when you could hug someone

The first pest control person we had said that the attic was really bad. We needed to remove all insulation, disinfect, close all holes, and install new insulation. He quoted us about $5000, not including the traps or other work.

An insulation guy from a different company was supposed to come at 2 today. The poor man, like me, needs GPS to find his way around and for some reason didn't have it. He got lost. Then he had an accident. We were so relieved that he was ok when he did get here. Samuel greeted him by trying to get him to play with his monkey. 

This man checked out our attic and told us that yes, there were some mice, but it was fine. We really didn't need to do anything because of the mice. The damage wasn't significant. You know when you want to hug someone but you don't know them that well and there's a pandemic?

At 2 I had a meeting for the climate finance class I am going to teach. It was sort of an interview with an assumption that because I'm finance I'm bad. Very serious question:  what are my thoughts about finance and equity and inclusion, because the people I work with don't get this right? 
Uh, can I have a couple of weeks to think about this?
I passed! 
My real answer passed!
I'm a good person after all! 

I know this sounds ridiculous but it was a really fun conversation and while I'm sorry the insulation guy got lost I'm really glad my 2 pm meeting was not interrupted. 

This hellebore is Glenda Gloss which, to me, sounds like something a teenager would put on her lips. Behind her are force fields protecting crocuses and tete-a-tete daffodils and greenery from bluebells. There are so many green things that I have no idea what they are. One of them might be a dandelion... but everything else is fascinating and I look forward to finding out! I also LOVE all the yellow. 

And Saturday I'm going to go back to the nursery and get the Japanese Maple Summer Gold. And I will buy more mulch and more soil and maybe Irish Moss if they have it. 

Citigroup, which has billions of dollars of assets in Russia, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank, are fleeing Russia, followed by lawyers and other professionals. 

Grammarly is an IT program that I use to catch writing errors. It is one of the most valuable startups in the US. Nearly half of its 600 staff were in Ukraine. It is continuing to pay staff who join the Ukrainian army. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's video to Russia hurt. Russian television responded to him, which it wouldn't have done if his message hadn't gotten past the censors. 

Sanctions have hit Russia's access to the technology needed to maintain its oil fields. It won't have access to the technology needed to develop its liquid natural gas market share. Oil and gas make up ~40% of Russia's budget. It is hard to repair pipelines when you can't get spare parts. Banks are refusing to finance oil shipments. Refiners will have a rough time getting the chemicals they need to refine the gas. 

Putin's friend and advisor Anatoly Chubais has quit and left the country, specifically citing the invasion. 

There is/was a two-year-old Ukrainian ride-sharing service called Getmancar, founded by Getmansky. When the war began he offered a fare of 4.5 cents a day to people fleeing. Half his cars are across Europe now. Some people are using the cars to deliver humanitarian aid in country. 

There is an International Cat Federation! The things you learn. The International Cat Federation has banned Russian cats from its international competitions. It also will not allow cats bred in Russia to be registered in any of its pedigree books. They will be donating to assist cat breeders in Ukraine. They're a big deal, they hold more than 700 shows globally each year.