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!

there ain't nothin' safe in this world

I had another great day of figure skating (or rather, consumption of figure skating). It was, quite possibly, a little too much - I was at the skating rink for something like 10-12 hours today, since we watched some of the pairs' official practice, then the women's short program, then the pairs' short program. This was a lot of skating, but there were some truly lovely routines (and, of course, the usual random heartbreaks since a missed edge or bobble can change the whole trajectory of someone's final score).

The saddest part of the day was the tribute they did for the skaters who died in the airplane crash when their jet crashed into a military helicopter a couple of months ago. Several of them were affiliated with the Skating Club of Boston, and many others were also in the skating community, so it was quite a powerful moment (and heartbreaking to see photos of the kids who died, many of whom had just been competing/training that weekend).

I would tell you more, but I'm very tired and think there's a possibility that I'm getting sick, so I'm going to save the commentary and go to bed. Goodnight!

don't you know that you're toxic

The first day of figure skating was a good way to ease into the whole week of competition. Today was all the official practice sessions, which Sherry and I have tickets for. We did not go to the ice dancing practice that started at six am because we're not masochists; instead, I woke up in a fairly leisurely way and Sherry made us kimchi pancakes, which were pretty tasty.

Getting to the arena was easy - we're only one stop away on the subway, so we got there with zero issues. We saw most of the pairs' practice, and it was fun to watch - and odd to see so many skaters on the ice, especially since they played each pairs' free skate song once, which meant one pair doing their routine while the others all skated around them.

So I watched a bunch of that, but then I ducked out to take a couple of work calls. Yes I'm on vacation, but since I was just missing some practice sessions, I decided to make it easier on myself later by keeping up with some stuff now. And all the meetings were with Adit, so it wasn't a big sacrifice. Also, today was my one year anniversary of starting this job, which seems impossible. They usually send treats for anniversaries, but since I live somewhere with no food delivery (and am in Boston anyway) they sent me a gift card for a mani/pedi at my favorite place in Des Moines. As far as jobs go, this one is a good one.

After, Sherry and I took a break from skating and came back to the Airbnb, where I chilled while she made jambalaya. Then she decided to go back and watch some of the men's practice, but at that point I decided that I would rather go to bed early - which didn't mean right away, but did mean taking a shower and then doing a thing I had to do for work so that I can get it off my back and watch all the competition tomorrow. I was successful with all those goals, and I'm in bed and ready to sleep at 11:15, so hopefully I keep up with this virtuous plan. Goodnight!