more cowbell

I don't feel like blogging. The summit went well today, but I'm exhausted - events require a lot of on time, and they always drain me even when I'm getting a lot of inspiration from them. Today was no exception - I had a lot of fun in the morning session, both with what I participated in and what I led, and then I had a short and sweet lunch before loading people up in my ridiculously large rental and heading to San Jose.

I parked in a garage when we arrived, and we were cutting it so close to the maximum height that we were all ducking (completely uselessly) as I was going up the ramps. Then we had a sushi making class - it was fun, but they turned it into a competition that none of us had any interest in, and I hope no one is a natural typhoid carrier because we all were touching all the food.

But it was fun despite all that, and I stayed until the bitter end (as is my wont). Then I drove people back to mountain view, got to my hotel, called my parents (my niece's new baby is having emergency surgery tomorrow to correct a stomach problem - hopefully he'll be okay), too a nap, and spent the rest of the night in the bar drinking wine and answering email. #partyanimal

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

not a yes sir, not a follower

I should close my laptop and go to bed - I got back to my room around 8pm and have been working steadily since then to try to catch up on stuff that is slipping through the cracks of my packed calendar. Today was good, though; I made it to the office (after a bit of a scare on the freeway when the back window on my ridiculously oversized Tahoe came open without me seeming to have done anything to open it), had breakfast, and then sat in summit sessions all day.

But it wasn't that onerous - we had an hour and a half for lunch (which gave me time to change into a Snow White dress and a panda head - don't ask, it was v. professional), and a happy hour from three to five, so it could have been worse. Then I ended up having dinner in downtown Sunnyvale with Christine (from Boulder) and Marty (from Dublin) and his wife (also, obvi, from Dublin). But I'm glad dinner ended early, since I needed some time to myself (with my laptop, my steady companion).

And now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

half of my heart is in Havana

I need to go to bed immediately so that I can get eight hours of sleep before I have to wake up and go to work. I'm sitting in a hotel room in California, as I so often am - this morning was a bit of a scramble to get ready, but I made it to the airport in time to have lunch (and a margarita) at Cantina Grill. [censored] will either be pleased or displeased to know that they've revamped their menu - I had a burrito bowl, which I thought was waaaaay better than the burrito bowls of the past, but it also had green beans next to the rice/refried beans/chicken, so your mileage may vary. For me, at least, it was v. tasty and v. welcome. And the margarita was welcome too, since it took enough of the edge off my nerves to survive the couple of minutes of rather intense turbulence during the ascent out of Denver and over the edge of the Rockies.

But once the turbulence subsided, I had a v. easy flight - I worked the whole way, answering emails that I'd been neglecting, which puts me in great shape to neglect emails again this week during my time in California. When I landed, I grabbed a coffee and headed to the rental car center, where I checked in, got my car...and discovered that while I had paid for a nice boring intermediate car (like a Hyundai), I instead got a Chevy Tahoe. They were completely out of midsized sedans, so it was either take a gigantic SUV or drive a minivan. I have some pride remaining, so I opted for a Tahoe. I undoubtedly looked totally ridiculous in it, and as I was leaving, the guy at the gate (who makes sure you're not stealing the cars) took an abnormally long time to check everything out on my license/receipt, and then asked me if I was okay. I have no idea what that question meant, but I can only assume that he doesn't think that people who look like they're twelve should be driving an SUV.

sssanyway. I drove around in a loop and returned to the airport, where I picked up Caroline, who flew in from Denver on the flight after mine. She's my peer, and our manager was having all of us over for dinner tonight before the summit, so I drove us straight there. Dinner was fun (although glutenous, since no one asked before ordering lasagna for the catering...but I had a v. nice meal of salad and a bunch of the salami/prosciutto/cheese/olives from the appetizer tray, so it was cool) - I chatted with a bunch of people, and we had a musical interlude when my boss's four-year-old gave a dance performance (he rocked out to 'Under the Sea', 'Single Ladies' as sung by the Chipmunks, and 'Let It Go', which was quite the medley - but he was actually super talented).

But now I'm totally unpacked, ensconced in my bed, and eager to use it for sleep instead of for internet activities - goodnight!

i'm gonna stand by you

I need to go to bed RIGHT NOW - I have to leave for the airport in eleven hours, and I haven't packed and I also need to do a bunch of work in the morning. Lol. But today was mildly relaxing (I laid in bed reading news until ten) and also moderately productive (four loads of laundry, an office that is mostly organized, a semi-complete Christmas list, and a bunch of other tasks resolved). I didn't leave the house, but I did talk to my parents (as usual) and Terry (totally unusual, since I haven't been keeping in touch with anyone the last couple of months) - so at least I had some social interaction, even though I could use about a week of hermitville right now.

But I don't get a week of hermitville - instead I get a week of an offsite/onsite, which sounds thoroughly exhausting right now but will probably be fun when I get there. Goodnight!

push and pull like a magnet too

Everyone is gone and I want to do absolutely nothing. I woke up at 6:45 to say goodbye to Mark, Kathy, and Drewbaby, then promptly went back to sleep for another hour. But I had to get up again to eat, make coffee, shower, and say my farewells to [censored], who drove back to [censored] today. I also spent some time talking to Aunt Becky and conned Uncle Brian into putting my new windshield wiper blades on, so that was great.

But eventually I had to leave - today's main errand was getting a car inspection so I can complete my Colorado registration. That went as smoothly as it could have gone, and I was home by one. Then I ate a sandwich, sat around, and succumbed to the lure of a long nap.

After that, I was pretty useless the rest of the day - I was trying to get my office unpacked so I could start writing again, but I was v. slow and prone to procrastinating. I also spent way too much time on Twitter, which I haven't done in two months - at first it felt good to be back, but I can already sense how much happier (or something) I am when I ignore it.

But now I should sleep - I forced myself to take a break and read a home decorating magazine, which was a good break. But now I must sleep - goodnight!

listen to your heart when he's calling for you

Family Thanksgiving fun is coming to an end...we are all slowly succumbing to fatigue, so even though it's only 10:30, I think I'm headed to bed soon. I spent last night on an air mattress in the tv room, which we blew up using Becky's hair dryer - and I realized, much later, when I landed perilously close to the floor, that the hot air contracted over the course of several hours, so I needed to add some more at five a.m. But I slept pretty well, all in all, and then woke up at eight to discover that everyone else had been awake for hours (#losers).

So, I made everyone some frittatas - leek, ham, hashbrowns, and cheese, which were my favorite breakfast last year when I was living in SF. They turned out really well despite the altitude, and everyone seemed to enjoy it despite the fact that it was brunch rather than breakfast. Or, I bought the love of some of them via mimosas, which several of us enjoyed.

Then, I showered, and we all generally hung out the rest of the afternoon. Katie came out because she couldn't deny the lure of my company any longer, and she brought James, Anne, Julia, and her sister Amy with her. They spent two or three hours here and ate a late lunch - Aunt B made a v. delicious prime rib, which paired well with all of yesterday's leftovers (and there are still leftovers, lol). It was great to hang out with them, obvi, and I would have happily plied them with alcohol and kept them here all night....

...but they had responsibilities (aka Christmas tree shopping), so they left. Aunt Becky, Drewbaby, Aunt Kathy, and Uncle Brian went on a hike (which Kathy seemed to think was a death march, since they were cutting it close to the sunset and so couldn't stop to take pictures), and so I took that prime opportunity to take a long nap, which saved my life. Then I hung out the rest of the evening, eating some leftovers, doing some Black Friday shopping, chatting with Racheal and Craig (who came back out), and generally chilling.

But now I should sleep - everyone is leaving tomorrow, and I need to get back to my place and accomplish a million things. Goodnight!

you better you better you bet

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm typing this on my phone and should have gone to bed 2 hours ago, but we had a really good Thanksgiving. I made it out of my apartment alive this morning despite seeing the guy with dementia in the parking lot (the same one who hit a car last week - exciting!). But the rest of the morning was pretty low-key - I made scrambled eggs for [censored] and Drewbaby, and then we loaded up our cars and headed south.

Aunt Becky made a veritable feast - turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, layered lettuce, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, etc, etc. We say around and snacked while that was all coming together (well, we didn't all sit around - Aunt Kathy was actually helping). Uncle Brian's daughter Rachael and her family joined us, so we had a really nice dinner....

... Then, I called my parents, took a very brief nap while everyone else talked around me, and then we played games for like eight hours. We played a lot of some dice game, and then some word games, and then a lot of cards against humanity. There was also a lot of varieties of alcohol flowing, so I'll probably have a hangover... But I got to eat some of the delicious A&E french onion dip that [censored] brought me, so all is right with the world.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i tuck you in homie buenas noches

I had a family-filled day today, which started by making [censored] for [censored] (I only burned a little bit of it!) while also cleaning up my place. Several other family members showed up just after noon, and after a tour of my place (rather easy, since bathrooms and bedrooms are self-explanatory), we all had lunch. We went to the Boulder Depot, since we like train themes, and the food was pretty tasty - my gluten free flatbread w/barbecue chicken was super delish, and Aunt Kathy's potato chip nachos, while late to arrive, looked pretty awesome too.

Then we went to Pearl Street and wandered around. Wandering got tiring, especially since we weren't buying anything, so we ended up at the Hotel Boulderado, where we had a drink in the bar. The hotel is Victorian and v. nicely renovated, so that was fun interlude.

Then the real adults went back to Castle Rock, and [censored], Andrew [drewbaby], and I hung out the rest of the night. I left them to fend for themselves while I bought some more groceries, and then we had dinner at a place called Verde - it was quite good, and I'm glad I've found a Mexican place with decent enchiladas, since I wasn't sure about Denver's Mexican scene (although it's not Cali-Mex, so it will never be quite as good anyway). Then we walked across the street to the Outback Saloon - it was a dive bar in the best way, and while it was super empty when we arrived (at seven, lol), it was filling up for karaoke by the time we left. We had three rounds and lots of conversation, and I could have stayed all night...

....but instead we came home, and now I need to sleep immediately if I'm going to make it to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Goodnight!

honey, i'm good

I probably should have gone to bed two hours ago, but no rest for the wicked. I did, however, rest this morning (albeit fitfully) - since I didn't go to bed until after one a.m. last night, I let myself sleep until 8:30. However, I'm realizing that I don't sleep all that well when I stay up late answering emails forever, so my sleep was a little disrupted - but I got up, showered, dressed myself, drank some coffee, and took my first meeting from home so that I didn't feel too rushed.

I probably would have worked from home all day, but I had no food in the house beyond a single egg and a can of tuna, so I went to the office and let them feed me. I had meetings straight through until almost six p.m., and then I stopped at Whole Foods to rectify the grocery situation. When I got home, I ate some peanut butter and toast (v. exciting, actually, since I bought peanut butter for the first time since moving in), sent a few work emails, and then tried to organize all my clothes.

Sometime after ten p.m., though, I had to stop - [censored] arrived, fresh from [censored] (although he perhaps didn't feel that fresh, since it was an eleven hour trip from [censored]). He brought me three containers of [censored], which was a super thoughtful gift, and also a sack full of [censored] that has accumulated at home over the past few months. So, we sat on my couch and caught up for awhile, which was delightful - but he could no longer bear the pain in his [censored] after the drive, and we both needed to sleep. So, it's bedtime - goodnight!

secret love song

No blog tonight - I was in the office by 8:45 this morning, left at six, ran errands and ate, and then worked straight from 8pm to midnight (with a break to talk to Katie and another break to do some laundry). So, I think it's time to stop looking at screens so I can try to sleep - goodnight!

please don't make any sudden moves

Today was great, but I'm totally wiped out and unfortunately have a ton of work to do over the next couple of days so that I can relax over Thanksgiving. I slept for nine hours last night, which helped, and then got up, hung out, called my dad for his birthday (happy birthday, Papa Wamp!!!), and then made breakfast for Drewbaby and me. Breakfast was not particularly satisfying because I cooked the hashbrowns poorly (too many hashbrowns, not enough oil) and broke my egg yolks, but Andrew didn't complain, so I guess it worked.

Then we both showered and eventually left the house. We decided to drive up into the mountains to check things out, and I'm really glad we did - ten minutes from my house is a whole different world of rocks and forests, and we saw some truly gorgeous landscapes. We drove from Boulder to Nederland, which is a quirky little town with several competing tourist traps (a frozen dead guy festival, a hand-carved carousel ride, and a restaurant made out of train cars). We explored the town a little bit and had hot drinks at a coffee shop that was hosting a book festival (aka one guy sitting in the corner hoping to sell a book). All in all, it was a v. successful stop.

Then we wound through the mountains on a different road and ended up in Golden, where we had a late lunch in a building that was Colorado's original territory capitol. After that, we drove down to Aunt Becky's, where we said hi to her and then promptly got in the car again to go to a faraway liquor store to stock up for Thanksgiving. All in, I drove over two hundred miles today - but it was #worthit, as they say.

We went back to Becky's after buying liquor, and we hung out there for a couple of hours and had dinner with her and her scandalous pirate husband. Around eight p.m., though, we had to call it a night, and Andrew and I drove back to Boulder. When I got here, I cleaned a bit, took care of my face, and did some work + some internet browsing until now - and now I really need to sleep. Goodnight!

all my friends are heathens take it slow

It's very dangerous that I think that my vacation has already started, since I'm working Monday and Tuesday this week and need to get a million things done. But today was an exercise in getting personal things done + relaxing. I spent most of the morning doing things around the house, with some success, and I also talked to my parents....

...and then I was almost murdered. Technically it probably would have been vehicular manslaughter, and I was 45+ seconds removed from the moment where I could have died, which is a lifetime (literally) when it comes to freak accidents. But I took a bunch of recycling through the parking lot to the bins, and on the way back, I watched a guy back directly into the car behind him (across the parking lot that our units all park/walk in), pushing that car into the garage behind it. He was super confused, and I have run into him before - my guess is that he has major dementia and probably doesn't live here anymore, but shows up occasionally thinking he belongs there. He tried to leave after hitting the car, using the rationale that his own car still started and so he was good to go, but the people who happened to be around stopped him, and the paramedics and police came shortly thereafter and further investigated the situation. I'm glad he and the other people in the parking lot at the time were okay, but given how confused he was (when he tried to leave the first time, he was still in reverse and damaged the car/garage he'd hit even worse), someone could have been seriously hurt.

sssanyway. That's not how my life in Boulder usually is, and that's not how the rest of my morning went. I'm still not totally unpacked, but I made some more progress today before showering. Then I drove to the airport to pick up Drewbaby (my only cousin on my dad's side) - he's in town for the week for Thanksgiving, but we had some solo time today. We put it to v. good use - we hung out at my place for awhile, then walked the length of Pearl St to scope out our options. We ended up at Next Door, which I've been to before and wholeheartedly recommend. After dinner and a couple of drinks there, we walked down the street to Eureka!, where I had three more glasses of wine while talking to Andrew (pour one out for 'Drew', which is what my family used to call him) and watching the Stanford/Cal game (#fearthetree). We had a great, meandering conversation, and I'm looking forward to more tomorrow...but for now, I really need to sleep. Goodnight!

i'm only one call away

Today went pretty much perfectly, but I just stayed up too late and need to go to bed immediately. But until now, things probably couldn't have gone much better. I woke up a little after seven solely because Hamilton tickets went on sale for Des Moines this morning - Des Moines somehow scored one of the earliest stops on the touring show, and Hamilton is there for three weeks next summer. I logged two computers and two phones into the online waiting room during the 45min before the official opening of the digital line, since the policy was that anyone in the waiting room would be randomly assigned a place in the line at 9am. My phones both had an hour-plus wait when the line opened, but one laptop only ended up waiting for twenty minutes - so I grabbed four tickets for a matinee show, which means I can take my parents and [censored] if they choose to accept this mission.

That all went so much more smoothly than expected - I was sure that I wouldn't get tickets at all, or that they would be single-seat nosebleeds. So, my day was already set by nine a.m. But it continued to go well even after that - my furniture delivery showed up at ten, and the Room and Board guys were waaaay better than the Crate and Barrel dudes - R&B delivered two beds, a mattress, a dresser, two nightstands, and a bench/ottoman without complaining at all about the stairs, unlike the C&B guys. The furniture all looks great, and I'm super happy with it - and I can confirm that my bed frame is good because I took a nap on it this afternoon, so the initial test run went really well.

I spent the rest of the day alternating between day job stuff and unpacking stuff (plus a quick run to Target to buy another swathe of housewares). I was done by 5:15, though, and I walked around the block to get my hair cut - it was starting to look a little bedraggled, and at some point I'm going to have to find a stylist here despite my love for my SF stylist. I'm on the fence about the woman who cut my hair tonight - I think she did a good job, but my bangs are a little too blunt and her blowout wasn't nearly as good as Lauren's (but then, no one's is). So I may try another salon or two before I commit to a new relationship....

Then I came home and spent most of the evening doing housework. My end tables for my living room came yesterday and I had intended to ply Drewbaby (my cousin Andrew) with beer and tell him they were a puzzle to solve, but I decided to put them together myself. I also rolled out my new rug, which was just slightly too wide for the space, so I need someone to help me lift the couch (which is horrendously heavy because it's a sleeper sofa) so I can tuck the edge of the rug underneath it.

But things are coming together - not fast enough to look polished and well decorated for Thanksgiving, but fast enough that I might actually feel settled in the next few days. Isn't that a novel idea? And now I'm desperate to sleep - goodnight!

glory and gore go hand in hand

I had a pretty decent day today, although I need some more downtime soon - I think I've overloaded my brain with information and things are starting to ooze out my ears. But I got some decent sleep last night, didn't rush myself getting ready, went to the office at 10, and had meetings straight through to 4:15 (no, no break for lunch, but a meeting ended ten minutes early so I was able to grab something on the way to the next one). Somehow, only six hours of meetings feels weirdly luxurious - yes, something is wrong with that picture.

But tonight was great - I left the office as soon as my last meeting was over, drove to Denver, and had happy hour/dinner with Katie. We went to Root Down instead of our usual hotspot, and Root Down is definitely way better - I mean, I love our usual place, but the food at Root Down is great and the bar vibe is way more interesting. I had a Don Draper (which was basically an old fashioned), followed by some wine, and Katie had a couple of other cocktails, and we shared a bunch of food - sweet potato fries, some delish bbq brisket tacos, arepas so good that we had to order another one to split, and a perfect beet salad. It was all so yummy that I'm getting hungry again just typing this.

Of course, we had a lot to catch up on, since I hadn't seen her in almost three weeks - and in those three weeks, I'd been to India, California, and here (here being theoretically the easiest, but also the hardest since I'm just unpacking and fighting about cupcakes all the time). So we took our time over dinner, going deep into gossip about #smalltownlife, and it was all wonderful.

Then we went back to her house, where Anne and Julia promptly attacked me - and by that I mean they attempted a makeover, which resulted in Julia brushing my hair with a stegosaurus. I could have gone home when they went to bed, but my hair looked so crazy that I was definitely going to get pulled over for drunk driving even though I was sober - so I stayed and combed my hair for real while Katie helped James start the bedtime routine, and then Katie came back downstairs and we talked for awhile longer. I'm never ready to leave, but eventually I had to - I have a bunch of stuff fairly early tomorrow (all of which is personal, so don't shed any tears for me), so I should go to bed.

So I came home, bringing with me my old succulent friend - I'd brought a succulent with me from California when I left SF last winter, and I'd left it with James for safekeeping. He not only kept it alive, but he repotted it in a cute little pot with decorative rocks, so it was probably super sad to leave his tender care for my indifferent oversight. sssanyway, the drive home was uneventful, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

now that i'm not the fire in the cold

#sorrynotsorry for not blogging last night - I woke up in a bad mood and stayed there the whole day, exacerbated by getting worked up to a totally unnecessary degree about cupcakes (yes, it's possible to get really angry about free food - but it was the principle of the thing, I promise). So I spent last night cooking a lot (chicken tortilla soup and also a whole bunch of tomato sauce to put in the freezer), which helped me to feel better, and then I watched two episodes of Project Runway and went to bed.

Today got off to a better start - but I had meetings allll day, which was too much. When I left, I spent some quality time in the parking lot talking to my parents, and then I went to Target to get some home goods (one of which was supposed to be a vacuum, but I showroomed them and then ordered one on Amazon to get delivered Friday). Then I came home, ate some leftover soup (so yummy), and spent three hours doing serious house stuff - organizing, unpacking, setting up my humidifier, scrubbing my kitchen floor, two loads of laundry, etc., etc.

But I stopped an hour or so ago and spend the last hour taking a break of sorts - maybe 11pm to midnight isn't a great break, but I had a glass of wine, put a moisturizing mask on my face, and caught up on my favorite Duchess of Cambridge style blog, so that was more of a break than I've had in awhile. I'm been going a little too hard on work stuff the past few weeks, so I'm really looking forward to taking Thanksgiving weekend off - but there's a lot of stuff to get through before then.

And now I should probably sleep - goodnight!

i'm going mad for a couple grams

Today was a pretty good day, all in all, but I've relapsed into workaholism. Yes, you knew this two months ago, but I'm a little slow on the uptake sometime. In my defense, I had a million and ten things to catch up on after the last two weeks out of the office, so it's no wonder that I wanted to get some shit done today - and also in my defense, I didn't get to the office until almost 9:30, so it's not like I lost sleep over getting to work.

But my inbox is still a lost cause, even after more hours at my desk than I've had in like a month. And I need to figure out a better ergonomic situation - with this much typing, my hands go numb, which is like a prime signal of carpal tunnel (best case) or a host of degenerative neurological or immunological diseases that I have a family history of (where my nightmares take me). But it's also likely that I've messed up my hands with all the unpacking I've done, or the forty-five minutes I spent with a screwdriver yesterday - unclear.

sssanyway. Work was good, and I left at five and stopped at Whole Foods. I was going to make soup tonight, but I instead ate all the skin off a rotisserie chicken, ate leftover pasta, and ignored the soup. #winning. I spent a couple of hours continuing the unpacking festival - I've now organized all of my bathroom drawers/toiletries, which is a win, and I've also organized my entry closet. That means the kitchen, master bedroom, bathroom(s), and hall closet are done - which leaves the living room, dining room, guest room, and office. I can see some light at the end of the tunnel (not my carpal tunnel, unfortunately) - I'm pretty confident I'll be in good shape by the time my furniture shows up on Friday.

Then I answered emails and did work for the last three hours. And now I'm going to sleep - goodnight!

don't let me down

I slept late this morning, but that was the extent of the relaxing that I accomplished today. When I finally got up, I started unpacking...and that was pretty much all I did today. Things are slowly coming together, although I don't think my place is going to be as tidy or pretty as I'd like by next weekend - I may be fully out of boxes, but I probably won't be at the point where I have photos on the walls or drawers that are organized instead of haphazardly filled in a fit of unpacking madness.

But I got a lot done today - mostly organizing books and shoes, which says a lot about my priorities. I can't fully organize my closets until my dresser shows up at the end of the week, but things are getting closer. I also did some laundry, made some delish eggs/bacon/hashbrowns for breakfast/lunch, ran the dishwasher, and put together two shoe racks - which took 45mins, because I bought them at Container Store, which insisted on making them 'sturdy' by using screws instead of pushing them together with plastic bits, and my lack of an electric screwdriver made this an onerous endeavor. Now I have a stripe of possible blisters on my right hand that, in another life, would have been prevented by my kettlebell calluses - but it's been so long since I've swung a kettlebell that my calluses are gone. This is another thing I need to start doing asap - but unpacking (and maybe some writing) comes first.

I did take a couple of breaks, though - mostly to have a long, leisurely talk with my parents, and also to chat with [censored], who was [censored] and so bored enough to talk to me. I also ate some leftover spaghetti carbonara, which was almost as tasty today as it was yesterday.

And now I should probably sleep - this week doesn't look like it's going to be nearly as onerous as the last few, but I need to get up relatively early and deal with the millions of tasks I've been ignoring recently. And at night, the unpacking fun will continue - lucky me. Goodnight!

i may be crazy don't mind me

Y'know, it's pretty nice to have a home. Perhaps the newness will wear off and I'll start itching for the open road again, but at the moment, homes feel pretty great.

I woke up this morning after getting less sleep than I wanted and more sleep than I'd had in awhile. I could have happily stayed in bed all day, but I wanted to make at least some attempt to start unpacking - home will be even better if it's organized. I spent most of the day focused on making progress in my office - I figured out how to arrange the furniture, and I dusted everything, and then I started unpacking the 15+ boxes of books that had sat in storage awaiting my return. Of course, I'm not done, but I made a good start, and I'm hoping I can make even more progress tomorrow.

However, I took a break around four (after some guy installed the blind to my patio - my landlord had sent him, and it was the last remodel-related task he had to take care of, so everything's in good shape). I had to pick up a package at my office, and I bought some groceries so I could cook dinner. When I got back, I spent some more time unpacking, but then I made spaghetti carbonara - and it was really fucking delicious, if I do say so myself.

Then I told myself I could watch one episode of Project Runway before getting back to unpacking. I stuck to my limit...but then I spent the past three hours looking at and eventually ordering some stuff online. Most of it came from Wayfair, which has some pretty delightful deals - I got a new rug for my living room, since I wanted to swap out my old Adit-inherited rug (which may serve as a rug pad for this rug, since I don't want to get rid of it but have nowhere to store it), and I also wanted to get a couple of end tables for my living room. I'm trying to thread the needle between my conflicting style interests (urban industrial, rustic farmhouse, hollywood regency glam), so we'll see if I succeed in putting together something cool or instead create something totally schizophrenic.

I also ordered a humidifier for my bedroom (crucial in Colorado - if I like it, I'll probably order two more) and a duvet insert for my guest bed (which isn't here yet, but I have hopes that the bed and the comforter will arrive before Drewbaby or [censored] want to sleep on it]. And I booked a hotel for my December trip to SF - although it turns out I now have another December trip, but that one is basically two nights and one day. Yes, that means I'm going back to California three times in the next five weeks. But I've got the next two full weeks in Colorado, so I want to make the most of them.

And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

leave her with a baby sitter, mama, call the grave digger

I'm suuuuuper tired, and also cold since I'd set my house temp to 58 degrees when I left and it's not fully warmed up again...but I'm back in Colorado, and so things are good. I got a solid eight hours of sleep last night, then showered, packed all my stuff, and checked out of my hotel. Luckily, between the fact that everyone in the bay area now works from home on Fridays and that it was also Veterans Day, the drive to the office only took twenty minutes, which was less than half the time it had been taking all week.

When I got to the office, you can probably guess what happened - yes, I had meetings all day. I forgot to block off time for lunch, so I had to be eight minutes late to one of them so I could grab food, but it could have been worse. I was done by 3ish, and so I left for the airport a bit early, which gave me time to eat and have a glass of wine and answer some emails while waiting for my flight.

The flight itself was uneventful - I slept most of the way and we got here twenty minutes early, which was about as good as it gets. I took a lyft to Katie's house, but I didn't see her - I'd left my car there, so I had to pick it up and drive to Boulder.

But now, I have the whole weekend stretching ahead of me and lots of things that I want to accomplish - starting with sleeping for eleven hours. Goodnight!

i'm a rebel just for kicks

I was so exhausted today that there was a point where I thought I might faint. This was, of course, my own damn fault - I stayed up until 3:30am and woke up at 8:30 confused about why I was still alive instead of blissfully freed from my suffering. I know I said too much wine last night, but I wasn't even that inebriated - five glasses over eight hours is not a big deal, but it is when you also don't have enough food or water or sleep.

However, it was all worth it - I stayed up so late talking to people at this conference that I was attending, and it was great to network and get to know them (and all the other corporate words I've started using again). But today was rough. It didn't help that I got a flu shot yesterday, so I wonder if some of my weakness/fainting feeling was related to that. Either way, the fact that I had meetings straight from 11am to 5:30pm without a break was supremely unwelcome, and it took way more energy than it should have to get through them all.

But then I skedaddled (slowly) and drove up to San Carlos to have dinner with Anne and Barbara. It's not very far from Mountain View, but it still took an hour because the whole Bay Area is a total dystopian nightmare. However, our friendship is worth the pain - we had a lovely dinner at Vivace (which Shedletsky had introduced me to), and my gluten free pasta went a long way toward restoring my vitality. Barbara and Anne were in fine form, and it was great to take a break from work and talk about my other work (not that I'm writing at the moment, but I think things will quiet down a little at work after this and I'll hopefully be able to get back into it all).

When dinner was over, I drove to my hotel (farther from San Carlos than the office is, but the trip back only took 25mins), messed around on the internet, sent a few vital work emails, etc. And now I'm going to sleep - I have to get up and pack and vacate my room tomorrow, so wish me luck with that. Goodnight!

I'm in love with your body

Too much wine, not enough alone time. Goodnight!

eye of the tiger

Today went about as well as it could have gone, I think - my presentation (to three hundred people!) went pretty well, or at least well enough that my boss and team were pretty complimentary after, so that was good news. And I didn't introduce myself as Sara Ramsey by accident, so that was even better.

I also sat through presentations all day, and when I wasn't watching presentations, I was talking...and talking...and talking. Today's conference time ended with a dinner/mingle situation, at which I continued to talk to people, and I didn't get back to my hotel until almost ten p.m.

So, needless to say, I really need to sleep and unwind for a bit - so that's all you're getting tonight. Goodnight!

i hear the drums echoing tonight

I need to go to bed immediately - I have a couple of long days ahead and not nearly enough sleep stockpiled in my reserves to get me through. But today was good, although my brain is definitely fogged over with jetlag - which doesn't bode well for the presentation I have to give tomorrow, but hopefully adrenaline and caffeine will fix what ails me.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and was promptly late to my 9am meeting because it took 45min to get to the office instead of 20min (this is why I moved to Colorado, not that you would know that I've moved to Colorado since I'm never there). I had meetings literally all day, although one of them was a lunch meeting, so I got to eat, which I guess was a bonus.

However, it wasn't thaaaat bad - I successfully got out of the office at 3:30pm (with two coworkers in tow) and drove back to my hotel, where I registered for the conference that I'm attending. Then I snuck away from the throngs of people so that I could manage my jetlagged energy - I got an impromptu mani/pedi to make myself feel more like a well-groomed member of society, and then I spent the evening holed up in my room, eating room service and running through my preso and catching up on various and sundry tasks (like updating linkedin, which I hadn't updated in seven years, but I figured there was no time like the night before a public talk to make it happen).

And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

lay your weary head to rest

I don't feel like blogging tonight - I really need to go to bed right now if I want to get eight hours of sleep tonight (which is a v. necessary endeavor). I did get lots of sleep last night, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the post-India haze. When I woke up this morning, I had to shower, pack, and get out of my hotel - and I should have just come straight south to take care of tings. But I had a quick coffee/chat with Chandlord in lieu of brunch, and then I grabbed some pens at my favorite stationery store (my hotel was two blocks from it, so it's almost like I couldn't justify *not* stopping, amirite?), and then I grabbed my bags from the hotel and took a lyft to SFO, where I picked up a rental car for my upcoming week.

Then I drove to the glorious south bay, where I grabbed some coffee at Philz and did some not-so-glorious laundry at my office (India and planes wrought havoc on my jeans). I also talked to my parents while doing laundry, which was a good break. Then I checked into my hotel and was only nine minutes late to dinner with Heather (aka dear respected madam). We went to a v. old American style place (steak and potatoes, as opposed to new American, which is all about organic chicken and pureed celery root and kale and other abominations), and it was totally delish - my ribeye was great, and Heather had some of the best ribs I've tasted in awhile, and now my hair smells like barbecue and my stomach is happy.

Of course, my soul is quite delighted too - it's always good to see Heather, and we spent 2.5 hours together, which is never enough but was at least a good attempt at getting caught up. Then I came back to my hotel and actually unpacked, and now I must sleep - goodnight!

my name is slim shady

If I were to give in to my meditative internal state and live solely in the present, I would be asleep instead of writing this. Luckily, the time changes tonight - but since the time has changed for me on the majority of the nights in the last week, that isn't really all that exciting.


sssanyway. Today was all about indulging (#treatyoself). I got a surprising amount of sleep, although it wasn't enough to cure my jetlag. Then I had lunch (brunch, lunch, whatever) at my favorite cafe - Tony was in good form, and my huevos woke me up while the conversation made my heart happy.

Then, I went to Senspa - I was in dire need (@firstworldproblem, shut up) of a massage, so I headed out there to get some relaxation done. The massage was totally perfect, and I napped for at least half an hour after, which was pretty great.

Then, I took a quick shower and took a lyft to Lauren's (aka Subz's) - she had a baby (a real, live baby!) two weeks ago, and I wanted to say hi to the baby (but mostly to the mother). Then I came back to my hotel (after digging through the wine stash I left at Lauren's house), changed, and went out to the outer outer outer Sunset, where I hung out with Veronica and Adam and their dog and cat for quite some time. It all worked out - the conversation (and the margaritas, and the Grgich cabernet) was flowing, and I could have easily had another ten pages if I needed to sum this up more quickly.

[editor's note: I then went to Octavia with Veronica for a late dinner, but I fell asleep while finishing this entry, so I'll tell you about it tomorrow]

And now, really, I must sleep - goodnight!

all the leaves are brown

I'm back in the US after a v. v. long couple of days. When last I blogged, it was late Thursday night my time...and now it's Sunday afternoon in India, but it's 1am on Saturday in San Francisco. In those intervening hours, there were no beds - only planes, ubers, lyfts, airports, and a brief visit to the Singapore office.

My flight from Hyderabad to Singapore was glorious, if only because it was less than half full and the flight attendants invited me to move to the back and claim a whole row to myself - which was long enough for me to be able to lie down, so I got a little more sleep than I might have. But it definitely wasn't enough - I arrived in Singapore feeling slightly like death, and I went straight to the office to try to recuperate. Luckily I work at a place where offices can help with recuperation - the Singapore office is one of the nicest I've been to anywhere, and the breakfast was to die for (all gluten, so literal dying, but soooo yummy). In a real shock, I ran into an old friend at breakfast (Tania, who worked with me and dear respected madam like ten years ago), so we caught up for fifteen minutes or so, which was great.

Then I answered a bunch of emails, drank as much caffeine as my heart could handle, and took a shower before meeting and having lunch with a team I'm going to be working with in Singapore. Then I answered a few more emails, had coffee with someone from that team, and went back to the airport, where I went back through customs, explored duty free, and had dinner and a bunch of wine at Wolfgang Puck before boarding.

The next eighteen hours passed in a blur - I slept pretty solidly from Singapore to Hong Kong, then went through security to get back on the place and continue the journey. From Hong Kong to SF I slept some more, had a nice chat with the woman sitting next to me (about to graduate from business school at Berkeley and looking at jobs in Singapore - I gave her unsolicited career advice, mostly in the form of 'whatever you do, don't take the job you're considering', but I doubt she'll heed it), read a book (PEAK, about the value of practice in improving performance, which seems obvious now that I write it like that), journaled, slept some more, etc., etc., etc.

Arrival in the US was seamless, thanks to Global Entry, and my CBP guy was friendly, so that was pleasant. Then I took a lyft into the city, checked into my hotel, wanted to crash immediately, and instead forced myself to sort through my clothes, unpack a bit, and figure out what/whether I need to wash anything to get myself through next week.

I also took a melatonin, and I'm hoping it kicks in so I can sleep eight hours - yes, I'm living the dream. Goodnight!

no song tonight

I'm at the airport, and it was the smoothest check in I've ever experienced here - slowly but surely, it's becoming modernized, which is great but almost sad.

I had a solid day of meetings on 5.5hrs of sleep, so I'm totally wrecked - hopefully I'll sleep the whole way to Singapore. I also did a bit of unnecessary shopping and had dinner and drinks with Vishakha, which was a fun way to end my 96-hour odyssey.

But now I need to gather my things and prep for boarding - goodnight!

kal ho naa ho

I mistakenly took a two hour nap when I got home from dinner, but I really needed it, so #noregrets (although I may feel regrets while trying to sleep tonight, especially since I have to get up and pack/check out). Luckily I didn't die from the fish or the ice last night, so that was a real bonus.

Today was good, but long - definitely too much work, too much social time with people I don't really know, and not enough downtime. Still, it was all interesting stuff, so I'm not annoyed - just vaguely starting to feel the itch to prioritize myself again....

....which led into me stopping the writing of this blog to book a massage at my favorite spa in SF this weekend, followed by another twenty minutes of sending work emails. I'm either doing this totally right or really wrong, unclear.

Anyway, I had lots of chai, even more coffee, only felt like I was falling asleep during one meeting, didn't die during any of my cab rides, and had a delish dinner at a place called Mamagoto's, which is Asian-style (dumplings, noodles, rice bowls, etc., probably all of which had gluten, but I'm picking my battles this week). It's also right next door to the office and down the road from the apartments we lived in back in 2005 - if we'd had such deliciousness so close to us back then, it would have changed everything.

And now I must sleep (or pack and sleep in tomorrow if I think that's more viable) - tomorrow night I'll be on a plane to Singapore, so I don't know whether I'll blog, but you should just trust that I'm alive. Goodnight!