I can't smile without you. Really.

I have a confession to make.

As I was sitting up at midnight writing the Christmas cards I swore (swore!) were going to be in the mail Dec. 1 and berating my very existence, I had HDNet on in the background. Which was playing a Barry Manilow concert.

I not only left it on. I enjoyed it. Right on down to the last notes of "American Bandstand" and "I Can't Smile Without You."

If I had even a shred of coolness left over from my youth (which would be a stretch to say I had any to begin with), it is now certainly gone. And I'm OK with that.

A big hot cup of democracy

Did you get all your Election Day freebies today?

From Starbuck's coffee to Krispy Kreme donuts, you could get plenty of free hot (and cold, thank you Ben & Jerry's) food to match the warm spot in your soul left by voting.

My favorite moment today came when I stopped into a Georgetown Starbuck's on my way home from a Washington election party. The half dozen or so people in the store were in there to proudly flash their cherished "I Voted" stickers to the baristas in exchange for their free tall cups of coffee.

Waiting next to me were two Georgetown students, one sporting a "Karl Marx for Obama" T-shirt. The two youts were eagerly slurping down their cups of free Ben & Jerry's ice cream to prepare for their free tall coffees. Once we all had our free non-plumber Joe in hand, I mentioned that it looked like they were making the rounds. They laughed, and appreciated the tip that they had missed the free taco at California Tortilla.

That's exactly why I love about Election Day. Beyond the banners and the bunting, way beyond the attack ads and the slogans, it gets neighbors of all ages, races and backgrounds talking, laughing and discussing the future of their country, if only for a few minutes over a free cup of coffee.

Communications Geekery

On this election eve, an interesting link compliments of my husband/fellow media geek C. about the chaos that Hilary's top spokesguy caused and later dealt with.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to grab my sleeping bag and get on line for concert tickets to vote.

The Secret o' Life

Those words jumped out at me while listening to James Taylor on my iPod on the Bolt Bus (yay, Bolt Bus! The Internet sometimes works, but the $49.50 is well worth it) a few weeks ago coming home from ridiculouschick's shower.

If you're not familiar with the song, the refrain goes something like this: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time."

I was reminded of that again when chatting with HappyLiving yesterday, who was having some of her own revelations about her own current stage of life.

We all spend so much time analyzing what's behind or straining on our tiptoes to see what's forward that it's all too easy to miss what's happening right now.

If I were writing a letter to my younger self in a few years from now (not to sound like a scene from Spaceballs here), I think that might be one of the most important things to know, and to remember.

Catching up

OK, lots of loose ends to catch up on.

First, Rainn Wilson may just be my new favorite celebrity. This guy is truly the real deal. Here's why: The cause he was in town supporting is an incredible group called the Tahirih Justice Center, which provides legal aid and support to women fleeing gender-based violence. What does that mean? Women who are trying to get away from their African tribes to protect their daughters from FGM. Many have them stolen in the middle of the night, no matter how hard they try to protect them. Women who are in arranged marriages who emigrate to the country only to be abused in any number of awful ways, and be left with no legal status to defend themselves, because their visas are tied to those of their husbands.

Not exactly the kind of stuff you'd think the guy who plays Dwight Schrute would support, let alone wholeheartedly.

Yet he did, far beyond the call of duty. He ransacked "The Office" prop closet to bring goodies for the silent auction (including Michael's Dundie award and Andy's Cornell sweatshirt, both used on the show). He posed for picture after picture, in between playing with some of the clients' children. He went to the executive director's home earlier that day to meet with clients and hear their stories. He auctioned off brunch with himself on Sunday for another fundraiser.

He even sat down with me for an interview long after the event was over and most other celebs who come to Washington charity events (Sharon Stone, I'm looking in your direction here) would have been whisked away to their suites or Towne Cars.

As it turns out, both he and the director of the group are Baha'is, and the religion places a heavy priority on seeking social justice. As his celebrity grew, he said, he got all sorts of requests to participate in charities, and finally decided that he had to focus on one cause that spoke to him.

All in all, he was a really cool guy, even if I did sound like Chris Farley on "The Chris Farley Show."

Awesome.

There are other things, but this blog post has well overstayed its lengthy welcome, and you're bored from all that scrolling. More to come.

Schrute Space

First off, man, I've been depressing lately. Not only have I had a serious lack of posts, but those that have been there have not exactly been the stuff of Hallmark cards.

Sorry about that.

So, on a lighter note, I'm gonna meet Dwight tonight! Yes, this Dwight, in all his calculator-watch wearing, beet-loving glamour.

He's emceeing an event in town that I'm attending for work, and that they'll be granting interviews for reporters afterwards.

Awesome.

Here's the thing, though: When it comes to talking to celebrities, my interviewing style looks and sounds amazingly like this, Chris Farley's "The Chris Farley Show" character on SNL.

"Remember that time, when Jim sent you faxes from Future Dwight? Um... that was awesome."

Also, think of the most non-funny cause you can for the event to be supporting. Got it? OK. If you guessed combatting gender-based human rights violations against women and girls, you'd be correct! You know, just the kind of easy, lighthearted topic that lends itself to a fun, non-serious interview about life at work and Dundie Awards.

So, I'd love to some help with questions. Here's the scenario: I need to somehow ask Rainn Wilson, the guy who plays Dwight and who is not Dwight tonight, questions that will make sense and maybe even entertaining reading for a business publication during an event with serious overtones.

Hey, how hard can that be?

C'mon, people. Whaddya got?

So many questions

Slate.com has some very thought-provoking comments on Sarah Palin today. Thanks to the smart author of Quibbling.net for the link.