It is time once again to stand up as proud Americans and vote for a new president. We get to exercise our rights and head down to our local voting stations and click the name of the person (man – of course) who we want to believe will save us from the hell we are currently in. I am feeling pretty good about this election, although I doubt any one man can truly save us from the crappy condition the US is in right now. I do believe one man can start the ball rolling in the right direction. Is he our savior? Is he just what we need to give us back our hope and belief in America? I don’t know. Can he do the job? I don’t know. The fact is we have no choice. Our man with the experience who may be technically qualified for the job will sink our hope with keeping things exactly the same as they are now. He’ll do nothing in starting to end this war we have been in for way too long. He wants to tax our medical insurance… *breathe* I could go on and on, but I won’t. Everyone who has been paying attention knows these facts so there is no need to reiterate. I am not saying he’s the worst choice – I feel for the man. He’s been there done that and knows all about it. Although, you would think a POW would want nothing more to do with any war type situation…But, what do I know – I personally have never been a POW. So, it is clear I am not on the Republican side and McCain is not the name I am going to click on when voting time arrives November 4th. I had a strong feeling I was not going to vote McCain early on, but what sealed the deal was when he picked his running mate, Sarah Palin. At first I thought he was genius in picking a female… Then she opened her mouth.

I am going to click on a name I want to believe will truly bring history altering change to the WHITE house. A name that brings a smile and a relaxed feeling when you say it. Barack Obama… That’s right, say it out loud and listen to your voice as it slips out through your lips, “Barack Obama.” Isn’t that nice? My generation was not a thought in our young parents heads when JFK was on scene. A young man who gave pride to Americans and made them feel safe and warm with a smile. Who looked you in the eye and told you it was going to be alright and all you could do was blush, smile and let out a little laugh. You believed every word that came from his lips and Barack Obama has that same charm. During the last debate when McCain talked he looked into the camera, over at Bob Schieffer and sometimes at Obama, but when Obama talked he looked into the camera and right into your soul. He was looking every American watching in the eye. Barack may not be the most qualified man for the job and his experience isn’t what McCain’s is, but he is winning this election and he has us eating out of the palm of his hand. I believe in him. I believe he is going to bring a calming peace to our nation that we so need and have been waiting for, for a very long time. Listening to McCain respond to the Russia/Georgia conflict all I heard was WAR WAR WAR! Listening to Obama respond to the Russia/Georgia conflict all I heard was PEACE… “Let’s sit down and talk about this.” and “Put your guns away for a second.” This is the karma I want in the White house! This is the vibe I want my America to groove with. This is what I am going to vote for. I am far from “hippyness” but I dream of a peaceful, yet powerful, nation to raise my children in. I want my kids never to be afraid of war or what kind of condition their nation is in. I want them to be safe living under a government that will do its best to protect them and keep order and peace. I really believe that Barack Obama will go into this with a serious face and start cleaning up the shit the last eight years have created. I cannot blame only George W. – the crap has been building. But, it is time for a change. It is time to bring in someone that my heart wants to believe will do the job that I want him to do. Barack has a warm and loving heart and he has come from a life most Americans can relate to in one way or another. His skin color says nothing to me – it is the man inside I believe in.

This is our America! We have the freedom and the right to stand up for what we believe in. It is our right to put someone in office who is going to do the job we want him to do. I personally want peace and change. I want to be the nation no one else wants to go head-to-head with, but right now I cannot believe that is who we are anymore. We look like a war hungry country that is out of control and running ourselves into the ground. We need a comeback and it needs to be awesome! I am not here to sway your vote, because you have the right to vote for whomever you want. I am simply stating my reasons for clicking on OBAMA in the November 4th election.

It was like taking a step back in time Saturday (October 11, 2008) as my sister-in-law and I walked into the New Kids concert at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas! I am a storyteller so I need to go back in order to move forward…

Easter Sunday 2008, my sister-in-law, Angela was here from Las Vegas visiting her step-daughter. Sammy was so excited we were getting ready to go visit, he was running all around… Kinda normal actually… but, this time Sam had a bit of an accident and we ended up rushing to the emergency room instead of my mother’s house. I won’t go into too many details here because this is just a slight digression from the story. After a trip to the emergency room and Sam recovering, we drove over to my mother’s house meeting up with Angela and other family. I was sitting on the floor with Jack when Angela brought up the New Kids topic and how they are going to tour again! Memories came flooding back and I longed to relive those days of stupid teenage bliss. Angela and I made an agreement right then and there at my mother’s place that we would go together to see the New Kids on the Block in concert!

Fast forward about three months and I got a text from Angela saying (excitedly) that New Kids were coming to Vegas October 11th! I was online within seconds looking at ticket prices, but Angela wanted to see if she could get a deal with a friend of hers on the cost of tickets – so I waited. Meanwhile my mother had knee surgery and I had forgotten all about the New Kids concert. My brother came up for a week and helped with mother and hung out with his daughter. Shortly after he returned to Vegas I got an e-card from Angela but the site wasn’t working and I wasn’t able to open the message attached to the card. I figured I would go back later and read the message…

Fast forward another month and I was driving when my cell rang. It was Angela wondering if I had ever gotten that e-card she had sent. I explained that I got the e-card but not the message. She said – and I will never forget – “You were supposed to read the message silly – I got us New Kids tickets!”

We made plans to fly down to Vegas and stay the whole weekend so not only to enjoy the awesome concert but to enjoy Angela and Paul too! Not everyday we get to see our favorite people! And I am not just saying that because Angela took me to see NKOTB! *smile*

October 9th finally arrived and I could not wait – the entire trip was so unreal! We got onto the plane and Sam wanted to look out the window and Jack fell asleep… sweet! We got there fast and then waiting for the damn rental car I lost all my energy! Their printers broke and they had everyone waiting in line while they fixed the damn things… then the light bulb went off and someone had the Neanderthal idea of hand writing the receipts out… Ding! (writing by hand… what a concept!) Morons all around… So after waiting in line for (no joke) over an hour we finally got our rental! I was yelling and throwing a fit at how long it took them – think there was an apology? Of course not! The children were hungry and thirsty and so we headed to the hotel for a quick check-in and then off to food! We got to the hotel and although it was clean and kinda nice – it creeped me out! Good god, what was going to happen next? Could this really kill my New Kids buzz??? Not really – it was going to take a lot more than that… and just wait, because the buzz was almost killed by the husband. So, we finally get to a restaurant and sit down and order our drinks when Sam got sick! Not vomiting all over – thank goodness – but a quick spiked fever, whimpering and falling asleep… We tried giving him a drink but it wasn’t helping – we had to get up and leave… mouths watering! We went through a drive-through and took food back to the hotel – what we should have done in the first place… Lessons learned! Sam fell asleep on the way back to creepy hotel and never got to eat. Poor little fella. So, the next day we decided Sam needed a treat and hit the midway at Excalibur! Then we walked over and through New York New York, and MGM to the M&M Factory! Madness! It was fun. The Boyz got to see the lions at the MGM and Red (m&m guy) at the M&M Factory.

After the joy of walking around we went to meet up with Angela at her place so we could go out and shop outfits for the concert! Concert and shopping – my head almost exploded! We had time to hit a few different stores but got lucky at a place called The Fashion Bug. After getting twin-like outfits – and I would tell you that at the time we didn’t even realize it – but would you believe me? We went to a paint your own pottery place so Sam could have fun killing time while we waited for my brother to get off work.

We went to dinner with Paul and Angela and had a great time chatting and hanging out, but when Sam became too wild to deal with any more Cool Uncle Paul took him out to play on his motorcycle…. ohhh yeah… Uncle Paul became Sam’s hero all over again that night. Not only is Unca Paul a pirate but he also rides a motorcycle?! Good god – every boy’s dream of the perfect Uncle!

Saturday morning – morning of the concert! I was high on pure excitement! I wanted to hit Caesar’s and roam around their massive mall. Scott didn’t really want to go there, but didn’t really want to talk about where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do either. So, we went to Caesar’s and the entire time it was like pulling dead weight around with me. We went into the Gap there and while I was looking around Sam had to go potty so Scott took him and I waited for them to come back.. and waited…and freaking waited! When they finally came back I wanted to show Scott these cute shoes for Jack, but Sam was a mad man (again, nothing too new) running amok. So, tired and becoming annoyed I told Scott to just buy the few things I had picked out and let’s just go. We headed back to the hotel and Scott says he doesn’t want to go back there. Fair. I asked where but he didn’t know. He didn’t know where or what, but just not back to the hotel. I drove back to the hotel and told him as soon as he figured it out to let me know. Sam was supposed to go to a pumpkin patch with Aunt Angela but after the nightmare in the mall and Scott not wanting to go to a freaking pumpkin patch I called it off! There we sat all afternoon in Vegas at our creepy hotel waiting for Scott to figure out what he wanted to do. Lunch came and went and the boys ate snacks we had bought… waiting… This was a total buzz kill. Here we are in fucking Vegas and I am going to a concert I am totally excited about and there’s Scott needing some kind of anti depression pills! I was so mad I wanted to just throw my hands in the air and say, “Let’s go home!” Finally he came up with the brilliant idea to go to the pumpkin patch – with an hour left before I had to start getting ready to go! Sam’s yelling that daddy said he could go and I am yelling that we only have a half hour to do it… So, of course we went! There was almost no one at the pumpkin patch and Sam did a few rides and then picked two small pumpkins out for Aunt Angela and Unca Paul. We hit another drive-through so they could have dinner and we went back to creepyville so I could get ready for the New Kids On The Block!!!

The excitement was returning as I got ready for the concert! I put on my new outfit and waited pacing the floor for Angela to come pick me up! It was really happening – and I could not believe it! Angela showed up and it was then we realized we had bought twin-y looking outfits. It didn’t matter because we looked sweet and we were going to rock out! Scott took a couple pictures of us and we were off. Although, we had to go back to her place first and pick up my brother so that he could drive us. Our plans for the evening were to totally get sloshed and not be able to drive home. Paul took us and dropped us off at Mandalay Bay. We went to Rum Jungle for food and our beginning drinks – yum! Oh dear god! The food was awesome! Just thinking about it, bringing the memory back of how my salmon tasted… Mouth watering! My fun named drink was totally awesome as well – I ended up having two of them! Ohhh yeah… Mama was feeling good, but not drunk. So after we ate and drank a couple we headed over to the convention center for the concert…

It was like stepping back in time… Girls everywhere, with excitement busting out of every pore on their bodies! Giggling coming from every which why – including us! Some ladies decked out in cool outfits from the late 80’s early 90’s era. It was totally awesome! I so felt like I was fourteen all over again… Only this time I hit the bar before I went in to sit down. *giggle* Malibu and coke was my drink choice and Angela got Cran and Vodka. We found our seats and listened to the pre-show to the opening act do her thang… Lady Gaga. We chatted with fans all around us and spotted all the unlucky husbands and boyfriends who where were dragged there – no doubt. During the opening act I had to go potty and I grabbed Angela another drink. I decided not to get another for myself because I was already feeling sleepy and didn’t want to kill any buzz I still had before the New Kids performed. I got back and enjoyed Natasha Bedingfield. The the lights went out and we jumped to our feet and the screaming began! The entire place was filled with screaming women who once stood as teens and pre-teens screaming at these four adorable boys now men. Everyone’s inner child came back and presented themselves for just one more night of fuzzy teenage bliss…

We screamed the entire time – we sang to songs we had no idea we even remembered! At one point in the show the guys had left for a change so we were watching some video show filler. I told Angela it was killing my buzz and where the hell did the New Kids go?! When she turned to talk to me she spotted them rising out of the ground about twenty feet in front of us and Angela started screaming, “They’re right there!” Then we went back to the screaming and reaching out for them. Jonathan Knight came out of the floor sporting a Barack Obama Shirt! So, the screaming turned into a political pep rally as I screamed for “OBAMA!” every time I saw him… And I swear Jon looked right at me as I screamed my head off for Obama. I threw up an “I Love You” hand to show him I cared about him too.

They did a few goofy things – like Jordan Knight sang a few of his personal songs. But, he did them with his shirt open and a wind machine… Cheesy. Angela and I were screaming for him to button up and put the man boobies away. He wasn’t flabby, but like Angela said, “You can tell at one time he was really in shape, and then lost it and then was trying to get back into it.” Joey McIntyre came out singing one of his solo songs too, but they were like gospel music and a killer of the buzz. Donny Wahlberg brought us back with a New Kids song from the good ol’ days.

We were not ready for them to go and yet it was a nice way to put closure on that part of our lives. At fourteen watching them walk off stage at the end I had no idea I would never see them again. This time when they walked off stage I said, “Good bye.” Knowing this time will probably be the last time. It was a sad moment as we walked out of the concert. We had walked in as young girls and we walked out as women.

Thanks Angela for giving me that night, that return to stupid teenage bliss and for you being awesome you! I am one lucky gal to have the best sister-in-law ever! Thank you….

Yeah – you rock!

The family dominant “dork” gene is something I have been fighting forever! My parents couldn’t help but pass down the “dork” gene to my brother and I – they were both dominant DD (D – for dork) on the Punnett Square. My brother is far cooler than I will ever be! I am more apt to breakout in dorkiness than he his at any given moment. This was the case the other day at school as my dork gene made an embarrassing appearance as I walked down the hall. One might think, “Oh, she tripped.” Nope, but that has happened to me and with a hall filled with kids! In defense of myself, I was tripped and the “dork” gene was not at fault for that one. What happened was this:

Classes were just in session and I left to go use the bathroom. I don’t like being in the halls while kid traffic is heavy – due to the tripping experience. I was coming out of the bathroom when I saw a boy rushing through the hall carrying a plastic bag with a giant hole in the bottom, spilling white powder all over the floor! I pointed this out to him, “Dude, you’re spilling all over!” thinking maybe he didn’t know what he was doing. He glanced up and said quickly, “Oh I know, I’m sorry.” and rushed by me. I responded with a wise and well-thought, “O.K.” and continued walking back to the class I was in. I figured he was rushing off to an art class or whatever and plus, they can simply vacuum that up later – right? I’ll get to the hindsight in a moment… It was Friday and everyone met in the gym for the Homecoming pep rally. While walking over to the gym I noticed the white powdery stuff all over the ground and simply thought in a dorky way, “Wow, he really got around!” I was standing in the gym at the pep rally when my principal walked up to me and whispered, “Viola, you saw the kid in the hall spilling sugar?” What? How did he know? I looked confused as I felt the panic of, “Oh crap what did I do?” rising. I just looked at him and said, “Yeah… I did.” The principal then said, “Could you ID him? He poured sugar through two main buildings and on camera surveillance we couldn’t make out his face. You were the only person who saw him and talked to him.” Hello “dork” gene! Are you kidding me! I watched this kid rush by with his dumb bag and did nothing to stop or aid him! “I don’t know if I can remember his face, but I know he had blond hair…” was all I could say. I cannot believe I was the only one who saw this kid! After lunch I was able to give a positive ID on a kid the vice-principal had. She was able to narrow it down to two possible kids and only one had blond hair… DORK!

In hindsight… The kick in the butt… What I should have done was stop the kid (not knowing he was vandalizing – if you consider spilling sugar all over vandalizing) and help stop the leak. He probably would have not stopped, but at least I could have tried – right? Or… if he did stop and let me help patch up the hole, I could have gotten a better ID on him. But nooo…. my “dork” gene had to show up and make me the dorkass of the entire situation.

In the end… They were not able to really finally catch the kid with the sugar. The whole school knows exactly who the adult was that came in contact with the hooligan and did 100% NOTHING to stop him. Plus, caught on a surveillance camera? I am sure you can find my “dork” gene on YouTube somewhere! The “dork” gene has no mercy…

Yeah….