I joined Myspace several years ago and found it a great way to communicate with friends and family. I was usually on the sidelines observing the Myspace drama that enveloped friends and every so often, likely rarely, found myself caught up in the drama with friends over top 8, 16, or 24 friends placement, etc. There was other drama, but it usually revolved over friends placement. I thought it was so silly that friends would fight, friendships end, and time wasted over these silly fights. But still, it was pretty lame when you had thoughtfully placed a friend at a certain position expecting reciprocation and finding none.

Then Facebook came along. I joined and knew very few people. I had about 42 friends for a few years until more and more people starting joining, now I am at 274 and feeling pretty good about it! I've met a lot of people through Facebook that I would have never known without it!

I've started enjoying Facebook more and more as each year passes. A cleaner look than Myspace, no spam, fun features and such made it a great tool to meet new friends, become closer with existing friends, and all sorts of goodies that Facebook offers. I log onto Myspace once or twice a day to see if I have any new comments or mail, but I am always logged onto Facebook if my laptop is on, it is that integral to my life!

And yet, just as the drama with Myspace came to be, so has the drama of Facebook. A friend request goes unanswered, a friend request is answered and then you are deleted as a friend, etc.

With the advent of social networking, a social networking etiquette has been created. The etiquette is continually evolving with new features being added to websites all of the time. A great feature on Facebook is the "ignore" feature.

For instance, I have some Facebook friends who post things all of the time. It tends to clog up my news feed. So, some of them have been placed on ignore. This means I don't get their updates in my news feed, but we are still friends. Another reason why this feature is great is when I am friends with someone who has radically different political beliefs than my own. I enjoy hearing opposing views, but not obnoxious uninformed ones, so some friends have been placed on ignore to keep my sanity level in check! I feel that a lot of people aren't aware of this feature and can be too quick to delete someone as a friend. This is unfortunate because feelings are hurt and it is really just so unnecessary to delete someone that could be placed on ignore.

We live in an age with amazing technology that has opened doors we never dreamed about 5, 10, or 50 years ago. With the blessings of technology comes the responsibility to remember etiquette. This is something for us all to remember, myself included.

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Enos 1:27.

"And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."

A very comforting scripture in general, but most especially when a loved one passes from this life into the next. My Aunt Marilyn is now with her Redeemer and is resting and free from a physical body which can be prone to pain, sickness, and disease. But more than that, her mind and heart are free. Former Mormon President/Prophet David O. McKay once remarked:

"The greatest battles in life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul."

I am going to bear my testimony about the greatness of Facebook. It has allowed me to become closer with the friends I have, reconnect with long lost friends, become friends with people I met briefly, or might never have met without Facebook, and learn so much more about my friends* and in turn, learn about myself.

My mom always told me that the friendships from high school will pale in comparison to the friendships you get in college and beyond, and boy was she right.

If you haven't, get on the Facebook wagon.


*Also includes family.

I am thinking of having a housewarming party in the next week or so. I'd like to do it on a Saturday and have it be open for a few hours since my condo is only so big and people are pretty busy. I'd also like to have some nice weather so people can sit out on my deck and enjoy the view.

Would any of my family members reading this blog in the area drive to Seattle for it? Comment or facebook me and let me know.

The title of this blog post is the best way to describe my 2008.

-I drove across the country for the second time in a year.

-I met Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Tim Russert, James Denton, Viggo Mortensen, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King, Joe Lieberman, and more that I am forgetting.

-I adopted two kitties.

-I lived in 3 states.

-I have now visited 47 states in the US.

-I lived in my Mecca, Washington D.C.

-I worked on K Street.

-I became known as the best in my field of tracking candidates for public office.

-I bought a new car, my dream car.

-I helped a few people have a Christmas.

-I lived my dream and I had moments of such profound happiness, there are no words to explain it.

Unlike many I know, and countless I don't, 2008 was a pretty good year for me. I hope 2009 is even better, especially for those who need it.

I gave birth to a 7 pound 11 ounce baby girl. Happy Birthday, Katie. See you in 9 years, hopefully.

So I owe ya'll a list of Obama potential VP choices. I'm not going to be as thorough as I was with the McCain list because I just don't have the time anymore and frankly, I am more familiar with the Republican choices. I need to make the list in the next few days because Obama could very well announce his choice in the next 1-2 weeks.

I've been in Seattle for almost 6 days now. I was going to start work yesterday but will start this coming Monday instead. It's nice to get a break here, to try to get settled and acclimated. I have all of my belongings spread out here (my parents house), my car, another house my parents own, and it's made getting settled a bit difficult. I only live here in a sortof kind of way. My things wouldn't fit in my bedroom here, and I can't stay here when we have guests since I am in the guestroom.

The plan is to stay here until I know more about my job situation. Right now it's just a temporary job until November and if that ends up being the case, I need to have other employment lined up before I move into my own apartment, condo, etc. Staying here with no rent/utilities allows me to save up some money that I spent moving out here and pay down some bills.

Stay tuned for some potential news over the next few days, as well as my Obama VP list.

I've been dead set on staying out in Washington D.C. ever since I lost my job. I just didn't think I was ready to leave, until the other day. I can't quite pinpoint what triggered it, maybe feeling the full extent of the nothingness D.C. represents now, but I felt this sudden and strong desire to move back to Seattle. I felt like I was ready. I had ventured out on my own at the age of 18 and seldom returned home for extended periods of time. Three times for a few months at a time in the last nine years, if I recall correctly.

I think my last trip helped me realize what I miss out on when I choose to see the world and grow up, on my own. I miss familar faces, home cooked meals, extended family, my pets, familiarity of surroundings, memories, my dog sleeping under the covers to keep warm, puppies and kittens, and the realization that I am not completely alone.

I go into the storage area where all of my stuff is in Washington and get so excited at what I have collected over the years. I cannot wait until I settle down somewhere and I can hang my diploma's up on my wall in their beautiful frames my dad bought for me for the last three of my four degrees. I cannot wait to have my stuff back. I cannot wait to have my winter, summer, fall, and spring wardrobes all together!

So I texted my mom a few days ago and told her I was ready to come back. Not necessarily move back into the family home, but move back to the area. The sad reality now has been the foundation of why I wanted to stay; there are just more jobs here. More professional opportunities to grow. My professional ties are here. A job I might get is most likely here and to start applying to jobs in Seattle would be a time consuming and potentially fruitless effort.

This job I might get would last thru November. I couldn't drive across the country in December. The time is now, or next year when I am most likely broke. I can't make the decision now, nor a week from now. I need time. I need things to sort themselves out and then everything will become clear again and the road will unfold before me. Until then I bask in the nothingness of Washington D.C.

So after spending a few days home in Seattle, I returned to my other home back east. I felt like I was going to a funeral, which sounds so awful and melodramatic, but it's painfully true. My whole life was my job and now it's gone which means I have no life. My social life revolved around my work and co-workers and that is gone. I can only spend some much time job hunting, writing cover letters, tweaking my resume, etc, before I become bored to death. So, I decided to use my severance check to buy a small television and get cable installed...

I haven't had my own access to a tv and cable in almost a year, so I think it's high time I was reunited with one of my great loves-television. I love to sleep with the tv on. It's a bad habit, but I've done it for so long and the familiarity of it feels really nice. I also figure that even when I do find a new job, it hopefully won't require 60-80 hour+ work weeks like my last job so I will have more time to relax in front of the tv.

I've been really toying with the idea of moving to Seattle. I just don't know if I should pull the trigger on that idea quite yet. Here's why; I've spent the last year building up my resume, but building it up for campaign work. Now, I'm not quite sure I want to do campaign work. The hours, the instability, the often times shitty treatment, I just don't know if I have it in me to make a career out of it. So when I look at other jobs that I'm not quite qualified for, but could be soon, I think what better place to be than D.C. to build up my resume and really get good experience outside of campaign work?

I love politics, and if I don't/can't work on campaigns, maybe I should keep myself in my Mecca to still feed that hunger but not gorge myself on it by working on campaigns?

Lastly, I would just like to say that I wish more than anything that my family lived out east. I love it out here, especially New England.

There is so much I could've written about the last few days, but I couldn't just get myself to write anything down. I saw Obama again, which I will post about later today (got a hug from him). We got a big storm, which I used as an excuse to not drive to go see Hillary and Bill Clinton (they were doing an event over an hour away). I was going to see Hillary yesterday but my sleep schedule is way off and I overslept.

I pretty much finished my Christmas shopping today. Shipped my mom, step-dad, and brother's gifts via UPS. They wanted $87 to do 5 day shipping. Ugh. I went with ground for $13.09. I plan on sending another package soon with some other things.

Tonight I bought my step-mom a box of chocolates made by a local candy store, some New Hampshire maple syrup, and two books for my dad (including a New Hampshire book), as well as some New Hampshire salt water taffy. Rather than buy typical gifts, I am trying to take advantage of my current location by sending yummy gifts. In fact, today I sampled some Vermont cheddar cheese and would love to ship some home. I should really look into that--shipping home a refrigerated item.

I'll be heading to Seekonk, Mass. on Sunday evening. I was hoping to stay right in Providence, RI, but I couldn't find something cheap enough, so I am about 5 miles away in Providence. I'll be there until the 26th and am hoping to make a trip to Connecticut.

Good thing I love my job and I have great bosses and co-workers. After a 16 hour day today, I got to thinking. I haven't had a day off since September 6th, my last day in Pocatello. Since my job changed, the promised weekend off and Thanksgiving Holiday off didn't happen. Christmas day and Christmas Eve I MIGHT get off, but I won't know for sure until those days come.

I was reading another blog where the blogger wrote about having a pizza and movie day. I got so jealous! I haven't had a day where I could just be lazy like that since the end of June and even during the last two weeks of June I was madly packing, moving things into storage and selling off furniture.

I was able to have a few weeks off during summer and got so bored with free time it was maddening. So I like working, I like my job, I like being able to move every few months/weeks, but I do miss having time off. I mean truly having time off. I've had really slow days where only a report or two is due, but I would just love to have an entire day with no reports due, no research needing to be done, nothing work related. Of course I will still make my daily visits to political blogs and websites, but because I want to, not because I have to.

I would love to be in Seattle, on the couch or lazyboy, cuddling with my dog, hearing my cat try to get upstairs via the basement door, and watching Elf on Christmas with my family but nope, not gonna happen. I'm not sure where I will be for Christmas. Even if I have to work, I can still stay in a number of desirable locations that aren't too far from a work location.

That's the great thing, among many, about the New England area-everything is so much closer. 5 hours from NYC, 2 from Rhode Island, 1 from Boston, 1 from Maine, 1 from Vermont. But still, I don't want to be further than an hour or two from central New Hampshire.

Well, I'm tired but not sleepy, so I'm going to pop in a DVD on my portable DVD player that has SAVED MY LIFE! No tv, except sometimes I have time to watch a tv show or two online, but I get a lot of use out of my dvd player!

The Vet told my parents that this kitty in particular is mentally retarded. He is adorable and I would take him if I could. The last mentally retarded kitty that our cat had would lay in your hand forever and let you pet him and rub his little belly. Awww...

He stopped eating because our cat wasn't producing milk, so my mom had to feed him by putting the tube down his throat. Poor little thing. Anyone in the Seattle area who wants him? I think it is a boy, but I don't know for sure! Pure bred!

They say that when a door closes, a window opens, and I would say that when one friendship ends or weakens, another is born or strengthened. For me, it has been 4 friendships that have become stable and constant good forces in my life. One strengthened last fall, one was born November 7th, and two were born when I sent a simple email offering to help two unknown women with a campaign on campus. Thank God four windows opened up for me.

This morning I was given an opportunity to participate in something this weekend. Something that will take me away from Pocatello this weekend and away from a close friend, perhaps my closest friend at this point in time, and someone who needs me right now.

Before I agreed to leave town, I called this friend, one of my windows, and asked if she would be okay with me gone. She said she would and that she would be angry if I didn't leave town this weekend. She spends her weekdays in Rexburg and weekends here, so I don't see her during the week. :( I miss her terribly during the week but her internship is up in five weeks and then she might move in for a few weeks until she can move into her apartment. I hope to turn her from a Republican to a Democrat. Wish me luck!

Those who know me know that I am a passionate political junkie and the fact that I am torn about leaving town to attend a political event because I don't want to abandon a friend when she needs me should tell you that I am loyal to my friends, though some former friends might beg to differ!

So I guess tonight I realized that me being torn isn't a bad thing, it's a good thing because politics shouldn't be my whole life and that the great friends I have will almost always take precedence over an event and had my friend asked me to stay in town, I wouldn't have hesitated in turning down my plans because friends and family are the most important things in our lives.

We know a friend is a true friend when they get mad at us because we turn down something we truly love to be with them or when we at least show that we are willing to skip something to just be there in support. They want us to experience the event more than be a shoulder for them to cry on.

Me in my hood and other regalia.
My dad, me, and my mom.
My friend Manasseh and I.
My step-dad, me, and my mom.
My mom and I.

In around an hour, I take my last test at Idaho State University. It is my final in Management Communication. I didn't take the class because it fulfilled a particular requirement. Basically, I needed an extra 3 credits/1 class and I wanted to take something that would benefit me in a career. This class, while geared towards the private sector, did benefit me and I learned a great deal.

Yesterday I went and picked up my tassel (peacock color), cap, gown, and hood. My cap is WAY too small. I will look like a fool if I can't get a bigger size or if cutting the back (which will look stupid but less stupid than wearing it as is) won't help make it fit better. When I go to the graduation practice today, I am hoping they have an extra cap that will fit my large head. Cross your fingers!

My parents all get into town tomorrow. They could've been here today but every room in every hotel/motel in Pocatello is booked and has been booked for the last few weeks. There is a baseball tournament and nothing was available. So, my mom and step-dad are flying into Salt Lake City in a few hours and will stay in Ogden tonight then head up here tomorrow morning.
My dad and grandma are driving from Auburn, Washington (suburb of Seattle) and will stay in Boise tonight and head up here tomorrow morning.

My dad, who is one of those parents who loves the college bookstores, is so excited to take me to ISU's tomorrow morning. When I received my Bachelor's degree, he purchased a frame at the bookstore that is especially made for ISU. So, tomorrow he is letting me pick out one for my Master's.

Well, I suppose I should get back to studying and to the two msn messenger conversations I have going.

Thank goodness for friends who love me, even when I am stupid, immature, and completely insensitive. Thank goodness for the new friends I have met last semester and this semester.

Thank goodness for my mom who reminded me that true friends are those who know the worst things about you but love you still. And even still, who experience the worst things about you, but still remain in your life.

I heard two people use the n word tonight. It wasn't used towards someone or a group of people, it was used in one instance to refer to a scene in a movie in which the word was used and it was read by someone quoting from Malcolm X (I don't believe either of these two people are racist). The first time I heard it, I couldn't believe my ears. I immediately texted my mom, my best friend Morgan and another friend. I wanted to see if my anger was just me being overly sensitive or if I had a legitimate reason to be angry.

First of all, though I am white, I have a daughter who is half-black. I come from an area that has a wealth of diversity (Seattle), and I am just extra sensitive to issues of race and racism. When I got home, I called my mom, who said the use of that word is not appropriate. I talked to my other two friends who agreed with my mom. Then I thought I would call my good friend who isn't from Idaho, who is very open-minded and fair. I told her the story and she tried to play devil's advocate. I was fine until I started crying on the phone. I was partly embarassed for crying on the phone about a word, but partly still so upset because this is a word I despise and one my daughter will encounter so many times in her life, it makes me incredibly sad.

And while I called my friend only to ask a question, she talked to me for an hour and a half. I think she knew tonight was a tough night (and I didn't even tell her what else happened that made me sad). Thank goodness for my mom, for my friends, for my two best friends, and for those who always support me, even if it only means talking to me on the phone and trying to make me feel better.

So is my anger justified?