my heart runs on gasoline vapors

I have been staring at screens for way too long, so I shall keep this brief. When I woke up this morning, I felt relatively #inittowinit, so I got out of bed, made some coffee, and journaled for awhile. I'm sure the sunlight helped - my mood is always better when it warms up, and today was almost perfect.

Sadly I had to work inside most of the day, but I got through all my meetings in due form, and I managed to squeeze in a little personal business too. I was finally done around six, and then I got to sit out on my balcony and write for awhile. Eventually I came inside and ate some food (a v. unusual dinner of apple, peanut butter, and cottage cheese - I had other food, but I had zero desire to eat any of it) and tidied up the kitchen. And then I switched into sweats and did some work until now.

And now, I can sleep the sleep of the just (or at least the screen-blind) - goodnight!

lead me to the right side, keep this rolling

Apologies for not blogging the last couple of nights - I had a whirlwind end to my week, including breakfast in NYC, a long and much-needed coffee with Emily (all of my coworkers are my favorite, but she is first among them), lunch and various meetings, etc., etc. My trip home was complicated by some stalled vehicle or accident in an NYC tunnel, which made my Uber ride to the airport 90min instead of 45min, which meant I did not have time for a leisurely lounge experience like I had intended. But other than that, my trip was smooth, and it was good to get home.

I spent the weekend doing a variety of household and writing things - I got fully unpacked from both SF and NYC, got my room and desk reorganized, etc. I spent more time than expected yesterday afternoon talking to the neighbors - or rather, the heirs of the neighbor who passed away earlier this year. And then I sped into town and grabbed groceries so that I could cook. I made ham and potatoes au gratin for dinner last night, and Mom came in to eat with me and [censored], which meant I had to turn the dining room back into a dining room instead of a greenhouse (with mixed results, since I couldn't move my seedlings). But dinner was v. nice and we had a good chat, so it was worth it.

Today was more of the same - I actually wrote for three hours this morning, which was excellent but also made my brain feel a little melted. Then I ate lunch and vegged for a couple of hours, and then I spent three hours doing yard work. This resulted in cleaning out part of one bed in front of my house and putting down fresh mulch, which was definitely an improvement even if there is still much work to do. And I am guessing I will be sore tomorrow, since my fingers all seem to hurt and I think my arms and legs do too, but hopefully I can get back outside as the week progresses.

I took a break to put a roast chicken in the oven, and then I finished it with some roasted potatoes and a caesar salad, which [censored] and I v. much enjoyed as the fruits of our labors. And now I need to go to sleep - goodnight!

it's giving me divine feelings

In a surprise turn of events, I am in NYC for less than thirty six hours, which was not in the cards when I went to San Francisco last week. This is entirely a work trip (sorry Terry and various other NYC friends) - I took the only direct flight here this morning, and I shall return on the only direct flight tomorrow afternoon. And I have a million meetings in that time period, so personal time is basically nonexistent.

But today's travels were smooth despite getting up at four am. I made it out of the house on time, and I had time to grab an omelette at the airport before boarding. I slept most of the way to NYC, grabbed an Uber, dropped my bag at the hotel, went to the office, and ate sushi while chatting with Gary. Then I grabbed coffee with Finn, did some meetings, went back to my hotel when my room was ready, and did more meetings until after seven.

By then I was done done, so I went to serafina and had a v mid gf pasta (but a v nice glass of cab) while writing a bit. And now I need to sleep immediately if I have any hope of being on tomorrow - goodnight!

tell me where will it end

No blog tonight - I had a v busy day, starting with allergy shots, then six hours of meetings, and then a city council meeting. When I got home, I had to furiously take care of all the tings that I needed to get done tonight, and now I have to go to bed if I have any hope of getting up early tomorrow. Goodnight!

wish i didn't know now what i didn't know then

I did not blog yesterday because I had a long day of travel - it was all smooth, but I had to get to the airport in time for an 8:30 flight, and since I had to check a bag and also wanted to eat breakfast beforehand, that meant leaving my hotel at an unfortunate hour. However, my flight to Denver got in twenty minutes early, which gave me just enough time to grab a glass of rosé and a caesar salad with salmon for my last 'city' meal before heading back to the countryside.

My flight to Des Moines was on time, and my bag made it within three minutes of my arrival to baggage claim, so I was in my car v. quickly. I stopped for Starbucks on the way home, and then I zoned out to a Trevor Noah podcast while completing my drive. When I got here, I caught up with [censored] and we got takeout Mexican since I didn't feel like cooking. This does not count as a 'city' meal, although it is certainly more convenient than trying to cook after traveling all day.

Today should have been a slog, but I played a bit of hooky. I got up this morning and worked, and I sat through several meetings, but I slacked off at 2:30 to take my mom to one of our favorite greenhouses. I usually don't make it there this early in the season, and they had quite a good selection - but I also don't know exactly what I want to plant, so I didn't load up as much as I could have. But we had a v nice time examining all of their plants, and we got lucky to not end up with rain / tornadoes, so I'll take it.

When we got home, I dropped her and her plants off, and then came back to my place, put my stuff away, said goodbye to [censored], did various household chores, and then ran back into town to grab various dairy products + pizza (not something I usually do, but I have many many things I have to accomplish this week and cooking is not something I have time for). Then I came home, ate, unpacked, did some laundry, tidied up, worked for a couple of hours, etc. And now I need to go to bed because tomorrow is going to be an overwhelming slog - goodnight!

peace of mind

I had an extremely chill day in the city of sin. I slept in, lazed about, and eventually showered and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before wandering out into the city. I spent most of the morning and early afternoon shopping along Fillmore Street, which was as fun as it always is. And then I grabbed some oysters and a glass of wine at Little Shucker while catching up on various reading, which was very nice.

Once evening rolled around, I met Claudia and Adit at a wine bar, where we had drinks and cheeses while waiting a couple of hours for the waitlist to finally clear at Khao Tiew. The wait was worth it - we had some excellent curries and a tasty pad Thai, and the conversation throughout was a delight. We probably could have kept going, but I still needed to pack and I have to get up pretty early for my flight tomorrow, so I called it for the night. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

when in rome

I had a nice final work day in the SF office. I managed to rally and go in despite sleeping v fitfully last night, and the vibe was quite chill since only two of the newest people + Adit were there. I myself bounced around three, and I used my self driving taxi time to talk to my mom, which was a delight. 

Then I got to the hotel, promptly took a nap, did a bit of work, and then walked to maido to see if I needed any stationery (spoiler: I always need stationery). Then I came back, took another break, got ready, and headed out for an absurdly late (for me, this week only) dinner at 8pm.

My destination was Collina, and my friends were Julie and Tom and their spouses. I hadn't seen all of them in far too long, and it was a joy to see them again - we caught up properly over many dishes and a much more moderate amount of alcohol than we used to drink in our youth. And we discussed the usual topics that pervade society these days (AI, the job market, Heated Rivalry). So all in all it was a beautiful evening, even if I am wiped out.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

verbier

I had a v nice, v long day in the city of sin. I woke up at 5:45 not at all in it to win it, but I had to get to the office relatively early because I accidentally left my laptop there last night. So I got ready, took a waymo to Philz (the one bright spot), and then walked to the office during my usual 8am Thursday meeting (which is 10am in Iowa, which is much more civilized).

I then spent the day in a variety of meetings, including some walks and some talks, and I also convinced people to order poke for lunch (a mixed bag, since the delivery took forever, but it was worth it). My big boss showed up at some point and some of us grabbed juice with him, and then I snuck out for a quick happy hour with Martha. And then we went to team dinner at Destapas, which was quite nice - team dinners are always pretty entertaining and this one was no different.

After dinner, the usual suspects (me, Adit, and Geoff) dragged a new inductee (Owen) to Lost Resort for a hot toddy. But it's 10pm and I'm almost ready for bed, so all in all it was quite sedate. Goodnight!