Cultural Revolutionary

We closed on the new, to us at least, house last week. We weren’t supposed to close until 2/1 but thanks to some helpful professionals overpowering the less than helpful ones (ask me about the completely incompetent and rude Realtor® that represented the seller) I was able to speed the process up.

There is a lot to be done. I have hired several different contractors to complete several different jobs. And, I have already had one of them simply not show up for his first day of work (pretty typical here). But, he can be replaced and the show… I mean work… will go on.

Rick left yesterday for Norway and won’t be back for a month. By the time he returns I am hopeful that 90% of the work will be complete. Lorraine arrives on 2/7 (she is flying out of SFO on the 6th but doesn’t arrive until the morning of the 7th) to visit and help for a few days with the move. I can’t wait to see her and she’ll also be a huge help with getting things squared away. My parents have been extremely helpful and I am grateful to have them here because this is a big project to undertake alone.

On another note, it’s always odd moving back to your hometown. For the past 6 years, I have only visited here. It’s peculiar to me now, after several years away, that everywhere I go I either know someone or they know me. It makes me cringe occasionally. Even people that I don’t actually know usually have some tie to me through a common acquaintance or simply by knowing my family. I guess that’s to be expected though when both sides of your family have lived in the same area for hundreds of years. But it’s still somewhat disconcerting at times to return here after living somewhere with complete anonymity for so long. And I know that it sort of freaks Rick out when we can’t even go out to a club or store to pick-up some random necessity without me having to introduce him to some long lost acquaintance. It is nice to run into a lot of them again though. Funny enough, in many ways it’s like I never left. Even funnier is that even as big as Myrtle Beach has gotten, it’s still a small town in some ways. It will all take some getting used to…

Rudy is failing miserably. Edwards is even worse off. There goes the neighborhood.

I am seriously disappointed with the direction that the primaries have taken thus far. Unfortunately, the early voters get choices that those living in states with later primaries will not. By the time that California voters have their day at the polls, their options will have significantly diminished. They may never have the opportunity to vote for the candidate that they actually felt would make the best president. But, that’s the way our “democracy” works and I understand the hows and whys even if I don’t agree with them.

Once again, I am having trouble understanding the voting practices of some of my friends and family members (and I can post this here because they are friends and they already know how I feel about their choices). For instance, one person very close to me has declared that she is going to “vote for Hillary because she’s a woman”. Another acquaintance from high school is voting for Obama “because he’s black”. Ummm… OK… Whatever. While neither of these candidates is my first choice, I can understand voting for one of them if you feel they are the best candidate. But, that sort of thing takes facts. Like, “Hillary’s stance on problem XYZ is blah, blah, blah, and I agree with that position.” The people I have a problem with are the ones that can’t give me any other reason for their vote other than gender or race. I am a lot of things- female, caucasian, a mother, a South Carolinian by birth, etc. But no one thing would make me vote for anyone. My Dad and I disagree on a lot of political issues (in fact, most of them) but I fully agree with him that voting has to be based upon more that one or two narrow issues. I don’t have to agree with a candidate on every issue to to vote for them. The big picture is important and choosing a candidate on gender or race seems like such an antiquated practice. It should be noted that it appears from my experience that the most of people that are voting based on gender or race are likely the same people who would scream bloody murder right along side of me if other things were decided based upon race or gender.

So, we’re quickly reaching a voting for the “lesser of the evils” situation yet again. ICK. Once again though, if necessary, I will do what both the Democrats and Republicans hate and “throw my vote away” with a third party candidate. Hopefully, a vote worthy one will emerge pretty soon. If not, I guess I can always write in Mickey Mouse… or maybe Goofy.

I finally got my bus here from Beaufort. I won’t even get into all of the trip particulars because it would probably make me call AAA and yell again. Then after that, I might have to threaten the extremely obese and illiterate tow truck drivers that took 5 hours for a 3 hour trip…. and there’s more… All that really matters in the long run is that it’s here.

This morning, after a little work on my part, I got it started and drove it over to my parent’s house. My dad helped me scrub all of the Beaufort scum off that had gathered all over it (from sitting under a tree against my wishes). He scrubbed and I rinsed. Tony even got into the action with a smaller scrub brush. In fact, I think he was happier than anyone else to have his “gween” (aka green) bus back with him. Tony has had the bus in his life as long as he can remember and it’s an important part of his life.

Daddy and Momma had some errands to run so Tony and I continued cleaning and then rode around the yard a few times before parking. Daddy returned later in the day with a nice piece of metal that we are going to use to start the floor repairs with. Of course, I have no idea how to do bodywork. Basic VW knowledge, yes. Bodywork knowledge, no. I am fortunate to have my dad to help me and show me what to do. And, unlike in years past, I am eager to soak up whatever knowledge he can pass on to me. Hopefully maybe tomorrow or Sunday, he will get to show me how to use the metal break. Yeah… I know most people wouldn’t be excited. But I am.

I am really hopeful that I’ll get to use the bus some this year. I have been so disappointed in the past that things didn’t work out for this bus the way I had expected it to when I bought it almost four years ago. But, better late than never. It will be completely finished. I will have it the way I envisioned. I am finally on the way to making that happen.

This is dreadful. Truly dreadful. Click the link below and then watch the video for yourself.
http://wonkette.com/342986/the-day-the-music-died

I received a personal e-mail yesterday asking me why I haven’t been writing much about politics lately. The answer is fairly simple. “It’s politics as usual.”

You see, I just haven’t had much to say. I quickly see this election turning into yet another lesser of two evils election. In 2004, my vote went to the libertarian candidate because I simply couldn’t bring myself to vote for either Kerry or Bush. Yes, I know that according to both the Republicans and Democrats, I “threw away my vote”. Maybe that’s true. But, I made a statement. South Carolina has gone Republican for every presidential election in recent memory. 2004 was obviously no different. So, at the very least, my one vote showed that I was one of a small minority willing to (as my old bumper sticker said) “vote my hopes and not my fears.”

It’s not that I am not genuinely concerned about the path that this country as a whole is headed down. I am very concerned. But, even more than being worried about what politician we choose to lead us, I am worried about the attitudes of Suzy and John Q. Public… the average Americans. I was getting my hair cut yesterday and was amazed to learn out of the eight or ten ladies in the shop at that time that only a couple understood, in detail, the process for electing a president. You know… the whole deal with primaries, electoral college, etc. Several of these people I know and respect greatly. I am simply in awe that anyone over age 18 (that has voted in at least the past two or three presidential elections) isn’t as concerned as I am. But, upon thinking about it, I realize that there are a number of reasons why people aren’t concerned or involved and that my initial judgement was unwarranted and even uninformed. That’s a blog for another day though.

So, when I have something political to write, I will. I am not shying away from politics at all. Unfortunately, I just feel uninspired by the political climate right now… even if I did chuckle out loud at Hillary’s crying escapade in her attempt to look “human”.

Can I still get away with being called a “girl” or have I aged out of that distinction? And before anyone asks… No, there are no plans anyone should know about. This was just a quick photo shoot to help out my best friend. She is a fabulous photographer (just to think… I convinced her to buy her first digital SLR… LOL!) and wants to get into doing TTD (Trash the Dress) sessions. The idea behind the session is that after a wedding the bride “trashes” her dress during a photo session. So, there was me, Nat, and a twenty-something dollar Ebay wedding dress. And now I have some cute shots of me in a wedding dress. I did sort of keep expecting lightening to strike me dead for wearing a white dress. But, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe if I ever do the whole marriage thing again I might consider an actual wedding… maybe the dress should be black though!

I’ll put Nat’s website in my links in case anyone wants to contact her. She really is very talented and does all sorts of photo stuff.

After several offers, even more counter offers, and a lot of time spent worrying about doing the “right” thing, we finally have an accepted offer on a great house. I am exhausted by the whole process. We’re set to close on February 1st. And I am WAY excited. For the first time ever I will be moving into a house that I don’t have enough furniture to fill-up. And that is a VERY good thing. I am happy that I’ll have some open space. In fact, I don’t want to fill it up. While it is substantially larger than they Beaufort house, it is also newer so it will be much more energy efficient. And, I’ve already planned some green improvements. All of the appliances have to be replaced because it’s a foreclosure and the previous owners stripped the kitchen before they left. But, appliances can be purchased in a Compact manor. The bus will finally be able to live in a nice garage. He’ll be happy in there (yes, once again, I give inanimate objects personalities). Tony will be happy to have his playground set-up again. We’ll be moving it from Beaufort in several days. The new house needs some further work in a couple of areas but it’s certainly livable just as it is. Fences and such can be built after we’re in there. Now comes the hard part of moving… AGAIN… Still, I am thrilled!

I had intended to post yesterday with a wrap-up of 2007. Obviously, that didn’t happen. I actually felt sort of sad about not having a chance to post about all of the good and bad things that happened to me in 2007. I was going to type, in detail, a list of good and bad. I mean, heck, I am sure you all want to read about me stupidly buying a house in downtown Beaufort and the fact that I am now going to lose about $75,000 since I am selling it in an awful economy. And then there were my 26 massacred chickens and all of my countless Compact failures… Irresistible reading right? Then it dawned on me that once again I am spending too much time thinking and worrying about my past mistakes. Yep, some of my mistakes have been costly financially. Some of my mistakes have been costly emotionally. In fact, the mistakes that take an emotional toll bother me a lot more than those with an actual dollar amount associated with them. And a lot of my mistakes have been just plain STUPID.

Here’s the good part though… 2008 is yet another fresh start for me! I am damn good at starting over. And with all of my learning experiences, I am finally starting to actually get some things right the first time around. In 2007, I conquered a lot of my adolescent fears (it’s about time). I was reminded of the person I really am and I removed the people from my life that were trying to make me into someone else. And, in the process, I even remembered what real happiness feels like. Going into 2008, I have a plan of sorts. That’s a big deal for me. I am really going to be optimistic about 2008 and trying hard to make all of my dreams come true. I re-read my posts from 12-31-06 and most of 2007 and realized that a lot of those things that I wanted to happen never happened. Some of that was pure and simply life changing and some of it was my fault for not following through. No matter though, it’s a new year again. And I am better prepared this year for life. Because of some interesting twists and turns of fate (or maybe faith- who knows), I have some second chances that I never thought I’d be fortunate enough to have. And I am going to make the best of those second chances.

I realize that this post is starting to ramble. And the kids want breakfast. So, I am going to stop for now and hope that I have a chance later today to add more….