The things in my head go ’round and ’round

You had better believe that I watched Barak Obama’s acceptance speech.

Me, the dog, and the cats. All in front of the television waiting to hear some good news for once. Waiting not to hear about fear inducing crap. And we were not disappointed.

“We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.”

This speech was so reminescent of John Kennedy saying “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

“America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose our sense of higher purpose. And that’s what we have to restore.”

I watched the people in the audience nod their heads, and say “That is right” to so many of the themes Obama touched on. And I had hope. For the first time in 8 years I felt something other than dispare listening to a politician. 80,000 people in one of the NFL’s largest stadiums felt hope. We can move this country from the trough of fear and hopelessness that we have been in for the past 8 years. Together.

“What the naysayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you.”

Us. The American people. Not the CEO’s, not the politicians, but the factory workers. The nurses, and doctors, the orderlies, the cashiers, the janitors, the American people who can make this country work. And we have the chance now to make the change that is needed. To stop the bleeding, and make our country whole.

Obama for President.

Namate.

Here in the eastern part of the United States we have coin counting machines in some of our business’. They are mostly placed by a company called CoinStar. Banks here in the eastern part of the US don’t like dealing with coins. So if you go into your local neighborhood banking establishment with a bag full of coins they most likely won’t take it.

Yeah. They won’t take money.

Of course, the supermarket chain I work for frowns on taking coin. If someone brings in coin all wrapped up in the nice, neat little coin wrappers we have to open the wrapper and count the coin to verify the amount. Makes for really good customer relations when the customer is someone of Grandparent age. Makes them feel embarrassed. And that usually isn’t a good thing.

So, after a circuitous route, we are back to the CoinStar machine. Which isn’t free. You are charged 9 cents on the dollar to have this machine count your coins and spit out a voucher that you can then use for your groceries, or simply cash.

Sounds easy enough, now doesn’t it?

That is the beauty of it all. Because the CoinStar machine has a monitor that tells you what to do, and tells you what IT is doing while it is counting your coins. And it even tells you when it can’t count you coins. With all of this information going on, you would think that I would never have to deal with customers at the CoinStar machine.

You would be wrong.

People put the darndest things in with their coins. Found a .22 shell in the machine just yesterday. Was really glad that it didn’t go off. We regularly find slugs, washers, jewelry, paper clips, lint, and the like jamming the machine. And of course the person who is standing there never has a clue as to how whatever foreign object got into the machine. Must have been the Other Guy. That mysterious “Other Guy” who screws up everything.

Wish I could find him and tell him to knock it off.

Moving on. Our CoinStar broke yesterday. A message came on the screen telling everyone, and anyone who WOULD PAY ATTENTION that it was out of service. I had to fish 3 different peoples change out of the machine because THEY DIDN’T PAY ATTENTION. Rather disconcerting. Today we got a new machine, but unfortunately because it was shipped by a company that employs gorillas it is not working. And it has a message on the screen saying that it is out of service. Just a few minutes ago I got a page to come to the Customer Service Desk to help a customer with the CoinStar. I walked up, the customer asked is the machine was out of order. I said yes. They shot me the hairy eyeball and stalked out.

Why don’t people pay attention?

The case can be made for the woman not knowing the machine was out of order. How could she know, unless she called in and asked? I can understand that. I do commiserate with her. But why call me up just to ask if the machine is out of order, when it is clear from the information the machine is giving her that it is indeed out of order. Or did she think that that was a ruse? A cruel trick to be played upon customer after customer as they came in to exchange their base coins for paper money. A cruel trick that we employees would chuckle and chortle about as they left the store in frustration.

Hardly.

She was just another pissed off person who wanted to share her pissed-off-edness with me. I get a lot of that. Everyone wants to share their unhappiness with me.

Thanks, but really. I am trying to cut down. I have enough of my own.

Just a thought.

Namaste.

MLW and I are watching history. We are watching the opening of the Democratic National Convention. We are hoping, with thousands of others that a difference is going to be made this November. We are hoping that all of the words that we will hear tonight are not just more rhetoric.

We will be voting this November, as we have since the both of us have turned 18. We will be voting for Barack Obama. And we will be expecting that he will follow through with what he says. And we will hope that he can start the healing that we need to have happen in this country.

November is an important month this year. Our country needs you to take part in it this year. You need to vote. You need to have your voice heard.

You need to be a part of America.

Namaste.

Maybe days of our lives. Unless you work nights, then your days would actually be nights. And your nights would be your days. Or something like that.

I did overnights for about a year many moons ago, and I did not like it. Toss a kid with pnuemonia into the mix and you get the picture.

But that isn’t what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the freaking weather!! It has gone from hot and dry to cold and dry. At night. During the day it is still in the 80’s, but cool. But at night it is freaking COLD!! And the moon has been full the last few nights. I am loving this time of year.

The Girls start school on Monday. And get this, next week Thursday they are flying to Maui. For the Labor Day weekend. While I work. Somehow that doesn’t seem right. On a couple of levels, but they are going with The Princess’ Paternal Grandmother and Uncles. And when you look at it that way, I will be just as happy being here. Thank you.

What are you doing this weekend?

Namaste.

I am pissed off at CNN. Watching CNN just a few minutes ago, they had a segment about whether or not this election will bring out the “Youth Vote”. But it was done in a mocking tone.

And that pisses me off. My generation fought for the right to vote when we hit 18. It all had to do with the Viet Nam war. And 18 year olds have yet to step up to the plate and take their swing. And the old farts out there are just waiting to make sport of that again this year.

Someone other than me needs to get pissed off. Someone younger than I am needs to get pissed off. Or else we could end up with another 4 years like the last 8. And I know that I can’t afford that.

Namaste.