Sunday coffee...

Hi all,
It's a beautful morning here in Vancouver... not a cloud in the sky. The winter rains haven't started yet so we get some really nice days still. Katy and I got up this morning and went to breakfast before she had to go to work for the day. She took on a part time job working retail on the weekends but school has proven too demanding so this is her last day working (yay!). It will be really nice to have her around on the weekends. We see each other every night... but we're so busy we don't really get to spend quality time together. I'll be glad to have her home again on the weekends. Being apart and having seperate lives actually makes us like each other more. Who'd have thunk it?Not alot happened this week... short work week was really welcome. My work environment continues to prove itself an invaluable stress reliever. We continue to slowly settle our way into the new apartment... though there's only so much we can do until we get furniture. I'm really tired of sitting on blankets on the floor... but I am grateful that we at least have blankets to put down. One of these days we'll be able to tell the "when we started we had milk crates for a dresser and blankets for a couch" story. Guess I should consider this time invested in a future story. I think today I'm going to do some design work I brought home with me and probably some cleaning here and there.. Nothing terribly exciting. It's nice to have aimless weekends. In fact, I'm going to continue my aimless Sunday by petting this purring kitty begging at my feet. Hope you all enjoy your week.

In reply...

"It is very evident in the comments you write sometimes that you also speak like you know all about both sides 100%. I don't think that is the case. Be careful of the words you choose unless you know everything, (and I don't think you do) ."

If we were to remain silent until we knew everything about both sides 100%, we would never speak.

On the hottie mom and the pregnant daughter...

It makes me ashamed that politics in our country are being handled like a beer commercial on the one hand and like a tabloid on the other.

McCain's camp needed something to lure average voters to their side because John McCain comes across as an old curmudgeon segregated from the real world by money and politics. So what did they do? They went out and recruited an attractive woman who is a mother, an outdoors woman, and unheard of politically. Need to distract the American voting public because the other side is gaining too much celebrity status? Bring in a beautiful woman. It sells beer to the public, why wouldn't it sell a candidate? Is she qualified to lead a country? Hardly. Does that matter? Hardly.

Obama's camp took the natural course and began investigating this beautiful unqualified woman. What did they come up with? Ok, the solid part they came up with is that she is currently under investigation for ethics violations. She plays the same dirty games she preaches against. Big surprise. They came up with several viable attacks on Palin as a VP. What is sick, though, is the pregnant daughter angle. She has a 17 year old pregnant daughter. And this is relevant because...? The Democrats are making an effort to play the game like Republicans because the Republicans always get away with and win big with their dirty tricks. This is just too much. Sarah Palin is wholly unqualified to lead a country but the fact that her daughter is pregnant has nothing to do with that. Whose do you know that has a say over what their 17 year old does, anyway?

So in the end, remember that it is McCain's camp and not McCain, himself, who chose Palin as a running mate. Likewise, it is Obama's camp, and not Obama, himself, who made issue of Palin's daughter. Don't let the shenanigans of a misguided political campaign lead you to believe that it is the candidates calling the shots. I think you might be surprised how rarely that is the case.

Let the record speak...

I was doing some research for a family member I found a website this morning called ontheissues.org. While I haven't gone through it with a fine-toothed comb , it does seem to be a fantastic resource for getting to know a candidate's position based on his own words. Take a look at Barack Obama's page and John McCain's page to get a good idea of what these men have been saying over the past year or so. Still looking for their actual voting records, but this seems more useful. Ok, time to design a gate.

Sadly I submitted and hesitantly I return...

It's been a long time since I wrote about politics. I gave up. I couldn't do it. Time and time again I was shown how badly the system is broken. We have a president who was not elected. We have had 8 years filled with absurdly blatant lies from Washington DC. We have handed over our civil liberties in the name of an enemy who is paraded about as leverage to earn a few people a whole lot of money. We have become terrified, paranoid, and reactionary creatures just waiting for the next person to throw the word "terrorist" into a pitch so we can bite on the one, too. America is no longer associated with justice, freedom, liberty, opportunity, hope, or goodness. Thanks to our government, we are now associated with injustice, oppression, tyranny, and evil. There is no longer accountability. The government has been proven to be above the law. The hardest lesson of my adulthood has probably been that truth and accountability no longer have a place in our world.

I can't believe that our country is run by people with American interests at heart. I watched the commodification of American liberties and security . I can't believe in the ability of the American government to provide for its own people. I watched New Orleans left to drown. I can't believe that the American government works . I saw a rigged election lead to a devastated economy, the defacement of the American name worldwide and the utter dissolution of meaning behind the words "freedom" and "liberty." I believe in my country... but I don't believe in our government.

When I was young and traveling Europe, you could go anywhere and tell them you were American and they would smile and open their doors to you. Now, because of the actions of our government, when I travel the world I get foul looks and harsh retorts when I tell people where I am from. I want to believe again.

There was a time when our economy looked unstoppable. We had a president who pledged to better America and he did. Jobs grew, savings grew, and the deficit shrank. When our current president took office the budget was balanced and there was a surplus in the coffers. Now we are over $9.6 trillion dollars in debt... $9,600,000,000,000 in eight years!!! The vast majority of that money has gone into the pockets of businessmen with direct ties to either the president or the vice president. I want to believe again.

I'm not kidding myself... never has there been a time when Washington was totally honest. But the blatant lies, deception and trickery have got to stop! I want to believe again.

I want to believe in my government again. I want to believe in America again. Tonight, thanks to some good-natured heckling by a fellow American I work with, I broke down and participated in this election season for the first time. I watched Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. I wanted to cry... not because I believe in him, but because I remember when I used to believe. I remember believing in change. I remember believing that the money and power that fuels Washington D.C. could be overcome by the American voter. I want to believe again.

I'm not pitching for one person or another... but I'm begging you... I am literally on my knees as I type and I am begging you to help bring our country back from this horrible place George W. Bush has led us. Get informed. Get involved. The last eight years only happened because too many people fell for campaign gimmicks and Orwellian marketing tricks. Only education and conversation can overcome those things. I have planned on staying as far away from this election year debacle as I possibly could... but if you'll get involved then I will, too. I'll participate simply on the blind faith that this time it may work. I'll participate if it helps convince even one of you to look past the traditional decoy issues like abortion, immigrant rights and gun control to find the actual pressing issues. There is a reason these three things are issues every election but never actually change: they're a distraction from real issues. This can only happen if we, as individuals, educate ourselves and then talk with our friends. If they, too, are educated then when we talk we will sharpen our ideas and our beliefs. If they are not, then maybe they will learn from you or, even better, maybe they will be inspired to go and learn for themselves. It was my friend at work, Charles, who told me it was my duty to be involved... even when I didn't want to talk politics. See, it works. We talked and now I'm involved. I wouldn't be if he hadn't talked to me. Please... America can't stand another 4 years like that past 8. Stand up... speak out... be heard.

Goodnight all...

it''s thursday night and all is well...

Hi all,

Well I'm coming to the close of my second week at work and I must say work is good. It seems my boss and the senior guy there really like my work. They just tossed me some drawings and said, "Here, design this." I've done a small 450 sq ft cottage and some details that they have the general idea for but ask me to design the particulars of. Today I designed a wall to hide a heating register. Tomorrow I will detail a set of stairs. It's not glamorous, but they seem to really like what I come up with. It seems like they're impressed with how fast I picked up the computer program since I've never used it before (3 days). They are pleased/surprised with how fast I work. They are pleased with the ideas I have for their work. It's a really relaxed environment... small office with usually a half dozen people in there working. I sat with the boss a couple days ago and he critiqued my cottage design and worked through it with me. He liked it and we spent an hour or so tweaking some details. I think he likes the way I think about design. In fact, he told me as much in the interview a few times. So I churned out a 3d model for him and sent him some images to use in a meeting with the client and the marketing consultants. He came back to me today and told me I did a good job and that the design and drawings I did worked really well. The boss liked it, the client seemed to like it (never can tell), and the marketing people really liked it. It was a small congratulations but it felt good, nonetheless. Like I said, it's not glamorous, but it's a great environment for me to work in and it's a satisfying job. I actually get to sit around all day and design... cool.

So tomorrow I will go in for a Friday that will likely end with someone bringing a sixer of beer at about 3:00. We'll sit and ride out the working day with a cold bottle at our desk. Last Friday was fun. Tomorrow ought to be, too. This weekend Katy starts school with some orientations and whatnot. She enjoys her new job which is sure to keep her busy between studio and class. She's getting over the latest theft. I have to do some bike maintenance and there's the ritual Saturday cleanup. I like weekends now. They actually mean something... free time! Okay... off to read myself to sleep. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to give our new address to you all for awhile now...

#208-2851 Heather St.
Vancouver, BC
v5Z 0A2

I miss Peter and Nicholas and Steven and Suzy and Thomas. I forgot to get a family picture with or of them before I left... in fact, I don't think I have any pictures with the whole family.
That's sad.