Prop 8 Protesters

I left work on Saturday night around 8pm, walked out of the building to cross the street (Sunset Blvd) & head to my car. All of the sudden, cops on motorcycles and helicopters swarmed the hospital area. I looked down the street and here come THOUSANDS of protesters against Proposition 8 (the prop that eliminates gay marriage rights in the state of CA) . The proposition passed at 51% for, 50% against. A lot of people here are VERY unhappy, as you can imagine (especially in Hollywood). Personally, I am against Prop 8. I have gay friends whom I think should be granted the right to marry the person they love, just as I have the right to marry the person I love one day. But enough about my opinion on the subject. I have never seen anything like this before. Sunset Blvd was overtaken by protesters shouting and screaming phrases about equal rights, jabbing their picket signs up and down in the air angrily. Helicopters were flying overhead shining their spotlights down on the crowd, police on motorcycles were monitoring from the side, and thousands of people were packed into the street. CHLA was almost unaccessible from the front entrance. I made it across the street just in time so that I didn't have to fight through the crowd to get to the parking garage. The crowd was about 1 mile long down the street. I took pictures from the top of the garage with my iphone (the quality isn't that great). From what I hear, the plan is to protest like this until they get their way. We'll see what happens! I can't imagine they can do much about it if the prop has already passed? It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds.

Congratulations to our new president, Barack Obama. I think this election has changed the way future elections in our country will go forever. It's so exciting having a new president, and this is the first year where I completely understood the election process and followed it. Definitely ready for that change Obama is talking about! And I love that during his speech he told his daughters that they had earned the new puppy he promised them if he won. I just imagine the girls screaming in excitement & hugging each other when he said that.

Off of politics, I'm headed to Vegas next week for 2 nights during the week. I am going with a girl from work who also relocated out here to work at CHLA (she's from the east coast, Connecticut I think). I'm excited to get out of LA for a few days and relax in Vegas!! We got a great deal on a hotel (The Tropicana) which is right next to MGM grand. I'll be sure to take some pics and let you know how the trip goes.