Freezing on the West Coast

Two weeks ago I was in NY and it was the typical end of Fall weather: chilly, blustery, and rainy. Real rainy. But that was cool by me since it had been almost 2 years since I'd experienced Fall and I welcomed it, soaking wet pants and all.

Now in LA we seem to be experiencing our own version of Fall. Usually LA has 2 seasons, Summer and Not Summer. Summer is hot and disgusting and you spend your time trying to find places that have a/c so you don't melt. Not Summer can be a bit chilly, especially at night, but doesn't come close to NY weather. However, the past few days have seen LA temperatures hit in the 30's. Anyone living in the Northeast in the dead of winter would say that is warm. But in LA, the houses aren't built for the cold and most people don't have proper clothing for anything under 50 degrees.

So I wake up freezing every morning and though I curse the cold, I'm a wee bit happy that I'm getting my own version of the change of season, even if I will never see the snow that usually follows.

Bush's Cabinet Exodus

While I know turnover in the cabinet is to be expected should a sitting president win a second term in office, there is a sense of the rats fleeing the ship before it sinks.

Then again that could just be that liberal Jewish media bias everyone is always talking about.

Arizona, Here I Come...

Or to be more precise, Arizona, there I went. I spent the past weekend in Phoenix, AZ. An old friend of mine was getting married and with the flight between LA and Phoenix taking a little over an hour, I pretty much had to go. I had been a bit hesitant about going, truth be told. I’m not a huge fan of weddings and while I have known the bride for many many years, I didn't’t really know very many other people who would be there.

But I went, because that’s the kind of friend I am—selfless, caring, and utterly spineless.

Overall the weekend was alright. Not spectacular, but not Spanish Inquisition either. Well, at least not wholly Spanish Inquisition. Friday night was spent trying desperately to avoid those people who have lost the ability to discuss anything other than their spouses and/or children. Then Saturday before lunch I found myself being interrogated by the bride’s soon-to-be-sister-in-law. In an effort to take pity on poor, unmarried me, she asked me what sort of man I’d like to meet. Before I could give her some vague answer, she started asking me about how religious I am (since that is THE most important thing). I was honest; I told her that while at one point in my life I had been, I am no longer what is called “frum”. That was a huge mistake. I was then bombarded with questions about why I am no longer observant, because apparently that is everyone’s business. I was fairly evasive, but this devolved into a conversation about the importance of keeping kosher and keeping Shabbos, and how even if I don’t want to do other things, I MUST do these two, because “they have long lasting consequences”. I just found myself nodding till I thought my head was going to fall off and escaped as soon as I could.

Side Note: This is why for years I have resisted letting people know my religious status. I don’t want to be lectured, and I don’t need to be lectured. I made this decision after a lot of thought and I am much much happier because of it. Whatever my relationship with religion is, it is personal and private and since other people can’t seem to respect that, I should just keep my mouth shut as I have in the past.

Saturday night was more manageable; the bride and all her friends watched “Shrek 2”. It’s an OK movie. Cute with some amusing pop culture reference, but nothing earth shattering. Sunday I spent most of the morning watching old movies (nothing beats “Some like it Hot”) and eventually got ready for the wedding. The wedding itself was rather lovely. As much as I hate weddings, this one was tolerable. The band played some great old music not just the usual whiney Jewish far; the food was excellent and the booze was plentiful and potent. Thankfully I was not a bridesmaid and so I could disappear into the background for most of the event.


The highlight of the entire trip was the ride to the airport that night. My flight was at 10 pm, and as such I had to leave the wedding early. I was taking a cab with 3 other guests who had flights the same time as mine. Of course no one got their act together on time and I got to the airport 10 minutes before my flight was to leave. After trying to run around the airport in a suit and high heels, I hitched a ride on the special people cart. It has always been a dream of mine to be able to ride on that cart, lights flashing, other passengers wondering why I am getting this preferential treatment. I got to the gate, ran onboard and found that I then had to wait 20 minutes for some connecting passengers. A brilliant example of hurry up and wait.


This weekend also showed me that I am infinitely capable of making small talk with people I have little or no interest in. The number of inane conversations I held just to get through the day was remarkable. I am not sure if this is a talent or a curse. While not everyone was a soul-sucking pod person, this weekend went far in reaffirming my desire never to attend another wedding again.

Of course, the Devil does love to make me eat my words…

Election Fallout

It's been a week since Bush was declared the winner in the 2004 Presidential elections...and yet some people still can't get over it.

To them I say "GET OVER IT!"

Seriously, I understand being disappointed, I almost understand being a bit mad that your candidate lost. What I don't understand is this depressed daze, this despondency that so many Democrats are expressing. There is no reason that psychologists should be reporting that people are feeling as lost and upset as they were after 9/11--or worse than they did after 9/11! One event was a national tragedy, one was a peaceful and legal election. You don't have to love Bush, but acting as thought it's the end of the world now that he has been re-elected is ridiculous.

What strikes me as odd is that so many of these people who are in political mourning, probably were not in love with Kerry. Very few people were. They voted for him out of protest against Bush, not out of support and excitement for Kerry. This was not a loss by a hero of gigantic stature. This was not a tragedy of Greek proportions. This was the loss of a Senator to a sitting president. And no cause for such overwhelming grief.

The reactions of Democrats, especially Democrats in urban and sophisticated regions such as NY and Los Angeles have been expressing disdain and contempt for those who voted for Bush. People who voted for Bush are constantly being referred to as "stupid" "hicks" "religious fanatics" or worse. This is no way to win friends and influence people. Just because these people disagreed with you doesn't make them stupid. Many of the voters might well be dumb, they might be ignorant rednecks who sleep with their sisters and whose best friend is a pig named George. However, there is no proof that this applies to someone just because of whom they voted for in this election. I would hesitate to make such sweeping generalizations about the Bush Voter--one of the smartest people I know voted for Bush.

This election was not a questionable one - no one is doubting the validity of the votes, no one is shouting for a recount. Even if your candidate lost, you should be able to take comfort in that, knowing that our democracy works and that our government is not in line for any sort of violent coups or the like...at least not that I can tell.

We all need to just pull up our boot straps and stop gloating if you're a Bush fan and stop ranting if you're a Kerry fan.

We have four more years to get through people, let's just all try to get along.

Overwhelmingly Overwhelmed

After a week of my boss being in Paris and my coworkers taking it as leave to not come in or do any work, I am at my wits end. I am consistently the only person in the office and spend my entire day doing what other people should be. It's enough to make your head hurt.
I had to come in yesterday, on Sunday, and after 6 hours in the office, managed to lock myself out. It was a fun day.
Today, it's only 10 am and my brain is already hurting from the 30 or so calls I've received thus far. My coworkers refuse to really hunker down and work and insist on insulting each other and the customers instead, feeling it's more productive.
Sometimes when I get in on Monday the only thing that keeps me going through the week is the thought of the upcoming weekend. Of course this coming weekend I have to fly to Phoenix for a wedding, so it won't be terribly relaxing. And next weekend I'll be in NY for an interview, which while fun and exciting, isn't necessarily relaxing either.

I imagine this won't be the rest of my life...or rather, I can't imagine this being the rest of my life.
I have to get the hell out of here before I lose my will to live and let it all just come crumbling down.

Why Oh Why Ohio!

(Just really wanted to quote the Leonard Bernstein song there)

So this year the clutch state was Ohio, with hurricane-trashed Florida taking a backseat to the Buckeye State. Again, it came down to one state and one state only, making the rest of us feel a bit like the unwanted step-child of the American Election. And just as in 2000, that swinging state went to Bush. But a surprising thing happened this time around: all those lawyers and all those protesters itching and waiting to start litigating and shouting were superfluous. Kerry and Edwards, sucking it up like the men they probably are (and should have shown they were during the campaign), decided not to create another Florida debacle and conceded even before the provisional votes were tallied.

Now in reality Kerry had good reason to concede. Even if all the provisional ballots were counted as valid, and that was highly improbably, the overwhelming majority of them would have to go to Kerry in order for Ohio to be colored blue. While there was a chance, it was a slim slim chance and Kerry must have known this.

A lot of ink will be spilled about both how Bush won and how Kerry lost. In general, I think that Kerry lost this election rather than Bush winning it. The past 4 years of the Bush Administration have been filled with enough scandal and potential scandal to give a good number of Americans a wee bit of pause. The right candidate might have been able to take that pause and put it into good use. What we needed was someone to convince us that not only was Bush the wrong man for the job, but that he was the right man for it. While there may have been many areas in which Kerry failed, this was the biggest. It was not enough to vote against Bush, people needed to be energies to vote for Kerry. And judging from the return results, that just didn't happen in the numbers it needed to happen in.

However, my biggest concern about the election results was the outcome of the races for Congress. The Democrats not only most of their races, but they lost a very key player. Tom Daschle lost in South Dakota. That's right. The Senate Minority leader was voted out of office by his constituency. Granted it was a close race, but this is major pie in the face on Daschle and the Democratic party in general. One of the important aspects of our government as created by the Founding Fathers was the concept of checks and balances. No one person or group of people should have complete and ultimate governing power over the US. However, with Congress securely in Republican hands, a re-elected Republican president and a Supreme Court that is more Republican than Democrat (though yes, I know that in theory it's non-partisan) I foresee trouble. I would feel the same were Kerry to have won and the Dems in the majority in Congress. Sure control the Executive and Legislative branches allows for the party in power to pass its laws with efficacy, but do we really want either party to be able to pass whatever they want willy-nilly, totally unchecked? Of course this is all a major simplification of some very important issues, but I think that the essential argument is the same. We need more diversity in our government.

I'm not about to move to another country or start declaring that God has chosen our leader, as some are wont to do today. However, I am cautiously eager to see if Bush can really change any of the mistakes that were committed during his first term and if he realizes that while he may be in office, he still has to answer to the people who didn't vote for him since he's still their president.

V.O.T.E in the USA

So months and months of campaigning, smear ads, debates, and all over voter-fatigue has culminated in today, November 2, 2004. Today those who choose to, will vote for the man they feel is qualified to run our country for the next 4 year. Or at least, they'll attempt to vote.

There have been contests and questions and huge problems in the past, even before the 2000 elections. But this is the first year that I can think of that the election results have been contested even before it started. The lawyers and contestors have been lining up for several weeks now, all waiting to sink their teeth into the meaty hocks of the clueless voter, eager to either call voter fraud, voter disenfranchisement, or any assortment of fouls that will muck up the election.

Sometimes I wonder if it matters though. With the record number of uninformed and ill-informed voters taking to the polls, how bad is it if some of those votes aren't counted? Yes, yes, yes, I realize it is bad. Just because someone votes on what Michael Moore or MTV tells them, doesn't mean that the vote is any less valid than the vote of someone who reads the Wall Street Journal everyday. And every vote needs to be counted, no matter how stupid the voter or ill-advised the vote. Of course if the courts get involved, no ones vote will probably matter anyway.

One of the marks of the success of the US government is the fact that for 228 years we've basically had a successful transfer of power. We've never had a coup or a militant violent uprising due to the choice of leader. Not that we are headed into South American political territory, but this election feels intensely insecure. No matter who wins, half the country won't like it. Just as in the previous election, the winner will not have a true mandate from the masses. The next 4 years are going to be tough ones. It is doubtful that either candidate has a legitimate plan to fix Iraq and get us out of there. Neither candidate can provide the quick fix for the economy -- no candidate would. While Bush and Kerry have differing points of view and plans for the country, in reality things have been set in motion that neither will have much control over, no matter how much they think they will. In many ways, this election is more ideological than practical. But since chances are neither ideology will be declared the clear victor, I doubt this battle will be decided.

The election year seemed to begin with the calendar year and by all indications, might end with it. The fact that one of these 2 "folks" will take up the office in January 2005 is enough to make me want to sit in bed all day and just hide under the blankets hoping it will all just go away and we'll be back in the heyday of Millard Fillmore or William Henry Harrison. No such luck, huh?