debi tirar mas fotos

I made it back to ye olde Iowa yesterday, after a relatively easy morning of travel - while checking my bag took longer than expected, everything else was smooth, and I had time to eat breakfast in the amex lounge and pick up some coffee before boarding. When I got to Des Moines, I wanted to go see Drewbaby's baby, but the fact that I'm still congested + was probably covered in strange plane germs made me think it wasn't a good idea.

So instead I grabbed a quick lunch at a Mediterranean place near the airport, then stocked up on groceries at fareway. When I got home, I unloaded my car, did various tings, and then [censored] and I picked up Mexican and took it out to Mom's to eat. She has made amazing progress on her gardens in the last couple of weeks, so that was fun to see. And then I came home and went to bed early to start recovering from my trip.

Today I was not really in it to win it - it was rainy and cloudy and strangely cold all day, and that affected my mood. But I got my desk set up for writing again, did some writing, did some journaling, read a bit, etc. And I made chili for dinner, which [censored] and I enjoy quite a bit.

But I've been falling asleep on my chaise for the last hour, so I think I should go to bed and hope for the best in terms of productivity tomorrow. Goodnight!

the killer in me is the killer in you

I am in transit to ye olde Iowa, but I won't be fully home until tomorrow. My workshop ended today, which meant I had to get up at six and pack + grab coffee + eat breakfast before the nine am session, all of which was accomplished in due form. It was a v nice end to the week, and while I would have liked another day or two, it will be good to go home and start incorporating some of what I learned. 

After we were done, I had a final lunch with the group, and then I caught a train to New York. Sadly I had to do day job stuff as soon as I got here, including a meeting with my boss (even though I'm on vacation and it's also a corporate holiday) - it was not an emergency, but everyone's various summer holidays is making discussions difficult. 

When I was finally done with work, I grabbed a quick bowl of pasta nearby, then came back to my room, put on a robe, pretended I was going to write, and dozed instead. And now I need to sleep since I need to leave for the airport in eight hours - goodnight!

no time is a good time for goodbye

I had another truly excellent day at this retreat. I got plenty of sleep (although I still have a deficit) and I decided to take some pseudoephedrine to clear out my sinuses, which felt great except for the fact that it makes me thirsty. But I grabbed a v quick breakfast and then had an excellent workshop.

And then I got a massage, which was transformative - my whole left side was tight, and now it feels better lying in bed. Then I chatted with some people, grabbed a v late lunch, did some journaling, and went to a panel on writing the self through various genres, which was extremely illuminating. And then I spent some time telling an ER doc that he should just make a fortune writing erotica, which was v fun. 

I took a too-short break, got ready, and then went to the final reading evening. I read a bit of something I'd been working on, and that was super fun; I think I have now convinced most of my class to move to Iowa and start a cult with me. The other readings were all really good too, and my class seems to have gelled in a way that makes it likely some of us will keep in touch. 

After the evening ended, some of us grabbed ice cream, and now I need to sleep so I can get up super early and pack before the final session. Goodnight!

love you mean it

I had an excellent day all in all - and I got a truly excellent amount of sleep last night, which helped. I'm still congested and snot-filled, and I'm still not 100%, but I didn't let it stop me from enjoying my day.

I got up later than previous days, but early enough to grab breakfast and chat with a couple of writers from my small group for awhile. Then I sat at the cafe and nursed a cold brew while scribbling in my notebook, which was v enjoyable. At some point I decamped to my room to change into shorts since the day warmed up, and then I spent some quality time this afternoon with others from my small group.

We didn't have a workshop scheduled this morning (there were various optional tings instead), but a bunch of us met up to discuss our work independently. There were student readings tonight and more tomorrow night, for which people can sign up for a three-minute slot. Three minutes isn't much time, so some of us met up to read our things to each other to get some practice with timing + feedback on whether it was working. It was really fun to do, and I'm enjoying getting to know some of the people in my group more - and it's too bad that we only have two more class sessions left.

Sadly I had to bail to do another meeting with my boss and Adit, but that only took an hour and I ate a sandwich while we talked, so it could be worse. Then I did some personal work, ate dinner, and dialed into a special session of city council. That meant I missed the first few readings tonight, but I caught several people I wanted to see, and had a glass of wine with a couple of my classmates, so that was great.

And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

you're too sweet for me

I had an excellent day at my writing workshop - I'm starting to make some friends, and I'm really enjoying my breakout group. I also figured out my nutrition situation - I had a bigger breakfast (clearly their strong suit), bought a sandwich for lunch (meals are included at the dining hall, but I wasn't in the mood for lentils; I had to pay for the sandwich at the cafe, but it was one of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time, so it was #worthit), and then had a reasonably acceptable dinner.

I was, however, quite tired - while my cold is improving, I got less than six hours of sleep last night, and I woke up to do a bit of writing before class at nine, so I was wiped out. So after the workshop ended, I attempted a nap, then grabbed aforementioned sandwich, talked to some people, took care of various tings, and then journaled/napped in the sun. Unfortunately I had to spend two hours on a day job call in the late afternoon, but I ended in time to grab dinner before going to the evening readings. They were all quite good, so that was v enjoyable.

And now I'm going to go to bed and attempt to get eight hours of sleep for the first time in a week - my sleep debt on my oura ring is the highest I've ever seen it, so it's time to prioritize some sleep over anything else. Goodnight!

but i want you to want me too

I had an excellent first day at my retreat, although it started off a bit rough - I did not sleep well last night due to my cold + the fact that my bed creaks whenever I move, and so the morning was painful. But I grabbed breakfast, grabbed cold brew, and then had three hours of class (?), which was a very long and good discussion on place.

After that, I came back to my room and took a quick nap, and then I grabbed lunch. I found an adirondack chair by the pond in which to journal / work on my assigned writing prompt this afternoon, and I did do some writing, but I also did quite a bit of napping in the sun. Then I went to an afternoon panel session, spent some time talking to my mom, relaxed a bit more, and then grabbed dinner. When I was done eating, I went to this evening's readings, which were from four more faculty/staff members, and all of them were excellent and v. inspiring.

Then I came back to my room, though about going to bed, and instead wrote for the last two hours. But now I really do need to sleep if I'm going to get enough rest for tomorrow's workshop. Goodnight!

i'm taking a [amtrak] on the hudson river line

I am feeling slightly better today - my throat isn't quite as bad, so I was able to sleep last night, but my nose is running and my cough is still acting up, which may make for some awkwardness in a bunch of small group writing sessions this week.

But I woke up this morning feeling like some sun might help, so I grabbed a cold brew and sat in Madison Square Park (not to be confused with Madison Square Garden) and journaled while people watching. The city was very quiet this morning, likely because everyone was out late celebrating last night - all the guys at the front desk of my hotel were running on a couple of hours of sleep since they were the 6am shift, but they all claimed it was worth it. It was a v fun week to be in NYC even if I did get sick, and I guess I'm now a Knicks fan until next year.

After I was done journaling, I grabbed an amazing gluten free bagel with salmon and cream cheese from the bagel place in my hotel - and now I'm bitter that I didn't know they had amazing gluten free bagels until today, because I would have had one literally every day if I'd realized. Then I was cutting it close to finish packing, but I trimmed my bangs, showered, packed, and checked out exactly at my checkout time. I left my bags at the front desk and did an hour of personal work, and then I headed to the train station to catch a train to my next adventure.

At the train station I had just enough time to grab a gf chicken caesar wrap to go and drink part of a glass of rosé before boarding. My destination was a retreat center about ninety minutes north of the city, out in the farms and wooded areas of the Hudson River valley. I got here without issue and checked in, and then I unpacked into my little cabin, walked around to get my bearings, took a brief nap, and ate a quick dinner in the cafe.

I'm here for a five day writing workshop that I applied for almost on a whim a few weeks ago. I was looking for something different than my usual writing excursions, and I stumbled across this workshop geared toward writing about place and environment. Since so much of what I'm writing these days has to do with Iowa, which is a v specific place, this seems like it's going to be quite fruitful. Tonight there was an intro session with readings from a few of the faculty members, and I'm pretty excited to get to know them - even if I'm also exhausted, and still sick, and feeling shy in the midst of a bunch of new people. I'm sure that will wane as the week goes on, but tonight I'm indulging my desire to go to bed early so I can recover. Goodnight!