Mixed bag of thoughts

First (!), in less than 24 hours (20 hours, to be exact), my very best friend is coming to visit me and I am so excited! I haven't seen her since January and I cannot wait to have four full days to hang out with her...even if I'm spending two of those days with her boyfriend as well. Actually, I'm really looking forward to meeting him as well. And really hoping it goes well. We're doing touristy stuff: Capitol tour; monuments at night; Eastern Market as well as regular stuff: drinks & dinner on 8th; wandering Georgetown; Eastern Market. Yup...SO excited!

Elizabeth took yesterday off of work. We decided to go prostrate ourselves at the altar of capitalism, which means, simply, that we drive out to Woodbridge, VA to shop at Ikea and Potomac Mills (outlet mall). I'd feel bad about it, except I don't. :) At Ikea, we browsed the "as is" section and picked up a coffee table for $16, as well as two side tables for $10 each. Add in a $15 rug, a clear vase and a white orchid plant and we were good to go for under $100. Not bad. And the living room looks completely different. I love it (it is much more "modern" now) and Elizabeth is getting used to it. I think she'll come around (so does she), although there was a dicey moment last night when we set it all up and she looked very unhappy. Anyway, it's a brand new apartment without the hassle of moving - yay for that!

President Bush vetoed the stem cell bill today. I'm not at all surprised and I know that the bill really wouldn't have changed much, but I am still very irritated by it. The man never fails to disappoint, it seems. In explaining his veto (his first in 5.5 years - way to go Senate Republicans, not bowing to his will this time around), Bush talked about "moral lines" and "terminating life" and "manipulating humanity". I despise this loaded language, even if I understand where it is coming from. Senator Frist issued a statement referencing his support of stem cell research as a surgeon. Bush's office said that making this decision as a policy maker is different from making it as a doctor. Apparently, the difference is that as a policy maker you consult your religious beliefs and talk about morality to try to shame people into accepting your point of view. ::sigh:: There are 400,000 stem cells eligible for research, so I'm not worried about the immediate future of such research, but I'm annoyed by what this move says - that our administration isn't listening to the people. That, once again, this administration has decided what is best for the country and is acting on it, regardless of what the majority of Americans might think. This isn't a red/blue issue, folks - most Americans support this research, minus conservative Republicans and this move smells of midterm election strategy to me. I can only hope that it backfires. ::grr::

But hey! Did I tell you? My best friend will be here tomorrow! And we have an awesome new living room! So, life's not all bad, I suppose. Besides, being pissed off by the Bush administration is nothing new for me, right? Right.