It's been six... no, seven months since the last one. So, time I let you guys know how things are going in my life.

Let's see...

Mom's cancer is still gone. Her sense of taste is slowly returning, but when I say slowly I'm not kidding. She says a lot of things she used to like are still tasteless or even taste awful, now. But she's cancer free, so there's that.

My brother was unemployed for about two months before he found another job. It's WFH and came with a decent pay increase, so he's happy about that.

My car was involved in an accident in December. A large clump of dirt flew up from the highway median and hit the top of my windshield and the front fender. Came out of absolute nowhere; I think a car on the opposite side went into the median and threw the dirt up, but I didn't see it because it was dark (December, remember, so night came early) and the other side was lower and effectively over the edge of a small hill. At any rate, the fender and one headlight sustained damage, and my windshield was absolutely smashed. Worse, because the clump hit right at the top of the windshield, it actually bent the car frame enough to total the car. So I had the stress of dealing with insurance, getting a rental, and going car shopping, right before Christmas.

So now I'm driving an Hyundai Sonata, which is a little larger than my old Elantra. Still fits in the garage, but it's tighter now. And although I got more of a payout from insurance than I expected I would, I really would rather have not had to shell out several times that amount to get a new car. On the good side, new car means a decent upgrade. I was happy with my Elantra but I must admit this Sonata is niiiice. And I got it just in time to avoid the stupid tarriffs.

As for my job, it proceeds apace. The constuction finally finished last week, so the labs are pretty much built. But they still need to be inspected and certified, and then all the equipment moved into them. Lord only knows how long that will all take. In the meantime, I am still mostly just checking doors and trailers there and confirming the place hasn't spontaneous caught on fire. The job itself is easy, if tedious, but the commute sucks.

Looking forward to my next vacation with Cathy. We're going to San Francisco, which I am passably familiar with, having lived there for five years or so way back when. I'm going by train and plan to visit an old friend or two while there.