Well it’s been one heck of a break for me. I had such a wonderful time traveling all over the U.S. and seeing all of my family and friends. I feel very fortunate to still be in touch with so many people all over the country and thank everyone for making time to hang out during the busy holiday season. For those of you who I didn’t get to meet up with, I’m sorry and I hope to see you the next time I’m there, and hey, if you’re ever in Wellington let me know.
Here’s a recap:
Los Angeles was awesome; finally getting to spend time with my girlfriend was just so nice. We had fun everyday, getting to share some much needed non-vacation, run of the mill, everyday time together was much needed. We also spent Thanksgiving with her family which was wonderful, the food was incredible and I was able to meet a lot more of the extended family. The day after Turkey Day Jess’ dad took me golfing to an amazing course, I played well, though it was more fun just playing again though. Jess and I also got caught up on some movies, some of the better ones were: Juno, Dan in Real Life, Rendition, and Grace is Gone. We also went to some concerts, spent time at the beach, and spent time with her friends and family, it was great.
After 3 weeks in LA, I headed north to San Jose and San Francisco. I spent a few days catching up with my buddy Ed, we saw a new Circe du Solei, show, “Kooza,” and a Sharks hockey game.
San Francisco was of course a blast, being back in my favorite city and getting to see the old crew was kind of surreal, everyone is just doing so well…amazing what changes in a year. Congrats to Roger and Carrie on the engagement and thanks again to Landis and Anna for their hospitality. I also got to do a little networking with some other friends at Sony Imageworks, IM Digital, Lucas Animation, and Pixar. And Tom, don’t fret…you’re model is coming soon, promise!
I then headed to Pittsburgh for Christmas with my family. Last year I didn’t really have a Christmas since I was stuck out here, I was so happy to be home for the holidays. It was pretty cold, no snow though, bummer, it never feels like Christmas without snow. I spent some much needed quality time with my brother and family. We ate lots of great food and had lots of laughs. Some of the highlights here were seeing my Grandpap on Christmas, watching Penguin games with my brother, watching old family video of my brother and me when we were kids, and playing hockey with my old college friends.
It was now time to head back to Los Angeles for one more week with Jessica. We celebrated our Christmas together one of the presents were 2 tickets to “Wicked.” That was absolutely amazing, if you are a fan of the Wizard of Oz, you owe it to yourself to see this play. We then headed to San Diego for New Year’s and celebrated at the annual Big Night San Diego. We had so much fun dancing the night away. After spending a little more time together and with her family I headed back the Air New Zealand terminal that I now know so well.
All the best in the New Year everyone, stay in touch.
Monday it’s back to work; it is bad that I’m looking forward to it?
