3 Fun Questions

I'm not TOTALLY sure why... but you should answer these questions because they're interesting.

Out of these three, who will be president next in order from first to last: a woman, a homosexual, and an atheist.

Out of these three ethnicities (which are categories that I believe our nation as a whole would vote on even though I understand that the people lumped in these categories are vastly different): Eastern Asian, Middle Eastern (including India because I think that's the way ... our nation would see it), and Central and South American.

Name your top 3 celebrities that you would want to be president (keep in mind that the president must be born in the United States and be over 35 years old).

I'll report my findings in a few days.

Now That I Look at It, a Breakdown of How Procrastination Works

I feel like everyone goes through this but I am constantly convincing myself of new things as the day goes on. For instance, every SINGLE morning that I wake up I'm always so distraught to leave my bed... so I mentally calculate how I'm going to incorporate a nap in the middle of the day-- "I'm going to skip lunch here and race home and I'll get 40 minutes of nap yadda yadda." Then I get up and take a shower and go and by the time my scheduled naptime rolls around, I usually don't need one. OR even more interestingly, I won't take my nap but then I'll get inexplicably EXHAUSTED 10 minutes before I have to leave for somewhere. BUT, if I miraculously DON'T have to go, if it gets cancelled last minute, I no longer have to nap! SOMETIMES if I'm not falling asleep fast enough... like if it's 2am and I need to get up at 8am... I'll say to myself "Blythe, if you don't go to sleep... then you're going to HAVE to do your laundry/read this article/whatever" and then I become instantly droopy-eyed-- that's LUCKY!

ANYWAY, last night I fell asleep RIGHT before midnight and I was sooo sad about today because I was going to have to do so much stuff. So I woke up around 7:45am (I set my alarm for 11am) but I decided to go back to sleep. I woke up about 3 more times before noon when I ACTUALLY woke up because I had to get ready and do my dishes before people came over for our shoot. Then at 4pm I unfortunately decided to watch Sex and the City, and that's it, before Chords. And then I panicked after Chords because 10:15 on isn't that much time. BUT I made a HUGE dinner for myself and then watched Stewart and Colbert (NOT reruns) AND THEN watched Letterman even though I though I was going to skip it. AND THEN I watched ALL of Ferguson!!! While playing free cell!!! (29 times!!! (won 22, lost 7-- not bad...)! And throughout this time, I've been re-calculating in my head all the things I have to do.

FIRST, I thought I was going to do this write-up for articles for anthro (which I can't even discuss because I'm so embarrassed... but suffice to say it should have been done). AND this write up for producing! AND my 13 minutes of good Sex and the City script. And studying for the quiz. AND doing a little research on this anthro thing.

NOW I'm only doing the script and the studying tonight. The rest will be done high on adrenaline tomorrow!

I know that was an anti-climactic story. But I'm a little nervous because it's 2am and I have to get this printed out way before class (like tonight, ... I have to go kind of far to get it printed in the middle of the night) because Stephanie is coming over to help me carry all of the shooting equipment at 10:30am. LAME.

I HOPE I DON'T FUCK IT UP!

Pre-RIP Planning for my TechnologieS

Here is what I would like the most:
TO WATCH V FOR VENDETTA AND BOURNE IDENTITY!! I've had these movies for like... a week now... if not more! ALSO I plan on finishing season 2 of 30 Rock.

Here's what's been done.
1. Chords recording. 930am to 5 on Saturday. I'll tell you what, I need more than one coke for 7.5 hours!
2. Filming our movie. 1:30-5:30 on Sunday and 1:30-4 today.
3. A VERY delectible meal made by myself for Rachael, Jenn, Amanda, and Andrea, none of whom I see often enough. (Rosemary chicken, aparagus, and baked potatoes with the fixin's)

Here's what I have to do:

1) write 12 more minutes of my Sex and the City script by tomorrow
2) study for my quiz tomorrow
3) finish my producing homework about my documentary for tomorrow
4) briefly look up some stuff about funnel cake and cotton candy for food anthro for tomorrow (obvs not a priority)
5)EDIT (starting Thursday)
6) also, in the long term (Nov. 21) I have to do my paper for anthro.


ALSO, I have a serious money situation. I have about $140 in my checking, $100 in my savings, about $160 in checks in my drawer, about $40 in cash, and someone owes me about $65. AND I'm paying for my own food AND I'm only making like... $40 a month. So while I've been SAYING I was poor since school started... I believe that I am now LITERALLY poor. I either need to get another job (BAH) or.... ... is it irresponsible that I'm not more worried? BUT I for SURE have to stop getting food that I'm not making in my apartment!

I'm only worried that my computer is going to break down. I just have this ... intuition about it. It just FEELS like it's about to die! PLUS I need to get a new phone because mine only works on speaker phone... which is marginally annoying. The computer thing is way more important though. I think I have over $100 in iStore money (from when I returned my iPod last year)... but I don't know that I really want a mac. I guess I'll have to negotiate it with my mom. Some sort of Christmas situation. Maybe I'll ask all of my relatives for money so I can get a new computer.
That will be the plan. Plan A.

Lastly, Stewart and Colbert were reruns last night, and while I'm glad they got to have a long weekend... I ... was very sad! Sadder than I should be!
DAMN TV NOT ON DVD!

Super-Bama

HELLZ YEAH!

Proud to be an American

It was our first lady elect, Michelle Obama, who said "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”

She got a lot of shit for it when she said it at the time... but ... she's right!!

Honestly, have you EVER felt more patriotic??? I mean... I've only been even kind of politically aware for like... 2 years... but... I think it says something that I WANT to SAY the word America! Because before it seemed like an aweful republican cliche... AMERICA! Our country's name, to me, sounded like a country song that, in the heart of the words, glorified war and fighting and hated gays and drove trucks that got 17 mpg and called college-educated people "elite" and inherently rejected non-Christian people and logical changes, that allow everyone to live a good life, on the basis of faith alone! That's not to say I don't like country music... (because I actually really like it (which is why it's the perfect metaphor for the word "America")). But I don't support ANY of those things!

The point is that right at about midnight on the fourth, I was coming out of the computer lab and I started humming "Proud to be an American!!" HOW CRAZY IS THAT??! I practically HATE that song!

Also, watching Colbert and Stewart the night after the election was pretty incredible!

When I started writing this post, it was last night (November 5) but my computer crapped out and I decided not to restart it for the rest of the night. Since then, I talked to my grandpa who was obviously in ecstasy! I told him that I TRIED to call him after I saw W. on Saturday but his phone line was out because he migrated south (Florida) for the winter (he usually lives in Utica, New York). ANYWAY, I was telling him about how in the past few years I've gotten CRAZY emotional watching movies or television when I'm alone! My example is ALWAYS how I now cry when I watch Home Alone! And not even at the end when Kevin and his mom are united! I actually cry when the mom realizes she left her son at home! Anyway, I was telling grandpa how, in W, I awkwardly cried when Bush Sr. didn't get reelected in the movie when in real life I'm so glad that Clinton became president! AND I admitted to my grandpa that I was so moved during Obama's speech that I cried, both out of joy, and mysteriously because I was really upset that Obama's grandma died only a FEW DAYS before her grandson became President of the United States!!!
Anyway, I'm a little embarrassed to say I cried because I feel like it is ALWAYS so fake when people cry or talk about it. I basically HATE when people cry during movies and I'm there (I almost NEVER cry when other people are around) because I think it makes the moment more about you with a third party present... And if the moment is big enough to cry, then it shouldn't be about you. It should be "look at how beautiful this is" not "look at how much this means to ME."
AND to make it even WORSE, I feel like I'm soooo young and I've only followed politics for like 10% of my life and I don't deserve to feel enough to want to cry. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'm so happy that I feel so involved and I don't want to feel like I can't feel strongly about something that really WILL change my life.

BUT ULTIMATELY, I did BAWL during his speech (it was SUCH a beautiful speech). And then when I was done I went to the computer lab and hummed that I was proud to be an American. And then I came back and wept more with joy! And I felt like if President Elect Obama asked me to go to war for him, I would. And then I finally admitted my feelings to my grandpa who told me that he cried during Obama's speech too. And John Stewart said that HE cried (along with Colbert) that Obama had won!

So I think we can have a big, happy weeping nation!
And that's GREAT!

Obama's Election Day Acceptance speech

I tried to highlight all of the parts that I thought were important... but really, all of it is so... amazing. So... please read it!

OBAMA:

Hello, Chicago.
(APPLAUSE)
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
(APPLAUSE)
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.
(APPLAUSE)
A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
OBAMA: I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton...
(APPLAUSE)
... and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
(APPLAUSE)
And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years...
(APPLAUSE)
... the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady...
(APPLAUSE)
... Michelle Obama.
(APPLAUSE)
Sasha and Malia...
(APPLAUSE)
... I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us...
(LAUGHTER)
... to the new White House.
(APPLAUSE)
And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe...
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: ... the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
To my chief strategist David Axelrod...
APPLAUSE)
... who's been a partner with me every step of the way.
To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics...
(APPLAUSE)
... you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.
It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy...
(APPLAUSE)
... who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.
This is your victory.
(APPLAUSE)
And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.
There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.
There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.
I promise you, we as a people will get there.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!
OBAMA: There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.
But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.
This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.
It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.
In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.
Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
(APPLAUSE)
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.
(APPLAUSE)
To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
(APPLAUSE)
That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.
And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
Yes we can.
AUDIENCE: Yes we can. OBAMA: America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
END

AMERICA WINS!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

I was going to wait until I had coherent thoughts about why I'm sooooo happy!!! But whatever!!! I'm SOOOOO HAPPY WE WON!!! I'm sooooooo happy we have a black president!!!!! I'm so glad that the WORLD IS HAPPY about our choice and knows that the American people are making changes and understanding that we need to change the direction of our country!!! I'm SOOO HAPPY that McCain emphasized his support of Obama and our country... and how he REALLY wanted his supporters to do their best to make our nation UNITED! That Obama is going to have a diverse cabinet, NOT in race (although probs) but in ideology... TRULY representing our country! I'm SOOO HAPPY that my peers voted and are involved and are excited about our country and our future!!!

It's such a beautiful day for America! And tomorrow is going to be so bright and beautiful and optimistic! I'm so happy!

THANK YOU! President elect, Barack Obama! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!!

"To those whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voice. And I will be your president too."