Daily Journal Comes to an End

It kind of goes without saying, but I haven’t been blogging much lately. I keep wanting to get back into a rhythm…a fascinating rhythm…LOL But I haven’t really found it. Same is true with social media. I seem to have lost my way with some things these past few years. Especially this year. Yet, in general, I’m not lost at all…hehehe It’s just that I miss certain things, like frequently blogging.

I started working on my vlog from the Disney vacation I took a few weeks ago. I discovered that not all of the videos have properly transferred. So, there is a delay in my ability to get that one going. It was 5 total “days” of footage. It was well over 600 individual videos in all…LOL I don’t know if I’ll include all of them. But I at least want to go through them all before deciding if something is cut. For a vacation like that, I need to come up with a better system for getting the footage organized. So, I’ll probably be building an app or two for that…LOL

Speaking of building apps, I’ve paused development of the Sproutscape apps. I keep using them daily. But I haven’t touched new work on that project in a few weeks. First, there was the Disney vacation. I didn’t even touch a computer for days…LOL But then last week, I was resting in the evenings. After work, I just did my Bible study and vegg’ed a bit. And over this past weekend, I just did chores and tried to start the vlog. It was good to take a break from software engineering. I had been doing it almost constantly since the spring! It’s good to step back for a bit and relax my mind.

That said, I’m not sure my mind is actually relaxing…LOL It seems to always be active. I’ve even noticed an uptick in how much I dream. I rarely remember the details. But I do remember that I dreamed quite a bit each night. And throughout the day, my mind seems to be going full speed ahead constantly. It probably doesn’t help that I’m now using AI augmented development for software because I’m able to offload certain tasks to the AI. That frees my mind to process other things. I’ve heard people worry about cognitive decline while using AI for software development. But for me, I have experienced the opposite, it would seem. Not that I really know what I’m talking about. But other areas of my mind have suddenly woken up this year…LOL

I’m glad to be slowing down a bit in this moment to write, though. I need moments like this. For example, I’ve been sketching a lot more lately. Especially on the weekends. That helps in a few areas. First of all, sketching and painting help with my tremor. The controlled muscle movements are therapeutic for that part of my brain and the muscles themselves. Second of all, it exercises my creativity. Some of the sketches are based on a tutorial. But some of them are coming from my own creative side. Third of all, it has been fun to share the sketches. None of them are what I’d call amazing. But they were all fun and bring a type of joy that only they can. Especially that cute ghost I drew yesterday. It’s juvenile in nature. But that’s the point. It takes me back to my childhood. And I hope it does for others who have seen it.

Today is Mom and Dad’s 53rd wedding anniversary. I still remember it like it was yesterday…LOL j/k I didn’t come along until years later…LOL But I was around for their 50th 3 years ago. It’s hard to believe that the celebration of such a milestone is already 3 years past. The photos from the trip my family took to Disney World that year popped up last week. We celebrated it the week before…hehehe It was a fun experience with cherished memories.

I’ve been reliving some memories. I do that often, actually. For some reason, the memory of the day I saw the sunrise here in Florida, and the sunset in California, popped up in my mind. That’s also the day I go a discount on coffee because of my smile…LOL When I looked up the photos from that day, I also realized I had tacos and ran into a cute pair who were dressed as Cinderella and her prince. The coffee discount, tacos, Cinderella bounded pair, and the sunset were all at Downtown Disney…hehehe Today is an odd day to remember that because it didn’t come up in photos memories and it wasn’t even on this day last year. I was just randomly thinking about it!

Work has been going well. Having Claude Code has been really nice for the huge project I’ve undertaken. I’m working on a prototype that I hope to present to stakeholders in December. If all goes well, the project will likely take off and find its place sometime next calendar year. Hopefully before the end of the fiscal year at the end of June. It’s a pretty huge deal, actually. It’s projected to save the company millions in costs, I believe. And it may even go further than dollars when it comes to productivity for the various impacted business areas. It has been awhile since I last worked on something this important and it feels pretty good.

This is the closest I feel to finding fulfillment at work lately. I really don’t enjoy what I do for a living…LOL It’s a means to an end mostly. And quite often I look forward to when it will end…LOL So, projects like the big one I’m working on now are nice to keep me motivated while I wait for the end. I don’t dread work or anything like that. And I don’t have a problem with my company or the people I work with. All of that is fine. I’m just not happy. I just have to work hard at choosing to be happy with my job. I’m very grateful for it, though.

But speaking of things coming to an end, my effort to journal daily did come to end last week. It has been days since I did my daily routine of writing at least a page of thoughts down. It wasn’t intentional. One day, the day got away from me and I felt a sense of relief as I went to bed realizing I had not journaled that day. The days following had the same sense of relief. Journaling was never meant to become a chore. But a chore it did become. I still do a lot of other types of writing. Just not journaling.

I’ve been enjoying the World Series this year. I sure wish the Dodgers were in it. But I love baseball. I’m rooting for the Rays. They aren’t doing so well so far…LOL In the end, I’ll be happy either way, though. Both teams haven’t ever won a World Series. And with the Rays playing in St. Pete, I’ve never been this physically close to a World Series game before…LOL This is actually the closest I’ve ever lived to so many professional sporting venues…hehehe I love the Trop. My first time there was last month when I went to the Red Sox and Rays game. It’s small, but cute. I’m going to miss it when they build the new stadium. So, I may try to go to more games over the next few seasons before the new one is ready.

I’m running out of time to go to this year’s Food and Wine Festival. I may cancel a few workdays to go…LOL Most of my weekends are already spoken for between now and when the festival ends. So, taking a few days off work might be the only way to go. I can probably just work half days and spend the other half at EPCOT. It will be so worth it, though. This year’s festival is next level for me. Some years it is hit or miss. This year, I’ve only had a few misses. And there is yet so many things I haven’t had yet…hehehe

Can you believe Christmas is only 2 months away 🤩