I made chicken & dumplings.

That's not exactly the French Laundry! (Though I'm sure it was tasty.)

If I kept eating like that, I'd get the gout!

If I kept eating like that, I'd get the gout!

Bring me the quinine sorbet and nobody gets hurt!

I ate a wrap from Trader Joes. Well, half.

I'm kinda weirded out by the funeral/memorial thing. I was definitely the most peon and removed from him there. The thing is, I really fucking respected the guy, even after only really having interacted directly for the last 18 mo. or so. So that's why I went, despite feeling like an intruder. I mean, I got to tell his father and sister that I liked the meetings in which I got called to the carpet because he so clearly cared and knew as much as me, and I'm supposed to be the expert. And while I'm really private, the whole community-recognizing a loss thing seemed important to me. He knew my name. He knew what my role was. He didn't know me beyond that. He's a huge part of the reason this thing called Hubble still hits front page.

I had to acknowledge that. Even as a peon.

It's called paying your respects, and you did the right thing by doing that.

Health ~ma sent out to the sickos.

I should be asleep, but I am sitting listening to the wind. With my windows open for the first time this season. Ah, fresh air.

Yeah, I get that. Still felt weird. I get that funerals are a community thing, and I'm sure that my one extra body did something for his family (god, his little sister about broke my heart) but...it's still hard for me to not feel like I'm intruding on something private. But hell, I'm still working on that when I'm freaking invited to happy events!

I got the brief chance to work with this amazing guy. I needed to be a part of saying goodbye.

This has got to be the least positive newspaper endorsement I've ever seen. The NY Times supports Jon Corzine for NJ governor. [link]

Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, has struggled through his first term, partly because of a legislature that will not make the tough decisions. He still has lessons to learn about communication and leadership, but he is a better choice for New Jersey voters than either of his challengers. He has earned another four years to deal with the state’s budget problems and culture of corruption.

...

Mr. Corzine is hardly the perfect politician. Most New Jersey voters find him astonishingly inarticulate, and his credentials as a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs do not seem as impressive as they did before the financial meltdown in 2008. He has poured lots of his personal wealth into this race, far too much of it for biting — and sometimes juvenile — attacks on Mr. Christie. In his second term, we would like to see him back away from the state’s unions.

A New York Times poll completed last week captured the way New Jersey voters have been grumbling about all their choices for governor. But Jon Corzine, who is slightly ahead among likely voters, is a decent man with a laudable set of goals for his state. We endorse him for re-election in New Jersey on Nov. 3.

That endorsement reminds me of the endorsement that the Palm Beach Post gave to the man who ran against the woman responsible for the butterfly ballot as Supervisor of Elections. Basically it said that the man wasn't even remotely qualified and a horrible idea, but they just couldn't bring themselves to endorse the woman responsible for the debacle that was the 2000 election. He won, and was then defeated handily the next time around.

sarameg, the times that I have been on the receiving end of the condolences line it has meant a lot to me when people who barely knew my loved one cared enough to attend. It is a comfort to hear how many lives have been touched by the person we have lost. It's a good thing that you went despite your discomfort level.

Yeah, nobody really likes any of the governor candidates this year. My basic feeling is that their answers to the big issues in this race, the budget and corruption, are both bad, so I'll go with the one who's pro-choice and in favor of legalizing gay marriage. Even though abortion will never really be an issue that would get through the NJ legislature, and I'm not sure how much influence the governor has over legalizing gay marriage.

And, interestingly, both candidates are in favor of medical marijuana.

I'm skipping 700 posts because I really do need to get some sleep, but I wanted to thank everyone for the First Day of Work wishes.

I just finished my first full week and it really is a huge relief to have somewhere to go each day. I wish it were in the same town I'm living in, but that is a tiny little problem compared to being unemployed!

Congrats to Dana (I think, it's late!) and ita.

Sorry, if I've missed any more recent developements.

Now, to bed!