Obama loses election how?

Normally when Emily has a nightmare, she has an uncanny ability to recall specific events of her dream. Apparently after her voting experience yesterday, she had a disturbing vision in which Obama lost the election due to one of our friends...check out the video of her dream (isn't technology amazing these days)...

Yes. I. Can.

Today I took advantage of my civil liberty and voted. This actually took place accidentally, not intentionally. I had planned on voting next week at the early polling stations at the hospital. I even had the day of the week picked out for when I next worked. But, alas, this was not the case.

My overtime was cancelled at 11am so I had a day ahead of me with no real plans. I had some library books in my car that needed to be returned (yes, I make frequent use of my local free services) so thought I'd swing by and drop those off and pick up some new. As I rounded the corner of the main entrance my eyes saw the polling booths and tables set up, filled with other enthusiastic Americans.

As a side note, why is it a requirement to be over 70 to run the polling stations? I mean, here we are in a college town, located in the ped mall, in the heart of campus and the only individuals running the station are retired teachers and veterans. (I know because I asked...tactfully). As another side note, did you know that they are required by law to go over the ballot with the voter and provide non-biased information? True enough (I found this out when in my exuberance to get to my booth and told the nice lady that I knew what I was doing, for which I was interrupted and told that she HAD to explain the procedure because it was the law). Now, I don't know if its actual law, or the laws upheld by dedicated Iowan's who don't want to have Iowa subjected to a situation like Florida had. But hey, they take their job seriously, at one point I was fearful that if I didn't seal the envelope correctly I may be led away in handcuffs. (There was a cop voting 2 booths away...so it could have happened.) Oh, and does anyone else get a little nervous that they didn't entirely fill out the ballot fully and that maybe your vote won't count? Or that the damn bubble seems impossibly large and did I really get it filled correctly? These are serious concerns for serious voters. I hear you laughing at me but you just wait until you're in between the plastic walls of a make shift booth, pencil in hand, giant bubbles filling the page with names of judges and district attorneys you've never heard of but hope if you ever end up in your court you voted for the right one, and you just see if you don't have a feeling of apprehension. Did I mention that I had to use the handicap booth...there was a little anxiety here people!!!

So, I voted. And I have the pin to prove it. 3 minutes of social obligation and I've changed the world. If only...

New box to check on health history form...

Some of you may have already heard the news in the last week and a half that I was recently diagnosed with Melanoma skin cancer. Yes, you read it right. For those of you who don't know until now, sorry for not sharing earlier but we didn't want to worry more people than we had to. Unfortunately for those of you who do already know you probably found out when I was hysterical or nearly there. But, today I received good news...the melanoma was successfully removed! Now, some background storytelling...

Upon moving back to Iowa I started to notice an area on my back that would itch occasionally. I didn't think anything of it at first until finally I was conscious of the scratching and asked a coworker to take a look at what I was scratching. A mole. *little pink flag...not red because they said the mole looked fine* So, a few months go by and the mole still itched every now and again. Still seeking medical opinions of my coworkers to verify all is well...no change. Finally one day I thought, you know, it's been about 9 months since my last check, I should get in to the dermatologist. Now, I know most of you have probably never seen a derm doc before but I've had 4 moles biopsied in the past (all ok) but have a high likelihood of melanoma because my father died at 46 from it. So, I'm a worried wart and get in at least once a year if not every 6 months. The last time I had been in I had a biopsy and then excision of the site due to irregular fast growing cells (precancerous, but not cancer...confusing, I know). So my thoughts were, hey stupid, get to the doc when this itching thing continued.

Sorry for all the background, but here's more:

So, finally make it in, get a biopsy although both staff and resident agree the mole looks fine, just irritated, and I quote "doesn't look like melanoma so don't worry." So, I left and forgot about it. Until a week later (9/29) I get a call from the staff doc and he tells me I have melanoma. Of course shock sets in and my nursing knowledge flies out the window and I can't ask one single educated question before I thanked the doc then hung up. Then of course broke down. All I had heard was melanoma, most serious form of skin cancer, and needing surgery soon and the words kept circling in my head. My appointment was two weeks ago this Thursday to remove (hopefully) all the melanoma remaining. They took 1 cm on either side of the mole (an inch total in width) and cut 4 inches in length.

Now, I have a very tight incision on my back that makes it a little hard to bend, turn, stretch, but am otherwise ok. And now that I know they got all the cancer cells I'm feeling pretty good about that too. I now have to go in every 3 months for a year then every 6 after that-if no more angry cells.

So, I'm sorry to keep nearly everyone out of the loop, but I wanted to hopefully deliver good news on the cancer front instead of just increasing the worries of all our readers. For those of you who did know, I am very thankful for all your prayers and concerns and love and support. I'm truly blessed to have caught this cancer very very very early before it had spread.

Election Prediction?..."My Friends"

If The University of Iowa's school of business' Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM) is as prophetic as it has been in the past, then it looks like Obama may be pulling away as the presumptive victor for the White House, as his shares have gone up to $.77 a share as of yesterday....and that's some news that most of us can rest easier with, considering the economic mess that seems to be brewing.