elainegrey

Oh happy day: UNC Health and UnitedHealthcare have come to an agreement, and i can quit stewing over my last appointment with the surgeon and whether to go or not.

In sour news, i over-fermented my bread batter (it's too fluid to be a dough) and it's now dumped in the garden. Go go nitrogen. Technically, it was the soaking step -- i drained and let them sit as damp seed too long. I've let that stage go long in the past for sprouted grain, but i guess i didn't stir enough. I tried the fermenting step despite the off scent, and it just got worse. I'd made similar buckwheat groat pancake batter, and the bread batter's funk influenced my attitude to the pancake batter, and i dumped most of the results. I did have a good baking powder vs baking soda experiment, though.

In where have you been updates: i dunno. Healthy, more or less. Although allergies and pollen, and an afternoon off from work when i was so brain fuzzy. Burnt out a little from work since, i dunno August when the Massive Protocol Change project began and colleagues started departing. New director and manager (both lateral) are OK. New manager is happy to pickup things old manager was too burnt out to manage. I look forward to passing some of what i have been carrying. The manager to whom  i report is OK, although very easy going and not as opinionated as my previous. I did like that, mainly as something to learn against, anvil-like,

Yard work has occurred off and on,mostly off this past week.

I reread Nathan Lowell's Hermit of Lammas Wood fantasy, and i've picked up two of the three  Smuggler's series from the Solar Clippers.

iPad has been returned to Apple: no exchange value. Christine wants the old tiny macbook, which won't be able to run the latest operating system. I need to upgrade it to the latest possible before passing it on. I moved the data to my new macbook pro: i went ahead and got the larger size, maxed out chips and memory, and Christine urged me to consider something other than the default color. I now have a "starlight" case, which is subtly different in a pleasant way. I had dismissed it as "gold" but after nudges i did some research and saw comparison photos elsenet that gave me a better sense for the slight tonal shift. I am definitely delighted by the lack of friction (ie: everything is faster, trackpad slicker, keys smoother) compared to how the old machine behaved.

I bought a nifty dock for my phone that acts as a touchscreen tablet and external keyboard. It's (a little) lighter and smaller than the big laptop, and will give me comfortable viewing and typing capabilities with the phone while traveling. I wish it was a more responsive screen. Maybe in a few years i'll see if there are other options.

Visited with nibling D and his mom M and Dad on a Friday day off: much driving around the countryside, which is Dad's thing. D was at the Navy academy for a visit weekend and has been visiting other schools, too. Today we will go to Duke's Nasher art museum and then Duke gardens, then D is back on the plane to go home to Singapore. I had a good chat with M about Ramadan and the eclipse -- which apparently does have some significance, and D managed himself well myself and Dad.

Christine stayed home: Marlowe had a vet visit and some tooth extractions (although not as bad as was expected). Christine's sister D came over and they had some time to process their loss together -- also good. She had stayed up to watch UNC's Sweet Sixteen game end in tears, so there was that as well.

I've been much more attentive to basketball this tournament season as the NC State team has been a delight, tearing through the conference tournament, and now through the national tournament. And lo, the rematch with Duke occurs tomorrow in the elite eight stage early enough in the evening when i will be able to watch the whole thing.  I do note that eclipse weekend is the final four and championship game. I've just looked up the sports radio possibilities for the two markets close to our location. It is unclear if the game is at 7:30 or 9:30 pm. I sure hope it's not 9:30 pm.