Speechless? Not!

I've been battling a nasty cold. I sound horrible and feel crappy. The up side is I'm feeling better each day so should be back to normal before vacation. I had my first class of the new term last night. I prepared my extemporaneous ethical speech, wrote a one-page self description and psyched my sick self up. I picked up my graded portfolio from the last class and was thrilled to see the instructor wrote "I would have given you an A+ if the grading system allowed it!" She underlined the plus sign. I'm just sayin'. 'Cause I'm proud. I met a lady from the last class for dinner on campus and it was nice to catch up and compare notes - she's in the Thursday night Communications class and I'm in the Friday night class. I love my instructor - he's about 65 yo, witty and very expressive. We were assigned numbers for our speeches. I am #15 - there are 16 students. We ran out of time and had to stop after the 10th. I was not happy. Now I have to give two speeches next week - ethical and anecdotal. The anecdotal should be easy - there are many embarrassing moments in my life from which to choose. Hundreds occurred in the last week alone.

I also have to turn in a rough draft of my OpEd (a 350 word personal newspaper commentary) next week. I'm not 100% sure, but am thinking it will be on healthcare reform funding. I'm hesitant to discuss things of a political nature here because a) I intended this to be a place for lighthearted thoughts save for a few deep reflections here and there, and 2) I acknowledge my political views are my own and somewhat complex. I'd hate to sound self-righteous or arrogant. I consider myself a progressive Republican as I am socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I don't hate Obama. I'm on the fence about Palin. I support the right for anyone willing to make a life commitment to marry, regardless of race, creed or gender. I believe abortion is wrong for me yet a decision each person must make for themselves without my interference. I believe in investing in all things green, especially energy. I'm not the "greenest" I could be but have made small steps via recycling, driving a compact car and turning the home heat down. I believe in fighting for our beliefs and rights, but not every fight is our business. I believe in a higher power and am a semi-practicing Catholic who also embraces Buddhist philosophy. I don't believe in judgment regarding someone or a situation for which I do not know all the facts exceptions are made for celebrities and fashion. I love debate and honestly believe one of the reasons we've become so politically polarized is we don't talk openly and respectfully enough. We judge, we shout and we criticize without understanding or assuming best intent. In closing, I'd like to buy the world a Coke and teach it to sing in perfect harmony.