a visit from afar

It has been pretty exciting this week as we invited my mom's friend Rong-Rong and her husband David to stay at our house for two nights. For those unaware, my mom is a member of a women writers association and became acquainted with Rong-Rong through the group. Although they kept in touch on Line, this was their first time meeting in person because Rong-Rong lives in Spokane.

Because the Lovelesses are passing through the Bay Area while en route to a wedding in Los Angeles, the couple asked to crash at our place. Mom had been looking forward to meeting Rong-Rong and was thrilled to host them.

I had to sleep in the master bedroom because we let the Lovelesses use my room. Giving them the master bedroom would have been the most convenient for everyone, but this is said to bring bad luck in some traditions. On the bright side, Rong-Rong gave me three bags of chocolate for my troubles. :-)

An impromptu party — our first in almost three years

We also treated the Lovelesses to a nice dinner yesterday. Rong-Rong also wanted to invite her friend Hong-Yeh over because they had known each other for some time. Mom was more than happy to oblige. Both the Lovelesses and Hong-Yeh also brought food to share. It's been a while since we had a party like this!

Another highlight is that my aunt Cynthia also stopped by our house. She had come to drop off a gift as Rong-Rong had done a big favor for her a while ago. Cynthia had other errands and couldn't stay for more than a few minutes, but at least I enjoyed hearing about her and Cathy's recent trip to Europe. Given that the pandemic has limited our opportunities to get together, this was nice for a change.

I was admittedly a little nervous because the pandemic isn't really over. COVID-19 numbers have actually gone up in the past several days. However, the "good" news is that Omicron and BA.2 have shorter incubation periods. I should be fine as long as I don't get sick after a few days or so.

In any case, let's hope the pandemic will finally end this year. I'd definitely love to have some "proper" gatherings without fear of catching the virus!

Currently listening to: "American Pie" by Don McLean