Regrets

I have many, many regrets – and unfortunately I am prone to dwelling on them.  I always like to wonder what kind of life I would be living now if I had made a different choice at those various forks in my life path.  Or even if fate had intervened differently in my life to create new or different opportunities.  My personal and professional life could be so much different, maybe worse but probably better.  I like to think that in many of those infinite ever-so-slightly different parallel universes, I am living a much happier, more satisfying, more fulfilling life.  Or perhaps not – maybe I should be more appreciative of my current status and how relatively comfortable my life has been so far.  Unfortunately, I am prone to mood swings and I am definitely on a bit of a downer at the moment.  Disappointed with my career and profession – stemming from an education that I kind of regret because it was based more on what I was good at rather than what I might actually enjoy.  And disappointed with my personal life – missed opportunities and a feeling that I’ve kind of retreated into my shell and settled for my lonely existence.  Not healthy thoughts.  A mid-life crisis?  Nope, just more of the same.  As one of the 350 million people worldwide who suffer from depression, these are not untypical feelings to have.  I don’t want your sympathy, just your empathy.      

Post-Bank Holiday Blues

Had a bad day today - first day back at work after the long weekend, never a good day at the best of times, and had to take over an urgent task because someone else called in sick.  Naturally, absolutely no clarity on what needs to be done.  Typical.  Dealing with this kind of thing, and these kind of people, sorely tests my patience.  Something that can and should be dealt with quickly ends up taking an absolute age.  Frustrating.

 

Scratch

One of the pros about my new place over apartment-living is that I'm actually able to wash my own car.  So I've taken advantage of that this weekend, but in doing so it has revealed that there is a scratch on my car.  Not just a normal scratch, but it actually looks like someone at some point has taken a key or something to my car.  It's a long looping scratch - doesn't really look like anything other than an aimless doodle and not particularly deep (so I'm thinking that I should be able to buff it out with some car wax).  But who would do that and when?  Most of the time my car is either parked at home (which would've been in a garage at my old place, and a carport in my new place) or at work - I can't believe it could have happened at either of those places.  Which leaves either the brief periods when I'm parked to do some shopping, or when I'm parked at a trail-head when hiking.  Probably some miscreant when I'm parked outside a Walmart.  Sad.    

My new pet

I've seen this guy (or gal) most evenings in the vicinity of my new place - only ever see the one, so at least we have something in common!

Smoke

I thought that by moving house that I would escape the smell of smoke on sunny evenings.  I guess not.  In my old place, both the apartments below me had BBQ sets that would send smoke rising up and stinking out my apartment.  So, moving to a detached house - I thought and hoped one less thing to bother me.  But no.  Instead, now one of my neighbors (I think maybe even my landlord, or at least his son) has been having bonfires over the last 2/3 evenings/nights and has stank out my new home with the smoke from that.  The first time it happened, I woke up early Friday to the smell of smoke - and I wondered round my place worried that it was something of mine causing the smell.  But it wasn't, and as I write this I've had to go round shutting all my windows because of the smell of smoke again.  Disappointing, especially since my new place gets super hot when it's a sunny and hot day because it is over-exposed to sunlight, so it seems I have another uncomfortably warm night of restless sleep to look forward to.

Tired

Memorial Day weekend - no work on Monday, yeah!  Does this mean that I can actually get a decent lie in?  Nope, here I am writing this at 7 am on Saturday morning.  I can't remember the last time I got 8 hours of sleep.  That can't be healthy.

You tiny, tiny, tiny little man

A Trump update:

-          So, his favorite meal is a well-done steak with a side of ketchup.  Oh my goodness, that is so very wrong.  Everyone knows that you should have a steak cooked to medium AT MOST to get the best flavor (personally, I always go for medium-rare) – so to have it well done just cooks out all the juiciness and flavor.  And that is all the more tragic because I imagine he has the best cuts of meat.  And a side of ketchup.  No no no.  I have never heard of anyone having ketchup with a steak – that is an abomination and grounds for impeachment alone.

-          Did you see that video of him shoving a fellow world leader out of the way so that he could stand front and center of a NATO photo op?  What a disgrace.  That is taking “America First” too literally.  What a deeply rude and unpleasant man.

-          So his son-in-law is now under FBI scrutiny for his Russian connections.  It’s all very dodgy isn’t it?!  It comes as no surprise that Trump and Europe disagree about how to deal with Russia – Trump is never going to take a strong stance against Russia since Russia essentially helped win him the election.

-          Did you also see the video of Trump shaking hands with the new French president?  That was hilarious – as we’ve seen before this idiot doesn’t even know how to shake hands with world leaders properly, so it was satisfying to see his tiny little hand crushed by the French president.  Sadly, that is the kind of action that will probably have repercussions from someone as petty and simple-minded as Trump.

-          Apparently, Trump also had a difference of opinion with European leaders on several other matters – such as climate and trade.  Climate comes as no surprise.  But it is sad that Trump and his entourage supposedly don’t even have a basic understanding of how to negotiate trade deals with Europe (thinking they can deal with EU countries separately).  With all his rhetoric about European countries not contributing enough to NATO and not committing America to militarily support NATO if necessary, he is not making many friends.  I wish someone at these meeting would just come out and say something about what a moron Trump is – surely they’re not all so gutless.

-          And as for the US leaks of intelligence, that is a massive disgrace.  Trump may call the leaks to American media about the Manchester attack “deeply troubling”, but even if they are not his fault he should at least eat some humble pie and publicly apologize to the UK on behalf of the US.  But no, don’t expect that anytime soon.  Trump has never apologized for anything – including any of the outrageous and inflammatory lies and threats up to and beyond the election.  Single-handedly, he has lost the US it’s sense of dignity and moral upstanding on the world stage.