"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver



Saturday, May 31, 2008

2008 Presidential Vote

DON'T KNOW WHO TO VOTE FOR? Compare the Representatives with this nifty lil' table: http://www.2decide.com/table.htm

I'm not hugely involved in the political arena, but I read an article in the June 2008 Reader's Digest that really intrigued me regarding the bloc weight our "Millennium" generation has as compared to our "Gen X" co parts. Apparently the "Millennium Generation " (ages 19-29) folks are nearly 3x more involved people in their 30's and 40's.

This article talks about the influence our generation will have over this next election and future political processes. Because of Internet "blog sites" and the economy most greatly impacting US RIGHT NOW, our generation is stepping up and actually voting (or planning to vote in November) in numbers much greater than those in history.

The "older" people in government are trying to figure out how to capture our attention, and our votes, as more "socially" focused and technologically advanced. Apparently our current candidates are perplexed by how greatly our generation is influenced by policies that impact the global arena, versus the very conservative people currently in office, or the previous majority voters who were products of the "me" generation. Our generation is an "action generation"; they are calling us "entrepreneurial, not for the purpose of making money, but for doing social good." Though 38% of Millennial voters are Liberal, most are stuck somewhere in the middle, wedged between the Donkey and the Elephant (like me!).

Cool statistics about the Millennium Voters:

* 63% of would currently approve gay marriage
* 67% consider themselves "religiously minded" and the rate jumps to 90% if the word "religious" is replaced with "spiritual"
*63 % of voters are currently siding with Obama
* 8.2% of the unemployment rates are affecting people 18-24 years old - the highest rate ever
*40% are "deeply" concerned about global warming and reusable fuels
*68% of individuals DON'T want to pay social security, because we believe it won't be around for us to collect on it.

I plan to vote in November and be much more involved in the political stratosphere this year than in previous years because I realize what an impact the current political representatives have, even on a micro level. I can't complain about being unsatisfied with the government if I don't take action to try and contribute to electing good people into office. There is no excuse for not knowing where our current leaders stand on particular issues. Here's a quick reference to help ya out: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18437398

Get involved & see the current issues, candidates and other helpful tidbits on the ROCK THE VOTE website: http://www.rockthevote.com/ and please register to vote with the Widget on the right-hand side of the page. Go Team!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Happy 26th Birthday!

I turned 26 years old yesterday. (whoa)... Chris, being the sweetheart that he is, completely surprised me with a couples' SALSA DANCING LESSON COURSE which we'll last about a month!!! Can you believe it?! Chris - dancing?!!! He'll be a great dancer and I'll just love it! He also took me out to the Oyster Bar downtown because we didn't know we needed reservations for The Melting Pot.

Tonight though, we got all dressed up and went out for the very classy Fondue dinner. It was delicious and so nice to see him so suave and handsome in his dressiness.
I just adore him!

Tomorrow we are meeting up with my family to go see the new Indiana Jones flick after lunch.

Such a great memory!
GREAT BIRTHDAY!!

(Looks like my birthday wishes are off to a great start!!!)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Cherry Creek Race - 5/17/08

Just got back from the Cherry Creek race. I almost beat my nemisis this time, T.N.G! Securing second place off the line, I was able to stay in first place for the first two 17-mile loops. Then, out of nowhere, she passed me on a really dusty/sandy 4-wheeler road. In a flurry of dust, I must have hit a rock (at 4th gear speeds!) and kart-wheeled over my handlebars, catapulting face-first into the sage brush and dirt! I contemplated not finishing, as I sat there and in the dirt and cried, but figured finishing sure beat sitting on my butt in the sun in the middle of nowhere.

Trish was able to secure her lead, and despite my demolition, I placed 2nd. I took a trophy, a black eye, and a gnarly bruised thigh home from this battle!

Chris didn't race this race but he played Pit Crew and is, of course, my biggest (and cutest) fan! It's always is so exhilarating to see him cheer me on each race!

When we got home, there was an entire forum about what a "classless" terrible person I am on MotoUtah.com - which is really funny, you should read it (my response is the 11th post from the top):
http://www.motoutah.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=30&func=view&catid=37&id=34185#34185

Here is a video of my start if ya wanna watch it:

I refuse to ride in the Beginning Women's class anymore - it sucks because we're forced to ride a large size bike (like my 250) with little smaller people riding a range of bike sizes, which creates a plethora of problems. So, I'm going to officially move up into the "Big Bikes" class and race in the Women's Class with the Big Dogs for this next race in June.

Frankly, I'm completely terrified to ride with the men, as we watched a whole lotta people flying off bikes in a dust cloud at high speeds this weekend. Unless you've seen it first-hand, you'll never understand the challenges of the starting line, the skill required by the technicalities of the courses, and the determination one must summon to finish under a sweltering sun in a 100-mile race!

Check out this picture of our good friend Cole "Cornholio" who rolled into the finish line at 60 MPH in 6th gear pinned, on nothing but RIM, missing his rear tire and rear brake, for the last 16 miles! He still placed 20th over-all!!! This just illustrates the "stuff" you've gotta be made of to compete in this arena.
No one is sure I have the strength or skill to be able to "hang" with the big bikes--- but I'll guess we'll see soon enough!!

GO BIG OR GO HOME!
NEXT RACE:
Bull Hollow
June 16-17
Monticello, Utah

Ask Buddha - like the Magic 8 Ball!

"Well behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich