Baseball mitts

6:35pm, mountain standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Saturday evening, January 21, 2023. Enjoyed a low key day in the apartment. Ran some errands this afternoon but, nothing too ambitious. I needed time to rejuvenate after a long week. I was going to meet a friend for dinner tonight but canceled. I didn’t have the desire nor energy to go out. On another note; my daughter is starting baseball next week. I dug our mitts out of storage and have been breaking them in. So far, so good. I haven’t played catch in years and never with her. I am excited to get back out there and to share that experience with her.

Dinner with friends

7:57pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California,USA, Tuesday night, January 10, 2023. My friend from Washington and her husband are visiting the area this week. They invited me to dinner tonight at the resort where they are staying. I saw them this October at their Halloween party in Utah but didn’t get to spend too much time talking with them back then. Tonight was nice. It was just the three of us, sitting down, drinking wine, eating and catching up. I don’t get many opportunities like this; to have a home (or at least vacation rental) cooked meal, spend time with friends and appreciate not being alone yet another night in the desert.

8:19pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA, Saturday night, December 24, 2022, Christmas Eve. Found a good walk through the Aliso Viejo neighborhood this morning. The trick is to turn left at the bottom of the hill instead of right. This route winds past the community park toward the middle school. At the end there is a short turn about and a small housing community. We (the dog and I) walked along the street and took the final incline to the parkway. After two left turns it was down hill back to the complex entrance. The whole walk took an hour, which is about the right distance. Afterwards, I did some early morning Christmas shopping, picked up mom for a family gathering in Valencia then came back to Aliso for dinner. Now I am going to go to bed early and rest for the Christmas celebration tomorrow.

Sunday in Orange County, California

6:39pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Lake Forest, California, USA, Sunday evening, December 18, 2022. I spent the whole day waiting for inspiration to write this post. Nothing overly amazing happened but, it was a nice day nonetheless. Went to breakfast with my mom, took a walk in Dana Point and ran to some stores. Later, we drove around for a while before taking dinner to the family in Aliso Viejo. Now we are back at the hotel and calling it a night. We will leave for Palm Desert tomorrow morning and stay there until next weekend.

Friday night in Salt Lake City, Utah

5:09pm, mountain standard time, hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, Friday evening, December 16, 2022. Hanging out at the hotel in Salt Lake City, watching Happy Gilmore. I flew in this afternoon and connected with my mom around 3pm. Now, we are going to grab dinner but, with no car and it being very cold, we will order in or eat at the hotel. Tomorrow we fly back to Orange County first thing in the morning. The good news is I feel better than I did yesterday. Perhaps it was wearing a mask that had sat in my trunk for a year that made me feel stuffy.

First day of regional meetings

8:14pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Tuesday night, December 6, 2022. Long day today. I just got back to the room from dinner. Meetings started at 8am and lasted until 4:30pm, followed by a group get together. I am not complaining, it was a nice change in routine. Time to wash up and get ready for bed. The next two days are going to be equally as busy.

Being more social

5:39pm, pacific standard time, parking lot, Palm Springs convention center, Tuesday evening, November 8, 2022. Waiting to meet up with an old work colleague. We were going to a convention mixer then dinner, but he is running late. I kind of wish I cancelled; the night is dark, it is rainy and I am a long way from my hotel. However, I always tell my daughter to be social. Time to take my own advice, suck it up and make the the best of the situation.

In San Bernardino, California

6:41pm, pacific standard time, hotel in San Bernardino, California, USA, Monday night, September 12, 2022. Drove in from Chandler this afternoon. Got to the hotel just before the rain and flash flood warnings started. Now I am relaxing by watching football after a big dinner. Time to get ready for the rest of the work week.

Time to slow down

6:14pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Sunday evening, August 21, 2022. Went for a walk this morning, worked out, ran to the store then did a couple loads of laundry. Once we got everything taken care of I took my daughter to dinner. We are in for the night now. Time to slow down and prepare for the week to come.

Exciting end

8:54pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, Thursday night, August 18, 2022. It is my daughter’s birthday today. I left Arizona around 10am and got to Orange County shortly before five. We went to dinner at a local sushi restaurant, then came home for cake with friends. Tomorrow is the first day of high school for my daughter. All in all, it is an exciting end to the week.