Have you seen my fox?

Adventures in Cupcaketopia has received some exciting feedback: promises of transcontinental flights to come visit me *coughcupcakeplacescough*, thoughts that I was writing actual reviews, and even someone threatening that I need to get a real job. Which brings me to big update number 1.

I have a real job.

It hasn't started yet - look forward to March 13th for more news on that front - but it's my first foray into the paid world of politicizing the youth.

In small update number 2, my internet has been buggin' out like crazy. For example, I haven't been able to sign into this blog for days because of, as far as I can tell, nothing. More frustrating however, is the innumerable amount of other important things I can't do. Don't get me wrong. When I want to do some mind-numbing facebook surfing (facesurfing?) there is, of course, no problem. Or if I want to stay up until the wee hours watching Firefly? Fine. But when I want to do something trivial like, you know, send in a resume or look at grad schools or - most importantly - upload photos to facebook, the damn interweb seems to buckle under it's own weight. I know, I know - it's not selectively hating on me. But it sure seems like it.

So in short, if you did something like travel through Ireland with me, or go to inauguration with me, or some other such nonsense, and you have been waiting less and less patiently to see the photographic evidence, rest assured: I have absolutely no idea when that will happen. But feel good: not getting the pictures uploaded time after time after time is WAY more annoying on my end.

I didn't even mention the best part of my web-woes: My fox has gone missing. Not my Firefox, mind you, that's still here. I'm using it right now! But my Firefox icons - the little orange fox wrapped around a blue world, you know? - have gone missing. From the whole computer. They have been replaced by mostly clear question marks. Seriously. What once was



has become




Just weird.

On Politics and Kids

So, here's my things:

1. I like politics,
2. I like young people, especially kids,
3. I like being outside.

I can think of ways to mix 2 out of 3, but ultimately, I think one of the three will have to take a hit in terms of what you can practically combine into a career.

So, let's say that I want to work on getting young people more involved in politics and human rights issues.* And you know, go camping on weekends.** What do you study in order to do that? Political Science? Public Policy? Social Work with a focus on Youth? Education? ...what?

I like the idea of going back to school because (a) the economy is crap anyway so finding a job is frustrating, (b) I can still get a scholarship from Cornell if I go back to (any) school soon, (c) I think figuring this sort of stuff out involves a lot of research, and nobody researches better than a university.

And then, of course, what do you then do with this additional degree? Work...at a school? For a political campaign? Some office that does stuff for youth but never actually interacts with them, other than by spamming their inboxes? Start your own organization?

Hmm. Sometimes the world is just so big.




*This doesn't mean just the 18 & over voting age crowd. You can work on human rights and political issues at any age through writing letters, lobbying, just learning about them, etc. Don't let voting hold you back, kids!

**Ooor, be a girl scout leader, because I love the girl scouts and could totes work with young kids then. And my troop would be bad ass, so we could camp and hike.

Back Again

It's snowing in DC. I'm staring out my 4th floor window watching it accumulate on the roof of Robert Kennedy's old church. Wonders never cease.

I haven't updated this, really, in over a month, which is too bad. It's been a busy month. I celebrated the sickest (literally) and most pathetic Christmas with my family to date. I rang in the New Year in New York, my 23rd birthday in Ireland, and the dawn of a new era in Washington, D.C. But more on all of that later.

I'm back in DC now, and experiencing something unexpected: unemployment. Oops. I moved down here to take a non-profit job, fighting the good fight for $24,000. As it turns out it really wasn't the job I thought I was being hired for. I'll spare the gory details here, but the highlights include a required 80 to 100 hour work week, being in the office 6 or (preferably) 7 days a week (how else do you work 100 hours a week?), and going door to door, alone, in the dark, everyday in random areas of VA and MD.

...

I don't think it's unreasonable to not want to do these things, especially for a salary that would be equivalent to making $5 or $6 per hour.

So back to square one. I have a couple interviews lined up, and we'll see what comes. Right now, I'm going to go take pictures of the Welcome to Washington snow. Maybe the Obama girls will be outside building snowmen.

Back on the Hunt

Is it that time already?

Things are going great here in DC, mostly because the city is fabulous and I've met a few good people. Unfortunately, my internship (you know, the part-time-non-espionage-related job) finishes at the end of December, and with Christmas creeping around the corner, it may be time to consider my up & coming future. You know, beyond working at Russell's.

Have resume, will travel.

So expect some updates on that, as well as write-ups on the DC Prop H8 Protest and pictures from the campaign trail.

I originally intended to fill out some job applications tonight, but working 8:45 - 6 coupled with Tuesday's root canal has made me into a semi-lifeless blob, good only for sleeping and watching House reruns.

Speaking of grumpy old men, if anyone's looking to watch something either awful or hilarious, O'Reilly's going to be on the Daily Show tonight.

Phone Freak Outs and Blogger Greek Outs

I think that I've mentioned this: a big portion of my internship is helping run nightly phone banks for Obama & friends. The phone banks, I feel, are fun, important and always provide some good stories. For example:

I called a family tonight and asked to speak to one woman. The man who answered the phone told me "Yeah, you better because we are a household divided. I just donated $100 to you guys to mess with her. SHE'S voting for the other side!!"

Another guy told me "I might vote for Obama on the pro-choice, but I think he has a liberal agenda and he's going to drive this country into the ground so think about THAT!!" *hang up*

Or, everyone's ridiculously overzealous favorite: "I'd rather die than vote for ______!" Really?

Anyway, tonight one of the bloggers from feministing.com came and called with us. I was totally star-struck. Feministing was/is a fundamental part of how I learned about feminism and became a feminist rock star myself. Obviously it was a very big deal to me to meet someone who has unknowingly had a pretty big influence on my life. True to that unknown part, I don't think she realized that she was a really big deal to me. Which is clearly for the best, because one of the only things lamer than geeking out about meeting Barenaked Ladies or Neil Gaimen is geeking out about meeting a blogger.

No Zombies, No Voldemort.

I got a part time job at the Spy Museum. It's sweet.

I'm training to guide Operation Spy tours, "a one hour interactive tour" where visitors become spies. Basically. I've been there for a little over week, and my excitement about spies is at the same level (ZOMGSPIEZZ!!!), but my perception of them is slightly altered. It was a sad and startling realization that real spies are not James Bond. Real spies are by-the-book ordinary schmoes who don't draw attention to themselves and when you ask, tell boring stories such "Oh, you know, I worked a little in the US then just ended up here." However, as only a part time spy, I get to use a walkie-talkie and that's awesome.

Last night I did some non-walkie-talkie phone banking for Obama and on Saturday I'm going door-to-door with a friend in Virginia. I keep getting emails from various Obama-supporting groups that read "On the morning of November 5th, do you want to be saying you wish you'd done more? Go do ________." No, I *don't* want November 5th to suck! They're very convincing.

More importantly, this entire weekend was spent not working because MY FAMILY WAS HERE! My mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephews came down and we had several full days of going to the Zoo, the Air & Space Museum, and a bunch of monuments. The highlight for my nephews was seeing as orangutan at the zoo pick its nose. Seriously. They applauded. The highlight for me was the following:

After seeing the Washington Monument (Gavin, George Washington was the first president) and the Lincoln Memorial (Gavin, Abe Lincoln was a great president), we pointed out the White House. Being the smart kid he is, he applied his logic.

Becky: "Gavin, that's where the president lives."
Gavin: "Oh. [pause] Is he dead?"

No zombies in the White House. Not in 2008, not ever.

We also ordered out from Five Guys. Have you ever been to Five Guys? I hadn't either. It's a burger place and that's about it (although some of them now offer "VEGGIE DOGS!"). Sean psyched it up to be this awesome experience, and we went and ordered greasy, artery-clogging food for the whole family. A little of this, a little of that, plus five orders of fries.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I order fries, I expect them to come in a little box, maybe a paper cup. Call me old-fashioned. And I don't know what the cause of this was: maybe they are being green by cutting down on waste. Maybe they were frustrated with Sean for ordering so slowly. Maybe they were trying to mess with us. Whatever the cause, we ended up with one grease-stained grocery bag entirely full of several pounds of french fries...and nothing else. No box, no cups, not even a napkin.


Five ketchups just didn't cut it.

Fund raising, raising hell and trying to raise the bar

Before getting into the bulk of the post, I present my cewebrity debut (and don't worry, it's plenty embarrassing). I'd also like to take this time to stress that we are a non-profit and that while some of my friends work for high-end screen and stage producers I, uh, do not.

Anyhow, view it here: Liberty Lowdown: Election Day

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Three stories in three paragraphs.

On Saturday, I went to a fund raising dinner with work for the Human Rights Campaign. It was by far the fanciest dinner I've ever been to with lots of tuxes, heels and oddly shaped salads. When Joe Biden didn't show due to family illness, the crowd rejoiced when "his good friend" Hillary Clinton took his place. She delivered the best line of the night: "John McCain isn't a maverick. He's a mimic." Suze Orman, who received the National Equality Award offered up a great soundbite as well when she declared "I don't want to be a lesbian who is tolerated."

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It was dinner time at the nunnery and a heated debate was taking place. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) for once it wasn't republican vs. democrat - it was liberal vs. liberal. One of the girls at the table announced that she was undecided, which prompted another to announce that "if Sarah Palin becomes my Vice President, I will vomit all over the White House". A hilarious image (I thought), but the diatribe quickly crumbled under claims that both Palin and McCain are "whores" with bad accents. "That doesn't help our side!" one person said, while the other argued that she was just expressing her personal opinion. And there in lies the rub. The personal is political, and so is how you express it. Whatever your personal feelings about a candidate, calling the other side whore, Barbie, terrorist, etc doesn't help senators become presidents - but it does make their supporters look like jackasses. And when you're trying to sway every last swing voter, it does matter how your supporters present themselves. Just ask the guys supported by Rev. Wright and the worst president in U.S. history - winning people over when your base embarrasses you is tough work. This election is going to continue to be a circus. It's time we all start performing at our best.

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I went to an exhibit at the Smithsonian on Saturday about Jim Henson and the muppets. They had some of the puppets on display, including Kermy and Gobo (<3)from Fraggle Rock. It was amazing to see the sheer volume of work that this man produced. From 8-second commercials to multiple full-length feature films, Jim Henson changed the face of pop culture - and that was what was even more amazing. Every single person at the jam-packed exhibit was talking about their favorite muppet, arguing over the best muppet movie (it's Muppet Treasure Island) and talking about how much Labyrinth f-ed them up as a child. People reminisced about Sesame Street, relived Dark Crystal and wondered out loud what the hell was up with The Cube. We have to thank Jim Henson for raising the bar in terms of children's programming and in turn having a profound effect on millions. Face it - all of us have shared childhood memories because of this man. And I have to personally thank Jim Henson for potentially one of the most fulfilling moments of my life; because let me tell you: you honestly haven't lived until you've sung the entire Muppet Show theme song with a room full of strangers.

Before I was famous...

This just in: tomorrow I will be starring in my first film since we shot that "Worst Day Ever" movie for English in 6th grade where a fake bird shat on Rachel's head and we wrote the credits on a roll of paper towels.

My follow-up role is going to be starring as a "what not to do" voter in a short viral video about election day. And don't worry, I promise to post it here, even if it's embarrassing.

Time for Another Edition of KHB Fun Facts

After that heavy political post (think about it - if it's impossible for you to stop thinking about the election wherever you are, imagine being in DC), I figured it was time for some light-hearted facts about my first week here. Sorry about the swearing, Mom & Dad.

Firstly, I have run into more Cornell folks then I know what to do with. I met a guy who is a junior in ILR because we were both wearing Ithaca garb at the gym, I met two dudes on the street who were talking about applying to Cornell (again, ILR), and at the Book Festival, I met a family of former Ithaca residents who's little girl was wearing a map of I-town on her shirt. Ithaca isn't just gorges, Ithaca is everywhere. (Important to note: why has no one in Ithaca mailed me an "Obama is Gorges" shirt yet???)

Other fun facts: every day on the way to work, I walk by a private elementary school that is entirely arts-based. They have some awesome artwork hanging up outside the school, so I can't wait to go to the open house they're having next week.

I've applied to a couple interesting jobs including some at the Smithsonian and, importantly, at the Spy Museum.

I found a used bookstore and a gym a couple blocks down the street from me. What could be better? Probably my boss taking me out to California Pizza Kitchen instead of working (don't worry, we made the time up...), and then going salsa dancing after work.

Tomorrow I'm going up to Adams Morgan for an "alternative crafts fair" called Crafty Bastards, and on Monday I'm going to see Rusted Root at the 9:30 Club. Life is awesome.

38 days to go

I live on Capitol Hill now. Not like the lawmakers and policy pushers that live in their offices and work on Saturday nights, of course. I actually live here.

Last night there was a seemingly endless array of cop cars parked on every street surrounding the Capitol Building as the People Who (are supposed to) Represent us duked it out. The tension is absolutely palpable around here. Republicans prattle into cell phones about how the House is making the bail out impassible; protesters preach outside on the lawn waving signs that say "No bail outs for billionaires". Strangers wearing Obama gear give each other sly thumbs up. People wearing no political garb at all stop me in the street to tell me how my Obama pin makes them angry. Last night a bouncer told me "I'm pro-life and I'm voting for McCain. What are you gonna do about it?" Mostly just pay you $5 to get into your bar, but, you know.

It rained on the National Book Festival today, but I stuck it out and met Neil Gaimen without embarrassing myself (seriously! I was so proud) and heard R. L. Stine read from the latest Goosebumps spin-off. When the rain cleared, there was a beautiful rainbow that landed right in a big pot of gold - the Senate side of the Capitol. Everyone in line with me started joking "It's a sign! The economy's fixed! Rainbows don't lie!"

Everyone watched the debate last night. Unable to bear the thought of watching it with the building's plethora of Republicans, I went to Adams Morgan with my new friend Laura from Sweden to watch the debate with her friends. All of her friends are from outside the US, so the crowd was completely pro-Obama (doesn't that say something?) and putting a lot of pressure on me to vote (come on!). It really puts things in perspective, doesn't it? I was in a room of maybe 15 people, all from entirely different countries, and all of them care about our presidential race.

Tonight I sat through a painful dinner conversation as the R's I live with spoke their warped view of the world. Some of it was interesting - they admitted being disgusted with Bush for lying about why we are in Iraq, though they do believe we need to be there. Some of it was boring - Obama's foreign policy sucks, from the mouths of people willing to vote for Sarah Palin. But some of it...some of it is just down right mind blowing.

"I think a terrorist attack would be really good for John McCain's campaign," said one of his supporters tonight. I know, I know - McCain's adviser said it first. But hearing from the mouth of someone I share a dinner table with is different. It's not some ambiguous politico talking head anymore. It's a person. And I sit there, screaming on the inside, HOW can you support him when that's the line, that's the truth? How can you know that having a couple thousand people die will help your candidate and not realize that you are supporting the bad guys? How can you sleep at night? What is it going to take, voters of the once-United States? What is it going to take?

Working at my internship does make me feel better and even, as Obama would have it, hopeful. My job is to help our activists campaign for Obama, by giving them materials, resources and different ways to get involved with the campaign. I talk to people every day that have gotten so fed up with our hands-off political process that they feel compelled to get involved personally and bring about (another great Obama word) change. They're sick and tired of living in fear of Bush: the Second Coming, and they are starting to demand action from their friends, classmates and neighbors. Every time I speak with a volunteer, I feel like we're going to win. Maybe we've all been down so long it just looks like up to me.

Or maybe by one vote, one phone call, one person at a time, we're actually going to win.

Finding Balance in Washington D.C.

It's official; I'm in Washington. So here are some basic updates.

Living('s easy): I moved into the place that I'm staying which will henceforth be referred to as "the nunnery". It's extremely close to the Capitol Building and all the Senate offices. As a result, the street is patrolled 24/7 by the DC police department AND the Secret Service. Now, I know the Secret Service aren't there to protect me, per say, but it is rather reassuring to know that were something to go down, everyone and their mom would be there to step in. It's a nice building and I've met lots of people. A lot of them are Republican, which I honestly wasn't expecting. As a bleeding heart liberal, feminist, anti-capitalist, environmentalist troublemaker, this is very, very different for me. I've always been surrounded by people like me (except for that time I accidentally dated a Republican. Read my lips: never again). I'm learning to adapt. Just the same, I cannot tell a lie and none of them seem impressed by...

My Work: I started my internship on Monday, and so far I've been enjoying it. On the plus-side, I'm helping promote the Obama campaign and working to assure that we are not ruled by vengeful overlords come January. On the negative-side, it is very, very office-y - biz cas, inter-office memos, and lots of copy machine problems.

Pluses being what they are, I would still probably punch myself in the face if I had to go to an office every day. For that reason, I'm looking for a non-office based ppart time job. So I'm going to be crazy busy (at least I don't have prelims, bwahaha!!), but I think that they will all balance each other out after a while.

The Yin and the Yang. Office and outside. Young Republicans and bleeding heart liberals.

It's going to be an interesting few months.

Obama's Heading to Washington and so am I

Many of your may already know this, but I thought I'd give an update anyway.

On Saturday (so soon!) I'm moving to Washington D.C. to work for a non-profit. I'm going to be interning in their Affiliate and National Programs Department, which is more interesting than it sounds, I promise. Basically I'm going to be working with volunteers, doing trainings and canvassing supporters in an effort to protect and secure women's reproductive rights nationwide and help get Obama & Biden elected.

I'm very excited about the internship and think it will provide me with a lot of really great experience. That said, it pays basically squat. Therefore, I'm looking into other part-time jobs. I've applied a few places including the National Council Against Domestic Violence, a few after-school youth programs, and Greenpeace.

I'm living verrrry near the Capitol Building, which is going to be interesting. I can watch all those politicians that rule the world walk around during their lunch hour and get bagel sandwiches like the rest of us. Maybe I'll get to harass some of them on behalf of women or human rights or the environment. Maybe I'll meet Dennis Kucinich! <3 National Book Festival (so I guess that's just really, really dorky love). It happens on the National Mall, which by default is also near my abode, and even though it's hosted by Laura Bush, I'm going. I need to meet Neil Gaimen to get his autograph and R.L. Stine to discern that he's real. Let me know if you want signatures, Goosebumps fans.

I'm be in D.C. during the biggest, weirdest election in memory. That in mind, I'm headed down to the County Broad of Elections to get my absentee ballot - don't forget to register for an absentee ballot if you won't be home to vote! I would remind everyone else to remember to vote as well, but I honestly don't think anyone could "forget" during this particular scenes-from-the-apocalypse election cycle.