Fort Lauderdale – 3 kilometres walked
Today was financial reconciliation day. Each year around this time I do a deep analysis of our year’s spending, investment performance, and progress on goals, then I put together a presentation for the family. I had considered not doing it this year as part of my plan to break away from our regular life and routines as much possible, but Ana has asked if I was going to do it, and was hoping I would. I started work on it around 7, and took a few short breaks to defrost one of the refrigerators as glacial cooling had turned the chicken, beef, and hot dogs into a single, multi-coloured, icy mass making it impossible to retrieve any food.
I finished around 6pm, happy with the final results, then made myself a Christmas Eve dinner of yellow-fin tuna steak, kale salad, and spicy rice and enjoyed it slowly as my trip hop playlist flowed and oozed from the boat speakers. I could feel my back starting to whine after being slumped over the laptop all day, so I lowered the dinghy, paddled to the dock, then started walking towards the beach which, I assumed, would be quiet as surely nothing would be open on Christmas Eve.
I was wrong about that.
In the park by the beach was a stage with three zoot suit crooners backed by a brass band playing Mack the Knife to five hundred people. It was crazy! There were people everywhere, many wearing Santa hats, carrying cans of beer or cocktails, watching the show. Ana called as I was watching the band as she was so worried I was moping around the boat all lonely with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” on infinite repeat. Fortunately, Fort Lauderdale is a party every day.
I watched the band, I went for a walk along the beach, I walked past all the busy bars, and by 9pm I was back at the boat shortly before Christmas rain began to fall.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Merry Christmas to you and your family
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