Illinois is going to be the next state to legalize same-sex civil unions.  I’m not going to rant about this.  I’m not even going to debate whether it’s better or worse than marriage.  Frankly, I don’t care.  What concerns me is that I finally live in a state that’s moving in the right direction.  Yeah, we have our economic problems just like everyone else.  At least this bipartisan effort in Springfield actually made a difference.  

Of course, some idiots couldn’t keep their mouths closed.  One Senator, John Jones (R – Mt. Vernon) was quoted in today’s Chicago Tribune Review – I have a “lot of good gay friends” that I respect and support, but civil union “is the wrong path to take”.  What the hell does that mean?  If I was a gay friend of Sen. Jones, I wouldn’t even return his freakin’ phone call after reading the paper.  I’d be lighting a flaming bag of crap on his doorstep.  That’s like someone saying, “Why yes, I have a lot of great black friends who I simply adore, but I still want them to sit in the back of the bus.”  Whatever, loser. (Coincidentally, I wrote that not knowing today was the anniversary of Rosa Parks‘ bus ride.  Thank God for strong-minded women.)

I was completely unproductive at work.  Let me rephrase that.  I was productive, but none of the items I actually worked on were work-related.  I spent the morning calling my landlord about all the crap that’s wrong with the exterior of  my building, made a dentist appointment, scoped venues for my awards banquet in June, chatted with my friend Brad on Facebook, spent 1.5 hours at the gym (during lunch), tried to keep my intern from running out the door screaming and ate lunch at my desk.  I did mention a couple of project-related items to my boss and to one co-worker.  I guess it wasn’t all bad.

Speaking of useless, I’ve managed to stay out of Starbucks for nine days now.  I have no idea what kind of crack they put in their coffee but EVERY SINGLE DAY I think of popping down for a 2:00 snack.  WTF?  I’ve been making coffee at home, before work, and then when I get to the office, I have to doctor up that swill they give us, just to make it palatable.  Somehow I’m surviving.  It’s not pretty when you look at your end of year bank statement and see how many nights out, new shoes or plane tickets you could have bought because you need a Starbucks.  It’s some type of sick addiction.  12-step program, anyone?

PS: Happy Hanukkah to all my Jews! 

Related Articles

• Illinois Civil Unions Bill PASSES State Senate, Quinn Vows To Sign (huffingtonpost.com)
• Illinois Moves Toward Gay Civil Unions – NPR (news.google.com)