Garage Sale for Obama

I saw this flyer up on a post outside of the Safeway at 29th and Mission, a garage sale to raise money to give to the Obama campaign.

The other day in a friend's blog I noticed her thinking of saving money for some expensive Fluevog boots, but then she reconsidered and decided to give that money to the campaign instead.

I wear a size eight and covet these boots. How can I justify spending over three hundred dollars (that I could conceivably have in a month or so) on boots when I could give that money to the " Obama FTW " fund. Its true.... So maybe no boots for me right now. Woe.

Don't they both seem like very Gen X middle class fundraising ideas, more than bake sales or auctions or whatever? It struck me as something I've never seen before.

Today I did a little housecleaning to get ready for Bork to come visit, finished reading I Am a Cat, thought more about Random Acts of Senseless Violence, had lunch with Bork who is here now, yay! Did a driving lesson with Zond-7 and we drove around Pee's harbor and Ducktown Marina to look at what it is like to live there. Pee's Harbor was more posh. Ducktown was more the sort of thing that appeals to me especially "Nancy and Jane's garden" and how everything is a bit half-assed and jumbledy. Apparently the politics of Ducktown are: the owners are a big fancy trust, and want to sell. the people offering are offering a few million too low. Meanwhile there is Measure You-Know-What that defines that area as open space. How could they evict the people who have lived there for 30 years and have giant floating houses not just little boats on their bit of dock?

Then up to the city - rested - had dinner with vito_excalibur - went to SFinSF and liked nihilistic kid and dlevine's stories - T.B. was very funny and scatterbrained - had a little of Vito's whiskey - was in pain - didn't know what to say to people who congratulated me on my verticality - gave out handfuls of Obama buttons. N.K.'s story was a Raymond Carver - HP Lovecraft mashup with 3 people drinking whiskey in a cave. I am sure Ken H. should read it if he hasn't already. He must have? He'd like it. I shrieked "Wooooooo!!" way too loud when the chick took a mouthful of whiskey and there was mention of a lantern because I am a gamer and knew what was coming, but then felt silly. Then like 5 minutes later she spewed fiery death over a shoggoth and I was vindicated. At least vito got it. We gave dlevine hell teasing him about how he was flying colors (yay sf hanky code) but guessed his code slightly wrong. NK's comments during the slightly doofusy "question and answer" period were awesome. Yay for people who make sense and are funny. At one point I just wanted to smack dlevine for his comments on the obviousness of deism and then his attempt at a save in saying some people did not think so but there was always room to change one's mind. Boooo from the row of atheists! His story rocked - he read Charlie the Purple Giraffe, which I enjoyed. Zond-7 asked how one could sustain this sort of meta narrative for a much longer story which led us to some mention of Don Quixote, She-Hulk, and I brought up The Great Good Thing which while it has some twee elements was well done. Vito had some muttery comments about alternate histories and time travel and the point not being the Twist. I cannot remember the other people's questions or comments all that well or if I do I will remain mercifully silent because some of them were embarrassingly silly. Saw Rina, J.W., klages, whump, cyn, nk's friend who i can't remember but who was introduced charmingly to me as my secret stalker, so I hope she comments somewhere, kate, and a jillion other people. Home, bed, merciful horizontalness, lovely warm electric blanket.

Also watched a ton of Sarah Haskins Target Women - go watch them - they're great. The cleaning and yogurt ones were the funniest.

Tomorrow will do lots of hard work - Rook and Moomin are out camping for the rpg nerdy beach party - I will meet up later on with them and Bork - I'd like to go to the Emperor Norton party at Borderlands for a bit but it might depend on working on the book and how much I get done.

Comments

[elswhere]

Random Acts of Senseless Violence is my favorite dystopia of all time. (Is it weird to have a favorite dystopia? Oh, well). Also the only one I know of that's a coming-out story. I've been afraid to open it again in case it's dated since I read it 10 years ago or so. I just loved it so much.

[vito excalibur]

Wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without you! Clearly whiskey and quiet heckling is the way to enjoy an SF reading!

[David D. Levine]

I'm an atheist myself; I was talking about the deist worldview (which is shared by Charlie the giraffe and the people in Jay Lake's word) rather than about my own views. Sorry that wasn't clear.

Here's a hanky code reference, if you need one :-)

Thanks for coming! Always nice to see you.

[Rose White]

Gen X middle-class fundraising ideas -- how interesting! Yes, obviously -- and in fact, a friend of mine, childless, Gen X, Park Slope-living, is having a stoop sale soon, for which many of us made nifty crafts, and all of us will be donating nifty stuff, with proceeds to go to the campaign. We're stereotypes, yeah?

Congratulations on verticality/mobility: Yes, never know what to say. I was incredibly grateful to someone recently who simply noted, "You aren't using your cane," watched my face for expression when I said, "Nope, I'm not," and then asked, "So how is that going for you?" I didn't feel like I was being welcomed back into the herd of Awesome Normality, as I do when people congratulate me. I was just being asked a question about my daily life, which was a relief.

[Liz]

Oh Rose, you NAIL IT. That's what makes it so uncomfortable! I haven't been able to explain it! Thank you! Even when I want to assume people *mean*, I'm happy you seem to be (feeling better/in less pain/something innocuous) it completely feels like Congratulations On Your Return to Almost Normal And No Longer Perturbingly Crippled. It's like they're actualy saying "I've been so personally uncomfortable with your status as disabled and it is only now I am able to express that - now that you're getting normal again"

[Rose White]

"Perturbingly Crippled" -- *snort*. Yep. Especially awful is if someone is doing saying "Congratulations, I see you don't have your cane!" but MEANS, "Whew, you aren't all WEIRD anymore!" and then I say, "Oh, actually, it's right here, folded under my arm," and their face gets strange and they start saying stuff like, "ohhhhh, I'm soooo sorry, I didn't seeee it, omg, how are you feeling, do you need a chair?"

*sigh*

Sometimes I can't wait for everyone else I know to get old and struggle with variable ability. Does that make me *very* evil?