A Quick Birthday Greeting

I'll be honest.  It's been a rough few days of a rough couple months of a rough year.  For a lot of reasons.  Right now, my body, mind, and spirit all are in much need of some solid rest.

But still… it wouldn't be 14 May without bloggy cake, however hastily made.  And at this point, I think this blog is old enough to understand that that's what counts.

Happy nineteenth, Randomness.

Three Dozen

Today, three dozen years into my life, I had a rather dissonant day.

I started hopeful and productive, then got a bit overwhelmed as I'd set out to do perhaps a bit too much and was developing a headache, then I really needed a nap, then I woke to lots of birthday messages from friends and family, then I felt worse and worse until I decided to take another test.

Yup.  That cold I picked up the other day appears to actually be Covid.  The juror summons I got for my 31st birthday was a better gift!

I'm trying to not let it diminish my spirits, though, even if it's diminishing my faculties at the moment.  I am blessed to have gotten the most important stuff done and to be able to dedicate more time to resting, which my body will need.

So enough with the blogging.  I've hit my limit and am going to bed.  Happy birthday to me.

2024

2024 is going to be another one of those years, huh?

One of those years like 2011 or 2017 when, sitting here on 01 January, it feels like everything ahead is shrouded in complete mystery.

Back then, it felt a little daunting.  And truthfully, it still does a bit.  But this time, it feels more exciting.  (Though maybe that's the nice, even number talking.)

This year will continue to represent an era of major change as I continue to recover from the setbacks of 2023 and — perhaps because of that — more than usual, it feels like something worth embracing.

It does mean, though, that I don't have much to write.  (What else is new?)

But at least the old strained "hopefully" from the pandemic years has turned into a modicum of genuine hope, I think.  Even if I don't know where things are headed, it's a nice feeling that has been missing for too long.

Anyway, as it pertains to my annual doodle, among the more minor setbacks of 2023 was losing access to an Adobe license on any computer that operates faster than molasses.  So instead of Illustrator, I whipped this one up a bit more economically in PowerPoint instead.

Just try to ignore the fact that all of these colors are from the default Microsoft Office palette.  I bet you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't told you.

Random tangent: My parents are in the midst of renovating their downstairs half-bathroom, and the new tile went in yesterday.  Although there are still several steps before the fixtures can actually go in, the long-awaited visible change led my brother to proclaim "new year, new toilet."  I'm sure that's not how it works, but I appreciate his enthusiasm nonetheless.