I don't usually venture into matters metaphysical in this blog, but I couldn't resist posting this:

For reasons known only to himself, my roomie has decided to douse himself in cologne of some flavor this evening.

He is not going out. I do not know why cologne was sprayed. Maybe he was just trying to cover up some BO or bathroom stink.

Whatever the reason, headache inducing ick!

This is a small apartment, and the bathroom where he sprayed said cologne is right outside my bedroom door.

I have lit three matches, a candle, and (briefly) some incense in my efforts to drive the toxic fumes out of my room.

I have also made my displeasure known, as tactfully as I was able. Which, frankly, was not very. I mean, saying, "Dude, what the fuck? Did you put cologne or something on?" probably does not fall within the bounds of tactful discourse.

I doubt this incident will be repeated.

I remain mystified as to why it occurred at all.

-jd

Okay, first let me say that I generally like Obama, though there are plenty of points where he and I disagree on things. Still, I did vote for the man, and I think he is lightyears better than the asshole who was squatting in the White House until January 20th of this year.

Nevertheless, I had one of those "spray coffee all over the computer monitor" moments a couple minutes ago when I saw the headline that Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

I seriously had to double check my facebook feed to see if it was a headline from the Onion. Then I had to visit three other news sites, because I was afraid I had gone to sleep in October and woken up on April Fools' Day.

Okay, I get that the man is popular. And yeah, he's a damn sight better than the Shrub was.

But seriously, the man has been in office for ten months. Actually, eleven days shy of that. He hasn't even managed to close Gitmo yet, and they're awarding him the Peace Prize? Is the Nobel Committee smoking something illegal? And if so, where can I get some, because it must be some seriously good shit to make them completely take leave of their senses like this.

I can come up with only one theory that makes any sense at all, and it is this: the Nobel Committee is not so much rewarding Obama's efforts as collectively mooning George W. Bush.

And while Bush no doubt deserves a good collective mooning, preferably with him viewing it from a jail cell where he will spend the rest of his life for his crimes against our nation, the Constitution, and humanity, I'm not convinced that it warrants giving what is to my mind the most prestigious award in the world to his successor after a mere ten months in office.

Because seriously, what are they going to do for an encore if and when the man truly accomplishes something deserving of such recognition?

Winning the Nobel Peace Prize deserves recognition, whatever the circumstances, however, and so I will say this:

Congratulations, President Obama. I just hope you eventually accomplish enough to be worthy of it.

-jane doe

Obama told reporters in the White House Rose Garden that he wasn't sure he had done enough to earn the award, or deserved to be in the company of the "transformative figures" who had won it before him.

But, he said, "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/obama-nobel-speech-video_n_315324.html

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee," Obama said.

"Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."

But then again, is that such a bad thing?

So I'm going to my high school reunion this evening. 25 years - we were the Orwellian class. I'll be seeing a bunch of people I haven't seen since graduation.

I have very mixed emotions about this.

I mean, first of all, I never really fit in with most of the people at school. I don't know, maybe most people felt that way in high school. But I was definitely regarded as a bit odd by most of my classmates.

Not that I think this is a bad thing.

And then there's the whole "life path" thing.

See, I'm betting that most of my classmates will be the "married (or maybe divorced) with kids" type. That's certainly where most of them seemed headed back in the day. Safe little careers in the grown-up business world. Mortgages. 401k's.

I had some of that stuff for a while. Well, not the marriagekidsmortgage thing, but a career. I was a lawyer. Health care corporate law, if you can believe it. For seven years.

I'm getting over it, though.

So a few years back, I decided to chuck it. The lawyering thing made me miserable, and my clients were increasingly engaging in business practices I found unappetizing. So I went back to school for a while, studied psychology and education, then decided that path didn't really suit me, either.

So now, here I am. 43. Single and generally happy about it. Way over-educated. Trying to set myself up as a writer and artist. Recently relocated to Los Angeles and trying to find a day job to pay the bills until I start bringing in enough money from the writing and art to keep a roof over my head and the student loan wolf away from the door.

Career-wise, I'm effectively just starting out in a new field. Which is where everyone else I'll be seeing tonight was 15-20 years ago. I may have gone to high school with these people, I may be the same chronological age that they are, but I very much doubt that I'm in the same "place" as the rest of them now. Hell, I'm not even heading in their direction.

That's the thing. I don't fit in the "normal" world. I am what is referred to in statistical analysis as an outlier. In a lot of different respects, actually.

Why on earth did I agree to go to this thing?

It seemed like such a great idea a few months back. I had re-connected with a bunch of people on facebook - people I hadn't talked to or thought about in years. Seeing everyone face-to-face seemed like a great idea.

Except that it seems like most of my misfit friends won't be there, while the cheerleaders and jocks will.

And then there's the clothes thing. I have absolutely no idea what to wear.

I've never been one to obsess about my appearance - I have more important things to worry about. I just figure out what will get me by with the minimal effort, and go with it.

If this reunion were occurring back in my lawyer days, I would have thrown on one of my little Ellen Tracy suits, stashed a few business cards in my purse along with a tube of lipstick, and been done with it. No effort, no worries. I looked good, and I didn't have to think about it.

But I've been living la vida grad school the past few years, and my wardrobe currently runs more to jeans, over-sized men's shirts, and snarky political t-shirts. It's a look I'm normally comfortable with - sitting in some coffeeshop writing, or camped in front of my easel - but it certainly can't be called fashionable.

I figure most of the women attending the reunion will be dressing up a bit, and feel like I should probably make the effort to do so, as well.

But...

...I wasn't like them back then, so why try to be like them now?

Maybe I should show up in my jeans and mismatched Chuck Taylors. At least that way, they'll recognize me.

I'll be the one who doesn't look like everyone else.

-jane doe

-jane doe

-jane doe

So many things worthy of comment, I hardly know where to begin...

Okay, it's not an original piece, like Funk Vigilante's excellent Worst President Ever, but the video matchup put together by blog The Full Ginsberg (apparently a reference to going on all five Sunday news talk shows in one day) is still pretty good:

-jane doe