January 11, 2024

Happy new year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to the new year so far.

Unfortunately, the week before Christmas, we had to say goodbye to my cat, Lali. She was slowly declining for a little while now, and when I took her to the vet on the 15th of December, the vet said her kidney numbers were so far beyond where they should be that the blood test couldn't even read them. We put her down the following Monday, the 18th.

I won't lie - it was probably one of the, if not the, saddest day of my life.

I still think about her every day, and I even dream about her pretty regularly, which is a nice comfort. I was worried I would never see her again in any way, shape, or form. We were able to get a customized box for her ashes, and we put some of her hats, toys, and a picture of us inside with the ashes. It now sits in our bedroom.

Some happier updates, I suppose - got a couple new figures. A Nadeshiko one to go with my Rin figure from Yuru Camp, and I *finally* got an Atelier Meruru figure (she's my favorite Atelier protag, I think).

Let's see...I also went to the Genshin Symphony show in Chicago this past Sunday, which was so incredible. The music was amazing and sounded just like the soundtrack, and they had beautiful visuals to accompany the sounds. It was such a wonderful experience, and I'm so happy I was able to go.

Coming up for me this year: