6 degrees of separation

6 degrees of separation explained here.

The day after the election, I just kind of wandered around and pinched myself - really, wow, cool, unbelievable!!

Later that night i went out to the store and upon walking in i saw someone from the election. I had only met her and her husband once; but i remember noting how her husband prefaced what he said to people on the phone banks that nite with "i'm a viet-nam vet". latter we laughed together when he said about that "well, then they can't be "mean" to me.
So when i see her walking into the store, i say hello and we hug and strike up a conversation- comrades. we exchange phone numbers.

The next day, i notice a tall dark haired woman in the waiting area at work. yup another Obama volunteer. i go over and say hi and we talk about where and what we did election night- another comrade.

six or seven degrees of separation for sure.

Is there life after campaigning?

Well, the day after the election I hung around the house; I just kept pinching myself. I didn't go to work and I didn't have to go the local Obama headquarters; so I looked around at the oh so many unfinished projects around here and since it was a nice day opted for an outdoor project; but really i mostly just did nothing. I really was in kind of a daze - happy for sure but also relieved - relieved that it was over and ended the way that i had only hoped but wasn't sure of until i heard them say it at about 11 PM on election night.

To recount election day - I went to work (begrudgingly- i wanted to be at HQ's); when i got there i checked my email and there it was an email from HQ's - "Vote and then get to a phone bank". Yipes! as much as i wanted to just quit and get on down there - i finished my morning shift, went to vote, came back -did the afternoon shift; then headed to HQ's. I thought we'd be there til 11:00 calling the west coast but at 7:30 we were released by the leader of this phone bank- told well maybe that is a good sign. well a few of us just looked at each other in disbelief - like what? stop now? go home and bite my nails?
Go home i did but the went out to a local Dem. party had a beer and a couple of slices of hot pizza ( a nice change from the steady diet of cold pizza and Halloween candy that i'd been eating down at HQ's.)
Back home and i settled down in front of the TV ( now with a glass of wine) at least now the Northeast had come in and he was ahead. Well i fell asleep and woke up to them saying that he'd won Virginia!! (what? Virginia? really? wow); went out to the kitchen for a glass of water and emptied the dishwasher (what was i thinking?- still working on nervous energy?). When i walked back into the sunroom, there it was on the TV - President elect Barack Obama!!!! OMG!!! I called my very good friend and reveled in the moment. I stayed up and watched his amazing acceptance speech,the shots of Times Square, DC and around the world in awe.

Then I went to bed happy and woke up happy and most importantly did not wake up in the middle of the night with night terrors ( what if? what if he doesn't win? what if the evil empire (Rep.) prevail with their robocalls and hate mail - i had woke up to an awful commercial that morning and then there were all those awful postcards from the Fla. Rep. committee to my Dad - who had passed away 3 yrs ago at 91 - a lifelong Democrat. I guess they just send them to all old people in Fla. then the news that they were calling Cubans in Fla. and telling them that Castro endorsed Obama. So so glad that all this was behind us now and that Yes we did! was the mantra of the day.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Don't let the evil republican empire win - Get out and Vote for Obama!!!!!
(seriously - i haven't gotten any robocalls here in Mass. - they know we're blue but i've gotten 3 or 4 Obama hate mailers from the Florida Rebublican Party addressed to my dad at my address. He used to live in Fla. - he died a few years ago- he was 91. He was a Democrat.

Just wake me up when he is president!!

Where Obama wins round 2

No handshake from McCain; but what was worse is when he referred to Obama as "that one"!!! that one??? that one what? shades of racism/prejudice. incredible/unbelievable! He most certainly is out of touch/erratic- not who i want in the room talking to world leaders. I want the smartest guy in the room to be our next Presidant - Barack Obama!

Hopeful

YES!!!
(Now I hope that the Republican swiftboating doesn't change things - I hope Americans are smarter than that and I hope we start fighting back and expose the real(not imagined) scandals that McCain has been involved in.)

Yes We Can!!!!!!!!!!!

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!!!!!!!!

CHANGE!!!!

Yes! Enof of the mud slinging, and having to defend himself against the remarks of others. Let's get on with this election! The Democrats have to bring this to a close - and he's our man. I seriously cannot take another 4 years of this war and economy!! And after Hillary's stupid comment about obliterating Iran, I don't want her answering the phone at 2AM.

Change we can believe in...

Words

by will.i.am:

people say Obama's words are just words...
but...
when was the last time "words" weren't important...???...
when was the last time a great leader didn't use words to lead...??...
when was the last time a person didn't use words to describe how they felt...?...
when was the last time "words" weren't empowering...?...
and we can all recall the last time "words" were used to divide us and install fear...
Bush used words to fear us into voting for him the second time around...
terror this...
terror that...
nuclear here...
weapons of mass destruction there...
and those words effected a lot of people's choices...
"enough is enough"...
let's rebuild...
let's change ourselves...
let's allow positivity to guide us...
let's take action....
let's activate our passion...
we are Americans....
and this is the first time in forever that someone running for president represents "US"...
some say this is all excitement...
I call it "proud to be an American"...
some say this whole Obama movement is "cult like"...
well...
if it comes across cult like...
then...
the cult is called America...
the Obama movement is connecting America.
and it has made "US" realize our importance...
the youth is excited and activated...
adults are passionate and motivated...
the elderly are proud to know the country they built is in safe hands...
we are one...
for too long politics has been corrupt...
separate from the American people...
with agendas that go against what the American people "need"...
education...
health...
safety...
jobs
etc...
politicians have spoken a different language...
making it so the youth and poor people feel as if voting was only for the wealthy and old people...
making "US" feel as if "we" had no voice...
making "US" feel powerless...
making it feel like if "we" did vote it wouldn't change anything...
but wait...
that did happen...
some of us voted, and it didn't change anything...
we were in the dark...
we had no voice...
we were powerless...
because America was not a united America...
and "they" spoke a different language...
and they had an agenda different from our well being...
correct me if I'm wrong... or speak up if I'm missing something...
we want education, health, safety, and good jobs...right???...
oh yeah...
and "a healthy planet to live on"...
but here we are...
in a war... poor education... poor health programs... the dollar is down... the planet, polluted...
the rich, richer... and the poor, struggling...
with sky high gas prices to top it all off...
and now even the rich aren't really rich internationally because our dollar is has fallen so far down...
in our slumber... a very small few got really rich...
because when you're sleeping...
"it's hard to change agendas"...
we know what happened in 2000 and 2004...
but in 2008...
it's different...
we are awake...
and there is a movement...
and "it's hard to change a movement"...
last time "we" didn't have a movement...
America wasn't united...
and now "United and "Standing"...for something...
we know the power of "US"...
and we have a person who represents the "U.S."...
"US"...
"we are the ones we've been waiting for"...
I'm proud to be an American...
will.i.am

Barack

Thanks to my son for finding both of these great videos.

Obama

Okay... Please,please vote for Obama...

Ok I think you all know by now who I am voting for - Obama - Barack Obama. Now being the card carrying Hippie peace loving anti-war activist that I am, I naturally signed up on this great Internet- on My Obama.com to volunteer. I made my meager monetary pledge but felt i could do more - maybe i should just open my wallet a little more because g-d knows when i open my mouth it is not always a good thing. So lucky for me only 2 out of the 7 or 8 calls on my list answered the phone. Of course i hadnt' preread my "script" - glanced at it at best. I did connect, i think, with one guy from Ohio tho.- a veteran. Mostly i got tongue-tied and apologized for just winging it - shooting from the hip. When i mentioned Obama being against the War and maybe getting us out of Irag is when he mentioned that he had mixed feelings about that because what about those people who lost their lives over there. I told him that my husband is a Viet Nam veteran and says what a waste of lives were lost there too. I said I don't disavow what they did but let's not have another old man sending our young men to war.
Mostly i stuttered...
but when i thanked him for listening and wished him a good nite,
he said, "I'm probably voting for your guy."
Yes!