The Right To Vote!

I have never wanted to vote for president. That is until a few weeks ago. Through out the primaries I was rooting for Ron Paul (see previous post) but didn't actually vote for him considering I had no plan to ever vote again, I knew I would be moving to another state, and didn't want to hassle of being called to jury duty. But I changed my mind one day. Here in Michigan there are two new proposals up this election. One for the legalization of medical marijuana the other for embryonic stem cell research. Two things I feel strongly about. So I decided I would register, have my say about the proposals, and write in Ron Paul (just to stick it to the man a little). Well I went down to the library and turned in my form there only to receive a letter from the county clerk a few days later saying I was not registered due to the fact that the organization, who was responsible for sending in the forms, had not sent them in on time. I was enraged. Here I was a 20  year old woman who finally has the mind and ability to vote and I can't. I called the library, was regretfully nasty to a nice woman, and eventually spoke to my new friend Michael. He apologized profusely and said he was investigating the problem and would let me know the results. To make a very long story short I was told to call Hailey (who turned out to be a very young and unprofessional person) at the Obama Campaign who basically gave me no confidence at all. So I called the County Clerk directly and a woman in the elections office told me all I had to do was bring my license to the polls on election day and fill out a provisional ballot! I was shocked it was so easy (I'm still a little nervous). The whole thing really taught me a lesson: I don't really believe that God wants me to vote and I think that it really doesn't matter all that much how many people vote but I do know that it was devastating, even to a person who never wanted to vote, that my freedom and privilege could be denied me. The moral of the story: Go out and vote for your local government (mayor, congress people, senators, etc), research the proposals for new legislation in your state, and vote for someone like Ralph Nader (or Ron Paul) because God knows someone like Obama sure as hell doesn't need your vote. 

Apples, Root Beer, Donuts, and Free Bikes

I am starting to think that Stephen and I have some sort of magnet for cheap vintage bikes. We went apple picking today and got a little lost and on our way back to being found we saw these two bikes on the side of the road and slowed down for a look. Well they were free! So we labored for some time trying to get both of them into the car but decided only on would fit. So we packed it, went and picked some apples, enjoyed some tasty old timey root beer, bought some donuts, and headed home. Our plan is to fix it up and sell it to some hipster who won't mind paying a decent amount for it. It's funny because while we were fixing up my bike Stephen had said how fun it would be to fix up old bikes and sell them as a little money making hobby. Looks like we may be on our way to doing just that. Hm.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of my apartment, Lake Michigan, and my bike make over. Enjoy!