So, I watched the movie "Hidalgo" last night which was pretty good. Besides the fact that Viggo Mortensen is so nice to look at. He's the thinking woman's sex symbol. It was a bit slow in parts but I enjoyed it overall. There is just something about those underdog movies. And rooting for the underdog can be fun in real life too. We love the stories where the underdog achieves against all odds. Look at "Seabiscuit" and "Miracle." Maybe that's why I'm not interested in the Olympics anymore. You don't see as many "triumph of the human spirit" stories. The United States dominates since so many pros can compete and steroids and other drugs infiltrate the process. There just isn't as much excitement anymore. We don't really have to fight to come from behind. Is it really as meaningful if it comes easy?

I put a few pictures up from San Francisco on my website.

http://www.amalaise.com/gary

I was presented with yellow roses and wine. I got chaffeured around California, taken to Sonoma wineries, wined and dined at lovely local restaurants, and escorted to hear a rockin' band play. Gary let me play in a local Petaluma bookstore, patiently waited while I went into every store along Haight and Ashbury, allowed me to rent BIG FISH to watch while drinking the wine I bought at a winery, and generally pampered and spoiled me. How did I get so lucky to be with a guy like Gary?

So, I just got back from a weekend in San Francisco with my amazing boyfriend Gary. But before I blog about that, I thought I'd talk a little bit about easy advocacy.

I know a lot of people (myself included) sometimes feel that advocacy is too much work. We all lead busy lives and don't have time to write letters to our congresspeople over every little issue. But I have found lots of ways to get involved online that take less than five minutes. Many nonprofits have developed easy action websites. You can sign up with your e-mail address and every time some important pertinent legislation comes up, they'll e-mail you about it. Then, you go to the website and click a button to send an e-mail. It's that simple. I do these easy action e-mails for the Natural Resources Defense Council, American Heart Assocation and, locally, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and the Children's Hospital of Denver. See if your favorite nonprofits have this handy tool and get involved. It's worth it.

Here's the NRDC link:

http://www.nrdc.org/action/

How to make a amalaise

Ingredients: 3 parts mercy 3 parts ambition 3 parts joy

Method: Blend at a low speed for 30 seconds. Add lustfulness to taste! Do not overindulge!

So, part of my job at work is to create interesting displays. It's hard to come up with four displays every month so I have to go to other sources sometimes for ideas. We have this great reference book called Chase's Calendar of Events that gives you every obscure holiday that exists. I had a hard time deciding whether to do a September display celebrating International Gay Square Dancing month or Pleasure Your Mate month. I finally decided on National Homeschool Month since we have a BUNCH of homeschoolers that come to my library.

I got to thinking about homeschooling, though. Most of the homeschooled children that come into our library are very bright and mostly quite polite. But they are all a little strange. I can understand why so many parents would choose to homeschool. You get more individualized attention. You can choose your own curriculum. You can protect your kids. But you also prevent them from experiencing new and different ideas. And you do them the disservice of keeping them from learning to interact with their peers. What will the world be like for these kids who have not developed any social skills or survival skills? One child in particular who comes to the library is beyond precocious. She talks back to adults and is very rude. Her parents tried to send her to camp and she came home after two days because she was homesick and couldn't relate to the other kids. She was used to being the center of attention and constantly coddled.

If people want to homeschool their kids through about fifth grade, I think that's fine. But after that, I think they need to attend school with other kids or they will never successfully integrate.

I'm all about quizzes and tests these days. Today I took http://www.politicalcompass.org/ to see where I fall politically. Surprise, surprise. I fell to the left on the libertarian side. Somewhere right around Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

Try your luck.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Are you bored and/or in the mood for something kooky? Then try the IONS Intuitive Diagnostic Test. It is supposed to be a measure of how intuitive you are. You look at 200 pictures and try to decide if the person is alive or dead just by looking at a picture of then. It's kind of silly and can be a little tedious. I got much better the further along I went. (it tells you if you are right or wrong). I ended up scoring 68% correct. It isn't a true measure of anything but it passes the time.

I got up bright and early this morning to vote in the primary. I was only the fourth person to vote in my precinct. I hope the turnout improves throughout the day.

Okay, so here is an embarrassing secret...I bought Ashlee Simpson's new CD and it's pretty good. She's still really immature and her music can be fairly simplistic but it has a lot of potential. I really like some of her lyrics.

This one makes me think of Gary: "It seems like I can finally rest my head on something real. I like the way that feels."

Here are a few that resonate with me in general: "I am moody, messy, I get restless and it's senseless how you never seem to care." "Got bruises on my heart and sometimes I get dark."

She'll get better as she gets older and I think she's already better than Jessica.

I am a person who expresses herself through books, movies and music. I always feel like many writers/artists express themselves better than me. They often seem to be able to put into words exactly what I'm feeling. So, I use a lot of quotations. Because I like to be able to clearly reveal what I'm feeling. When I was in college, I felt no one could express me better than Sting. Now, I tend to lean towards female writers/artists. I'm not sure what that says about me but there it is. C.S. Lewis once said, "We read to know we are not alone." I also watch movies and listen to music for that same reason. It's a way to share the human experience.

I'm looking forward to the primary tomorrow. My Colorado Senator told me about this website which projects how the electoral votes may go for the Presidential election. It changes daily but it's kind of interesting. Looks like my state may be a battleground. Check it out at http://www.electoral-vote.com

I have been out of contact with Gary since Thursday and it is making me feel out of sorts. But I know he's having a great time at his Reggaefest. Hopefully, we'll talk tonight.

It was a very long and painful weekend. Work was awful on Saturday so I decided to head out with my friends Anna and Amy for a Girls' Night Out. We haven't done that in a long time and it was a very eventful evening. I don't consider myself a wild girl. I'm mostly a homebody but I do like to go downtown occasionally. We started out at a new lounge called Tryst which was quite nice. Anna and I indulged in a special Van Gogh martini that tasted like chocolate and strawberries. For the grand opening event, we were promised $2 parking in the garage so we brought just enough money for that. Well, we got to the booth and the parking attendant had never hear of that. I was cowering in the backseat while Amy and Anna argued with the guy. He ended up calling the police on us! Anna went to complain to the manager of Tryst and he straightened things out. But what a mess! We then headed to our old standby, Red Square, for some vodka. Our favorite waiter, Pasha, was as demonstrative as ever but really crossed the line when he gave Anna a bigger kiss than necessary. Anna really wanted to go dancing so we then headed to Alley Cat. Anna was her old self and confidently lead us through the VIP entrance. No one questioned us and we ended up going VIP for the entire evening. We hung out with a bachelor party that was there and Anna and I ended up dancing on the stage. (which is not something I typically do) I spent a long time talking with a 24-yr-old cynic who is a campaign manager for a local Democrat. And I thought that I was jaded. Whew! It was a fine night but not something you do every weekend. It's nice to know we still can, though. I love being out with my girls. It almost got my mind off Gary. I look forward to hearing about all of his adventures tonight.

It's starting to get rainy outside and I can't wait to get home and settled in with a movie. I'm halfway through with "HellBoy" and I have to say...I kinda like it. I have discovered a pattern in what I like about certain movies like that. I love a good backstory. I am always curious about how a character came to be. How did he/she get his/her powers? What is her/his ultimate purpose? Or if it's a villain...why did he/she come to be that way? I'm still waiting to find out who HellBoy really is. And I can't wait to find out more about Wolverine's past in the X-MEN movies. I think that is always the most interesting thing about characters. How they came to be who they are. And maybe that interests me in people too. I always like finding out about people's pasts. Because, after all, who you are is partially a culmination of your past experiences. I'll let you know how HELLBOY turns out.

Sigh. I'm at work and just received the most beautiful flowers. I was grumpily stomping around the library looking for missing books when my co-workers called me up to the circulation desk with big grins on their faces. A beautiful flower arrangement with a big sunflower was waiting for me there. I nearly passed out. Gary sent them to me just to let me know he's thinking of me. And now I can't stop smiling. My co-workers keep teasing me but I just blush and smile. I'm such a lucky girl. I'm leaving them at the circulation desk so that I can see them all day.

I've never been one for flashy gifts. The things that move me the most are the little gifts given for no particular reason. A random card or letter in the mail can keep me on Cloud Nine for days. A small token or handmade gift sends me over the moon. And I especially love flowers.

I am going to resist the urge to just sit here and gush over how great Gary is. Instead, I'm going to go look at my lovely flowers again. Sigh.