a little over one year ago, i emerged from the EcoBuilding at the Minnesota State Fair too tired from working a miserable 6 hours in the name of natural foods--[having to fend off such comments as, "EW! Organic Food! Gross! I'd NEVER eat anything so FILTHY! It's just so DIRTY." with a midwestern smile&nod-combo as i felt my faith in humanity slowing wilting in the most painful manner]--to enjoy the late night fair activities or any of the million deep-fried foods on sticks. as i waited in the humid, noisy darkness for my park&ride shuttle to come, i vowed never to work a state fair shift for my employer again.

however. within this year, i've gone from 40+ hours/week of hectic, stressful pastry shifts to 8+ hours/week of pastry plus 29 hours of unstressful cooking shifts. so, i'm losing a few hours [and money] by cooking. also, i've realised that if i pick up a cooking shift or state fair shift... i get to short myself hours on my one baking day [awesome!]. point is, i worked the fair.

and i once again vow to never do it again.

BUT!

i DID get to see the most horrifically awesome thing ever:

a morbidly obese man in an electric cart-thingy, sporting the tightest, greasiest jerry curl ever known to humankind, beelining it [and nearly running over small children in the process] toward the free samples from 1000 Hills farms of 100% grass-fed beef [no casing, no nitrates, no msg, and as much omega-3's as wild-caught salmon] cocktail wienies. mr. wheels took 7 and then ran over an old lady's foot as he made his getaway toward the Sustainable Yard display.

AND! i got a button from the www.energyofanation.org booth-sters that reads, "Immigration Fuels Out Nation!" and wore it proudly. ...cos GODDAMNIT! I'm not that far from off-the-boat and my family does GREAT things.

BUT! i DID also see the most repulsive thing ever:

a v. tiny, awkwardly-limbed man, who looked to be the product of a botched abortion attempt, wearing a shirt that simply stated, "Abortion is Mean" on front with an out-of-context bible verse printed upon its back. he dressed his small son in the same shirt.

now then... fair dues: had i survived an abortion and grown up to look thumbelina-like, i'd probably think abortion was mean too. don't know if i'd commit it to a shirt though. DEFINITELY wouldn't make my offspring wear the shirt. IN HELL, would i let my offspring wear same shirt as me in public, especially one quoting ill-referenced scripture.

had i the magickal power, i would've willed my shirt to instantaneously read, "Abortion Has Nothing on Me."

...oh if only i had such a power.
...or a quite technologically-advanced tshirt, as it were.

also,
there was this woman who came up to my co-worker and i in a somewhat panicked manner asking, "I'm moving to China next week and I hear the water's unsafe. What should I wash my vegetables in? What do you recommend? Do you know anything about cleaning vegetables!?" and before co-worked and i had a chance to roll our eyes at each other, both thinking, "hey lady... do our nametags not read 'cook/chef'?," lady says, "Cos I hear bleach-water is what I should use." a collective gasp and "NO!" came from us. she then argued that bleach-water was safe and that our suggestions of vinegar/water or somesort of vegetable-wash product were "not strong enough" and "not available in China," respectively. She eventually walked away, unsatisfied with our "lack of knowledge." in doing-so, i noticed she bore [not one, but!] three "Norm '08" buttons. now then... Norm '08 refers to Senator Norm Coleman... a once-liberal-now-convservative-as-fuck dick-of-a-politician who only won his first term because Senator Paul Wellstone&wife&others died in freakish aeroplane crash a couple months before the election. [mum still suspects foulplay][[as do i]]. point is, i can't be nice to anyone SO clueless and ridiculously-doused in rightist paraphernalia. though the organic food movement is non-partisan [as it should be], i am not non-partisan. i'm not even bi-partisan. hmmm... actually, i'm not even partisan. unless there's some crazy party out there that has the same beliefs and ideals as a poor, queer, socialist/feminist/environmentalist/foodie/rockstar that thinks no MAN should ever have any say in abortion until he take 100% responsibility for every little sperm produced in/from him.

[[dream big.]]

and now i'm just ranting.
cos i'm bored.
and antsy for november.

...only antsy-for because the election will decide on whether or not i move out of this country once and for all.

...which is also the main reason i've not filled out any grad-school applications yet.