Broadcasting from Ridgecrest

"We're home!"
"No. I'm home. You need to go home. And take your cat."

Today is our second day back in Ridgecrest, and my second day of living in California! After a three day, shitton of states drive West, we made it here on Sunday at about 3 in the afternoon. A little later than we had hoped (we were shooting to drive through the night on Saturday, which did not happen) but not a bad time to roll in. Got the truck unloaded, hung around, and passed out at like 8:30. My preferred bedtime, actually!

Since then, I've been busy unpacking. Ben goes into work really early, so I've been getting up with him and starting my day ASAP. I've hit the point where everything easy is unpacked -- clothes, bathroom stuff -- and now begins the puzzle of finding where other things can fit. Chances are a lot of things will stay in boxes until we move to the house we will be renting in a couple months, which is fine by me. No sense straining to unload everything here when it's just going back into a box in a couple months.

Snicket was pretty good the whole ride out and is getting used to the apartment fast. She slept a lot in the truck, be it in her carrier, on my lap with her arms wrapped around me, or on Ben's lap when he could wrestle her out. I'm pretty sure Ben and Snick are falling deeply in love, but we'll have to see what happens in the days that follow. The funniest thing ever might have been when fat cat, allowed to wander the cab of the truck while we ate, managed to get herself stuck behind the gas and brake pedals, so when we opened the door, we were greeted by a scared, panting, oddly positioned cat. Just lovely.

Pet Peeve Times Infinity

Alright, I'm not in the best mood today, so I'm gonna take this opportunity to rail against something that drives me positively crazy. What is it that has gotten my goat lately? Well, lemme tell ya. I've been wanting to get my hands on a Palestinian keffiyeh for some time now, so I started searching the web for possible vendors. What consistently came up? This whole idea of a "trendy keffiyeh." And that, my friends, does not sit well with me.

In case you haven't spent the past four years studying the Middle East, a keffiyeh is a checkered scarf traditionally worn by Arab men. Different colors stand for different countries. The black and white checkered scarf, which is tied to Palestine, became a trademark for Yasar Arafat.

So, here's what makes me crazy. When I see a girl/guy wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh they bought at Hot Topic for $8, I want very badly to start grilling them on the Israel-Palestine conflict. I wanna know how they feel about Hamas' election in 2006, or what they have to say about the seige in Gaza, or what's going on in East Jerusalem. To wear a keffiyeh, to me, means showing solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, so for it be co-opted into a fashion statement is just offensive. Of course, it's totally in line with the misinformed, ignorant American culture to take a symbol of resistance and strip it of all meaning (what up, Che Guevara?) but the keffiyeh in particular makes me crazy.

Why I Love Keith Olbermann

Seriously. I've got total love for Keith Olbermann. I've been watching Countdown, his show on MSNBC, on and off since I was in high school. Sure, I've heard all the lines about Edward R. Murrow and stuff like that, but the man is still fantastic. And tonight's Special Comment on General McChrystal's upcoming article in Rolling Stone was yet another brilliant segment.

The Undead: Threat to National Security

Awesome article from Foreign Policy, about zombies. "From a public-policy perspective, zombies surely merit greater interest than other paranormal phenomena such as aliens, vampires, wizards, hobbits, mummies, werewolves, and superheroes."

Stress Stress Stress

Between getting ready to move to California, having zero cell phone reception, and the rainy weather, I'm getting more and more irritable. Ugh! In one week, I won't have to worry about any of it but geez is it getting to me right now!

Puh-lease?

When I was 14, I was lucky enough to spend a few days at Tangalooma, off Moreton Island in Queensland. Lately, with everything going on, the idea of hanging out on the beach, watching the dolphins, and enjoying the gorgeous landscape sounds like exactly what I could go for! So random that it popped into my mind -- it's been 7 years! (Holy cow, that was 7 years ago?!)

Final Countdown

Today is one week from Ben's arrival to move me out to California. I'm so excited, but kind of sad. I mean, I love home, and being here makes me realize how much I'll miss it. But it's still totally awesome and thrilling that I'm going to be living with my fella!

I start work one week after getting out there, so I have a little bit of time to regroup, but not a whole lot. I'm glad -- I would get restless if I was sitting around for too long. I'm excited to start work! I typically enjoy working -- yay boundless optimism! -- and can't wait to actually start my grown up job. The lag week will be spent getting settled in and working on a few projects I can't wait to get started.

I have a desk and a dresser that I plan on stripping and refinishing, be that painting or staining them. I'm not sure yet -- they are both painted now, and I'm not sure how they look underneath. Both are pretty old, and I can't wait to get going. I need to find some new pulls for them, though, so I might have to check out Sherwood Antique Mall before I leave town. Another project is figuring out the sewing machine Ben's parents got me for graduation. I have been dying to learn how to sew. Well, I learned in high school, but I've been dying to get back into it. I plan on going easy at first, like trying to make an apron, then working my way up to more difficult stuff.

Other than that, I will be able to spend time tending the garden (yay!) and making sure Snicket doesn't freak out too bad. Hopefully my being there will help her adjust. More than anything, I just can't wait to be able to cuddle up with Ben every night!

"I always forget we're a Catholic school until stuff like this."

Well, it's all over. Classes, papers, all that is over and done with. On Sunday afternoon, I became an official DePaul graduate. Political Science class of 2010. Whoa. My. God.

I can't really sum up how I feel as a graduate. To be honest, it doesn't even feel real. I feel like in about a week I should be heading back to 990 W. Fullerton to start classes again. In a sick way, part of me wishes I was, because Professor Marrar is teacing a class on the Iraq War this fall, and I would just love to take it. As I explained to my family at dinner, I will sincerely miss school. I loved my classes, loved my professors, and consider school my favorite part of my time in Chicago. It has played a huge part of my life for the past year and a half, so I'm not sure how I'll feel once it hits me that I'm really not going back.

The ceremony was nice. Not as bad as I thought. DePaul breaks it up into the seperate colleges (Communications, Business, etc.) and has multiple ceremonies throughout the weekend. Mine (Liberal Arts and Sciences) was the last one, and also the largest one. There were probably about 1000 kids participating, and that's not all the people who actually got degrees. The speakers were all good. Funny, honest, and even the Catholic references and prayers were enjoyable. The opening blessing was quite lovely. "...And God bless our Blackhawks." Even though DePaul is a Catholic school, it's Vincentian (St. Vincent de Paul is our patron) so it's way more about being socially responsible and helping those in need than being a good Catholic.

The whole family and Ben's parents came in for the ceremony and dinner, which was so awesome. I'm such a cheesepuff, but I love that everyone was together. It means so much to me! Afterwards, Ben and I packed up the last of my stuff in the apartment, then crashed out on an impromptu sleeping machine. All in all, it was a great great day and a great weekend! We even got to see Andy and Katie, who came up for the day on Saturday and stayed the night.

This is Life, and it's Happening Right Now

Four years of college have officially ended. As of Sunday, I will be a bonafide Political Scientist. Or as I keep saying, "Learned-Ass" Political Scientist. It's pretty crazy, what with how hair brained my "cram two years of classes into one" plan was, that I'm actually here! But, my cap and gown are at my apartment, and I'm totally excited to be an official alumn!

Plus, we are officially two weeks away from Ben and I living together! That might be crazier than the fact that I'm graduating, just because it's always felt so distant. Two years have culminated in this one event. So awesome! Sure, I'm a little nervous, but who wouldn't be? More than anything, I'm thrilled. I can't wait to be under the same roof!

On that topic, I'm thinking about starting a blog to document our first year living together. Since this is the only one I keep up on anymore (despite occasionally wanting to go all politics blogger again) I don't feel too bad starting another one. Plus, Ben and I are pretty freakin' awesome, so it could make for some wonderful entertainment. I'm still kicking around the idea, but I'm thinking it would be fun.

Best. Campaign. Ever.

Dear whoever decided to put Liam Neeson's face on every bus in the city,

Thank you times infinity.

Love, Bridey

So, with college coming to an end, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on my educational experience. What I've come to realize is that, well, Political Science is not an easy major. I don't mean in terms of difficult in the way math or physical science is difficult, but in terms of living with what you learn. Here, let me explain.

On any given day this quarter, I've spent hours learning about civilian casualties in warfare, socializing soldiers to become killers, the tragedy of the Great Leap Forward, or US-Soviet Union nuclear build up. We spend hours discussing genocide and atrocities committed around the world, the ramifications of a nuclear conflict, and other real upper topics. You literally go from watching a video about Slobodon Milosevic to suddenly being on the corner of Fullerton and Sheffield, going to Dominicks for a salad before your next class. It creates this really weird double reality, where you have to balance this life as a college student in Chicago with this unbelievably heavy reality of political complexities. It's not like, say, English, where you close the book and walk away. Political Science is literally always with you in one way or another, even if it is just in the back of your mind.

I love Political Science. I really, really do. There is no other major that I would enjoy this much or take as much from, besides maybe History, which is essentially the same thing. Politcal Scientists and Historians are, really, a lot a like. Historians just use the past to explain the past, while Political Scientists use the past to predict the future. Either way, I am so glad that I decided to do Political Science, and the fact that at night I'm occasionally haunted by the idea of Rwanda or chemical weapons being used against civilians doesn't change that. I'll gladly take the occasional nuclear nightmare as long as I know what I'm learning is important, and I can think of nothing as important as the world.