The second workday remained busy, with meetings, debugging, and issue reporting. Two new colleagues joined the Movie project, and I resolved the “identify” bug, preparing a minimal reproducible case for submission.

In the evening, I played badminton, expecting to struggle but feeling surprisingly at ease. Later, we had dinner at Hamer’s friend Liuliu’s house, where her parents served a delicious meal with hometown specialties. The lively conversation and good food made for a delightful evening.

Did you know?

ArcGIS Earth’s Daylight Tool lets you visualize sunlight and shadow movement across any location at different times of the day and year. Whether you’re analyzing building shadows, planning solar energy installations, or assessing seasonal daylight impact, this tool brings a new level of realism and insight to your 3D scene.

🛠️ How to Use the Daylight Tool for Advanced Analysis:

1️⃣ Simulate Sunlight at Any Time & Date 🌞⏳ Activate the Daylight Effect and use the time slider or calendar selector to observe how the sun’s position changes throughout the day and across seasons. This is crucial for urban development, solar potential studies, and landscape design.

2️⃣ Animate Sunlight to Show Changes Over Time 🌅🎥 Enable Animate Sunlight and Shadows to visualize daily or yearly cycles. This helps analyze how shadows shift over time, which is key for protecting parks from high-rise shading, ensuring optimal daylight exposure, and improving building placement.

3️⃣ Fine-Tune Visibility with Shadows and Time Zones ☁️🕰️ Turn on Show Shadows to understand how terrain and structures interact with sunlight. Adjust the time zone for accurate sun positioning worldwide, ensuring reliable analysis for global projects.

🚀 Pro Tips:

1️⃣ Use daylight animation to create seasonal shadow impact studies for urban planning. 2️⃣ Bookmark specific daylight settings to compare sun angles across different seasons. 3️⃣ Adjust atmospheric effects for more realistic lighting and shading.

Returning to Beijing marked the start of a new year.

The train ride felt short for Hamer, who hadn’t slept enough. My night was restless, waking up from station noises or checking on her.

The workday was packed—clearing emails, handling invoices, picking up my passport, and debugging an identify issue.

Hamer spent the day playing with her friend. In the evening, Hamer’s friend’s parents joined us for dinner, and we had a great time chatting over the meal.

Did you know?

ArcGIS Earth’s Underground Mode allows you to explore and analyze subsurface environments, helping you visualize tunnels, mines, pipelines, and geological formations with ease. Whether for mining safety, utility inspections, or subterranean navigation, this tool provides a new dimension to GIS mapping.

🛠️ How to Use Underground Mode for Visualization & Analysis:

1️⃣ Navigate Seamlessly Below the Surface 🔍

Activate Underground Mode to make the terrain transparent and reveal subsurface features like abandoned mines, underground utilities, and geological structures. Use 3D navigation tools to move through tunnels and passageways as if you were underground.

2️⃣ Conduct Interactive Subsurface Analysis 👁️

With tools like Line of Sight, simulate what a miner, engineer, or emergency responder would see within an underground system. Visualizing sightlines in mine shafts, sewer systems, or disaster response zones ensures better situational awareness and safety planning.

3️⃣ Integrate High-Precision 3D Data for Realism 📡

Load LIDAR point clouds and 3D scene layers to enhance the accuracy of underground modeling. Detailed underground visualizations assist in mine inspections, structural integrity assessments, and environmental impact evaluations.

🚀 Pro Tips:

1️⃣ Adjust Terrain Transparency to balance surface and subsurface visibility.

2️⃣ Use Elevation Exaggeration to emphasize subtle underground formations.

3️⃣ Enhance Safety Planning by integrating mine layouts and tunnel blueprints into your scene.

After a busy day, it was time to head back to Beijing.

In the early morning, I decided to travel through Changsha instead of the original plan to Beijing. We visited Xiaoyan’s aunt at the hospital, where we were relieved to find her recovering well.

Later, Hamer and I had a great time playing with her cousin. After dinner, I visited Xiaoyan’s aunt again with her siblings.

At night, Hamer was excited to travel by sleeper train, though she was initially nervous about sleeping on the top bunk—yet fell asleep peacefully soon after.

The Last Day at Home: A Warm Farewell

This morning, the sun was shining brightly, and the weather felt perfect. I brought my uncle outside to walk and soak up the warmth.

After lunch, I took my mom and Hamer into town to buy groceries for dumplings and snacks for our train ride. In the afternoon, the sun gradually disappeared, and the air grew colder and colder.

In the evening, the whole family gathered to prepare dumplings, with the kids enthusiastically joining in.

I woke up late today after staying up watching Family Matters, making the day feel much shorter. In the morning, my dad kept calling for me repeatedly, which frustrated me.

In the afternoon, I napped while Hamer went to town with her aunt, returning happily with new toys. Later, I struggled while changing my uncle’s bandages and discussed adjustments with my dad.

The day ended warmly with a family dinner, bringing back a comforting sense of togetherness.

A Day of Exploration and Family Time

I took Hamer to explore the Xinjiang River, where she turned our walk through harvested fields into an obstacle course. At lunch, she enjoyed leftovers more than expected.

In the afternoon, we went shopping with her Grandma, played the claw machine, and stocked up on snacks and toys.

In the evening, Hamer helped make dumplings and experimented with adding firewood to the stove in my Grandma’s house.

Lunar New Year - Day 8: The Last Days of Celebration

My uncle’s wound still isn’t healing well, but he was more active and engaged with the family.

At noon, my sister and nephews came over, filling the house with laughter and games.

In the evening, we visited my eldest sister’s house and had meaningful conversations, strengthening our family bonds. Walking home through the dark village, Hamer reflected on the day, calling it “both happy and sad.”

Lunar New Year - Day 7, I decided to extend my stay instead of returning to Beijing as planned, so I could take care of my uncle and spend more time with family.

Hamer learned to ride a bigger bike, her joy radiating as she mastered it. I took the kids to the movies while also dropping Yaoyao off at school. The roads were congested, but I managed well.

I’ve been feeling incredibly sleepy at night, barely staying awake while writing my journal.

Lunar New Year - Day 6, we attended my cousin’s engagement ceremony, traveling as a family on a large bus, which felt like a fun group trip. At the groom’s house, we enjoyed a spread of local snacks before touring the area.

In the evening, we had dinner at my cousin’s place, where his daughter impressively prepared two full tables of delicious food. After dinner, I had a heartfelt conversation with my sister-in-law, realizing how valuable it is just to listen and connect.

Last night, Hamer had multiple vomiting episodes, showing signs of gastroenteritis. She remained calm, but it was a restless night for both of us. I consulted DeepSeek and ChatGPT, both confirming similar symptoms.

In the morning, I accompanied my brother to take our uncle to the hospital for his constipation issue, but the enema didn’t work as expected.

Despite the exhaustion, we continued our family visits, having lunch at my aunt’s and dinner at my second sister’s place. Driving all day was tiring, but the warmth of family gatherings made it all worthwhile.

Lunar New Year – Day 4, we visited my aunt’s house for lunch and my eldest sister’s for dinner. My driving has become much smoother after these days of practice.

My uncle was more active today, doing light exercises in the morning and walking with my brother’s help in the evening. We’re gradually helping him regain independence.

However, I’m feeling under the weather—my throat is sore, and painful mouth sores are making eating and speaking uncomfortable.

Lunar New Year - Day 3, I drove Xiaoyan to the high-speed rail station for her trip, handling the drive smoothly but feeling slightly tense. Later, I picked up family members from my aunt’s house and refueled the car for the first time.

The evening was filled with simple moments—Hamer and Coco playing before doing homework, and my brother making extra egg fried rice when the kids couldn’t get enough. For the first time, I observed the kids managing their bedtime routine independently.

Today started with unexpected news of a fire in the mountains. I helped guide the fire truck and joined villagers in putting out the flames. Later, my brother changed my uncle’s dressing, and I was shocked by the severity of his injury.

In the evening, we gathered at my maternal family’s home. We enjoyed a lively dinner followed by an energetic card game, filling the house with laughter.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we visited family and friends in the village, starting from Grandma’s house and ending at my cousin’s. The day was filled with warmth and laughter.

The sun was intense in the afternoon, and the courtyard was lively with chatter and laughter. In the evening, I was surprised to find Hamer doing her homework, determined to catch up on her schoolwork.

As I write this, I feel very tired, ready to rest and recover for tomorrow’s festivities.

Lunar New Year’s Eve was filled with traditions and joy. I started the day early, exploring DeepSeeK and enjoying a serene frost-covered morning.

The kids helped put up Spring Festival couplets, taking pride in the tradition. After lunch, I drove Xiaoyan and the kids to town and later played chess with Doudou.

The evening was lively, with a big family feast, fireworks, and games. At midnight, we celebrated with more fireworks, welcoming the new year together.

Happy Lunar New Year!

On this sunny 28th day of the lunar month, we gathered at home for New Year’s preparations.

In the morning, I practiced driving a manual car, gradually gaining confidence despite some initial stalling. After lunch, I drove my sisters to town and back, improving but still finding intersections tricky.

In the evening, we celebrated with fireworks, with each person contributing to the fun. The laughter of children and the warmth of family made the night truly festive as we approached the Chinese New Year.