Genji’s Butler

It’s been about a week since my parents were here to visit for the weekend, and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had the time (work has been OMG BUSY) to really write about their visit.

They rolled in on Friday while I was still at work; I had made reservations for them at their favorite hotel for the weekend and they were able to check in without trouble, which is always a good start for a weekend trip! I worked a little late- once I was off I went and picked up C. and went with my parents to get some food. We decided on a Mexican place, Cafe Guadalajara down in old town. Eating is always a challenge for my father- he never knows what will taste good due to the chemo. I won’t bore you with what we ate, but the patio was nice and we had a good time with them.

On Saturday morning C and my mother went to quilt shops and I spoke with my dad about ‘the Arrangements.’ That was a pretty depressing way to start the day, but we needed to talk about it. When the time comes (may it be a long ways away), it’s good to know his wishes. Later on, we had a discussion about regrets and things he wished he’d done differently. I learned a lot about him; I wish I’d known some of it sooner. Once the women returned, we went out to Ruby’s for a milkshake and burger and then down to the Cabrillio national monument to look at the bay and the Pacific for a while.

It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed every minute of it; particularly watching the seabirds as they hovered over the water and the hawks hunting rodents in the Pt. Loma hills. One particularly splendid moment was when a hawk swooped up the face of the hill and flew within 20′ of where we were sitting and you could clearly make out the flexing talons as she diligently searched for a mouse or other small prey. Dad and I spent some time trying to figure out what the destroyer was doing off in the distance as it raced from north to south and back again along the horizon. Eventually, the sun began to set and the park rangers started chasing everyone out, so we headed off to dinner at Arrividerci, a pleasant little Italian restaurant in Hillcrest where they’ve eaten before, and had a good time chatting about the day.

Sunday was a little bit of a bust- Dad and I had planned to go on a fishing charter for the afternoon, but the WoundVac on his leg wasn’t working properly and he had to spend the day fighting to get that corrected. In the end, we wound up going over to their hotel room and playing hands and feet until the part was delivered (by a salesman for the company) and the four of us joined C’s parents for dinner.

They left early the next morning, and I was sorry to see them go- I really don’t see them enough.

I guess the snow delayed my parents on their EPIC ROAD TRIP to Las Vegas. That, and my dad’s residual chemo neausa.

Well, now we know for certain that the holidays are over… my company laid off about 10% of its workforce. I wasn’t laid off- but 2 of the people with whom I worked closely were.  It’s surprising how ’survivors guilt’ effects the people who are not laid off (it’s a pretty well documented phenomenon in the labor force). Thankfully, my company doesn’t believe in the million bites of the apple theory of staff reduction, so there is only expected to be this round. 

It is my feverent hope that the economy improves over the next year- I don’t think that many companies can really survive a more protracted downturn.

Well, it’s a few days into the new year and I find that I haven’t made the required “new year” post. I don’t plan on posting my resolutions here- I’ve made a list of things that need to get done in the next year (along with when, if there was one) and put it in remember the milk. This is good enough for me (and it’ll ensure that at least SOME of it will get done).

I will, however, share some of the highlights with you. This year I will:

• Travel back to KC to see my family in March
• Travel back to KC/Columbia to attend my brother’s wedding in August
• Try to keep my home office cleaner
• be better about updating this blog.

Not so exciting, is it? 

Now, I could bore you with what we did for NYE (nothing) and talk about how we shouted and cheered at the Chargers game, but that’s all that I’d have to mention.