November is a Big Month Coming Up: Birthdays, Nanowrimo, Elections

There's a whole lot of stuff that I'm looking forward to in the month of November; some personal, and some that affect people from all walks of life.

On November 14, my birthday is coming up, which I am very excited about. I mean, everybody has one, or at least acknowledges that they're another year older. However, I look most forward to my "special day," considering that it's one of the rare occasions that I get to spend some good quality time with my friends and family. Not to mention, getting to go see a heavy metal concert with my father makes almost all of it totally worth it.

Another event on my calendar, next month, begins at midnight on November 1 and goes all the way through the end of November 30. This one, called Nanowrimo, will find me in my office at 2 in the morning; all in my efforts to hammer out a 50,000-word piece of fiction within the deadline.

I attempted to meet the goal back in 2001, but fell way short on the count of not having my own computer. But, now that such an issue has been resolved, I fully intend to trade in sleep for going the distance. Let's just say that my 12-cup coffee maker and grinder will be especially working over time, once the event kicks off.

Most Americans also are looking forward to Thanksgiving, and all of its limited yet traditional festivities. Some of us enjoy it for the family time and the great food we partake in. Millions of us will tune into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then hopefully root on our favorite team to victory in the traditional holiday football game. I know this since my team, the Seahawks, just happen to be in the featured game this year.

Then, once the relatives are gone, the game has been played, and our multiple pounds of leftover turkey have been stowed inside the freezer, many of us will succumb to our tryptophan-induced stupor, in preparation for what's been dubbed "Black Friday." Here, virtually all of the stores' prices plummet for just a few hours, with the big catch being that you must get there at 5am, or some other unsightly time of morning. I've shopped it before, but now I have an overwhelming preference for buying all of my gifts online.

However, there's one more thing coming up that's, quite possibly, more important than Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Nanowrimo, or even my birthday. Of course, I'm referring to the November 4 General elections, where we'll not only find out who will lead us for the next four years, but where the fate of so many things will be decided.

All fifty states have initiatives and amendments on the ballot this year; all of which could spell big change for how things are run within their borders. Some are pretty touchy, but the ones I'm really the most concerned with are Propositions 5 and 200 in Ohio and Arizona, respectively.

If Proposition 5 were to pass in Ohio, and should 200 fail in Arizona, I really fear that those states' financial state will be demolished. After all, if things were to pan out as I described, no fax payday loan companies will be given the boot from the entire state. This will then result in the combined loss of over 8500 jobs, in a time when many of us are already struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads.

Bottom line, the month of November never fails to be busy for me. Between celebrating my birthday, doing Nanowrimo, the Iditarod of literary events, and readying myself for bearing the Black Friday crowds, my dance card is full. However, I never will be too busy to make sure that my ballot gets mailed in and I have my voice heard of who should be the next president. Furthermore, if I lived in Arizona or Ohio, I'd make sure to do my part to preserve financial freedom in those states.