Aaron Hulett's Blog

After not attending last year, it was really fun to go to this year’s CoasterMania! event at Cedar Point.  You know the drill:  exclusive ride time, free lunch, some swag, more exclusive ride time, Q&A with park management – translation: a good time.

I didn’t really take many pictures this time around (just how many pictures of Magnum do I need?).  So instead of pictures, here’s a small video of Magnum XL-200 at its first hill and some of the second hill off in the distance.  I shot this with my digital camera, so it’s not exactly camcorder quality, but still good for the Internet I think.

I was of course exhausted from this trip.  During the day I went back to the hotel room to both grab a nap and to cool off – it was reallllllly hot and humid out!  But, that really hot day led up to a nice and comfortable evening and our exclusive ride time on Magnum was absolutely great!  Shorts and a t-shirt, just great!  And, this year, if there was no one waiting in the row to get in the train, we didn’t have to get out!  I went round and round and round and round on the thing, and I loved every minute of it.  I hope next year we get more of the same – I’ll definitely be back!

Ok, one picture.  Each year they make signs for CoasterMania! and have them near the rides they open for exclusive ride time.  After the event, they throw them away, sooooooo…

You can click that for a larger version.

Like two years ago when I took the sign home with me, Northwest Airlines freaked out when I wanted to check it, thinking it’d be totally destroyed.  But, it made it back just fine.  I want to hang them in my office, but I haven’t solved how yet.  Have some ideas?  Let me know in the comments.

MSNBC hosts Countdown with Keith Olbermann, a show that I have set to record via Windows Media Center.  He spoke on Prop 8, and I must say, he says what I have trouble saying, but very much think and wonder about.  Thanks Keith.

Hello everyone (including those that don’t live in California).

Those of you that are registered voters in California have the opportunity to vote on Proposition 8.  Prop 8 eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry by amending the California Constitution to define marriage between a man and a woman.  California’s one of the few states (Massachusetts and Connecticut being the other two) where same-sex couples can marry.  Here in Washington, we have domestic partnerships which give just a sliver of the legal rights that come with marriage.  And if a couple were to leave the state, there’s zero guarantee that the other state would even recognize the partnership.

I know that I have visitors to my blog from all over the world.  We all have different views.  Our own opinions.  Our own beliefs.  And I know that there are people, not necessarily those visiting here, but people that believe I suffer from some kind of disease, that homosexuality is wrong, a sin, that I’m going to Hell, or even worse, that I should be killed.  Your personal views are your own, just as my personal views are mine.  And I respect your views.  But I hope you’ll agree that one’s personal views should not affect another person’s enjoyment of life.  And when I say personal views, I don’t include such social norms as, "Murder is wrong," or, "One should not steal from another."  I’m hoping those are just obvious things that are part of a civilized society.  This is on the level of, "I’ll wear a blue shirt today," or, "Perhaps I’ll walk to work rather than driving."

This is so much more for me than picking who should be president, or if we should raise our taxes to help pay for a new school, or if that intersection should have a left turn lane added.  I’m really hoping that if you’re in California, that when you go to vote on Prop 8, that you vote no, allowing same-sex couples to continue enjoying all the benefits of marriage.  And to give people like me in other states hope that one day even more states, hopefully even Washington, will allow gay marriage.

One day, I want to take my boyfriend’s hand.  Look into his eyes.  Tell him how much I love him.  How much he means to me.  How I want to spend the rest of our lives together.  And ask him to marry me.  Maybe he’d ask me, and I’d smile, crying, and say yes.

I want to own a home together.  Have children.  Be a family.  Grow old together, knowing that we don’t have to spend thousands of dollars preparing legal documents for something that married couples enjoy automatically.

I want to be able get in the ambulance with him if he’s hurt.  Go to the hospital with him.  To hear what’s wrong, and make those tough medical decisions that sometimes have to be made.  To hold his hand.  Be with him.  Tell him I love him if it’s his final moments.

I want to be able to make his funeral arrangements.  For him to make mine.  Leave him my worldly possessions.  Know that he’ll be taken care of when I’m gone.

And I want to be able to go to another state and not worry about it.  To be able to avoid needing to hunt down my “Domestic Partnership” certificate to prove we’re partners when asked at the hospital counter.  Not need to use the word partner.  And not need to worry that our partnership might not be recognized.

There’s so much more that I want.  But one of the most important things I want is to be able to wear my wedding band and if someone asks, be able to say, "He’s my husband."

Even with Washington State’s domestic partnerships, I can’t do that – I get bits and pieces of what married couples enjoy, and if I leave the state, I might not even get the bits and pieces.  And I’m hoping (along with many others) that when you vote no on Prop 8 and it doesn’t pass in California, not only does it allow same-sex couples to keep the right to marry that they only just got, that it helps send a message to other states that they should rethink gay marriage if they don’t allow it.  And hopefully one day, I and many others will be able to enjoy what many married couples do today.

Whether or not you’re in California and vote no on Prop 8, I hope you accept my thanks for, even if a brief moment, your thinking about it.  If you want more information, please visit http://www.NoOnProp8.com/.