So long 2025

Year in review:

• Flew approximately 56,288 miles for work trips
• Visited some new countries (Paraguay, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, plus airports in St. Martin, Colombia, and Tortola) and new cities in previously visited countries (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Hermosillo, Mexico)
• Revisited some countries (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Mexico) and Puerto Rico (yay!!!)
• Did my first solo work trip (although there were co-workers in Mexico when I got there, so I wasn't alone once I got there, just the only US person there)
• Threw up a lot 
• Got COVID again (24 hours, so can't complain) and got pretty sick with the crud going around in February
• Lost my dad
• Sort of played pickleball for the first time (hitting it around with my sister on the side of a court)
• Had basically every single work tool implode at some point or another
• Moved to a new cataloging tool at work (barely!) and somehow survived the drama
• Way too many weird encounters with men making inappropriate moves on me (2. Two encounters. But it was two too many)
• Read the Thursday Murder Club series and reread some old favorites.
• Learned a few new games (Abandon All Artichokes, Point City, Doomlings, Cartographers, Canvas, Ito, Mantis--I think that was this year--and probably some others that I can't recall right now)
• Bought 3 new camera lenses (I was planning on one, but then a different lens broke, and replacing one turned into 2. Things happen)
• Went to the tulip festival and visited some other local places again
• Enjoyed some new movies, but don't ask me what they are
• Lost some weight (barfing your guts out in San Juan will do that for you)
• Got a great-nephew and got to play with both him and his sister, which was a highlight
• Went to graduations (niece's high school, niece's college)
• Made people laugh, probably made people cry (I'm sorry), watched the world fall apart, and tried to keep it together. It's been that kind of a year. 

It hasn't been a bad year--I've traveled the world, been part of a lot of cool things at work, had good friends, seen beautiful places, and been pretty safe. But it has also been...maybe an exhausting year is the best way to put it. But also, just miserable while being exciting. And it hasn't been a long year but it's also been a century since I went to Brazil in February. Maybe it's just been a Dickensian year, you know, from the "best of times, worst of times" quote in A Tale of Two Cities. I'm glad it's over, but also sad it's gone. 

Mostly, though, I'm ready for a nap.

Not your regular news

Fun or odd headlines from the year: 

Spaniards hurl flour, eggs and fireworks in mock battle (this one popped up today. It's for an annual food fight festival. Why not?)

Brazil's Bolsonaro undergoes medical treatment for hiccups (Also today. I didn't really know that was an option)

 

Hundreds of sheep cross historic German city during annual tradition (talk about traffic!)

From booze to black belts: Virginia's drunk raccoon suspected in karate shop break-in (Speechless)

Documentary shows sport of hobby horse isn’t just playful. It’s powerful.  (Who knew I was such an athlete as a kid?)

Time might not exist – and we're starting to understand why (I have known this for ages. Time is just pretend)

Volcano Erupts after Lying Dormant for 12,000 Years, Sending Scientists Scrambling (Don't underestimate the elderly)

How a 'sweet and shy' tortoise outlived empires and survived two world wars (This tortoise lived through 20 US presidents. If that doesn't qualify you as a saint, I don't know what does)

Cryptology firm cancels elections after losing encryption key (Oopsie)

Lost Bach pieces performed for first time in 320 years (New concerts, even after 320 years. Impressive)

Landmark 113-year-old Swedish church arrives at new home after two day-journey (Talk about reusing!)

Denmark ending letter deliveries is a sign of the digital times (Sad days, friends)

Hongkongers squawk-off in city's first bird call contest (Here's one for the birds)

Man faces jail in US for shipping 850 turtles in socks to Hong Kong (The poor turtles!)

The worst thing about AI? That stupid Samsung ad where the guy adds ‘way too much sugar’ to his pasta sauce (It may not be the worst thing, but I agree. That ad was awful)

Man gets stuck driving car down Rome's Spanish Steps (Was GPS involved?)

Czech fake dentist gave root canals after reading online instructions (Is that covered by insurance?)

Great Basin National Park Reveals Bristlecone Pines Older Than Egyptian Pyramids (Pyramids schmyramids)

Warning after millions of bees escape overturned truck in US (Does this mean we don't have to worry about the bees anymore?)

China braces for strong winds, with lighter people warned they may blow away (I think that is more than a strong wind, folks)

Case quacked: Flying duck caught by Swiss speed camera is repeat offender (how fast are Swiss ducks?!)

Farewell to Skype, the Technology That Changed My Life (RIP, Skype)

Turkey to fine airline passengers who stand up before plane stops (I mean, I get it)

Can you look at these 9 photos and not smile on International Day of Happiness? (😁😄😃)

Check out Japan's giant snowball fight competition (Is this an Olympic sport? Can it be?)

Oregon hospital sued after man’s face caught fire mid-surgery (What the...????)

Can you read cursive? It's a superpower the National Archives is looking for. (I am a superhero)

Re-routing

I have certain routes I take when I go places because there is something I like about them. For example, on my way to the grocery store, I drive past the wedding dress shop on my way. For some reason, I like to see what dresses they've put up in the window (sometimes they are really...interesting). I'm not madly in love with fashion or weddings or anything, it's just a small little highlight when I have to go somewhere.

When I pick up my niece, I always drive on the same route, because it has a nice curvy road that makes you feel like you are a racecar driver. It's just a lot of fun to drive. There are three or 4 different routes I could drive, but I always take that one.

I've lived in my neighborhood for 10 years, and I always take the road with the four-way stops. Google Maps has tried for 10 years to get me to take the busier road with stop lights, and for 10 years I have ignored it every single time. I prefer the 4-way stops. It's more scenic and I hate the traffic lights on the busier road.

Sometimes, there's just a road you've traveled that's worth staying on. 

Nostalgia

 Somehow I stumbled upon this the other day, while doing some online stuff:

It's a glo worm toy! Admittedly, I stumbled across a mini version first, and this brought back my childhood, because I had one of these! Not the mini version, a full-size version. 

I remember it was not very comfortable to sleep with because it had a plastic case inside for the batteries that (as you can deduce from the shape) was not well-padded. But the lighting-up aspect was fun, and it worked pretty well. 

I'd totally forgotten about this toy and it was a happy little reminiscence. Thank you internet!

Favorites are my least favorite

On one of our trips, a member of the group started asking about everyone's favorite things. You know the drill: Favorite dessert, favorite vacation, favorite color, favorite book, favorite blah blah blah. And said member was super peeved at me because I don't have very many favorites. They thought I was just trying to be a party pooper or be secretive or something, and refused to accept that a person might not have a favorite treat or movie. 

It happened again a week ago. Someone from church was spotlighting me, and asked about my favorites and I mostly just made up answers on everything (books, movies, foods) except for music, because I honestly couldn't even think of a genre that could possibly be my favorite because I don't listen to music by genre, and because I was just tired of the whole thing. 

And my question is, what is everyone's obsession with having a favorite in every category possible? And why am I somehow the problem when I don't have them? 

I absolutely don't get how you can pick a favorite book. Out of the billions of books ever written, how do you just pick one? And why do I get grief when I say I cannot possibly narrow it down? I can't even choose my favorite book in a specific genre*, let alone pick a favorite book from all of the books ever written in the world's existence. And, I'm (hopefully) constantly changing, so I would hope that the books that speak to me also change. 

Same with movies and music. How do you pick one movie, or one song, or even one genre? It's ridiculous. But, not having one, I'm treated like the weirdo.

Favorite foods are even more of a nightmare. I have some go-to meals that always hit the spot, but I wouldn't say they are my favorite foods. Hawaiian haystacks never fail to satisfy, but I wouldn't call them my favorite. And how do you pick a favorite ice cream, or candy? I can't always get passion fruit ice cream, so I have to have some backups and maybe if I could always get passion fruit ice cream I wouldn't love it as much. I do enjoy cookies and cream, but that doesn't mean I always want it and only it. Or that when it is an option, it's the one I go for. 

I do have some favorites, but I think even my favorites have terms and conditions:

• I love deep purple, and bright yellow (pansies--the perfect color combo. But not my favorite flower?). But, for a car, a deep blue. And I wouldn't decorate my kitchen in purple. It's not a kitchen color. 
• I love the word defenestrate. It's probably my favorite word, because I find it hilarious. But there are some really good words in Spanish. And no one ever asks for your favorite word. 
• The 11th Doctor and the Ponds are by far my favorite era in Doctor Who. And even though I have a favorite, I think I'm still a weirdo because everyone seems to love the 10th Doctor and Rose. 
• My favorite job ever has been being an archivist. So, that's lucky.
• My favorite sport to play is volleyball, but it is also the only sport I'm any good at (which should not be taken to mean I am good! I can play decently). But I enjoy watching lots of different sports. Oh, and maybe Olympic sliding, but I haven't ever actually played that sport. I've been the judge and sports announcer. 

That is like, 30 minutes of thinking and those are the only favorites I can come up with.**

I think we use favorites as a way to get a feel for someone and that's part of why my not having favorites drives people nuts.*** Maybe I seem uninteresting because I don't have favorites. Personally, though, I don't think anyone is that easily condensed into an identity and it's much more fun to go beyond the obvious of favorites. 

So give us non-favoriters a break.

*I will say, my favorite series, for personal reading, in YA fiction is the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. It is magnificent. I've not read anything else that compares. Unless, does Lord of the Rings count as YA fiction? I mean, it's really not the same category as the Queen's Thief. They are both fantasy and adventure. And this is why I could never pick a favorite.

** A note about sloths: sloths are my animal. Favorite does not figure into it. We just go together. And I love them because they are mine.

***It does also sometimes drive them crazy when they are trying to decide on what to eat, because I don't help narrow it down at all, which is annoying when someone is a host. I'm always happy to tell them what I don't like (faster and easier!), though, and since I don't have favorites, I generally like most things. 

Puerto Rico

 

Dominica

 The island of 365 rivers* and a Pirates of the Caribbean tour. 

*I didn't ask how they count rivers, or if they all come from the same source. It's their claim to fame. I'm not going to haggle over it.

The Caribbean: St. Kitts and Nevis

 

The Caribbean: Dominican Republic

 

The Trip: On the bright side

 So, even though it was a rough trip, a lot of good things happened.

• We had a lot of fun at the seminar with hands-on activities. 
• I got to drink a LOT of passion fruit juice
• I also ate a few passion fruit ice cream bars/popsicles
• The food was terrific!!! arroz con guandules, arroz con habichuelas, the best potato salad I've ever had...just to name a few
• I got to revisit some old sites from 24ish years ago, which was great
• The beaches!!! (I did get to wade in the ocean, yay!)
• The scenery was incredible!
• I did some great interviews (a couple went really well. But everyone was interesting and friendly)
• I didn't have to go to any meetings for two weeks
• I added some new countries to my list
• I got to see one very starry night
• It was great to be with the whole team in person again. There was laughter and joking and teasing and even some dancing and it was lovely
• Miraculously, we all (eventually) made it where we needed to be, and our luggage always arrived!

Trip Bingo: The Blackout Trip

Airline issues: The aviation powers that be are not on our side

• HQ group has pre-trip discovery that itinerary and airline disagree on departure time. Airline says it is one hour later, cutting our 2 hour layover into 1 hour.
• First leg of flight leaves 30ish minutes late. Layover is now 30 minutes. 
• Second leg of flight leaves one hour late because a passenger has been ill. 
• One of our Brazilians' flights is cancelled.
• The other Brazilian hasn't had enough time between his vaccine so isn't allowed to fly for 3 days.
• My group's flight to St. Kitt's left after it was supposed to land in St. Kitts.
• The Tortola/Antigua group's flight to Antigua was cancelled with no rebooking.
• Our flight to Dominica made a stop on another island en route to pick up stranded passengers. Which, honestly, was more entertaining than inconvenient.
• Our 1:00 am flight home was delayed until 2:40 am. 
• Which meant we missed the connecting flight. But, we were rebooked.
• Unfortunately, this meant my boss would miss leaving with his family on family vacation. But he found a flight that connected him to where they were!
• Also, the flight I was rebooked on left 10 minutes after we landed. But somehow, my coworker and I made the flight!
• Our flight from Houston was delayed by an hour.
• Another coworker had ALL of his flights delayed, and a second one missed and rebooked. 
• The inter-island flights were very particular about luggage. At one point, we were told our carry on bag could only weigh 5 lbs. Which meant checking the carry-on for $50. I had wanted them to check it at the beginning of the trip, and if they would have just listened to me, I could have saved a lot of headache. And money.

Immigration:

• One employee gets interrogated by US Immigration twice. The first time, he misses his flight. The second time the flight waited for him, for an hour. 
• My group on the small islands got met by Immigration in St. Kitts and for about an hour didn't know if they'd let us in the country.
• I got caught in the crosshairs of an inter-personnel war. It involved the quality of the immigration stamp in my passport. Good times.
• I filled out 4 e-tickets. It was way too many. And one of them would not enter the correct date in any of the fields the first time, no matter what I did.
• Not exactly an immigration thing, but we had a scare where we thought someone had lost their passport. After twenty or so minutes of stress, she did a second search and found it in her suitcase.

Weather:

• Pre-trip, there were worries about a tropical storm, but it passed by with no problems. So, close call but not a bingo.
• Heat and humidity everywhere. Eventually you just lean in and embrace the soaking wetness.

Vehicle trouble:

• Two dead batteries. (One eventually started up on its own, the other had to be jumped.)
• One semi-flat tire, but we refilled it and there were no further issues. 
• One taxi driver who kept showing up to pick us up an hour or two early.
• One taxi driver who threatened to abandon us (he had told us when he dropped us off that he had to leave at a specific time).
• We did get sort of lost at one point. The taxi driver got us into town but then didn't know where to go from there. But I found the address on my phone and we got there. 
• The front bumper started falling off of one of the rental cars. Not our fault, but it sure had the renter stressed out.

Minor mishaps:

• I had a hair dryer catch on fire. Fortunately, my hair did not catch on fire.
• I dropped my camera and broke my lens. But, the camera body was fine and I had two other lenses, so could have been worse.
• At one hotel, they didn't have someone's reservation. But they were able to get her a room. The first one they gave her was already assigned to another coworker, so that was fun. But it got squared away.
• Someone else lost his luggage key, so had to break the lock.
• We almost had a lost cell phone. 
• Someone else's phone wouldn't charge because of humidity. It finally dried out.
• The boss got impaled by a swordfish (that was on display in one of the restaurants)

Health:

• I threw up on 4 different occasions, which I swear is not normal. 
• The last time I threw up, I kept throwing up (even throwing up the water I drank after throwing up), and ended up in the ER. Probably dehydration. Scared the bejeebies out of my team. 
• At one of the places we did interviews, a kid fell and hit his head and had to go to the hospital. Far more stressful for them than for us. 
• I did get a blister but didn't have any band-aids, so at one point it started bleeding, but in comparison, it wasn't very significant. 

Yeah. It was a lot. But we survived. 

Close to home

 So, it's been a weird 24 hours in my world. That world being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, specifically one living in the US and one who has lived in Michigan. 

Last night, our prophet passed away. I didn't enjoy most of the media obits of him. It's not unexpected, but they really reduced him down to the equivalent of a business leader. He wasn't. Russell M. Nelson was a prophet of God, and when you remove that part from what he did, it becomes mundane. (Although, even as a human being, he was quite extraordinary). And, since he passed away in the later evening, it didn't really hit the news cycle until today. Or wouldn't have, anyway.

I went to my church meetings today, and when I checked my phone after getting home, I saw a message from a friend (also a member, a dear friend I work with) saying how terrible what happened in Michigan was. And I had not heard about Michigan, but I 'heard' pretty quick after that. 

Obviously, because I live in the US, this is not the first time a shooting at a religious center has happened. And, honestly, I always knew one day a shooting would happen and it would be my faith that had been shot up. When it is so common, you can't think your special. And every single one is a tragedy, but some hit closer to home. I know it sounds awful to say this one hit a little different (as did the one at a Michigan school a few years ago, where my niece knew people who lost someone, or the shooting at UVU a couple of weeks ago, when my niece was on campus, although far from the event). Because I know what a Sunday meeting looks like for them. I know what that congregation looks like, even if it wasn't my congregation. I could have walked through that building and picked out which room was used for what. I know what the lessons in the classes would have been on. And I lived in and loved Michigan. It's a wonderful place full of good people. I still care about their success and well-being, because I am connected. 

It may sound awful, but I would like to point out connection is what helps us see others as ourselves. And now I have a new connection to other groups, other faiths, who might have been involved in this kind of event, because I know how it made me feel. I just wish we could have a connection for a different reason.

Anyway. It was weird, because today should have been about the passing of a prophet, and suddenly was about an act of violence that President Nelson pleaded so many times to turn from, not just in the Church but everywhere. He wanted and worked for us to be peacemakers and he was one. I read about the person who did this, some of the details of his life and I felt heartbroken for him, too (which I think President Nelson would have done, as well). 

I am supremely grateful to the law enforcement officers, who have refused to speculate about anything. Somehow, I think the only thing that could make this worse would be to use it as political fodder to stoke more anger and problems. They have been so professional and wise in how they have handled things, which is even more impressive considering what an incredibly long and difficult day they have had. No one went to work today thinking this is how it would end. 

I saw a video about President Nelson, that seems to capture not just his life, but all the hope and peace the gospel brings, and felt appropriate. Easy for me to say, but it is possible to find peace and hope in the face of devastation. I know people mock thoughts and prayers and I get that they can't be the only thing we do but prayer is incredibly powerful, and I'm glad that a heartbroken community will be the subject of many petitions to Deity, because God will help them. Bad things happen, and they happen to a lot of really good people. It's not because God causes them or doesn't care. Don't blame God for our choices. But God and Jesus Christ sustain us and stands by us when the bad things happen. President Nelson taught that and it was for moments like this. 

Fall