Hoping this’ll be a quiet week.

Personally, I didn’t do a heck of a lot this weekend (thanks to standing obligations being cancelled at the last minute), which was kind of a relief, as I’d been feeling a bit off, with the season change and all the work responsibilities keeping me at the office a lot more than I’d like.

I totally missed the Richmond Folk Festival (it was rainy, and probably wasn’t the best for me anyway) other than a bit of some live broadcast on the radio, but it looks like all my friends who were there had fun. Maybe next year. Also ended up missing my friends Adena and Travis getting married on Saturday (as we had pre-existing plans out of town for Saturday up until about 9:30am), though I saw them both on Sunday and wished them well. Otherwise, it was the usual stuff like grocery shopping, bill paying, and dance practice shuttles.

There was no dance event this weekend, which was nice, (though the girls are booked up each of the next two weeks for events are local irish/celtic festivals), so we got to catch a bit of a breather, take care of some house stuff, make some lasagna, and keep moving on with my Arrow/Flash binge now that the new seasons are up on Netflix.

Monday was the Columbus Day, the least significant Federal holiday (and somewhat controversial, given what we know about the history), though it meant a day off work for me, so I got to take my wife out to lunch (kinda) and do some shopping while the kids were at school. I won’t complain.

I also like the serendipitous timing of my currently reading a book dealing rather respectfully with indigenous north American cultures (while still being a rollicking little adventure with excitement and comedy) on the day that draws all sorts of attention to that subject. Wasn’t on purpose.

In a lot of ways, it would make a lot of sense to drop Columbus day in favor of a Federal election day holiday, though I expect that’s never going to happen, as it would mean three federal holidays in November, and there’s no way in hell any congresscritter is going to vote yea on the bill that cancels Veteran’s Day or Thanksgiving.

the veneration of “our military* and a day celebrating “traditional” family values is never going to trump an idea that might increase voter turnout.

Oh – speaking of politics – Tuesday’s the first Democratic presidential candidates’ debate. I’m curious to see how dynamics change once they all get a chance to talk to voters on a relatively even footing.

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* – Veterans definitely deserve to be honored, but I kind of think a day off for federal workers is a lot less beneficial than concrete things like medical, psychological, educational, and financial benefits to give them a leg up in returning to non-military life politicians keep cutting as they do things that make more combat veterans would be.