When September 11th rolled around this year I realized that it was my 3rd here in NYC. Granted I moved here on September 5th 2006... so I'm really just celebrating 2 full years in New York. Still it is hard to believe.
Here I am back in the first WEEK I lived in NY. Apparently I was on 13th Street...but believe me I had no idea where that was at the time.
I also had my 1 year anniversary at my nannying job at the beginning of the month. Its the longest I've worked anywhere. I don't want to be a nanny forever but I definitely feel lucky to love my job and to feel like I'm building a foundation for getting jobs in theatre.
Here is one of the first picture I took of Lily probably 4 months old. Below is a recent picture at 14 months.
Elena is pretty cute too.
(Warning: What you will read next is totally not bipartisan... Barack the Casbah.)
(Probably not politically correct either.)
As both of you may know (Mom and Dad) I was Hillary supporter back in the primary. Mostly because I think she is a modern day feminist martyr (a rant for another day) and because it was insane and misplaced animosity towards her and Chelsea that disillusioned my 10 or 11 year old self with the notion that because you are an adult you aren't a low-blowing, bullying jerk. But also because I thought she might be more electable that Obama. I was unsure (if hopeful) that America was ready to forgo the sensationalized, one-lining, gladiator style, with us-or-against us, political theatrics. And one of the most attractive (though terrifying if you don't want to lose this election) things about Obama is his refusal to get down in the muck. Which I personally adore...but y'know reality TV is still really popular. I really feel that he has done a good job of compromising. Sticking to the facts while refusing to get steamrolled over by the Republican propaganda machine.
Luckily, I feel like we have the media on our side this time. (Unlike 2004 where I felt like I was the only person ever even looking at Factcheck.) Partially because everyone owns the media these days and the most creative or appealing-appalling media wins. Partially because even the bigwigs don't like the current party in office. Anyway I'm excited (scared) and excited (elated) at the possibilities this election could bring. My two favorite moments so far? Factcheck.org factchecking John McCain's Factcheck ad (he pretty much didn't get anything right... and they were MAD). And Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's renditions of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton last Saturday Night.
My contribution to the campaign so far (besides donating a little money and buying a T-shirt) is the blatant brainwashing I've done to make my 3 year old fall in love with BarackObama. My favorite part is how she says his name like its one word.
One day (while going through my purse, as she often does) she picked up Audacity of Hope and asked me to read it to her.
*As a side note, I suggest reading "Dreams of my Father" first... it is excellent. He is a great writer so its a page turner. Plus, you can get the goods on the first time he ever met Rev. Jeremiah Wright as told by his 1995 self! Side note over.
I had just started it. So first I explained that this book was by the man on the cover, Barack Obama, and he was going to be the next president of the United States... and in charge of all (your) New York City. He grew up in Hawaii, which I thought would peak her interest because we weaned her off saying she was going to "kill" people by teaching her to say she was going to "put you in a box and send you to Hawaii". And that he now lived in Chicago with his wife and two daughters just like her and Lily. I asked her if she thought he was handsome... and of course she said yes (girlfriend is boy-craaaazy, i don't know what they put in those XX chromosomes but it starts EARLY). Anyway I read to her for several pages... which is pretty incredible seeing as there were no pictures...she must have been getting tired... but this whole episode lasted 10 or 15 minutes.
SEVERAL days later her dad tells me that Elena asked him that morning if he knew where BarackObama was from. He said where? And she said, matter-of-factly, Chicago. He thought it was hilarious because he didn't know she had even heard of Obama and called her grandparents to make her repeat her knowledge over the phone. Then at the park a week or so later Elena got pinched by the swing she was on. Once I got my wailing, hysterical baby to calm down to a mild sob the first thing she tearfully said to me was, "Brannon, will you read to me about BarackObama?" He is a comfort to many.
Also, I have to make a video.
And Times Square. The new pedestrian area. Let me know what you think!
