Quick Round Up and a warning for the next week

What a week. I wanted to take a minute to touch on a few things and also explain why this site may seem crazy for the next week or so. Starting tomorrow afternoon, I am following the footsteps of a great Virginia blogger, and I hope you'll join me for some fun and non-political antics. More on that in a bit...

Note to all: yes, I am still a Democrat. I took the liberal quiz again, and I am still a moderate liberal. I haven't donated $$ to any Republicans, and my bumper stickers are still on my car (which, by the way, I just got back today from the unfortunate accident at the JJ) and I haven't added any flag decals. I realize I am in the minority here, but I am glad the smoking ban didn't pass. I'm sure we will see more anti-smoking legislation in the future, so I fully expect that the heated and emotional battles will continue. I'm game if you are, I guess. However, rest assured that I do go to and spend money at non-smoking restaurants, I follow rules about smoking when they are in place, and I would never blow smoke on any of you, nor would I expect that a group of non-smokers accept/put up with my or anyone else's smoking. I understand what "respect" means. So, please try to understand that calling my political affiliation into question only makes ME question whether or not you understand what respect is. Thanks.

Big, huge, awesome, great, can't contain my own excitement news about Don "The Donald" McEachin over at The Richmond Democrat. Go check it out, and if you haven't yet checked out Don's new website, make sure you do so. And remember; every penny/vote/volunteer counts!

I don't think I can handle the Fred Thompson gushing for another minute. Then again, I say the words "Al Gore" and "President" and "2008" about 7 times a day, so who am I to judge? Interestingly enough, Sam Waterston (also on Law and Order) and Michael Moriarty (from the early L&O days) have also jumped into the political ring. Waterston is heading up the Unity 08 craziness (which someone referred to as the American Idol of politics, and I totally agree) and Moriarty may run for the Presidential seat. It's a Law and Order showdown, folks. We may have to add the Law and Order "chung chung" sound effects to all debates and political commercials, which I totally endorse.

4 truths and a lie has been floating around the blogs this week. So, here are mine:

1. I (also) have a gay dog who prefers to stick to his own "race" (color of hair). He's very embarrassing.

2. I stuck my hand in a blender that was running on high/Chop 3 years ago and sliced up my fingers terribly. I then hung up on the 911 people because I realized how stupid I sounded. They showed up with a fire truck, 2 cop cars, and an ambulance. They assumed Thadd was beating me in the apartment and that was why I hung up, so they questioned him pretty harshly while I cried in the bathroom. I have recovered, but have no feeling in the tips of 2 of my fingers.

3. I flunked my written driver's test 3 times, and I failed the actual driving test once. To this day, I suck at driving.

4. I helped the police catch a criminal when I was 10. It was on Halloween, and I was very, very angry that I was missing trick-or-treat time in order to help put a man behind bars. My mom felt bad and took me out very late, and then neighbors questioned her parenting skills.

5. I think that bacon is the greatest meat product. Ever. I consider bacon to be a gateway drug for non-meat eaters. It's certainly what cured me of my bout of veganism.

This is VERY late, but I would be remiss if I did not mention the Richmond Blog Meet Up we had a few weeks ago. The day I checked out and took a blogging vacation was the day a group of bloggers (some political, mostly other very cool stuff related) from Richmond got together to chat at a local restaurant here in the Fan. Among the blogs that were represented were Awkward Things I Say To Girls, Church Hill People’s News, River City Food and Wine, River City Rapids, RVA blogs, Save Richmond, The Shambling Darkness Project, Sisyphus, SLANTblog, your's truly, and West of the Boulevard News. What may seem the most amazing to some is that I sat next to (without knowing, because I cannot be on time to save my life, even if I live 2 miles from my destination) Jason Kenney of J's Notes, and fisticuffs did not ensue. Quite the contrary, in fact; we got along very well, and it was refreshing to be reminded that the blogging world looks very different when bloggers are face to face. I had a great time with everyone, and I look forward to seeing them again.

OK, and now for the announcement...drumroll please...

Following in the footsteps of the great Waldo Jaquith and his fabulous work with his flu coverage last year, I am going to be live blogging my post op starting tomorrow. I am going in for a surgical procedure tomorrow morning, and the only reason they are seeing me tomorrow as opposed to 4/18/07 is because my condition has worsened and I am in a constant state of pain. I was squeezed in for tomorrow morning, and I went out tonight to gather up everything I need, including the post op pain meds. This should prove to be very interesting. It'll either be a string of babble, or nothing because I will be out stone cold. We'll see, I guess.

Lastly, please enjoy this fun quiz. It's also educational!