Christmas Vacation 2019
During the past few Christmas breaks, I haven't taken off a lot of time from work. Let's just say the place I work is busy during the holidays. But during 2019, I decided to take off a little over a week. Here's what I did with my time:
Monday, 12/23: Worked because I didn't have time to finish everything on Friday.
Tuesday, 12/24: Christmas Eve brunch at my Brother's house in Fall City. Erik and Helen made Eggs Benedict and a lot of other good food. We played our annual White Elephant gift game. But most importantly, after missing many holiday gatherings due to "the crud," Brenda made it to this one. However, my sister and her family did not (due to the "crud").
Wednesday, 12/25: Christmas. As always, we were hoping for a white Christmas, but it's a rarity in Seattle. Instead, we opened presents, had brunch, sat around most of the day, and had a nice family dinner. Later in the evening, I tested out my new pressure cooker Brenda got me.
Thursday, 12/26: Drew and I went to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the morning. I liked it, although I realized that the more I thought about it, the film couldn't withstand a lot of deep analysis. In the afternoon, I got a call to help my next door neighbor who couldn't get up. Once I got him up (which was much harder than I imagined it would be), he had trouble speaking. His wife wanted to watch him before calling the ambulance or taking him to the emergency room. Later in the evening, I talked to him on the phone and he sounded good.
Friday, 12/27: Around 6:30 a.m., I woke to red lights flashing through my blinds. Once I peeked outside, I saw an ambulance and a firetruck. They didn't leave until well after 7:00 a.m. Brenda talked to my neighbor and found out they were taking him to the hospital. She also took over feeding some chickens up the street, which my neighbor had been feeding.
Saturday, 12/28: Took most of the day off, but in the evening we went to Best Buy and bought a new oven (the one that came with the house was over 30 years old).
Sunday, 12/29: In the evening, went shoe shopping with Brenda and Cameron at Northgate Mall (which is slowly being demolished to put in an NHL facility). I finally dropped by Supercuts after months of procrastination. The hair stylist and I talked about the Seahawks, who were playing the Forty-Niners after 5:00 p.m. This was also the game where Marshawn Lynch (Beast Mode) was returning. After my haircut, I ate at Taco del Mar, and I realized every time I get the nachos I'm disappointed because they turn soggy so quickly. It's clear that Taco del Mar excels at burritos and tacos, but little else. My final destination was Walgreens, before Brenda and Cameron picked me up. I find out later that the Seahawks lost, partially due to bad "clock management." People on the Internet are calling for Pete Carrol to be fired.
Monday, 12/30: I realized how fast this vacation was going. In the morning, we get the new oven delivered by two guys who were from Cleveland, Ohio. They said they flew in because Best Buy and Home Depot needed extra help during the holidays. The team lead said, "We go where the money is and stay until there's no more work." During the installation, we talked about all the interesting things you can do in Cleveland: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, NFL Hall of Fame, Polka Hall of Fame (who knew?). We tipped them $20.
Tuesday, 12/31: I have to get up at 7:00 a.m. to take in my Subaru for service after procrastinating for at least a month. I know it needed new front brakes and a lot of other maintenance. After that, we picked up the boys and then we dropped off Brenda at work. Cameron, Drew, and I picked up Cam's girlfriend Faith, and we did last-minute shopping before heading out to Snoqualmie Falls for Erik's 50th Birthday brunch.
Monday, 12/23: Worked because I didn't have time to finish everything on Friday.
Tuesday, 12/24: Christmas Eve brunch at my Brother's house in Fall City. Erik and Helen made Eggs Benedict and a lot of other good food. We played our annual White Elephant gift game. But most importantly, after missing many holiday gatherings due to "the crud," Brenda made it to this one. However, my sister and her family did not (due to the "crud").
Wednesday, 12/25: Christmas. As always, we were hoping for a white Christmas, but it's a rarity in Seattle. Instead, we opened presents, had brunch, sat around most of the day, and had a nice family dinner. Later in the evening, I tested out my new pressure cooker Brenda got me.
Thursday, 12/26: Drew and I went to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the morning. I liked it, although I realized that the more I thought about it, the film couldn't withstand a lot of deep analysis. In the afternoon, I got a call to help my next door neighbor who couldn't get up. Once I got him up (which was much harder than I imagined it would be), he had trouble speaking. His wife wanted to watch him before calling the ambulance or taking him to the emergency room. Later in the evening, I talked to him on the phone and he sounded good.
Friday, 12/27: Around 6:30 a.m., I woke to red lights flashing through my blinds. Once I peeked outside, I saw an ambulance and a firetruck. They didn't leave until well after 7:00 a.m. Brenda talked to my neighbor and found out they were taking him to the hospital. She also took over feeding some chickens up the street, which my neighbor had been feeding.
Saturday, 12/28: Took most of the day off, but in the evening we went to Best Buy and bought a new oven (the one that came with the house was over 30 years old).
Sunday, 12/29: In the evening, went shoe shopping with Brenda and Cameron at Northgate Mall (which is slowly being demolished to put in an NHL facility). I finally dropped by Supercuts after months of procrastination. The hair stylist and I talked about the Seahawks, who were playing the Forty-Niners after 5:00 p.m. This was also the game where Marshawn Lynch (Beast Mode) was returning. After my haircut, I ate at Taco del Mar, and I realized every time I get the nachos I'm disappointed because they turn soggy so quickly. It's clear that Taco del Mar excels at burritos and tacos, but little else. My final destination was Walgreens, before Brenda and Cameron picked me up. I find out later that the Seahawks lost, partially due to bad "clock management." People on the Internet are calling for Pete Carrol to be fired.
Monday, 12/30: I realized how fast this vacation was going. In the morning, we get the new oven delivered by two guys who were from Cleveland, Ohio. They said they flew in because Best Buy and Home Depot needed extra help during the holidays. The team lead said, "We go where the money is and stay until there's no more work." During the installation, we talked about all the interesting things you can do in Cleveland: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, NFL Hall of Fame, Polka Hall of Fame (who knew?). We tipped them $20.
Tuesday, 12/31: I have to get up at 7:00 a.m. to take in my Subaru for service after procrastinating for at least a month. I know it needed new front brakes and a lot of other maintenance. After that, we picked up the boys and then we dropped off Brenda at work. Cameron, Drew, and I picked up Cam's girlfriend Faith, and we did last-minute shopping before heading out to Snoqualmie Falls for Erik's 50th Birthday brunch.
