Save a Horse, Ride a Mechanical Bull

This is what I look like riding the mechanical bull at Whisky River in Charlotte. (Note to Kath: I didn't spell this wrong; it's an official intentional misspelling to avoid a lawsuit from Willie Nelson, according to Susanne and Justin) Riding the bull was just one highlight in a weekend of fun I had visiting Laura in Charlotte. I came from D.C. and Meghan flew in from Boston for a weekend reunion in The Queen City.

Laura has been living in Charlotte for a year and she has herself settled into an incredible and brightly painted apartment in Uptown. I am so jealous that she gets to walk to work; this is a dream of mine. We spent the weekend doing a mix of walking around/exploring Charlotte, checking out the light rail (I was ridic excited, predictably), winning shots in in a salsa contest (guess who), trying unsuccessfully to teach me a hip hop routine, drinking coffee, and leaving really confusing voicemails for one Dan Weinberger.

The mechanical bull was SO MUCH FUN! It was on my bucket list, so I am happy to cross it off and have photos to document the experience. The best part was when "I'm Too Sexy" started playing during the middle of my ride. It was a perfectly cheesy awesome experience. Our visit randomly coincided with Ladies' Night, so I got to have the spring break experience I never had in college at the age of 25 in Charlotte in November. Better late than never, I say. Laura also had a memorable ride on the bull (err, in a manner of speaking) and deserves extra props for taking her impromptu ride in a dress without a Britney snafu.

Laura is visiting D.C. for Thanksgiving weekend and I can't wait to see what kind of fun we can find!

Totally unrelated, but if you didn't see SNL this week you should find it and watch it. Great stuff; the concern about a post-election crisis of comedy is unfounded if this and the recent Daily Show and Colbert Report are any indication. Also, Beyonce performed on SNL and I'm lovin' it. "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it!"

Got Moose?

Being in D.C. for the election year is so much fun! I work way outside the city, but the VP debate was still all we could talk about at work yesterday. It goes without saying, but people around here are political junkies. L.A. is a city of movie stars, New York is a city of money, D.C. is a city of nerds on a power trip.

My friends Amin and Megan invited me to a debate party they were attending in their building in Chinatown. We were to bring drinks, so I tried my best to find beer from Delaware and Alaska. Beer from Delaware was easy enough, Dogfish Head, but beer from Alaska isn’t available this far east, according to my new friend David at Total Wine & More. That’s really not surprising, since we all know that the beverage distribution industry is controlled by East Coast liberals.

The debate party was so much fun! Amin remembered that his parents bought him a Got Moose? shirt from a vacation they took to Alaska, and he was the hit of the party. We also had Palin Bingo, where we checked off squares when she used certain words and phrases. I was pulling for her to say “earmarks” for the entire second half of the debate, but alas…. Another party attendee contributed homemade political cookies; there were the obligatory McCain, Bush, and Palin elephants, but my favorite cookie was the random circle that said “preconditions” with a line through it.

The debate itself was fine. Sarah Palin did not embarrass herself, Joe Biden didn’t stick his foot in his mouth, and I don’t think either of them persuaded any undecided voters. It wasn’t a game changer. My opinion is that Biden seemed infinitely more knowledgeable and extemporaneous. Palin, on the other hand, obviously had certain rehearsed points she wanted to make, regardless of the question that the moderator was asking. I think it’s arrogant to disregard the actual question being asked to talk about whatever else she wanted, but she’s a competent public speaker who obviously took care to prepare for the debate. I disagree with her on just about everything, but I knew that before the debate even began.

Now I have SNL and next Monday’s Daily Show to look forward to.