The year started with an engine out, a leaky fuel tank, a squall on the horizon and no land until Tarawa. I then hatched an Ocean's Eleven-grade plan involving no less than seven moves across five people. Suddenly there was a landing strip down there. If we dove for it we might just walk away from this catastrophe. The plane would be a write-off, we'd be living off coconuts and talking to volleyballs, but we might avert the ball of flame. As of yesterday, the GEAR IS DOWN. And fuckin' hell the radio might even work. You have to understand this is a situation where reasonable people would go "we're reasonable people, here's a reasonable solution, it's reasonably practical and will result in reasonable safety and happiness" but I'm dealing with a miasma of insanity, addiction and codependency with six felonies, three mental illnesses and four toxic relationships such that if you can say just the right thing at just the right time you might move a piece forward rather than backward. Otherwise? Your mother bites her husband's head off to bite her sister's head off to bite your sister's head off to bite your head off about how saying "I could look at that bill, I own a medical clinic, this is my expertise" really means "I want to take away all your authority and steal your money." Prolly 50-60 hours a week on this shit. Four weeks deep. On the minus side, I need a rad counter. On the plus side, I might get to make old people settle their bullshit before it becomes my problem a thousand miles away. NRO target-of-opportunity IMINT for Afghanistan or rural New Mexico assessor parcel map? You decide!
Went to the first pre-season rugby game. Stadium was 1/2 full. Didn't get COVID. Also didn't get COVID when we went out to dinner - in a restaurant! - with my brother and sister-in-law who have recently recovered from their bout of COVID. I'm calming down about COVID. A bit. Feels like giving up, honestly.
Fortunately it seems Omicron has largely replaced the Delta variant, and - with vaccination - the vast majority of people are getting a miserable flu, but not occupying hospital beds. (Unless they have some serious co-morbidity.) Here's hoping that NZ is the model for what "endemic COVID" looks like as opposed to "pandemic COVID", and things can stay open and operating in the country without a major crunch on the healthcare system.
Honestly, assuming vaccination rates in NZ are as high as Australia, it won't be that bad when it comes. We had a few weeks when emergency departments were getting slammed and non-urgent surgery was suspended, but things seem to be recovering fairly quickly.
Glad to hear things are improving for you over there! Yeah my main worry is our teeny tiny healthcare system. I think we still have like, maybe 180 ICU beds in the country? Vaxx rates are high, and boosters are rolling out. I can only get mine in March sadly, but I'll do it when I'm allowed.
Better, but meh. I needed to work with my PT to figure out how to walk properly again. I'd been limping for so long, I actually couldn't figure out what my foot/knee were supposed to do normally! We got it sorted out, though. The real issue is that I need to build up my quad muscles to stabilize the knee. But I'm not doing my strengthening exercises. Like... at all. That needs to change.
It's amazing how quickly the body will adapt to different mechanics of movement to compensate for pain, weakness, or injury. And how long it can take to revert to "normal". Glad you're improving.
Aaaaand, it's been pushed. Now the course is waiting for a word from the reviewers, board approval, and defence. The last few hours went predictably, jumping from panic to "it's practically routine now, shut up about it." Gonna take a couple days off before finishing up some papers that kept getting pushed on the back burner. Prolly catch up on reading. Also, good god, I hope postdoc applications don't look anything like normal job interviews, 'cause if my best options in six months will be enlistment or cooking meth...
Yeah keys went and got expensive when they went and got useful. Those $2 keys could basically be bypassed by hammering a pair of scissors into the lock while the new ones need to whisper a secret into the ear of the computer before it'll listen. It's not great, I agree. But it has been useful.
It's hot as hell in Melbourne. Flew up to Cairns for a few days last weekend, and the weather there was milder in the tropics than 3000km away in the temperate south. I'm on the wagon for January and counting the days until Tuesday.