A 5 Year Old on Christmas Eve

I’m posting this here because, let’s face it, it’s pretty nerdy.

It’s a pain in the ass trying to follow US politics from a different time zone. Yesterday’s Super Tuesday polls didn’t even start closing until 7pm EST. That’s 1am GMT! And of course they’re nothing appreciable by that time. I had to force myself to go to bed around 3am. I dreamt about 7 different outcomes to the primaries, and then was wide awake at 6:30 am. I really wanted to check the results, but I knew once I did that I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. I had to force myself to stay in bed until 9am, and then I made tea before looking at my computer.

I almost fell asleep in class today, but oh man I had forgotten what a thrill it is to be so excited about something that you lose sleep over it. In the good (not the anxious) way.

Yes, I am cross-posting drivel again

For the 2008 election I have (another) new blog. I’ve finally kind of got the feel for the content of each of my blogs, so hopefully that will lead to me posting more in all of them.

Absentee Ballot: 2008 From the Expat Perspective is pretty much exactly as it sounds. Following the 2008 election is something of a challenge when you are relying entirely on the internet to keep you informed, and it comes with its own set of pitfalls such as an over-reliance on alternative media that could leave you completely out of touch with the opinion of average Americans. Or so thinks this DailyKos reader… It’s a group blog that is ideally supposed to cover a variety of locations, situations, ages and political perspectives, but so far it is just my friend Jenna and I. We’re studying the same thing at the same university and we both like (to different degrees) the same 2 candidates. Hopefully we’ll expand our writers over time.

Flying (By the Seat of My Pants) is the study abroad, pretty pictures and travel and non-political musings on being away from the homeland blog. Clearly it is not what I originally intended in terms of recounting my every breath, but sheesh people, I can’t handle that!

Nerdgasms is the general interest blog; it’s much like my LJ except it’s for public consumption. It’s definitely my fave.

Plea

I’m not really here, it’s an illusion (Michael!). I just want to ask you all a favor.

But first a quick update! I had a rather nightmarish return from the US, where I waited for over 6 hours at Heathrow for a National Express coach back to Leicester. I hate National Express, their approximately 6x a day route to Leicester (and 3 or 4 other places, so the bus is mobbed), the unreliability of an open return ticket, and the unreliability of air travel that necessitates an open return ticket. Thank God my friends Jenna and Kat were at the airport too or I probably would have lost my mind. I went for almost 30 hours without sleep on that particular travel…. no fun!

When back in Leicester I got to speed-write the WORST paper ever. It involved filling out the documentation paperwork that would be required if you were accessioning an object into your museum collections and then–get this–writing a 4,000 word essay explaining how you filled in the 3 forms. There is just no way to make that sound smart. It reads like it was written for small children. If you know anyone with an IQ of 70 who wants to learn how to document museum accessions, I’m your girl.

Then I’ve had some class and stuff. Currently I’m doing laundry. I don’t know how I can stand this whirlwind life of mine; I clearly have exemplary stamina.

And now for my request: If you know anyone (American citizen) currently living outside of the country with an interest in politics who might want to contribute to a group blog about Election 2008, could you please point them in my direction? I’m trying to set one up, and am particularly looking for conservatives if you know any. They’re a bit harder to find outside the US. I’m also NOT looking for anyone who fits the profiles of Jenna and myself, since we’ve probably got the ‘over-privileged white kid with her head up her ass while temporarily living in England’ demographic pretty well covered. Please send people my way if you (and they) feel so inclined. It’s a WordPress blog so anyone who is going to be added to it would need a WordPress account. With a non-pornographic name. But it can be anything else!

Cross-posted approximately everywhere.

Events that are current, or at least not hideously outdated just yet

I generally refrain from commenting about current events on any of my blogs for fear of sounding like the uninformed dunce that I, incidentally, am.

An uninformed dunce I may be, but I am also a huge fan of US Politics. I mean this in the most superficial, teenybopper-ish way possible. Every so often I get very excited or very impassioned, but I have the attention span of a gnat and very quickly move on to the next thing. The next thing might be my hair. It might be an amusing cartoon about talking squirrels. You just never know.

This morning I was still riding on a nice Iowa-caucus information high while looking for my next hit of politico-crack. Oh look! Edwards accuses Obama of once compromising with someone, the bastard. Surprise! Rudy Giuliani is invoking 9/11 again. What a shock to my poor nerves. It would seem that today is clearly a day to take a break from news about the Primaries, since nothing is going to happen until the debates tomorrow. I decided to venture off the beaten path of the (I admit it!) fairly biased election coverage I so prefer.

Lo and behold I found yet another way that I am already a criminal! I thought it might be important to share it with you, fellow denizens of life’s dark underbelly, so that you too can be on the lookout for The Man. He is coming, armed with Cease and Desist letters and an arrest warrant for your iPod.

While I was reading the article, which I had arrived at via a link, I noticed the list of “most read” stories in a sidebar. “Self, what kind of alarmist website am I reading?” I inquired. “Not only am I breaking the law by listening to music I have paid for, but apparently I too could be at risk from lightsaber wielding tots and people are accusing Britney of being a bad parent!”

It was Fox News, and here are today’s most frequently read headlines.

• Report: Hospitalized Britney Spears May Lose Visitation; Federline in Court
• 8-Month-Old Boy Mauled to Death by Family Dog in New York
• British Girl, 4, Accidentally Hangs Herself Imitating Cartoon Stunt
• Two British Women Die From Identical Infection After Giving Birth on Same Day at Same Hospital
• Oregon Family Finds Bullet on Boy’s Pillow, Hole in Bedroom Ceiling
• Boy, 11, Uses Toy Lightsaber to Defend Mom From Attacker
• Arizona Man Charged With Running Child-Prostitution Ring
• Pop Tarts: Penelope Cruz, Sister Engage in Lesbian Lip-Lock
• Person of Interest Named as Search for Missing Georgia Hiker Continues
• Hospital Launches Investigation After Man Discharged in Storm Found Dead in Snowbank
• Couple Gets Letter, $20 from Woman Claiming She Took Dog
• Kneeboarder Finds Lost Nose Ring Inside Fish Boyfriend Caught
• Severe Storms Bear Down on California; Could Trigger Slides, Flooding
• Model Sues Jewelry Company, Saying Ad Makes Her Look Lewd
• Report: Madeleine McCann’s Parents Named as Prime Suspects
• Swiss Tennis Star Hingis Banned for 2 Years After Testing Positive for Cocaine at Wimbledon

Tomorrow: a return to the sanity of a US Presidential election.