Fuck ICE (and Other Things)
If you are like me, you are probably very pissed off right now.
When I look at the state of our nation, I immediately get so frustrated that I want to punch a wall, and simultaneously so exhausted that I want to sleep for the next three years and hope that things are improving when I wake up.
I've been very conflicted about what my role in all of this is, and what I should be doing versus what I'm currently doing.
The sad facts are that I'm not a terribly good shot, so I won't be the one to pull the trigger. I also worry about committing any serious acts of vandalism or violence, as I do have responsibilities at home. I never met my father, you see, and I would have a hard time reckoning with the idea of leaving my wife and children without their father.
Nearby to where I work is an office for the Department of Justice and ICE. There has been a standing protest occurring there for a few months now. I see them every night on my patrols and my smoke breaks. I should join in sometime.
In an effort to keep the existential dread at bay, I've been playing a few video games that I would love to talk about more in-depth, but I'll need more time to collect my thoughts.
I also have to give a special shoutout to my baby boy who always keeps things interesting for me. He just turned 3 years old and we've started getting into some "real talk."
My wife had a close friend who passed away recently and brought our son to the funeral. Before he went we had a chat with him and let him know that there were going to be a lot of sad people, but that everything would be okay. My mother-in-law laid in thick into the Jesus and Heaven talk, which doesn't immediately bother me. According to my wife he behaved much like a toddler does, but several weeks after the fact while we were cuddling on the couch, he randomly said "I miss Momma's friend." At the time I thought for sure he was talking about my wife's college friend, whom my son loves dearly and always asks about, but when I asked the boy "Which friend?" he replied "The one who's with God. I hope she's doing okay."
I think it's easy to forget that kids are just people, and should be treated as such.
I'm pontificating at this point, but I feel like writing at least a little bit every day will keep me honest with this whole pet project of mine.
I'm gonna be working on cleaning up the presentation of the website and getting some basic navigation in place, then my next project will be getting a little photo gallery set up. I know I've been very judicious about uploading pictures of the boy online, but I'll feel more comfortable sharing pictures here where fewer people will see them. My next little home server project will be setting up an Imich server and moving all of my family pictures off Google Photos. Just gotta buy more storage space first :(