I Thought I Had Seen Everything...

Yesterday, I was at a coffee shop, minding my own business, when a woman came up to me demanding money. She lifted up her shirt and flashed a huge, red, infected boil with burn marks all around it. She stood there, challenging me, but I just walked away. A minute later I turned around and saw her flashing another stunned customer. I'll spare you the picture.

Wow, San Francisco gets weirder every day.

Happy Birthday Women's Suffrage!

On August 18th, 1920—90 YEARS AGO—American women won the right to vote and run for office without restrictions or qualifications, such as  property ownership, payment of tax, or marital status. We love you 19th Amendment! Finland was actually the first country to grant full suffrage in 1906, although other countries, such as Sweden, had granted restricted voting rights to women hundreds of years before. Check out the wikipedia link below, if you want to read the interesting details.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage

Ladies, historically speaking, that wasn't very long ago. We take  many of our rights for granted. This day has always meant more to me than July 4th, which represents the day white, male land owners proclaimed their freedom from Great Britain. I don't mean to trivialize the social and political significance to July 4th, but, honestly, only white men gained true freedom at that time. And to be accurate, only white women were able to enjoy this voting right in 1920. Different ethnic and social groups have had their own respective battles and triumphs throughout the years. Just look at what's going on with gay rights and Prop 8 in CA right now.

But let's get back to women. Here are a few fun facts gathered from the internet:

• A higher percentage of women vote than men.
• A majority of women vote Democratic
• Approximately 3/4 of the women in Congress are Democrats
• The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is third in line to the Presidency
• Our college attendance is equal to men
• Women make just 78 cents on the dollar on average (argh!!)
• Women must be given maternity leave

So let's celebrate! And vote!

Car Collision

I woke up in a great mood today. But then my phone rang, and a motorcycle cop informed me that my car, which had been parked in front of my apartment complex, had been rear-ended. Awesome!  A woman, coming from St Mary's Hospital, hit my car with enough force to lift it over the curb and destroy my rear tires. She then ricocheted into another car not far from mine. Miraculously, the front end of my car wasn't touched.  And, thankfully, a witness called the police and kept the woman from fleeing the scene. Wow, her car was a mess . The damage from all 3 cars will easily be $50,000 or higher. Not sure what the real explanation is. She didn't appear to be drunk or high or physically hurt.

Needless to say, I spent most of the day getting my car towed, speaking to insurance companies, and filling out reports.  I went into business mode immediately and was able to get everything taken care of without being upset. But now that I'm home and done with the details of the day I feel a little shaky. Guess I'll take a bubble bath and try to relax.