Watch ABC News tonight at 4, 5 or 6

While I was out and about today, I saw Marc Brown and his camera man again (from abc) We talked about the move to indoors for the President’s speech tomorrow night. I started to answer and he said, let’s’s talk a bit and they turned the camera on. He asked me a couple of things and then said ” what to you think when the republicans are saying that the speech isn’t being moved because of weather but because you can’t fill the stadium and it’s a B of A stadium. It is weird how bizarre that sounded to me because we all had been talking about, what if it rains? After being caught in the down pour on Monday, I wasn’t interested in getting that wet again. My things are still wet and it’s two days later!!! It’s mother nature, not politics but I guess that’s what happens in the news. All I know is that there were a lot of people that weren’t delegates in town. Being able to fill a stadium sure didn’t appear to me to be a problem at all. Keeping them dry or at least being able to get everyone moved to a covered and safe area if a storm hit, while in a stadium, would be a nightmare.

Not having planned the conversation out, I had no idea how I would come across. I found the link so, here it is: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=8799400

Photos from yesterday

I’m going to try to post photos from yesterday with captions. We’ll see how it goes.

20120905-125058.jpg Gray Davis at the California delegation breakfast.

20120905-125321.jpgThomas the guy at the Google cooling station with Diane ( my fellow delegate but from Wisconsin)

20120905-125436.jpg Sandra Fluke. I heard her speak at the breakfast and the woman’s caucus. She is very articulate and strong. A reporter from the Congressional Quarterly saw my talking to her and snapping that photo, so he asked me what I thought of her. He also asked my opinion on the buttons around the convention that said “Sluts Vote” would I wear one? Here’s where perhaps I shouldn’t go into politics but you heard it first, no matter how it appears in the magazine. I said that while i think there is always a need for levity in politics, I probably wouldn’t where the button but Rush Limbaugh is an idiot and I’d much rather be a slut with Sandra Fluke than an idiot like him. Well there’s your notable quotable for the day.

20120905-130417.jpg Saw Mark Brown newsman from LA, and his cameraman

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20120905-130547.jpg Then I saw my fellow SMC counselor, Lisa who had just come to see the convention. It was old home week on the convention floor last night.

Process of the convention

Ok, I’ve had 4 hours sleep and I thought of other things I wanted to mention before I start day 2 of the convention activities.

Last night reminded me of the end of my Junior year in high school when our Activities Director created a nominating convention for our school and I was running for student body president. It hit me, that that was probably the last time I had paid attention to the “process” . I don’t know if I should admit that here and I’m obviously discounting High School government, sorry, Mr. Shryer. It was an exciting time during my senior year, because I was elected student body president, I studied Robert Rules of order and knew that you don’t “make a motion” but you “move” to do something. I also recall that I thought that I was going to be the first woman President of the United States of America. I liked having a sense of getting things done and I thought public office, especially the top job, was the way to do it. Well since high school, my higher education, career in sales in Europe, College Recruitment for USC, college advisement and counseling (where I am part time currently -budget willing) at SMC, marriage (did I mention he’s an amazing person?) ,3 daughters (who are awesome too) with acting and volunteering as a through line, I find myself where I am today. I’m not sorry I’m not President (well i’m not yet, at least

What a night!!

It is 2:22am Wed. Morning and while i want to write down everything from tonight (or last night really) I truly don’t know how long I will last or if I’ll make sense, so bare with me.

My seat was up high but over looked the stage. What a great evening. Such great, positive energy everywhere you turned. I’m assuming many of you saw the speeches. They were touching, motivating and inspiring, even from the nose bleed section. I am very proud of the Democratic platform. As you saw, the states all sat together in their delegations but we alternates sat together from every state. We had a blast up on high. I loved their reactions and they are as enthusiastic as I am. It was magical.

I have learned a lot more details on the issues which make me prouder of our Democratic ideals. Even the press guys Diane and I spoke to at lunch said that they were at the republican convention last week and the crowd is more energetic and positive at the DNC. The press is invited by the state department to these national events, not by the party planning the event. Did you now that? I didn’t.

Well, it’s nearly 3 am now so I’m afraid I’m quite tired, so I’m going to sign off. I’ll attach photos etc later this morning :-). It was a GREAT evening!!!!

In the convention!!!

Almost 5pm NC time and got into the Time Warner Center just in front of the down pour. I haven’t dried off from yesterday’s storm. Had a great day am actually spoke to 3 reporters so you may see my name in print. Thanks Lyle for sending me a sound clip from kcrw. What a great day with the woman’s caucus this morning, planned parent hood mid-day, small business caucus, and started to attend a presentation on the arts but realized we needed to eat before tonight’s convention.

Met some reports from Harpers.org. They talked to us for a while. I was asked if i was an eternal optimist and i proudly said YES!

I’m up stairs so you won’t see me on camera tonight but I’m still trying. Stay tuned!

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View from the balcony at the opening.

Blurring shot from the balcony of Michelle Obama. What a speech!

Good morning! Day two of the DNC!

I didn’t think that I could be any more excited then I was yesterday but… After experiencing day one in NC, getting drenched in the rain, walking 14,965 steps (as captured on my pedometer), I am up and raring to go. To be able to be here and experience this, I once again have to thank my husband, who came home for a weekend and worked a weeks worth of “honeydos”, the most important of those duties was to get our three amazing daughters packed and off to friends for the week. To my daughters, you warm my heart. I love that you are so strong and mostly I LOVE that you miss me, I miss you terribly! To the amazing Weldon and Martin families who are housing our precious daughters and who, in a couple of hours will be taking on getting their families and my family out the door to school, while Randy (who, have i mentioned, i love with all my heart?) gets back to work and I am here in NC. Again, The Starrs are incredible lucky to have you in our lives.

Today, I am a bit more emotional then the other days and it’s because I feel so lucky to have the choice to be here. I loved the speeches yesterday, the festival and then watching the news and reviewing my opinions on the issues. To think that there was a time that I, being a woman, would not have been able to take part in such an amazing process. Whether or not I personally agree with an issue or choose to participate, in my being, I am opposed to the idea that I would be told by my government, (mostly of men) what I can or can’t do or who I can or can’t marry. I am lucky because I never had to make those choices in my lifetime and i had amazingly strong woman before me to fight so I can be here today. How could I ever tell someone else they couldn’t choose for themselves or be with their life partner? I would much rather be fighting for a better educational system then revisiting these issues but I hope that my tiny part being here, will play a larger roll in our being able to concentrate on strengthening our economy, helping the environment and assuring that our children are fed and have a great education and an enriched future.

I’m off to day two…

The skies opened up. Big Time!!!

James Taylor was on stage at 5 pm. The storm clouds were rolling in but it was still hot. Some time between You’ve got a Friend and I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain, while we’re all standing outside, the skies opened up and dumped so much rain, it was quite shocking. Good old JT said, we’ll try to come back as soon as we can, but the officials came on stage and told all of us to take cover, there are severe storm warnings. At first it was kind of funny but you’ll see, I looked like a drowned rat in short order. Also, my new blue shirt preceded to run bright blue down my white shorts. It’s a good thing I can’t wear white after labor day because the shorts are ruined!!!!

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Charlottefest

Diane and I spent the afternoon wondering around Charlottefest. They had closed down a main street downtown Charlotte and had a stage on each end with performers. Jeff Bridges performed mid day and James Taylor was coming in at 5pm. I took a photo of the line up.

Did I mention that it was hot and humid today? Boy, I mean to tell ya, it was hot and humid. Oh yea, I just mentioned that. Moving on… Diane and I volunteered I the HouseUnited project. Last week at the RNC, the republican delegates worked on half of the house and this week at the DNC, delegates got to work on the other half of the house. They are putting the house together in Charlotte, finishing it and donating it to a disabled vet. Pretty cool, two houses building one house to help someone in heed of a house. We signed a banner that has everyone that worked on the house that will be presented to the new owner. Tye Pennington was there from Home Improvement. In my theme of, why not, I grabbed Diane and said, Tye, can we get a photo with you? We got a photo!!!

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Small world at the DNC

True story. last January when Randy and I went to Ireland to collectively celebrate our 50th birthdays, we met a couple on our 2nd to the last day. They were from Wisconsin and the woman, Diane, was also celebrating her 50th birthday. We hit it off and upon our return home, Diane and I became friends on Facebook. After I posted that I was elected as an alternate delegate for the DNC, she looked in to doing the same thing in Wisconsin and was able to become a delegate at large. Today, Diane and I got together and it was like we have known each other for years. She said that I inspired her to become a delegate. Wow, that was something to hear. I can’t believe the extend that this experience has touched my life and it’s only the first day of the conference. now, to hear that it has motivated someone else is fantastic. especially someone that I’m so glad to see and someone thatis going to vote for President Obama :-).

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Breakfast- day 1

This morning we started with getting credentials and then moving in to breakfast. My new friends from northern California, that I met last night, found me and I sat with them. The MC for the morning was John Burton- the Chairman of the California Democratic Party. He is wonderfully irreverent and and has an amazing public service record.-I took a photo with him. His first introduction was of Congressperson John Lewis, wow, he was great. The speakers that followed all commented that he shouldn’t have gone first because he is a hard act to follow. I started to take down notes and then I realized that I was doing what many of us HATE when kids (or other adults) are heads down in to an electronic device rather than being an active listener so… I put the #%^* iPhone down on the table and listened intently and took in his message to inspire us to be a “constructive disturbance”, lisa Dr. martin Luther King. Don’t be afraid to stand up for want you believe and to believe in all individuals rights to love, live and choose. That is totally me paraphrasing and it’s the reader’s digest version but he was inspiring to move forward. He was very charismatic. The other speakers were Congressmember Jared Polis from Colorado, Congressmember Donna Edwards from Maryland- she is on the science and technology committee and was great. They work a lot on educational issues in that committee. It was very cool to hear from her. Then Congressmember Xavier Becerra from California- I got a photo with him. Then, Christine Pelosi, author of Campaign Bootcamp-which was given out at the tables, and daughter of Nancy Pelosi, introduced Nancy Pelosi, the keynote speaker for the morning. She did a great job to talk about facts of accomplishments That this administration has done. I have so enjoyed the speakers talking about what is happening and what can happen in a positive manner. Wow, this is something, have I said that before? There is so much to take and and such a wonderful sense of possibility.

OH I got interviewed by KCRW and it will be on the air sometime today- all things considered- I have no idea what time but it is an interview, not TV but radio. I’m working of the TV angle saturating tomorrow night at the convention.

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