“As I was a-walking / and a-talking one day / I met my own true love / as he came that way / Oh to meet him was a pleasure / though the courting was a woe! / … / Oh the cuckoo she’s a pretty bird / she singeth as she flies / she bringeth good tidings / she telleth no lies / she sucketh white flowers / for to keep her voice clear / and the more she singeth cuckoo / the summer draweth near / and the more she singeth cuckoo / the summer draweth near.”
—The sprig of thyme: The cuckoo (yes, that is an iTunes link, you should buy this song)
“Goodbye whoever you are I don’t remember your name!”
—one of the 6-year-olds we teach, to Diana and I
“But then what is the point of my epic journey?”
—Jenny Mason, 2007
time 5:00 pm on the dot feeling hungry, again wearing super awesome fancy brown Banana Republic dress ready for Hanging Out! with Jeff! next app dev, fish cooking, Hanging Out
^ I was reading some old entries and realized I had stopped with the “Details” part. And I missed it. It was fun to re-read some of them (especially the clothes, especially in HS! Ha!). So, it is Back and hopefully it shall remain.
Anyway. I was realizing the other day I never wrote about our wedding/honeymoon publicly, even though it was so kickass. Ehh whatever, suffice it to say it WAS super kickass, just everything about it. So. There.
However, I did have a specific memory from it/that time that I felt compelled to write down. In light of Obama’s Osama killing (side note: I generally do not endorse killing/eye-for-an-eye, despite my proclaimed violent/aggressive nature, but in this case, there is enough gray area for me to be OK with it), there is a massive Newsweek issue devoted to all of it which I perused at the gym this morning. THAT is really why this all came up. So.
First I will say that it’s true—I still have a massive, judgment-clouding, can-do-little-wrong, blinders-on crush on Obama…and pretty much his whole family. What can I say, that’s the kind of celeb I enjoy. So take this all with a giant grain of salt.
In 2008 I got a little (a lot, sorry) obsessed with 08AMA/Obama 08 and was way into it. That, along with the Olympics, made 2008 pretty great. (Oh hey, and getting married….DUH!) Despite my political pessimism (will return to this later) about most things, I have a very good feeling about 2012 being a grand ol’ repeat. F yeah!!! Olympics + Obama. THAT is how I roll. Already excited for 2012.
Anyway. So I spent a lot of 2008 fretting about the election. Frankly even aside from my bleeding heart, I wanted a nonwhite president for freakin’ ONCE, and plus, like I said…kind of had a crush! THIS is the guy I wanted to see succeed, no doubt. (Just like Shawn Johnson, bless.) Anyway. I scoured forecasts, political blogs, CNN, etc., to try and decipher what kind of a chance Barack Hussein Obama had of being our next presidente. I spent many a time debating this with other politically-minded friends (Repubs or no) and dreamed about a positive outcome (i.e., ‘my guy’ winning). I freaked out over Palin and watched polls feverishly. Yes, bizarre, but again, how I roll.
And then… sometime, just a few weeks before our wedding, mid-October… I had a friendly Republican friend come up and ask me, as he always did, what I thought about Barack’s chances. For the first time, with total confidence, trying to keep the swagger out of my voice, I said slowly, “I think it’s gonna be a blowout.” And I totally believed it. Obama had this; now we just had to wait for election day for this reality to take place.
The ONLY bad thing about our honeymoon was that it kept us out of the country for election day. SAD! (Note, yes of course we voted absentee.) But as it turned out, being in Europe was almost as good if not even better in ways. We went to bed in Sorrento just as the earliest of early results were trickling in. I was afraid I would be too excited to sleep, but jet lag worked its magic. When we awoke in our spacious white-tiled, green-accented Hotel Eden room, sunlight was pouring into the room—the presidential race must surely had been decided in the U.S. We immediately flicked on CNN International and there it was: a beautiful sea of royal blue.
Any fellow lib political-nerd psychos like me know what that felt like, so I will spare you. (But wow. Magical.) We did a little celebrating in the room and then headed out into the world, a little sad at not having fellow Americans to freak out about this with.
But look! Here, there is a special gelato flavor devoted to Obama (slightly racist, but WCYD, it’s Italy)! And there, is a European carrying around an Obama bag! And here, you have “Il Mundo Cambio” posters in Rome with Obama’s photo on them! And there, you have Brits congratulating you, EVERYONE congratulating you, on your new president! And here, for the first time, when asked where you are from, you crow “United States!” with abandon, with pride, and receive a joyous reception.
OK I am making this much more gooey than it needs to be but really it was quite amazing.
I only am compelled to write this out because I realize I still feel this way about Obama even with all of his shortcomings (bites off more than he can chew, too centrist, too people-pleasing, etc.). And I feel pretty good about 2012. Even in 2011. F yeah.
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Political misgivings = Minnesota has made a move to allow voting on outlawing gay marriage in our next election. THIS election I am completely freaked out for now and I am so, so sad. I can’t believe it’s come to this. I mean, frickin’ Minneapolis is the gayest city in the US! And we’re going to outlaw gay marriage?! REALLY. Really, MN. So sad. I am trying to figure out if I can get to the rally Monday. F this.
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Sarah’s bachelorette party was one of my most favorite evenings out in YEARS and I was thrilled beyond words to see her. Tomorrow = DATE NIGHT USA with Jeff, Friday the 13th, and the start of a rainy, should-do-freelance weekend. OUT.