Annie smiles for the camera in a portrait probably taken by me. You do remember when film shooting was the only option—not the nostalgia thing that it is today, yes?
We were a newly matched couple in Yongin, Korea. My guess on the date for the Featured Image: Jan. 10, 1989, maybe the 11th. We would be blessed in marriage with 1,274 other couples on January 12. I will share more about that event, and our 35th wedding anniversary, in two days.
Today, Annie and I celebrate 35 years since our matching during a religious gathering in Yongin, Korea. We were no more than a few hours together when someone shot the Featured Image for us.
The companion capture is a day or two later, possible Jan. 10, 1989 or the 11th. We each hold a bottle of McCol, a carbonated barley drink that, honestly, I disliked. The photographer is unknown for both pictures, although he and/or she used one of our film cameras (no digital shooters back then).
Several properties in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights are undergoing or have undergone major renovations lasting years. Some started before or during SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns. Post-pandemic, construction delays, increased building costs, and lingering supply shortages could explain why these projects take so long.
Today, I stopped to gawk at a magnificently striking overgrown wall that had previously gone unnoticed. The main house and front lawn area have been a noisy construction zone for so long that I either walked by briskly or on the other side of the street. What an overlooked visual treat! Neither the Featured Image, nor the companion photo, adequately capture the scene.
For weeks, I have seen a sign outside one of the long-time, local University Heights businesses: Relocation moving sale. Today, I walked by and could see men working inside around fixtures, so I stopped by to ask where is the new location. There is none. Yet. Maybe never.
Commercial rents rise like insane homeless people shouting and swearing as they pull along their belongings in shopping carts. The store’s proprietor told me that his rent nearly doubled, leaving him little option other than to close up after first opening—in nearby Hillcrest—in 1974. What worse way to celebrate 50 years, eh?
Identification can be tricky, particularly when kitties roam. This fine feline could be Peek-a-Boo, who joined the series on Jan. 10, 2021. Similarities are striking but differences matter, too. The previously-seen shorthair was quite dirty and wore a collar. This one is clean and wears nothing but fur.
I certainly have observed cats from the same litter, or completely unrelated, that could be anything from twins to doppelgangers. I spotted this one on Howard, which intersects Florida—where was Peek-a-Boo three years ago.
Christmas may be oh-so last year, but some of my San Diego neighbors let the holiday spirit linger on their lawns. Today, I came across some inflatables that are familiar and memorable—from stop-motion special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, which first aired on television in December 1964.
Abominable looms large over a collection of misfit toys; somewhat cut-off, gold-digger Yukon Cornelius stands behind the snow monster. Creatures, people, and things that don’t fit in is the underlying theme of the perennially-broadcast holiday classic. Festive decorations are misfit, too, with Christmas past and their summer-like setting. Nuclear winter would have to come before snow fell in this part of Southern California.
I can’t recall the last time my wife and I ate out at a restaurant—or even fast food. Cost is one of the major reasons, and that is about to increase with the new $20/hour minimum wage that goes into effect (appropriately) on April Fools Day. Oh, you got to love California.
Some Pizza Hut franchises won’t wait for that momentous event; two of them are laying off more than 1,200 in-house delivery drivers. Ouch. Our family eats what it cooks, except for the occasional Pizza Hut pie—and always by take away.
When preordering Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra on Feb. 1, 2023, I couldn’t conceive of the year that would unfold, nor the smartphone’s extraordinary documentary role. The new thang, which replaced S22 Ultra, arrived two weeks later. Seventeen days following, March 2, our daughter suffered brain trauma—”severe hypoxic injury and bilateral subcortical infarctions”—and spent the entire month in the hospital before moving on to cognitive and physical rehabilitation. While her recovery is miraculous, she suffers some handicaps that likely will remain.
My hope is for a different year ahead. But the United States moves towards presidential election dystopia, while the world shudders. Among the flashpoints: Russia-Ukraine. Gaza-Israel. China-Taiwan. North and South Korea. Problems abound across the globe, but these four regions are potential or ongoing brushfires that could engulf the world in the flames of war.
We start the new year with not one but two additions to the series. Because I am displeased with the amount of apartment interior seen in the Featured Image, location is withheld (privacy protection). But names are accurate for the tiger tabby and coal black, which came to the window as their owner exited and drove away.
Once again, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s 10x-optical zoom lens demonstrates its worthwhile. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/420 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 10:10 a.m. PST, Dec. 26, 2023.
The year ends with an unexpected post. Today, my cousin Dan emailed a couple older photos, both likely taken by his dad (my Uncle Glenn). Date and my age are uncertain as I write. If Dan can answer my question where, then time is something I can add later on.
I probably started the beard around age 16, definitely by 17—but age 18 or 19 is possible, too, in the Featured Image. Seventeen is my guess. If correct, location likely would be my Nana’s apartment in Lewiston, Maine. Same would be true if a year or two older.
I scrapped my planned post, in the interest of time. My daughter needed help with health insurance stuff (open enrollment ends tomorrow for January coverage). Of course, she has to do everything by text message, which quadruples the amount of time necessary to do anything. I can more quickly explain and better keep a train of thought talking versus typing (on the phone screen).
The Featured Image was quickly taken, using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, so that I could write about something. Neko chills with the plushie purchased for Annie during a recent trip to the Ralph’s supermarket in Hillcrest. She kind of liked it, and Christmas themed things were on sale.
Like many other Amazon customers, the day after Christmas (Bah humbug to you, too, Jeff Bezos), I received email informing that “starting January 29, Prime Video movies and TV shows will include limited advertisements”. That one sentence sentences my Prime membership to execution. I won’t renew when the current annual period expires.
My family’s first Amazon purchase was in 1998, and we joined Prime a decade later. One of the benefits for which we keep the service is commercial-free video content. Advertising changes everything. Free, fast shipping isn’t compelling enough.