R.I.P. Gwen

That’s the third bird we’ve lost in two months. I’m starting to doubt our ability to take care of them anymore.

R.I.P. Cloud

I don’t know what’s been going on here recently, but our budgies are dropping like flies This time, it’s our albino female, Cloud. The deaths aren’t related – Squall was a male, Cloud a female and she fell victim to egg binding. I’m left wondering if we could have saved her if we’d done something earlier. But she was hiding in her nesting box most of the time…

Ah well, it’s the circle of life. She certainly gave us a lot of fun times.

R.I.P. Squall

Another one of the original four budgies is gone. I’ve had parakeets all my life, and they die. I can deal with it. But moments like these still make me reflect on life – I’d known Squall longer than my wife! Good times… he will be missed.

Attention Dogs!

Hehe! More here.

Happy 4th of July!

Technology is pretty damn cool. I’m driving back towards Tiburon on a boat after watching the fireworks, and I can update my blog on the iPhone. So I figured I’d wish everybody in America a happy Independence Day! Enjoy the long weekend

My Ocrana Email Is Currently Down!

If you want to reach me, try mworch at gmail dot com instead.

Update: Ocrana email is permanently down.

700 Calories

That’s the energy just from the solid chocolate Easter bunny that I opened yesterday (and will finish today). Not a good time to hold on to my diet. But that feels alright. Holidays had pretty much lost their meaning when I lived alone in Virginia, far away from family and without a “domestic partner”. It’s nice to regain some days where indulences are allowed and feel meaningful.

Ding

As of today, I have been allowed to drink alcohol (legally!) for half of my life.

In Germany, that is. In the US, with its backwater, Puritan “You are responsible enough to die and vote for your country 3 years before you can be trusted to handle a glass of beer” I wouldn’t reach this mark for another 10 years. God bless good olde Europe

Bay Area Storms

So, do you think the storms in the Bay Area have affected the roads yet? I’m certainly glad that I don’t have to drive to work today

A lot of people assume that because we live in sunny California, the weather never gets bad around here. And relatively speaking, we do have it pretty damn good here in the Bay Area. No snow, no hurricanes, no tornados… But yes, it does rain in the winter Sometimes so much that the area kind of breaks down. But it also turns the hills green and fills up the water reservoirs. I like it, at least there’s a semblance of seasons. And come May, we get 8 months of uninterrupted sunshine again.

Happy New Year!

I would like to wish everybody good luck, good health and good…other stuff. We celebrated in semi-German style in Tahoe For the uninitiated, that’s Feuerzangenbowle. Basically, you heat up red wine with mulling spices, put a sugarloaf that’s been soaked in rum on top of the bowl, then set it on fire. The sugar drips into the wine, semi-sweet drunken happyness ensues.