Well, it’s true. Tomorrow is voting day. Tomorrow will either end with great jubilation on our end, or total devastation. I honestly don’t know what will happen if McCain wins. Actually, McCain I don’t mind – the old McCain had some really progressive ideas and probably would have made a good president; however, this new guy running seems like a pushover who keeps taking steps backwards towards the frothy fires of doom and despair. And Sarah Palin? Scariest piece of existence on the planet.

With her as president (because, let’s face it, McCain’s old and won’t last long), Ash and I will most definitely never be allowed a legal marriage, at least in the U.S. And I highly expect any rights we do have as a gay couple will be quickly revoked. It’s a scary future we face as gay citizens if she is Vice President.

So go out and vote tomorrow. Make it count.

Even if, by some stupidity on the part of the electoral system, McCain wins, I’ll just tell you right now, no one is gonna stop me from loving my girlfriend. No one is gonna stop me from spending the rest of my life with her. Ashley Lauren Niels, I love you more than anything and no one is going to take that away. Not the government, not the President, and certainly not some beehive bimbo from Nowhere, Alaska with a vendetta against wolves and polar bears.

Maybe the change won’t happen right away, but I’m feeling oddly optimistic right now. It’ll come someday. Change. It seems like a fantastical concept.

Remember to vote.

The ferret boys had quite the romp today. Generally when I clean their bedding, I let them run loose through the house, but because I hadn’t ferret-proofed the living room before hand today, I attempted the impossible: cleaning their cage while simultaneously trying to keep them from escaping. Believe me, I would have had better luck convincing Sarah Palin that Global Warming really was influenced by humanity.

I mistakenly thought I would have a chance at it for the sole purpose that only one of them, Nate, was awake. As soon as I opened the bottom door to get at their bedding, Nate came to investigate and very discreetly (or so he thought) tried to slip past my hand. I shoved him back. He tried again. I shoved him back. This went on for a few minutes as I scooped out the dirty bedding and dumped it into the trash. A few times the only reason he stayed in was because I somehow maneuvered my leg so that I could push him back with my foot, bracing myself with one hand, and scooping with the other. It was very much like trying to play a game of twister with a ferret, a trash bag, and some very stinky Carefresh.

Everything was going according to plan until I realized that I hadn’t brought the new bag of Carefresh close enough for easy reach. Here was my mistake. Instead of shutting the cage door like a thinking individual would do, I decided to just reach for it while still holding Nate back with one foot. Nate, of course, saw his opportunity, and while I was half-sprawled across the carpet trying to grab the corner of the Carefresh bag, he jumped my foot in one smooth, graceful leap, and was gone in a furry little flash. I jumped up and tried to head him off before he could destroy the living room but he ducked into the kitchen and made a head-long slide under the refrigerator. While I lay on the tiled floor and tried to coax him out, I heard the unmistakable sound of a cat being terrorized by a ferret (it’s a very distinct sound, half-hiss, half-growl, ending with a high-pitched meow). Popping my head up over the kitchen counter, I saw that Drake, our other ferret, had woken up, seen a clear and undefended escape route and taken it, making a bee-line for Merlin, our youngest cat, sleeping on a pillow on the floor.

To cut this already too-long story short, I finally managed to get Nate out from under the fridge with a ferret treat, saved Merlin from Drake’s play-tackles, got them both back in their four story ferret apartment, and got the bedding cleaned and replaced.

Ferret wrangling should be a paid gig. I’d be a gold-star professional.

I figure, I’ve got the first and the second done, I can get the rest of the month in. And, if not, there’s always cheating (you know, there’s that little Edit button to change the date of the post…). So there you have. NaBloPoMo.

My stomach is killing me. Made Edamame tonight but both Ash and I are feeling sick now. Can Edamame go bad? The stuff tasted different. So much for getting the pre-shelled stuff. We’re sticking to the original stuff. Shelled.

I wish I could wrinkle my nose like Samantha. Bewitched is awesome, but really only pre-color episodes. The second Darren is a robot.

The best picture of Spunky ever, taken yesterday on top of Rock Knob at Hartley Park. Ash took it. This is why she should be a pet photographer. She takes some of the best pictures I have ever seen of our kids. She’s honestly an amazing photographer. And Spunky is one of the prettiest pups ever.

He knows it too.