We've sold the apartment, which is great. Signed the agreement on Monday night. Weirdly numb to the thing since it happened. Still haven't celebrated with a glass of champagne. I think the two of us are just mindful of how many other challenges (domestic and work) we need to navigate over the next month or two. Settlement on the apartment occurs the same day as settlement on our new house, which means having everything packed and ready to go first thing in the morning, so payments can be squared and keys collected around midday, so we can unpack at our new place that afternoon, while arranging for cleaning of the apartment at the same time. It's actually not that complex now that I've written it down. Also, I have to draft a massive, whole-of-institution green paper in the next week.
Got a promising job I applied to the other day. Need to send a shmoozing cold email to the hiring manager but I'm well qualified and have her direct email. It's also right next to where my partner is doing her PhD so it'd be a really convenient location too. Planning for the two week vacation in in late May is going well. Really looking forward to that. I need a break from all this shit and I'm ready for some real time off.
Good luck re the job. Where are you travelling for vacation?
Japan! Finally got hotels booked. We're staying pretty much between Tokyo and Kyoto and not planning on adventuring much further, but we're going up in the mountains and over to the west coast and spending time in those parts. We also just found out the 2025 World's Fair is happening in Osaka while we're there so we're toying with a day trip for that.
Awesome. I hear Japan is cheap as chips to get to at the moment (even from here in Australia, with our currency crashing through the floor). Enjoy the onsens.
I guess the higher fidelity of emoji communication depends mostly on context :-) Adopted a feral cat a week ago. Domesticating animals is a very weird thing we do as a species. It feels rewarding to earn trust. It is basically a conspiracy theorist's nightmare, though; capture them in a cage, put a chip in them, and cut them open to end their ability to reproduce. We are the aliens. It's still snowing. Getting used to a half-year winter is difficult. Despite that, some buds are starting to appear. A mother-daughter moose pair keep hanging around nibbling them off the tree branches. Somehow the days have already gone from no sunrise to nearly 16 hours of daylight. Looking forward to summer.
Jared Diamond spent a big chunk of time on "taming" vs. "domesticating" where "taming" is taking a wild animal and making it not hate you, while "domesticating" is taking a wild animal and making its children's children's children not hate you. The Egyptians tamed cheetahs but never domesticated them; he pointed out that dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years while foxes have met only limited success and that only recently. Michael Pollan would probably argue that cats domesticated us rather than the other way 'round, since he argued that the dominant species on earth is maize and we've stopped at nothing to ensure its spread around the world. Cats do a lot less to earn their keep than corn does.
being "encouraged" to apply to a conservation cohort comprised of members of some of the larger outdoor recreation nonprofits across the united states on paper it looks like a great opportunity and a good way to get connected with people who love climbing, running, surfing, kayaking, etc., all across the country, who are deeply involved with their organization(s), and who want to get involved with public advocacy and policy making as it relates to public lands conservation and outdoor recreation kickoff retreat in colorado for a few days and then a full week in dc later this year if i were to get in