Alexia couldn't make it this year, but I'm glad of how she's doing and really enjoyed seeing Star Wars with her and John. Tara joined us. My Hanukkah was happy.
Lindsey, hot off the plane from Kathmandu, through Bangkok and Seoul (a last minute re-routing thanks to a cancellation), practiced saying "Star Wars" as if transliterating into Newar. Newar uses the Sanskrit writing system to record a Tibetan-like language. She was in line by 4:30 PM, for the 7 PM show.
Good seeing William again, a war vet friend. Natalia made the cover of the last O'Reilly School catalog. She studied Java with us, whereas William, by then a civilian in Afghanistan, became my Python student. Now in Portland are they.
That's what this season is a lot about (meetups) and that requires a lot of travel, all at once. They say in China a billion people are on the move by train alone, around Chinese New Year.
I'm wondering how we might keep having shared holidays but maybe telecommute more, spreading out the in-person visits, even if not having fewer overall. Something to think about.
Les, Elise, and Ruth stopped by. Les is no longer with the tribal casino; he works for a public school district. Ruth is spinning her own wool and studying textiles and fabrics more.
Tara was going to focus on "listening" as a topic in Aristotle but thinks she'll get more out of studying philosophy when less involved in departmental politics (she dove into my new Heidegger book). I understand; it's a boat I jumped from myself as an undergrad. She has her physics and growing maturity in software engineering.
I cherish my time with family and friends and recognize "facilitating meetups" (making them feasible at all) is a primary raison d'être of commercial air travel. Indeed, erstwhile house guest Lindsey is out the door again tonight, leaving Blue House for a warmer clime and a family gathering.
We exchanged gifts and enjoyed potato latkes at our cozy party. I talked quite a bit with a bona fide Star Wars fan who could answer some of my questions.
A wedding occurred at The Bagdad, between the previews and the 7 PM feature. We had great seats, having been in line early. I grabbed a gin & tonic, as I'm still doing "no beer".
The audience was highly supportive of the ceremony. A marriage is a memorable happy festive occasion, and semi-public. These circumstances met these criteria and even strangers rose to the occasion.
I was glad of the opportunity to get Melody to Union Station today, and to have lunch with Glenn, after Deke came by and helped with Sarah (the floordog). More meetups planned... tiz the season.
Lindsey, hot off the plane from Kathmandu, through Bangkok and Seoul (a last minute re-routing thanks to a cancellation), practiced saying "Star Wars" as if transliterating into Newar. Newar uses the Sanskrit writing system to record a Tibetan-like language. She was in line by 4:30 PM, for the 7 PM show.
Good seeing William again, a war vet friend. Natalia made the cover of the last O'Reilly School catalog. She studied Java with us, whereas William, by then a civilian in Afghanistan, became my Python student. Now in Portland are they.
That's what this season is a lot about (meetups) and that requires a lot of travel, all at once. They say in China a billion people are on the move by train alone, around Chinese New Year.
I'm wondering how we might keep having shared holidays but maybe telecommute more, spreading out the in-person visits, even if not having fewer overall. Something to think about.
Les, Elise, and Ruth stopped by. Les is no longer with the tribal casino; he works for a public school district. Ruth is spinning her own wool and studying textiles and fabrics more.
Tara was going to focus on "listening" as a topic in Aristotle but thinks she'll get more out of studying philosophy when less involved in departmental politics (she dove into my new Heidegger book). I understand; it's a boat I jumped from myself as an undergrad. She has her physics and growing maturity in software engineering.
I cherish my time with family and friends and recognize "facilitating meetups" (making them feasible at all) is a primary raison d'être of commercial air travel. Indeed, erstwhile house guest Lindsey is out the door again tonight, leaving Blue House for a warmer clime and a family gathering.
We exchanged gifts and enjoyed potato latkes at our cozy party. I talked quite a bit with a bona fide Star Wars fan who could answer some of my questions.
A wedding occurred at The Bagdad, between the previews and the 7 PM feature. We had great seats, having been in line early. I grabbed a gin & tonic, as I'm still doing "no beer".
The audience was highly supportive of the ceremony. A marriage is a memorable happy festive occasion, and semi-public. These circumstances met these criteria and even strangers rose to the occasion.
I was glad of the opportunity to get Melody to Union Station today, and to have lunch with Glenn, after Deke came by and helped with Sarah (the floordog). More meetups planned... tiz the season.
