Refreshing

What a substantive, interesting, engaging debate we were all treated to this evening between Obama and Clinton.  ‘Must have been that fresh California air. 

Super Tuesday is around the corner.  Our neighborhood has a “Ballot Night” dinner tomorrow at my aunt and uncle’s, to share our thoughts on local, state and national issues.  Guess what T-shirt I’ll be wearing to this occasion? 

I have NEVER looked forward to voting so much!

How Do I Love Thee?

I have discovered a new joy in life. It calls to me in my dreams. It taunts me with its hefty price tag. It makes me yearn for a lighter, more comfortable bookbag for classes next year.

It, my friends, is the MacBook Air. And it is gorgeous. And I am accepting donations toward my purchase of one of these beauties before nursing school begins.

After owning a Powerbook in the early 90s, I was Windows all the way. Until last year, when I bought a beautiful MacBook for Duke. But this Air is on an entirely new level.

Me likey.

Thank You South Carolina!

For helping make Saturday such a decisive victory on so many levels (see exit polls to view how diverse and widespread Obama’s support base really was). Nevermind the naysayers – this was an important win!

9 days to Super Tuesday!!

And just to demonstrate once again WHY this man has captivated the hearts and minds of so many Americans, here is Barack Obama’s South Carolina victory speech…

Getting Ugly

I am very ready for the South Carolina primary to come.  I am even more ready for it to be over.  The past couple of weeks have frustrated me to no end.  I am doing my best to stay positive about my chosen candidate’s opponents but it is getting difficult.

And by the way, will Bill Clinton please shut up?  I have a lot of respect for the man and what he did for our country, but for the love of everything sacred, let your wife run her own campaign!!!

I am optimistic that South Carolina will be one for the win column but now I am hearing from pundits and reading online that this is actually not a good thing for our Barack.   Apparently victory in a state where nearly half the Democratic voters are African-American will signal the rest of the country that this has become about race and there will be a “white backlash” against Obama, thereby sealing the nomination for Hillary.

Nonsense.  Will some people NOT vote for Barack because of the race issue? Undoubtedly.  But I would hate to think that winning thanks to overwhelming African-American support would send so many white people fleeing for the polls in the name of Clinton.  Obama appeals to so many people of all ethnic backgrounds precisely because his story is unique.  He transcends the walls we have built between one another, claims and embraces his diverse heritage and tells us that America is for everyone.  And we believe him with all of our hearts because the world looks much different today than it did the last time Hillary was in the White House.  And we need someone to lead our country who recognizes this and is prepared to do something about it.

Maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe fear and hate and racism will rear their ugly heads.  But I think America is ready for something different.  Obama is the one to make it happen.

Someone Else Likes Me

Got my acceptance letter to Pacific Lutheran’s ELMSN in the mail today. At this point it’s irrevelant because I’ve decided on a different school.  But it’s gratifying to know that my qualifications have been recognized by someone else. Rejection letters have a funny way of playing on your deepest self-doubts but boy does it feel good to know that being turned down for nursing school was more of a fluke than being accepted!

South Carolina Smackdown

Last night I watched the Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina. It was brutal! You can tell it’s crunch time. You can also tell that Obama is doing well in South Carolina because both Clinton and Edwards went after him. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s results…

Super Tuesday, here we come!

I am still confused about the results of the Nevada caucus. Who exactly won??

All I know is there is work to be done. And I put on my Precinct Captain’s hat this morning and got to work with phone canvassing. Look out neighbors!

P.S. You may have noticed lately that I am blogging very sporadically about actual nursing school. My apologies to those who are looking for more. I’m in limbo between knowing where I will be and actually starting to move forward with preparations.

Deposit letters from my program come in March, and after that I’m sure the madness will begin to escalate. And once I actually begin classes, look out because I will have plenty of stories to share!

In the meantime, if any readers are interviewing for UCSF’s MEPN program this week or next, feel free to post about your experience in the comments section. I’m as curious as the next person, even though I won’t be going there…

Yes We Can!

Another awesome video from my buddy Akin…

Viva Las Vegas?

So a friend from college offered me the opportunity to help with canvassing for Obama over the last 48 hours before the Nevada caucuses. All I’d have to do is get myself to Vegas before Friday (tomorrow) morning. My first thought was “Holy crap! How cool would that be????”

But the dust has settled a bit and that gut reaction is not going to fly, much to my dismay. Here’s why:

1. Hawaii. I just came back yesterday from a vacation that was largely unpaid because I used up almost all of my sick/holiday hours with my surgery and Christmas festivities. Free clinic work is not exactly the most lucrative of positions and my next paycheck is already in for a hurtin’. Especially with a mortgage payment due in about a week.
2. Work. I came back to a mountain of it. And I have meetings booked out through Friday, many of which I had to put off due to the holidays. Requesting another day off, especially at the last minute, would present a logistical nightmare. Not to mention I have about a dozen reasons I will have to leave early or come in late over the next few weeks. The “grown-up” in me screams that I should be getting back to the grind, not gallavanting off to Vegas (even if for a very good reason).
3. My precinct. I got that Precinct Captain’s job with California for Obama. Go me! I committed 5-10 hours a week of work in my own neck of the woods and having been on vacation, I’m already way behind. This weekend was supposed to give me time to catch up. In past years, with the California primary in June and the nominee already decided by then, I wouldn’t have worried quite as much. But we’re now part of “Super Tuesday” on February 5th. So what happens here actually matters now. Whereas there are thousands of volunteers pouring into Nevada over the next 24 hours, I feel a strong sense of obligation to be a leader here at home.
4. Family. My brother is supposed to be moving back up to school this weekend and I promised to help. And I have some paperwork/legal matters to take care of regarding my soon to be ex-marriage. So I already know that’s going to be a tough one. There is a loud voice in my head screaming, “Take a breather, Teeny!”
5. Travel Fatigue/General Exhaustion. Same idea: take a breather. We’ve been going nonstop as a family since Thanksgiving. This is the first weekend in a long time not involving Christmas decorations, holiday parties or a sickly/post-surgical me. Granted, we got plenty of R & R in Hawaii but I am sick of not being home.

I realize that this may register some disappointment among my plethora of loyal fans (cough, cough), especially any Obama supporters out there. For that I apologize. I’m a wimp, I know. I don’t do last-minute decision-making well. This may be the opportunity of a lifetime, but I doubt it. My opportunity of a lifetime is more likely located in a little city known as Portland. In Vegas I’d be performing the same exact tasks as I would be at home in my own precinct with only a slight chance that I’d actually get to be in the ballroom for the victory speech.

And I don’t tend to gamble on slight chances.

Home Again, Home Again

And none too pleased about it. But what can ya do?

I’m exhausted and ready for bed (work looms in the A.M.) but I thought I’d leave you with one photo from our fantastic vacation (for more preliminary details about the family adventures on Lana’i, see my other blog).

The fam on our first night at the Four Seasons Manele Bay…