knocking on heaven's door

I had a lovely final day in the city of sin. I got up and grabbed coffee downstairs and then relaxed a bit before getting ready, which was v necessary. Then I carpooled into the office for a million meetings, one of which included walking for an hour like a peasant, but it was like a peasant who lives next to a beautiful body of water, so I'll take it. 

After work, we had a lunar new year party at Palette, which is the dim sum restaurant I went to with the friendship renewal crew last month. It was a raucous time, mostly because I sat at the "kids table" (which was the table of people who attended without kids). I felt bad abandoning the actual kids, but as at least one of the kids had an active fever, I felt it was better to hang with the adults and drink some medicinal tequila to stave off illness. 

Either way the kids table was where it was at - I sat next to Adit, and we v competently trolled everyone else at the table. We also created a new drinking game ("call your shot") which is excellent for tables with lazy susans (lazies susan?). All in all it was an excellent evening, and I'm glad I enjoy the people I work with so much. 

After dinner, I came back to my hotel with Jamie and Kleidi, and we had a v delightful afterparty in the hotel bar. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

we'll be counting stars

No blog tonight - I slept fitfully last night and had a bunch of meetings today, followed by a team dinner at Mykonos. All in all it was good, but I need to sleep before I start typing gibberish. Goodnight!

wonderin' if i could sneak out the back

Today was entirely slogging - I got up early enough to sneak into downtown Burlingame and pick up a Philz coffee before doing some work and then going into the office, but I cut it all close. Then I slogged through meetings all day, came back to the hotel (with a coworker who is also staying here), and accidentally took a nap.

But I did a bit of journaling this evening, which is always great. And I ate some takeout thai food, had a glass of wine, and did a bunch of work that I needed to get done, so I'll take it. And now I need to go to sleep so I can rinse and repeat tomorrow - goodnight!

the drugs, the women, the wine, the weed

I did not sleep at all well last night, and I had to get up at six because I needed to do work before work and my meetings start at nine a.m. here instead of the much more civilized hour of eleven.

But despite these tragedies, I persevered. I had a v long slog of meetings, but also a v tasty lunch from a place called Healthyish Republic, which I would happily have again. Then I had more meetings, until I rebelled at five and drove myself and another coworker back to the hotel. I dropped him and my laptop off and then sped to downtown Burlingame to meet Lauren (aka Subz) for dinner at pizzeria delfina. We had many tings to catch up on, which I v much enjoyed. I also realized we're about to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the time we spent in India together, which feels impossible. She did not seem interested in a reunion trip to Hampi, but I still have time to work on her.

After we parted ways, I came back to the hotel, did a bit of work, and also journaled. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

marry me juliet, you'll never have to be alone

I had a lovely day, although I'm crashing hard now. I slept a little fitfully last night, which is not a surprise since my advanced age makes it hard to have more than one or two drinks in a night. But I got up early enough to walk to the nearest Philz for coffee, do a bit of writing, and then shower and pack up all my stuff. Then I drove down to Woodside to meet Shedletsky and Bride of Shedletsky for brunch at the Village Pub.

Village Pub sounds like it might be lowkey, but it's definitely not a Village Inn. It's actually part of the same restaurant group that owned my beloved Des Amis before it closed, but Village Pub has been a mainstay forever (and has had a michelin star for twelve consecutive years). They have a three-course brunch offering, which was truly excellent - and we opted for the additional fourth course, which was a perfect risotto covered in shaved truffles. I did oysters for my appetizer, then the risotto, then a perfect french omelette, and then a chocolate souffle, along with my share of a bottle of sauvignon blanc. When I type all those dishes together, they don't match at all - they were spaced out with plenty of time in between each, so it was almost like four mini-meals (or real meals, since the risotto and the omelette both could have been a single meal in their own right).

So we have a very leisurely almost-three-hours hanging out and catching up, and it was a delight to see them. When it was finally time to part ways, I went to Stanford Shopping Center to check in on my old haunts. The mall continues to get more upscale, but it was also absolutely buzzing compared to most malls these days. I also got some interesting intel from the guy who rang up my purchase at Anthro, and I enjoyed wandering around in the sunshine, so it was a worthwhile way to spend an hour.

Then I drove north, checked into my new hotel, unpacked, and zoned out for quite awhile. I finally rallied to grab a burger from the bar (which was fine but extremely subpar compared to my brunch experience) and do a bit of work. And now I'm going to go to bed and hope that I can get a million things done tomorrow morning. Goodnight!

no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her

I had a perfect day in the city of sin. I woke up pretty early, and I grabbed coffee and journaled in the lobby until the sun through the windows was too intense for my winter Iowa constitution. Then I looked for dinner reservations for tonight before showering and vacating the hotel.

I took an Uber to the airport, which was out of my way - but I had to pick up a rental car and this seemed to be the best time. Luckily my next stop was nopalito for brunch with Katrina, and there is parking at nopalito (an extreme rarity in SF), so it was smooth sailing.

Katrina was in fine form, although she was wearing the same pants as she did the last time I saw her, which was a bit of a surprise. Then I got my nails done at my favorite nail place before going to Flax at Fort Mason and picking up a bunch of journaling stuff (and bonding with the checkout person and showing each other or annual planners).

I took the embarcadero back to my hotel, where I relaxed, napped, and wrote for a bit. Then I meet John, Claudia (aka Dr Santa) and Chandlord at Mestiza. It was a v tasty meal - they handled our combined gluten free + vegetarian needs quite well. We discussed all manner of topics - aging, aggressive optometrists, the conditions under which someone would leave a group chat, bird flu, alpacas as beasts of burden, etc, etc. 

We continued that convo over a one night celebration at alchemist, and then John dropped me off at my hotel. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

I want you to know

No blog tonight - I've already been dozing in bed for two hours, but I finally roused myself long enough to wash my face and take out my contacts, and I don't need to wake up more fully. Today was all slogging anyway - I started with a detour to Philz coffee while walking to work, and then I worked all day. But I got free lunch (the perks of being in the office), and then had a team dinner with Adit and several other folks. We ended by standing in a long line for ice cream, which is not what I normally seek in either desserts or ways to spend time, but the ice cream was ultimately worth it.

And now it's time to sleep (again) - goodnight!

be still my foolish heart

I am safely ensconced in the city of sin. I spent too much time packing today because I couldn't decide what to bring, but I got out of the house on schedule (after eating a ham salad sandwich courtesy of my mom, and after talking to [censored] (who I guess is also courtesy of my mom)).

My drive to the airport was uneventful, and I had time to grab a burger and do some work at the airport before boarding. My flights were fairly smooth and I got to SFO almost half an hour early - and I was at my hotel in less than 45 minutes, which I was v pleased about. So I got fully unpacked, and if I go to bed now, it's not that much later than my usual bedtime in Iowa. 

So, I think that's what I shall do - goodnight!

back in the gasworks, screaming the song

I slept a little later than planned today, which doesn't mean I'm any less tired tonight. But I had a solid day of slogging - relatively few meetings, but plenty of tings to do. And when I was done for the day, I went out to my parents' house. My mom made roast beef, and I enjoyed it while hanging out with them. At some point [censored] showed up, although he was too late for dinner - but he came bearing dinner for the cats (in the form of cat food that he procures for them in the city), so everyone was happy.

Then I came home, chatted with [censored] a bit, and then started organizing clothes. I'm leaving for a quick work trip to California tomorrow, and as per usual I haven't packed yet, but I have narrowed down all my outfit options. And now I'm going to go to bed so I can do a million things before leaving tomorrow - goodnight!