Obama’s speech on race

OK - I finally got to listen to the whole thing in its entirety. I have never heard a better speech from a politician in my lifetime, or one more appropriate to our time. Please don’t limit yourself to what you’ve heard on the news - go listen to it. It is now the most downloaded ever video on YouTube. It is 37 minutes long - and he wrote the entire thing himself.

You can find it here. Go listen, for the future of the country. We need this type of honesty, intelligence, personal fearlessness, and character in office.

Here’s another video from Portland that’s pretty interesting - it’s Obama’s comments on getting endorsed by Bill Richardson. Listening to what Obama says about Gov. Richardson, I wonder if we’re seeing a possible vice-presidential candidate… He’d be a very good one, far better than most people had any idea of during the election.

Vignettes from a new life

So today, I am really, truly moved to Olympia. Even if it’s to a temporary furnished apartment with the rest of my belongings crammed into every square inch of a 10×20 storage unit :) Our first few days here (this being myself and my cat, Sophie), we’ve been a little off-kilter, not sleeping well, jumpy at all the new noises. The heaters turn on at random times, and every time they do, I can still feel Sophie start next to me. There’s a little neurotic dog who will get used to us and bark less eventually. Other than that, the apartment and the property are pretty much perfect.

I haven’t had a second to relax, really, between getting back from Mexico and packing the house, getting the utilities and mail transferred, moving, trying to work, etc. I think the day and night that I can finally relax I will start to feel at home here. Sophie was feeling better yesterday after she got to stretch out on the ledge in the sun and explore the front porch a little. She is no longer meowing loudly and plaintively at me, like “when are we going HOME??”

The famed Olympia Farmer’s Market is opening in two weeks, and I can’t wait. It’s open Th - Sun, so I should be able to go every week and get fresh and locally-produced food. Yay!

Seen today on a bumper sticker: “B.A.D.D. Bicyclists Against Dumb Drivers” :P Very Olympia.

Yesterday was like a mini-amalgamation of all the different things I am trying to do with my work life, with five different income streams converging. First, I spent the morning in conference calls on environmental consulting issues. Then, I had a noon training session on the new technology for InstantAssist, an online conflict counseling start-up I am involved with (more on that in a later blog). I managed to fit in some quick editing that I do freelance on Guru.com, and then it was off to meet a new mediation client and introduce them to the process they will be going through as they mediate their separation and parenting plan. Finally, I did a tarot reading :)

All paid except the InstantAssist training, which is still in start-up mode. I had some issues with my headset that I hopefully solved tonight (by buying a better one… for $29.99). It’s interesting to look at the breakdown of income for the day:

Environmental consulting $240
Editing $60
InstantAssist -$30
Mediation $250
Tarot $35

Of course, the rest of this week I’ve hardly had time to work. But all in all, it seemed like an interesting and worthwhile day. Mexico was also interesting from the standpoint of my eventual hoped-for lifestyle. I worked about 3 hours a day, slept a LOT to the sound of soothing waves, read books, talked and played games with my family, walked, and just generally had a very nice and relaxing time. And still made enough money to support myself, especially in the local economy. So I came back feeling like my plans are not entirely ridiculous.

And tomorrow I am going out to look at houses that have been on my “to-see” list for a while, but which I’ve been too busy to visit. On the week-end I may fit in a little relaxation :)

Notes from Hawaii

Having snuck off to Hawaii for a well-deserved rest, the first thing I did upon reaching our condo on Kauai:

From our lanai you could see whales breaching off the north shore, which was pretty cool. I wish I could take pictures of that, but my binoculars came in handy.

I set about quickly identifying all the birds in the area, including Laysan Albatrosses flying overhead, and Hawaii’s native goose, the Nene, pecking about on the lawn:

The coastline below our condo is beautiful, but maddeningly hard to reach:

My co-conspirator in relaxation, in between getting work done:

A beautiful church on the way to the end of the road in NW Kauai:

Today we spent some time hiking the trail in the NW corner of Kauai, which runs along the wild coast. Many slippery rocks later, we were rewarded with amazing views of the coastline and gorgeous jungle foliage:

There was a fast-flowing rocky river at the entrance to the first campground, where we stopped for lunch. You can get a sense of the size of the surf from the woman in the photo, but these were by far the smaller waves - there were 16-ft swells coming in at the time and it was quite spectacular. I spent almost an hour watching the waves and getting ready for the hike back, after which a quick dip in the ocean was required. Due to the difficulty of the hike it was almost 4 hours to go 4 miles.

Letting go of the house…

So, here’s my house that was, or is for a few more weeks…

If you’ve been following this, you know I’ve been looking at houses in the Olympia area. Early last week I wanted to go see a house that seemed like it would be just right. Rick and I had visited it and the neighborhood and yard were nice, it had a nice porch and lots of potential garden space. The pictures online of the inside of the house looked really pretty. It was small, and affordable - but when I asked my realtor to go see it, it already had an offer. And she told me even if I had been faster, they wouldn’t have taken a noncontingent offer.

It seems that lately, any house I see in my price range that’s really good is gone instantly, within days. The market is picking up here, but more importantly, there are a lot of people looking in lower ranges, including investors waiting to snap up good deals. And the inventory in this price range is mostly not that great. So when something good does appear, it doesn’t last long. This was kind of frustrating, and pushed me into action.

So, Thursday I listed my house for sale. After looking at the comps, we listed it about $10,000 higher than I originally expected, and figured we had time, no problem. If I had to wait a while, that would be OK. It was in the middle of the price range of the MANY similar houses in this area, all built by the same builder. Mine has a couple of advantages - it has been very well-maintained, it has an ideal location on a greenbelt, near parks, and very good schools. And, I’ve put a lot into the beautiful landscaping, deck, and stream:

Well, it sold in three days. We had the good luck of two interested buyers showing up to see the house at essentially the same time - and they could see that each other was interested. By the end of the day we had one full price offer and one just under full price. Woohoo!! And the family that bought the house is really perfect for it. The two kids are just the right ages for the two smaller rooms, they can walk through the park to their schools and to their Mom’s house (shared custody), and while they were looking I had fun listening to the kids playing Billy Goat’s Gruff on the little bridge over the stream :)

And then I thought, omg, I have to find a place to live!! Wednesday I am leaving for a week and a half’s business trip, and I won’t be back until March 1. And then my brother, sister-and-law and I are headed to Mexico for a vacation March 8-15. I set closing for March 21, so this should be entertaining :D

The universe was smiling on me, though. I went onto Craig’s list to see if I could find a temporary rental in Olympia. It’s a little easier than most towns to find month-to-month because of all the students and the legislature. However, both are in session now and there’s not much to be had. I had one (1) choice in a reasonable price range. I called her up and, amazingly, it’s perfect. All utilities and wireless are included. She doesn’t mind my cat, doesn’t care that I don’t know whether I’ll be there one month or eight, doesn’t need any forms filled out or a rental agreement. Just wanted a single professional woman who doesn’t smoke. ~waves hand wildly

I went over there to check it out. Turns out she’s kind of an ex-hippy commune type (which I like), but really has it all together. She has these cute little houses on her property in which various seemingly very nice people live and all help out. There is a beautiful forest with walking trails, expansive grounds with amazing multi-tiered ponds and waterfalls with a patio for relaxing, barbecue, vegetable gardens, orchards, etc. I think this is going to be a really nice place to spend the summer while I’m looking for a house - it’s not far from the center of town.

So, the first week in March I’ll be moving my stuff in there, what I can fit. The rest will go into storage and wait until I find a house. It will be a little bit of a challenge living in 650 square feet - but good practice I think, for the downsizing I’m planning. And with lots of outdoor space to enjoy, I won’t miss my own so much. Plus, I kinda miss people too. This way I don’t have to have room-mates, but I can enjoy some company when I feel like it.

I realized when driving back, that I won’t miss this neighborhood AT ALL. It is soulless suburbia, filled with traffic, strip malls, cookie-cutter houses, and SUVs. It doesn’t hold a candle to the nice feeling of living in a quirky place where people care about nature and cooperative living, funky little houses with interesting people in them, farmer’s markets, good politics, and lots going on. We were in a little restaurant with great coffee and interesting food the other day, and I was struck by the three scruffy-looking 20-somethings among the students who were earnestly engaged in a discussion about… how many delegates their candidate had received in that day’s primary (Obama, I’m guessing). That’s Olympia all over. I’m looking forward to it!

Obama - the Mediator’s Candidate

I received this from a fellow mediator, Ron Kelly. I agree with him 100% and just wanted to pass these ideas along. For those of you Dems reading this in Washington State - please make this your year to go to the caucuses, it’s the only way your vote will count!
________________________________________________

Obama - A Mediator’s Candidate?

I remember early on in the campaign, before I had formed a preference, I heard an experienced Washington reporter discussing the candidates. He found Obama puzzling. He claimed that if you were in a disagreement with Obama, he would summarize your arguments even better than you could yourself. This got my attention.

Then, in an early debate, Obama was asked if he would negotiate directly with the leaders of countries with whom we have strong differences. He said yes. He was attacked by many who said this just proved how naive he was. He didn’t back down. He pointed out that we negotiated with Stalin and we negotiated with Mao. He asserted that you do not need to give away anything to enter negotiations with people with whom you strongly disagree.

In speeches, he consistently advocated sitting down to negotiate with, and respectfully listening to, the heads of oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, and health care companies. He was roundly attacked as “wanting to bring Kumbaya to a knife fight”. He responded that he could afford to listen respectfully to the other side, especially if he was able to reach across the aisle to enlist even a few opposition Senators to his efforts.

I was skeptical. I read one of his books, “The Audacity of Hope”. I went back to read an article he wrote twenty years ago on why he was a community organizer. I concluded he had been consistent his entire adult life about reaching out to those with whom you disagree to build effective working coalitions.

I listened to his January 3 Iowa speech. He said he understood 9/11 not as a way to scare up votes, but as “a challenge to unite America and the world against our common threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease.” His speech moved me deeply.

The next morning I woke up realizing that Obama inspired me like no other major presidential candidate has in decades. I have not heard any other politician currently on the national center stage asserting these core beliefs as consistently and effectively as Barack Obama.

Then, yesterday, I saw the letter that finally prompted me to send you this. It was signed by eighty lawyers working to preserve our rights to habeas corpus. It says: “When others stood back, Senator Obama helped lead the fight in the Senate against the Administration’s efforts in the Fall of 2006 to strip the courts of jurisdiction, and when we were walking the halls of the Capitol trying to win over enough Senators to beat back the Administration’s bill, Senator Obama made his key staffers and even his offices available to help us. Senator Obama worked with us to count the votes, and he personally lobbied colleagues who worried about the political ramifications of voting to preserve habeas corpus for the men held at Guantanamo.”

If you have decided to support Senator Clinton, please know I will be working enthusiastically for your candidate in November if she is the Democratic nominee. As a mediator, I have felt inspired and uplifted since deciding the morning after Iowa that I would put in some work for Obama every day until my state’s primary. If you want to help him, I urge you to go now to http://www.barackobama.com and to contribute as much of your time, money, letter writing, etc. as you can.

Enthusiastically yours,
Ron Kelly

Obama vs. McCain

Being that it’s Super Tuesday, I am putting out my positive energies for these two candidates. Since I live in Washington State, I unfortunately have no vote in the primary. The parties here have chosen to ignore our preferences and hold caucuses instead. Like many other Washingtonians, I am an independent, registered with neither party, voting for any candidate as I see fit. Therefore, I am unable to participate in the caucuses. So, instead, I am adding my energy to the universal air-waves, to have what influence it can. And in the independent spirit, I am endorsing one candidate from each side, to form the match-up I would most like to see in November.

Both candidates share some things in common - they are independent, smart, thinking men. They take issues as they come, and are willing to work with anyone to meet their goals. I believe they would be ones who truly would and could reach out to both parties and make progress. They do not represent old-style partisan politics, of the type that is paralyzing our government. Selection of these candidates to vote on in November would send a strong message to the party elite that we don’t want what we’ve been getting.

Why I like Obama - OK, here I have to admit that who I really liked originally was Edwards. My dream ticket was an Edwards-Obama ticket. That may still be possible, but with Obama on top. Edwards seems to admire Obama and dislike Hillary, which pretty much fits my views.

But Obama has his own positives, that even Edwards didn’t have. An almost iconic ability to make people believe in a better future, coupled with a vision of the future that fits my dreams. A way of uniting people and transcending past injustices without playing the race card. A civility that is desperately needed in government, and one of the only candidates that actually has a clue what poverty is like. Steadfast opposition to the war. Someone I believe would reflect well on Americans and who could be an ambassador to help repair some of the damage done in the last 8 years. A desire to reach out to everyone in creating solutions.

And yes, he’s not Hillary, and he doesn’t come with Bill. Half of Congress won’t instantly hate him, like they would Hillary. Just how likely do you think it is that she would be able to get her policies approved or keep Bill from trying to run things? Don’t get me wrong, I actually like Bill. But I’m not sure I want him in the White House again.

(Aside: does anyone else think it’s exciting that universal health care is being discussed seriously by all the candidates?)

Why I like McCain - This part may surprise more of you. But here goes - He has a long, long record of working both sides of the aisle and opposing his own party when necessary. That kind of independence is what I believe we need a lot more of in Washington, and bodes well for being a president that could work with a Democratic Congress (or evenly split Congress). He makes up his own mind on issues. He helped build the bipartisan coalition that prevented Congress from melting down over the judge confirmation issue.

He supported reconciliation with Vietnam, even thought they held him prisoner and tortured him. That says good things to me about his ability to work without holding grudges and to be a positive force in our relations with other countries. He has been one of the strongest voices in Congress for fiscal restraint AND environmental issues. Even as a Republican he was one of the strongest advocates of dealing with global warming, something I don’t really see any of the Democratic candidates really talking about. He holds more moderate views on social issues like abortion and gay rights than most Republicans and is unlikely to make it a litmus test for anything. Yes, he supported the war, though disagreed with how it was fought. But at least he’s earned the right to an opinion, unlike the current President.

Seeing these two candidates go up against each other would be one of the most exciting contests of my lifetime. For once, I might feel like if my candidate loses it won’t be a disaster. So good luck Barack Obama and John McCain!

Househunting update

Well, the house I posted a few posts down turned out to be not in good repair at all, though it was cute. There were structural problems - not to mention junky yards all around. It did have a great view of the bay, but marred by a derelict house with overgrown blackberries and falling-down fence in front. I don’t understand how people can have waterfront property and keep it in that state.

So far, the only nice houses for the price I want to spend are way out in the sticks. There are some nice craftsman homes like this one coming on the market in Tacoma, but the surroundings are usually not great - busy streets, junky neighborhoods, nothing of interest culturally. And the other night when going to a show and dinner with a friend, I was reminded of how much I enjoy Olympia every time I go there.

So when I got back from vacation, I returned to the greenbuilt development of Summerwalk, to see what they had left. I was almost talked into buying the last unit of my favorite floorplan (coincidentally also the least expensive), because the very next day a person was scheduled to make an offer on it. The problem is, what i like about this floorplan is its very open design - two-story ceilings, loft, large high windows. In this unit, those lovely windows would be looking out at - another building. The more I thought about it that night, the more claustrophobic and unhappy I got with that.

So I looked at the development plans again, and found that in a neighboring small street, they were going to build more of these, and there was a corner lot with my floorplan in which those windows will look out onto open space and large, beautiful fir trees across the street. Much better. As soon as I realized that, I called him back and put a reservation on that lot. The nice thing is, that reservation money is fully refundable for any reason, in case somehow in the meantime I should happen to find my perfect little house. And if not, I’ll have this really good guaranteed option to fall back on. It probably won’t be ready until fall, so I have plenty of time to get my house ready and sell it.

To see a virtual tour of the unit I reserved, click here. Of course, it would be furnished differently . And I may have to paint it first to relieve some of the “whiteness.” But that’s very easy to do in a brand new house. The other nice thing about this little street is it is away from the rest, next to a neighborhood of established nice homes. So it will feel less like being in the middle of a development.