Feliz Navidad

Our Christmas vacation was pretty incredible this year. It started with six days of visiting family in Minnesota followed by seven days of touring Costa Rica with our friends S&Q. We went from freezing cold to sticky hot; from flat, barren land to lush volcanic jungle; from feeling native to we-don't-even-speak-the-language alien... Yes, the two places are quite a contrast from each other. Our home in California falls somewhere in between, and I think it's safe to say we were ready to return to it by trip end.

I'm really glad we were able to see our families. (Photos here.) It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without them. We're lucky everything worked out travel-wise considering the massive snowstorm that hit the day we left. The drive to the airport was a slow one and we doubted the timeliness of our itinerary every step of the way, but we made it, flying away just before the weather worsened even more.

I could probably write about Costa Rica all day, but perhaps it's best left in our travel journal. In short, the trip was fun and adventurous. We went canyoning, ziplining, and rafting; saw a bunch of animals in the wild; toured a chocolate plantation (sampling the product at every stage of making it); relaxed in hot springs and in hammocks... Maybe you should just check out the photos. All of this talk about vacation is making me lazy.

A week of winter

Well, that was a nice break from blogging, among other things. We returned from Minnesota on New Year’s Day. Our pace definitely slowed for the week that we were there. The majority of our time was split among three families with some travel in between, but it was relaxing. I'm happy to report all of our flights and drives went off without a hitch. You never know what card the weather will play in Minnesota. It was great to see everybody, eat a bunch of excellent food, and to experience some real winter without the opportunity to get tired of it.

Check out our photo gallery from the holidays. It's sort of dominated by our photogenic nephew. R gave me a new lens as a gift, and I got a lot of practice with it taking shots of that little guy. (We even caught him crawling for the very first time!) The lens has a wide aperture, so it's great for shooting in low light and for playing with a shallow depth of field. I regret not owning a lens like this sooner. The results we've been getting so far have made the price way more than worth it.

We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button during our stay in Eveleth. The movie struck a chord with me. I think it had something to do with the emotions that seem to pervade the time I spend with my family during these bi-annual visits. As much as I enjoy my time with them, there's this underlying sadness in the way it feels like I show up only to say good-bye. The movie was about saying good-bye and how the chance to connect can be fleeting even when a relationship exists our whole lives. All of this makes me glad to have R in my life. It's nice to have somebody I don't have to say good-bye to as I don't think I could do this on my own. We returned to California together last week, and I think we have been appreciating each other's company more than ever since then.

On Friday I got a head start on the upcoming work week. Tomorrow everybody will be back in the office, so the pressure will be on to finish some things I left hanging before the holiday. I'm starting to feel like my responsibility at this job is outweighing the benefits. I love being able to work from home, but there are some things related to the recent acquisition that I'm not happy about... and it can't all be blamed on the poor economy. I probably shouldn't be writing about it here, but then again maybe it's okay if a coworker reads that I've been getting my résumé back into shape.

This weekend wasn't as productive as it could have been. I guess we're still in vacation mode. The next three or four months are going to be busy ones, so I wish I would have taken the opportunity to get more done around the house. We did have some fun though. Yesterday afternoon, for instance, we visited a winery down the street for a tasting session. 8 samplings later we found ourselves heading out the door for some tipsy furniture shopping and then a long afternoon nap. We also joined the winery's club, which means we agreed to buy so many bottles a year but also get free tastings (guests included) for as long as we're members. Now you have even more reason to visit us. Speaking of which, we have four separate groups of visitors arriving in the next few months, so that is definitely exciting!

A real wise guy

Here's a shot of the "living nativity scene" in which we participated the other night. I'm one of the wise men (the one who looks like he's holding a crockpot in his sleep) and R is, fittingly, the beautiful angel. Not pictured are the shepherds and some living animals. (The camel is a strange beast, clumsy and flatulent.) All in all it was a one of a kind experience.

Merry Christmas, everybody! I'll catch up with you again in 2009.

I'm dreaming of a gray Christmas

They’ll find us here here, here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my

-from "Guest Room" by The National

I almost forgot how often the sky is gray in Minnesota. Over the course of ten days, we probably saw the sun for a total of ten minutes. Not that I mind; sunny days are overrated anyway. It would take a lot more than some gloom to ruin our bi-annual binge of food and family. The backdrop of frosted trees on gray sky was actually welcoming; it looked like home.

I had a hard time saying good-bye this time, knowing that everybody will be six months older the next time we see them and at that time we'll only see each set of family for two or so days until our next visit six months later. And then we'll repeat. The whole time we are there we are saying good-bye. I'm afraid of missing out on things and losing touch and realizing there's nothing to talk about anymore. Moving around the country is such a great experience that is giving me tons of perspective, but I don't want it to last the rest of my life. At a certain point we may have to quit waiting for a logical reason to bring us home.

Thanks to our families for the hospitality and the great gifts. We received some camping gear, a sauteuse pan, gift certificates, continued XM radio service, and the list goes on. One of the things R got me is Twin Peaks on DVD (yay!). I'm going to consume it like a large gourmet cookie: slowly, deliberately, and with immense pleasure.

2008... that's starting to sound like the future. Have a good year, everybody.

Xmas blur

And we're back. Our visit to Minnesota wasn't quite as hectic as the title of this entry implies. In fact, parts of the trip were down right relaxing. We spent nine days between three sets of parents, all of whom happen to live in the northern part of the state. We chatted, walked, played board games, ate a lot, drank some, crafted and threw snow snakes, helped put a puzzle together, watched a little DVD, and brushed up on our winter driving. It was a low-key vacation but also a welcomed one. We really enjoyed spending time with the families.

Courtesy of a generous Christmas gift, R and I are now subscribers to XM Radio. It's like listening to an excellent, endless mix tape. The exposure one can get to good music by various artists and bands via a satellite is incredible. After a few months of listening in the car and during dinner, I should be pretty well versed in popular (and some unpopular) music.

I guess 2007 is here. If I was feeling more reflective, I'd probably get into something about resolutions or maybe about how there are so many distractions in today's electronic media saturated society that it's hard sometimes to get any work done. Well, work starts up again tomorrow, and I'm going to do my best at concentrating on the not-so-exciting world of insurance software. I'm feeling strangely motivated at moment. Here's to a rewarding new year!