the bra project

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etmfa (elect the motherfucker already)

in less than 24 hours, if all goes smoothly, we’ll all know who the next president is. and unlike the eve of the election in 2004 or 2000, i feel calm. i feel like tomorrow will be a brighter day; like a giant fuckup that has lasted more than a third of my life will suddenly be corrected; like pretty soon i won’t have to be afraid or pissed off at the news anymore, and the rest of the world will stop hating us, and all my favorite comedians are going to run out of good material, and it’s going to be okay. maybe all that is too much to ask, but i’m not really asking for it. the weight is just lifting off.

i hope it rains in boise tomorrow. i want to stand in line at the elementary school in the rain, waiting with everyone else, knowing that most of the people around me are probably about to make a different choice, but we’re all out there together, waiting, getting wet. maybe there will be lightning and thunder. is it better to just drift through a mild, cloudy, neutral day…a placid transition, like waking up weary after a light sleep? or is the auditory drama of thunder and the sting of driving rain required to roust us from an unshakable night terror?

“don’t pray in my school and i won’t think in your church.” “i never meant to say that the conservatives are generally stupid. i meant to say that stupid people are generally conservative.” my friend laura has been texting me random liberal quotes for the last month. she hates republicans—doesn’t even try to hide her contempt, or veil it in false tolerance. it’s funny and refreshing and scary all at once.

and yes, fuck mccain. fuck him and his developmentally-challenged annie oakley and his straight talk bullshit. but he is better than bush. no matter who wins tomorrow, it will be an improvement.

i’m not worried. not overwhelmingly worried, anyway. i truly think obama has it. on campus there are some chalkings on a few of the buildings—deep white markings on rough, scratchy brick that holds chalk extremely well—that simply say “VOTE.” they’ve been there since 2004. when i see them i think of the anxious hope i had four years ago, eager to swallow the bitter pill that is the lesser of two evils. how amazing to have a viable candidate i don’t have to settle for.

76 days, 21 hours, 21 minutes. etmfa.

autumn in high contrast

my astraea

i’ve met the bike of my dreams. she’s a schwinn starlet, made somewhere between 1954-1957, single speed, coaster brake, women’s frame with a tank, all original parts and well maintained. even the horn works! i’ve seriously been checking craigslist religiously for the last three years hoping to find a bike of these exact specifications.

all my bikes get names from greek mythology (calliope, athena, persephone)…and now astraea, named after the greek goddess of justice, derived from the word “aster” meaning “star.” i’m not totally sure how it’s supposed to be pronounced, but i’ve been saying “uh-stry-uh,” because i like how “my-uh-stry-uh” sounds.

i hope i never stop getting so much enjoyment out of riding bikes. cruisers in particular. i don’t want to ever give them up for more practical bikes, ones that weigh less than fifty pounds and can travel faster than 15 mph and whatnot. my dad likes to joke that one of my bikes weighs about the same as four or five of his. and it’s true, but i don’t see that as a drawback. my legs are really fucking strong.

so for the past week i’ve basically been riding wherever i can whenever i can. which isn’t much of a departure from my usual habits, except that everywhere i go i can’t quit grinning and stopping to take photos of my bike against various beautiful backgrounds.