signed, sealed, and not yet delivered...

early voting is good. filled out my ballot tonight and will be dropping it off at the library the next time i stop by there (gotta either drop a book off or renew it the day before election day anyway). it feels good, like all the money going into the advertisements from here on out are wasted on me. wish i could say they were entirely wasted from the get-go, and that i voted without outside influence, but advertisements permeate our very consciousnesses to a point that we may not realize we're being advertised to. and being less than fully employed has left me more susceptible than usual due to too much time in front of the teevee. but now i'm free. my ballot is filled out, and i'm content with my choices.

i gotta say, i endorse the early voting/voting by mail/or what have you for your particular state. all those times i went to the voting booth, knowing too much about things i wouldn't be voting for, and not enough about some of the things i would be voting for, thanks to the voter pamphlets being different from the actual ballot. i actually made an informed decision about judges this time, which i hope to do more often in years to come.

off the subject of voting...

i really hate looking for a job. i went to an interview today and was told that to get the job i'd have to shave the beard. good thing he didn't see me yesterday before my haircut/beard-trimming-stravaganza, or i wouldn't have even had a chance, but i looked pretty damned clean cut today. half-way through the interview process and i'm less psyched than i was at first, but not entirely against it... just need to decide if i'm willing to part with the beard and work long hours and be all career-oriented and shit. i mean, it's a customer service-oriented job, so i understand their focus on outward appearance, but they do go beyond beard shaving: short hair is necessary (check) and no piercings for guys (currently check, but have been considering changing that--can't if i get and take this job). oh, and very professional dress. man, i was looking good today, sporting a tie and all, but i'd have to drop the blue shirt in favor of a white shirt. shit...

well, another job interview tomorrow, so i may have nothing to worry about. the above-opportunity still sounds good, just not as good. and other possibilities may make all this vacilation moot--you know, i'd hate to have too many choices (haw-haw).

wish i were good at interviewing. at least i know i'm a good worker, and that'll get me somewhere someday...

kill your television

two more weeks of shrill political ads when i'm trying to watch the simpsons, jeopardy and the news... thank god for dvds, books and the internet, simple substitutes for the sick lies, distortions, attacks and all-around pandering that goes on 5 times per commercial break. jeesh...

brief politics rant

feel the crisp air and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet and listen to the sounds of partisan attacks on teevee and you know what time of year it must be: fall? well yes, but also--it's almost election day (woopee).

watched the gubernatorial debate tonight on teevee. not impressed by either of the candidates involved in the debate (of course the third party candidates weren't invited)... neither did anything to make me totally against them. i'm leaning democratic (my brain somewhat, my knee moreso), but i may just vote green as a statement that neither of the major party candidates will do much more good or harm to the state of the state than the other will...

ho hum

but here's the rant portion. i'm really getting to a severe point of frustration with the dems. i mean, i disagree with republicans on pretty much every major issue, but the dems have done nothing over the last four, six, whatever years to make me think they'll govern much better. and their tactics for getting elected are total shite. take, for instance, a sign i saw today as i was coming home from an exercise in futility. it said (and this isn't an exact quote, but close enough):

"bush did nothing about 9/11; bush did nothing about katrina; and five years later, where's osama? vote democrats in and hold bush accountable"

and above that was a sign saying:

"vote to impeach, vote democrat."

to which i say "f-- you!!!" russ feingold of wisconsin brought up impeachment a year or two ago and was treated like a leper. the democrats helped vote for the war in iraq--and many still act like it was the proper thing to do... since when is proper determined by popularity?

i was against iraq before we went in because that target was in bush's best interests, not america's. it took poll after poll before democrats came out against it, and even now there's some split in the ranks. they will win one, if not both, house(s) of congress, but not because they earned it--no, it's only because the hubris of the republicans can no longer be hidden under the thin sheet of jingoism. the foley scandal? chump change to me, but the american people can wrap their 30-second soundbite brains around it, so it's selling democrat votes. look, pedophelia's bad, i'm not arguing that it ain't, but that's not a compelling reason for me to vote for democrats... but the dems aren't giving me much to work with.

the democrats just seem to be the other side of the same coin... bought by the same corporate donors to do well by the corporations. this country doesn't care about its people... the moneyed elite are all that matter, and their greed will be all of our downfall.

woops! kinda took a wrong turn there.

what i mean to say is, "this november 7, vote for change, vote for..." ahhh, fuck 'em.

it just bugs me.

two posts in one day. who says i'm not a prolific writer?

portland is so freaking cool--

that it has turned me into an old lady...

because today, after work, i went antique-ing. oh yes i did. i live in a cool neighborhood with a bunch of random shops, and the bus let me off in front of an antique store and something random caught my eye and i had to go in. kind of amazing what passes for antiques these days (or maybe it's just this town, i don't know). so there i was, dead tired after 3 long days of work, giggling my way through the aisles. saw a hat i'd like to get, but my big ole irish melon wasn't gonna fit in a medium. there were old rolling stone magazines that were printed on newspaper paper, not all glossy like we have today. and "classic" playboys (i had to restrain myself from the bo derek one cuz i'm sure it'll be worth more than 8 bucks after hefner passes away). and an end-table/lamp that was just too much form and function. and so many other various knick-knacks that i can't even remember it all. oh yeah, can't leave out the nixon second-term button for laughs, and the zappa album that i hope to get for my friend butler back in denver.

then i went to another store where i bought a cool lamp recently and found that this really cool wooden easle was sold. it's too rich for my blood at the moment, but it would be a great buy either for me to aspire to art or to give to a friend who actually does art--but you snooze you lose i guess.

then i went to this cool hippy-dippy shop that had some sweet lamps and furniture and wooden sculptures (and some bronze ones). and so forth. they have these amazing root tables that i would love to get, but they're really expensive. they're multi-tiered, imported from bali, absolutely beautiful, and anywhere from 700 to 1200 dollars(!!!). gonna have to get either a great job or a rich woman, and soon!

did i mention that all three stores are within a block of each other, and within 2 or 3 blocks of me? cuz they are. i love my neighborhood. of course, not all of portland is like my neighborhood, but there's something for pretty much everyone.

[excerpted from an e-mail to a friend that i thought i'd share with more friends]

mid-october update

asparagus makes your pee stink (well, mine anyway).