sweet and sour

I am having a hard time grasping the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which also redefines what rape is. Obviously, it will be rewritten before it ever gets through, which hopefully it won't.

I just don't understand how in 2011 people still can't trust women with their own lives. People in the US like to think of the US as a leader in the world and yet we can't fund the most basic of medical procedures on the grounds that it is "immoral." I'm sorry, but I never thought my tax money was being used "morally" when it was spent on needless wars, on torture, on dictators, on capital punishment, etc etc.  When these kind of bills crop up, which they do anytime conservatives have an ounce of power, I feel like I am being threatened personally.  My thinking goes like this: because I am a woman, I can't make a good decision- if I ever were to need an abortion my health insurance wouldn't cover it simply because the government thinks it's THE WRONG CHOICE.  Well, it's not their choice to make, and forcing insurance companies to play along because of government subsidies will deny women of a right they have.  Thinking about these things makes me feel like my brain is on fire.

I hope this bill doesn't get anywhere, I haven't even gone into how it affects the definition of rape.  It will make you sick.

So to counter all this heavy duty political rage, I am so happy about the new Fleet Foxes album coming out in May.  The title track is out!  They are going on tour!

Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long

So, big news! I went down to Asheville last Thursday after work
("J, I'm off of work, what is the plan?" "E, do you want to leave now?" "YES" "Lets go.")

I had a job interview in Asheville for a position with the Western North Carolina Green Building Council. It was on Friday in a happy upstairs room of a house/office in West Asheville. I felt so good about it and was already dreading the feeling of being let down after being so excited about leaving my current job (which has progressively gotten worse and worse, things I have not revealed in this blog).

I returned my bff R's car to her (she was still at work) and since I didn't have anything to do but wait I offered to help her since her job was swamped that day. Her bosses immediately swooped in to meet me (very sweet) and when I told them I had just returned from a job interview they scolded R for not telling them I was looking for a job (!?) and ushered me into a hilarious conference room- shouting "get the cookies! bring the cookies!" the whole time. So I sat and ate a cookie while we had a pseudo-job interview at this law firm?!! It was really funny and so kind at the same time. I really love small town type things. I swear upon everything I know, I think that people in Western NC are NICER than most. I don't know what it is. Maybe I am nicer when I am there, too. So I had two job interviews back to back, one official and one not (but kinda?). So funny. At the end one of the ladies said, "We're ready when you are!"

I changed out of my interview suit and met up with my boyfriend for a weekend of hiking and general Western NC therapy in Pisgah National Forest. It was wonderful to smell all the mountain smells and listen to wind. Wind is really loud when you're high up in the mountains. We hiked up Black Balsam and over that ridge and back down to Flat Laurel Creek (please talk to me if you know what area I'm talking about, it's one of my favorite places of all time). We didn't actually go backpacking because we really didn't have time to. It was still so nice to relax and stare at mountains and rivers and nothing without any obligations for a while. The mountains help me to clear my head better than anything else. I can see things for what they are so much better after I consult the Blue Ridge.

So Sunday morning came and my blissful mountain time had to end. The drive back to DC was grueling as usual, though I had a lot to think about. By the time we got to Fredericksburg it was time for a snack so J and I cruised the chip isle of some gas station debating whether or not almonds were a better snack than Teddy Grahams (I hate Teddy Grahms). I got a call from an unknown number - 9:30PM on a Sunday night? It was THE GUY FROM THE GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL. I GOT THE JOB. 9:30PM ON A SUNDAY NIGHT. I am just now coming down from the cloud I was elevated to on the chip isle. Holy hell, a ticket back to Asheville doing meaningful work for people WHO WILL APPRECIATE IT. Yes yes, a thousand times yes!

Today was filled with resigning from my current job (!!! hello grownup!) and the beginning of lots of mental lists. I am moving back down to Asheville in less than 3 weeks. Dreams come true! I can't stop listening to Fleet Foxes. I am feeling good. Goodbyes are hard but I am getting better at them every time.

Gosh, I am so pleased. It makes so much more sense for me to live in Asheville. I am confidant.




Darling, I can barely remember you beside me
You should come back home, back on your own now

self imposed homesickness

Listening to Fleet Foxes on a lonely and overcast Sunday in the city is just like shooting myself in the foot. I did buy a ticket to their show here in July, though who knows if I'll actually be here to go see it. Today is a move-back-to-Asheville type of day.

Staying in DC for memorial day was a mistake. Everyone is busy or gone.

I should go for a bike ride so that I don't dissolve completely in loneliness and regret. Ugh. Stay busy, stay busy.

I will go ride my bike down to Adam's Morgan I think, that will help me feel better.