***Entry 67***
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
12:49 p.m.
Cross posting again...I've written a new Zoe's Diary piece called "Observations on the Sniper and Fear" on the DC IMC. I've said everything I wanted to say about how I feel about the sniper there...

***Entry 67***
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
12:02 a.m.
Well...DC may not be a state, but we might just get a quarter!

***Entry 66***
Monday, October 7, 2002
11:10 p.m.
I'm currently down in Southern Maryland--an area that is usually ignored unless something terrible happens here. But, this is the closest thing I have to a "place I grew up" given that I moved around so much as a child.
Depending on where you go, Southern Maryland is not far from DC. But there are serious cultural differences that remain in effect even though commuter busses transport people on weekdays to the city. The interesting thing is the stigma that is still attached to people from Southern Maryland. Jill, a Northern Virginia native, noted recently that she thought everyone from Southern Maryland was a "hick" until she met me. And that's not saying a whole lot about "ril" Southern Marylanders, because I'm not originally from here.
I can't say that Southern Maryland is a fabulous, exciting place to live or even to crash at a couple nights a week. But I will say that it deserves better coverage that this awful piece about the Walmart in La Plata from this weekend's Post Magazine. Southern Maryland will never emerge from "hick status" as long as urban dwellers get fed stereotypes like this: In whatever way La Plata refashions its central business district, the truth is that downtown La Plata is now located two miles north of town, within the walls of the new Wal-Mart. ... People loiter on the wide avenues of gleaming linoleum. They wander the aisles while they're having a prescription filled at the pharmacy, or getting their oil changed at the Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express, stopping to catch up with friends whom they had to arrange to see before the Wal-Mart came to town. Wal-Mart is now a way of life for La Plata residents...
There's so much more to La Plata, and somewhat indirectly, Southern Maryland culture than this story allows for.

***Entry 65***
Monday, October 7, 2002
06:38 p.m.
Quickly again, since I'm still on deadline...Earlier today, MayDay DC, a local homeless advocacy group held a PIG (read: people in government) roast in Freedom Plaza, across from the Wilson Building. While I normally am highly supportive of May Day DC, and their pre-cursor, the Olive Branch Community, I have nothing but angry feelings toward them today.
Why? Although I am severely pressed for time, I volunteered to help with the PIG roast by picking up the sound system and dropping it off in Freedom Plaza. I made my time constraints very clear: I needed to drop off the sound system at 11am and then be on my way to class. However, when I arrived at Freedom Plaza, no one from May Day DC was there. I tried to contact various organizers, but no one from the group had a working cell phone. A problem? Only a lot.
I drove around Penn Ave between 13th and 15th Sts. for over 30 minutes waiting *less than patiently* for May Day DC folks to show up. At around 11:35am, in my final circle around Freedom Plaza, I saw them unloading some cars filled with food. I drove over and told them to quickly unload mine because I was in a rush. They apologized for the delay in arriving, but it did nothing to soothe my temper. I yelled some stuff about this being a waste of my time and then I left.
I like May Day DC. I like their activism. I like their unconventional approaches to getting the attention of government officials. I do not however, like to have my time wasted. One of the key things about keeping volunteers is to make sure that their lives are not being curtailed by volunteering. My life was curtailed today. I'm not sure if I will ever volunteer my time again to May Day DC.
Lesson: When you are putting on an action: have a working cell phone on the scene, be there when you are supposed to be, and don't piss off your volunteers by wasting their time. You never know, those volunteers may just end up writing nasty things about your group on their blogs if you make them angry.

***Entry 64***
Sunday, October 6, 2002
02:10 a.m.
Just a note. I may be absent from the pita for a while because I'm working to a deadline on Chapter 1 rewrite. When told that the deadline is "Monday," I see that as "I have to finish before midnight begins Tuesday." Hmmm...

***Entry 63***
Saturday, October 5, 2002
05:37 p.m.
Proof that I am becoming an outright raver. I'm helping to promote Thriller--a super hot rave happening in Washington, DC on November 2. I'll be around town hitting clubs, cars, peeps, etc. handing out the *hot* flyers and encouraging you all to attend. Start being excited now!

***Entry 62***
Saturday, October 5, 2002
01:00 a.m.
I'm exhausted now. But I had to quickly state some things before going to sleep.
1. Chris Strohm and I went to the Saloon on U St. and Mayor Williams walked in. Chris asked him about the city's deficit and how it would effect the bond rating and property values. Williams stated that property values would continue to rise and that the deficit was only a projected deficit for FY03--which began Oct. 1. *Thankfully* the Mayor resolved the deficit through social program spending cuts.
2. Additionally, Chris asked the Mayor about taxing the World Bank and IMF. Williams stated that he would like to be able to tax them, but federal law prevents him from doing so. Instead, the Mayor is looking for a federal handout to replace the tax revenue the city is losing thanks to the tax-free status of these institutions.
3. On a less political note: I added more links to my right hand sidebar. If you wanna see Zoe and Celly in action click on "Zoe Mitchell." But don't stop there, plenty more interesting links await you...

***Entry 61***
Saturday, October 5, 2002
012:51 a.m.
If it wasn't enough that my car was broken into and I have to drive to Montgomery County (see ***Entry 60***below), I learn of this recent news re: West Nile Virus. I love living in Washington, DC.

***Entry 60***
Friday, October 4, 2002
03:10 p.m.
I was super tired last night, so I went to bed at around 7:30pm. Celly woke me up; it was Josh on the line with bad news. My car was broken into, yet again. This time the moronic thieves decided to break out my passenger side window and damage my windshield. They were looking for the faceplate to my CD player. Contrary to my MD plates, I am not a stupid suburbanite; when I am not in my car my faceplate resides in my house or on my person. But thieves do not know this--especially the ones that hit my car last night. They trashed the inside of my car looking *in vain* for the elusive faceplate. They found nothing of any value and left my car door ajar and my window busted.
I've thought a lot about writing a note on my car that says something to the extent of "Attention morons: This car has nothing valuable in it!" but considering the low literacy rate of DC residents, I doubt it would be a worthwhile use of my time.
The scary thing is that tomorrow I have to drive to Montgomery County, MD to get my car windows repaired. With the recent mass shootings there and the fact that the police have not found the killer, I'm actually more worried about being in the suburbs than hanging around my "transitioning" neighborhood.

***Entry 59***
Friday, September 20, 2002
12:02 p.m.
Blogging about the West Wing again. (See also last week's ***Entry 54***) In last night's episode Sam, Josh and Toby return to the "make life easier" problem from last week when they create a mechanism to help middle class families pay for college education. More important Lily Tomlin's character failed her security check because she had once written a letter to the president that asked if she poisoned the president with arsenic would he delegate power to the World Bank. She wasn't threatening assassination, so much as pointing out that thousands of people die because of water contamination thanks to the World Bank. Needless to say, the president allowed her to keep her job although he made some condesending little statement like "nut job" or "wacko" after speaking to her.
It was nice to see this little reference to World Bank policies on the West Wing; however, it would have been more effective if there wasn't a reference to assassination and if the president had engaged in discussions over these types of policies, rather than dismissing them under his breath.

***Entry 58***
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
06:48 p.m.
Quickly, because I have to go to work.
Joanne writes some interesting stuff...about me: Zoe also gets groupies. She's a real internet celebrity via IMC (she's got a a folder in her email entitled "people obsessed with me.") and about her experience working at the DC IMC: One thing that infuriated the IMC is when the Palestineans step on their antiwar demonstrations. Since when is suicide bombing pacifism? Since a collective body can never see beyond its nose?...Briefly, it should be stated that a few members of the DC IMC, including myself, were angry that the pro-Palestinian protesters invade the antiwar demostrations with their anti-Israel messages. I agree with Jo, suicide bombing is not pro-peace, but the IMC as a collective body generally does not organize demonstrations...and it certainly *as a whole* does not take a position on the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Clarissa has dedicated most of her past week's entries to an analysis of the protest. It is really really interesting stuff put together by one of the most effective organizers I know. She writes: I think the weekend was a success. Yes, we shut down the city -- thousands of people took public transportation instead of driving to work, and thousands more stayed home entirely. We got our message across. So what next? I hope that I'll have time to reply to her question later.

***Entry 57***
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
06:17 p.m.
Sorry, I've been absent for a while. I've been busy doing dispatch at the DC IMC for the World Bank and IMF protests and organizing an amazing press conference on police repression of activists and journalists during the protests.
Eventually, I will write a longer piece about my experiences this weekend and a critique of tactics. As for now, I am slowly attempting to return to my real life. I have tons of delayed school work...including Chapter 1 rewrite...that I have to attend to first.
Brief comment: Unlike many activists who live for protests and consider their "real lives" dull and monotonous. I know protesting is important, but I like my real life much much better.
Finally, I'm now "targetting" my links...a real improvement in my HTML knowledge thanks to a rockstar woman known as "old school."