the moment i arrived in belmont it was announced on CNN that biden had won pennsylvania and they were calling the race, making biden the next president of the united states. it almost felt anti-climatic because we'd known for a few days already that biden had the numbers, it was just a matter of time for all the ballots to be counted for the networks to announce the winner. still, it was a good feeling as one network after another began announcing biden's victory. fox news was the last to do so, even though they did report that other networks were already calling the race. people were congregating outside the white house and in cities across the US, celebrating biden's victory. where was trump in all of this? originally i assumed he was at the white house, but he was actually golfing on the day he found out he got fired from his job.
if it wasn't for the pandemic i'd be down in the city taking photos of the celebration, but in these current coronavirus climate, it wasn't worth the risk. thankfully most people wore masks - these were after all biden supporters who believe in science - but there was little social distancing, i just hope all these spontaneous gatherings don't result in covid-19 spikes.
i had some garlic bread for lunch which my mother said were the best she's ever had but i didn't think they were that great. later she fixed me some indomie mi goreng noodles. she didn't add the powder spices initially until i told her they were essential for the full flavor experience. it was my first time having indomie, they were pretty tasty, but nothing that special. these were dry noodles instead of in a broth, so i ate them pretty quickly, and only the fact that my mother added an egg made it into more of a meal than a snack.
my father and i did some light backyard cleanup. he watered the yard from the rain barrel and we cleared RB0 so he could add some fermented soy bean mash as a fertilizer as well as a bucket of compost. i dug up a rather large beetle grub, i've never seen one so large before. after i took a few photos i left it alone; i didn't have the heart to kill it and later it disappeared, so maybe it found its way back into the soil.
after dinner i returned home just in time to catch biden's acceptance speech despite trump not yet delivering his concession call (which he may never do). kamala harris introduced biden, she was articulate and confident and full of vitality that seemed more presidential than vice-presidential. biden's speech said all the right things, a president for all americans, an administration of healing. he made no secret of some of his plans: rejoin the WHO and paris climate accord and end the muslim travel ban. afterwards there was a fireworks display that included light drones that spelled out words and formed pictures, it was pretty awesome, and most likely the future of pyrotechnics.
