Obama: I Just Can't Get Enough of This Guy!

Hope springs eternal. The stock market is awry, the country is struggling, jobs are being eliminated and people are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I hate to sound like Pollyanna but I really cannot wait for the new President and his cabinet to take over and "fix" things.

Will they? Won't they? It's anyone's guess. But we will begin a new year with hope and faith in our country, our leaders and our ability to bounce back. Will it ever again be the same? Doubtful. Nor should it. I think we can all pull back on our reckless spending and adapt to a more frugal lifestyle. A year ago I was lamenting I didn't have the money to take a vacation each of the three weeks I had off. Now, I'm just happy I have a job!

More on Sarah Palin

http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/the-mirrored-ceiling/?em
Judith Warner's "Domestic Disturbances" blog today sums up my feelings about the Republican Convention, vice presidential nominee and the media as well as the constituent reaction. Let's just hope this is not our next President and Vice President. Four more years of Republican ideals and economic pursuits and the middle class will be fleeing the US borders into Canada and Mexico. I guess the top 1% will finally rule the country and they'll have the slave labor of the bottom 10% to rely on. As for the rest of us? We'll be trying to get work permits and long term visas anywhere but here.

Best of Both Worlds or Too Much of a Good Thing?

I have a very close friend who has a sister with two lovers...and she lives with them both...at the same time. They've been successfully thus involved for several years now. When first told about the relationship, I was shocked (Baptist upbringing) but also intrigued (60's sensibilities). I did not want to be judgmental, tho' I initially was, and I couldn't help but think, "Wow. Best of both worlds." I mean, she's livin' the dream, right? Well, possibly.

I suppose if this were a Danielle Steele novel, it would be great fodder for the storyline: gorgeous, ambitious woman in her mid-forties has a successful business with one lover running a high end fishing camp on a remote Canadian island, summers only, returning to civilization with Lover #1 to live with Lover #2 in a wealthy suburb in Arizona. According to my girlfriend, her sister sleeps with which ever one she wants, when she wants. She calls the shots. As for menage a trois, I don't ask and she doesn't offer.

I like men...up to a point. I absolutely love my husband and I've loved a few others in my youth. Not sure what the prospect of two at once would do to me. I mean, it's been a challenge living with one Alpha Male and raising two alphas-in-waiting. I think men have their place...lifting heavy objects and taking out the garbage. Scratching, roaring, having sex and feeding seem to be the other traits in which they strive to excel.

Could I do what she's doing? Maybe in my dreams. You know, George Clooney one night, Richard Gere the next. Yeah, I could handle that...for a while. But, I like my solitude and I like peace and quiet. And I like things simple. So, while I admire her iconoclasm, I'll have to admire it from my quiet, predictable and boring perch.

But, it does sound fun.

California Girl: I am in my head

My husband repeatedly wonders why I call myself "California Girl" at the tender age of 56.

"Why not 'California Woman?'" he asks.

"Because 'California Girl' is more honest."

"But you're a woman, not a girl, " he insists.

"I am a girl in my head."

And that's it. I am still a girl and I do not apologize. I think young even if I don't necessarily feel or look it any longer. At first, when I picked that moniker, I felt a little uncomfortable, as though I no longer deserved the descriptive noun "girl". But, I decided to go with it anyway. My reasons were simple. My husband and I have moved around this country alot. Everywhere we have lived that wasn't in the state of California, I would sooner or later get the nickname, "California Girl".

I have always liked the nickname because it's been bestowed with love, sometimes a bit of envy and often alot of curiosity. Even in this day and age, it's amazing the number of people who've never visited California. I love my home state and I'm very proud to be a Californian: fruits, nuts, warts and all. California is full of innovators, movers, shakers, and people who do things. It's not like New England where everyone sits on their hands and waits for the next wave of optimism to pass. It's not like the South where they "Ya'll" you to death, smiling while they pick your pocket or try to determine who your "people" are. It's not like the Midwest where everyone is down to earth and just plain nice. (I love mid-westerners). It's CALIFORNIA. It's full of fast talking, bullshitting, in-hock-up-to-their-eyeballs people who are what they drive, wear or live in. It's also full of creative, free spirits who just couldn't live anywhere else for some of the reasons already stated.

Do I think it's perfect? Hell, no! If I did, I'd live there full time. But it is home. It is what I am most familiar with and used to and where I'll probably end up; back with the same friends I've had since high school, enjoying the weather, the wide open spaces, the great stretches of highway through the desert, along the coastline and into the mountains. California has everything if you are willing to drive to get it.

Are we superficial? Yes, alot of people out there are. But, so what?There are lots of wonderful people out there and most of them are still from some place else.