Quarantine Time
It has been a minute, eh? Or has it been a thousand years? Quarantine time, man, it'll get ya.
For posterity's sake, it is worth noting that COVID-19 continues to ravage the world. Or perhaps mainly just the US. We are now past the 150,000+ dead milestone with no particular indication things are heading in the right direction. The Shitstain in Chief only recently started to encourage mask use (months late), but has relapsed back into conspiracy theories about virus origins and casting doubts on scientists and reality in general. I have long thought that Republicans had been extraordinarily lucky that Trump did not preside over an actual crisis up to this point, because... well, it's Trump. Now that one has arrived? Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
Speaking of reaping, Herman Cain died from coronavirus after attending Trump's disastrous Tulsa rally and being openly anti-mask. I do not believe in karma or any sort of cosmic justice, but I can still appreciate delicious irony. "Don't celebrate death." Ah, we should only celebrate suffering when social programs are cut, when the president strong-arms states into opening before a pandemic is under control to boost his sagging poll numbers, when saddling my child with debt to prop up the stock market and billionaires. Yeah, no.
I don't talk about politics much here or on Facebook because it's a waste of time. You know where you stand. I could maybe see someone voting for Trump in 2016 because... I dunno, maybe some vain hope that a reality TV star in his 70s would morph into something more presidential. Or perhaps they thought the more traditional Republicans in Congress would keep him in check. But in 2020? You own it all. The lack of leadership, the lack of empathy, the lack of strategy, the lies, the corruption, all of it. Pull that lever in November for Tribal Nihilism, and you'll deserve what happens.
Or maybe Trump will try to illegally postpone the election, like he just Tweeted. Seriously, we have a sitting President already stating that the upcoming election will be filled with voter fraud. The same President who installed one of his cronies in the US Postal Service, who has immediately started slowing the delivery of mail across the country, creating a backlog that will likely prevent millions from casting mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots that should be encouraged since we are in a PANDEMIC. Which several (Republican!) states already do for every election, without incident. The killer is inside the house, people.
Just... ugh. You deserve whoever you vote for in November.
Other than politics, things are going well. Jess and AO and myself are staying relatively healthy, and we still like each other. Despite working from home, there never really feels like there is time to do things around the house. Nevertheless, there are a few larger projects in the works, including possibly removing the carpet and putting down hardwood. I am also looking at refinancing since my current rate is 4.5%, and I might be able to get below 3%.
I am back in my old position at the Job and happier for it. There was an initial transition in which I felt I was actually busier than when I was a manager, but now that I have gotten back up to speed, things are flowing as they should. I do not think I will push to become certified in my field this year, but maybe. The world changes quickly these days.