The Governator “Vorks Out”;
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
UPDATE 4:44pm – As I type, Arnold Schwarzenegger is within view from our office window, in the courtyard I was in last Friday for happy hour, playing chess, drinking tea and smoking a cigar. Everyone is swarming the window like groupies. Bizarre!
I’ve been attending so many work-related events, it’s feeling a little more natural to meet complete strangers and make small talk. Last week alone, I attended two – the Orange County Water Association’s Oktoberfest (loud polka music drowned out much of the conversation) and the City Attorney’s monthly conference at Claim Jumpers (cliquey attorneys from the host firm wanted to sit together and bumped me out of the seat I was two-inches from sitting in).
Monday, I was a last-minute stand-in for one of two tickets for a fundraiser lunch for the Republican nominee for state senate, Lynn Daucher. I didn’t know anything about her, her platform, or even what seat she’s running for (north/central Orange County), but I agreed to go because Arnold Schwarzenegger was supposed to speak and I was curious, even though I’d voted against him in the 2003 recall election.
The event was at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, a cute little museum with a mini archway over its entrance that looked remarkably similar to the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium where Dave and I had our wedding photos. A large gallery had been cleared out and stuffed with tables and chairs.
It was the room of Orange County Republican power. There were city and county officials, state assemblymen and senators, and a Congressman. Of course, lawyers for these cities and counties were there, too. My table, sponsored by the California Domestic Water Agency, had a county supervisor, a senator, and the owner of Bergstrom’s Children’s Stores.
Mr. Bergstrom was a character. As he passed behind me to his seat, he slapped his hands on my shoulders and massaged me, saying, “Would you like a Swedish massage? I’m from Sweden.” I sat one seat away from a Japanese American female attorney from Sacramento, and when another guy sat between us, Mr. Bergstrom said to him, “You’re the lucky one – you get to sit between the two ladies.” I looked around and, sure enough, everyone else was white male, including my co-worker.
The guy sitting between us was a partner at a law firm. I asked him what advice he typically gives to young associates. He said their problem tends to be taking on more than they can handle. Hmm….sounds like me every day!
The program began with an invocation prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Both quite political: “We surrender this destiny of this state into your hands” and, speaking of the American flag, “Now let us turn toward the most important symbol of freedom and democracy in all the world.”
The governor arrived an hour and a half after the event started, coterie trailing. It was almost surreal watching him. Everyone stood up and cheered and applauded when he came in. He was wearing a taupe suit and lime green tie. He spoke for about 20 minutes on how he wants to make California “number one” in everything – jobs, universities, technology, agriculture, etc. He cracked a joke about how, more than any other field, when you’re in politics, you need other people’s support. “The only thing you can do alone is to VORK OUT,” as he pumped his biceps and posed like a body builder.
“You really gotta be passionate about politics to do it,” my co-worker remarked as we left the event. Yeah. And rich.