Dorkiness

I love Paul Simon. Obsessed, nearly. And there's not much I enjoy more than throwing on an LP and dancing/singing around the apartment. Tonight is a Paul Simon kind of night... D thinks I'm nuts :) This song in particular I love...


I Do It For Your Love

We were married on a rainy day
The sky was yellow
And the grass was gray
We signed the papers
And we drove away

I do it for your love

The rooms were musty
And the pipes were old
All that winter we shared a cold
Drank all the orange juice
That we could hold

I do it for your love

Found a rug
In an old junk shop
And I brought it home to you
Along the way the colors ran
The orange bled the blue

The sting of reason
The splash of tears
The northern and the southern
Hemispheres

Love emerges and it disappears

I do it for your love

I do it for your love

BRRRR!

It might SNOW today :) Also, the high is like 35. And I have to go outside. Can't wait for 70 degree temps next week!!!

Edit: Just checked the weather forecast. The highs here are lower than the lows in Phoenix all week! Did I mention I'm excited to come home?

Yay Yotes :)

Day 10: My afternoon walk. At work I have a paid 30 minute lunch break every day. And every day for the last 4+ months I've used that time to scarf down my food and take a stroll around the neighborhood. It's a cute, quiet neighborhood with lots of big, brick buildings and tree lined streets. Plus, I get out of the office for a half hour, and I kid you not, this time has seriously prevented me from having a nervous breakdown at work on a few occasions.

Day 11: My big warm winter coat. The high today is in the 40's. It's in the 30's now. To get to work I have to walk by the river. On the same note, also thankful for my gloves, scarf, hat, and earmuffs... brrrr!

Also, big big congrats to the CGCC Coyotes - region champs, district champs, and on their way to the national tournament! Although, they don't have to go far, since they are hosting the tournament the weekend before Thanksgiving. I'm bummed I can't be there, but good luck and make me proud!!

Catch Up

So I've been a little stressed lately, with my old crappy job and applying to grad school and impending winter and blah blah blah. I wanted a way to really focus on the good things I have going on for me, and this is especially fitting for the month of November. So I decided to come up with one thing every day that I'm especially thankful for - I know its cheesy, but if I write it down that means I had to think about it, and if I had to think about it then I know I'll feel better. So, like it or not, you are being subjected to 30 days of what makes Shawna happy. Now, I'm a little behind, I think I've only actually posted one day on time, so today you get a whole slew of happiness. And you know what? I feel better already :)

Day 1: Long walks. I love long walks. We walked about 5 miles on Nov 1st, from Columbia University in upper Manhattan all the way to Union Square. That's over 100 blocks. And though my legs hated me afterward, it felt gooooooooooood. Plus it was so nice to see parts of the city I had never seen before, like St John's Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the world. (Side note: this is admittedly quite sad, but if I felt any religious affiliation it would definitely be to Catholicism. And not because I believe in the doctrine, but because the places of worship are big and old and beautiful and I'm a sucker for that combination.)


Day 2: My family. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with my Dad last night. I heart my dad, I lucked out in the father department for sure. I can talk to him about anything, and sometimes I don't even have to talk because he knows exactly what I'm feeling. I miss him and I can't wait to give him a big hug when I get home!


Day 3: Arizona. I'll be back in 3 weeks and I'm so looking forward to predictable warm weather, sunshine, driving, my family and friends, my car, cooking with my old things, my neighborhood, and all sorts of other Arizona-y goodness.


Day 5: My new (ish) job. So much better than before.


Day 6: Love. It's this big, awful, wonderful, complicated thing and a lot of times it sucks but at the same time who would trade it for anything? Not me :)


Day 7: Leaving early every Friday. I don't think this one needs explaining.


Day 8: The internet. I made the most delicious soup for dinner on Saturday night - Potato Broccoli Cheese. I found a few recipes online, combined them according to my taste, and whipped it up in no time. And it was delicious. Without my little Dell and an internet connection I would never been able to do that, since I own exactly 1 cookbook and it's not actually a cookbook, but a Betty Crocker pamphlet that I'm pretty sure came free with a Betty Crocker purchase. So thank you, internet, and all you other internet users that share your recipes with me!


Day 9: SUNSHINE! The last few days have been miserable. Rainy. Cold. Bleak. But surprisingly warm - in the 60s! What? So I've been stuck in my little apartment, sprinting every time I have to go outside so I don't get soaked. And I've had to run on the treadmill in the basement, and rain + basement = uber humidity = gross. But today the sun is shining and I'm looking forward to a run in the park this morning and maybe a long walk later :)

Election Day!

I voted! I got myself out of bed at 6am this morning, bundled up, and headed to my polling place. The line was already out the door and around the block! At 6 in the morning! I'm glad we got up and got it over with though, because I'm positive those lines are just going to get worse as the day goes on.

Did you know that NY is one of the only states that does not use computerized voting? Even in states where you fill out a paper ballot, the votes are usually counted electronically. Not New York. I voted this morning using a machine that had to have been from the 1950's. I went in and had to pull this huge lever, then flick these tiny switches that corresponded to my candidates. Little X's showed up in the box by their name, and then I had to pull the huge lever back the other way to count the vote. Old school. Here's a picture - but mine was blue:

I'm not actually sure the thing worked - but then, one more vote for Obama in New York isn't really going to make a difference. It's just after 8 and he may have the thing won already :)

I won't say much more about this, but I really do hope that AZ, CA, and FL can strike down the propositions to ban gay marriage. Not too long ago, whites used religion to discriminate against blacks - and now we're about to elect a black man president (fingers crossed!). I hope in 50 years anyone who discriminates against others based on sexual orientation can look back and be ashamed of their intolerance. I'm not interested in taking away other people's rights, and quite frankly I'm disappointed that some people find it acceptable. Besides, in Arizona gay marriage is already illegal - what exactly is the point of this proposition, then?

What I'm Thankful for Today: I am obviously thankful for my country, my democracy, and my rights! We are so lucky to live in a country where we can enjoy so many freedoms. Now, everyone exercise their right to vote and get out there! (This month I'm trying to use every day to appreciate the things I have - it's fitting with Thanksgiving and all. I'm a little behind with days 1, 2, and 3 but I will get there eventually!)

On a Lighter Note...

Since my last post was a little on the serious side, I'll only be talking about agreeable things today. So, here you have it, in no particular order, Shawna's top 10 reasons why she is happy.

1. It is the weekend. 2 1/2 glorious days of no work and sweet freedom. Fabulous.

2. We're going to see a play tomorrow! We scored some free tickets through this neat program, so we are pretending to be cultured people. The play is tomorrow afternoon, so I may even be able to turn it into a full-fledged date if I can convince D to take me out for dinner :)

3. On Monday I came home from work and decided to go for a run. I took a lovely jog through the park that we live pretty close to and felt really, really good about it. The park is pretty big, and its the only place I've found that you can feel like you're not in the middle of a gigantic city. Plus all the trees are turning all sorts of colors. It was really beautiful and peaceful - just what I needed.

4. On Tuesday I found a really neat website, walkjogrun. This site uses a google-ish satellite map and allows you to enter in a route (you know, to walk, jog, or run) and then calculates the mileage. It was really fun to enter in my little run, and even more fun to see how far I actually ran - 5 miles! Not bad for a Monday afternoon whim.

5. Today I went for another run along the same route. This means that this week I ran 10 miles! Oh hey, I'm awesome.

6. Next Tuesday I officially start my new position. Thank freakin' god - I could not have made it much longer at my old position. Now I finally get to be working with patients again - and really learning about OBGYN! It's also nice because 3 days a week I will be at a different office, so there will be a lot more variety in my work week from now on.

7. I painted my nails last weekend. Now, usually I'm not a painted-nail kind of girl, except for the occasional pedicure with my sisters. But I found a really pretty color nail polish - pink, but not too pink - and it's perfect. It makes me feel infinitely more feminine and delicate. I think I may be a painted-nail convert.

8. D was craving something peanut buttery this week, and I was craving something chocolaty as always. We put the two together and made chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats, and let me tell you, these things are delicious. I eat at least 2 every day - and with how fattening they are, its a good thing I've been running so much!

9. I'll be back in the AZ on November 25th, which is exactly 1 month from tomorrow. So excited for warmth and sunshine and friends! And my car! I miss my car.

10. I'm starting to feel like I have some semblance of a plan for the next few years of my life. I know what I really want to do (PA school) but I have a good backup plan if I don't get in (nursing school). I have sorted out a lot of my relationship confusions and I know what I want and have an idea of how to get it - or how to try to get it, at least. And, most importantly, I know that very rarely do things go as they are supposed to, so I am armed with resilience and flexibility in the event that everything blows up in my face. This is a good place to be.

In Which I Bore You to Death with Politico

A lot of the blogs that I read have lately discussed the issue of gay marriage. In AZ there is legislation to be voted on that would ban gay marriage in that state. Now, I’m proud to say that I voted against a similar proposition last year, and proud to say that a whole lot of other Arizonians did as well – enough to strike down the proposition. And since the majority of the blogs I read are written by a more conservative bunch, I’d like to at least get my ‘crazy liberal’ perspective out there, and maybe even spark an intelligent debate that does not involve the word “God” (because last I checked, America was founded on the principle of separation of church and state).

First, let me say that I fully appreciate the views that a lot of people hold. In a religious sense, homosexuality is a sin and I get that. Hi, I was born into a Catholic household. Catholic, people! As for now, I hold no religious affiliation, and that fact makes it easy for me to divide this into a religious issue as opposed to a political issue, which is what we are voting on. (I am also proud to say that despite my lack of religiousness, I’ve been to more churches than you. More types of churches, I mean. I have attended services of lots of faiths, and I think that every single one of them is beautiful and that not one of them is more right than any other. But that’s a whole different story.)

Onto the issues. Homosexuality is not something that I engage in, nor is it something I actively support. The way I see it, it’s a matter of fairness. See, the beautiful thing about being an American is that we have freedoms. You know - speech and right to bear arms. And we have an unquestionable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I live by the absolute premise that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, and to me that stands regardless of education, faith, gender, socioeconomic status, and all the other variables that make us individuals. This includes, of course, sexual orientation. I try, though I don’t always succeed, to treat every single person I meet in the same manner. I would never, ever, ever try to deny someone a basic right (in this case, pursuit of happiness) based on any qualifying characteristic (in this case, sexual orientation). I call that being a good American (and a good person).

Further, I don’t think that the government should be involved in this issue. And frankly, I don’t see how a lot of you can ask the government to get involved – to unfairly lump you together, you’re a conservative bunch. You’ll be voting for McCain. You believe in deregulation. You agree with Palin when she said “you know, government, just get out of my way”. Except, of course, now that this comes up you are all begging for government intervention. If someone has a plausible explanation for this I’ll be glad to take it all back, but aren’t some conservative voters out there being just a little bit hypocritical right now? I feel that this is a moral issue for each person to decide on their own, not a place for laws and regulations.

And now, let me present my problems with the ideals of those who feel differently than I. One blog I read (I won’t be quoting or naming any names) argued that allowing homosexual marriage would create a more tolerant society. Oh, and they were arguing that this would be a bad thing. Does anyone else find this totally ridiculous?!? Tolerance is the most important thing we as people of the world can strive for. And while I don’t know a whole lot about the specific teachings of the church that this person subscribes to, they used the church to justify their position. Fair enough, except that this person is a Christian. As in, follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. Who, incidentally, taught a whole lot of tolerance. I don’t think that anyone who calls themselves a Christian (or a Jew, for that matter) can use his principles to argue for less tolerance in the world, as doing so directly opposes the teachings of Christ.

Random side note: other things that I am against include all the construction still going on in my building. All this hammering really cannot be necessary.

A second reason I cannot support a lot of the ideas I’ve read is not so much the conclusion (not supporting gay marriage) as much as it is the thought process that has brought about that conclusion. A big big reason that people come to their conclusions is religion. However, this is not a religious issue right now, it is a political one, and the responsibility of being an American includes not mixing those two parts of your whole. Again, I understand that this is much easier for me to do than for a lot of other people because I have no religious affiliations. Growing up, I was not taught morals through religion but rather through more concrete ideas of right and wrong. (Disclaimer: I only say ‘more concrete’ because there are a LOT of religions that teach a lot of different rights and wrongs. My morals are (simply) things that all religions can hopefully agree on – killing is bad, being nice is good, etc.) As a result I find it easy to think that its wrong to discriminate based on sexual orientation – I have no religious authority telling me otherwise. I see how it can be difficult for those of you that are religious to discriminate moral and religion because for you those two things are so tightly interwoven. But morals do exist outside of religion (and, sadly, religion can exist without morals) and this gray area is the one that we must be arguing on – that space that exists in the separation of morality and religion. The issue is not and cannot be “homosexuality is wrong because my priest/pastor/bishop/rabbi/whatever told me that it’s wrong”; instead the decision must be “do I believe that all people should have equal rights, or do I believe people can be disqualified from rights based on certain characteristics?” The key words there are “DO I BELIEVE”. What are your personal beliefs? What do you think, outside of what your church teaches you? Do you really believe that people can be stripped of rights based on one single characteristic? And if you do, remember that people once thought that people could be stripped of rights based on skin color – was that fair? How different was that from what could happen now to homosexuals?

Time for disclaimers. I’m not trying to swing your vote. I’m not trying to attack your religion. I’m not trying to corrupt the minds of young America. I just wanted to present a (hopefully) somewhat coherent argument about why homosexual marriage may not be a sign of the apocalypse. I would appreciate somewhat coherent responses, from all different perspectives, but don’t get angry with me. The end.