Blog: Entries From 2025
4 entries found.
Menu
It's Been Six Months Since We Moved - Sunday, January 26, 2025
It doesn't feel like it to me, but it's now been over six months since Priscilla and I moved back to SoCal, and over three months since I left my job with Pure. Where does the time go?
This has been an eventful time for sure. We've seen my parents on 11 occasions, her parents on 5, and Aaron and his family on 8. The most recent time was just last Sunday when we saw my family to celebrate our nephew's 5th birthday. Wow, he's 5 already?? Time really does fly.
Back in August, we signed up for lifetime memberships at our local gym. We go 1-2 times per week, depending on Priscilla's schedule. I'm usually lifting while she goes to the Pilates/yoga and Zumba classes, though I might be going to Pilates/yoga with her more often (I've already gone once) since my back has been acting up and I need to strengthen my core. Gary from our church usually joins me at the gym biweekly since he gets every other Friday off from work.
We've committed to the church in Thousand Oaks that I previously mentioned, and we submitted membership applications in November. We're still waiting to be approved, as applications are supposed to be reviewed at the next elder meeting, but this is just a formality and we're already somewhat involved in church life. We visited four fellowship groups and ultimately joined one that has people similar to us in life stage. There are usually 8-10 people in the group and we meet weekly, with one week per month set aside for an outing to a restaurant (we haven't always gone to those). We value the discussions and getting to know people in the group.
Despite not having a job right now, I feel as busy as ever. Since 2013, I've been using a spreadsheet to track my notable daily activities, but last October I started also using Google Sheets to track a breakdown of my activities in five categories: Mind, Body, Spirit, Others (i.e. other people), and House. I don't always do something in each category every day, but it's a good goal to have. When I feel like time has gone by without much to show for it, I can look back at the sheet and remember that I did do meaningful things, even though each of them might've been fairly small. I've learned that life is less defined by grand acts and more by small but cumulative actions. I gave the sheet the title "The Next Right Thing", the name of a song from Frozen 2 - not a very memorable movie, but the song has a powerful message about just putting one foot in front of the other, especially when things are hard.
We've spent a good amount of time with family and friends (both new and old). We've met most of our immediate neighbors, though our relationships haven't developed past the quick hello on the street yet. We've gotten half of the house set up the way we want; the gym and master bedroom still need to be done. I've been brushing up on various topics like chemistry and biology, and every time I learn something, I put it on the sheet and highlight it for easy reference. Fitness has been okay, but there's still a lot of room for improvement and I still have my near-term goals that I want to hit. I haven't quite found my "grand purpose" and perhaps I never will, but I've been getting little doses of purpose in daily life. Maybe that's enough.
We also had a memorable time in November when evacuating due to the Mountain Fire (as I talked about in a previous post), and this month there have been a lot of wind-driven fires in SoCal, most notably the hugely destructive Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire in LA. Challenging times ahead.
Speaking of challenging times, Priscilla's dad's dementia has been slowly getting worse. He seems somewhat okay during the day, but past the evening his clarity diminishes and he gets more confused - this apparently is known as sundowning. Priscilla's mom asked us to buy a door knob cover so that he can't leave the condo late at night; he had already wandered out twice. Two weeks ago, we stayed three nights at their place to help them with various things, and it was somewhat challenging. We're going to stay with them one night next week in order to help them with more things, including driving them to a doctor's appointment 45 minutes from their place. A sign of things to come, but this is what we knew we'd have to deal with when we decided to move down.
Overall, we're glad that we moved down and still glad that we settled down in Camarillo, even though it's an hour drive, give or take, to get to parents. It's nice to have a little bit of separation, and we like our house, neighborhood, and city. Retaining a bit of comfort will be critical when we find ourselves helping parents more. But we'll deal with that as it comes, one day at a time. Doing the next right thing.
This has been an eventful time for sure. We've seen my parents on 11 occasions, her parents on 5, and Aaron and his family on 8. The most recent time was just last Sunday when we saw my family to celebrate our nephew's 5th birthday. Wow, he's 5 already?? Time really does fly.
Back in August, we signed up for lifetime memberships at our local gym. We go 1-2 times per week, depending on Priscilla's schedule. I'm usually lifting while she goes to the Pilates/yoga and Zumba classes, though I might be going to Pilates/yoga with her more often (I've already gone once) since my back has been acting up and I need to strengthen my core. Gary from our church usually joins me at the gym biweekly since he gets every other Friday off from work.
We've committed to the church in Thousand Oaks that I previously mentioned, and we submitted membership applications in November. We're still waiting to be approved, as applications are supposed to be reviewed at the next elder meeting, but this is just a formality and we're already somewhat involved in church life. We visited four fellowship groups and ultimately joined one that has people similar to us in life stage. There are usually 8-10 people in the group and we meet weekly, with one week per month set aside for an outing to a restaurant (we haven't always gone to those). We value the discussions and getting to know people in the group.
Despite not having a job right now, I feel as busy as ever. Since 2013, I've been using a spreadsheet to track my notable daily activities, but last October I started also using Google Sheets to track a breakdown of my activities in five categories: Mind, Body, Spirit, Others (i.e. other people), and House. I don't always do something in each category every day, but it's a good goal to have. When I feel like time has gone by without much to show for it, I can look back at the sheet and remember that I did do meaningful things, even though each of them might've been fairly small. I've learned that life is less defined by grand acts and more by small but cumulative actions. I gave the sheet the title "The Next Right Thing", the name of a song from Frozen 2 - not a very memorable movie, but the song has a powerful message about just putting one foot in front of the other, especially when things are hard.
We've spent a good amount of time with family and friends (both new and old). We've met most of our immediate neighbors, though our relationships haven't developed past the quick hello on the street yet. We've gotten half of the house set up the way we want; the gym and master bedroom still need to be done. I've been brushing up on various topics like chemistry and biology, and every time I learn something, I put it on the sheet and highlight it for easy reference. Fitness has been okay, but there's still a lot of room for improvement and I still have my near-term goals that I want to hit. I haven't quite found my "grand purpose" and perhaps I never will, but I've been getting little doses of purpose in daily life. Maybe that's enough.
We also had a memorable time in November when evacuating due to the Mountain Fire (as I talked about in a previous post), and this month there have been a lot of wind-driven fires in SoCal, most notably the hugely destructive Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire in LA. Challenging times ahead.
Speaking of challenging times, Priscilla's dad's dementia has been slowly getting worse. He seems somewhat okay during the day, but past the evening his clarity diminishes and he gets more confused - this apparently is known as sundowning. Priscilla's mom asked us to buy a door knob cover so that he can't leave the condo late at night; he had already wandered out twice. Two weeks ago, we stayed three nights at their place to help them with various things, and it was somewhat challenging. We're going to stay with them one night next week in order to help them with more things, including driving them to a doctor's appointment 45 minutes from their place. A sign of things to come, but this is what we knew we'd have to deal with when we decided to move down.
Overall, we're glad that we moved down and still glad that we settled down in Camarillo, even though it's an hour drive, give or take, to get to parents. It's nice to have a little bit of separation, and we like our house, neighborhood, and city. Retaining a bit of comfort will be critical when we find ourselves helping parents more. But we'll deal with that as it comes, one day at a time. Doing the next right thing.
Glorious Purpose - Thursday, February 13, 2025
I've been thinking a lot about purpose lately. It's now been four months since I left my job with Pure, and being free of a job has afforded me time to actually do things like think.
But kidding aside, in some senses I've been busier than ever. I've definitely had my hands full with fixing things around the house, doing things for parents, working out, researching health, relearning science concepts, and fellowshipping with people at church and in our small group.
I reckon that most of us won't find our "grand purpose" in lofty ideals like changing the world or becoming the top ranked in something. But, to loosely paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, we can all do a bit of good where we are, with what we have.
To say that life is more about finding purpose in the day-to-day rather than living out some "grand purpose" is helpful. But, for followers of Christ, I think that doesn't capture the whole picture. We are called to a higher purpose, and that is to glorify God and find joy in doing so. Our purpose should be the one that He has set for us. Nothing more, and nothing less.
So we continue to live each day - learning, laughing, and loving. Finding small doses of purpose in enjoying life and helping others do the same. All the while, allowing Christ to work in us and wanting the same for others. That, I submit, is our grand, glorious purpose.
But kidding aside, in some senses I've been busier than ever. I've definitely had my hands full with fixing things around the house, doing things for parents, working out, researching health, relearning science concepts, and fellowshipping with people at church and in our small group.
I reckon that most of us won't find our "grand purpose" in lofty ideals like changing the world or becoming the top ranked in something. But, to loosely paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, we can all do a bit of good where we are, with what we have.
To say that life is more about finding purpose in the day-to-day rather than living out some "grand purpose" is helpful. But, for followers of Christ, I think that doesn't capture the whole picture. We are called to a higher purpose, and that is to glorify God and find joy in doing so. Our purpose should be the one that He has set for us. Nothing more, and nothing less.
So we continue to live each day - learning, laughing, and loving. Finding small doses of purpose in enjoying life and helping others do the same. All the while, allowing Christ to work in us and wanting the same for others. That, I submit, is our grand, glorious purpose.
Ensenada, Round Three - Thursday, April 3, 2025
Because Priscilla constantly has the travel itch, and because she keeps forgetting how much land sickness she gets after a cruise, she signed us up for another cruise to Ensenada last month. This was our third time cruising there, the previous time being in 2020 a month before the world shut down. How things have changed since then.
We stayed at Jo-Ann and her sister's condo in San Pedro overnight, and they kindly brought us to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal the next day. After waiting in lines for a good while, we boarded our ship, the Carnival Firenze. This is a newer and larger ship compared to Carnival's Fantasy-class ships that we've sailed on previously.
We went straight to the Lido Marketplace for lunch, avoiding the crowds that were mostly checking into their muster stations. After lunch, we reported to ours, but they just asked if we had sailed before and knew how to put on a life jacket, and then they signed us off. I don't know if they were supposed to bypass the safety briefing like that, or maybe they figure that people don't pay attention to or remember the briefings anyway.
We had time that afternoon to do the adventure course on the top deck. It wasn't as exciting as the treetop courses we did at Go Ape and Highline Adventures, but it was still cool to see this new addition. Here, your harness is tethered to a rail system and you're able to change freely between an easier side and a harder side at each platform. Kudos to Priscilla for pushing through her fear of falling and making it to the end.
The next day was supposed to be Catalina Island, but it ended up being our day at sea due to strong winds that made docking infeasible. Unfortunately, the wind also made for some choppy waters, and the ship was swaying a lot. I had to go back to our stateroom and lie down, but that day we still managed to eat a lot, work out, walk around the track on the top deck, and watch the Color My World music show which was beautifully done. We had dinner at the upscale Michelangelo Restaurant, and the prime rib and molten chocolate cake were divine.
Fortunately, the wind had subsided the next day and we were able to go ashore at Catalina (Avalon). We hiked 10 miles around the town, the Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens, and the Trans-Catalina Trail. I did a couple bonus miles and hiked to the Lone Tree Point on the south side of the island, where I was treated to breathtaking views of the coastline below. The trails this far out were also fairly devoid of people.
Ensenada was the following day, and this time we just did a zip lining excursion with Desert Nest. A bus brought us to their basecamp outside town, and then two vans took our group of a dozen people up to the nearby hills. There are five successive zip lines and the views were decent. I have to admit that zip lining was not as exciting as I was hoping, but I guess the experience is more about the views than the inherent thrill of the ride. Maybe also because we were not permitted to do it hanging upside-down like our guides were doing.
After we got back to town, we walked a mile around the Port of Ensenada but otherwise didn't have too much time or inclination to do much. We don't care to eat in town because there's plenty of food already paid for back on the ship. When we were walking along a street with merchants trying to get tourists to eat at their restaurants, I even said "ya estamos llenos" ("we're already full") to a lady, which was true because we'd eaten a big breakfast. I guess we like being boring when traveling.
There were a couple things that had changed this time around. One our first cruise in 2009, all the pictures being taken of people got printed out and hung on the wall to nudge people into buying. I always thought this was wasteful. I'm not positive but I think even in 2020 they were still doing this. Now, to cut down on costs, you just view your pictures through the Carnival app and purchase prints there. I don't think there's an option to purchase digital versions of the pictures, though. Maybe in a few more years.
The other difference we encountered was that reservations to the restaurant are now made through the app. They also don't give you a printed menu by default (though you can request one), instead making people pull up the menu on their phones. A little less personal, but it again cuts down on costs and is better for the planet.
Priscilla ended up having land sickness for a few weeks after the cruise, while mine was minor and lasted only a few days. The trip was fun enough but I was reminded that I'm not really a cruise person. Priscilla, on the other hand, enjoys being able to try different things and having all our needs taken care of. I don't think she's really itching to do a multi-month around the world cruise anymore, though doing another short cruise in the future seems to still be on the table.
We stayed at Jo-Ann and her sister's condo in San Pedro overnight, and they kindly brought us to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal the next day. After waiting in lines for a good while, we boarded our ship, the Carnival Firenze. This is a newer and larger ship compared to Carnival's Fantasy-class ships that we've sailed on previously.
We went straight to the Lido Marketplace for lunch, avoiding the crowds that were mostly checking into their muster stations. After lunch, we reported to ours, but they just asked if we had sailed before and knew how to put on a life jacket, and then they signed us off. I don't know if they were supposed to bypass the safety briefing like that, or maybe they figure that people don't pay attention to or remember the briefings anyway.
We had time that afternoon to do the adventure course on the top deck. It wasn't as exciting as the treetop courses we did at Go Ape and Highline Adventures, but it was still cool to see this new addition. Here, your harness is tethered to a rail system and you're able to change freely between an easier side and a harder side at each platform. Kudos to Priscilla for pushing through her fear of falling and making it to the end.
The next day was supposed to be Catalina Island, but it ended up being our day at sea due to strong winds that made docking infeasible. Unfortunately, the wind also made for some choppy waters, and the ship was swaying a lot. I had to go back to our stateroom and lie down, but that day we still managed to eat a lot, work out, walk around the track on the top deck, and watch the Color My World music show which was beautifully done. We had dinner at the upscale Michelangelo Restaurant, and the prime rib and molten chocolate cake were divine.
Fortunately, the wind had subsided the next day and we were able to go ashore at Catalina (Avalon). We hiked 10 miles around the town, the Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens, and the Trans-Catalina Trail. I did a couple bonus miles and hiked to the Lone Tree Point on the south side of the island, where I was treated to breathtaking views of the coastline below. The trails this far out were also fairly devoid of people.
Ensenada was the following day, and this time we just did a zip lining excursion with Desert Nest. A bus brought us to their basecamp outside town, and then two vans took our group of a dozen people up to the nearby hills. There are five successive zip lines and the views were decent. I have to admit that zip lining was not as exciting as I was hoping, but I guess the experience is more about the views than the inherent thrill of the ride. Maybe also because we were not permitted to do it hanging upside-down like our guides were doing.
After we got back to town, we walked a mile around the Port of Ensenada but otherwise didn't have too much time or inclination to do much. We don't care to eat in town because there's plenty of food already paid for back on the ship. When we were walking along a street with merchants trying to get tourists to eat at their restaurants, I even said "ya estamos llenos" ("we're already full") to a lady, which was true because we'd eaten a big breakfast. I guess we like being boring when traveling.
There were a couple things that had changed this time around. One our first cruise in 2009, all the pictures being taken of people got printed out and hung on the wall to nudge people into buying. I always thought this was wasteful. I'm not positive but I think even in 2020 they were still doing this. Now, to cut down on costs, you just view your pictures through the Carnival app and purchase prints there. I don't think there's an option to purchase digital versions of the pictures, though. Maybe in a few more years.
The other difference we encountered was that reservations to the restaurant are now made through the app. They also don't give you a printed menu by default (though you can request one), instead making people pull up the menu on their phones. A little less personal, but it again cuts down on costs and is better for the planet.
Priscilla ended up having land sickness for a few weeks after the cruise, while mine was minor and lasted only a few days. The trip was fun enough but I was reminded that I'm not really a cruise person. Priscilla, on the other hand, enjoys being able to try different things and having all our needs taken care of. I don't think she's really itching to do a multi-month around the world cruise anymore, though doing another short cruise in the future seems to still be on the table.
Travels and Travails - Wednesday, April 23, 2025
We last visited the Bay Area in October for me to say goodbye to my coworkers and for us to see friends and family. We thoroughly enjoyed our time up there, but we thought it would be longer before we visited again. However, last week we found ourselves visiting again.
The main reason was to go to my uncle and aunt's place to retrieve our guitar and keyboard, which they had graciously let us store there during our move. Priscilla needed those to practice since we're starting to help out with worship at our church, with Good Friday being our first time serving in this way. We always had a feeling that we would reprise our roles playing piano (her) and drums (me) for worship after joining a new church.
So the previous Friday, after our morning gym session, we drove up the 101, stopping at our new halfway spot in Atascadero for a short break. We got to Mountain View in the afternoon and I joined up with Frank to go running. We ended up running 8 miles on the Stevens Creek Trail like old times.
We stayed up in the Bay for four days, which gave us plenty of time to see people and get stuff done. We stayed two nights with the Chans, having breakfast with them on Saturday, then two nights with the Leongs, having breakfast with them on Tuesday. We also caught up with the Yehs for a late-night hangout, did lunch with Albert and Ruth, dinners with both pairs of my uncles and aunts, and dinner with Tracy at Google. Plus talking to a lot of people at church for 3.5 hours until our voices were sore. Whew. Thankful for all the people we've gotten to know and their generosity in letting us crash at their houses (several families had previously offered).
We also had time to get the prongs on Priscilla's ring adjusted at Shane Co, and also hike Mission Peak on Monday. Hiking Mission Peak once a year has been our annual tradition, so we (I) thought it would be cool to do it again this year during our trip. Will we keep up this tradition going forward? I guess we'll see. Priscilla is as thrilled about it as I am about traveling in general.
We've also been busy helping parents, both remotely and in person. The cadence for now is to visit Priscilla's parents about once a month, and we saw them yesterday and fixed a lot of things around the condo.
Her dad's dementia is getting progressively worse, and during the last visit we helped them fill out and get notarized a Durable Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive for each of them. We also bought her dad a medical ID bracelet which he lost within a day. We also ordered a bracelet with a tracker that's difficult to remove, so hopefully that will be better. There's the doorknob cover to prevent him from wandering that I mentioned in a previous post, and yesterday I installed a keyed lock for her mom's bedroom to help prevent her dad from going in there and taking things. He's also been breaking things around the condo because he can't figure out how they work. He seems to have clarity less than half the time, and usually when he talks, his communication is all over the place and nobody knows what he's trying to say. It's sad seeing him decline and not be able to do a lot of the things that he used to, but I have to remind myself that this happens to just about everyone as they age - whether it's our bodies or our minds breaking down. I myself have been having a lot more aches and pains in the last few months, so I'm getting to experience things through a new perspective.
Things are the most difficult for Priscilla's mom, of course. She feels like she's being driven crazy daily due to his actions and him frequently talking about seeing/hearing people in the condo. Priscilla and I have it easy, relatively speaking, though I'm sure that will slowly change as we start helping them more. We have to remember that we're here to love and support them, and this is what we signed up for when we decided to move back down.
The main reason was to go to my uncle and aunt's place to retrieve our guitar and keyboard, which they had graciously let us store there during our move. Priscilla needed those to practice since we're starting to help out with worship at our church, with Good Friday being our first time serving in this way. We always had a feeling that we would reprise our roles playing piano (her) and drums (me) for worship after joining a new church.
So the previous Friday, after our morning gym session, we drove up the 101, stopping at our new halfway spot in Atascadero for a short break. We got to Mountain View in the afternoon and I joined up with Frank to go running. We ended up running 8 miles on the Stevens Creek Trail like old times.
We stayed up in the Bay for four days, which gave us plenty of time to see people and get stuff done. We stayed two nights with the Chans, having breakfast with them on Saturday, then two nights with the Leongs, having breakfast with them on Tuesday. We also caught up with the Yehs for a late-night hangout, did lunch with Albert and Ruth, dinners with both pairs of my uncles and aunts, and dinner with Tracy at Google. Plus talking to a lot of people at church for 3.5 hours until our voices were sore. Whew. Thankful for all the people we've gotten to know and their generosity in letting us crash at their houses (several families had previously offered).
We also had time to get the prongs on Priscilla's ring adjusted at Shane Co, and also hike Mission Peak on Monday. Hiking Mission Peak once a year has been our annual tradition, so we (I) thought it would be cool to do it again this year during our trip. Will we keep up this tradition going forward? I guess we'll see. Priscilla is as thrilled about it as I am about traveling in general.
We've also been busy helping parents, both remotely and in person. The cadence for now is to visit Priscilla's parents about once a month, and we saw them yesterday and fixed a lot of things around the condo.
Her dad's dementia is getting progressively worse, and during the last visit we helped them fill out and get notarized a Durable Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive for each of them. We also bought her dad a medical ID bracelet which he lost within a day. We also ordered a bracelet with a tracker that's difficult to remove, so hopefully that will be better. There's the doorknob cover to prevent him from wandering that I mentioned in a previous post, and yesterday I installed a keyed lock for her mom's bedroom to help prevent her dad from going in there and taking things. He's also been breaking things around the condo because he can't figure out how they work. He seems to have clarity less than half the time, and usually when he talks, his communication is all over the place and nobody knows what he's trying to say. It's sad seeing him decline and not be able to do a lot of the things that he used to, but I have to remind myself that this happens to just about everyone as they age - whether it's our bodies or our minds breaking down. I myself have been having a lot more aches and pains in the last few months, so I'm getting to experience things through a new perspective.
Things are the most difficult for Priscilla's mom, of course. She feels like she's being driven crazy daily due to his actions and him frequently talking about seeing/hearing people in the condo. Priscilla and I have it easy, relatively speaking, though I'm sure that will slowly change as we start helping them more. We have to remember that we're here to love and support them, and this is what we signed up for when we decided to move back down.