It’s been a while.

Well, not that long of a while but a while none the less.

I’m back. I’m home since the last posting.

Overall, my first real family vacation road trip back to the home country went really well.

My mom warmed up to Galette really quick and I never thought I would ever see my mom play with a dog even if it is my dog.

My mom never really interacted with Pickles that much because Pickles was very very chill.

Galette is a different story. Hyper. Puppy with all of that puppy energy.

I loved that they bonded the way that they did.

My bro warmed up to Galette too, albeit a little slower, but eventually caved. The same with my mom, he never really interacted with Pickles because Pickles was much older when they first met and was so much calmer.

Family.

Road trip.

It was good. It was a much-needed trip to see family again after so long apart due to the pandemic.

I made an effort to see most if not all my family that I keep in touch with or care about. I visited and caught up with many of my cousins and their families.

Much needed.

When will be the next time I’ll be up? Christmas?

Possibly. Maybe.

I haven’t decided yet.

I have decisions to make. Do I fly or do I drive?

Should I board Galette for 2-3 weeks or just the week-and-a-half that is break?

If I drive, I can stay up there for an extended time without worrying about Galette or the additional cost of boarding her.

I have decisions to make.

I’m sure I’ll figure something out in the next couple of months, but if I want to fly up, I should get tickets soon.

We shall see.

We shall see.

The weekend after my trip, I went up to Fresno and visited my cousins there.

Their whole family came back from across the country to visit and they wanted me to take family pictures for them.

I happily obliged since I haven’t seen all of them in well over a year also. Last time I saw them was Chinese New Year’s of 2020.

It was good seeing them all again.

Now, I’m back, here, settling into the normal of hermitude.

It feels so good.

So so good.

Normal.

I’ve been cleaning a lot lately.

Deep cleaning.

I don’t know when was the last time I did a cleaning like this, but definitely been a while and I’ve been doing it for the past couple of weeks.

Besides my normal floor sweeping and mopping, I cleaned and wiped down my shelves, deep cleaned the oven and microwave and the fridge.

It’s been a while.

The last time that I went all out was probably 2019 when I knew my mom would stop by the apartment for our trip to Spain.

But since then? I have no idea.

What brought on this bought of cleaning?

New TV?

I bought a new TV and am waiting for delivery.

But is that really the reason or is there something else?

Depression?

I don’t feel depressed. My old friend doesn’t feel like he’s back, but then again, for years, my old friend feels very very different from what I remembered.

I don’t know.

Maybe I’m trying to be better at taking care of myself and my life and my responsibilities.

Maybe I’m tired of not being so lazy.

Maybe.

Now let’s see if I can be a little more responsible with my health and my heart.

I haven’t been following my cardiologist’s advice in doing cardio.

I need to sweat, but I don’t do much.

Overall, I feel fine health wise besides some tightness in my legs and arms.

I need to stretch more.

I need to do a lot more, but just too lazy and irresponsible to.

Hahhaa. I’m a living contradiction.

I need to get better and take care of my shit.

Let’s see when that’ll happen.

Let’s see.

Work.

Fuck Work.

I’m tired of work.

Sigh.

It’s quiet.

Even with a very verbose dog.

Quiet.

I live a quiet life. Tranquil in a way, uneventful.

Whatever events I make or agree to.

Control

I’m such a control freak.

I still can’t believe it.

I really can’t.

I was so confused when my shrink brought that up during our sessions years ago.

It makes sense.

I see it.

I feel it. I just don’t believe it.

Depression.

My Old Friend

Darkness.

Is he back?

I don’t know.

I don’t know.