Monthly Archives: October 2008

Early to Vote, Early to Aggravation

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Because I’m canvassing in Nevada this weekend and into Election Day, I had to vote early. Forgoing “vote by mail” for no legitimate reason, I decided to travel all the way to Norwalk, about 45 minutes South. Early voting is currently taking place at the County Recorder’s Office. This is the place you go if you need a duplicate birth certificate, but otherwise, you’re not likely to visit Norwalk for any other reason. Mind you, this is the ONLY location in all of Los Angeles that any sort of early voting is taking place, so it’s not like I had a choice in the matter.

I imagined it would take a big chunk out of my day, but little did I know how big a chunk it would consume. My brother and I drove down and arrived a little before 1pm. Immediately, we noticed a lengthy line and sighed. Well, how bad could it be? We got in line, but were quickly escorted to the REAL end of the line; a massive tent filled with rows upon rows of chairs. I didn’t count, but I imagine that there were at least 300-500 people waiting to vote under the tent at any given time. We all sat in order of arrival and waited.

As the minutes dragged, from time to time, someone would get up and direct their frustration at the man with the walkie talkie. He seemed to be in charge. An hour passed. The people next to me gave up leaving an open seat. An older woman with long Grey hair and a peace-loving demeanor sat down. She cut in line. I didn’t really care one way or the other, but she upset several people and got into a shouting match with an elderly African American woman. Back and forth for a bit and several exchanges of rude glances later, this friendly line jumper chatted with me and actually helped the time pass a little faster. She even let me read her newspaper for a spell. Sadly, my iPhone died around the 1 hour mark and I was left without my electronic entertainment. I would resort to idle chat with strangers and joking around with my brother.

Tension continued to rise into the second hour. You could feel people getting anxious. I continued to remain optimistic and knew that I would wait as long as it took. What other option did I have? News cameras came in and out, their vans parked and unparked. Minute blurbs about voter turn out. What a scoop! People continued to argue with the man with the walkie talkie, asking him when the line would start moving. Up until that point, it hadn’t moved an inch. People argued that it seemed the line was not orderly, that some people had cut in line and that several rows of seats were filled with line jumpers. It just wasn’t fair, they cried. The man with the walkie talkie explained himself calmly to each and every person. I felt for the guy; tough job and all.

The line finally started moving into the second hour. People cheered as each row moved on to the next life. One row of seats followed by the next. However, this is when people really started getting upset. They swore they saw line jumpers going ahead. One particularly loud individual shouted at the man with the walkie talkie, got up on her chair, and attempted to rally the crowd to her side. She looked familiar. She was obviously rebel-rousing and complained about the wait when she’d only been there an hour. Try waiting 2. Several people told her to sit down, but she continued to shout about the unfairness of it all. Me? I remained calm, but was starting to get annoyed with all the people getting annoyed. The woman finally sat down after a heated discussion with the walkie talkie man. People were whispering that they knew who she was. Sure enough, she was an actress by the name of CCH Pounder. I had to look up her name. She’s on FX Channel’s The Shield. Yeah, I only knew she looked familiar, but don’t actually know very much about her. BFD. I was like, Shut up bitch. Sit the fuck down. It’s not like the line’s going to move any faster just because you want it so. Sit the fuck down and wait like the rest of us. I didn’t actually say any of that, but I wanted to. Damn. I seriously think she was trying to use her celebrity status to move the line faster. Get a clue CCH, no one knows who you are. Two people thought you were on Law and Order. OK, and can I point out…what kind of name is CCH? Pounder? I barely know her.

After 3 long hours, my row was finally given a half sheet of paper to fill out that read “Vote By Mail Application”. We were told that if we didn’t fill it out, we couldn’t vote. No one knew what was going on, so I got up and asked. Now, what’s this about voting by mail? I was told that California doesn’t actually have a provision for early voting. Therefore, to get around it (and the only way to vote early) you must vote by mail. I was confused. If I was voting by mail, why had I just waited 3 hours in a noisy, windy, tent with idiots complaining about voter dissuasion? Turns out, indeed, I had just waited 3 hours to vote by mail. My ballot was a vote by mail ballot and because all mailed-in votes go to Norwalk anyway, I merely managed to save myself the price of a postage stamp. 3 hours and I saved 42 cents.

What bothers me about this debacle is that not only was I not made aware that I would be voting by mail, I don’t think anyone knew. If I’d wanted to vote by mail, why wouldn’t I have simply voted by mail…from my house? Why would I drive 45 minutes, wait 3 hours, and then do something I could have done from home? For the privilege of using a voting booth? Early voting in California is a total and utter sham! Don’t bother going to Norwalk or any other place. If you can’t be here on the 4th, vote by mail from YOUR HOME! It’s ridiculous. By the time we all found out we’d been had, it was too late and we were all tired and ready to sit in traffic and go home. I repeat, the only way to vote early in California is BY MAIL. There is no need to visit an official office.

Secondly, why the long wait? A little organization and the whole thing should have only taken an hour…tops. You hand everyone a form to fill out. When they complete it, you give them a number on a first come, first serve basis. Each person, depending on where they live, gets a different ballot in order to vote on local measures and propositions. You have a team of interns running around collecting the individual ballots. You call the number, hand them their ballot and direct traffic to an open booth. Simple. Done. Easy. At the very least, you control how many people get numbers at a time…since there are only a few dozen seats in the office.

After I was done voting, I walked around looking for my brother and noticed that there were at least 20 open booths. Open. Not being used. All those people waiting and there were open booths? Good Lord. What the hell is going on here? How hard is it to organize a voting system that gets people in and out in an hour? My entire visit took 4 hours, plus another 2 coming and going. What a total waste of time. I voted. I got my say, but it was a hard road to travel. It was long, boring, aggravating, and took time out of my day that I could have spent getting ready for my trip to Vegas. The people around me and I looked at each other occasionally with a look that read, “lesson learned”. All this talk about voter suppression and I think I understand. It’s not that they’re trying to stop you from voting, it just so happens that the people running the thing are utter morons.

In the end, my frustration stems from mismanagement, disorganization, and deceit. Perhaps it’s omission of information. Regardless, I don’t think half the people there would have wasted the time if they’d known they were voting by mail anyway. My brother asked and was told to complain to the State Controller. Huh? Doesn’t that guy manage the state budget? What does that have to do with organizing early voting? I need to figure out who to complain to and send them a strongly worded letter.

And tonight, we finished off an annoying day with Halloween traditions a day early: “Disney’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” followed by “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!” I have clothes in the wash and will pack in the morning. I’m headed into a busy week which includes being forced to see Criss Angel, a Cirque du Soleil after-party, Saturday early rise for Obama rally and neighborhood canvassing, another day of that, and then another, and then another. I best get my Dr. Scholls on.

Remember kids, voting early in California means voting by mail and voting by mail alone. Don’t let what happened to me (and countless others) happen to you.

La Brea Tar Pits

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Death trap.

Posted by ShoZu

Went to the La Brea Tar Pits in an impromptu effort to see some stuff. What amazes me, is not only the museum filled with old artifacts, the museum itself is an old artifact and hasn’t changed much since my last visit more than 15 years ago.

BTW, your fun fact for the day is: Brea means “tar”, so the so the literal translation would be The Tar Tar Pits. And that’s the pits.

Canvassing for Obama

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In the past, I never felt strongly enough about a candidate to campaign or even wear a button. They’d get my vote if they were the lesser of two evils. I liked Al Gore and voted for him, but wasn’t excited enough about him to do any real work. Things have changed. I’ve been watching Barack Obama for the last year and one thing is clear: I want to help. Put that into the context of a busy career, an over burgeoning garden, life, Must See TV, and catching up with email, when do I have the time to help? It’s coming down to the wire and I feel that Obama needs more than my vote. I’ve listened to him speak and I’ve watched his body language. Actually, I’m really good at determining what people are about by their body language and it’s something I paid close attention to with Bush. When I first watched him speak, I knew he was a bold faced liar. When I watch Obama, I think, this guy is pretty smooth, but he also seems to really care about fixing our problems as a nation. I like the idea of us coming together to fix our common problems. I like the idea that if we all put forth a little effort, we really can become the America we always knew we could be. He’s an excellent speaker and he says the right things. He’s honest that government can’t fix our problems and government isn’t solely to blame. He’s practical and wise. He’s different. I want to live in a world where yes, we can elect an African American president, but not because he’s black, but because he’s the right man for the job. I want to live in a world where people fix problems instead of making them. I want the corruption to end and I want an economy that isn’t the shame of the world. I want the rest of the world to see us as we see ourselves: That “We Can Do It”, “United We Stand Divided We Fall” country that pulls together when the going gets tough; the country we were during WWII.

That’s why I’ve decided to get off my ass in the final days and push for Obama. The choice is clear. Finally, do something or sit on my duff and watch the world I live in collapse into 4 more years of the same (to use a catch phrase). But it’s true, McCain and more convincingly, Palin, are prime examples of what’s wrong with government: overspending, rhetoric, name calling, bullying, fake plans, saying what you want to hear just to get the vote, tolerating intolerance, and claiming that they can fix all our concerns in 4 years. Right. Good luck with that. Obama has never said he can fix it all in 4 years. That would be great, but no president can. What we need is to hit the ground running, hoist up our sleeves and get to work.

Mostly, I admire a man that can inspire so many. That is he is inspirational has inspired me. I see the way people look at him and think, now that’s a man I want leading the country. A man that can rise above petty disputes and talk about the issues at hand. A man that says, hey, I can’t do it all, but I have an awesome team and I need your help. I mean, jeez, his entire campaign has been publicly funded. That says a lot.

Anyway, I like Obama for lots of reasons. Not because celebrities tell me so or because my boyfriend loves Obama more than he loves me. I like him because he really seems to care. I’ve heard people (my Mom) say he sounds too good to be true. And I think, yeah, that’s accurate. He does. But what if he really is the guy we see on TV, watch at rallies, and listen to on the radio? What if? I think the idea of believing in something so grand is scary to some people. It’s like thinking you could win the lottery. Why waste your time and money? Why hope for something that seems impossible? Well, you have to play to win. Yes, the chances of winning the lottery are slim, but the potential does exist.

Obama has a shitload of potential. He’s got great ideas, he’s logical, rational, and he makes sense. So yeah, I figure if I want change in this country, real change, I need to stop complaining to do something.

I’ve signed up for canvassing in Nevada over the weekend of the 1st. The last days before the election. AJB and I will drive out Halloween day and get up bright and early Saturday morning. Obviously, I’ll post updates on the way. I’m really excited. For me to be this excited is a big deal. Like most people, it’s been easier for me to sit back and watch things unfold and then complain about them at coffee houses. I really want Obama in the White House and want to help make that happen.

Keep in mind, I’m not the kind of person who that has ever actively become involved in a campaign. I never cared enough. I was cynical of Obama in the beginning and like a lot of people felt that he talked a good talk, but wondered if he could walk the walk. I’ve been paying attention. I think he’s got the walk down. And well, if it turns out he’s the anti-Christ, I for one welcome our new Satanic Overlords.

Pre-Packaged Goth

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Instead of working my butt off yesterday, I palled around with my boyfriend’s 12 year old daughter. She and I have a few things in common and I think she’s a pretty great kid. In particular, even though she’s a twin, she’s still the middle child. I was the second born, but I was still a middle child. We both have challenging mothers. We both like to fix things and make things better. She reads like a fiend. When I was that age, I read like a fiend. Anything I could get my hands on. I remember when she was 9, she asked me if I thought it was OK to be weird. How cute. Of course, I replied, you’re talking to me! I’m the Queen of Weird, after all. Maybe not a Queen, maybe a Princess of Weird. Anyway, I’ve always made it a point to let her be herself and embrace her weirdness. She’s got a good head on her shoulders and she’s super smart.

For Halloween this year, she’s decided to be a Dark Fairy. I was never into Dark Fairies, because they didn’t really exist when I was 12, but I probably would have been. I thought, how cool is that? I need to help her! What better place to take a 12 year old girl putting together a Dark Fairy costume than Hot Topic? Sure, I don’t work there anymore, but it remains the one stop shop for pre-teens looking to rebel. I recalled that Dark Fairies were big when I worked there and knowing Hot Topic, probably still were. We got there and looked around a bit. Hardly any Dark Fairy items. Maybe one messenger bag. I wanted to get her some cool wings, but all they had were angels, butterflies, and devils. Booo.

Kudos to Hot Topic for finally dropping the fairies after all these years, but when we finally need something from them, they don’t deliver. What else is new? As an added bonus, the staff was playing THE most annoying music – it was GWAR or GWAR-like, you know the kind of music that sounds like Satan having a tough time in the bathroom? It’s probably my least favorite kind of music and really put off my boyfriend’s daughter. I imagined taking her in and finding all kinds of cool fairy stuff and then maybe even getting her excited about some Goth stuff. As usual, Hot Topic is out of the loop and don’t realize they’re dealing with a whole new generation of kids: The pre-teens on the verge of rebellion.

When I was 12, I was actually still playing with Barbies. Don’t tell anyone. It was 1987 and I was as uncool as it gets. I didn’t really start listening to cool music until I was 13 or 14. I didn’t commit fully to black clothes until I was 15 even though I sported Cure shirts with flower dresses in junior high. I also grew up in a town devoid of cool where it was hard to find good music and the only people I knew who dressed in black were a few of my friends. Things were different back then. There was no internet and no Hot Topic. I discovered Goth on my own and didn’t realize it had a name until I was in high school.

Something I realized yesterday sort of brought me down from my dark castle. Goth isn’t cool anymore. To non-Goths who watched Saturday Night Live and countless other pop culture parodies of the scene, it’s always been a joke. Those of us in it hardly paid any mind, but while we were ignoring the mockery, the world also grew to accept Goth in a way I never liked. You’d see Goth girls in commercials, videos, comic books, and crime dramas. The same thing happened with punk. I remember seeing an episode of CHiPS where a punk guy robbed an old lady. By that time, punk was dead, but it took a few years for mainstream media to catch on and integrate these funny characters into their lexicon. And so it’s happened with Goth. Goth is a joke to most people and especially to kids. In fact, my boyfriend’s daughter’s best friend is going to be a Goth for Halloween. Pre-packaged Goth costumes have been around for a few years, but it never really hit me like it did yesterday. Goth is a Halloween costume.

So now what? I haven’t been to a club in years, most of the outfits I wore are hanging in the closet getting moth holes. While I continue to wear black, dye my hair blue, and dream about future tattoos, in all honestly, I’m not there anymore. Not like I was. I continue to listen to the music and keep up to date with new bands, but that’s not it. It’s that I just don’t associate with it anymore. Goth, the scene. I’ll continue to love spider webs, haunted houses, bats, vampires, and Beetlejuice until the day I die, but I’m not a part of the scene anymore. I haven’t even updated Dark Culture in months. Sure, most of this stems from being in a stable relationship, working on my career, living in a fine house, and being 33. I fight the status quo in new ways and I pay more attention to Barack Obama and Tina Fey than what bands are playing where. And you know what? It’s not so much about the scene, it’s about the music. I recently found out that two bands I would have loved to see played and I missed them. How did that happen?

Perhaps this is just what happens. This is what it must have felt like to my parent’s generation when they saw kids dressed as hippies. You feel like you’re losing touch and it’s not as easy as it once was. But I don’t ever want to say, I used to be. If you’re not totally surrounded by it, it’s easy to let it slip away. Kids, a house, responsibilities, there comes a day when you simply decide not to do it anymore. You don’t even notice it happening. It just does. And that’s why I make extra effort to pay attention. I don’t want to lose touch, but I can see how it could happen if I let it.

Am I annoyed or angry that Goth is a Halloween costume? Not really. Because Goth is a parody, I can’t imagine my boyfriend’s daughter getting into it. Then again, she’s only 12. And even if she doesn’t, I know full well that whatever she chooses to be a part of and however she chooses to dress, she’s going to be one cool chick. She already is. I figure Dark Fairies are a good place to start.


Goths don’t really sport Faux Hawks, but at Target they do. Goths also don’t cheer very much. At least, not in public.

Twitter Updates for 2008-10-18

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  • Oil change, car wash. I lead a dangerous life. #
  • The lady at the Walnut-Hill car wash is always on the phone. And I mean always. #
  • Today: Lucky Boy breakfast burrito, Cat to flute lesson, Cat to Hot Topic for Halloween goodness. #
  • Today’s indie douchebag artists have the benefit of a clean Downtown LA complete with American Apparel. #
  • Hot Topic disappointing on so many levels…even to a 12 year old girl. And hey, GWAR actually chases customers out. #

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Wil Can Blog, So Can I

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I wake up a lot of mornings and start writing, but then (for whatever reason) don’t finish. I save and it automatically goes into a draft folder. I have 42 drafts half written, sitting there, unfinished; drafted but not completed. If you’ve come to this blog anytime in the last month, you’ve noticed a whole heckuva lot of Twitter updates. It’s about all I’ve been able to do, but honestly, it’s because I haven’t made any real time to blog. Besides, there’s almost TOO much going on. I have a hard time summing up. I like writing and before I know it, blog entries are over 1000 words. What is this, The LA Times? That’s not really a joke. I don’t think the LA Times has particularly long articles, but I couldn’t think of a paper that does.

Wil Wheaton is the king of short and sweet blog entries. Then again, if I were a living deity, I’d probably be able to master short and sweet blog entries as well. Sometimes he goes on tangents, but mostly, he’s to the point and hilarious. I’ll try to be more hilarious anyway.

As I said, there’s quite a bit going on. First off, there are some new developments in my life that I am not ready to talk about, but man…it’s good. Also, I’ve been terribly busy with work. That’s good, everyone replies. It’s good to be busy. I agree, but it’s given me less time to focus on things I enjoy besides photography: podcasting, writing, taking pictures of my cats, watching TV, and going for a walk every day. A week ago, I was juggling 4 clients. I was actually starting to go a little nuts. Things have slowed down and I am pretty stoked about it. I’ve been out of the musical loop. Turns out I missed Wire and Killing Joke – two bands I would have loved to see. Damn. Can’t lose sight of the music. Love it.

Last night AJB and I saw 9 to 5 the Musical. I’m not a theater person. I think most theater people are pretentious, like they know something the rest of us don’t. They know what it’s like to sit through 2 hours of second rate musical scores, bad singing, and flouncy dancing. Yeah they know. I’ve been with AJB long enough to know that it’s definitely not all good and most of it is, in fact, bad. Still, 9 to 5 was pretty cute, I have to say. It’s funny that I would like 9 to 5 and not Sweeney Todd or Edward Scissorhands the Ballet. I didn’t. They kinda sucked. I could easily sit through Shakespeare any day of the week. I like old William S. I’m no scholar, but I’ve always found his flair for words exciting. I have this feeling that people didn’t really talk like that back then. If they did, it means we’ve gotten even more stupider. The English language has been butchered. Print is dead.

AJB is working from home now. He’s downstairs and I’m upstairs. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but come to find out, I actually do. It’s been good and we haven’t spend THAT much time together. Not like we’re getting on each other’s nerves yet. I speak for myself, you know. So far, it hasn’t become Deathtrap.

We’ve got some serious travel plans in the next couple of months. Vegas for Obama and Cirque du Soleil, Florida for a theme park trade show, Chicago for Thanksgiving and college open houses for the eldest son, and finally Omaha to see my new nephew (whom is still in the oven as of this post). Of course, PMS (my baby brother, yeah, his initials are PMS, probably for a reason I think) doesn’t know I’m coming because he won’t call me back…even when I say I have exciting news. Ce la vie. I guess I’ll just show up, knock on the door and be all, “lemmie see dat babie!!!” *snuggle* *cuddle* I like babies.

After all that, we still have to plan for Christmas Eve at our house. It’s the new tradition. Used to be held at Aunt J’s house, but the torch as been passed. We’ve got a big house and I love entertaining. I keep saying we need to do it more. And as the holidays are around the corner, it makes me think of my Dad. He never got to celebrate Christmas Eve at my house. He would have loved it, he would have told me how good I was doing, and how he didn’t used to like AJB, but that he turned out to be a good guy. I would have said, See Dad? I told you. I think my Dad would be proud of me. I miss all that. Automatically turning into a 5 year old when my Dad was around and clamoring for his attention. *sigh*

Oh, and my Mom isn’t calling me. Who knows why.

So yeah, busy end of year ahead. Who’s got time to blog? Oh well, Wil Wheaton does.

Twitter Updates for 2008-10-16

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  • @tjcrowley He has numerous grammar mistakes…no vote. #
  • How can I vote for change when the freakin’ website is down? #
  • @Mink I don’t get it. #
  • Dude, if I want to vote early, I have to go to Norwalk? Could they please make it harder for me to vote? #
  • @wilw LOLz #
  • http://www.watch-movies.net/ #
  • @Mink You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly les … #

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