Friday, December 20, 2024

and all our ghosts get swept away, it didn't used to be this way

I did not slog as incessantly today as I usually do - today was the Garden Club Christmas lunch, and I decided to go to that rather than being a good corporate drone. My mom picked me up and we went to Tracy's house, which was v. well decorated for Christmas (in fact, it was approximately the exact opposite of how much I've decorated for Christmas). Many of the usual suspects were there, and we had a v. tasty potluck before exchanging some grab bag gifts. All in all it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours, and I'm glad I made time for it.

Then I came home, should have worked, and instead didn't get quite enough done because I accidentally took a nap. But I crossed a few things off my list and had one final meeting of the week, so I'll take it.

Then, I bundled up and braved the cold with [censored] to have dinner with the parents in Seymour. We went out tonight to celebrate Mom's birthday, which we accomplished with onion rings and the usual tasty offerings. Then we came home and watched a bit of the most recent SNL. I ended the night by folding laundry, doing the last work task that I hadn't finished today, and taking care of some personal business - so all in all it was a pretty good day.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

hold me fast 'cause i'm a hopeless wanderer

I have once again stayed up too late - but I had a decent day, so I guess it's fine. I slogged pretty relentlessly from 9:30ish to 5ish, and then I took a bit of a break before a 6:30 meeting. Once that was done, I ate some leftover butter chicken and messed around on my phone(s) for awhile. Eventually, I had procrastinated enough, and so I spent the last two hours doing the final bits of work stuff that I needed to get out tonight.

And now, I need to sleep - I have a dentist appointment tomorrow, and while it's not at an ungodly hour, it still requires me to get out of my pajamas earlier than I am accustomed to.

Finally, though - happy birthday to my mom! and also happy birthday to chandlord! I did not see either of them on their birthdays, so at least this year I'm keeping it fair between them. Goodnight!

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

don't you want to spend it with me

I'm v. tired - I had a good day, but I spent too much of it looking at screens. I journaled over coffee when I woke up this morning, which was great, and then I went straight into slogging. I worked until almost seven, but I took a break for allergy shots (not exactly luxurious). Then I ate chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries (dinner of champions), did some Christmas stuff, and designed my Christmas card (which is a New Years card this year because it's already December 17 and it will not get out in time for Christmas).

And now, after expending all of my creativity on the card, it's time for bed - goodnight!

Sunday, December 15, 2024

i've got my contact high, you've got your powdered lies

I woke up in Des Moines this morning feeling like I got a decent amount of sleep, but I need to remember not to stay at the Fairfield - the hotel is totally fine, but the bedding is basically a thin coverlet instead of a comforter, which I hate. But otherwise, my evening / morning were fine. I didn't dilly-dally after I woke up, so I got out of the hotel at a reasonable hour and headed south. I stopped for some groceries, and I probably should have had more coffee than I did - especially since I had to navigate an increasing amount of fog over the course of my drive. But I made it home before noon, so I'll take it as a win.

Once I got here, I probably should have been more productive, but I wasn't feeling it. I talked to [censored] for awhile, went through the massive number of packages that arrived while I was gone, did a tiny bit of unpacking, took a nap, etc. Then I went out to my parents' house to say hi to them and stayed for a bit. By the time I got home, [censored] had disappeared to head north, and so I took advantage of his absence to make butter chicken using a spice packet that I'd ordered from a spice shop that my work friend (not Adit, another one) recommended. The sauce was super tasty, and the chicken was too - but the chicken was a little too well done for my tastes. I followed the directions on the packet, which recommended broiling for 15min, but as someone who never uses a broiler, I didn't know that the chicken by the door might still look fine while the back was charred. It was all edible, and a slight amount of char would be great, but I think I'll cut the time next time.

Despite the overcooked chicken, the dish was super tasty, and I would 100% make it again. After I ate, I cleaned up the kitchen, folded some laundry, and then did a bit of work while chatting with Adit about it. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

Saturday, December 14, 2024

I've been drinking from a periscope

I'm back in ye olde Iowa, but I'm not in my house - I landed a little before midnight, and it's foggy and icy, so I decided not to be a hero and to check into a hotel instead. Luckily Des Moines is so efficient that I'm literally in bed, after getting my checked luggage and my parked car, less than an hour after landing, so it could be worse.

My day was generally good, but it got off to a bizarre start - my phone(s) woke me up at 5:45am with a blaring tornado warning. This is a normal thing in Iowa, but this was literally the first one ever in San Francisco. I did not go downstairs because I didn't want to risk getting stuck eleven floors down if the power went out, but I retreated to my windowless bathroom while I figured out the danger level. I quickly determined I was going to be fine, but I was extremely unimpressed by the local news coverage - where Iowa meteorologists would have had a tracker on possible rotation and projected it down to the block level, the SF news caster said, "there's a tornado warning in San Francisco, but the rain is clearing out in the north bay," and then went to a story about the insurance assassin like the weather was of no importance. But I saw enough to tell my friend Jane that she could stop hanging out in her garage, so at least I did someone a favor with my Iowa knowledge. 

After that, I dozed for awhile, then finally got around, grabbed coffee, packed, showered, etc. Then I took an Uber to Hillsdale, where I had a friendship renewal brunch with Jen, Jane, and Joann. We went to Palette for dim sum, and since I hadn't had dim sum in forever, I mostly ignored my gluten issues and went deep. Jen convinced them to make honey walnut shrimp even though they only serve it at dinner, and we had many tasty morsels (including eel wrapped in rice crepe that was very interesting and good, and my beloved braised pork in bean curd, and shrimp dumplings and shu mai, and some tasty little egg custard dumplings, and I even loved the radish cake and the pea shoots, which I can normally take or leave).

We had many things to catch up on and clearly didn't have time for it all, but it was great to spend a couple of hours with them. Then Jane dropped me at the airport and I sped through security, grabbed a glass of rosé, and did some work stuff and personal stuff. Both my flights were mostly on time, which was a surprise given the weather, and I slept and journaled and read through both. 

But now I need to sleep so I can get home tomorrow - goodnight!

Friday, December 13, 2024

I got new rules I count em

I'm falling asleep, but I had a good day - lots of sleep, some coffee, some stretching with my travel theragun, etc. I slogged all day, had lunch and a long meeting with Adit, and then I left, got my nails done, and ran some errands on Fillmore.

I was going to pack and generally chill tonight, but instead chandlord came over and we had drinks and takeout. This was v necessary and I'm glad we made it happen. But now I need to sleep and- goodnight!

Thursday, December 12, 2024

song of the yellow, song of the red

I had a v long slog today - there was some stuff launching at work, and so when I woke up at 6:30, I grabbed some coffee from the lobby and then worked extremely diligently and without pause (except to grab another cup of coffee) until 11:30. Then I took a v quick shower, grabbed an uber, went to the office, and walked in just in time to do a 12:30 meeting.

But then I decreased my stress levels by hanging out in the kitchen and eating lunch with several people, which was excellent. And then I had some more meetings / more work, but it was all manageable. One of those meetings was a book club (where I discussed PLAYGROUND again), so I can't complain. And then we had a team dinner - unfortunately it was in San Mateo, and the traffic sucked due to some rain, but I rode down with Timothy, Kate, and Adit, and we had a v. fun time (or at least all of us who weren't driving had a fun time).

The team dinner was in a private room in some hot pot place, which was delish - for those of you who aren't hot pot aficionados, we each got our own pot of broth on top of an induction burner at our seat, and then a whole bunch of meats and veggies to toss into it and flash cook. It was v. tasty, but at some point I stopped caring about the broth and went too deep on several bottles of sake (as did six or ten other people, so I was in good company). We had to meet the food and beverage minimum, and the easiest way was through beverages, so really we were being quite responsible. And we discussed all sorts of absurd subjects, like dental dad cults and whether oysters are smart, so I'd say it was a success.

And then I ubered back to my hotel, did a v. tiny amount of additional work, and now I need to sleep. Goodnight!