Appy Birthday to Me

So, in case you didn't guess from the title of this post, today is my birthday. And instead of spending my self-mandated afternoon off in idle luxury, I'm researching apps and brainstorming,  because I think I want to make a creative app. So, one could deduce that, either I am insane, or that I view my work as a fun puzzle to tweak and prod and play with everyday till I get the results I want. Or both. I love being an artist.

That aside, thinking about my birthday and the prospect of me creating an actual app for people to use (me?!), well, drummed up memories of my very first experiences coding creative stuff. I'm gonna age myself here, for sure, but I don't care. Raise your hand (okay, just comment) if you remember this:

Commodore 64 "Microcomputer"

Okay, so, that's about seven of you. But I will confirm loud and proud that my childhood included a genuine Commodore 64 computer. Which came with a huge, spiral-bound instruction book. And blank blue screen with blinking white cursor.

fireball level

My younger brother and I spent many afternoons playing Pac-Man and Donkey Kong (the chunky, old-school cartridges you blew into when they wouldn't play) on that computer. These were the pre-internet days! And I got my first experience coding by typing pages and pages of code to create one short "rocket blast off" sound effect on it. Imagine my young heart's dismay if I had made one tiny error in that pages-long code and the effect hadn't worked, lol. And I never expected to be still writing (and copying, and pasting) code this many years later!

remember "syntax error"?!

That's crazy to me, and it confirms how, if we pay attention, we realize we are on a journey, and everything we pick up along the way (good or bad) pours something into our direction in life. I love that "aha moment" I have when I realize certain experiences throughout my life equipped me with something (even if it was just a clue or a preview) applicable to the current chapter of my journey. I pay more attention to that now more than ever. Life really does come full circle.

So, I'm spending the day enjoying the things that make my heart happy (research, reading, walking, sunshine, nature, making, planning, designing, dreaming, laughing, sharing, oh, and eating cake), even if some of them might be considered work to some folks. This has been a damn good, blessed 39 years (even the crappy times), I'm excited to have made it to the 4-0 milestone, and the craziest, loveliest, creative best is yet to come!