Rebuild from Depression Blog

One thing is for sure: tomorrow in the United States, about a half of us will read the headlines and suffer minor depression. My political science friends and general news junkies will suffer a bout of "What in the world will I do now?" after watching the show for nearly two years. What a let-down it will be to move on to such topics as, well, we'll have to figure that out tomorrow. The current state of the economy is certainly in the mix of news to watch, but what would that topic do to our mental health?

This situation actually reminds me of a comment an Undergraduate professor made to me far too many years ago. I had just finished with a big event in college, was in her class, and probably looked like I could be knocked over with a feather from exhaustion. She asked what I would be doing next. I gave her a blank stare. She said, "This is sort of like postpartum depression. You spend nine months carrying a baby, give birth, and then say "Now what?" I must contact her to let her know that's not at all what postpartum depression is like. Hopefully too all of our angst tomorrow over today's decision and over the question of "What's next?" will be minor like mine was in college.

To get one last little Election '08 fix we are actually venturing out to my father's house. He has this fancy new technology called "satellite T.V." When he turns on his television set he gets channels. We get "snow," something I have found does not suck my time like those new-fangled channels do. I would consider eating popcorn for the occasion, but it's a cruel thing when your pop is on a low carb diet. I would also consider hot toddies and use the current rainstorm as a veiled excuse for them, but someone once told me that I probably shouldn't get drunk while pregnant. We're really limited here without high-carb snacks and hard liquor, but frankly our potential case of mild depression tomorrow may be better if he don't throw a hang-over in on top of it.

For my part, I am not sure whether I'll be more surprised by an African American president, a woman Vice President, or Indiana going Democratic. It also looks like I may well be changing some summer plans since friend was planning to be married this summer here in California may need to go with a "Plan B." Chickens of California will likely be free to flap their wings with Prop 2 and, in their honor, we just acquired twenty-five chicks to provide us with an abundance of quiche this spring. I must get a picture while they are in their super-cute phase.

In any case, I hope you are not one of half the nation experiencing minor depression tomorrow, particularly if you and I agree on politics because, of course, that would mean I will be facing it too. ;) Remember too that alcohol is a depressant and though I'd be right there with you if I were not in a family way, I can take the high road today and say that it's best to say "No."

Technorati Tags: depression, politics

First, my apologies to you if you face that minor depression today as a result of last night's news. If it's any consolation at all, just about everyone here in this part of the Sequoia National Forest looks a little blue today. I expect that McCain got a very large portion of the "forest cowboy" vote, but of course their voting preferences are so obvious that they wouldn't even make a decent dis

sertation in political science.

Coming from a political science background, I was holding my breath on the political psychology issue so much discussed in the campaign: that voters might get in that voting booth and, in their private cubby, vote for the white guy because he's white. That would have been deeply depressing and it is, instead, such a wonderful relief to have evidence that this country is changing for the better. While Obama didn't do well in some southern states, it wasn't clear that it was a race issue. And frankly, having spent five years living in southern Indiana, the fact that Obama won Indiana's electoral votes is some pretty solid evidence that race was not a key factor.

It is a great day.

On California issues, the forest cowboys didn't do well here on the Rotten Egg Initiative either. With over 60% of the vote, chickens in California will now be able to stretch a leg and flap their wings in between their daily egg laying. Poor pregnant sows looking for a little bit of lower back pain relief or feeling the pain from sleeping on their left side all night long might get to shift their over-sized bodies a bit more throughout their pregnancy. (To be honest, I have no idea how pregnant sows feel. I suppose I am projecting a bit here at 34 weeks into my own gestation cycle.)

The cowboys are pleased with Prop 8, however, the gay marriage initiative. Lesbian and gay partners here in California had about six months to tie the knot. All knots tied in those six months appear to still be tied. All knots planned to be tied in the future may well not be unless legal battles undo last night's vote. Dollars-to-donuts, a summer wedding I'm attending may not be accompanied by a legal document.

Our local State Assembly race went Republican (Connie Conway) which is not a big surprise since I expect my husband and I together make up about 20% of the Democrats in the district. Conway is a friend of a friend, so I am pleased to have one degree of separation from my state rep.

The real action was in the neighboring Assembly district, Nicole Parra's seat. Parra was the author of AB 1604, a raw milk bill that lived for about three minutes in January of 2008. Her heart-felt speech lambasting California regulators over the previous AB 1735 is memorialized on YouTube. The bill with legs, however, was written by Dean Florez and lived for about four months before being vetoed by the Governor. Florez and Parra are Kern County Democrats, legendary for their family feud. Parra's term was up, she was term-limited out, decided to leave politics, and Florez's mother decided to run for Parra's open seat. Deciding to burn all bridges with the party, Parra actually backed the Republican who had a bloody battle with her in a previous election. Right now it looks like Republican Danny Gilmore won by only 2500 votes (51.7%). County Democrats will forever blame Parra for the loss.

I expect there are many Democrats in Kern County today and forest cowboys all over with a mild case of depression. If that's you, get some good sleep, sleep off the Jack, and perhaps double up on your vitamins for a day or two.

Technorati Tags: Dean Florez, Nicole Parra, politics, raw milk

I am so excited to end up as the owner of one of my grandmother's serving items: her brassware from somewhere in Asia. It appears that I am the fourth person to be asked to provide a home for this treasure. It fit no one else's lifestyle.

Twenty-five years ago when my grandmother died, my granddad dutifully split up the set between my mom and uncle. My mom immediately gave her half to her brother. "What would I ever do with brassware?" Apparently he didn't have a good answer either because the set stayed packed in a cardboard box for over two decades. Along the way I heard that my cousin would be inheriting the brassware. (I got the crystal which is beautiful and rarely used, but I always had a fascination with the brassware.) My cousin married, was offered the brassware, and turned it down. The big question became: "What do we do with the brassware?"

"Bring it to me," I said.

I am certain that the three people before me who rejected the brassware were really locked into the issue of "It doesn't match the china" or "When would I ever use china?" Good for me. The brassware is perfect in our craftsman home with tag sale pottery.

My biggest problem now is figuring out what piece is what. The set is truly enormous with utensils for everything I can think of and apparently some that I cannot imagine. It appears we can have assorted seafood, fondue, and still never run out of forks. There are three forks in the photo and a number of others in the set.

Technorati Tags: brassware