Yes, I'm still alive for those of you who might actually still check my xanga. ;) Life's been busy, but something finally annoyed me enough to want to write again.

I figure what I have to say might disturb some people, but if I can't vent here, I can't vent anywhere.

The DNC is in Denver this week, and suddenly everyone I know seems to be an "expert" on politics and the way this country should be run. They're great at bashing the efforts of those who had the balls to actually do something for this country, but besides droning on about what should be, little action is actually taking place.

Most of the time I can ignore the long winded speeches of ignorant people, but a comment last night finally struck a cord of injustice. To me, how self-centered to do you have to be to defend the rights of those making fools of themselves downtown, beating people over the head with signs that say "Stop the War in Iraq." Whether I agree with the reasons our soldiers are in Iraq or not is irrelevant. What angers me is that instead of supporting the troops that have given up so much to cover our butts and protect our freedoms, we have the audacity to use that freedom to whine about how the war is making our country look bad and that must be why we have high gas prices.

There will always be a war somewhere to fight. Welcome to the real world. Whether we should be in Iraq or not, at this point in the discussion, is not important since the fact remains that we ARE in Iraq. How about we start looking out for the families of the soldiers who are looking out for us?

Why is it that people bitch about not having enough candidates who are pro-life instead of volunteering at a pregnancy center if they're really that passionate about it. You can go off all you like about the record number of homeless people in our city, but unless you're willing to get your hands dirty and actually help them out, I don't want to hear it.

I'm so sick of "politics." It has now become a term for idealists who sit on their asses all day whining about the way the world is instead of actually doing something to change it.

Okay, so now I'm in Chicago. I'm beginning to see a trend here...

Tomorrow my siblings and I drive to Gull Lake, Michigan to spend a week camping as a family. (camping my style- with cabins and showers!)

It was fun running around downtown Chicago today in the pouring rain. The city is so alive and is in constant motion. It reminded me a bit of what it was like to live in Singapore- jumping on trains, squishing between people on sidewalks, and listening to musicians on street corners.

After five miles of wandering around, looking for a famous pizza place, we discovered that it was closed for renovations. So we jumped over a few more puddles, and sloshed our way to the Navy Pier where of all the places to eat, I got my usual McDonalds. (nothing like flying all the way to another city, just to enjoy a nice fast food restaurant ;)

Here's hoping for a fun family vacation! Hopefully, as the last brave, remaining single Rittenhouse, I am determined to have fun with the fam and couples. ;)

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!