Spring is here with a vengeance—I've been sneezing often, though it seems like allergies haven't bothered me too badly here. That may be on account of the rain, which has been prodigious enough to leave some puddles in the new basement. Life has been very busy of late, although mostly productive (something I can't always say).
In reverse order of events...today was Dad's birthday. E and I treated him and the family to family-style at Maggiano's. I think we brought two meals for four back home with us. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I was pretty full after the appetizer. L helped Gram get Dad some chocolates that he's sure to enjoy.
Yesterday was our annual Pinnacle tournament. We're growing year-by-year, and that's been a boon. I think we had somewhere near 80 participants this year, up from 56 or so last year. We had enough for sizeable adult divisions, including two teams for fighting. My fighting wasn't particularly good, as usual, but I did get a chance to fight J for the first time in a couple years. It was tons of fun.
Team fighting was a blast, too—three people per team, two teams total. They won the first match 1–0. B blocked a kick with his face (he was bending over when it happened) and bled a bit. They stopped time and resumed the fight after that. J lost to D in the singles fighting, but I told him how to win the match and it actually worked. That surprised us both. (S told me later that D wanted to fight J since I "knew how [D] fought." We had a good laugh at the unintended outcome.)
So I fought S in the final match to decide and lost 3–2. We both scored points that weren't counted, and he won fair and square. I haven't had that much fighting him ever, because he's pretty intimidating. A crafty, crafty fighter, even at 50.
I did well in forms, taking a 1st in open and 2d in traditional; although I felt I did much better in traditional form than usual. My rhythm must've messed things up.
The highlight of the day was having family there—E had never seen me compete, so it was a treat to have him there, and to introduce him to one of the masters.
Unfortunately it appears we're going to cancel our trip to the US Open; it appears to be Japanese-dominated, and it seems a bit foolish to travel to Florida unless we have sponsorship.
Two days' prior, K-squared became K-cubed as they welcomed their daughter into the world. I suppose I will be an unofficial uncle again—and I'm excited. L will undoubtedly forget all about me whenever we get the chance to visit for the first time. And any other subsequent time. I can't compete with babies.
The Saturday previous was moving day, as most of my furniture was loaded into J's truck and driven up to the house. I still don't have appliances, but I hope to get a fridge this week and complete the transition (except for the rest of packing).
Moving has been unexpectedly exhausting. I knew that it would be a drawn-out process considering how under water I've been at work lately, but I wasn't really prepared for all of the memories I found in the basement. I'm pretty forgetful, even for a man. It was strange to realize that home is the place where you can safely store your memories to forget them, and often to heal. I found letters unsent, some received, my fourth grade standardized test scores and my fifth grade report card...boxes of memories kept downstairs for years and years. Truthfully, I'm glad I forgot a lot of them. Dad told me as much, too, that he was glad God had given him a short memory. It truly is a blessing in some ways.
I found digging through memories that I would lose track of time in the way I do when I read, flowing at the rate of the plot instead of in real time. Reliving some of the old days was fun, and at other times bittersweet.
I also picked up a 24mm prime lens for the camera, a used one that doesn't meter and has no AF motor or anything. It was dirt cheap as lenses go, razor sharp, and has just a bit of barrel distortion. I have enjoyed learning how to work on the other end of the zoom range (my primary lens is a 50/1.8). I still have a ways to go. The scenery around the new place is nice, and I think the 24/2.8 is better equipped for the landscape. The challenges are different with this lens, and I'm enjoying it immensely. Let's hear it for 1970s era Nikkors.
I'm no artist, but I'm glad I've acquired another hobby that keeps me out of the house and away from computers for awhile. I'll be glad to picture some of the homes in the area—the sprawl hasn't quite reached them yet, and they're still picturesque and serene.
The funeral was well attended and enjoyable. Family are so important to me, and I hadn't seen several on this side for quite awhile. Uncle W was Grandpa's brother-in-law (married to my father's aunt), and that side of the family lives mainly in the Midwest. C and S invited me (and L) to their place near Dayton when I could make a return trip, and Gram enjoined me to bring L up to MI as soon as I could. She is getting along, having recently had her 86th birthday.
We had a pleasant chat the night after the funeral. I have often thought that she is one of those people of whom the world is not worthy, and the moments we shared were precious. She has an inimitable style, and I'm thankful for it. I came across her letters to us through the years that she put in a book, "From the old writing desk." Living 20-plus years in the span of an hour wears on me, but it is a good sort of tired. My cousin's son has known his great-grandmother for over 10 years, and that is a blessing, and I was pleasantly re-surprised by my grandfather's notes interspersed with Gram's.
I was introduced at the funeral to some friends of the family; the children were perfectly behaved (I am sure he is something of a disciplinarian). The husband is from Germany and the wife from Texas. I'm not quite sure how his architecture degree led them someplace like Michigan, but I'm nonetheless glad to have made their acquaintance. They invited me to stay with them if I ever passed through. I may take them up on it.
One of the reasons I write in here less often than I used to is because any time I do, I seem to write too much. Despite the emotional ups and downs of the past months, it's been good for me. For better or worse, I feel both more and less prepared than I did in January for what's to come.
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