Who Let the Dogs (and Cats) Out?

I sat down to watch last night's presidential debate with the assumption that I'd only watch about the first half hour or so to get a feeling of how things were going, but I ended up watching it all because it was so entertaining. I was texting friends and family with messages like, "Get him, Kamala!" with a fist emjoi included. Donny T. let the woo woo out on a national scale last night. (This message wasn't just for the sycophants who to his rallies; this was for everyone!) The whole dog and cat eating thing cracked me up. I had read a story about Haitian immigrants in Ohio being accused of stealing and eating their neighbors' pets in an article in the NY Times, so I knew what Donny was talking about, but to hear that nonsense come out of his mouth was hilarious. I'm sure there were people watching last night's debate who knew nothing about that whole Haitian/Ohio/dog/cat thing had no idea what Donny was referring to. The guy was practically yelling and frothing at the mouth about this! Who does that? Donny does, of course. It's a shame for our country that this dude not only did one term as POTUS, but that he's in close race for a second! Jesus, take the wheel.

After the first POTUS debate where Biden shit the bed and finally excused himself from the arena, I was glad to see Kamala come on strong for this one. Forget all that "when they go low, we go high" stuff. Sometimes, you have to get dirty to take out the garbage. Not that Kamala was low-down, but she let Donny know what time it was and that she wasn't going to sit back and allow him to go unchallenged with his bullshit. 

If you haven't made up your mind by now about who to vote for, something is wrong with you. I'm sorry, but it is. Make a decision already! We can't vote soon enough. Let's get it on and over with. 

(No) Labor Day

Happy (No) Labor Day (at least for me and hopefully for you too)! I spent most of my Labor Day weekend in my home state of Michigan visiting family. It was an interesting visit. Some of my family members in the mitten state aren't doing so well and it was tough to hear that so many of them are having a lot of problems right now. I wish them the best and hope they're able to overcome the issues going on in their lives. I drove back to Illinois feeling relieved to be heading back to my own home. I've got problems too, but they seem miniscule compared to the problems some of my family members are having. 

I've been seriously considering moving back to Michigan for a variety of reasons. My day job hasn't gone back to the office since Covid started four years ago and I wonder if we'll ever go back now, so I'm not tied to working out of the office (at least I don't think I am). I could work anywhere as long as I have a WiFi connection. But the thought of moving again makes my head hurt. I like my current place and I'd have to sell it. And then what? Become a renter again? I dread the thought of renting again but I don't want to buy another place and have to carry two mortgages while I'm trying to sell my current place. Renting would make much more sense if I moved at least for a while. I've been looking at real estate in Michigan online and there are some affordable places out there, but I just don't know that I'm ready to make a move out of state again right now. I've been in Illinois for over 10 years now since leaving New York back in 2013 and I haven't lived in Michigan in over 20 years now. 

I wish I had been able to see more during my brief visit to Michigan this weekend, but most of my time was spent seeing various family members. I hadn't visited since Labor Day weekend last year, so it was good to see my family again, problems and all. Maybe if I get back there next year for Labor Day I'll be able to get to the jazz festival or to Belle Isle. I took pictures from Belle Isle in 2016 when I went to visit and there's one below.