Thread Drift

[marni]

having grown up there I can say that I am pleasantly surprised. Not ahead of time.

[crazycanuckoz]

Good evening from houston(ok,a campground in galveston bay actually). US trip going hunily dorily n heading to lafayette then new orleans tomorrow supposedly through a forecasted tornado or something similar in the houston region?..seems ok now. Christmas is in Mobile or Tallahassee...if you've been to one of them..let me know.thought about going to dauphin island before making the dash north...at least it's only -8c in chicago,not that cold!

[marni]

Dauphin island is lovely as s the ride from there to Pensacola. Don't know anything much about Tallahassee. St. Augustine is wonderful if you wanted to detour over to the coast. Of the two I would say that Mobile has better historic/tourist options, is a bit smaller and less commercial and you can find the start of the Underground Railroad Route there (check adventure cycling for maps).

I don't think tornados are much of an issue down on the coast but the winds can be pretty tricky wherever its flat as there is nothing to stop it Hoping that they die down by Sunday so I can ride in the flatlands/prairie to the west of us.

Just my two cents from the west suburbs of Houston.

[OakLeaf]

Hey CC! Glad you're enjoying your trip. Hope the weather cooperates!

[Trek420]

Congratulations to New Mexico! Now the 17th state to approve Marriage Equality!

I'm losing track. And when we count 17 is it 17 + District of Columbia or is DC included. And does 17 include Utah (Utah??? Utah!!!).

I want Oregon next so Knott and I can cycle down the coast and not have to bring a xerox copy of the license. Cause that one piece of paper would put me over the weight limit. Yeah, right, that's why I could not climb that hill. Yeah.

Agreed with all the getting back in shape folks. I've been sick for a few weeks (upper respiratory bug) and have to get back in gear.

[thekarens]

I'm pretty sure hell will freeze over before marriage equality happens here in Texas. I don't need the piece of paper to validate my relationship, but it would be nice even it comes to medical, inheritance, etc.

And we've agreed we're getting serious about diet and exercise as soon as our eldest goes back to college in January.

[yellow]

And does 17 include Utah (Utah??? Utah!!!).

Trek, those of us Utahans who support marriage equality are surprised (shocked, even), elated, and hopeful. Friday night was a giant party in downtown SLC. The state is trying its hardest to stop what the Governor has called "a chaotic situation" but I am not sure their efforts will stop the marriages any time soon. A friend of mine said it's chaotic, but not for the reason's the Gov thinks. It's chaotic (at least in SLC) because so many people are absolutely elated.

I hope it comes to Oregon soon, too, and your wish comes true. We have some friends that moved to Oregon from Utah and they are thinking about coming back to get married (they still have a house here). Who'd a thunk Utah would be ahead or Oregon on this one?

[skhill]

Boy, was Utah a shock. It's given me hope for Kentucky. Does anyone know whether what the judge threw out was a state law or in the state constitution? Here in KY it was an amendment to the state constitution, back in 2004. There's been no move to even start the process to appeal it yet-- a repeal would almost certainly fail. But there's good news locally, we have a fairness ordinance and our mayor is gay and was out well before he ever served in elective office, and most encouraging the city council just approved domestic partner benefits unanimously. They tried to do it about 5 years ago and it got voted down.

It's amazing how fast things are changing!

[skhill]

A random marriage incident I heard about last week-- a couple of friends of mine at church had a commitment service a few years ago (we Episcopalians aren't doing proper weddings for same sex couples yet). One of their guests, an elderly widow, recently used the same commitment service recently with her boyfriend. They didn't want to get legally married for a variety of reasons, but they didn't feel comfortable "shacking up" without some kind of religious sanction. Pretty cool!

[Trek420]

A random marriage incident I heard about last week-- a couple of friends of mine at church had a commitment service a few years ago (we Episcopalians aren't doing proper weddings for same sex couples yet).

Surprising. Didn't you have a gay archbishop? Gene Robinson, now retired.

Does anyone know whether what the judge threw out was a state law or in the state constitution?

Not sure. There's a blog/forum I visit to keep track that's frequented by lawyers so it's good information. Sometimes hard to keep up.

[yellow]

Does anyone know whether what the judge threw out was a state law or in the state constitution?

It was a state law. The federal judge found that it violated the federal constitution. The state will appeal but thus far, the judge has refused to issue a stay. He said the state failed to show how Utah's law would adversely affect heterosexual couples.

Here's an article from one of SLC's two papers. It pretty much sums up what I heard in my circles and when we were downtown on Friday night.

It makes me so happy when love prevails, and I'm not a very emotional person. It's kind of hard to hate love, unless you are the Grinch before his transformation.

[Xrayted]

I got invited to join some friends in Kona, HI in a few weeks. All I had to do was get the plane tickets. Everything else was already taken care of. OMG. I can't wait. I've never been to HI before, any of the islands. I had planned a Maui trip a few months ago but the ex leaving stalled that plan and I cancelled it. I can't wait. I'm so excited. I have to find new bikinis quick during the winter of all times. I've been checking out a couple on the TE site. If any of you know of any other good swimsuit sites, let me know.

[Pax]

I got invited to join some friends in Kona, HI in a few weeks. All I had to do was get the plane tickets. Everything else was already taken care of. OMG. I can't wait. I've never been to HI before, any of the islands. I had planned a Maui trip a few months ago but the ex leaving stalled that plan and I cancelled it. I can't wait. I'm so excited. I have to find new bikinis quick during the winter of all times. I've been checking out a couple on the TE site. If any of you know of any other good swimsuit sites, let me know.

Fun!!

The only swimsuit sites I use are to buy my frumpy lap suits.

[shootingstar]

I think our family has experienced our share of natural disasters this year: me and a major river flood which costed our city area several billion $$$ dollars this summer. A sister in Ontario was out of electricity for 4 days in summer due to Toronto's flood (not as damaging as Calgary's) and again now out of electricity at Christmas for several days for same sister during Toronto's ice storm which causes electrical blackout for over 80,000 residents. She has 2 young children.

[Crankin]

Why do I get sick on every holiday, vacation, etc?
I've been fighting my usual winter allergy/sinus/bronchial thing for about 10 days. My eyes were itching so much yesterday that I actually wore my glasses *outside of my home,* something rare, despite the fact I like my expensive progressives. Been taking Claritin for days, nasal rinse, eating extra citrus and ginger. Feel better this morning, but no great.
Going to the office to tell them I am resigning! Perfect day to do that.