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[03 Feb 2005|01:31am] |
Stanley, please, for the love of God, don't call my phone and bitch me out. I'll get to it when I get to it.
What would a description of your *exact opposite* be like?
Hm. Black gentile woman from the third-world with a husband and eight children. Toby had this factoid on a laminate piece of paper that he used to tape to every desk he's ever sat at during the time I've known him. It's about 100 people on an island, and how many would be what and where-- it's also totally outdated. (Sam and I got bored and did the math on the campaign bus once.)
Neverless, Toby keeps it around because he says the math doesn't matter, so much as the message, that there are many people in this world who have been left behind, and the opportunities I have been handed are far from average.
Describe your funniest childhood memory.
Well, Joanie once roped me into directing a talent show for her and her friends. I don't know. I have a lot of good memories, I really do, I just-- they're all kind of wistful and melancholic, now. Not really the stuff of rolling on the floor laughter. And I'm ashamed to admit, there's stuff I'm never going to be able to remember. I pushed it all away and tried to move on, and I lost some important things when I did that.
What's the furthest away you've ever been from the place you were born/created? How did you get there? Why did you go? Did you return or even want to come back to where you came from?
Well, I was born in Westport, Connecticut. I used to work for the President of the United States, and now I'm working for a man who I think should be the next President. I've visited all 50 states, and will do it again over the next two years. Despite that, there's a lot of places on the planet I haven't been. China. Israel. Fiji.
I left Connecticut to go to Harvard. Go Boston! And then I went back, to go to Yale. After that, I moved to DC and didn't look back often enough. I should have spent more time with my father, I should spend more time with my mother. I thought I would have time, after 2006. I thought I'd have time for a lot of things. Although, the way this primary is going, I should never say never.
Describe what your "happily ever after" would be like.
I used to believe in happily ever afters, but recently I've been informed that nothing ends happily, because nothing ever ends. It keeps going.
There was this point in my life where I think maybe I tricked myself into thinking I had gotten there, that I had more than I actually did. If you had asked me, in 2002, I would have said that right there, with my friends is exactly where I wanted to be, and that we had fought our battles already. We won re-election against impossible odds, and Rosslyn was long behind us. And she was going to be there for me, by my side. Then, recently, I started to think about after the White House-- I had come up with these plans, things I wanted to do. Stuff like spending more time with my mother...
Anyway, like I said, I have recently been informed that things don't end, they keep going. Besides, I'm not sure I deserve happily ever after.
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[03 Feb 2005|01:23am] |
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I don't know what I'm doing anymore.
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[09 Jan 2005|02:36am] |
All day long I've had this tune in my head, and I couldn't get it out. Finally, I figured out that it was that old Sinatra tune, the one that goes, "I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places..."
I think it was probably a bad idea to headquarter in Manchester-- maybe we should have gone to Concord or something. And I probably shouldn't have chosen the office space from the first campaign. It's... you know, it's the bar down the street that hasn't changed in eight years, and the crappy diner where the waitress still knows my name.
I keep expecting Sam to come around the corner with a new draft, or Toby to be scaring the crap out of some intern. Instead, it's the kids playing in the corner with some tonka trucks while I work on fleshing out the nine point plan. More than anything, I want Donna to come flouncing in again, and say that leaving was a big mistake, and then I can say, "Thank god, there's a lot of crap to start doing."
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[06 Jan 2005|11:39pm] |
[In Manchester, New Hampshire]
The Santos for President office is a storefront off of one of Manchester's main drags. There are three small rooms for offices and a back area with a lot of wall plugs-- probably for copiers and faxes etc when things get more open. Right now, the cubboard is bare. All the offices have desks and a phone, and one is marked with a taped piece of white paper: Josh's Office, coming soon. On this office's desk are a few stacks of cardboard boxes, a garment bag and a suitcase.
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| Back to New Hampshire |
[06 Jan 2005|02:07am] |
New Hampshire is exactly the same as I remember it: fucking cold.
I guess by now it'll have hit the newsstands, although I don't know how widely they'll cover it outside of the Beltway. I've left the White House-- Deputy Chief of Staff no longer. I've signed on as Congressman Santos's campaign manager. I know, I know, it's kind of unexpected, even for me. I got pushed into it-- there's a part of me that wishes I wasn't doing it, that I was still back in DC.
It wasn't getting passed over for the Chief of Staff's job-- to be honest, I never really wanted it. It wasn't even the China snub, although that stung for a while. It wasn't my home anymore. I'm just-- god, the best the Democratic party could come up with without me interfering was Bingo Bob and the damaged goods of elections past?
Leo's right, though, things don't stop. With great power comes great responsibility.
The announcement could have gone much better. We'll pick up ground in New Hampshire, once we get some funds and can start throwing some weight around in the campaign.
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[04 Jan 2005|01:56am] |
Reflect on the past year in your muses life, canon or fanon. Did they have children? Did they find 'God', forsake God? Did they marry? Break up? What was this past year like in the life of your muse?
Eh, much the same really. Came to work, kicked legislative ass, went to bed. Came to work, kicked legislative ass, went to bed. I don't have children, I'm not married. I broke up with Amy for the second time almost a year ago. And you couldn't drag me out of bed and to Temple on Saturday if you tried.
The Red Sox won, that was cool. We won a couple more seats in the House, and Barack Obama looks like a guy to keep my eye on. A couple of weeks ago, I went down to Florida for a while to have Channukah with my mother. I came up with an insane plan to keep the balance of the Supreme Court equal and it worked.
I only had a few episodes, nothing major. That was good.
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[04 Jan 2005|01:38am] |
Do you believe in the possibility of a true friendship between a man and a woman?
What exactly is a 'true' friendship? I suppose the more shallow out there in society think it has something to do with baring your soul, but I don't think that's really what 'true' friendship is about. Friendship is when it's three in the morning and you're looking up an esoteric law from 1836 about the banking system to try and establish a precident for the law coming up through the committees tomorrow morning. It's knowing what kind of bagels you like, and your favorite teams.
That and it's about not running red lights, and jumping in holes.
So I do and I don't. There comes a point in any good friendship where you find yourself thinking, fuck, I'm fourty years old and alone, and the only person who consistantly understands me works with me. We could be good together. And that's the part where friendship gets fucked up, because then you'll think, I have a shitty track record and when I inevitably screw it up, I'll have ruined the best thing I ever had. Once you think it, that's when your friendship as you knew it is over, because from that moment on, you're always going to be thinking about it in the dark recesses of your mind.
Also, guys, it's the 21st century. Gays can't marry yet, but we're not sending them to the psychiatric ward anymore, so let's not get cagey with this gender bias bullshit. Friendship can lead to sex and love no matter who or what you are.
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[22 Dec 2004|02:18am] |
What do you have to be thankful for?
I work for the President of the United States of America, Jed Bartlet, who is both the strongest and most compassionate man I have ever had the honor of getting into office. And the people I work with-- Leo, CJ, Toby, Sam, and Donnatella, they have my back. I don't worry about money, and I was blessed to be born an American citizen.
Donna might say I have health and strength, and we'll steal the rest. Works for me.
What do you want for your birthday?
My birthday was in October. What I wanted was a Democratic Revoution to sweep the polls on the Midterms the next week. It didn't happen, obviously. I blame that on the cake that Sam and Donna conspired to bake. I told them my birthday jinxes things, and you would think they would listen to me about the jinx stuff after the last birthday I had. Sigh. But, Sam and Donna, once they get an idea in their heads...
On the other hand, the fucking Boston Red Sox of all teams, won the World Series two days before. So it wasn't entirely a bad birthday.
For my next birthday... hm. I want a beautiful woman in my bed, and the Mets to win the World Series. (I have now jinxed either of those from occuring.)
What are your religious beliefs (and if you are a deity, do you enjoy being worshipped)?
I am, as a matter of fact, a deity of sorts. I am a political science demi-god, and all the polisci students lust over my talents and sacrifice many bong hours attempting to emulate and unravel my secrets. Senators and Congressmen tremble in my wake. They toss and turn in their sleep, crying like little girls at the thought I might darken their office doorway. As well they should fear me, for I am Joshua Lyman, kicker of Congressional legislative ass.
Oh, and I'm Jewish, and an atheist.
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[26 Nov 2004|03:38am] |
Describe the best 24 hours you ever had
Election Night, November 1997. A year and a half of hard work, and planning, all down to one night. I was so nervous I almost (but did not) throw up in the bathroom at the Manchester house where the Bartlets and staff had gathered to watch the show. State after state, flicking blue, the strategy Leo and I had crafted for the national campaign working like a charm. You have no idea how relieved and at the same time, vastly nervous I was.
I remember thinking that my dad would have liked it a lot, and I was getting morose. That's when they broke open the drinks and I swear to god, I don't even remember what happened next except that in the morning, Leo was telling me that the President-elect wanted me dressed to talk about a job. Deputy Chief of Staff.
Who would you like to see get their final comeuppance? Who is it and just what would you do with them?
"Final comeuppance?" I think I should state right now that I'm against the death penalty. No benefit to society can come from the state sanctioning death as an expedient way to get rid of those it no longer wants. No matter their crimes or how many people they may have killed, engaging in executions only furthers the cycle of violence in society. Not to mention, but in the many years that states in the United States have engaged in the death penalty, it has never been shown to reduce the number of violent crimes in this country.
However, there are people whom, if I had the opportunity and ability, I would gladly ruin.
Senator Carrick, for being a gigantic heel and betraying the party. Dr. Freeride, although I owe him for sending Donna my way, I'd still like to kick his ass and teach him how to treat a woman. Lillienfield, for dragging good men through the mud.
I don't really care about Carl Leroy or the West Virginia White Pride. I was just a consolation prize, hitting the Jew and not the black guy, and not even a very good one, since I'm sitting here typing this entry out.
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[12 Nov 2004|02:14am] |
What is the biggest lie you ever told? What were the consequences?
I don't know what to answer for this one. Believe it or not, despite my line of work, I'm a pretty honest guy. Most often, my troubles come from making promises I don't have the ability to keep. I'm trying not to do that anymore.
Also, there's a little thing called 'misdirection' that's very handy if you want to get out of a sticky conversation without lying.
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| Personal Ads? |
[03 Nov 2004|11:06am] |
What would you place in a personal ad if you were making one?
Donna says that usually I just trip over women. I'm willing to conceed that to her, as I don't usually go 'hey, I need to have a girlfriend!' It just kind of happens.
44 year old SJM professional seeks smart, capable, funny, liberal woman. Independence and tolerance for odd work hours a big plus. Love for politics and discussion required.
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[29 Oct 2004|02:31am] |
Get off my back, Stanley. There's five days left until Midterms, and I'm a little too busy to be answering random bullshit psych questions online. Do you not read the papers? There's massive voter irregularities down in Florida again, and guess whose job that is?
But I'm doing it anyway, so you can keep quiet for a week and get all pissass on me on the Third.
What makes you feel vulnerable and what makes you feel invulnerable?
I'm not a big fan of anything that's going to make me have an episode. And I'm also not fond of things that cause fires, racists, or guns. Hospitals. Cemetaries.
Invulnerable? The look women give you in the morning after a night of great sex. When I pull off some crazy-ass plan I've concocted to kick the Speaker's ass, or get two Justices nominated for the price of one.
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[29 Oct 2004|02:20am] |
Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me...
Hopefully, and I repeat this for my co-workers before I log off for some sleep, you are all too busy with actual work to even consider throwing me a party. Again, I say that Josh and birthdays don't mix. Having a birthday party is like tempting the wrath of the thing from atop high, and I tried to warn you last year, and no one listened. So no party. No cute hazing jokes. No cakes, especially with candles.
And no, I don't want to talk about what happened last year.
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[27 Oct 2004|08:43pm] |
GO BOSTON! WOOOH!
I wish I could be there right now. But I've been beyond busy at work-- sorry to have dropped the correspondance. I have very little hope of getting back to it before November 2nd.
This election's gonna be close. You all should vote.
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[20 Oct 2004|01:29am] |
No matter what happens tomorrow? Best.Series.EVER!
I drove Donna nuts today with my baseball love. And I'll probably drive her crazy again tomorrow-- except that Toby might be a better target. Mwahaha.
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[18 Oct 2004|01:21am] |
The game tonight was actually a nail-biter. It would be insanely cool if they could pull off a victory now. Not that it'll happen. (I may go outside and turn around and spit, just to unjinx the poor bastards.)
Toby and I watched it while working on the numbers for the Florida 13th. I honestly only agreed to watch the game with him because he had the twins with him, and I felt like he shouldn't be indoctrinating poor Huck to the dark side at such a young age. Plus, I admit to liking to spend time with the twins, considering I'm never gonna have nieces and nephews of my own. And that at this rate, I probably won't have brats of my own, either. Hah. My mother would be so thrilled to read that.
I've been rambling a lot more on this journal than I usually do. I guess I'm feeling lonely, but I've also been engaging various people in conversation. You know you work to much when: the internet is becoming your favorite way to talk to people who are not involved in the Beltway scene.
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[16 Oct 2004|03:06pm] |
What happened the first time you got drunk?
I was sixteen, and some of the edgier kids, the punk kids, invited me out to a concert. I was a fan of punk music, but I wasn't really into the scene, because by that point I had decided that I wanted to be in politics, and I didn't think you could do both. Neverless, the punk kids liked me 'cause I was always organizing rallies to protest things, and I had a car. Also, I made a mint in high school writing papers for them, which is neither here nor there.
I suppose you could say, looking back on it, that they were using me, but I think it was a mutual relationship from which we all benefitted.
Anyhow, so we went to this shitty dive bar in downtown Hartford where the bands were playing, and halfway through the first set Jim passes me half a six pack and a nearly empty bottle of cheap vodka and tells me to lighten up. So I pop a beer open and start drinking, because when in Rome, right?
Completely ignoring the fact that I was the one who was going to be driving home that night.
Anyone who knows me likes to complain that I can't hold my drink. I personally don't think that's true, but it was that night, and so halfway through the remaining vodka (because it took me a while to like beer, I admit it,) I was pretty much completely wasted. I like to think that the music wasn't that memorable, because I don't remember any of it.
What I do remember is throwing up in my car and waking up in the back seat at three am. Luckily, I had slept most of it off and got home safely, although my parents were absolutely livid. Especially since the car was part of their whole, 'let's be less clingy around Joshua' plan. This would not be the last of my many drunken escapades that they had to endure in my teens. Including the time I woke up drunk on the lawn and my father turned the sprinklers on.
Nothing particularly memorable about this story, now that I've recounted it. It just was.
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[16 Oct 2004|02:58pm] |
It's my first Saturday off in months. I'm excited. Tonight I'm curling up with the Red Sox game, beer, and pizza. Hopefully, the rain'll have knocked the Yankees out of there zone, and with home field advantage, the Sox'll slaughter 'em. Mwahaha.
Maybe I should call Toby over, see if he wants to watch with me, but then-- if they lose, it'll be unbearable. So maybe not.
Korn is not my style. In fact, I had to google the lyrics. Oh well.
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[14 Oct 2004|03:34am] |
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You are the color red. You are the most
controversial of all the colors. You are often
easily angered, but as easily as you got
excited, you come down. When angered, do you
have the tendency to be malicious? Afterwards,
do you end up begging for forgiveness? Maybe.
But you're incredibly generous, and, odd
enough, needy. You love to hate, and
sometimes, you hate to love. This color
describes you as generally edgy. When in a bad
situation, you're pessimistic, and when you're
in a good situation, you're extremely
optimistic. You're painfully tempermental, and
sometimes it hurts the ones you love. But with
an exciting and stimulating attitude, you enjoy
talking to people and being social. But aside
from your bold and outgoing attitude, you're
attention-needing and attention-getting. This
color is associated with lust and desire--and
you are both lust and desirous. You're a
protective person when it comes to the people
you love. You're incredibly sharp-witted and
powerful (not to mention intelligent!).
What color are you? (Amazingly detailed & accurate--with pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla
I think I'm going to stop paying you, Stanley, and just take internet tests from now on.
Bizarrely, despite the midterms, I've had some free time this week. Which has led me to realize that besides my co-workers, I have no one to spend it with. Hmph. I went to that big political concert-- dug on REM and the Boss, and I've been watching the Sox get their asses handed to them by the Yankees in my favorite bar. But other than that, not much.
If I wasn't usually a depressive, it might be enough to make me depressed.
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