Friday, August 29, 2008

Political rantings

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837510,00.html/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837492,00.html

Yeah. That pretty much sealed the deal in terms of who I'm voting for. And I thought it was going to have to think about this more..

The first thing that infuriated me about this article in particular is the statement about how "she's pro-life in practice as well as in theory" because she gave birth to her fifth child, knowing that he would have Down Syndrome. Well, that's great - I'm glad that she chose life. But, the "problem" here is this - a happily married woman with a family of four (who is INSANELY wealthy) is really not in a terrible position in which she has to face the choice of having an abortion or not...

She's only been governor a month longer than Obama has been running for President....And McCain was attacking Obama for lack of experience? If McCain gets elected, he will be the oldest President to be inaugurated. Pardon me for being so frank, but he croaks while in office (which is a damn good possibility at his age), she's going to be the President.

I could go into much more fury, but I'll simply end on a "No thank you."

Sunday, August 24, 2008

MUSH

*Caution: mushy content (In case you didn't get that according to the title).

I apologize sincerely. I usually don't blog about events like this, but I felt it was necessary...partially because I have to tell somebody about it, and it's about 1 am, so I can't call anyone. So I'll tell my blog.

First, there's a back story to all of this. When Tim and I first met, I was reading this book called Captivating. He asked me what it was about, and I explained that it was a spiritual book written for women that had a lot to do with rediscovering who you are, who you want to be, and what you desire. (Advertisement - I'm not one for spiritual or self-help books, but ladies, this book was GOOD). I told him that the book really touched me in a lot of ways, and it really explained me.

Also, when we got in our first big fight, I kind of used the book to better explain how I was feeling, mostly because when I'm upset and/or stressed, I can't speak my mind clearly to save me life.

So, tonight, Tim and I had a bet on something that happened in Tolkien's Return of the King (Don't you say a word). I didn't want to trust the computer (mostly because it said that he was the winner of the debate), so we were rummaging through his book collection to actually see if he had a copy. In the top half of one of his stacks of books was Captivating. I started laughing and I asked him if was trying to get in touch with his inner woman...and he kind of looked at me and just said that he went and bought it at Barnes and Noble at one point...He wanted to read the book to get to know me better.

He never told me about it...he just bought it, and read parts of it.

...Now. Maybe I'm overreacting. But that is, quite possibly, one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. You can keep all the most expensive and lavish gifts in the world, because nothing, nothing comes even remotely close to that. When I told him I was shocked, he just said "I keep telling you you're worth it. One day you'll believe me."

In conclusion, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for putting Tim in my life.

(Oh, and as another side note, don't ever make a bet with a librarian-to-be about a Tolkien book/movie. Especially if that bet includes a homemade pie. And especially if you already owe that librarian-to-be a homemade pie.)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Sappy moment

You know, today was an amazing day.

It started off at 9 am with PK and I fixing up my car. The whole exhaust system needed to be replaced, and it was an all day process. Well, almost all day - 9-4ish. But now my car purrs like a kitten. I'm a fan. So, a double "woot" goes to PK and his freakin' sweet car skills, as well as being just an awesome friend.

Then, I went home...and my dad said he needed to talk to me. An instant "eek" raced through my brain. It started off as a conversation about Matt (my older brother) and how he graduated with a certification after 6 years, and how he was covered under the insurance because of his continuing education...so, I thought the conversation was going to turn into "We need you to find your own insurance soon."

No. It turned into "So, mom and I have talked about it, and we decided that we want to pay for the first year of your grad school, books and everything."...My mouth literally dropped open. I started to cry. I've never been so overwhelmed or so grateful for anything my entire life...I can actually be a professor! It's not going to be impossible!!

I'm stoked. Stoked is an understatement.

I feel like this is a bizarre answer to my prayers, because I kept telling God that I was feeling trapped and I felt like I couldn't see any sort of path out of the whole convoluted mess that's been made over the past three or four months. I've never really felt like God directly answered prayers in this way...but it's definitely feeling as if this is some sort of blessing/break that he fully intended on sending my way.

Afterwards, I went to see Tim, taking him a bowl of some homemade venison stew...you know, lately it's been pretty crazy because of how much he works and how much my schedule varies. But, even if I get to spend just an hour with him, I feel like I can stay sane. It's amazing how much I miss him when I have to go a long time without seeing him...but, at the same time, it's amazing how I'm totally comfortable just doing my own thing and being myself, even if we can't be together as much as we'd like.

...It's been an awesome, awesome day.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Restless 2 am.

I wish there was some sort of way to shut your brain off.

No. Seriously. My overactive mind is the leading cause of lack of sleep these days. I've tried everything from reading, writing, praying, watching tv, drinking sleepy time tea (yes, there is such a creature)...it doesn't change the fact that, for whatever reason, I have to lay in bed for an hour or more to just think. It's as if there's some sort of gerbil in my head, running on one of those little exercise wheels nonstop, the wheel making constant squeaking noises everytime the gerbil's pudgy little legs push him to take a step.

"So, what's on your mind?"

That's the thing - nothing in particular. I'm typically not overly bothered by much of anything. I'm really not stressed, I'm not working too hard. I'll think about everything from conversations I've had, stories I heard on the news, books I'd like to read...just random, stupid crap. (Granted, tonight's a wee bit of a different scenario, but we don't need to get into that.)

It's the same when I'm going for a walk, or even when I'm reading...my thoughts move so quickly that it's difficult for me to grasp them, if that makes any sense at all.

So if anyone has a solution, fill me in. I'm all ears....or eyes, considering this is a blog.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Gah.

So, I came home, and although sleepy, I thought "I'll watch tv for 20 minutes."

There's a show on the history channel about giant octopuses. They just showed footage of an octopus eating a shark.

...I'll repeat that.

They just showed footage of an octopus. Eating a shark. EATING A FUCKING SHARK.

...It's 1:21 am, and I'm super sleepy, but I can't stop watching this show.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Too bad it's not just checkers

I've been sitting around all day today. On the one hand, it hasn't exactly been the most fun - food poisoning never is. On the other hand, I had the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the silence of my house, which is as rare an occurrence as seeing a unicorn with a top hat, tap dancing to "Putting on the Ritz." So, so nice.

Had a fun couple of shockers today, none of which I can get into all that much...but, the point is, the game of life in the Hester household has officially gone from a strategic, "learn as you play" type to a more aggressive, 500 mile an hour Mario Kart-esque track in which we get knocked off our asses with a random green shell far too often. It's been a change a few months in the making now, and I can't say I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

It's weird when you hit that point in your life where you have to separate yourself from your family and move at your own pace in your own direction. It's not like I'm going to completely abandon my family by any means, but this is essentially the moment I've been waiting for since I was twelve. I can move out within the next six months, I'm as financially stable as a college student can be, I'm graduating in a year or so, I've got a stable boyfriend and a plethora of amazing friends...and yet I'm semi-freaking the fuck out.

Bizarre. I think my inner-child is slightly upset with me on that one.

Personal intro continued/updated

I'm no longer going for a double major. I'm sticking with a political science major and a minor in English.

Yeah, I know, I can't get a teaching certificate that way. That's not so cool. But, the fact is, a double major with a Secondary Education certification will take me just as much time as getting a masters in political science. Yeah.

I failed to mention some more personal aspects of myself in the last intro. Sorry about that.

I love music, to the point where some might consider it semi-unhealthy. Same with South Park. And no, the two aren't necessarily linked.

I'm a fan of reading and writing (obviously).

I've been dating a guy named Tim for plus six months now, and he makes me a very, very happy Pam. There's lots to be said about him/us, but, we don't need to get into that sort of mushiness now. I'm sure he'll be mentioned in some way or another in blogs to come.

I love my friends.

And...yeah.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Dear Kwame and his supporters

(*Edit* Yes, I double post things. I'm going to do that for a while until I get more comfy with the blogging scene)

Hello there, Mr. Kilpatrick. It's good to see you - on every news channel (both national and local), every newspaper (both national and local again), and on every website imaginable. Too bad we couldn't be seeing your face plastered everywhere because of the good that you've done for our city. I guess that would be too much to ask of our mayor.

You had a lot of promise, Kwame. It's such a shame that you're facing two counts of assault (The assault of a police officer, too. Way to go.), one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of misconduct in office, and four (FOUR!!!) counts of perjury. That's ten fenlony charges, Kwame. Ouch.

You're defense attorney said that you were in good spirits after leaving jail. I really hope that was one of those optimistic lies. Because, frankly, with all those nasty charges and with a night in a jail cell, I should hope that you're not in a cheeky mood.

Where's your wife and family in all of this? I mean, when you cheated on her and it became public (both of these instances proving just how arrogant and ignorant you are), she claimed that she still supported you. I really, really hope (for her sake) that she's packing up her stuff and moving out. I doubt she can even look in you in the eyes. Do you really expect your children to be able to look up to you now as a good role model, might I add? If you weren't going to think about how your city would suffer from all of this nonsense, you should've at least thought about your own children. One of your attorneys said "I'm sure the mayor's family is going to be very happy to have the mayor back home." (James Thomas) I guess we'll see about that.

How was your vacation to Windsor? I mean, apparently you were going on an emergency meeting, of course...but, isn't it kind of funny how the people who supposedly called you to such an urgent meeting claimed to have never called you? Gee. The cards must be stacked against you.

You have put your family and your city through enough hell to last a lifetime. You have cost us way too much money with your bullshit antics. Resign. Resign, resign, resign. Enough is enough. You claimed once you got out of jail that you were ready to go back to work - do us a favor and don't. You're definition of "working" is definitely different than most of ours.

Oh, and Kwame supporters, I have a peice of advice for you - shut the fuck up. One of you was pictured in the free press with a sign saying "Is this 2008 or 1968." Do you realize how idiotic you are if you think that this whole case, this whole fucking convoluted piece of work that we have heard about for months and months, is really a matter of black or white? Any man or woman, ANY, regardless of the color of his skin, would be (AND SHOULD BE) punished for the crimes that this man has committed. So please, put down your sign, go home, open up any newspaper, and educate yourself. You obviously need it.

Furthermore, for the rest of you, if you still support the mayor after everything that he has not done for this city, I pity you. There are so many more nobler causes to support than this - find one. I promise you, it won't be hard, and it'll take just as much time to read up on one than it will for you to piss and moan about Kilpatrick. If you really think that a person's rights are being denied, check out any human rights website. Maybe that'll help you with your apparent blindness.

Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

Sincerely,
Pam Hester

Woah

It's been a wee bit too long since I last posted. My apologies. It's been an eventful (and incredibly fun) summer.

So, I've been acting quite strangely lately. And I think people have noticed the byproduct of the strange behavior, but not the actual behavior itself.

I've been stopping to watch the sunset. Actually pulling over by Stoney Creek, sitting on top of a hill, and sitting in silence and observing.

Speaking of silence, I'm enjoying it way more than usual. Laying outside and either reading or just letting my mind wander without any background noise...

Even when there is background noise, it's always incredibly relaxing music like Jack Johnson.

The end result? I'm genuinely loving life. Now, granted, there are many more reasons as to why life is so amazing right now, but, the changes of habit are making a huge impact.