I can't believe I've never told this on here, but I couldn't find it just now, so I have to do it now. (FYI, if you compare this with my 21 November 2007 entry, you'll find an interesting similarity.) This story---wait, is this really a story? It's really more of a slice of life, a piece of Americana. Wait, no, it's not quite that, it's more like, yeah, you know what, I think it's really an anecdote. Anyway, if you've never heard The Anecdote before, you're missing a crucial part of knowing me, or at least me when I was in my early 20s at U of O. (God, I can't believe how long ago that was.) And for those of you who don't know this one, keep in mind that the exact phrasing on this has remained unchanged for seven or eight years.

So.......

Back when I was in college, my family decided to take a trip down to Ecuador. My mom specially planned it during my Finals Week so that I couldn't possibly go (then pleaded confusion, ignorance, and helplessness when I told her why I couldn't join the rest of the family), so it was just the three of them. They saw the Pan-American highway, the Andes Mountains, the Pacific Ocean *from* the Andes Mountains, and all sorts of cool stuff. Anyway, one day my da---I mean, my fathe---I mean, my friend, my friend, he had to use the bathroom. So he went into some hotel and took care of his business, and then he went over to the sink to wash his hands---because only monsters don't wash their hands when they use the bathroom. When he went to the sink, there were two taps: one was blank and the other one had "C" on it. He wanted cold water, so naturally he turned on the one that said C...but it came out hot! And it wasn't until later that he realized "C" is for "caliente," so it was *supposed* to be hot.

well everyone, it's been fun, but i'm pretty much done with public posts. if you want to be added to my friends list (you have to be an LJ member), make a comment on this post. this is mostly cos i don't want prospective employers to be able to google me and find out everything about my life, but also cos i'm going back to writing about the boring, everyday shit in my life, and the whole world doesn't need (or want) to know about all that.

if i go on another trip, i'll start posting publicly again, but that's not in the foreseeable future.

if you've been a regular reader, please keep in touch via email (or phone). i'm easy to get ahold of.

Thanks to abrandilyn for this link. I'm so proud of my country right now, and so happy with my city for understanding it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbEA5ue2Be4

Take just a moment to picture what would have happened if Hillary Clinton had won the nomination. Just think about it. For starters, McCain's awful campaign would have gone against Clinton's awful campaign, and with the help of the corporate, conservative media (which he had anyway), McCain would have won. We wouldn't have Palin as VP, but we would have someone equally special, if not as desperate. We would have had to endure much more bullshit than we did. We wouldn't have inspired so many voters to join our cause and increase our leads in the House and Senate. We wouldn't have shown what a fired-up electorate can do for fund-raising, especially via small donations.

Even amid the great victory, it's a bitter pill to see that the four remaining Senate races will probably all go the wrong way. Why "wrong" and not just "the way I disagree with"? Stevens in Alaska is a newly-convicted felon seven times over. He'll win and Palin will choose another awful guy to be his replacement. Gordon Smith has a few good points (most particularly his positive stance on mental health, which he began paying attention to after his son committed suicide), but he's far too conservative for Oregon. We deserve someone better than him. But the last two are the real horror shows. Norm Coleman ran against incumbent Paul Wellstone in Minnesota in 2002. Wellstone died in a plane crash shortly before the election, and Coleman used the funeral as a political football to get elected. Here's to Wellstone's friend Al Franken winning back the seat. But of course the sleaziest, most disgusting award goes to Saxby Chambliss, who defeated Max Cleland in Georgia 2002 when his campaign ads morphed Cleland's face into Saddam Hussein's and Osama bin Laden's (the assertion was that he was weak on terrorism). This is disgusting all by itself, but it's far worse when you learn that Cleland had an incredible military record; he lost three limbs in Vietnam. I was really hoping to see those last two fuckers get kicked out. The one consoling thought is that they're Republicans, so you can count on them to violate ethics laws and get kicked out before too long.


We need more Representatives like the ones in the Congressional Black Caucus. This isn't because of their skin color; it's because of how they talk about issues. Check them out the next time you have a chance. I've been amazed and impressed with every single member I've heard.

We won. We knew in advance that we'd win, but that doesn't matter because WE WON!

Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about it. I obviously feel really good about it, very happy, but there's a lot more going on than just that. I'm not sure how to describe it. I'm relieved but also not. We won...but what next? This doesn't mean that our problems are gone, and it doesn't mean that the people who caused them---aka Republicans---are out of the picture. I was hoping for a veto-proof majority in the Senate, but we didn't get it. (I knew it was an overly-lofty goal from the start.) Our "landslide" both is and isn't exactly that. We only won by 5% in the popular vote, but we're probably going to have an 80-seat margin in the House, and about a 15-seat margin in the Senate. So it's not all that close, really.

I guess I'm trying to figure out what's next. Obama certainly has the right ideas: hard work, determination, shared sacrifice. I expected no less from him. But this doesn't mean that the right-wing fuckers are going away. Every news/"news" show (e.g. ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN) is very likely going to continue slanting conservative with their guests and their stories; that's the way the corporate media operates. And the anti-American crowd on the right is still going to be doing their thing (bloviating). We still have to put up with the same assholes pushing us in the wrong direction.

My friend had this status update tonight (thank you, Izzy). "Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so our children can fly." That *is* why Obama ran, and why he won. He envisions an America where we are strong not because of our might but because of our hearts. That's exactly what he said in his speech tonight. It's weird, I realize that this is a huge victory for civil rights, but---being white and privileged (sorry for the redundancy)---that doesn't occur to me right away. He's the best candidate of our lifetimes not because of his skin color but because of his heart and his mind (although his experience of being black improves and enriches his being), and his heart and mind are what I think of first with him. The comparison with Jackie Robinson is rather obvious because they're both firsts, but also because of why they in particular were the firsts. Jackie got the shot because was exceptional at his job of baseball (hitting, running, fielding, etc.). Barack got his shot because he's an exceptional politician (deeply insightful, mellifluous, direct, inspiring, thoughtful, etc.). To talk about either man merely in terms of being The First is to ignore their prodigious skills in their chosen professions. (I'm not at all looking forward to the media's spin, which will be all about his being The First---and no, I don't mean like in Buffy, cos he's quite the opposite of that.) Of course, Obama is still largely potential---but look at what he's already done with his potential. He has evaluated, articulated, and addressed the legion difficulties of a brutally long campaign, and he's done it masterfully and gracefully. His brilliance in that task assures me (yet again) that he's up to the far more complex task of doing the same with the problems of and in our country.

I've bitched a lot about an overly-strong focus on Obama's race rather than his amazing character and political skills, but I must add this. I've thought for a long time that I would see a black president in my lifetime. Racism is incomprehensibly ridiculous, and today's young people aren't as afflicted by its impossibility as were past generations. So I figured we were moving in the right direction and that we'd eventually get there ("there" being a society where a black president is no longer anything special or unusual). But this was all abstract, distant, taking place in the unspecified future. To see it not only happen, but happen in my youth is....... It's safe to say this could never have happened without an exceptional person---and an exceptional supporting team---to make it happen.

I'm sorry for how rambly this is. At the moment I don't have any clear thoughts to organize into something better. But I've had this thought several times tonight. Back in July 2004, I watched and listened to Obama's speech at least a dozen times, and I talked with my liberal friends about it a lot. We all said the same things: "I can't believe how amazing he is." "He says everything I've ever wanted to hear in a candidate." "I wish *he* were running right now instead of Kerry." "I really hope he runs in the future." "God, I would love for Obama to be president some day." And now..."President-Elect Barack Obama." Savor it with me.

Remember this feeling, cos you're going to need it in the near future (especially the 77 days until we actually have a president again; the current "president" is gonna fuck things up in ways you've never even dreamed of). We're finally (finally!) on the right path for our country, and Yes, We Can...but don't forget that this is just step one.

three of my last four entries (not including this one) have been entered in at 11:40 am. this is a complete coincidence. WEIRD.

You probably won't care about this wonderful New Yorker article about translating Russian, but I do. Of course it must discuss Constance Garnett, and it's rather wonderful to find out exactly why I've been warned against her. (Among other flaws, she apparently skipped over words and phrases that she didn't know rather than try to figure out what it said. For shame.) I'm not done yet, but it's fantastically interesting, and it's the New Yorker, so you know the writing is good. I found the article cos I was looking up Pevear and Volokhonsky on Wikipedia; I'm very likely going to tackle a major Russian work by the end of the year and word on the street is that they do the best work. Oh, and the article says they're referred to as "P/V." My life just got easier.

yeah, honestly, i don't know. i've had that question a lot, but i don't really have an answer yet. i need to find a job, figure out where i'm going to live, figure out what the rhythms of my life are going to be, get on something remotely resembling a regular sleep schedule, start eating (well), etc. that's sort of what i'm focusing on. i really wish i had a better answer for everyone, but i'm still not sure. i'll pass on any revelations or developments as they happen.

hi y'all, i just wanted to let you know that i'm back in Portland, nice and safe. i don't know what's next, other than a hike today (forest park, with chris and my parents' bitch, potterette) then dinner at burritos. i'm excited.

we found my computer after a search, and now i'm listening to my music on shuffle, and WITHOUT HEADPHONES. you have no idea how exciting this is. no really, you don't. but it's fantastic.

here we are, the last fully day of my trip. and it's actually quite late at night (don't look at the timestamp; it'll just scare you), so the day is long over. i fly back to portland tomorrow. i'm not sure what to make of it.

today i went to a site that i'm keeping mysterious cos i want to show chris the pictures first (he's gonna love this one). i'll try to remember to edit this with the details later. then i went to the natural history museum (dinosaurs, cool!), the national art gallery, and the nasa museum (er, the air & space museum). the last one was specifically to see the enola gay (if you don't know about my perverse sense of humor by now, you've got a long, long way to go before you'll understand me), but it turns out it hasn't been there for ten-plus years. i guess it was just there during the 50th anniversary of WW2...which means i was there for the 50th anniversary of WW2, back when i visited DC at age 15. i originally planned to see the national portrait gallery to close the day (it stays open until 7, and i was just trying to fill time until i met blooma and her boyfriend at 7 for dinner), but i scuttled that plan when i found ultimate players on the Mall. they said the game was open, so i joined in. i didn't play great, but better than i'd expected. i think i threw just one forehand, which is where i need the most work. but i had some other good throws, and one or two decent catches, and a few good defensive plays. it was really fun. the best part---and i can't even believe i'm saying this---is that i'm much more fit than i can remember being. i ran almost the whole time, but i barely got winded (only after a few sprints) and i felt great afterwards. i've never run that much and still felt good. maybe i used to do that ten years ago or something, but if so i can't remember it. i'm very pleasantly surprised (and impressed) with myself.

tonight i watched last night's Office online. i love that show. and they're evil bitches to have the teasers that they do. the more i think about it, the more impressed i am with the subtle development of dwight's character. rainn wilson is doing a really, really good job.

today is my 213th day on the road (and tomorrow exactly completes my seventh month). this beats my previous personal-best streak of 100 days (that wasn't travel, though, another activity), and is, funnily enough, the exact goal that i would have gone for if i'd decided to push past 100 for that other thing. but all things must pass, and i realize neither one could go on forever. (it's funny that i never though to compare the two streaks before. maybe i'll do that more in-depth later, but not now on the blog.) anyway, the point i wanted to make is that the length of this trip is obviously one that i can never forget, because of the 213 thing (er, 213+1, but it's better to ignore that). it's pretty damned cool that i managed to make it last exactly that long.

the best part of today was when i left the metro to meet blooma and paul. a girl was riding her bike through the tunnel, and we reached the stairs at the same time. i offered to carry her bike up for her (part of my installment plan to compensate for all the chauvinism), and we ended up chatting for a few minutes. turns out she went on an 18-month around-the-world trip that ended about a year ago. i asked her a few questions that i hope she hasn't gotten before, and she gave me some really good answers and advice about going back. it was really nice to know how she's dealt with some of the things i'm worried about, cos i honestly don't know how i'll handle a few things. i will, though, and i guess that's the real point. anyway, rachel gave me her email addy, so i hope we keep in touch.


i'm going hiking on sunday, don't know what time, probably in the gorge. i'd love for you to come with. email me or call me and we'll all figure out the details.