winding down in the middle of June
The school year has ended. Sweet goodness! The 10 month employees' last day was this past Friday. The 11 month employees' last day is this Thursday, I believe. Lucky them! But they don't get what I'll get-- two holidays in the summer! First up is Juneteenth, which is the end of this coming week. Then of course, the 4th of July. I'll be taking some time off during the summer, which is most wonderful. Even though we don't have anything really planned, I do believe I'll get to the movies at some point because Supergirl is coming out on the 26th and MUST GO SEE. :D
https://flic.kr/p/2siEW46 Congrats to the Knicks!
R is a New York Knicks fan so he was SUPER HAPPY that they won the NBA Championship. I was happy too, even though I'm a lowkey San Antonio Spurs fan. ;) But it was great seeing the Knicks win, especially after clawing back from a 29 point deficit in Game 4. (Really, Spurs, you LOST a game in which you had a 29 point LEAD?! Dude.) Game 5 was stressful to watch as well but not in that crazy way. Whew! Happy for their win. I always cheer for them, apparently. :D
The World Cup started and THANK GOODNESS the USA team won their first match. Whew! It took me a long time to appreciate the footy but I do now and I enjoy watching it. The USA team might actually be one worth the cheers this time around, eh? Otherwise, I just like the game and it doesn't really matter who's playing as long as the USA wins their matches...
Baseball has lost a lot of its hold on me, I think. I can't watch the A's without feeling lowkey furious but in actuality, I think I'm just indifferent, which is probably worse. It's as if baseball is in its death throes. Maybe it's not that dramatic but for me, it just might be. There's no crying in baseball but I am hard pressed to find the joy in baseball at the moment...
https://flic.kr/p/2siKmT4 me and Dad long ago
Today would have been Dad's 84th birthday. I brought in some old photo albums from the garage and started going through some of them. I remembered the Google Photo Scan app and started scanning some of those old pictures. I'm so glad to be able to look back.
https://flic.kr/p/2siLrqr love how we don't look ready for this one... https://flic.kr/p/2siMvb6 better with this one! https://flic.kr/p/2siKn9u a holiday shot at the childhood home https://flic.kr/p/2siH7o2 ahhh, the 70s were so cool...
Dad has been gone from this world for seven months now and melancholy still takes hold of me when I think of him. I try to remind myself how lucky I was to have had him in my life for so long and it does bring a bit of comfort. There are regrets, of course, and I have to accept them and I mostly do. I just wish he had had more time. I wish he could have seen our new place. I wish he could have gone to those Stanford women's lacrosse matches in a couple of years. I wish he could have watched Project Hail Mary so that I could have reminded him that hey, I met that guy! I wish I could hear him sing his karaoke live once more, even if I did laugh a little whenever he did. I wish I could bring over some lumpia because family was coming over and he was making some pansit for all of us. I wish he had had just a little more time so that I can give him a kiss on the cheek, smelling whatever cologne he inevitably had on.
https://flic.kr/p/2rpq5C7 the last picture I took with Dad in the shot...
I was so lucky to have such a wonderful dad. I never questioned his love for me and my sister. He worked hard to provide for us, he encouraged us, and he let us go out into the world. He was always there. And now he isn't. Even though the world is not as bright without him, the memory of him still brings me love and joy, though touched with that bit of melancholy.
Happy heavenly Birthday, Dad. I miss you.
https://flic.kr/p/2siKyaV me wearing my new hoodie
The random stuff
- My latest Riley Green merch arrived this week! It was definitely NOT the speed of the shipping (free, remember?) that I chose but I got my stuff nonetheless. The hoodie is loose fit, and since it's probably made unisex, it's pretty long on me. I don't mind, I can tuck it under or whatever. I like it and it'll keep me cozy in the cold months. :) - Even though I know I have more books in storage, I still bought a few when we checked out Half Price Books yesterday. I'm currently reading Fourth Wing, so I picked up the hardcover of it and the next book. They didn't have the third one, so I ordered it from Amazon. I also got The Institute by Stephen King on hardback because I liked it and wouldn't mind reading it again. This time next week, I'll also have three more hardbacks because my June Book of the Month picks are on their way. Yes to more reading! - I'm trying not to spend so much time on my computer playing games (Township is my current addiction), so I've started writing in one of my notebooks, practicing my cursive. I'm writing my story ideas with fountain pens, which makes writing in cursive so much more fun. Sometimes I think of my cursive as secret squirrel writing because how many people can read it? https://flic.kr/p/2shXZAB - Our department went out for a late lunch/early dinner at Zephyr this week. It was nice being out in the office, enjoying some conversation and good food. We took a group shot but I don't think I've seen it yet. It was a nice way to end the school year, even though I work during the summer. At least it's slowing down a bit. ;) - The weather warmed up this past week and now it's going to settle to more slightly acceptable temperatures. Maybe. We'll see. https://flic.kr/p/2siKy5E
I think I'll end this and go do my nails. Cheers!


















