may my heart be cast into stone

see, i worked for the good guy who lost, and it feels like a punch in the gut for the bad guy who won to turn tail and become a REALLY bad guy, two weeks later. all day people were chatting me up about vancouver-kingsway. when i told them that i'd worked in the riding, for the 2nd place new democrat i got a lot of sympathy.

we joked during the campaign that, if ian lost, we'd get some small comfort in seeing ujjal and emerson on the opposition benches for the first time. in emerson's case, he'd be making less money than he had in 20 years. we'd tell people that emerson had no interest in politics if he wasn't at the cabinet table, and that voting for emerson while martin lost would surely send us into an immediate by-election, as he ran back to some corporate boardroom. we never floated the thought that he'd jump to the conservatives. ever.

i wonder what the frat boy i scrutineered with at tupper thinks of this. i wonder if he's still following federal politics, now that martin's cashed in his chips. jan wants to track down the liberal scrutineer that she met at beaconsfield and talk her into switching parties. our local executive is getting together soon. ian is on the phone with the leader tomorrow. i thought we'd have a nice break, some time to build the provincial riding up and get set for a fight with the boundaries commission. we're back in the thick of it now, though.

we won a minor victory at senate today, as a proposal that we mustered significant opposition to was pulled from the agenda. rather than risk defeat, items that have not reached consensus are commonly retracted, giving the administration time to either retool for broader appeal or muster their troops in favour. if the story is correct, and this was the only window within which to approve this proposal, this delay could result in its end. that's exciting; i got into senate expecting to never win a fight, but i led a lot of the opposition on this issue, and it feels like a victory to see it faltering in the last lap. i think that tonight was only my second opportunity for a real celebratory drink this year. the first was at the cambie, last june. tonight, we all had a drink at the duc before dinner. hot tip: the duc doesn't measure their highballs. they just pour. despite the two gin and tonics, i spoke very well at senate on several issues, and felt more comfortable than i have before in the pseudo-parliamentary setting. i love senate.

i'm feeling more convicted in my return to civil society. i look forward to watching more movies and reading more books.