Update (lack of update) on living situation

I’m not sleeping well at the moment – and I think it’s part of the reason I’ve been getting a few more headaches/migraines recently.  The reason for my lack of sleep?  Stress.  Partly from work, but mainly because I still haven’t found somewhere new to live.  I’ve got a small extension to my current lease to May 5th (and, surprisingly but pleasantly, they’ve agreed to keep the same rate I’m currently on for those few weeks, rather than the bloated month-to-month rate).  However, this means that I need to find somewhere soon, and I think the next 10 days are going to be critical for this.  I can’t afford to procrastinate on this, which means I might have to reluctantly settle for something less than perfect if I have to (and the high level of perfection I’m seeking is probably totally impossible!).  Then I’ve got to sort out actually moving.  Jeez, what a hassle.  I hope all of this is worth the time, effort and expense….

Angry Birds

For about the 3rd or 4th time this year, I’ve been looking out of my cube window at work and seen an eagle that has been soaring around get attacked by a “murder” of crows.  It is quite something to see.  It starts with an eagle circling majestically around hunting for prey - undoubtedly a beautiful sight.  Then emerging from the trees appear about 5 or 6 black dots – presumably crows – who head directly towards the eagle.  Then, whilst circling the eagle, each crow takes a turn to dive bomb the eagle.  It is effective – the eagle is forced to fly away, and the crows can return to their nests and presumably the eggs/chicks that they are defending.  This behavior from crows doesn’t surprise me – I’ve been attacked before by crows dive bombing me when I walked too close to one of their nests and ignored their increasingly incessant cawing.  There have also been evenings where hundreds of them have gathered together near where I live to roost.  It may be noisy as hell, and not quite as spectacular as those millions of starlings on Planet Earth II, but nonetheless good to see that urban sprawl hasn’t changed all of nature’s habits.  Nonetheless, crows remain my 2nd least favorite of all the birds (Canadian Geese are worse).    

Fortune

I have a little box of raisins most days, and I’ve noticed that the inside of the top lid has a little “fortune cookie” type piece of wisdom in each box.  Here was today’s:

“Even a squirrel knows how to maximize each day.”

I’ll leave the interpretation of this up to you. 

Busy

In an unexpected turn of events at work, I'm actually relatively busy right at the moment.  Having to deal with messy data on something I'm working on, and programatically it's a nightmare.  Spending way more time than planned for and expected on this - but we've got a good handle on the issues, and I think we're doing a good job dealing with data as awkward as what we have.  If I don't get a Value at Work award out of this, I'll be bitterly disappointed.

Geography Test

One of the “Elite 8” match-ups over the weekend in March Madness basketball was Gonzaga vs Xavier.  If anyone knows where both these universities are to be found in the US without looking them up, then (a) you’re a big fan of American college sports, (b) you have an eidetic memory or (c) you’re lying.  I only know Gonzaga is in Spokane because it is in Washington State, so by default (and the fact that the University of Washington sucks as basketball) the locals hope they do well in the tournament.  I have no idea where Xavier is – somewhere on the East Coast, but no idea where exactly.  Just looking through the field, there are so many more universities that I don’t have a clue where they are  - just from the Sweet 16 there is Baylor (Texas?), Purdue (no idea – but I know they are known as the Boilermakers) and Butler (no idea).  For as long as I’ve been in the US, it just goes to show how big it is and how little I know about it.

Lego Deconstruction

I seem to get as much pleasure from putting together a Lego set as I do from taking apart a Lego set and sorting out the bricks into little freezer bags by color and size.  What does that say about me?  I am very disturbed by my very OCD behavior.  And that is on top of currently compiling a list of every single item I own - ostensibly so I have a list of everything in the unlikely event I'm "burglarized" (a particularly weird Americanism) and also to make sure I have list of everything before I move.  But probably this is also another example of OCD behavior.  How worried should I be?  This is only going to get worse as I get older...!      

Trumpcare

I'm not sure who comes out worse now that "Trumpcare" has seemingly gone down in flames - Trump or the Republican Party.  I think actually the Republicans - they couldn't even get the votes to repeal Obamacare even though they have the majority.  For the number of years that they have had to come up with a feasible alternative, they haven't.  American healthcare is a poisoned chalice, and it is amusing that Trump has hung so much of his reputation on fixing it.  I don't think it's fixable.  With this failure right after his immigration policy shambles, Trump's presidency has not got off to a good start - as one would hope!  Unfortunately, his petty nature will probably mean doubling down on something else equally unpopular to the majority - like rolling back clean environmental policy.