Election Day is coming up in less than two weeks and this is what's on my mind about it.

It doesn't seem that long ago, but three years have passed since Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor of California. Nobody in their right mind wanted him in office but in essence, we didn't have much of a choice. As I wrote back then, Gray Davis was the absolute wrong option at the time and the other candidates to replace him were either part of the Davis administration or were on the other end of the ideological scale. After a shaky start, Schwarzenegger has performed as well, if not better, than anyone could have imagined. You don't have to look much further than the legislative session in the past year, one in which the Legislature got more done than in any other in recent memory. Much to the dismay of the Republicans he represents, Schwarzenegger got it done with a lot of Democratic help, showing he is as bipartisan as you can get. To get things done, which would be more plausible...Arnold working with Democrats or Phil Angelides working with Republicans? Even in the best of times, Davis could not work with Republicans, resulting in a lack of results and notoriously late budgets. Angelides figures to have similar results. As treasurer, Angelides has proven he can work competently for the state, but a dynamic leader he is not. As a result, while a vote for Angelides is not necessarily a vote to move backward, a vote for Schwarzenegger is most definitely a vote to move forward.

In the race for San Jose mayor, Chuck Reed surprisingly won the primary election over Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez on the strength of potential honesty and accountability after Mayor Ron Gonzales' indictments were handed down by the grand jury. Months later, little has changed with the exception of recent revelations about Reed using public money for club memberships and whatnot. While not illegal, it doesn't look that good. But it pales in comparison to the deteriorating trust the people have with the city government. Reed would more closely represent the fresh start San Jose needs than Chavez. Reed's campaign focuses on tackling the problems we have from within while building coalitions with the council since Reed himself is considered an outsider on the council. Chavez has better ideas and vision for what San Jose should look like down the road, but a foundation of trust and good financial standing needs to be built first and Reed would be a better choice to accomplish such a task.

Those were the big ones. Briefly:

Dianne Feinstein and Zoe Lofgren deserve re-election to the Senate and House respectively. Not only have they represented their constituents admirably, a shift in power in Congress would elevate these women's power within Congress which would be great for the area. Just to note, Democrats need 15 House seats and 6 Senate seats to regain power. The House changeover looks more and more like a lock, no matter what Bush and the Republicans would like to believe, while the Senate looks like a tossup. We could be looking at the early rise of Bush's lame-duck presidency, which could be a good thing since the only thing that can save Bush is some kind of shake-up that's out of his control.

The statewide offices are up for grabs. I'd vote for McClintock (Lt. Governor), McPherson (Secretary of State), Strickland (Controller), Lockyer (Treasurer), Brown (Attorney General), and Poizner (Insurance Commissioner).

State propositions:

Yes: 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 84, 86
No: 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90

So please vote November 7.

Excuse me while I vomit...no, it's not because of you. I literally am sick. Well, was sick now. I had a stomach ache on Tuesday, but it didn't bother me so I went through my day eating a chicken sandwich for lunch and an enchilada for dinner. Little did I realize I would be seeing those meals again at around 5 am the next morning. Ugh, I haven't felt that way in years. After that episode, I realized I had reports due the next day and while it would have been fun to see somebody else try to do it, I thought it'd be easier to just do it myself. So against the pleas of Steve, Leslie, Jennifer, and countless others to go home, I finished my work before collapsing on the floor of my office for a little 5 minute nap. The nap helped since quite honestly, I felt a little drowsy trying to navigate through rush-hour traffic. Hopefully, I didn't make anyone sick, but if I did, apologies in advance.

I'm better now and it's all thanks to the meds. Maybe it's because all these pills taste like sugar now. Tylenol, Imodium, etc. all sugar. Better not be a placebo.

Oddly, now that this sickness has passed, I'm getting hiccups at random times during the day. I haven't had hiccups in years either. What's next? Chicken pox?

Sooner or later, I'll post my usual election preview. The simple summary right now? With less than 3 weeks to go, Republicans will be none too happy when they see power over the House and possibly the Senate vanish right before their very eyes.

A long time fixture in the Bay Area, Century Theatres is no more. The company agreed to be acquired by Cinemark Theatres. No word on what this means for the dominant player in cinema in these parts, but hopefully they can continue the quality moviegoing experience we've come to expect at a cheaper price than AMC.

In a weird side note, whoever wrote the Wikipedia article on the Century Theatres claims the domes were sold back to Syufy Enterprises, the parent company of Century. It's really the only place to fully enjoy the big screen experience and I hope they don't close down.

What is closing down? Say no more to Tower Records. RIP.

First a note...while this was a family trip, originally this trip was supposed to be an extra day so when I was doing my planning, I put in some time to hang out with friends. That all dried up when work and family plans pushed things to Friday and into a very tight schedule. Stuff had to be sacrificed including my free time and Nancy's side trip to Beverly Hills.

Gee, Steves, didn't know you wanted to go to Disneyland. When I begin to plan my cross-country trip for next summer, I'll let you know. Speaking of Disneyland, boy what a place. It only gets better with age. In fact, most of the disappointing items were actually the new things. Pirates of the Caribbean is certainly very nice-looking but it's really boring. The newly remodeled Tomorrowland is back under construction with a new Finding Nemo submarine voyage and a new monorail coming soon. That left the new classics to leave us entertained. Space Mountain and Splash Mountain were as good as I remembered. Haunted Mansion, with its Nightmare Before Christmas theme, was entertaining. Indiana Jones still feels fresh (Star Tours isn't but I still like it and it doesn't look as aged as the Star Trek ride is in Vegas). All in all, a very nice time. And it took the whole day.

Miscellaneous notes: Unbeknownst to us, it was Gay Day at Disneyland. Man, the gay community was out in force that day...all around there were red t-shirts signifying their presence. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

All Nancy wanted was a picture with Mickey and Minnie. Apparently, they're separated so they have two houses and two photo shoots...Mickey indoors and Minnie outdoors. At 1:00, we found Minnie but the line was being shut down so missed opportunity #1. We instead went to see Mickey but he had an hour long line we had to wait through. When we were getting out, Minnie was there again, but again the line was being shut down. Missed opportunity #2. Finally, at around 6, we spotted her in costume (Halloween theme throughout the park) and Nancy got in line. When she got to the front, Minnie's reps said she had to leave. Dissed 3 times. What a rat.

Fastpasses are a god-send. Take advantage whenever you can.

The fireworks show was great...even better than the last time when I was directly underneath the show.

There's a large hole in the middle of the day and that was reserved for a screening of "The Departed". Based on the Asian film "Infernal Affairs", something I vaguely remember watching a few years ago, it is by far the best film so far in 2006. While it's directed by Martin Scorsese, it doesn't have the feel of a Scorsese film, especially compared with the last films he's directed like "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York", both coincidentally starring Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio is recruited to infiltrate a gang syndicate led by Jack Nicholson who also has a mole of his own in the police force. That mole, Matt Damon, and DiCaprio must keep their identities a secret from the other and those around them or else face certain death.

The sheer acting talent is already accomplished enough and yet, everyone turns it on an extra level to produce something extraordinary and the twists and turns will keep you guessing until the bitter end. The most underrated of the cast seems to be Mark Wahlberg, who is very entertaining in the film. Go watch this movie...you won't be disappointed.

Live from L.A., it's me. It's a more shortened trip than I envisioned, but nonetheless I'm here for a couple of days for the sister Nancy who turned 20 this week. Traffic wasn't too bad until we passed Six Flags than it was a nice 20 mph trip all the way to the hotel in Fullerton. The thing I hate about driving on the 5 is the fact that everybody wants to speed. I'm going a respectable 80 and may go up to 90ish when conditions warrant but when cars are passing me even then, people are just going way too fast.

At night was a trip to Dolce, an Italian restaurant partially owned by celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson. My co-worker will recognize the name of Mike Boogie from that Big Brother show. Apparently, he was one of the master planners of the restaurant. It was either this or Medieval Times and my sister wanted to go classy. It was good, but it probably wasn't worth the price. $150 for the three of us plus tip. I had the seafood risotto and it wasn't half bad...tasted a little cheesy for some reason but seafood's a plus in my book all the time and there was plenty of it. And you can't mess up tiramisu, especially at a place named sweet in Italian.

More to come tomorrow. I'm headed off to Disneyland for the first time in ten years.

Before tonight's entertainment, a word to my new neighbors in the house behind ours. Welcome to the neighborhood. However, please be advised that noise really does travel. Two weekends ago, the pressure hose was going at 7:00 am on a Saturday. This past Saturday, the lawn mower was going at 8 am. There's also the mariachi music blasting at various times during the day. Yep, funtimes. Can I go to sleep yet?

Anyway, saw this on the Soup over the weekend. Not only are the Japanese trying to teach you English, it's also part aerobics and part-tactics toward dealing with an attacker. Let's watch.