Again with the name thing

I wrote a while back about my name and how I love its uniqueness. Now that I am married people have started to ask when I will be changing my name. Let's just say, I am in no hurry. I have an airline ticket 5 months from now, with my new name on it, but I am not going to do any of this quickly, mostly because:

1. It exposes me to the underbelly of government bureaucracy (aka: the RMV and Social Security office)
2. I don't have time to get batteries replaced in my three dead wrist watches, what makes you think I have time to spend at any of these lovely government facilities, and
3. I have had my current name for over 30 years. To change overnight seems a bit unfair to a lot of hard work over those 30 years to build a reputation tied to a brand that is me, and I have/had a name...

To my wonderful husband, do not fret, it will happen. And I really appreciate you not being part of the peanut gallery reminding me to change my voicemail, email address, facebook name, twitter ID, the list goes on...

Getting used to this Wife thing

This weekend we ran our 3rd Beach to Beacon 10k. This beautiful 10k takes place in Cape Elizabeth, the same town that we were engaged, and we got up almost as early this Saturday morning as we did that fateful day in February. Luckily, the weather is better in August than it is in February. ;-)

At the race we ran into some friends that live in Portland and I was introduced as a wife for maybe the 3rd time in my life. It still makes me smile and kinda giggle to get used to it. It still shocks Shane I think too. I hope that years from now it still makes me smile.

P.S. We ran about 2 minutes slower than last year, but that's to be expected since we started training on Monday with a 2 mile run...

Something About the Gray

Driving into the office today I had the sudden urge to just keep going West. I get this feeling randomly, but I think I may have just nailed down exactly why and when it comes on. There is something about the clouds in varying shades of gray that remind me of Oregon and makes me ache for home. I would never trade a New England Fall or Spring for that matter, but the gray clouds will always remind me of Oregon and make me miss home.

The most beautiful thing

This morning, as I was walking to my car, I saw the beginning of daffodils... just the leaves out of the ground, but between that and the warm weather, it is probably one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a while. I am excited to see the city as it comes to life this spring, including the beginning of street cleaning! Happy early spring!

I Thought We Were Supposed to Support our Neighbors

I was driving home last night and listening to my local NPR station give a report on the Catholic Charities of Washington DC, who have suspended all spousal benefits because Washington DC just approved gay marriage. And as we all know, according to the Catholic Church, being Gay is wrong.

I guess in this case, it also means that you don't deserve equal rights. I wasn't alive in the 60's when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington DC and gave his amazing "I Have a Dream" speech, but I would equate this blatant inequality as the same thing.

Being raised Catholic, it became clear to me when I was about 13 that I would never be able to commit to an organized religion that didn't do two things: 1. Treat people equally (women and men, gay people and straight people) 2. Respect my right as a human to make choices that they may not agree with, but instead of condemning me, respect that I have made the choices I made for a reason and that I am not inherently evil.

I am continually discouraged by the Catholic Church and its inability to see the forest through the trees. What did Jesus teach? He certainly didn't teach turning your back on someone because they were an outcast.

The Catholic Church will soon find themselves an outcast, and I wonder if they will find solace in the arms of the people they have oppressed because those people know what it is like and instead chose to follow the real word of God and love thy neighbors as they themselves would like to be loved.

Happy Holidays Everyone

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday. I am looking forward to 5 days out of the office, spending some quality time in Maine with family. This year has been full of change followed by happiness.

I managed to have three jobs in one year... not something I recommend or would have planned, but I couldn't be happier. And in each experience I learned more about myself and my strengths. Probably the most important being: it's easier to focus on your strengths and just do that than to try to rid yourself of your weaknesses.

Shane and I were engaged in February, and as blissful as I wanted "being engaged" to be, there is nothing blissful about planning a wedding. But in order to plan a party that pulls in friends and family from across the country, it had to be big, and it will be. We are so excited for July 17th and even more for the honeymoon, when I can kiss the wedding planning guide goodbye!

No year passes without milestones sad and happy ones: The passing of an Uncle- a truly amazing man, the celebration of my grandfathers 90th, the celebration of my 30th, weddings and births for good friends.

Each year that passes only makes me more thankful for all that I have: health, family, happiness and someone to share it with.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

No matter what, golfing matters less than Healthcare

I grew up golfing. I played Jr. Golf starting at age 7 and went into retirement at 17. At 21 I realized that if I was going to work in technology sales in the bay area, I was probably going to have to play again. So, now, 9 years later, I play 1-2 times a year, max. Golfing or anything about golfing should matter a LOT less than Healthcare.

But all the sudden our country cares more about a golfers extracurricular than they do about the way that we receive health care in this country. Tiger isn't going to affect the doctors you can see for the rest of your life. His "companions" aren't going to be the nurses that care for you as you recover from your heart attack, at least you better hope not. Elin doesn't care if you have to pay 50% of your income to pay off hospital bills, she's going back to Sweden, which has government funded healtcare if you care.

We all need a little gut check on our priorities. We need to quit clicking on the tiger stories and instead tune into CSPAN to see what's going to make a difference in our lives.

COME ON PEOPLE!!!!