joy to you and me

I felt about as well as I deserved this morning - not bad, but not really in it to win it after getting less than six hours of sleep. But I rallied and went into the office, where I had v few meetings and so was able to get a lot done.

I cut out around five, and I said my farewells to the NYC office crew before walking back to my hotel to drop off my laptop. Then I caught the subway to Brooklyn, where I met Emily (one of my favorite coworkers) at Laser Wolf. This sounds like a much different scene than it was - maybe it sounds like a dance club, but it's a Mediterranean place with fantastic food and a great view of the Manhattan skyline. This was a great way to catch up with Emily outside of work, and also to meet her wife Lauren, who was v interesting (also a lawyer, ran for Congress in Florida at some point, seems super smart). All in all it was a great evening, and much more sedate than last night since I had one cocktail and then called it quits by 8:30.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

top down

I had an excellent day in New York - it really is a delightful city, perhaps even moreso than SF (and certainly moreso than Des Moines for my specific vibe). I got up, showered, ate some leftover pasta instead of breakfast, and then walked to the office. There, I slogged for several hours, until it was time to abscond to the two pm team lunch (which was two hours later than I'm wanted to eat, but when in Rome...).

So eight of us had lunch at a fancy place nearby that satisfied my coastal elite desires for rosé and appetizers and a perfect burger. We had many fun convos about crows, raccoons, and other topics. And then we went back to the office around 3:45 and pretended to work until seven...

... When Kleidi, Emre, Finn, Gary, Sid, Swati, Adit and I went to some Georgian restaurant (the Caucasus country, not the southern state) restaurant for a team dinner. It was less fancy than lunch, but we made up the spend by ordering many cocktails and basically closing the place down. We lost some people over the course of the evening, but of course Adit and I wanted a punch bowl to close out the night. So we dragged Gary, Sid and Swati to Jungle Bird, which we thought would have punch bowls, but we were misled. We still ordered drinks, and then more drinks, and suddenly we had discussed our company foibles until two am. 

And now, after an imminently fun evening it's time for bed - goodnight!

oysters in my pocket

I had a v nice day in NYC. I got plenty of sleep, got ready, and walked to the office, with a stop for Starbucks en route. The office is near Union Square (the NYC version, not the SF version), and the walk was easy and a good way to wake up.

Then I slogged all day, but with several fun coworkers around and the ability to order doordash for lunch. I had a plethora of meetings in the afternoon, and then I skipped out at 5:15 to walk west toward Chelsea. I had a date with my friend Sara at Mermaid Inn, which I was v excited about. It was a strange situation for two reasons: 1) Sara is my friend from Boulder and I never expected her to leave Colorado, but she got a job at YouTube and so she and her husband moved here, and 2) Mermaid Inn is a restaurant I associate with Ritu and many, many oyster massacres.

We arrived just on the late edge of happy hour, and I panic ordered six oysters before Sara arrived bc I didn't know if she would eat them. Then we ordered dinner, which for me was an appetizer of risotto (delish) and eight more oysters. And we caught up on all the many changes in each other's lives - I hadn't seen her since before I started my job (a year ago) and we had many many things to discuss. 

So, that was accomplished in style, and I'm looking forward to seeing her the next time I'm in NYC. Then I walked back to my hotel (for a total of three miles of walking today) and had a late meeting with Adit and Baz. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

just meet me at the apt

I had a pretty good day in NYC - it felt surprisingly easy to drop into the city and get on with my day. I got over eight hours of sleep last night, and my cough is barely lingering - getting out of the ice rink and into normal temperatures will probably help. And I decided to work from my hotel so that I could catch up on stuff without distractions, which was the right call. 

So I got Starbucks to fuel my morning, and then I crossed a bunch of stuff off my list. I mistimed my lunch, which meant I was ravenous and then too full when my earlyish dinner approached. And then I slogged until five, when I signed off and walked south for my dinner date. On the way, I talked to my parents, who seemed to be doing well. And I got to the restaurant a few minutes early, just in time to step inside and avoid the sprinkles starting outside. 

My dinner date was my friend Maya, whom I haven't seen since before the pandemic. She's also a writer, and the same age, and we have other parallels, so it was fantastic to properly catch up with her. We went to Nami Nori, which is a gluten free Japanese place, and it was absolutely delish. Unfortunately for me I was too full to finish everything due to my aforementioned lunch debacle, but I did finish my half of the bottle of champagne and the gf churros we had at the end. And talking to Maya was fantastic, so hopefully I have many more NYC trips in my future (or convince her to come to Iowa, which is a possibility).

After we parted ways, I walked back to my hotel and did a bit of desultory work. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

cruel summer

I have successfully arrived in New York after a v smooth day of travel. I am also feeling quite a bit better, and my cough has mostly subsided (although it sounds gnarly when it does happen. But unfortunately I didn't sleep at all well last night, possibly due to all the drugs I'm using to cure myself. So, I was dragging this morning when I had to get up and pack. 

But Sherry and I successfully made it out of the Airbnb for the last time and said our farewells. Then I took an Uber to the train station, where I boarded an Acela train to New York. It was perfectly on time, and I spent the four hours writing, reading, dozing, etc. When I got to the city, I walked to my hotel, checked in, and promptly took a nap. 

Once I was a little more recovered (even though I could have slept for hours), I unpacked, and then I grabbed dinner at La Pecora Bianca (translation: white sheep, which seemed like a good omen given my grandparents). Their gluten free pasta was excellent, and I sat at a bar seat at the window and enjoyed some people watching on Broadway while journaling. Then I came back to my room, did some more tasks, and decided to go to bed v early (for me) in hopes of recovering more before tomorrow. Goodnight!

i'm not a vampire

The figure skating championships ended today, and they went out with a bang. I had thought about watching the men's practice this morning, but it was v cold and a little rainy, and so I decide to stay close to home to preserve my health. Luckily I'm feeling better than I did yesterday - still congested, but not getting worse.

So I spent a v pleasant hour at a nearby Starbucks, where I wrote/journaled. I also picked up some additional supplies at CVS, then came back and ordered Thai food because I'm in a place where I can. Then, Sherry and I went to watch the ice dance final. I still don't love ice dance, but the final twelve performances were quite fun. And Madison Chock and Evan Bates won gold, which was v exciting for American figure skating. 

We didn't stick around for that medal ceremony, though (even though we watched it for pairs and women's) bc there was v limited time to dash home and eat before the men's final. I wanted to see as much of the men as possible (that's what she said), so I left Sherry behind (she is on deadline with a book) and got back to the arena in the middle of the first group. Sherry did come for the second half, which was by far the better half, but I still enjoyed the earlier guys.

Overall, the men did great - a lot of pretty clean programs, and some v nice artistry. I especially liked Adam Siao Him Fa from France - like his French predecessor Surya Bonaly (whom I loved in the nineties) he does a back flip that is to die for, but it no longer gets a penalty as of this year. There was also a kid from Kazakhstan (Mikhail Shaidorov) who gave an awesome performance and ended up getting silver. But the star of the night was definitely Ilia Malinin - he gave an awesome performance and netted the third gold of this Worlds for the US. We did stick around for that medal ceremony before calling it a night.

So all in all, I had a great time at Worlds. The energy was excellent - the audience was really into it and gave standing ovations to a lot of skaters (not just Americans), which clearly meant a lot to the performers. It was cool to see the skaters who will likely be at the Olympics next year - and while I was too tired to talk about the women last night, Alysa Liu for the US and Kaoro Sakamoto for Japan were both phenomenal. It'll be interesting to see what impact the Secret Russians will have next year - there were a bunch of them allowed to compete for other countries at Worlds (including the woman in the US's best pairs team) but they can't compete at the Olympics without having actual citizenship of the countries they represent. So it's a mad dash for them to all get citizenship in time...but a million things will happen between now and 2026, so we'll see what happens.

And now I need to go to bed - I had a great time at the competition and a great time with Sherry, but it's almost time to continue my adventures. Goodnight!

running up that hill

I had a great day of skating - or at least a fantastic evening of skating. I was going to watch the women's practice this morning, but I took it easy instead - I'm definitely sick, which is v unwelcome. It's a v weird situation because I don't actually feel that bad, but it's like I skipped a cold and somehow went straight to the hacking, lingering bronchitis that I sometimes get after colds. I coughed so hard at the rink this afternoon that I felt like I was having an asthma attack - this pattern of getting sick and then getting bronchitis used to happen frequently enough that I took an Albuterol inhaler on trips, but it probably hasn't happened since pre pandemic. But I survived and I'm sure I'll feel better soon. 

Ssssanyway, I spent the day hanging out and doing laundry and having copious amounts of hot liquid. Then Sherry and I caught the second half of the ice dance rhythm dance portion of the event. Judging by the fact that I stepped out to take a call for 30min, and Sherry slept that whole time, I'd say it's safe to say that watching dance in person isn't that much more exciting that watching it in on TV. We came back to the Airbnb to grab dinner, then caught most of the women's final, which was electric.

And now, I'm falling asleep while trying to write this so I think it's time for bed. Goodnight!

all my tears have been used up on another love

Another day of skating down, and it was pretty great. Sherry and I had a v leisurely morning - she made pancakes, and I benefitted from her desire to use up groceries in this way. We hung around the apartment until lunchtime, and then we went to the rink to watch the men's short program. The men were definitely worth watching - lots of good programs, including some very good performances by the first two Americans. But Ilia Malinin, the third American to go, shut the whole thing down - I have not been following skating for awhile, but I now know why he calls himself the "quad god" and why it's deserved. The final should be great, but there's much more skating to come before we get there.

After the men, Sherry and I dashed back to the Airbnb to eat dinner. I didn't want leftovers, so I stopped by whole foods and grabbed some sushi, which I paired with some cottage cheese to get more protein for the night ahead. Then we went back to the rink to catch the pairs final.

We missed the first couple of groups, but  we saw the last twelve pairs to go, and they were generally pretty lovely. However, many of them had at least some mistakes, which always makes it slightly less fun. The best program of the night was from zee Germans, who were almost flawless - not enough to catch the Japanese pair, but enough for silver. The Italians took bronze, so it was a v. Axis podium, but at this point we're probably more of a threat to world peace than the former Axis powers, so I guess I don't begrudge them this minor victory.

And now I need to sleep so we can watch more skating tomorrow - goodnight!