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This is my second installment of Why I Find the Republican Ticket Terrifying and Why I Think the Democratic Ticket Is Awesome. If you missed Part I, I recommend reading that first.

Onward!
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If you are currently undecided who you are voting for in this year’s US Presidential election, or if you are planning on voting for the McCain/Palin ticket, I implore you to read this post. I am going to try to be as respectful as I can while outlining why I find the McCain/Palin ticket objectionable and why I think you should vote for Obama/Biden.

Part I will discuss the McCain/Palin issues, and Part II will discuss the Obama/Biden issues.

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I technically have two computers - I have my faithful old desktop, a Dell Dimension 8300 that was purchased in 2003 and includes a floppy disk drive AND a ZIP disk drive (woo! Old-school!), and I have my work laptop which is a Sony VAIO thingybob that seems nice. It even has the fancy fingerprint scanner that you can use instead of a password.

Problem is, my desktop has been getting progressively slower and sadder as the years pass. Just recently, it has had some kind of awful spyware-malware-bad thing happen and my Google search results started being redirected and I haven’t been able to access DasBecca which makes me sad (it redirects to an XAMPP splash page for no discernable reason - my hosts file looks normal), and it’s been paralyzingly slow. I ran some spyware controls which got rid of some stuff but it’s still super slow and just… ugh. Nevermind the fact that Firefox 3 never manages to successfully close - I keep trying to open it and it’ll pop up and say “Firefox is already running. Please close down that process or blah blah blah” and I have to open the task manager and shut down the process so I can start it up again. BLEH.

It’s old enough that I’m seriously thinking about replacing it with something shinier and fancier just so I don’t have to deal with it, but I can’t quite convince myself to do it because it would be a pretty hefty investment. I could afford a new computer, I am just not sure if I want to give up on this one yet.

I haven’t reformatted in a while, so as long as I made sure to back up my programs and files I could probably wipe my windows partition, reinstall, and be okay, but is it worth it to try to resurrect a 5 year old computer? Should I give in and get something nicer (like a refurbished Macbook Pro)?

Edited to add: Whoops - by “Dell Inspiron” I actually meant “Dell Dimension” (fixed now) and it turns out that DasBecca is fine in Safari (for PC), so it is just Firefox that is tweaking out on it. Also, my site is back to looking crap on my computer because of some spyware thing - it spaces my comments out by about 600px vertically for no good reason. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Also - I have been instructed to reformat and reinstall Windows. This is probably fine; I have done it a few times in the past. However, I have also been told that I should put the Service Pack updates on CD so when I reinstall Windows I can update it first thing off a CD, not the Internet, because my computer will go down in a fiery mess of malware if I wait for the computer to do its automatic update thing. I find it difficult to believe that my computer would be compromised if the very first thing I did was do all the automatic updates and installed an antivirus program, but please correct me if I’m wrong. Do I need to back up SP2 onto disc? If so, um, how do I do that?

RSS readers, you are totally missing out. Come on over!

This is the first new layout I’ve put up in a loooooong time, but I am thrilled with it. I am still working out the kinks, so please excuse any dust for the first couple of days.

Squee!

Here’s my Friday 5:

• What was the last song that stuck in your brain and wouldn’t go away?
  If you follow me on Twitter, you will know that this is Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl.” For some reason it has infiltrated my brain and won’t leave me alone. Fortunately, I do actually like this song, but I still don’t want it stuck in my head forever.
• What’s something that sticks around long after you wish it would leave?
  The current administration.
• To what use did you put your last sticky note?
  Cut the non-sticky part off and used it to label a manila folder at work. Then when I am through with that project or want to switch it out, I can just replace the sticky note and the folder is unscathed.
• When did you last have Pixy Stix?
  Oh man, waaaaay too long ago. Like, long enough that I can’t remember the last time I had them.
• What is something you are a stickler for?
  Spelling. I am not totally insane about it, I promise, but I am definitely put off by misspellings (I got an email newsletter recently that jokingly referenced “Russian Roullete,” which, while it looks fancier than “Roulette,” totally put me off the joke) and misuse of words like “their, they’re and there” and “your and you’re.”

Enjoy this Friday and I hope you all have a wonderful three-day weekend! (I myself am trying to remember not to come in to work on Monday. For some reason I feel like I am going to forget.)

I don’t think I’d consider myself to be a negative person; I have my moments I guess, like anyone does, but on the whole I’d say I’m mostly positive. In my experience, most people I follow on Twitter (or other similar services) post positive things, or neutral at the very least. The problem I am having is dealing with the people that, for whatever reason, feel the need to make everything they post about be how awful everything is.

I would like to keep up with these people. I really would. I like them and they write witty things on their websites and seem like people I would hang out with. But it’s getting really, really draining when every single thing I hear from them is how this one bad thing happened and then they got a migraine and had to go grocery shopping and they got stuck in traffic and it rained and they came home and their favorite show was canceled and they got in a fight with their significant other and now the dog is sick and meanwhile I am almost starting to question how one person’s life could really be that awful.

Everyone has bad days. I get that. I myself have had a lot this past month. What I don’t get is how consistently awful these people make their lives sound. Surely your child did something cute today? Or perhaps after it rained you saw a rainbow? Or you thought your dog was sick but it turned out he was just faking and you saved a $300 vet trip?

Maybe it’s because I tend to post really banal things on Twitter - I see it as being more lighthearted than anything, and when people post these gut-wrenching missives on really depressing topics it gets to me.

Do I unfollow these people because I feel like they are bumming me out more than they’re amusing me, or is that totally heartless? Does it make a difference if they don’t follow me (meaning: we are not at all close)? What to do?

I feel like today is the sort of day where you should grab a mug of hot cocoa, curl up on the couch with all the lights off, and watch a good movie.

There is more that I could add here, but if you need me, I will be watching The Notebook.

So, we re-tested yesterday and it’s official: Not only did I not lose any inches around my waist or hips, I managed to gain three pounds. This bumped me from a weight I was unhappy but somewhat comfortable with to a weight that is just over half of a REALLY REALLY BIG NUMBER of which I am very scared.

BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING, I know. I know it’s “not about the number,” I know it’s “how you feel” or “how your clothes fit” that matters. BUT. Since I did not lose any inches anywhere AND I gained weight, my clothes do not fit any differently. I do not feel different.

For once, I would like my efforts to pay off. JUST ONCE. It would prove to me that at least it’s possible, that I am capable of seeing change in myself and that working toward a goal is not a huge waste of my time. I do not yet know this.

I have been trying to think of what I would like to do when this class is over next week, and I’m having a hard time coming up with something that still seems fun but isn’t wildly expensive or difficult to maintain. Since we lost the option of a free bus pass at work, I’m now hesitant to pick something that will require me to use the bus to get to, like any classes on the East side or where my current class meets.

We live close to a couple gyms, but I don’t know the first thing about gym memberships and I don’t want to get ripped off. I doubt Daniel would get a membership with me, but the girls at work all go to the same gym so I guess I could start there, but I don’t want to take the same classes as them because they are waaaay more fit than I am. It would just be embarrassing.

I did manage to purchase a Wii Fit, so I have been using that every day this week (well, except for Friday) and I have found that I have fantastic balance. The games are all pretty fun (with the exception of the tightrope walk - how the heck do you get it to recognize you are taking steps? Argh!) and so far my favorite activity is the Hula Hooping. Wii Fit shames you into working out every day so I’m thinking I can at least do something to keep myself in shape while I figure out what I want to do next.

The past two days have been uncharacteristically crappy. Yesterday started out okay, but toward the afternoon it just got worse.

For my workout class, I have to bring my stuff (workout clothes, any accessories like a yoga mat or resistance bands) with me to work in the morning since I don’t have time to go home in between. I appreciate knowing what we’re doing ahead of time, so I looked at the schedule the night before and brought the appropriate things with me. Then, I got an email around 3pm yesterday saying, “Class has been changed from Budokon to strength training, please bring good shoes and resistance bands!” Well, I had a yoga mat and my Chaco sandals, because you use a mat and don’t wear shoes in Budokon. I tried emailing one of the girls to clarify the change but I heard from her later that she was out of the office by the time I emailed, so I couldn’t run home and get the proper equipment.

So I had crap shoes for running around and exercising, plus I really disliked our instructor. He talked the entire time in a jokey, “funny” way and would mime things and generally made an ass of himself, and then would say things like, “You probably all wish I would just go away and never come back! HA HA HA!” except most people found this funny and I was having murderous thoughts.

THEN, I went home to have dinner. I wanted cereal. I opened the refrigerator to discover that we were out of milk, but of course this was after I already poured a giant bowl of delicious Trader Joe’s frosted mini-wheats.

So I decided to make french toast, only to see that our eggs had expired. I decided I was desperate. The eggs had only been expired for a couple days and eggs keep a long time anyway, so I went for it. The griddle was being weird and so the french toast came out a bit strange, but I didn’t care. I loaded them up with peanut butter (you know, for some protein) in anticipation of slathering it with maple syrup. I grabbed the maple syrup to discover it had gone bad and there was a disgusting layer of squicky mold-like film on the surface of the syrup.

I decided to fuck nutrition and poured powdered sugar over my french toast instead. And then I drank a (cane sugar!) soda. (Doesn’t that just sound disgusting? I am ashamed I ate that for dinner.)

Cut to today:
You know how I just got a new cell plan on AT&T? They decided to have massive coverage outages all morning and nobody’s phones were working for hours.

To make matters worse, then there’s this: At work, we have annual bus passes. We got them last year around this time so they expire in two weeks. We got an email today that said the price has gone up astronomically (a $20,000 price hike) and the company has decided they can no longer afford to give them to employees for free, so we are to purchase our own passes and we will get reimbursed for 50%.

Problem is, yearly passes are almost a thousand dollars. And if you don’t want a lapse in “coverage,” you have to buy one within two weeks - that’s TWO WEEKS to come up with $946 dollars. Our alternative is to buy a monthly pass for $86 (which comes out to being $1032 for the year) of which we will be reimbursed 50%, but you have to have that money up front too. And it USED to be free for us. The other OTHER alternative is to just pay the fee daily (basically forgo the pass altogether) but it’s $1.75 twice a day and rates are going up in September. And I now have a monthly cell phone bill to pay, and I was considering getting a gym membership after my class is over, AND I just upped one of my student loan payments because they lowered it for me but I want to pay it off sooner.

THEN, you will never believe this, I found out that the new Harry Potter movie? The Half-Blood Prince? The one everything thinks is coming out in November? Is actually going to be delayed until JULY 17th OF NEXT YEAR. We have to wait a whole YEAR for the new movie.

I just feel like, really? REALLY? Am I going to come home to find out all my plants have died and my Wii is broken or something? Today and yesterday are just not working out for me. Feeling pretty bummed right about now.

Yesterday, Daniel and I got the wild idea to to grocery shopping at Safeway. We generally shop at Fred Meyer because it’s the closest, but the Safeway is accessible by public transit even though it’s farther away, and, well, we wanted bulk candy. Hee.

We hopped on our public transit method of choice only to realize one stop later that it was one of the “docking” ones, which means that it returns to its garage instead of continuing on the route. Daniel suggested we try out our new Zipcar membership, and I agreed - it seemed fun. Plus, it’d mean we’d have a CAR for grocery shopping, and who knows how much stuff we could buy.

We reserved the car by phone and walked over to pick it up. Zipcars are parked all over the city, so they are super easy to find. We had an uneventful yet fun shopping trip (I had forgotten how much I love Safeway) and drove back to where we picked up the car.

As we pulled up to the intersection, I thought, “Hey, that white car looks like it’s… WHAT?” Someone had stolen our parking spot! Zipcars have designated parking spots around the city that only Zipcars can park in. It’s supposed to be a perk of using the service - you always have a guaranteed spot to come back to, so no hunting down on-street parking. But someone had stolen ours!

We referred to the handy-dandy Zipcar Co-Pilot pamphlet in the glove box to see what to do. It told us to refrain from writing “CAR DRIVERS SUCK” in mud on the window, and to just call them and they would talk you through what to do. We ended up giving them the license plate of the car and they said they would issue them a parking ticket and have them towed. Eeep! I felt bad about that, but honestly? Those spots are very well marked as being for car-share vehicles only for ALL TIMES on ALL DAYS, and since other people need to use that particular Zipcar, you can’t just park it anywhere because nobody will know where to pick it up. I can just imagine these people coming back from their fancy dinner and realizing they no longer have a car. Ugh. Sorry, whoever you are! You still should not have parked there though.

The guy on the phone instructed us to just find another on-street parking spot and they would get someone to move it back to the correct spot for us. All in all, this interaction took a total of about seven minutes, we found another parking spot easily, and got our groceries inside.

I didn’t expect to have that sort of ordeal upon returning, but the Zipcar people explained everything really well and we got it resolved quickly. I checked out the parking space this morning on my way to work and it was empty, so either the car got itself moved in time or else they got towed, and the Zipcar people hadn’t moved the car back yet.

All that for a load of groceries! (At least I saved $30 with my Safeway card.)

After four years of living here in Oregon, I finally got a Portland-based phone number. I know! I am not very hip and did not get an iPhone or anything, but I am still coming to terms with my new phone that I am not sure I like very much. I will get used to it eventually, I’m sure.

If you are the sort of person that has my old number already, I will email and/or text you to tell you what my new number is. Or you can ask me. (Option two would make me feel more popular, since nobody really calls me anyway. Not even my own mother.)

Since I switched from Verizon to AT&T (Daniel convinced me, plus it was cheaper), this means that I must manually transfer over every niblet of information I had on my old phone over to the new phone as Verizon does not employ the use of SIM cards. I am realizing this is a huge travesty. It is probably a gigantic plot on their part to get people to never ever switch because it is a huge pain in the ass and I sort of hate everything right now.

My one saving grace is that I managed to re-make my fabulously wonderful Harry Potter theme song ringtone so I do not have to live with those awful default ones. I am losing The Safety Dance, the Mai-Ah-Hee song, and Birdhouse In Your Soul, since those were ones I purchased instead, but I guess it’s okay since I have used the HP one for years anyway.

If, for some reason, you do decide to call me in the future using my old number, chances are you will reach my dad. (Since I was on my parents’ plan and Dad doesn’t have a phone yet, they are just booting me off and giving my number to my dad.) He is very nice but also very shy and I cannot guarantee he will volunteer my new number. You may have to ask him for it. Hee.

Tomorrow, two of our good friends are getting married.

Aren’t they just the cutest? I can’t wait!

Several weeks ago, I signed up for a fitness class. The company that puts it on used to call it “bootcamp” but they changed the name to make it sound less scary. It meets three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday) for an hour, and the classes are different each time.

So far, we’ve had a few yoga classes, some pilates, a few mixed martial arts classes, and some cooking and nutrition classes. Eventually, there will also be Nia and Budokon.

It’s been pretty fun - I will say right now that I really wish I had some results to show for it but I don’t. No weight loss, no inches lost. Honestly? I often think my body is incapable of losing weight. Take, for instance, the time I had to have all four wisdom teeth out at once and I couldn’t eat solid food for FOREVER and lived off of slim fast and the occasional tuna sandwich - didn’t lose a pound. The time I moved to Portland and went from driving anywhere I needed to go to ditching the car and walking EVERYWHERE? Nothing doing. The time that I got the flu in college and couldn’t get out of bed for three days or eat anything more than saltines and ginger ale? Nope. The time I got really into using the elliptical machine at an old apartment gym and worked out at least three times a week for three months? NOPE. I have never, ever lost weight. Every time that you see me is the heaviest I have ever been in my whole life, and that is sometimes hard to deal with.

That said, I am far more aware of how little exercise I used to get before I joined this class. I walk about 7 minutes to work in the morning and 7 minutes on the way home, and I take a yoga class once a week for an hour since it’s put on for free at my workplace. I sometimes walk to the grocery store (or back) which is about ¾ mile each way, but that’s sort of it. I don’t have a gym membership, I will not take up running (I tried the Maggot way and managed 17 minutes once (a personal record) and about 13 minutes the second time and nearly had an asthma attack so I stopped) and gymnastics is sort of out of the question at this point.

I still have my exercise DVDs (don’t laugh) but I haven’t been very good about using them. Might be the 2nd story apartment and not wanting to piss off the neighbors, I don’t know. I am going to try to be better about using them, especially since part of my homework for this fitness class is to walk 30 minutes a day, every day.

Part of the process to up my fitness level involves me wanting to get Wii Fit. I finally managed to obtain a Wii (thank heavens) and it has been amazingly rad so far. I am stalking the Wii Fit Tracker like a madwoman to see if it ever goes on sale online, and I missed two “in-stock” notices while at work today because I was in meetings. ARGH.

At any rate, my fitness class is over mid-August and I’m sure I will update with my progress. Cheer me on, will you?

He leaves me instructions for how to make my own food when he’s at work. No more failed omelets! He even measured out spices for me since I don’t know how to spice spaghetti sauce (shhh…).

For the first time in my life, I have made an omelet, and I am not so sure about how it turned out. I think I put in a bit much milk for my tastes (some recipes had it, some didn’t) and so the eggs were super fluffy and strange.

I also had the heat up WAAAAY too high when I put in the eggs, so it practically singed the bottom of the omelet and then when I turned it down, it made it hard to cook the runny bits. And I think it left my mushrooms undercooked as well.

I think next time, I will probably not put in milk, or put in very little milk, and make sure I do not have the heat on 456318 degrees Fahrenheit to begin.

Too bad that was the last three eggs we had, or I could have had a do-over. I am not sure I want to finish this one.