October Update 2024 & 5 Things To Be Thankful For
Last year I posted October Update & 5 Things To Be Thankful For and I’d like to make it a yearly thing, so here’s the second October Update. It’s going to be published and then updated over time, sort of like a Digital Garden would grow.
Been Out Of The Game For Several Months
October is a month that I love to celebrate, go out, and have fun with. This October has been sobering, and we have mostly stayed at home. It’s by far the scariest October I’ve been through, and I’m not talking about horror movies. I’m behind on my spooky movie watchlist this year.
My wife and I both got really sick, twice. It’s been rough around here since mid August. It turned into a medical scare for her. We are more than ready for things to get back to normal, but it looks like we won’t officially be out of the woods until December. Things are looking better and I’m feeling optimistic.
The Year In Work
This year has been a quiet year. Work-wise, it’s been slow. Financially it’s been a off year, especially with the medical surprises popping up out of nowhere.
I’ve kept up with several client’s Squarespace sites, and done two redesigns. I’ve done a couple of branding projects and three logos. Two of these projects are ongoing but on pause. I’ll share more when things wrap up and my clients give the thumbs up for me to share.
I recorded less music than I’d like to. I spent less time with my modular synth than I’d like to, but when I sit down to work with it the sounds I’m chasing are coming out more naturally, and quickly. Still in love with modular synthesis. The faithful Apogee Duet DAC is starting to go so I’m looking into a replacement for it and eyeing a few exciting choices including Arturia’s AudioFuse 16Rig. Also planning on adding a mixer to the studio soon.
I’ve done a bunch more preset design, especially with Pigments. I can’t stop. It’s too much fun. It’s a great way for me to wind down at night too. I’ll just throw on headphones in bed, come up with a quick preset idea, try to get the idea out as quickly as I can, and then get some sleep.
My studies with subjects like Pure Data, Blender, and motion graphic work have all taken a back seat. Hoping that in 2025 I can resurrect these topics.
I’ve also been writing stories, music, and marketing a project that I’ve had on my mind for a while. It’s called Dungeon Divers United. I’m trying to create a community around a few things I love: tabletop role-playing games, dark fantasy games like Dark Souls/Elden Ring, and synth-based music genres such as Dungeon Synth. I’ll write a full post on this project later. If you are interested and want to support this project you can follow the Dungeon Divers United account on Instagram. If you want to drop your coin on some loot please check out the merch at the Etsy shop. There are several designs up there and I’m working on a lot behind the scenes, so please stay tuned.
The Year In Gardening
The two ghost pepper plants were overachievers, and I’ve eaten dozens of them. It’s been spicy around here. The two habaneros did not do well for the second year in a row. The serrano, tabasco, and thai chili plants were very happy this year and produced a ton of peppers.
There was a hot pepper surprise. I planted habaneros and ghost peppers in the same bed, and I think they crossbred somehow. The peppers on the habanero plant in between them are the beautiful orange of habs but have a different, smoother and smaller shape. They are much much spicier than habaneros. I’ve saved a few to sow the seeds of this thing next year.
We planted tomatoes, watermelons, onions, and pumpkins along with a treasure trove of herbs. The herbs and onions did great. The weather this summer was too much for the rest of the garden. Hopeful that next year will be much better (trying to stay hopeful despite what doom & gloom the current climate change science foretells.)
5 Things To Be Thankful For This Fall
Things got off to a frenetic and fast-paced start in January and almost came to a halt due to things like AI, health scares, and time constraints. It wasn’t all bad though! Here are five things I’m thankful for in 2024:
My wife’s health. Things got all too real this year and things could have been worse for her. I’m so thankful that she is alive and on the road of recovering from all this. People, if you’re sick please wear a mask, even now that we’re sort of past the pandemic. So glad she’s getting better and in good spirits. She rules.
My pets. It would have been so much worse when we were both sick if it wasn’t for Haku and Lily, our cat and dog. They knew we were sick and some days it felt like they were taking care of us instead of the other way around. I love them both a ton.
I’m thankful for Fall season and Halloween. Since we were stuck home we decorated for Fall early, and Halloween even earlier than last year. The warm glow of orange bulbs, the lingering smells of apples and pumpkin spices, along with the comfort foods that Fall brings has kept us yearning for more. It’s helped us forget that we couldn’t make it to pumpkin patches and helped get us through a lot of cancelled plans and lost opportunities. It’s been exciting to have the extra time with my wife to celebrate the daily joys that Fall brings.q
Friends. I’ve been a recluse over the past couple of years trying to make the work opportunities grow and keep the side projects going strong. I’m thankful that this year I’ve been able to reconnect with several of you. You know who you are, and I thank you.
Family. We couldn’t have made it through the past several months without you. Thank you for everything. Really hope to see you all soon!
That’s it for 2024’s October Update. I’m posting this without all the links, photos, videos, and details I’d like to launch with because tomorrow night is Halloween and I have three pumpkins to carve right now! I will come back to this post and edit it: there are lists of movies/games/books and etc. to add, work to showcase, and more I’d like to share with you.
If you made it this far, I’m thankful for you and your time spent reading. If you want to talk or have a question please get in touch with me. Talk soon!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!