Election Day

Hi, everyone.

So, I spent a significant portion of yesterday trying to write a “blournal” entry that was supposed to be a look back at this year’s Halloween, but it unintentionally morphed into a diatribe about the real-world horror that is the presidential election. I wrote about how terrified I was at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House even after all the shit he has said and done, but I didn’t know where to go from there. I published my little tangent, but almost immediately, I felt like it was pretty half-baked.

So I junked it.

I still stand by most of what I said in my tirade. Trump being in a position of power in any shape or form is a scary thought to me, especially since he has said the quiet part out loud so many times. The one thing I hear most often whenever I’m in this state of anxiety is that I have no control over what happens next and that is true. It’s not what I would call reassuring, but it is true. I may not have any control over the fate of the world, but at the very least, there are some things I do have control over.

For my own sake, I think it’s best to tune out as much as possible from the election. It's not because I don’t care. I do care but getting caught up in all that fucking chaos and uncertainty simply isn’t going to do me any favours. I need to take a step back for my own sake. This is what I was trying to get across when I was “blournalling” yesterday, but it got lost in translation. I hoped writing about my fears of another Trump administration would help my mood, but it only made me feel worse. I felt like I had wasted hours trying to articulate myself with fuck all to show for it, and that’s no fun at all.

I’m gonna take some time off of social media to keep myself sane. I’m a little exhausted reading story after story after story on Instagram about the importance of voting. That’s all well and good, but I’m not American and I have no control over what will happen. I’d much rather focus on what I do have control over.

My timetable is mostly clear outside of tomorrow when I’ll be going to the Thirsty J’s midweek pub quiz in Cookstown. I’ve also booked a two-day ticket for the Belfast Media Festival but I still haven’t made any arrangements for travelling or accommodation, so I’ll have to get on the ball with that ASAP.

For now, though, I think I’m just gonna sit back and rewatch the last 40 minutes of the OG Beetlejuice. It’s a strangely comforting and life-affirming film.