Mormons at my door - again! This time, it's personal

Son of a bitch, they did it again. Only this time, it was deliberate. Hear me out, I really need to vent on this one...

Ten days ago, I sent in my formal resignation from the Mormon Church. I cited Prop 8 as my reason. I've read all the "Leaving the Mormon Church" websites, so I sent in the most perfect, undisputable letter. The websites warn that sometimes, in rare cases, they get so desperate and mean - they send a Bishop to your house to prevent you from leaving. Well, guess what happened tonight.

I got home from work, and to my rejoice, I got my letter from Member Records. It says they received my request, and forwarded it to the local Bishop in my town. It said I would hear from the Bishop about my request. I assumed that meant, once it was fulfilled.

You will love this part. I was on my sofa at 7:30pm, watching "Paranormal State" - and it was about a real girl who was possessed. RIGHT at the part where they were doing the exorcism on her, I heard a loud banging on my door. I sensed evil. I thought, maybe it's kids selling candy bars, but I had a feeling they were Mormons. They knocked again, even louder.

I opened the door just a crack, and here is the conversation that ensued:

[Bishop and his cronie] "Hello, Carrie? I'm Bishop So-and-So with the Mormon Church in San Jose. We wanted to stop by, because it looks like you just got added to our church's membership today." (A clear lie! The only way they got my name/address was in my resignation letter! Fuckers.)

[Me]"Umm no, I am formally resigning my membership from the church. I sent a letter to Member Records."
[Them]"Hmmm, are you a new member?"
[Me]"No, I grew up in the church, but haven't gone in a long time. I am now wanting my name formally removed from records."
[Them]"Oh, now you dont need to leave just because you're inactive."
[Me]"No, I would like to leave."
[Them]"How about we send some home teachers over?"
[Me]"No"
[Them]"How about we send you some written materials that you can review? We'd like to keep you in the church. How about we just send those home teachers over?"
[Me]"No, I am not wanting any contact. My letter from Member Records stated the only contact I would receive is from the Bishop, and it would be the final confirmation this has been processed."

So they hemmed and hawed a bit more, and kept trying to play dumb. I was so appalled that they actually came to my house, unannounced! And to think I was so stupid, to believe they hadn't gotten my name/address from my resignation request. NO one just magically appears on a membership role there - you must be baptized, and there's paperwork.

they are so full of lies. I tried to be cordial. They agreed to see what they could do, and that they may be in contact if they need something.

Those fockers! Apparently I have one of those bad wards in my town, where they make it especially hard to leave. I better not get any more unannounced visits. I have a horrible feeling they will continue to play dumb, and not process my request.

I guess I will need to call Member Records again in a month, to see if it has been processed.

THIS CHURCH IS LIKE A CULT!!!!!!!! they make it so easy to join, and impossible to leave. I've already received warning that there are "eternal consequences" of my desired actions. The church kindly wrote me that in their letter.

They need to stay the eff away from my house.

Video & Photos from No on 8 rally

Now that my rally is over, I have some visual goodies for you to enjoy. :)

***VIDEO ALERT!***
One of the attendees created this video from the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1COWj7qU8V
(Make sure your sound is up!)

Also, here are some photos from the Rally.
http://picasaweb.google.com/saturyne/NoOn8RallyCampbell

I've copied a few of the photos below. Yay!!!!! I've started mentoring other attendees who want to plan their own rallies now - one 16 year old girl now has 60+ people coming to hers!

Wooot! wooot!

OMG OMG OMG OMG I DID IT!! I DID IT!!!

OMG guys - so the No on 8 rally I planned today. HUGE HUGE SUCCESS! We had approx 175 people!!!! This makes it not only the largest No on 8 rally in the South Bay, but likely within the top 3 of Northern CA!

175 people!!!!! And half of them were straight, and at least half of them were in high school! Youth, who aren't even old enough to vote, were out to support our cause!

What's even greater - I would say, this time, 98% of the response was positive. It was a NONSTOP stream of horns honking. Nonstop. You couldn't even hold a conversation with someone next to you.

We had people honking that were:
- old guys in trucker hats in beater trucks
- Latino families with lots of kids in minivans
- straight families in minivans
- pretty much anyone in a prius (duh)
- senior citizens
- gangsta-looking youth
- average mom and pop
- soccer moms

We had a woman and her 5 year old daughter stop their car, get out and cheer with us. a straight woman and her daughter! (a woman who is very straight, very soccer mom, and her daughter spent 30 min drawing hearts on her sign)

I think in 3 hours and 20,000 cars, I saw 4 people give us a thumbs down/flip off. I'll take those odds anyday! Damn it felt good to pull this off.

I drove to the No on 8 office, and told them. They gave a huge round of applause, as they know normal rallies get 5-10 people. This had 175!!!!! They were shouting the good news to other field officers, around the Bay Area.

OMG - WE DID IT! I feel like I did a really good thing! I (practically) single-handedly organized a rally of 175 people! EFF YEAH!

The Things People Say....

So today I made a map of all 5 No on 8 rallys in my area.... and drove to each one. I had the gayest car ever - with NO on 8 signs on every window. :) I wanted to make sure each little rally got lots of honks. I did a few laps around each one, with my dog in the passenger seat. I got teary eyed a few times, just seeing our community try so hard to gain equal rights.

Becky volunteered at a rally/No on 8 table in downtown WIllow Glen. (This is a few miles from our house - and supposed to be a liberal town). She gave me some sad news - 40% of the response was negative. Over a 2 hour period, at least 10 people yelled foul things from their car. One even stopped his car in the middle of the intersection, to yell out "Die faggots!" And other drivers yelled "Mothereffing faggots!" A whole lot of faggot-calling going on. WTF IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!!!! It's one thing to disagree, but to stoop so low as to yell hateful words...

Now there are three happy stories from her rally:
1) Two old ladies stopped by, and they got married recently. They are coming to my rally tomorrow, which now will have between 100-200 people!
2) An older woman came out of a Starbucks, and said she's already voted no on 8. She gave the No on 8 team Starbucks certificates, so they could get coffee. :)
3) A husband, wife, and their son said they are planning their own No on 8 rally next weekend. I love that!

In general, I am losing faith in humanity. So many mean people, so many mean words. I'm glad when I'm reminded that there are still a few "good ones" left.

But man, I am getting SICK of seeing Yes on 8 lawn signs planted everywhere, tied onto chainlink fences, and Yes on 8 rallies everywhere I turn - on street corners, on highway overpasses. I get really evil thoughts towards them - I know that's bad. (At least I don't shout mean things to them, which keeps me slightly above the monkeys we deal with)

:) Tomorrow is my big rally! Biggest one in the South Bay! Im just hoping we dont have any run-ins or violence breakout. yikes.

I've been a busy gay!

hey guys - I'm still here! I'll post more later....I've been working around the clock on No on Prop 8. I've been working with No on 8, our LGBT Center, and am organizing the biggest (South Bay) No on 8 rally ever! Im getting rally signs made/printed, contacting all the local UCC churches, Lyric, gay orgs, etc. It's easily been 20 manhours this week so far, alone.

So far, just through my Facebook event page: we have over 80 coming, and 200 maybes. Another 500 have been invited, and we're awaiting their response! it's also been posted at tons of gay/gay-friendly locations, so who knows how many will come from there. If any of you will be in the San Jose area this weekend, please let me know - I'll send you the deets.

YOU CAN NOW PHONE BANK FROM ANYWHERE! Screw those Utahns calling CA voters... now you can be the voice of fairness. Click on this link: http://www.noonprop8.com/action/phone-bank/sign-up-to-phone-bank
If you have a phone connected to broadband access, you can call undecided voters. (And moreso now, we are calling supporters of our cause, but just reminded them to vote NO...there have been lots of cases where voters have accidentally voted yes, thinking they were supporting us. oops)

Last but not least, I wantd to send this out. For all of you not in CA, there is a way you can help! please tell Apple how much you appreciate their stance on Prop 8. Details below:

Apple rocks our world today. they publicly came out against Prop 8, and make a donation: www.apple.com/startpage

I called their offices, and asked how we can say thank you.
1) Send a fax directly to Steve Jobs: 408-974-2483
2) Send a letter to PR at their corp address
I also found the emails of several key PR people there. please email all of them, and invite your friends to do the same!

Apple PR
Steve Dowling / dowling@apple.com
Susan Lundren (Apple Legal PR) / slundgren@apple.com
Katie (Global PR) / katiec@apple.com

Let them know how much we appreciate their work!


-Carrie

Being a good gay

First, I apologize that my last post was a bit, shall we say, angry. I've never felt so political, and to see the Mormons on every street corner, holding Yes on 8 signs that are TOTALLY misleading, has been tough. Mormons in Utah are calling CA voters, and have helped move the vote to their side.

I decided to stop complaining about this, and to do something about it. Time to be a good gay, as I jokingly call it.

Here is what we've done in the last 24 hours:
1) We skipped our Saturday plans, and volunteered at the No on 8 San Jose office. Becky did call center help, and I called a list of people who'd said they might be interested in volunteering. Becky called 80 people, and I was able to get 5 official volunteers for this coming week.
2) We went to our downtown Oktoberfest, and there was a No on 8/Obama booth. We got a bunch of No on 8 signs, stickers, and carried them around.
3) We donated another $50 to No on 8, for a grand total of $550 now. We've never donated that much to anything!!! They said each commercial costs $500, so we've helped put one more ad on TV.
4) Two days ago, I sent in my official resignation from the Mormon church. They will now potentially harass and intimidate me, or excommunicate me for voicing my opposition to Prop 8.
5) Today we attended a No on 8 rally in our town. We brought our dog (who wore a No on 8 sticker, as you can see in the pic). There were about 8 people there at first, then eventually up to 15+. It was a three hour event.

A bit on the No on 8 rally...

The cool stuff:
- There was a straight girl there holding a sign, that said "Straight and voting no on 8."
- There was another girl holding a sign that said, "Mormon + No on 8." I was so impressed.
- I realized, technically I AM still Mormon. I made a big sign that said, "Mormon & No on 8." May as well milk my Mormon membership for all it's worth!
- Lots of people honked in support. At least 90% of the response we got was positive. I was surprised at some of the honkers. We saw minorities in minivans with lots of kids honk. Cars full of wife-beater-wearing, trucker hat-wearing frat boys honking in support. Old ladies honked. Straight families with kids in the car honked. Really cool. We had some people shout their support, including one "Eff yeah!!!" :)
- This was my first rally ever, and it felt good to be out there.
- A local newspaper was there, and took pics/interviewed at lot of us. Of course, once the Mormons see me and my sign, I might be immediately excommunicated. Like I care, though.
- Another straight woman came to help us. She'd driven by, and saw us. So she went home, made signs, and came to support.

Now, the ugly stuff:
- We had folks flip us off - I'm sorry, but that is just rude. A thumbs down would have sufficed.
- We also had thumbs down, and people shouting Yes on 8. Honestly, I wasn't phased. It's ok for them to say that. I shouted No on 8 to the Yes on 8 rally yesterday. Tit for tat, I suppose.
- Some jerk guy drove by, and saw me holding my dog. He asked, "So do you want to marry your dog?" He is a cute dog, but no, I don't plan to marry him. Thanks for asking.
- The worst was towards the end. Some car was stopped at a red light. They started yelling really obscene things at us, really inhumane type of things. Then, they started throwing garbage at us, including a water bottle. Sigh. You know what, though, people have it worse than us. Imagine attending a rally in really backwards parts of CA. And I tried to remember what our African American friends went through long ago, being spit on, garbage being poured on their heads, etc.
- Two Mormon missionaries kept circling us. They were nice, and didn't say anything. I don't think they were amused with the "Mormon + No on 8" signs. :)

All in all, it was really nice to be there. I felt like we were doing something. There's another rally being organized for next Sunday. If any of you are in the San Jose area, let me know if you'd like to participate!

Next weekend we'll volunteer again at the No on 8 office, and attend the rally. We're being good gays!

Furious and Enraged

So we were driving back from the gym this morning.. and on the busiest streets (right off the highway) in our town, were 30-40 "YES ON 8" people. (Prop 8 will eliminate the right o gays to be legally married in CA)

They are all holding signs, and they ARE FULL OF LIES!!!! You wanna know what their signs say?

Prop 8 = Freedom of Speech (WTF??)
Prop 8 = Parental Rights (are you effing serious?)
Prop 8 = Religious Freedom

I was so enraged when I saw those lying, misleading signs. How dare they try to steal votes by lying. Prop 8 is NOT about parental rights. I can't believe they have the balls to even suggest that. And religious freedom, freedom of speech? Prop 8 takes that away!

I am so mad. They know the only way to win votes is by totally lying about the subject. There wasnt one sign that said anything about marriage. They may ask well say "Yes on 8 = bringing our troops home" and "Yes on 8 = no more income tax"

Those fuckers - I am so mad. I could tell they were all Mormon, too. I yelled out NO ON 8 to them. They are lying, mean, fuckers. I fucking hate all of them.

I got home and called our LGBT Center. They dont have any rallies planned, just phone banks. They also don't have any NO on 8 signs. sigh. So I called the No on 8 official HQ in SF. They dont have any rallies out here. Just one in SF (really? do we really think a SF rally is most effective?). They finally gave me the # of the San Jose "No on 8" office. They dont have rallies either, but do phone banking. They asked if I can volunteer on election day at polling locations, to hand out no on 8 pamphlets. I'll do that.

I also convinced Becky to volunteer a few hours at the No on 8 office with me. We will try to go today and tomorrow.

Ugh, just so furious, I cant even explain how mad I am right now.

I Haven't Laughed This Hard in Ages

Remember the crazy McCain rally supporter?

SNL "Thursday edition" made a sketch out of her. It was so funny, we watched it twice. I laughed so hard, I could barely regain my breath. Click on the link below and watch the top video. There are TWO times when they introduce her, so keep watching!

Click here to watch the video.

So funny, I promise.

Found out new RE!

After waiting 2 months to get an appointment, we met with a new RE & facility last Friday. This was the last of the fertility docs in the area for us to interview. So far, we hadn't been impressed with anyone else. This lady had been recommended by another lesbian couple, who cried while describing this RE because she'd taken such good care of them.

We really like this doctor. She started the Portola Valley Women's Health.
Why I Loved This Doctor:
* She immediately told me I need individualized fertility help. She said because I'm dealing with frozen sperm, timing is critical.
* She said she believes frozen sperm live 8 hours - I nearly fell off my chair. This is the first time a doctor has agreed that sperm don't live for 3-4 days after IUI, which is what my current RE claims.
* She will let me choose Femara or Clomid. (My current RE pretty much forces you on Clomid)
* She proactively asked me to check my thyroid, since she said my level back in Feb was borderline not normal. My current doc never even brought this up - and apparently low thyroid can prevent pregnancy.
* She recommends ultrasounds immediately before each IUI, to see if I've ovulated yet. (I like this idea)
* Their office is a 15 minute drive from my work office. Versus my current RE, which is a 1 hour drive!!! So sneaking out for appts is very difficult, as I end up missing 3 hours of work.
* She accepts my insurance, and will submit claims.
* She feels that I should get IUIs when my body needs them, not just limited to certain morning hours.

The Drawbacks:
* Only 2 doctors at the facility. Might be hard to get appts??
* No cryostorage. But this is ok. Now that we are using CC, they have a storage facility in Palo Alto. (few miles from this doc)
* They are expensive!!!!! Right now I pay $285 for ultrasounds, and $175 for IUIs. This place charges $370 for each. Monthly fees for two iuis could be $1500, not including $1000 for sperm. ouch.

I think we are going to try using this place for our next few rounds. In the meantime, we will use my current RE for my polyp surgery next month. I will also get my thyroid checked out. I read that your levels to get pregnant and sustain pregnancy need to be 1-2. Mine was 2.9. (The threshold for "normal" is 1-3, so I am borderline)

I am just glad we made some progress, and found a new doctor! Let's hope her prices make up for the promised individualized attention. I am so ready to get back on the TTC wagon again...alas, I have to wait two months still.

PS - I am so proud of my girl! She is painfully shy, especially on the phone. She 'cowboy'd up' and is volunteering at the Prop 8 phone bank tonight at the LGBT center in San Jose! I am too afraid of phone solicitation, but I am so proud of her for doing this. She really stepped up her game.
PPS - Speaking of games, I am MORTIFIED at how the Red Sox played yesterday!

Just a quickie.. (that's what she said)

My head cold is finally getting better, but I made an executive decision today. I told my doctor I am opting out of my surgery next week. I just don't want to be under general anesthesia while recovering from a chest infection/cold. Maybe I'm a wuss, but I just don't want to do anything stupid.

Not to mention, in the last two weeks my aunt and grandma both died. I think I need to put more space between their deaths, and my surgery. For my sake, and for my family's sake.

Gosh though, I hate that this delays TTC another 2 months. We started trying in April, and we've only been able to try 4 times! Our next try won't be until December/January! :( We will do Try #5 w/no drugs, but if it gets to Try #6 - we are starting Femara.

Tomorrow we interview a potential new RE & facility, and one much closer to where I work. (a 10 minute drive, versus my current 1 hour drive - yes, each way!) This will make escaping for my myriad appointments a bit easier.

I heart Levis

So most of you are probably aware of Proposition 8. (The measure which would eliminate the rights of same-sex couples to marry in CA). Prop 8 is getting tons of funding by religious groups.

Levis just made a huge donation to the fight AGAINST Prop 8. Yay Levis!!!!!! Yay for them believing in equality.

I found this link, where you can write an email to the company. Select the "company feedback" option. If you can, please take the time to write them - and thank them for their donation/supporting equality. :)

http://www.levistrauss.com/Company/ContactUsForm.aspx?loc=

sickies

I have an incredible head cold. My breathing is heavy, my head is all foggy and pressurized, I'm sneezing, my lungs feel filled with phlegm, and my nose is stuffy. Oh, and I started my period today. I'm supposed to have my surgery next Tue or Wed, but now I think I have to decline. I don't think they will put me under general anesthesia while I am so sick. Not to mention, I would opt out of it, anyway. Given that general anesthesia makes your lungs stop working, so you require constant artificial respiration - I'd rather not have two lungs filled with phlegm.

I left my doc a message about this, and as usual, they haven't called back. last week I called to reschedule my surgery (since I hadn't started my period yet), and they didn't call back all week. I left them 4 messages. They suck. We interview a new facility this Friday, thank god.

Just bummed that now we may have to wait another month for surgery. Which means another 2 months before we can try again. We'll end up with 4-5 tries between April and Dec! Lame.

Even lamer, Becky tells me the polls now show californians in favor of Prop 8. Looks like it will pass, after all. Friggin Mormons. Friggin Catholics. Friggin religious right. Bah humbug.

Getting back into the swing of things

Made it through my grandma's funeral yesterday - I cried more than expected while giving my speech. It was a very sweet service, and we celebrated grandma's long life.

Since my sister and her family are in town, we met up this morning. Took the kids to "The Jungle" - a really cool spot for kids. My nephews love me, which is so sweet. They are only 2.5 and 4 years old, but they constantly shout out "Aunt Carrie! Aunt Carrie!" They wanted me to witness everything they were doing. Spent the whole day with them, and now I'm admittedly exhausted.

After spending the day with two tots, it reminds me how much work it is to have kids. Wow. I was exhausted only a few hours in! I better toughen up if I'm supposed to be a mom someday. :)

Last but not least, my surgery is being pushed out at least a week. I was supposed to have surgery in 4 days, on the 10th day of my cycle. Since my period still hasn't started, I'll need to wait another week or so. I've never had a late period, and it's already almost a week late! I wonder what's screwing up my cycle?

Ok now time to read all of your posts, and catch up!