You told me to go back to the beginning!

Well, I'm back where I started: London.

I have mixed feelings about Dublin, much of them colored by my hostel. Issac's is a great hostel, I'd recommend it to anyone. It was for the most part clean, safe, secure, and comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one can expect a hostel to be.

But.

Hostel living takes its toll. At first I was excited about it all: It's just like camp! Being in bunk beds, eating at long wooden tables with benches, storing your things in a locker. But then, after a few days, it's just like camp: No space, nowhere you can go to escape people, the noise, everyone moving about in cliques and groups, showers are kind of grimy, etc. I've determined that I can only handle a hostel for a couple of days. After six nights, I was going barmy. I hated that other girls staying in my room had complete disregard for the comfort of anyone else lodging there -- coming in drunk in the middle of the night and turning on the lights and then forgetting to turn them off, clomping around at 6:30 in the morning in stilleto boots packing, not using indoor voices, etc. Someone also got a hold of my towel and used it them self, squicking me out beyond belief and forcing me to do a costly €6 load of laundry.

I also had a hard time with the hostel because no one, seriously, no one there spoke English. I had expected a certain Eurotrashiness about the place, but it got ridiculous. Everyone was either French or Spanish (and we had a pack of Bolivians!), and if they did speak English, it was only a little bit -- enough to get by, basically. The people from America, Canada, or Britain that did come to the hostel came for only a night or two before moving on.

I tried, as best I could, to make some friends in my hostel. There was Antonio, a young man from Spain who told me in stilted English that he came to Dublin to find work, but that he'd have no luck yet. I tried to inquire about the line of work he was in, but he was having trouble understanding me and I got the impression he would take any job that would hire him. There was Sebastian, a very intense French man who was in Dublin to improve his English and do some employment networking. Sebastian worked in "business" and I gathered it had something to do with technology of some sort, media-related perhaps, and it seemed he was a contract worker. One evening we sat together and using my computer, showed me photos of all the various places he had lived: Senegal, Brittany, etc. When I pulled up photos of Philadelphia, he looked deeply into my eyes telling me he was impressed by my "power."

Still, it was alienating living like this. Everyone traveling with their friends, speaking in languages I didn't understand. Dublin also has a huge immigrant population -- people bent on coming into Ireland and seeking their own portion of the Celtic Tiger wealth (that's now starting to fall, due to the world economic crisis) -- and my hostel was situated in the Polish quarter. I swear, I heard more Polish and Polish accents than I did Irish.

It was tough being in Dublin all on my own. I had waited and longed to come to Ireland for so long it was hard being there and having no one to share it with. Mostly I wished for my Dad, who has wanted to come to Ireland his whole life. I kept seeing things and knowing he'd love them. It was also just plain lonely, as in Dublin, for the first time in my whole trip, I was truly on my own. No hosts wanting to show me the town, no conference attendees to chum around with, etc. Just me.

Monica, my brother's sometimes sort of girlfriend (it's complicated) lives in Dublin, and I hung out with her as much as I could. Still, Monica has a full time job, as well as two part-time jobs, so it's not like she had oodles of time to baby-sit me. But she was awesome. She and I went out to dinner twice and I attended an art opening at her gallery, as well as the corresponding lecture the next day. On my last night in town we had dinner and then went to the pub for a drink or two and ended up staying until 1:30 or so, and there's a grand story in there about my big mouth and the consequences of talking to strangers, but that's for another time.

Despite all my loneliness and the craziness of hostel living, Dublin itself did not disappoint. I could easily see myself living in Dublin and loving it. Most people I encountered were unfailingly friendly and kind. The city is certainly vibrant and alive, and while Dubliners themselves complain about how tiny the city is, I loved that aspect of it. Dublin is certainly a city, but it's manageable and not overwhelming and easy to get around.

I saw so much of Dublin, I managed to hit everything on my list: The Guinness Storehouse (FOR REAL, BEST STOUT EVER), Parnell Monument, St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College, The Book of Kells, Temple Bar, Oscar Wilde's Birthplace, Grafton Street, Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park and zoo, the Clarence Hotel (owned by Bono and The Edge -- I thought of Maggie), Irish Museum of Modern Art and Kilmainham Gaol. I spent a day touring the Wicklow Mountains and seeing some the green (well, greenish...it is winter, after all) countryside. I walked along the River Liffey, drank pints, and ate the most incredible Irish brown bread.

All in all, Dublin was grand, as they say.

I returned to London yesterday in the early afternoon, in the middle of a rainstorm. Jess and Mya were excited to see me and promptly asked me to to go out with them and Mya's brother Neé to a German Christmas market on the South Bank. I was so thrilled to be with friends again that I agreed. We headed back out into the rainstorm and cold and walked along the South Bank, examining intricate Christmas ornaments, nutcrackers, candle holders and quaint wooden toys. After the market we picked up some take out, came back to the flat and had a feast.

Today is my last full day in the UK and I had intentions of going to the Tower of London. But my shoes were still soaking and it was lashing rain outside. So instead, I was a lazy slug, stayed in, curled up with a cuppa, sat in the window and watched London go by.

Street Scenes

Seeing as it's all down to Doctor Who that I'm over here in the first place, I'd like to quote the good Doctor to start off this entry:

You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers.

So that's what I've been trying to do while I'm here. I basically step out of the hostel (or B&B, or whathaveyou) pick a direction and go. It's an adventure, and a surprise! Today I saw so much of Dublin. I started out with one goal: Get to the post office of the Easter 1916 Rising. I found it in no time and so I ended up making my way to Parnell Monument, O'Connell Monument, Garden of Remembrance, Joyce Statue, Grafton Street, Trinity College (saw the Book of Kells!), St. Stephen's Green, and Temple Bar. I meandered mostly, just putting one foot in front of the other and seeing where it took me. Dublin is so friendly to walkers. I never had a specific goal for the day. I brought my camera along, and I took photos when compelled to.

Wandering through Grafton Street, I came upon several performers and buskers. I've seen a lot of them on my trip and I love taking their photos. Some highlights:

In Cardiff, my first night there, I wandered around Queen's Arcade to amuse myself and came upon two accordion players performing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and reminding me I was most definitely not in Kansas anymore.

In London, the South Bank was rife with buskers. The weirdest one was a type of invisible man creature. There must have been a (very short) person inside, but a hat and glasses hung around an absent head, and the entire body was covered in bronze. It made weird beeping noises and freaked the children out.

Today I came upon a man doing a "living statue" type thing, only it appeared he was covered in mud. He held a bucket in his hand for donations, only it was filled with mud too. When you dropped your coins in, they slowly sank to the bottom. When I took his photo, he admonished me by silently shaking a finger at me and then pointing to his bucket. I dropped 20p in his bucket and he blew me air kisses, and then by slight of hand he produced a lollipop for me (which I gingerly took so as not to get covered in mud) and blew me more air kisses as I went on my way.

The Quickest Way is Sometimes the Longest

Alternate title for this post: "Don't Let Wales Kick You in the Ass on the Way Out."

I hit upon my first (and hopefully only) travel trouble today. The day just started out wrong when my B&B, for the second day in a row, had no hot water in the morning. And I don't mean "Oh the showers don't get as hot here," I mean ICE FREEZING COLD shower. It sucked and so I was already off to a grumpy start. I checked out of my B&B at 9am, because I figured that would give me enough time to get to Cardiff Central (a 15 minute bus ride) for my 9:50am train. However. Because of the rain and Monday morning traffic, the buses were running very behind, and also very crowded. The first bus actually passed us by because they were too full to take on any other passengers. And then the second bus came late and we got stuck in traffic, leaving me only 10 minutes to get to my train.

This was problematic, because I hadn't checked in and didn't have my ticket. I booked my ticket with National Express, the same people who I booked my bus from London to Cardiff. On my way rushing into the station, I passed a National Express office, and I thought I would pop in and see if I get my ticket there or what. When I got to the front of the line, the attendant told me that this office was for the buses only and to just go into the station and get my ticket there. So I go to the station (5 minutes to my train!) and ask a worker there where I go to check in for my National Express ticket. They respond that I have to go back to the office that I had just come from. I respond that, no, I had just been there and they directed me to come to the station. The worker at the station insists -- National Express office. So I go back out into the rain, dash to the office (2 minutes, I can make it!!!) and the clerk at NE office looks at me as if I have brain damage and I tell him that the train people told me to come back to him and give him my confirmation number. He insists that this office is for the buses only -- my confirmation number is not valid with them -- and tells me to to go to the main desk at the station and give them my confirmation number there and my credit card and they can pull up my reservation. By now I know I've missed my train and it's pointless, but I go back into the station anyway and try again. I get to the desk and the woman is trying to explain to me (like I'm dumb -- LOOK, LADY, I'M A SCHOLAR) that they're not National Express. And I explain to her (again) that I booked a TRAIN ticket through National Express, it's leaving from Cardiff Central and unless there's another Cardiff Central Station, here is my confirmation number and credit card. She responds that their confirmation numbers are nothing like that and runs my card -- no reservations made under that name or with that card.

It was all so maddening. I had double checked the confirmation email last night, so I knew I wasn't crazy. But no one was understanding me. I felt impotent and frustrated, and it was all so stupid because I had missed the train by this point anyhow. Being travel weary, not to mention cranky, soaking wet and mentally exhausted from 3 days of hardcore intellectual fanwanking -- I seriously considered sitting down and having a good cry.

But I am a problem-solving adult, so I did not do that. Instead I just asked about other trains leaving from Cardiff Central to Holyhead. There was one leaving in a little over an hour, so I booked a seat on that, making a mental note to contact National Express once I got to Dublin and figure out how to get a refund for my first ticket. My new train would get me to Holyhead with about half an hour until my ferry to Dublin, so that seemed good.

Once I got on the train, I was still wearing my cranky pants from the whole experience, but I heartened up with the help of some coffee and biscuits from the refreshment trolley. I had to give myself a little talking to -- Don't be mad now. Look at where you are! Look at what you've done! Look at where you're going! -- why bother being pissy for it? I settled back and enjoyed the Welsh countryside, which is amazing. Even with the rain (or maybe because of it) the hills and fields are lush green, with bright accents of yellow and orange from the changing leaves on the trees. Fat sheep dot the hillsides and scamper along the edges of the train tracks. The villages all look picture-postcard perfect and quaint. Later in my journey, the countryside gave way to craggy cliffs and stunning rocky beaches.

Of course, my train ride couldn't be perfect or easy. About an hour outside of Holyhead, there was a technical failure on the tracks. We were stuck sitting on the tracks without power for about 20 minutes. Meaning that I had to RUN to catch my ferry. I barely made it but I was the last one they let on.

The ferry ride was downright bizarre, but also comfortable (comfy seats, swish bar area, a little shop -- I love a little shop! -- and gambling arena). They randomly played Peter Pan over the closed circuit TVs. Because of the weather and the speed we were going, we got tossed around a great deal. So much so that twice on the journey, cups, plates and various other sundry items slid off the bar, causing a huge clatter and mess. Once I boarded the ferry I got a sandwich because I was starving. I ate it before we departed. Once we got going though, I regretted it. Not that I felt seasick per se, but I didn't feel good either, headachey, mostly. The tossing around was not helping matters.

But I am here, I survived. And as much as an ordeal it was to get here, it was worth it. As we de-boarded the ferry, one of the other passengers, an old pudgy Irishman in a Celtic jersey and wearing a velor tiger-print cowboy hat, began (drunkenly, I suspect) singing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and making the funniest, most bizarre jokes. It was all so random and weird, I couldn't help but giggle. I'm taking him as an omen for the crazy fun time I'm going to have while I'm here.

YOU GUYS, I'M IN DUBLIN. HOLY CRAP. I WISH YOU WERE ALL HERE.

Children in Need

Yesterday was the Children in Need champaign in the UK, which is sort of like the Jerry Lewis telethon, but way better. It's traditional that shows do special sketches for the drive and celebrities do special performances and what not.

Every year, Doctor Who does one as well:



Because we were all in panels yesterday when this aired, the conference pulled this up from the CiN website and screened it today. The entire room collectively lost their minds.

I love this fandom and I love this show.

Well, I did it.

I presented.

I sort of can't process it all yet. They didn't laugh me out of the lecture hall, so that was something.

In any event, I did it. It is done. I have presented at my first academic conference and lived to tell the tale.

More details later, when I have some distance from the event and have some perspective.

An open letter to Gareth David-Lloyd

Gareth,

Hi. Can I call you Gareth? I just did. I hope that's OK.

Thank you for being nothing short of lovely when I met you tonight. Sorry I couldn't think of anything particularly interesting to say other than to ask you half-heartedly about the philosophy degree you're in the process of getting and I'm sorry I bugged you for autographs (but you helped make two girls very happy). Basically, I'm sorry I'm a dork and wish I'd had enough nerve/sense/coolness to talk to you like a normal person. As it is, I'm just thankful I didn't make a total ass out of myself, like I normally do when I meet famous people.

Thanks again for taking time out of your schedule to come and hang out with a bunch of academics. You're rad.

Katie

And now I'm in Cardiff

I've been spoiled by London, you guys. I'm in Cardiff now, and I find it to be harder to navigate and the buses more confusing than in London. I got to Cardiff slightly later than I intended, but because I was both unable to figure out the buses or hop on the internet in the timely fashion to remember where I was going, I missed my first informal conference event -- The Doctor Who/Torchwood walking tour. I'm gutted, but it's just as well because it's quite rainy today. Still I would have liked to see the Millennium Centre and other sights with my fellow nerds academics.

I also seem to have a bizarre problem with adapters. The one I bought for this trip crapped out on me my first day and the one Jess and Mya lent me crapped out when I got to Cardiff. I don't know what I am doing wrong, since I'm only using it to charge my laptop, I don't think I'm exceeding voltage. I bused into Queen Street shopping (got confused along the way) and bought a new one, but I'm worried it will crap out on me too. Keep your fingers crossed.

Oh, and for Stephanie: I saw a Top Shop in Queen's Arcade! It looked expensive, though, so I didn't go in.

For Renee

In London, there's a chain of cafés, sort of like a Cosi, called simply -- and I swear I'm not making this up -- "EAT." I giggled and thought of you. I bought a sandwich from them just because.

Good old London town!

Holy crap you guys, I’m in LONDON.

The second I got on the plane in Philadelphia, a sense of calm and ease took over me. Something about getting actually getting on the plane helped ease my anxieties and chill me the hell out.

I would like to recommend Air Canada to anyone and everyone. My flight to Toronto was fairly light, passenger-wise and as such I had an entire row to myself. Lots of leg room, nifty television screens in the backs of the seats, and very prompt and attentive flight crew.

I had a quick stop over in Toronto – whose airport is ginormous and kind of insane, but they had free wireless access so I love them – and then my flight to London. The London flight was not quite as spacious, but uneventful and fairly comfortable.

So now I’m in London, staying at my friends’ Jess and Mya’s flat. Jess is actually in the States right now (or rather, on a plane to come home as I type this) so Mya has been looking after me. She wrote out excellent directions for me to get from Heathrow to New Cross Gate, and I only got slightly confused once, but was able to ask for directions and figure everything out. Mya and I, by the way, had never met prior to this trip, and she has been the sweetest, most awesome hostess ever. She met me out on the road and quickly helped me into the flat and then insisted on making me a cuppa and fixing me lunch. We spent the afternoon chatting and getting acquainted. I took a nap later in the afternoon and when I awoke, Mya had gone out and gotten us fish and chips from the local takeaway for dinner. And then she and her flatmates took me around the touristy bits of London for a long evening walk. Mya has been so helpful in assisting me with the transportation system in London (which is so efficient and wonderful), and she played tour guide for me tonight! I cannot sing Mya’s praises enough. We took a (red double-decker!) bus to the Winchester. We saw everything tonight: Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, London Eye. Then we strolled along the South Bank all the way down to London Tower, crossing the Millennium Bridge briefly to check out St. Paul’s, which is having some sort of artist installation where random words are being projected atop the dome.

I can’t tell you how comfortable I feel here. Any anxiety and stress I was feeling yesterday or in the past week, have gone. Even my worries about my paper have temporarily vanished. London feels both foreign and familiar, and I can’t help smiling every time I see a phone box or mail pillar. I love it here already.

Tomorrow I am retracing the route we took tonight, but will be doing it more at my own pace, photographing, popping into the Tate Modern, etc.

London is lovely, you guys, and I sincerely wish you were here.

Philadelphia to Toronto

Here’s a hot tip for you all. If you want to fly somewhere, do it on a Monday evening and fly Air Canada. It’s an hour before my flight for the first leg of my trip, (Philadelphia to Toronto) and let me tell you, it is dead here in gate D4. I think there’s 4 other passengers for this flight. In fact, the entire terminal is pretty empty, giving the entire place a creepy 28-Days Later feel. I hope Air Canada has zombie insurance.

So. The paper is not in any condition I want to present it in. I spent the better part of last night trying to hone in on my thoughts and my clarify my language and it’s still – STILL!– not good. I truly hate academic writing and I vow here and now I am never doing this again. It’s at the point where all my phrases and language sound the same and I fear that when I present I will be speaking nothing but gibberish, empty phrases that mean nothing to anyone but me and Lacan. "The unconscious is the discourse of the Other." I sound like a wanker. I also go back and forth about my style. Should I be rigid and academic? Or should I be more informal given that I’m talking about a fun (HA! FUN! I hate you, Lacan*) subject with Doctor Who? I’m going to work on the paper during my flight, although I hope to get some sleep once I transfer flights – I stayed up very late last night working on the paper, packing and spazzing out – and I can feel my eyes getting droopy.

Right before I left for the airport, I called my brother for a final farewell. I had bit of a freak out on him "What if the other kids in the UK sandbox don’t like me? What if I go and suck all over the place with this? What if I get pick-pocketed by the Artful Dodger? What if the Queen kicks me out for being a ridiculous Yank?" My brother, god love him, was so awesome and supportive in his answer: "You say, ‘Fuck you, I’m going to Dublin!’ and then you go and have yourself a drink ." Which, yeah, I am.

Still, it didn’t stop me from having a moment of pure terror/excitement once I hung up the phone. I released myself to it sitting down with the cats and letting all my emotions – quite a bit of fear and anxiety, I’m not going to lie – wash over me. It’s all so overwhelming. I’ve wanted to go to the UK for such a long time and I’ve wanted to go to Ireland for about half of my life and to now have it finally happening…well, I don’t quite know what to make of it.

I’m nervous about traveling alone, getting lost, making all of my travel connections, spending too much money. I’m peeved that I’m stupid and waited until the last minute to check with Verizon about my phone and as such, I’m phone-less while I’m over there, which bugs me out.

I know a good deal of this will be taken care of once I actually get there and I’m physically in London – I’ll be able to relax and enjoy myself and the fact that I’ve finally made this journey. I imagine a slight culture shock as I realize I’m not in Kansas anymore and then a feeling of comfort and ease.

*Can you imagine if I had stuck with my original idea of Hegel? I would have slit my wrists by this point. Thank God Lacan is at least readable.

Gah!

I hate it when my ability to write coherently fails me.

Less than 24 hours until I leave for the UK. Anyone want to fix my paper for me? Because it's broken right now. I hate myself.

I hate to be dreaming in motion

I was going to do a post about David Byrne, but Renee did it for me. I echo everything she said and would like to add, that at least once in your life you should treat yourself to a David Byrne concert. Splash out for good seats. It's so worth it. David is so thoughtful and precise about the concert experiences. Everything, including what the band is wearing, is meticulously planned to give the concert-goer an ultimate visual/auditory experience. This time, David and the band were joined by dancers, and together they did amazing choreography that was simple, energetic, fun and beautiful. I was both fascinated and inspired. When they preformed "Houses in Motion" they brought the house to its feet and everyone collectively lost their bananas, garnering a standing ovation — and it was only the fourth song of the night.

Renee, with her pretty eyes and sweet talking, got herself David's guitar pick. I say this trumps the set list she scored on the Grown Backwards tour. Next tour: We meet David Byrne. I'm calling it now.

Oh, and you should read David's Journal. I sort of forget to read him and then come back to his journal and am reminded what a fantastic writer he is. Highly recommended.

The concert was a nice way for Renee and I to spend some time together before she (snif, snif!) moves to Chicago. It was also a nice distraction from the ulcer I am giving myself because OMG, I LEAVE FOR THE UK TOMORROW AND I'M NOT READY YET. Holy crap, you guys.

I may have just squeed myself a little.

YOU GUYS.

Barring any major schedule changes*, I get to meet this guy next Friday night:



OK, for those of you that are not raging dorks, that's Gareth David-Lloyd, who plays Ianto on Torchwood, which is a spinoff of Doctor Who.

WHATEVER, HE HAS A SEXY WELSH VOICE AND LOOKS AWESOME IN THAT SUIT UP THERE. PLUS HE GETS TO REGULARLY SNOG JOHN BARROWMAN; I'M KIND OF EXCITED.

*Torchwood is at the end of its filming right now, so lots of hiccups and changes are possible. I'm trying not to get too excited, but really? Drinking pints with Ianto = AWESOME.

Re: Captain America

Thank you, Christopher. Thank you SO MUCH.

Made of win,

8K

Luke and Leslie

Luke and Leslie got engaged! They asked me to take their engagement portraits, and opted to spend the day at the zoo.

I'm not going to lie. This was a tricky shoot for me. I've been psyching myself out a bit by checking out other local photographers and their work, and I desperately wanted capture the fun spirit of Luke and Leslie in these shots. Our day at the zoo was a gorgeous warm fall day, but unfortunately, it was also Boo at the Zoo. Meaning there were about 50 bajillion kids and people running around in costume, so it was hard to capture that "couple only" feel. Everywhere we went it was packed. Add onto that, Luke gave me a lecture prior to the photo shoot about how much he hated being posed and I got freaked out. I wish I would have just sucked it up and posed Luke more anyway.

Still, Luke and Leslie are rather fun and pretty:


















I'd kind of like to do a reshoot, but it wouldn't be until after I get back from my jaunt in the UK, and we'll see what Luke and Leslie want. More photos from that day are here.

A new day

I'm dying for someone to photoshop a Captain America suit on him.

From his acceptance speech:

There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

I know there are many out there who voted for McCain. And I know their concerns with Obama are valid - his inexperience, his distribution of wealth policies. These are the primary arguments I had with my parents over and over again. And while I disagree, and I think that Democrats are just as invested in capitalism as Republicans and I'm tired of the world "Socialist" being a dirty, bad word and the idea of helping people put food on the damn table being classified as "Marxist," I understand where you're coming from. Sort of. But not really. I'm trying though.

In any event, that our President-elect is humble enough to know and admit that there are people who disagree with him and that he may learn from them, is very comforting. It inspires open-mindedness and encourages dialogue and learning. It's so much more refreshing than the closed "I'm the Decider" mentality of the past 8 years. So take heart, McCain supporters. Your voices and concerns will not only be heard and considered, but valued and appreciated. I truly believe it.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too...

...For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow...

...This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Also, this is my 500th post, and I can't think of anything more fitting.

Make it count

Tank of Gas - $27.60

Tolls (roundtrip) - $5.00

Time in the car (roundtrip) - 2.5 hours

Walking to the polls with my father, being greeted warmly by my neighbor and polling place worker, and performing my civic duty - SO TOTALLY WORTH IT.

GO-BAMA!

ETA: Woo, Pennsylvania!

ETA 2: OMG OHIO!!!

ETA Infinitiy: CNN just called it for Obama. No lie, I got choked up, especailly when they cut to the footage of people in Grant Park chanting "Yes we can!" This is so inspiring and wonderful.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Hey, did you know there's an election today? Your vote is important, exercise your rights, stand up for what you believe in, etc.

I myself am driving an hour and 15 minutes to make sure my vote is counted. Surely you can walk to your neighborhood polling place and cast yours.

And given how this election season has featured not one, but two prominent female politicians, I thought this was appropriate:



Well done, Sister Suffragettes and Rock the Vote.

Samhain

Samhain wasn't quite the intense, emotional experience it was for me last year. Part of that has to do with the way the ritual was run this time, and frankly I don't want to get into it. In any event, I was still able to look deep down and see what I want for the coming year, figure out what negative aspects of my emotions were blocking me and release some of them.

At one point, Hades guided us in meditation to see ourselves how we want to be. I saw myself as busy, rushing, challenged, creative, and exhilarated. In my vision, I was capable and confident. I was kicky, fun, happy and my life felt full of the best things.

So, impending international travel aside, I've been feeling a bit stagnant. Especially career-wise. I think it's time to stretch and push myself again. It's time to get going.

Fabulous Scopes!

Because I'm completely gullible and I like buying into this nonsense, I checked my monthly horoscope this morning. CHECK IT OUT, PEOPLE:

Your best week will fall at mid-month when, on November 10, the mighty Sun will signal Jupiter, the giver of gifts and luck and bearer of happiness. Jupiter is in your house of international travel and relationships, so you may be talking about taking a long trip or negotiating a very exciting global deal with an associate based in a foreign country.

OH HELL YES. (Because, remember, I leave for London on the 10th!) And THEN, it says:

This whole period of the year glitters brightly for travel, but just how wonderful it will get for you overall will not be fully revealed until next month. In that respect, you'll only see the tip of the iceberg in November, dear Taurus. This trend is about to get bigger and better by December's last week, so perhaps this month you'll make plans or hear encouraging news that you will act on next month. Wow! Planetary vibes in your travel and learning house come by only once a decade, and you're getting this now.

There are all kinds of possibilities in the works for you. Any venture having to do with publishing, broadcasting, or academia will glow brightly for you. You may be negotiating a book deal or hear of a chance to write a regular column or blog on the Internet. You may become a contributing editor in a magazine or newspaper, or host or produce a radio or TV show. All these areas could not possibly be better for you! Even in this case, next month will bring things to an even higher level of excitement, so stay the course.

Bring it on, universe, BRING IT ON. I am so ready.

All Souls

Things I have done tonight:

- Worn The Birds costume for the 4th and final time. Let me tell you people: I am so over those effing birds. Screw you, birds. I hate you.

- Changed into a gold lame tank top that I bought at the same scary thrift store where the sweater dress was purchased and Haven's gold boots and danced around like an asshole in front of all of my friends for the entertainment of one darling Renee.

- Arranged docking.

- Tried in vain to teach Stephen and Matt how to properly walk in heels.

- Held a sweet drunken Lukey-Pookie in my lap while he voted on girls on HotOrNot.com

Happy Day after Halloween, everyone. I love you all.