This weekend Todd and I celebrated our negative one year wedding anniversary by sending in a deposit to a photographer and then going on a Salsa Cruise. We arrived at the docked party boat at about 10:30. After a brief encounter with a security guard (who took my pepper spray!) we boarded to boat. There was a live salsa band on the top floor and a lot of couples already dancing. We looked at each other with panic on our faces - there were a few couples that looked like they just got off the professional circuit. If we were going to make our way to the dance floor we were going to need to drink a lot. The cruise charged quite a bit for mediocre drinks, but what else in new? We were captive on the Ohio River.

We spent a good portion of the evening at the front of the boat a la "Titanic." It was actually really nice to look at the nightime lights of the city pass by. Here is a picture of us on the website doing what we did most of the evening...sit down:
http://www.cincylatino.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=22192
Between the music and the sights we had a lovely time. At one point they decided to stop the music and offer some lessons to the people who had no clue what they were doing. We attempted to follow, but it was really hard. After that we danced a few songs, but we had to stop when we realized that I was just doing the polka step and Todd looked like he was hopping around like a bunny rabbit. We aren't very coordinated and Todd has no rhythm. He is going to be mad at me for saying it, but it's true!

(He tried and I love him anyway!)

I found out that one of my college professors died this weekend from complications with knee surgury. There is a flowery obituary in the State News ( http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=36324 ). Is it horrible that my first reaction was, "Well, he was kind of an ass. Wait, I'm being too kind, he was a giant ass." (?)

I took a class with him called "The politics of Equality." That sounds like a good lefty class, right? WRONG. He spent a good chunk of time making fun of his wife and daughter, he was so sexist. He wrote belittling comments on my papers, chastising me for my "provocative" arguments and then going into great depth to belittle me. After the class was over and I received the lowest grade I had ever received in a James Madison class I wrote a letter to the Dean about what a horrid professor this man was. I never had the courage to actually send it, but it is still saved on my computer.

RIP Hoekstra, RIP.

I'm kind of afraid to post this. I have this reputation as a hypochondriac; when I have a bad headache you can often find me googling "brain tumor." Granted, this isn't really an exaggerated fear of a grave illness. It hurts to sit.

Yesterday was the second time that I went to the YMCA "step" class. For those of you who are not familiar with "step" - it is like aerobics where you do cheesy dance moves and look kind of like this:

I went last week and it took a while to stop feeling like a tool and to start having fun. The music was so catchy and the instructor bore an intriguing resemblance to Richard Simmons. I decided to continue going to the class.

This week, however, the instructor decided that we should go on an "urban hike." This is the route we took: http://tinyurl.com/ja3mw Please note that it is nearly 6.5 miles at a very brisk speed. We walked across state lines and over three scary bridges with rushing Ohio and Licking Rivers underneath. Oh, and don't forget that everytime we came to a stairway, and believe me, we came to MANY stairways, the instructor had us run up and down the stairs three times. I was exhausted and my hands were swollen that afterward, when I tried to put my ring back on, it wouldn't even fit TO my knuckle. Of course, after the hike we still had to do some other exercises. Today my butt hurts so much that I can't even sit comfortably. My toes are sore because my feet are so wide that the baby toes were curling under my other toes and I was basically walking ON my toes.

I'm in such horrible shape but I think I'm sticking to step class. At least that way when I need to take a break I'm not 3 miles away from my car. No more urban hikes for me, thank you very much.

Yesterday was our agency's silent auction spring fundraiser. I decided to get in on the action and I bid on something that wasn't getting any play: Two tickets to all 5 Cincy Salsa Cruises this summer. I didn't really know what it was and I like both Salsa the food and I imagine I would like Salsa dancing, so why the hell not. I ended up winning so guess what I am doing this summer? Salsa dancing on a boat on the Ohio river! http://www.cincylatino.com/modules/edito/edito.php?idedito=70
I don't know if they teach you how to salsa dance, but after 5 trips down the Ohio River, Todd and I had better be able to dance! (Please note that these are NOT overnight trips, they are just Friday night events.)

Tonight I did some presentations about dating violence for an afterschool basketball league. They do educational sessions to try and educate the kids on a variety of subjects.

It was awful - truly awful. Think about the factors working against me:
1) It is a friday night
2) It was in a gym
3) The kids had been playing basketball (adrenaline pumping through their bodies)
4) There were about 75 kids in each session.
I had a microphone and I was still yelling over them, they were making fun on me and making "meow" noises. I had a feeling it would be a tough group, but I really didn't expect them to be this disrespectful. At one point on of the coaches took the microphone from me and said (I'm not making this up) "All y'all are embarassing black people! I thought we raised you better than this. Sit down and show Ms. Kimberly some respect." (I go by Kimberly at work...I needed a change.) But seriously, how does the only white person in the room respond to that? And what pressure do you think it puts on those kids? I suppose it's nothing new. The way race is structured in the United States, anything an African American does reflects on his or her entire community. It was interesting and disturbing to hear it put so bluntly, though. I wonder how it would have affected me if I was flat-out told that everything I did reflected on all white people. It's a lot to live up to.

I believe that I dress fairly conservatively, but I am still 22 years old. I buy my clothes from a lot of chain stores that are age appropriate and tend to be more conservative and tailored. (i.e. Banana Republic, J.Crew, Ann Taylor and The Gap for basics) However, my place of employment has an extremely strict NO CLEVAGE policy. This is very stressful for me as I have to stand in front of the mirror each morning jumping around making sure that there is NO CLEVAGE whatsoever showing. I mean, I understand that our boss doesn't want boobs hanging out, but she has made people go home and change for wearing v-neck sweaters that give the illusion of a shadow of clevage.

Although I own a lot of V-neck shirts and button down business shirts that I have pretty much eliminated from my work wordrobe. I have have a size 34D chest and I am young so my breasts are perky and up high. Even if I don't think what I am wearing is vulgar, I have been told to "be careful." Even when I am wearing a camisole underneath! I've not been sent home to change (yet).

Tomorrow we are having our annual spring fund raiser. It is a nice event where we expect to raise about $35,000. All staff is required to be there and the attire is business (dressy suits) or cocktail dresses. You would NOT believe how hard it is to find something that doesn't show off clevage. I mean, if I am going to spend money on a new outfit it should be something I am going to wear again and makes me look good not like a dowdy old mono-boob. (Boatneck dresses make me look like I have an Anna Nicole Smith chest.) It's May so it's getting too warm for turtlenecks. I suppose I could rock the cardigan look since I do that at work all the time, but I feel like it's a bit too "librarian-esque" for a cocktail party. (No offense to librarians, I often describe my style as "librarian chic!")

AARRRRRGGGGG! Damn boss and her puritanical ways!

Looks like I'll be hitting ye olde mall this evening.

I'm really hesitant to write this because I hate to jinx myself but it looks like we have a plan for a real wedding celebration. That's right, I won't be getting married at Cincinnati city hall on 6/6/06. Damn.

Todd and I traveled back to Michigan to look at locations just one more time this past weekend and we have found the best possible option for us. More formal announcements will be going out, but I wanted to be the first to tell you to save Sunday, May 27, 2007 (Memorial Day Weekend) because many of you gentle readers will be attending our wedding! Also, save your money because we are going to reserve half of the Inn on Ferry Street ( www.innonferrystreet.com ) for our guests. The ceremony will be in the backyard of the Inn and the reception will be across Woodward in the Detroit Historical Museum. Best thing is that if you stay in the hotel you can use the free shuttle provided by the Inn. That's right, drink to your hearts content and you don't have to worry about driving back!

Just to let you know, you should stay Saturday night too because there will be tons of stuff to do in Detroit on Sunday before the wedding. The DIA is right next door and the Detroit Science Center and the African American History Museum are within walking distance. You could also go downtown to a baseball game or see a show at the Fox Theater. No pressue, but we will need to fill these rooms!

I've been hearing strange noises lately. It sounds like cannons being fired near the river. I was wondering if there was some kind of Civil War reinactment going on that I didn't know about. (Which reminds me, I really want to go to one of those.)

I found out what it is yesterday. Whenever the Cincinnati Reds (baseball team) hit a homerun, fireworks go off over the stadium, which happens to be near the Ohio River. I explained this to Todd who was as perplexed as I have been.

Todd's reaction: "Well I hope they start losing because it's beginning to sound like Bahgdad over here."

It's primary election time and I didn't move to a "red state" just to sit back and relax. Today I am heading out to the polls. I am trying to strategically decide how I want to use my vote. Should I vote in the Republican primary? Should I place my vote for the less bad Republican candidate? Or should I vote for the sacrificial lamb *cough* I mean Democrat? Because, let's be honest, a Republican is going to ultimately win.

The election is getting closer and closer and the ads are getting nastier and nastier. It began as a battle between who is more conservative and turned into a battle of who hates gay people more.

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "the lesser of two evils." That is the decision I am left with.

Here is the challenger: Bob McEwen and his lovely family decked out in their red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger finest. Bobw McEwen is, according to the oppositions ads, actually a resident of Virginia, not Ohio. Eh, who cares, I say. Bob McEwen used to be an Ohio Senator but he was kicked out of the senate because he wrote 160 bad checks with the Senate's expense account. Fraud - whaaaa?

Here is the defending champion: Jean Schmidt and her dreary family on their way to a funeral. Oh, what's that, it's not a funeral? Coulda fooled me! Why does Jean Schmidt look familiar you ask? Hmmm....the signature slicked back ponytail with the giant bow, the mean, nasty little eyes....Oh, now you remember! She brought shame to Cincinnati when she (with no military service) decided to call a decorated Marine (Murtha) a COWARD on the floor of the House of Representatives. Ahhh, yes, she's a charmer.

Of course Ohio also has a Gubernatorial race going. The current Governor, Bob Taft (yep, that's the great, great, great, great, great grandchild of President Taft) has the lowest approval rating of an Ohio Governor EVER. I think it is at 14%. What lesson has Ohio learned? Get a new Republican governor! Our choices?

The Challenger: Jim Petro. I knew it was going to be a long campaign when I started seeing ads running for Jim Petro in SEPTEMBER 2006! He is the underdog, but he is putting up a good fight. Here is a clip from his website:

• Jim Petro is pro-life and supports our second amendment rights. In fact, no other public official has done more to protect innocent human life and our second amendment rights than Attorney General Jim Petro.

• Jim Petro has always been pro-marriage and believes that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman.

I think the first statement is laugh out loud funny! His campaign also started the website: www.wrongagainken.com It is a website devoted to hating Ken Blackwell. And these guys are supposed to be from the SAME PARTY! In fact, Jim Petro has been running anti-Ken Blackwell ads where a black man in a suit (supposedly Ken Blackwell) is stealing toys away from children. It is so unbelieveably funny!

He has also run TV ads talking about Ken Blackwell's "hipocracy." How could Ken Blackwell really be pro-life? He owns stock in a company that manufactures birth control pills!

Indeed!

Which brings us to Ken Blackwell. I know you are all scratching your heads...where have we heard that name before? Indeed my friends, he is the current secretary of state for Ohio. He was the one responsible for all that voter fraud in 2004. He's getting in on the scathing ads as well. Ken Blackwell doesn't just sit back and take it! According to Ken Blackwell's official website:

Jim Petro says that he is believes marriage is between one man and one woman. But Jim Petro opposed the Ohio Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and opposed the successful 2004 amendment to protect marriage. Ken Blackwell was the only state-wide officeholder to support and campaign for the marriage amendment.
Just a quick overview of Jim Petro's record on abortion clearly shows that he has served many years as a pro-abortion public servant. He was previously endorsed by the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. And in 2000, when he flip-flopped on the issue of abortion, he said had changed his position, "but only slightly." Ken Blackwell, on the other hand, has always been 100% pro-life and is endorsed by the Republican National Coalition for Life.

I say that I can't wait for this election to just be over, but I know that once it is over the REAL fight begins. In the meantime it is quite fun to watch the Republicans in a death match against one another.

Am I the only person who is getting annoyed with the "pain at the pump" montage the news stations are doing everyday. I mean, why is the top news story is that gasoline is costing a quarter more per gallon than it was a few weeks ago. We get it, we see it when we are buying gas. We all grumble and deal with it. Good lord will people just deal with it!?!

Gasoline is never going to be 89 cents a gallon ever again.

The news stations have been doing polls asking people how they are dealing with "high" gas prices. People have been driving less, car-pooling, walking more and using public transportation. Hmmm, sounds like a great plan to me! I don't see how any of those things are bad. People have been faced with a "hardship," and are now adjusting their life to accommodate the new needs.

I think we should raise the cost of gasoline to $5.00 a gallon. Then maybe we will see some action. Perhaps scientists will work around to clock to create more energy efficient cars and alternative energy sources. Maybe communities will organize vast car-pooling systems. Perhaps cities will even put more funding into public transportation systems that are efficient!

Hurray! Sounds like a good plan to me!

Todd and I are visiting Michigan this weekend. We are going to look at other possible venues for this damn wedding. Right now we are thinking about a May 2007 wedding in a garden with the reception at the [URL=http://www.detroithistorical.org/exhibits/index.asp?MID=1]Detroit Historical Museum in the Streets of Old Detroit exhibit.[/URL] Look at it and tell me what you think!

I've said this before (and people think I am joking, but I am not): if we can't just secure a date and place Todd and I are going to get married at city hall on 6/6/06. (Because that would be so goth.)