Advanced Boredom Currents in shiny things

Apparently someone broke Banner, and all of our Vital Operating Systems are down. And have been down all day, and are not expected to return anytime soon. Which means… I can not do one single thing that I need to do. I need Banner and all its assorted bits for absolutely everything my job entails! I’m bored out of my mind!! Well, I actually could file and organize.. but I’m not that bored. At least the internet is not down. Yet.

Current annoyance: Well, after the “You have to sit here all day long but you can’t do one single thing you really really need to do” annoyance: I’ve been trying to organize my last five months or so of photos, which I’d saved to dropbox and need to upload to Flickr, but either Flickr is also broken or my total-piece-of-shit computer can’t handle it. I was top of the list for a new computer, and then the state demanded all our budget money back before it got purchased. I’ve been in this office for eight years now and I’ve never had anything but hand-me-down and refurbished computers. Oh, the joys of working for a Republican-dominated state that hates education. I remember the days when my computer at work was WAY better than my computer at home, but that’s been many years ago. Now I’m wishing I had my laptop. Which is a very middle-of-the-road laptop but at least it doesn’t crash constantly.

Currently eating: Well, I already ate it, but it was a salad with figs, blue cheese, tomatoes, walnut oil and balsamic vinegar. This was a modification of a salad I loooove, which is just assorted greens, blue cheese, figs, toasted walnuts, walnut oil and pepper. I was too lazy to toast walnuts last night so did tomatoes instead, and balsamic vinegar. It would have been quite good (although not as good as the original with the toasted walnuts) except the blue cheese is… weird. I made the original last week and bought this blue cheese for it, and kept thinking it was .... weird. Not nearly as good as blue cheese generally is. Kind of…strange. I adore blue cheese, but I’m kind of picking at this thinking, “eewwwwww.. this is really not good and it smells kind of awful too!”

I just realized what is wrong with it, based on the weird strange ewwwww aftertaste that is STILL in my mouth and won’t go away despite gallons of water.

GOATS MILK BLUE CHEESE. It’s damned goat cheese!!! Goat cheese is pretty much the only cheese I don’t like, and DUH. This tastes like GOATS. No wonder I kept thinking it was kind of nasty. It never crossed my mind to make sure it wasn’t goat cheese. But I bought it at our fancy grocery and they apparently idolize goat cheese, and every time I try a free sample there I have to check that it’s not goat cheese, because 90% of the time it is.

Current Excitement: My current excitement is helping to offset my recent England Trip Postponement Vast Disappointment that I am STILL experiencing even though I have come to terms with it. Kim and I are going to Charleston in June - during a few days originally scheduled for our England Trip - and I just booked the room! Yay!!! We are staying at the lovely Red Roof Inn on Mount Pleasant which is very reasonably priced, and I have a certificate for a free night as well, so it’s going to be a cheap vacation. Cheap and lots of fun. Not England, but now I have that to look forward to next year. We’re only staying three nights but it will be a fun break.

Current Weather: COLD. Well, I see it’s 56 so it’s not exactly freezing but I am ready for some warm weather. And it will be in the upper 30s tonight, which is very annoying. Time to go away, winter. There are things blooming, at least. And I’m still hoping my wisteria will bloom – it often gets killed before it can bloom, which is maddening.

This was blooming last week on the greenway:

And there were adorable finches on the finch sock a few days ago!

The finch sock has hung there for at least a year, and I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve seen a finch on it. It seems like we get finches maybe one day a year. I do not know what is up with that.

Let me know if you can’t see these- I’m getting them off my facebook, since I of course don’t have them loaded up to Uncooperative Flickr yet as I’m five months behind.

Currently Watching: Well, not right this second, but as in lately. We just finished the most recent season of Doctor Who, FINALLY. Every year it takes ages to show up on Netflix – or anywhere. We don’t have cable so don’t get BBC America which means everyone else on earth saw it long ago and is on to other things by now. But I will say I LOVE the new doctor. I like him better than Matt Smith, although David Tennant is still my favorite. Clara is growing on me. At least I’ve quit missing Amy Pond, who I didn’t like at all until Rory became her co-companion, rendering Amy a little less irritating. Clara making me miss Amy was pretty sad. Clara wasn’t even annoying - I just didn’t really see the point of her. She’s certainly no Rose. And no Donna. But at least I can tolerate her.

Last night we started watching Broadchurch. OMG. Broadchurch is amazing. I’ve actually already watched both seasons of it, and hounded Baker B until he agreed to watch it too because I knew he’d love it - and I really wanted to see it again. It’s that good. Fantastic actors, twisty turny scary storyline – an 11 year old boy is murdered in a little seaside town in Dorset - gorgeous scenery. Speaking of the Best Doctor, David Tennant stars in it. And is so NOT Doctor Who that you pretty much immediately forget he ever was Doctor Who. Along with Olivia Coleman who I also love from several British shows. And, oddly, Rory, the Other Companion. And a whole bunch of other great actors. Anyhow, I’m quite pleased to be getting another viewing of it.

And now it’s finally time to go to lunch. I feel like I’ve been here a week solid.