Gaining Ground

I’ve reached a decision. The next time that the new-part time job drives me to distraction my one-week notice will be submitted. Long hours are one thing, gratuitous stress is quite another.

One month of full-time and part-time work will bring Attila and I into a state of solvency, then we will likely be able to survive through next winter at a basic level. I will feel a lot more relaxed when a state of solvency has been reached. In the meantime I will breath deeply, pet Mist, smile at Attila and leave the rest to fate. Soon though, the tomorrows of our life, at least in the short term, will cease to loom ominous.

Today I am preparing for my work week at the new full-time job. I am looking forward to the week. I have my clothing hanging in the closet ready to go; my new lunch box has its very own juice bottle, spoon, fork, snack jar, hot pad and freezer pack. I have enough gas in the car to make the journey to work on Monday morning. I’m good to go.

I’ll never be prepared for the new part-time job, as a portion of the preparation is down to the supervisor and she is on a different page (not entirely her fault). That is the bottom line: seeking full preparation is futile, don’t think about it. I’ll have to work three or four or five hours today, and again tomorrow night and every night thereafter for the next few weeks.

The mountains of personal paperwork on my desk at home are shrinking, shrinking, shrinking! All the bills are paid for now, which feels very good. I have our documents to vote tomorrow on the ready, as we will head to the polls after work.

Yesterday I baked bread. This morning Attila has made a hearty beef soup, macaroni and cheese for lunches next week, and an apple crisp for my breakfasts. Later today I will bake a giant oven pancake, which I will section to take to work for snacks.

This morning I spoke with Harriet on Skype. All is well in her world. The quality of the voice and video on Skype was very bad. At one point the synchronization was so bad that we covered our mouths so as not to visually confuse one another as the voice communication came through. They had a serious wind storm down her way last week, trees down, shingles torn away; an unusual event in their neck of the woods. There was no damage to their property, although one of their mature trees now has a decided lean to it.

Mist has decided that she is not just a cat, she is also an alarm clock. At six this morning she arrived on the bed and yowled at us at the top of her lungs. I seldom sleep in this late, so I was very annoyed to be awakened before my time. Attila laughed and went back to sleep. Mist climbed onto my chest, laid herself down, put a paw out to rest upon my chin and began to purr. After about a half an hour of that, I woke Attila to arise for the day. As soon as Attila arose from the bed Mist jumped to her feet and followed him out the bedroom door. She has the whole thing worked out to perfection.

Japan Nuclear Catastrophe

“Kan: safety measures insufficient
Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company failed to fully address safety issues that had come to light before the March 11 disaster.

An accident last June at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant caused by the loss of outside power and the subsequent drop in the water levels of a reactor was taken up at Sunday’s Upper House Budget Committee meeting.

In response to a question on whether sufficient safety measures had been taken, Kan said nuclear plants operate on the assumption that emergency diesel generators will maintain a reactor’s cooling functions when outside power is cut off.

He said the fact that such a back-up system failed to work properly has serious implications.

Kan said measures were not taken despite previous accidents and warnings, and that he must admit that the utility and the government failed to fully deal with the situation.

He also suggested that he will study the possibility of setting up an alternative capital to take over Tokyo’s role in an emergency, saying that measures must be taken to secure the continuity of the capital’s central functions.
Sunday, May 01, 2011 23:20 +0900 (JST)”
Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/01_23.html

Worldly Distractions

Weather

14 °C
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 101.8 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 14.0°C
Dewpoint: 2.6°C
Humidity: 46 %
Wind: SE 31 gust 44 km/h

Quote 

“The man least dependent upon the morrow goes to meet the morrow most cheerfully.”
Epicurus
341 BC – 270 BC