7:22pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA, Sunday night, January 1, 2023, New Year’s Day. Stayed up until after midnight last night to celebrate the new year with family. We had a fun time playing board games, listening to music and watching firework displays across the country. This morning I woke up later than usual and went for a short walk. It rained heavily last night so both the dog and I were soaked when we got home. Not much happened other than I watched a movie, picked up dinner and ran errands with my daughter. Not an overly ambitious start to the year but a good day nonetheless.
Tag: family
Ready for the week to be done
7:17pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Thursday night, December 22, 2022. I had to provide a counseling form to an employee today. Such matter are never easy, not for me, nor the employee involved. Unfortunately, the situation escalated to needing a second, more intense, conversation in the afternoon. Which will now be followed by a final discussion tomorrow. At this point, all my energy is drained. I am ready for the week to be done and to move on to our holiday celebration. Tomorrow afternoon mom and I return to Orange County. Hopefully the trip goes well and we can get some last minute shopping in before enjoying time as a family.
Monday before Christmas
6:34pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Monday night, December 19, 2022. The family is still a little under the weather today. I stopped by this morning to walk the dog and drop off tea before driving to Palm Desert. My daughter and her friend were asleep but, her mom was in the living room watching television. She was thankful I was able to help before departing for the week. I got out of Orange County at noon and arrived at 2:30pm. My mom is with me this trip. I thought I booked a suite with a separate bedroom but there isn’t much privacy. We are going to share the room to save money but we might have to rebook. I am getting too old to sleep on the pullout couch in a hotel room and neither of us are keen on sharing a sleeping space.
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.
Start of thanksgiving week
6:04pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA, Monday evening, November 21, 2022. If I stayed in Orange County this week I would have felt I should have left for the desert. But I chose to come out here, so of course I wish I stayed. I guess the saying is true; you always want what you don’t have. I will make the most of the situation and enjoy it best I can. Overall, the day has been fine; the office is slow, the roads are busy and the stores are packed. I will work tomorrow, then head to Orange County or Valencia, California Wednesday afternoon to celebrate thanksgiving with my daughter and her mom’s family. All in all it should be a good week.
As best I can
5:49pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Saturday evening, August 20, 2022. Spent most of the day at the apartment with my daughter. Went for a walk in the morning and then grabbed dinner along with the mail this afternoon. My daughter’s mom is coming home with a family friend to discuss a healthcare issue with her sister. Sounds like a difficult situation. I will help as best I can.
A new chapter of my life
5:40pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Friday evening, August 12, 2022. Spent the day doing laundry and getting ready to leave. I will be in California the next two weeks for work and to visit family. In many ways a new chapter of my life begins tomorrow. Time to get started.
In for the evening
4:39pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Saturday afternoon, August 6, 2022. Family left at 5am this morning. After they were gone I ran a couple loads of laundry, watched two movies, wrote a little and practiced scales on the guitar. This afternoon went grocery shopping then called my mom. Now I am in for the evening, enjoying the quiet and staying out of the heat.
Cleaning and listening to music
8:23am, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Saturday morning, July 30, 2022. Yesterday was productive; continued to work on some writing assignments, ran errands, then went to bed early. This morning I worked out and spent a couple of hours listening to music while cleaning the apartment. Family arrives around 11am. I am excited to have them in Arizona this week.
The truck
6:00pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Wednesday evening, July 20, 2022. I listed my truck for sale this morning before taking it to a car wash for a deep clean and shine. There have been no responses to the ad yet, but I will sell it one way or the other before too long. That is a hard thing to say. I have owned the truck for over 12 years, the longest of any vehicle in my life. But I can’t keep it. I don’t want to insure it, nor do I want to take it back to California and re-register it. However, letting it go will be sorrowful. In many ways the truck has been a comforting touchstone of the past. Ten years ago we took a family vacation to South Dakota in it. At that time life was violently unstable. We were moving from Utah to California and had not settled in, nor were we sure we would stay together as a family. We were strained and stressed by many issues, mostly of my doing. The truck was a self-contained safe haven; inside the cab there was no sadness, frustration or anger, just our small family, driving around Wyoming and South Dakota, dodging thunderstorms, drinking coffee and enjoying being together. Alas, nothing lasts forever. After a week the vacation was over and life went on. To the point where now the truck is old and needs significant repairs (kind of like our marriage?) I guess eventually that is how everything goes; at some point you have to say good bye and realize, no matter what, all good things come to an end.
mikemeyer949 