I'm tantalizingly close to being done editing my book; there were any number of things that I did this weekend that prevented me from making it through the last forty pages tonight, but I don't regret any of them, so that's okay. Today was quite lovely -- it was v. warm today, although I expect that it will start cooling off soon, and since I'm turning into a grown-up, I was awake early enough to enjoy it. I was out of bed a little after seven, and I caught up on the news, showered, read some blogs, and ate a sandwich before leaving my apartment a little after ten a.m. in search of a cafe where I could work on my book.
I chose to go to Union Square, which I like, probably because of the contrast between the Tenderloin and the glitzy stores of Union Square, a transition that happens over the course of a few blocks. It's amazing how quickly neighborhoods change here; it's only eight blocks east to Union Square, and my building and all points west are quite nice, but there is a two or three block stretch between here and Union Square that feels a bit sketchy. Case in point -- I walked past a woman who was changing her pants in the middle of the sidewalk while her apparently drugged-out companion watched. Then two blocks later I windowshopped past upscale art galleries and high-end luxury clothing stores, before stopping at Borders to hang out in their cafe for a couple of hours.
I was v. productive in the cafe; perhaps I had fond memories of the hours I spent in the cafe of the West Des Moines Borders while I was on sabbatical. Katrina called my while I was working to ask if I wanted to go shopping with her, since she had a 30% off card for Gap and Banana Republic; I don't think she expected me to say yes, but I was in the mood for a break, and I felt guilty about being too drunk at 6pm on Friday to make it to her party, so I met up with her and we spent a couple of hours shopping. Even though what I really need is shoes (yes, shoes -- I have too many sandals/sneakers and not enough high heels/pumps to go with my newly manager-style wardrobe, even if I generally have enough shoes to clothe a ragtag band of guerrillas if not a bona fide brigade), I bought a couple of tops instead. However, I did buy a pair a jeans, which I needed rather desperately, and which necessitated doing an unexpected load of laundry tonight so that I could wash them before taking them to get shortened sometime this week.
Seeing Katrina was fun, and it's been awhile since I've been shopping with someone, so that was entertaining even if I find humanity in general to be rather annoying. For example, some dad was hanging out with his toddler in Banana Republic, apparently waiting for the mom to be done shopping -- and I discovered, to my horror, that someone has made toddler shoes that make this awful squeaking noise like an old-timey bicycle horn every time the kid takes a step. Who the hell thought that was a good idea? And who the hell thinks it's a good idea to then subject a whole storeload of people to listening to your kid squeaking loudly? My parents later discussed the apocalypse with me during our weekly phone call, but now that I remember that charming vignette, there's a part of me that thinks humans deserve to go the way of the dodo bird.
After awhile, I felt the urge to get back to my book, so I parted ways with Katrina and took a bus back to my apartment. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with my parents for my weekly doom-and-gloom update -- not that they're necessarily more doom-and-gloomy than most people right now, but most of the people I talk to are at work, and since I manage many of them, I don't think it's good policy to spread hysteria by recommending that they stock up on canned goods. But they're entertaining even (or especially) when they're in doom-and-gloom mode, so that was nice. Then I spent the rest of the evening working on the book and doing laundry and trying not to procrastinate by reading up on the Mayan calendar and the upcoming end of the world (with mixed success -- I like considering the end of the world, and the story above would indicate that it's because I don't like people, but I think it's more likely because I'm in the mood for an adventure and attempting to flee a metropolitan area would certainly qualify).
I should go to bed; it's shaping up to be a busy week at work, and since I took Friday off I'm going to feel behind tomorrow morning. But I only have two weeks before the deadline for the romance contest I'm entering, and I'm already past due on my self-imposed deadline for starting to submit to agents, so I need to keep going with the book, which means I need to sleep less :( Goodnight!
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