November 2004 Archives

As November comes to a close, I realize that I've done quite a few things that I haven't blogged. Apologies to those who read this for updates on my life--I took this month as a decompressing time period. The future brings grad school applications, TiVo building, and New Year's in New York.

In what is becoming a tradition, I took a post-election jaunt to Boston a couple weeks after the election. The first night of my road trip I stopped off in NYC, where Jon was gracious enough to give me a tour of Google (where he is now employed). I must say I was a bit jealous of the environment: low dress code, hours of 10-10, ping-pong, mini-golf, built-in cafeteria, balcony view of Times Sq, etc. The tour was an insight into the life I could have chosen...but I know I would never be complete just coding all day.

After staying the night at Seth's (and once again losing to him in Scrabble), I headed up to Boston. Visited (now engaged!) Karen and Mike and went to a house-warming party. The next day included visiting Emily for lunch, taking care of Dawn's drunken friend, watching a Sports Night DVD with Kate, and partying on my old hall, 2e.

The successful trip led to a quick 3-day week at work (extremely unproductive) and then Thanksgiving break. We visited my Dad's side of the family, almost all of whom have migrated to Maine. There were several things to be thankful for: (1) my Grandmother was in good health after a little fall a couple weeks ago, (2) lots of vegetarian side dishes (I must learn how to make that string bean casserole), and (3) more time playing touch football than engaging in family quarrels. On Saturday, we shopped in my old stomping ground of Manchester, NH; on the way there we stopped at Deaniac Kate's house to say hi.

Now it's back to work. UMich's application is due on the 15th, so I have to get on that.

Happy Thanksgiving! Almost 400 years ago, early settlers of this country met with a group of Native Americans to celebrate the mutual cooperation between the two groups. That was, of course, before these newcomers marauded and depleted the Native American way of life to realize their “Manifest Destiny.”

In the dawn of the 21st Century, race relations have dramatically improved, but some straight white men refuse to sacrifice their privilege for the common good. Take, for instance, the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig. When MLB awarded the District its first baseball team in three decades, everyone knew they were going to need to replace the old team name, the Senators. First, the Senator’s trademark is held by the Texas Rangers (who were born of the last DC franchise). Second, and more importantly, the District has no senatorial representation on the Hill; the “Washington Senators” would be a misnomer.

The early water-cooler consensus was that the team would be named the Washington Grays after the Negro League team that resided in the city before Jackie Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier. The Grays had a winning tradition (a stark contrast to the star-crossed Senators), and given DC’s large African American population, the name fit the city nicely. But then, suddenly, word came down from on high that the team would be the Nationals. Why? According to The Washington Post, while the Mayor preferred the Grays, Selig wanted to revert to the Senators. Nationals was seen as a compromise.

We know the Mayor’s reason for his aversion to naming the team the Senators (taxation without representation), but why didn’t Selig like the Grays? MLB did focus groups and Grays didn’t test well. Where were these focus groups, Loudon County? Apparently, White America is still unprepared to acknowledge our diversity and racially charged past. And MLB’s commissioner is unwilling to challenge the self-awarded privilege of the majority.

Well done, Bud. You’ve given us one fewer thing to be thankful for this year.

Over the past week, I've been doing a lot of wallowing. My goal was to be productive by yesterday, but I didn't make it. I've been extremely fatigued lately, as a result of both my physical and mental status. When people say they are giving 110%, I now know where that extra 10% comes from: the future. And while I'm still paying off my sleep loan to the Bank Of Energy, here's my attempt at mental closure.

Not only am I updating my table of top-ballot campaigns I've volunteered/consulted/worked for, but I'm making it public. I can only hope that future potential employers don't stumble across this.

Thus, I'm now a stellar 0 and 9 for candidates reaching the office they sought.

Here's something to put on your to-do list today: VOTE. Friend of mine from MIT is flying home to FL for a day to vote (her absentee ballot never arrived)--now that's commitment.

If you have trouble voting, here are some resources:

• MyPollingPlace can tell you where you should go to vote.
• Call 1-866-MYVOTE1 if you find yourself not on the voter rolls or encounter other roadblocks to casting your vote; they'll answer questions specific to your problems. Other similar resources would be your state's election web site and the phone number of your state's Democratic party.
• Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE if you see a serious problem at the polls: voter supression, intimidation, ballot problems. You'll immediately get a lawyer on the line at this number--it's for emergencies.