turn the car around

I had a v productive day in the city of sin - probably because I did not indulge in any sin (beyond some basically free wine at the hotel bar). I woke up shockingly early (thanks to time zones), grabbed some coffee downstairs, and journaled v pleasantly for almost an hour. Then I got ready and took a waymo to work - I'm now in the early access for waymos that go on the freeway, which was pretty smooth and also cut some time from my commute. The future is here in SF, even if it isn't anywhere else. 

Then I slogged all day, through a variety of back to back meetings, which were both great and exhausting. So eventually I left the office, took muni back (since mass transit is still cheaper/faster than waymo even if you have to deal with infinitely more people), decompressed in my room, and then went downstairs with my laptop to work / eat protein / drink wine / talk to the bartender, whom I've known since right before the pandemic.

This was all accomplished in fine fashion, but now my body is rebelling since it's almost midnight in Iowa, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

heavy foot

No blog tonight - I got up relatively early, finished packing, took care of various tings around the house, and left at eleven to head south. Usually I fly out of Des Moines, but United has a nonstop from Kansas City to San Francisco, and its current schedule is at hours that are amenable for driving several hours to the airport.

So I tested this new itinerary today. It required leaving an hour and a half earlier than I usually leave when flying out of Des Moines, but I was able to park in the garage adjacent to the terminal, and they had Clear+Precheck lanes, so getting through security took only a few minutes longer than Des Moines. That left me plenty of time to have a burger and a glass of wine before takeoff - I could have been half an hour later getting there, but I'm glad I didn't have the stress.

My flight was pretty bumpy in parts, but the fact that we didn't have to land and takeoff in Denver was a real plus. And I got to SF with no issues, got to my hotel, unpacked, had dinner, read/journaled a bit, and now need to sleep immediately because I'm already falling asleep with the lights on and can do better than that. Goodnight!

bitter taste of time wasted, a tickle in your throat

Wednesday I slogged with no notable updates, so I didn't blog.

Thursday I also slogged, with mixed results since I was quite productive Wednesday and hit the expected wall on Thursday. So I snuck out around five to run to the pharmacy - and while I was out and about, I decided to take an impromptu trip to Lineville to see the new mural. The old mural was destroyed in a derecho and/or tornado last year, and it took a year for us to get it replaced. But we were able to get an exact replica from the artist who designed the original, and we were able to install it on the new fire department building (after much negotiation). I'm pleased to say it looks perfect in its new location, and I got some good photos to update the website with - driving down when I did meant that I hit golden hour, which made for some good images.

After that, I came home and grilled some steaks, which turned out quite well considering they had been sitting in the back of my freezer and were fifteen months old. But I don't think you could tell that they had aged that long, and the protein did me good. I was finishing eating when [censored] showed up, and so we talked for quite awhile before I decided it was time to go to bed.

Friday was more of the same - a lot of slogging, but nothing too ridiculous. I took a 'break' in the afternoon to clean my oven (not really a break), and then I stopped work around five so that I could make dinner for Mom and [censored]. I was in the mood for something a little more elaborate and also had ingredients that needed to be used, so I made prosciutto-wrapped chicken breasts stuffed with bacon and goat/cream cheese, which is always excellent. I also made mashed potatoes, so it felt fairly decadent. And it was nice to hang out with Mom and [censored], who seemed to forgive me for dinner being ready later than planned.

Today, I had a million things to do, and so of course I spent some of the time hanging out with [censored] in various yards that I own, investigating various tings. We were able to find one lot pin at my newest acquisition, but despite having a v nice metal detector and a surveying wheel and a 200' measuring tape, we were not able to find the others. However, I have a generally good idea of where the boundaries are, so I'll take it. We (and by 'we' I mean [censored] cut through some drywall to inspect whether a potential remodel idea would work (verdict: not without work). I need to get cracking on my remodel, but it's somewhat daunting, especially considering that I'm not a DIY'er and have little desire to become one.

So after all that, [censored] and I both took long breaks to eat and watch various videos regarding various ideas. Then I spent the afternoon doing laundry, cleaning, tending to the garden, and generally getting organized. I took a break this evening to eat dinner and watch the latest episode of 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' with [censored], and then I continued doing various tasks until now.

But now I need to go to sleep - goodnight!

saltwater

I have been pushing hard on productivity before I hit an inevitable wall - but hopefully I don't hit it tomorrow, because I still have some tings I want to get done this week. Yesterday I slogged all day, said goodbye to [censored], hung out on my balcony, ate some leftover steak with a baked potato, and then did some work until about midnight.

Today was more of the same - I slept a little later in deference to last night's late night, but then I got up, wrote before work, took a shower, and slogged all day. When I was done, I cleaned up the kitchen, sat on my balcony for an hour, and then made dinner - a variation of the shrimp alfredo that I sometimes make, although I used some gf cheese tortellini that I'd picked up at whole foods instead of fettuccine, and I added spinach since [censored] isn't around to be poisoned. It turned out quite well, and I have leftovers for tomorrow, so that's exciting.

When I was done eating, I came upstairs, changed into sweats, and wrote until now. And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

keep it one hundred on the land, the sea, the sky

I had a nice closeout to the weekend - or, at least, yesterday was nice, and today was a little too relaxed. When I woke up yesterday, I threw on some clothes and walked down to the Des Moines farmers' market. I didn't buy anything of note since I knew food would get too hot in my car during my other errands, but I picked up a notepad from a stationery store that I like, and I bought flowers and banana bread for Drewbaby and Sammie. All the vegetables looked quite nice, though, which made me wonder (again) why I spend a lot of time any money on my own subpar produce efforts - but I also don't make it up to Des Moines for the farmers' market regularly, so I guess that's why.

After that, I went back to my hotel, ate some breakfast (which was unfortunately very mid), showered, and checked out. Then I went to Drewbaby and Sammie's house to see them, but mostly to see their baby - but since Marcella doesn't talk yet, the adults had to carry the conversation without her. She turned four months old yesterday and is quite cute, and Drewbaby and Sammie seem to be doing well, so it was nice to hang out.

Then I ran some errands - I was going to go to Costco, but I was running late already, so I just went to Whole Foods and did a massive stock-up. I always forget that there's a Fareway in the Half Priced Books strip mall, but I happened to see it on my way to Whole Foods, so I picked up steaks and a variety of other meats. And then I drove home, with a stop in Indianola to pick up sweet corn.

When I got home, I unloaded my car, took care of a couple of quick things, and then drove out to Mom's with the sweet corn and some ribeyes to grill. The ribeyes turned out pretty perfectly, if I do say so myself, and so Mom and [censored] and I had a nice dinner. Then I hung out with Mom a bit longer before coming home and procrastinating and going to bed.

Today was much less interesting - I probably should have assumed I would get nothing done, but since I had had high ambitions, the fact that I did very little makes me feel much worse. But I did several loads of laundry, journaled, wrote a bit, fertilized all my tomatoes and peppers, cleaned up my raised beds a bit, and generally tidied up. And now I'm going to go to bed so that I can attempt to kickstart tomorrow a little more effectively - goodnight!

we were talking to the sunset, throwing dreams against the wall

I had a v nice day, mostly because I decided to take it off. I had intended to get up and at 'em early, but I wasn't feeling a hundred percent, so I slept in a bit and then took my time with my cold brew and some chatting with [censored]. I also did some pantry reorganizing in preparation for a massive restock, and I took care of various tings around the house. 

Eventually, though, I drove to Des Moines - I decided to go to the state fair, which I hadn't been to since before the pandemic. It was a bit of a speed run since it was crazy hot and I was just trying to hit the highlights - but I got an egg on a stick from the egg producers, saw the butter cow, hit up varied industries, checked out the dwindling 4-H exhibits, saw the Big Ram that might set a Guinness record for biggest ram ever, tasted some Iowa wines, and had some excellent gluten free fair food - namely a gf lobster corn dog and some birria pupusas, both of which were quite tasty. 

Eventually, though, I was too hot and tired to continue, so I got to my hotel, napped a bit, showered, and had a late order of fries and a glass of rosé to close the day. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

you were unsuspecting, not unwarned

I have had nothing to report the last few days - I have just been working, and occasionally writing or journaling, and occasionally checking on my gardens. It didn't help that it was cloudy and/or rainy most of the week, which always messes with my mood. 

But I celebrated a solo day in my house on Tuesday by making eight pounds of carnitas - perhaps more carnitas than is strictly necessary for one person (or for two people when one of them doesn't like pork), but I was happy to have it. And work has been fine overall, although it's always tempting to run away. And I had a fun catch-up with my friend Alex from my last stint at the goog - I apparently haven't been back to Boulder in almost three years, which I need to rectify asap.

But now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

and they try to keep us all down

I have nothing of interest to report - I spent yesterday (Sunday) slogging in a truly excessive manner on a variety of personal / writing / house tasks. That felt good in the moment, especially since I managed to be productive despite the weather and my own Sunday inclinations - but I knew that it would probably sabotage my slide into the work week, and I was mostly right about that.

However, I got up this morning and managed to do several things that I need to get done before my meetings started. At some point I took a break to go into town and get allergy shots, which was a necessary evil. And I spent the early evening wrapping up my tax prep - yes, it's four months after tax day, but I filed for an extension, and the time has finally come to settle up.

After I was done with that, I couldn't bear to look at screens, so I journaled on my balcony until the mosquitoes came out, and then I read a bit of a book. And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!