We out

I almost don't want to write this entry because I don't want to believe my beloved vacation is nearly over. On the other hand, I am absolutely ready for 2016 to be over.

Besides the string of unexpected celebrity deaths and the galling election of Emperor Drumpf to the highest position in the world, two wonderful things occurred this year.

The first was the marriage of VPA, my best friend, who married the best man for him. I was telling someone else who had been at the wedding a few months later that my version of heaven would be to relive that weekend on repeat, seeing the two of them get hitched and seeing all sorts of people I knew and loved and hadn't seen in ages. It was a wonderful time, and one of my co-workers even mentioned how refreshed I looked when I returned to work.

And speaking of work, I got promoted. It was a long haul to get there, but it finally came through. I just re-ran my retirement estimator, and it's saying that I'm on track, whereas before it said I needed to put a little extra money away. That's pretty good news. And the saga with the credit cards continues, but I will just keep chipping away at it and try to watch my expenses.

I returned from Vegas on Monday, and would count it as a fun visit, but not as memorable as last year's when both my little sister and my other cousin who I hadn't seen in forever were present. My grandma is also starting to fade. This was not helped by the fact that a friend of hers died while I was there. Still, I hit up the Strip with my aunt, won big, lost big, and made my way back home to my Frisco Disco and Zammers.

I'm taking Raina out for her birthday dinner on Monday, which will coincidentally also be the last day of my vacation I drink. I have Tuesday off which will be spent cleaning, possibly shopping for some new work clothes, hopefully going to the gym, and definitely detoxing. I am sort of awestruck that I will turn forty next year. I suppose it will be similar to when I turned thirty, and woke up that morning thinking, Really? I'm thinking I'll perhaps bring my mom, sister, and nephew up to SF, which will cost me, but, well, anything I do will cost me. And I should probably celebrate this big one in some sort of recognizable way, no? I just can't believe the next big one after that will be fifty. I mean, seriously?