Choices, Choices...

I haven’t decided who I am voting for in November.

I have decided who I am NOT voting for: John McCain (though I do like the guy) and Christine Gregoire (mostly because her last name is so hard to spell).

This Obama character is damned engaging. I heard an interesting observation on NPR about Obama the other day. Something to the effect of “He’s the first politician in a long time to actually talk to the American public like they are adults.”

That struck a chord with me.

I remember seeing a speech by a then unknown Jr. Senator Obama at the 2004 Democratic National convention. Obama was introducing former President Bill Clinton, my personal political hero…and Obama overshadowed Mr. Charisma himself. My eyebrow raised and I took note of this kid from Illinois.

It’s been a very long four years since that convention and the world has become an awfully scary place. I think we are all going to feel the effects of “BUSHwacked” foreign policy for many years to come. The one thing I’ll commend Bush for, is that he openly acknowledges his actions in the Middle East, which is much more than I can say for every President before him. At least Americans are now aware of why the rest of the world hates us so very much.

But back to Obama, it’s easy to get distracted from looking to the future when dealing with our present. But this Obama kid says that he’s the future. I’m not sure what it is about these kids from Chicago, Kanye West calls himself the future as well, wonder if the two hang at the same coffee shop or something.

But I think the two represent parallels to each other.

Granted, one is a politician and one is a hip-hop artist. But both men represent people who made their own way in careers that are very regimented and not prone to change. They saw the archetype for success in their industries and not only ignored it, they changed it.

West refused to conform to the standard-issue rapper persona that the industry demanded for success. He did his own thing, created his own sound and ended-up winning a Grammy.

Obama is very much the same. First off, he’s black. I am not sure how many of you watch C-Span, but most politicians aren’t black. Yet Obama managed to make his own way in politics.

Not only is he black, but he’s young. And in the glad-handing, you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours, institution of American politics that is strike number two. Obama isn’t the golden boy he’s been made-out to be as he’s seen his share of defeat. But he’s managed to learn from mis-steps and has progressively moved toward the goals he’s set for himself.

Even if I don’t vote for the guy, I do respect his tenacity and intelligence. Obama is bringing the same confidence and intelligence that made West a hip-hop star to politics. He’s making politics interesting and intellectual again. As a political junkie, I love him for that. I could never write this much about John Kerry and I voted for that fool.

If Obama is as smart as I think he is, he probably doesn’t want to win this election.

The state of our great nation is not so hot right now. And if Bush is a lame duck, whoever wins in November is going to be a scape-goat for the quagmire that will be the legacy of the Bush Administration.

This is where I begin to have my doubts about Obama. He is a great speaker and a man with great ideas. But I wonder how much fluff can actually become reality.

America is ripe for a change and this may just be the time for a paradigm shift. I realize that I am now knocking Obama for the very thing I have been praising him for…being different.

Should I vote for the status quo (Bill, I mean, Hilary Clinton) because they can actually do something at a snails pace? Or do I roll the dice and hope that Obama can deliver on half of what he’s promised?

I must say that I was extremely impressed by Obama’s recent speech on race. His willingness to finally discuss the ‘elephant in the room’ of race exhibited a fearlessness and boldness that has been lacking from American politics for a long-time. His speech was not only eloquent but fair.

He, of all candidates represents hope for change.

I guess the question I need to answer is, Am I ready for that change?

Perhaps that’s a question we should all be asking ourselves.

Sleeping-in. And no, this isn't about The Postal Service.

Sleeping-in, it’s a luxury that I had written-off years ago.

As a youngster I couldn’t comprehend how my dad could be up at 5 in the morning everyday. Even on the weekends.

Yet as I entered my mid-20’s there I was, the spitting image of my Dad. Up by 6:30 AM, chores done and ready to hit a coffee shop by 8.

I’ve had a few bouts with unemployment in my short career and even when I didn’t have to be up by any time in particular, I was up early and IMing with my employed friends as they were heading out the door.

Which brings me to my current conundrum. I am now sleeping-in.

Of course, now that I have somewhere to be and face consequences for being late, I, the self-proclaimed King of the Early-risers can’t get out of bed.

I am not sure what it is. Maybe it has something to do with the combination of my weight, body temperature, the density of the foam in my mattress and the down in my blanket but they seem to hit the premium “comfort zone” around 5:45 AM. And it stays in “the zone” for a good hour.

It is pure bliss.

How/Why my otherwise crappy mattress and far too hot blanket seem to harmonize so well at the same time everyday I’ll ever know.

But it is pretty damn weak.

As a part-time insomniac, I relish good sleep. I go to bed every night, but rarely wake-up rested or refreshed, which is why this whole comfort zone thing is really messing with me.

I couldn’t sleep-in to save my life when I wasn’t working, when it didn’t matter. I could snooze all day if I got tired.

But now that I am employed, I need to sleep to be able to do my job or at the very least to avoid looking like that girl from the Addam’s Family.

But “the zone” is bitter sweet. Granted it reminds me that I soon have to leave for a job I moderately enjoy, but it reminds me that I don’t have to leave…just yet.

Some days I’ll trade shaving for an extra 15 minutes in “the zone.” Done deal.

Toss on a sweater instead of getting wrinkles out of a dress shirt? Sure, for an extra 5 minutes in “the zone.”

Skip making lunch today for an extra 10 mins of snoozing? Heck yeah.

All of this bargaining for one enjoyable hour of rest. It’s great.

Just a small reminder that for as much as life may seems to be a rat race I’ll never win, I do have some control.

I guess it’s a glass half-full situation.

Truth be told, you really don’t have to go into work. Shoot, it worked for Peter in ‘Office Space.’ But I don’t see myself dating Jennifer Anniston anytime soon. So I’ll just take some solace in the fact that I do still have some control, no matter how infinitesimal, over my existence.

I am OK with that…If you can’t enjoy the little things in life, the big ones are real let downs.