I tried to help Obama

Today I was motivated enough to make some calls for Obama to Ohio. Well, my good intentions were not rewarded. I called 11 people and only one picked up. She reported to me that she had already voted and did not want to share who she voted for. So my efforts were not too helpful to the campaign. Maybe this weekend I will make some more calls when people are home. At least I can say I did it. I am proud I got the balls to at least try it. My ballot was in the mail today... WOOO HOOOOOO..... vote vote vote, voty vote vote!!!!

What would happen.....

Uh oh, I am in trouble.... This is what would happen in a world where I didn't watch CNN and MSNBC 24 hours per day. Watch and be horrified at my actions.....
http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=vZ2bKO9sLgKnI4l7.uQmFjIxNzc2NA--&id=

1,352 hours

What have you done for 1352 hours or 81,120 minutes? It is 33.8 40 hour work weeks. That is almost a year of full time work. I can tell you what I have been doing for it. Using my physiotherapy vest machine. I have been using the vest for many many years, but my most recent machine just started to have problems, and i received a new one today. As I brought out the shiny new one, I took note that I have been spending a lot of time with my old trusty and clocked 1352 hours on it. It is pretty crazy to think how much time that is that I have do dedicate to clearing my lungs. It also means I have watched that much TV!!! AHHHH... haha. I am just happy that I have the vest, and I can be independent, not relying on anyone else to do my physiotherapy as I once did. So out with the old and in with the new. I wonder how many hours this one will hold up for.

Obama in pictures

Casey showed me this really cool site that has photographs of Obama over the past 2 years..... I would highly suggest checking it out. At the bottom of each page you have to click to see more pictures, but there are quite a few... it is really moving to see.
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/callie-bp.html

13 more days to go....

Update on Neighbor

Lets see... since I have posted I have seen Mr. Neighbor multiple times, sometimes he comes out with the walker, and other times he doesn't. The best was I saw him walking down the street (on the way to the shopping center) on Saturday in his pajamas with his leg taped up OVER his pajamas and pushing his walker. Another day I saw him walking without the walker in clothes but with his hospital band still on his arm. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb v (milton the cat just typed that) I guess that is what he thinks of the crazy neighbor. Milton is sitting with me with his paws and face on the keyboard. I wonder what else he has to say.....I guess that is all for now. I also need to make a another note, he doesn't use a walker as i have seen it used. He walks while pushing it, and it makes a horrible sound. hahaha.... he is a special case. Casey suggested that maybe one of his personalities is injured while the other is fine, hence the sometimes walker sometimes not. SO strange.... now milton is sleeping in my hand and it is very hard to type. I gotta go cook dinner now...

If I hear it one more time.....

If I hear about William Ayers one more time, I am going to scream. BARACK OBAMA TOLD YOU PEOPLE WHAT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM WAS>>>>> PLEASE GET OFF THE DISTRACTION AND TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES>>>>> THERE IS NO UNANSWERED QUESTIONS THERE. JUST LISTEN TO THE DEBATE!!!! AHHHHH! I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FINALLY

I watched Meet the Press, with Colin Powell, who endorsed Barack Obama today. I yelled at the TV in relief, and broke Casey's ear drum in the process, because of something Powell said. There is so much bull going around about Obama, especially about Obama's religion. Now we all know that Obama is a Christian and always has been a Christian. BUT seriously, who cares.... the rumor is that Obama is a Muslim, for some reason disqualifies him as president of the united states... HONESTLY WHAT????? I thought we had freedom of religion in America??? I liked that Powell acknowledged this, that it doesn't really matter even if Obama WAS a Muslim. I just wanted to blog about it, because I have been thinking this during the entire election. Joy Behar on the view said it best, that the only person who does not have freedom of religion is the president of the united states. Ironic huh?????????

Speaking of Religion.... I saw Religulous with Casey and Emily this weekend... it was interesting. SCARY, but interesting. I find most things about blind faith to be terrifying. I just don't understand, as Bill Maher does not understand, how people can just believe in something without question... It just amazes me, how people who are so intelligent in other ways just simply believe. I hope that doesn't offend anyone reading this... I feel people are entitled to their views, but I just don't understand how people can believe, just because "God says so" It confuses me... I believe that there is not one right religion. I also know that there is no one person or group of people who know what happens to you after we die. There are a lot of beliefs, and we have these to answer questions that otherwise leave us in the unknown, which is much scarier than having a definite answer. It is my deduction from what i know that people believe in religion out of a fear of the unknown..... that is what makes sense logically to me....Just my thoughts, but I gathered this by doing a lot of listening to many different people and attending a Jesuit university. But we are all entitled to our own thoughts and opinions and that is mine....

The crazy neighbor

So I think i am going to report the goings on of my crazy upstairs neighbor..... There is a lot of history you all need to catch up on, but i just have to write about what I witnessed today.... let me just start by saying this guy is bizarre. He has been MIA for a few days, and just last night i realized there were horses running around upstairs, and I said to Casey, "heeeesss BAAAACK".
Let me give you a little bio: he is in the 45-50 range. He has a mustache, and a regular hair cut (he kinda looks like a 70s average joe) He has BEETY little eyes, and he sometimes, I put the emphasis on sometimes, has a dog named Poncho. Oh, and he also has a LOUD voice. He repeats words alot when he is speaking to people, and he speaks very simply. He likes to swear when he is outside, and he talks on the phone ALOT. He does not go to work, but has lots of people come and visit him in the day. I would like to fondly call myself Gladys Kravits, you know, the nosey neighbor from Bewitched? Except it isn't too hard for me to see these crazy things or overhear his conversations, he has them right in front of my door. Anyways, so today.... I hear him yelling something to one of the random people he has staying in his condo with him. I think he has had about 3 roommates, none last for very long, about a month tops. This guy I thought was doing work for him, but then i noticed that actually he was living there... go figure. Anyways.... Mr Neighbor was yelling at him to "get his shoes, over by his night stand, where all the medication bottles are".... I kid you not, why would you say that? how about just, hey, can you get my shoes by my bed? I know he takes seizure medication, and must be a variety of others since he said bottles.... but that is beside the point. Then I see these two metal legs coming from the top of the stairs, huh? OH yea, it was a walker. An old lady walker. He is stumbling down the stairs, clunk clunk clunk with a walker. He had a walking cast on his leg. Now, I want to insert my opinion here... why in the world would you have a walker? If you hurt your leg and you have to climb stairs, i think crutches or a cane would suffice. OH no not for Mr. Neighbor, he needs a old lady walker. I did notice that it didn't have tennis balls on it yet.... but i am sure that is coming. Since he is hobbling around.... i am curious where he is going with his new roomie... so i walk around and look outside on the other side where you park cars... (oh yea, he doesn't drive ever since he crashed his car last year) So he is standing in the middle of the road with his walker smoking a cigarette. CLASSY. His roomie pulls out the truck and Mr. Neighbor throws his walker into the bed of the truck and gets in. Now, I have noticed that Mr. Neighbor never gets his mail on his own. He always has someone else do it. His roomie got his mail while he got in the car, then handed it to him. Other times he has had his variety of visitors get it. Now, the reason this is so weird in this situation is because he had JUST WALKED BY THE MAIL BOX, but he instead stood in the middle of the road while his roomie got it. HUH? I tell you this dude is the most bizarre guy. Alone, this doesn't sound too strange... but I will come back and give you some more history.... but that is my crazy neighbor today.... Mr. Old lady Walker.....

the final one

So the debate tonight... what did you think? I think that Obama once again did a great job. I feel he is very direct and answered most questions fully. I love the split screen and the ability to compare the facial expressions of the two candidates. It is obvious that Mccain has a hard time controlling his temper. He makes these horrible eye movements that do not suit him. He looks like he is constantly trying to hold in his anger. One of the pundits on CNN said it best that it looks like this was an anger management exercise. haha.... I do think he got that good line in "I am not George Bush" but other than that he was just like a matador with a bright red cape. "HEY look over here, now over here.... ha! Fooled you! He is the master of distraction. I also felt HORRIBLE for mr. Joe the plumber. Poor guy did NOT need to be dragged into being a gimmick of the debate. Anyways... it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Hopefully Obama will keep his lead....
So the next thing I am excited about (REALLY EXCITED) is that McCain will be on Letterman tomorrow. I don't know if any of you have followed this... but he was supposed to be on Letterman the day he "Suspended" his campaign. He called Dave and told him he had to RUSH off to Washington, Dave said fine, and instead he cancelled and Keith Olberman had to come on in his place. As they were recording they got live feed from Katie Couric, where he was having an interview. He didn't go straight back to Washington, and he didn't fix the financial situation. Dave has been making fun of this ever since, raggin on Mccain. Well, now Mccain rescheduled, and will be on tomorrow. Dave says he has a lot of splainin to do. It will be very interesting so i encourage everyone to watch. Well, i guess that is politics according to Anna... hope you enjoyed the show.....

no sleep

I can't seem to sleep right now. Weird. I think it is because i watched the news before I went to bed. Not a good idea. Too much politics does not help someone sleep. I watched the debate last night, and it was pretty good. I felt like the format didn't really allow for much discussion or time for the complex issues to be explained by the candidates. People complain that they want detailed answers and for problems as big as we are facing, 90 seconds isn't enough to explain what you will do in 4 years of an administration to take care of problems. I know that debates are special and formatted discussions but still, I don't think it allows for adequate discussion. I also think that for this debate as well as the VP debate, they ask TOO many questions and don't allow for the candidates to really discuss. That is what I think... but what do I know? I think the most memorable thing from the debate was McCain saying "That one" in reference to Obama. I also felt it was in poor taste that there was no handshake at the end. It is clear, very clear that McCain is not able to be sportsman like. He can't hide his disdain for his opponent very well. I think it is sickening. I watched the after part of the debate, and McCain could not get out fast enough. Then Obama stayed and shook everyone's hand, and took pictures and spoke with them. THAT is what a good president is made of. Someone who is willing to do a little extra. I believe it is the little extras that get a lot. I was thinking about if I was one of those people who got the honor to watch the debate, and what I would say if I got to shake Barack's hand, and what I would say to Michelle. It is hard, you have like two seconds max to think of something smart to say.... I would probably say, HI! You are wonderful or something silly like that. I would probably tell Michelle that she is beautiful. So lame-o, but I think it would be all I could muster. Well, I am going to try to go to sleep now... wish me luck. Night night......

Reflections on a year

It has been almost a year to the day, October 10th to be precise, that I was hospitalized with a horrible pneumonia, and put on supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day. Since then I have had to quit work, become "disabled" and begin to collect disability, and doing 3 treatments a day. I have been in the hospital 3 times since then, had 2 surgeries, lost my doctor, and gained a new doctor. It has been quite a turbulent year, to say the least. I am feeling a little PTSD-ish right now, hoping to all that is good in the world that I don't get sick this season. I do feel like i am in a much better place health-wise. My disease took a dive from the big October episode, but overall I feel like I am in a much better place now.
I have been hard on myself thinking I am doing nothing with my life... but I must take a step back and look what was happening leading up to my October fall... I had graduated from Grad school in june, finished up part time school and a part time internship, traveled to Chicago, helped to organize the CF retreat, got a new job, purchased a condo, moved in with my boyfriend (now husband), Began working, and then BOOM pneumonia. I think I deserve this year off, and the time to heal... but it makes me feel so worthless. I need to be giving to others, not only taking for myself. I am hoping that i can find something where i can challenge my mind. I definitely do not have the stamina i once did, but I feel like I do need to do something outside of myself. I need to use my brain. I want to think critically and analytically. I have my creative outlet of cooking, but I need something else. I am an academic, i like to learn and think and write. I am not a writer, but maybe I need to be writing something. As you may have noticed, I don't watch my spelling too well on my blog, so I am not really the best at this whole writing thing... but I do need to do something. something to expand my brain power. If anyone out there in blog land has any ideas of a small very small part time job, please let me know.
The good things about this year are that I have made a great commitment with the love of my life, and I am living close to my favorite little Emily, my sister has found the most amazing guy Lou, and I feel more supported by my family than ever, and the CF retreat this year was one of the best in my life. So all in all, things have been up and down. huh, just like life is supposed to be! I must say my wishes for this next year to come is for it to be less turbulent and a little more stable and dare I say even boring. Heres to another year.......

Debate-able

I guess it is time for me to write about what is going on, it has been a few days. I am having a good week for the most part. I had a Doctor appointment and I am liking my new doc. He is up to the challenge of dealing with demanding Anna, so that is good. We will see, i am keeping a close eye on him. I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon and dinner with one of my closest and longest time friends, miss Ana. We had a great walk a couple miles i think, then went and enjoyed a delicious meal of thai food. It was great to catch up. We are like sisters, and we share the same birthday (well her second transplant birthday). You know when you are in the presence of a great person and friend, and she is that!!!! Today I had the dreaded Pulmonary function test. Every year we have to do a big hour long test that measures all kind of breathing and how strong and how much our lungs work. It wasn't as bad as i remembered it to be, so that was good. THEN it was DEBATE TIME TONIGHT!!! I have been looking foward to the debate for a while now. Especially since Sarah Palin has been screwing the pooch in every question she answered with Katie Curic. So my humble opinion is that she held her own. But everyone has set the bar so low for her, the fact that she showed up and finished her sentences was a good job for her. haha.... but I will give it to her, she was much better than on her interviews, but she is so out of her league. I thought that Biden did an amazing job. I thought he was concise and to the point, and clear and was kind but firm. I thought he did great. For me (not like I was going to switch my vote or something) but for me, he solidified my respect and understanding of why Barack Obama picked him to be on the ticket. He will be a great sounding board for Obama, and they will work as a team. He picked someone who has strengths where his weakness is, foreign policy. That is a wise choice, so they can work as partners and develop a great plan for this country. I am very happy how this election is turning out, I am confident that Obama will continue his lead.... lets hope for the future of this country that Obama wins........