This is an extended version of my Holiday card text, so it will be of interest to a very small audience, if that. Read it if you want.
Best of wishes to everyone and I hope you’re doing okay. For me, no return to normal, but coping, sort of. Steadily trying to get rid of stuff, but not sure if outflow exceeds inflow. If it weren’t for digital books, I’d be in desperate straits. I’m starting to face up to the fact that some books I will never open again, but in spite of that there are still some I can’t let go of, yet. The number diminishes every year. Big milestone this year was letting my telemark skis go. Finally got ones that worked for me, but my knees, as well as the cost of lift tickets, say it’s time to quit. A lot of other outdoor gear is also gone. Power tools are disappearing. I’ve built enough speaker enclosures and I don’t want to start another one. I hauled my almost last major stash of plastic models to the local aviation museum.
A number of years ago I walked away from scuba diving after my dive partner died. My short time as a pilot ended after an eye injury and then loss of balance. Lots of transitions out; only transition in has been into DIY. I could include gardening, but that’s kind of a DIY.
Have all of my vaccinations (5 covid, 1 flu, 1 shingles, and something else Kaider gave me). I still wear a mask in crowded indoor areas. I liked catching a reduced number of colds and sinus infections in 2020 and I want to keep that up. I had chronic sinus infections pre-covid and they seem to be gone now that I use a mask. Using N95 masks. Shame that I sewed all those masks per the NY Times design and don’t use them anymore. I do occasionally go out to restaurants, and even go indoors, but I try to stay away from crowded ones. As a science project, I got a CO2 meter from Amazon to see how good the ventilation is indoors. The theory being if that the CO2 level is high, the ventilation is poor and there are more possibilities that the germ concentration is high. My reading so far have convinced me to keep wearing a mask.
Don’t like traveling anymore, but did get out to go see Glacier National Park and adjacent areas.
Got one photo of a glacier using a very long telephoto lens. Got that lens to take pictures of birds, but the wildlife sanctuaries I visited were mostly dried out. Makes the drought very real. Very impressed by Idaho and Utah, as always. Visited the small Hemingway memorial near Ketchum. Impressed by the beauty of the area. Would have liked to have gone on the trail nearby.
Guess I can’t get away from photography, although I’ve started selling off or giving away some cameras. Right before the pandemic I started getting into old 35mm film cameras after finding a place that would refurbish them. A friend gave me a camera. Picked up some old classic bodies and lenses off of eBay.I got most of the stuff I wanted before prices started to go up after this hobby became popular. Learned not to buy used camera gear from Japan, which was sort of disappointing. Don’t shoot film very much since it is expensive, but when I do the concentration required is refreshing. Don’t know how the great photojournalists made those shots with manual focus and exposure, plus lugging around all that weight. I don’t remember a Nikon F weighing that much.
After watching a bunch of Caltech astronomy outreach webinars, decided I wanted to go see the Owens Valley Radio Observatory again. It’s currently closed to the public but I talked my way in via email. Some of the nice people there answered some of my dumb questions. Neat (and free) place to visit if it’s opened to the public again. I timed it to also catch the Caltech outreach lecture at Bishop High School. Got to hear in person one of the astronomers I’d seen on the webcast.
Mt. Palomar Observatory, also part of Caltech, has re-opened to the public again, so I am planning a trip to go down there again. My folks took me there when I was little, as well as a trip shortly after college. My father got to watch them haul that 200” mirror up the mountain; the JWST of the time. The LIGO up north is also open to the public so I will be planning an expedition there, too.
Audited another free online EDX class, this time on Radio Astronomy instead of the history of Tokyo. My math abilities have really degenerated. Trying to exercise what is left of my mind. Had an MRI this year, which is kind of like a Disney ride with all the noise and jostling around, but more expensive. Didn’t learn much except my brain is shrinking at a “normal” rate. Time to start drinking better wines and reading faster.
Good harvest of persimmons this year and the limes are doing okay. Vegetables didn’t do well with the watering restrictions and me disappearing for a while on vacation. Not going to make it off the grid, yet. Plenty of squirrels and gophers in the adjacent park, but I’d have to compete with the resident coyote. Had a family of raccoons in the yard for a while, but they disappeared right after I set up trailcams. Started using the cams on the bird feeders, but now we have avian flu so I emptied out the feeders as recommended by the nature center. Back to watching webinars and talking to the geese in the parks. I do keep my distance because of that avian flu threat.
Although I promised my aunt I would back off on motorcycling, I still have my Triumph in the garage. It’s supposed to be the last bike in my life, although the Yamaha FZ800 was supposed to have fulfilled that role. The Triumph is not a bike I especially like, but I have tamed most of its bad features and it’s good enough to go to the Huntington Library so I can take advantage of the special motorcycle parking space near the entrance. Long motorcycle trips are now out of the question due to my health situation. I did make a trip as far as San Luis Obispo this year. Current plan is to give up motorcycling in 2 years if I last that long. Maybe I’ll get a Honda Super Cub then.
Should bicycle more since it is good for my knees. I got rid of my full size bike and now have just a couple of folding bikes. The folding bikes fit into the back of my car. Lifting a full size bike onto my roof rack is now problematic. At the least I bicycle to the LA Natural History Museum or California Science Center. The recently completed Metro K-line can also take me there, so sometimes now I can cheat. With a senior discount card, I sometimes like exploring where I can go on the Metro, especially with a bike to increase my options.
Continuing to explore local parks, nature centers, and wilderness ardkikemi@wordpress.com/wp-admineas. The pandemic started me on this and I’ve been amazed at how many there are in LA and Orange Counties. I keep on discovering ones that are new to me. I can still hike if it’s under 4 miles and the terrain is not too bad.
Well, that is my summary for my 2022.
My photos from 2022 are at:
http://ikemi.info/mytravel2022.html
Tags: Travel
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