Last day of the calendar year... and it's poetically, "123123." Poetry doesn't always rhyme... like the word "2023." 2023 was the year of rabbit or was it the hare? And hoppity-hop it went... bouncing away quicker than we can lay eyes on it to admire. Giving way to the year of the dragon in 2024, that pretty much swallows up any hoopla (or hop-la) from a rodent. (I know... I know... the calendar doesn't line up that way). A year of international upheaval, an on-going war followed by a brand new, deadly war. And sadly, that same familiar war plagued our own soils via another year of gun violence. Congress was not exempt from its own Civil War... when the GOP was as divided as "Tastes Great" battled "Less Filling"... resulting in the birth of a new, third heir to the presidential throne 9 months after the original third heir. In the midst of civil upheaval, the Capital was busy avoiding shutdown, while waging its own war on epic inflation due to COVID, rising interest rates preventing the Millennials from buying a house, and diving unemployment numbers as the Biden Administration desperately try to salvage a 2024 run at the White House. Unemployed, the Dodgers are not, as their front office land the once in a lifetime talent and shrewdly defers his $700M to after his contract his done... while reaping the benefits of countless more Free Agents. The rest of the sports world look on with envy... as did the Niners when Mr. Irrelevant's UCL was torn in the NFC Championship game on their way to a devasting defeat (only to provide new hope in this coming season). Unimpedingly, any indictment, mugshot, or rape charges against one man has only highlighted the state of America's morals and how we view our king. Across the pond, the world viewed the crowning of it's own King (and Queen consort) - she's never gonna be fully accepted. Neither is the world going to ever fully accept the realities (IMHO) of Global Warming, as man makes another futile attempt to tame nature, only to be spanked by the Maui Fires, Hurricane Hilary and a.... heavenly Spy Balloon?????
On a personal note... Joyce and I have our health and jobs. The kids are flourishing in all capacities. Our parents continue to age. Another chapter ends... while another chapter must begin. Following last year's top 10... I have to break out top 5's for NN and SW, otherwise, my top 10 will be pre-occupied with all of their moments.
NN:
- Elected class officer
- Being accepted into AP Chinese
- Making her Jr. High Basketball A-Team - winning PHD
- Making it onto her Club Volleyball Team - Tropical Touch
- East Coast Trip - First "official" date at the Boat Dance
SW:
- Jr. High Basketball - MVP
- Making onto Club Volleyball Team - Titan
- Being rotated back in for the 3rd and final set and winning the game against Stafford
- Science Camp
- Crying at Sunday Morning Breakfast
- RIP Ricketts and Mr. G - Death hit extremely close to home this year... one unexpected... and one, well, was close to home. Amazingly.. both Celebrations of Life were filled with laughter, joy, and fond memories. Tears will pass.. but the stories will live on.
- Year long injury - One unexpected pull up and a day of volunteering at Second Harvest. I've never dealt with a lingering muscle pain as long as I did this year. So much pain in the simplest things I do. Was thinking rest would make it "go away." Eventually, I came to realize, the only way to get well, is to work out.
- Household gets COVID and Shaw-HANK 2023 - After returning from Seattle.. Joyce gets COVID. Then SW gets it. Then a few days of taking care of them... I finally succumb (again). NN was amazingly spared. And out of all this... I (along with half the known population) caught up on Suits!
- 1-17 - After 3 seasons of coaching Jr. High... I finally got my first victory... when an opposing team forfeited. Woe is me.
- Busking - Never have I ever imagined I'll be jamming a guitar and belting Beyond to complete strangers!! HA!!
- ESL and Tutoring - Finally got reprieved from other ministries so I can take on this one... something I've always wanted to do but didn't have the bandwidth for. There's something about immigrants and learning English that's so ingrained in my DNA... I wish I can do so much more. It ain't always easy... but man... it can be so rewarding.
- Dream (or nightmare) of slum-lording - After who knows how many months.. we finally rented our house out. The city finally approved our permit. We finally jacked up our house. Then we had to deal with the cement contractor. And the air conditioning contractor. And the flooding foundation. Then it was thoroughly and absolutely cleaning out the house. Showcasing the house. Drawing up the lease. Finding renters. Getting everything finalized... and a week before we signed the lease... we discovered extensive water damage to the kitchen. Property Management is not for the lighthearted. But thankfully, by the grace of God, our renters are angels.
- Mom's San Diego Trip - Aside from her Pilgramages... she's never gone on a fun trip on her own...with her own friends. I simply can't register her ever doing this. And yet... here she was... sending pictures to us from Sea World and Balboa Park... and texting us that she's going to the Crystal Cathedral. Drawing a weird parallel... this was an odd symmetry to NN's East Coast Trip last year where I was looking forward to getting texts from her... just so I can know what she's doing, where she's visiting, what she's eating. Much deserved... and I hope she gets to do more of these while she's still active and able.
- "I'm gonna go sit with my friends." - Something I'd expect NN or SW to say to us at any public event... but this came from the mouth of Joyce. At one of SW's volleyball tournaments... she decided to ditch me and NN... and go with with the other moms on SW's team. I can't even articulate how giddy I am that she found this group of women.... a Dutch, a Hungarian, a Japanese, a Vietnamese, and a East Coaster. Simply wonderful.
- Drumming on Worship Team - Never have I ever... but here I am.
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