6 posts tagged “california”

Speaking in stereotypes:

California, you must be a woman.

You sit and look pretty.

You shine with your sun.

You feed me with your produce.

You bear children with your population.

Then you feed those children with your produce and you shine.

Despite being overworked, over-tilled and overpopulated.

 

Speaking in stereotypes:

California, you must be a woman.

You give me options

 (Yes on Prop H8. No on Prop H8.)

And despite what we know is right, you do what’s wrong.

Despite what’s fair, you go the other way.

You fickle, moody woman.

Running on emotions.

 

California, you must be a woman.

And seeing as you are a woman, even if I wanted to….

I couldn’t marry you.

 

Even though I’ve been with you all of my life...

I couldn’t marry you.

California. Even though I love you with all of my heart and even though I will never leave...even though I will raise our children here and tell them not to leave either because no one will ever treat them as well…even though I tried by voting NO ON 8. 

I can’t marry you.

 

California. You keep breaking my heart.

 

Back reads: "Please Let Us Stay Married... Please Help Us Stay Married."

My coworker was walking around for some exercise at break and a guy (the one on front on the left) handed this to her and asked that she help him stay married. She came up and told me about it and I asked if I could keep the handout so I could write about it.

I will never ever understand why someone would want to keep two people from getting marriage on such a general basis as "because they are both men/both women." Never. And I have absolutely no tolerance for anyone who thinks that makes a miniscule amount of sense. Marriage between two folks who people of the same sex won't mess with church tax exemptions, kids won't forced to learn about same-sex marriage (just like they aren't forced to learn about the sacred hetero marriage)... None of that.

And my heart was crushed a bit when Biden reiterated that he and Obama are against gay marriage, but for constitutional equality for gay couples. And I haven't quite grappled with it. :(

Anyway.

Let them stay married. Help them stay married. Vote No On Prop 8.

www.marriageequality.com
www.noonprop8.com

Today I had a convo with a friend and travel came up.  I can't remember what brought it up, but it got me thinking.  I'm making a list of places I wanna go (or revisit).  First: list is California.  Then I'll think about where I want to go in the states, then international.

• Napa/Wine Country - I grew up next to Napa.  Literally minutes away.  I've run errands in it and been through it, but never been to enjoy it.
• San Diego - Been there before.  Would like to go again to see different sites.
  
• Los Angeles - Last time I was down there, it was at a good time in my life and I just always have such good memories about it.  Gotta get back.
• Various coastal cities - Preferably via Highway 1.  From LA to the Bay.

 

I'm sick.

I rarely get sick.  Mostly when the seasons change.  Even then, that might just be allergies.

I'm sure I'm sick this time.

Maybe it was the flight back home.  Maybe it's the fact that California is on fire.  I just don't know.

The symptoms: stuffy nose, stuffy head, sore throat, headah-y, body aches, changes is body temp (hot! cold! hot! cold!)

The most annoying of them is the stuffiness.  A friend suggested Mucinex.  But there's a couple of problems.  I hate the prospect of mucus.  Like, I will say that I'm just completely stuffed up and congested before I admit to having an ounce of mucus in my body.  Weird and completely avoiding the issue?  Maybe.  But I don't get down with mucus.  He said it works.  But I don't have mucus (read: I'm in denial), so it won't help me.  The other thing is, he said you have to drink hecka water cus you can get dehydrated or something.  What if I don't drink enough water??  What if I get dehydrated in my sleep and wake up and look like this:

That's how I'll look if I take Mucinex and forget to drink water.  I'll wake up looking like a raisin.  (btw: that's Christie Brinkley with me, The California Raisin.  She's in the news lately, for putting her to-be-ex on blast about his swinging lifestyle.)

So, stuffed-up I remained cus I was too scurred to take the suggested Mucinex.

Until!  I remembered that I had nasal spray.  DUH!

That stuff works!  And it doesn't talk about the m-word (mucus) and it doesn't threaten to make me turn into a raisin!  Cha-chiiiiing!

Into the right nostril the little applicator goes. 

Except. 

I apply too much pressure to the bottle and nasal spray GUSHES into my nose.  BURN!  DROWNING-SENSATION!  CHEMICALS! 

But I have to put it into the other side, otherwise my right nostril will be a wind tunnel and the left will be the Hoover Dam.  The left side wasn't as bad as the right.

Some time later, while I can breathe, my nose is EXTREMELY sensitive.  Too much nasal spray!  Everything is making me sneeze.  The air is too cold for my nose, so I'm walking around my place holding things to my nose cus it feels like I'm getting a can of condensed air blown up it every time I inhale.  It's hard being all hot from the temperature, but having to hold my blanket to my nose cus it's freezing. 

I.hate.being.sick.

I wanted to be a news anchor growing up.

And it was, in part, because of Dennis Richmond.

His delivery and respect-commanding demeanor.  His tone of voice.  His stoicism while reporting news in the Bay Area; an area known for protests and progress and change.  In getting news, we need delivery without a hint of persuasion.  Without an eyebrow raise or a mouth twitch, hinting at taking one side or the other.  Without sensationalism or sarcasm or elitism or down-play-ism, Dennis Richmond delivered to us. 

He told us about Polly Klaas and the Moscone-Milk assassinations and Jonestown and Patty Hearst and Oakland and Richmond's (towns we know, towns we love) debilitatingly high murder rates and Ms. Kearney-Brown (my tenth-grade math teacher) and our tree huggers lovers and everything about the Bay Area, about the stories we need to know.  He's done this for almost 40 years.

He overcame prostate cancer and is a chairperson with Alameda County's YMCA fundraising drive and is on the board of directors for a child abuse organization.  He's a dad and a husband. 

I have an affinity Dennis Richmond.  If you are from here, maybe you'd understand.  I will miss you, Dennis Richmond.  And so will a whole lot of other people.

Please watch and enjoy.

Photos from The Poop.

Do it.

If you don't, I don't wanna hear your lip.

GO OBAMA!