Colourful plants out the front (sorry about the weeds)
Colourful plants out the front (sorry about the weeds)

A warm welcome 2022.
Lets all hope this one is better than the disruptive last two.

2022 holds much promise to deliver us from the ongoing clutches of Covid lockdowns and shutdowns but we need to get over the next couple of months where the virus will sweep through the nation like we have not seen here before. A "correction" where some back to normal-ness starts to appear.

Its going to take a few weeks to see the full effects of the variant that's racing through the country and get the whole place functional again. But enough about Covid, lets start to talk about other more interesting things.

House renovations.

The last phase of renovations will be floor tiles. We had made a choice, but that is subject to review now that the rest is completed. We may opt for a lighter tile similar to the existing so that we don't make the whole place too dark. There is a big area so we need to get that right. Back to the tile warehouse(s) we go.

More help with Parkinson's awareness and advocacy.

We have started the year with a meeting on line again - just a quiet chat but is very important to get the conversations going. Its so nice to see advice sought and given on things such as what works for some people and what doesn't.

Also encouraging that the base number registered for the group is slowly growing - and by that I mean that it is good to see that those diagnosed with Parkinson's are joining, not that more people are diagnosed. 

#thisisparkinsons

Walking.

2022-01-08
Day 590 since diagnosis and day 588 of consecutive daily walking. 12 more days and that will be a nice round 600.

2022-01-20
Day #600!! something to celebrate - my commitment to taking this condition head-on and keep strong both mentally as well as physically.

Time to reflect that I may not be able to to beat this condition in the fullness of time, but I sure as hell am not about to rollover and let it beat me by default. I am grateful for all the messages of support when I posted the milestone on my FB and here.

To quote Peter Tosh  "We're gonna leave all our troubles behind. We're gonna walk and don't look back."

Mind games.
As part of my ongoing mental stimuli, I pride my self in problem solving, doing "Code Cracker" word games, occasionally assisting my partner with Sudoko and other challenges.
My partners son, Matthew upped the ante by giving me a selection of challenging puzzle books at Christmas. There was a Travel crossword book, and a Cryptic crossword book included. Having never really been into the cryptic crossword scene, it was a real challenge to get underway. The first section of the book gave some guidelines, and then right in to the "Easy Peasy" puzzles. Well I really struggled with puzzle number one - I may have only really successfully worked out two or three of the works. Somewhat humbling. But I dusted my self off and decided I was going to see if I could workout more and more of the clues with each puzzle. I am generally improving each day recording the number of correctly worked out against the number that were too tricky. As you do more, you begin to unravel the mind of the clue creator, looking for the various hints that can be the difference between "blank" and something. I am definitely enjoying the challenge of these each day, and when I do manage to complete a full puzzle I am certainly going to be not only extremely satisfied, but will let Matthew know directly. I hope that I manage to complete one while in the "Easy Peasy" section, as I am sure I will be on the back foot again when I get past that section.

Emily, my daughter has also got me on to Wordle - a daily word of 5 letters that you have 6 guesses to solve, with each guess indicating correct letters and placement for each guess. Have now got my partner Glenda on to it and the competitiveness has already begun.

Think I might crack open the card game rule book for a refresher on crib and see if I can find a willing other participant.  

Medication.
No Change to the schedule or positive impact. Occasionally I have an issue swallowing my thrice daily horse tablet, and so a slug of water usually does the trick. 

Research.
Still working to make the research links page a bit more useful, it was a simple list to start with but expanding to make better use of the info in it.

Pilates.
Pilates is back on Saturday mornings, but I had to skip the first week back due to work and the second week the  new physio Sakura is not available. Am looking forward to getting back into it. Hopefully I don't forget how to do some of the tasks when class resumes post new year.

2022-01-21
Back in action at Pilates - was a little bit hard getting back into it with some new excercises- I have asked to get my instruction sheet printed in a bigger font so I can actually read without having to put it on the floor so I get enough clarity. Signs of getting old, but then I could wear my reading glasses I suppose. I enjoy the balance tasks and definitely find that my core is improving. I am here for the long haul. this is all for beyond now and future me will appreciate it.

 

PFU Boxing and more.
Non contact boxing starts again on Wednesday the12th and I am very much looking forward to getting my gloves on again. Its at the PCYC Laing Park 10:30 - 11:15 so that's where I can be found. I am hoping to get some updated video footage and pictures to add to the website.

Hopefully PFU Boxing continues with Russell the new trainer. There was some discussion about his vaccination status so hopefully that doesn't impact this very important program for many Parkinson's people.

I have redone the PFU website and moved it to sahreed hosting on my account - saving the organisation about 300 per annum. Given there is currently no fundraising planned this saving should be well received and will mean I have more flexibility to uodate the website. Moved from Wix to Joomla/Gridbox.

2022-01-12
Boxing cancelled due to trainer being "unwell".

2022-01-19
Boxing cancelled  ongoing due to trainer resigning - suspect that it is all to do with his vax situation. We are now looking at alternatives to get either a new trainer at PCYC or new trainer and venue altogether. Watch this space for developments.

2022-01-30
Boxing looks like restarting in a new venue with our previous trainer Deb. She and PCYC parted ways late last year and we have had a couple of fill in trainers in the lead up to Christmas, but PCYC have not managed to find a replacement for the long term. Looks like Deb has a spot in her schedule that will work for our group and is currently finalising a venue - somewhere relatively central. Details should be through in the next few days with a target of 2022-02-09.  

Social Outings.
Some upcoming events in the pipeline, but all subject to lockdown conditions.

Each Thursday I am joined at about 4:30 for a couple of hours at the Ballistic Brewery Bar with my two amigos Don and Greg. Its always interesting discussing the week that was and watching the world go by. We have had some other locals 4101ers join our group in the last couple of weeks including Karen, Keith, Carston, and Fiona. Always lovely to have these guys share a beer.

All other events are subject to change at the moment and unfortunately its a case of roll with the punches and be flexible. 

Work.

Head down and focus on delivery with more work coming on stream from sometimes unexpected places. Still trying to catch up and complete some exiting projects. Many new projects in the pipeline and continuing to clean up existing projects. Work in Toowoomba ongoing, with now until end of January  all remote. I have had a steady stream of prospects so looking solid for the next few months.

I have been mentally challenged recently going back to make some modifications to code I wrote in 2012. Lucky I was reasonable with my code documentation, but what I was pleased with was the fact that I could follow the same logic now as I wrote back then to unravel the code and make the required changes without too much trouble and more importantly without breaking the existing still in use code. Was a mixture of MSSQL stored procedures, views and functions along with VBA macro code accessing Sage 300 api elements. My general logic when I originally wrote the code allowed for expansion so was able to dovetail in the extended functionality without changes to the base elements. Moreover the thought process I had in the present day about how I would manage the update - before reviewing the existing - was mostly identical to the code previously written which means my brain is still thinking solutions the same way. Does this mean I think like 2012? Not really. It means for me that nothing seems to deteriorated in my thinking brain, even if Parkinson's has impacted some other brain / body functional links. Well that's what I am going with.

Land Sailing.

Waiting for each Sunday to see what's happening at the track.... and have had a few other events happening.  Weather conditions mean no sailing. bah...

There was a recent zoom meeting of the committee of which I am now vice president - how did that happen? - at which we chatted about alternative locations for sailing and the Woodgate Marathon. Some of the members run sailing through the week at NSW beaches so now that the borders are ajar I might even sneak off for a day and have a crack at beach sailing

Chatting with others less well off health wise.

Recently I have been chatting with the partner of a person who is in the starting stages of Dementia.

It is a potentially very limiting situation where forward plans of life have had to be adjusted and will continue to be adjusted as the condition of the partner takes hold. The partner - now essentially carer - has had to put their own health issues into second place, and adjust to to the situation that the find themselves in. The dream retirement plans have been completely turned around for this couple. Not an easy situation and I am glad that I am able to be a listener and provide some respite from the scenario being lived. It is so important to remember in every situation there are people significantly impacted by simply being the "partner of" someone affected by a serious condition - be it dementia, Parkinson's or any other significant ongoing disorder mental or physical. 

I have been forced to think about the future that will lay ahead for my partner as my physical health may deteriorate, and as I have noted about I am doing my  best to keep fit and active physically to minimize the affect of potentially deteriorating physical health.

But mental health is the one thing that scares me (aside from heights). I feel I could cope with physical deterioration and help manage that if I am mentally strong, but would be extremely devastated to lose my mental strength and have my partner shoulder this extra burden as well. Fingers crossed I can keep with just Parkinson's and may it be mild for a long time.

I guess what I am trying to say is that some other folk are in tricky situations and we should always be mindful of what they and their partners / carers have going on. Be a listening ear and sometimes what you can do by simply being there for them when needed can temporarily whisk them away on a mental break from what they have to deal with day to day.    

Otherwise for me its still so far so good.
Same Same. 

And that is all for just now - keep a lookout for the next post and thanks for tagging along!