Getting Into the Spirit

It's a been a while. In fact, it's been long enough that the title above could refer to any number of things. It could be able the SF Giants' improbable run through the NLDS...

In fact, here's Smunch at Game 2 of the NLDS...where the Giants lost 9-0. To say he was disappointed is an understatment, but he also wasn't crushed, and neither was his team. They lost two games at home, then went on to sweep the Reds in Cincinnati and win the series.

That prompted a very rare NLCS-related event in my house...the spirited self-manicure.

The Giants are currently down 3-1 in the NLCS. Barry Zito is pitching tonight. It's not lookin' so good.

People who don't know me always think my October fingernails are about my Halloween spirit. Admittedly, a group of folks at school have really gotten into that this year...so much so that my house has been decorated multiple times a night for the past week.

But that's really not what I'm about to write about at all. This was more of a red-white-and-blue event than an orange-and-black one. See, it's also election season. And while I was an avid Obama supporter four years ago and I still support him now, I'm not a hugely political person. Still, when my friend T invited me to a concert in The City, I was inclined to go. This was a big deal.

There were lots of bubbles.

Lots of protesters.

LOTS of people.

And a lonely little guy on a rooftop with binoculars. He must be sad. Don't you think? All dressed in black like that?

There was plenty of rah-rah too. Honestly. When I'm faced with too much politics and I'm feeling particularly jaded, I can't help but agree with these two.

I'm sure I shouldn't find them funny, but I do. They, however, don't look like they find anything funny.

We spent a lot of time standing around, but it was a fun evening! We collected our tickets at will call, waited in a line for a couple of hours and finally got in to the auditorium, where we found we had standing spots on the floor. Nice and close to the stage, but no seats.

Everything mercifully started right on time, with a funny speech by Alex Smith, quarterback of the 49ers. It was a great little speech. I wondered who wrote his stuff. He was followed by tight end Vernon Davis who was far less comfortable up there and less entertaining. Then we had a fun little performance from Michael Franti and Spearhead. He came all the way out into the audience, only feet away.

There were more speeches - San Francisco Mayor, Ed Lee and California Attorney General, Kamala Harris. There was a performance by John Legend...

which was, perhaps, a little mellow for the packed house.

And finally, right on time, we reached the main event.

And this is why I came. It doesn't really matter what you think of this particular man. It's kinda cool to be so close to a sitting president. He spoke well...which was more than I could say for his televised debate a few days earlier. He was funny and responsive to the crowd.

It was oddly a lot like watching President Obama on TV though.

Still, it's something I can say I've done. And it was a great evening out with a couple of old and good friends.

And, now, back to working out just how to get into that Halloween spirit. I accepted an invitation to a Halloween party. I don't know why I didn't realize that would require me to have a costume. Ergh. Fortunately, I had a little creative moment yesterday and managed to make one myself...

Aftermath

You would think that I would've written something about the momentous occasion of Tuesday, November 4th, 2008. Because my favored candidate won and there were tears and celebration such as I've never seen in my lifetime and may never see again.

You would think that I'd be telling you how proud I am of our country and how fantastic it is to see some of our history of bigotry fall by the wayside as we elected a man who offered hope and change. You'd think I would have woken up on November 5th, barely able to believe our good fortune. You'd think.

But the truth is, on November 4th, I took Smunch to speech therapy in a town not-so-far away, but far enough during rush hour. He's done at 5:30. I'd left Mam with her Sarah, so at least I was alone to sit out in the mommymobile and listen to the election returns come in. As Smunch went in, he said "It's eight to three. Does that mean McCain is winning?" Well, yes, but it's not really about who's winning at this moment.

I listened to the returns. It was cold. The heater was on and as it got dark, I didn't notice that the headlights also came on. I know what you're thinking and NO, the engine wasn't on. Because I'm a moron. That's why. The battery died about 5:15. And I ran around in the dark trying to find someone who could help me jump start my van...like an idiot. I finally found a man in the park with his son who was kind enough to help me out. (Thanks a hundred bazillion million, kind stranger!)

My parents were coming over for a fine dinner of take-n-bake pizza and salad while we finished up the election. We got home just 15 minutes later than usual. Not bad. Considering. But I was frazzled and in the moment between turning off the engine and hence the radio and walking through the door (directly into the room with the TV), I missed the announcers calling Ohio for Obama...the one call that was probably most indicative of the nail in the coffin of the McCain campaign.

We enjoyed the rest of our evening. I went out and bought a celebratory berry pie at Andronico's. It was outrageously expensive, but it was a momentous occasion, after all. McCain made his very eloquent concession speech. (Reminding me that he really was an excellent candidate who somehow lost the way in his campaign.) Mam went to bed. Smunch begged to stay up and hear Obama's speech.

Really? After all this time, when you whined and stomped around every time I wanted to watch a debate or a speech? I'm sure there was a large element of procrastination to his request, but who can deny their child the experience of seeing history made right then and there? I couldn't. He stayed up, then went to bed after the speech. My parents left. Daddy and I hung out happily on the sofa for a little while before going to bed.

But sleep? It wasn't in the cards. By 11:30, Mam was awake, crying. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I got in bed with her and snuggled down. I could hear her stomach roiling. Not a good sign. Moments later, the bed was covered in vomit...just the beginning of a very, very long night. The puking didn't stop until almost 11 o'clock the next night. Wednesday was horrible.

It was easy to forget about the momentous election. And there's so little pride to be had when you've had no sleep and you're holding back your 4-year-old's hair for the 100th time in 24 hours. I'd let Daddy off the hook because I figured she got this virus from me and he didn't need to get it. But by Wednesday night, I was in desperate need of help...and sleep. That night was a little better...not so much puking, but lots of writhing and tummy clutching.

Sadly, Thursday night was more of the same. And Friday began with more vomiting, so off to the doctor we went. She sent us home with some anti-nausea medication that instantly let Mam sleep...for hours. No more puking as of Sunday and she slept through the night and woke up happy both yesterday and today, but she's still whining and crying about her tummy by early afternoon. Now, she's sleeping again. She hasn't taken an afternoon nap in years. This feels bad.

Fortunately, with all this time stuck at home, I've been able to read a lot about the election and found several articles I really loved. Here are just a few:

New York Times Op-Ed columnist Gail Collins on Obama's win.

Chicago Sun-Times film critic, Roger Ebert's blog post about his historical perspective on the election night scene at Grant Park.

The last couple of paragraphs of Heather B. Armstrong's Dooce.com blog post to her 4-year-old daughter, describing her experience of election night.

It's been encouraging to see the vigor with which Obama's transition team is diving into the work of the country before inauguration day, but the expectations are so high, I imagine many people will feel let down in the coming years. The morning of November 5th really did feel like a brand new day, despite my lack of sleep. The pride was there, but mostly it was the relief of knowing the last eight years are coming to an end.

VOTE

This is my latest piece of fashionable couture. Yeah, hardly. A while back, I wrote a big, long post about Barack Obama. Don't remember it? Yeah. That's 'cause I never published it and eventually, I just deleted it. It's lonely and cold up on my soapbox. I don't like it there. If anyone sees me there, I feel kinda naked. I'd rather be down here.

This is how I explain this shirt to Smunch. Do you see the letters that are biggest on the shirt? The reason they're so much bigger is because those are the important words. VOTE NOV 4TH. It really doesn't matter so much who or what you vote for, only that you do your best to turn the place you live into the place you want it to be.

Having spent some of my overly-sensitive, easily-embarrassed years overseas, it's markedly colored my view of the United States and its place in the world. The early 80s was not a particularly good time to be an American in spot in rural England that is home to an American military base...especially when you don't live within the confines of that military base. And if you were a preteen/teenager, it was pretty mortifying. Anyhow, that perspective makes Obama's attitude and philosophies work for me, even though his tax plan is almost certainly going to be bad for my family. I consider that an investment in the country's future...however misguided that notion may be. Just let me believe it. It makes me feel better.

Anyway, unlike some previous elections where I did my best to understand the propositions, etcetra, by reading my voter's guide, this year I actually attended a League of Women Voters meeting. It was totally non-partisan and they didn't even divulge whether the League was taking a stand on any of the issues. It was very, very helpful. I finished the rest of my homework (on judicial and school board candidates) up yesterday.

I'm a permanent vote-by-mail voter and the idea is very appealing, but the truth is, I hate voting by mail. I like to somehow feel involved in the process...like I did something important and there were people there to witness it. I like to see my ballot go straight into the ballot box. I usually just go to my polling place and hand my ballot in there.

But I was starting to feel like maybe I'd be doing to Registrar of Voters a bigger favor if I sent my ballot in early this year. Goodness knows they'll be swamped on Tuesday. So, the whole family took a field trip to the Registrar of Voters office this morning and I had lots of help depositing my ballot in the ballot box.We drove all the way down there despite the fact I'd found a drop box closer because I love the spectacle. It's Sunday morning for goodness sakes. When do you ever see a government office look like this on a Sunday??You might be wondering why in the world I even went in the building. Obviously, I dropped off my ballot outside. I just had to see this. It makes me feel like something really important is happening and that other people get that too.It was truly amazing the number of people they can pack into the building. They were handing out numbers. There was clearly a long wait, but people seemed patient.

These days people are so busy with work, with home, with family affairs that it's easy to let something like an election blow by you without even looking up.

As a volunteer at an elementary school, I know it's hard to get people to participate, especially when the return seems negligible, as it so often does with politics.

As much as I care very deeply about some of the candidates and issues this election season, I don't really care what these people are voting for. They're all taking a big chunk of time out of their Sunday to participate in something they have to believe matters. That's what's so totally cool.

So, if you haven't voted already, VOTE! It matters.