I’m writing this after too little sleep and too much caffeine on Wednesday afternoon. By the time you read this I will ~theoretically~ be entirely moved out of my Berkeley apartment (I will update you on that front when I post the link for this). In order to make that happen my angel of a mother is coming down to help me move the last little bits of detritus / my entire plant collection, and get my Berkeley apartment ready to give the keys back.
Have I dealt with PG&E, Xfinity, or USPS yet? Nope. Haven’t even changed my address with the DMV yet (remember these are Wednesday facts, hopefully this will have changed by the time you read this). It’s amazing how all-encompassing moving is. I can’t wait to be done.
I have a few totally unrelated things I want to mull on today, a sort of extended Bits & Bobs I guess.
Seattle, WA
Craziest link up of the year! Me, Lauren, my dad, and Helen all went to a Giants vs. Mariners game in Seattle last weekend. Helen is also in the middle of moving, and was such an absolute hero hosting us all in her still-in-the-bachelor-mode new tiny apartment.
Stand out moments from this trip include meeting up with my college friend Rachel for the first time… since college?? Is that right?? It was literally so delightful. One of those conversations that feels like you just saw each other last week, even as you’re catching each other up on five years of life history. Also I got to introduce Rachel to Lauren, who she greeted with “wait you’re THE Lauren”— all this time I thought I was writing a newsletter about myself but I guess Lauren is the real star!
The worst moment of this trip for me happened at the baseball game, when the guy working the soft serve machine fell asleep? Temporarily dissociated? Let his mind wander? Accidentally jammed the handle? And gave me SO MUCH ice cream. Like, an ungodly amount. In a container that was not equipped to handle that much melting. Before I attempt to describe the amount of stress I was under, let me show you what I mean:
Imagine my panic. It’s a warm day, ice cream is running through my fingers, I’m trying not to drip on my pants, the whole mountain of ice cream is threatening to topple as the bottom gets soupier and soupier. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was close to tears with overwhelm. A silly emergency, but panic nonetheless.
As always, it was so nice to see my sister and get to exist in her world for a little bit. It’s so fun to see all the ways that we’ve become simultaneously more similar and more different as we’ve grown up. My true best friend forever.
Political Campaigns
The Harris & Walz campaign is on a bus tour through Southern Georgia this week, visiting small towns, doing local press interviews, and generally hanging out. My first thought as I was half listening to the reporting was that it would be kind of fun and exciting to see a national campaign come through a small town. I grew up in a small town, and I can tell you that not even the state campaigns came through Medford. My second thought was “oh… Georgia”.
They think they can win Georgia (and I’m not here to comment on whether that’s true or not), and so they’ll be there. And they’ll be in small town in lots of other swing states as this race goes on. And that’s cool, but what about all the swaths of small towns (and big cities) that aren’t in swing states? It’s one of the (many, yeah, I know) things that I find frustrating about national American politics — the country is so big that you literally can’t focus on all of it, and so the hotly contested regions become outsizedly important, and the states that are “already decided” become… not important.
Oregon and Washington (places I can speak about due to familiarity) are dependably blue states on the national stage. It often feels like the national campaigns and strategists just see them as a checked box, not worth the effort of campaigning in, or talking to, or giving much thought at all. This is true of both sides of the political spectrum, there’s just no point in expending money and time in a state that is already decided. And that’s a pretty good strategy, when your goal is to win.
But Oregon and Washington are by no means political monoliths. Far from it. Our state politics are insane and divisive and messy. Both states see deep divides between their urban and rural voters, representatives, and interests. For a little fun example maybe check out this Common Thieme piece from a few years ago.
So where am I going with this? OG readers are groaning right now I know, but every election season I feel the need to shout this from the rooftops: LOCAL ELECTIONS MATTER!!!
National elections are important. You should absolutely care about national policy and the way that different decision makers could affect your life. But national elections are also big expensive dramatic pieces of politics that tend to overshadow everything else. So I’m here to remind you that it’s time to start doing your local election research again. Who’s going to be on your school board? Who is your county assessor? Do you elect your Sheriff? Who’s running? As high stakes as the national election can feel, these local races can also have huge and immediate impacts on your day to day life — and will have a lot of influence on how any national policy changes are effected locally.
That’s all. Putting the soapbox back into the closet for now.
Uh Oh Ran Out of Time
Ok I’m finishing this on Friday morning… I was going to come up with a third topic, but then we finished moving me out of my Berkeley house yesterday and it was exhausting and I completely forgot. I didn’t think we could do it in one day, I’ll be honest, but my mom is a superhero and did so much cleaning, and dance-partner-Isaac helped carry so much stuff to the car, and Lauren brought us sandwiches at lunchtime, and we got it done.
I’m out, I’m free. I never have to make that drive again unless I choose to for something fun.
I’ll miss my yellow walls, and I really deeply cherish the memories that were made in that tiny rickety old place, but I’m also really ready to have both feet in this new chapter.
PS still need to cancel my PG&E, alas.
So that concludes this week’s missive. The stressful part is over, and now I get to nest. Yay! My new house is a mess currently, stuff everywhere. But that’s alright. Solvable problem. I can do this. Time to get into organization and tidying mode.
So that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend. I hope your bodies are less sore than mine, and that you have a chance to appreciate whatever space you’re in this weekend. Next week I’m traveling, so I’m not sure what the missive will look like yet, but the week after that I look forward to putting together a little rundown of my new house.
Love you all, thank you so much for being here.
xoxo,
One of the nice things about living in NH (thinking politically) is being the First in the Nation Presidential Primary and having all of those running and their powerful supporters come for meets and greets! I’ve been in small (under 10) and large (under50) gatherings where I’ve been able to chat it up with a number of them. And Lebanon, NH has a population about the size of the Lone Pine neighborhood! Folks in big cities like Medford don’t have those opportunities!!! Love ❤️ you
❤️❤️