Don't call it a comeback

Wow…it was really time for a new post! May was a long time ago

Let’s see…the summer came and went. Darknight, Indiana Jones and Wall-E were all good. Wall-E was brilliant, as was Jared in his Hollywood debut. Two of my cousins got married at very different, but equally beautiful weddings (combined those counted as my summer vacation). And I bought a pick-up truck. Sweet.

Soccer season came and mostly went (a few post-season games left). The Blue Angels won their 3rd title in 5 years! I’m extremely proud. The Crossfire Strikers took second in their preseason tournament and then finished 4th in their league after a strong closing run – they showed a lot of growth over the season.

The Seahawks' season came and went too with very little excitement. I got to see one win at home, but I missed the big event of the year, the Jets game, due to the horrible weather and driving conditions. I’m a little embarrassed not to have braved it, given that I’m an east coaster, but I just didn’t trust everyone else on the roads even if I was confident in myself. Jared and I did go down to Miami to see Jesse and watch the Seahawks-Miami game (which the hawks lost). That was great! Jesse hooked us up with on-field passes, club seats and a suite visit. His roommate also got us into the Miami Heat game with suite seats and access to the courtside bar, where several Dolphins’ players were relaxing.

I guess the big news of the past year is the 30-35 pounds I’ve lost! My new trainer has been great and she’s taught me a lot about how to exercise and lift effectively. She’s also overseen a major modification to my eating habits and diet. I feel good and look good, but as mom would point out: I’m healthier and that’s what really matters. My routine now includes two mornings with Carissa (trainer) lifting, plus four cardio sessions on my own and a third lifting session on my own as well. That and soccer!

None of this is really the sort of ranting or issue discussions that I intended this site for. Sorry about that. Let me see if I can muster something up. Anything worth talking about happen this past year?

Oh I got one…congrats President Obama!

Jared really gets the credit for this one. He did all the work as a member of the campaign, from the New Hampshire primary all the way up to Election Day (and beyond). The kid worked his butt off across several states and major races. I got to help out a little with about 2 hours worth of door-to-door work in NH.

But the really interesting part for me was attending the local democratic caucus in my district! I’d never been, but it was pretty amazing and I found it really rejuvenating to see the electoral process at work in that way. Basically I wandered into a gymnasium full of people who gathered around tables for each precinct and actually discussed the candidates! It was fascinating. An actual discussion and then we decided how to split up our reps. I got to be an alternate rep, which meant that a few weeks later I went to the regional caucus and got to vote for reps to go to the next level.
Unlike voting, which is an intensely private thing, I really loved the public nature of this. Not because I wanted to know who everyone was voting for, but because it was cool to see so many people participating in the process. I can understand why the voting process fosters apathy…you don’t relate your vote to anyone else or to the outcome – the numbers are too high and too far removed from you. But seeing a couple hundred people take sides, and watching that result turn into specific delegates has meaning, and that is motivating!
Anyway it was pretty cool. And then Obama won and I was happy…along with millions of others around the US and the world (to make a long story short).