It's Snowing!

How exciting is that! Here it is, April 23, 2012, and we are having snow. And it is sticking - not to the sidewalks or roads, but everywhere else! Yay us! Aren't we the luckiest people ever?!

I need to write things down. I really do. I had a great idea for the central thought for a blog last night, but I didn't write it down. I did write down three ideas I had for my Flippety game, but nothing for the blog. Boo, hiss! I suck! And you all have to just sit there and take it! Hahahahahaha! (That was diabolical laughter btw.) Sometimes the ideas do come back, so maybe this one will.

Have to go out today. :( Mom is out of fiber bars. And we can't have that, can we? I can't think of anything else that we are short of. I will have to look at my shopping list.

Mom and I went through her basket of goodies that came off the shelves next to her bed. I was allowed to actually throw some things away! How radical is that? She was reluctant to part with some medicine that expired in 2009, the lids to two prescription jars that she no longer had, and the instructions for medicine that she no longer takes. Sigh. Sadly, I am similar in my reluctance to let go of things.

Other than that, it was a pretty quiet weekend. And the week doesn't look too crazy busy. We are going to try again to have an adventure on Wednesday despite that inclement, wintery weather that we are facing. Yay! Good thing that climate change isn't real!

I am feeling a little stuck in my game development. And a little overwhelmed. I try not to think of all the work that has to be done to get the game ready for primetime. I try to look at just the little steps that I can take towards that goal. And then I get stymied by one or more of those little steps. Sometimes I sidestep and take a step in a slightly different direction figuring that I will come back to the step that I am skirting. But those are beginning to pile up without apparent resolution. I did ask someone who says they consult what his fees were - $80 for a one time code review - otherwise, $90 an hour. I hope that doesn't include pondering time! Not in the budget just now, in any case. So, I will soldier on. At some point. Meanwhile, in my stymiedness, I think I will make lunch...

Looks nice! (Taken at 6 in the morning...)

One Year Anniversary

Wow. I have been here in Geneva for a whole year. Where does the time go? Well, let's look and see, shall we? What happens in a year? A lot and nothing, it seems.

A year ago Thursday, I was living in North Carolina, when it suddenly became clear to me that I needed to be looking after my mom in Geneva, NY. My reasons for doing so were partly selfishly motivated, partly altruistically motivated.

I had no work in the area, the woman I was seeing chose to break off our relationship, I had an altercation with a friend and I just couldn't see anything keeping me in the area. Except for my house. More on the house later, perhaps. (Nope, not this post...)

Mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's back in January of 2011. But things had not been optimal for a while before that. I had had to take her car away in November of 2010. Some basics were being neglected and she had told me some things that made my heart ache. On top of that, I cannot stand the idea of my mom in a nursing home (at least not until her brain goes completely and she needs 24 hour care and can't handle basic tasks or remember basic things - like where she is or who she is or who I am). I figure at that point, the woman I have known and loved for 52 years will be basically gone and only a shell will be remaining.

So, I tossed a lot of stuff in the car and drove up here.

During the year that has passed, mom and I have done several roadtrips together, both short and long. Two trips to NC. Two trips to Maine. And various day trips around NYS - including a trip to the State Fair. We have done some work on the house and yard - not as much as I would have hoped, but anything is better than nothing. Mom is taking her medicine regularly, showers on occasion, eats fairly regularly and seems to be generally healthy and happy.

Over the year we have done some doctor's visits, some physical therapy and ruled out her needing hearing aids just now. Yay! We have done some cultural activities - going to plays, going to the opera, going to festivals (like the Garlic Festival), to a Renaissane Faire  and the circus. Mostly, I have done what I can to lessen mom's stress level and be as supportive of her as I possibly can be and to help her exercise her brain.

I have tried to carve out some sort of life for myself up here. My original thought was to go back to school and become a Chiropractor or perhaps a Chinese Herbal Medicine Practitioner - neither panned out. The big stopping factor was the need to do a year of human dissection. Not my idea of a good time, sadly. I am sure I would have gotten over it and gotten into it, but it daunted me enough to stop going forward. I was accepted to the school, though!

Next, I worked on and finished a decent version of Diary of a Plate Addict - a fun book, filled with pictures and words and stuff. Hmm, doesn't sound very appealing. If you like a chain of places called The Flying Saucer or if you like me a real lot, you must buy a copy of this book. From me. For an exorbitant cost. I have only sold 69 copies so far and still have a couple hundred lying around the house. So, do us all a favor, buy a copy. Now.

Following that project, I was a bit at a loss as to what to focus my personal energies on next. Lots of projects, nothing leaping out. So I decided to take some classes. After a bit of research, I ended up taking a Spanish Class at Hobart and William Smith. I think I eventually passed. I did enjoy the class (despite it being at 9 in the morning) and learned a good bit. Enough to make me very comfortable saying hello and goodbye in Spanish. Most of the time. After Christmas, adrift mentally once again, I decided to take a different plunge and teach myself how to write applications for iOS. I have three or four game ideas and a meditation clock idea (though lots of meditation apps are already out there) that I would like to see come to fruition eventually.

I have not done a lot of remunerative work. I did work for an Opera and earned a little money there. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed working in the theatre. Sigh. And I also earned a teeny bit of money helping someone move. I had been planning on doing it for free, but she insisted on giving me money - and who was I to refuse?

Romantically, well, it has been a pretty lame year. I did sort of date one person for a few months, but that ended with a whisper over the holidays. (She said she would contact me after the holidays and never did...) I have also had a bunch of inappropriate crushes and that is about it. Double sigh.

Read books, watched movies, went out to the movies, did a lot of Daily Challenge stuff, played xBox and generally had a very pleasant year!

And that is what has happened in a year. There is probably more, come to think of it...

What will next year bring? Wait and see is really the only answer. Thank you all of my loyal readers! Your eyes are appreciated!

Three Card Night

Not like three card monte - or not as cold as title might imply, but I gave out three cards last night. And interestingly, I gave a fourth one out in a dream. The recipient in my dream said that the card was too colorful. Weird.

Well, today has been a lazy day. All I have really done was read the book that Erich recommended. So far, so entertaining. Anyway, back to yesterday.

Last night was my wild night out on the town. Yippee! I headed over to Canandaigua to MacGregor's because they have a decent beer selection. I ended up having some Blackout Stout - a very enjoyable imperial stout - and a Yuengling Double Bock which was good - but not as good as the Blackout stout! While there, I chatted with four different people. The first was a guy from Florida who works at the Finger Lakes Race Track. Next was a glazier who wants to maybe become a librarian. His friend was a server somewhere in town. And lastly, it actually happened. An attractive woman sat down in the barstool next to me. And we chatted! Turned out that she was an ardent fan of Dark Star Orchestra! Cool. She vanished at some point, but not before I gave her a card! If you read this, leave me a comment! :)

Other than that, not too exciting a day. It was Ginger day. Mom and Ginger cleaned off mom's bedside shelves (all mom's idea). And did something with mom's feet. (No, not binding them, like the Chinese.) And I puttered on the 'puter. Dinner was pasta and corn and veggies. One of the vegetables was Baby Artichokes - roasted in the over. Yay!

Dinner! Mom loves corn on the cob!

Yummy Blackout Stout!

No adventure

We didn't adventure yesterday. Oh well. Life is that way sometimes. I did, though, adventure a little vicariously through one of my favorite checkers at Wegman's. She and her family went to Jamaica for a week. Yay! I have never been to Jamaica. Not much of a beach/island sort of guy. Not that I wouldn't go if the opportunity arose. Nor that I would enjoy myself while there. Just not top of my list. Top is still Brazil or anyplace in South America. It will happen eventually.

Last night, I had a thought on how to do something in the computer program I am working on. I thought of creating an object to get the background image - see, object oriented thinking. It occurred to me that would be the best way since I wanted to set the image in two different places. I had thought I understood how objects worked - or at least had a glimmering, an inkling. This morning, that is what I have been working on. So far so good. When I get this working consistently, I will turn my attention to sounds. Then I need to back to persistence. And once all of those things are done, I will try and figure out why some of the things are happening that I don't understand, and try to get them fixed. There are way too many of those - the persistent views thing, the lack of flipping sometimes, the animations that don't get executed. Sigh. Onward to sounds.

My brother had a wonderful idea - make a memory book for mom - he wants me to help mom go through the pictures in the house (thousands of them) and have her label the people in them. Right. That is going to happen. I suggested that this be a project for when he came to visit - if he comes to visit. It has been awhile since he came...How about if everyone from the family sends Karl scanned pictures of themselves and their closest? That would be a start. Karl? Oh, right, he doesn't read this...

I started The Passage at my nephew Erich's suggestion. So far, so good. And I am listening to a Terry Pratchett Audio book - it is in the discworld world. I just wish that the book was broken up into smaller sections on the disk. What I mean is, instead of in chapters only, many audio books put markers at other points so that it is easier to jump to near where one was last listening if one happens to take the disk out for some reason, like to clean it (which is often necessary, especially with library disks).

Tonight is baby artichokes night! Yippee! Not sure how I am preparing them, but they will be prepared. Huzzah!

All ready to read

Wish me luck!

Everything but the chicken was good

Adventure today! Maybe...

If mom is up for it. I am afraid that she is going to be sick to her stomach over the prospect of getting out and about. Que sera, sera! True, I learned this phrase years and years ago when I was learning to play the piano and played the song. But having taken some Spanish, I actually know why it means what it means. Yay learning!

I had a pleasant day yesterday, all things considered. I did get the checks in the mail for the reunion and the special dinner on Thursday night. Its on! Yay! Now, I need to remember to pack my Video Camera and charger and stuff. Only a month away and I am already excited! My brother, Karl, asked about coming to visit Geneva. Sadly, it was during the month of June, which isn't very likely. It does look, though, that I won't be able to take full advantage of my sister Juliet's kind offer to take mom in for a two weeks after the reunion. Maybe a week will work out though. As I told my brother, I don't want to be in the car for 10 hours a day driving across the country, so we will probably leave for the West Coast earlier in June than originally anticipated. Maybe around the 4th? The back end of the trip isn't fleshed out at all - I hope to head to SF for a few days - then to LV for two days - then Tuscon for a couple of days - then Austin for a few days - then home. With driving in between. Well, it will keep percolating in my head and some sort of more concrete plan will eventually drip, drip, drip out.

Well, that is disappointing. I just looked to see what the hours for the place I was planning for my late-birthday dinner were and they aren't open until April 20th! Well, I will just readjust my plans. Haven't figured out how, but I will. Just need to think of someplace to eat. Or maybe just do it again next week. And it looks like we will need reservations in any case. Hmm. Maybe we will just shift the whole thing till next week. April 25 sounds like a good day for an adventure and birthday dinner. And maybe the weather will be a little warmer.

Back to yesterday, I had a nice beer day at Beef and Brew, despite misreading my list and having one beer a second time - Orkney Skullsplitter. Sigh. Life is that way sometimes. I did have Belhaven Scottish Ale (which is better on draft) and Meantime Coffee Porter - which could have had a thicker mouth feel for my tastes. Met two people who were in town for a lacrosse came between Syracuse and Hobart. Both seemed to be beer lovers! Always a good thing.

Having a tough time with persistence with NSKeyedArchiver. Just don't have my head around it yet. And it looks like I really need to register some default preferences in order to have things working well with the preferences stuff. Though I did just get the ability to change themes starting to work. Yippee! And I figured out the default preferences thing! Yay!

Flowers seen while out and about

Clouds!

The turkey was terrible, the broccoli over done and the corn was left over from last night - but the potato was good!

I think I was promised love

Not that I take these kinds of things seriously. Kinda like Astrology - food for thought, but not something to guide my life by. I get these "Notes from the Universe" (tut.com) in my email Monday through Friday. They are thought provoking, usually inspirational. Yesterday, the message told me that if I just went out and put myself where I could mingle, I would find love. Well, I went to the laundromat. And I found two socks that people had left in the washing machine. Not quite the same thing as a girlfriend...

Yes, it was laundry day. Oh to be rolling in dough - I would certainly have someone do laundry for me. Not that I loathe doing laundry. I just don't relish it - go out of my way to do it. There are other things I could do with my time. Having a laundry set here in the house would be nifty as well. Then it would be less time consuming an activity. We used to have our own machines here in the house in Geneva - but they were in the basement - scary to go down there. So much of this house is sub optimal. Sigh.

I also went to Freihofer's and bought baked goods. Two Entenmann's raspberry thingies are in the freezer. Yippee? And I mailed mom's tax check off! Thank you again, Karl (oh, right, you don't read this) for doing the taxes. You rock!

And I got the preferences working (sort of) in my application - mostly yesterday and some today. I know I have tweaks on them still to do, but I am happy to have gotten this much accomplished. Next step, game state persistence. I think this is going to be a somewhat more daunting task - but only time will tell. I don't know how many of you out there have experienced the feeling of awe when something actually works the way it is supposed to. Sadly, though, most of my efforts so far have been of the cross my fingers and hope it works sort. I don't feel like I have internalized any of this stuff yet. Maybe one day!

Today is beer day. And I need to get mom's registration in for the reunion. Yes, I have been procrastinating. That is one of my myriad middle names. Ok, off to do that and then prepare for beer day. If I have more time, back to programming! Persistence, here we come!

The movie of this I took was cooler...

Eggroll night!

Outings with Mom

Yesterday, I didn't get out to the supermarket until later in the day. And by that time, mom was up and dressed, so I encouraged her to come with. I know it is good for her to get out and about. And to do things like going shopping. Still, it is easier and more fun for me when she is not along. Oh well. My whole life can't be fun, can it? I tried to have as much fun as I could, given the circumstances. I did manage to keep mom from filling up the basket with stuff we didn't need, while at the same time giving heed to what she thought we needed. We didn't end up with too much in the way of extraneous crap. Yay! We didn't run into anyone she knew, which was sad.

Most of the day was spent puttering around on my concentration-like game. Flippety is what its working name is. I got scoring working. And I figured out how to get the high score from one place to another. My goal today is to get some persistence working. Saving the game state when someone quits, that sort of thing. I dreamt about it all night, in fact. Erroneously, I am sure. I think, though, after some of the tweaks I have made, I will start with preferences - turning off sound effects and background music. That seems like an easy place to start.

The plan for the day is to do some errands - like laundry. Mom may or may not go after all - it is really up to her. I don't like to force her to do things if I can avoid it. I figure at 81 (almost 82 - her birthday is in May) she can damn well do as she pleases. And if she wants to lie around feeling miserable and sad for herself all day, who am I to gainsay her? I would like to do three things - post office, Friehofer's (for bread stuff) and laundry. Later I do need to get a few more groceries and things. Like tissues. Mom has gone through a lot of boxes of tissues. I hope fewer than before, but it is hard to tell...

Saw a first tulip out and about in the yard. How exciting is that? To think that tulips were once a huge commodity. Weird wacky world on which we whirl...

Pretty Tulip! Only $400!