Under the bushes
at Maureen's house,
I smoked my first and last cigarettes.
I was probably 16
and upset about a boy, I think.
This will help, she said.
But it didn't.
When things in the world
are not going right,
Like these days,
I wish something as simple
as smoking a cigarette
could fix it.
But it won't.
I got a new computer, which is great and fast. Everything (I think) transferred from the old computer, except photos and music. The photos are all on Google (I think) and I copied the music manually. Now I'm listening to a lot of old music I've never listened to--or not that I can remember. Jethro Tull? Bread?
Of course, the news is riveting. The coverage of the war on Ukraine is heart-wrenching. Such good interviews on NPR, it seems real and immediate. I try to imagine what I would do. People streaming out, waiting in their cars for 48 hours to get across the border, mistreating other refugees, and other people making their way in to fight the Russians. It seems folly for a small country to fend off a giant with no scruples to kill anyone and everyone with little cause. Surely in this day and age it doesn't make sense. Putin and his crew are hurting themselves in an interdependent world. Also, did he not repeatedly say he would not attack just a week before? I just cannot comprehend people like that--but I blame Trump and his supporters for encouraging him and being similar.
The weather is still cold. There is a thin scrim of ice on the sidewalks, where snow melted yesterday and froze overnight. It's fine in the sun, but pretty scary otherwise. I know it's warming and should be sunny today, so will make some more progress today. Still forecast to be cold enough to freeze for several nights. I'm looking forward to going back to Durham in a couple weeks.
My boss is getting his second cancer treatment today. I'm worried about him, but statistically his odds are good. I know it's pretty difficult in the meantime. He was heartened to find out yesterday that the Family Medical Leave Act in Massachusetts will pay for his sick leave, which he has pretty much used up on doctors' appointments. He pushed himself to do my annual review before today, so I will get a 4% raise, going back a month and a half. He said I exceeded on all measures, and wrote nice things about me. We get along well and have good communication. The Board members have expressed appreciation as well. I spent time online trying to get a QuickBooks problem resolved and they were going to let me know when it was. I was glad that they admitted the problem, but would have liked a more immediate solution or workaround. I can't record any deposits until they fix it. A major accounting program like that should not have a sudden failure. It will affect thousands?
Oil crisis brought on by invasion halfway around the globe...political conflict--could war bring us together? So much stress.
