While I don’t like McCain’s choice of running-mate (I think it smacks of “Oh, I need something to trump the African-American thing. Quick, get me a woman!” and that there were more qualified people for the job.) I am really not happy with the media's coverage of her daughter's pregnancy. Palin’s daughter being pregnant has no bearing on the campaign. Does this make Palin less qualified for the job? No. Does it mean she’s a bad parent? No. Is it a family matter? Yes.

Now, it is interesting to note that Governor Palin is a proponent of abstinence-only education in schools and the situation is further proof that that doesn’t work. However, this is a matter for the States and not the Federal Government.

First the background: Y'all remember when I was unhappy at my job? Before I moved up to Richmond? And I was toying with the idea of Pharmacy school? The other thing I looked into was....

MOVING TO NEW ZEALAND!

NZ is actively seeking out immigrants with technical backgrounds. None of the jobs they had posted aligned with my background. However, I'm still on the e-mail list.

Yesterday I was informed that they are looking for workers for two large wastewater projects in Auckland.

I'm now thinking that moving to New Zealand is an entirely different proposition than moving to Richmond.

Things kind of spiraled yesterday and I’m a bit upset. Not like crying upset, but really bummed out upset. It’s also one of those situations where I’m bothered by the fact that I’m upset, so it’s compounded.

I’m supposed to go to a birthday party for a friend tonight, and I’d rather skip it. Now, the reason I’d rather skip it is one of the things upsetting me, and I also know that not going won’t actually solve the problem.

One of the things that happened yesterday was that I got an e-mail inviting me back to Raleigh for a specific event. Now, I happen to love this event, but my overwhelming reaction? I don’t want to go. Why? Because I may run into people that I never want to see again. Mind you, I’ll run into many more people that I do want to see again, but that wasn’t my first reaction. (Sidenote: The person who sent the e-mail told me that they could find me a place to stay- they’ve got some comped hotel rooms. I wanted to respond with, “Dude. I still have friends there. Some of them might even let me crash at their places.”)

Here’s the deep part: this reinforces that I would rather run away than deal with my problems. I am much less stressed out by the idea of starting a new life somewhere (actually, that is exciting!) than by the idea of just letting go or dealing with issues. Which, is probably not healthy. And I have to force myself to deal.

Mostly because, once you’ve run away to New Zealand, where is there to go?

So, the situation last night that I was worried about? Not so much a big deal. But, and I apologize to all of my non-Richmond friends, Richmond birthday celebrations? Way more memorable than any others.

The last Birthday I went to? We ended up cruising around the Swift Creek Reservoir on a pontoon boat with some people who were also at the restaurant celebrating a birthday. (Note: the birthday girl did not come out on the boat. Maybe she had to go read People Magazine or something.)

Last night’s birthday? My Canadian friend was turning 28. (Hi, my friends are babies.) I suppose, since y’all don’t know any of these people, I need to set the scene. Or, you know, introduce them. I’ll just go with the main players.

Apple: My Canadian friend. The birthday girl.
Josie: Mutual friend of ours. Is launching her own business this week.
Prime Minister of Fun (PMF): Another friend. Fellow Environmental Engineer.
Crazy Drunk Bitch: Needs no explanation.
Flanders: Guy friend of ours. The one whose housewarming party I went to, even though I didn’t know him at the time.

So, we met downtown at Cha Cha’s Cantina for happy hour. Please note that Apple was late to her own party. A few of us including Apple and PMF walked over to Havana 59 for dinner where Josie, Crazy Drunk Bitch (who at this point was Loud but Nonoffensive Tipsy Girl) and a few others met up with us. I sat on the end of the table next to Apple and across from Josie. PMF was 2 seats to the right of Josie; Crazy Drunk Girl was seated diagonally to the right of PMF.

Anyway, mojitos (yum!), food, the waiter attempting to take my soup before I was done (the second time that has happened to me in Richmond. River City = the City of half-eaten soup?) (That waiter also did another thing I hate. I gave him $40 for a bill of $26 and he asked me if I needed change. Answer: Yes. That would be a ridiculous tip. Just bring the change without asking- If I don’t need it, because for some reason I feel that you deserve a 54% tip (by the way, that would include not taking my food away), I’ll just leave it all on the table, mkay?)

Sorry. Story. We are splitting a dessert when we all suddenly realize that Crazy Drunk Girl is verbally attacking PMF. Then she got in her face, and apparently there was a fork involved (waved threateningly) which I didn’t see. All while calling her a liar. And telling her that all her friends think she’s a liar. And they’ve all told her that she’s a liar. And gesturing threateningly with the salt and pepper shakers.

What is this thing she’s lied about? It seems that PMF was offered the opportunity to take an overseas position (overseas positions are the theme of this week’s posts) and had discussed it with Crazy Drunk Bitch, presumably when she was neither crazy nor drunk, because Crazy Drunk Bitch had just returned from an overseas posting. The lying part came in when she didn’t tell everyone else. So, I think the argument was that it was a lie of omission, but the fact of the matter is that PMF doesn’t have to share everything with everyone. It’s perfectly reasonable to seek out the counsel of someone with applicable life experience and yet not want to confuse yourself with getting everyone’s thoughts on the matter. Point: Not a lie.

Crazy Drunk Bitch would not let it go. A cab was called, she was told to leave, didn’t happen. One of our friends disappeared; it later turned out she couldn’t deal and went home. Josie, in the most awesome moment of the night, says to Crazy Drunk Bitch, “You need to leave. You are not welcome at this table. No one wants you here!” This didn’t work either. We called the waiter over (remember, not the sharpest knife) and asked him to give him her check. He hands hers over and we ask him to get a manager/bouncer. He is busy sorting out all the checks at the table.

WG: Leave them here. We’ll distribute them.
Waiter: continues thumbing through receipts
WG: NOW!
Josie: grabs checks from waiter

I gave her a pen, she signed her receipt and walked out of the restaurant, flipping us off as she did.

Flanders: Who wants a drink? They’re on me!

(We did explain to the waiter why we had gotten short with him. He had apparently missed the whole kerfuffle, though I’m not sure how he managed that.)

Yesterday I got an e-mail which said I had both permission and funding to attend the state AWWA/WEA conference.

The conference is September 7- September 11.

Those of you paying attention will notice that that is this week.

Also, I couldn't go Wednesday or Thursday because of project work.

Today I got up at 0530 and drove out to Va Beach.

There's traffic in the Tidewater. Richmond? Not so much with the traffic, really.

It was a worthwhile trip- I got to meet some colleagues from other office and some clients, talk to some vendors, and also ran into a few old friends.

And then there's the mileage reimbursement...

I've shared this entry from Janet (Slice of Pink Janet, lest you get her confused with Fond of Snape Janet) on Google Reader, and I'm sharing it with you now. As a woman, I am insulted that McCain chose Palin as his running mate assuming that women would just vote for another woman. You know, ignoring the facts that she's unqualified and we have opposing beliefs on many issues. Some of those issues? Abortion. I am pro-choice, she is not. Sex education. I support comprehensive sex education, she supports abstinence-only (and yes, abstinence should be included in comprehensive sex ed, it being comprehensive and all). (Also, worked out well for your family there, eh Palin?) I am definitely for equal pay for equal work. Oh, and gay marriage. I really think that the 50% divorce rate has done more to damage the sanctity of marriage than that would. Oh, and if two consenting adults want to make a commitment to each other, who am I to say they can't? Palin is against it and supports an amendment to say that marriage is between a man and a woman. Oh, and she does not support providing benefits to same-sex couples. She also favors teaching of creationism/intelligent design in schools, which I am opposed to as it is strictly a religious doctrine not supported by actual science.

According to Women Against Sarah Palin, she is also against Polar Bears. (She does want them removed from the endangered list.)

From our local NBC affiliate's web site:

"A fire spokesman said one firefighter was was injured while fighting the fire on the second floor. He actually fell thru the floor. He injured his back and shoulder. But, is expected to be okay."

This past weekend my parents came down to see Monkey. TRgirl, Randy, and I were around but were clearly not as interesting. They really enjoyed the fact that he is now in a talking phase and will tell you a story with mostly nonsensical words, goya being his favorite. He ends the stories with, “OK?” and is happy when you answer with, “OK.”

Saturday we took him to the zoo. Randy elected to stay home and enjoy having the house to himself. The Richmond Zoo is odd in that you can feed most of the animals. Which, in case you are wondering, leads to obese prairie dogs.

At one point my dad was feeding one of the monkeys. (Note: an actual monkey. Not Monkey.) This monkey had climbed up his enclosure and was sitting on one of the fence supports. He was trying to catch the food my dad threw, and every time he didn’t he gave my dad a look that said, “Dude, WTF?” This was sometimes accompanied by gestures. (This is not the first strange encounter that my dad has had with a primate. He once royally ticked off a gorilla at the National Zoo. We don’t know why, but the gorilla did not like him.)

You can also feed the giraffes. If you did not know, giraffes have long (about 18 inches) prehensile tongues. One of them used said tongue to lick Monkey’s head. This bothered the child not one bit.

I left early, as Apple and I were going to Williamsburg for the Wine and Cheese event at the Williamsburg Storytelling Festival. We met a third friend and her mom there. It was fabulous. I did not really know what to expect, but I enjoyed it so much that I am already looking forward to next year.

After the event, the three of us (sans the mom) headed over to Food for Thought which I highly recommend that you try should you ever be in Williamsburg. (Invite me. I have a coupon!) We spent the night at the mom’s house. She made us a fabulous breakfast the next day.

Apple and I headed home and stopped at Flanders’s to pick up her dog. We ended up staying for about 5 hours. We also debated about the proper possessive of Flanders. (Since we were talking about his house, Flanders’s is correct. If we had been talking about his stove, then it would be Flanders’.)

Tonight I’m babysitting. OK?

Friday night I met up with Apple and Flanders (and a few of Flanders’s co-workers) for Happy Hour. I was not impressed with the bar, but I did learn that the wife of one of the co-workers grew up in the same town as me.

Afterwards, Apple and I were torn between watching the debates or going out. We finally decided on watching the debates and then going out, but the 2+ bottles of wine we drank during the debate ruled that out. I slept at her house where her dog played musical beds all night.

Saturday we had volleyball practice and then I went out with the girls to our wine bar. And then to our ale house.

Sunday I went over to a friend’s to work on my brakes. (He’s a mechanic and was helping. Also got me a deal on parts.) He called up that morning and said, “Have you had breakfast yet?” When I told him I hadn’t, he replied, “I’m making pancakes. Come over.”

We discovered that I didn’t have quite the right set of tools for the job. (I am requesting a bunch of mechanics tools for Christmas. I am planning on keeping this car for a while and I want to be able to work on it.) We drove to his work and picked up some tools; it turned out that the most important was the cheater bar.

That night, Apple and I went to the State Fair. (Dear VA: Your State Fair is lame compared to North Carolina’s. Please remedy that when you move into your new digs. Thanks, Watergirl.) When I got to her house, her dog jumped on me, leaving muddy paw prints on my shirt. I borrowed a shirt from her, so I was walking around the fair in a shirt (a size smaller than I normally wear) that said, “Life is simple. Eat, sleep, be Canadian.” across my chest. I got a lot of comments about Canada from men, proving that that is where they are looking.