old age is just around the bend

I had a lovely day; it was equal parts productive and social, which made for a good mix. I got up around 7:15, showered, made tea for Adit (who proceeded to harangue me about the amount of hair in the apartment before we parted ways for the day), and then went to work. I took 280 since traffic looked horrendous on the 101; taking 280 to work makes me want to run away to the sea, since 280 runs near the foothills and the ocean is tantalizing out of sight behind the hills. I slogged for a couple of hours, and then hosted Adit so that he could have free lunch with me, Katrina, and this girl named Jen. Following our friendship lunch, I slogged for the rest of the day, accomplishing enough that I didn't feel like a complete slacker failure.

I left work a little before six, and spent half an hour on the phone with my parents; I told them the latest developments in my life, my father shared his latest dentistry issues (reminding me of my own - I'm seeing the dentist for a cleaning in a couple of weeks, and I want them to see if I'm grinding my teeth, since I'm having constant headaches and my jaw joints are aching), and my mother shared some research she's been doing about a woman associated with the country schoolhouse at the Round Barn site who apparently wrote a book way back in the day about her experiences following the Colorado 2nd Cavalry in their western battles during the Civil War (the woman's husband was in the army, and she took their two kids and followed the camp doing nursing and other tasks). All in all, v. interesting. Then, I sat at Philz Coffee for a little less than an hour and wrote a couple of pages; not a great output, but I can say I wrote today, and that's the main thing.

When I got home, Adit, Priyanka, and Omar were waiting for me; the four of us, plus Katrina, went out to celebrate Adit's birthday in a v. lowkey way by having dinner at this Korean hotpot place. When I was growing up in the backwoods of Iowa, I never would have imagined eating anything resembling a scalding hot metal bowl of soft tofu, spicy broth, and whole head-intact shrimp, into which you crack a raw egg and stir it in to cook it. But, it was quite tasty, and the company was of course entertaining; it was family time at its finest. However, I demonstrated my true lame hermit roots and bailed on post-dinner drinks; there weren't supposed to be any post-dinner drinks, but when plans changed, Adit recommended dropping me off at home before I even had to ask. He knows me so well.

Now, it's time for bed; I got five emails from the big boss while I was at dinner, so I'll have some work to do tomorrow morning. I also hope to write in the late afternoon before having drinks for Adit's real birthday celebration, so hopefully I'll get enough sleep tonight to carry me through. Goodnight!