Wednesday, January 15, 2020

a scary gas leak

So we had a gas leak at our house. It turns out the person we hired to fix our furnace had turned the wrong valve while shutting off the gas. Imagine the shock when we noticed the unmistakable hiss of gas escaping the meter!

Obviously, the first thing we did was call 911. Although the local fire station is just a few blocks away, those few minutes were one of the most terrifying moments of my life. This definitely brought back memories from the 1998 tornado. After what felt like hours, the firefighters arrived and were able to shut off the gas for us. They even stayed to make sure everything was OK while we waited for the PG&E technician to arrive.

I truly appreciate the crew's professionalism and how lucky we were. We even gave them some of our home-cooked drumsticks afterwards. I'm definitely glad everything ended well. And this is why I have the greatest respect for firefighters.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

on entering a new decade

So this is the first day of a new decade. Time goes so fast these days. It's hard to believe the 2010s are already over.

I regret to say that the holiday season didn't really feel like the holidays. The main reason is that Dad recently hurt his back while gardening and couldn't really leave the house. Because even walking hurts, none of us went anywhere except to get groceries. It really sucks that we couldn't even attend my town's annual New Year's Day run. :-(

Another thing is that we have to work on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Although most people take time off during the holidays, I decided to work as there wasn't much else to do. Don't get me wrong — as much as I love my job — nothing beats relaxing at home. On the bright side, this allowed me to save some vacation days. :-)

However, the holiday season had its highlights. For starters, my book club's annual holiday party was pretty enjoyable. Another highlight was my company's holiday party on the 19th. Everything was delicious, especially the desserts. It was also great to have Andrew and Cathy over for lunch and our family friend Lily over for dinner. Oh yeah, and I got level 99 Agility and Construction in RuneScape.

Also worth mentioning is that many family friends gave us well-wishes as my father was recovering. One friend even bought as a bunch of groceries. We truly appreciate everyone's support.

2019 in review

All things considered, last year went very well. The best part was definitely my cousin Cathy's wedding last summer. It was also fun to visit Reno and the Sierras with my aunts. That was one of my best summers ever. As for my career, everything has been going well at my job. Joining Intel was no doubt one of my best decisions ever.

As you could probably guess, the worst thing that happened is that my father hurt has back in December. Not only did this put a damper on the holidays, having to tend to him is demanding at times. The good news is that Dad has already started getting better. I definitely hope he fully recovers soon!

For those curious, my New Year's Resolution is to hopefully get a promotion at my job and make more real-life friends. I'm also hoping to get my max cape in RuneScape as I only need 99 in nine more skills. At any rate, I'm looking forward to see what 2020 has to offer. :-)

Side note: 2020 sounds really futuristic. I'm surprised we still haven't sent people to Mars or cured cancer. Hopefully we'll get personal quantum computers or flying cars soon!

Currently listening to: "Palisades Park" by Freddy Cannon