Tuesday, November 02, 2004

I Voted.

I am such a political junkie. I got high today by voting. I'm serious; it makes me feel good to vote. I got up at 6:00 am to be at the polling place when it opened, and I had to wait for 45 minutes because the place was packed. PACKED. First time ever, and I've been voting there for 7 years, usually first thing in the morning, with a return trip after work because my neighbor needs someone to hold her hand. But I'm not complaining about the wait. If you have to wait in line to vote today--and I hope all Americans do--just think how good it will make you feel to do it. Think of the many woman who lectured in favor of women's rights and were attacked physically because public lecturing wasn't considered "ladylike." Think of the suffragettes who went on hunger strikes and were force-fed, sometimes via enema. Think of Emily Davison in England, who wanted to vote so badly that she threw herself under the King's racehorse. Think of the women who worked from 1840 to get the vote for women (that wouldn't come for 80 more years). See, your wait is nothin'.

And a Trip to a Hypothetical Place
Suppose you live in Los Angeles and you have a boring job that doesn't pay all that well. You're cruising some crafting message boards and you see that someone who is starting a craft show is looking for a PA of sorts, not so much a film person as a crafting person. You figure what the hell! You send off a jaunty e-mail telling how your first crafting experience was when you were quite small and you stuck pins in your Barbie's head to give her earrings. You ask, is it a full-time job? You think maybe you can squeeze it in with your regular full-time job because, living in L.A. as you do, you know that film jobs are temporary. Loads of full-time, but temporary. You get a call. They like your "resume." They apologize about the low pay, which it turns out, is about what you're making after 5 years in your boring job. They can guarantee 15 weeks. You're sort of hoping to not be in Los Angeles much longer anyway. Do you chuck the job you have and take a new, full-time, temporary position with the possibility of renewal? Trade in your boring job for crafting for pay?

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