It’s July in Florida and as one would guess, it’s hot and humid! COVID-19 is still lingering around. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are being held in 2021. Face masks are once again being recommended by the CDC. Prices are up due to the excitement of traveling and dining out. Cryptocurrency is riding its roller-coaster again (I’m HODLing). Working from home is getting old but now a COVID-19 variant is getting ‘popular’ so STAY HOME! 2021 is different than 2020? Not so far but I have hope that we can turn things around and celebrate on December 31st with smiles on our faces.
learning…
One of my hobbies is solving complex problems in a new programming language (new to me). In 2021, I decided to learn Rust and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite programming languages. So far I am progressing through the “book” and in Chapter 9 of 20. I am looking forward to the final project in Chapter 20!
teaching…
One of my passions is leading group exercise classes. In 2020 during the initial weeks of the pandemic, we were all recommended to isolate and we had to figure out ways to stay fit. As certified instructors by Les Mills, my wife and I were spoiled to receive new releases in Les Mills Tone and Body Step; these kept us engaged and motivated but something was missing. Personally I was missing the ‘group’ part of ‘group fitness’ and it did affect my mood and spirit. Thankfully, the majority? of Floridians got vaccinated and things started improving such that the YMCA requested me to return and teach kickboxing, step, and yoga. Yay! In August I will adding an additional yoga class and hope that we can all get past this latest variant (fingers crossed).
working…
As an engineer, it has been easy to work from home since my meetings are with colleagues in other parts of the world and the computers I use are in remote locations. I was planning on adding a few days a week but… you know the variant. Ugh!
playing…
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
James Howell
In 2021 I am still pushing to complete as many XBOX achievements as possible. I am by no means a leader in any game genre but I do enjoy the physical challenges of action and action-adventure games, the little pressure of adventure games and turned-based RPG, and the rush of vehicle simulation games. In particular, 2021 is special because of the upcoming release of Forza Horizon 5… Mexico!! Here are my latest completions in 2021:
- Angry Birds Star Wars on 10. Jul 2021. This was a labor of love and one of the first games I played when I bought my XBOX back in December 2013. I could not have completed the game without the help of Angry Birds Nest.
- DayZ on 27. Apr 2021. I became aware of this game through The Great Valley and then read a news article on Trueachievements on how to complete the game in under 2 hours!