Friends List Maintenance #3

I just did a long-overdue Friends List cut... a few deleted journals that clearly aren't coming back, a few communities, and a few other people who haven't made a peep in lord knows how long. I suspect that the people who got booted aren't likely to care, since they never post or comment, but I figure I should mention it anyway.

If'n you're curious, here are the things that would cause me to remove you, which are pretty much the same as they've always been:
1) not posting *and* not commenting for a long time (one or the other is fine, but not both)
2) spontaneously turning into a flaming jerk

Otherwise? I'm not horrendously picky. I also know that some of y'all are habitual LJ lurkers, so IRL people whom I've actually talked to in the quasi-recent past needn't worry.

If you want *onto* my Friends List, you have to leave a comment and let me know, because I don't friend people back without at least a token introduction.

Real post to follow later!

Things be happenin'!

Wushu Belt Test is tomorrow. I must admit, I'm pumped! I've been chomping at the bit for a promotion, and it's finally almost here!

I think everyone at the school has figured out by now that I'm sooooo not a white belt. ::laughs:: At the same time, however, I'd feel completely out of place giving out advice or tips to my classmates while *wearing* a while belt. I still feel odd about even practicing in higher-level classes, even though I know I'm capable, because I have the n00blet belt tied around my waist.

So, yeah, I'll actually feel quasi-respectable after the promotion. Part of the belt application form mentions helping out the school and contributing to the school "family" environment, and I'll actually feel like I can *do* that once I get a higher belt.

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We woke up early-ish on Saturday and went to the Oregon GOP Straw Poll, and that was certainly a new experience. I didn't even know what a straw poll was until I heard about Ron Paul, and I'd never even participated in a primary election. It was interesting to observe the massive disparity between my fellow Ron Paul supporters and I, and the "typical" Republican party member. This probably sums it up better than I could.

Not surprisingly, Ron Paul won the straw poll by a gigantic margin. I know that some folks are quick to write off straw pull victories as "meaningless," but one thing that it does show is that people who support him have heard his message, and actually care enough to go forth and support him.

When was the last time you were fired up enough about a candidate to vote for them in a straw poll? Or anyone else you know? How many people out there are like I was, and haven't even bothered to vote in a primary election before? Quite a few, I suspect.

And hell, if somebody's willing to go and vote in a straw poll, you *know* they'll be at the polls on Election Day. That's something the GOP ought to be banking on, if they have any wisdom.

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We did dinner with my parents on Saturday and Sunday, which was nice. It's kinda funny having them up here, because I don't get a lot of family visiting me here in the Northwest, so I'm not sure what they'd want to do up here. The fact that I'm still sadly unaware of a lot of Portland fun, being a recent transplant, also makes it tough to think of things, heh.

Ma bought me some stuff from down south, and we sat around yacking for a while. We also went to the Widmer pub on Sunday, and had some weird beer--I tried the "dessert beer," which was interesting, to say the least--and some good food. They came to see the studio, too. :D

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Before dinner was a long day at the Portland Marathon. We had to drag our butts out of bed at 5am in order to get to our shooting spot on time, so that was painful. We did get to walk around for the first couple of hours, though, so that was fun. It ran way longer than we expected, though; we didn't escape until after 3pm, and that was *before* the long-ish walk back to the car. It was a lot less brutal than Race for the Cure, though, so my arms don't feel like they're going to fall off, heh.

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Finally, a couple of travel notices:

( 10/19-10/21: Eugene )

( 11/8-11/12: MD and DC Area )

Thank GOD for the belt test, because I'm going to need more challenging workouts to help prep for the tournament. And, I don't have to register for my events until 11/2, so I actually have some time figure out what forms I can pull together. Again, thank god for that.