A bit of a more brief missive here.  I'm back from a 2 & 1/2 trip to Los Angeles.  I got a bit more than what I was expecting and some exactly what I was anticipating.  

First, the unexpected: my dental issue was not what I thought it was (a veneer that dropped out).  Instead, it was part of a tooth that chipped off when I bit into chewy bread...and the wreckage went to the nerve.  The dentist was amazed I was not in pain from it.  Anyways, an extraction followed after I was presented the choice of a root canal or an implant.  Considering I've had both, the latter in a mili-second.  Now comes the 6-month wait for the bone and gums to heal from the extraction.  Then will come the implanting of the metal into my upper jaw, then another 4-month waiting period to assess how well the implant takes.  Only then will a veneer be fitted atop the metal stub.  I went through this in 2013, so it is not an unknown thing.  The only wild card is whether will I be getting the implant in Southern California or Portugal.  If Hair Furor wins, the latter.  If Kamala wins, the former.  As I've said multiple times, but perhaps not here: I will never spend another second in an America misruled by Orange Anus - once was quite too much, no fucking thanks.  The second unexpected came from when I stayed at Mike W.'s place in Pacific Palisades.  After I had my first vaguely in-depth conversation about living in Portugal, the next morning, they announced they had decided to move to Europe (the Cote d'Azur, to be exact), and their talking to me had sealed the deal for them.  Ok.  I hope they understand just how much of a thing it will be, especially with two -- one of whom has begun schooling.  In fact, my nephew's situation mirrors mine at that age somewhat...and it did not go well for me at all (though it should be mentioned my reaction was not good).  Mike expects both of his kids to adapt easily.  I tried to explain to him that might not be the case.  Best of luck to them.  On another note, Mike generously let me put my stuff I had at Extra Space Storage in Marina del Rey at his warehouse space in Chatsworth.  I took advantage of it.

The somewhat anticipated other shoe to drop was the Princess revealing more about her attitude towards visiting me in Portugal.  She brought up the hot water supply in the apartment only lasting 5 - 10 minutes, and she needed far longer for her evening shower in order to get to sleep.  I don't know how fishy that is, I guess I will have to discreetly ask about that.  She's been angling for a January or February visit to the Algarve at what will probably be an über expensive spot.  At least, it will not be during the high season.  We also had a tiff: she's been digesting far too much conservative propaganda and swallowing it too much of it far too easily.  Also, when I visited the Druckers in Laguna Beach, Deb reminded me of anti-vaxxer spouting she did on a Thanksgiving Zoom call.  So this is how families drift apart...

Regarding the last line from the prior paragraph, it is starting to happen in my immediate family as well.  Deb & Raph don't speak to Mike & Janini, mostly due to the latter's posting of conspiracy theories that include a dose of antisemitism.  Deb & Mike don't speak due to their Mom, who, despite lying to the latter about who his actual father was, has managed to worm her way into his good graces.  Needless to write, my disdain for her has only increased since her lame non-apology for her inaccurate & inappropriate social media post about my mother's passing.  

Sadly, this sort of drama hit both sides of my family in generations prior.  For a time, I thought our cadre was immune.  Apparently and sadly not. 

UPDATE (since I drafted the text above):  The USA has made its catastrophic choice.  Now, I will follow through on mine.  The only things I have of interest in the USA are my financial accounts and my art.  Bringing the latter to Portugal will not be cheap.  Very soon, I must decide so, and gauge whether or not I need to make one more trip to Los Angeles (with me getting back before January 20, 2025).  I also need to recalibrate my financial life in several ways: 1) Do I move my assets out of the jurisdiction of the USA?  2)  My monthly disbursements to the Princess will change (yes, I've been saying this for years!), but I want to give her a chance to have a conversation about it.  However, I will not wait on her schedule -- I did that via delaying my arrival to Portugal for a year, and it was not wholly positive.  I tallied what I disbursed to her over the length of our relationship, and it has not been cheap.  If she wants this to continue, the agreement as we have had it will change. 3) Part of why the prior has to happen is that if I'm staying in Portugal, I'm going to start looking for a more permanent place to live that I will furnish myself.  Perhaps I will even buy a property.  For that to happen, I need to grow the principle of my investment portfolio to raise the cash for a purchase & still have a healthy base with which to earn passive income that I can live on. 

I moved to Portugal in significant part because the prospect of being subject to Orange Anus again is simply unacceptable.  I had a nagging feeling that the Democrats would not show the required ruthlessness to make sure he would never be in the White House again, and thanks in large part to the dithering of Merrick Garland, it has happened.  I am now an exile.