Scribbles

I’m canceling Halloween this year.

Yes, unilaterally.  Objections will be heard but unlikely respected.  While I can’t control what other people do during this pagan holiday, I won’t be participating.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the annual excuse to costume up, watch women dress appropriately inappropriate, party, imbibe, and other sorts of tomfoolery.  But this year, all that will have to take a break.

Most of it has to do with the financial crisis, bah humbug.  I’ve decided not to sandwich Halloween Friday between good partying last weekend (house party then two more bars) and a ball game two weeks from now, to avoid depleting the dwindling funds under my depression-cushion mattress.   It is indeed lame, having to duck out on festivities like that.  I’m sure some of you will suggest cheap ways to find costumes and relatively low cost parties.  But the answer is still no.

Which leads to the other reason I’ve declared this reprieve.  I’ve been in my new digs in downtown LA approaching 4 weeks now, and finally getting out of the transition phase.  The unpacking, organizing, shopping have subsided and given me some time to relax.  I should spend more time exploring local hang-outs, coffee shops, eateries and what not.

Besides, does anyone in the US really have a lack of entertainment this time of the year?  The lead-up to the election new week, including all the special comedy shows, fall TV lineup, sports, Facebook, whatever, will certainly keep us occupied. Halloween’s got it tough this year.

While reading a weekly event listing, I came across this interesting meet up: Speed Dating for Older Women / Younger Men. It doesn’t describe the theme or motivation behind the gathering, other than it being “designed for men ages 21-33 and women ages 35-45.” I’m confused at the rationale at charging both the cougars and the baiters the $19 entrance fee. Is this not as lopsided as I think it is?

Another four years have passed and it’s time again for the election everyone’s been waiting for. Since I’ve been carping about people to register and vote, I’ve come to realize that some of my friends simply cannot; something about being a foreigners…

So I’m sharing here with you the voting procedures in California. As usual, I’ve signed up for the mail-in vote. It saves me a trip to the local polling station, the wait in line, and helps out our government sponsored postal service lose less money, despite being a monopoly. Unlike many other states, California allows us to sign up as a permanent absentee voter. So you do it once and you’re set.

The package comes with the voting booklet and the ballot:

In the booklet, the pages describe each of the items we’re voting on. It includes national, state, and local issues to vote on. The first page is for all the marbles, the future President of the Yooo-nited States:

The numbers denote the oval to fill in on the ballot, which we’ll get to shortly. I’m not sure how they determined the ordering. So you pick your candidate and then you fill out the scantron-esque ballot:

The good news is that you don’t need a #2 pencil, and there aren’t any hanging chad issues (that may have changed the outcome of the world back in 2000). The bad news is that you have to fill in the oval in dark ink, so if you make a mistake, you need to go vote in person. I’m not sure how the machine reader can handle white-out, but I’m guessing it’s a bad idea.

I’m waiting for tomorrow’s debate before sending in my vote, although I doubt it will change my mind. Some people are complaining about people voting too early, even arguing that voting should occur on the day in person. While that sounds noble, I think this country should be grateful for people voting at all. For a nation that is so into democracy, the usual voting rates are shamefully low. Still, I can see some of the arguments for voting in person, such as preventing fraud. For instance my grandfather hijacked my grandma’s ballot and voted for McCain against her wishes. Yes, that makes him both crazy (for voting Republican based on a single, and misinformed, issue – Taiwan) and a felon.

I’ve been trying to avoid blogging about politics, while many of the blogs I read have been up to date with good political discourse. Today, while reading one of my usual blogs, I came across a great post that had the following video:

I was flabbergasted.

Seriously? I admit, I am an elitist snob. But nothing irks me more than people who don’t read on a regular basis, be it online news, trashy magazines, comic books, whatever. For Palin to hem and haw like that, and then accuse Katie Couric (and the liberal media) of denigrating Alaska, is like little kids getting caught doing something wrong and then accusing others of unrelated wrongs. Very presidential.

Anyways, Joey’s post says a lot more than I do, given how speechless this has made me. I will however, encourage you to register and vote. The deadline is looming, and even if you don’t think you can’t change the outcome of the election, vote anyways so that your voice is heard. The last thing you want to happen, when you finally get your passport and travel abroad, is to have your overseas friends make fun of you for being a willing participant in the celebration of mediocrity and ignorance.

Been lagging a bit on my postings due to the recent move into the new apartment (more on that soon), but I have to thank all my friends for the wonderful birthday wishes I’ve received from all over the world. This year, more than any other, struck me how much more connected I am with my friends, thanks to the Internet. With all the electronic birthday reminders and Facebook, peeps flooded me with messages and well wishes. I am certainly lucky and happy to have such friends, and to live in today’s world of technology.

Thought I’d share something fantastic I received via Facebook – my beloved salsa crew in NY had enough creativity and energy after (the much missed) Monday night session to send me an awesome B-Day wish. Yes, I feel the love.