The World I Know

Yesterday Barack Obama was elected to be President of the United States. 

Just in case you haven't heard already.  

I watched in the Boothroyd lounge with about 30 other people.  We erupted in cheers with every state announced for Obama and the excitement was overwhelming throughout the night. The one or two Republicans in the dorm quickly left and chose to watch results in a dorm room instead. 

After it was finally announced that Obama had won, I could look out the window and see people pouring out of the dorms and sprinting to the quad, where about 500 people gathered and cheered and screamed together.  Police pulled up quickly just in case, but didn't have to act because the mass of people didn't get out of hand.  They dispersed quickly as news spread that Obama was about to speak.  The speech was incredible. I am proud to be an American. 

For the first time, at least in my experience, politics reflect the world I know.  I grew up being taught that it doesn't matter what your race is, what your religion is, what your gender is. There was never any distinction made as I grew up.  As I got older I realized that there were not unspoken rules, but there were unspoken barriers.  There were bridges yet to be crossed.  Who knew this would happen in my lifetime. 

I've been thinking a lot about the kids I babysit for, who will grow up with this being history.  Maybe it won't feel strange for them.  It will be something they'll read in textbooks.  That's amazing for me.  

I'm so glad I voted.

Election Day 2008

Uggghhhhh to the Redskins game. That's all I'm going to say about THAT. 

Ithaca is buzzing about the election.  No one can concentrate and everyone is counting down the hours until polls close and we can finally have a resolution after two years of anticipation. 

I'm so excited.  Anyone who says they aren't interested in politics obviously isn't paying any attention.  

My journalism teacher told me this stat, which is sad yet encouraging in some way.  I'm not sure where he got it, or whether it's true or not, but this is it:

When the Redskins play the weekend or monday before the election and LOSE, the challenging party is 7-0.  When the Redskins win the weekend before the election, the incumbent party is 9-0.  I don't really know how the statistics work on that or anything, but maybe, just maybe, something good will come from the Redskins' embarrassing performance last night.  

The excitement is overwhelming!

Buffalo

My visit to Buffalo was everything I wanted it to be and more: relaxing, exciting, and, well, delicious. I got to spend time with two of my favorite people in the whole entire world for a whole weekend and we had loads of fun. It involved lasagna, hot cider, a bathroom without  a stall in it, about five football games, my first visit to Ralph Wilson Stadium where we had amazing seats and a tour of the press box (!), a tour of Buffalo, multiple bathroom stops, and a gigantically huge bed. 

It was perfect.  Except the Bills lost.  That was one hiccup in a flawless weekend.  Papa amazingly finagled a press box tour, something they don't normally give out.  We were shown around by an intern (I seriously want her job) and we saw the spaces where John Clayton of ESPN, all the major newspapers, Phil Simms, and other broadcasters and media would be located. Oh yes, and Marv Levy happened to wander by.  Amazing! 

Tomorrow is obviously a very important day. It will undoubtedly change all of our lives, and go down in history regardless of the outcome. I've already voted, of course.  I'm proud to say I voted for Barack Obama. I respect both candidates greatly but made the choice that felt right.  I don't think American women have waited 323 years for Sarah Palin.  But that's just my opinion.

 

Anyway, the Redskins game isn't over, let's hope we can pull this one through! I'll try to put up some pictures of the game tomorrow.

Prepping for Buffalo

So right now I'm taking a small break from stuffing wool socks and spandex-y things into my suitcase, to say nothing very interesting at all. 

Yesterday I went to (and covered) the Tom Wolfe lecture.  He was pretty interesting, white suit and wing-tipped shoes and all.  He said a lot of things about journalism that I liked.  He made the point that a good fiction writer has to be a good reporter.  He said young writers are often told to "write what they know," and so they write a very good first novel, using up about all 20 years or so of their knowledge.  He said the problem, then, is the second book.  He said writers often make the mistake in thinking that a good story is 95% talent and 5% content.  In reality, there is no substitute for good content.  You have to be willing to do the reporting, to be forced into alien situations.  

I liked that.  

I think my article came out well.  One nice thing is that my mens swimming and diving preview actually got pushed back until next issue, so my deadline was extended.  Yay!  

I'm so excited to go to an actual house!  

I can't wait for the GAME! 

Oh and I just had to mention the stupidest headline I've ever seen.  It was on people.com.  Oh yes, I go there. I am not ashamed.  Anyway, it was:

"Marion Jones: Giving Medals Back 'Tarnished' Olympic Memories"

DUH

Really? REALLY? 

On a happier note, there's only a few hours until Buffalo!

Maybe I Should Learn to Adapt to the Weather

Today it snowed. And rained.  Then it snowed again.  Then it rained again.  Then it snowed and the wind blew like crazy.  Pretty much every time I left a building, it felt like I was on a boat in The Deadliest Catch.  

I am learning how to dress correctly quickly. Meaning, I actually have to dress in response to the weather.  Also, my "winter jacket" is really a shell that I actually have to LAYER something under.  Note I have had this jacket since the eight grade. You would think I would have figured this out by now.  No. For many years I have survived by spending most of my winter days running from the car to a heated building, in the very mild state of Maryland.  

Today was so busy! I had a pretty useless meeting with my advisor who pretty much said, "Well, you look pretty set. You obviously have a handle on things. Good luck with registration!" So it's pretty much a free-for-all.  Then I pretty much ran from the Park school to the library, trying to not die in the horrific weather, to the library.  It was quite the trek.  There, I met with friend KM and we solidified our awesome plans and prep for our debate Friday, in which we will defend Title IX against those who say it hurts males.  We are going to win so crucially.  

Then, I headed to a meeting where I got information about becoming a "Dean's Host," which is pretty much like a Park Tour guide, but you also attend special admissions sessions and host prospective Parkies throughout the year.  There's a long training session, but I really want to do it.  One of the requirements is that you have to be totally obsessed with the Park School.  I qualify.  You also have to have stories to tell about your involvement in classes and extracurriculars, and that some people have to wait for sophomore year to have enough. I've got plenty already.  Seriously, it's crazy what I've been able to do this year already.  

I then went straight to Political Communications class, which is getting really repetitive.  The election is only a week away!  I can hardly bear it.  I've been absorbing every piece of election coverage I could find for almost two years now.  What will it come to? What will I be able to tell my children (if that ever happens) about when I tell them about my first election? 

I came back to the dorm and my friend SW and I thawed out with cups of tea.  I then scurried back out into the cold with friend AP, who is from Ithaca, both her parents work here, and she still thought the weather was horrific today.  Justified! Mass media class makes me want to smack myself repeatedly with several textbooks, but I survived.  We have an exam on election day. WHAT? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FOCUS ON THAT? I'll manage, but I'll be bitter and angry about having to.  

We had an extra Inquirer shoot at 8, and I got to work floor manager because we didn't have tapes for this one, because there were only a few clips and they would work it in later with FinalCut Pro.  Basically as floormanager I relayed directions in studio from producer Nick (whom the parents and Amma and Papa met while visiting) to host Greg.  It wasn't all that hard, but I certainly felt important.  

I've gotten a bunch of work done tonight, and I'm quite proud.  I'm making it through this week! It's supposed to snow, not even rain, tomorrow.  YAY! 

One Really Bad Blog Post

Here is what I am thinking:

1. I like not finishing my political communications paper, even though I'm only 1 paragraph away.

2. I like the Redskins. A lot. I also love Clinton Portis, who said about matching O.J. Simpson's record of having five consecutive games with over 120 rushing yards:

"It's great company. That's about the only time you can say O.J. Simpson is great company."

3. I like that all my Bills AND Jets fans friends are wickedly jealous of me. 

4. I don't like that I haven't been posting as often.

5. I am kind of split on the fact that my parents brought me a giant box of goldfish, and it sits conveniently near my desk right at hand level...a little TOO convenient...

6. I like that I have a meeting with my crazy advisor tomorrow morning. 

7. I like doing laundry. Ish.

8. I don't like that my conscience is telling me to get back to work.  

Conscience wins!

Rainy Saturday

Let's start this off by saying I'm heading to my LAST field hockey game in less than an hour.  It is pouring rain. 

This should be funnnnn.

I didn't end up updating again yesterday because I got distracted by the fact that it was Friday!  I made cookies, watched a movie, and made collages with my dormmates, because it was raining and there was no way we were leaving.  

We watched Jesus Christ Superstar, which I was pretty skeptical about to start with, but it was pretty awesome. My friend Michele kept having to explain to me what was happening, and at one point, she exclaimed, "ABBY seriously, didn't you ever go to VBS?!"  VBS, apparently, stands for Vacation Bible School.  In fact, I did once attend it, but the only thing I really remember from that is the time when an older girl told Claire and me if we ate the black watermelon seeds a watermelon would grow in our stomachs.  This probably explains why I seriously had no idea who anyone was in this musical.  Except Jesus.  I could pick him out of a crowd.  Andrew Lloyd Weber is awesome. I really enjoyed watching it.  

This weekend and following week will be crazy.  Many papers are due and there are tons of things to get done before I leave on Friday.  Luckily, the next crazy week ends with a trip to an actual home with an actual bathroom in which the sink and the toilet are in the same area.  There's also this little thing called the Bills and Jets game that will go along with my trip. 

I really really don't want to go sit in the rain. 

On the plus side, I am totally growing as a person because I just killed a giant bug that was flying around my room.  But after I screamed and threw my binder at it, I had to get my friend C to come and take it away.  She's so nice.  I'm getting there. Someday I will be able to remove the bugs I kill.  

The end.  Good post, right?