Long Time Gone

It's 2013 and my dad passed away at 9:20pm last night.

I haven't blogged regularly in so long, I hardly know what to do. I have all these political opinions buzzing through my mind as I watch MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and others. I do think the GOP needs to re-brand itself, but on the inside, not as a superficial veneer. They need real values and principles that resonate with the real world, rather than the empty rhetoric that has become increasingly obsolete and skeletal. Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, given her father's recent political performance, Megan McCain has an interesting voice from the GOP side.

As my friend Jenny would say. I attended her beautiful wedding picnic today to celebrate her union with Khalid. It filled me with peace and happiness for her, and encouragement for my summer at the Qasid Institute in Amman. Khalid knows of the school and has wonderful things to say about the owners. It was nostalgic to be back in the East Bay, driving through my old haunts and thinking how odd it is that college seems so far away, yet I hardly experienced it, it seems. I was in such a fog of re-entry that much of it feels like a halfway space between worlds. I'm studying Arabic to prepare for the summer, which I know will be intensive and really hard. The more I can get under my belt now, the better off I'll be in June. I took a four-week crash course at Pacific Arabic Resources in SF, which I couldn't recommend more highly.

I think it's kind of obnoxious to have more than one personal electronic device at once, but since my campaign phone is still working, it makes sense to use it, even though my personal cell still works.

So I'm at the Good Karma Cafe, detoxing mentally and physically from my Ohio campaign experience with some good, clean, healthy food and a pleasant atmosphere. I like Philly, and have found a place to live on a month-to-month basis next door to an old friend, which makes the transition that much easier. I have a job lead in mind, which I will pursue tomorrow, and I'm also applying for jobs in DC. That's the plan for now; if I run out of money before I find a job, I suppose I'll head back to California to at least drop my car off and come up with a Plan B. The East Coast is definitely where the jobs are, though, so I'm leaning in this direction, def. Other than that, I'm getting my head screwed on again, gaining my bearings, and looking for a good yoga class, as usual. Hugs and love to everyone--

Where we lay our scene. It has been more than three months since I've blogged, owing to a prohibitively busy schedule and the campaign's "no blogging" policy. I'm sitting at a "Caribou Coffee" in Avon, Ohio, enjoying the rather abrupt holiday atmosphere. The last time I luxuriated at a coffee place was mid-summer, without a reindeer or tinsel in sight. I appreciate the fact that it's not a Starbuck's, but at the same time bemoan the telltale signs of a coffee franchise. Emerging from the campaign feels like being deposited by a time machine into new circumstances and surroundings, like the steam escaping a pressure-cooker and a vise grip being relaxed. I feel like I've hit culture shock in a new county, and am slowly re-gaining my bearings. I can hardly identify with three-dimensional space, after having spent interminable days and weeks perched at my desk, in front of a computer screen, looking up only to greet visitors or field questi...

Dear Editor, I support the day workers who congregate along El Camino Real daily, looking for odd jobs from passersby. And I support undocumented workers who risk their lives, take on the possibility of never seeing their families again, and risk exploitation for the possibility of a better life here in California. They are not here to feed off our system--they work their fingers to the bone with two or three jobs and send most of the money back home. It's not that we need to stem the flow of immigrants, necessarily; we need to find a way to legitimize their presence here. Yes, the cost of their healthcare is an issue, but we need fundamental reform of that system anyway. Unemployment is low, so they're not taking our jobs. Racism has always been a factor toward new immigrant populations. I'm glad to hear the day worker center is expanding its programs. Let's take this opportunity to welcome new Americans into our fold, as was done for all of our families when the...