The Wyoming Legislature at Work

Fun or otherwise interesting bills that have been proposed already in the Wyoming legislature:

SF 0016 - Would provide $9.5M for a multi-level parking garage at UW
SF 0126 - Would limit semi's to 65 on interstates

HB 0004 - Would make the Jackalope Wyoming's official mythical creature
HB 0008 - Would significantly increase (almost double across the board) the minimum auto insurance amounts in Wyoming
HB 0082 - Would allow for electronic sales of hunting and fishing licenses, stamps, etc.
HB 0163 - Would establish a state lottery
HB 0170 - Would prevent lawsuits against folks like McDonald's if you gain weight and/or die
HB 0184 - Defense of Marriage act. (GRRR!)
HB 0192 - Would prohibit harassment, intimidation, or bullying in Wyoming schools (Woohoo!)
HB 0261 - Would establish common law, but only for one man and one woman
HB 0276 - Would severely limit abortion services in Wyoming
HB 0298 - Would permit most Wyoming citizens to wear a concealed weapon without a permit

What others are you interested in? http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/billsInfo.htm

Personal Responsibility

I know I will be showing my age with this post, but I'm pissed and am willing to be old for the sake of venting. My mother taught me about owning up to my mistakes, and taking the blame when I fuck up. Apparently, this is a concept that is lost on today's society.

You see, someone hit my car today. Yes, my beautiful Georgina has been injured! Hit and run is the technical term. They took out the driver's side mirror. At high speed, as evidenced by the 40 or 50 foot stream of mirror guts left on the side of Grand Ave. She was parked as close to the curb as possible, since I actually drove up on the curb at one point when parking.

No note, no phone call, no clue who did it. The replacement part (mandated by state law - you MUST have a mirror) is over $400 by itself...before labor fees. Just what I need now.

On the up side, I got random flowers from a friend today. No reason, no purpose...just something to make me smile. Couldn't have come at a better time. And so I show my age when I say "I remember the good ol' days, when people fessed up to their mistakes, and were honest when they hit someone's car." Time for cocktails, I think.

We still have a dream

First, props to Mandy, as her birthday is tomorrow too. However, tomorrow we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Synonymous with the civil rights movement, he stood for equality for all, including yours truly. In fact, one of his right hand men was queer. Read up on Bayard Rustin if you didn't know that. His widow has repeatedly spoken out about the need for GLBT equality too. Make no mistake about it, Coretta Scott King is still fighting hard to ensure everyone is treated as a whole person.

Today there are many of us who continue the fight for equality. There are many of us who recognize that all struggles for equality are connected, and that even though I appear to be white, or male, or non-Christian, I am still affected by racism, sexism, or religious discrimination.

Dr. King, your dream is still alive. Thank you for the courage it took to envision it. To articulate it. And to peacfully start enacting it. May we all continue where you and countless others have left off, all too soon.

Can I sleep soon?

It is Thursday night. I have already put in 44 hours of work this week. Only 6 hours of that was from home. I will put in 9 hours in the office tomorrow. And who knows how many from home. This is why I hate the beginning of a semester. I can only hope I have not taken out my exhaustion and frustration on my friends.

But tomorrow there is bowling. And a 3 day weekend, over which there shall be my drinking and sluggery.

You know you missed me

So as promised, I'm eeking out a few minutes to post today, though it has been a shamefully long time since I have done so. Hey...I've been busy. Which brings us to today's topic: where in the fuck was the vacation that's supposed to come with a break? Between weddings, candle parties, New Year's parties, moving pottery shops, and hosting the international fam-damn-ily, I'm not sure which end is up anymore. I cleaned. I decorated. I took pictures. I ran errands. I DJ'd. I un-decorated, though just a bit compared to others. I bought garters, for fuck's sake! ME! Captain "I like penises and girls have cooties" bought garters. For a girl! Well, a bride, so that makes it all better.

The leftovers are FINALLY starting to dwindle. I'm sick of cheese cubes and tortilla soup. Tonight I'm cooking steak and curling up with the season premiere of Alias. Oh...and cheese cubes. And tortilla soup. Kill me now! I'm quite certain that I was supposed to have some down time over break, but that didn't seem to happen. If I wasn't so damned busy at work right now, I would consider taking some vacation time to recover from the holidays. The good news: 1) The wedding and reception were amazing, and I don't regret the effort, time, or labor that went into them. Mark and Tessa are worth it. (It also helps that they knew how much was done, and were honestly appreciative.) 2) The pictures should be ready today or tomorrow. 3) I didn't actually have to kill the kids, no matter how much I wanted to at times. 4) The house has almost recovered from 2 weeks of prep work, parties, and people plopped on pillows in the living room. 5) It's over. 6) I can sleep when I'm dead?

I love you all, and wish you the best in the new year. Here we go, kiddies!