It was on a Wednesday

 So it's a nice day. Indigenous summer? Anyway, life is all right. I've been into books set during WWII lately. So the Diors were part of the French Resistance. My first encounter with the French Resistance was 'Allo, allo'. Definitely sophisticated, wot? Give me a break; I was four. Now I'm reading about more resisting the Nazis.

 So, do I have followers on this blog beyond my bored two or three? If I actually do; hey! How are you? Hope my viewers had a good summer. I guess that's it. The kids are all right. No attitude yet but give them time.

BYE.

Some things are over, some things go on

 Tom Petty said that. So the kids start back this Friday. I've done some decent adulting these days. The Labour Day weekend was all right. The cooler weather is spending time here this week. Things are all right. I hope my two really awesome followers are doing well.

BYE.

At my labours

 I've been back for 3ish days. Pretty quiet. The kids don't start back for another week. I cannot be sure, but there are people who are not just me reading my posts. Hey there. Hope you are well. Unless that's just me bumping my own posts in some wild desperate move. Par for the course.

 Anyway, the weather has been great of late. The wildfires are finally retreating and the air quality warnings have gone away. I prolly just jinxed it. Labour Day approaches. Three day weekend ftw. Not that I'm going to do anything exciting with my life. I rarely do.

 To my two constant readers, I hope you are well and having the best day. To the curious crowd that has apparently gathered, I hope you are well and living well. 

BYE.

It pours

 So it finally rained yesterday. Canada Day, amirite? The fire bell started clanging something fierce last night, driving us all outside. This happened two years ago and was because of dust hitting the sensors. Not sure what happened this time. Humidity, probably. The beast was not impressed.

 Anyway, the day is fine today. Hopefully the bell doesn't clang again for no reason. Busy day today. That's all.

BYE.

Sumer is icumen in

 Actually, it's here. The cuckoo sang lhudely. Now we just need rain. This should be a quiet summertime. The school year ended on Friday and I feel pretty good. Tried a 1664 Blanc the other day. Tasted very light. I think I'll buy a few more bottles of that in the future. Yeah, it's the summer. Time for a beer.

 Trying to get through a collection of novellas. Dispiriting stuff. Not sure if I'll bring it back ahead of time. Listening to Reddit stuff. My guilty pleasure. Anyway, that's what's going on.

BYE.

Inexplicable

 I don't consider myself to have a gloomy baseline. But lately, I've been finding myself facing a question. Why do I feel so happy? An odd confidence that I cannot explain. I guess I have reasons but my immensely powerful superego keeps screaming at me to be cautious. Why do I feel this good?

 Anyway, that's the thought for today. I hope the two ppl who read this blog are doing well.

BYE.

3 weeks

 Feeling optimistic for some weird reason. Living in a miasma thanks to the wildfires and climate change. The rain cannot come soon enough. Meanwhile, it's a fact that the Peninsular War and the Spanish Civil War are two different animals. One day I'll learn not to get them confused. Currently reading about the latter.

 Duolingo has started getting on my sister's back because I uninstalled it. I'll have to reinstall it and cut ties completely. Real waste of pixels, that owl is. Yeah. 3 weeks left.

BYE.

Dear mother the struggle is over now

 I've had that little-known Carly Simon song on my mind for the past few days. The funeral was yesterday. We'd chosen songs to play for the service. As soon as Arden's 'Good mother' swelled the waterworks started. As I read the eulogy at Dad's funeral, my sister read yesterday. My brother-in-law's family have been wonderful over this past month.

  My xtended family? Well, I'm going to quote ageless advice. "If you don't have owt nice to say, say nowt." My sister and I are drained as heck from yesterday. It was glorious outside yesterday and gloomy today. Here cometh the end of April. I continue to practice and work on minha Portugues. Duolingo is pretty good. I shut off notifications so the damn owl leaves me alone.

  Here cometh Monday. I hope my few readers are doing well.

BYE.

Thoughts on Duolingo

 Eu frito a coruja. Ela frita a coruja. Eu corto a coruja. Ele corta a coruja. Eu como a coruja. Voce come a coruja.

 Actually, the app's fine and as long as I do even one lesson a day, the owl doesn't complain. What I do have an issue with is the 5 hearts deal. Why not have 10 hearts to start with? Especially in the early days.

  The m/f issue rises here too. Which are masculine words and which are feminine? I've been doing French my whole life and I still don't always know. Le/la and un/une - Portuguese has O/A and um/uma - and that's where I get dinged. Ugh.

BYE.

Not the most restful...

 While I would have liked another week off, I'm glad to be back at work. Meetings, calls... not much time left to rest and relax. The meetings will continue for a while. It's just the nature of the beast. Grimmie left much in its wake.

 I rage quit out of Duolingo this morning. Now I'm gonna make that damn owl sweat for a bit. On the literary front, I'm enjoying Garry J. Shaw's "The Egyptian myths". Well-trod ground but not entirely. Nice blast from my ancient past. Hail to Wednesday, ye awesome folks.

BYE.

Gears and cogs

 So many phone calls to make after someone dies. All the stuff that needs to be cancelled. All the meetings we need to have. Spring Break is a blessing in disguise. I received flowers. They don't like being watered. 

  Meanwhile, InZOI launched the other day. Even if the game proves to be a huge success, I'm going to wait until I get a new desktop compy before I buy it. Beside that, I have nothing new. An overcast day and wet roads. Went for a drive. I avoid driving on the perimetre if I can. I did it today. Not fun.

  What am doing tomorrow? Phone calls, meetings to arrange. The party's only just begun.

BYE.

Au revoir, ma maman

 She died on the 27th. Not long after I posted the previous entry, the hospice called. I got there as soon as I could. This saga has had many surreal moments. Spending time with my mother after she passed was (probably) the final moment. The staff at Grace Hospice are caring and attentive; not just to the residents but to their families as well.

  So... yeah. Now mi hermana and I have the celebration of life to plan out. Lots of details in the process of life after someone has died. We met yesterday with someone who has been through this process and they gave us plenty of answers. Yeah... lots of phone calls and meetings ahead still.

  I won't lie. This past 7 months has been heartbreaking and difficult. How can we not feel anything but relief? What I am having a hard tme with is the outpouring of sympathy and offers to help from people who refused to give a damn about our feelings (or our mother's) while we struggled through this odyessy of grief. You offer to help and listen to us now? Where the plumbob were you several months ago?

  Anyway, I'm a little on the infuriated side with some people. Of course, these 'offers' may turn disastrous if accepted. Mom had a plan for her funeral and my sister and I are carrying out her plan; not theirs. Apologies for this very long entry. Been a while since I posted a long piece, eh?

  Besides that, life is okay. I hope you, my two or three followers, are doing well. At least it's Spring Break. Plenty of time to relax and stuff.

BYE. 

Ending and beginning

 So I finally joined the Duolingo cult. Long may that owl haunt me with ravings to take my language lessons! Duolingo doesn't do Tagalog - what's up with that? The only indigenous language they do have is Navajo - again, what's up with that? So eu sou going to give Porteguese um try. Now I just need a Portuguese keyboard to make that bloody owl happy.

  So... Mom. It's slow but steady. She has not reached the final stage but... we are getting ever closer. My sister and I know what needs to be done once it happens. Anyway, that is all for now.

BYE.

Nahh

 No limericks. I could only come up with two (naturally naughty but of very low quality) and quickly lost interest in the idea. Feeling brittle. It's a mix of several thing; Mom, Spring Break being just around the corner (feels like a century away), the kids being extra horrible. All of the above.

 But Friday is here and there's one more week to go. Mom is still kicking but... yeah. Dying takes forever. Been reading as usual. That's all.

BYE.

Seeking creativity

 But instead I thought about limericks. Next blog post I'll try my hand at the worst limericks I could think of. I promise that these will be horrible. You, my few followers, have been warned. Nice outside. The Ides of March approacheth. Oh, and mi hermana wished me Happy Mar10 day.

 Hey, have-a some pasta! Meanwhile, prices are going up. We know what's to blame. Does not even deserve a 'who'. Simming continues. Reading continues. Life continues.

BYE.

Hey...

 So here approcheth another birthday. Another milestone. Probably the whiniest of milestones. Anyway, with Mom being terminal and unable to leave her bed, it's just mi hermana and my brother-in-law treating me to excellent Korean fare. I'm looking forward to it.

 I'm also looking forward to Spring Break. I feel pretty brittle this afternoon. Pretty passive-aggressive at work. It's only Wednesday, too. Whatever. Still reading... nothing new there. Joyce Carol Oates. Meh....

  I am visiting la madre today. Probably won't stay long. Pretty poor headspace right now. Meh.

BYE.

Heho!

 It's warming up and the Festival du Voyageur is in full swing. Tons of activities going on at work today. And outdoor recess at long last! Happy kids and delighted staff. Oh, and it's Friday. Can't really complain, can I?

 Mom is being moved to hospice. 1-3 months prognosis. As long as she makes it to her birthday. That's all I can ask for. Longer would be good but the Crab's got a brutal timetable. I'll keep you in th loop as to how thing are in her 'forever home'.

  That's all I have to say. May the two or three folks still following this blog be safe and warm.

BYE.

AI haz benefits?

 So I attended a meeting where we learned that AI can be fun and beneficial. It's all just a matter of using commonsense. That's a rare commodity in this day and age, but still important. Meanwhile, we learned that it's not all Skynet (YET) out in the cloud. AI is not at that level but give the tech a few years and a few more billions and we'll be there.

 Meanwhile, it was a fun meeting. We aired our concerns about AI coming to our division. Hey, the kids already have this stuff down pat. We're just playing catch-up halfheartedly... as usual. But the programs look cool. I'll get down to sharing deets with the staff soon.

 No sims stuff in this post. Here comes the weekend.

BYE.

The clock has been wound up

 ...And the ticking has begun. Hopefully things will not wind down for several months but the cancer has reached Usain Bolt speeds. If we are truly fortunate, we'll be able to celebrate Mom's birthday this April.

  Meanwhile, I've been enjoying Goat Simulator 3. TS3 gave me a miserable error code a month or so ago, so I haven't been playing lately. CC car god The Fresh Prince came out with new wheels so I might give the venerable game a go.

  On the book front I tried to appreciate Woolf's 'Orlando' but found it descriptive but dull. Nothing else to say.

BYE.

Windy

 It blustered yesterday evening and through the night. Still breezy on this Boxing Day. The third day of food and family has arrived. Chinese food on Xmas Eve, roast beast on Xmas Day, and leftovers tonight. Tomorrow I have plans that don't involve tons of food.

  Reading about the Siege of Leningrad. Why was the existence of this event this not logged in my brain box? Anyway, pretty informative and heartbreaking thus far.

  Bought Goat Simulator 3 the other day. Nice.

BYE.