Usually, Autumn is my favorite season, only this year it is fairly sucky, if that even is a word. For one thing, I'm still out of a job, and it's beginning to get on my nerves. I've been applying for jobs that looked like a decent fit with my experience and expectations, but so far it hasn't worked out. To tell the truth, I've passed the point where I'm eager for a new job to where I'm actually just a little scared of any new job.
At my age, it's unusual to still have grandparents I suppose, and I myself actually don't have any (not even parents, come to think of it), but my wife still had her favorite grandma, but a few weeks ago she passed away at age 93. We were there just a few hours before she died (it almost seemed as if she'd been waiting to say goodbye to mywife, her only surviving grandchild), and then went to see her just after we were notified of her passing. Obviously it's not a tragedy when someone dies at that age, but still my wife was very close to her, and she was kind of a substitute grandma for me, so it still was hard. And, grandma's slightly younger sister (91) who does live close to us, had a stroke that left her partly paralyzed, so we now are in the process of dissolving her home and getting her settled in an assisted living facility.
The weather has also played a part; October always is a bit iffy in terms of weather, and we've been coming off a long dry spell, but even so this month has been unusually rainy and cold. I miss my longish city walks, but they're just not much fun in the rain.
While I'm waiting to go and see Blackheart Burlesque in Berlin in a few weeks, I'm trying to squeeze in a bit of culture while I can. I'm a huge fan of the music of Rossini, and we saw a new production of his Barber of Seville last Sunday. It was an unusual modern staging, with a big emphasis on social media, but surprisingly effective and engaging.
Hard to believe the U.S. presidential election is happening in just about 3 weeks! U.S. politics is a huge interest of mine, and I've been following it since the 1980s, always as a fan of Republicans, even when their candidates were disappointing. Trump is a catastrophe, however. I can't remember an election where both (major party) candidates have been as awful as this year, but at least Hillary Clinton is somewhat less awful than Trump is. My last hope is that Republicans retain control of Congress, keeping the inevitable Madam President in check. To wake up on Nov. 9 to see that Trump has been elected would truly be a nightmare scenario.
Well that's my ramblings for today, brought to you by White Wine Before Lunch, Inc. And waht do you know, as I type this, the sun's coming out! Maybe I'll be able to roam the city streets today. Carry on carrying on!