Through the Words of This Journal

I slept well last night. I stopped tracking my sleep. So I'm not sure how long I actually slept. And I don't have records of my sleep cycle anymore. But I feel as though it was a pleasant night of restful sleep. I'm really glad for that. Those other two nights weren't pleasant whatsoever...LOL

A year ago, I was trying to answer the miracle question: "If the miracle happened while I was asleep, how would I know the miracle happened once I woke up?" It's basically asking about how would I recognize the answer to a prayer when it was answered. The prayer at the time was about my place in today's church. On this day a year ago, I felt the answer to the miracle question was that I'd know I was onto God's answer to my prayer about church once I was ready to return to physical church. And on this day a year ago, I was ready to go back. I tried out theChapel's satellite location near me shortly after. And I researched other nearby churches. But I have yet to settle into a church a year later. And I'm currently taking a break from virtual church. In a way, I feel I may have been wrong about knowing that my miracle had taken place. I still desire to go to physical church. I still desire to attend virtual church. But something just isn't right. And I don't know what it is or why I feel this way.

I'm really excited about the World series this year. My personal favorite team, the Dodgers, are going up against the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays' Spring Training is in Dunedin, about 10 miles from where I live. So they are like my hometown team. I feel like I'll win no matter the outcome. Of course, I'm rooting for the Dodgers and will be wearing LA shirts and drinking from my LA mugs...LOL I said something to my mom about how I only have two Dodgers shirts and no ball caps yet. So she put that sort of thing on the Christmas list...LOL I got my World Series Champions shirt for Christmas last year from Cherie. My other LA shirt I bought as a teekit for a sweep they made just before my trip last year in July. I got it at J.C. Penny in California. My mugs were something I ordered from the MLB shop online last year just as the season started.

I've already bought the first Christmas gift for this season. I happened upon it in the strangest of places for me. And quite earlier than I normally start thinking about Christmas. But now it's time to be thinking more about that. This hasn't always been the funnest thing for me. But I'm looking forward to it this year. I've even begun thinking about what I might get for Christmas this year myself from others. I don't normally do that. The giving and receiving of gifts hasn't been my favorite part of life. But I've been getting more into it these past few years.

It's also that time of year for annual enrollment of benefits. This year's premiums are taking a leap. It's probably the largest in my career after I started needing to pay a portion. They are adding a new option that I think I may go with. I still need more information, but it's the top tier that gives what appears to be the best healthcare. I hope to be right about that so Malachi can get the best for his circumstances. It's a significant increase in what I pay. But the healthcare options appear to be far better than what we have now. Not that what we have now is all that bad. I just wonder if he's been getting suboptimal care because of the old insurance. I don't know much about these things besides how that industry has gotten worse while becoming more expensive over the course of my life.

I know things will work out, but I'm bummed about the government shutdown. So many people are impacted. Yet the people who are causing this aren't impacted. I pray for wisdom for those folks. I hope they know what they're doing. I sure don't know what they're doing...LOL I don't imagine it will still be going on by the time I need to travel next month. So I'm more concerned about the millions of people who are experiencing it right now. It's sad that political pressures are what typically end these standoffs. I wonder if this situation and its impacts are getting enough press considering all of the other things going on in this country. I hurt for this place and need to pray.

I'm excited about my writing and art again. That comes and goes. But lately, creativity has been flowing. I can't wait to finish some of these things so I can share them. I've also been working on my LEGO tree. It's going to be amazing. I'm taking my time and enjoying the process. I'd like to do more LEGO builds next year. I'm going to collect the botanical sets over time. And there are other sets I'd like to get, like that Shelby!

Much to even my surprise, I ordered 2 new e-ink devices today that were just announced last night. If they work out, they'd replace a few that I have already. Since I'm still experimenting with this, I decided to try them out. The first is the next generation of the Palma, the Palma 2 Pro. It's the same phone size, but it's color and has the option of a pen and 5G mobile data. If it works for me, it replaces my existing Palma and will come in handy for jotting notes and sketches on-the-go. The other is the next generation of the Note Air, the Note Air5 C. It has some new features as well and is supposed to have a better writing experience. I'll hope for the best and then decide what I'll do with whichever devices I won't be using. That said, I decided to write this entry on my current Note Air4 C to see how the software is. I tried this yesterday, I think. I didn't much like it at first because in doesn't feel as good as the Supernote. But I'm feeling better about it today. The surface still needs a better film, though. I only have 2 pens that feel right on this surface. And neither are pleasant for long writing sessions.

Sorry to write so much about this technology journey. I'm recording it to look back upon. I'll either laugh about it each year, or be grateful I experimented and journaled about it. That's part of why I write in this journal. I want to remember these things. Not because they are always important. But because they happened and are part of my life in the moment. With these e-ink devices, I'll find what I'm looking for and I'll grateful to see how it happened through the words of this journal.

Side note: the process of converting the handwritten note into this final text was a bit more complicated than the Supernotes. So, I'm not quite sold on using the Boox devices for this sort of thing. I'll try again and see how it goes next time since I know what to expect now...LOL

Overall, this was a really good day. Work went well. All of the food I made was good. I worked on my LEGO tree. I finished the first draft of Coffee Mug and sent it off to Cherie. I learned something new about writing on PDFs because of some payroll task I did today. I watched the round table discussion about The Chosen season 5, episode 2. I watched this week's episode of Only Murders in the Building. I had a lovely walk before dinner. And I tried this different way of writing today's journal entry. It was a full day. My heart is happy ❤️