About This Blog
A blog about my life, universe, etc. At any given time you might find something endlessly interesting or just me ruminating on something else, which no one (not even myself) finds interesting. That's the way blogs go, I suppose. Anyway, I was eleventh in line, and you weren't. Hah!

About Me
Name:
Sarah
Age:
26
Residence:
Columbus, OH
Religion:
LDS
Political Score:
5.00/-2.15
Job:
Temp @ JPMorgan Chase
College:
Ohio State University
Majors:
Political Science, International Studies
High School: Home Educated
Hobbies:
Reading, standing in line for things, writing, research
Resume:
HotJobs
Email:
lloannna@gmail.com

About My Family
My mom is a lawyer in Pickerington; my stepdad and dad are computer guys, and my stepmom (who works with my dad) is an engineer. My sisters are, in order of age, a photographer, an artist, and a person too young to have her own website. My brothers are, in order of age, living up north, and again, a person too young to have a website. At some point soon I'll be collecting links for my aunts, uncle, and cousins. ^_^

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Message Services
(Please see the notes below the Comment Policy before sending me a message)
AIM:
lloannna
ICQ:
29395930
Yahoo:
lloannna

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My CafePress Designs

Even More CafePress Designs

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Star Wars: Episode 3 Line (Hollywood)
My Star Wars Line page

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NaNoWriMo 2007:
My Novel: Cipere Lumen




NaNoWriMo 2006:
My Novel: The Manatee Conspiracy




NaNoWriMo 2005:
My Novel: Beyond the Cliffs of Kefira





NaNoWriMo 2004:
My Novel: sul Okyar tir taTz'ileea

 
Today has been fun!   I've accomplished so few things, it's a bit silly to even claim to have been AWAKE on Thursday. In fact, I wasn't awake for all that much of Thursday; though I didn't go to bed until 4am, I also didn't wake up until 6pm. Yeeeah.

Next time, I'll make sure to get a good night's sleep (3 hours, admittedly, was better than nothing, which I've also done) before going to see the President of the United States. I mean, I knew it would be tough, physically and psychologically demanding, etc.; I just didn't act like I knew it. As a result, beyond the fact that my body has no idea what time it is, that I'm still dehydrated (and sunburnt), and I haven't eaten in over 24 hours (I think that has to do with the whole my-body-doesn't-know-what-time-it-is thing), I also don't have a REALLY clear memory of exactly what it was the President said when he showed up!!

For what it's worth, though, if you go take a look at his planned remarks for the convention last night (which I'm listening to on C-SPAN right now), the speeches were very similar. The Ohio crowd was VERY enthusiastic, though, moreso than the convention crowd I think. I mean, the President, Mrs. Bush, and Jack Nicklaus (sp? he's the golf guy) had to stand around for about five minutes before they could say anything, the crowd was cheering so much. Part of that was because they were a little behind what the crowd expected (the tickets said the doors opened at 1pm, the volunteer we got our tickets from said to be there by 11am, we were there at 10:20am, we were seated at 1:30pm, and the President spoke around 5:30pm -- we were in our car two blocks away at 6:24pm), and because of the buildup (they stopped in the middle of Debra Pryce's remarks to show a live feed of Air Force One landing -- and again cut to a live feed about thirty to forty minutes later, when the motorcade arrived at Nationwide Arena). But also, I think these were also just highly motivated people. The arena was about 80%-90% full, which was awesome (they said there were over 21,000 attendees; the arena seats 25,000 and all the seats except those in the upper balcony were full). There were only two protestors inside (one left -- or at least shut up -- of his own accord, the other one was about 20 seats away from us, and was escorted from the arena by a cute-and-courteous Secret Service guy, while shouting hoarsely "Heil Bush!") and about forty outside; clearly, the anti-Bush crowd is further north. Or possibly asleep (I was overwhelmed by the lameness of the opposition on this occasion).

Anyway, the crowd cheered for about 35-40 seconds every 3 or 4 sentences. Almost every declarative statement, and every question, and ALL the exclamations, were rewarded with applause; about every fourth time we applauded, everyone stood up, too. They cheered at a level greater than what I heard on C-SPAN for the President, for Chris Spielman, Debra Pryce, and the golf guy. They pretty much displayed the convention crowd's presidential level of enthusiasm for a (really cool, btw) video about Kerry's flip-flopping, which was presented around 4pm. And, of course, apprpriately excessive amounts of happiness were displayed for the Pickerington High School Central band (alas, someone in the event staff thought it was the Pickering, Ohio high school band -- the President and Debra Pryce both got it wrong, two hours apart from one another), particularly when it played Ohio favorites (the Buckeye Battle Cry and Hang on Sloopy especially). You could tell the crowd was worn out by the time the President showed up, though; they were hesistant in figuring out whether or not to clap for the golf guy when he said that we were working towards peace for the world.

The main impression I came away with regarding the President, is that he seems much more real and much... cooler, better, or something like that, in person. His style isn't really good for TV, I don't think; he connects better with audiences when the audience is actually there. I'd say that on a comfort scale of 1 to 100, where a TV interview is maybe a 20, the State of the Union is a 50, and the convention is a 75, he was at a 90-ish level. Mrs. Bush seemed a little shocked/overwhelmed by the reception they got (it probably doesn't help, BTW, that Mike DeWine told us he was sure we'd be even more welcoming and energetic than Western Ohio was last time the President stopped by -- Buckeyes live for competition, especially in-state and against Michigan), but she handled it well I thought (she didn't speak). They seemed much more like a normal couple, like people I see at church, than any other political person and their spouse than I've seen. They also seemed much more normal than the Clintons or the President's parents. In any event, I am bizarrely happier with supporting the President now than I was before. I had some reservations about him in terms of leadership/personality, before, but they don't bug me much now. And I know it's not just a "wow, I saw him in person from only 500 feet away!" reaction, because there are politicians and celebrities I've gotten MUCH closer to, and even talked with, who didn't leave me with this impression (don't worry, Tom, I liked you too).

In any event, the appearance was a lot of fun, but exhausting, and we weren't prepared mentally, physically, or in terms of you know, bringing a lunch (or even eating breakfast first). I liked the President and am happier about planning to vote for him than I was. Now I'm going to go find something to eat.
posted by Sarah at 1:13 AM. | 0 comments |