So things are finally starting to settle down around here a little bit. School is over for the semester ( I got an A in both my classes! ) and things at work are getting into the summer groove.

My love affair with Cocoa is still on-going. I’ve come to realize I have a lot to learn to get myself where I want to be using Cocoa. Most of that is doing a lot more reading and also doing some more up-front design work on the app I’ve got cooking. Cocoa itself isn’t too hard, there are just a lot of concepts you have to get under your belt up front, such as the design patterns used throughout. I’ll keep posting more as I get deeper into it. I went to the Frisco,TX meeting of NSCoder Night and had a good time meeting with those guys ( mostly a group of former co-workers trying to learn Cocoa much like myself ).

Back on the work front, I’m getting a bit of a special break in a week: I’m going to Microsoft TechEd. Yes, the irony of talking about Cocoa and TechEd in the same post is not lost on me. Needless to say, at work we are a Microsoft shop and it will be a good opportunity to learn more about some of the MS tech that is interesting and hopefully my co-worker who’s going and I can make some useful contacts at Mircosoft so we can ask them questions when we run into problems at work. Bill Gates is scheduled to give the keynote, and not quite a Stevenote, it’s will still be cool to hear him speak. Did I mention this is in Orlando and there’s a night at Universal Studios? Oh yeah, those are the serious highlights.

Our house selling efforts have been very slow. We’ve had lots of showings, but no offers. We’re not quite ready to give up, but we’re slowly coming to the conclusion that we probably won’t renew our listing and will just wait till market conditions improve. While we’d love to move closer to my office, the stress of keeping a house spotless for showings while also having a 2 year old is driving Maggie and I a little crazy.

Oh yeah, Brenden turned 2 years old in April. I can’t believe how fast he’s growing up. This weekend we switched him to a toddler bed. Last night was a little rough, but tonight has gone much better. Tonight’s ease might have a lot to do with a relatively big day we had with a visit to the Dallas World Aquarium with some friends and their 12 month old. Brenden has been worn out ever since. I’m hoping to have a post with photos of that up tomorrow.

Lastly, Maggie and I got a date night Friday night and saw the new Indiana Jones movie. We both enjoyed it and had a good time. That makes three movies we’ve been able to see since the end of busy season: Vantage Point ( worth seeing ), Iron Man ( you must see this ), and Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ( another must see ). Those last two really should be enjoyed on the big screen. The next big movie I think we’re going to find a way to go to is The Dark Knight. The sequel to Batman Begins and Heath Ledger’s penultimate film.