Being a Girl/Mom/Wife at work

Tonight, I made cookies for my co-worker's birthday -- I'll bring them to the office tomorrow. I enjoy making cookies, even though I always burn them, dammit. But I'm looking forward to sharing my gingerbread camels. (He just came back from a trip to Mecca. They're camels. Get it?)

What's a drag is that at the last moment, I'm wondering whether it's a good idea to bring them to work. Do I really want to seem so girly? Even more dangerous: so motherly?

And then I turn to Huffington Post for my late-night political candy and see this: Michelle Obama Wears Big, Bold Necklace To Ted Kennedy Birthday Concert.

I just imagine how that highly intelligent, supremely accomplished woman must feel having her necklaces analyzed. (Which necklace do you prefer? Answer our poll!) Seriously, even on the White House Web site, you find a line like this: "Michelle got one great thing out of working for a corporate law firm-that's where she met her husband, Barack. "

What to do? I dunno. Do you? At least we're in good company.

Speaking of Congress...

Obviously, it's weird that our Senators and Representatives were tweeting during Obama's address. I wouldn't try texting during a work meeting, let alone a televised speech by the President. But whatev.

My question is why were so few people following Earl Blumenauer, Democratic Rep from Oregon? He's so cool. He has a bow tie! And a bike pin! What's not to love?

Obama in the Air

Is it just me, or was there a whiff of hope in the air today? I was taking a walk, right around 4pm... It was a little warm outside, there was a slight breeze, I was thinking about the speech to Congress last night. It felt a little like Spring. And then I thought, "Maybe everything WILL be just fine."

Looks like I have company, although some couldn't disagree more.

Doing Our Part For the Economy

I loved Chuck Todd's question to President Obama in the February 9 press conference:
"...if your plan works the way you want it to work, it's going to increase consumer spending. But isn't consumer spending or overspending how we got into this mess? And if people get money back into their pockets, do you not want them saving it or paying down debt first before they start spending money into the economy?"

Thank you, Chuck! I've been trying to figure this one out, too.

I don't carry any credit card debt anymore, but it was a pretty herculean task to get rid of it, and I know most Americans carry thousands of dollars of debt on multiple cards. We've also been hearing that personal savings have just picked up after being nearly nonexistent for years. So why would we go spend more money instead of paying down our debt? Don't we need some breathing room to weather a layoff or an illness?

David Leonhardt at the New York Times finally answers these questions in a way that makes sense to me: investment spending. And now that I think of it, I AM doing my part -- I'm buying a house. So if I get a $15,000 tax credit, I'll put some toward debt, some toward savings, and some toward buying an energy-efficient fridge.

But I'm still going to cross my fingers I don't get laid off.

Lilly's Day!

Obama signed his first bill into law today. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, rejected by our last administration, relaxes the statute of limitations on workers’ rights to sue in pay discrimination. Ms. Ledbetter found out at the end of her career at Goodyear that she had been consistently paid less than male employees in the same and even lesser positions. The Supreme Court (love them!) determined the statue of limitations in this case ended 180 days after her first paycheck -- the incident of discrimination. Apparently, she should have discovered this pay disparity in the first six months of her new job. (By the way, do you know if you make more or less than the person sitting in the cubicle next to you?)

I'm seriously swooning over Obama. And it's a good reminder to all of us: You can clip coupons, you can find cheaper gas, you can go without dinner at a restaurant. But voting is free, and a little political action can really change your bottom line.