Missed an entire month. But I think I had a pretty good reason. Pretty much on November 1, I came down with pneumonia. At first I thought it was the flu, but after a week of high fever, figured I needed to see a doctor. Got an order for a chest x-ray, just to make sure. Turns out I had some stuff in the lower right lung. Got some antibiotics and a couple days later, no more fever. Now just been dealing with the pneumonia recovery. Worked from home the entire month. So thanks to Numerator. Although it sounded like the Engineering team in Chicago got wrecked by other diseases including strep, so maybe I didn't miss much after all. Actually gonna go to the holiday party (yes, we're having one, yes, I got invited, but no, I don't think Tracy's allowed to go). It's themed, so got to get a costume before then, hopefully I can find it at a thrift shop between now and then. Been watching a lot of TV. Watched Superstore (where my fever induced dreams took me to), Impulse, Fleabag, Jack Ryan S2, The Mandalorian and our family's new favorite on Disney+, Forky Asks a Question (What? Nooooooo), and almost completely caught up on Silicon Valley. Successfully pulled off Friendsgiving while recuperating (milk bar birthday layer cake for Tracy, thai tea parfait for the adults, salt baked red snapper for an entree, and made the turkey for Thanksgiving. Already planning for some different things for next year. Haven't left the house much, but planning on heading back into the office tomorrow. Also been reading again on the Kobo Aura, although I seem to have misplaced it today. Kids have been playing a lot on the Nintendo Switch, mostly Splatoon 2 with Super Mario Party getting some recent playtime. Had Jackson's Birthday party at Windy City Ninjas. Went with the Thorngren's for Tracy's Birthday dinner at Mordecai. Had a joint birthday brunch with my parents at Dutch & Docs. So maybe I have left the house a little. Oh, forgot that on Halloween, because of the snow, I dressed the house up with Christmas lights on the fence, wreath on the door, and answered the door when handing out candy wearing an ugly Christmas sweater and a jolly "Merry Christmas!". And going full circle, pneumonia seemed to be going around the 4th graders, at least Lucy's friends, with more than a handful coming down with it (both before and after me, so I wasn't patient zero).

Finished removing DRM from my iTunes purchases so I can put them on Plex in 1080p resolution where available. Took a while. Now have decided to try pulling down from streaming services to watch via Plex, however, only available in 720p max. Trying to limit to stuff I can't purchase, stuff that's streaming only, but giving in to some. Promise to delete if I ever cancel my subscriptions. Santa was pretty good for me this year. Got a bunch more merino wool hoodies (from Wooly), which is pretty much what I wear exclusively. Got a new 55-200 zoom lens for the camera. Should be useful for the kids sports activities, since they have them now. Oh yeah, Lucy had her first swim meet. Hence the lens. Jackson's got soccer at the CIBC Fire Pitch (indoor soccer setup for the Chicago Fire). Hence the lens. Jackson got a few Nerf guns, so I got some Nerf guns, and Lucy got a Nerf bow and arrow. I got Christmas Eve off for the first time. That was nice. Been working from home a lot, and not all that productive, so going in when I can, like today. Had to bring Lucy to morning swim clinic a couple times on break, so she had two a days for the first time. Gained all my weight back that I lost from the pneumonia. Got Airpods Pro, which are my first noise cancelling headphones, and they're amazing. However, my ear canals are 2 different sizes, which is annoying. Can't quite find a good size for my left year. Oh, went to my work party (Roaring 20's theme) in a tux with tails and top hat and cane, pocket watch and everything. Definitely weird though, cause I only know a handful of people even though I've been there for 16 years. Finally made it down to Uncle Mike's Place, found it to just be ok. Don't really have to go back. Went on a quest for lychee's after Jackson had a lychee drink at Jin Ju, and eventually found it at the H Mart downtime, where I saw live king crab for the first time. They're enormous.