Things my dad said today

"She's clearly eating her feelings. I sympathize. And what's the deal with Stedman, anyway?"
-on Oprah's regaining the weight

"What did she get me? What did she get me? What did she get me? I hope it's good... It better be good."
-to me, while I was discussing Christmas goods with my sister on the phone

"High five! No, let's do a terrorist fist jab."
-to my mother, when discussing the fee she will earn for an upcoming article

Stratford-on-guy

This weekend I took a vacation in Intenseland, as Cora calls New York. It was really wonderful to see everyone, but the city made me cranky, stressed out, and very drunk (and then hungover). We just don't party like that in Champaign-Urbana. I got to see my sister and her boyfriend's new place in Ridgewood (sorry I kept calling it Midwood!), which was a great neighborhood! If I move back to NYC (unlikely) I am gonna live way out in the boroughs--it helps take the edge off.

However, I did love the culture (the CULTCHAH). I saw the Babar show at the Morgan, which was awesome, and my last morning I went to the Guggenheim and saw the Catherine Opie show as well as the new Jenny Holzer installations, which were both pretty fucking reveletory. I was sorely tempted to spend the night at the Guggenheim (only $250 for students!) but had to return to Chambana.

For Halloween, I was a member of the fighting Illini basketball team. So it pretty much looked like this:

You get the idea. A highlight was maybe flying home--while flying into Chicago at night, I sat in 27D, behind the wing, watching the lake turn the sky into blue-green smoke, which is a life-long goal of mine.

Then President Lincoln, I mean Obama, was elected, and my occasionally wavery faith in the American public was restored. Indiana went blue--thanks Dawn!

Hoosier? I hardly know her!

Today I went to a place I had never been before--the great state of Indiana. True story--several years ago, I forgot Indiana was a state. I am embarrassed now. Indiana is totally a state, and an important one indeed to the future of our country, for it is a swingy, swingy little state. Of course, now it is a radiant midnight blue, thanks to the canvassing work of this lady here.

Indiana looked strikingly similar to Illinois. There was much corn, and some small towns with antique stores and such. We were canvassing a subdivision outside Lafayette (where Purdue is). Here were some of the subdivision's street names.:

• Waterstone Drive
  
• Waterfall Court
  
• Stoneripple Court
• Stonegate Circle
• Stonegate Court
• Stoneripple Circle

Please imagine trying to tell these apart. On foot. With clipboard.

Then there was another subdivision:

• John Adams Street
• George Washington Lane
• Thomas Jefferson Drive
• Pennypackers Mill Road

So apparently that last one is the name of a Revolutionary War battle site in Pennsylvania. At the time, though, we did not know that, and we thought it was rather endlessly hilarious.

I think I mayyyy have convinced one lady to vote for Obama. Dawn, if you're reading--remember what we talked about! Then we went to a soda fountain. I loved Indiana. Also, me and my co-canvassing partner discussed Obama's probable Jedi status with an 8-yr old boy. If he could only vote!