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The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Over the past two years, I have steadily watched this campaign unfold.  From the fiercely competitive primaries to the even trickier presidential race, I’ve seen Obama navigate his way through uncharted waters with an impressive amount of grace and ease.  He triumphed while never forgetting that this election was about more than selfish ambition or breaking racial barriers.  He was one who always gave the impression that at his core, he truly wanted to make the world, not just his country, a better place.  And, while the fact that Obama is Black is undeniably noteworthy, it is in no way what makes him remarkable.

Here is a man who, against insurmountable odds, has managed to remain true to his beliefs without resorting to the negativity so common in recent campaigns.  He showed an incredible strength of character when he could have easily chosen the low road.  However, I am not naive.  I realize that to go from someone who couldn’t even get into the 2000 DNC to the first African-American President of the united states requires an unimaginable amount of political savvy. But what set Obama apart from the rest was his ability to stay on message while still appearing to come from a place of honesty and truth.  We have had many a charismatic politician, but he somehow managed to transcend all who had come before.  His intelligence and the eloquence in which he spoke was all the more impressive when coupled with the fact that his meager beginnings would have made his story impossible under any other circumstances.

Barack Obama is an American first and an African-American second.  Rather than making race an issue and attempting to be the first Black President, he simply stayed on course and proved that he deserved to be President for no reason other than the fact that he was the best man for the job.  He gives me hope because he is living proof that with hard work and determination anything is impossible.  We must also not lose sight of the fact that his victory shows how far we’ve come as a nation.  Despite what you feel about personal responsibility vs. systemic injustices, Obama is a testament to the fact that any battle can be won if only we persevere.

And on this day, I am so very proud.  Proud of our country for seeing past the things that divide and instead looking forward towards the things that unite.  Proud of our youth for not succumbing to apathy and showing the world that they have a voice that deserves to be heard.  But most importantly, I am proud of Barack Obama.  With an unfaltering love of his family and an unwavering pride in his country, he showed us all that we can truly have change if we never let go of our hope.

Here’s a tip, while dining at Maverick in SF, it’s probably best not to ask the waitress “Do you serve the Sarah Palin?”  Really, don’t.  Sure, in  your head you’ll have some witty “What’s a dikfore”-like comeback akin to: “Oh you know, it’s two shot glasses filled with desperation and lipstick”.  But trust me, that’s not how it’ll play out.  No one will laugh. No one.  You’ll just get a sad vacant look from the waitress who’s boredom is only overshadowed by her indifference to the fact that she won’t be getting a tip due to any effort on her part to even provide you with a pity laugh.

Lesson complete.

Top Chef is total bullshit.  I’m really tempted to boycott the show.  For real this time.  Andrew getting sent home because he didn’t “follow the rules” is completely f’ed up.  I thought it was beyond unfair when Antonia or Lisa didn’t get sent home when they decided they were above beer and polish sausage and instead made sea bass and chorizo in the improv challenge.  But yet they send Andrew home b/c he didn’t use a whole grain?  Unbelievable.

I just can not stand Lisa.  She is a self-righteous whiny baby who would knock an old lady down the stairs to win.  I mean what a fucking hypocrite!  She wantonly ignores the rules of the challenge and declares “I don’t cook with beer” and then has the audacity to call Andrew out.  And why the hell is Spike still there?  Ok, he can make a squash soup but is that really the makings of a Top Chef.  And you know what? I like Dale.  Sure, he gets far too upset over losing but at least he has talent.  Richard is obviously going to win though.  And he should.  He’s experimental but not as bizarre as Marcel or as annoying  as Hung.

I’m telling you, pull this crap again Top Chef and we’re through!  I mean it this time.

I went to Trader Joe’s for the first time ever on Sunday.  I know, I know, it’s shocking that I’d never been.  For years I’ve read their catalog which, for some reason, I always received in the mail. I found it amusing and in passing I’d always referred to the newsprint circular as “…like J. Peterman for food”.

Upon first entering I was completely overwhelmed.  Though I’m certain that had to do with the fact that I went at the worst possible time (Sunday early evening) at the worst location (9th Street). But I was really impressed by the selection.  I liked the prepared meals and salads and the fact that you could get vegetables and meats prepackaged in smaller portions.  But the thing I really liked was the prices.  At the checkout I was surprised that my two large, very stuffed bags of food only amounted to ~$60.  Comparable shopping experiences at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms routinely cost upwards of $150!

I haven’t tasted everything just yet but so far so good.  I will definitely go back but next time I’ll be armed with a shopping list and a sense of purpose.

Yesterday I went to Guitar Solo on Townsend to have the action taken down on my guitar. Guitar Solo has almost legendary status in the city because it is known for it’s acoustic guitar selection and even better Tech. I had stopped in before but never had anything done until yesterday. I must say I was not disappointed. The Guitar Tech, Dave, was a really great guy. He took it in the back and basically decided that he could take down the action but that there would still be issues because of the way that my guitar was constructed. Part of the conversation went like this:

Me: So what you’re saying is I should get a new guitar
Dave: Well…

Before you think he’s a shyster who’s just trying to separate a fool from his money I should set you straight. He’s right. My guitar is, to put it mildly, a piece of crap. I only bought it because it was a good starter and I always intended to upgrade to something better.

He explained that he might not be able to give me perfect results but that he would see what he could do. It was obvious that he had a real respect for the craft because he spent a lot of time in the back trying to make it as nice as possible. When he could have just taken my money and phoned it in. It seemed that he really cared whether or not I was happy with the end result. While he was at it I asked him to change the strings and pins. The pins, by the way, were nice wooden ones that he gave me a more than 50% discount on.

To my credit, I resisted the urge to buy any of the many guitars that I tried out while waiting for the Guitar Tech to finish. I really liked the Blueridge BR43 and the Wechter 5713. The Wechter was a small parlor guitar but it had a really nice sound and the back and sides was a gorgeous matte rosewood.

I’d highly recommend Guitar Solo. When small shops are getting crushed by mega chains like Guitar Center, it’s nice to see a local business that cares about quality and service. Oh, and the whole thing only ran me about $50 and that’s including the strings and pins.

Listening to music on the walk to work today I made a decision. And I’ve made up my mind so don’t try to convince me otherwise. I am officially boycotting any song that contains the lyrics “Can’t you see“. It has to be the most hackneyed non-original rhyming phrase of all time. I demand more, people.

That is all.

Saw Baby Mama last weekend. Extremely hilarious movie. I love it that smart, funny women are making waves on the big screen. Tina Fey is my hero. The only weak spot in the movie was Romany Malco who played Oscar the doorman. While I loved him in The 40 Year Old Virgin I really didn’t like him in this role. Tho to be fair, it’s hard to tell whether it was his acting or the writing. When Oscar says: “If you listen to DMX, the baby comes out goin ‘Ennngghhh!”… Sheesh. “Honest to blog” that is unbelievably bad dialog. But overall I really liked it. Amy Poehler was a riot and I loved seeing her and Fey together  on screen again.

Who among us has never accidentally typed the wrong info into a form? Forever more having to hit down arrow twice because you accidentally typed “uesr” instead of “user”. Well the nightmare is over! A quick googling produced an ever so useful blog post about Firefox Saved Form Data Frustration. It’s basically this:

Go to the form where the mistake is. Put your cursor in the text entry widget and hit down until the incorrect entry is highlighted. Now press shift + del … voila.

It was such an unbelievably awesome find I couldn’t not blog about it.

Earlier today I went to a pre-season SF v. Oakland game at PacBell. Today was a ridiculously nice day. The seats were in the lower level and the sun was really shining down. A fallen comrade has season tickets so who am I to turn down a free game?

Having formerly lived half a block from PacBell, I’ve been to many, many games. But every time I go I’m always amazed by the huge, albeit bourgeois, selection of food. Today, for example, I had a bowl that included Jamaican jerk chicken, black beans and rice. It was pretty damn good.

What happened with the game you ask? Oh, the Giants got their asses kicked when the A’s scored 6 runs in the 7th inning. But no matter, I had some frozen lemonade to distract me during the 8th.