Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[lykomancer]

"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring— when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children— black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics— will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Comments

[infinitefirefly.livejournal.com]

One of my first thoughts when I watched the results last night was of you and Ed. I'm so happy for America and the world. ♥♥♥

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

I cried.
I sat in the ugly puke-yellow armchair in the corner, cradling an ignored glass of wine, and I cried.

If anyone would have told me four years ago-- hell, ONE year ago-- that a presidential election would make me cry, I'd have amusedly asked what you were smoking.

I don't think that Obama is a savior. I disagree with him on some issues-- Afganistan, for one; "clean" coal for another-- but... *shakes head* We needed this.

Did you hear that November 4th was declared a national holiday in Kenya? LOL.


Still waiting to hear from Ed. He's probably still working...or hungover. Heh.

[infinitefirefly.livejournal.com]

*HUGS*

I almost cried, which was shocking to me because I've never really felt compelled to cry out of joy or hope before. It was a really exhilarating, memorable moment.

I agree. He's not a messiah; he's a politician. And obviously he's not going to be able to deliver on every promise. But yes, the U.S. needed this. Hell, the world needed this, just to remind people of their own power and how strong a vote is and to break them out of that stagnant state of apathy. The optimism is palpable and it feels wonderful. Seriously, people down here in Toronto were celebrating last night. It was awesome.

And YES I heard about the holiday. XDDD

Haha, either way, I'm really happy for you guys. Now, USA, get cracking and clone another Obama for Canada, plz.

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

I remember, when Paul Wellstone died, I finally learned about him, and I felt sorry.

I felt-- still feel-- like I missed out. I never knew the man when he was alive. I never knew his life, his politics, his words...not until it was too late. He touched so many people, and I missed the boat.

Now I know what that must have been like, participating in that, watching a rising star. The whole damn country knows what that must have been like, on a national scale. I think of Wellstone. I think of Lincoln. I think of Kennedy. I think of Martin Luther King, Jr.

And I cry.



Randy suggested that when the current guy's term's up, I try running for Minnesota's Soil and Water Commissioner.

I might.

[infinitefirefly.livejournal.com]

Ah man I wish this feeling could last forever.


...DUDE. THAT IS AWESOME. And GO FOR IT, I SAY. And oh, oh, I was in the shower when this came to me (lol like so many other ideas)--

If you're having difficulty finding a job, why not tutor in the mean time? I applied to a tutoring academy (not even an academy--more like a one-office room) like, six months ago, and just recently got hired. They pay $12/hour, and a session is typically at the person's house for an hour and a half, twice a week. That doesn't seem like a lot, but when I got started, the mother of the kids I was tutoring got me FIVE MORE CLIENTS privately. So right now I'm not only tutoring elementary kids in reading and writing and helping them with their homework, but I'm tutoring a 42-year-old woman taking women's literature at another college downtown and some high school kids in an Ivy league-bound English class for $15/hr. And I'm a fucking undergraduate. So now I'm making around $650 a month, privately, in cash. Seriously, word of mouth does a lot.

So what I'm saying is--if you think you're up to it, you can tutor with an agency or privately; either way, it's a great way to make some extra cash on the side.

(...this is all assuming you wouldn't go insane from the amount of patience required for helping kids especially the inattentive ones with homework. XD)

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

This'll sound dorky and like a cop-out, but uh... I'm not sure if I know how to tutor.
I tutored one of my classmate's teenaged daughter's once, but I'm not real sure that I should have been paid at all; I didn't know what I was doing or where to even start. It was awkward and I don't think it accomplished anything at all. It wasn't a good experience.

(Another time I tried to help someone, he expected me to practically hold his pen for him. And do all his reading for him. And come up with a thesis, opening, body, and conclusion for him. He didn't speak English very well, and so I couldn't get him to understand what I was actually there to help with-- grammar, punctuation, etc. I gave up after two sessions of trying to explain that I wasn't writing his whole damned paper for him.)

[infinitefirefly.livejournal.com]

Yeaaah, it gets tricky when you're dealing with anything past middle school, because--like with that guy who practically expected you to write his paper--the students realize you're being paid and expect more out of you.

I would suggest starting with really young kids. It's not difficult at all when you're helping them develop basic reading/writing and math skills--all you need are beginner's books from the library that you can read to them and have them try and read back by sounding the words out and whatnot. I'm basically mimicking the teaching method used to teach me when I was in elementary.

So yeah. Little kids. KG-GR8. That's where the best, most comfortable experiences are at.

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

...the students realize you're being paid and expect more out of you.

Or they're apathetic and don't care. Or they've been pushed around too much by teachers and parents and don't want to listen to yet another person who wants them to work and not play.

Have you read Last Child in the Woods? It talks about how a lack of unstructured play is actually damaging to children, mentally (possibly causing ADD and depression) and physically (see: obesity).
Considering my animal-handling and plant-identification skills-- neither of which is PHENOMENAL, but both of which are far superior to many city-dwellers'-- I might want to look into starting nature walks with elementary age kids.

Sadly, many kids know more about endangered polar bears and amur tigers than can identify ground squirrels, columbine, or brook trout. This is one of the reasons the environmentalist movement isn't gaining more ground faster; if you don't care about your OWN landbase, then what's the point?

:D

[infinitefirefly.livejournal.com]

...so does that mean you'll consider it? XD

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

*gives in*
Sure, what the hell.

Ed says that his two goals while he's here are 1) finding a job, and 2) finding a campaign for me to run/run in.
...I guess I'm going into politics? Yay?

He might be here this-- Thursday-- afternoon. Or tomorrow night. Holy shit. I'm anxious again.


I will respond to your post after work! But for now, CONGRATS! *high five!*

[infinitefirefly.livejournal.com]

:D :D :D

Holy crap, man. I'm so excited for you. ♥ AND DON'T BE ANXIOUS. I suggest you do a little stretching or exercise in case you're feeling antsy; it ought to help.


SLKDJF;SA THANK YOU. *high-fives back!*

[bakkhos.livejournal.com]

I also thought of you and Ed when I saw the results. I feel like everything will work out for the best, with your relationship and our job search and just ... hope overload.

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

Hope. What a funny, necessary thing.

I hope we'll be able to do dinner again sometime in the next few weeks! Maybe at the Chatterbox again or something.

[bakkhos.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely let's go out soon. I really like Coffee News Cafe or the Neighborhood Cafe, but the Chatterbox would be awesome too. Just let me know when you're free or give me a call whenever. ♥

[kuchenhexe.livejournal.com]

I mentioned to UO that it was like listening to a black Abraham Lincoln, when he was talking about how we need to stay united as a country, and put aside the bickering.

You weren't the only one who cried.

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

Heh, I just hope this doesn't imply that there's a Civil War coming. O:

[yuuo.livejournal.com]

ICON! Is it stealable? :D

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

Yeppers, with credit. I just grabbed it from polar_sea off of obama_cons. Yes, there IS an Obama icon comm.

[yuuo.livejournal.com]

Nabbed! ♥

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

OBAMA'S UCC!

I need to flail for a moment, and you're Christian, so you'll actually get this and care more than a lot of other people on my flist.

*SPAZZMOID*

UCC!

The most liberal Christian church in America! (So liberal they are occasionally called "Unitarians Considering Christ"; we Unitarians, for the record, LOVE our UUC brethren.) Jesus be praised!

I'd heard a lot of crap about Jeremiah Wright, but I blew it off because I knew it was just campaign propaganda white noise. I never realized that Obama was UCC! I'm so delighted!

UCC IN THE WHITE HOUSE, YAY!

[kuchenhexe.livejournal.com]

and you're Christian, so you'll actually get this and care more than a lot of other people on my flist.

Oh, I knew that. :D You know why? My pastor adores Obama. This is the church I belong to.

I'm UCC too. :D

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

Good deal. ♥

[maxxim-huzzah.livejournal.com]

I'm not someone who cries over anyone famous, but damn I was close. Obama is no saint and he's inherited the right to be the hope/scapegoat of the Bush-shit that all of us have to tackle. Yet I'll take him as my president. He's got the integrity and humility to see what we're in for, and to honestly TRY.

Knowing that he did it, now it makes me want to be out there too, to be REALLY helping the US back on its feet. *restless*

No matter what happens in the future, I hope today is a great start for both you and Edward. Take care of that wonderful heart of yours. *hug* ♥

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'm afraid for Obama on many levels. He's not going to have it easy, being the first black president, assassination attempts, inheriting Bush's mistakes...

...and I am infinitely MORE afraid that he's going to let us down. So many people got so deeply emotionally invested in this, in him, and I'm terrified he's going to betray us, disappoint us, fail and fall.

On the other hand, I've never believed any public figure as much as I believe him. His heart's in the right place. His courage is exemplary; his spirit indomitable.

When CNN declared that they'd make sure that President Obama held to his campaign promises, I was enraged. A news network is NOT a political watchdog group! What the hell were they doing!
...but I thought, as soon as I flipped the anchorwoman the bird, that Obama would take this news with his typical grin, comfortable with the challenge. He intends to keep his promises, so what does it matter if CNN tries to keep score.
And that's what makes him a better person than me.


Mmmm... ♥ The fact that so many of you guys thought of me and my relationships gives me the deep down warm fuzzies! Thank you, thank you. *hugs!*

[maxxim-huzzah.livejournal.com]

Yeeeah, there's always a backlash...but then, there's always a tide coming back in too. :3 People dared to hope, and for right now, it's riding high.

The yes vote to Prop 8 in California makes me angry and rather sad for the people who honestly believe that banning gay marriage is somehow saving THEM from something wicked. The Roman Catholic Church (why, oh Catholic brethren, WHY) and the Mormon Church were big fundraisers for Prop 8. Am I the only one who sees the irony in this? >XD

CNN was sputtering this morning about how the 'losers' of the election were Evangelical Christians, Social Conservatives and one more group I can't remember. I thought it was an insult to the Evangelical Christians who DID vote for Obama, because it took more than all the minorities to help him win.

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

I thought of you and Ed, too!

And I'm so happy for you and your country. And I started crying as soon as McCain called Obama 'his president'.

[lykomancer.livejournal.com]

Damn! I feel so loved! *_*!

I started crying as soon as McCain mentioned Obama's grandma. I was raised mostly by my grandparents, too, even though I've grown apart from them since college, so I take his grandmother's death a little personally.