Bandwagon And Boredom

So last night I finally was able to experience what the nightlife is like in my neighborhood. I have to say that it was a pretty good time. Of course the 3 liters of beer I drank probably didn't hurt either. At one point Gina and I were left alone when the others went to get another round of drinks and we got to talking about a recent post she had done on her blog. The post consisted of a survey that asked questions and your response can only be one word. I thought that that sounded like a cool idea so I decided that I would do it myself since I am sitting around doing nothing.

One Word Survey

Where is your mobile phone? Table
Where is your significant other? Who?
Your hair colour? Boring
Your mother? Effervescent
Your father? Constant
Your friends? Irreplaceable
Your favourite thing? Family
Your dream last night? Forgotten 
Your ultimate goal? Calm
Your fear? Cynicism
The room you're in? Unfinished
What is overrated? Morning
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Growing
Where were you last night? Boozing
What you're not? Mellow
One of your wish-list items? Employment
Where you grew up? Home
The last thing you did? Read
What are you wearing? Guns
Your TV? Unplugged
Your pets? Furry
Your computer? Apple
Your mood? Pensive
Missing someone? Constantly
Favourite word? Apropos
Something you're not wearing? Underwear
Favourite shop? B&N
Your summer? Unappreciated
Love someone? Hopefully
Your favourite colour? Blue
When is the last time you laughed? Friends 
When is the last time you cried? Reading

Political Mastermind

I would like to draw everyone's attention to this recent post on Perez Hilton. Needless to say my political prowess would be a crucial addition to the Obama administration. Honestly I would be happy in any role but after my almost prescient post two days ago on what type of dog the Obamas should get I think it is clear that choosing Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff was a little too hasty. That phone call should be coming any time now.

Solid, Solid As Barack! That Is What We G-G-G-G-Got!

A friend recently demanded that I update my blog. I told her that I don't want to update it just for the sake of adding a post. If I don't have anything going on in my life that I feel is worthy of being broadcasted on the internet, I leave this blog alone. Lucky for me and my friend, something has happened in my life that warrants a post. We are gonna have a puppy in the White House!!! God I am so excited. I wonder what kind of dog they are gonna bring? Maybe a designer dog, but that might be seen as a garish display of wealth during these troubling economic times. A mutt bought from the pound might be a nice touch, nothing too flashy, but fleas and kennel cough is always a worry. Also, it isn't very presidential to have a three-legged pooch hobbling around the West Wing. Either way, this is just another tough decision President-Elect Obama will have to make as Commander-in-Chief. 

It is such an unbelievable feeling to have voted for someone who actually won. Four years ago I begrudgingly voted for Kerry, more so to get Bush out of office than to put Kerry in office. This time around it was like a dream come true. Not only was Bush leaving but I could vote for a candidate that filled me with hope and excitement. Because it seemed too good to be true, I was just waiting for something to happen that would screw up Obama's chances. As the days passed and we got nearer to election day I became more and more paranoid that the Repubs had some dastardly deeds up their sleeves to negate Obama's lead. Now on the other side of Nov. 4th I can breathe easier because my man is in office. Finally we can move forward to a future where our children will look back and be jealous that we were 20-somethings around the turn of the century just like we are jealous of our parents living through the 60's. Yes We Did!

Tater-Tot Hot Dish Lovin'

So right now I am sitting in a Caribou coffee shop down the street from Gina's house. I have finally made the big move back to the Midwest and it has been a whirlwind on a week. First, Gina flew to Vegas so that she could make the theoretical 26 hour drive (it turned out to be 30+ hours) from Sin City to the land of lakes and ya betcha's. I won't go into all that happened on that magical two day drive through our nation's heartland but needless to say that our friendship is stronger than ever. My dad said to me that he was genuinely surprised that we were still able to stand each other after that drive. I am not sure if that is an indictment on me or what but I think I was an absolute pleasure of a road-trip buddy.

Within the first five hours of our drive I received a phone call informing me that the apartment that I thought I had saved until my arrival was leased out from under me. So that was super awesome driving to a city in which I would be homeless if it were not for the infinite hospitality of Minnesota Niceness. Gina's family has taken me in this past week and I have been able to experience the raucous family I never had. I love that there is something always going on in that house. When I was growing up I just remember a lot of quiet except for when my brother was fighting with our parents. You would have thought we were blue-blooded WASPS who did not speak above a snooty whisper. Luckily I was able to procure a place within the first week of being here. I went to one of those apartment search places and the most energized woman I have ever met made me four viewing appointments in less than 20 minutes. She was talking so fast that I couldn't follow a single thing she was saying. It didn't really matter though because the second meeting I had turned out to be the apartment I will be moving into this Friday. I will be living in the trendy area of Minneapolis known as Uptown. It kinda has the same vibe as Lakeview in Chicago.

I just realized that I never posted about actually taking the GRE. It went pretty well and I am happy with my score. I got a 1360 which I think should be good enough for the schools that I plan on applying to. Thank god I won't have to take that test ever again. It was 3.5 hours of mental alertness. Also, I can't really describe the feeling of being able to view your score right after the test but it could be most likened to what I would imagine it would feel like to have your stomach fall out of your butt. Of course I celebrated that night by having a few drinks. Unfortunately I literally mean a few drinks because my tolerance is now abysmal due to not drinking during the month prior to the test. After three beers I was texting up a storm and telling my brother's BFF things that you don't tell someone who you have only seen a handful of times (i.e. my first time with another guy).

I will be heading to Madison in about a week and I cannot wait to reunite with friends and my own personal Garden of Eden, Amy's Cafe. If you want to know where I am a week from this Friday, just look in the back area of Amy's. Most likely I will be nuzzling the strongest F-ing Vod-Ton I've ever had.

I'm Taking the GRE Day After Tomorrow, But Instead...

So I am taking the GRE the day after tomorrow and I should be going over math problems and looking up what the word pusillanimous means (it means cowardly or weak, guess how I remember it) but instead I felt that I should write about something that has happened to me while I have been living at home. I am not sure how I feel about it because it is something that I never thought would happen. Over the past several weeks I have slowly developed not only a forced interest in baseball, but I actually will turn it on when no one else is home. Trust me when I say that I am surprised as anyone by this development. 

By default, as well as the threat of bodily harm from Jordan, I am a supporter and fan of the Chicago Cubs. I am completely fine with this because after being to Chicago a few times during Cubs games I can honestly say that Cubs fans are some of the nicest, most gracious people you will ever meet. The same cannot be said for White Sox fans who are assholes. As some of you may know, the Cubs are officially in the postseason playoffs. Right now who they will be playing comes down to either the Brewers or the Mets. I am not sure who would increase their chances of winning because as I am told, by my little brothers, both teams have the worst bullpens in the League. I guess if I could choose I would say the Brewers because I would love to read everyone's status updates on Facebook cursing the Cubs.

There is one more reason why I am a fan of and have developed an interest in the Cubs. Ryan Theriot, a.k.a The Riot. Theriot plays shortstop and has recently been hitting above 300. Now this is his second year on the team and he has proven himself to not only be a great player, but a fan favorite. Thats all well and good but my fascination with him has nothing to do with his batting record. I think he is way cute. Look at that face how can you not love him? It's that mug that helps me make it through 3+ hours of Cubs games with my family.

I Don't Normally Do This But...

As many of you know, I don't particularly consider myself to be politically minded. I do consider myself to be liberal both fiscally and socially and I think that after attending UW-Madison it is pretty obvious that I plan on voting for Obama on November 4th. Until this summer I would very rarely think about politics for fear that my rising anger would cause me to mutate into a green behemoth and lay waste to all that was around me. The thing is, whenever I think about politics I become extremely pissed. When I dwell on the fact that an entire party (and yes I will place all self-identified Republicans in one group) bases one of its planks on denying the rights of others because they believe that group to be morally inferior, I think it is understandable that my blood boils. Now I know when it comes to gay rights, the Democrats, as a whole, are not that much better, but I feel that they are more likely to shake my hand with one hand while not stabbing me in the back with the other.

I don't claim to be highly knowledgeable on the present political climate but over the past few months I have been trying to become informed. Prior to this road to discovery I assumed that when you boil everything down both of the parties are fairly similar. In today's election the outcome is determined by the undecideds. What this means to me is that each candidate must be as moderate as their parties' diehards will allow. Which is why I find it laughable that McCain claims to be a maverick. I won't argue that in the past he hasn't at times fought against his own party to get things he believes should be done done. But to become his party's nominee he has inherently agreed to carry their standard to the epic battle on November 4th. I won't be so presumptuous as to think the Republican party was tricked into choosing a nominee who would daring enough to go against their interests.

With Obama, I truly do have hope that he will change this country for the better. I do think that regardless of his international experience, the sole fact that we will have a Democrat in office will help America's cred with the rest of the world. One of the attacks that has been used against Obama is that he is out of touch with regular Americans because he is elitist and an intellectual. First of all, McCain is married to a former pill popper who is heir to a beer fortune; that seems to be more elitist than Obama and Michelle who met in law school. Second of all since when is ignorance and stupidity qualities we want in our leader? I want the person who holds the highest office in the world to think once in awhile.

It has taken me a very long time to reach a point where I would risk writing a political post on my blog. As with starting this blog, I am highly self-conscious when it comes to what I write. When I first started this blog, I thought to myself that to have a blog means that you must think you are interesting enough to have people read what you say. Once I overcame that I decided that I would keep this space light-hearted and not delve into anything of substance. Times have changed though and regardless of what people will think about what I have just written, I belive that it was time for me to have my say. Have at it.

INTRANSIGENT : FLEXIBILITY :: SHOOT : ME

So I have been studying for the past few weeks for the GRE which I am taking a week from Friday. What I have learned so far from this whole thing is that I will never understand math intuitively. Give me a passage describing the migration pattern of birds and I will comprehend the shit out of it. But if you give me a circle inscribed inside of a square or a percentage problem and I shut down in seconds. Pretty much I have been doing math problems every day until my mind feels fuzzy and then I allow myself to decompress the rest of the day. I have taken a couple of practice tests and I guess I am happy with my score but who knows if it will be good enough for the schools I will be applying to. Whenever I talk to people on the phone and they ask me what I am up to I tell them nothing really except for studying for the GRE. It may be sad but all I really do each day is study and then hang out. I have been looking for apartments in Minneapolis in preparation of moving there at the beginning of October.

I felt that I should update this blog but I don't really have much to tell. Mostly I am just uber excited to move to Minneapolis in less than a month. Granted I don't have a job yet or a place to live but I am sure finding a place won't be too hard at all and hopefully a job will come next. my plan is to apply to various mental health institutions such as group homes or day centers. The group homes should be easier to get a job at but I think that working at a day center would be a great experience because in a way it would be like unofficial therapy. Either one would be great experience. Also I have decided that I am gonna volunteer at whatever GLBT Center they have in Minneapolis. Lucky enough for me I have straight friends already in Minneapolis but I would really like to make friends who are of the same orientation as myself. Besides I need to have at least a couple dates while I am there right?