I finally got my first cataract surgery on my right eye, and in a couple weeks I'll have the other one done as well. The eye is healing up nicely... not quite clear enough to read with yet, but between the two of them my brain is able to filter it enough to read on my low resolution monitor... so I think I can get some work done.
Actually, I can read my high resolution monitor... but it does take more concentration. I'm hoping that by the time I get my other eye done this one will be even better... otherwise I may or may not be able to read the screen. But this is the highlight of 2020... finally getting my eye fixed.
My friend Elle came over from New Jersey to care for me, which was a wonderful thing as I needed help driving, and doing basic stuff the day after. Eve presumed that since Elle was not male, I "must" be wanting to jump into bed with her... and so she broke up with me, refused any calls, and blocked me on Facebook. I'm realizing now that I need to purge people like Eve and Carol from my life... I have tried to be there for them, and tried to work out a relationship... but it simply doesn't work.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, then expecting a different result. I theorize therefore that I have been insane the last 20 or so years. Time for a change.
And for the record... No... Elle and I didn't do anything... she is a wonderful friend, she cares about me, but she and i are on different paths.
I'm not sure where life will take me... I love to imagine that I could find someone... but after three times... five if you count the second tries... I think I'm destined to be alone. Sad but so.
Just a short post tonight, Josh didn't really care for what i was saying would happen when i came home... not staying in my room, bringing Maggie Mae back to the house, etc. So he jumpped on an airplane to Seattle.
I got home last night, July 31... and today i am starting a new chapter... me living alone. I have an 1892 SqFt, or 175.7 Sq Meter house with a 0.177 Acre or 716.3 Sq Meter yard... with just me living here alone.
So I'm doing everything... maintenance, gardening, cleaning, cooking, working, you name it. Just me.
Not what I signed up for at 60. I thought I would be winding down... getting ready for retirement. Nope... starting over again. Not what I expected.
I guess I'll see what happens next. I'm really going to miss during a thunder storm saying to my partner... "would you listen to that!"... or coming home and walking in the door saying, "honey, I'm home!"
At least when Maggie mae is here it won't be quite so quiet... I'll have some companionship. All this and COVID19 too... not a great year by any stretch of the imagination. But hey... I'll set up my photography gear in my old room... maybe bring my robotics stuff into the dining room... invest myself into doing some robotics and electronics... making videos... keeping my mind too busy to think about it all.
So life just keeps me guessing... over and over again.
Set the wayback machine for aa couple of months ago... I was in San Francisco working on a project and Eve and I called each other a few times. We had both missed each other and the way life was going she was under stress because two of the machines she uses to make a living were offline.
I wasn't very happy with how things had gone between is, but I thought that since I had moved Carol on, I would be honorable and care for her the rest of my life. It wasn't going to be exciting... but I thought it would be at least stable... and that Eve and I would at best remain friends.
Then... if you read my last blog... life sort of hit a blender... again.
As the project was reaching a pause... and I had a couple of weeks before needing to be at the next location, I decided to go to New Orleans to visit my friend George. We played with the Oculus... and of course... George had to sit down at the piano...
I also figured that I could visit my daughter and Eve while there. My daughter was supposed to come over... then at the last minute said she was sick. (I feel that she just didn't want to see me... so I'll try again on the next trip,)
But as for Eve and I... well... we are getting back together... but not in a traditional way. She will live in New Orleans, and I will live in Texas. Not sure how it will all work out... but we will give it a shot.
So we will see how this all goes. And trust me... I have no idea at all... it looks promising... but I'll just say that I am optimistic... and holding my breath... again.
Yes indeed... life is interesting at the very least.
May 2020
It's another year... let me catch you up.
Mitch
Just before the lock-downs started, I was in San Fransisco and found out one of my best friends, Mitch was also within an hour or so from where I was. Mitch had moved to Hawaii and I thought my chances of seeing him again were very slim... but there he was and i had a free weekend.
It was wonderful to see my buddy again... and I made sure I got there early. We had a great breakfast together and hung out until much later. It was wonderful to just be myself again.
We had a great time. He was there because he has a classic VW Buss that he is doing a restoration on.
The place he was at does this exclusively... so it was an amazing place to be helping my buddy work on his bus. He has two huge YouTube pages, and has a running series on the bus as he restores it. I'll be in the future videos as we were doing quite a bit that rainy day.
Me
I have changed a bit, having been under lockdown from March 16 until May 17 I lost 35 pounds, and since nobody was going to see my face... I grew a beard. When I shaved it off... so many people said to grow it back... that I started again. As I type this... it's already pretty close now.
I'm in San Fransisco working on a very large project... and as fate would have it, again I am near friends that I have missed for quite a long time, and I've made new friends who happen to be in the same area or at least close by. I'll keep safe distance, and use a mask... but I am very hopeful that we can get together and catch up, or in the case of my new friends... get to know each other even better.
VRCHAT
I have also made some incredible friends in VRCHAT lately... it is an amazing place with some incredible people if you are lucky enough to find them. I was very fortunate and have met incredible people... funny, smart, and a bit crazy like me.
I've started just doing whatever feels good in this alternate world. Many times I will put on an avatar of a male warrior with two swords... but I will just as easily dress up as a female character such as "Cherry Bomb" who is a roller derby girl... cute but rough and tumble too. I like this freedom and silliness... it is a great outlet for me. And i will get into character too... we have a great time.
This is me... or one alternate reality of me... I like that I can become so radically different in this crazy alternate universe. It is fun, magical, and fairly strange... but I love it!
This is my friend Auran who created the world that we are standing in and the avatar on the left. While we were there in cyberspace this evening, one of the newest creations of hers was reviled... but still in work and not ready for the public... so I'm not going to show it until ready. Auran does amazing work... and is a bit of a celebrity in our close knit group of friends.
This is MondoCat. She is a very caring and loving person, and as genuine as you could ever hope to find. Sometimes we will run around and be giddy and silly, and other times we will sit and talk about the challenges life has given us and share our feelings. She has been a great emotional support for me... I only hope that I have been as helpful to her.
Everyone in this little circle of friends is very supportive... and as it says... AWESOME.
I have other worlds and friends that I also meet sometimes as well. Not quite as tightly connected, but we will say hello, chat and run around together having a great time. In tis world you can feed the ducks and geese. In others you can climb, swing, or just hang out.
It is usually a party every night... and so much fun that often during the day I can hardly wait to just be crazy with my friends. When my eyes get heavy we always hug and say good night... usually to the chant of, "Awwww... you just got here!"
So this is my little rag-tag group of misfit friends... and thay are all AMAZING!
