Hell Yes, We Can! GO OBAMA!

More like, my faith in the American people has strengthened!

It was just barely 5pm and the results were trickling in. McCain had taken Kentucky and Obama had Vermont. McCain had 8 electoral votes and Obama had 3. McCain was then projected to win in South Carolina. As many of you may guess, I couldn't take the pressure, so I took off and went for a 30 minute run in the cold and near-dark and had to force myself to stop. I contemplated making a vow to never visit Kentucky or South Carolina, then reminded myself that people aren't always that dumb when you look them in the eye. I came back into the house and was so preoccupied by the numbers on the TV (still in McCain's favor) that I didn't even notice that we had the first fire of the season going in the fireplace -- usually a celebrated event.

The evening stretched on. I ate dinner (Grandma's spaghetti sauce recipe is amazing) and washed my hair. Then I just sat there and knitted. Obama had 207 electoral votes and McCain had 134 and counting. I knew from watching Hillary Clinton's Terminator-like comebacks that we couldn't count the war hero out yet.

My sister reminded my mom and I that we had a recorded episode of Samantha Who? on the DVR from the previous night, and since it's only about 20 mins long without commercials, we decided to watch it. When 2 minutes were left in the show, my dad came in and said, with mild shock, "You aren't watching it?" We all looked at him. "McCain's giving a very gracious concession speech."

"You're lying," Alex said. We all just sat there with what I'm sure were bovine expressions. "He's lying..."

"Change the channel!"

She did. Lo and behold, McCain was certainly giving a very gracious secession speech, though it greatly annoyed me that his "supporters" didn't appear to be listening to his message of unity and were booing over the Democratic win.

A picture Alex took of the tally to document history

Obama's speech was beautifully respectful, inspiring, and full of the assertion that America is and will always be the land of opportunity where brave, hardworking men and woman can achieve their highest goals. When Obama addressed those watching outside of the US, in Parliaments and palaces and listening on the radio in the forgotten corners of the world, when he said to those who would tear the world down that they will be defeated, I shivered and felt goosebumps travel from the back of my neck all the way down my legs.

Thank you, President Elect Obama, for all of your hard work and for your unwavering belief in this great nation of ours, and thank you to everyone who volunteered and voted and made possible this opportunity for ushering in a new era.

Thank you, Florida! I no longer want to chop you off the continent with an axe and laugh as you float away!

As you can see, we were very happy -- so happy, in fact, that Alex spoke in such a funny voice that you can hear me ask "...who is that talking?"

This was another highlight of the night. Whoever that woman is, I love you!

And for those of you who never saw it during the campaign, both in the primaries and in the presidential, here's the "Yes, We Can" music video as my music selection for the day.

Yes, We Can



And then this was just too cute to ignore:

Babies for Obama

And you know, someone else deserves a big thank you for Obama's wonderful, historic win that symbolizes "a new dawn for America." No, I'm not talking about Hillary Clinton or Oprah or Palin's batshit crazy genes, but rather I'm talking about Padfoot and Moony. The Sicilian Viking and the deranged Celt. Um, the latter would be me.

I have a very good friend who I speak with every day, but have never met. We've been friends for years -- I've lost count for how long! And we've stuck it out through thick and thin! Maybe the geographical distance between us makes it easier to share our thoughts with each other, but no matter the psychoanalysis, Padfoot, you're one of my bestest friends ever! :D

As some of you may have been able to figure out, our nicknames for each other come from the characters in the Harry Potter books, Padfoot (aka: Sirius Black) and Moony (aka: Remus Lupin) given our resemblances of personality with the characters and our previous love of Harry Potter. One day we started chatting in the voices of Padfoot and Moony, and naturally actions were inserted, and within days, we'd organically evolved a roleplay game! It's been going for years now, as well. Yes, years. I've online roleplayed for years.

Some pretty amazing stuff has happened in our little universe (or universes since now we've created 5 separate Alternate Universe's of our original AU) and our world now only vaguely resembles that of Harry Potter. In fact, we killed almost everyone in Harry Potter and now roleplay with our own original characters. It's great fun and practice for a writer! I'll have to share some of the hilarious shit that's gone down in our game some time, but it hardly feels appropriate in the same post as Obama's win.

So back to Obama. I read his book, Dreams from my Father back in 2006, and that summer, I made Obama the President of the American Magical Government in our game. Months later, the real Obama announced his intention to run for President of the US. Fast forward another year and here we are. Coincidence? I think not.

You see, Padfoot and I are goddesses. Stuff that happens in our game has effects upon the world. For instance, Padfoot has a character named Kristie. She choose Reece Witherspoon to "play" Kristie (we usually pick an actor or actress who we think looks the most like the character we imagine) and after what she thought was a good relationship, Kristie and her fiancee broke up. Within a month, Reece Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe had divorced.

Padfoot also has a character named Diana, who is "played" by Nicole Kidman. I have a character named Jack who is "played" by a young Johnny Depp. He's an Irish scoundrel from the wrong side of the tracks with alcoholic tendencies, and she's a Pureblood and a refined lady. Diana helped Jack clean himself up and, after a few rough patches, the two were wed. Again, months later, Nicole Kidman married Kieth Urban, who had some rough patches and went into rehab. They're now happily married with a baby, if memory serves.

There have been more "coincidences," too, but I won't list them here. I think I've made my case pretty clear. Padfoot and I are deities.

And as a deity I was loose my wrath if Prop 8 doesn't fail. California legalized gay marriage and now this proposition (funded by what I assume are Christian organizations, many to some from out of state) asks for that right to be rescinded. So far, it looks like the prop will pass. I am outraged. How dare you fight to take away a basic human right -- a right that a group of people already legally had -- for the sake of your own religious vision of the world. One thing I know I'll never understand is the missionary mentality.

To end on a happier note... go Obama! And Padfoot says that next on the agenda of our game should be to find a cure for AIDS. Hey, it's worth a shot!

Correction: As mackenzie's momma kindly pointed out , the episode I meant to reference in my last post was "Progeny," not the upcoming "Prodigal."

Mackenzie's momma -- See? I'm extra retarded! I would claim that I'm clairvoyant and smart to have mentioned an episode I have yet to even see, but know that I probably saw the title somewhere recently. I have a real problem remembering episode titles for SGA, and in fact, SGA information in general. Imagine how often I had Wikipedia open while writing my SGA spec scripts! My sister, on the other hand, knows nearly all of the SGA titles, especially for the second season. And thanks for your input and I hope your trip goes well! :D I've decided against going, actually, and hope I won't regret it!

Theincrediblemo -- That link didn't work and I'm bummed. See if you can send me a friend request on Facebook and we can stalk each other. :) And you poor thing... a Tequila tummy ache... but now you're caught up with SGA! Oh your sister sounds awesome... created a monster? Mwahahaha! The insanity shall spread. I'd say look out or you might catch it but I'm sure you already have. ;)