And we're back. I know it's been a while (some would say far too long) and I'm sure my readership has, as ever, declined. But it's been 20 days since the election and I'm starting to get back in the swing of things they way they used to be and I really should get in the habit of updating this blog again. I guess a brief update for those who don't already know, the election didn't really turn out the way I wanted for my candidate and landed me in the unemployed category (not that I was getting paid in the first place) and now I'm in that place that seems terrible (and loss is). However...doing nothing after several months of 15-16-17-18+ hour days...is pretty damn nice. In fact, while I know I can't do it forever, I definitely need a break.

And that break is coming up as I hope on a plane in a few weeks destined for London and a semester of the wonderful college experience known as Study Abroad. It's every college student's dream and despite the dollar falling fast against the Euro and the Pound (clearly to the disappointment and despair of my parents) I'm looking forward to experiencing a place I've only heard about from others or read in books.

More then anything I want the kind of experience that everyone talks about in Europe, out traveling, is it backpacking in Ireland or taking the train in Russia, just gazing out the window and the realization that you've discovered more about whom you are and what you've become. That kind of content, the quite smile that comes from the abrupt understanding that whatever adventure you're on at the time in life, from Emergency Management Centers to Political War Rooms, whatever you're up to, that things become just a little bit clearer.

An email just came into me from a dear old friend for whom I have been out of touch with for some time, just noting that it's been too long since he's talking to so many of us but how he regrets that. It's that web of people we are all connected to, that rich tapestry of contacts that we are all a part of, which makes our lives so much more. I've become the biggest fan of, and student seeking to understand, networks. The concept and their inception, from the internet to six degrees of separation is a fascinating example of how we are all interconnected.

As long as this stream of conciseness is going, I'm reminded of a passage from the book "One Car Caravan" about Dick Gephardt’s announcement speech for his second quest for the presidency. He had insisted upon a line and thematic closing about the "interconnectedness" of us all, how we were all interconnected and, to some extent, interdependent. Now the Washington consultants hated the line and wanted to have it cut so they assembled a focus group of "normal people" (how all politics works in the world of professionals, much to the bane of many) and discovered, much to their surprise, that it was the most popular line in the speech.

It's something to ponder and draw from it what you will. But we're all in this one together and we'll see how that goes. Till then I'm going to get back in the habit of posting here in preparation for my upcoming London adventures.