Brilliante Weblog Award

Elaine was so sweet to think of me and nominate me for a 2008 Brilliante Weblog award! Thank you Elaine!

Here are the rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Here are my nominees:
1) 3 Peanuts (everyone, please go give Kim some good wishes!)
2) A Journey To Our Daughter
3) Notes From Robinson Road
4) Adventures of a Southern Newlywed
5) Punk Rock Mommy
6) A Lighter Shade of Green
7) So Close

Ri-dic-u-lous

That is how yesterday was.

We finally made it into the building 45 minutes after we arrived when the campaign manager (who we love) arrived. Boss got there a full hour and 20 minutes after we had planned, and did not give any explanation.

We had planned to have volunteers arrive and canvass. Things were disorganized and we were somewhat unprepared because we had been locked out all morning and could not get everything ready. So we were frantically printing things and finding pens and water bottles in front of all the volunteers (and some financial donors). We certainly could have made a stronger impression.

We then all split into pairs and left the office. I was the lucky one who paired off with the boss.

Oh my.

Things were fine at first. And by fine, I mean the usual annoying things that I tolerate with a clenched jaw. When we got to our location, we separated and went out to canvass. And that was quite good really.

Then I got a phone call. From the boss. To get back to the car.

Because he had forgotten that a new employee was arriving and he was supposed to pick this person up at the airport.

So off we go rather frantically. And the traffic is bad. And the boss doesn't know the airline of this person or have his phone number. So how are we going to find him at the airport?

Boss gives me his blackberry to search through all his emails and find the one with the phone number and flight info.

There are 2414 emails.

He does not know the name of this person.

He does not know what day he was emailed.

How do I find the email?

Have I mentioned that I get carsick quickly if I am not looking out the window? I can't read or really do much at all in a vehicle if it involves looking at something.

So I'm starting to get queasy while flipping through thousands of emails and the boss is switching lanes periodically to get there faster.

We get to the airport after an hour. I have found the email. Boss takes off into the airport with his blackberry attempting to contact the new guy while I stagger alongside clutching my water bottle and attempting to remain mostly vertical.

We find him without too much difficulty, and apologize for being 3 hours late. Boss fibs a bit, blaming our tardiness on some bs communication problem that deflects the blame from him. I recover.

As we're driving out of the parking lot, things are looking good. We found the new guy without incident, remembered where we parked, and I am feeling fine. And then Boss realizes he has lost the parking ticket.

So we pull up to the attendant's booth and Boss gives some story about being lost and pulling in just for a second to turn around.

Doesn't work.

So he frantically searches. Now, I will be the first to say I am disorganized. Open my purse and a whole mess of crap will explode on you. But this man is just BEYOND. Random crap in every corner of the car, and his pockets. He pulls everything out of his pockets and, instead of putting it in a tray or cup holder, just dumps everything onto the floor of the car.

Decides to confess he lost the ticket. I guess everything about airport security has gotten severely anal recently. She takes the license plate number, driver's license, airline, flight number, and arrival time. Then confirms the flight information with someone over her radio. She decides to charge just for the time from an hour before the flight landed. Which is much better than the maximum rate.

But now Boss has to pay, and this proves to be a challenge. He hands over a broken debit card. This thing has been snapped in half. And then duct taped back together. I think that was the breaking point of ridiculous for me. I wasn't annoyed anymore, I was chuckling on the inside of how stupid all this was. The parking attendant was very confused and frustrated.

Once we finally get out of there, his blackberry rings. Of course, he can't find his headset because he dumped it on the floor with everything else. So in the midst of groping around on the floor for this thing, he doesn't listen to the GPS and gets onto the wrong freeway.

Poor new guy. This must have been the worst first impression. Boss tried to make some joke about the new guy being bad luck. He really has no idea what he's in for.

A Seriously Slacking Boss

My work situation is getting to a point of ridiculousness. I believe my boss is allergic to work. His office is absolutely disgusting. A few of us were helping clean up his office, and we found old cherry pits that he had just spit on the floor. Eeeewwww!

He just sits in there eating and gchatting and reading blogs. Now, I’m all for spending a good portion of your day being unproductive on the computer (well, I don’t consider getting out a full blog post to be unproductive).

But he really is the master.

When we need him to do something, we have to tell him hours before it’s needed, remind him, then he still doesn’t do it. It gets done an hour after we needed it done. Then, he often does a crappy job anyway and we have to fix it.

He truly is a master slacking overachiever, so I wonder why I hate him so much. He has a good position considering how young he is. When this post is over he will be in good shape to get a better gig. He came highly recommended, so he must be getting something done!

Lately, however, my primary colleague and I feel he is taking his employees (who are the ones doing all the work) for granted, and reaping the benefits (of OUR work) when he gets to report to his superiors.

What’s even more frustrating, is the rest of the office and staff are absolutely amazing and fun and awesome and great to work with. I don’t know how I got stuck in the bad department with the one rotten egg.

Then, there are tons of little things too. That all just pile up. For instance, right now I am sitting in a parking lot. I mean sitting on the curb with my laptop balanced on a "reserved parking" sign, using the wireless from our office. Why? Because the boss is not here to let me in. (Actually, let us in, one of my colleagues is set up with her laptop right next to me).

We were told to be here early on Saturday. Being the overachiever that I am, of course I will do this in order to satisfy my boss. Being a slacker however, I got here 10 minutes later than scheduled.

And no one is here.

And we never got a call that plans had changed.

And now it is 30 minutes after the time when he should be here to let us in so we can all start working.

And my colleague really has to go to the bathroom, and is whining to me about this as we sit on the curb in the parking lot with our laptops.

And now, as I type, two other colleagues have arrived. Along with the cable guy. So the four of us are standing out here stupidly, unable to let the cable guy in.

I suppose this is a good lesson in workplace relationships and such, but it sure is frustrating.

I just hope I get a great recommendation after all of this. Being an intern who hopes to continue moving up the ranks, I need a really good one.

p.s. This is a campaign I am working on, so it only lasts a few more months, fortunately, until Nov 4. By boss, I don’t mean the candidate who is awesome and perhaps the hardest working person I’ve ever met!

Thursday Thirteen #12

Click photos to enlarge; some are better that way.

Thirteen of my favorite self-taken nature photographs 1. Yang Shuo, China 2. Halifax, Nova Scotia:3. Cape Cod, Massachusetts 4. Cape Cod, Massachusetts5. Cape Cod, Massachusetts 6. Cape Cod, Massachusetts7. Jilin, China (The other side of this lake is North Korea)8. Seattle, Washington9. Seattle, Washington10. Kenmore, Washington11. Kenmore, Washington12. Jilin, China13. Guilin, China (This is inside a cave)

Thursday Thirteen #11

Thirteen Great Websites For Slacking 1. Facebook: You can get lost for hours on this thing. The following quote expresses it pretty well: "If AIM is a gateway drug, Facebook is internet crack." 2. YouTube: pretty much anything you want - it's there. Also, archived footage at thedailyshow.com 3. Overheard in New York: hilariously real! 4. Ebaums World: Ridiculous things (albinoblacksheep.com is good too). 5. Addicting Games: I'm a fan of the puzzles and the helicopter game. 6. Recovering Frat Boy: He publishes a bimonthly column. 7. Wikipedia: You can get severely sidetracked by clicking on links in the middle of articles. As a friend said, "Wikipedia is like alcohol. You start into it, wake up a few hours later, and can't remember how you got there." You can play the "Jesus Game." Either click "Random article" on the left hand column, or go to a random page yourself. See how few clicks it takes to get to Jesus. 8. College Humor: fairly ridiculous and sometimes funny articles. 9. LOL Catz: Sooo juvenile but sometimes hilarious. 10. The New York Times: If you want to do something a little more refined (or you want people to think you are sophisticated when they look over your shoulder), NYT has great articles, photo slideshows, and videos on tons of topics. 11. Memes: You're probably familiar ;) 12. Google: There are so many games and funny things to do with google. One option: put in the searchbar: Your Name needs Your Name looks like ...does ...hates ...goes ...loves ...eats ...has ...will 13. prettymuchanything.blogspot.com: Like wiki, one can spend hours surfing blogs by following blogrolls.

Thursday Thirteen #10

With the 4th of July tomorrow, here is my 10th TT. I'm sorry that it is a little bit more geared towards the second half of the century than the early years.




Thirteen Quotes From Important Moments in US Political History of the 20th Century (In chronological order, feel free to disagree or add your own). 1. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Speaker: Franklin D. Roosevelt Date: March 4, 1933 Chosen because: I give a lot of credit to FDR for promoting the welfare state and introducing the radical idea in this country that the government might actually take care of its citizens. For me, this quote shows his leadership in not only being an emotional "hand holder" for the country during this time, but for his leadership in creating new programs. 2. "December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy." Speaker: Franklin D. Roosevelt Date: December 8, 1941 Chosen because: Well, it's infamous. ;) 3. "The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima." Speaker: Harry S. Truman Date: August 9, 1945 Chosen because: Would forever change the way the world views conflict between major powers. 4. "Have you no sense of decency?" Speaker: Joseph Welch Date: June 9, 1954 Chosen because: I think this sentence sums up how many of us often feel about government. Also, it came at a time when things were seriously out of control in our government and we saw how willing people are to go with the flow and believe certain things. 5. "I have a dream..." Speaker: Martin Luther King, Jr. Date: August 28, 1963 Chosen because: I don't think this really needs an explanation of its importance. 6. "I'm about to sign into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964." Speaker: Lyndon B. Johnson Date: August (?) 1964 Chosen because: A landmark piece of legislation that showed presidential courage. Also a defining moment in political history as, just as Johnson predicted, the south would be lost to the Democratic party. 7. "I have today ordered to Vietnam...additional forces will be needed later and they will be sent." Speaker: Lyndon B. Johnson Date: July 28, 1965 Chosen because: Well, the Vietnam War was a pretty big part of history that will always be with us. 8. "I have some very sad news for all of you, Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee." Speaker: Robert F. Kennedy Date: April 4, 1968 Chosen because: Not only the death of an important figure, but a moment that showed the skills of another. 9. "...I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow." Speaker: Richard M. Nixon Date: August 8, 1974 Chosen because: The most powerful man in the world stepped down without a single gun being fired. 10. "I don't think it was wrong...I think it was a neat idea." Speaker: Oliver North Date: July 1987 (?) Chosen because: This casual reference towards the president and officials engaging in something inappropriate and unethical as "a neat idea" is quite disturbing. 11. "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Speaker: Lloyd Bentsen Date: October 5, 1988 Chosen because: I did not include a Kennedy quote in this list although there are a few that almost made the cut. I decided to instead include this one because it shows how strong of an impact Kennedy had. His influence can be seen in how eager politicians are to mention the late president and draw parallels. 12. "The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated. This is thunder, this is lightning, this is death - this is hell." Speaker: Bernard Shaw Date: 1991 Chosen because of the foreshadowing it offers. 13. "The young killers of Columbine High School do not stand for the spirit of America. We can rise up and we can say 'No more.'" Speaker: Al Gore Date: April 25, 1999 Chosen because: This one is much more powerful when heard than when read, but I think there are so many events and issues to which we want to say 'no more'.

Happy 4th! Since I am working for a political campaign, and the 4th of July is also National Politician Day, I will be hitting up three parades

Thursday Thirteen #9

I have just embarked on a summer as a staffer on a political campaign, and what a year to be doing this. Here is a quick recap of the first 2 1/2 weeks:




Thirteen Things I have been doing this summer while working on a political campaign. I... 1. ...flew to a city that I have never been to before. After one of the worst days of delays and flight cancellations I have ever experienced, I landed at 1AM, found my way to a hotel, and then worked that day 9AM-8:30PM, meeting the entire staff for the first time. 2. ...slept on a couch at the deputy finance director's apartment before moving in with the family of a supporter. I quickly got used to the family's habits and 20-year-old cat that yowls in the middle of the night. 3. ...began working 12 hour days, 6 days a week. This Sunday will be my last Sunday off. It will be 7days/week from July on out. 4. ...spent a little bit of time downtown exploring the city. Honestly, it is not quite as great as everyone told me it would be, but I am somewhat impressed, and I have plans to see even more of it this weekend. 5. ...went canoeing with friends. I so wish I had more time off to explore this great state! 6. ...went to a festival and a nursing home as a representative from the campaign. The nursing home was so fun - half the people thought I was the candidate and the other half wanted to tell me about WWII. 7. ...met the candidate who, by the way, is one of the most awesomest people I have ever met. 8. ...had lunch twice with the candidate and a few staffers. The candidate said this is something they try to do once a week in order to "maintain the illusion that campaigns are actually civilized." 9. ...went to a fundraiser at a beautiful house with great food. It kinda, no it really made me wish I worked in finance. They get to go to the events all the time. 10. ...had a truly deep conversation with the campaign manager about flavored tootsie rolls. (Office conversations are great in the evenings. Everyone is tired and lets loose a bit - the results can be pretty hilarious). 11. ...went to a chocolate factory and tasted the BEST chocolate I have EVER had. They make all kinds of flavors like one that tastes like wine, and one that has Chai flavoring. And of course, that chocolate tasting was all very serious official campaign business. Quality control for fundraisers, you know. ;) 12. ...made tons of fundraising calls! Yes, this week I am that annoying person who calls you. The end of the quarter is on Monday so we are in overdrive. Almost all other aspects of the campaign have shut down and everyone, even if they do not work in the finance department, is expected to make fundraising calls. 13. ...took a twenty minute call from a "colorful" voter who had thought through her own plan to deal with Iraq, decided an Indian member of our staff is actually Polish (???), and went on and on about something involving sabotaging oil fields in I guess the Middle East (this was where I kinda lost the conversation).




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It's been great so far and things are only going to get more active, more crazy, and more amazing as we get closer to E-day! I'm still crossing my fingers that the national party will send a celebrity of some sort our way to help out.


p.s. I also got to see the candidate dive stomach first onto an exercise ball when the candidate thought no one was looking!

Bone Marrow Drive

15 minutes, 4 do-it-yourself cheek swabs,
3 page questionnaire, 1 envelope,
and the chance to save a life.

Thursday Thirteen #8

Way Way WAY overdue

Thirteen Things that I'm using as an excuse to explain not having blogged for awhile (as always, with pictures) 1.I had a huge research paper due on international education policy (a month ago) 2.I had finals (again, a month ago) 3.My grandfather and cousin died during that time. My grandmother is now in the hospital. 4.I said a temporary goodbye to new friends and my new hometown 5.I moved out (fourth floor, no elevator) 6.I went to visit family in California 7.I visited friends in New York (more pics to come) 8.I finally made it home after a hellish day of foot, taxi, subway, bus, and plane travel from New York 9.I have been catching up with friends, packing, and organizing 10. I had an interview for a position for next fall that I applied for (I got it!) 11.I saw the Sex and the City movie (not a great excuse but...) 12.I went to an organizing meeting to talk about how the Democratic Primary went in this state and what we can do for the fall 13.I am getting ready to spend the entire summer on the west coast working on a political campaign, and I will also be attending the convention in Denver! Therefore, I have been spending money like crazy on plane tickets, train tickets, bus tickets, housing, and getting headaches dealing with all of these schedules!


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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Movie photo from: http://pblosser.blogspot.com/2006/10/statism-post-modernism-and-death-of.html

Saturday Photo Hunters #1

HIGH

Photo Hunters

Spring Break - Woohoo?

There’s an episode of FRIENDS where Ross, a professor, is dating Elizabeth, a student. Elizabeth is going to Florida for spring break, and Chandler and Joey shout woohoo after they, or anyone else, mentions it. When Ross asks for an explanation, Monica clarifies saying, “During spring vacation, you do nice things with your grandparents. During spring break, you do frat guys.” (Woohoo). I’ve heard all about Spring Break Miami, Spring Break Cancun, MTV Spring Break, and wet T-shirt contests (woohoo). They’re played up as huge college initiations - the reason you go to college practically. Still, I have yet to (knowingly) meet someone who has participated in these activities.

It seems most people at University left for spring vacation. For example: I went to the beach (woohoo)...but to hang out with the Mother and the Grandmother and look at retirement communities for the Grandmother (no joke). Friend #1 went to Miami (woohoo)...but to hang out with his relatives...who don’t sound like a crazy bunch. Friend #2 went to Philly, and then drove through PA with his mom to see civil war battlefields. No disrespect to the Union and the Amish, but that’s not worthy of a woohoo. Across-the-Hall went camping in Arizona with her dad. Friend #3 went to Miami with the tennis team (woohoo)...but had to live with some team member’s grandparents. Living with 80-year-olds you’ve never met doesn’t exactly scream keg-stands. Friend #4 stayed on campus for hardcore crew practice. According to what we’ve heard, other schools take the rowers to Florida for practice over break. Friend #4 feels like she’s missing out on a pretty big woohoo.

Roommate went to NYC on her own so I guess that’s worthy of a mild woohoo, although knowing her, she’s probably going to spend the entire time in a theater or museum - not dancing on bars. I’m not the only one with a distorted image of college spring break. The little sister of Friend #1 thought we had a break of 3 weeks off to take this huge road trip to Florida for the aforementioned wet t-shirt contests and other woohoo type activities.

Not exactly.

So do I just know all the nerds? Is this what the rest of the American college population is doing right now and my bubble of friends and I are just in a totally different universe? And what do you do for spring break (woohoo) if you already live in FL?

Oh, the Agony

Such is the life of a slacking overachiever.

I am an overachiever. Because of this, I signed up for an independent study policy internship downtown and convinced my Dean to let me take 6 classes during my first year. (I am receiving credit for the internship so it is considered 6 classes total).

I have to write a twenty page policy paper for this internship.

I am a slacker. I have left all of the work to the almost last minute and, during busy weeks, the absolute last minute. I must turn it in tomorrow morning in person. I am stuck in the computer lab writing until it is done. The lab closes at 4am, but I'd like to get out of here by 12:00. No dinner tonight. Just left over Easter chocolate. To achieve my midnight goal, I am posting on my blog, sending my friends bumperstickers on Facebook, and checking out Thursday Thirteens.

Why?

Because only a draft is due. There is certainly time to improve it for the final.

And the independent study is pass/fail.

That's my mantra right now.

"Don't freak out. The sun hasn't set yet. It's only a draft. It's only pass/fail."

Thursday Thirteen #7

(She's actually a wonderful roommate and I'm very lucky to have gotten such a good situation...but these are just the things that irk me).

Thirteen Things I'd like to tell my roommate 1 - Your hair! The diagonal bangs make me crazy! You’ve got to straighten them or something. 2 - Your cough and laugh are awkward and annoying. But i guess you can’t change those. 3 - Please don’t hum or sing. It’s really distracting when you think your mouth is a snare drum and i’m trying to learn arabic. 4 - For the love of god, close the window! It is too cold out and we freeze during the night! 5 - The comments you make about your faith and other faiths really bother me. My faith could not be more different from yours. I’m trying to be open and learn about yours, but sometimes you sound really ignorant. 6 - Please stop leaving your keys in the door. It’s annoying and not safe. 7 - Please remember to turn your alarm off on weekends...really, please do this. 8 - Turn the volume on your alarm down! I don’t know how it takes you several minutes to hear it each morning. I’m across the room and it always blasts me out of bed. 9 - Stop closing the door! If I am in the room with the door open when you get back, please do not then close the door behind you when you leave a few minutes later. Obviously, I want the door open. 10 - Please stop taking my cable out of the internet jack. It’s very passive aggressive. 11 - I don’t want to hear you saying negative things about people you went to high school with. you sound very condescending and patronizing. It makes me feel bad for them, especially when I can identify with the problems they’re having that you’re telling me about. You don’t realize it, but sometimes you’re insulting me, too. 12 - Your boyfriend really needs to spend more time in his room. you may think he’s great, but the rest of the hall, myself included, thinks he’s really very extremely super annoying! I’m really tired of him hanging out in our room every evening. It’s also really awkward when you guys start making out and I am sitting right there. 13 - Please don’t support that presidential candidate.

That feels better.



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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Wordless Wednesday - 1

Photo Show It - Diffusion

I'm really not sure what this means, but dictionary.com says it has something to do with a "soft focused effect." That doesn't really help, but here goes:

This is part of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Taken early October, 2006.

Photo Show It

Photo Show It - Depth of Field

I am a very amateur photographer, but I'd like to give the Photo Show It meme a shot (pun intended). I'm not very artistic and I'm not quite sure what depth is or if this picture even qualifies. This was taken in a small port town in Maine during December 2007. Excuse the reflections from the window

A New Meme

From Blog Talkers Talk: What does spring mean for you?

Spring means a mixture of activities for me. As a student, it means both crunch time as exams draw closer, slight panic as I make summer arrangements, and relief as the year will almost be over. The weather is wonderful, of course, although it's taking a bit longer to warm up at University than it did back home. I am so fortunate not to have allergies so I am always able to enjoy the weather. This slacker absolutely does not do a big spring cleaning. Throughout the year, I plug along, picking up, vaccuming, and doing laundry as needed. I think the worst part is the weather not being able to decide what to do. This is similar to that awkward period in the fall where it's too cold for half of your clothing, yet you feel stupid in the other half because it's just not cold enough.

I don't get spring fever so much as summer fever. Around this time I start thinking about the Cape where I've spent every summer of my life. I'm also anxious to get past exams an on to whatever fabulous un-paid internship I managed to land. As of right now, I have not yet received acceptances so I am anxiously awaiting those. Daylight Savings Time happens over the weekend where, at college that involves seriously screwing up your sleep cycle, so I don't feel the effects of DST until Sunday night when I'm frantically trying to finish a paper and wish I had another hour left to do it...such is the life of a SlackingOverachiever (well, actually this part is just about the slacking).

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 91 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Wow

I found this link and I'm quite surprised by the rating.

Movie Reviews

Thursday Thirteen #6

Thirteen Things I did over break...a few hours early Pictures included because I don't like to read posts without pictures to look at. 1. Visited floormate at her home in NYC and got really excited over the fact that she has a doorman and all those fancy New York amenities. 2. Rode the subway ALL BY MYSELF to get there and was completely horrified by the uncleanliness factor. I think I've become a public transportation snob. 3. Saw a show on Broadway (The Drowsy Chaperone) and waited outside the stage door for autographs. (Bob Saget) 4. Did the obligatory holiday tour of the city 5. Got mad at BadBank once again (see post below) because using that card with a certain sports team glorified all over it really pissed off one cashier. It's just a game people! 6. Did not, unfortunately, overhear anything worthy of being sent to overheardinnewyork.com 7. Had a big family shindig (not in the city). It was nice because this may be the last one certain grandparents will be attending. 8. Visited various relatives and friends with incurable illnesses and/or cancer. It seems like there are so many people with cancer this year. This was definitely the "sick holiday." We've done a lot of reflecting and spending time together. 9. Went to New Hampshire to intern for a political campaign and held signs outside in below zero weather. Hey, we're freezing for our future. I also got yelled at A LOT on the phone by pissed off voters who just want the primary to be OVER AND WE KNOW WHO WE'RE VOTING FOR SO STOP BOTHERING US, OKAY?!?!. 10. Met the Candidate several times and Candidate's spouse once and was in a photo for a CNN article. (Although it wasn't a favorable article for the Candidate). 11. Met some really friendly volunteers working on different campaigns (as well as some totally crazy ones). 12. Came home briefly and in time for my mom to host a dinner party where the guests hadn't seen me since i was "just this tiny little girl hanging on to your mom and now you're all grown up and working in politics" etc. etc. 13. Made a donation to Locks of Love. Happy 2008, everyone!

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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