Textbook Shopping - VICTORY DANCE!

Ooh, ooh! Guess what! One of my professors for summer semester sent out the syllabus, which listed the required textbook (as in, just one, not plural). AND the happy thing is that the syllabus says that it's okay to have the older second edition. So, I go onto Amazon to check out prices and stuff and I bought the second edition used for $6! (after shipping)

THAT is a huge weight off my back because my student loan for summer semester isn't going to quite cover my tuition and fees, so I have to come up with the balance of that money, PLUS buying textbooks is always a pain in the bank account. So, I'm happy I could get at least one class covered without too much agony.

My one other professor hasn't listed the required texts for her class yet, so there may still be more blood to be drawn, but for now - WE DANCE!

You Change Your Mind Like a Girl Changes Clothes

I'm glad to see the promo guys figured out that there are five hours left of "24." Spoilers, but first a video! (Everyone say it with me - Oh, people with way too much time on their hands! Thank you YouTube... And thank you for not letting me embed the official version. Bleaggh...)

****SPOILERS****AND THEN****

I feel like I have whiplash from all that back and forth crap. Everything feels very convoluted all of a sudden. Who knew that Katy Perry would go together with "24." Stranger things have happened.

The Angel/Devil antics of Ethan and Charles continue! At least until Ethan cries "uncle." I'm inclined to think that President Taylor has lost it much like President Hassan (RIP) lost it earlier in the season. I don't think her presidency is going to last much longer. I predict that she will be hauled out of the UN very much the Wilderness Youth Counselor was hauled out of office at the end of season five.

Sting operation? On Jack? Are you kidding me? Jack is NOT going to spend four hours in lock down. They tried putting Jack out of commission in season six and it went down the toilet. It is against the order of the universe to have Jack incapacitated. The Greater Cosmos(tm) demands that Jack Bauer has a gun and is shooting stuff (preferably bad guys, but we'll take obstructionist CTU agents if necessary).

For all the fuss DirecTV made about Jack's "old friend," he was kinda... meah... I mean, he was just replacement Chloe since she's had to go all straight-laced and crap. But don't you think it's somewhat late to really be introducing new characters that we care about? *sob* for no Tony - I've lost hope that's going to happen :( It would have been a great way to end the series, though.

The whole point of that was so that Jack and Freddie could be partners. And while I can buy into the fact that Freddie doesn't like what the President and everyone is doing to Dana, I can't believe that Freddie still wants anything to do with Dana personally. There ain't gonna be no white dress for that chicky-poo (unless she and DB Sweeney hook up during their little waterboarding activity (it just had to be waterboarding, didn't it... -_-')

Next Week: Perhaps this is the Katee Sackhoff Battlestar Galactica fans know and love? I wouldn't know, but I'll go ahead and say yes it is.



Another Semester in the Can!

I love these SLIM weekend adventures. This weekend was no exception and I have some things to pontificate about.

At first, I thought I'd be an archivist and work in some historical documents type of career - preservation and cataloging and such. The sort of thing that Evie does in "The Mummy." But as I got thinking about it, I realized that my bliss is actually in doing something with teenagers. Back when I was doing my undergrad, I has a desire to teach high school, but as I got into the teaching program, I learned that I didn't want to teach (not the way they were teaching us to teach, anyway). I took a couple of years off to work and go on a mission. When I got home, I started researching library science programs and I found the one I'm in, which lets me stay at home. This turns out to be key because I got to be the yearbook adviser at the high school and I was reminded that I enjoy being around teenagers (call me strange and kooky, but that's what I like). Plus, in one of my classes, we were assigned to interview somebody who had done some kind of information search and analyze their information searching methods. I interviewed this 8th grade student who had just done a research paper for his English class and I had a blast talking to him! I probably would not have had as good a time with an older person - I just enjoy that adolescent age group.

I want to do some good for young adults - I want to be an example for kids and help them in their education and their lives. So, I've decided that I want to be a librarian that specializes in the teen/young adult services and possibly be a school librarian (I'll have to check on requirements, but I've heard tell in Utah that all you need to be a school librarian is an MLS degree, which I will have in January 2012). I will still have the opportunity to teach and instruct, but it won't be as rigid as a regular classroom teacher and I'll get to have more fun with the students and not have to deal with crazy parents so much (just for the record - I am NOT a children's librarian type of person - I don't deal with little kids. Kudos to people who do, but that's not me).

I talked to one of my classmates this weekend about my decision and she said some things that were very encouraging to me. She mentioned that teenagers have a hard enough time in life as it is and that's the age where we really start to lose them to bad decisions. That made me think of the most recent General Conference where all the speakers spoke of the importance of leading youth and helping them when they go astray - at the time I didn't think too much about the topics because I don't have kids nor am I in any kind of church leadership position over teenagers, so I didn't think it applied to me. Now, I want to go back and look that over because it's true - teenagers need our help the most. At least, that's how I feel.

So yep, I don't need to be any kind of fancy Indiana Jones type of curator or go on exotic study abroad trips to do what I want to do. While those things would be good opportunities, there are plenty of good things I can do at home. And I want to start with becoming trained to be a youth services librarian.

Experts At Fuzzy Math

My mom has this awesome recipe for fruit dip - I've been chowing on strawberries with this cream cheese and whipped cream dip all night and it's amazing. Just thought you'd all like to know that.

Also - "24" tonight. The second week in a row that there's only six hours left. The guys in charge of putting together promos failed second grade counting, I guess.

***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT**THIS ISN'T THE ONLY ALARM GOING OFF TONIGHT!***

Even though this was more or less a filler episode to just set up the next crisis, I was extremely intrigued by it and very interested to know how this was going to play out. A tribute to the writers' ability to leave us wanting more at the very end. My hat's off to them! ^_^

Did anyone else get the feeling of the angel/devil on your shoulder thing when Ethan and Chuck-Bob were trying to persuade President Taylor of their positions? Shoot, I had flashbacks to the Garden of Eden with that little snakey performance Chucky-poo put on. Repeat after me, Madam President - anything involving Chuck Logan will not end well (I cannot call him Charles - I just can't)

The last time anyone trusted Chuck-Bob with something of importance to national security, Jack had to go completely off the radar. Why does this not surprise anyone? So much for Logan's "Come to Jesus" epiphany from season six (well, we kind of forgot season six ever happened).

Poor, poor Chloe - she's been in charge of CTU for an hour and she already has to shoot down her best friend. On the flip side, at least somebody's admitted that Dana's crazy, even if it is just a weak excuse to ignore her evidence (thank you Madam President).

In Which My Fangirl Alarm Goes Off - When I went to change the channel to watch "24" tonight, the DirecTV info box proclaimed that "Jack calls an old friend." Since I know Jack and Logan are not "old friends" (and the DirecTV descriptions are often off by an episode or two) that can mean only a handful of things and where this is the swan song season, only one of them is likely. It's got to be Tony Almeida - it's just got to (good grief - who else is left? Everyone else that Jack would call is dead).

You Sunk It!

Oy - I've been working on my final interview project for my 802 class all morning (except a quick lunch break). I finally decided to take a breather and watch my DVR'd "Big Bang Theory." Spoilers (and a few mentions of last night's "24").

***SPOILERS FOR LAST NIGHT'S "THE BIG BANG THEORY***

Last night was not a good night in the shipping department. First, Jack/Renee falls victim to the "Jack needs motivation for the next six hours" ploy and now Leonard/Penny is heading toward the iceberg. I am very sad and upset and I need ice cream now...

I could almost forgive Wil Wheaton for tricking Sheldon in the whatever-card-tournament the last time he came around, but now I think that Wil Wheaton is the biggest douche - EVAR!! I've never watched "Star Trek: TNG" (or much else relating to the franchise), but I hate Wil Wheaton for breaking up the cutest little couple on TV - all for a stupid bowling tournament! And making my Lenny-pie cry. NOT FUNNY!!!

And we never got to see Penny bowl. :*(

(My DVR cuts off the very, very beginning of the show, so I don't even know what Penny quoted Yoda as saying that prompted this whole thing - I assume Leonard just thought it was endearing that Penny was giving out Yoda-wisdom and said what he'd been thinking for all those years. Good grief... There had better be a cheerful resolution on the way. Or at least one I can live with)


Back to the homework grind, I suppose... (after I go curl up in the corner and weep).

Return of the Wilderness Youth Counselor!

"24" tonight. They just keep giving great material to work with (or just make me want to throw something at the TV). Major spoilers to follow.

***SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS!!!***DO NOT CONTINUE READING UNLESS YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN TONIGHT'S EPISODE OR YOU DON'T CARE. IN WHICH CASE, WHY ARE YOU EVEN READING THIS?****

(this is not spoilers - but it's in ALL CAPS and you might get confused)

WHY DO ALL MY "24" SHIPS DIE?????? WHYYYYYYYYYYY???? *shakes fist angrily* DAMN YOU WRITERS!!!! DAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!

Okay, that's out of my system - for now.

On a happier note, Chloe's gone total Almeida! Yes folks, the Powers That Be finally figured out who the smartest person in the room is and put her in charge of CTU (and it took going to the White House Chief of Staff to do it - I tell you, the East Coast CTU Division is not the brightest advertisement in the phone book). For once, I agree with Bubba Gump - if he'd listened to Ms. O'Brian in the first place, this very well might not have happened. But now, we get to revel in the joyousness that is Chloe snark - and she's the big boss! I can just about forgive the stupidity that has overtaken CTU this season.

And Dahlia Hassan is the new president of the IRK... Hmm... I can honestly say that I don't hate that decision. But does this put a target on her back? Will poor little Kayla be an orphan at the end of the day? (hee hee - I just realized that country's name is "irk." XP)

And I also realized that Freddie looks like Stephen Colbert. Again, it's hard to take someone like him seriously.

At one point, we wondered where Dana had gone to. We figured that someone stuffed her in the wall too (but next week's preview proved that theory wrong). Just when are they going to call CSI?

And the moment we've all been waiting for! Yes, I'm referring to the return of:

CHUCK LOGAN, WILDERNESS YOUTH COUNSELOR!!

Oh geez... what problems is this doofus going to cause now? Last time we saw him, he at least professed to have found Jesus - but I see none of that here. This won't end well.

Speaking of not ending well -

How much of that view did that sniper enjoy? Or is this just another day at the office? He and Tom What's-His-Bucket from season 6 could be friends! ^_^

(funny note - we usually watch "24" with my cousin and she and her hubby bring over all the young children, plus their friend from down the road. Well, friend from down the road (who really isn't into "24" that much) just had to make the comment: "Who was on top?" -_-' To which my cousin's lovely 7-year-old daughter had to ask what that meant. Friend replied "Uhh... the bad guy was on the top floor looking to shoot." Ahh... children. Don't say anything nasty in front of them that you're going to have to explain later.)

RENEE!!! *sob*

It's never a good sign when the surgical team working on your main squeeze come out of the operating room five minutes later.

*sigh*... Jack knows he still has six hours to fill. What the crap is he thinking sneaking off somewhere so he and Renee can ... yeah, that... Why not just head to CTU, do the debrief and wait for the next crisis to come up? Dang Jack, I thought you were smarter than that.

It's official - Jack is going to snuff it this season (either that or in the "24" movie that somebody's supposedly writing). Teri, Nina, Audrey (AUDREY!), and now Renee... Jack simply cannot have a girlfriend or wife or anything. Maybe he should turn gay? (and when I start making comments like that, you know it's time to wrap this up.)

I dunno - with the return of ol' Chuck-Bob, the entirety of "24" could possibly end on Jack being shipped off to China again (Tony... I'm still waiting...)

**For more jokes at ol' Chuck-Bob's expense, please go here (scroll down to the icons). Feel free to see what else is at that blog - he hasn't done much for this season, but what he's done for past seasons is fantastic. It goes without saying that spoilers for all seasons of "24" are scattered throughout the site.**

Plausible Deniability - NOTHING!

I feel a bit like those birds that fly into unnaturally clean windows in those Windex commercials - I've been all over creation and then some in the rain, wind and snow (welcome to spring in Utah - or as I like to call it, schizophrenia). Can anyone tell me why the wind must blow insanely whenever I need to go somewhere? This is getting beyond ridiculous.

Nonetheless, "24" must continue and so must the Rehashes. This time, it's a special 2-hour save-the-world-just-in-the-nick-of-time (mostly).

***SPOILERS BEGIN HERE!***I WISH I COULD DO A CUT***

Talk about some twists and turns - and they weren't the OMIGOSH THAT WAS A HUGE TWIST!! sort of things:

Number One - the bomb did not go off. In fact, Teran got it shut off with 7 seconds to spare. That's an eternity in "24" time - Jack probably could have had the bomb diffused and still had time to shoot about 50 terrorists.

Number Two - Somebody actually wants to talk to Jack. Dana/Jenny/Crazy Blonde Chick/whatever the crap her name is today must really have a death wish. Although, she was rather truthful about Jack being the only person with his head out in daylight (though, may I point out that about half those screw-ups were la Loca Rubia's fault, so I don't know how much room she has to talk).

Come to think of it - I owe CTU:New York an apology. I've been quite harsh on the way they operate all season, and here I find out it's the twit who turns out to be the mole all along. They probably handle themselves quite well on a normal day when they aren't being undermined by the World's Most Incompetent Spy (I am NOT impressed by her methods. Dana's no Nina Meyers - I'll get to that in a second.)

Number Three - The president actually DIED! When there was a plausible chance of saving him! Holy poop - did not see that one coming (but those tenements are quite roomy. Is this some kind of jihadist special? Pay the first three month's rent upfront and get a secret room big enough for all your sleeper cell operations. High speed internet service included. Perfect for all your live feeds of holding heads of state hostage).

Back to Dana and, by extension, Freddie - That was a TOTAL season 1 Jack-apprehending-Nina moment. Made even more complete that it was in the parking garage. Freddie is going upriver for all this, but not before he whacks Dana. I wish 24thecomicstrip was still running regularly - I totally have a great idea for a strip where Jack gives Freddie advice on coping with the fact that a former love interest is actually working for the bad guys. Maybe Jack could give Freddie some pointers 'cause we don't have three seasons for Dana to be running around before she finally gets shot (actually, she wouldn't be able to last to the end of one season - she's that stupid).

Do we ever get to find out what White Trash Boy-Toy had to do with any of this? Was it just so we weren't surprised when she screwed-up with the mole operation? I mean, can she even chew gum and walk at the same time? What kind of idiot uses the NSA issued cell phone to call her terrorist buddies?

(I understand that Katee Sackhoff plays a rather cool character in "Battlestar Galactica." But since I've never watched BSG, I will always see her as Nina's Mentally Deficient Understudy. I mean, it's kind of a big deal that she's making a guest appearance on "The Big Bang Theory" and somehow ends up in the tub with Howard - wait, that's actually quite fitting...)

When President Taylor found the general and Rob plotting to hand over President Hassan and security led the general away, but Taylor asked that Rob be left behind, did anyone else think he'd say "Can't I go too?"

I want to know - who was the nerd that said Chuck Logan was making his return this week when it's actually next week? Dost thou know what we do to people who spoil us prematurely? And now it's coming from the networks! ...sigh... When does Carlos Bernard make his return? That's all I care about.

The Cheap Cop-Out of "Let's Be Friends"

[Note: On the LiveJournal homepage, they pose "Writer's Block" questions that act as prompts for a blog post if you're looking for a topic to write about. I don't usually answer them (let's face it - I can think of plenty to write about on my own), but today's topic actually grabbed my attention. Since I don't advertise my LiveJournal blog (it's where I like to be anonymous and geeky), I have decided to post my thoughts on this subject here because there may be some Real Life peeps that may benefit from my musings. What can I say? I'm a writer - I think everyone is entitled to my opinion. Important points are bolded.]

Writer's Block Topic: Do you stay in touch with your former romantic partners? Have most of your break-ups been amicable or messy?

I haven't had so many actual "break-ups" (in the traditional sense), but I've had some hefty romantic disappointments that have felt like break-ups. And it's always been the guy doing the actual breaking up. If I were a sane person, I would count myself lucky that I've never had a big blow-up-style break-up. Alas, I am not sane and I wish that I had more experience with the nuclear-type break-ups to draw upon because I think this weak, awkward "let's be friend" crap is just as bad, if not worse.

Personally, I never want to do the "let's stay friends" thing with a guy that I've dated. Mostly because at some point in the relationship, I've probably imagined what it would be like if it was permanent and more often than not, I get attached to the idea of the permanence. (Sad, I know. I don't know how other people avoid doing that). I wish I didn't because it sucks. Usually, I can just ignore the guy and go on with life. But the really bad part is when HE continues to keep up the "friends" BS and I don't know how to tell him to knock it off without being completely bitchy (these are the times I truly hate having a conscience). Every time I get a phone call from him or an email or a Facebook message or I see him in real life, it reminds me of that happy, giddy "holy crap, this could be THE ONE" feeling and I'm reminded how everything really turned out and I feel embarrassed and idiotic. So, while he may think that it's okay that we be "friends," I honestly would prefer that he never make contact with me again. To the result that when I do hear from him, I'm not very nice. Then, I feel even worse because I know he was just trying to be kind and I threw it back in his face.

The key thing to remember: The worst phrase in the English language is "Let's be friends" because all it is is a pathetic attempt to soften the blow that would probably be better in the long run if he just kicked me to the curb in the cruelest way possible. That way, I don't beat myself up into a bloody pulp when I do treat him like scum when he calls or emails and I'll feel better about moving on because he never liked me anyway, the bastard.

The best advice I can give to a guy that wants to break it off with me is this: Just be abrupt and tell me you don't ever want to see me again. Emulate the Band-aid method - it's a bit more painful, but it's fast and done with. Don't worry, I'm a big girl. I'll eventually get over it and be better for it (I might even come to a point where I don't completely hate your guts). Don't feel like you have be bestest-best-buds with me just because you think it somehow makes everything okay in the short-term. In reality, it doesn't. All it does is make life more awkward for the both of us. To be honest, there are some situations I really haven't completely healed over because I feel like I have to be "friends" and I just can't handle that right now (if ever). "Friends" just prolongs the suffering.

I promise - If you let me down hard, I won't write nasty things about you online, I won't deliberately wreck your car, I won't prank call you in the middle of the night, I won't sic my dog on you, I'll make my dad put the shotgun down (I don't know - what do harpy-shrewish-women-scorned-in-love do nowadays?) I may whine to my sisters and my mom and my friends and I may eviscerate you in my pen-and-paper journal that I keep hidden in my room, but that's just for therapeutic purposes and not to be shared beyond that (keep in mind that what you don't know won't hurt you). After some time (how much time is dependent upon the situation), my reason and logic will return and I will be a sensible person once again, but that can't happen if you keep showing up just to remind me you just want to be "friends" (if it's truly, honestly an accident that we happened to meet at the grocery store or whatever, that's forgivable. But even semi-constant contact through email or invitations to go to group activities, etc. is pushing it. I don't care if you're commenting on my Facebook status update about the weather - go take a quiz about which Disney princess you are). Just let me have my time to heal and if we ever meet up again, it might just be a pleasant encounter. I also promise that I will do the same and not contact you. I've probably already deleted your phone number from my contact list anyway.

Does this make me sound a heartless shrew? Perhaps. But it's also good incentive to never date (which is another topic for another day - maybe I'll submit that as a Writer's Block question).

Conservative Epic Win!

(Facebook peeps - If the pictures and video don't come through on this note, go to the source at http://cjsnotebook5.blogspot.com/2010/04/conservative-epic-win.html. You can click on the thumbnails to see the larger versions - I had the larger versions here and they took up the whole screen, so thumbnails it is!)

With all due respect, "Victory" almost doesn't do it justice ^_^

Okay, so I mentioned in my last post that I had a big surprise in store. Well, last night Sean Hannity was in Salt Lake City on the "Conservative Victory" book tour. And yours truly got to go and meet the #1 Great American.

(Pardon the SQUEE-fest - I'm still in giddy fangirl-glee mode! ^_^)

I have pictures and even a video to share and plenty of details, so this will be long. But it's soooo worth it.

I grew up in a very conservative home (though now, even my family thinks I'm a little too hardcore, so I don't think I grew up being brainwashed ^_^) When I was little, I was very much aware that the media was not a big fan of George Bush (41). So, when Clinton was elected, I thought, "Well, maybe they'll treat him the same way," but they never did and that bugged me. I would go out on the farm with my dad all the time. When his show was on, we would listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. But there were a few times that Sean Hannity was filling-in for Rush. I was about 10 or 11 when I first heard Sean on Rush's show and I remember thinking, "Wow - there's another guy out there that's saying the same things I believe." And I was thrilled beyond reason when Salt Lake picked up Sean's show. I listened to Sean all through college and I at least partially credit Sean with saving my sanity when I came home ticked off with all the liberal tripe I had to deal with.

Sean Hannity is one of those people that you can just tell is being sincere. And I love that he believes what he believes and no way is he going to back down from it - no matter who's coming against him. That's something I admire in anyone - doesn't matter who it is. And when it's someone that I agree with most of the time, it's money. I always wanted to meet Sean Hannity in person and tell him how great I thought he was, so when I found out he was going to be in Salt Lake, I made definitive plans to be there.



The sign outside Borders advertising the "Conservative Victory" book signing.

I was staying in Salt Lake with a friend who'd agreed to come with me. We got to Borders at 2:30 (I was listening to the radio and found out that they were giving out wristbands to get in line and insisted we'd better get our butts down there). The girl at the front was really nice when we told her we were there about the Sean Hannity book signing. She told us that they were going to be taping his TV show at 4:45, but those seats were full. BUT - there would be standing room and they'd have TV screens set up so we could watch on that while we waited in line for the book signing. We got our blue wristbands and left to get something to eat and do a few other things.









The "Hannity" set upstairs in Borders. The nice girl at the front told us that we could go up and see it before everyone came and everything went nuts. I wish I got her name - I'd call her manager and recommend her for a raise.

We came back at 4:30 (like the girl told us to) and there was already a line to go upstairs. I was a little panicked because they said they weren't letting people upstairs - BUT - they said they'd take people with blue wristbands! We waved our blue wristbands and went upstairs to the "Blue Line." Holy cow - it was PACKED! The Blue Line was in the back of the store. We couldn't see the set from where we were because the elevator was in the way, but there were screens that we could see.



Blue wristband of joy! And I'm still wearing it. I'm such a groupie :)



"The Blue Line" waiting for the taping of "Hannity" to begin. We were at the beginning of the second group that would get to meet Sean (that guy with white hair was the start of our group). You can see the TV screens that we'd be watching during the show. Everything was happening on the other side of that elevator off to the right.



Dude, I want that shirt!

There were a few minutes before the show started, so I took some pictures and talked to people around us in line. There was one lady, who I have to call Big Blonde Hair because I can't remember her name (my bad... I was so nervous and excited about this that I was just... oh my gosh - I was crazy). And there was a guy behind her that I have to call Cute Red Shirt because - he was really, really cute and he had a red shirt on (Big Blonde Hair was trying to set him up with her niece. In any case, I was not in any state to flirt or get his phone number or anything else like that). Big Blonde Hair was HILARIOUS!! We had so much to talk about and all the way through the show, she was making great comments and we were talking about politics and current events. I just had so much fun with her.

Some big political names made their way in our general area. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff actually came to the back to talk to people and shake our hands, which was really cool. Orrin Hatch came around - he didn't quite make it to where I was, but he came close. Jason Chaffetz (who is my congressman - really cool guy) came by and we saw Congressman Bob Bishop.



Congressman Jason Chaffetz heading back to the green room. All the show's guests came out of here. The line of people wound around that corner and the Borders employees told these lucky ducks that there had to be a space for people to come in and out - but they got to talk to EVERYONE coming through there.

(Side note - I'm sorry these are so blurry. My friend and I had to zoom our cameras in pretty close and I at least was shaking so bad from being nervous that they didn't turn out real great :/)

Oh yeah, Sean Hannity came by there! We were among the first to see him make his entrance (with a host of security guys). When he came out of the green room, the whole room erupted in cheers. Sean stopped to shake hands and give high fives to people along the way to the set (jealous...)



The best shot I got of Sean coming out for the taping. Yeah, my pictures stunk...



Michelle Malkin was on the show and she was also part of the book signing. Man, she is really tiny!

Oh - and after one of the commercial breaks, a cameraman came back to where we were to film us as a "commercial bump." I stood up on my toes and cheered from the back. I was right before the last segment - you could see the top of my head and my eyes and I was waving my book back and forth. Man, I was on Fox News - that's kind of a big deal. ^_^



This one has a great story behind it. There was going to be a 15 minute break between the show taping and the book signing, so Sean headed back to the green room while they set up for the signing (high fiving the people as he went). Big Blonde Hair told us to go up there close and take a picture of him as he came back out and she'd save our places in line. So, we went all paparazzi and camped out for ten minutes waiting for Sean to come out for the signing. This was my picture.

The ladies standing by the green room entrance had these awesome buttons that I wish I got a picture of. They were of a martini glass with a tea bag in it - meaning "Tea Partiers." That was made of win.



I started talking to one of the tour guys helping the line along. I asked him where we could get those awesome shirts. He said that they were so popular that they might make up more and sell them online. *squee*




omigosh-omigosh-omigosh - It's the end of the line!!! It's freaking Sean Hannity! It's almost my turn! (my friend got so much better pictures at this point - I had pretty much put my camera away)



Funny story time: Remember Cute Red Shirt guy? Somehow, he ended up right behind me, so when we got up to where Sean was, Sean asked us if we were together. Like, dating together. It was kind of funny when I had to tell him no, we weren't.



My turn! (I'm in the purple sweater. Hope I don't screw this up ^_^) Man, I was so nervous, but I was so excited. Sean asked me my name and shook my hand. I told him that I'd been listening to him since he used to sub for Rush. He got this amazed look on his face (I can't describe it any other way) and said "Wow! Thanks for your support!" and he gave me a high-five (ha! I got one too!) As he was signing my book, he asked me what I was doing with my life (like he asks so many people on his radio show - but he was asking me! In person! I was a little star-struck at this point). I told him I was getting my masters degree and he wished me luck in my career, thanked me again for my support and shook my hand again. And I might have said a couple of "You're awesome - I love you - thanks for what you do!" but I can't remember exactly.



The signature! Enough said ^_^

It was surreal - meeting someone I've followed and admired for so long. And it was so cool - Sean was genuine and real and just a regular guy. There was a little boy a little way ahead of me and Sean stopped to talk to this kid and thank him for coming. It was just - wonderful. I really can't describe it because it's something you have to be there to see.





By the way - this was when we came back (in my case, skipping) downstairs. Holy crap - if we thought that upstairs was packed - that was nothing. So many people showed up and I think Borders actually sold out of copies of "Conservative Victory" and Michelle Malkin's books too.



Outside after we got out - since I didn't get an actual photo with Sean (that would have been EPIC BEYOND EPIC!) I settled for a picture with my signed copy of the book by the Borders advertisement. I was just plain giddy - it was ridiculous ^_^




I haven't gotten all the way through the book yet, but I've flipped through and picked out some good parts. It's outlined in three parts - the first part outlines Barack Obama's past and where he came from and why we should take notice of these things and why it's a problem. A lot of people actually do that in spades. But what Hannity does is in parts two and three - part two recalls the Reagan years and why Reagan was the best president in the 20th century (shut up, he was). Part three outlines what conservatives can do and what the Republicans had better do to win the day from this craptastic radical progressive junk these guys are pushing.

Republicans have this funny thing about being in power - if they're in charge, they still think that they have to get all the Democrats to be their bestest-best buddies. The result is that you get these wussy "moderates" that just lay down and die when liberals get their little-girl panties in a twist. It's really stupid - nobody wants their elected officials to be pansies and waffle over important issues. The way Reagan put it (hold on, I have to find it in the book) was "raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all the issues troubling the people." (emphasis added) That's my favorite part of the book because Republicans have been flying their little Easter-bunny pastel banner saying they want to play nice and liberals walk all over them. Republicans - conservatives especially, don't need to be timid! Most people in this country identify themselves as conservative and many that don't just don't know that conservative principles tally with what they actually believe (thank you mainstream media for that - no really, your "journalistic neutrality" astounds me).

Anyway, the book is great and it had a lot of great points. One of people's biggest complaints about Sean Hannity (and a lot of other conservative commentators) is that they employ an element of fear in their analysis (never mind that Dems have been doing that to voters - especially minorities - to get votes for years). Well, if you aren't faced with the possibility of something bad happening because you did nothing, you'd just sit around and... do nothing! And nothing gets done (what a concept!) These commentators simply point out the consequences of doing nothing (which are severe). AND - they offer plausible solutions. As in, what regular people can do to stop these things from happening. Rather than just proclaim the Golden Age of Hope and Change (and a purple unicorn that craps gumdrops) if you vote for the rockstar candidate - these solutions are real. They may be hard, but they can be done. And that's what this country is all about - doing the hard thing, but because it's means a better life.

PS - When I got home today, I had the "Hannity's Headlines" free email sitting in my inbox and there was a link to this video from Fox 13 News of an interview with Sean with some reporter chick. I think the reporter's a little off-kilter with her some of her questions (honestly - "Are you inciting violence against the president?" Seriously? People are actually dumb enough to believe crap like that? *here's your sign*), but Sean just hits it out of the park, so I wanted to share it here as the cherry on the icing on top ^_^