Red River Flood News Brings Back Bad Memories

I turned on CNN a couple of nights ago just in time to hear news of major flooding in the Upper Midwest. The Red River is carving out a path of destruction in Eastern North Dakota similar to--or worse than--that of 1997. I was going to grad school at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks at that time and thus had to evacuate. It sounds like Grand Forks is in decent shape this time even though the predicted flood crest is similar to that in 1997, due to several measures the city has taken such as building permanent dikes that can withstand such a crest. Other places in North Dakota, such as Fargo, Mott, and some other places, not so much.

This flood is earlier than the one in 1997. As I told my mother, I thought April 19 was the day the dike broke then.

I remembered the date exactly. Actually, the three worst days were over a three-day span, April 18-20, but April 19 is the day UND classes were canceled for the rest of the semester and the day I drove to Montana to stay with my family until it was safe to come back.


In 1997, I already knew I didn't much care for the weather in the Upper Midwest nor the conservatism of the area and planned to get out as soon as possible. This was before that winter's EIGHT blizzards. Before having to evacuate due to a 500-year-flood (has it been 500 years already, by the way?). Even before evacuating, we had to get used to life being constantly disrupted--not being able to do what you wanted because of a blizzard, power outages, school closures. It takes a lot to close UND. Like, serious wind speeds in a blizzard. Temperatures so cold your skin will freeze in seconds. A 500-year-flood. These types of things. I have a tendency to become seriously annoyed by weather inconveniences, rather than taking it with a hearty pioneer spirit or whatever. I am opposed to character building through weather.

But anyway. The week leading up to the evacuation, I had been helping out with sandbagging when I could. Normally I worked at the psychology clinic on Thursday nights, but on April 17, 1997, the day clerk called to tell me that all the night clients had canceled, and if I wanted to help sandbag, one of the professors could use some help. So I went over there; half the psych department was already there. He was scared to death he'd lose his house, but he was one of the lucky ones--he just had water in his basement.

On April 18, I helped sandbag during the day. Watching the news, I saw the newscasters fighting back tears as they showed footage of water up to the roofs of many houses. Just as the 10:00 news was ending I got a call from a payphone. I wondered who it could possibly be. It was two friends of mine. They'd been bussed over to East Grand Forks earlier to help sandbag but had missed the ride back. I supposed they called me because they knew I'd still be up. They asked if I could come and get them.

"Can I even get over there?" I asked. It required crossing a bridge, and I thought they might all be flooded. I was surprised they were even over there. They thought I could and told me what bridge to take. So I set out to get them, figuring if I were stopped I'd just have to explain where they were so someone--even if it had to be the National Guard or someone--could get them somewhere safe.

No one was in the streets at all, except for service trucks. I hadn't heard anything about it being illegal to be out in the streets though (I think a curfew was imposed later; also selling alcohol in Grand Forks was banned for awhile). But I was able to get over the bridge without incident. My friends were waiting by the payphone. Normally they would have been able to hang out in the nearby McDonald's or someplace while they were waiting, but now nothing was open. These same friends had been living in the first area to totally flood, so they had already been evacuated from their apartment and I dropped them off in their temporary accommodations.

On Saturday, I turned on the news. It was a nice sunny day; I remember that. No cable. Just flood news. Classes at UND (two weeks of classes plus finals) were canceled. Students were to go home. I got a call from the same friends I'd driven home the night before and they asked if I wanted to go to Nebraska with them. One of them had family there. I thanked them for their generous offer, but I realized in that instant that, instead of staring blankly at the TV, I could just go home too.

Once I'd made the decision, I couldn't wait to get out of there. I started throwing things in suitcases. The last thing I grabbed before leaving was a stuffed graduation bear I had gotten for my brother. I wasn't sure when I'd be back.

I also wasn't sure how to get out of town. I made several false starts before finally figuring it out. Another slight problem was gas. Most of the service stations weren't open, but when I found one that was, it was out of unleaded gasoline. So I just had to hope I had enough to last me for awhile. Complicating things was the fact that you couldn't get down to Fargo in the usual way on the I-29 due to flooding, so I had to take what was essentially a parade route, with all the people leaving town, while I was worried about running out of gas. But, I was lucky and made it to a gas station.

I was lucky in general. I lived in a university apartment that didn't flood. I had been worried about break-ins and looting, but that didn't happen. I had a place to go where I could wait things out and come back to a completely undamaged apartment. So when I think of the negative memories this brings up for me--fear, loss of security, having my life turned upside down--what must it be like for someone who lost everything? My thoughts and prayers are with all flood and other natural disaster victims, past and present.

Fantasy Fishing

In these tough economic times, it's good to know there are still places where easy money can be had. Time magazine clued me in to just such a place in their February 16 edition, where I read an article about Fantasy Fishing. I had heard of fantasy football, baseball, etc., but I'd been completely in the dark about fantasy fishing. Apparently there are all these fishing tournaments, and all you have to do is go to fantasyfishing.com and register for free. They give you a team, and you pick the order in which you think they will finish. The better your picks do, the more points you get. The player with the most points at the end of the tournament wins $100,000. If you have the most points over all six tournaments, you win one million dollars. There are lots of other prizes too--cars, boats, gift cards. It's totally free to play, but you can pay $10 and get Player's Advantage, which provides information which helps you make your picks. Not that you need to be a skilled angler to play--as the Time article noted, 50% of fantasy players don't fish (this would include me). Apparently the reason for all the incentives is to attract more people to the sport.

You can also earn money as an affiliate--for everyone who clicks on one of my banners and then orders Player's Advantage, I get $2. You can also earn by referring people just by providing their email addresses, if you don't have a website (the people you refer do have to buy the Player's Advantage for you to earn anything).

The first tournament started just a few days ago, and my team didn't do that well, looking at the unofficial results, but there's another tournament in a few weeks. It's definitely a low-risk (you're out $10 at most, if you buy the Player's Advantage), low-energy expenditure way to possibly win some cash or prizes.

11 Days Until Inauguration Day

I was in Barnes and Nobles this evening after work when I heard a couple of teenagers talking about Barack Obama novels. I happened to catch the eye of one of them and smiled. I didn't think anything about it until I left the store and went out into the mall a few minutes later and passed those same kids. One gave me the thumbs up and said, "Yes we can! Hope for America!"

"That's right!" I said, smiling and returning the thumbs up.

I love little moments like that. I was exhausted from a long day at work, but I kept smiling because I just felt like it.

Only 11 more days to go!

Is Bush Going to Set the White House Drapes on Fire as He Leaves Too?

I adore Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC. I enjoy all segments of the show, but am going to speak to the "Lame Duck Watch" portion here for a moment. This is where Rachel highlights some (disastrous) new proposal or regulation that the Bush administration is trying to push through before he (finally) leaves office, probably all of which are in direct opposition to what Obama wants to do. Here are some highlights:

* a new rule that would allow health care workers to refuse procedures due to moral objections, including, unsurprisingly, abortions, and possibly dispensing birth control. (Imagine not being able to get your birth control prescription filled because some jerk in the pharmacy had a problem with it).

* Offering parts of the Utah wilderness for oil and gas drilling.

* Negotiating a deal that would keep the troops in Iraq for three more years (if approved by the IRAQ parliament, NOT our Congress)

* relaxing regulations covering endangered species and changing how pollution levels are measured

* giving state and local agencies more spying power

* many more nefarious things

JANUARY 20 CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH.

When his administration isn't working to bring down this country further in the time they have left, what exactly are W and company doing? Are they trying to address the economic crisis, maybe? Not so much, from the sound of it. Mostly, they are trying to recast Bush's image in a more positive light.

They should probably wait a few years for that. Like maybe 50, or 100.

I think the Obamas should do some kind of cleansing ritual when they move into the White House. The toxic energy W is leaving in his wake isn't healthy for anyone else to be around.

Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State--Yay!

I'm so excited that Hillary Clinton will be our next Secretary of State! I actually wanted Hillary to get the nomination for president, though I always liked Obama as well. Part of the reason I initially chose Hillary over Obama was that I simply didn't know as much about him (and, okay, I wanted a woman president, though breaking the color barrier is equally important). Now that I'm as familiar with him as any political junkie can be, I'm really happy about him being president (especially considering the alternative, but I would be excited anyway). Still, I really like Hillary, and it's awesome that she will have such a prominent role in Obama's administration. She'll do a great job, and the Clintons are well thought of overseas.

Instead of counting the days until Christmas, I am counting the days until January 20.

What Would Obama Do? Eight Years of Slacker Hell

I have developed a disturbing tendency in the last few weeks. Lately when I am confronted with a difficult situation, I find myself wondering how Obama would handle it. The answer is usually something like confronting a problem directly as opposed to studious avoidance, thinking something through before acting, or (gasp!) working harder.

This new tendency unsettles me greatly as it is unprecedented. I sure as hell wasn't asking myself what Bush would do in a difficult (or any) situation, though I suppose that could be a good reverse guide. That is, if you aren't sure what to do about something, ask yourself what Bush would do, and then do just the opposite. Politicians in general haven't been people I considered worthy of emulation, even ones I liked, until now.

Those of us who were deriving a certain portion of our self-esteem from feeling superior to the president are going to have to figure something else out.

It's rather comforting to know that I am not the only one asking myself What Would Obama Do (WWOD). Julia Moulden at Huffington Post writes about how to Unleash Your Inner Obama.

As for myself, I think that's wonderful, but am feeling somewhat less energetic after weeks of obsessively following the election, and like Lisa Earle McLeod over at Huffington Post, am feeling in the need of a detox.
I can't imagine what it would take to actually run a campaign if I'm tired from just following it.

Maybe I will head over to change.gov, President-Elect Barack Obama's new website, where they are inviting people to share their stories and ideas. I could suggest that the country institute afternoon siestas. Probably won't fly, but maybe worth a shot.

On the other hand, thinking of the fact that in 71 days, Obama is going to be our president does give me a burst of energy. Woohoo!

Post-Election Reflections

Last night Jon Stewart was talking about how in New York City people had actually been looking him in the eye and smiling that day and how it was freaking him out. Since I don't live in the Seattle area (the part of Washington that makes it a blue state), the reaction to Obama's win here was more mixed. The people I surround myself with by choice were all happy, but a couple of the women at work were actually talking about how it should be a day of mourning. Their mood was so diametrically opposed to what I was feeling that it was quite jarring.

Now, let's see. These women work in low-paying clerical jobs in a school. I could see plenty of things wrong with them supporting McCain, even though of course it was their choice to do so, demented or not. But they kept going on about it, and I couldn't really just walk away because I had to be doing something in the front office for the moment, and I finally just said, "We are all so much better off with Obama!"

Quite possibly I was better off not saying anything. It's not like he needs the votes anymore. Maybe I should have just offered to help the one who wanted to move to Canada pack up her things. I don't think I convinced them, at least partly because I didn't get much chance before the phones started ringing and everyone got sidetracked. I'm always a little concerned about the status differential in situations like that. Not a power differential, as I am not in a position of authority over them, but a status differential. Not that they necessarily seemed to care about who it was who was disagreeing with them.

But anyway. Obama will do such an awesome job that they will come around, and if they don't, it's not my problem. (Maybe it's Canada's?) Seriously, though, I think it's the kind of thing where people who aren't convinced need to see how things will be. If they are ever going to be convinced (which may or may not happen), seeing for themselves will work much better than anything anyone could say.

This was just a small blight on an otherwise happy day though. I heard from a couple of people whose political opinions I'd not heard before, though maybe I could have guessed. A counselor told me how he'd helped put up signs in the community for Obama and Gregoire (another great win--this time our governor, who only beat Rossi by 129 votes four years ago, decisively beat Rossi and he's FINALLY accepted it and said he will not run again, for which around 53% of the state's population breathes a collective sigh of relief). We talked about the people dancing in Kenya and how awesome it all was.

Also, when I went to my tutoring job (which I got in an effort to help me pay off massive debt from graduate school), the little girl's babysitter was gussied up in a DNC T-shirt from this year and an Obama pin. We talked for a little bit about how great it was that Obama won.

It frustrates me that a lot of the divisions that are still out there seem to be based on low information or misinformation. But I think Obama will be a much more unifying president than McCain would have been (and certainly more so than Palin-God forbid--would have been). Some people are going to be upset now, and it might be awhile before they see how much better things can be.

As for our standing in the world, it's great to be an American again.

Does anyone besides me think that McCain's dissing of Letterman--even though he made up for it later--may have had something to do with Indiana's turning blue this year?

For anyone who--like me--has trouble deciding what to do now that we can be done obsessing about the election, 23/6 has a great article here on things you can do with your time now. I could always do the mountains of work that I have, but I'd REALLY rather not.

Never has two and a half months seemed so far away. In the words of the great David Letterman, "Does anyone mind if [Obama] starts a little early?"

President-Elect Barack Obama

What an awesome day! Living in Washington State, I knew that Obama had won a couple minutes after eight in the evening. Well, actually, I knew before that even, because after they called Ohio for Obama, there was really no way for McCain to win. I loved how the whole West Coast turned blue about two seconds after the polls had closed. I had not expected things to be so "easy", despite how good things were looking in the polls. I was expecting to be up late, more states being too close to call, legal challenges, fistfights at CNN--okay, maybe not that last one. I guess after the last two presidential elections it just didn't seem possible that this one could go so relatively smoothly, though that's not to say there weren't issues with voting problems and all that.

John McCain made such a classy concession speech, though some members of the crowd weren't classy. Obama's speech was awesome and inspiring. I wish his grandmother could have lived to see him win. His campaign has been so amazing. Whenever I was worried about something (election tampering, people not understanding this or that, low-information voters defecting to the other side because of Palin, Bill Ayers, whatever), the campaign always had it covered. Of course the external event of the economy cratering helped the Democrats in general, but still, the campaign had an amazing ground game. If Obama's administration is as effective as his campaign, things will be really great. YES WE CAN!

Thoughts on the Election

1. Go Vote! If you haven't already voted and your state allows it, vote early. I mailed in my ballot casting my vote for Obama several days ago. I also voted to reelect Gregoire as governor for Washington State, George Fearing to replace Doc Hastings as my US Congressman, and Carol Moser for Washington State 8th District Representative, Position 1. And a bunch of other stuff, most of it not that interesting.

2. David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter, warns "This could look like an ideological as well as a party victory if we're not careful. It could be 1980 in reverse." (Source: The Sunday Telegraph, 10-26-08)

Woohoo! 1980 in reverse! I have been waiting for this since I was ten years old. Balance will be restored to the universe.

3. Not that I am getting complacent. I will not relax until Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. If McCain somehow pulls off an upset, I will never relax again. If the latter were the case, my immediate plans would be to get a passport and pack for my move to Australia. Does anyone know how long cats have to be in quarantine if you are flying with them to Australia?

4. Has any other relatively recent election been compared to so many other elections? The 2008 US Presidential Election has been compared to (in chronological order) 1932, 1964, 1976, 1980 (with the political parties reversed), 1992 (another great year, especially the three-way debates), and of course the inevitable comparisons to 2000 and 2004. I'm sure that other elections have prompted other comparisons, but probably not this many.

5. What has been the most fun for me is watching all the prominent Republicans jump ship and come out in support of Obama and/or criticizing Palin. Here is a partial list--Colin Powell, Christopher Buckley, George Will, Scott McClellan, Ken Adelman, Matthew Dowd. David Brooks called Gov. Palin "a fatal cancer to the Republican Party." Like I said, fun, fun, fun. Unless you imagine McCain/Palin actually winning, McCain dying, and Palin taking over.

6. We are not a center-right nation! Certain idiots in the MSM (that's mainstream media for the uninitiated) keep saying that, but it's not true, especially of younger voters. Some people may still shy away from the word "liberal", but if you question Americans on such issues on health care, education, what role the government should play in getting our economy back on track, and social issues such as abortion rights and banning gay marriage, center-left is probably closer to being accurate. If you still think this is a center-right nation, you're either too old or out of touch. Maybe both. Much like McCain. Not that he is in any way a centrist (right or left) anymore. McCain 2000 might have done much better in 2008.

7. Go vote! Help make history.

Voters' Rights--Link to my Associated Content Post

Below is a link to an article I wrote on Associated Content about a really important issue, especially in certain states. Make sure your right to vote is protected.

Check out my recently published content on AC:

Protect Your Right to Vote

Blogcharm is Dead

Well, I'm moving my blog back to blogger. I moved it over to blogcharm awhile ago because they said they were going to pay people to blog. Anyone who might have been following the forums over at Blog Explosion knows that they weren't paying their bloggers for a very long time. They said it was something to do with taxes (even if that's true, why would it take so long to fix?). They didn't answer support tickets and generally appeared to be ignoring frustrated bloggers. I also thought they should stop advertising that they were paying people to blog until they fixed whatever problems there were with payment.

I figured I'd probably never see the $20 they owed me, but miracle of miracles, I did get it through Paypal yesterday. This though was after an abrupt announcement that they were shutting down blogcharm, supposedly on January 1st, but a friend emailed me before that, asking if I was going to move my blog or what. It was then that I realized that my blog had already been disabled. It does not appear to me that anyone was given warning before they actually disabled the blogs. We can get to the content through cached content in Google, and also I had cross-posted some things (some things I had published first on this blog, and others are on Associated Content). There were also a few things I saved in word documents. Still, I don't think it was worth the $20 to go to the trouble of moving it.