Woah! It’s been about a full month since I’ve posted on here.
I spent Christmas moving from one apartment to another, and it came with some big changes. My last apartment was carpeted, and I could barely hear my neighbors. My new apartment, however, is the complete opposite. The buildings are over 50 years old, and when they renovated my building before I moved in, subflooring clearly wasn’t a priority. I can hear every noise my upstairs neighbors make. I know exactly where they are in their apartment just by listening to their footsteps. I can even hear what they’re watching on their TVs. As I’m writing this, someone is playing a racing video game. I can hear their dogs walking around and fighting with each other. I can hear everything.
In the first couple of weeks, I asked the property management if I could move to an upper floor or to an apartment below an older couple, but I ultimately decided not to move. I don’t know—I’m comfortable here, and I don’t want to go through the hassle of moving all my stuff again. Everything is unpacked, and I don’t have the motivation to repack. So, I’ve decided this is a sacrifice I’ll have to deal with in order to reach my future goals. If you’ve read my “About” page, you know what those are. I am paying significantly less rent than I did at my last apartment, and I’m blessed to live in a safe, quiet (outdoors, at least) neighborhood. I also bought really good noise-canceling headphones, which have helped with the noise.
New Year’s week, my parents and sister flew down to spend the holiday with me. It was a lot of fun! We stayed in Orlando and did a bunch of touristy things—well, most of them. We visited World Food Trucks, the Titanic Museum, Icon Park, rode the large Ferris wheel, visited the Museum of Illusions, walked around Disney Springs and Universal CityWalk, window-shopped at the Orlando Outlets, and celebrated New Year’s Eve at Epcot. It was all of our first time experiencing Epcot on New Year’s Eve, and it turned out to be one of the best New Year’s Eves we’ve ever had.
We explored the World Showcase, where there were parties and DJs at various countries. We probably shouldn’t have started in Mexico! My mom, sister, and I began the night with margaritas, and they were very strong. I think we had one or two more drinks after that, and that was it for us. I probably could’ve handled more if the goal had been “drinking around the world,” but I wanted to enjoy the park and fireworks without going overboard. Out of all the countries, Italy had the best party and DJ. After doing a full circle around the World Showcase, my dad went to sit by Mexico, while my mom, sister, and I went back to Italy to dance and enjoy the DJ. It was tons of fun, and I definitely want to do it again next year.
A few days after my parents flew home, I headed to Vegas for CES (Consumer Electronics Show). It’s the biggest electronics show in the world, spanning two resorts and the Las Vegas Convention Center. I stayed at Circus Circus, which was conveniently located across the street from the convention center and about a 15-minute walk from The Venetian. It was a great central location. I walked so much during the four days I was there, but I had a great time.
This was my second time attending CES, and honestly, it wasn’t as amazing as the first time. The first time I attended, the event was themed around smart technology, and most of the companies were showcasing their smart tech. Now that smart tech has become a standard commercial item, it’s a recurring favorite every year. This year, however, the theme was AI. While that’s great in concept, it felt lackluster. Instead of seeing robots mimic attendees’ movements, most of the presentations were software-based. Every company had its own AI. That’s cool, but I wanted to see physical, mechanical pieces of technology, not just new AI software. I’m hoping next year’s theme will be less software-focused.
Outside of the conference, I explored the Las Vegas Strip a little. I went to an amazing taco place near my hotel called Tacos El Gordo. The meat was served al pastor, and the process was super authentic. There were about five or six lines, each dedicated to a different protein. I waited in the pork line, asked for corn tacos, and watched as they cut the meat straight off the spit. It was delicious! You know the food’s going to be amazing when none of the workers speak English—it was true, traditional Mexican cuisine, and I loved it.
Unfortunately, someone who was coughing up a lung sat behind me on the flight home. You know what that means… Yup, I got sick. The week after I returned, I was out for three days. Even though I’m better now and don’t have any serious symptoms, I still have this lingering, annoying cough. It’s improving, but very slowly—like 0.0005% better each day. Apparently, everyone has been getting sick this winter, so I’m not alone. At least the last person on my team has finally gotten over their sickness, so I’m hoping for better days ahead.
In the meantime, I’ve been busy reading the Bible and preparing for a conference I’m presenting at this week. I’ll be speaking about how we can use smart and assistive technology in transition classes to help students become more independent as they graduate from high school. I’m really excited, and a few companies I met in Vegas said they’ll be attending my presentation. Unfortunately, I’m still coughing a little, which isn’t ideal. But I’m blessed and grateful for the opportunity to present.
That’s about it! That’s everything that’s been going on since I last posted about the Severance TV show concept. Season 2 has come out, and I’ve been keeping up with it.
Thank you for taking the time to read all this!
God bless you all!