Elections & Innards

Thank the gods! We took back Congress. I just hope that instead of pursuing hundreds of investigations into the lying, cheating and general ass-hattery of the Bush administration that Congress just gets in gear and attends to a real progressive agenda. Raise the minimum wage, reduce the deficit, make the administration develop a real strategy for Iraq, help people with college tuition, roll back the tax cuts for millionaires. Sen. Allen's defeat is a huge improvement for Virginia and also greatly handicaps his presidential aspirations. With the defeat of Sen. Santorum (a.k.a. Sen. Man-on-Dog) the Senate lost one of it's chief homophobes.

As my Mom and I walked up to enter our polling place a "minor incident" occurred. A republican walked up to us and asked us if we wanted a sample republican ballot, she had 3 toddlers with her and she had a "Vote yes on #1" sticker on her jacket. #1 is the amendment to the Virginia Bill of Rights that limits marriage (in any form with any name) to only heteros. Each of the children had on a "vote yes on #1" sticker as well. I snapped. First of all children wearing political stickers is absurd since those kids were at least 15 years from voting. Second of all HOW DARE SHE ASSUME I WAS A REPUBLICAN! But the thought that she was training her children to hate me really pissed me off. I kind of snapped. I won't go into specifics but let's just say I probably increased her children's vocabulary in ways she didn't appreciate. The woman looked like I had just thrown my poo at her. The guy handing out the Democratic sample ballots looked extremely pleased and my mom thought it was hilarious and was still laughing as we walked back past the woman after voting.

I have had a little problem since about August. I won't get too specific but basically every now and then I feel like I have been stabbed in the gut with a red hot poker. Not fun. So I had an ultra sound. Which was so not like what you see on T.V. First of all the gel that they use gets absolutely everywhere. It was all over me, by the end of the exam I felt like I was covered in it. Also they push that thing in. When you see them on T.V. doing a sonogram on a pregnant lady they seem to just gently glide it over the belly. My technician seem to be grinding the thing into me, when she was scanning my side she kept hitting my ribs and making me jerk like I had Bell's Palsy. Anyway the ultra sound told us my gall bladder and liver are fine. So next I get to see a Gastroenterologist. Which means an upper GI and possibly a lower GI. For those of you who don't know what those delightful terms mean here is a lay-man's primer: With an upper GI series the patient drinks a suspension of barium and then they x-ray it as it travels through the stomach and the small intestine. The lower GI series is basically the same idea except . . . well the barium goes in the tradesmen's entrance. It promises to be a good time! Can't wait!