back to the homeland & the birth of a renewed nation

http://morningnoonandnight.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/beehive.jpg

so it's been a while I know.
so I move around a lot...
in the spirit of change that fills the air these days, I have felt inspired to again write in the blog.
(I am also currently looking for another employment opportunity, thus have more time on my hands than usual.) Since it has been a while, prepare yourself for a long read.

that's right...I've come back to the homeland:
slc, ut.
zion.
home of the pioneers.
the beehive state.
the busy bees.
the "mormons."

I'm actually proud of my heritage. usually.
hard work, dedication, perseverance, resourcefulness, self-reliance, sacrifice, love, compassion, moderation, service, kindness, standing up for your beliefs in the face of oppression...

Recently I have not felt so proud. prop 8 actually made me feel downright ashamed of who i am and where i come from...prop 8 really goes against all the values I just vouched for. well, just take a little comfort in this: it's not ALL mormons, and not ALL Utahns that supported prop 8.

For example, here is one Utahn, with a mormon heritage (who was actually still a resident of California and registered to vote in California during the last election), that voted AGAINST prop 8. I am now again a Utah resident and can stand by that decision, holding firm to the belief that it is wrong, plain wrong, to deny ANYONE the right to marry someone they love. regardless of your personal beliefs.

see? hope is alive.

anyways...back to the homeland.

it's actually been nice to be home. see the fam, see good friends, hang at grandma's cabin, see the mountains, see some Sundance films, play in the snow, ....

though yesterday we were declared as having the worst air quality in the country! that's right folks, worse than L.A.! unheard of. I guess even all the movie stars here for The Sundance Film Festival might've been having a hard time...Though I think up in Park City you might be high enough to get above "the inversion," so maybe they still have the illusion that they are having a refreshing holiday in the "fresh clean air?" wow, that's sad- worse than L.A.??
come on slc..."this is the place", right?

it's livable i guess. you either stay inside, or flee to the mountains( the snow really is great)
...or... get asthma.

like my mom. my mom usually sticks with the stay inside option. she's been watching Obama inauguration coverage and all the festivities for the past two days(in between work of course. she's a nurse, got to give her props for all her crazy hard work. she gets a ring for her 25 years of service at St. Mark's Hospital. good job mom.)

OBAMA IS PRESIDENT!!- Alhumdulilaay!!
(Praise be to God!! )

http://hugemagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/shepard-fairey-barack-obama.jpg

I've been waiting to say that too long!...mom is currently watching (for the third time in a row) "America's song" celebrating the new administration. it was featured on Oprah yesterday...pretty hip thing to do for a life long republican eh?
(guess who she voted for? shhhh, don't tell.)

I am personally a fan of Michael Franti's "Obama Song," which debuted during the first show (in Montreal, Canada) of his current tour (where I happened to be the day of the election for a little french culture...and a contingency plan in case the election went bad:p)
It's a great song, check it out.

My dad even voted for Obama- so there is hope for a better future folks.
Utah'll be blue before ya know it!... Well don't hold your breath, but I'll see what I can do while I'm here:) I'm trying to tap into the "progressive community" here, there's some cool stuff going on.

Back to my mom, I think it wasn't til after watching Ed Begley Jr.'s reality show "Living with Ed" that mom decided she wanted to be an "environmentalist." and a democrat. Dad's still republican but I guess decided Obama was a better choice than McCain (and maybe he wanted to add a little splash of blue to our religiously red state this year?) Dad likes compact fluorescent light bulbs. He actually wanted to give them to the neighbors for Christmas presents this year...but didn't.

Mom watched the documentary "who killed the electric car" and got on the list to get one, but settled for a hybrid since she needed a new car (her old pontiac red racer finally called it quits). She proudly drives it everywhere and has even begun to watch Steven Colbert and John Stewart quite religiously... The point is, change is here! And Obama helped reel it in.

For the first time since I was old enough to vote, and really the first time in my life, I can stand in a foreign country and say "yes, I am American" without feeling ashamed, and can with confidence say that "yes, he is our president and I voted for him."

I believe in change. Change has come. and is coming. And we are a part of it!
HALLELUJAH! Barack Obama!

Okay, time for the Obama Song. Really, check it out. now.
.........................................................................................................................................................................

Even if you didn't vote for Obama, you have to admit, he inspires people!

Just look at the things he says. isn't this refreshing to say the least, to be hearing such things from our president? Here's a few favorites from his Inauguration speech.

in the shadow of the commemoration day of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

http://people.ku.edu/~kanning/images/martin.luther.king.jr.jpg

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

more of my favorites:

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end."

"To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. "

**"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. "

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. "

"With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come."

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inauguration_obama_text

These are real words. real hopes. real challenges. real commitment. real unity.

I am grateful.
I choose love over hatred. I choose acceptance over exclusion.

I choose hope over fear. I hope we call all choose hope over fear in every decision we make.

even in the homeland.