Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Video Games

Oddly, despite my love of computers, I've never been good at video games.  I'm OK with logic puzzles like Minesweeper & Sherlock. Love Tetris.  By despite years of tennis I could never play Pong.  Hopeless at Pac Man.  Anything where I needed to control something with a joystick.  Don't get me started on model cars...
But I realized that the reason I was hopeless is they were not true to life. No real world feedback.

I love my commute. But sometimes it's a real life video game.  
Things I have to miss on a random day:
3 point bucks walking down the street.
Flock of wild turkeys. 
Flock of peacocks.
Baby turkeys following mom.  They look like a puff of feathers on top of chopstick legs.
Male peacock in full display - in the middle of the street.
Male turkey in full display in the middle of the street.
Herd of deer - with fawns. 
Rabbits
Skunks!
Feral cats
Bobcat (once with kitten)
Puma (haven't seen one yet)
Coyote (I know they're out there - you can hear them)
Foxes!  2 little gray foxes. 
Random dogs
Bike riders (every day)
And random crazy drivers and gigantic trucks. 

And when the weather turns nasty, it's through the river and over the trees.  I got a flat tire on a fallen branch.

So, I have my fun every day in a real world video game, just getting to work.

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Turning 60 - part 2

The last 6 months are a black hole.  I remember the loquats just becoming ripe, and then nothing.  I missed the berry season, and the fig season.  

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years were spent with my "sister from another mother" and her family, and my brother's family.  Thanks to them, it was a really nice time.  

I started to notice the first early February flowering Magnolias and Acacias, then the early fruit trees, and now in April, spring is still fighting with winter.  

The deciduous trees have thrown off their dead leaves for new ones.  The oaks have donned their bright green new growth.  And the seasonal creeks rattle and gurgle with flowing water.  There is a green carpet of grass everywhere.  

So, I turned 60.  
The first weekend was getting the gray out of my hair, and a lovely lunch with friend from former work.  

The 2nd weekend was my first bicycle ride since August.  Short and slow.  It's the next day, and I'm still sore and not moving much.  Spent the day typing.  Too many computer things to get done. 

But it's a start.  

Now I just have to keep going.  

Turning 60

It's been a rough 6 months.  
Started in August (2018) when my mother called and asked me to take her to urgent care when it opened the next day.  Raised by a Christian Scientist, my mother doesn't like to go to doctors, and usually delayed seeing one until she couldn't manage on her own anymore.  So, this call sent a shiver down my spine.  
The next morning it got worse when she opted for Emergency at her favorite hospital.  A very long day later, and she was admitted pending surgery on a tumor in her colon.  
A week later, the surgery seemed successful, and a week after that she was up and walking.  
And then it all went sideways.  

She died October 7th, 2018.  She couldn't eat or drink - even water.  Her system was just in pieces.  While there was some temporary hope, it evaporated as she became unable to eat and just got weaker.  
Lowlights: me arguing loudly with the Hospital Doctor who wanted to discharge her when she was in so much pain she was crying - a first in her life.  Mom never cried from pain.  Luckily our friend Leslie had her cardiac doctor on speed dial, and he showed up in jeans and a sweatshirt, and put her in intensive care.  She survived the night.  
Then there were the battling oncologists: 2 different doctors with 2 opinions on treatment.  
And then there was Trident, who took over a month to file for her Death Certificate, and then 2 more months to deliver it to us.  

There were highlights: Mom's friends and neighbors all contributed to making our life easier.  Watching her house and feeding her cat until I could find him a good home.  
Leslie, our angel with more hospital experience than should be necessary.  
Mission Hospice who made everything easy at the end.  
And, the whole family coming to Pajaro Dunes to give her a lovely goodbye in the waves of her favorite place in the Pacific.  

I realize I didn't mention that my wonderful brother was there the whole time  -  visiting her in the morning, while I visited after work.  

The sad part: she didn't make it to my 60th year.  I remember hers.  It was a big surprise party, but she wan't surprised.  She died the youngest of any female in my family for 3 generations.  

---- continued