It's been quite a while since I last checked in here, so I'm glad to see that all of the old faces are still here (one of these days I'll get my face on here, but that can wait a while longer). I don't really know why I haven't been visiting, just got busy, I suppose. Life has been pretty good, all told, so I guess I'll give the complete rundown to anyone who is interested.

I turned 60 this last weekend, on the same day our son graduated from Seattle Pacific University (major in Theology, minor in History). Our daughter is now living in Ann Arbor, where her husband is a math prof at some level (which comes first - associate prof or assistant prof?), and is expecting her first in December. Our first grandchild !! Ask me - am I pleased??!! She is working remotely part time for the same engineering firm she worked for in Seattle, and thinks that she'll be able to continue after the baby comes, since it is so easy from home. Anyone want to take odds?

Last Christmas she bought me tickets for a walking tour of some Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses in Oak Park (outside of Chicago), plus his home and studio there. It took place end of April, and we had a great time, just the two of us. (I have only recently discovered Wright; it is much easier to understand his later works if you go back to the earlier work and follow it through, which I finally did a few years back. Infuriating person, but ya' gotta love his work. Now, I have a collection of twelve different neck-ties based on his designs!)

I have recently (three months) put on something along the lines of 25 pounds, and I am not enjoying it in the least. I have never experienced true compulsion before, but this was definitely compulsive eating - it was like my hands and mouth were operating completely independently of me. I would be stuffed and uncomfortable, and still chowing down on whatever came to hand. Sound familiar to anyone? My first thought was that it was the Mirapex, but I hadn't changed dosage on it for a year, whereas I had recently gone up on Seroquel so I could get some sleep. (Yet another side-bar: went three weeks averaging 2.5 hours per night, including one night without sleeping at all. Somehow still managed to keep functioning rationally during the day). When I stopped the Seroquel, things seemed to improve for a while, but I am completely off of the Seroquel, and over-eating again, so maybe it is the Mirapex.

PD is continuing merrily along. I can honestly say that I am still in the "adventure" stage - wondering what is going to be next thing to show up. I have started to experience very rapid on's and off's, but the main symptom that shows up is just tremor, so that isn't too bad yet. It is a little bit embarrassing to be fumbling at the checkout counter, but I have had some very nice cashiers help me get things back in to my wallet. And of course, the more nervous one gets because of trying to hurry, the more one fumbles. Nonetheless, I am starting to be a bit more optimistic about making it until age 65 without too much difficulty. Who knows how things will really go, but might as well look up (notwithstanding the "Parkinson's slouch" tending to point my view down).

So, like I say, things look pretty good right now. Trouble is, with a long history of pretty major cyclical depression, I get nervous any time I feel good that things will go downhill again. In fact, even the people at the office are getting nervous about it; one of them came to me last month to say he was worried about my being happy (how is that for irony?) I assured him that my wife, my psychiatrist and I were all watching my mood like hawks.

Anyway, that is enough about me for now, so it is back to reading what the rest of you have to say!