A quiz over breakfast

Your result for The A-Muse-ing Test...

Your muse is Melpomene!

50% Melpomene, 0% Calliope, 0% Thalia, 10% Urania, 20% Clio, 0% Erato, 20% Euterpe, 0% Polyhymnia and 0% Terpsichore!

Melpomene is the muse of tradgedy. She is also known for her singing and as the "chanting one." She is a guide for the lost or those seeking a way to something, but they just can't quite figure out what or where. She can beautifully wear a tear or a smile, for she understands life to its fullest extent.

Call upon Melpomene when you are searching and need to heal yourself.

Sit somewhere quiet where you can be alone with your thoughts. Light a candle and gather some paper or your journal. Sit comfortably and allow yourself to fully feel the pain you have inside and ask Melpomene to help you bravely face it with honesty. Write what you are feeling and what you have experienced. Express your loss in yoru own way, with your own words. Now determine to be creative and use that energy in a new way. You are ready to create something beautiful out of your sadness and loss. Paint, sculpt, write, sing, or just explore a new place. Artistic creation will help you refind joy and reexperience life in a new way.

Take The A-Muse-ing Test at HelloQuizzy

Now, back to cleaning!

I may have taken this one before, who knows? It sounds a little familiar...

But it's been a long time since I took an online quiz, and this one sounded fun. It's the What Golden Compass Daemon are You? Quiz.

Here are my results:

Independent Soul

You are calm and logical, but not unemotional. You are an introvert, at heart, preferring to read alone than be subjected to the crush and noise of a big party or bar. You have a few friends and family, whose presence you welcome - to a point. Even they can wear on your nerves eventually, and you need to retreat back into your personal space for a while so you can recharge. Your energy comes in bursts, after which you need a long nap or a couple of evenings at home to recuperate.

You are comfortable with yourself, and reasonably confident. You want the friendship and goodwill of others, but you are not willing to sacrifice your principles in order to get it. If your close friends need something that you can provide, however, you will be the first to offer it.

You are a good and sympathetic listener, and are aware of your friend's emotional states. With your very close friends, you will open up, but rarely - you don't like to burden people with your problems. At the same time, though, you are honest and are not willing to alter the truth for the sake of convenience. Among strangers you are reserved, and may resort to making jokes to disguise your true feelings.

While you are not afraid of conflict, you do not seek it, either. When you are hurt or insulted, you feel that you have a choice to make. You can choose to take the up on it and defend yourself, or you can let it pass. Your decision may depend on how well you know the person, how personally you take the insult, or simply what mood you are in that day. Your friends may not always know how you are going to react, for that reason. Whatever you reaction, though, you will be logical, rational and unnervingly accurate: a measured strike.

Your daemon's form would represent your calm, introverted nature, your cool logic, and your impatience with crowds of people. He or she would probably whisper ironic comments in your ear, give logical advice and try to hide his or her soft side from everyone, even you.

Suggested forms: Peregrine Falcon, Snowy Owl, Snow Leopard, Siberian Tiger, Osprey.

Not surprisingly, I did something really stupid yesterday

Anyone who has had AAA knows that when they send you a card for the new plan year, the only real difference between the cards is the printed year that it's good through. I had both my old and new ones in my wallet during the transition between October and November and yesterday had the bright idea (at the gas station, when I stopped in for gas, oil, and the newspapers) to get rid of the old one.

Only I cut up the new one.

Fortunately I looked one last time before I put it in the trash and saw the '2009'. Today I called them, and they're sending me a new one within 14 days. In the meantime, my number is still good and everything, and I still have the two halves of the card, so she said that would be fine as proof should I need road service.

But that was a silly thing to do, even for me.

I'm so glad I got mine first thing Wednesday morning

I picked up a couple of Lexington Herald-Leader newspapers this morning (hey, I was a history major, I knew this was a momentous occasion and they'd go quickly), one for a friend and one for myself. Good thing I did. When I was at the store working later in the day, dozens of people came looking for papers to no avail, and surrounding stores were out as well. One lady said she'd go cruising neighbourhoods looking for one in a stand.

Apparently Lexington was not alone in this phenomenon, which isn't surprising.

Extra! Extra! Barack Obama's election win sends newspaper sales soaring

Let's face it; I may get my news primarily online, but a newspaper is a tangible piece of history, a document that can be archived (in acid-free materials, of course). A lot of people felt today that they wanted something they could show their grandchildren, something they could touch and remember the moment America elected a president of African descent. It amazes me some of the prices major papers were fetching on eBay. Wow.

Okay, I'm up way too late, and it's back to work at the hospital tomorrow morning. Good night.

Here's a text message making the rounds

'Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack is running so our children can fly.' Thanks to desertlibrarian for passing it on.

So what happens to those who did marry?

Same-sex marriage ban wins

Another author has died, this time Michael Crichton

Family: Michael Crichton Dies of Cancer: Novelist Michael Crichton, author of 'Jurassic Park,' 'Timeline,' dies of cancer at 66

A doctor with a medical degree from Harvard, he also gave us 'ER' which has been running since 1994 and is just now in its last year. And then there's The Andromeda Strain, a medical thriller, and Congo, which in some ways parallels HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. For more on Crichton, check out his Wikipedia entry.

Some thoughts

I really wish Kentucky would extend its voting hours. 6 am-6 pm (at least in many areas--we have a variable schedule--some areas have until 7 pm) doesn't work for many workers or parents trying to get their kids to and from school. I took the day off just in case of problems. Not everyone has that luxury.

I apparently belong to one of only two precincts in Lexington with less than 100 voters registered. I know this because a news story mentioned that there were two with only one voting machine because of this. I guess that means if I don't want to encounter lines, I have to stay put. :)

I really think McCain lost this election not because the oeconomy tanked in September (let's face it, it's been doing so for months now--it just became more palpable due to Wall Street tanking), but because 1) his campaign never really found a direction to go forward with (chasing issues from here and there, not really presenting what John McCain himself stood for well, not like Obama's platform for change and slogans that included people like 'Yes, we can') but even more importantly, 2) the choice of Sarah Palin as running mate. No matter how much he might have been liked by many voters, it proved to be a very telling about his judgement, and I think many voters could not stomach her being a heartbeat away from the presidency--not because she is a woman, I think that has nothing to do with it--but because she is Sarah Palin. She has some very scary ideals that believe it or not do not resonate with the majority of Americans, and is obviously unprepared to be vice-president, much less president.

I think the gender card got played way too much during this race. I did not favour Hillary Clinton based on her personality. It had nothing to do with her gender. And I found the selection of Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate insulting, knowing that there were many other Republican women who would have served very well. It seems like some people had an idea that as long as someone had the female plumbing than we are all interchangeable, which is not the case. I would love to have a female candidate I could really have gotten behind like I did with Obama. But whilst I won't say I would have voted McCain over Clinton in this election, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to vote for her, and would only have done so out of necessity. I could not have voted for McCain, however, once he selected Palin, because among other things I question his judgement strongly over that one. I'd rather have a candidate I can believe in. I found that with Obama.

Also, I'm happy that in the end, race was not as important as say, oeconomy. Obviously there was a huge turnout among blacks and apparently a very good one among Latinos. And looking at the breakdown in Applalachian counties (at least in my state), the numbers for McCain over Obama were very strong--but it's unclear whether that had to do with race or if they're just such Republican counties). But one of the pundits also pointed out that a different demographic which Obama did well with were college-educated whites, a group Democratic candidates have not done well with in the past. Since I'm part of that demographic, I'm glad we were able to make a difference.

Nice to know that in this oeconomy

Voters still supported a $275 million bond for expansion of the Atlanta library system.

Thanks to marleedorn for the head's up.

The day has dawned beautiful

and of course I'm happy with the presidential election. I am still watching the California Proposition 8 decision, which is still undecided) with a little over 90% of precincts reporting but another 3 million in late absentee and provisional ballots that may be counted afterwards.