At last

[altivo]

Finally managed to squeeze a week off into the calendar. Last week of August, and boy do I need it. What I really need is two solid weeks off, but every time I hint at that, there's a certain feeling of terror I see creep over some people. Not that our network needs constant tweaking. Other than changing backup tapes, I often go months without doing much of anything to it.

I'm in an unusually low mood tonight, inspired by the news of two long term relationships among my friends breaking up and dissolving. Both of them outlasted the average for straight marriages in this country, and I am utterly furious at those who keep denying legal recognition that would help stabilize things more. I'm also feeling pain over it because I know they feel hurt even though they are doing really well at covering it and smiling. And I know I couldn't do that. I'd totally lose it. I'll be 60 in just a few months, and I've spent nearly half my life with one person. I don't want that to change, I can't imagine that changing. It would destroy my world.

Enough of that. Don't miss the meteors tonight. For those of us in North America, the peak is supposed to come around 0800Z, which is 1 am in California, 2 am in the Rockies, 3 am in the Central zone, and 4 am on the East coast. Guy Ottwell's astronomical atlas says that a second peak should come at around 2000Z, which is after dusk on Wednesday for Asia and the most eastern part of Europe. Western Europe gets the short end of it this time, though there should still be good meteor viewing if you have clear skies just about any time tonight. Check spaceweather.com for more details and early photos of meteor trails. I plan to try to get up and look around 3 o'clock if I possibly can.

Tomorrow, the farrier, then I have to lead a committee meeting, then work the usual late shift. And Thursday the dogs and cats to the vet, an ordeal I've come to dread.

Comments

Stardust

[equusmaximus.livejournal.com]

The meteor shower sounds like it would be a wonderful thing to see. Were it not for the fact that I'm already grossly sleep-deprived, I would love to stay up and watch it. Unfortunately, my friend is coming early tomorrow morning with his front-end-loader to build a gravel pad next to the garage, and that means I'm going to have to be awake around 6:30am to make sure that everything is out of the way before he gets here.

I share your pain and grievances about the constant denial of legal recognition for same-sex couples. I am thankful that they are now recognized in Canada, but I see so many of my friends elsewhere still being denied the Right. There was many a time that I felt so alone and depressed and full of despair (this was all before meeting Trixstir) because there were (and are) those out there who would like nothing more than if I and all those like me would just disappear forever. They're not happy with denying your relationship rights, they'd really like to deny your right to even exist. I'd better stop now before I really take off on a tangent. :/

Re: Stardust

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, don't be fooled by the Google logo for the day. At least here, the meteors were a bit of a disappointment. I should have known that when an event gets as much hype as this one has had, it rarely lives up to it. I went out just after 3 and stood in the pasture for 45 minutes. Saw two good meteor trails and no more than four or five weak flickers. There were probably a good many more faint ones, but the moon was so bright that it overpowered everything.

Thanks for your affirmation on the relationship issue. Sometimes it does help to know that others care and I'm not just imagining this.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I must go out and see if I can see the meteors...its a bit hard as sometimes the night sky is lit up by the city.

I'm sorry to hear that about your friends, I sometimes wonder why long term relationships fail after being together for so long.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The moon was so bright it overpowered everything here.

[alexfvance.livejournal.com]

Illl keep an eye out for the meteors!

And I hope you enjoy your well-deserves holiday, hoss :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It probably won't seem like a holiday at all. It takes a week to realize you really have free time, and by then it's over. I miss two and three week vacations.

Hope you saw some meteors. I was mostly disappointed, only saw two good ones. The moon was too bright here.

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

I had to laugh about the meteor shower because after having a week of a record-breaking heat wave, it has been raining the past couple of days here which obviously means lots of clouds and no sky :P

Even though I'm not -entirely- on the same page as you on the issue of gay rights, I am sorry to hear about your friends. I am curious as to how large a role legal issues played in their breakups but it is not my business.

Makes me wonder if that old adage "better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all" is true. In one case you have to experience intense pain but in the other you miss out on all the joy. I suppose it depends on individual perspective.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We almost always have heavy cloud cover here when something interesting happens in the sky. This time it was a little haze, but otherwise clear. Unfortunately, the moon was brilliant and the haze diffused the light over the whole sky, so the expected fireworks display was pretty much a bust. Between 3:15 and 4:00 am I saw two good meteor trails and perhaps four faint flickers.

Legal issues didn't cause either breakup. However, both seem to have been exacerbated by the lack of social or legal support for the relationships. Factors like no financial support for relocating or finding a job for the partner when an employee is transferred did enter into the picture.

Missing out on the joy is far worse than having it and losing it. Death eventually separates all couples though in a few cases they may die together. Someone is forced to endure that separation in the end. These situations were not like that though.

[merik.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about your low mood, but you're not alone in having been affected that way by that news, although I only know of one such ending relationship. News like that is sad and sobering, even though they seem to be okay with events, at least on the outside. Even though I don't know any of the parties involved more deeply than as LJ friends, I still hurt for them, because I know they have to be hurting...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I imagine the one you know is in fact one of the two to which I refer. The other is local and not online in any way as far as I am aware.

Watching the screaming match over health care is leaving me more and more angry and disillusioned with the United States. That on top of the idiotic attitudes over gay marriage and relationships makes me just as sick of this society as I was four years ago.

[merik.livejournal.com]

I'm disheartened at the screaming match over health care, but I'm not surprised by it, either, unfortunately. Sad thing is, I think it would have been a screaming match no matter what the proposed plan actually was. It seems like the only card the Republicans seem interested in playing on any matter of importance is "Obama (The Democrats) is (are) wrong". Period. No meaningful counter-proposals, no explanations, just misinformation and fearmongering. And that is very disillusioning. But not surprising.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The republicans in particular have worked very hard over the last couple of decades to keep the nation highly polarized over red herring issues in order to distract attention from what they are really doing. What we see here is more of the same, though the health care hysteria is really being driven by the present high profit sectors in health care: the big insurance companies, the drug manufacturers, and others who stand to see their profitability drop if real reforms are instituted. Their biggest return on a dollar invested against change is to generate lots of scary propaganda and get the voters to do their dirty work for them.

Myself, I think only a real single payer system will resolve the huge issues that have taken over health care in the US. In spite of all the shrieking we are hearing now about "socialized medicine" the proposed legislation fails. It will not work. I'm very, very disappointed if this is the best we can get out of our supposedly good democratic system.

[rrwolf.livejournal.com]

I should be able to see the meteor shower just in time as I wake up for work.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, that time to which I referred was this morning, not Thursday. However, the meteor counts currently being reported from Asia and Europe suggest that you may see plenty tonight BEFORE you go to bed if you have a clear sky. The moon is still too bright for the best observing, unfortunately.