you can vote, no matter..

..what you wear. how you look. what you think. even my clients with dementia can vote.



taken from the new york times.

this has REALLY been a long road.

this night is so significant. barack obama is probably smoking like a chimney and john mccain probably won't be able to sleep. i'm sitting on a bar stool at the huge island in my kitchen, listening to the new snow patrol. my heart, literally, feels weighed down as i think about the impacts of this election. the impact of this year, really. the conversations had, the countless youtube debates watched, the thoughts and the attempt at articulation, the baracklava made, the prayers prayed, and the sleep lost on those nights when i sat in the tension of my responsibility. my privilege. my honor.

things i won't forget:
-starting informedin08 with five other women. we stood up together and challenged each other to be informed and to be prepared and ready to vote on november fourth. i can honestly say that this has been one of the most important aspects of my journey and my decision making process.
-being completely misunderstood by one family member and responding in anger instead of love. still healing. but time is helping.
-a constant email war with my dad. me receiving mostly ridiculous conservative emails that have no empirical evidence for the "facts" and me sending him liberal propaganda, hoping he'll remember that back in january he said he would probably vote for obama. the whole thing was really fun because i'm a better arguer than him. i mean, i'm better versed and researched than he. i mean, uhhh. i'm funnier than him? haha. hi pops.
-exchanging emails with my aunt about the importance of communication.
-sharing moments of frustration with dan and dillon; listening to their thoughts.
-receiving text message updates on march fourth from anna because i was in class and couldn't wait until i got home to hear the results.
-intense talks with my brother who moved his family from kansas city to san diego to pray for this election.
-conversations with other family members where they've questioned my faith.
-feeling unsafe in conversations and not heard. but more importantly, feeling respected in the end.
-letting my feelings govern my thoughts and having to reframe many conversations.
-being sick of politics (that only happened twice that i can remember).

in the end, this journey is not over. my passion for politics and social justice will continue to take precedence in my life. but the chapter of the two thousand and eight election is coming to a close. [thank God- a lot learned, but at great cost].

ready for this to be over.

my current political thought: if proposition eight passes tomorrow and mccain wins, the religious right might be yelling, "this is God's will for our country/state." but if proposition eight doesn't pass and obama wins, what might they be yelling?

my current political mood: on edge. i just received ANOTHER (one of ninety-two) fear based political emails.

full disclosure: my most embarrassing vote EVER.

it was four years ago, to the day, that i made the most embarrassing voting decision EVER. and i don't think i've ever told anyone this. to come out to the Internet on this one is a pretty big deal... are you ready? be gentle with me. okay. here goes. in the two thousand and four presidential election i voted for. george bush. can you believe it? me, a raging liberal, living in, HOLD YOUR BREATH, san francisco?! 

things were different back then. it was two thousand and four. i wasn't very smart and i loved to follow people like my brother, daniel (whom i still love and adore). i didn't do so much thinking for myself, and i certainly didn't spend time researching platforms and thinking about specific political issues. i used to think abortion was the only reason to vote for a president and i felt guilty for voting anything other than republican. i lived by the politics of fear.

and now this is me just making excuses. the reality is: the worst decisions i've ever made are the ones i've learned the most from. four years ago i was dumb and young and had nothing to lose. and now i'm still dumb and young, but i'm pretty sure i have something to lose. 

the embarrassing part is not the voting for george bush thing (though, in hindsight, that was REALLY dumb). but it was my being uninformed and following the herd (of the religious right?). it was not thinking for myself. 

well, it's a new year. a new day. a new hour. here's to two thousand and eight where I AM INFORMED (thanks in part to some very lovely ladies) and to making my own decisions, thinking for myself and hoping for change.  

proposition r.

this is a san francisco prop that moves to change the name of the city's Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant to the George W Bush Sewage Plant.

on one hand, if we (the city of san francisco) pass it, i think it will continue to define us as crazy liberals.

and on the other hand, i'm not sure that what people think about san francisco will change anytime soon [or ever]. 

and on one foot, it's pretty disrespectful. 

and on the other foot, it's sort of funny.

what should i do, Internet? yes or no on R?

i'm the limberest sixty year old you'll ever meet.

my friend mim said that to me the other day.

why are you so limber, mim?
because i've been doing yoga for forty years. every morning.
forty years? i didn't even know yoga existed forty years ago.
hello, i WAS a hippie. we started yoga.

and that got me thinking. maybe i should try yoga. even though the whole breathing thing might be hard for me, (just like anna) i think it might be worth it. i looked into classes and they have one called "yoga for runners" and since i'm a semi-official-slow-runner i thought this could be a good idea. it might help with my it-band.

any suggestions for a yoga beginner?

voting for the common good.

i walked into work today and a "voting for the common good" pamphlet caught my eye. the subtitle was "a practical guide for conscientious catholics."

but, emily, you're not catholic? i know that, silly. but i LOVE catholics, particularly jesuits and dominicans. and i think they have some pretty good stuff to say. so i opened up the pamphlet and thought it was brilliant. if you can't figure out why to vote or who to vote for, this might be helpful (assuming you follow a form of the christian faith). here's the gist:

one. inform your conscience.

• listening to one's conscience is necessary to make any moral decision.
• the first step in voting your conscience is to inform it
• research the candidate's positions
• discuss issues with family, friends and Church officials
  

two. apply prudence.

• prudence = the moral wisdom required to apply principles to an imperfect world and unforeseeable circumstances
  
• look for the candidate who will do the most in concrete terms to promote dignity of human life, justice and peace
• reject "litmus tests" that reduce catholic/christian issues to one or a few issues
• seldom does a single candidate or party offer a consistently catholic set of positions
  

three. vote for the common good.

• a culture of the common good provides for the health, welfare, and dignity of all people, and promotes the best interests of everyone, not just the few
• we look out for our neighbors not out of charity but out of love, and the understanding that we are all safer, healthier, and freer in a world where we take care of one another
• the health, security, and prosperity of americans must go hand-in-hand with the well being of all peoples, and that our common humanity must be made stronger than our divisions

and that, Internet, will inform a lot of my choices in six days.

it's no secret who i'm voting for.

however, if i vote for him, i'll lose my faith. according to THIS article, you cannot be a christian and vote for obama.

what to do: vote for obama? lose my faith? obama. faith. obama. faith.

shit! this is a huge dilemma.

ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod

i'm going to israel in january. for free.

no, i don't have a sugar daddy.

have you ever kissed your best friend?

yah, me neither.

this weekend was fantastic. one of my best friends, shonna, had a house warming party. when i got the invite i politely declined, all while scheming with our other best friend, carissa, about the ultimate surprise. so when shonna was in sf last weekend we talked all about how lame it would be that i wouldn't be there. turns out, it wasn't so lame.

but seriously. who owns a house at twentyfour? [in california!] and does it as a single woman? and: who throws a housewarming party with face painting, temporary tattoos, beer pong, a pinata, baggo and a kissing booth? yep, you read that right. a kissing booth. shonna beth is one of the most successful, yet unique and hilarious people i've ever known. i am so grateful for her in my life. and i'm so proud of her.

but before and after i made it to the party on saturday, i got to spend some time with some of my favorite people...

sam and me:


jesse was so stoked to be in a photo with us:


kristy, in town from seattle:


*it was also good to see you, a & j.

and the party began...

the new homeowner:


high school bestfriends- katie, suzie, me, shonna, carissa:


pinata-ing:


besties for life. dbj, she's a PT and can rub your IT band too. (mine is injured!)


more stories to come.