So it’s 2024 now. Happy New Year! I have to go to work tomorrow, so must write and post this today. Here we go with the rest of December 2023 recap.
In the middle of the month, we headed to Reno for another company party, Nevada style. We stayed at the El Dorado. The weather was chilly and crisp but clear and I was able to wear my longer coat. Nice! The party was fun– the food was delicious, the company lovely, and the axe throwing entertaining. (I did not throw any axes.)
We only stayed in Reno for one night because my sister and her family came to visit! So we headed back home then visited San Leandro both days of the weekend. It was great spending time with everyone. Casual hanging out with family was just wonderful. We brought lumpia on Sunday and my dad cooked pancit. So good!
I was so happy to see my sister and her family. Spending time in our childhood home with our parents and cousins was such a treat. These moments are much too few and far between but when they happen, they are special. I’m glad they came out to visit and I’m glad we were able to spend as much time as we did with them.
The last week of work seems like so long ago now. It was finals week so school ended early, which meant it was quiet across the street by afternoon. Good times!
My position was officially reclassified with the board meeting on December 13th! So very cool! I’m sure I’ll be more impressed with my next paycheck. My work duties have expanded over the years and I’m glad that I finally got the nerve to submit for the the reclassification AND it was accepted.
In years past, we used to have our quarterly luncheon on the last day of the semester but that hasn’t happened properly since lockdown. Our building went to The Lounge for happy hour and it was a lovely way to end the semester. I feel fortunate to work with such a lovely group of people.
I’ve been taking the days between Christmas and New Year’s off and it’s always THE BEST THING. It’s the most restful time and the biggest stress I experience in that time period is cleaning the house for our annual inspection. Of course, I waited until the day before inspection to clean up and it was then I discovered that our vacuum wasn’t working right. Alas! We ended up getting a new vacuum, which works quite well.
We watched the Niners game on Christmas Day at our favorite local. There was a fair amount of people there by the time the game started. It was a nice way to spend the game even if it didn’t end the way we wanted. (They did better this past weekend, so whew!)
Most of my days off were super lowkey and wonderfully relaxing, especially with a clean house. It was easy to forget what day of the week it was and that’s really one of my favorite things about being off and being at home. It’s like practicing for retirement. 😉
New Year’s Eve (last night) was spent nearby at our friends’ house. It was a casual time hanging out with a good group of people. There were kids abound so it no thankfully no crazy drunk people falling all over themselves. I’m too old for that kind of vibe. 😛 It was the best way to spend the last hours of 2023. We ended up heading home before midnight, which was fine.
I don’t really have any resolutions for 2024 but how about some thoughts in bullet form:
- Learning through Duolingo – I’ve been doing my Spanish lessons with Duolingo. I think I should commit to spending more time with each lesson. It’s too easy to just do one bit and then go on with my day. Since I’m paying for it, I should really use it, eh? I started with French, which has been interesting. My goal, at some point, is to be able to watch shows in other languages and understand a bit more than I do now. I can understand some Spanish but definitely not the French.
- Reading/listening more books – We have a book club at work and for our second book, I did the audiobook version. (Matthew Perry’s Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing) I need to read more and audiobooks are a viable choice for me, especially when I’m taking my walks during lunch. I can also listen to books while I’m playing my mobile games.
- Writing – I’d like to write more novels/novellas besides National Novel Writing Month. Is it a good thing to have started a new story right after I finished the November novel? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps one day someone will read my works but for now, they’re just for me.
I also want to write more for my weekly posts. Do I need to make notes during the week? Do I need to start the post ahead of time? Should I make them simple sometimes with bullet points like this? - IRELAND – Our trip to Ireland is coming up! I need to start doing some research on what to do while we’re there besides drinking Guinness at different pubs. I’m excited to see how much of dream Ireland matches with real Ireland.
- Concerts – We have ONE concert for 2024 and it’s not for Tyler Rich, so we definitely need to see him this year. We didn’t see him at all in 2023, which is rather astounding. Our one concert so far this year is Jordan Davis (well, Luke Combs but I’m going for Jordan) at Levi’s Stadium. I’ve never spent so much for concert tickets like I did for this concert. It better be a good one!
- Social Media – I think Instagram and Threads are my go-to social media networks at the moment. I’ve been posting a bit more to Facebook as a result of posting more personal entries to IG. I still haven’t figured out how I want to use Spoutible but they have been doing such a great job growing the platform. I think it’s a dark horse in the social media landscape and I’m glad to be part of its beginning.
On balance, 2023 was a good year. There were some highs and some lows but my mind seems to linger more on the good days than the bad. Even the sad moments like Nana’s passing were balanced by the gathering of the family to remember her. I’m not one to write off a whole year like some people are wont to do. There are always good days and bad days and it’s up to you on how you respond. I prefer to focus on the good times and the lessons learned from the bad times.
Here’s to a good start to 2024! Find your joy, my lovelies!