Enjoying the end of the summer

So after the snow storm and below freezing temperatures I came across in Montana (see photo), I really came home to appreciate the seasonal temps we are seeing in Minnesota. I can really appreciate a 65 degree day, even if at night it drops down to a chilly 50. The sun makes a huge difference and watching it reflect off Lake Harriett or Calhoun (as pictured) can really trick your mind into thinking that summer is still with us. Soon it will be a true autumn, and the leaves will change and fall, and the temps will do the same, but as for now, I need to really enjoy the gorgeous weather, make use of my time at the lakes and be greatful it's not snowing yet. Who knew it snowed in September?! The earliest, accumulating, snowfall I can recall in Minneapolis was October 31st in 1991. So I should have at least another 7 weeks snow free... hopefully even longer. :)

Out West

I spent 4 of the last 5 days driving. Well sitting, I should say, in a mid size car. It was great to see my brother, but it sure was a long ways away. Next time I think I'll fly. We got to see Mt. Rushmore, which looks just like it does in the pictures,
we went to Deadwood, which is strange and definitely feels like a movie set, and we hiked in the Beartooth Mountains in a snow storm. Seriously. I thought Minnesota got cold early but the mountains in the west have us beat for sure. It was a full on snow storm! Red Lodge, where my bother lives, is nice. Small town feel, but enough open minded people around to keep things interesting. Good food is available and the mountains are beautiful. All in all, it was a great trip. Worth the drive. I still have another day to recover and back to the grind on Wednesday. I start my new gig tomorrow evening, so we'll see how that goes. :)

Palin

Here is my opinion about McCain's pick: Unfortunate. Although, as a woman, I have to be somewhat excited that a woman has made it on the ticket (though it's not the first time for VP), I am not thrilled at all with her political background, or her party. Here are some of my issues: She is a self proclaimed “hockey mom” who got her start in politics ten years ago in her son’s school’s PTA. Then became a city council member of a town of under 7,000 people. That is smaller than Hugo, MN. Then she was the mayor of that small town. Then she somehow became governor (and her title of Miss Wasilla and 2nd place in the Miss Alaska pageant probably aided in the win). So she has been governor of Alaska (population 660,000, which is less than Mpls and St. Paul combined) for only 2 years. But her snow-mobile racing husband who works on an oil rig and did not go to college (not that there’s anything wrong with that… unless you are high up in politics… then I think college would be good) , should be a great fit for the white house too so that helps. ;) And she is super pro-life, which is fine as a personal belief but lame when she has the power to help change laws, and super Christian (which again, fine, unless you let it help you rule a country...separation of church and state...), and anti sex education and pro abstinence-only education, which is just stupid in real world America, (it's been proven to not work any more efficiently than comprehensive sex-ed in reducing pregnancy or stds) I don’t know. I would just HATE for McCain to not be able to fulfill his term in its entirety and be stuck with a "hockey mom" as president. I think she would be in WAY over her head. It’s a joke. She has NO Washington DC experience and comes from one of farthest places from it. So that’s how I feel. She seems like a great mom and a cool person, and I have to be proud of how far she's come from Miss Wasilla and the PTA meetings, but I am not sure she would make me feel comfortable as President, or Vice President for that matter, of the United States.

I really hope people are listening and paying attention to the political race we have in front of us. It will be historical regardless of the winner. I don't care who people vote for, as long as they make educated decisions and exercise their right to vote.

Yes we can.

back at work

I have been sitting on my computer at work for 5 hours now. I got up to grab my lunch out of the fridge a couple hours ago, and I ate here at my desk. I have read every story in my local paper (online) and on CNN.com. I watch the weather here (66 degrees and showers) change on the radar at weather.com (I have no windows so it's like a virtual window). I even look up traffic cameras to see where it is raining and how cloudy it is where. I can tell you about every pet offered on Craigslist and at the local humane society and I feel bad for the ones I see listed for weeks at a time. Reading the CL posts is how I ended up with my dog. If I wasn't allergic to cats, I would probably be the crazy cat lady and take in all the poor cats people can't keep for whatever lame reason. I go to freerice.com and try to use my brain a little while donating rice in the process. (Sounds lame, but when you have nothing better to do, it kills time and makes you smarter.) I research books to read and sometimes I sit here and read them. Today I brought Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, but I have not picked it up yet. I have been too busy reading about the GOP convention and the riots that have since ensued here. I have an office that I share with four other people, and only one of whom is here today. He and I do not speak much. It's fairly quiet in the room aside from my occasional phone call (personal, God forbid I have a work related phone call come in) and/or his sports talk radio he listens to online. The noise is a welcome distraction and keeps the room from being too eerily quiet.


The students come back to school tomorrow here, and though they do bring more noise to the halls and less parking spots in the morning, they do not end up in our office much so my day to day routine of web surfing (such a lame term), remains the same. Hence the search for work. I have no responsibilities that I am neglecting and I, in fact, try to take on more responsibilities than I need to. I enjoy working, being challenged and a sense of accomplishment. So I do my best to find work. But I can only do so much before my co-workers resent the fact that I am pointing out to everyone in the organization, how much time we have to do so little. As much as I am looking forward to the part time gig I will begin tomorrow, I am also not excited that it will only add to the hours that I am commuting and away from home, and not solve the dilemma of my current position. I work today and tomorrow, and a few hours on Thursday. Then I leave for a long dive west. Sitting in a car may or may not beat sitting here. We'll see. At least I will have company. :) Is it pathetic that I worry about missing my dog while I am out of town? Shadow will be with my parents and their dog, and they love him, but I know I will think about him and worry that he is missing me.... I need to get over that though. I sound like a crazy cat/dog lady already and I am only 26!! :)