Movie review

Ah well, the title of the blog is a little deceptive because I'm not really going to tell you about the movie. I saw "The Family Stone" tonight, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Diane Keaton and a host of other darlings.
Movie was good. Damn good. I didn't expect it to be. I laughed, cried, cried because I was laughing, laughed, and cried some more. My one note of warning: bring tissue or wear long sleeves.

Spend the 7 bucks. Go see it. If you hate it then I don't really care.

Christmas with the family

I spent a lovely Christmas with my brother, Rev. Dan, and his family, in New York (state not city). I had lots of play time with my nieces and nephews. Well, my nephews are too old to play, but we chatted and caught up. Dan's youngest is 5 and she is quite the artist. One night she had me coloring for 3 solid hours!! I'm telling you, Arts & Crafts have gotten complex since I was a kid.
My other brother, Lawyer David, and his family, came up on Christmas Eve day and hung out. It was so great to see everyone. Being there very much makes me want to move back East. We'll see what happens on the job front. Who knows....this time next year I may be hosting Christmas in my own little place.

Hope all my readers (all 5 of you) have a safe and blessed holiday season.

First Class Idiot

I bet you are thinking this is going to be a post about George W. Bush but it's not. It's actually about me.
So, just a little while ago I jetted off to a board meeting for The Winds House, a local HIV/AIDS charity. I get to where I think the mtg is supposed to be and no one is there. No cars. No lights on. Nothing. Hmmm. So I drive around the block but I'm thinking that this is strange because it was like, 5:57, and it's supposed to be a 6pm meeting. Of course, this ONE time, I have gone off and left my cell phone at home. After driving around the block like 3 times I realize I have to run home and call someone. I get home and the first person I call doesn't answer so then I call this guy, Jeff, whom I serve with on some other boards. I'm like Hey Jeff this is Rachel....where is this Winds House meeting supposed to be?? He pauses for a minute and says, "uh honey, it was at 1pm today." WHAT???? I SWEAR my e-mails said 6 pm. I wrote down 6pm. I put 6pm in my phone reminders. It was at 1pm???? Jeff laughed at me and I wished him a Merry Christmas. I give up. This board was just not meant to happen. Now what do I do with all the bread I'm stuck with???

Twas the Sunday before Christmas...

Ah hoy mates!
I'm not a pirate but I play one off the coast of Somalia.

Sooooooooooooo....
Today I joined a church!! I have been attending Leland Clegg UMC in Oklahoma City and I officially transfered my membership this morning. It's a sweet congregation, very small but friendly and welcoming to all backgrounds of people. It's a good place for me to be. Here's their website: http://www.gbgm-umc.org/lelandclegg/

This afternoon I participated in a Messiah Sing A Long and it was so much fun! I estimate that there were about 150 singers there and everybody brought along their own score of music. It's been a long time since I've done the Messiah so some parts were tough for me but it was good to sing.

I'm all done with Christmas shopping and have doled out presents to some family and to several friends. I have also received some very nice presents (thanks family) and though there's nothing in this world I truly NEED, it's nice to be thought of.

Off to a board meeting (The Winds House)....the chaos never ends!

Clemency denied

By the time anyone reads this post, another execution in the alleged name of justice will have occurred. At 12:01 PST, Stanley "Tookie" Williams will be executed by the State of California. Appeals for clemency were denied by the gov's office, the courts, and it seems the general media.
I make no statements about the guilt or innocence of this gentleman as I do not know him and do not know the circumtances of his convictions.
What I do know is my strong feeling that the death penalty is no deterrent to ANYTHING and only seems to fuel emotions and anger. I fear that after this execution there could be rioting which only leads to more divisions and pain.

When I've talked to people about this case, and other death penalty cases, it seems that many confuse what a grant of clemency means. Clemency is, in simplest terms, is stopping the act of execution and not letting it occur. A clemency is NOT a pardon. No one is advocating for this person to be released (which would be a pardon).
The act of execution is barbaric no matter how you look at it. How does this benefit anyone?

"People forget that redemption is tailor-made for the wretched."--Stanley Tookie Williams

God is with you. May God grant common sense and ethical standards to those of us left behind.

My friends hate my blog

Every once in a while I threaten to write about friends in my blog. Some freak, some don't. I usually end up writing about the ones who seem paranoid about showing up in the blog. So, this one is dedicated to Mr. Chris Anderson of Tennessee. Chris is one of my Young Democrats buddies. He is the current Vice President of Programs, the office I used to hold. He's much better at the job than I was and I'm ok with admitting that. We hung out quite a bit this weekend in Phoenix but I think he was just using me to get to my friend's bottle of Jack Daniels. :-)

I think Chris is absolutely paranoid that I am going to write something racy about him in this blog (all the more reason to drag this post out).

Hmm...let me air my critical bits about him
A. He works too much
B. He over analyzes every freakin situation
C. He likes wine and wine is nasty
D. Chris can talk and talk and talk and talk. Sometimes I think he forgets I'm actually on the other line. He likes the sound of his own voice.

Ok, enough about Chris. See, that wasn't so mean.

Yo ho and thar blows the snow

It's snowing in OKC! Woo hoo. You have to realize that we don't get a lot of snow in Oklahoma City. I mean, it's not a rarity or anything but we get all excited around here when it happens. So, today was the first snowfall of the year and it's so pretty. Kind of a bitch to drive in (when it gets icy) but hey, everything can't be perfect. Like me.

Happy Birthday to me!!

Oh, how lovely to be OLD. Thank you dear brother Dan for pointing this out to me.
Yes, I turned 31 this week. I had a such a fun birthday and I managed to extend the celebration over a few days. I was in Phoenix last weekend for the DNC/YDA meeting and of course we were festive! Actually, several YDA friends were having birthdays so Raul and I went out together on Friday night and I think we made other ppl buy us drinks. Yay for being the birthday girl.
Anysnooch.........on Monday, my actual birthday, my co-worker Gaila brought a cake to work (like we need an excuse to snack at work). Then, that evening Cindi had e-mailed some friends and we all went out to a new restaurant in OKC called Trattoria il Centro. It was great! It seemed much more like authentic Italian, not like Olive Garden fake Italian. Matt & Brandt picked me up & we all went to the restaurant together. It was a small group but fun. Thank you Tom, Brad, Cindi, Matt, Brandt, Kim, Susi, Kathy & Alisa for helping me celebrate. It was great fun! Afterward, I went back to Kathy & Matt's and we stayed up talking/laughing/partaking a bit. Actually, we laughed more than anything. I needed that. I forgot how healing laughter can be. So, it was a good birthday. :-) yay.

Democrats descend on Phoenix

Hello everyone-
I just returned from the winter Democratic National Committee meeting & Young Democrats of America meeting, held in sunny Phoenix. We had a grand weekend, tending to the business of our party, holding trainings and workshops, and enjoying one another's company. Nothing terribly earth shattering came out of the meeting but the rumors of who's running for president are certainly floating. I saw several Hillary '08 buttons and stickers, one for Mark Warner (Virginia), and I can't remember who else.
My room was an unofficial party room as I was able to get a suite at a reduced rate. Woo hoo. Kathy, Matt and I bunked there but we frequently had people stopping by. Of course, I think most were in search of the giant bottle of Jack Daniels that James was carting around. Craziness.
I'm sleepy so I'm off to load the washer and head to bed.
Peace!