2 Great Causes...

So I've apparently gotten into this whole doing good thing. Never thought I would, but I guess in trying times you re-evaluate what you want to do and what impact you want to have. I hope you will join me.

So here it goes.

As many of you know, in November, I rode in El Tour de Tucson, which was 109-miles in one day (9 hours to be exact). In doing so, thanks to the generosity of friends and family, I raised $4,000+ for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the process. I had such a rewarding experience with the whole process, that I'm doing it all over again, this time 100-miles in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, in Tahoe. I know many of you donated last year to the cause, but please consider helping out again, as in the current economy families struggling with cancer are in ever more need of the services supplied by LLS. Read all about my training and experiences and find out where to donate here. I couldn't have done the last ride without the support of my friends, and I hope you'll all be with me again!

But I'm also going local. As pretty much the whole country knows, DC has some of the worst schools in the country. It is a rare instance when schools close for snow or anything else because a large percentage of kids get their only square meals in their school cafeterias. But it's not just that...the schools are crumbling. So the organization formerly known as DC for Obama is getting together to be involved in Servathon 2009. Our task is going to be spending the day May 2, 2009 painting classrooms, building playgrounds, landscaping, and I'm participating. If you can spare a dollar or two, please visit my page here to help out!

If you can't help out in either of these causes, get involved locally...PLEASE! Volunteer your time, your energy, your hearts to helping out those in need!

An Amazing Weekend...

I was going to write something long and attempt to be eloquent about this weekend in Washington, DC for the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States, as my friend Ann over at Tragic Optimist did. But I realized nothing could possibly capture what it was like to be here, on the ground, as it was happening.

Beginning on Friday night the crowds began arriving, and the city was in full swing by Saturday night. Many of us residents were worried about the revised bar closing time of 5:00 AM, but our worries were for nothing. There was such a positive atmosphere, there were no incidents, no fights, no nothing! That feeling lasted all weekend, culminating in the explosion of excitement and joy when Barack took the oath of office.

Here are some of my favorite moments (in chronological order):

• Standing opposite the Lincoln Memorial with 400,000 other people, listening to The Boss and U2, then laughing at the spectacle of Jack Black trying to be serious and reciting Lincoln
• Rocking out to Moby spinning at a local club from 12am - 2am, then rocking that much harder after the power came back on again at 2:45am
• Showing up at RFK Stadium as part of the Day of Service on MLK Day, and realizing that 10,000 other people listened to Barack's call to serve on Monday just at that location alone!
• Waking up at 8am and realizing that the Mall was already 3/4 full of people, so having to book down to try and get as close to a jumbotron as possible
• Standing in a sea of a little under 2 million people chatting, laughing, and talking while we waited for the ceremony to start
• The roar of joy when each of the following showed up: Al Gore, Teddy Kennedy, Hillary & Bill Clinton, Michele Obama, Sasha & Malia Obama, and loudest of all, Barack Obama
• The thunderous boos when each of the following showed up: Clarence Thomas, Dick Cheney (also accompanied by laughter though), and George W. Bush
• The fact that 2 million people stopped and became perfectly silent for 10 minutes while a quartet including Itzak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma played Classical Music (Air and Simple Gifts, arranged by John Williams in this case)
• Watching Barack Hussein Obama take the Oath of Office, and feeling the surge of joy and hearing the roar of the crowd.

And that was my experience....I will leave you with a picture, that I feel captures the mood of the whole weekend:

Yes We Did

Last night's election was inspiring for many people, disappointing for many others. But for me, it was a moment I will remember forever.

Inspired By A Presidential Candidate for the First Time in My Life

It is no secret that I have been a long-time supporter of Barack Obama. I am inspired by his eloquence, and his unexpected commitment to doing things differently (the first time I went to a volunteer meeting the first thing they told us is NEVER say anything bad about the other candidates....only good things about Barack).

However, even I was amazed and impressed by his speech yesterday. There will always be those who will say this is not enough, or it was a political ploy. However, he wrote this speech by himself, and clearly spoke from his heart - a rarity in American politics. It is my hope that America is ready for a person who actually speaks in the nuance that is the reality of the world, as opposed to being overly concerned by the sound bite do or die.

I am for the first time in my life truly inspired to step beyond myself and commit to a cause on a National level. Those who know me out there know I am quite a cynic, so may be surprised to learn that I plan on going up to Pennsylvania and dedicating whatever time the Obama campaign needs to win the primary there. I am proud to support a candidate who supports a majority of my policy priorities...and who steps beyond the traditional nasty poll-driven politics and says what he thinks and believes.

I suggest everyone listen to the speech in its entirety. Though it is 40 minutes long, no speech on race issues in America should be any shorter, and I believe this one is truly a landmark in American politics.