Everyone is making history

2008 has been quite a history making year. Last night Barack Obama became the first African-American Democratic candidate for President and this morning John McCain, in an underhanded but ultimately kind of awesome move, chose current Alaska governer Sarah Palin to be his VP. So whichever way it goes come November, we will definitely have a change in the White House.

I thought Obama's speech last night was great. He touched on everything that's been on my mind and a lot of things that should be. He gave a lengthy and lofty list of what's wrong and what needs to be changing in Amerca. I know that there's no way for everything he said last night to happen within the next 4 years but he can take a step in the right direction. And I totally applaud him for referencing the 45 year anniversay of the I Have A Dream speech. I kind of didn't think he would because of how sore a subject race has, is and probably always will be, and it's great that he at least acknowledged MLK since it's kind of because of MLK and what he stood for that Barack Obama was able to stand in front of 80.000 people last night and make history.

Fuck you Chris Matthews

From the NY Times:

Mr. Matthews said the Obamas are “like the Huxtables,” and praised Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Obama as exceptional role models: “They do everything right. They have great kids, they work their hearts off, they make it in their professions, they don’t live off welfare, they don’t commit crimes, they don’t live on affirmative action."

Hey Chris Matthews--guess what? Not all black people are lazy criminals who live on government handouts. Yes the Obamas are great. But you know what else? There millions of Black American families who are pretty great too.

It's this kind of under-the-radar "but I'm not a racist I have 3 black friends" bullshit that I just can't handle anymore. Barack and Michelle are black (ok so he's half-black). And that's okay. It's totally and completely FINE and AWESOME that they are black Americans and there is no need to say, "oh they have degrees and money and power and OH MY THEY ARE BLACK--that's so amazing."

What's amazing is that people still spout bullshit like this.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits

I stayed in last night to focus and write. And I did focus and write--after watching an insane documentary on feral children on TLC followed by a Discovery Health gem about this couple who had 2 sets of quadruplets.

After I managed to focus and actually get work done, I treated myself to friends coming over and the Democratic National Convention. Hillary Clinton was the featured speaker last night and I had basically convinced myself that she was going to fuck everything up.

Instead she completely surprised me and gave a speech that I actually identified with. I wouldn't go back and change my vote for Barack, but I was definitely moved by her last night, and I am really glad that she ran for President and almost won. There are a lot of things I don't like about Hillary Clinton but for the most part she's an amazing woman who has done absolutely incredible things. I would like to belong to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits--except I'd like to wear empire waist shirts and leggings, thank you.

But you have to admit....the shot of Bill crying and mouthing "I love you" was a bit much.

Michelle Obama

....was really great last night.

She touched on all the right subjects in all the right ways and did it pretty naturally and seamlessly with the exception how she occasionally sounded a little like a she was in a high school play. I'd love it if Cindy McCain opened up the Republican National Convention next week just so we can compare and contrast. I thought it was perfect marketing that they brought out the rarely seen Obama daughters at the end. They were totally precious and stole my heart and if America can't vote that family into the White House.....

I'm a complete sap but I was kind of almost moved to tears during Michelle Obama's speech. It was just so amazing to see this tall striking black woman speaking on a national stage, all eyes and ears on her as she spoke on why her husband is the best choice to lead this country--if anyone should know why he's the man for the job, it should be her right? She didn't feel elitist to me, in fact it was just the opposite--she came across as someone I could totally know in life--she could have been my mom's co-worker, or a neighbor from Georgia. I didn't see high-powered lawyer with an Ivy league education. I saw a an awesome woman with 2 gorgeous kids and a husband who share the same dream and are committed to achieving it.

I kind of wish I could teleport into the future for just a minute to find out who wins. The suspense is killing me.

Recession is here.

When I was younger, it didn't matter what store I was in, if there was a candy counter by the cash registers it was a given that a person could get 2 kinds of candy for $1. 2 packs of M&Ms,
2 snickers bars, a KitKat and a Zero bar.

2 for $1. Makes sense right? A bag of peanut M&Ms should never cost more than two quarters. I moved to New York and started to regularly pay 79 cents or more for my KitKat fix.

Then today, I read this.




I didn't get it before. I didn't really understand what a recession or a downward economic turn would do to me personally.

But now it's hit me. If I have to pay over $1 for some candy, something is wrong. Because I am a single person with no kids who has a sweet tooth. God forbid I was a parent who loved my kids and loved to bring them a little treat after work.....

I don't drive so the gas prices haven't affected me. But peanut butter M&Ms are one of my most favorite candies EVER.

Totally thought this was real

I was watching on mute and it took me way to long to get the joke. I was actually amazed for like a real long minute there.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

My Blackberry Has Changed My Life

I never wanted this to happen. I’ve heard about how addicted a person can become to their Blackberry. In fact, I’d seen the phenomenon first hand with my roommate—her phone is almost an actual extension of her right hand. And I loved my Sidekick. It was a wonderful phone even though I always felt slightly self-conscious because it was so bulky and there's been such an emphasis on thin and sleek as of late. But it was an awesome phone and it was a sad day about a month ago when I dropped it into my full bubbling foot spa.

But luckily, I was up for a new phone anyway and I’d been debating on whether I was going to jump on the Blackberry bankwagon or get on that iPhone train. In the end I went with the Blackberry and the next week I became an official owner of a beautiful red Blackberry Pearl.

.......And I can’t put it down. It’s the nicest, coolest phone I have ever had and I’m sorry (but not really) if that makes me sound like a naïve non-techie who knows nothing about awesome phones. I am a person who for years only got the free upgrade phone that was almost always an ugly piece of shit that immediately let anyone I was hanging out with know that I wasn’t a real adult. Even my Sidekick was really only coveted by middle schoolers. I got this Blackberry and suddenly—I feel like an adult. I’m getting WORK EMAIL on my phone. I take this baby out when it buzzes and I don’t look like an 8th grader flipping my screen up to see who myspaced me. I’m looking at a really important email that probably needs to be answered immediately. And there are so many ways to get a hold of someone now--AIM, Gchat, texting, Blackberry messenging, email, picture messenging. I'm connected to my friends all day everyday no matter where they are or I am. It's so insane to me that with this phone I am instantly available if I choose to be. It's just so futuristic and slightly mind blowing to really wrap ones head around the concept of instant availability.

After making fun of me for being so into my phone for a couple of weeks, my boyfriend also got a Blackberry. Now he understands why it’s so hard to pry yourself away from it. I know that the Blackberry is just one more way in which I am becoming that person I used to secretly hate—you know the pretentious with an inflated self-importance gentrifier who can’t even be bothered to say excuse me because she’s on her phone kind of person. But what people need to understand is that I’m not trying to shut the world out when I am furiously texting away on my phone—those fucking keys are so small and it takes me FOREVER and lots of backspacing to communicate effectively on my can-do-anything Blackberry.

But I recognize how it's not okay that at any given moment a person can walk into my apartment and find me, my roommate, my boyfriend, and our neighbor all completely entranced in our respective Blackberries.

A moment to remember Sandy Allen

Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman, died today.

I never met her or even saw her in real life, but at least once or twice a year I would see her in random documentaries on Discovery Health and/or TLC. I know that doesn't count as knowing someone but.....I still think she was an awesome woman and I wish I had had the chance to meet her.

Sandy Allen was 6'3 by the time she was 10. I know that it's not quite the same but I was 5'8 by the time I was 9. I first saw a documentary about Sandy and other tall people in 5th grade in science class. After seeing it I felt scared that I too would grow to be a giant since I was already a foot taller than everyone in my class. That was one of the first times that the emotion of empathy was felt by my young heart. It sucked being tall and lanky and if it sucked for me at 5'8, god only knows how hard it must have been to be 7'7. Sandy Allen is awesome though because she made the most of her lot and made it great. She totally embraced her height and one of the great things she did was speaking all around the country to kids about accepting people who are different. And I think that's one of the best lessons EVER and is not taught enough.

So take a moment today to remember Sandy Allen. Or to wikipedia her if you don't know who she is.

Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes also died over the weekend as I'm sure everyone knows. I did love me some Bernie Mac--his voice sounded like home to me--a combination of my dad and my grandmother and listening to him fast talk took me back to Georgia every time. Issac Hayes is in one of my favorite movies, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. If you have it seen it, you should Netflix it today.

Monday night I was at the grocery store and the lady who bags purchases there is about 3 seconds away from being totally insane at any moment. She's really nice though and is always chatting me up. The other night she says,

"Girl you heard about Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes? That's a damn fool shame is what it is. A damn fool shame them being taken so young. And gal, you know death happens in threes. Says it in the bible. Always in threes."

This comment coming from a woman who is about 60 years old, gaunt and skinny as a rail with only 4 teeth and could MAYBE be a witch is kind of creepy. And with Sandy Allen's death today, my experience with the Maybe Witch from Fine Fare Grocery store is really creeping me out.

My friend Christos is THIS CLOSE to being way famous

His band's song is featured in a Gossip Girl promo airing for the next 2 weeks! This is fantastic for a few reasons including:

• His band, Wine Is Thicker Than Blood is AMAZING and you should check them out here
• Christos is one of my favorite people to watch Gossip Girl with
  
• We WILL figure out a way to get into the premiere party and now Christos has some street cred to get us there
  
• The promo is ridick sexy and I love that the main characters have all just hit 16.

Enjoy.

WINE IS THICK THAN BLOOD - GOSSIP GIRL PROMO from Quiet Color on Vimeo.

I'm that person who takes pens

I'm sure you have a coworker like me. I'm that person who takes pens that don't belong to me. As well as staple removers, 3 hole punchers, highlighters, mechanical pencils, scissors, etc. If a coworker of mine can't find that blue pen she loves, or maybe that Sharpie with the fine tip....it's probably lost in the mess that is my desk. I sit across from my boss and somehow her desk manages to stay clear of clutter all the time. As soon as I take my seat, my desk kind of just blows up in front of me, a flurry of star shaped post-it notes, flourescent colored gel pens, hanging file tabs and half drunk bottles of Perrier and Dr. Pepper.

I've always been a messy little bitch. In 2nd grade, my desk was so cluttered that it overtook my classmates on both sides. I blame my parents. My mom once told my brother and I that she had kids so that we could do all the chores. I was never allowed to have a bit of mess in my room. Beds were for sleeping, not "lounging in" as my mother called it. Feet were not to be propped up on couches and bare feet weren't allowed anywhere in the house. Once my friend Brittany came over and actually made herself comfortable on the living room couch and my mom had a silent heart attack. When Brittany left Mom came to me and said,

"Bran your white friends are raised different than you and I know they don't know any better. But you need to tell your friends that this is not their home and they do not put their feet on my sofa."

My mom has the kind of inflection in her voice that makes everything she says sound like the written word of God.

So I've always been messy on the inside and now that I am an adult my messiness isn't in the closet anymore. Also--let's just be clear--I am not NASTY--I am always clean and I keep a clean house....but I'll be the first to admit that I try on 5 outfits in the morning and four of them are left on the bed/floor/dresser. My bills are kept in 2 piles. The new bills nearest the door to my room and the old paid bills on the dresser--I have a file box but I can't seem to ever file anything in it.

Anyway--I just stole like 2 different co-workers' pens' and I thought I'd blog about it. There's also this great new stapler on my desk which must have come from someone else too.

8/8/08

Last night I ended up on at the South Street Seaport at a silent disco drinking free absinthe.

Just one of the many reasons why I love New York.

In case you've never been, at a silent disco you get headphones and then proceed to the dancefloor to make it happen. It's kind of like dancing by yourself at home except there are lots of other people around you also having the same surreal experience. It was really awesome. It would have been better if the DJ had been better. I often have problems with DJs because having DJ'd my fair share of weddings and parties and school dances in the Athens-Atlanta area, I consider myself a bit of an expert in what people of all ages want to hear at parties. A good DJ never has an empty dance floor and every kid at Jefferson Middle School's 8th grade dance, DJ'd by yours truly in 2003, will agree that being on the dance floor and making it happen to every song makes for a really fun dance.

As for the absinthe. Absinthe is.....different. I freely admit that I am a bad drinker. And by bad drinker I mean that its very likely for me to get completely ill from 3 drinks. This can prove to be cumbersome for my going out buddies because once I'm feeling wasted and vomitous all I want to do is go home and not to the after party. I'd never tried absinthe before and I'm never one to turn down a free drink. So knowing that I have a tendency to not handle my liquor well, I proceeded to drink quite a bit of the 100-proof only recently legalized alcohol.

The end result was me dancing my ass off on the silent disco dancefloor and feeling like I was walking on air. I think absinthe might be my new favorite thing. That is....until I drink to much and barf up that licorice taste....then I will probably definitely be over it in the way I am over red wine, vodka, bourbon, and tequila that comes in plastic bottles.

****

My favorite thing about today besides the fact that it's Friday and that I get paid and that I am probably leaving early is that 8/8/08 is a fantastic date. I feel I should do something completely amazing tonight but exactly what that amazing activity will be has yet to be determined. The best thing about living in New York City is....living in New York City so hopefully on Monday I will have a great tale for you.

I'll leave you with this quote from last night when my apartment crew (my boyfriend, my roommate, my neighbor and myself). We were watching the finale of So You Think You Can Dance (ps I almost cried watching one of the dances--it was that good) and there was a dance where they were all dressed like these crazy people-sized rabbits. Someone got to talking about how sometimes rabbits can be scary.

"Rabbits are scary."

"Yeah, but people dressed as rabbits are even scarier."

And because I need to post it

A picture of baby Madisyn!!!

I know, I'm dying a little inside too because I can't even HANDLE her preciousness.

My family is SO GOOD at producing pretty babies!

Some great quotes

I have lots of pics and great stories from Georgia but I only have a minute and last night Christos was cracking me up at usual so I thought I'd share some quotes.

A conversation between 2 friends--1 black and 1 Greek

Christos: This Garden of Eden pizza sounds great--tomato sauce, black olives and fresh mozzarella.

Brandy: Ew. Fuck black olives.

Christos: Fuck black people.

Brandy: Fuck Greek people and their black olives.


If you heard this and didn't know the context....

"In kindergarten, I used to sneak off to the bathroom to suck it."

--Christos on when he used to suck his thumb.