As of 11 last night, I had two jobs for this morning. They txt'd me at 2am to add a third. Then, as I was leaving home at 3:30, they tried to add a fourth, but I explained that that would jeopardize the 6am surgery up in the Poconos.

Still, I'd rather be driving around then than later today. Obama's going to be in town the whole day, and ABE, 309, 22 and Hamilton St. are all likely to be messes. Air Force One is supposed to land at ABE at 10:20.

My dad works with http://PuppiesBehindBars.com , giving the future service dogs exposure to various real-world social situations that can't be simulated inside prison. He wrote to tell me he knows two of the dogs that are being used for security detail (explosive detection?) at the Obama inauguration.

(While I'm not keen that a website autostarts a video, and also doesn't offer controls to pause, rewind, etc., the PBB video itself is good. So check your speakers before you click, and be prepared to, "awwww".)

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges he brazenly conspired to sell or trade President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder as part of what federal prosecutors called a "political corruption crime spree."

Prosecutors did not accuse Obama himself of any wrongdoing.

Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in an attempt to strong-arm the newspaper into firing editorial writers who had criticized him.

The 51-year-old Democrat was also accused of engaging in pay-to-play politics — that is, doling out jobs, contracts and appointments in return for campaign contributions.

Source: Ill. Gov. charged in Obama successor probe

I'm back. Technically guilty, but no penalties, so it was kind of a draw.

While I was in Norristown, I also went through the legal maze to find out about custody/visitation for Nate.

The R6 runs right along the Schuylkill for a bit; it's a pretty ride. I also noticed that a tree had fallen on some communication cables that looked suspiciously like thicker coax, and I know that the Internet uses some of the train lines because of their right-of-access paths. The odd thing is that the line cables were still intact, and the whole scene was clearly months old. Would it be possible that everything was still running, so no one ever noticed?

Overslept my stop on the way back, but no biggie, as the R6 parallels the El at that point.

Lunch was far spicier than I had expected.

This post sponsored by the Metro, the paper for commuters with incredibly short attention sp... Recession... Hey, didja catch that game last... Nutter, budget, yeah... Oh, wow, great weath... Olsen twins pregnant with twins?... Recession... Oh, btw, Obama's in town, Palin, too, kthxbye.

There's something so cute about Malia Obama (10) wanting to do her homework at Abraham Lincoln's desk:

When she came back from her White House visit recently, she told her dad that she plans to work at the desk in the Lincoln bedroom.

Obama, who is known to be an avid reader of Lincoln history, said his daughter told him "I'm going to sit at that desk, because I'm thinking that will inspire big thoughts."

During the interview, Obama described the desk as being the spot where Lincoln signed the Gettysburg Address. While there is a copy of the address on display in that room, it actually was the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves that Lincoln signed there.

Source: Obama says daughters will do chores in White House

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

Source: Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

Hey, bizcards, did Randy really leave his business card for the President... inside the White House?

WASHINGTON – It popped out casually, a throwaway line as he talked to reporters about finding the right puppy for his young daughters.

But with just three offhanded words in his first news conference as president-elect, Barack Obama reminded everyone how thoroughly different his administration — and inevitably, this country — will be.

"Mutts like me."

By now, almost everyone knows that Obama's mother was white and father was black, putting him on track to become the nation's first African-American president. But there was something startling, and telling, about hearing his self-description — particularly in how offhandedly he used it.

The message seemed clear — here is a president who will be quite at ease discussing race, a complex issue as unresolved as it is uncomfortable for many to talk about openly. And at a time when whites in the country are not many years from becoming the minority.

Source: 'Mutts like me' - Obama shows ease discussing race

Fourth solo, I think.

As I guessed, I got one of the vehicles that I'd seen before, so I simply referenced my copy of the report I'd issued on it earlier. Nope, nothing had changed. :-)

It's painfully clear that I need a GPS. I posted a note in the break room to the effect that I'll borrow, rent, or buy (over time) one if anyone has an extra to spare. Yeah, it only takes me two or three minutes to look each address up, but that time quickly adds up, and causes all sorts of headaches.

At around 8pm, the enthusiasm was controlled, guarded, and plenty of people were already cheering in the street. The horns at that hour were also controlled: short, short, long. ("O-ba-ma...!") I'd join in as long as I wasn't behind someone, so no one would think I was honking them. Then, at 11, when the election was called, Philadelphia just erupted into mayhem. People were running towards major intersections, some with instruments, others banging pots and pans. I was already having trouble getting through some points. By midnight, police were out everywhere, and they were blocking intersections. I was trying to cross Broad so I could get home before 2am, but kept running into police roadblocks. (And one of the rule exceptions is that I'm not compensated if the last trip was on time, but I got back to the garage late.) Finally got through on Allegheny.

Argh! I just lost this post; what's with the page reload!?

Woke up at 5:30; bleh. Went to Manayunk (where I had registered, as that's where I was working at the time) to vote. I had expected long lines and a challenge to my registration, but found neither. (I had nothing more than paystubs with the address that I'd used, no utility bills or lease or anything.) I was told I had just missed the lines by the time I got there at 8; they had more people vote in the first hour than that location normally sees the entire day.

Chatted with a gal on the train back who claimed she still hadn't decided. {boggle} I think I successfully convinced her to vote for Obama.

Let's see if there's anything else in the news....

Trying to power down, but first a word from Little Opie and Richie Cunningham:



This 3:48 Ron Howard short is worth watching... and sharing. :-) Thanks to boutell.

Woke up at 4 to work the Obama rally. Real short version is that the Abington police kicked out all 40 vendors very early in the morning, so I only got to sell 6 buttons, and made a grand total of $3. (Actually, it should've been $4.50, but I was too flustered to have noticed in the moment.) So, I returned to the rally without the buttons, just as an attendee. Somehow I managed to get a great spot, only 50 feet or so from Obama. Barely missed being able to shake his hand at the end, by inches.

I'm not peachy keen with everything that he has to say, as my Libertarian head pops up and starts asking just how he intends to raise the money for all of these great ideas, but my overriding thought is that this guy does have the charisma to actually lead the nation, and if enough people are willing to trust and follow him, some things might very well work out, and that's why I'm backing him. (Remember JFK and the "man on the moon" initiative?)

So, instead of making some sweet cash, I earned $3 and spent $10 on a cab when it was clear the 55 wasn't going to get me to the rendezvous point in time.

Then, tomorrow's Obama rally (sans Obama, we think) is also in jeopardy, because I think the husband of this morning's manager thinks that I somehow instigated the Abington police on the whole permit issue. I didn't, of course; the conversation that I had with the officer was rather calm and cordial, where I just asked about the procedure to get the necessary permit. So, it's quite possible that I won't be able to work tomorrow, either.

Finally, I've called First Transit, (the new full-time day job) three times now, in an attempt to get a firm starting date, time, details, etc., and I still haven't heard back from them. Now, when I saw them face-to-face, they did make it clear that they were very interested, and would've hired me Monday, and it looked like they were overworked and thus easily distracted, so it's entirely possible that this has simply slipped through the cracks, but I'm concerned, and I did tell them that, politely but assertively, as much as I do want to work for them, that if I don't hear back from them soon, I'm going to be forced to have to look somewhere else for a job.

I have been putting off this post for over a week now. Scared, too painful, etc. But I've got to write it; now's better than "someday". And it's not entirely all bad news, but most of it is.

So, I've had difficulty in keeping up with child support payments. Heck, I've been having a lot of difficulty in keeping up with everything; my income just doesn't stretch to cover everything. I've been dropping expenses left and right. (So painful to watch all of those domains just... go.)

I guess it was inevitable, but it was still a nasty shock a week ago Friday (6/27). My paycheck envelope was thicker than usual, and inside was documentation basically saying that the State was taking almost everything, effective immediately. My net pay for a week's worth of work was $86.

I handled things maturely. I asked if I could take my lunch at 10, and they allowed it. I took the half hour outside, by the creek, just to get my head straight and try to think through solutions. Clearly, I can't survive on $86/week.

I met with the Bosses later in the day, and told them what happened. (No, they're not told.) I told them I wasn't sure what my immediate plans were, but all of the different possibilities all led to the same conclusion, that I couldn't continue working there. I stressed that it had absolutely nothing to do with them, that they've been incredibly fair and flexible (which is 100% true). I asked what sort of notice they'd feel would be reasonable, and they said that "zero" would be fine with them. They've been very happy with my work quality/quantity and professionalism, and they completely understood that I might need zero notice, and that was fine. I told them I certainly appreciated that, and while I wasn't going to leave that day, I agreed that I'd probably need to do something quickly soon. I told them I'd work out the next week (i.e., last week) as scheduled, which was to be Mon/Tue/Thu as of then. I later found that Lucky needed me Wed & Thu for TV runs, so I ended up just working Mon & Tue for the marketing firm, and they were cool with that. For this current week, I told them I wouldn't commit to any hours, but still planned to work for them for two or three days, and look for work the rest of the time.

Yes, I've seriously considered just chucking it all and moving to a commune or another country or assuming a new identity or something, but running away is really not going to solve anything. I've made a ton of mistakes so far, and am trying to crawl my way out, and would rather not make yet another mistake by just running away.

One of the reasons that I've had to stay in the general Montgomery County (PA) area is in hopes of being able to see my son. It's been about seven months or so since I've seen him, and it doesn't look like that's going to change. Still, if I move away, the likelihood of being able to see him later is only going to decrease further. On the other hand, there might legitimately be more opportunity somewhere else, and I don't want to rule that out.

(Yes, I want to see my daughter, too, of course. But she's in California, so that doesn't factor in as much in the Philly-area-or-not question.)

---

( That Friday continued to be sh*tty.... )

( Homeless again?... )

( Clearly I need a better job.... )

( After seeing that Obama has raised something like $300 million,... )

And thanks for reading, by the way. I do appreciate all of you; it's nice to know I have supporters! :-)