someone stole my shoes, but there's a couple of bananas and a bottle of booze

Apparently I have not blogged all week - this happens when my weeks are v. boring. I shall recap for posterity, such as it is:

- Wednesday, I had many meetings, which is true of most days. I then talked to Adit about work stuff while wandering around outside to take a bit of a break, and then I drove into town because the Vietnamese food truck was on the square. This was only the second time I've gotten them, but I was happy with this order - their pork skewers and shrimp skewers were excellent, and their pad thai and fried rice were pretty tasty (and, as far as I could tell, fairly gluten free except for the soy sauce). It took quite awhile for my food to be ready, but I spent that time chatting with various townsfolk who were also hanging out in the yard waiting for or eating their food, so it was a v. nice evening. And then I came home, ate, and welcomed [censored] back from his usual weekly jaunt.

- Thursday, I had many meetings, which is true of most days. I also had a city council meeting, which meant that I had to spend two hours talking to various townsfolk about various issues. I still have not been run out of town, so I think that means this is going well?

- Friday, I had many meetings, which is usually not true of Fridays but happened to be true of this one. I ended the day by making burrito bowls for me and [censored], which really hit the spot after not having them all summer. We ate the burrito bowls while watching last week's SNL, which was middling, and perhaps I did other stuff that I cannot remember.

- Saturday, I had no meetings, and yet somehow I managed to fill or squander the vast amount of excess time. I guess I did talk to Adit about something work-related for awhile, so it was almost like a meeting? But I also did various tings at my desk, procrastinated a bit, did a whole bunch of laundry, ate a couple of tomatoes that should not still be in season but are because it's 85 degrees here, messed around, and then went into town to get groceries. And then I made potatoes au gratin to go with the steaks I had thawed out to grill, and I also made some excellent onions and mushrooms to top the steak with. Mom came into town to join us, and so we had a v. tasty dinner.

- Today, I had no meetings, but I did spent a lot of time at my desk researching various tings. I also did some gardening - theoretically I should be cleaning up my gardens, but instead I harvested a bunch of tomatoes and peppers, and everything is still attempting to go strong (the eggplant is putting out more flowers than I saw all summer, the tomatillos are still attracting pollinators, the cucumber is trying to cucumber again, etc.). It will cool off by the end of the week, so we'll see what that does, but my semi-apocalyptic garden is hanging on in this unusual heat. Beyond gardening, I did various tings, wrote on my balcony for awhile, and then grilled hamburgers for me and [censored] (which turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself). We ate them with leftover potatoes while watching last night's SNL, which was surprisingly excellent. And then I came upstairs and read the first few chapters of FAMESICK, which I am enjoying so far.

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

if i bring a little music, i could fit right in

I have been v. busy at work the last couple of days - this is what happens when I go to san francisco for a week and then take a few days off. I slogged relentlessly yesterday, including working later in the evening than I am accustomed to, and then I woke up this morning and did it again. By the time all my meetings were done around five, I was done too - so I examined my gardens, took a quick walk around town to unwind, came home, and ate leftovers for dinner (which were tasty).

Then I did a wee bit more work, watched a couple of youtube videos, and then decided to read the book for my work book club. We were reading PIRANESI, which I found quite strange - I'm not sure how I feel about it or what I want to say, but it was a nice way to spend the evening. Then I made the mistake of checking out Prime Day sales, which is how they get you. But now I have finished my perusings of various items and am going to go to bed - goodnight!

i won't trust my eyes until i make it to the other side

Sorry for not blogging all weekend - I thought I was mostly recovered from my illness, but I woke up Friday and ended up having a migraine, which really put a damper on my hoped-for day of productivity to catch up from being out. So I spent most of the day trying to avoid looking at screens (not helpful for my job), and then having meeting as soon as I was recovered enough for them. And then [censored] and I had to scrounge for dinner, but that was fine with me because I had a v. tasty baked potato and some carnitas from the freezer, so it could have been worse.

Yesterday I was really unproductive, sadly - but I did rally to get a few things done, and then I went out to Mom's, where I grilled brats to go with her delicious (as usual) potato salad and baked beans. The weather is lovely right now, so grilling season isn't over yet, but it felt like a good opportunity to use the brats before everything turns cold and bleak.

Today, I was productive enough to make up for the last couple of days of sloth; I mostly stayed off my phone, which always does wonders for the rest of my tasks. [Censored] and I took a tour of some of my holdings in an effort to determine what to prioritize this fall, and surprisingly this did not depress me, so I'm taking that as a good sign. Then I did a bunch of stuff around the house, including unpacking from my trip, tidying my room, and then cleaning my office (dusting, vacuuming, getting rid of various boxes, etc.). And I wrote a wee bit - not as much as I planned, but better than nothing.

At some point, I made supper - since I came through Des Moines on Wednesday, I was able to procure some swiss chard, and so I made the sausage and chard rigatoni that [censored] and I both like to a surprising degree. We ate that while watching the first two episodes of this season of Scrubs, which were pretty good. Then I cleaned up the kitchen, came upstairs, procrastinated for awhile, and then did an hour of day job work that I really should have done on Friday. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

bury me in motion

I am back from my trip to Okoboji, and mostly recovered from my illness, although I wish I had taken today (and maybe tomorrow) off. I had a great conference despite being sick - it was a bit of a bummer because I skipped the optional evening dinners in the interest of getting more sleep (and avoiding making things worse by getting rained on all evening), and so I feel certain that I missed out on some serendipitous encounters that might have led to making friends. But it's also nice that I didn't fall asleep while driving home yesterday, and nice that I'm no longer hacking up my lungs regularly (just occasionally), so I think I made the practical choice.

Anyway, yesterday's morning sessions were both great, and I left feeling v. inspired by everything I heard. Then I drove home, which felt like it took forever, but I listened to some podcasts to try to keep myself entertained. I also stopped for groceries (and to eat some late lunch from the prepared foods bar) at Whole Foods in Des Moines, grabbed some gluten free bread in Indianola, and got home in time to unpack my car before going out to Mom's to have dinner with her and Aunt Dee. Aunt Dee came up to visit for a couple of days, but I wouldn't have seen her if I skipped dinner last night - so I'm glad I braved the v. muddy roads to hang out. It has rained a tremendous amount here this week (and month), and there's water everywhere, so the gravel was treacherous - but Mom's vegetable beef soup was #worthit.

Today, I was more in it to win it than I expected to be, but less in it to win it than I needed to be to actually get caught up. However, I did various day job tasks, ate some leftover soup and another grilled cheese for lunch, and then worked the rest of the day (with a long chat with Adit and Emily sprinkled in there to get me through). Tonight, I made a stew with chickpeas, coconut milk, turmeric, and swiss chard; it's something I used to make during the pandemic, and it was a v. viral recipe back in 2020, but I don't make it often now since 1) it reminds me of the pandemic and 2) [censored] has no interest in eating it. But it turned out well, and I read a book while it simmered (instead of scrolling my phone), so I feel v. smug about that.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

that's evolution

No blog tonight - I had an excellent day, but tomorrow's sessions start 30min earlier than they have been, and I also have to pack and check out of my hotel, so I need to go to bed immediately. Goodnight!

I keep showing you doors

I had an excellent first day at my writing conference. I got off to a slow start because I’m still feeling sick and didn’t get enough sleep, but I made it to the event before the first session, and I even had time to grab cold brew on the way, so I’m counting it as a win.

Almost all of my sessions today were great, and I sloughed off the less great last session by going out to an early dinner to revive myself. And now I’m going to go to bed (after already having taken a nap) in an attempt to recoup some sleep - goodnight!

must have seen too much in the blotted ink

I am in Okoboji, in some ways despite my better judgment - I woke up this morning still feeling pretty ill, but I knew that would turn into feeling sorry for myself if I stayed home and skipped the retreat. So I puttered around the garden and dealt with a lot of very wet things, took care of some things around the house, packed up, and left around one.

My drive was long but uneventful - Okoboji is on the other end of the state from me, so I saw a lot of (fairly similar-looking) countryside. It's been one of the wettest Septembers on record and no one seems to be harvesting, so traffic was fairly light, and I got into Okoboji a little after 6:30 (after a stop at Starbucks, and then pulling through five or six different gas stations around northwest Iowa before finding one that sold premium fuel for my Audi). I was starving after I checked in, so I went down the street to have dinner at a place I went to last year. My burger was v. tasty, and I was getting some decent work done when I was interrupted by the kind of guy who does not take any hints that you are not interested in having a conversation. Parts of it were entertaining (especially making eye contact with some of the staff + talking to another guest as he was walking out, all of whom seem to be long-suffering as a result of this guy), but I eventually absconded to my hotel so I could unpack and do some writing before bed.

And now I must sleep immediately since things start too early tomorrow - goodnight!