In Sickness and in Health, Indeed

Henry and I have been sick for 5 days now.

It started on Friday when I was working from home and started feeling a little woozy. When Henry came home he put a hand to my forehead and declared that I was on fire with fever and needed to lay down. A few hours later he was laying in bed next to me with a 38c fever himself. We spent the next two days laying about and complaining about our fevers - Henry was too hot, I couldn't stop freezing, and we were both feeling achy and gross at all times. It's been awful. We've stayed home from work this entire week so far, and by now the sickness has sort of moved into our sinuses and lungs, making for uncomfortable sleep and a terrible lung-shattering cough. Our house now looks like an hospital dispensary, with pills laying about on every surface and dirty kleenex within a 5 foot radius of every trash can in the house. It is not a pretty sight.

Henry approaches all things, including dying of ebola, as a sort of scientific experiment. When we went to Asda today to stock up on chicken noodle soup, cough syrup, and ibuprofen, Henry became entranced by a bottle of Kilkof, the "Oral solution for the relief of coughs, colds, and sore throats." It wasn't until we got home and Henry had his 10ml ready to swallow that we read the ingredient list: Treacle, honey, glucose, sucrose, tolu tincture, caramel, liquorice, chloroform (!), acetic acid, anaesthetic ether, anise oil, and purified water. Active ingredients included, among other things, Ipecacuanha (to make you puke) and Capsicum. It smelled like rubbing alcohol and had the consitency of baby dirahhea, not that this stopped Henry from throwing it back with a laugh. His first response was, "It's like a cross between Listerine and getting kicked in the mouth by a horse." His second response was a more succint, "Fucking hell." I take this to be a kill or cure remedy for sure!

We are continuing to suffer through, but there's no end in sight. I have started brining up the possibility of going to the doctor, which we likely will do if we stay home from work again tomorrow. I feel like this is the beginning to one of those horror films where everyone gets sick and dies and only a few people are left to wander the earth alone! It's pretty bad here. Hopefully we'll get a bit better soon as we've got Henry's university friends coming down on Saturday for our big Christmas party, and we're only 10 days away from a trip to the US!!

Cake!

This is what I got after 10 weeks at cake class. It's not as pretty as what I could do with more time, but damn, did it taste gooood.

USA! USA!

Whee! What a week. I would have blogged sooner, but we had a huge event at work on Thursday, which meant I had tons of meetings all day Wednesday and was very hung over on Friday.

I spent most of Tuesday with my stomach in knots. Would Obama pull through? Would this be the end of Sarah Palin? Would my country make the right decision? Were we ready to? It was awful. We're 8 hours ahead of the West Coast, so results didn't start rolling in until 3am my time. I went to sleep at 11pm and woke up at 3 to check the internet. I saw that Obama had 207 electoral votes - not including California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii, which would all go blue and easily push him over the mark. I went back to sleep with a smile on my face and woke up at 5am to run down and watch his victory speech on the computer. It was awesome to see everyone so excited and so hopeful! I also watched McCain's concession speech and was so shocked at how many people booed the new president. I thought that was a total lack of respect. Still, I am grateful that Obama won and I was sort of high about it all day Wednesday.

One thing that did strike me was how many emails I received from friends of ours over here, and how many people asked me about the election once they identified my accent. I think Europeans were just as excited as I was when Obama was elected! It's been a long eight years for the rest of the world, too.

I'm watching!

GO OBAMA!!

Just so you know

This is how parts of the rest of the world view the American election. This is from Mark Steel, a commentator with the UK newspaper, The Independent.

I do not agree that John McCain is idiotic and I don't think he didn't act heroically in Vietnam, but the rest of this article was pretty funny.
_______________________

I'm still cacking myself. I know all the commentators are saying Obama's already won but I find myself scouring the internet for reassuring polls, and there'll be an article from Nevada quoting a truck driver that's supporting McCain, and I'm like a hypochondriac that's discovered a lump, frozen with fear and convinced this means the Republicans will win and reintroduce slavery and make it illegal for any creature to evolve.


Because it ought to be utterly totally wrapped up, as the Republicans have had the worst campaign that could ever be possible. The candidate looked like there couldn't possibly be anyone in the country more idiotic, but he scoured the continent, found someone who was and made her his deputy. Then a disastrous economic crisis began weeks before the election while they're in charge, then their own side started deserting to Obama, they've been caught spending half the economy on dresses, but they're STILL only a few per cent behind.

McCain could announce he'd bomb Argentina for being too near the start of the alphabet, flash at Oprah Winfrey shouting "Hey Joe the plumber, there's ONE waterworks that doesn't need fixing" during the national anthem, reveal he was chairman of a company that's been selling teddy bears that turn out to be stuffed with petrol-soaked semtex, and admit he didn't go to Vietnam at all but spent the whole war in the bath. And the following day we'd hear that a string of gaffes had caused Obama's lead to climb to SIX per cent.

So the next day McCain and Palin could go on Russell Brand's radio show, ring Obama's dying grandmother and yell,"We screwed your grandson" on her answer machine, and the day after the gap would be back to five per cent again.

At his rallies McCain looks demented, and one of his most stirring closing slogans is "As President I will put America first." Then his supporters cheer, as if they're thinking "Thank God he got THAT right." As if there was a chance he might have said, "As President of America I will put New Zealand first. Bollocks to America, that place got me shot down in Vietnam."

Now the Republicans appear to be at war with themselves, blaming each other for the disasters, and there must be a chance they'll give up altogether, with McCain saying, "Oh sod it, I never wanted to be President anyway, as I want to be a lap dancer." Then we'll read he's gone SEVEN per cent behind in the polls.

Even if you had no interest in politics, one glance at the two candidates should make it obvious who was more assured and competent. And if you have a slight interest in politics then you'll notice that one candidate supported a disastrous war and the other one didn't.

It's as if someone on Strictly Come Dancing one week wet themselves mid-samba, then slipped in their own puddle, drop-kicking the judges and shorting out the electrics and then Bruce Forsyth said, "Well, it's still very close who's come last this week so keep those votes rolling in."

One reason why it remains closer than it should be is obvious. Before the election's over, there'll be at least one Republican supporter on Fox News who'll say, "I think that one of the areas in which McCain scores heavily over his opponent is he's proved himself far more adept and capable, over the years, at being white. And for all Senator Obama's flair and charisma this is a skill he clearly lacks."

In one sense it may seem ridiculous to get over-excited about Obama. Far from promising anything radical, he's friendly with the wealthiest section of Wall Street, suggests he'd bomb Pakistan, and has no desire to challenge the greed of corporate America. But society isn't just propelled by the policies of leaders, it's driven by the actions of millions. And Obama has come to represent the voice of those who wish America, and the world, to be more equal, less prone to crazy wars and closer to the values of civil rights. This isn't just because he's black, as this wouldn't have been possible if the candidate was Colin Powell.

If it wasn't for the civil rights campaign and the movement against the Iraq war, Obama's campaign couldn't have taken off. So for Obama to win would be an inspiration to all those who supported those values, and a humiliating defeat for all those who opposed them, even if Obama himself may well betray those ideas.

But if McCain wins, imagine how that will transform electioneering. In general elections around the world each candidate will strive to come over as more incompetent and idiotic than the other, starting party political broadcasts by announcing that they don't believe in gravity, then accidentally setting fire to themselves and choosing Rita Fairclough from Coronation Street as their deputy before saying they didn't realise that she wasn't real.

See, there's a lot at stake and I'm right to be worried.

Flamers

Take it elsewhere. If you feel the need to find a venue for your own political views, get your own blog. I don't need to read and moderate your intolerant and ignorant rants.

And if you disagree with what I say on my blog, STOP READING IT. If you're a friend or family member, you know how I feel and just skip to the next post. You obviously aren't open to a polite discussion, because you're not providing your email address or name, so there's no point in trying to have an intelligent conversation with you. I'm happy for you to make use of your own first amendment rights on your own blog (which I will not hunt down, read, or flame). I just don't have the patience to read your drivel, especially if I've already read it on someone else's website and you've just plagiarized it to post on mine. Please note that at least I cited Dan Savage when I borrowed his work!

So begone from here. You're not welcome, this is a personal blog not a political one (although I feel that I have a right to post my own views occasionally), and if you need a soapbox, get yer own.

Does that make me anti-American?

Yeah, I know it has been a while since I posted. I've been thinking about stuff I wanted to post about, but mostly I've been working, being sick, and watching the election news, so I didn't have time to get around to it.

This morning, however, I had two emails in my inbox. Both were comments on my post, "Well Said", which was a quote of Dan Savage's column on Sarah Palin. And oh my god, did those two comments get my blood churning.

First of all, let me just say that I have already voted. For Obama. Check's in the mail, people, no one can change my vote now. So these comments from random people won't do anything to make my vote swing towards McCain/Palin.

What is really getting me stirred up about these particular comments is the insinuation that I should have been HAPPY to vote for McCain/Palin in the first place because Sarah Palin is a woman. To quote, "But as usual, liberal feminists only want it their way and don't want "that type of woman" if that woman doesn't dance to their tune." Um, yeah, no shit. I do not want "that type of woman" running my country, because that woman stands against everything I believe is best for my country. Why should I vote for her because she's a lady? And, to be fair, I wasn't going to vote for McCain no matter who he picked, so why would his choice of VP sway my vote? What would that say about me, and my beliefs, if I was so easily turned away from what I believe is the right path for America because the Republicans put a woman on the ticket? Sarah Palin is anti-choice, anti-gun control, and advocates teaching creationism in schools. I wouldn't vote for her if she were my own sister, much less just because we're both the same sex. It's insulting that some people think they could throw a skirt at me and say, "We gave you a woman, what more do you want?" I want a leader who thinks that if gay people want to get married, more power to them and they should have the right to do so. I want a leader who doesn't think it's crazy for people who make more than a quarter million dollars a year should pay a little bit more in taxes. I want a leader who does not want to take away my right to choose if and when I am ready and able to have and support a child. I want a leader who does not think that men walked the planet at the same time as dinosaurs. I didn't vote for Hilary Clinton in the primaries because I wanted a WOMAN for president, I voted for Hilary because I thought she would do a good job and that she had the right attitude for it. I've always liked Obama and felt that we had been given two good choices (for once) and I was happy either way we went, but my vote went to Hilary because I felt she had a better health care plan and she had more experience in Washington. I voted for Obama in the election because we are closer in views on the issues that matter to me than I will ever be to McCain. I don't vote because someone is male or female, I vote because I believe that they will make changes in the direction I think is right for the country. I hope, I really hope, that's why ANYONE votes.

On the topic of experience, I don't think that Palin's experience is any better or worse than Obama's. George Bush graduated from Yale for god's sake, and he still can't read the bloody teleprompter. Obviously being smart and ambitious does not make you a good president. What I like about Obama is his temperament, his ability to seem calm and reasonable, and the fact that he presents a good face to the world. I think he's strong enough to lead us through the economic crisis, and he strikes me as the type of person who will not allow attacks against our country to go unanswered, although I think he'll give more thought to retaliation than George Bush did. I didn't have a real problem with McCain until lately - he just seems to make really rash decisions in his campaign and I see the same sort of fast and loose decision-making of George Bush in McCain's recent tactics.

The other thing that has really gotten me stirred up lately is the whole Republican "real Americans vs. fake Americans." I know for a fact I fit into their "fake American" pile - I don't even live in America anymore, so I must not be a real American! SCREW YOU. I bleed red white and blue for my country, and I come from a very, very long line of patriots. I sing America's praises, even though I'm surrounded by people who think my entire country has gone insane. I just want to scream when Republicans talk about "real America" being people who believe that all foreigners are bad and that New York is the center of the 7th level of Hell. Liberals hate real Americans? You mean, because I think what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom is their own business that I hate Real America? Because I think we should help everyone to lead a better life even if that means giving up a few more of my hard-earned dollars? Because I think no one should be able to get their hands on an automatic machine gun outside of the military? NO. I love my America, and you've had your hands on it for too long. Time for you guys to move along and let the liberals, the other real Americans, take their turn.

That's my $.02. And between now and next Tuesday I will keep listening to the news and reading MSNBC (and Fox, believe it or not) and hoping for an Obama victory because I just can't fathom another 4 years of Republicans in power.

A whole year?

In many ways, it doesn't seem like a whole year since I moved over here. At the same time, it feels like I've lived over here forever. I'm getting used to how everything works in England, I'm working again, we've settled in to the house together, and most things are going well. I still miss my parents, my brother and his family, and especially my friends. I updated my facebook page that I was having a bad day and one of my girlfriends reached out to me immediately to find out if I'm okay. I miss my friends. I have a good life here, but even after a year I get lonely thinking of all the friendships I left behind.

Well Said

I am off on vacation, but I had to post this snippet of Dan Savage's latest Savage Love column in The Stranger:

"Speaking of hot teenagers and asshole parents and vows that you may come to regret...

The 17-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, the GOP's vice-presidential nominee, is pregnant. The news was released by the McCain camp during a busy week—a hurricane, the Republican National Convention, Dick Cheney getting us into a war with Russia—so it didn't receive the coverage it deserved. To recap:

Seventeen-year-old Bristol Palin got her ass knocked up five or so months ago by 18-year-old Levi Johnston. Among the hobbies listed on Levi's since-yanked MySpace page—"fishing, shoot some shit, and just fuckin' chillin'"—was this revealing tidbit: "I don't want kids." But Bristol, says her mom, "made the decision on her own to keep the baby," and is now engaged to Levi "Shootin' Shit" Johnston.

As the adoptive parent of a child born to a pair of unwed teenagers, I'm certainly not in favor of abortion in all circumstances. But I believe that it's a choice teenagers should be able to make for themselves—with input from their families whenever possible—and, so it seems, does the GOP's VP nominee. Sarah Palin is pleased that her daughter made the decision—on her own—to keep the baby.

But Sarah Palin doesn't believe that other girls should be able to make their own decisions. Sarah Palin believes abortion should be illegal in almost every instance—including rape and incest. So Bristol Palin is being celebrated for making a choice that Sarah Palin would like to take away from all other American women. Apparently, today's GOP believes that choice is a special right reserved for the wayward daughters of Republican elected officials.

Oh, and Sarah Palin also believes that birth control shouldn't be made available to teenagers, she opposes medically accurate sex education, and she backs abstinence-until- marriage sex "education."

Sigh.

The GOP has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into abstinence "education" programs during the Bush years. I believe this enormous investment of public funds begs the obvious question: Is our children abstaining? Sarah Palin's aren't. Despite this massive outlay on the part of the American taxpayer and the example set by her Christian parents, Bristol Palin became sexually active while still in high school. Excuse me, but if abstinence education can't keep the daughter of the evangelical governor of Alaska off the cock, what hope is there for the daughters—and some of the sons—of average Americans?

I'm a cad for writing this, of course, because shortly before Bristol and Levi were paraded before cheering throngs at the Republican National Convention, the Palins asked the media to respect their daughter's privacy.

Another special right: When it comes to respecting your family's privacy, Palin and the GOP see no need. They want to micromanage the most intimate aspects of your private life. And if their own kids fail to live up to the standards that Palin and the GOP seek to impose on your family, well, that's a private matter between the Palins, their daughter, their God, and the thousands of screaming imbeciles in elephant hats waving McCain/Palin signs on the floor of the Republican National Convention."

Debt Free and Loving It!

Wooo!! Or, Whew!, as the case may be. Today I made my final (huge) payment on my debt, and now the only bank I owe is the one that owns my house and the one that owns my car. I honestly owe most of my money to the Bank of Henry, who has helped me pay off all of my debt in the States. From now on all of my bonuses and cash goes straight into my car and our mortgage, which is a much nicer feeling than paying off the excesses of my 20's. I have learned a good lesson on how awful it feels to be in debt - there is so much pressure on you when you're under a massive amount of consumer debt. I am grateful to be out from underneath that and hope to never go back. Thankfully, Henry is pretty good with money and takes great care to make sure we have the cash for a major purchase before we go out and buy it.

I'm just glad it's over, and now all the money I make is actually mine again. Yay!!!