Whew!

What an exhausting few weeks I just got back home from. I was only supposed to be on Southern California but plans changed at the last minute. Let me explain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up.

Dec. 15 - fly with wife and two kids from IAD to LAX and settle in at in-law's condo in Tarzana.
Dec. 16 - Visit maternal grandma in Camarillo to sand and paint a weathered gate that her HOA was threatening to fine her over.
Dec. 17 - drive with family to Culver City to take paternal grandma out to lunch.
Dec. 18 - attend college friend's house party in Rancho Palos Verdes with family in the afternoon, then drive ~ 1h10min to Claremont to attend friend's son's 2nd birthday party.
Dec. 19 - brunch at in-law's friend's place in Van Nuys in the morning. Meet up at The Daily Pint in Santa Monica with friends. (Very good bar that specializes in beer and scotch. Highly recommended!)

--- fast forward a few days ---

Dec. 23 - take my youngest brother and his cello, and my son, to a Hollywood music/luthier shop to repair a couple open seams AND to take my grandma out to lunch while the work is done.
Dec. 24 - have traditional meatless Polish Christmas Eve dinner at my grandma's in Camarillo, with my parents, too. I shared a couple bottles of my homebrew with all the adults (including my 20 year-old brother). They liked it.
Dec. 25 - Christmas dinner at the in-laws place with wife's aunt's family present. Just as the meal is wrapping up, I took a phone call that required me waving my hand to request silence. I became the carrier of bad news. (Other phones in the family were tried, but I was the only one who answered.) My wife's grandmother (father-in-law's mother -- he is the eldest son) was in an ambulance on her way to the hospital after collapsing moments after getting into the car to leave the Christmas dinner she had spent at her daughter's house. (We found out a short while later they pronounced her dead during soon after starting the ride.) At 83 and with diabetes, her death was not entirely unexpected.
Dec. 26 - change our return to IAD plane tickets from Dec 31 to Dec 29 so we can drive up to Cleveland for the wake and funeral.
Dec. 27 - Disneyland in Anaheim! Where we meet my sister and her newly-expanded family. They adopted a brother (6) and sister (17) into their family. We had a great time and had plenty of time to get to know them while waiting in the lines. (Did you know Dec 27th is historically the most must day of the year for Disneyland? Well, I do now.)
Dec. 28 - return to Grandma's in Camarillo to say goodbye to her and my parents and to replace the waste disposal in the kitchen sink.
Dec. 29 - fly back home and attempt to rest up for the drive to Cleveland in the morning.
Dec. 30 - drive, change into nice clothes, arrive at wake. All 7 of her children are there with their spouses, children, and grandchildren. It was lively with talk, and interspersed with a few tears. It was open casket wake, and both my kids (5 and 7) approaching it entirely voluntarily. I was proud of them. They have a better grasp of mortality than I did at their age.
Dec. 31 - The funeral, burial, luncheon, and after-party. My wife's extended family love to get together and party. They were certainly in the mood to do so this night, coinciding with New Year's Eve.
Jan. 1 - breakfast with wife's parents at aunt's house, then hit the road and drive back home.

I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

That's a busy two weeks. Bummer I couldn't meet up with you in Santa Monica. Next time you're in town let me know!

Busy busy, but sounds like a fulfilling time.

Definitely, Craig! I think the main problem with my vacation scheduling time is I tend to go places where I know people. A lot of people do the opposite. I think they were told a secret that I have yet to learn.

yep...I often do the same. This time I left a couple days before I leave town and another after I get back to have just as relaxing time.

Holy smokes, what a busy holiday!

I'm sorry to hear of your wife's grandmother. That is sad news.

Dang, I missed you in Claremont by about 5 days. I drove home to visit my folks who live in Upland.

Mine were less busy but interesting.

NYE I had (and didn't care to have) any plans... around 8:30, a friend on MSN was saying she'd been on the phone trying to get a cab for 20 minutes to go to the bar. I mentioned I wasn't doing anything and that I'd drive her, lives about 20 minutes away, and the bar was maybe 10-15 from her place.

Sheepishly, she figured she should admit she was on her way to the big Goth/Industrial NYE party... and that she was dressed in fetish wear.

NYE2010 - I got to check "Driving Miss Dominatrix" off my bucket list.

Bren R.

Ha ha, nice. What else you have on that list?

Bren! Good to hear from you.

Sean, "Upland" is a real place? I thought it was a miniseries or something.

Peter, it's a good thing you're young and healthy. That schedule would've killed some people.

Well, I'd hate to give it all away, but the ones above and below that are "Use M2s as headphones" and "Have name legally changed to 'Mark S. Johnson, Jr.'", respectively.

Bren R.

That'll make it even easier to use my credit card numbers again next time.

Seriously? Another Ruger? How many is that now?

"no, no... this is my card, honest... the Jr. is silent"

Bren R.
er, I mean...
Mark S. Johnson, Jr.

Apparently Ken is trying to make me your Step-Mom in the Shout Box.

Never thought I'd type that sentence.

Everyone needs a hobby.