We had been prepping for this day for a while now. I think we all wanted a sort of redemption for the horrible holiday season of last year. The biggest thing affecting the holidays last year was obviously the pandemic. On a more personal level, the holidays last year were derailed by my dad having to be rushed to the emergency room on Thanksgiving morning. He spent a week in the hospital at the time and what made it worse is that no visitors were allowed. The aweful winter surge was just beginning. So understandably, this year we wanted it to be much better.

This year, all of the family gathered and for the most part it was a great Thanksgiving. I even got to celebrate it twice! My dad unfortunately was not feeling well and was looking rather pale. We ended up taking him to the emergency room again the following morning and he spent 1 day in the hospital. It was not as scary as the previous time, but it was worrisome nonetheless. Turned out it was a complication from a side effect of a couple of medicines, but he is now home and well.

I did not get a chance to reflect on what I was thankful for on Thanksgiving Day this year. So I will do it here. I am grateful that my dad is still going strong at 95 years old, and that my family always comes together in times of need. We are united and we are strong.

Here are the pictures from the Grizzly Cafe in Wrightwood this past weekend. It’s a small town up in the mountains about 30 minutes away up a slow winding road into the mountains. I love the mountains and the way the city just fades into the distance and below. You’re high up above the city and yet the mountains still tower over you.

The snow is a little late this year, but the cold was certainly there. This restaurant has a lovely store with seasonal decorations and this weekend it looked as if Christmas had exploded. The daylight outside quickly faded away, and the warm glow of the lights inside made it all feel ever cozier. The food is standard comfort food and very delicious.

I want to come back and bring my parents next time once there’s snow.

Do you sometimes feel like just walking around with no real destination or route in mind? I feel like writing that way right now…

I got my booster (third) Moderna vaccine earlier today. Just like last time, I have had zero symptoms or side effects from the vaccine. Later in the day we drove up the mountains to have dinner at this lovely little restaurant. The temperature was quickly starting to drop towards freezing, but there is no sign of snow yet. I want to bring my parents back here once there’s snow. I need to do a post about it–even if it is only a bunch of pictures. The drive back was a bit scary as it was pitch black. The road illuminated by the headlights faded into nothingness ahead of us. On either side of us, there was an abyss with no way of telling if on either side of the road there were flat empty fields or huge 1,000 foot drop offs. I suspect the latter is probably closer to it.

Back home, I came across an email that told me I had not logged into my yahoo account in a very long time. I logged in and saw some emails from Flickr and I wandered to that site. My pictures from ages ago are still all there. I got a little nostalgic looking at them. I’m tempted to start posting on there, but very infrequently (perhaps once a week at most). There are so many thing I’d love to do, but tragically I don’t have the time to do them all. Even if I were to quit working I don’t think I would have enough time. I guess I should be grateful I was able to do the things I have even if no longer do.

It’s been a while since I’ve written on here. Nearly a month! I don’t think I’ve gone this long without writing on here in well over a year and the interesting thing is that I felt perfectly fine not writing. I think a lot of it has to do with the move into the new house and the sale of the old one. So it has been a busy few weeks to say the least. The interesting thing is that I didn’t miss writing on here for the most part. Up until today.

I wrote the above about a week ago and again abandoned my little writings. I think it has partly to do with the fact that my routines have been changing. In the course of the last couple of months I moved to a new house, started going into the office a few days out of the week, and things have started to open up once again.

In the beginning of the pandemic, I wondered what it would be like once things were able to return to normal. As everyone know, this has been a very slow return to normal. It reminds me of a wildfire. You see smoke in the distance and before you know it the flames are racing toward you and everything goes up in flames. You look at the charred landscape as if it will forever remain that way and the world as it once was exists only in your mind. Then the wildlife slowly begins to return as seedlings everywhere begin to emerge from the ashes. Eventually it all starts to look lush again. Not exactly as before, but it’s getting there.

It’s strange to go to the LA Philharmonic or the LA Opera and be wearing a mask the entire time, but it’s refreshing to be able to experience the music once again. Our world continues to be ill, but it is on the mend.

Today, we accepted an offer for the previous home! It feels a little surreal, but more on that later.

My planned walks early in the mornings Monday through Wednesday did not happen this week. Moving over the weekend left me exhausted and there is still so much to do in the house to get things where they should be. I feel guilty, because I know that where there is a will there is a way and frankly my willpower wasn’t strong enough to overcome excuses that may come my way.

I came into the office today so I’m wearing dress shirt that is such a huge distraction because it doesn’t fit well and all I can think of is how large my belly has gotten. The positive side is that I probably won’t be as inclined to eat anything too heavy. I really just need to take a walk this evening around the new neighborhood. I can’t just make plans and put them off for another day.

Speaking of the office, I saw a coworker this morning that I had not seen in person since the start of the pandemic. Despite the mask, I could tell she was smiling from ear to ear just as I was. She said “oh I don’t care, I’m giving you a hug,” and gave me a nice big hug. It was a nice antidote to my negative body image thoughts.

I’m now typing this from my new home. I really like the new neighborhood and the brand new house.

However, it feels strange. I think of my nightly routines and the spots around the house where I would like to sit or lie down. It was just a night ago, and already it feels like an eternity. I am the sentimental type and I feel like I left a little part of me in that house. The old place will hopefully sell soon, but in the meantime most of the rooms are dark when they would have had light. The lights in the stairs and in the hallway are still still doing their normal routine of varying brightness and color temperature to mimic the daylight outside as I programmed them to.

I often imagine a soundtrack accompanying things that are going on in my life and tonight I am listening to John Adams’ Harmonielehre. I often think of this song when I look at large urban areas at night. It’s very unique: at times it can be suspenseful, frightening, depressing, uplifting, and other emotions I can’t quite put into words. I feel as if I’m soaring and as I look at the modern city below I feel incredibly small.

I don’t know why I’m writing about all of this just to tell you that I am now spending the first night in this new home. I guess my feelings at the moment are about as complex as those in Harmonielehre. But I’m happy to be here at last and looking foward to a new adventure.