Current read … apt for the times, sorting out the past and future of democracy and totalitarianism.
Today's the Day
[27 August, 2024]
My left knee has been bothering me since this past April, and the pain has just gotten worse after gradual onset earlier on and not really getting better. Well, after several doctor and specialist appointments, an X-ray, and an MRI, the diagnosis was torn meniscus on the medial side, and the recommendation for treatment was arthroscopic surgery (meniscectomy). That happened today, and it was pretty uneventful. Now recovering at home, Netflix and chilling, catching up with my binge series. 1st post-op appointment with doctor is next Wednesday, and 1st PT appointment is the Wednesday after that. I don’t think I’ll need much PT. Just looking forward to getting back to the gym at least for upper body workouts ASAP.
More House Projects
Several other outdoor housekeeping projects were completed this month, in addition to the rock bed replenishment and re-leveling earlier in the spring. Early in July, I started re-staining the cedar canopies over the front doors, as well as the side garage door. In mid-July, I hired a company to do a professional wash and clean of all glass window and door exteriors, something that I used to do myself once a year. I was so pleased with their work that I will continue to hire them every year from now on.
I also solicited quotes for a pressure wash cleaning of all the ground concrete surfaces: front walkway, driveway pad, and the courtyard perimeter walkways. But the quotes came in so high that I decided to just buy a gas-powered pressure washer and do it myself. I completed this project over a few days in mid-August.
2024 Ann Arbor Art Fairs
[20-21 July, 2024]
Team Satoh and I drove up to Michigan to go to this year’s Ann Arbor Art Fairs, a local summer tradition and a stand-out memory from my U of M days, that takes over downtown Ann Arbor’s streets over 3 days every July. It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for strolling around endless booths of purveyors of every art form. It was great for people-watching, too!
The next day, we drove up further north to Midland to visit and enjoy lunch with family before the long trip back home.
High School Friends Visit
[22-24, June, 2024]
A couple of high school friends now living in the East Coast (Philly and NYC), Terry and Lito visited for a weekend of reconnecting and of course, eating up. It was a great time to catch up amid several lavish and fun meals as is customary with Filipino get-togethers. Short visit, but long on memories to always cherish.
Summer Birthday Celebrations
Kate, Keane, and Yui all celebrated birthdays this summer (June 14, July 15, and August 8, respectively) and below is a gallery of photos commemorating those milestones.
Visitors from Michigan
[6-8 June, 2024]
94-year old Aunt Nora and cousin Kay came down from Michigan for their annual spring-time visit to Ohio. Of course, get-togethers with lots of Filipino food.
K BBQ Get-Together
[1 June, 2024]
Korean BBQ for family dinner this past weekend. And what vaguely looked like a volleyball game broke out in the front yard.
K BBQ in the backyard.
Volleyball game (?) in the front yard.
New Eyeglasses
Picked up these new spectacles last week. Different from the types I’ve been getting the past several years.
Memorial Weekend Happenings
[25-27 May, 2024]
Many events and happenings converging over the Memorial Weekend, with Kaori’s 5th birthday, Yui’s church confirmation, and Vernon and Luanne arriving from California for a week’s visit to Ohio. Of course, many get-togethers involving plenty of food.
Rocking the Landscape
[18 May, 2024]
The rock beds along the house’s front walk have settled and I spent the afternoon ferrying literally over a ton of ‘Alabama Sunset’ stones and raking them in level with the concrete walk. It was quite a workout, but I think worth the effort in the end.
Exploring a New Neighborhood Park
[10 May, 2024]
Jiro and I took to exploring this new park that we haven’t visited yet. We went on two of the three trails in the park, overall about a mile and a half altogether. It was a nice and pleasant environment, and we will visit again soon!
Ramen Night
Went out with my “ramen gang” last night and had our usuals at our favorite Columbus ramen hangout, Meshikou.
American Colonies
Current read … understanding pre-revolutionary American history.
A Week of Birthday Celebrations
[12-21 April, 2024]
My niece and I celebrated birthdays 6 days apart, and it turned out to be a series of food celebrations and get-togethers comprising dinners, breakfasts, and brunches over a couple of consecutive weekends. Deliciously fun times!
Total Solar Eclipse
[8 April, 2024]
Today’s solar eclipse in which my home falls in the path of totality was one of the most amazing nature experiences I have ever had. The 15 minutes before totality was uniquely eerie, almost like the anxiety felt in the approach of a powerful thunderstorm. And totality itself was really something else — a dark, foreboding sensation like the arrival of twilight, but not quite. It was a very brief moment to enjoy, but one destined to become an unforgettable memory of a lifetime.
Path of totality, April 8th 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
Event: Total Solar Eclipse, Monday, April 8th, 2024
Location: City of Powell, OH
Partial Eclipse Began: 1:55:43 pm
Totality Began: 3:11:50 pm
Maximum: 3:12:46 pm
Totality Ended: 3:13:43 pm
Partial Eclipse Ended: 4:27:03 pm
Duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes
Totality: 1 minute, 53 seconds
I was able to capture some images of my home, not the eclipse itself, (there are much better images online captured by professional photographers!) half an hour before, during, and half an hour after totality. Notice the shadow of the Hinoki cypress (and its disappearance during totality) in the foreground of each of the photos.
Frenemies
I dogsat Layla, my niece’s sweet little Siberian Husky the past week and a half while they traveled to LA for spring break. Jiro and I enjoyed her company, but I think her rambunctiousness, being barely over 2 years old, sometimes got to Jiro every once in a while. They were the perfect ‘frenemies’.
The Go-Giver
Current read. Applied to business, this book is about one of my favorite bits of wisdom: “the only things you keep are those you give away”.
Pi Day in Tennessee
[13-16 March, 2024]
Our Pi Day celebrations date back to over 20 years ago back in my Corporate Planning days at Honda, in the early Aughts. At that time, pie-eating work get-togethers were organized by our office admins, with approval of course by the managers, and enjoyed by the entire department. We harked back to those times when my former boss and another former co-worker went on a road trip to visit one of our favorite pi day organizers who is now retired in Tennessee.
On the way down, we also made a side trip to Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY for a bourbon tasting and some purchases at the gift shop.
On 3/14, pies were purchased at a local bakeshop and enjoyed heartily. Later that day, we drove through Great Smoky Mountains National Park and visited Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. On Friday. it was a drive to Norris Dam for a look at that area of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s state-wide system of flood prevention, power generation, navigation, and recreation infrastructure of dams, locks, and reservoirs. (We are engineers, after all.) We headed back home on Saturday.
Overall, we had really nice weather, and a welcome late winter break for some time with good old friends.
"Old Boys" Get-Together
[ 22 February, 2024]
The former Japanese president of the engineering division I worked in at Honda was in town visiting last week. We had a little get-together for pizza and chicken wings with several retirees who knew or used to work with him. No less than three of these guys were former bosses of mine.