Reassessing the walking goal

So Tuesday I calculated I'd have to walk 4.59 miles/day, every day, the rest of this year to hit 1500 miles. Three days later …

MAKING PROGRESS!

Yesterday was hard, though. I totally could have bagged it. I wasn't feeling well and didn't even want to go. But you know what? Having that goal made the difference.

I have to think that reaching it will make a difference in my health. And whether I do or not, walking as much as I do sure can't hurt. Usually I feel great about it. Yesterday was an exception, and I'll have days like that.

I hope I remember how glad I was to have done yesterday's walk the next time I don't feel like heading out.

I have some design work to do this morning. The plan is to work for a few hours, grab some lunch (the last of the turkey salad) and walk five more. I'm already dressed for it (yoga pants and walking shoes instead of jeans and Chuck Taylors).

NO EXCUSES.

Haven't heard from Joe. I guess he's not taking advice from political underlings like me. But he totally should. Heh.

Dear Joe

Here's a little political advice from the bottom of the ticket, not that you care or ever would follow it.

You don't have to answer reporters' questions.

Just because someone puts a microphone in front of you doesn't mean you have to provide a quote.

You could be "running late for an appointment." You could be "heading for the airport." You could even offer to "give it a little thought" before you put your foot in your mouth again.

Last week you defended the Koch Brothers. You know, the guys who are singlehandedly destroying our democracy.

Then, the day after the Center for Public Integrity wins a freakin' PULITZER for an investigative piece on a West Virginia law firm withholding evidence in black lung cases, you hand them an attaboy. Of course, they'd already handed you $50K.

You've been quoted many times (too many) as saying you're a "West Virginia Democrat, not a Washington Democrat."

Here's a little breaking news: No West Virginia Democrat I know would defend a law firm that withheld critical evidence in order to deny black-lung benefits to sick miners.

Here's a little more breaking news: I'm a West Virginia Democrat. And I vote. And I usually vote a straight ticket, being the good little Democrat I am.

Next time you're on the ballot, though, I think I'll have to pass. You're hurting Democrats who are trying to get elected. And you're hurting West Virginia. Your predecessor must surely be spinning in his grave.

Computer maintenance – sigh

So I upgraded my Mac's operating system yesterday to the new OSX 10.9 Mavericks. Honestly? I didn't even know a new OS had been announced last summer, and I really do try to stay on top of tech updates. Oopsie!

(Apple has switched their OS naming hierarchy from wild felines to California-based appellations. But when I see "Mavericks," I think of the Dallas, TX, NBA team, not a west-coast beach known for its great surfing. I had to Google to find that out.)

At any rate, everything got updated with the new system. Including the Mail application. (Turns out it was a Good Thing I waited to install the update; they issued a patch to fix Mail a couple of days ago.)

I have Mail set up to deliver my Gmail messages. Imagine my surprise when I launched Mail and ZERO new items were available to read. Y'all know how hard it is for me to keep up with my e-mail, so I was, um, a little worried. (And yes, I know I can read Gmail online. But I don't.)

Ah, but there they were, in the Archived folder. And after a couple of minutes of background maintenance, everything showed up in its proper place.

Except this:

I recently wrote to Sen. Joe Manchin (sometimesD-WV) about his lame-brained idea to delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act. And his reply, dated November 5, ended up in my Junk folder.

Which is exactly where it belongs, since he still thinks delaying is the right thing to do. I think he knows his bill is going nowhere. And honestly? I think his next move should be back to West Virginia and another run for the Governor's mansion. He did a much better job as a state leader than he's doing in the nation's Capitol.

But that's just me. (Although my husband left me one of his little overnight notes that said Bill Maher thinks Manchin is one of the three worst blue-dog Democrats in Washington. So I guess it's not just me. Heh.)

The other thing that happened is that my little Air now needs to go on a diet. I've pretty much run out of room.

I've deleted several applications that don't work under the new OS, and many-many-many duplicate photos, which just about doubled the free space. No wonder everything was soooooo slow. I'm going to upload some keepers (photos/printables/.pdfs) to Dropbox and ruthlessly edit the photos stored on the laptop. I back everything up to a portable hard drive, so there's really no reason – other than convenience – to have them taking up space.

And as soon as I get through the ACA application process, I'm going to ditch the Chrome browser, which is the number-two space hog on my machine, surpassed only by Adobe Reader.

Because if healthcare.gov didn't work on the old version of Safari (and it didn't), it sure isn't going to work on the new one.

Oh, what a night

So.

I started out yesterday in the garden. Remember the garden? Yes, it's still out there, and yes, it still needs attention. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy might prevent me from doing the final stuff I should have been doing all month.

(Elections are hard work. If I starve next year because my garden isn't producing I'll blame it on President Obama. NOT!)

Anyway, with the predicted Frankenstorm predicted to dump several inches of snow here tomorrow, I thought it best to get some garlic in the ground. I planted 30 cloves, 20 hardneck and 10 softneck. That's less than last year, but should be enough. I might not have any to share, though.

I came in from that chore, got all spiffed up and headed for the state capitol and my first Jefferson-Jackson dinner. Which was SO MUCH FUN.

L to R, standing: Congressman Nick Rahall, Governor Earl Tomblin, State
Democratic Party Chairman Larry Puccio. Seated, L to R: Senator Jay
Rockefeller, me, Senator Joe Manchin.

Here's the thing about living in a small state. We only have three Congressional districts. Mine is the only district held by a Democrat. Congressman Nick Joe Rahall is very visible when he's in the state. If you're politically active, you're going to run into him several times during a campaign and yes, I know it's his job, but he remembers you and calls you by name and thanks you for being active.

Last night was a Big Deal. Each of the chosen Outstanding Democrats (one from each county) was introduced and walked across the stage, waving to the crowd of 700(!) people. The line-up prior to the introductions was lots of fun. I met some great people, including a woman I "know" from Facebook and Instagram.

My involvement with the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women has opened many doors and allowed me to meet many influential people. It's interesting and fun and pretty heady stuff for a girl who began the day planting garlic and ended it surrounded by movers and shakers.

My husband and I left the convention hall with the keynote speaker, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, who asked for directions to the Marriott. And we walked to the parking garage with Congressman Rahall, who got in his car (which looked a lot like my Ford Escape, but I couldn't be sure) and drove himself home.

Just like I did. Point being, these folks are regular folks (and most of them would be the first to say so) who have had some advantages most regular folks haven't. Yes, they're ambitious and yes, they enjoy power. But I've talked to every one of those pictured above, at length, and for the most part I believe they're doing a good job for me.

I hope you feel the same way about your elected officials. If you don't – work for someone who does.

I'm not going to blame President Obama for anything. I sure do give him credit for introducing me to an entirely new way of life and service, though.