Backup of David's Livejournal

My mom passed away a few days before Christmas.

She had been sick, and we all had an opportunity to say goodbye.  There's comfort in that.  I flew down to be with my dad for a few days between Christmas and my birthday, to make some arrangements.  We're all heading down again soon.

Oh: I was going to write a post about my birthday along the lines of this:  I've finally arrived at the answer!  (That is, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.)  The actual answer, of course, is: Chop wood, carry water.

I flew back to my wife and kids, and I had the bright idea of going to the California Academy of Sciences on the Monday between Christmas and New Years, because a lot of people still have to work that day.

I wasn't the only one with that bright idea.  The CalAcademy employee controlling the lines outside said it was busier than it had been on the weekend.  The special member entrance line took hours to get through, just like the regular entrance.

Once we eventually got in, my wife asked, "You didn't park in a 2-hour zone, did you?"  Of course I had.  So I left, re-parked the car a long ways away and jogged back to queue up in the re-admission line.  On that way back, my foot twisted a little, and my kneecap fell out to the side.  (A "displaced patella".  Displaced patellas are painful.)

Evidently a ligament saw fit to tear off some bone when it couldn't bear the strain. This will put me out of commission for a few weeks. It's hard to say how much this sucks for someone who is supposed to be Daddy!

I limped back, and the CalAcademy was now only allowing people to enter when the same number of people left.  Cell phone reception inside the academy is awful, so my wife had to walk to a spot where she could make an outgoing call every half-hour to see how far along in the line I was.  I got in around lunchtime.

We did all get to see the planetarium show, and it was duly awesome.  (And Ai Otsuka's "Planetarium" was in the car on the way to the CalAcademy. I couldn't resist.)

On the way back from the CalAcademy an accident on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge brought traffic to a stop.  My son just about lost his mind with the hating of being stuck in traffic for what felt like an eternity.

Oh, there's more.  I can't bring myself to write it at this point.  I'm glad that that week is over.

Mou ichido: Bad Week Owari.