All thanks to my beautiful wife!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
There are better ways...
...to spend a Friday evening. This afternoon, my fiance called to ask if I knew Obama was in town tonight. I did. She asked if I wanted to go because her brother had five tickets. Even though I was tired and ready to go home, I reluctantly agreed to meet her at the high school where the rally was being held and where the doors were to open at 5:00. Leaving straight from work, I fought the horrendous Las Vegas traffic to get to that part of town and had no real problem finding a parking place.
Once there, I met up with my fiance, her brother, and her parents. We went and got at the back of a serpentine line that stretched around the outer edges of a high school parking lot. As the sun set, the line slowly inched forward. We talked and tried to warm ourselves at it got cooler and darker. The time crept by, but since the doors didn't open until 5:00 we hadn't expected to be in immediately. Well, after about two hours in line, it was really cold and we were still quite a ways from the door. I just couldn't see how they would fit us all in there. We saw Obama's motorcade arrive and so we knew he would be inside soon. I decided to walk up to the front and see if were going to get in or not. My future brother-in-law came up too and we spoke to a policeman who said they were searching everybody and trying to get people in, but he had no control over the process and someone else, indicating people behind him over his shoulder, were in charge of that. While future brother-in-law decided to ask another question, I decided to go further and talk to someone who might know if we were going to get into the rally.
I continued to walk along the line of people waiting and then I walked through the doors into the courtyard where people were entering the gym. I bypassed an initial security checkpoint where they were searching bags by simply walking past them. Actually, I'm just assuming that's what they were doing because I didn't stop to look. I just kept walking. I've had enough experience to know a lot can happen if you pretend like you belong and walk with a purpose. I stepped into the short line that was heading into the gym, but would first pass through a metal detector. I really only wanted to see if there was any chance of us getting in there. As soon as I got to the door, the fire marshall steps up and says, "That's it. No more. Alright, one more," and then ushers me through the door. Things seemed to be in a rather chaotic state. I walked right through the metal detector which beeped detecting the keys in my pocket, but no one seemed to notice or care. It was like I walked up at a shift change or something and slipped right through. There were so many secret service guys and other security officers and I walked right in there. I'm not joking, someone could have easily brought in a weapon. That worries me if there is that big of a gap in his security detail.
Anyway, the next thing I knew, I was standing in a crowded gymnasium full of people waving Obama signs and hoping to see the Man. I called my fiance and told her that I was the last one in--her mom thought I was joking because their line had started moving. They were letting them into the (outdoor) courtyard where speakers had been set up to convey the speech, but there was no heat or visuals. Obama decided to go out there and talk to those people before coming in the gym. I thought that was a real stand up thing to do because there were still several hundred people out there who had not got into the gym. He used a microphone and I could hear the noise, but could not see him from my place in the gym (apparently, he stood on a table). My fiance told me to stay in there and watch, but she thought it was unfair because I was the only one in the group that didn't want to be there and somehow I had ended up inside. She told me they had waited that long, so they would probably just listen to the speech. Now, I just have to mention that it was legitimately cold outside, like 40s going down to 30s or something. I know I was shivering.
The atmosphere inside was one of anticipation, not quite the electricity you might expect. Loud music was blaring and finally a voice came over the loud speaker and announced that....some dude was taking the stage. Seriously, I couldn't understand him, but it was some guy who was a lifelong democrat that only three days ago decided to vote for Obama instead of Clinton. He said that three days ago he went to Obama'a office and asked how to help. I really have no idea why he spoke. Obama was ready to go on and this was only irritating people. He finally wraps up and announces....the governor of Arizona! What!?!! Who organized this crap? We all know Obama is in the hallway behind the gym, we see him through the little glass in the door, who cares what anyone else has to say. Madame Governor of Arizona (and why she was speaking I don't know) said it was her pleasure to announce.....that she was endorsing Obama. Great. Give us old news. I already heard this earlier in the day, big whoop. I really cannot imagine she has that much political sway. Then she mumbles some words and the crowd goes wild. I assume this means that Obama is entering because the noise becomes louder and everyone is holding their damn signs up so that you can't see anything. I assume he was shaking hands because this went on for two minutes before he showed up on stage. Before he got on stage, my fiance called and said she was freezing and was going to leave (we had other plans to pick up our new sac-tional couch--from LoveSac) with her brother. I told her that if she would hold on for a few minutes, I'd come out. I just wanted to see the Man. Finally, he got on stage and said something about being fired up and ready to go (apparently that is a campaign slogan or something). His next commetn was that he was sorry he was late, but there were 2000 people outside who did not get in and so he wanted to speak to them. OH BROTHER. What a politician! There were not 2000 people outside. There were probably over 2000 inside, but the number outside was much smaller. After that wonderful minute of his speech, I decided I had enough and turned and walked out the door where all the freezing people wondered why I was leaving. I resisted the urge to say I was bored and going home.
I met up with my fiance and we went on to do other things. The general consensus from our group was that this was a terribly produced event. They did not plan very well and that kind of crap can make people not want to vote for you. I know it was a rally and that they were trying to make it exciting, but it was just crap. I'm sure that there were good parts had I stayed there, but after two hours in line and my fiance stuck out in the cold, it just wasn't worth standing there for something I could catch on the news later. Chalk this one up to experience. Don't go stand in line for political rallies, and if you're ever in charge of a rally, make sure you plan effectively. I think the worst part of this is that I haven't made up my mind yet (my choice is not in the race yet) and this was not a good experience. I know it can't be blamed on Obama. He didn't plan it and he probably had little to do with deciding who did plan it. I just found it interesting that the rally for the candidate bearing the flag of change was so frustrating. It just seemed to be what you might expect from a politician. I know they do things for the spin and all, but giving out way more tickets than you have seats, just so you can have news crews show the long line and say there is lots of interest, is the wrong way to go about things. Oh well, maybe we'll get change next time.
Once there, I met up with my fiance, her brother, and her parents. We went and got at the back of a serpentine line that stretched around the outer edges of a high school parking lot. As the sun set, the line slowly inched forward. We talked and tried to warm ourselves at it got cooler and darker. The time crept by, but since the doors didn't open until 5:00 we hadn't expected to be in immediately. Well, after about two hours in line, it was really cold and we were still quite a ways from the door. I just couldn't see how they would fit us all in there. We saw Obama's motorcade arrive and so we knew he would be inside soon. I decided to walk up to the front and see if were going to get in or not. My future brother-in-law came up too and we spoke to a policeman who said they were searching everybody and trying to get people in, but he had no control over the process and someone else, indicating people behind him over his shoulder, were in charge of that. While future brother-in-law decided to ask another question, I decided to go further and talk to someone who might know if we were going to get into the rally.
I continued to walk along the line of people waiting and then I walked through the doors into the courtyard where people were entering the gym. I bypassed an initial security checkpoint where they were searching bags by simply walking past them. Actually, I'm just assuming that's what they were doing because I didn't stop to look. I just kept walking. I've had enough experience to know a lot can happen if you pretend like you belong and walk with a purpose. I stepped into the short line that was heading into the gym, but would first pass through a metal detector. I really only wanted to see if there was any chance of us getting in there. As soon as I got to the door, the fire marshall steps up and says, "That's it. No more. Alright, one more," and then ushers me through the door. Things seemed to be in a rather chaotic state. I walked right through the metal detector which beeped detecting the keys in my pocket, but no one seemed to notice or care. It was like I walked up at a shift change or something and slipped right through. There were so many secret service guys and other security officers and I walked right in there. I'm not joking, someone could have easily brought in a weapon. That worries me if there is that big of a gap in his security detail.
Anyway, the next thing I knew, I was standing in a crowded gymnasium full of people waving Obama signs and hoping to see the Man. I called my fiance and told her that I was the last one in--her mom thought I was joking because their line had started moving. They were letting them into the (outdoor) courtyard where speakers had been set up to convey the speech, but there was no heat or visuals. Obama decided to go out there and talk to those people before coming in the gym. I thought that was a real stand up thing to do because there were still several hundred people out there who had not got into the gym. He used a microphone and I could hear the noise, but could not see him from my place in the gym (apparently, he stood on a table). My fiance told me to stay in there and watch, but she thought it was unfair because I was the only one in the group that didn't want to be there and somehow I had ended up inside. She told me they had waited that long, so they would probably just listen to the speech. Now, I just have to mention that it was legitimately cold outside, like 40s going down to 30s or something. I know I was shivering.
The atmosphere inside was one of anticipation, not quite the electricity you might expect. Loud music was blaring and finally a voice came over the loud speaker and announced that....some dude was taking the stage. Seriously, I couldn't understand him, but it was some guy who was a lifelong democrat that only three days ago decided to vote for Obama instead of Clinton. He said that three days ago he went to Obama'a office and asked how to help. I really have no idea why he spoke. Obama was ready to go on and this was only irritating people. He finally wraps up and announces....the governor of Arizona! What!?!! Who organized this crap? We all know Obama is in the hallway behind the gym, we see him through the little glass in the door, who cares what anyone else has to say. Madame Governor of Arizona (and why she was speaking I don't know) said it was her pleasure to announce.....that she was endorsing Obama. Great. Give us old news. I already heard this earlier in the day, big whoop. I really cannot imagine she has that much political sway. Then she mumbles some words and the crowd goes wild. I assume this means that Obama is entering because the noise becomes louder and everyone is holding their damn signs up so that you can't see anything. I assume he was shaking hands because this went on for two minutes before he showed up on stage. Before he got on stage, my fiance called and said she was freezing and was going to leave (we had other plans to pick up our new sac-tional couch--from LoveSac) with her brother. I told her that if she would hold on for a few minutes, I'd come out. I just wanted to see the Man. Finally, he got on stage and said something about being fired up and ready to go (apparently that is a campaign slogan or something). His next commetn was that he was sorry he was late, but there were 2000 people outside who did not get in and so he wanted to speak to them. OH BROTHER. What a politician! There were not 2000 people outside. There were probably over 2000 inside, but the number outside was much smaller. After that wonderful minute of his speech, I decided I had enough and turned and walked out the door where all the freezing people wondered why I was leaving. I resisted the urge to say I was bored and going home.
I met up with my fiance and we went on to do other things. The general consensus from our group was that this was a terribly produced event. They did not plan very well and that kind of crap can make people not want to vote for you. I know it was a rally and that they were trying to make it exciting, but it was just crap. I'm sure that there were good parts had I stayed there, but after two hours in line and my fiance stuck out in the cold, it just wasn't worth standing there for something I could catch on the news later. Chalk this one up to experience. Don't go stand in line for political rallies, and if you're ever in charge of a rally, make sure you plan effectively. I think the worst part of this is that I haven't made up my mind yet (my choice is not in the race yet) and this was not a good experience. I know it can't be blamed on Obama. He didn't plan it and he probably had little to do with deciding who did plan it. I just found it interesting that the rally for the candidate bearing the flag of change was so frustrating. It just seemed to be what you might expect from a politician. I know they do things for the spin and all, but giving out way more tickets than you have seats, just so you can have news crews show the long line and say there is lots of interest, is the wrong way to go about things. Oh well, maybe we'll get change next time.
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