1. The Raleigh Follies

UPDATE: I’ve now received a total of four responses to the emails I sent N.C. General Assembly members.

North Carolina lawmakers convened in Raleigh earlier this week for a special session to pass a disaster relief package for Hurricane Matthew victims – but that wasn’t the only thing they were there for. I knew something was up when Republican – and outgoing, thank God – governor, Pat McCrory, conceded the race to Democratic challenger, Roy Cooper, after protesting the election results like a baby protests when he or she doesn’t get they’re ba-ba. I was right.

Republicans in the General Assembly decided to call additional unplanned and unannounced “special sessions” and quickly moved a host of extreme bills through to undermine Governor-elect Cooper as well as the voices of a majority of North Carolinians (here’s just a little taste of what they’ve been up to this week). By the way, these preposterous shenanigans are costing taxpayers to the tune of $40k a day. Of course, Repubs are “defending” the sessions, citing similar actions carried out by Democrats some 30 years ago.

This is exactly why I’m sick and tired of politics in general. Politicians will continue to fulfill their personal political agendas under the guise of “working for the people.” It’s disgusting and, frankly, its treasonous.

Thanks to NCMegaphone.com, I was able to email all 170 members of the General Assembly on Thursday to express my disdain (putting it nicely) with the 💩 show going on in Raleigh. Here’s what I said:

You want to know how many responses I received? You really want to know? Okay, I’ll tell you: one. That’s right, ONE. Out of 170. The one response was from Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford). This goes to show what my concerns mean. The same could be said for Facebook, where I’ve made several posts about this week’s events in the General Assembly, yet they have all virtually fallen on deaf ears (save for one friend). If you live in North Carolina and you either agree with this childish, petty, nonsensical power grab or don’t care, fine. But don’t you dare come crying to me when things go sour for you.

WAKE THE HECK UP, PEOPLE!

2. Survivor Thoughts

Adam won! I’ve been rooting for fellow Millennial, Adam Klein, practically since the beginning of this season of Survivor and especially since the Millennial and Gen-X tribes merged. He played a great game and, in fact, swept the final vote with the jury. Judging by the jury members’ questions to each of the final three castaways, I had a feeling Adam would win. But, of course, his victory has been overshadowed by a decision to reveal to everyone at the Final Tribal Council about his mom and her battle with cancer. You may recall me writing about this here a couple weeks ago and how I could relate to what Adam and his family are going through. It infuriated me when some people commented on social media that the vote to make Adam Sole Survivor was out of sympathy for his mom. Some were even downright nasty toward him, calling him a “loser,” saying he wasn’t really crying and so on. Just take a look at any recent post on Survivor‘s Facebook page if you don’t believe me.

Losing someone you love, especially your mother, sucks. Cancer sucks. Look no further for an example than yours truly. It’s no secret that I lost my grandmother to Stage IV gastric cancer that metastasized to her liver. She was so full of life right up to – and even after – her diagnosis in February. She was gone in less than three months. My grandmother and I were very close and spent a lot of time together. Heck, we went to Florida to see UNC play in the Russell Athletic Bowl the December before she was diagnosed. My hope is the heartless people who made these ridiculous remarks about Adam never lose someone they’re close with to cancer. There are no words to describe the feeling.

3. Survivor Buff

Piggybacking off the Survivor comments, I decided to purchase an autographed Buff, like what is worn on the show, in an effort to help with Adam’s campaign to fight cancer. The Buff I purchased is signed by very popular contestant, Joe Anglim, from Seasons 30 and 31 of the show. It was awesome to help with this cause and even more awesome that Adam saw what I wrote on this blog about contributing to his campaign! Adam saw an Instagram post I made showing off my Buff, read my blog and, in turn, commented on my Insta post, which is below!

released a self-titled EP this week. When I learned about this, I was pretty stoked. That is, until I saw the track listing. The EP is nothing more than a rehash of previously-released tunes that Trent either performed on the show or recorded after his win. Tunes like his debut single “There’s A Girl” and Idol songs like “Chandelier” and a remix of his coronation song “Falling” (why?). Just a way to get people to buy these songs again so double the money can be earned as opposed to releasing a fresh project. Disappointing to say the least.

5. Happy Birthday, Bob!

Bob Barker turned the big 9-3 this week. He’s best known for hosting The Price Is Right for 35 years. I grew up with Bob as TPIR was a mainstay during my childhood. Since it’s Friday, how about a little flashback to his first ever TPIR episode? Happy Birthday, Bob!

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