Presumed to be awesome.

- My sheer joy over Barack Obama being our 44th President remains undiminished.

- I must have been carrying around a huge amount of internalized stress over the election, though, because last night, almost as soon as the results were known, I succumbed to feverish misery. Ugh. Seriously, I hadn't been that sick in a very long time. Thanks to Tylenol PM and the bottle of wine from earlier in the night, I finally did sleep and I thankfully woke feeling much better.

- The local election results here in Arizona are significantly less awesome than our national results. Arizona voters approved an amendment to our state constitution defining marriage as between only a man and a woman. This is not only institutionalized hatred, it's redundant hatred, as Arizona law already banned same sex marriage. I'm angry and disappointed, but sadly not surprised. Maricopa county voters also approved a fifth term for our jackass sheriff and another term for the most unreasonable county attorney I've ever had the displeasure to have to work with. *hates*

- I was also very sad to see that California voters approved Proposition 8. I'm convinced that ultimately the solution is going to be a federal equal protection challenge, and with Obama in the White House we may soon have the Court to which we can take such a challenge. *persistently remains hopeful* But, until that day, I wish we didn't have to trip over this kind of unreasonable hate and intolerance at every turn.

- And, to end on a positive note and because it bears repeating, BARACK OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT!!!!

( Yes We Can Video )

MSNBC has called Pennsylvania for Obama!!! \o/

While happy news, indeed, it's done very little to alleviate my anxiety. *bites nails and madly refreshes CNN*

I have a plan to deal with the nerves, though. My plan involves several bottles of wine! The plan is virtually fool-proof. I'll either be able to watch the results in a soft cloud of mellow, or I'll pass right the fuck out before polls on the west coast closes. Either way, anxiety problem solved! \o/

This is quite possibly the LOOONGEST Monday in recent history. There was tons of work to get through (and there still is) as I'm trying to ramp back up from vacation. On the plus side, though, I had a new, super cute dark pink swing jacket to wear to court today! I'm quite certain I looked stunning! *g*

This evening I spent several hours at the local Dem headquarters making calls, making sure voters knew where their polling place was at, and that everyone had a ride to the polls. It's pretty awesome to talk to so many people who are really excited about voting tomorrow. Spanish speaking voters are always so happy to get someone who can give them the information they need in their own language. Which makes the effort feel significant. And the place was swarming with volunteers tonight! We were spilled out in to the parking lot, on the sidewalk, in any strip of real estate we could find, with our cell phones, busily making calls! It's so cool to see such a ground effort for Obama here in McCain's home state. Exciting!

I'm now distracting myself from the alternating excitement and terror over the election by watching football. The Steelers are just owning the Redskins. But, oh, Ben. Why you gotta go and get yourself hurt? *sadface* I'm happy to report, however, that Hines still has the most stunning smile ever! *pets him*

Tomorrow I'm planning on being at my polling location when the polls open at 6 a.m. Dear gods, that's SO EARLY! *weeps* But my court schedule tomorrow is so screwy, that I don't want to risk getting back on this side of town too late. As soon as I've cast my ballot, I will hie myself off to Starbucks for much needed caffeine fortification. (Free coffee!!! \o/)

Speaking of free shit for voting, Babeland has a free Maverick sleeve or a bullet vibe for you tomorrow if you vote. Sadly, the free sex toys are only available at Babeland's New York or Seattle stores. But, regardless, is this not the coolest voting freebie EVAR???

Ok. Eight hours 'til the polls open here. *breathes deep and crosses fingers*


(And, yes, I did just quote ABBA. What? This election has me STRESSED. Don't judge me!)

- Court this morning was inordinately quick and hassle-free. I approve!

- Since I was done with court so early, I stopped by my local Democratic headquarters and spent the rest of the morning making calls. It was fun to see the range of people there this morning volunteering. And while most calls on a Monday morning go unanswered, I did have really good conversations with about a dozen different people. I'll definitely be working phone banks again the weekend before the election.

- As I was being incredibly productive, I also got some grocery shopping done today. For the record: the fresh made tzatziki and red pepper hummus from Fresh & Easy grocery stores are DELICIOUS!!! Better even than Trader Joe's. Mmmmm.

- But because it is Monday, there is a measure of suckitude. I won't go in to it except to say that sometimes some of my clients make me want to howl a banshee-like scream of pure rage! Why do I do this again???

- In better news, The Nieces are due here any minute. This evening shall be full of crazy girl-child shenanigans and many squishy hugs! ♥

- Also, I'LL BE IN NEW ORLEANS ON THURSDAY!!!!! *flails*

1. I am loving Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles SO MUCH! I love the flash-forwards and the consistent movie tie-ins. I love John grappling with his fate. I love, love, LOVE Derek Reese! In short, I LOVE THIS SHOW! And, I really hope that the reports of its imminent demise turn out to be wrong.

2. The news that Obama's lead is widening is certainly heartening, but I'm almost afraid that this glimmer of hope will result in more complacency in the final days than we can afford to have. So I'm going to make an extra effort to do my part in the next 30 days and will be heading in to local Democratic offices on Wednesday for an afternoon of volunteer work, an effort that I hope to repeat as often as I can manage until Election Day. If you want to do something too, you can start here.

3. In case you didn't see this on MySpace, a PSA for the folks in L.A.: ( The Life Of Riley LIVE This Thursday for a GREAT CAUSE! )