Four miscellaneous things

Squirrels

I remember being rather surprised the first time that I encountered squirrels, some 18 years ago in London. I’d been expecting something approximately possum-sized (BRUSH-TAIL possum, so big fella), and instead here’s this slightly overgrown rat with a feather boa tail and an overdose of cuteness hormones.

They’re bouncing all over University Park at the moment, not far from where I am working. When they go running across the ground they’re like a hyperactive sine graph plotter, their little bodies arcing and falling like a furry ripple. The one at right was the only one that stood still enough for long enough to be photographed (sort of) properly: he’s doing vertical asymptote impersonations at the moment, but not long after I took the photo he was off being sinusoidal again.

Autumn

Today was a glorious autumn day, after yesterday’s grey rain. The leaves are falling at the moment: they look lovely in the sunlight on the trees … and then turn to mushy grotty brown slush on the paths. I made sure I put mudguards on my bike! The river in the second photo below is the River Cherwell, which flows into the Thames at Oxford (the waterways here are confusing). I had my lunch beside it today before finding a nearby cache. No one was punting today, though; it was rather cool despite the sunshine.

Assumptions

The photo at right is of the building I am working in at the moment; just brick, no fancy old sandstone, and a bit of a rabbit warren inside. The bike out the front isn’t mine; there’s a bike rack to the right of the front door and mine was parked there today after a fairly straightforward ride via some quieter lanes.

Today’s quirky little “that’s the way we do things in Venice”* assumption concerned printing a couple of files. There was no paper in either of the printers in the computer lab downstairs, and when I asked about this I was told I could get some from the administrative office. Having done so, I was about to restock the printer trays when it occurred to me that it was odd that both printers were empty and that I should be having to go across to the other building to get but one ream of paper. At this point I realised that you supply your own paper for printing. It’s the little differences that feel oddest, sometimes.

* Okay, this one is really REALLY obscure. It’s from a very amusing Australian play/musical called The Venetian Twins by Nick Enright (adapted from a much older Italian farce by Carlo Goldoni)

Can’t win

I’m a bit of a night owl and bit of an early riser and a bit of a workaholic … but only a bit. This is especially true in comparison to three people to whom I look up (whom I look up to, up to whom I look … ah, you know what I mean!). All three are workaholics. Kaye (in Melbourne) is very definitely a night owl, so sharing a room with her or working at a work retreat requires a shift in “time zones”; Jane (in Hobart) probably gets to work at about the same time or a smidgin earlier than I normally do, but manages to do more in the evenings than I manage; and Anne (in Oxford) is an early bird, departing for work at the crack of dawn.

I know it’s not a competition … but I can’t win!