On hangovers, stolen thunder, and air raids.

I woke up this morning on the most comfortable and familiar couch. This is the couch that would catch me as a I came home from 14 hour days on campus and after those endless hiring committees as the HRM. This is the couch on which I fell asleep reading by the fire for the past couple winters, and it was more or less exactly where I had left it... in Davis. I woke up in the most familiar of surroundings, my favorite couch, pool table, hearth... all the walls were right where I left them too, but something was odd. There was stuff everywhere, and when I left this place it was all but empty... wait... I don't live here! What am I doing h... ugh, maybe splitting two bottles of wine was a bad idea.

So this morning I made it back to my car, drove home and after taking a well deserved shower, I sat down to pick out stuff from the DNC that was impressive, and to find out who McCain was touting around as his new VeeP so he could try to steal Obama's thunder.

Then the church bells go off. I live right next to the Sacred Heart parish here in Sac, and the bells are usually background noise, but today they rang out, pounding out the hour loud and clear, eleven chimes. And then, like it was part of the clockwork, the air raid sirens came.

Yes. Air Raid sirens. Something I haven't heard since high school and consistently forgot about until they wailed again, the last Friday of every month precisely at 11:00.

I thought I was wincing, but I discovered it wasn't genuine until I started reading about McCain's new friend, Ms. Palin. The NY times, LA times, the Chronicle, Washington Post... even the BBC, she's right on top, and Obama and one of the better speeches he's given, is hidden in the news. 

Of course, this was completely planned, and it should be expected, but considering what I wrote about last time, I think it's a serious problem. Politically intelligent, if not wise. Then again why would I expect wisdom from an "experienced" elder statesman?

I'm enjoying the irony of late as it plays out on me personally. Over the past couple of weeks, whenever I'd speak with someone, they'd say: "Hey, did you see the olympics? Man that was awesome!" to which I'd respond "Who, that swimmer kid?  Has he won all the medals yet?" This past week, I'd be super charged about the convention, listening on the radio to the speeches given, wowing at how Bill Clinton could frame the issues of the election so completely and turn them around on the Republicans. Grinning as Joe Biden, painted by all as credible in foreign policy where Obama might not be, turns around and rips into McCain for being an idiot. Or saddened at the fact that we hadn't had John Kerry or Al Gore in the white house these past few years. 

This seemed to be a blood-sport more entertaining than any athletic competition, and those same people who were so excited about Beijing would respond; "DNC? what's that?"