So, uh, when can I go back?

A few helpful definitions before reading:

JerseyWow - Oldest Jersey sibling. Fellow female volleyball warrier. Fun Facilitator extrordinaire.

JerseySalsa - Younger Jersey sibling. Karaoke specialist, photographer, and pretty reliable server.

Obby - My brother. We also invented and named a sport after him called ObbyBall. Patent pending.

BMan - JerseyWow's person, and the most similar in athletic ability to my brother that I have ever witnessed.

London - Guy from London. Had the world's most awesome belt. And the world's most awesome quotes.

Heeeep Heeeep, SALSA, or AWWoWWWW: Our new favorite references to just about everything.

Welcome to the Iberostar Bavaro - where an orange wristband will get you whatever your heart desires, and Hurricane Tomas was NOT invited...

That was my scenic walk to the beach every day. Pretty spectacular, si? Si. Except for when it had rained. Then it was an episode of slip and slide, entertaining every grounds worker along the way.

Room 2662.

Such a great place to stay, and the site of a few memorable moments. A word to the wise, however: If you and your fellow night owl have a brilliant idea to wake Obby up at 4 AM to try to convince him that it is actually 7:30 and time to go to the gym, one should remember that it is still PITCH BLACK outside, and the object of your "prank" is actually mildly intelligent. He will not be fooled, even after 20 minutes of elaborate planning, teamwork, and self-congratulatory pats on the back.

The patio was a pretty sweet place to hang out, especially when I caught this little guy:

He was very cool, and changed colors, but he did not save me 15% or more on car insurance, so I released him back into the wild.

We soon discovered beach volleyball is a game with few language barriers, so we played twice a day...every day. Our newfound friends, the Jerseys and London, completed the volleyball ensemble. We spent most of our time doing:

Obby was probably setting the ball up for a ridiculous BMan kill. The beginnings of a lovely bromance.


Digging was my specialty, although I have to say that face I am making? Not effective at stopping sand from invading the respiratory system. Some people take sand from the beach back in a little souvenir bottle. Not me. I take it back in my lungs.



Once the sun went down, it was entertainment time! The lobby looks even more awesome in person, and also houses the best bathrooms ever. Each stall is like an individual room in itself. I wonder if they're available for rent if the hotel gets overbooked?

Santo (my favorite Star Friend) came up to me and said, "Where is your familia? I want Mom and Dad for the show." My reply? "Good luck, Santo. Hope you're willing to drag them up there." 10 minutes later, he comes to find me, with a drink coaster in his hand. It has my parents' names on it. "You need to know your parents a little better!" Santo, you were so right.

I give you, Couple Numero Dos!!!

SALSAAAA!

But oh, no. The family was not done entertaining for the evening. Did we hear....karaoke? JerseyWow and I took it upon ourselves to sign JerseySalsa and Obby up for a little performance action, and they basically rocked the house. JS brought a little Semi-Charmed Life to the Domincan Republic before Obby took things back to the time of Ice Ice Baby. Vanilla Ice has been busy filming VH1's "I Live In A House Full Of Has-Beens, Watch Me Throw Things," but his song lives on in infamy. And yes, Obby has his back to the lyrics, because he is a lyrical genius. They were not for his aid, but to show all the non-English speaking people just how darn FAST he was spouting out words. And they were impressed, they were very impressed.

No evening would be complete without a visit to the Disco, where American music would start around 11:30 and continue until 3AM. Fact. Don't doubt it, because JerseySalsa, London, and I (fondly known as Pittsburgh), shut the place DOOOWWWWN.

Right hand, tasty and delicious drink. Left hand, literally the ONLY glass of Mamajuana I had the entire week that tasted like liquid sulfur. Fortunately, JerseyWow and I had a wonderful trick to dispose of unwanted shots while fooling our adoring public into believing we were keeping up with them.

Also, this picture proves that, at one point, my bracelet DID in fact have stars on it. Later in the week, they disappeared never to be heard from again.

Back in the States, it is cold, bracelets do NOT get your free drinks, food, or golf cart rides, and I have no opportunity to do this:

Only picture of me acting like I belong anywhere near the volleyball net. HEEEEP HEEEEP!




But seriously, when do I go back?

If Elections Are Over, Does That Mean...

...that people will stop being, for lack of a better description, complete assholes? I dread election season like I dread visiting my dentist and his gum lacerating assistant. Is there any other time that people feel free to disparage everyone who does not hold an identical viewpoint?

Just a few examples of the "viewpoints" held by people I've observed in the past month (paraphrased of course):

"Only the idiots voted today" as the polling results came in.

"If you vote for Obama supporters, you hate America."

"It's not like I've lost my mind and become a Republican."

"Obama is a Muslim, which makes you a terrorist." This one might be my all time favorite, because it covers taking a jibe at a man who wasn't even running for political office at this time, stating inaccuracies, and insulting an entire religion all in one fell swoop.

Some of these sentiments were expressed by people very near and dear to my heart, and obviously, both major parties are guilty of this shallow name calling. Is it so wrong to wish that we could be above labeling members of a different party with such derogatory condemnation and condescension? Ridiculous.

Seriously, do people realize that so much of what they are spewing can be applied to the very people they are speaking to? I don't discuss politics with too many people, so a lot of my friends don't know where I stand on certain issues, or who I vote for. So, sure, most of my friends probably just assume my silence means that I am in their camp. But I have lost track of the times that I have been insulted in the past month listening to friends of mine disparage those whose opinions and ideas I happen to agree with and support. Or worse, how many times I've felt ashamed when friends who share my opinions completely lambaste people who hold a different political set of ideas.

If you know anything about me, you know I am all for the witty facebook status, classic one liners (a la The Office), and a healthy dose of sarcasm. But condescension and ignorance do not disappear because a statement is cleverly clothed in wit and humor. Those statements are not funny. They are not convincing me that they hold any sort of superior intelligence. They are telling me that whoever made them considers anyone who disagrees with them to be on a level below their own lofty pedestal.

And let's not forget the poor non-voters. Oh, the back-handed digs at them are everywhere. It's your civic duty. Get off your butt and Vote. It's because you stayed home that the ____________ party gained/lost seats! How about this? It's your civic RIGHT. If a person doesn't care enough about the issues at hand, do you really want her in a ballot box casting a vote that will help decide the path our government will take? I'd prefer to leave those kinds of decisions to the people who are driven by an educated interest in the issues and platforms invovled, and who care enough about the implementation of them to vote for the candidate they think will best serve the people.

Here's the deal: Democracy is great because every election results in a peaceful transfer or continuance of power. The candidates who win are the ones with the largest group of constituents who actually cared enough about their political ideas that they got out and voted. So, in the last presidential election, Obama won because enough people wanted change in the White House, supported the Democratic Party's political approach to government, and cared enough about supporting him to cast their votes accordingly. So this time, the Rebublicans reclaimed the House majority and gained seats in the Senate because enough people wanted to curb some of the Democratic power, desired to see some change, and CARED ENOUGH TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY.

Are you seeing a pattern here? There is no blame game, no name calling, just simple fact. Every citizen has a right to one vote, and the cumulative results of each singular vote form our government, whether it was the outcome YOU desired or not. We have to remember that, clearly, quite a few people did indeed desire that outcome if it came to pass.

And we have to remember that the ability to have opinions, vote, refine or even change opinions, and vote again in the next election is not a universal one. We are lucky to live in a country that affords us the opportunity to cast our votes on a regular basis. And we need those "pesky" people who disagree with us, because they challenge our ideas, provide alternative solutions, and continue to be an engine of CHOICE.

........now politicians are another story........