San Rafael, CA: Seriously Jim, you need to learn how to keep your New Year's resolutions. One post since January 1st. Pathetic. Let's try this one more time. I promise that I will delete this blog entirely if I don't do better in 2014.
My last post, way back on January 1, 2013, was about my annus horribilus - 2012. I am happy to report that 2013 has been a thousand times better, and I go into 2014 feeling happy and chipper.
Overall, I credit the good year to four major happenings. First and most importantly, my mother is much healthier. Her disease is under control. Medication and dialysis are doing the trick. She moved back home last summer, is walking and generally feeling good. Given that she was bed-ridden less than a year ago, everyone in the family is so happy and pleased with her progress. She has some bad days every now and then, but for the most part all is well with my father and her. They have settled in nicely to the house that Jim and I bought in Rancho Mirage, CA.
Second, Jim and I got married. Although we celebrated 19 years together in early December, we officially and legally tied the knot in September after two landmark Supreme Court rulings that paved the way for same sex marriage in California. Our ceremony was small, but very special. Hannah Blumenstiel, a former partner at my firm and a current federal judge, officiated. The only people who attended the ceremony were our good friends Julie, Chip, and Denise. To celebrate, we had a wonderful post-ceremony dinner in downtown San Francisco and spent the next day touring Napa Valley.
Third, in April we adopted LouC, a male dachshund and a friend for Dezi. Having the two of them in our lives has been a joy. They are incredibly cute, mostly well-behaved and very affectionate. I still tear up when I think of our dear Hat Trick, but love our two new kids so much!!! I can't wait to go home every night to see them.
Finally, Jim and I took the vacation of a lifetime in February when we spent 2.5 weeks "down under." We first flew to Sydney (via Auckland) and then hopped on a two week cruise to various ports in Australia and New Zealand. It was incredible. We met some lovely people on board the ship (M.S. Oosterdam) and saw many amazing sites. Each port was prettier than the last. I particularly enjoyed Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, a small, but vibrant city. Jim and I actually talked about moving there (half seriously).
In addition to our "down under" trip and a long weekend visiting family in New York and New Jersey, I was on the road a lot for business. I continue to spend part of each week in Los Angeles (and sometimes I tack on an extra day or two to visit Mom and Dad) I took three business trips to Chicago and one to Washington, DC. Also in 2013, I made three business trips to Brussels to work on an office buildout. The trips were long, but the experience was fantastic.
In 2014, I expect the San Francisco-Los Angeles travel to continue, but don't expect to take three business trips to Europe. Our big vacation this year will take us to Hawaii in June. I probably will need to do a "mileage run" if I have any chance of keeping my 1K status with United Airlines in 2015.
Stay tuned for more on my travels around the block and around the world.
The New Year is less than a week away. I hope it is a happy and prosperous one for all. Please look for a lot more postings in 2014.
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