Sunday, December 14, 2003

Day Seventy-Five.

So, Saddam Hussein was caught. This is good news and a great morale booster for our troops. It puts another piece in place in the big puzzle of trying to build an Iraq that is stable and functional. However, this puzzle is far from being completely put together.

Furthermore, catching Saddam Hussein does not justify going into Iraq in the first place. We were told he was about to unleash WMDs on us. This has turned out not to be true. We were told he was in cahoots with Osama bin Laden. Many of us knew this was not true from the get-go — and of course, it’s not. So, is the world better off without another murderous tyrant? Sure. But was (and is) this war the best use of our time, attention, and military resources for purposes of fighting terrorism and protecting our country from further 911-type attacks? Hell, no!

Last night I went to the Harris County Young Democrats holiday party. I ate small amounts of the party-type (read: non-Lean for Dean! appropriate) food and drank soda water and lime. I just wasn’t in party-hardy mode, coming off my firm party Friday night, but I got to talk to some people I knew, and, during the year-end wrap up slide show, see a picture of myself looking considerably less Lean for Dean! which was taken several months ago at a happy hour. I almost didn’t recognize myself, so it was cool to recognize the progress I’m making. Oh, and Eddie, who played George W. Bush all night (complete with a crown and silver spoon), won a Volunteer of the Year award!

Today Eddie and I are going to see the second installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in preparation for the opening of the third next week.

But right now, I am clicking around the all-channel-all-the-time Saddam-athon, listening to hear all the different ways today’s events can be spun and prognosticated about and to watch the same video footage over and over again.

One thing I will say, is Saddam Hussein sure could use a Queer Eye makeover.


11:43:48 AM    comment []  


Day Seventy-Four.

Last night began the gauntlet of holiday parties on my calendar. Last year I had one (count ‘em, one) party to go to, my firm’s party. This year it seems like everybody and their brother has invited me to a party. And oddly, all of them are on different days, which makes it possible for me to attend pretty much a party a day next week, if I want. However, all this partying and the Lean for Dean! Project are not real compatible, so I’m going to have to pace myself.

Last night was my firm party. I stuck mostly to eating fruit and vegetables, and just had small bits of the other hors d’ouevres-type food, which was all fried. But where I get myself into peril is with the alcohol. I drank (I think) a glass of wine, two light beers, and two shots of tequila (top shelf, mind you, it went down nice and smooth). That’s a lot of calories, and since I have another party tonight, I’m gonna have to watch it.

The firm party was fun, though. The highlight was I went up and buttonholed the firm’s newest shareholder, who is a guy that most people are kind of scared of. I joked around with him and just basically made him get to know me better and got to know him better (he’s the one who bought the tequila shots). He’s kind of an enigma to us and I wanted to break through that a little. Plus, I’m a blabbermouth when I’ve been drinking so I’ll go up and talk to anybody.

After that, a group adjourned to another bar. I went along for about half an hour, but didn’t have anymore to eat or drink. I called Eddie on my way home to see if he wanted to go have dinner somewhere, and he did, and on our way to dinner in the pouring rain, I got frigging rear-ended and the Deanmobile now has a trunk that won’t shut. Plus, her bumper stickers are all messed up. But I hope to get her fixed up quick so that soon she’ll be back on the road in all her Dean visibility glory.


9:40:37 AM    comment []