So,  I've been reading this new book about the secret life of sororities called PLEDGED. I wanted to read it because I was in a non-traditional sorority and wanted to see how the other half lived.  So far, the book is pretty hard to put down. It makes me a little wistful because I feel I didn't take full advantage of my sorority experience. And it seems that national sororities have some fun traditions that we didn't have. But, at the same time, there is some pretty awful stuff happening in the national Greek system.  Things I am only to happy to have avoided. In college, I wanted so much to  prove to my non-Greek friends that nothing would change that I hardly did anything with my sorority and missed out on a lot of fun stuff and some possibly great friendships.  I just didn't want the stigma of being a sorority girl.  But now, I wish I had taken advantage of that. I would have had a better time in college.

So, I finally saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" and it was just as upsetting as I thought it would be. On many levels. Although Bush is a sort of Frankenstein created by a bunch of businessman, he cannot hold full responsibility for the occurrences of the past four years. Many liberals stood by and did nothing.  Many Democrats are being funded by the same people, so they won't do anything.  Money really talks in this country and until we have real, honest-to-goodness campaign reform, I fear that nothing will change.

I can't believe I missed Clinton, Gore and Carter last night.  I have been told that Clinton's speech was truly inspirational. I read the transcript and thought it quite good. I think in this time of disillusionment, we could all use some inspiration.  I am going to go to Barnes and Noble tonight to purchase "How to Change the Worldl," a book about the new wave of social entrepreneurship. This may be just the career I've been looking for.  I hope so. Because I'd like to change the world in a positive socially-proactive way. Even if it's just a small change.

Well, yet again, I have been remiss in keeping up with my blogspot. But not much has been happening.  I am still highly distracted by Gary but also crazy happy where he is concerned. Even downright twitterpated.If all goes well, he will be with me again this weekend.

So, I tried to hit the campaign trail on Friday.  Kerry was here and I got a ticket to go to the rally.  He was to be at the Fitzsimmons Base in Aurora. (which is a suburb just east of Denver) I drove out there and parked at Chambers and Colfax to be shuttled over  to the site. They told us the shuttles would come back at about 2:30pm to take us back. I was having a refridgerator delivered around 2pm so I figured I would just leave early and walk back to my car.  Well, because it was raining, they changed the location and didn't tell us until we were driving off on the shuttle. They had moved the location to the Fillmore Auditorium which is almost downtown on Colfax. (ie. the other side of town)  Well, no way could I walk that. They were supposed to let us in at 10am but I was still waiting in line at 11:30am. I decided I would have to give up because I needed to figure out how to get back to my car.

Now, I can get all over Paris on the Metro and London on the Underground but figuring out the Denver bus system is beyond me.  Picture this bewildered white girl in a Kerry/Edwards t-shirt wandering up and down Colfax avenues with the hookers asking passersby if they can tell her which bus goes to Aurora and how much it costs. Pretty pathetic, huh?  And the Denver bus drivers....not nice.  I had two dollars in my pocket and no cell phone so this created quite an adventure.  After about half an hour of walking down Colfax, I figured out which bus to take and with great relief handed over my $1.25.   I thought this would give me the chance to see Denver in a different way. I watched these two women with a four-year-old boy and little baby.  One woman said to the 4-yr-old, "I love you" and he responded, "Kiss my ass."  Maybe this wasn't quite the bus adventure I was hoping for.   I ended up getting off at the wrong stop and having to walk about 20 minutes to my car (which wasn't bad considering where I had come from).  I made it home 15 minutes ahead of the delivery people. 

So, all that effort and I didn't get to see Kerry. But I tried.  I have my Kerry House Party this Friday night so I hope that will go better.  We'll see.

 

So, I have been a little bit distracted lately and haven't been able to write. I met this intriguing man named Gary in New Mexico over Memorial Day weekend. We started e-mailing and then talking on the phone and decided to take a chance and see if our connection would withstand seeing each other in person again.  So, Gary came to Denver and spent the last three days with me.  I am going to do something out of character and NOT share details about the weekend. Because it was special and I kind of want to keep it to myself. Gary is, quite simply, wonderful. And Cruel Fate has him living several states away.  Not to sound like a petulant child but..."IT'S NOT FAIR!!!"  Why does life do this to us? Anyway, I dropped him off at the airport this morning and I know I will be melancholy for days to come. But it was worth it.  So worth it.

A few days ago, I checked out Molly Ivins' new book WHO LET THE DOGS IN? from the library. After reading one chapter, I decided I'd have to own it. I adore Molly Ivins. She is a smart as a whip woman whose books are full of Texas colloquialisms. And her first chapter in the new book is a great call to action for all Americans. (NOT JUST LIBERALS) We, as individuals, need to take back our country from corrupt and self-interested politicians. And we all have the ability to do that. So, all of you, go to the library and read the introduction of this book. I think it will inspire you to get involved. My favorite quote:

"Everybody knows God is nonpartisan, but I swear Jesus was a liberal--the best, the biggest, the original bleeding heart--the one who embraced the outcasts, the model for us all. Just read the stuff in the New Testament written in red. Don't ever try to convince me that Christianity is right-wing."

Amen, sister.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog lately. I usually do it at work and it has been busy here lately. And I've been trying to do some dating and that is exhausting. No wonder I've never dated more than one man at a time before. You have to put all of this effort and enthusiasm into it. And I have been reciting things about myself so much, I practically have a speech pre-prepared. It seems they all ask the same questions and want to know the same things. So, I start to forget what things I have told which person. But there is one in particular that I feel a certain connection with. Unfortunately, he lives several states away. But I think we'll be working something out in the near future. You never know. Sometimes you have to make a leap of faith. And if it doesn't work out, at least you tried.

Okay, I'm mad. At my family. (on my father's side) We don't always see eye to eye but I love them. They know my politics and beliefs even if they pretend not to.

Last night, my cousin Molly sent me an "urgent" e-mail about supporting the Federal Marriage Amendment. She said it was critical that we do so to maintain the sacred institution of marriage. I politely responded by saying I do NOT support the Amendment and never will. That I think it violates civil rights and is wrong on many levels. She then proceeded to send me ANOTHER e-mail on the subject this morning! Now I'm pissed. I sent out an e-mail calling for action AGAINST the Federal Marriage Amendment. Only to my family. They better not send me any more of that crap.

I am so tired of fighting with everyone about religion. I am not Christian ENOUGH for the Christians and I am TOO Christian for those who are not. I can't win with you people so I don't try. I will continue to try and live my life following the example of Jesus as I see it. The only one I have to be square with is God. And as for the rest of you, you can go butt a stump. (as my mom would say)

So, I first want to congratulate Sen. Kerry on his choice of a running mate. He definitely needs a little charisma in his campaign to get it moving. If Kerry would just take a visible stand on an issue for a change, people would respect him a lot more. But he is coming off as wishy-washy. Not good for a presidential candidate. But, now that Edwards is on board, I have officially joined the campaign. If you go to my personal website, there is a link to my very own John Kerry volunteer page.

Now, on to gluttony. We, as a country, are a nation of consumers. And we typically consume more than our share. I see this at the library every day. Instead of getting one or two videos or DVDs to last you a few days, I see people regularly checking out 20 videos and 7 DVDs at one time. Because they can. And because they sit their fat behinds on the couch for twelve hours a day. And with our Summer Reading Program, it's all about "What do i get?" I've actually had parents calling the library to find out what the prizes are FIRST before they bother signing their kids up. And it doesn't stop here.

At the Fourth of July parade I saw this weekend, people were actually crawling around on the dirty ground and fighting over the candy, beads and other crap that was being thrown from the floats. Because it's free! And we are a nation of overeaters. In Japan, people eat what we would consider a child's portion for dinner. And we're all about the SUPERSIZE portions here. It really kind of makes me sick to my stomach sometimes.

So, I was going to talk about gluttony today but I feel like talking about something else. It's semi-Marxist in context. And forgive me if I have talked about this before.

Technology is alienating us from ourselves. Now, I'm no Luddite but I sometimes worry that sometime in the future, we will have no human contact. We'll just sit in a cube hooked up to machines that satisfy all of our needs. I know I for one do most of my shopping on the internet now. And I communicate much more through e-mail than I do through phone etc.

I read a scifi short story in high school that talked about this. People lived in little rooms surrounded by computers and never had to get up from their chair or have any human contact. (do you remember that, Kelly?)

Anyway, I worry about that with all this e-mail and blogging that I do. I got to know a friend over the internet one time and it was weird when we finally met up again in person. I had developed a picture in my mind of this "internet" person and meeting him in the flesh didn't seem real. It was awkward for awhile. I wonder if that will be the same with my new e-mail buddy. (Hi Gary!)

As much as technology seems to make our lives easier, it is also corrupting us in many ways and alienating us from each other.