I've re-joined RGMC for this coming season and have gotten a lot settled in my personal life. No, I'm still single, but I'm in a good state. I dropped the gym for a little while, and have regained a few pounds, but am still fitting into the shorts I bought a size too small for me to wear last summer, so net I'm still down. (But not for long if I don't get back to the gym!)

One major change this month is the long waited arrival of my smart car, which I've had on order for almost 18 months now. The saturn was limping along as was needing work done to it every few months for the last strech here, and was really starting to be a bother. Not to mention the new car is easier to drive, easier on gas, and much easier to park in the city. If you haven't seen it yet, call me and come see it!

It's hard to even know where to begin. First, the RGMC concert went quite well. Lee did a great job preparing and conducting the chorus, and we did quite well both nights. It seemed longer that past concerts, but that may have been because we had more time on stage, and fewer stage changes between numbers. (So more standing in place.) There were lots of new and old people there and it went smoothly and sounded great. It was quite a bit of fun.

On a sad note, a great guy who I've had the good fortune of sharing a significant amount of time with left Rochester right after the RGMC performance. Stan will be missed by everyone who knew him here in Rochester, especially those of us the little circle of friends we were both part of. Hopefully he does well with his new job in NYC, achieves his goals there, and can find as much happiness and adventure there as he did here. We'll all miss him, and selfishly hope that he finds a reason to come back to Rochester in the near future.

As for my personal life, things have been rocky. I took a trip to visit the family in December for Christmas, which went well once I got there. Delta took every chance they could get to screw me over, stranding me in JFK overnight for a hop-flight to Philly, and then canceling my tickets for the rest of my trip, after I explicitly asked them not to...

The second leg of my trip was to Florida, to visit Matthew for the New Years holiday, and go on a cruise. It's the first real vacation I've taken since being unemployed, which I needed to a great degree. I had a good time in Florida, but things with Matt were still strained and off kilter. I learned a lot, and got to think a lot about where my life is and where I'm going. It wasn't pretty, but it was eye opening.

On returning to Rochester things were crazy. Ang's mother passed away while I was in Mexico (she and Scott were watching the house and dogs while I was out). I was able to get to the funeral (just) and give her my condolences. Things with Brain went down hill quickly, to the point that we are no longer on speaking terms. It's sad really, but I can't say I didn't see it coming.

Finally, the last week of this month I went to Running Gagg at Genesseo. I had a great time and met several nice people there. My only regret is not calling a friend who I knew was going to school there, but for some odd reason just didn't think to call while I was visiting. It's all for the best though since he's currently trying to be a good boy, and I would have probably talked him into doing something he'd have regretted later.

My current plans are as such: I've taken a cycle off from chorus, and have limited my involvement with COAP for a while. I'm focusing on me, and trying to get things in my life in order now. I'm spending more time in the gym, at work, with the dogs, and maintaining the house. I'm actually taking time to relax and enjoy my life a little, which I've needed to do for a while, but wasn't doing because I had too much going on.

I really miss the warm weather, and look forward to camping at the pond again this year. I also hope to find someone to share my life with, who will enjoy being with me as much as I enjoy being with them. I know it will happen some time, I just want that time to be now.

November 2007:

Well, in the past couple months a lot has changed for me. I'm single again and just starting to deal with that, and I've caught up on the bills from being unemployed a couple years ago. I hit my 2 year mark at my current job, which is great still. And I've been spending more time with the puppies and at the gym.

The ImageOut film festival was fabulous this year. I attended 35 of the films (the most one could see was 36), and have to say that with one exception I enjoyed every single film. My top picks for this year included The Bubble, Back Soon, and Shelter. But honestly, the line up was so good this year, that picking just a top 3 is quite a challenge.

I recently got two new "toys" as well, both of which I got at a decent discount. The first being a Roomba 416, which I am absolutely loving. I really want to get a Scooba in the near future too. The dogs seem to not really care about it, but like to keep their distance since it does move and make noise. But since they figured out they can easily out-run it, it's more of a nuisance than a threat.

The second toy was the new TVisto Pro from Galaxy. I'll have a full review of it here in a little bit. Right now I'm still waiting for the place I bought it from to ship me one critical part so I can start using it as intended.

Finally, I've been singing in the RGMC again, and have been enjoying that. Our Christmas concert is November 30th and December 1st, and is going to be a blast! We have a new chorus master, who's style is quite different than the previous one, so it should make for a very different show. Since I see occasional change as a good thing, I think this is a good thing overall for the chorus. But I won't say that either style or chorus master is better than the other, since I think both have done, and will continue to do, great things for the chorus.

On a personal note, I didn't visit the family for Thanksgiving, but may be traveling for Christmas. I haven't set anything in stone yet, and won't until after the concert, since thats where my focus is right now. :) Though I did enjoy a much needed rest over the holiday. September 2007:

After a number of problems, Brian and I are no longer together. Though I still care for him deeply, I just can't handle living with him and dealing with everything. If you want details, tough. It's still too painful to talk about, and frankly, none of your business anyway.

March 2007:

Man, time has just flown by the past several months. I've got a lot of stuff going on, and have been dating someone for about 6 months now. Things have been up and down, but over all I think it's working out. We're planning on going to visit his family later this month (in Wyoming), so we're looking forward to that. Over all, I'm getting tired of the cold and the snow, and am looking forward to the summer. :)

December 2006:

Thanks for all those who came to the RGMC seasonal concert! We had a great time putting it on, and the audience loved it as well. The first song was done in sign by the whole chorus. If you missed it, don't forget we have another one coming up in March on St. Patricks day! I may not be in that one, but I'll probably still be there either helping out or in the audience.

October 2006:

ImageOut was great, I saw all but one movie, and loved most of them. I can't wait for next year's festival! The volunteers and staff of ImageOut really have a lot to be proud of this year. My top five pics of the year were:

• A Love To Hide
• ElectroShock
• Another Gay Movie
• ShortBus (showing at The Little Oct 29 - Nov 3!)
• A Very Serious Person

July 2006:

First, thanks for all those who came to the RGMC concert on the 17th! It was a great show, and I find myself singing several of the songs still. The Buffalo group was great as well, and put on a good show both on and off stage.

This month started off with an extended holiday and a couple of trips for me. The first trip was with several friends of mine to spend the weekend at Jones Pond (my first time there). I had a great time, and look forward to going back regularly. I met several nice people, including some from the greater Rochester area. I have a great tan and fond memories, including several references to Lemmiwinks, and having nearly caused a traffic accident while at the camp site. For those who haven't been yet, you really should go, and for those who have, you may want to go again. They’re under new ownership, and from what I heard (and saw) they've turned it around quite a bit.

My second trip was down to NJ to see family and spend some time recovering from all the sun and exercise of camping. Happily Scott and Heidianna were available to house/dog-sit again, which left me free to travel on my own schedule without the pooches. I spent a good chunk of time there indoors thanks to the heat (and the new PC my folks bought to replace their old boat anchor).

In common news, the job is going well, and I keep getting more challenging work do to every day. Gym is going ok, though I was hoping for better results by now. My three month review revealed I lost about 10 pounds and about an inch around the waist, so things are progressing. And while I'm still dating on and off, that front's been kind of quiet lately. Hopefully once the summer starts to drop off a bit and people start coming to more social events my luck will improve.

I've finally caved to peer pressure and joined the RGMC, our recital is on June 17th around 6:30ish. If you want tickets, I should have some by the time you read this. It's really fun to be singing again, and I'm enjoying the songs and the new friendships forming there.

I've also joined a gym, and have been attending it regularly. My energy levels are up, and I'm liking the way things are going so far. I want to lose some weight, lose some inches, and eventually be able to bike to and from work. Would save a lot on gas and wear on the car, and cut down on how long I need to spend at the gym. (Not that that's a problem, they have cable so I may be going more to watch TV than just to exercise.)

And on the personal side, I've been dating here and there. Nothing serious yet, but then I'm not looking as much as I was before. Mind you, that's generally when I find the person I'm looking for, just when I stop looking. For now I have a few sets of great friends that I hang out with more than I should. But then who cares if the house is messy when you have lots of friends to hang out with.

On the personal side, I've been seeing someone on and off for a few months now, and hope to get things moving on that front. My main task for this month is to get back into a workout routine and maybe find a workout buddy. I've put on a bit over the winter and really need to get rid of it.

Oh, and a quick note for those from CSH, the 30th reunion was quite the event. If you made it, it was great seeing you all and getting a chance to catch up. Unfortunately I was unable to make the Sunday picnic, but got to see a number of you at the dinner Saturday. And for those that didn't show up, I would love to hear from you so we can catch up and chat some. (This includes the house-mate that has since changed his name to "Tom Rivera". :)

I also have found a new faith, and would like to share the good word with all those who follow my "blog" here. (It's not really a blog, but people seem to think it is, so I let them think that.) You can find out about my conversion here.

So, Life lately has been interesting. I'm still at Xerox, and it's converted to a full-time job now. Work looks stable and I'm finally catching up on the bills that were stacking up.

For those of you may not have heard, I'm single again. After six and a half years, things fell apart, and we weren't able to reconcile our differences. The separation was quick, there was no fighting, but it was still painful. I'm still in the house, and kept most of the "stuff", but the place does feel a little empty. So, I'm pushing forward and getting back into the swing of things. Drop me mail if you want to chat!

Things in Rochester are recovering, finally. I got several job offers in the first week of April, and wound up taking one with Xerox. It's a part time job (20 hours per week) doing SDK development, but it's a great place, the management is nice, as are the people, and it pays well. I was days from putting the house on the market and passing several bad deadlines (like being uninsured too long to get new coverage, stopping payment on major bills, etc). For the record, I was without a permanent job for just over 22 months, a personal record for me. Looks like we're going to be staying in Rochester just a little longer. More news as it comes, stay tuned!

Things are starting to look up again, as I'm now pseudo-employed and will probably be able to keep myself afloat for some while longer. I'm now working for a group called RescueCom that does service calls on computers for home users and small offices. At this point I've done several service calls, and am really enjoying the work. The pace has been a little frantic, but at least having regular work means I'll get a good paycheck. I'm still looking for a full-time job, but would need to keep nights and weekends free to continue the RescueCom job, since that's one of the major reasons I was hired (to do night/weekend work.) And if things keep on this steady, this may turn into a full-time gig, so cross you fingers folks!

Oh, and for my birthday, I splurged and bought myself a (cheap) present. It's a nice little toy called an Audrey that made the last part of the summer bearable. Click the link above for more info on that.

Well, I'm still looking for a job, and am getting ready to take up a clerical position if need be to make the bills. I was hoping that things would turn around, but with Kodak and Xerox laying people off every other day, it's getting less and less likely that I will be able to find any job in the computer field.

Seems every place I look, I'm fighting with kids right out of college trying to undercut my compensation, or guys with 20+ years of experience trying to out-class me. Add to that the hundreds of other people just like me, and it's not pretty. I would advise those looking for jobs to not come to Rochester to try to find them. All full, thanks very much.

Apache is starting to like me, and I'm re-learning Perl. Most of the CGIs on the site are now done in Perl. I did have to write a new module for Apache so it could shuffle people around based on cookies.
I know, I could have used PHP, or filters, or funneled the whole site through a CGI like Perl Monks. But to put it simply, I wanted a have an Auth-like system, based on cookies, and I didn't want to change my whole site to have it. Plus I wanted to play with Apache's internals, since I hadn't done any real work on Apache since 1.1.

If you want to take a look at the code for it, you can get it here.
Users should now be able to log in, and change their passwords.

Some pictures are on-line now, and more will be on the way. A number of the older pictures (wedding pictures, etc) will be back up as well soon. For now you can check the pictures that are up. I am still working on the picture-book software. Hopefully I'll get it done before I'm employed again. If not, at least a big chunk of it will be done soon.

Right now things are crazy at our place. I was recently let go from Kodak, broke my wrist (which is now out of its cast) and am on the hunt for a new job. If you know someone looking for a good Apps programmer in the Rochester area, drop me a line. If you want some good examples of mini-apps I've done' check out the software area. Nothing too impressive, but shows I know my stuff.