om:

This was an amazing spot to stop, and pause. This is the old ring road in Iceland and is essentially gravel. You need to be a great driver to navigate these parts and we saw many tourists in their low powered small cars struggling in these parts. The cliffs are pretty sheer. I personally would have preferred rain and dark clouds, but destiny had a beautiful sunny afternoon in mind. #iphone7plus #travelersnotebook #iceland #roadsandkingdoms #latergram

My “connection” gave me a number for a DNC supporters’ conference call and Obama called in… It felt oddly intimate, to hear his voice, live, on the phone… he is so goooood !!!!

He reminded everyone how devastated we all were when Kerry lost in ‘04, and how we got the Congress and the Senate two years after, and two years later he was the President.
So, we just need to keep working on doing it again.

Can I please wake up in 2008 again, when America was great?

One other thing that worries me (if we survive the next four years here, and there being another presidential election), is that the democratic challenger to Trump in 2020 is a left-wing populist, which is only marginally better than a right-wing populist.

At this point, I just want Cory Booker to run in 2020, but he might be too centrist for the rest of the country fed up with trump.

Pros of asking for my old job back(with relocation):
– not having the inside view of the post-trumpian drama unfold, especially if the scariest predictions come true, possibly including survival
– better future for L in a hotter and more dangerous world. I don’t want him to ever be drafted into any army
– not having to worry about terrible schools
– not having to worry about healthcare
– not having to compete for every little thing
– not having to worry about empowered bigots (the reason we left the old country in the first place)
– not having to worry about too many people with guns around
– i do have one good friend in Toronto, and Canadians generally seem nice

Cons
– not having family whom I still love despite them voting for trump and causing all this
– pretty much give up on any career advancement for the rest of my life
– not the best people to work with (unlike now)
– R would have to search for a job
– everything including housing is as expensive or more expensive than here, so further lifestyle downgrade
– uprooting ourselves yet again
– terrible weather
– no ocean, no mountains (but there are rivers and cold lakes)
– having to drive to commute in horrible traffic every day
– not entirely clear consciousness about solidarity with the rest of Americans

on the total, this is a much better trade off than any refugee, certainly better than my parents. Am I overreacting ?

Foot-hand-and-mouth virus math:

Pediatrician to tell me to let it play its course and not to take him to day care: ~$200 (haven’t met deductible yet, so, yeah)
Not allowed to go to day care, so emergency sitter for 10 hours daily(including commute): $20×10=$200/day
Estimated length of contagious phase: 3 days
Total:$800
Lost sleep: priceless.

But at least now we know why he wasn’t sleeping so well.