So I did that 20 mile run on Wednesday and haven't done any running since then. Way to go me! Alright, I know that's a terrible way to do things, but it's a super busy time of the year, so I haven't really had the time to go out and add in any extra runs. But walking the dogs has been enough in terms of getting some type of activity in. The only real problem is that I keep eating candy and desserts when we go out, which is not something I usually do. In fact, Ryan and I rarely get dessert because we're almost always super full from our regular meals. Must just be because it's Christmas.
This year for Christmas we decided to try something new and went to Newport, instead of New York City, like we usually do. It was a nice little trip, but it was very foggy out and we couldn't really enjoy the town. Which is too bad because it was also a nice 68 degrees, so it would have been a good day to walk around and check out some lights. Oh well. We got a room in one of the old mansions on the Cliff Walk and left the balcony door open overnight, so that was nice. I mean, the bed was super uncomfortable, but having the ocean right there was nice. The sunrise the next morning was pretty too. Maybe not as nice as the sunrise from the day of the marathon, because it was still a bit foggy, but I had a much better time being in Newport this time around. Just like every other city in America though, there's nothing to do on Christmas Day because everything is closed, so we just ate breakfast and went back home. I am glad we skipped New York City this year though because I'm sure it would have been packed with people. Last year was bad and it wasn't nearly as warm, so I can only imagine how many people were out this year. I'm not a fan of not being able to move on the sidewalks because they're so crowded, so going to empty Newport was much better. If you're going to NYC for Christmas, I definitely suggest going during the week, and not the week of Christmas. I know a lot of people can't take time to just go and do that, but it is so much less crowded and you still get to see all of the same decorations. Plus, Bryant Park always has some great little items in their pop-up shops and when it's super crowded like that, you can't get close enough to check anything out.
As far as gifts go, we don't do a lot of buying in this house. It seems silly to buy gifts when we both see where the money is being spent. It's not like you can keep it a surprise anyways. But I did get a nice leather notebook holder, which I really like. It's Harry Potter themed, because Ryan is smart like that. I got him a Qalo ring, because his ring is not workout friendly, and it's too big for him anyways. If you haven't heard of the Qalo rings, they're just silicone bands, very inexpensive as far as rings go, and are good for people who work with their hands a lot, or for someone who is working out. You can check them out at qalo.com if you're super interested.
Finally, I'd like to take a moment to recognize the Google Support Store. The fingerprint sensor on the back of my Nexus 5X stopped working on Wednesday night. Now, I know that's not a huge deal, as the phone works fine without it, but it's kind of like buying a new car and having the radio controls on the steering wheel stop working one month in. Sure, you don't NEED those controls to work the car or the radio, but you paid for it, so you obviously want it to work. Basically that's how I feel about the fingerprint sensor. I don't NEED it, but the phone is only a month old, so there' no reason why it shouldn't work. Anyways, it was being weird, working and then not working with no particular pattern. So on Christmas Eve morning I contacted Google/Nexus Support to get some help. The person helping me gave me a few different options as to how to solve the problem, all of which worked short term, but not in the long run. I was sending back emails with the results of each test, just to keep the support store aware of the situation, as it doesn't seem to be a common problem. If you're wondering, first they had me clear the cache in regular settings. After that didn't work, I tried rebooting in safe mode. When that didn't work, they had me reboot in recovery mode and wipe the cache that way, which worked until I opened an app or connected to a charger. Finally, they had me do a full factory reset, which again, worked until I opened an app or connected to a charger. In a weird turn of events, for a while, the sensor worked when the messenger app was open, but that stopped working too. So, finally, we've decided to replace the phone. The point of all of this though is that this was a two day project through email. I sent an update on Christmas Day, not expecting any type of response, because after all, it is Christmas. Instead, the woman who was helping me answered almost immediately, in the middle of the day, and continued to exchange emails until we landed on the replacement option. Now, I live with a person who does his work every day of the year, holidays be damned, but he's an exception, not the norm. He responds to his customer emails throughout the day, and probably even did it on our wedding day, but I didn't expect other people to be like that. Maybe Google makes them work, but I doubt it. So, if you still aren't convinced that Google is way better than Apple, there's another point in the Google column. I mean, I've never tried contacting Apple on Christmas Day, so maybe they're just as helpful, but I'm going to assume they're not, because that's how I roll.
Alright, I'm going to wrap up this unnecessarily long post now. Enjoy some pictures of the Newport sunrise and my lovely Christmas present.
