and don't be selfish and keep this all to yourself, and don't eat shellfish

I have returned to the place of my birth after a somewhat-delayed but otherwise smooth travel day. Sadly my flight was delayed by over two hours, but not in a way that enabled me to do much of anything fun. However, that meant I could take my time getting ready, and I was feeling zero stress getting to the airport. Also, I discovered that I could get into the Delta first class lounge with one of the perks of my Amex card, so the long wait was quite pleasant - I had a comfy chair, free lunch, free coke zero / rosé / coffee to give myself all the uppers/downers I desired, and space to write for awhile. So I did write, while also people watching, and it was a nice way to get some downtime before the flight.

Once we did board, the trip was uneventful, and I alternated between napping / journaling / reading to Des Moines. I must say that LaGuardia is quite nice and having a direct from Des Moines to NYC is a major bonus - so if I get a say in whether I visit the SF or NYC offices more frequently in the future, NYC does have some points in its favor.

So, after I landed, I retrieved my bags and my car, grabbed the last Starbucks of the foreseeable future, and drove home (with a stop for a v. necessary car wash). When I got here, it was a little after seven, and [censored] and I went into town to grab some groceries and Mexican takeout since I had no food or desire to cook. After we'd eaten and caught up, I partially unpacked, made a list of the million things I have to do tomorrow, and generally unwound.

And now I need to sleep if I'm going to do those million things - goodnight!

play that music too loud

I had a v nice final day in NYC. I got up and walked to Starbucks, where I wrote for an hour while drinking some cold brew. Then I came back to my hotel and got ready for the day. The first stop was meeting Terry at the Met - I had not seen Terry in the flesh since her wedding in 2022, so we were overdue. 

We wandered around a bit of the museum before realizing we just wanted to talk, so we grabbed coffee in the cafe and sat for an hour or so. Then we checked out some of the painting exhibits, which were varying degrees of lovely. It was nice to hang out in a museum for awhile, and even nicer to go with Terry. 

Then we walked across Central Park to the upper west side, where we spent twenty minutes browsing at the Strand bookstore while waiting for a wine bar to open. The wine bar was quite good - I had an excellent red (and another half glass of the same), and we had fries to revive ourselves, and then they have us a free glass of champagne as we settled the bill. This is, as you can imagine, my kind of scene. 

Then we adjourned briefly to Terry's apartment, where I met her daughters, who are super cute. We also said hi to Haseeb before leaving them to go out for an early dinner at a nearby Greek place, which was delish.

So, all in all it was a v nice day, and it was great to spend so much quality time with Terry. Then we parted ways and her doorman procured me a cab so I could return to my hotel. When I got here I accidentally took a nap, and then I packed so I'll be ready to go tomorrow. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

rest in peace bob marley

I had a v low-key day compared to all the other days I've had recently - I worked from my hotel, saw no one, and slacked off early to go shopping in Soho. I bought several cute tops before the economy collapses and tariffs render clothing impossibly expensive, so that was exciting. I also started reading a book about AI (NEXUS by Yuval Noah Harari), which is probably silly because a book that came out last year is already obsolete, but it's interesting so far. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

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!