Life as we know it
2022 is almost here! What a year it’s been. I haven’t been up to much this month being between jobs.
In Seattle, Grant and I prepped for Christmas by searching for gifts at craft fairs and markets, which I love supporting local businesses. We also have started going to a weekly pub quiz with my friend Max and her date, Cris. We surprisingly ranked second and third, earning gift cards to the pub that we use on food to share. I can’t wait to go next year and continue to dominate! It’s the perfect winter activity and great way to see friends. Aside from job hunting, I’ve done a lot of cross-stitching and exercising more often. This time off is rare and I’m trying to relish it before I have to get a job… which is going to be very soon.
I drove down to Tucson from Seattle for Christmas celebrations. Things were pretty low-key at my house, Grant and his mom and sister came for a few days (Grant and his sister both only had a small holiday window before they had to return to work) and we exchanged gifts and ate… a lot.
Just TRY and tell me my boy isn’t the cutest with his Christmas bandana
After Christmas, I started to make my way north by first stopping in Phoenix to see more family, my good friend Nolan and mosey around Arizona State University, my alma matter, to see what’s changed since I was last there in 2017. Answer: a lot, but I’m glad the historic Gammage auditorium has remained the same and Ike’s Love and Sandwiches is still going strong.
I then stopped outside Los Angeles with my dad to help clean out my late grandma’s house to prepare it for market. I went through, boxed and delivered all her books (a literal truck-full) to the library and helped clean the garage. It was a lot of work, but it was nice to spend time with my dad hearing all the memories he had in the house and seeing even more family.
A spirit house my grandparents got from Thailand
Tonight, I’m in a motel in Northern California before meeting Grant at his friends’ house outside of Salem for a New Year’s Eve party and driving back to snowy Seattle New Year’s Day. What a whirlwind this month has been relaxing then traveling so much and seeing a lot of people. I’m excited to get cozy in front of my space heater and cross stich while enjoying the snow in Seattle.
December in Review 2020 || December in Review 2019 || December in Review 2018
December in Review 2017 || December in Review 2016
BOOKS AND MEDIA
What I’ve been listening to: Radical by Every Time I Die, Congratulations by MGMT, Crawler by Idles, End of Suffering by Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Masterpiece by Big Thief, Mercurial World by Magdalena Bay, Earth is a Black Hole by Teenage Wrist, lately i feel EVERYTHING by Willow, ERRA by Erra, Cheater by Pom Poko, Aisles by Angel Olsen, Comfort to Me by Amyl and the Sniffers, Flora Fauna by Billie Marten, Fortitude by Gojira, Happier? by Volumes, Oracular Spectacular by MGMT, Perfect by Mannequin Pussy
What I’ve been reading: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert, Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
What I’ve been watching: The Naked Gun, The Pink Panther, Office Space, LuLaRich, Spider-Man: No Way Home
FAVORITE BLOG POSTS
Practice your data science skills on real-life data || Christmas Eve activities for 2021
How we speak in Canada vs. the US and UK
