It’s the evening before the big day. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Months of debating, strategizing, planning and anticipating have all come down to this.
Hillary vs Trump?
No. My vacation.
For the Americans (or anyone following this horror show) tonight is Erev Election Day. The culmination of many months of the ugliest and most divisive election campaign in American history. Depending on what happens tomorrow in the United States, by tomorrow night we’ll all be either breathing a giant sigh of relief, or ushering in the apocalypse.
For me, however, it’s Erev Vacation. Departure Day. I’m here at Trudeau Airport, waiting to board my flight to Amsterdam and embark on the first leg of my adventure.
When I booked this trip, I didn’t give two seconds’ pause to the fact that my departure coincided with US election day. I doubt I even noticed. But, as it turned out, it’s something of a fortuitous coincidence.
See, even at the best of times, I’m a bit of a political junkie. And these are far from the best of times. Normally I would have spent tomorrow night glued to screens, liveblogging, tweeting and cringing as the results came in. Or, as the Beaverton aptly put it, rocking back and forth and moaning softly. Whatever I did, it probably would have been terrible for my stress levels.
Instead, with the time difference, I’ll probably be asleep when the results are announced. And by Wednesday, I’ll be on my way to India, temporarily out of reach of the post-election hangover… and hopefully well out of range of any possible aftermath if the worst should happen.
It’s been a long campaign. A long year. I daresay that at this point, we could all use a bit of a break.
So here I am, checked in and ready to go. My bags are packed. My work email auto-replies are activated. I’ve cleared security and had a pint at the bar, so I’m officially on vacation. So far, my flight seems to be on time.
It may be the end of the world as we know it. But I feel fine.
**If you’re reading this and you’re an American citizen, though, please do make sure to vote. I — and the rest of the sane world — are counting on you so we don’t wake up to a nightmare scenario on Wednesday. Kthxbye.