Last Post - 11/19

'Tis sad to say. We are all getting back into the swing of regular life after a Christmas where we had Mari's mom and sister here. I went back to work on Jan. 3. Day 1 back to work after a break is always a struggle, but by day 2 was a lot more productive. I decided to take Thu and Fri off, though, in order to do family stuff with the in-laws, who were going home on Saturday. We all had a great time, visiting Balboa Park on Thursday and Sea World on Friday. Unfortunately, by the time we sent them back to Japan on Saturday and I got into work this week, my momentum had vanished, and I had to claw my way back to productivity throughout the week. The lingering melancholy after some big fun thing is always the same: I have to get used to the little pleasures of life as opposed to the big ones that I was enjoying only a few days earlier. Say, a well-written piece on NPR during the drive home as opposed to spending time with family members I haven't seen in a couple of years. Now is a busy time at work, though, so that helps.

Today we had some good news on the nursery front. Recently, Kai's steadfast refusal to be reasonable about nursery had become a problem. Mari and I both teach in the primary, so Kai really does have to go. In spite of that, he is clingy and screams his head off when we leave. Complicating this is that, as everyone knows, there are 2 kinds of nursery leaders: the kind that kick the parents out and the kind that pine for them to stay when signs of resistance emerge. Ours are of the latter persuasion. In any case, we pulled out all the stops today, and came armed with his blanket and many bags of fruit snacks. I gave these implements to a bro. who serves in the nursery and told him to bribe Kai as necessary. It all went off without a hitch, which is a big relief - we just need to bring enough fruit snacks every week.

It's the time of year when I frequently hear co-workers discussing their new diets. Overheard: "I'm on South Beach"; "I'm on 1500 calories a day"; "I am allowed to eat 2 of these pita chips when I get hungry". These seasonal cycles can also be seen at Costco, where the crates of Belgian chocolates have been replaced by elliptical trainers.

Well, that's it. If I'm really ambitious, I might post some pictures later tonight. That is probably wishful thinking, though.