time everlasting, time to play b sides

I had an excellent day in NYC. I woke up fairly early, got ready, and walked to a nearby Starbucks, where I worked for an hour and a half before going to the office. I tried a new workflow of recording a voice memo to myself while walking, then using AI to translate my thoughts into clear bullet points, and then putting those bullet points into slides. I'd say it saved me a couple of hours, which was a decent return on the rain forest I burned down to fuel the data center needed to achieve this. 

Then I went to the office, where I spent eight hours in a conference room with Adit (among other people) discussing audits (among other topics), which causes some subtle cognitive dissonance since no one there calls him Adit. But no one calls him the cat either, so at least that's consistent. 

When we were done, I did a bit of shopping, and then I had a solo dinner at the same place I went Saturday (no shame, they have the best gf pasta in the world). And now I'm going to bed - goodnight!

I might have lingered in purgatory

I felt a little off today, although I do not know what to attribute it to - but I got nine or ten hours of sleep last night and still needed a nap at six, so idk. I spent the morning messing around in my room, and then I met Terry for lunch at Le Petit Village in Greenwich Village. We had a delightful time - the vibe there was lovely, and then we adjourned to another spot around the corner and had a drink so we could keep the convo going. Unfortunately her plans changed and we couldn't prolong the festivities, but at least we got a proper catch up.

After we parted ways, I walked to Soho and did a bit of shopping. Then I came back to my hotel, took a nap, should have worked, and instead did basically nothing other than order sushi and chill. But now I'm going to go to bed so I can get up early and do the tings I should have done today - goodnight!

you know, know, know your only mistake is if you stand still

I am ensconced in a very comfy large bed in a very small room in New York, with a very surprising sliver of a view of the Statue of Liberty from my window. Today was as smooth as it could be - I had actually planned to leave yesterday, but I changed my flight to today and I'm v glad I did since I would not have possibly been ready yesterday.

But today I got almost a normal amount of sleep, and then I cleaned the kitchen, watered plants, showered, and grabbed the last few tings before leaving. I was slightly later than I wanted to be, but I still had time for an omelette and a mimosa at the airport before boarding. We took off early and got to New York almost 30min early, and my bags were at the carousel when I walked up to them (I overpacked, partially bc I didn't have time to figure out this week's variable weather, partially to have room in case I buy tings). And I was at my hotel about an hour after landing, which I consider a success.

Then I did a speed round of unpacking and fitting everything Tetris-style into the room's very limited storage. And then I got a manicure at a place around the corner - they were surprisingly good, and so even though I chose a color that may have come out slightly too goth, I'm pretty delighted.

Then I grabbed an early solo dinner at La Pecora Bianca, which has perhaps the best gluten free pasta of any restaurant I've been to (they apparently make it in house). But I was exceedingly tired, and so when I got back to my room, I promptly passed out. It's now midnight NYC time and I've slept most of the last four hours, so I anticipate some struggles tonight...but we shall see. Goodnight!

now and then i think of all the times you screwed me over

I slogged today, of course - it started out somewhat laid back, and so I was able to wander around the house while drinking coffee and recording voice memos to myself of all the tings I need to do and tings I'm thinking through. And, I walked to City Hall to sign something related to my official duties - while it wasn't super warm out, temps in the 40s and plenty of sunshine is better than it has been. So, I enjoyed the walk and I enjoyed my chat with the city clerk, and that was all great.

But then I had five hours of meetings, and then I was a bit fried. Sometime in there [censored] got home, and we ended up watching the first two episodes of the 'Scrubs' reboot, which were surprisingly good and quite nostalgic. I also ate some leftover chili, contemplated various tasks, and started planning my packing list for my next trip.

And now I need to go to sleep since I need to do a million and one things tomorrow. Goodnight!

dancing in the dark

I had an absolutely brutal slog today - meetings straight from 9:30 to 5:30, no breaks, and then a couple of hours of follow ups after. And I had to do some work before my first meeting to pull things together for all these meetings. Luckily they were all internal, so I could wear sweats and also eat leftover beef and noodles while talking, but still. 

By the time I was done, I was done done, and so I poured a glass of zinfandel, ate some leftover frozen gluten free pizza (which was way better than that phrase implies), and spent the evening scrolling / listening to music / doing skincare / journaling. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

someone pour me up a double shot of whisky

I had a v nice weekend, even though it was colder than I would like (I was, perhaps, born to be a snowbird - or maybe eighteen years in california made me weak). Yesterday, I got caught up on various personal tasks that I had been putting off, which felt good. I also made a very delicious dinner - I was in the mood for something cozy, but also beefy, and so I made beef and noodles and mashed potatoes. The beef and noodles are an instant pot recipe that turns out perfectly every time (although it always takes longer than I think it should), and you wouldn't know it's gluten free except for the fact that the noodles soak up every ounce of liquid. And of course, since we're Iowans, we have to put our starch on top of another starch - which is a good thing, since my mashed potatoes are perfection.

So I made supper, and Mom came in to eat, which was v. nice. I'm sure she would have rather had prime rib, but sometimes I would rather not put on a bra and real pants to go to dinner (although that's probably not strictly required at the place we go to for prime rib). After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen, watched a little bit of Olympics, gave up on it, and read for a couple of hours - I'm deep into a book called THE INFORMATION, which I'm quite enjoying, even if I can't explain it.

Today was a bit more of the same - I spent the morning at my desk doing a variety of personal tings, and I also did four loads of laundry, put together some drawers that I'd ordered six weeks ago, tidied up my room, finished unpacking from Carlsbad, etc. And then I made a fresh batch of mashed potatoes to go with last night's leftovers, which [censored] and I enjoyed. I probably should have watched the Olympics closing ceremonies tonight, but I have been unusually disengaged this year - instead, I cleaned up the kitchen, folded the last of my clothes, and did an hour and a half of work so that tomorrow morning goes just a wee bit smoother.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

don't bother fixing your hair if you've got nothing to wear

I had a long day of slogging, mostly because I shadowed an interview at 9am and then conducted an interview until 5pm, and I had meetings in between. But everything was fine, all in all, and then I slacked off to reheat various tings from the freezer stash. [Censored] wanted vegetable beef soup, and so I grabbed a cube of that - my souper cubes are a delight when it comes to freezing leftovers and then being able to stack them later. And I decided to eat some chicken chile verde that has been in the freezer way too long (but luckily was still delish). Of course, I couldn't defrost them in the microwave together, so the heating up process took a bit - but we were both satisfied and didn't have to do any real cooking so I'm calling it a win.

After that, I could have watched Olympics, but instead I retreated to my room and wrote/journaled/debated myself about various tings. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!