Busy at work
Our project at work has to do with replacing a communication layer with a new-fangled, more efficient, and hopefully more flexible version. I wasn’t directly involved in integrating the new layer - just the configuration part and performing the switch over based on configuration, which was quite straightforward. There’s a team that is piloting the new system now, and they are finding issues with the new version - basically, it is performing worse and sometimes getting stuck. So my coworkers are busy fighting the fire while I’m leisurely moving on to the next project. I quite like that.
I had an interview the other day where the interviewee was exceptionally good - his answers were for candidates twice his level. However when I asked them the details of why he arrived at the solutions he did, he couldn’t tell me. I’m suspecting he’s using AI to get the solutions, and then explained to me how that solution works. Hence, can’t tell me how he got to the solutions. On the other hand, he might just be so smart he could see the solution as obvious and couldn’t explain how he arrived at it.
I can’t prove it, but I’m including the observation of his inability to explain his thought process in the write-up - it’s up to HR to decide if that should disqualify him.
- N
Busy at Play
The Treasurer’s community group had its annual holidays concert in the first weekend of December. La Professeure and I were supposed to perform a dance to Skater’s Waltz there but La Professeure had to go upstate (see next section), so I didn’t get to dance. Everybody was understanding. The saw player, who had expected to be accompanying us, had to take center stage now, so was thrown for a loop.
I did get to play the 8 hand piece, I wish there was a better recording than the one we got since a lot of the shenanigans happened off camera. I think we missed one glaring entrance but other than that it was passable. For the other pianists, that was the only number they were involved in; the Treasurer asked me to accompany the choir too, on Christmas songs sprinkled throughout the concert. I wasn’t sure why I was needed - the choir could have gone on autopilot, so even if I dropped out, no one would notice. I actually did mess up Jingle Bell. No one knew.
The next week, it was the recital for the amateur musician group. I was supposed to play Twinkle Twinkle Little star from Le toréador with Lucia and the flautist from Poughkeepsie, but Lucia got sick and had to drop out. And then two other groups had to drop out the day before. So it was a pretty light concert. Luckily I had over-booked the concert, so it became only a slightly light concert. It was very cold, though, but there were new people showing up, so they brought in some new audience members, so the hall didn’t look too empty. I did play with the Ukrainian soprano, and she is thinking about auditioning for Carnegie Hall next year, so we’ll see what she wants to try.
I actually quite enjoy these slower paced concerts - people get more time to interact with each other, and I get time to meet the performers and catch up with them. The downside: I don’t know if the donations we got would cover the rental cost.
It’s just as well that we did exceptionally well at the concert before this one.
- S
Nose dive
La Professure’s mom texted her the day before the holiday concert to say the internet stopped working, and in the ensuing text thread, she mentioned she had trouble getting La Professeure’s dad out of bed. So La Professeure went upstate to help out - they had scheduled to interview home aides the following week, but their situation sounded dire. The day after La Professure went upstate, she convinced them that they needed to take dad to the hospital.
It turns out he has a blood clot between his brain and skull, and that is affecting his motor skill and language skills. He was admitted to the ICU for almost a week. La Professeure’s brother then changed his work schedule so he could go upstate for Christmas early, so that La Professure could come back here last Sunday for work. But by Thursday La Professeure’s mom was coming down with a flu, and her brother is susceptible to catching it, so La Professure and I took Friday off to come up here to take over. We are staying in a hotel so we don’t catch the flu, which La Professeure’s brother continues to stay with their mom and take care of the rabbit, whom we dropped off at the house on the way up here.
The dad is now already in rehab center, and La Professure and I would take the afternoon shift looking after the dad till he eats dinner. He still doesn’t have use of his limbs, and it takes a lot of effort just to whisper. It was a big contrast to how he was even at Thanksgiving, less than a month ago. Before we came up, her brother was saying he wouldn’t eat all of his meals or open his eyes (presumably it’s too much effort), so I was actually expecting even worse. In the last 3 days he had eaten everything he was given, and he would perk up when La Professeure’s mom talks to him on the phone, or when his children talk to him. (Not me though). So at least that is a good sign that he is now improving instead of continuing his decline.
It was sad watching him, but the actual afternoons were pretty uneventful - most of the time he was asleep and I mostly read my books or listened to podcasts, while La Professure worked. The biggest activity is dinner, when La Profeseure feeds him and I follow her orders. We usually arrive at lunch time, when La Professeure’s brother would be feeding him. I observe that he would usually be alert at one of the meal times, but not both.
The neurologist will perform a brain scan this week (I think?) and discuss the result at the end of the year, so we’ll know more about his recovery process and prospects.
For now, we can only hold out hope.
- D
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