This is a hilarious...a true sign of the times.

The results of our current recesion

http://s358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/ClayEnterprise/?action=view&current=LA_RECESION_EN_USA.flv

A diffrent Way to Celebrate My Birthday!

So after much thought and many suggestions as what to do today to celebrate I have decided that I much rather give a gift than receive a gift! By that I mean I would rather save the money we would have spent on drinks, food, and cover and instead make a donation to one of my favorite local organizations.

Please join me in supporting the work of the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) by making a gift in any amount today. I am not kidding any amount…. $1, $5, $10, $20 or more! This is tax deductible donation that will support the groundbreaking work that the Parent Institute is doing. You can make a donation by clicking on the link below. For tracking purposes please place my initials, “PCA” on the second Billing Address Line.

Nothing would make me happier on my birthday to know that we positively affected the lives of hundreds of families. If you like to join me in making a secure online gift to the Parent Institute for Quality Education please click the following link. DONATE TO PIQE!

For more information on the Parent Institute please visit their website at http://www.piqe.org/

Help Me Celebrate My Birthday!

For the last couple of years on my birthday I have been able to get together with good friends to celebrate!!! Who could ever forget Venus Molina’s famous menu reading at Dave & Busters or the giant bull at the Cantina de Los Remedios in Tijuana?

My 31st birthday is less than 24 hours away and I am stumped…but I am not going to pass up my babysitter I need your help to both celebrate tomorrow and to find somewhere to do so….

Here is my ideal place to celebrate- PLEASE E-Mail Me Your Suggestions!
• Somewhere we can be at from 7:30pm until about midnight.
• A place where a reservation is not required but we will not be stuck standing all night.
• A place that serves appetizers and food, but does not require an order for us to be there.
• A place that is not a killer on the wallet both for food, drinks, and definitely no cover.
• A good bar…this is the one time a year that I actually do drink so I would like OPTIONS!
• Music but it can’t be so loud we can’t have a conversation.
• I am looking for a chill environment to hang out with friends, have good conversation, and that we can just relax.

So once I settle on a place I will e-mail all of you (no later than noon tomorrow). If you will not have access to your e-mail let me know and I can give you a call to update you. CURRENT SUGGESTIONS INCLUDE (Night at the Movies, El Toritos Mission Valley, & Casa Guadalajara in Old Town, Laser Tag)

Please make plans to join me wherever we end up. What I know for sure is it will be tomorrow (WEDNESDAY November 26, 2008). Plan to be there (wherever there may be) starting at 7:30pm.

I look forward to once again celebrating my birthday with all of you… Please click on a link below so I can make sure I send information out to everyone….

CLICK HERE IF YOU PLAN TO JOIN ME WHEREVER WE END UP

If I talked of my distress....

I had the opportunity to visit Golden Hall, A.K.A Election central, on election night. For years I have always tried to make it down but for one reason or another I would always get stuck watching on TV. This year I told myself I wanted to be part of history and let nothing stop me. It was cool running into friends, celebrating the huge OBAMA win, and watching the entire logistical set-up...but what left the biggest impression on me was the hate and anger I saw.

Its no secret that I opposed proposition 8. I be live a marriage ban creates a separate but equal system that I can not support. I am privileged that I can marry the person I love and no one will challenge and question it. I believe no one has the right to hurt anyone by denying them this basic right. But what I saw that night brought me back to the years of running camp anytown and camp minitown. I saw the "separation exercise" in real life. On one side of the room people yelled, YES ON 8" on the other side they yelled, "NO ON 8." In diff rent parts of the room stubborn people would be engaged in passionate but stubborn arguments about the bible, god, and sin. I was just waiting for things to escalate to violence....

As I stood on the "balcony" and observed all I could see was hate and ignorance. But what hurt the most was the following exchange...Someone in the crowd yelled out "God Loves all People!" Then someone responded with "Yes he does but he does love people, not things, Gay is a thing." How much more dehumanizing can you get...our society makes me so sad and to think that someday I could potentially have to tell my daughter that my generation was the one that kept her from marrying the person she loves. I can't help to wonder how those individuals yelling "YES ON 8" are going to feel when they potentially may be in similar shoes...

That whole experience reminded me of an excercise we did at camp that included a powerful, but anonymous poem,

IF I TOLD YOU

If I told you I was gay,
Would you turn and walk away
And scorn me ‘cuz I wasn’t like you
Or would you stay with me
Maybe spend the day with me
And tell me being different’s okay, too.

If I shocked you with this news
Would it give you the blues
And bring your disappointment out in me
Or would it open your eyes
Making you realize
That my happiness is all you wish for me.

If I revealed to you my soul
Would you think of me as whole
Or only half a man or women who is strange
Would you turn away and ban me
Or try to understand me And
accept my friendship even with this change.

If I talked of my distress
Would you think me any less
Or could you try to see my point of view
Maybe I don’t “belong”
But I’ve felt it for so long
I am this way and I can’t change for you.

If I showed you my interior
Would you think you were superior
And look on me like a king looks on his peasants
Or like the god above me
Could you find that you still love me And
not feel threatened by my very presence.

If I asked you not to toy with me
Your rejection would destroy me
And make me feel I couldn’t be open again.
Realize that I love you
I chose to share myself with you
Just stay with me as always as my friend

My Campaign Endorsements

Dahlia & Me at her Fisrt Political Event

"VIVA OBAMA PRESS CONFERENCE"

The Candidates
President/Vice PresidentBarack Obama / Joe Biden
US Representative - 49th District Robert Hamilton
US Representative - 50th District Nick Leibham
US Representative - 51st District Bob Filner
US Representative - 53rd District Susan Davis
CA State Senate - 39th District Christine Kehoe
CA State Assembly - 76th District Lori Saldana
CA State Assembly - 78th District Marty Block
CA State Assembly - 79th District Mary Salas
San Diego Community College - District D Dwayne Crenshaw
Southwestern Community College - Seat No. 1 Mitch Thompson
Southwestern Community College - Seat No. 3 Nick Aguilar
San Diego Unified School - District D Richard Barrera
Sweetwater High School District - Seat No. 2 Pearl Quinones
Chula Vista Elementary School - Seat No. 2 David Bejarano
City of Chula Vista City Council Seat No. 4 Steve Castaneda
City of San Diego -City Attorney Michael Aguirre
City of San Diego City Council -District No 3 Todd Gloria

The Propositions
Proposition 2-YES
Standard for Confining Farm Animals

Proposition 3 - YES
Children's Hospital Bond Act

Proposition 4 - NO
Waiting Period & Parental Notification before terminating Pregnancy Amendment

Proposition 6 - NO
The Safe Neighborhoods Act

Proposition 7 - NO
Renewable Energy Initiative

Proposition 8 - NO
Eliminate Rights of Same -Sex Couples to Marry

Propostion 9 - NO
Criminal Justice System Victims Rights, Parole Initiative

Proposition 10 - NO
Alternative Fuel Vehicles & Renewable Energy

Propostion 11 - NO
Redistricting Initiative Constitutional Amendment

Proposition 12 - YES
Veterans Bond Act