Give hope a chance

What a historic week this has been. I'm finally fully recovered from election night and a long night it was. I think I maybe got 2 hours of sleep that night. Best part of it was talking to my parents, 76 and 79 years old. They have always been good citizens, they've been voting diligently for as long as they could. They are of a generation who have endured so much, I can't even imagine and much of it, too painful to talk about, especially my father and the 25+ years he spent serving in the army during a time when he was considered less than. I am 100% excited about our new president. I think with his leadership and a lot of citizen power, good progress can be made in our country. Having volunteered with the campaign over the last 18 months, I got to see first hand what an incredible amount of work that gets accomplished by so many anonymous folks, it's amazing. That is what gives me so much hope. I have yet to come across anyone with any pie in the sky ideas about what Obama can and can not do. I think the tone and tenor of this acceptance speech indicated that clearly, it was hardly celebratory. There is a crap-load of hard work to be done and dare I say most of it will fall on everyday Americans. I'm okay with that. We have to do our part too. It's that whole "ask not what your country can do for you" kind of thing.

In college I was a student activist for most of the time I was there. It was a lot of work and incredibly emotionally draining, but I truly believed in the work I was doing. It's tough fighting for people and causes where there isn't a lot of acknowledgment nor glory. No one really pats you on the back and you never really get any kudos and by the time you leave school, you either feel like you've accomplished something and are ready for the world or you are like me, totally burned out and incredibly cynical. For years afterwards, I thought I wasted a lot of time, but it wasn't until 4 or 5 years later when I started hearing from a few of those who where 2-3 years behind me talk about how I inspired them or they looked up to me and how I was someone they wanted to emulate. I was flat out shocked, because I didn't think anyone really noticed much. The thing, for me, was to leave the school in a better place than what I found it. I really feel like I did that. The kids now going to my alma mater have it so much easier than we did and I like to think I had a little part of that and it makes me happy. I don't have any delusions about what Obama can and can't do, he was right when he said, his election isn't the change we need, it's only the chance to make it happen. I for one, will continue to be involved because I believe in hope. I learned that from my family history and my culture early on. It's sooooo not about me, but those who will follow.

Anyway, I had an opportunity to wear some of my new clothes and it felt great. I felt like I took things up a notch. I wore a pair of size 16 pants with confidence and I think I am officially done with Lane Bryant as far as tops go. The smallest size is 14/16 and that's just too big. The sweaters I bought are fine as I am layering them over blouses, but I'm just wasting money if I continue to buy tops there as I can find a ton of things for much less money at "normal" stores.

I have a couple of tough decisions to make. Right now I am technically a contract at my current gig which is nice, the hourly rate is awesome, especially since I still get benefits, etc. The interesting thing is that I think they are going to offer me a fulltime job at the beginning of the year. The place I work has top notch perks, I mean, it's crazy, the #1 reason why they have so many long-term folks there, BUT they tend to not pay as much as far as industry standards go so potentially, I might be taking home a little less than what I have been. The other thing is that my job isn't all that challenging really. I like the environment and the people I work with, I like going to work there, I like being in the city and dressing up for work, I like the whole lifestyle of it, BUT I don't really enjoy the work, it's kind of mundane, I'm used to more rewarding work, I'm used to the work I do having a big impact. Such is not the case at this gig. The business that I am starting interests me 100 times more, but it'll be a while til I have a beta up and running and probably another 6 months until I have enough clients to support myself comfortably. The next 3-6 months will tell the tale and set the stage for how things go.

This weekend has been lazy. I am going to Starbucks @ Barnes & Noble in the morning to sort of mellow out and pick up a few books. I also have heard about Starbuck's salted caramel hot chocolate. I think I may need to try a small one. I then have tennis at 1PM and will probably just run a few errands after that. Tonight, it's football and working on my business plan and budget. Since I am starting this business on my own, I want to have all my ducks in a row.