Snowpacolypse!!!

Well here I am. I’m currently holed up at a friend’s house in Reston, VA getting snowed in by what is predicted to be an historic snowfall. We’ve got slow cooked BBQ chicken; we’ve got slow cooked pork carnitas and the makings of a casserole; we’ve got cake; we’ve got pancakes.

We also have the other essentials: beer, vodka, Bailey’s, and hot chocolate.

Bring it winter. We’re ready.

A New Page in Politics?

I’m not sure how many of you were watching last week when the President visited the House Republicans retreat and engaged in an hour long, substantive question and answer session. I wasn’t and I’m sorely upset by this. Luckily, like most everything else the President does, it’s online for us to watch!

Now I know I haven’t done a “why I love politics” entry in a while (a loooong while), and I thought about mentioning Sen. Vitter’s letter to the NFL where he dares them to sue him; the world’s most awesome cease and desist letter from musician Joe Walsh to Congressional candidate Joe Walsh; or the slow jams version of a campaign song. But then I watched the State of the Union, the last section of which seriously moved me, and I heard reports from the President’s Q&A with Republicans and the snark seemed wrong.

You see, as John Stewart so aptly put it, in engaging directly with Republicans, Pres. Obama stepped out of the theatre political debate has become and gave real answers to hard questions. He seemed to acknowledge that there are no right or wrong answers or, rather, that there are different versions of right and wrong answers based on our differing beliefs. That’s something that’s been lost, I think. People get so caught up in their ideology that they fail to see that the other side feels just as strongly about what they believe. The real answers are to be found in the in between space that has become political suicide for people to inhabit. The new third-rail of politics is admitting the other side may have a point – and that’s a dangerous place for us to be.

For that reason, I’m joining the Demand Question Time movement. Aside from the funny name, which reminds me of something straight out of elementary school, it’s a smart idea. This bipartisan group of journalists, politicos, and bloggers were also moved by what they saw last Friday and think that more exchanges like that would be a good thing for our democracy, and I agree. So sign the petition, follow them on Twitter, find them on Facebook, and, most importantly, tell your friends.

Food for Thought

Starting on the path of something new is always fun, always an adventure, and always a little scary. Especially when it’s a path you’ve been on before and one that has foiled you every time. Today I came across a quote that sort of perfectly encapsulates the way in which I walk down this particular path and why it has burned me so many times.

““I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism.”
-Elizabeth Gilbert, author Eat, Pray, Love.

I have hope that this time the path will be different and that this time my sincere optimism meets reality. But only time will tell.

Best Campaign Song Ever

I have hestitated from writing this post all day because 1) it will show you exactly how much of a political geek I am and 2) it will illuminate how far I’ve sunk into the morass of politics.

I ran across the best campaign song ever today. It’s for a candidate running for the House of Representatives out of Georgia and I have listened to it essentially on repeat for the better part of today. (I can hear you laughing.)

It’s catchy and not your typical campaign song. It’s what we refer to as a “slow jam” or “slooooooooow jam” if you’re a DJ.

Anyways, enjoy the smooth stylings of Fred Sawyers and Keith Rawls as brought to you by the Hank Johnson for Congress campaign.

New Year, New(ish) Me

Happy (really, really late) New Year! After a busy start to the new year, I finally have time to sit down and write one of those fancy schmancy year in review posts – kind of like the one I started this blog with. 2009 was a tough year for myself and most everyone I know. But it was the year that saw me actually become comfortable in my skin and in who I am – which is a great place to end up, no matter how tough the path. For the first time in the long time, I can look in the mirror at any point and know that I am, to quote one of the SNL geniuses, good enough, smart enough, and, doggoneit, people like me.

Work
Ok so no promotion as such this year like I hoped, but, you know what, that is fine by me. Because I found out that this job is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Last year alone I’ve launched and expanded an online tool-kit all about the legislative process; wrote countless (ok I could count them but there would be a lot) issue summaries about different bills; tracked and reported on the healthcare reform debate; met with the staffs of many members of Congress; got a resolution passed by unanimous consent in both Houses; blogged two times a week; and wrote many columns for our monthly magazine. I really don’t think that I could handle a promotion right now without serious detriment to the rest of my life.

This year is bringing awesome new challenges so far in that I’m being pushed to think strategically as I set my goals for the year. To give you a better idea of why this is a challenge, let me tell you about my 12th grade AP English teacher. In one of my one-on-one editing sessions with her, she looked up from my paper and says “Do you know the saying ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’? Well, I believe that there are forest people, those that can only see the big picture, and there are tree people, those who can only see discrete details. You are definitely a tree person.” And I am. I’m very good about thinking about individual projects and how to get from point A to point B. However, the minute you ask me why we’re going from point A to point B and how that journey intersects with the journey from point C to point D, I will look at you like you’re from Mars.

So any tips on how to set strategic, big picture goals would be helpful.

Friends
Last year I was worried about losing touch with my awesome Raleigh friends, and indeed, that is one of my big regrets of 2009. I visited with some of them multiple times, either in Raleigh or when they visited me in DC. I chatted with some of them on g-chat. But, by and large, I failed to keep in touch in any meaningful way. And some I didn’t keep in touch with at all.

DC friends are a different story. There are weeks where I do not get home before 9 every night because there are so many people to see and so many things to do. Each of my DC friends is awesome in their own way. I have friends in politics and agencies; friends who are actors and actresses; friends who are lawyers; friends who are teachers. I have friends who I can call and party with any night of the week and friends I can call up and have over for a laid back meal at home. I have friends who have the same passion for good food and trying new restaurants that I do. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to hang out with.

There were some surprises in friend-land this year. One of my good friends from high school became one of my best friends through almost daily, late night conversations about the state of affairs in our lives. I say this is surprising because he is married with 2 kids (his wife is a nurse who sometimes works the night shift, so he wasn’t being neglectful – no worries) and I am most decidedly not. With other friends, I have found once they’ve made that shift into married-land, much less married with kids, the connection is lessened and the friendship falters. But apparently this is not always the case.

Love
Ahhh love. The eternal frustration. Let’s just say things got complicated. I hurt someone who did not deserve it. Breaking up sucks. Period. But, at the end of the day, I’m 26. I’m not going to stay in something where I can’t see the future for it because, well, I want to get married…eventually. So, the eternal optimist and the romantic in me has reared it’s head for 2010. Who knows what will happen.

Travel
All I can say here is “Yes, please.” I have trips to San Antonio and Denver planned, both for weddings. I have plans to go to the beach with my family and, potentially, an intriguing sounding event called the “Pirate Party” in North Carolina. But, I want more. I’ve been toying with the idea of a trip to Belgium. Now let’s see if I can convince people to go with me.

Why Do We Ignore People in Our Policy Arguments?

Have you noticed that our politicians and policymakers tend to ignore the human cost of inaction and focus more of their arguments on the actual, monetary cost of action? And the argument of “it will save money!” is far more persuasive for people than “it will save lives!”?

Ezra Klein posted yesterday about what the cost in human lives would be if health care reform failed this year. He calculated that 150,000 people would be able to afford live-saving care were health care reform enacted this year. He based this on numbers that showed that 22,000 people died in 2006 because they were unable to pay for needed medical treatment. That’s “pay for,” not “access.” This is a cost in human lives for inaction. And all I hear politicians argue about is how much it will cost versus how much it will save.

This matter was crystalized perfectly for me at an event I attended at the end of last week wholly unrelated to health care reform. It was an event on a concept called “work-sharing” whereby a company outlines a plan to temporarily reduce work hours for its workforce, who are then eligible to receive partial unemployment benefits to make up for the shortfall in their wages. One panel was comprised of 2 state bureaucrats who worked in states that have successfully implemented work-sharing plans (New York and Washington) and a representative from the German embassy (Germany having a very successful work-sharing program).

During the Question and Answer session, one audience member asked a question about the paperwork burden employers and government agencies faced in Germany due to the large number of people participating in the program and how they managed that. The representative from the German embassy looked at him with some mix of incredulity and disgust and responded “We’re talking about jobs and people here, not paperwork.” And that was it. The concept of paperwork being a barrier to implementing a program that has been proven to reduce the number of layoffs and keep more people employed more consistently was one that was completely foreign to him.

All I could think during this exchange was “How uniquely American of us that these are the questions we are asking.” And I think it’s a true failing of our political system that we do not focus more on the effects of our policies on our people.

I <3 Lists

I don’t know why but I love lists. Pro/con lists, to-do lists, shopping lists, guest lists…All of them. They make me feel organized when I am most decidedly not. They make me feel productive because, well, even if I do nothing on them – I did make it and there is the potential for me to cross things off of them. And if my some chance I do get something on the list done, well then I get to cross it off and that’s just fun.

Lately I’ve felt slightly adrift and like I really have no idea what I’m doing, which is normal for a 20-something. So on this Sunday morning, I thought I’d make a list of things I do, in fact, know and share it with you.

Things I Know:

1. Lady GaGa is strange, but makes very catchy music.
2. This is what I’m looking for.
3. My path is different from yours.
4. That is OK.
5. Being ridiculous is a lot of fun.
6. Belief in something, anything is important. Beware of someone who doesn’t believe in anything.
7. Just because you don’t agree with someone, doesn’t make them wrong.
8. My career is not the most important thing to me. Up there, but not number 1.
9. I am an eternal, pie in the sky, naive, optimist.
10. It’s ok to not know everything.

Ruminations on Dating

Let’s be honest. I suck at dating. For one, I can never tell when a guy is interested. I grew up as the only girl in an extended family full of guy cousins. The street I grew up on had one other girl and when I ran into her again years later, I couldn’t tell her gender (no judgement – just saying I was not surrounded by girly-ness growing up). As such, I grew up goofing off with, being inappropriate around, and generally treating guys like they weren’t anything special. Nowadays, when you banter with a guy in bar over a drink, it means something. Usually that they’re interested, but to me, that’s how I interact with guys. It doesn’t mean anything. Not going to lie, coupled with my simultaneous desire to make new friends and inability to say no when asked for my number, this has gotten me into trouble many times.

Secondly, I fall fast and I fall hard. I don’t know why I do this but I do. It helps that most of the guys I see are amazing people in their own right. But really, it’s a pain in my behind. It makes casually dating impossible. It makes flirting take on a whole new meaning. Although the one exception to this rule is for guys I remain friends with after having dated once. Falling for someone a second time…well that’s rare.

All of this combines to create a situation wherein I usually end up getting hurt somehow. Because, let’s be honest, no one walks away from a dating situation where real feelings were involved unhurt. Somehow there’s always a scar. I guess the trick is to let the old scars heal before diving back in to risk new ones.

Driving on Labor Day

So after a long weekend at home in Richmond, I made the dubious decision to drive back on Labor Day. “But Carrie”, I can hear you thinking, “why is that a dubious decision? Doesn’t that give you a whole extra day at home?” That it does, but it also puts me on 95 north with approximately twice the number of idiots that are usually on 95-North between Richmond and Alexandria.

After multiple loud curses, almost accidents, and unnecessarily held up traffic, I decided to come up with a list to help those attempting to navigate the 100 miles between Richmond and Alexandria without a migraine. I call it “Signs You May Be in the Wrong Lane.”

1. Are you not passing anyone? Are you in any lane but the far right hand lane? You may be in the wrong lane.
2. Have more than 2 people passed you on the right? You may be in the wrong lane.
3. Are multiple people passing you on both sides? You may be in the wrong lane.
4. Have you just changed lanes for no apparent reason? You may be in the wrong lane.
5. Are you going the speed limit and have no lanes between you and the median? You may be in the wrong lane.

There are only 5. That should be easy for anyone to remember. So the next time you find yourself on that 100 mile stretch going north between Richmond and Alexandria, keep these in mind and you’ll save yourself, and many others, a migraine or two hundred.

Turning 26

In less than two hours, I will officially be 26 years old. If I could talk to the 10-year old me, I would call me “old.” I know better now. I am no where near “old,” although I truly do believe that to be a state of mind. However, I have officially lived for a quarter of a century. And, looking back over the past year, I can honestly say that I’m not sad to see it end.

25 wasn’t a bad year; it wasn’t a good year, but it wasn’t a bad year. But it was, arguably, the hardest year of my life. It was the year I moved out, moved away, lived on my own. Sure, I’ve had my own place before, but it was shared with 3 other girls. Now, I live alone for all intents and purposes.