A Week in My Life: Friday

Here's the part where I admit to you that by the 6th day of my "Week in My Life" series I was losing steam fast.  It's hard tracking what I do every minute of the day!  Case in point, here's what I wrote for my Friday:

Got up with Kate, read books, played

Training at work

Rally at Capitol

Drinks after work with coworkers

Home/bed by 10:30pm

In my defense, I wasn't near a computer AT ALL on this day.  The five lines above were all I could fit on the palm of my hand, so that's what you get.    

As much as I'd love to hit "publish" right now and call it a day, the perfectionist/narcissist/wine/storyteller (take your pick) in me won't let me.  Instead, I'm going to give you the abbreviated version of my day loaded with lots of pictures so the visual length of the post tricks you into thinking you got your money's worth. 

(You paid, right?)

We'll skip my morning routine since by now you must be bored of it.  My day veers from the usual after I leave the house.  Today is our monthly staff training day so instead of going to the office, my co-workers and I meet at an off-site location for bagels and brain fodder.  This month's training was on Social Work Ethics & Boundaries, and...oh crap, I forget the other topic. 

Over lunch a couple of my co-workers and I decide to go down to the State Capitol to check out the rally happening over Governor Scott Walker's State Budget Repair Bill, which I mentioned yesterday.   This has been BIG NEWS in our state (Wisconsin) and has even made national news.  I'm the last person that should be educating the masses on this, but the biggest uproar over this bill is that it would limit collective bargaining rights for public employees--which basically means the end of union protection for public workers.  The bill will also require public employees (including teachers) to contribute significantly more to their pensions and their healthcare benefits which will be a major financial hit for many people I know.  (Click here for more info.)

The protests began on Monday of this week and haven't let up.  Each day the crowd grows larger and larger--we're talking thousands and thousands of people!  It's been absolutely magnificent to see on TV and I couldn't resist checking it out in person and showing support for my friends and family members who are public workers.   

Walking up to the Capitol:

See the marchers to the right?  They had to close down the streets for them.

Walking into the Capitol building (of course we had to get into the middle of the action):

Me with my co-workers Mark, Erin, and Jill:

Inside the Capitol Rotunda:

"IN SCHOOL WE CALL THIS BULLYING.  IN POLITICS, "PROGRESS"?



The bill needed 3 Republican Senators to vote against their party line to prevent it from passing.

My favorite sign of the day:  "SCREW US AND WE MULTIPLY"



Being inside the Capitol and being a part of this historic experience was absolutely electrifying.  I was so proud of my fellow Wisconsinites for coming together and working to have their voices heard.  Regardless of where you fall on this issue, you have to admit that it's SO INSPIRING to see democracy in action like this! 

The crowd inside the Capitol spent most of the time doing various chants, one of which I captured in this video:

At one point some people in the crowd started singing the National Anthem and soon the entire building joined in--thousands of people!  It was incredible.

Some pictures from outside the Capitol as we were leaving:

My coworker Erin



I wish we could have stayed longer, but we needed to get back for the afternoon portion of our staff training. 

We stopped at Cousin's Subs on our way back and I got an Italian sub on wheat with Baked Lays and a Dt. Coke.  I distinctly remember my lunch order on this day but I can't remember the afternoon training topic that I sat and listened to for four hours.  Go figure. 

My coworkers have a tradition of going out for drinks after these once a month training days (a tradition which I may or may not have started 8+ years ago).  I've declined these nights out for the past two years--first because I was pregnant, and then because I couldn't bear to miss out on any time with Kate--but I've decided that this month I'm going to try to get back in the game.  I ended up having a really great time, although up until Kate's bedtime I think I spent more time calling G to check in than I did talking to the people in front of me! 

And guess what.  Apparently the cure for the middle of the night child check is to stay up too late and drink too much.  Finally Mama sleeps through the night!