I adjust.

j_adoube: o/
j_adoube: o/
j_adoube: (you're leaving me hanging)
teknogir: \o
j_adoube: o/\o

I've never been particularly proud to be a resident and citizen of the United States of America. Sure, I got opportunities that people of my demographic in other countries might never see. But I wasn't really particularly focused on those. I was really much more interested in focusing on what it was that I was lacking that other countries did get. Socialized medicine. Amazing educational curricula that produced amazing minds that made mine look like a child's (a feat, I would like to think, is somewhat difficult to achieve). A competent leader. The list was as long as my arm.

Why should I be proud, I thought, or even moderately grateful, to be a part of America, when it was becoming more and more of a joke? On top of our political romper room on display, we had an overwhelming level of obesity going for us, and that pesky education issue that I discussed earlier. I was highly apathetic, to be honest, because hell - no one else gave a shit about America or took it seriously. I certainly shouldn't be expected to. Right?

Right?

I, of course, voted for John Kerry the first time that I was able to vote at all. I wasn't really voting for Kerry, as I suspect many others who cast ballots for Kerry weren't really voting for him, either. I was voting against another term with Bush. As my sister said about this election, I felt about the last one:

"I don't give a shit if the Sta-Puff Marshmallow Man is the Democratic candidate, I'm voting for him!"

I was still a bit young, old enough to vote, and old enough to understand what I hated about this country, but I wasn't old enough to understand what difference it made - what this stuffy old guy was going to do differently from this other stuffy old guy, why I was supposed to believe anyone, or why I was expected to care about problems to which there seemed to be no real solution. It could be argued, however, that this could be because no one gave enough of a shit to make me understand. No one cared about my vote. I was young. My vote wasn't nearly as important as the votes of the "real" adults - at least it seemed that way to me.

To be fair, by the beginning of Bush's second term, things were only really beginning to muck up properly. Before then, it was a slew of mistakes, but we had just begun scratching the surface of what the consequences of those mistakes would be. That was definitely another factor in my general apathy and lack of interest in the politics dictating what our country was up to.

Kerry lost, I was pissed, but I was mainly pissed because I knew that I was supposed to be pissed, because we were stuck with Douchebag Dubya for another four years, and God only knew what he was going to screw up this time around. I didn't have any real attachment to Kerry as a candidate, to be perfectly honest.

And that's primarily why this election surprised me as much as it did.

I never, ever, evereverever saw myself as someone who would be gripped by politics. I would definitely educate myself a bit better than I had in the last election, of course, but I didn't need to know the ins and outs of what was going on because it wasn't going to make a difference. My one young vote in a red state didn't matter, and my choices didn't matter, because they were the same stuffy old guys who still didn't get what I needed or wanted. So what the hell did it even matter?

It began to occur to me that perhaps this time was going to matter when Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination, thus becoming the man running against John McCain, even older and stuffier than any other candidate that I'd even had to pretend to be interested in in the past.

I didn't really know why I gave a shit a little bit more, but I found myself interested enough to look at things, to read things I didn't read before. DailyKos, fivethirtyeight.com, alternet... all were places that I began to frequent, that I had barely even given a second thought prior to this campaign. Why did I care about Barack Obama? What made him so much more cognitively accessible than Kerry, or even Gore before him?

I believe that it is in no small part due to the fact that we met somewhere in the middle. Instead of waiting for me to do everything for him, his campaign reached out using media that had never really been fully utilized in the past to reach out its hand as far as it could for me to hold, so that we could have a meeting of the minds as opposed to a puzzle that I was supposed to solve.

Naturally, image had a lot to do with it, as well. Clean-cut, strong features, youth, a strong, articulate voice and oration skills that I had not seen in a presidential candidate in my recent memory displayed an intelligence that I never really noticed in any other candidate. For the first time, I felt like it might be possible for me to relate to the person vying for my vote.

Then there was the matter of his plans, his agenda, and his ideas for the country. That's not really the point of this entry, if it even has a point, so I'll just skip over my pontification on that for now. Needless to say, I was down with the man. I found myself (gasp!) becoming excited. Giving a shit. Getting involved. Watching. Listening.

Waiting.

Last night, I witnessed something that was without argument a truly historic event. But history had begun before the votes poured in. History happened when this man inspired lifelong Republicans, who had become just as fed up with the consequences of the Bush administration's mistakes and the continued incompetence as displayed by the McCain campaign, to join his cause. History happened when people who had never voted before, people as apathetic, hopeless, and jaded as I was, felt a swell in their hearts upon hearing him speak to us. History happened last night, and over the past months, not only because we elected our first African American president, though that is certainly more important than we have the capacity to realize in the present moment.

History happened because we have finally really elected a president who is admired. A president who seems more than capable of understanding where we have come from and where we want to go. We elected someone who has personified the long-abandoned ideal that we can do whatever we want if we want it hard enough, and work hard enough for it.

The world is just as ecstatic as I am. Comments to blogs from people living in Germany, the UK, India - these people have said things like, "Thank you, America; you have restored my faith in you." "We love you, America." "May God bless America and the world."

I feel like I had a part in that, because I did. My tiny hand in this huge pot actually got it stirring. I am an American. And for the first time in my life, I am so immensely proud of that. I did this. We did this. Nothing is impossible, no one will ever be able to tell us that we cannot get something accomplished simply because of the overwhelming odds ever again. Because we've just done it.

My President-Elect inspires me not only on a political level, but on a personal level. He's a role model to so, so many, myself included. I cast my vote for someone this time. I believed not in a party, and really not even in America. I believed in a person. And because of it, our nation is no longer going to be a joke forever. We have made history by believing in a person who relied not on corporations, but on donations averaging around $87 a person.

Elected by the people, for the people. Fucking finally. Finally.

Thank you, everyone.

YES WE DID.

It's been so long since I've updated anyone on my life that I'm just gonna have to roll with bullet points.

I learned to knit! Yay! I still sorta suck at it, because I'm a big fraidy cat and circular needles scare the living bejeezus out of me. It is about fifty eight kinds of fun and relaxing, though. I hope to get better at it soon.

I got a second job. I work at Game Over, selling video games for every console from Atari to the current gen systems. It's pretty interesting. It's been awhile since I had a retail job, so it's an experience. The extra cash doesn't hurt, either. Coworkers are nice.

I'm in a band. That is a really long story, and if anyone cares to hear about it, I'll certainly expound on it later, after the Life Update. The band is called Pascal's Wager, and hojo_loves_you is in it, too. More details forthcoming.

That's all I've got right now. ¬.¬

Tags: band, game over, knitting, life, update

And somehow, I ended up standing in front of my house, drunk and holding an orange.

sea_of_sin: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/elmpixie/doctor-who2.jpg
j_adoube: Bwahaha I've seen that
sea_of_sin: <33s
j_adoube: Meee too
j_adoube: I would seriously allow him to have 58 kinds of sex with me
sea_of_sin:but you'd stop at 58... because 59 would just be too much
j_adoube: 59 and my head would fall off
j_adoube: From awesome
j_adoube: Ha ha hah ah a
sea_of_sin:your second heart would explode

At work, I have about a dozen or so status messages that I use for various chat statuses, depending on what I feel like for the day. This morning, I randomly chose the following:

naysayers might find the basic concept of a grown man dressed in noted hybrid banana-clown regalia quite unsettling

(Aside: This is a quote from The Plight of Clownana, which is pretty genius and should be seen at least once by everyone.)

I went to lunch and put up my standard lunch away message, and upon returning, chose another one at random. This time, it was:

There's always money in the banana stand.

After this, the following conversations were had (truncated into one continuous chat for convenience):

quelque_chose: is today banana-themed?
j_adoube: Ha ha ha ha, I just picked a random status message
j_adoube: Why?
j_adoube: What else is up with bananas?
quelque_chose: well, you had the banana clow suit available message and then someone else I know that works at apple has a banana icon
j_adoube: Ohhhhh yeah
j_adoube: I forgot about that
j_adoube: Ha ha ha ha hah a
j_adoube: It's Banana Day!
j_adoube: New status message

[At this point, I changed my status to "Happy Banana Day!"]

j_adoube: Dude it IS banana day!
My friend Andres: it's true
My friend Andres: i ate banana this morning for breakfast
quelque_chose: haha, awesome! I wish I had a banana
j_adoube: Man now I want one too
sandkat: dude
sandkat: i had a banana for breakfast today too!

After this conversation, I looked at my buddy list to notice that edemynag's status message read, "Always bring a banana to a party!"

Hooray! Banana Day is here!

Edit: Oh my, I've started a trend! I'm seeing more and more banana-centric status messages as the day progresses. Fantastic!

I have not forgotten about you, prom. Your story will be told. Promise.

So, some interesting things happened yesterday.

Roast Beef and Molly got married.

Season 4 of Doctor Who ended.

I turned 25.

I don't really have much to say about this, aside from giving a big thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday (especially conciliate, who was so far ahead of the game that I got birthday well-wishes an entire month early! Don't worry, I reread your comment yesterday just to give it the extra recognition it deserved), and that I hope that the wish that I made for my birthday comes true, even though now I kind of feel like I squandered it, as I can think of fifty eight other wishes that would have been way awesomer. I was under pressure, man. What can I say?

Thank you thank you thank you. 25. Here we go.

On the agenda for the next post: Prom!! With pictures of stuff you wouldn't expect.

New Doctor Who: 27.9% done.

Nnnngh bed.

Wednesday was pretty much the worst idea ever.

If a lesson has been learned here, it is this: When you have work the next morning, never, ever go to a club of any sort with someone who has a fairly large amount of disposable income and a predilection to buying other people drinks. Nothing good will ever come of it.

( cut for tl;dr )

Happy birthday, iTunes!

Well, apparently I wasn't the only person who was pissed off at the inexplicable and arbitrary distribution of gifts to some and not to others. Last night, the GM of HKO wrote this post to address the concerns of the players, and I commented on it. (As it might be quite easy to guess, I'm Vanetti.)

After my comment there, and my open letter on the forum, I guess they finally paid attention, because this morning, they posted this.

Lesley 1, Hello Kitty Online 0.

w00t.

February 2008
Hello Kitty Online announces that they are now receiving applications to beta test the new MMORPG. Instructions to email for details are given.

Late Feb/Early March 2008
I receive an email instructing me to make a video application for the closed beta testing of Hello Kitty Online.

March 18, 2008
Great news! The beta testers have been announced, and I was chosen! All I have to do is email my name and mailing address to their online game department, and they'll send us a package with the software and (and yes, I quote from the email) "some exclusive items and useful guides to help you as you participate in the HKO Closed Beta testing."

Late March 2008
People on the forums begin to speculate on when the packages will arrive. Everyone is excited!

March 24, 2008
I send the following to Hello Kitty Online:

Hello,

I have a quick question about the software kit for the game. I'm imagining that the package will be somewhat small, but I just wanted to confirm. If it's a larger package, it won't fit in my mailbox, and I'll get a slip instead instructing me to go to the post office. That's perfectly okay; the address will still be valid. I was just wondering whether I should expect a package, or a slip instructing me to pick up a package.

Thanks again,
Lesley Yates

No reply.

March 28, 2008
I forward this email to them again, thinking that perhaps they didn't get it the first time for some reason. No reply.

April 8, 2008
The new deadline for sending in postal address details. The packages haven't even been sent yet.

April 16, 2008
It's announced that the Hello Kitty Online packages have been shipped. The start date for Hello Kitty Online's closed beta begins on April 23. An email is sent to all closed beta testers, including the following:

We hope you enjoy the package that we've prepared just for you. So now that you have everything needed to start playing Hello Kitty Online, we'd just like to inform you of the start and end date for our Closed Beta testing period.

CB Start: 23 April 2008, 00:00 Hong Kong Time (GMT +8)
CB End: 7 May 2008, 00:00 Hong Kong Time (GMT +8)

Oh boy, it's getting closer!!!

April 20, 2008
Someone got her package and posted pictures of the contents online. Everyone gets excited again. Look at all that stuff! I really can't wait to get my package now.

April 22, 2008
One day until the start of the beta, and still no package. I send an email again to the community manager:

Still haven't received my package. I checked the address many times. Please advise on when it will arrive.

No reply.

I check my mail today after work. There's a package in there, all right. Here are the contents:

• 1 Hello Kitty Online Software DVD with instruction booklet


• 1 letter containing account details

.....................

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?! SanrioTown/HKO never replied to any of my emails - ever - and for some reason, I got royally, royally gypped on stuff. What the fuck is all that shit that that other chick has?? I am so full of rage right now that I really just don't even want to think about Hello Kitty at all right now. And you know that that means that this is serious.

My last correspondence, which probably won't even be read:

Nevermind, I got it today. Thanks for all the groovy extras, by the way. And the communication here is totally top-notch, too. I can't wait to get started.

/sarcasm

Discovering that Eddie Izzard is coming to Austin = awesome.

Discovering that his tickets are > $200 (for the cheap seats) = sucko grande.

Discovering that his tickets in Atlanta are $35-$35 = just plain unfair.

damn you dirty hipsters, damn you all to hell.

ETA: I'm dumb. And happy!

Clearly, I seriously need a hobby. Like, now.

http://messageredacted.blogspot.com/

Don't get it? Then you are not cool enough to have been at Jonathan Coulton last night.

Earlier, I posted about Hello Kitty Online. They need closed beta testers, and I requested to be one. They replied back to me and told me that I'd have to make a video telling them why I should be chosen, using their crappy video-making tool to make it.

So here is the result, for all to laugh at. It's got sound, people.

My Hello Kitty Online closed beta video app!

http://www.hellokittyonline.com

j_adoube: I want a snack

::hojo_loves_you throws grilled cheese flavored crackers over adjacent cube wall::

j_adoube: Snack fairy!
hojo_loves_you: hahah
j_adoube: omnomnom
j_adoube: I don't know how I feel about these crackers
j_adoube: I mean...
j_adoube: .... how did they get them to taste like sandwiches?
hojo_loves_you: (free!)
j_adoube: No no, I don't argue with free
j_adoube: I'm just perplexed
hojo_loves_you: there are no drugs in the crackers, just eat them. quickly. >_>
j_adoube: Well, those were great crackerssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ::thwump::
hojo_loves_you: eeeeexcellent
hojo_loves_you: *pulls out hair scissors*