The Days are Just Packed

I'm moving in 11 days, but I have a feeling that the day is going to creep up on me much faster than I think. Primarily because I am staying extraordinarily busy in these final days.

Last weekend I went home for the last time before the move. My sisters and I (minus Jessica) hung out, went bowling, and spent a lot of time going over how things are done in Boston. Such mind-bending questions as "How do they wash their cars in Boston?" and "Do people even wear shorts up there?" were answered. I'm pretty sure my younger sisters think I'm moving to a polar ice cap. It was a lot of fun though, despite the fact that it rained non-stop. We went to Chili's, ordered an ungodly amount of food, were all sitting there clutching our stomachs, and Bear ordered cake. "Bear, I don't think I'm going to be able to eat cake." "Then quit eating your food. Save room for cake! You've gotta have priorities." So, we ate until we were sick and then bowled until the wee hours of the morning. It was a blast. :) I mean, who wouldn't miss faces like these? (and who knew Bear's eyes could do that?) :

I got back to Birmingham on Sunday evening in time to hang out with C and P. We decided to go to dinner and then see Ratatouille. We had Japanese food, and let me tell you a little something about the seafood pasta at this particular restaurant. You might assume shrimp...maybe some scallops...perhaps a crab leg. But you would be wrong. P got her food, I looked over... "Um...is that a tentacle?" Her pasta was chock-full of squid-y goodness. Actually squid and octopi, because there were tiny squids, but there were also honest to God tentacles with little suction cups I kid you not. Luckily I'm a vegetarian, and quickly lumped octopus tentacles into the meat category. Blech. Of course, I guess it was better than octopus ice cream. Skip to 3:30 on this bad boy

Then we saw Ratatouille. If you haven't seen this movie, go now. See it on the big screen. Not only is it really well-written and adorable, it also has the most amazing animation ever. The wet fur, the singed fur, the dry fur...hell, see it for the fur. Also see it because it is like watching Food Network with rats. I totally love Food Network, but this movie definitely gives that channel something to aspire to. Giving the audience an appreciation for food and fresh ingredients, rather than giving the audience the quickest way to throw together preservative-laden foods (I'm talking to you, Sandra Lee. Put down the Cheez-Whiz! Also, you may want to think about AA.) was really refreshing. I am not a cook by any means, but I really enjoyed watching the culinary touches to this movie. Apparently Anthony Bourdain was an advisor and he later reviewed the movie talking about how much they got right about life in a restaurant kitchen. I'm a huge fan of Bourdain's books, so I appreciate that the movie aspired to authenticity along with absolutely nailing the animation and having a wonderful story to boot. Awesome movie for any age. Go go go see it now.

Then I went out again Monday night! I'm telling you, I haven't just laid down and vegged out on my couch for like a week. Which is probably healthy, but whatever. Last night we went to the Alabama Kick-Off party for Barack Obama's campaign. I don't know who I'll be voting for yet, but I thought I'd like to hear what he had to say, and if by some chance he wins, when will be the next time I'll get to say I saw the President in person?!? (Actually, that's already happened to me once. President Bush's motorcade drove 10 feet in front of me when I was in DC a few years ago, but I wouldn't categorize my reaction to that as "excited" by any means. Ugh.)

The whole kick-off thing was pretty low-key...it's hard to get a large group of Democrats together in Alabama. First some little 9 year old girl read a letter she'd written to Obama, and I guess it was cute. I didn't pay a lot of attention since I'd just gotten there and had found a couple of my friends in the audience. Then some Birmingham drum line performed. Poor kids performed and then stood there holding their drums for almost the entire event. They finally gave out in the last 15 minutes or so. Then Charles Barkley came out to introduce the guy who was going to introduce Obama. I hate when people do that. You know who we're here to see, we don't need a cavalcade of people leading up to the guy. Particularly Charles Barkley who I don't care for at all, but who is probably trying to ride some coattails to the Governor's office. Barkley introduced Artur Davis who is a Congressman representing Alabama's "Black Belt." Which is the most impoverished part of the state. It's pretty much the equivalent of a 3rd-world country down there. Pitiful. I've met Congressman Davis before when I helped plan a meeting with local leaders about HIV/AIDS in Alabama. I love Congressman Davis. He works really hard, he's sincere in what he does, he's extremely intelligent, and he's a genuinely nice guy. After Obama spoke, I realized that I wished Congressman Davis was running for President. He'd get my vote hands down.

Finally it was the moment everyone was waiting for. The drummers are drumming, and they introduce "The next President of the United States, Barack Obama!" He came out, thanked everyone that had preceded him, and began his speech. And I felt, well, not really disappointed because I don't think I had really high expectations. But, I expected more. He gave a really safe speech that I believe you probably would have seen from any of the Democratic candidates. Hope for the future, America wants change, we never should have gone to war, blah blah blah. He certainly didn't say anything I disagree with, but there were no revelations. I was promptly reminded following his speech that we are still 18 months out and that it's doubtful that the candidates want to show their hands this early in the race. That makes sense. I've read some articles by Obama's advisors on issues such as the healthcare crisis, and I've really liked what they've had to say. I think if these are the kinds of guys that have Obama's ear, he may be a really great candidate. I just think he's going to need to be a little more charismatic to gain the attention of the majority. There's plenty of race yet to be run, and I'm confident that he'll improve. My big fear is that Hilary Clinton, despite her qualifications, will be unable to win the election. I just don't think she can win. The Democratic nomination seems to be pretty much between her and Obama, so I'm rooting for Obama. I just want a Democratic candidate who can win. We'll see what happens though.

After Obama, we went to trivia night at Innisfree. As usual, our team didn't really know many of the answers and we just battled to stay afloat amidst the teams with 12 people. An even dozen really seems to be the key to full knowledge coverage. You get 12 people, there's always going to be at least one person with an inkling of what the stupid answer is. Next Monday is my last night at trivia. If you're in town, feel free to come and help fill the team out. We need warm bodies. And there's cold beer. You really can't beat that. :) Laters!