The Urban Pantheist

From Fall to Spring Alexis looks like a Jedi.

I took yesterday off of work, so here I am: by the fire by the shed with my laptop in the backyard. Not pictured: Naragansett Shandy.

Friday: Reviewing a powerpoint presentation about the zoo hospital I'm doing tomorrow as part of a volunteer appreciation party.

I thought I'd take the occasion of this unflattering snapshot of Alexis and Albee to update you on him: He's still cute.

( Read more... )

So last Friday we tested to see if my laptop is one of those ones that works faster with the electronics immersed in coffee, but it was not to be. So I'm updating from work, and doing most of my internet via phone. So the main thing I use my computer for--uploading pics and sharing them on livejournal--is on hold for the time being.

Also I have stye on my eyelid, and I am assured that both of these things are temporary and will fade into distant memory, with plenty of time for me to enjoy my life until the sun consumes the earth.

Like many people who have also posted on livejournal today, this morning I woke up to yet another pile of snow on my world. Insult was added all day long, as snow turned to sleet, to graupel, to ice pellets, to freezing rain, to snizzle, and finally merely cold rain. It was a great day to exercise the privilege of autonomy of my job, and stay indoors as much as possible, working on the tick presentation I'll be giving next week.

Winter is crud. There are moments of magic, but I find it hard to rise above the long months of cold and damp and dark. My enthusiasm and creativity plunge, when I should be taking advantage of being homebound, time that could be spent writing and learning and/or making art. I end up writing depressing screeds like this one.

I should say that I am writing this on a new computer, one that has a battery that charges and can be moved from room to room or even outdoors. One that I could plug my microphone into and record my podcast without the electronic interference of the power cable. I read that's a problem from someone on the internet. Also the speakers are twice as loud as those on my old computer. (I'm the kind of person that would replace the radio in my car before the engine.)

Many thanks to my friend Rachel who greatly facilitated the upgrade. I don't make important decisions without being pushed or pulled over the edge, so I can only understate my appreciation. Thank you Rachel!

My goals for the new year are the kind that I'll only fulfill if I have someone there to help me along or give me a substantial shove. The help I need on the "learning to play a new instrument" goal may come from my friend Kiki, who is offering to lend me one of her pointy guitars, and show me a chord or two. The "brew my own beer" goal will be met when the scoffing about how easy it is (supplied by my friends and relatives) gets to be too much and I go buy the damn kit already. I'll also have to stop buying beer for a few months to save up for the kit.

The first Urban Nature Walk of 2013 will happen Sunday the 27th, location to be announced. A good friend who works for the Department of Conservation and Recreation has tentatively agreed to co-lead the walk. She wasn't enthusiastic about leading a walk in places that have been degraded in her mind as "work" but I'm hoping to tap into her knowledge. I also hope that having a group of interested amateurs listening to what she has to say will help spark some of that enthusiasm.

Maybe it's just winter.

August 19, I took a mental health day and lounged in the yard with Alexis. It is hard not to notice: I am frowning intently at my iPod.

( Read more... )