DCFC on a sunny day

It was 82 degrees today, and beautiful outside. I wore a sundress. I listened to Deathcab for Cutie and snuggled with Charlie. And I made peace with a Death Cab song that I refused to listen to for a long time, because it reminded me of all the times my heart was broken.

I once knew a girl in the years of my youth
With eyes like the summer, all beauty and truth
But in the morning I fled, left a note and it read
"Someday you will be loved"

I cannot pretend that I felt any regret
Because each broken heart will eventually mend
And as the blood runs red down the needle and thread
Someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
And the memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

You may feel alone when you're falling asleep
And every time tears roll down your cheeks
But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
And someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
And the memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
And the memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved
Someday you will be loved

The doggie chronicles, part 2

Things are slowly getting better in Charlieville. I miss the little pooper when I’m at work, and even though he’s been a huge challenge, I love him to no end. I now wake up at 6am on mornings when I have to work to walk him (an amazing accomplishment for me… both the early wake-up and the exercise). He’s adjusting to my being gone slowly but surely. “The plan” for him while I go to work has changed a few times due to trial and error. I had first planned to crate him, which went horribly. Then, I tried fencing off the end of the hallway with a doggie gate so he had room to play. He escaped. So I went back to the crate, and began crating him at night while I was at home as well as when I was away. He escaped that too. Twice. Don’t ask me how, because I have no idea. But when I finally discovered that the metal door to the crate was bent from his panicked chewing, I let him win. He now gets to hang out in the apartment while I’m gone, which has not gone as badly (yet) as I thought it would. He has only had an accident once, and that’s when he wasn’t feeling well. His anxiety and barking while I’m gone has been getting better-- slowly. I keep reminding myself that we’re aiming for progress, not perfection. And essentially, even though he is 3 he is still a puppy, since he was never trained in any way by his previous owners. So a lot of the behaviors I’m dealing with are puppy behaviors (for example, eating poo when I’m not looking and subsequently vomiting it all over my living room.) By my descriptions of him, he may seem like an extremely naughty and gross little doggie. And indeed he is. But I clean him all up, and he is my little pooper, and I love him.

Now for some politics I’m thrilled about: our new president, Barack Obama. As Austin pointed out, I may be a huge supporter but this doesn't mean I agree with every aspect of who Obama is. I will always be pro-life, and I will never agree with hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on campaigning. But I am excited on so many levels to witness him being elected into office. I believe our country has made amazing strides, and I can barely fathom the fact that there are those who lived in segregation and get to see a mixed race president get elected. I am excited that our country broke records as far as voter turnout. And I’m thrilled beyond belief that a man of great character and determination who believes strongly in peace and bipartisanship will lead this country. I'm looking forward to what the next 4 years will bring.

Some new pics of stinker:

The gays are coming, the gays are coming!

I am extremely disappointed that prop 8 passed here in CA. But even more than that, I am disappointed that Christians are responsible for bottling and selling the lies and propaganda that surrounded prop 8.

Prop 8: The elimination of marriage rights for same-sex couples.

I was asked many times yesterday, “What did you vote on prop 8?” And I am proud to have voted no. When I was asked by my Christian neighbor, I knew that an interesting conversation would follow. “Oh,” she paused, “I wish I’d spoken to you about this issue earlier.”

According to my neighbor (whom I love), if prop 8 wasn’t passed, “they” would have the power to arrest pastors for preaching against homosexuality in the pulpit. She assured me that this was already happening in Canada. She also shared that a man in Massachusetts was arrested because he didn’t want his son to be indoctrinated by the school systems who were teaching about homosexuality.

So I did my own research. The Swedish (not Canadian) pastor, who preached that homosexuals were “a cancer”, was aquitted. And by the way, we live in the United States, and we have this thing called first amendment rights. Keep in mind, this country bore Jerry Fallwell, who said that: “Gay folks would just as soon kill you as look at you," and “AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.” So yeah, first amendment rights are respected, even as vile people exercise them.

And the man in Massachusets was not arrested because he didn’t want his son to learn about homosexuality. He was arrested because he was angry about the diversity bag his son brought home, (which portrayed a same sex family along with others) and in that process he refused to leave school property. So the guy was legitimately arrested.

Let’s look at the facts, and not package them so that they fit our agenda. We have other things to worry about: a war, the economy, poverty, education.... truly many, many things that we could put our energy towards. What if the MILLIONS of dollars that Focus on the Family poured into their "Vote yes on 8" campaign was instead spent on, oh, I don't know-- hungry children, or health care for the poor? God forbid! Apparently the religious right has decided that eliminating rights for the gay community is worth spending money on. How sad.