Kicking it down a notch

Okay, a little bit better today, and less high anxiety about this move. I had a bad night last night, waking up around 3:30 and unable to get back to sleep because my mind kicked into overdrive. I hate it when that happens, and it seems that it feeds upon itself. I went from thinking about this move, to thinking about finalizing the menu for Ken's PMI group dinner next week (and picking up the information packets from the Chamber of Commerce), to reminding myself to check the grocery store ads before I went out on my errands today...aaggghhhh!

I was finally able to calm down and get back to sleep, but MAN, did I have some crazy dreams! They weren't exactly bad, but so vivid that they were on the verge of hallucinatory. At one point, I recall waking up partway because I was trying to shoo something away...I don't recall what. I've lost most of them now, even though I tried to remember them because they were so bizarre, but I remember a cat with spots like an ocelot, I remember being in the yard and picking electronic parts (ordered by a neighbor but delivered to us) out of the grass, and I remember a group of guys standing behind me hitting golf balls. One of them made a remark about President Obama, and I marched over to him and said, "I find that very offensive and I'd appreciate it if you didn't say such things." He laughed and said, "Oh yeah? Well, you'd just better worry about who's going to wash your balls now that this guy is in office!"

Okay, I can laugh about it now, but what the hell?! It was on the verge of "The Prisoner" level of surreal.

My errand run didn't start out well, when I made my first stop at a newer apartment complex nearby. (In Ken's discussion with his Mom, he discussed the reality of things, and it sounds like they are willing to go the apartment route. The hangup there was that they want to keep their appliances. Ken's question: "So here's what you need to decide. Do you want to keep your appliances, or would you rather be somewhere closer to us? We can probably find you something 20-30 miles away where you can do that." Like I said, I was a nervous wreck just hearing one side of the conversation!) I told the woman at the complex the situation, and she said they won't have any openings until August. Dammit! We'll keep looking.

But Ken’s Mom needs to know by Friday. And they've already started packing. I just don't want to go there right now, though. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts....

I found a couple of lounge chairs on sale at Target today. I've been wanting one for a while, because I love to sit, and hey, I love to lounge! A lounge chair is a natural! When I saw that these were on sale, Ken said to get two, so I'm excited to use my new lounge chair. Our summery weather seems to be done for the moment, and it rained this afternoon, so I might not get to use it for a while. Those suckers were heavy--they have a steel frame, so I hope that means they'll last for a while.

I saw two Rose-breasted Grosbeaks earlier today (picture is from last year), and they are not shy at all, coming right up to the feeders. These guys are so interesting...they look to me like they've just torn the throat out of something, with that bright red bib, but that's just me. I've often seen the Grosbeak with the Oriole, and I was very happy to see Oreo make an appearance late this afternoon! I'll need to put an orange out for him tomorrow.

The swine flu outbreak is a big deal in the news right now. From what I've read, while it's been quite nasty in Mexico, all U.S. cases have been fairly mild. While I think it's good that they're recommending caution, including limiting travel to affected areas, it would seem that the virus is mutating to a less virulent form. Too early to tell, of course, and the usual cautions apply, but I'm not panicking. This virus is an interesting chimera, though. (And how often do I get to use the word 'chimera?' Almost never! I'm delighted!) It's a mixture of human, swine, and avian influenza, and shows that viruses can recombine (naturally, without our help) into something unseen before. Although I don't panic over something like this, I have a healthy respect for the ability of bacteria and viruses to mutate and evolve.

Look at it this way: you're a virus, and you have to have a host in order to replicate. You're not a bad guy, and don't want to hurt your host...in fact, if you do hurt them too much (i.e., kill them), you've lost your host, and if you haven't found a new one, you're toast. So it's to your advantage to continue to be a mild guy, just hanging out and replicating without hurting too many people. But one day you encounter a couple of cousins who are also not real bad guys...but when you all get together, you get a little crazy, and you get up to some real bad-ass activities. In fact, you end up hurting some people pretty bad, and realize that you need to back off before you all get killed. So you decide you'll all go back to being mild guys and quit hurting people. After all, you're only going to get hurt in the end, right?

That's a virus for you, especially one that unexpectedly recombines or has an antigenic shift into a more virulent form. It's to the virus's disadvantage to kill all its hosts, so it will eventually morph into something milder and less menacing. That's what I'm hoping will happen with this particular H1N1 strain. The phrase "can't be contained" seems to be freaking a lot of people out. It obviously can't be contained, because it's already in Scotland and Spain, and it’s very much a global community when it comes to the spread of infections. That's a moot point. So hang tight, wash your hands, don't touch your eyes or face, and if you're sick, stay home!

Hummm…

I had a message on Facebook from Milwaukee Dan #1 this morning, and he said that he and his wife saw a hummingbird around their azalea last evening. I've had one feeder up for a week or so now, so I knew it was only a matter of time. Sure enough, early this afternoon, I heard that little buzz and knew they were back! There was a male on the feeder. I haven't seen him since then, but now I know they're back, and I can hang out the other feeder at the front of the house (it seems to help keep down on the fighting).

I also saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak this morning, both male and female, so they're back, too. I'll put out some orange halves soon, because the Orioles won't be far behind. Isn't it funny how you kind of get to know and love some of these birds, and are happy to see them return year after year? Or maybe it's just me.

Speaking of birds, Happy World Penguin Day! And thanks to Craig Ferguson for pointing it out on his show last night. As much as I love penguins, I had no idea today is World Penguin Day. I don't think I've written much about my love for penguins. I collect figurines and stuffed animals (although I've quit buying the latter), and this is one of my favorites, and one of my pricier ones, purchased in San Francisco. I like to get one from every city I visit, but I have price limits. I still don't have one from New Orleans, because the only ones I saw were in the Quarter, and about $150. I don't love penguins that much! I took this guy out of the curio cabinet to get his picture, and I don't even want to tell you how many I have...I've never actually counted, but there are probably a couple hundred. They take up four of five shelves in the corner curio.

I still remember how I came to collect them, too. I was in my mid-20's, and everyone likes to collect something, right? My sister Diana collects unicorns, and my sister Sue collects angels. I hadn't figured out yet what I was going to collect, when my friend Lisa from the lab came over one afternoon. We were enjoying a few amber beverages, and an animal show came on, and it was all about penguins. They were so cute, and the way they waddled made me laugh till I cried. I figured that any creature that could bring me such enjoyment and happiness was something very special, and my collection was born. They still make me smile, and as I was watching the video at the end of this entry, I said, "Awww!" several times. Of course, I loved "March of the Penguins," and I'm glad that it showed the world what I've known for many years: these are remarkable creatures worthy of love, respect, and every effort to preserve their habitat.

Again speaking of birds--the cookin' kind--the plan is to have our first barbecue tonight, with a chicken I thawed out last night. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate. It's been a little on the gloomy side, with a thunderstorm earlier today, and lots of wind.

Ken has been doing online research to find a place for his Mom and stepdad when they move up here at the end of May. He found several possibilities. I've been catching up on magazines, and read in Time about a cool thing that colleges and universities are doing. There's a channel on YouTube for education, and you can find hundreds of videos of lectures from professors from several universities, including Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, Notre Dame, and many, many others. You don't get credit for watching the lecture, obviously, but what a great way to open up education from world-class professors to anyone with a high speed connection! I've already found one that I want to watch, about pandemic influenza, which is especially timely considering the outbreak of a new strain in Mexico.

Which, by the way, doesn't qualify as a pandemic...yet. But it's serious business, and has the potential to be a big problem. It's a genetic combination of swine, human, and avian strains, and dozens have already died. Surveillance is being heightened, and there may be some travel restrictions at some point. I'll be watching this story closely.

Is that enough topics for this entry? I think so! I've already got another one percolating, though, and I'm not sure if it can wait till tomorrow. I'm very agitated.