Digging Out

As you probably heard, Columbus did end up getting over a foot of snow on Friday and Saturday. The final two-day total was 20.5", the largest single-storm snowfall in Ohio since 1863. As in the Civil War. I didn't realize that the Blizzard of 1978 only had about 4" of snow with it. It's the wind that really makes a blizzard. I learned more about snowstorms this weekend than I ever needed to know because all the local news stations pre-empted normal coverage on Saturday to talk over and over and over and over and over again about the weather. For about 8 hours. It was fun.

Here are some pics from outside out house at about 11:30 Saturday morning. We got about another 6" on top of this.




Needless to say I was glad I have a husband to shovel my driveway :) I'm an indepedent, liberated woman and all, but it's still nice to have a guy to do the heavy lifting. Literally. Chris shoveled on Friday night after about 6" fell, but then had another 14" to shovel once it all ended on Sunday morning. We ended up with some nice piles of snow which Lauren kind of slid down when we went out to play.



So what did we do while we were snowed in? We made Lauren's hair static-y.


And she rode her scooter.


Smooches!

Book Report #3

Well, I'm getting better. It didn't take me 6 months to read a book this time! Of course the flight to Las Vegas and back helped with that, as did sitting in the waiting room while my mom had her sinuses suctioned. Let's not talk about that.


So the latest of my literary conquests is Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. Quite a title, and maybe a little bit overly dramatic. This is yet another non-fiction book, which made me realize that I really need to find a good novel to read. I'm taking suggestions!

Dr. Paul Farmer is an anthropolgist and doctor who founded Partners in Health, a group that focuses primarily on treating tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in areas of extreme poverty, like Haiti, Peru and Siberia. It's a fascinating biography of a fascinating man, but also a heartbreaking account of life and death in rural Haiti.

I learned more about turberculosis than I ever really wanted to know, but that's not the point of the book. What makes Farmer's pursuits so successful is that he uses his anthropological training to look at treating his patients holistically. Why do they have tuberculosis? Because they're poor, they live in horrible conditions, don't have clean drinking water, and no one to make sure they're taking their medication. So Farmer doesn't just treat the disease, he also treats the condition that makes it easier for the disease to take hold.


Farmer is also an extremely dedicated and passionate man, almost to a fault. As I read the book, and all the descriptions of his travels around the world, I couldn't help but feel sorry for his wife and daughter. His wife knew what she signed up for when she married him, but his daughter didn't have a choice. I guess becoming a parent makes you think about these things more.

After reading this book, I realized that I'm a slacker. Or maybe not. Maybe I just need more down time than Farmer does. It's amazing what he's been able to accomplish in a relatively short period of time. I think it's because he never pauses to think that something might not work. He just assumes it will, and so it does. That's a valuable lesson.

Next up: Chasing Daylight. I actually already finished it...in just 3 days!

A foot of snow in March?

Really? In Ohio? Bummer. Unfortunately, I'm going to look like one of those tools who runs to the grocery store to buy bread and milk as soon as a storm hits. I'm not really a freak, but we are almost out of milk and diapers and driving in 3 inches of snow is better than driving in 12 inches. Or running out of diapers because the stores decide not to open tomorrow morning. That's a nightmare I don't want to experience.

Did I mention it was 70 on Monday?

Voting is Cool!

So this morning I took a new step in my involvement in our country's politics: I voted in the primary election. Believe it or not, this was my first time voting in a primary, mostly due to misconceptions about what it meant for my future voting. I've been registered with the state as an independent, and now I'm technically registered as a Democrat, but I can change that each time I vote if I want to.

WARNING: PERSONAL POLITICAL VIEWS BELOW!



The main reason I decided to vote in this year's primary is because it's such a close race. And for once, I felt like I was actually voting for someone instead of against someone. I was blessed with the problem of choosing between two good candidates, each of them with their own chance to write a piece of American history. How awesome!



So what's a girl to do? Do some research. I don't trust political ads, and when I started my research, none were really running in Columbus. So I went to the candidates' websites and read through them extensively. I took into consideration their positions on my most important issues: education, the economy, and Iraq. I noted how their websites were organized, and who they were trying to reach out to. There are actually a lot of similarities between the two, but in the end, I found my winner: Barack Obama. Yes, I've jumped on the Obama train (if you couldn't tell by his campaign logo on the right side of this page).

Here's why:
--He's positive. He has a message of hope and change. And yes, I know that hope and a desire for change alone won't get anything done. Keep reading.

--He is less divisive than Hillary. I don't have a problem with Hillary, but there are a lot of people who do, both in the general population and on Capitol Hill. To get things done, you have to be able to build consensus, and I think Obama will do a better job of that.

--His website gave much more detail on how he's actually going to tackle the big issues. Hillary's gave broad generalizations, saying things like, "I'm going to fix No Child Left Behind," while Obama's actually laid out, step by step, how he would do it.

--He appeals to my generation. He gets us, and he doesn't discount our importance. We may not be rich, and we may not have a lot of influence in the "right" circles, but we're important, too. Just because many of us haven't voted in the past doesn't mean we won't. We just need to be inspired and know how to do it. All of Obama's advertising, in Columbus at least, includes information on what times polls are open and what ID to bring. The doorhanger left at my house yesterday even told me where my polling place was. I've never seen this from any political candidate.

--I have reservations about having a Clinton in the White House again. I was really too young to truly understand Bill Clinton's stances, and my strongest memory of him has to do with a blue dress and a cigar. I don't have any strong negative feelings against Bill. But I don't think our founding fathers wanted to have two families controlling the presidency for 24 years (at least). It just doesn't seem right. And I worry about how much influence Bill will have during Hillary's presidency. I want our first female president to stand strongly on her own two feet, and not constantly have people questioning whether it's really her making the decisions. I don't think Hillary's a pushover, but you can't tell me Bill won't chime in.

I could probably go on for another two pages, but that's pretty tedious and you all probably don't care that much.

One last thing: voting was soooooo much better this time around. Instead of 2 voting machines, there were 16. And they were the cool, touch-screen kind. There were also some very young volunteers at the polls, wearing shirts advertising "Youth at the Booth." I found this on the program:

In conjunction with the Franklin County Board of Elections, Kids Voting Central Ohio
is promoting Youth at the Booth to Franklin County high school seniors who are 17
years of age, students in good standing, and having permission from their parents
and their schools.

The goal of this project is to recruit and train at least 25 seniors from each
participating high school to work at the polls on Election Day. Students are required
to work from 5:30 a.m. until at least 8:30 p.m. on November 6, 2007,for the General
Election, and March 4, 2008, for the Presidential Primary Election. Students will earn
$110 for attending a mandatory training session and working on Election Day.

Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Chris and I just returned from an adults-only (AKA no Lauren) trip to Las Vegas to celebrate my second 29th birthday. Or my second 28th birthday (a co-worker once suggested after you turn 29, you start counting backwards).


We left sunny, 70 degree weather yesterday and returned to this:


Yes, I'm actually 30. A thirty-something, which sounds nowhere near as fun as a twenty-something. Twenty-somethings do fun things like go out to trendy night clubs and drink martinis. Thirty-somethings sit at home watching TV after their kids go to bed, worrying about their retirement and whether they'll ever pay off their debt.

I'm usually not very hung up on birthdays, but I've never had a real milestone birthday. Sure, being a legal adult and being able to drink alcohol are great things to celebrate, but 30 just seems bigger for some reason.

So I started reflecting on my life and whether my life at 30 years old is what I thought it would be. Let's see:

--Graduated from college? Check.


--Moved out of parent's house? Check.
--Married? Check.
--Own my own house? Check.


--Kids? Check (sorta, if you don't count the plural).


--Win the lottery? Nope.

Well, 5 out of 6 ain't so bad. But there's still hope, as long as Chris keeps playing the numbers. I guess I can't complain. Here's to spending at least 30 more with all of you.

Reason #362 our electoral process is broken

People across the country were all amped up this week for Super Tuesday, when 24 states held their primaries or caucuses. Given the level of media coverage on Tuesday night, you would have thought it was a national election. Apparently people in Florida, Washington and Texas thought it was, and showed up to vote even though their states' primaries were not held on February 5th. It's no wonder: our election system is FUBAR. MSNBC has a great Q&A on how it all works. There are a total of 62 questions. Granted, some of them are pretty irrelevant to how an actual election works, but still, 62 questions? It should be as simple as:

1. Candidate says, "I am running for president." Campaigning begins (that's another ball of wax).
2. Citizens vote in the (one national) primary to narrow down the candidates for each party. The candidates from each party with the most popular votes win. Now time for the real campaigning.
3. Citizens vote in the national election to determine the winner. The candidate with the most popular votes wins.

I know our founding fathers thought the general population was too dumb, fickle, easily persuaded, etc. to be trusted with directly electing the president. I guess my lead-in kind of affirms that. But that doesn't mean that a system created 200 years ago still makes sense today. The 12th Amendment was passed after the Jefferson/Burr debacle that required 36 votes by the House of Representatives to elect Jefferson president, so we haven't always been idiots who stick to a system just becuase it's always been done that way. (Full disclosure: I really didn't know anything about the Jefferson/Burr thing until I found this site. Great detail pages on Presidential Campaigns and the Electoral College.)

After the last two presidential elections, it's become clear that something needs to change. Any ideas? Mine is already outlined above. May the best man or woman win.

I heard this morning that United Airlines will start charging $25 for your second checked bag. Interesting move, and I'll be keeping track to see how it pays off. More and more airlines are starting to charge for things that used to be free, like snacks and pillows. That's all fine, since I can go without a little bag of snack mix for $2. They're also charging extra for "premium" seats, like the emergency exit row or the bulkhead, or reserving them for their frequent fliers. Again, fine with me since I don't usually need to sit there. These small moves don't really make them that much more extra money, but charging an extra $25 for your second bag can sure add up quickly. Here's my overall problem with their business model: these savings aren't passed on to the customer.

Want to see an airline that does pass them on? Check out Skybus.

Now, I haven't actually flown on Skybus, so I can't vouch for the quality of the experience. But here's what I do know:

--There are a minimum of 10 seats for $10 on each flight. That's right: I can fly from Columbus to LA for $20 round trip if I act quickly enough (like James and Rachel).
--Your first two checked bags cost $5 each.
--In-flight snacks and drinks are available for purchase, and no outside food is allowed.
--There is no customer service phone number. Skybus is an internet-only company. Controversial, yes. Cost-effective, yes.
--If you want to board first, you pay $10 extra.

So let's add this up. I want to fly to LA for a week. On Skybus, if I act quickly enough, it'll add up like this:

--Round trip ticket, non-stop (before taxes): $20
--Two checked bags: $20
--Preferred boarding: $20
--Total: $60

The same trip on United:

--Round trip ticket (with one stop): $240
--Two checked bags: $25
--Preferred boarding: not available to non-frequent fliers
--Total: $265

It's a no-brainer, if you ask me. The fact that Skybus can do this makes me even angrier every time I shell out $275 for a flight to Minneapolis. Why can't everyone do it? The traditional business model is broken, and at least Skybus is trying to do something about it.

Alright, enough ranting for a Tuesday morning. I'll update again after Lauren's doctor appointment on Thursday. She was supposed to go last week but her doctor had a family emergency. Stay tuned...