Busy week. A bunch of stuff happening at work, almost all of which is awesome. But it’s a lot, and it’s just the start. Once we get into a rhythm, it’ll be easier, which is great – but we’re making a bunch of progress (rather, the *team* is making a bunch of progress, since most of this week I feel like I didn’t have time to actually *do* anything). But it’s great. I’m still kind of flabbergasted that this is what we’re doing & how we’re doing it, but it’s … just really exciting. Wish I could share more with everyone, but that’s one of the weird things about working on a secret project at a public company – it’s actually gotta be kinda secret.
Today was mostly just a day of lying around & not doing much. Lindsi, Adia & Co. came by, and we got to hear in literal real time about the Hawaii missile alert, which was, even though it wasn’t real, a very strange microcosm of “Oh, this is how everything ends.”
Having a President who I think is basically an insane four year old idiot (idiot *for* a four year old, not for a 70+ year old man) in a moment where it feels like WW3 is literally minutes away is not a comforting thought.
It really drives home how fragile I think the US has become. I’ve been listening to a lot of Pod Save America, and one of Jon Favreau’s recurring themes is that he’s impressed by how well a lot of our institutions are holding up, and while yes, there are examples, the institutions that should be really nailing the first line of defense are either categorically weak (the media, cowed once *again* by the right wing shouts of “bias”, as though the ones shouting have any integrity or are even good actors *at all*), or have completely abdicated their responsibility (most of Congress), or are actively treasonous & covering up or complicity in crimes (Republican investegatory committees like the one dealing with the Steele dossier led by Grassley, who after reading that transcript, I think should be run out of the country with pitchforks and torches.).
So I don’t feel that sense of faith that our institutions are holding up. I think I *may* feel better about them in 2018 if we can successfully wipe the slate clean of GOP members. This is a party that should be *utterly annihilated*, politically. It should be as poisonous as declaring yourself a Nazi, and declaring yourself a Nazi should be as fucking poisonous as *fucking declaring you’re a god damned Nazi*.
It’s insane that this is where the discourse is at. It’s insane that we take for granted that half the government is so utterly, completely partisan and so totally unconcerned with anything actually related to the well-being of the country as a whole that the assumption is that Trump is un-impeachable no matter *what* he does – that there’s *no* standard the GOP is willing to uphold. They need to be, politically, destroyed.
So yeah, oddly stressful day. Tomorrow we’re headed over to my parents for a bit to do the usual stress-relief-valve for their relationship, which is really getting on my nerves. I just want an uninterrupted weekend. I don’t mind work. I love spending time with the kids. I don’t mind occasionally spending time with my parents. But having the weight of starting a job AND the kids AND the parents AND the rest of life… one of those is pushing itself over the edge a bit.
My mom’s been great about it – but my dad’s periodic “everything is wrong and exploding and you have to pay attention!” texts at 11pm, which force me to get really wound up, and them constantly being over phantom nothing bullshit… it’s getting tiring.
BUT.
Still. Work is good. Kids are great. Rest of life is pretty darned good. Picked up a “legacy” style game called Charterstone that looks really interesting, but I’m wondering if it’s taken us 2+ years to get through a third of Pandemic Legacy S1 when I might be able to get anyone to actually give this a shot. 
Been reading through The Expanse – finished book 2, then switched over to a book called “The Rook” (Christy’s recommendation, I think) which I’ve been enjoying, for a thematic break. Trying to get Ei-Nyung caught up on the TV series, but it’s slow going because it’s a pretty stressful show.
Watched the Lego Ninjago movie with the kids, which does manage to completely break the streak of charming Lego movies, despite Jackie Chan’s presence. The story is *terrible*, even if there are a few good jokes, and the animation is still pretty charming. I liked the TV series (which the kids watched last year) a lot better than the movie, which is disappointing.
Oh, have I mentioned how great Hawking Bird is? No? Go check it out. Basically near Bakesale Betty. Get the Hawking Bird w/ an egg & chicken fat rice. And the Tater tots. You’re welcome.
I’m gonna try to cook something marginally ambitious on Monday. Don’t know what yet.