- work pressures (both mine and Annette's) [big sigh and ahhhh] 
- a freaky '300 year' flood in the area of my home 
- little doggy Wanda being attacked and almost 'deaded' 
- somewhat of a feeling of total inertia in both body and soul 

Some salient points from these feisty (or otherwise) events : 

- there is absoultely NO point in standing in the type of rain that Noah waded through (outfitted, by the way, in a bath robe, Blundstones, bouffant-ish just slept in hair and a bloody small umbrella) trying to shovel water away from the very large pools of water which have formed in the back yard whilst (a) the rain continues to fall like it never has before and (b) the accumulated run off from 2 other back yards shoots into these damned pools via a foot high 90 kmp stream 

- if you like 'em in the first place, dogs are precious (and they heal real quick - what a boon to canine lovers the world over) 

- inertia can be used to start a steam roller on an unerring crash course through a life (oooh - deep) 

Some not so salient points from these reactions and other things (if you can stand it at all) : 

- always listen to music as if you knew you were going to become deaf within the hour (especially Elliot Smith and John Greaves) 

- don't live next to a stream and/or viaduct and/or anything else vaguely to do with water (2 streets away from my dry home is a house that was invaded by a metre high wave of mud - quess what? no insurance) 

- if you get savaged by a guard dog then you'll most likely have an open wound that heals over two weeks by the use of a piece of gauze stuffed up it - YUK 

Finally : 

- spend a leasurely luncheon at the MCA's Fish Cafe (the redfish with lemon, olive and parsley 'salad' is particularly good at the moment) after perusing the bits of the Biennale that are installed there (some good, mostly only OK)