Everybody's workin' for the weekend...

...and mine starts now!

My boss, wonderful boss, is letting all of us go early today, and I couldn't be happier. Bummed that I have a headache, but happy to go home and get some much needed rest.

But first, here's a little cryptic message:

So, I was thinking the other day of what states I could potentially live in. Start over, have kids attend school, and actually be somewhere elso other than the State of Arizona. Where would we fit in? Where would we be accepted? Maybe we could move to Indiana? Perhaps Delaware? I like Kansas - Kansas would be nice. Holli and I have often thought about Texas! Which I've heard is much more pleasant in the a.m. as opposed to the afternoon. We thought we'd like Austin, but maybe it's not the place for us. Georgia was great, but seems a little slow...not much response there, so who knows if we'd fit in or be accepted? We almost moved to New York once...would have had a job in either Albany or Syracuse, but all of that snow might not be appealing to us.

But now I'm just rambling...I'll let you figure it out. If you have no idea where I'm going with that, then ask.

THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE...

... is still going to give me a heart attack.

THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE...

...is going to give me a heart attack.

"Boy, you're sure optimistic!"

So, lobbying is a very interesting job. I've had the opportunity to do it with a few organizations now, but probably not to the exent as with my current job. I'm always amused by what some legislator has to say regarding our platform. Either the remarks are accepted and eloquently discussed, or blank stares and disagreement ensue. That's just part of the job.

But every once in a while I get really amused by things they have to say. The two bills that I primarily speak on are zingers. I can already see how some will look to expose my youthful flaws and try to rake me over the coals.

Just yesterday, we visited with a legislator who seemed perfectly complacent with the bills my colleague presented, but tried to slam me on both of mine.

"Well, you need to find out who's going to foot the bill, because right now, it's a stupid idea," was the first response I received from her. "Great, Representative," I thought. "Thanks for the insightful reasoning behind your stance. "

The next bill received an equally amusing response.

"I just say vote 'em all out. People never read that stuff anyway. People vote for candidates because their neighbor knows the person and says they make good brownies or whatever, or because they have the right name or look good. Boy, you're sure optimistic about these bills aren't you?"

Let me break this down a bit more: 1) Her reasoning for why people vote for certain candidates is most certainly true as far as it pertains to her. 2) Yes, I am optimistic about these bills because that's my job. Someone has to be the idealist. One of the reasons people have such a high distaste for government in general is because of apathetic, cynical attitudes akin to hers.

This is why we need to give legislators a raise...why you should have passed Prop. 302...so we can eventually get a few more quality legislators.

I am an idealist, and in many cases an optimist. So be it.

One thing is for certain...at least I get paid more than a state legislator.

Oh, work...

... geez, Louise!!

What a day...

Now I have the next eight working days ahead of me to repeat exactly what I did today and then some... :(

Cue the stress, please!! Cue the stress!

back to the grind

Well, I'm not 100%, but I'm back at work. I need to be. We're meeting with 21 legislators over the next two weeks - 6 alone today. It's going to be crazy. You never know which legislator is going to have a ton of questions taking more than the half hour you requested, or which one will simply take the summary from you and say "adios."

Oh, if I could only share more legislative stories...

ill

Enter the sick season today... spending Monday at home.