Wednesday, July 16, 2014

A midweek state of mind

Eh, it's Wednesday. Most times, Hump Day brings a little lift of the spirits, as half the traditional work week is over. I can't seem to work up much enthusiasm this week.

The local media is losing their collective mind over a freeway closure scheduled for this weekend. All east and west bound lanes of I-94 at the Zoo interchange will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday night until the wee hours of Monday morning. This section goes through the busiest intersection in the state - a new railway bridge is being put in, as part of the major revamp of the interchange.

TRIPLE TRAVEL TIMES! OMG DETOURS!!

Chill, dudes. It's a weekend, traffic is lighter. The Brewers aren't playing. Yes, Festa Italiana is going on down at the lakefront, and the Waukesha County Fair is running out west, but there are plenty of other routes to get places than the state-sanctioned (OMG!!! TRIPLE TIME!) detours.

We will see tonight if "World Cup Fever" is a sign of true interest in professional soccer by Americans, or if it's just a passing disease. Miller Park's beautiful baseball diamond has been torn up, in order to install a soccer pitch. Tonight, the park will host a match between Chivas Guadalajara and Swansea City. Milwaukee (supposedly) has a large base of soccer fans, as well as a (true) large and growing Hispanic population. It will be interesting to see what the attendance is like tonight.

There is a very small wasp nest being constructed under the (high) eaves above the living room patio door. I've sprayed it twice, now, though in both cases, the nest was at the very furthest point of the 20-foot spray. I suppose I'll have to go out at dusk tonight, get a bit closer (I've been shooting from the other set of patio doors (two sets from the condo to the patio, at right angles to one another) because I'm chicken) and blast it. Frankly, I can sit in the living room and watch them work on it - fascinating. Not fascinating enough to let them complete their project, however.

I was all set to yell at my doctor in Monday's appointment, but it turned out to be the best appointment I've had in the last two years. I still spoke rather firmly; there were a number of things I wanted to get out. The result is a plan that (finally) deals with one of the underlying issues, and may see the horrible-side-effect-inducing med either reduced or eliminated entirely. Yay, me. All was not good news: the endocrinologist that my doc (finally) referred me to six months ago is leaving the practice, because his wife keeps whining about how cold it is here. Sheesh.

The next presidential election simply cannot come too quickly. The best hope is that the conservatives keep the House and retake the Senate, and stall any potentially stupid bills until the White House changes hands. Oh - and someone hides all the pens, pencils, markers, charcoal sticks, paint, needles (for pricking and writing in blood) and any other potential writing implements floating around the place.

In a related note, apparently there is talk of housing up to three hundred of the current crop of illegal children in Milwaukee (due to our proximity to Chicago's immigration court, or so they claim). I do understand that on some level, this is a humanitarian crisis, even though it is one of the Administration's making. I'm curious though - as I understand it, Mexico has one of the toughest immigration stances of any country around. Illegals found in Mexico are promptly shipped back to their home. So how is it that so many of the illegals coming into the US from Mexico right now are from Central American countries, none of which share a border with the US? Inquiring minds...

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