from the PA Democratic party for dinner at Sullivans Steakhouse (one thing about me, I love steak. A lot.)

Sullivan's had a delightful atmosphere. In the bar area they had a live jazz band and the restaurant was really beautiful - nice wood paneling and wine racks. Oh, and the food was rather delicious. I had a filet and for dessert, the creme brule. The souffle was also to die for and comes with quite a presentation (makes everyone around the table jealous).

http://www.sullivansteakhouse.com/denver/

I visited two other steak houses while in Denver: Ruth Chris and the Buckhorn Exchange. I'd seen the Bukchorn Exchange on the travel channel. It's Denver's oldest steakhouse, and is located outside the city - so you'll have to take a cab or the light rail. They have a wide variety of meats on their menu - steak, elk, quail, buffalo, fish, etc. When I saw all the different types of meat they offered, I said to a friend, "You know what would be nice? If they had sampler platters of meat. Just like they do for appetizers."

Well, as it turns out, Buckhorn does have sampler platters. You can choose two or three different types of meat and get medallion sized filets of each. One of my colleagues chose an elk and buffalo sampler. I just got a buffalo bone-in ribeye. My other colleague got salmon and steak. Needless to say, we did not have room for dessert at the Buckhorn. If you have time while in Denver, I'd highly recommend this steakhouse. Not only is the food delicious, but it is also a break from downtown and the atmosphere of the restaurant is truly unique - with hundreds of animal heads all over the walls.

http://www.buckhornexchange.com/

When I wasn't eating steak, I did try to take in all there is to love about the Democratic National Convention. I was able to get in to see speeches on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (Wednesday was my night at the Buckhorn).

Monday's highlight was Ted Kennedy, and Tuesday was Hillary Clinton.

More to come...

Where did you watch Gov. Palin's speech?

I watched it in the Ballston mall food court. Even though security and the night staff kept yelling at me to leave.

I'm not a fan of her. At all.

Anyway, I'm sure that's not shocking since the name of this blog is the East Texas Democrat, not the East Texas Republican.

Coming soon...tales from the Democratic National Convention.

My Life is a Bad Comedy: Part I

I've posted before about how a friend once said that my life is like a bad comedy. I agree. And since I've already named a post that before, I've decided to start a series of posts for the times when my life is particularly like a bad comedy. The last few days have been packed with bad comedy moments (probably because I was traveling, and these things always seem to happen when I'm traveling).

Monday afternoon I left DC for Las Vegas via Denver. In order to get out of DC though, I had to find a way to BWI Airport. It's quite simple really: take the Amtrak to BWI airport station and catch a shuttle bus to the terminal. Perfect. Except when you get to the Amtrak station only to find your train is going to be an hour late.

But have no fear! There's also the MARC commuter train. And Amtrak will just refund you your ticket like it's no big deal (wish airlines were nice like that) and give you a MARC ticket. So that was fine - I just didn't realize it was a sign about how the remainder of my day was going to go.

My United flight to Denver was great. We got in around 6:30, I had a connecting flight at 8:00. I walked over to the "Departures" screen to see which gate my next flight would go out of...and it said: "Delayed 11:30pm." As a side note here, it's just mean to delay people when they're going somewhere fun like Las Vegas. Delay me when I'm on my way back to work if you want, but not to Vegas.

I went over to another gate to see if it was actually true that my flight wouldn't leave until 11:30 ane the agent said, "My that's quite a delay." I just stared. He put me on a standby at 9:45 so around 9:00, after eating a crappy, overly expensive meal at the airport, I went to see if I could get on standby.

"You're number 23 in line and we have 15 open seats."

For all you people going to Vegas to bet, those aren't great odds.

I didn't get on the standby, so I went to double check the gate for my other flight. "Delayed: 12:00am."

My day just keeps getting better.

I sat the floor of the airport and booked a hotel in Vegas. I'd been planning to stay with a friend but I didn't want to be rude and get in at 2:30am since he had to work the next day. I chose the Sahara hotel and casino. A "lovely" $30 a night hotel. That's right. I said $30.

We finally got to Vegas, which is quite possibly the best city to fly into at night because of all the lights, and I got a rental car and made it to the hotel around 3am. I had a conference call at 8:30am so I had a long debate about whether to just stay up and play all night or get a few hours of sleep. For better or worse I chose to sleep.

Next day was great. Business meetings, blah blah blah and CASINOS! I ate dinner w/ a good Iowa friend at the Bellagio and then watched their dancing fountain for at least half an hour. I would have stayed all night but my friends wanted to move on.

In our one-night only tour of Vegas, we saw the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Bill's Gambling Hall, Paris, and New York New York.

The next day, after literally no sleep, I flew back to Denver for more meetings. My flight was on time, amazing. And then I got to the advantage rental car counter. The line was out the door. Over an hour later, I finally had a car, but I'd missed my lunch meeting.

I checked into my hotel, another quality establishment that was only $60 per night. The crowning jewel here was the Sonic that was located next door. I went there 4 times during my less than 24 hours in Denver.

This morning when I woke up, there was this big wet spot on my bed to my right side. It was dark and I thought, "holy crap am I bleeding or did I wet the bed?" I wasn't bleeding or in any pain, so I figured I hadn't had a gash open up over night. And my clothes weren't wet so that thankfully ruled out option #2. Then I thought maybe I fell asleep with my Diet Coke from Sonic in my hands and spilled it, but it was sitting on the desk. When I found the lights I also found there was a leak in the ceiling. Lovely. I showered quickly and left...didn't want to be there if the ceiling caved in.

I made it back to the Denver airport once again. This poor guy sitting next to me had his flight cancelled. I feel his pain. Hopefully his flight will depart before 12am.

So, here are my life lessons from this trip:
1. Stay at the Bellagio when in Las Vegas
2. Don't go to Vegas in the middle of a business trip. It's hard to think when the only sleep you get is the 2 hours on a flight from Vegas to your next city.
3. If you want to take the roller coaster in the Sahara, it's closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
4. You don't have to buy drinks at casinos if you gamble or pretend to be gambling...they bring them to you for free.


Good things you should do in Vegas:
1. Eat at Circo in the Bellagio
2. Buy an unlimited monorail ticket - it's this nifty above ground train that takes you between all the casinos on the strip. It starts at the Sahara (my super high class $30 hotel) and ends at the MGM grand with a bunch of stops in between.
3. Eat Mexican food - it's much better than in the northeast.

The Most Important Thing You Can Do Today

Sign this petition and block President Bush.

http://www.hillpac.com/action/hhspetition/?sc=2494

An Outrageous Attempt by the Bush Administration to Undermine Women's Rights

The Bush administration is up to its old tricks again, quietly putting ideology before science and women's health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is poised to put in place new barriers to accessing common forms of contraception like birth control pills, emergency contraception and IUDs by labeling them "abortion." These proposed regulations set to be released next week will allow healthcare providers to refuse to provide contraception to women who need it. We can't let them get away with this underhanded move to undermine women's health and that's why I am sounding the alarm.

These rules pose a serious threat to providers and uninsured and low-income Americans seeking care. They could prevent providers of federally-funded family planning services, like Medicaid and Title X, from guaranteeing their patients access to the full range of comprehensive family planning services. They'll also build significant barriers to counseling, education, contraception and preventive health services for those who need it most: low-income and uninsured women and men.

The regulations could even invalidate state laws that currently ensure access to contraception for many Americans. In fact, they describe New York and California's laws requiring prescription drug insurance plans to provide coverage for contraceptives as part of "the problem." These rules would even interfere with New York State law that ensures survivors of sexual assault and rape receive emergency contraception in hospital emergency rooms.

We've seen this kind of ideologically driven move from the Bush administration before. Senator Patty Murray and I went toe to toe with the Bush administration to demand a decision on Plan B by the FDA. We won that fight and we need to win this one too.

When I learned about these proposed rules, I immediately joined with Senator Murray to call on the Bush administration to stop these dangerous plans. I am joining with New York family planning and healthcare advocates to spread the word. Now is the time to raise our voices. I will continue to press HHS and I hope you will join me. I have posted information on how to get involved here.

Crossposted at RH Reality Check.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-clinton/an-outrageous-attempt-by_b_114064.html