Wednesday, November 9, 2016

I have been on no sleep since last night. 

We all saw the red covering the electoral map with the blue making a last final fight. The feeling I got as a saw state after state turn red. I was so scared. We all saw the hopes and dreams of millions either realized or destroyed. Whomever you voted for this election, the country has spoken and for the next four years, the winner will be the leader of the world's most powerful nation. 

Morning arrived. President Obama said that the sun will still rise, regardless who wins. It was overcast. I saw the victory speech that the winner gave, along with people that gathered downstairs at the dorm's lobby. Heads were shaking, people were crying, people were using the office phone to call their relatives, many were praying. The dust was barely starting to settle. The stock market fell to numbers that haven't been seen since the aftermath of September. 11. A candidate who has been such a bully, insulted his opponents, demonized minorities, had won the election. Today, I woke up scared and shocked about the direction that this country will go. The progress that has been made the past eight years are, I'm sorry to say, be on the guillotine. Today has been called 11/9, a day that America and the world stood in shock. 

School today was filled with people in shock, coming to terms about the events of the past night. I saw Hillary Clinton give her concession speech and I just thought what went wrong. How can a qualified, experienced candidate lose to someone who has never held public office and who plays on peoples' fear. I mean what did we do to deserve this? I am beyond pissed. 

The protests and riots that have erupted across the United States shows how unpopular the winner is. People from both political parties could be marching on those streets, expressing their dissatisfaction and distrust on what is to come. Many are just thinking what's next for this country. 

 I for one, am one of them. 

Tonight, as the first day of the president-elect comes to a close, we are living a new reality. People are marching in major cities, expressing their disbelif that an orange piece of fucking shit won the world's most powerfullest office. Hate mongering, xenophobia, racial hatred, and nativism reared its hideous face today. Millions of people here and around the world are are left with more questions than answers. It simply left everyone speechless. 

But we must not lose hope. As Star Wars puts it, there is still hope. We might lose battles, but the war can still be won. 

But as my phone's auto correct puts it, duck this ducking election!

#StillWithHer

רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה Rosh Hashanah

The orange glow of the sun setting on the horizon is something to witness. The reds and yellows giving off their final streak alongside with the pinks and purples clashing with the night sky, bringing closure to the long work day. Its truly the only time that I can have time to sit down and relax.

However, the calmness of the evening is interrupted by the majestic sound of the shofar. In honor of the passing of Shimon Peres, the former President of Israel, the Israeli national anthem, "Hatikvah" which means "The Hope", is played. Every time I hear the lyrics, especially in its native Hebrew, its so calming and gives a sense of comfort and undoubtedly, hope. The lyrics go as this.

As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,
An eye still gazes toward Zion;

Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope two thousand years old,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

I'm at the entrance of my temple in Harlingen, celebrating the arrival of the Jewish New Year. (the Jewish calendar is based off the lunar cycle) Before leaving, I get my Star of David necklace that hangs off my TV. The necklace originally belonged to my cousin, but I won it from him through a game of basketball when I was in the fifth grade. The rabbi, clothed in the tallit, reminds the congregation that the High Holy Days are around the corner and that we are to try to live our lives by what God would approve of. As soon as the service wrapped up, the entire congregation moves to the kitchen and the television set is tuned into the vice presidential debate on MSNBC. As soon as the VPs names were annouced, there were cheers and boos. The platter of apples dipped in honey, challah bread and cups of grape juice were passed around as everyone was watching the debate. The delicate taste of honey felt so good, alongside with the bread was so delicious.

During the festivities, you hear New Year greetings in English and in Hebrew, with people reciprocating. It was a good night to enjoy time with family and friends.

Two days before payday

It was a late start for today. You know those days that the night before its near to impossible to go to sleep but in the morning, the bed feels so comfortable that not even a tornado will make you get up. That was today. 

That dreaded feeling of "I have a test tomorrow" was constant on my mind. I'll admit that I'm a procrastinator. Hell, if it were an Olympic sport, I'd have a gold medal. I just get distracted too easily. Show me something interesting on TV and I'll watch it from sunrise to sunset. Today I woke up thinking it was payday. Unfortunately, payday is on Thursday and still have yet to finish up a draft I need for class and still have to study for a test tomorrow. Plus, every morning I have to deal with the stench of my roommate's cologne, which I swear he puts like a gallon of it, it makes me get bad headaches. 

For now, today was pretty slow paced, which is pretty weird because I'm running all over the place. I'm not in one place for like 5 minutes, except if its class or work. I'm always on the go. Now, I have to make it through the week, till Friday morning and with a few bucks in my bank account.  

White t-shirt on Labor Day

The calmness of the night was rudely interrupted by the world's most unflattering sound. The morning after Labor Day was here. Summer was officially, painfully over. The alarm got me by surprise so much that I accidentally hit my head against the nightstand, making the clock's green, radioactive infused digits land square on my face. That should have been my first clue. It was going to be a long day. The morning commute to Edinburg was the next giant to slay. No one actually stays in the dorms during the weekends. (the Office of Residence Life prefers to call them residence halls) Yours truly was the first one to skedaddle back home for the Labor Day weekend. Four glorious days of no school was suddenly interrupted by that devil's invention and now I'm stuck on the expressway with a couple hundred cars during morning rush hour. 

I make it with five minutes to spare to the class I can never actually get on time. People with missing assignments and confused freshmen was the talk of the class and with no teacher present, class was canceled for the day. Pretty much the rest of the day was alright, my work study job should be back in about a week and a half. 

It wasn't a white shirt, but a Texas Longhorn shirt. What difference, since Notre Dame lost to Texas, this week is pretty much over.