What's on your mind?

[sampa]

I have a variety of seasonal wreaths and other things that make the house look and feel like others are living here with me. Also, my American flag was looking a bit faded, so I bought a new one.

That's awesome! Sounds like we have some things in common. I do these things because it's a tradition passed on from my mother and grandmother. And especially the American flag. I take mine down each day and put it out each day so as to preserve it.

 

[bèlla]

Sounds interesting You have to be excited about his upcoming visit. How soon is it?

I am. There’s a lot to do. Finding dresses this time of the year is hard. I had to look online. The style I like is common in the summer. Less so year round. I found 5. He needs to see them.

I’ve been really busy. I had a conference last weekend and events since then. School and a schedule change. He wants me to slow down. But he added more to my plate.

We’re aiming for mid-October while I’m out. He’s working from home. My visits will be easier.

 

[SarahsKnight]

I'm dating someone younger than my norm. I made an exception for him.

What, younger than me?

 

[SarahsKnight]

As always, love your newest avatar, Miss @bèlla . ^-^

(And Miss @sampa, please don't ever change yours. )

 

[GodDoesListen55]

Ugh!

 

[bèlla]

What, younger than me?

Oh yeah. You've got some years on him.

And thank you for the compliment.

 

[Niels]

What, younger than me?

Oh yeah. You've got some years on him.

And thank you for the compliment.

I can appreciate age gap relationships. It doesn't matter if the man is older or the woman is older, so long as they're both full-fledged adults and the connection is real. Not a manipulative or gold-digger dynamic, but two people who genuinely like each other well enough that age isn't an issue. Something about it strikes a romantic chord with me.

The other day, I learned that one of my nephews (in his 20s) is dating a woman in her 30s. She's the age of women that I tend to date. I was surprised at first, but good for him. I like to see people happy. There's more to a relationship than whatever music or movies happened to be popular when we were growing up etc.

My tastes have always been a bit idiosyncratic anyway. As much of an anachronism from the past as from the future, I suppose. If I were to get a classic car, a DeLorean might be appropriate. Not that I need another vehicle. It's just fun to think about from time to time.

 

[Rigatoni]

I'm using them to structure various tasks in a 3D medical emergency scenario. I only have them working with game objects at the moment, but by Monday I'd like to have them working with JSON files on a 3rd party asset.

Unfortunately, I've been so occupied with work, weddings, and home maintenance, that I haven't had much time for this. Hopefully, tomorrow I will make up for lost time. It's a volunteer project, and I'd rather not neglect my day job or other responsibilities, so it's been on the back burner.

Although it's been fun, it can be discouraging at times. I'm not a professional programmer, but the guys I work with have PhDs in the subject. As such, the opportunity has been simultaneously flattering and humbling. They treat me like an equal, but I'm a noob in a lot of ways. I've learned a ton, and I've contributed to the project in my own way (mostly storyboards, custom assets, and a few scripts here and there), but I need to be realistic. This should wind down in a few months though, after the funding runs out. They may ask me to join other projects, but my time is valuable and I have other things to do. Eventually, I'd like to work on more personal projects using my own characters. We've talked about this before, but this other project has taken up a lot of my time.

Yeah, animations can be tricky. Gotta love it when characters shift during transitions. For a while, there were certain Mixamo animations that I couldn't use because they wouldn't stick to the specified coordinates.

How are your games coming along?

Sounds really interesting, like you're using them as makeshift visual scripting. It took me awhile to learn how to use animation masks to prevent the animations from conflicting during transitions or routines. Might be an option if you're not using them already.

My main project been going okay, but is incredibly frustrating at times. I had to learn the hard way that when you try to live up to everyone's expectations and requests, and set unrealistic goals yourself, you don't get anything done. It helps to only set out only to accomplish what is necessary with the big picture in mind. I'm learning to find a middle ground, and things have gone much more smoothly since. I was even able to show off a simple build to my community yesterday; more complex builds will be shown off soon to demonstrate what is really possible.

There's going to be an emphasis on structure eventually, and a few other features are also planned to make the game unique to similar ones on the market. The graphics and art style have been inspired by Illumination films, and I'm trying to find a balance between a cartoony yet realistic aesthetic. Most games today aim to be too realistic and it's boring.



I released another, mobile game on the Google Playstore a few weeks ago, but it's not doing so well lol. I almost got a PC build of it released on the Steam store as well not too long ago, but still need to fix a few issues that came up during inspection.

 

[bèlla]

I can appreciate age gap relationships. It doesn't matter if the man is older or the woman is older, so long as they're both full-fledged adults and the connection is real.

I initially assumed I didn’t date younger men that often. But on closer inspection there’s been more than a few. I made the shift exclusively when I returned to faith.

I’m a bit of an outlier in that respect. I’m willing to marry and have a family. Whereas most look for men with children or childless suitors.

This works because of his maturity, leadership experience, and financial absorption. That’s his burden now. I can redirect my attention to domestic and creative pursuits.

 

[sampa]

So good to have fellowship with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. Unfortunately the pandemic took its toll on her and she's on seven different antidepressant medications. She's trying to wean herself from that. I guess the pandemic and isolation was difficult for her and created an anxiety. What's interesting is I found out that she is an infj also. Which should not surprise me as most of my friends always seem to turn out to be other INFJs. Once we talked about that it seemed like I was able to connect with her on a deeper level mentally. It seems like all my infj friends surprise me because they seem so different from me but then they come from sort of the same foundation for thinking. It's fascinating and interesting how I see each of them and how their lives play out.

 

[ReesePiece23]

Something that I often ponder...

Are people as relatable and as 'on your level' as you think? Or are they, in fact, the classic people pleaser?

I'm finding it harder and harder to tell with certain people. I'm feel that their own NEED for validation can confuse literally every aspect of the friendship.

 

[GodDoesListen55]

Sometimes I really wish I had more friends.

 

[DragonFox91]

Working from home is done as of this Wednesday. I'm a bit anxious about it but am ready for a change. You may see less of me b/c I won't be able to post during work anymore.

 

[HisGraceAbounds]

...people from the past breaking years of silence to reach out. Timing is odd. Caution in abundance.

 

[angelsaroundme]

Occasionally I hear from an old friend but it's always brief. Can't blame them since I live far away.

 

[GodDoesListen55]

Fun day and I can hear yet again, yay!

 

[bèlla]

Starting The Respect Dare. i haven't done it in years.

 

[SarahsKnight]

Starting The Respect Dare. i haven't done it in years.

What's that?

 

[Vinter]

What's that?

I was about to ask the same thing.

 

[bèlla]

What's that?

It’s a 40 day challenge for women. Here’s the book.