I wanted to wish (e:ladycroft) and (e:rory) many congratulations! That's so wonderful that you are married now, and I hope you'll continue to have an amazing life together.

I hope that you (e:strip) folks are having a fun Halloween so far. I'm not getting dressed up; just heading to a party that some friends are having in a little bit. I hope to make an actual update sometime soon. I've missed everyone here. Life just got really crazy, but it's better now.

Happy Halloween!

Jess

I miss the art of old-fashioned letter writing. I used to write quite a few friends, but it somehow fell by the wayside with the advent of facebook and such. I don't have anything against electronic communication, but there's something so special about getting a handwritten letter in the mail that you can save.

Aaron is working this summer in an archeological museum in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. The town he is going to be living until August is where the discovery show the the deadliest catch is filmed. I was able to spend about a week with him after I was finished for the semester at SUNY; and he left yesterday. I miss him so much already, but I'm really glad he has a chance to go doing something he is going to enjoy so much. I am going to go meet up with him when he is done in early August in Portland, Oregon; staying with some friends of his. I'm excited about that! I've never been out west and have always wanted to.

Anyway, I had this idea of maybe sending some letters on cool stationary and care packages to Dutch Harbor to surprise Aaron.

So I was trying to think of ideas of stuff to put in the care packages. Do you have any ideas of what might be good to include?

Last month, I traveled through the Adirondacks for the first time when I went with Aaron to see his family in Northern New York. I've never really seen anything like it in person before. I think I've fallen in love with the mountains. I breathe easier when I'm there.

I'm looking for a new place. I want to spend a little less than I am now, and live on my own again. I think I found a complex that I like. It's on the bus line from the University, has utilities included, has a laundromat, and it is next to a beautiful little park. It also seems very safe and quiet.

It's strange to me how many times I've moved over the past three years. I think I counted about six places. I honestly miss Buffalo so much. I miss the people there.

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King

Less than fifty years ago, most African-Americans were denied the right to vote. Our country adopted a system of "separate but equal" that was brutal, unjust, and inherently "unequal". Lynching and violence against anyone who tried to overturn this system was a shockingly common practice in America. Less than one hundred years ago, women were denied suffrage. Today, a man of black ancestry is now the President of the United States. A woman is our Secretary of State, as is the Speaker of the House.

I don't know how much the situation in our country will improve now that Obama is President. Sometimes I think that the expectations of many Americans are far beyond what any person can accomplish. Even so, I am hopeful and proud to be an American today.

God Bless America.

Sarah Palin wasn't as bad as I thought she would in the debate tonight. I think Joe Biden did a great job conveying his understanding of the issues, but it was certainly the most interesting VP debate that I have seen.

It probably goes without saying that I find her stances on many issues to be very troubling. Especially on reproductive rights. I would just assume that she never be involved with the executive branch. I'd be fine if we made her an ambassador- perhaps with the Russian Federation? As she has claimed, she has foreign policy experience, based upon her tenure as governor of Alaska.