bugsii

It was a great day for many reasons, not the least of which was the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States. I had to teach this morning and that class went well. It was kind of nice. Then, I ran and came home to my tivoed inauguration coverage. It was pretty amazing, all those people on the national mall to celebrate. I don’t think I ever paid much attention to the inauguration festivities before, but Mr. Obama must have been tired after all that. If I had to watch that whole parade, in the cold, I would have been done and then he has a ball to go to? Crazy. When I’m president, I think I’ll skip the parade.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

I feel so proud. This is an amazing moment.

So, yesterday I went for a run. From my house to the capitol building and back is 3 miles, so I decided to take that route. As I headed down High, I started to hear what sounded like a loudspeaker. Then, I got to Long St. and I saw a huge line curving down the street and up another. When I got closer, I noticed that everyone in line had either an Obama shirt, a button, or both. So, I went around the block just as they were announcing Gov. Ted Strickland. There were a lot of people, so I could barely see the steps of the capitol where this was going on. After Strickland was done (he started with a rousing O-H!), they started to play some music. I waited for about ten minutes, but I just couldn’t wait any more. I had work to do and I wanted to finish my run. So, because I’m impatient, I left and missed out. I’m sure I’ll regret it after tomorrow.

I found this video on youtube, though, with a little snipet from the speech.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfe9hNxWXVw&hl=en&fs=1]

Then, when I got to work this morning, the lady across the aisle from me had a bunch of pictures. She was really close and got to shake Obama’s hand! It was exciting. I can’t wait to see the results! Don’t forget to vote!

Oh, and today, instead of class, we were able to go see a webinar on “Authentic Teaching in Online Environments.” It was alright. I snuck a picture of the room. It’s at the Digital Union at Ohio State.

Basically, we all came together and watched a guy give a presentation via the web. There were lots of other schools watching at the same time, so that was kinda neat.

I also couldn’t help but stare out of the window a little. Pretty fall leaves…

The past few days have been quite a whirlwind. Firstly, the class that I was to teach this quarter was not canceled as previously thought (apparently only by me). So, yesterday, I had my first class as primary instructor… attended by a whopping 3 students (and I was surprised by one extra!)! It was really nice though. The students are fun and I think it will be good overall, even though I totally freaked out the night before. Don’t ask Dan about it; he won’t want to relive it. I had prepared a website for the class, but wasn’t as prepared as I would have been, had I thought that the class was actually going to happen. Here’s the website to my class, if you want to check it out. I think it’s decently interesting, if I do say so myself.

Then… Marcy called concerned about this surprise/not-surprise class, so I was chattering away only to find out that she really had news. Good news. Really really good news. Marcy is engaged!!! Yay! Todd Thornicroft is the lucky guy and I happened to find this picture of all of us at the Cleveland Marathon last year. Funny thing is, this is how many of Marcy’s dates have been… Marcy, boy… and Laurie! Oh, the third wheel. I guess since she’s getting married, I won’t be able to tag along on dates anymore, but I’m okay with that. The best news of all is that I am the matron of honor! So, I get to “help” pick out the bridemaids dresses (I’m thinking purple with sparkles and lots of tulle… and maybe crowns and wands) and I get to plan the bachelorette party! I haven’t been in a wedding since 1996 when Julie and then my Mom got married in the same summer. 1996 wasn’t the cutest year for me, so I’m kinda looking forward to fun bridesmaid dress up! And by the way, I am awaiting a picture (ahem) of the cushion-cut ring, which I’m sure is gorgeous. They are also thinking next fall, in case you were wondering. Marcy, register at the knot and make your little couple website. Do a bunch of corny things with pride and let me know if there are any bridal expos because I AM THERE!

Okay, okay, what’s next? Oh yes, I voted yesterday via absentee ballot and I am already excited to stay up late on November 4th to watch the results roll in. How exciting!! And, I admit it, I’m biased. Vote Obama!!

And last but not least, I got my midterm back in my educational research class. She held them until the end of class and gave a little shpeel about how she noticed that some quiet people in class did really well on the midterm and some that share more had some misconceptions. Well, that got me nervous because I do a bit of talking. She also said that she doesn’t give a lot of feedback, but she underlines good points and puts check marks where she agrees and question marks where she disagrees. She also said she asked a few people if she could use theirs as examples for next year. Well, I got it back and there were checkmarks everywhere! She wants to use it as an example too! I was very excited because she is pretty tough and I don’t get grades that often so I have been feeling a little inadequate lately. This was nice. Yesterday would have been my Dad’s 58th birthday. And, I know I sound like a kid, telling about a good grade, but I’m only doing it because my Dad can’t. Because if he was here, I would never have had to tell that story.

I am declaring Joe Biden the winner of the debate tonight. I was so happy to have a woman VP nominee, I just wish she could have been smarter. Did they just tell her to keep saying “America” and “Americans” over and over in that annoying accent? Her answers were totally canned. Joe Biden clearly knew what he was talking about and it showed. I can’t wait to hear what the pundits will be saying tomorrow and even more… I can’t wait to see this week’s Saturday Night Live skit with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.

But, this is from someone who is going to see the New Kids on the Block reunion tour tomorrow, so take it or leave it.

This is pretty much what I stared at all day. I had a lot of reading to do and now I have a lot of reading and writing to do, but it’s okay because it’s all interesting stuff. To break it up a little, I decided to go read at the North Market while I ate some lunch. I took this picture of the OSU flags on the way there.

On my way back I stopped into an art store that I had noticed before, but never went into. It was pretty neat and it made me miss grade school.

Then I found a new mural on the way home. It’s pretty nice.

I also found this.

And I decided to turn down a side street because I saw a sign that said “Cartoonist.” I’d never walked that way before. The shop had a bunch of neat cartoons hanging in the window. I thought this one would show up the best.

A little ways down the street, there was this building. Dan and I found it once before way back when we were looking for apartments. It’s cool though, no?

Then, a little farther down, I was super exited to find a new park that is close to my house and I didn’t even know existed!

And finally, on the way home, here’s an apartment in my complex. Can you see my friend?

After a bunch more reading at home, Dan finally came home (yay!) and we went out to eat at The Happy Greek with Ben. Here’s Dan imitating the bust behind him.

A day in pictures.

Here I am in Maine, my 44th state. We decided to take a side trip for the night and visit the ocean and some outlet malls. On our way, we drove through 3 states. First… Massachusetts. I’ve already been there, but it’s still a nice drive through the Berkshires. New Hampshire was my 43rd state. Yippee! The sign says their state motto, “Live Free or Die!” Awesome.
This sign was on a bridge going over the Piscataqua River. As soon as we got there, we had to go to a seafood shack, so here it is.
And Dan was a good New Englander and got a big basket of fried clams from a guy that said, “You can’t get they-ah from he-yah.” Well, at least he could have if he wanted to. (Please note Ray’s Giants hat… we were in Patriots country and he got two different rants from two different Patriots fans just ten minutes apart. They’re still mad about the superbowl upset.)Then we went to our first shopping stop. The Kittery Trading Post. Here we are walking in. It was a huge place. After a little shopping and checking into our hotel, we drove around Kittery a little and found a lookout with a historic fort. Here’s the view.
Then, we headed to downtown Portsmouth, NH for dinner. We didn’t know it, but we ended up in the cutest little town. It kind of reminded me of Saratoga Springs but more New England-ish. Here’s the church at the center of town, whose congregation was formed in 1627. Crazy. So, since I have enjoyed Maine so much, I’ve decided to dump Saratoga Springs. Now, we’re going to buy a house on the ocean, get a fishing boat, wear LL Bean all the time and have kids with funny accents. I just need to find a place to work…

Oh, and an update on yesterday’s nomination. I now have opponents. God help us all.

Uncle Ray likes to watch MSNBC, so we have been hearing a lot of political commentary. While listening to Joe Biden talk about his “working class” family, I started to think that my own background could make me a really good presidential candidate. I come from a family that’s not the wealthiest by any means. I paid for my own college education. I was a school teacher for five years and I’m about to work for the ODE. I grew up Catholic and my husband grew up Baptist. My mom’s a hard working waitress and my sister was in the Army. Seriously, I can already hear my speech at the DNC! Also, I “collect” states and a national campaign would be a great way to see all 50 states (on my own tour bus with my name on it!). This is the best idea I’ve had in years! Since I can’t be president until I’m 35, I’ll have to wait until 2016, but I suppose that will do. I would also really like Hillary to be my running mate, but since she may be done with politics by then, I figured the next best person would be…Chelsea! I already attempted to be friends with her on facebook and am waiting with bated breath for her response. I mean, think about it, she’s got everything I don’t: the name, the connections, the oval office “experience,” the high fallutin’ edumacation. We would be a great team! And, you may not know, but Chelsea and I are almost the same age. She was born in ‘80 and I was born in ‘81. We are like star-crossed sisters. I thought that we could also do some throw-back campaign ads too. This one is circa 1992. Oh Chels, those were the days.

Since I was a teacher, by the time I run, I will have former students in their 20s that I’m sure will gladly blaze a trail across the state of Ohio for me. And Dan will surely organize the campaign via the Internet, which will begin a grassroots effort that will take my opponents by surprise. I already designated Uncle Ray as the merchandise coordinator (hats, shirts, pins and such), so let me know if you would like a job and I can make it happen. I haven’t thought over my platform yet because a lot of things could change before then, I’m just hoping it won’t be getting the troops out of Iraq. Chelsea and I also agreed that we would have a totally positive campaign and we would pass out gerber daisies and wear matching outfits at all of our rallies. This is going to be awesome.

Big news today… John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate. A strange choice to say the least. She has very little experience, but apparently a lot of “grit and determination” starting as a PTA member then moving to city council, mayor and then governor. That is impressive. I am excited that she is a female in a very important role, but I am sad that she is a Republican and fear that she was only picked because she is a female. Nonetheless, I was very surprised and interested in this choice by John “the Maverick” McCain, whom I do like, but would probably never vote for (due to his war policies). It has certainly got people talking and I immediately felt a little relief from my Hillary blues. But, is she really prepared to be president should something happen to the aging Mr. McCain (72 today)? I don’t know about that. Regardless, I am excited about two things this election season: 1) that a woman and an African American battled it out for the Democratic candidacy (how could we really lose?) and 2) that there is a woman as a VP nominee (whatever the party). I feel goosebumps! Click here to see the first part of her acceptance speech on youtube and here to see the second. You will learn a little more about her.

And to be fair (or not) here is the first part of Obama’s keynote address at the DNC and here is the second. Very inspiring.