Greetings, Internet! Well, this has been a week. I went from being annoyed with the volume of campaign emails in my inbox to freaking the hell out over election coverage to feeling kind of ill (and then actually ill). Daily summaries below!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Two (10/30/20)

• Placed a very large Sephora order because there’s a sale and I’m stress shopping.
• Push to Walk! I wanted to dress up as Katniss Everdeen, but my District 12 Training costume appears to have vanished from my apartment.
• My mother and I picked up some dumplings on our way back from New Jersey. Mmm…dumplings.
• Therapy! It was needed. The weather has been very gray lately, and it’s been messing with my mood a bit.
• Had a catch-up phone call with my bestie. She also did some Tarot over the phone and called herself my phone psychic. I’d pay to have her read my fortune over the phone, for sure. Her readings are eerily accurate.
• Replied to a bunch of YouTube comments, some from people/channels I’d never heard from, which required visiting a bunch of other channels, listening to their videos, and commenting (and maybe subscribing). It took well over half an hour. One channel was a cooking channel and the video was very long, so I just watched half of it.
• Holy cow, my Blink-182 cover already hit 100 views! That took a little over a week. That’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten to 100 views. People might actually like my videos?
• Total times outside: Twenty-three!
• Currently feeling: At the very least, I’ve been consistently trying to get to bed before 1am. I love getting up at 7am, but it doesn’t work as well when you end up getting less than six hours of sleep. Gotta work on that.
• Currently looping: Tina Guo and Leo Z’s “Scarborough Fair.” I generally don’t listen to holiday music before Thanksgiving, but if Tina Guo releases a single, I listen to it.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Three (10/31/20)

• Happy Halloween! Gosh, what a great excuse to eat candy in the middle of the day.
• Did arm exercises while catching up on late night talk shows. Thank goodness for Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Seth Meyers for keeping me sane.
• Dear all Campaign Emails, How much more of my stipend do you think is up for grabs? Sincerely, Grad Student Who Panics and Thinks Democracy Will Crumble Unless I Give You All of My Income. I am this close to advocating for the Monty Python Peasant Commune style of governance. Because seriously, I could’ve spent that money on a local business (i.e. the places that make and deliver comfort food to get through pandemic stress). You know, the ones you keep advertising as suffering in the political ads that my contributions are paying for? Effing money in politics.
• Did some recording on a new DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Became frustrated and went back to the more basic one I was using. To add vocal harmonies or not to add vocal harmonies?
• FaceTimed my sister! We’re trying to figure out what to eat the day after Election Day. Definitely some form of comfort food because who knows when the results will be out?
• The hazards of living across the street from a rooftop night bar (technically outdoors): people blasting music while waiting in line to get into the club (including some jerk who is blasting said music from his car and holding up traffic such that people won’t stop honking. We get it. Your car has a sound system and you have terrible taste in music). Ugh, I need noise-canceling curtains.
• Currently feeling: It’s three days before the election. How do you think I feel?
• Currently looping: Nightwish’s “Crownless.” Nightwish had a classically-trained singer at the time, but I totally could rock this belting the entire thing. Symphonic metal has taught me that it’s okay if you sound like a Disney princess when you sing as long as there’s a metal band behind you.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Four (11/1/20)

• Woke up at 7am because of Daylight Savings. Going to see if I can keep that up.
• Did the FES cycle.
• Recorded a bit more for Thursday’s cover.
• I started stress eating. Like, I’m trying to find things to occupy myself because my instinct is to start snacking, or to look up menus of places that deliver to my zip code. I may also be PMSing, so the double whammy of hormones (which makes me want to eat more than usual) and election stress is just turning me into a mini Cookie Monster. <sigh> Me want cookie. There are cookies in my freezer.
• I’m also in the middle of finishing a s’mores kit. I ate a s’more. Craving mostly satisfied.
• Should I make popcorn?
• Briefly FaceTimed my niece. My sister asked her, “Who’s that?” and my niece responded, “…wheels.” She’s not wrong?
• Currently feeling: My sister and I are planning our post-election lunch. The stress eating/imagining food is real. Because there’s a chance votes will still be counted well into Wednesday. And we will need to eat our stress. I can’t stop watching the news. What is wrong with me?
• Currently looping: “Come What May” from the Moulin Rouge! Soundtrack. Gosh, do I miss karaoke.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Five (11/2/20)

• Did arm exercises while listening to “Pod Save America.”
• One of the local bakeries is doing “buy one get one free” on all pastries and breads today. It’s like they know everyone is Election Week stress-eating.
• Music lesson! MIDI controllers and DAWs are tricky. As is audio mixing.
• Aaand, the bakery closes at 5pm. Maybe I’ll stop by tomorrow.
• Dear Campaign Emails, Still?! Good grief, did you save none of your election funds for the actual Election day? You know who could use those funds more than you? World Central Kitchen, the Equal Justice Initiative, NON-PROFITS AROUND THE COUNTRY. Can we please get money out of politics so that I can throw my stipend into other dire causes? Signed, A Grad Student Who Probably Should be Purchasing Books
• Currently feeling: I should’ve stocked up on pastries.
• Currently looping: The Original Hamilton Cast’s Zoomed “The Room Where It Happens.” Leslie Odom Jr. My heart.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Six (11/3/20)

• Did the FES cycle.
• Avoid Election coverage, avoid Election coverage, avoid Election coverage.
• GOSHDARNIT, VAL, WHY DID YOU TURN ON MSNBC?!
• Bingeing YouTube beauty videos. Thank goodness everyone is posting their Sephora hauls. Should I get a hair dryer brush?
• Should I curl my hair?
• Recorded the video portion for Thursday’s cover.
• DO NOT LOOK AT MSNBC.
• THAT’S IT, I’M GETTING TACOS.
• Called my bestie to talk about something unrelated to the election, and then spent over two hours talking about the election (and whether or not I should get a hair dryer brush; the verdict is yes). In a non-covid world, we’d be watching the results at my place, eating tacos, and spiking hot cocoa. And then probably throwing our hands up in frustration and watching a bizarre movie that found its way to Disney+.
• Currently feeling: I can’t control the outcome of this election. I can’t control how people constantly vote against their own self-interest. I can’t control how there are people out there who fear socialism (but who also don’t want their social security taken away?). I can’t control how there are people out there who are totally okay with fascist, racist, sexist, and all-around awful behavior from their elected officials. And there’s no talking to people who refuse to listen to logic (and why would they listen to me? I am but an east coast elite). I haven’t given up hope. I’m just frustrated with the people I have to share a country (and an electoral college) with. At least I can control how I blow dry my hair <adds blow dryer brush to cart>
• Currently looping: Silversun Pickups’ “Panic Switch.”

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Seven (11/4/20)

• I think the tacos have betrayed me. Oh, food poisoning, why? Or maybe it’s a stomach bug. Either way, ugh.
• My sister came over to help. And to try not to worry about the election. Keep the faith, folks.
• My mother came over because my sister had to go home. I’ve spent hours in the bathroom. Hours.
• Currently feeling: So much betrayal.
• Currently looping: Jenny Lewis’ “You Are What You Love.”

Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Eight (11/5/20)

• The day started off optimistic. I wolfed down an English muffin. Later ate some bread with jam.
• Posted my cover of Radiohead’s “No Surprises.” First video with the keyboard!
• Why is my stomach making terrifying noises?
• Therapy. Stomach continued to make concerning noises. I kept apologizing to my therapist for noises.
• Energy levels are going way down. Oh, this isn’t good.
• Currently feeling: Ugh.
• Currently looping: Yeah, I didn’t really listen to music today. But I did watch a lot of Steve Kornacki. He’s not a musician, but he was saying many things that sounded lovely.

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, wear a mask, and don’t panic.