Monday, August 02, 2004

Sacrificing for the Future of the Country

Sometimes weekends go by without it feeling like there was a weekend at all. This was one of them, because it was so full. In some regards I don't mind that, but I definitely wish I had more time just to chill out and wind down this weekend. I could have used it. I feel pretty decent this morning, back here at work, but I am pretty tired.

Friday was actually fairly low-key, which was good because I was really tired. Brandi had taken the day off to clean our old apartment, so we headed over there when I got home from work. We had a few more things to move, and then we were finished. We left our keys there and left for the last time. Then we went to dinner at Easystreet Café in Bowling Green. They initially told us we'd have to wait an hour and fifteen minutes for a table. I don't know what happened after that (we went upstairs to wait at the bar), but we were seated within ten minutes.

After dinner we went to Wal-Mart, where we picked up still more things for our new place. The highlight of that trip was getting a picture frame that was supposed to cost $12.96 for the whopping sum of 96¢ due to a scanning failure. That was pretty cool. We went home after that and watched a movie.

Brandi had to work on Saturday. I got up when she did so I could move some stuff around and set up my computer. I set it up temporarily on the floor of the living room just so I could check the internet connection once the cable installers had come. They were supposed to be there between 1:00 and 3:00, but ended up coming around 12:15. They were there for about half an hour, and I'm extremely happy to report that the installation was successful. That seems like a no-brainer, but I've had trouble before. I messed around and played some video games after they left, and then moved some stuff around so I could move my computer to a more permanent location.

Once that was set up, I finally acceded to Brandi's long-standing request that I get a haircut, which I loathe. At least it's over with, and now I don't have to do it again for another couple of months.

She got home pretty shortly after I did, and we went for dinner that night at BW3. We played the interactive trivia game while we ate, and I got to watch a little bit of the preseason College Gameday special (albeit without sound). We went from there to Meijer, where we got still more apartment stuff (and some ice cream). We caught some of Saturday Night Live when we got home, and then went to bed.

Sunday was the day of the John Kerry rally in BG. We got up and got ready, and left the apartment around 1:00. We walked downtown, since we don't live too far from there. The line was extraordinarily long. We got into it around 1:30, which is when the gates were scheduled to open. To make a long story short, I ended up getting through security a little after 4:00; Brandi had already bolted because the heat and sun were making her feel unwell. I stuck it out, and it was worth it. I really liked most of what Kerry and Edwards had to say, which solidifies my decision to vote for them (which I was going to do anyway, since I think a potted plant would make a better President than the incumbent, but it's nice to feel good about it).

I did end up getting a bit of a sunburn from the event, which is understandable since I was outside in the sun for about five consecutive hours. It's not too bad, though--I used sunscreen pretty liberally (political pun intended) and only got a little burnt on my face and neck, probably where I sweated it off. The thing that really sucks is that my pocketknife was confiscated by security, and I couldn't get it back. It was only in my pocket because it's habit to carry it, and I would have left it at home if I had really thought about it. The knife was a gift that I've had for several years, and I hated to lose it.

I was pretty worn out afterwards. I showered when I got home to wash away the sweat and sunscreen, and then Brandi and I took a nap. We slept well into the evening, then got up and had dinner while we watched Forrest Gump on DVD. Then I did some more computer work (and finally got my old desktop up and running, after quite a bit of struggle) and then went back to bed again.

I'll post some pictures and articles about the Kerry rally sometime later today.

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