Howdy, folks—welcome to 2024!
After months of nostalgic posts (with one brief respite), I’m finally back to blogging in the present. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot for me to write about (which is why I was reposting old entries for a while), but there’s one thing I can reflect on from the past few months: holidays! Since I live miles away from most of my friends and loved ones, holidays tend to be a low-key thing on my end; I tag along with whatever comes around, but I generally march to my own tune and celebrate as I see fit. The past few months are a good illustration of this.
Halloween usually conjures up images of costume contests, trick-or-treating, and eating way too much candy. Historically, that’s how I have celebrated Halloween; fate had other plans this year. All Hallows’ Eve in 2023 was on a Tuesday—not exactly the best day to find a party or celebrate irresponsibly. Children sometimes trick-or-treat around downtown Tillamook, but my office is somewhat out of the way for that. As such, my options were somewhat limited. However, the best part of having limited options is that it’s up to you to make the most of them. Though I still reported to my office in a suit and tie, I enhanced my outfit with a Halloween-colored tie and a cloak I originally got at a Renaissance Faire. Work was light (I didn’t have any court appearances or office appointments), so I had the day to catch up on some work, gorge myself on candy I bought at Safeway, binge watch Simpsons Halloween specials, and go home early to relax/play video games (most notably the horror classic Luigi’s Mansion). Some may not see this as the most exciting Halloween, but it was my Halloween—it scratched all my itches, didn’t stress me out, and was just what I needed to relax in the middle of a workweek.
Most Americans spend Thanksgiving taking the week off and getting together with their families. There were two reasons I couldn’t do that in 2023: (1) my immediate relatives live in Hawaii, which is difficult to go to on a whim and (2) I had a trial on the week of Thanksgiving, so taking the week off was not an option. As such, I had myself a happy little Thanksgiving out in Tillamook by staying home, taking time to myself not to work, silently reflecting on what I’m grateful for (my health, my job security, my friends and family, among other things), and celebrating with my neighbors on my island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I wasn’t totally isolated: I took the time to call loved ones and contact old friends. It wasn’t a typical Thanksgiving, but it was a good way to wind down after a contentious trial. On the other hand, I spent Black Friday as I always do—huddled up indoors, avoiding the riots, and taking a curious look at the various online sales. That felt reassuring…and it certainly kept me safe!
While Hanukkah in my childhood frequently meant indulging in fried foods and long games of dreidel, Hanukkah in my adulthood tends to be more subdued. Hanukkah 2023 was no exception: there were some long-distances exchanges of gifts with family and a party on the eighth night, but my main celebration for all eight nights was lighting up my small electric menorah and praying—something I’ve been used to for the better part of the last decade. It offered a quiet, spiritual respite for eight consecutive nights and provided a little warmth and light in an increasingly dark world.
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| (Eagle-eyed readers may notice that I've posted this photo before. Still, I feel that it's a particularly good picture of my electric menorah, so here it is again!) |
One of the best things about Christmas when you’re a lawyer is that work tends to slow down during the holiday season. Regardless of the crime rate or docket size, clerks and judges tend to schedule few things for late December. As such, I had a whole lot of nothing scheduled for the days leading up to Christmas and could afford to take multiple days off. That is how I ultimately got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with Cthulhu. We mostly just slept in and relaxed, which is the best thing to do on a cold day with a person you love!
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| I also had plenty of opportunity to cuddle with Christmas Cat, who has gotten bigger but no less cute in the past two years! |
I’m not one for drinking champagne or partying like it’s 1999, so I’ve developed my own set of New Year’s traditions over the years. I stay up until midnight around loved ones, reflect on the year, consider achieved/possible resolutions, and mow down hordes of battle droids in Star Wars: Republic Commando. Thanks to a continuously low workload, I was able to observe these traditions alongside Cthulhu and their cats to ring in a promising 2024. I also added a new potential tradition: counting down to midnight with my Animal Crossing neighbors (honestly, that game is serving as a decent substitute for socializing while I continue to live in rural isolation). It may not have been exciting, but it’s exactly how I wanted to end 2023.
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| Pictured: how I celebrated the moment the year changed |
Now that 2023 is over and 2024 has rolled on in, I’ve got a whole new year of holidays to observe. How will I observe them? Will I be able to branch out into more exciting observances (especially since COVID continues to decline)? Time will tell, but I’ve already got one to consider: my own birthday, which is in the middle of January. In the past, I’ve usually set up a big and special dinner with friends wherever I am. I don’t know how exactly I’ll do that this time: my friends are scattered in different places and the logistics of planning a big dinner seems a bit stressful this month. While I might try for something special, I think I’ll reach out individually to my friends and enjoy their presence (and possibly presents, but I’m less interested in that) wherever I can. It doesn’t matter where you are and who you’re with, it’s always possible to make an occasion special with the right mindset.
As an aside, remember when I started coming up with a parody song two years ago? I completed it over a year ago but previously forgot to post it. Enjoy the belated fruits of my labor!:
On the twelfth day of Christmas the state disclosed to me;
Twelve cups of coffee;
Eleven new indictments
Ten continued hearings;
Nine filed motions;
Eight electric candles;
Seven cows a-pooping;
Six months in jail;
Five plea bargains;
Four COVID spikes;
Three dashcam vids;
Two booster shots;
And a trial by a jury.
