History in the making

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Well, this week made for some interesting historical moments (ironic, since usually the week before Labor Day is completely dead in the news world) and the next few months will undoubtedly will be fodder for future Jeopardy questions for eternity.

Barak Obama was officially nominated as the Democtratic nominee for Prez (don't know why it takes a week-long, billions-of-dollars in tax moneys spent to announce the obvious at a convention, but whatever), and John McCain this morning announced his VP running mate.

So, in the oval office in 2009 will either be a black man as Prez, or a woman as Vice Prez, which - in either case - is a first for the USA.

But in the grand scheme of the world, it's kind of sad that it's taken this long for a "minority" to be elected into a public office. (I am putting "minority" in quotations because technically 51% of the population of the US is female, making it what, boys and girls? Yes, a majority. But I digress.) Let's look at other examples of those who are, thus far, "ahead" of us:

Chile: President is Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria, elected in 2006.
Liberia: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in 2005, becoming the first female president on the African continent.
Germany: Angela Merkel became the country's first female chancellor in history in 2005.
Ireland: Mary McAleese has been president since 1997 (yes, that's 11 years ago.)
Latvia: Vaira Vike-Freiberga is the first female president of Latvia, elected in 1999.
Israel: Dalia Itzik was selected speaker of the Knesset in 2006 and as of January 2007, is serving as acting president of the state of Israel, the first woman to hold this position.
Switzerland: Micheline Calmy-Rey was selected president of Switzerland in January 2007 and is the second woman to achieve this position in the Confederation.

Yes, *Latvia* and *Liberia* elected women as their leaders before the US did. But beyond that... let's look at the important stuff... what the Cube Boys are saying. So far, they have decided that the "red states" aren't going to be happy with a minority in either Prez or VP position, so they've concluded that the red states are going to "succeed" (i assume they mean "secede"?) from the US.

And I am, to be perfectly honest with you, horrified at the other aspects of the conversation that I've overheard (and I'm learning how even young, "liberal" males in New York City can be incredible assholes) so I won't add the other commentary that I've overheard into my blog...

So welcome to the moment of the US making history... and the moment of reaction to it. Study hard... one day you may be on Jeopardy.

Okay, back to work, people! We've got a holiday weekend to get to, pronto!
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Should I call?

Cube conversation du jour....

Cube guy #1: Hey... I have a question... should you call a girl back after a first date if you said you would?

Cube guy #2: Well i guess it depends...did you tell her that to get her away from you, or did you really mean it?

Cube guy #1: What if i'm not sure? and if i do call, how long should i wait? like, two days? or a week?

Cube guy #2: Don't you think you should figure out if you want to call her or just want to get rid of her first?

Cube guy #1: Yea. I guess so. But, how long should I wait? Seriously?

Cube guy #2: Do you like her?

Cube guy #1: I don't know.

Cube guy #2: I'd say three days then.

omg, i love kids

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Dinner conversation at my sister's house:

nephew #3: "when was the big boom?"

nephew #1: "the big bang....millions of trillions of billions of years ago"

nephew #4: "I wasn't even born!"

nephew #2: "nobody was born"

nephew #4: "not even china people?"



apparently the order of universal existance is:
the chinese....creation of earth....nephew #4 is born.

(all of this copied from my sister's emails to me)
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New gigs...and why is it still dark out?

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So it's week 3 in the new job. The first week, I don't really count, since...well...all I did was fill out paperwork and try to remember all the 'puter passwords.

Week two was better - the woman I was replacing was here, and I basically followed her around like a puppy.

This week, I'm on my own. My first show this morning went pretty well, I think. At least, no major issues. I answered the phones, didn't mess up too badly, and so far I think the hosts like me. Even waking up at 5am was a little easier (I've made it a habit to lay out my clothes the night before, which is just a complete life saver, so 5am alarm equals a 5:30 departure time, and that's a nice leisurely pace.)

I haven't managed to get to bed any earlier than about 10:30 (and when I *did* go to sleep at 9pm, it was on Saturday night. Awesome. Hope that becomes a trend. <-- That's sarcasm.)

I told my sister, the hardest part is the first 10 minutes: Getting out of bed, turning on the lights (OW!), and realizing I can't climb back in. But seriously, it wasn't so bad, and it helps that the guys I work with are really cool. I do miss my old workmates (yea, I know they were thousands of miles away - I still miss them!) but the ones I have now are really great.

The only drawback: It's still dark when I wake up. (Oh, and I'm so glad I'm not a hypochondriac, cuz this gig would drive me over the edge.)
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Why America is fat

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Breakfast:
Apple: $1.50
Bowl of fruit: $4.50
Orange juice: $2.25
Soda: $1.50

White roll with egg and cheese: $ .75

Lunch:
Kebab from guy on the street: $1.25
Two slices of pizza: $2.50
Large salad: $4.25 (toppings are extra)

Dinner:
Roasted half chicken with steamed veggies: $12.75
Sesame peanut noodles from chinese place: $3.95
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