It's been quite a while since I've written anything here. And now I find myself really wanting, needing even, to write, but with no single pressing issue to write about. I use that as an excuse too much. Because the originally intended format for this journal (I still refuse to call it a "blog", perhaps because the word is just too pop-culture-ish) was to be a collection of articles on specific topics, I go for months at a time without writing anything because I don't have any specific issues worthy of their own articles, even though I have plenty I could write about. So maybe every so often I should just force myself to post a sort of mental dump if there hasn't been anything more specific to write about. Hmm. I just used the word "specific" way too many times.
It looks like my parents are finally getting out of little ol' backwards Hood River. They're moving to the Eugene area, which is where we lived before moving to Hood River when I was very young. I kind of wish they had done this years ago, or even stayed down there and never moved to Hood River. That's hard to say, because I do have a few good friends whom I never would have met, but I think about how different life might have been. I might have had a much easier time in school, especially in the Eugene area where there are a lot more people with disabilities (I went to camp with many of them), and the schools, I would expect, are probably far better equipped and educated to provide for disabled students. Anyway, it's going to make trips home more complicated, but I'm glad they're getting out of there.
Chris, as of last Monday, is officially 30. He is now entering the fourth decade of his life. (Ooh, I haven't used that one on him yet; he's going to love that.) Two weekends ago, his best friends surprised him with the one thing he wanted most for his 30th birthday - they took him to Las Vegas. When they first approached me about it, the idea of a whole weekend on my own terrified me... but I knew how bad he wanted it, and I had to let them take him. Then, his mother's complete and utter lack of confidence in my ability to make it through the weekend sealed the deal. I was going to do this, and I wasn't going to ask her for one ounce of help. I was going to prove to her and myself, that with a little help from a few friends, I could get through it with no problem. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way, due to one friend who became a bit too overbearing, and spent the whole weekend sleeping on my couch. Of course, Chris' mother doesn't know that, so even if I proved nothing to myself, at least I put her in her place.
I don't know what to do about the webcam. It's been offline for almost a year now, ever since I started working full time. Obviously, I'm at work during the day, when I used to turn it on. And I'm very rarely at my computer at home after work. There aren't really any other interesting subjects to point it at (not that I'm all that interesting) within range of the USB cable. I've considered getting a wireless cam, so I can put it somewhere where there's more activity, but that presents a problem. We already have so many different wireless devices in here, that interference is already becoming a problem. The newest addition, the Xbox 360 with its wireless controllers (which are, by the way, totally awesome), is not getting along well with our cordless phones at all. The controllers frequently disconnect and/or do unexpected things when either handset is in the room, and the reception on the phones is awful anywhere within range of the Xbox (which is anywhere outside the bedroom where the phone base is). So I believe we've reached the limit of wireless signals in our airspace, and I'm afraid a wireless webcam would not work very well. However... if I could get one working, and if enough people wanted it badly (I personally don't think I or my home are all that interesting to watch), I'd consider it. When my old webcam died, I wasn't working and said I would replace it only if I got enough donations to cover the cost. Daniel came through and single handedly paid for a new one. I won't ask for donations this time, since I am working now. But I'm only going to spend the money if there are a lot of people who really want to watch my boring existence, and even if I do, it's not going to be top priority on the spending list.
Yes, it was 7:20 on a Sunday morning when I started this entry (it's now about 8:30). The flu can really mess up one's sleep patterns.
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