Its February already!
2021 has been full steam ahead so far but I had to pause for a moment on Friday 5th...
Another month begins in a super busy fashion - happy to say I have plenty of project work and am picking up speed on getting back into meetups et cetera.
I burned through Michael J Fox latest book last month over a couple of days - worth a read for sure, what an amazing advocate for Parkinson's.
A message from my sister.
I received an unexpected message from my sister Phiona who passed away mid December. I must thank John, her husband, who had found a christmas card, filled out, addressed but not yet posted. In the card he had included a note - I appreciated receiving it under the circumstances - it showed how suddenly Phiona had deteriorated, given that fact that she wished us a merry christmas and happy new year as though it was just a regular year. No sign of anything untoward going on with her at all. I am guessing this was something she had done in advance of her sudden decline, but then didn't get the chance to get posted. I am very grateful to John for sending it on.
And in classic Phiona style the envelope was addressed upside down, the flap opened at the bottom. Thats my sister :)
I had tears when I opened and read it, and have again as I write this. My sister Phiona was a beautiful, thoughtful soul right until the end.
Help with Parkinson's awareness and advocacy.
A busy schedule is starting to unfold.
A meeting with the Parkinson Fighters United Inc group kicked things off this month at the Pig n Whistle in South Brisbane with a speaker and dinner, followed by networking / chat with various attendees. Its interesting getting to know each persons story and pathway with Parkinson's. I can see that I have something to offer and will be getting more involved for sure.
And I actually did get to boxing this week Wednesday - it was good fun and worked some different muscles than my walking and pilates. It also involved coordination and thinking to make the feet and arm movements match the pattern required. The most complex set was stand back from the punching bag, step forward - left-left-right, side left, side right, step back, step forward again, left-right-left, step back, repeat. And just to add a bit more to the mix I was reverse hands so left was right, right was left. Phew! I will be back for sure.
Parkinson's Queensland held their AGM this month so I attended in person. It was great to meet some of the team there, both executive and board and get to know those who are advocating for all those Queenslanders who have Parkinson's. Was alos great to chat with others who have this condition. Again, I am thankful to be at the minor end of the scale in terms of symptoms and still able to contribute in some way to advocacy. To loosely quote the motto on the Stanleys Hotel at Macraes Flat - " while I live I'll crow" - while I can I will advocate.
Parkinson's Queensland are planning a variation on the "Walk in the Park" fundraiser with a very long meandering walk from Greenslopes to Coolum concluding on World Parkinson's Day. I am definitely going to be involved by walking a part of the way - maybe 5km at the start and 5km at the end - will see what the plans are and rope in some of my Wild West Endians from the 4101 group if I can to help fundraise. And a new hash tag #ThisIsParkinsons is being promoted.
I have also attended the first meeting of the Consumer and Community Involvement Group (CCIG) for Dementia and Parkinson's Disease Research. This group is run by the UQ research group based at the campus at RBWH to get input on various aspects of their upcoming research programs. I was able to contribute to the discussion with a couple of relevant points when we were talking through the covid safe plan that was proposed for researchers and attendees. This group will meet every month on zoom and will hopefully keep me in tune with upcoming research ideas and programs related to my condition, and at the same time allow me to contribute in some way. My time is at least something that I can offer, and an hour a month is easy to schedule.
My connection with this group was initiated from an involvement in a video day where I had a silent walk on role in the production of a promotional video for the upcoming research call for participants. It was another way I can do something to help, while I am still very capable and have the time to do so. This is part of my pay it forward. You can now view this video here.
Changes on the home front.
Matthew, the son of my fantastic partner Glenda, has just turned 18 and has been accepted into the navy. He leaves for 12 weeks basic training mid February. Its a major life event for him and he is quietly excited. Congratulations on getting his ducks in a row and heading off on this well regarded career pathway. He will end up in Wagga Wagga to learn helicopter maintenance which is awesome. Its going to mean some adjustments to "chores" allocations for bins, scraps and recycling and will also mean changes to meal production with one less in the house. At least the aircon wont be running 24hrs.
Video.
New year started with some simple video sessions - just short clips to get comfortable before I actually add some real video diary to this site. Getting familiar with the camera is step one. I may even do some recording at that PFU Dinner when we have the next meeting.
Old video tape conversion.
Still aiming to catch up with Terry to see if I can grab the camera to start conversion.
Walking.
Now over 265 days in a row without missing a morning walk. Only 100 more and it will be a full year.
Medication.
No Change to the schedule or positive impact.
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.
Felt weird missing Pilates on Wednesday... amazing how I can forma positive habit so quickly.
Social Outings.
Some upcoming events in the pipeline, and some great events past.
Always look forward to "Early Friday" / "Thirsty Thursday" beers with Neil, Don and Greg plus a few other random friends.
Brewing.
Its Febrewery! My latest batch of Alcoholic Ginger beer in the fermenter is almost ready to bottle. Thank goodness, as the last batch is completely gone. Cider is next cab off the rank as soon as the bottling of the Ginger beer is done and the fermenter cleaned up. The Kolsch is ready to drink and is not bad, even if I say so myself.
Garden.
Plants sweltering in the heat and the rain has exploded the weeds. Must get out and do a quick tidy up.
Work.
Head down and focus on delivery. Catch up is the order of the day.
Land Sailing.
Waiting for each Sunday to see what's happening at the track. Finally there was enough breeze to get a Sunday afternoon sail in and I got some footage.
Last weekend there was enough breeze to take my Blokart (land yacht) out for a few laps around the "club track" - this is basically a big tarmac area that used to be car park or container park, I'm not really sure. Anyway I thought it might be a good idea to capture some footage. In true Robertson innovative fashion ( Macgyver esk) I attached my 360 camera on to the selfie stick, duct taped that to the frame and "set sail".. here are two versions of the second part of the footage - one is rendered 360 the other is just the two fisheye views side by side. its a little bumpy but you get the idea. As a prototype conceptually it worked, but the weight of the camera twisted on the selfie stick so i end up sailing sideways a bit. you will see me making adjustment to camera to get it back upright.... and then the inevitable happens...
fisheye side by side click here and the same clip rendered 360 click here
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!