[...]

Writing is still a stupid profession, but it was marginally less stupid today than it was yesterday. I'm still not done, but I'm getting closer. I wrote this morning from home, then grabbed breakfast, then wrote at Equinox (yes, I wrote at the gym - but the new one on Union Street has this awesome library-style lobby that was perfect for writing), then worked out. Then I showered and called my parents.

Unfortunately, after that I was less productive than I hoped; I went to Des Amis with the intention of writing all night, but my wine made me sleepy and my brain wasn't having it. So I came home and took a nap, thinking that would help...and it didn't. And so now I'm going to go to bed and get up early so that I can keep going with this - goodnight!

it takes my pain away

I hate writing. What a stupid profession. I got a lot of stuff done between early morning and mid-afternoon...and then I promptly tumbled into a well of self-loathing and despair. But I crawled out of it and going to bed before I fall into it again - goodnight!

thursday watch the walls instead

I took today off from work, but I'm distinctly unhappy with my productivity; this story has been like pulling teeth, and the tighter I hold onto it and the more that I panic, the harder it is to let the words go. But I think I just journaled through some of the issues that are impacting it (to wit: I'm crazy), and I know I always have these days when I'm working on a book, so I'm confident that I'll get through it as I always do as well.

But tonight's a lost cause, and so I'm going to go to bed and sleep for nine hours and hope that that resets whatever is blocking me. Goodnight!

somewhere along the way, my anger turned to vengeance

Today was mostly a lost cause. I trained with Alyssa, but since my finger is still messed up, we couldn't do swings or deadlifts or the other stuff we usually do. But she spent most of the session doing nerve exercises for my hand/arm, which seemed to help just a little bit.

Then I showered and went to urgent care to get the finger checked out. Happily, it isn't hurting as much today as it did yesterday; instead, it's just numb, although it's still swollen and I can't make a perfect fist. Sadly, I inadvertently saw the same doctor I saw when I broke my toe, and he didn't bother to xray it - instead, he said, "this will likely bother you your entire life" and gave me some Aleve. Jhokes. So I'm going to hope that anti-inflammatories help, but then I'm going to make an appointment with a specialist and get another opinion at some point, since I don't like the idea of this bothering me my whole life (and also I find it odd that, while the finger has occasionally ached since I broke it, it would suddenly flare up badly 13+ years after the original injury).

But enough about my health woes. I then went to work, where I slogged for a few hours. This all ended in our team meeting, where champagne was served (because why not?). I hung out a bit after to let the champagne subside, and then I drove home (traffic was brutal), stared at the wall for awhile, and finally dragged myself to Des Amis, where I got a few pages over steak and wine (plus an amazing heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad that the chef brought out for me, ostensibly as an apology because some couple on a first date had snagged my favorite table in the lounge just before I got there. Ha.).

And now I must sleep - I'm taking tomorrow off, and I'm going to finish this draft of Thorington if it kills me. Goodnight!

clip their tiny wings

Today was mostly uneventful, although I did get up early enough to meet Kathia at a coffee shop and write five pages before work (yay me). Then I went to work, where I had a handful of meetings, some lunch/social time, and a generally quiet afternoon...

...but then, weirdly, horrendously, my left middle finger (which I broke thirteen years ago) suddenly started hurting as badly as if I'd broken it again. This was odd, since I didn't do anything to injure it. But it's visibly swollen, hurts incessantly, and I can't close my fist - all of which were hallmarks of the first time I broke it. Granted, it's not as bruised, but that's little consolation (and there's always tomorrow).

Needless to say, that worried me, since a) I don't want to deal with this when I'm just now feeling recovered from my broken toe (which was hurting yesterday because I wore the wrong shoes; it's mostly better), and b) I have to have to *have to* finish Thorington's book this weekend (at least the final draft - I'll still need to do a deep line edit to check the prose). So the broken finger thing isn't helping matters. Granted, I should have gotten it checked out ages ago, since it's been aching off and on for months and I just assumed I was getting arthritis, but I'm going to choose to blame the cosmos instead of my own inaction.

But my team rallied (after I point-blank refused to go to the doctor this afternoon since I had plans) and splinted it with coffee stirrers and medical tape, so that was nice of them. And in my defense, I tried to get into the UCSF orthopedic center, but they're booked out to the end of September. So if it still hurts this badly in the morning, I'll go to urgent care, get an xray, and take it from there.

After that glorious endeavor, I sped back to the evil city, did a couple of things upon my arrival, and then went to dinner with Terry and Lauren (aka Subz) for a v. belated celebration of Lauren's birthday. I hadn't seen Lauren in two months, which is criminal, so we had a lot to catch up on. And we did so over margaritas (good) and mexican food (way too pretentious, but this is SF), and I think we all overshared, so that was great.

And now I must sleep so I can survive the morrow - goodnight!

maybe if i tell myself enough

I almost forgot to blog tonight, which is so unusual that I'm now wide awake from the near-miss. But I'm kind of out of words; I woke up this morning and tried to write for two hours before work (and got three more pages...but I can't keep ekeing out three pages at a time if I have any hope of getting this stupid thing done). Then I drove south, trained with Alyssa, showered, and grabbed lunch to eat at my desk like a loser. Or a winner, since I was trying to get done with my work so I could leave at a reasonable hour and write again.

That was mostly a lost cause. I got out of there just before six, after a series of mostly-delightful meetings, and went to Philz in Palo Alto to write over coffee. But I was really too tired to contemplate it, and so I messed around with the words a little bit before giving in and driving home. I chose to take 280 back, though, so at least the drive was gorgeous...and by seven, the traffic wasn't bad, so really it was quite pleasant. Then I talked to Terry and watched Beyonce's performance from the VMAs while eating leftover chicken/squash/brussels sprouts. And then I maybe should have pretended to write again, but as I have a seven a.m. writing date with Kathia before heading down to work for the day, I think I should prioritize sleep and hope for better productivity in the morning. Goodnight!

dragging the waters til the depths give up their dead

I had a great day, but I'm guessing that's because I stayed home and did my work from the comfort of my own bed/desk rather than dragging myself to and from the south bay like a peasant. It also meant that I was able to get up early and write before work; I only got three pages, but again, that's three pages more than I had before. And I got to go to my favorite breakfast place for the third day in the row, but today was the best of the three (no offense to Terry and the free mimosas yesterday) because there was no one there, so I got to chat up the owner/chef (who is always delightful).

Then I slogged throughout the afternoon, eventually slacking off to walk down the street and get some chicken/squash/brussels sprouts (who am I?) for dinner later + an iced latte to wake me up. I then spent almost two hours on the phone with one of my writer friends (Maya); we have books coming out the same week at the end of September, and so we're considering doing some cross-promo stuff and needed to start planning for it. She's hilarious, and so it was two hours v. well spent.

And then I was going to write all night, but my energy failed me more quickly than I expected, so I mostly did nothing. I would have gone to bed an hour ago, but I made the mistake of ordering groceries this morning for a 9-10pm delivery (in case I wanted to go to Des Amis), and so I screwed myself over. Par for the course, really. But now I must sleep if I have any hope of writing before work tomorrow - goodnight!

the season is calling, your pictures are falling down

Today got off to an unpleasant start and continued mostly downhill from there, with a couple of pockets of sunshine. The unpleasant start, as you may have guessed, was getting woken up at 3:30am by the Napa earthquake; it was pretty strong here, and I got out of bed for it since it was shaking hard enough to make me slightly concerned about my closet doors, but there was no damage to anything in the house other than my sleep.

But I ended up awake for forty-five minutes after that, and so my sleep was fitful until sevenish. Then I wrote in bed and got three pages by nineish, which wasn't outstanding but was certainly better than nothing. I just wish that I'd stayed on the productivity train rather than making plans to go out. But the first plan couldn't be helped; I needed breakfast, and I wanted to catch up with Terry, so we went down the street and caught up over omelettes (and mimosas that the owner sent us, even though I was trying to detox). Breakfast took longer than intended, and then I came home, took a leisurely shower, tidied up my room, did my hair and makeup, etc., and called my parents early since I was supposed to go out for lunch...

...but lunch ended up not being until three p.m., which got on my nerves, since I was watching productivity slip through my fingers and I don't really have time to deal with annoyances when Thorington's due in a week. It was a nice enough interlude, but when the coworker I was going to lunch with picked up me and Terry, we discovered we had to then go pick up another friend in the Castro (note: not near the Marina), then going all the way out to fucking Ocean Beach to eat (note: near neither the Castro nor the Marina). I shouldn't call it 'fucking Ocean Beach', since it was actually as lovely as it can ever be there - warm, not too windy, no fog at all, and perfectly abundant sunshine. And we had champagne, which always makes me happy. And it was nice to sit outside and enjoy being an actual person instead of a writing automaton, I suppose. But that meant Terry and I didn't get dropped off back in the Marina until almost 6:45, at which point I was too annoyed to get back into Thorington's story.

C'est la vie, I guess. It could be worse - I could have gotten hit in the head with my closet doors this morning, or not gotten three pages before breakfast. But this week I'm going to have to buckle down and finish the damn book - so on that note, I'm going to bed now so I can write for three hours before starting my meetings from home. Goodnight!

when i look at the television, i want to see me staring right back at me

Thorington was pretty much all-consuming today, but it was v. slow going, and I didn't get the word count I'd hoped for. It wasn't for lack of trying, but I need to catch fire tomorrow if I have any hope of sustaining momentum through the week and turning a final draft into my editor next weekend. Since I have afternoon plans tomorrow, it would have been more ideal if I'd caught fire today instead, but c'est la vie.

That said, it wasn't all bad; I'm happy with what I did write, and I feel way more immersed in the story than I did yesterday. I woke up around seven, poured some tea and ate a snack, and worked in bed until almost ten. Then I showered and had breakfast down the street, where I stunned Tony (the owner) and the entire waitstaff by ordering an omelette instead of huevos rancheros. I knew this would stun them, and I had to say as soon as I walked in that I was going to order something else because Tony just starts the huevos as soon as he sees me walk through the door. I love that place. But the omelette was delish, and it didn't put me to sleep like huevos sometimes do, which was critical for my afternoon writing session.

After that, I ran a couple of errands, got a pedicure (and wrote a tiny bit while getting the pedicure, but I mostly just sat there and enjoyed a few minutes of not working), came home, and wrote the rest of the afternoon. But I slacked off around 5:30 to meet up with Kathia - we hadn't seen each other properly in awhile, and so we had a long, leisurely dinner at Des Amis. It was particularly good tonight, both because of the company (okay, almost entirely because of the company), and because we started with a delightful heirloom tomato salad and lingered over coffee at the end.

And then I came home, thought about writing some more, laughed at the thought, and procrastinated instead. But now I must sleep so I can get up early tomorrow and write before my afternoon plans lead me astray - goodnight!

it's friday, i'm in love

I was precisely as lazy as I wanted to be today, which should set me up well for Thorington tomorrow (if anything can set me up well for that endeavor). I woke up at 6:45, contemplated Thorington for an hour without putting any words on the page, and then drove to Palo Alto, where I trained with Alyssa (and hit a new personal best on deadlifts: 185lbs! thank you, peasant ancestors!). It was great to see her after two weeks apart, but my kettlebell swings during my vacation meant that the return to her tender mercies wasn't too brutal (although I'm guessing I'll be sore from deadlifting tomorrow).

After I said goodbye to Alyssa, I went to work, where half the meetings I had were totally annoying and the other half were lovely. But I had lunch at my favorite Mexican place on campus, and then grabbed coffee with a friend before speeding to the evil city, so all in all it was a great (if not particularly productive) day in the office. And I made it back to the city just in time for my appointment to get my brows waxed, along with a v. necessary facial (okay, 'necessary' is a strong word, but both my skin and my soul needed some pampering). After that, I came home, lazed in bed doing nothing for awhile, ate some leftover chicken and squash while watching 'Drunk History' with Terry, and then finished reading 'Lord of Scoundrels' (which is possibly the best historical romance I've ever read).

And now I must sleep - Thorington beckons in the morning, and this will be an epic weekend of productivity...or else (cue ominous music). Goodnight!

girls chase boys chase girls

My work event thing is over, and not a moment too soon - if I had to do another day of it, with another night of dinner/drinks after, I likely would have perished. It's unclear whether I would have perished along the road or whether I would have perished in prison while serving a manslaughter sentence, but either way, I'm glad that I was able to come home early tonight and mostly do nothing of consequence.

But despite my exhaustion, the whole thing was good; I feel surprisingly warm and fuzzy toward most of the people I work with, particularly the people who were invited to this thing, so the dinners and sessions and stuff were all fun. I had to lead the closing session this afternoon, and we ended up tossing around an apple to designate who was supposed to share their thoughts next (I told them they could stop when the apple broke, but we ended up going through three apples - the exploding fruit was v. reminiscent of freshman year of college). Despite what the sentence I just typed may have led you to believe, it actually went well. Ha.

When it was over, I got an iced latte, spent some time staring at my desk and laptop in abject exhaustion, and then went home at four so my team would feel like they could leave too (not that my presence/absence really stops them). When I got home, I promptly took a nap, then walked down the street to get some chicken/squash for supper (I can wear my tennis shoes again!!!). I ate it while watching an episode of 'Drunk History' before coming upstairs and dealing with my laundry situation.

And now, I must sleep - I have grand plans to write in the morning, but as I have to be in Palo Alto to train with Alyssa before work, these grand plans may not come to fruition. Goodnight!

i'd drive all night to keep you warm

Another v. long day at work, and I must go to bed immediately if I'm to function tomorrow. I gave Terry a ride to work this morning despite my desire to not talk to anyone at all, but luckily she knows me well enough that she didn't take offense when I told her I'd give her a ride if she didn't talk for at least half of it. Then I dropped her off, grabbed breakfast, and spent the entire rest of the day either talking to people or listening to panels. It was all fun, though; a couple of my author friends came for lunch, and dinner was delightful (I didn't realize the Stanford Park hotel was so nice, and it was one of the better conference buffets I've ever eaten).

But now, after driving people home again, and after doing some entirely necessary/unnecessary therapeutic online shopping, I must go to bed - goodnight!

i want to teach you a lesson in the worst kind of way

Today was v. long, and I hit a wall (a couple of walls) in the middle of it, but all in all I survived a lot better than I expected to. I woke up early and decided to go to the gym at work; I usually train with Alyssa on Tuesdays, but I'd canceled her since I couldn't go during the summit, but I made up for it by working out on my own. Bizarre, I know, but I guess I actually like kettlebells. That's not a phrase I ever expected to utter.

sssanyway, after the gym, I grabbed breakfast, then dove straight into twelve hours of socializing (nightmare!). Actually, twelve hours of socializing is fine, but as a lot of that time was spent in a somewhat windowless room listening to other people talk, it was v. tiring even though I had a generally fun time. The day ended with drinks and dinner at a restaurant in Mountain View, and the conversation at my end of the table veered from mildly to wildly inappropriate, so I was at least highly amused even though I was fading fast from exhaustion.

I might have recovered a bit if I'd driven home alone and listened to music, but instead I took four other people back to the city with me (which was, again, at least entertaining despite my failing energy). Then I came home and spent the last half hour trying to set things to rights - taking care of a few minor work tasks, putting in laundry for tomorrow, washing my face, etc. But now I need to sleep and hope that eight hours is enough to recover so that I can do it all again tomorrow - goodnight!

wait...they don't love you like i love you

As you may have guessed from last night's post, today was a v. long day - but I'm in a surprisingly chipper mood despite my exhaustion. I woke up at 5:15am (MDT), after less than five hours of sleep, and managed a shower and some decently good hair (despite lacking a comb, but luckily the hotel had Aveda hair products, so I was saved) before catching a cab back to the airport. There, I made it through security in a relatively straightforward manner, and I had time to have a leisurely breakfast before boarding my flight.

Sadly, I was in the middle of a regular economy row, which made me feel like a total peasant - I felt like having a Scarlett O'Hara moment and vowing never to sit in the middle again, but it couldn't be helped. And I wrote four pages while I was sitting there, so I suppose it could have been worse. Then I got to SF, grabbed my bag, got in another cab, and went straight to the office since I had stuff that I needed to do in person today.

But even though going to the office on four hours of sleep would have made me surly in other circumstances, all my meetings were relatively enjoyable. Then I caught a ride home with a coworker, thus saving me from the shuttle and certain despair...particularly since we left before five p.m., which always makes me happy. When I got home, I changed into something that hadn't been on the airplane and went straight to Des Amis, where I was going to write but instead stared off into space and returned to my libertine San Francisco ways (if a glass and a half of wine counts as libertine). Terry joined me for a bit of it, which allowed us to catch up before I spend the next three days out of commission with this work event I have going on.

Speaking of that, I really need to sleep if I'm going to survive tomorrow - goodnight!

get them drunk on rose water

No time to blog - I'm stranded in Denver for just enough time to get five hours of sleep before going back to the airport, which is probably still more sleep than Katie will get tonight, which is why I let the airline put me up in a hotel rather than calling my bosom buddy. So as you can imagine, today was not the best day, although it certainly wasn't the worst. But any more blogging will cut into my precious sleep, and as I'm going straight to the office when I land, sleep is crucial. Goodnight!

have you ever seen the rain

Sadly, my time in Iowa is drawing to a close, but today was a perfectly lazy way to end it. I got tons of sleep, woke up just in time to eat the delicious breakfast my dad made, and then spent all afternoon hanging out on the back patio. I was theoretically writing, and I did do some brainstorming while staring off into the middle distance and listening to the pond water rushing through the overflow pipe after last night's heavy rains. But I mostly spent it drinking tea and talking to my parents, which was lovely.

We eventually ate supper (bratwurst, yum) and watched a movie (Red - and yes, we watched the two movies in reverse order), and I probably should have packed, but since I expect I can accomplish that task in ~20mins, I'm going to leave it for tomorrow. Right now I'm going to make some more notes about Thorington's story, and then I'm going to sleep - goodnight!

I got that summertime, summertime sadness

I need to go to bed immediately, so you don't really get a blog tonight. Suffice it to say the family went to the Iowa State Fair, which was a delight. We also had supper with Mark, Kathy, and Drewbaby, which was another delight. But now I'm falling asleep looking at my screen and want to be well rested for my last full day in Iowa tomorrow, so goodnight!

i feel the chemicals kicking in

Today wasn't as productive (in terms of Thorington) as I might have preferred, nor was it as relaxing (since I had to do 30mins of day job stuff that turned into two hours of day job stuff), nor am I perfectly refreshed (since I didn't get enough sleep last night)...but all in all, it was a v. lovely day in Iowa. I missed breakfast, but the parents left me some bacon + the bacon grease necessary to fry some eggs, which is all v. delicious and down-home. Then I showered and did the aforementioned day job work. But by twoish I was beyond done, so I told everyone at work to stop contacting me and leave me alone, and then I logged off and have no intention of doing anything else until I get back to work on Monday.

After that glorious moment, my mom and I went into town, where I scored a hardcover copy of one of my favorite early romances (Johanna Lindsey's GENTLE ROGUE, replete with Fabio dressed as a pirate on the cover) for fifty cents at the community-run equivalent of Goodwill. Then we came home and drank coffee on the porch while [censored] tried to encourage me to [censored], with mixed results. Eventually, I decided I should give in to my California ways, and so I took my kettlebells and my foam roller and my music out onto the back patio, where I worked out in something that may have approached bliss - the weather was perfect, it's quite lovely to work out outside, and all my troubles seemed so far away (to quote the Beatles).

Then I showered, ate a delicious supper with the family (bratwurst is always in season), and spent the rest of the evening curled up in the living room reading part of a romance novel. So, all in all, it was a great day. Thorington's getting quite annoyed with my neglect of him, but he's going to have to wait for tomorrow - right now I need to go to bed. Goodnight!

are we dancer

My day job is making a valiant effort to kill me, but I think I got through just about everything I needed to get through to feel fully caught up (ha) after weeks of travel/distraction/etc. I have one thirty-minute meeting and a couple of emails that I need to send tomorrow, and then I'm going to put my work laptop away and ignore everyone for a few days so I can enjoy the rest of my vacation in Iowa.

But today was good, albeit too busy; I woke up later than I should have, ate breakfast, and had meetings mostly nonstop from eleven to threeish. Then I went into town to see my grandmother, which was as depressing as ever. Then I came home, worked until supper, ate supper with the fam, and took a break from the laptop to watch a movie with them - [censored] had procured a copy of "Red 2", which I rather enjoyed. Then I came downstairs and worked nonstop for the last two and a half hours, which was good for productivity and bad for my incipient headache.

Now, though, I'm done, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

after the flood all the colors came out

Today was almost entirely filled with work for the day job - but I did manage to write in bed for an hour before breakfast, and I did some quality writing/scribbling/brainstorming before supper. I'm getting a little nervous about the deadline for sending this next draft to my editor, particularly since I have an all-week work event next week that is going to suck up significant writing time (or at least mental energy)...but never say never.

So, needless to say, this blog post is destined to be uneventful. I had meetings most of the day, but I did take a break in the afternoon to have coffee with my mom on the back patio, which was lovely. And I drove into town in the early evening to buy sweet potatoes and smartwater, which made me feel entirely too yuppified. I ate supper with my parents, then watched some fine CBS programming with them while procrastinating. And then I came downstairs and worked on day job stuff nonstop for the last two hours - it's my hope that I can clear off the rest of my to-do list tomorrow and then take Thursday and Friday completely off, but we shall see.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

don't really know how i got here

Despite the lovely green abundance around me, I spent too much time staring at screens today. I'm working for the day job for the first few days of this week, and so this morning and afternoon were mostly spent in meetings, with a smattering of attempts to answer email and take care of other work-related tasks. But I had breakfast with my parents, which was lovely, and was able to snack from the fridge and make tea and coffee and all that stuff, so it wasn't entirely terrible.

When I was done working, I attempted to write on the back patio, but things are still going slowly - it's possible that I'm stuck and this scene just sucks and I need to move on, which I *just* realized even though I'm a fucking idiot because this is *always* the problem when I'm stuck for more than a couple of days. Grr. So I'll try something new tomorrow, I guess, or journal out why this scene isn't working and what I need to accomplish instead. Maybe the problem is that this scene needs to be in the next book. Hmm...I think I just figured it out. Heh.

Well, that was the most productive this blog has been in awhile.

So after I gave up, but before I had that realization, I had supper with my parents - my mom made a roast, which was delightful. Then my dad went to a meeting and my mom and I watched some fine CBS programming. And now I must sleep so that I can do all of this again tomorrow, while hopefully making more progress on the writing - goodnight!

my love is a life taker

Today was as uneventful as one might expect of #smalltownlife. I slept for ten hours last night, which was awesome. Then I had breakfast with the family, which was also awesome - potatoes cooked in lard may be the best thing my peasant palate has ever tasted. After breakfast, I attempted to write for forty minutes, which was mostly spent daydreaming. And then all productivity ended when my sister, Zane, and Allie came over to visit. Zane's starting a new job tomorrow and Allie is starting college in a couple of weeks, and it's crazy to think that my nieces and nephew are all over eighteen and starting to build lives of their own. Ridic.

They stayed for a couple of hours, and it was great to see them. Eventually, though, they had to go home, and so I spent the rest of the afternoon on the back porch, drinking the coffee I smuggled in from California, watching the minicows attempting to mate, and contemplating Thorington. This was mostly an exercise in frustration; I wasn't really in the mood to do any work at all, and I probably should have just read a book. But I think I know where the scene I'm working on is headed, and I have grand plans to write before doing work for the man tomorrow. Since I'm two hours ahead of the man, I can actually write for a (hopefully) substantial amount of time before my meetings start.

But that's not what happened today. Finally I threw in the towel, did a few kettlebell swings, showered, and ate supper (steak, sweet corn, potato salad, and the salty bitterness of Phil Mickelson's defeat). And now, after more procrastinating, it's time to sleep - goodnight!

take my breath away

Today was my fifteen-year class reunion, which I cannot do justice to in a blog post - not because it was particularly exciting (unless you're into Mountain Dew Jello salad, in which case you would have been in business), but because I have no idea how I feel about the whole thing. I'd mostly say that I enjoyed it? But some of the people I would have wanted to see weren't there, so that was too bad.

However, the tradition itself is kind of interesting - it definitely felt a little weird to ride around town on a trailer and wave at people who were sitting on the side of the road to watch us, but it was vastly amusing at the same time. Then I came home, grabbed the potato salad my mother had made for me to take to the reunion picnic thing, and met my classmates at the barbecue site. It was in a building now owned by the Legion, which was actually pretty nice (for here - it was no Ritz Carlton). And I had some great conversations with some people, etc.

But by fiveish I was done, so I packed up my leftovers, came home (with a detour to drive past my grandma's house), and spent the evening eating supper (it's sweet corn season, so you can guess what we had), messing around on the internet, and doing a bit of writing. And now I must sleep - I'd like to get nine hours at least, and then maybe work on the book tomorrow depending on what my family's got cooking. Goodnight!

i just wanna make you laugh, i just wanna see that smile

Today was a really long and entirely uneventful. I didn't sleep well last night, which has been the case for much of the last week, so I'm looking forward to sleeping endlessly in Iowa. But I made it out of bed by 5:20, into an Uber by 6:10, and through security by 6:50, which gave me approximately thirty minutes to have breakfast (a surprisingly good omelette) before boarding the plane to Denver. I got lucky and didn't have anyone in the seat next to me, but there were babies everywhere, including one behind me, so I may have resorted to listening to my music too loudly. But I managed to nap and do a crossword puzzle like a good octogenarian on the way to Denver, so that was fine.

I had a three and a half hour layover in Denver, unfortunately, so I bought United club access so I'd have a decent place to work and write. And I did get some of both done, although I was too tired to get very deep into Callie and Thorington. Then I flew to Des Moines, hung out at the airport, rendezvoused with the parents and [censored], and had supper at our favorite steakhouse near the airport. We successfully tackled the long, dark road home, and I managed to unpack my stuff so that my clothing can hopefully unwrinkle itself before tomorrow.

And now I must sleep - my class reunion is tomorrow, and I have no idea what to expect other than that I need to be in town by around 12:30 for the parade. Goodnight!

i'm only gonna break break your break break your heart

I have to get up in seven hours to go to ye olde Iowa for the week, but that's probably not as painful as getting up in seven hours to go to work, so I'll take it. I trained with Alyssa this morning, and we did a lot of swings, so it will be interesting to see how I feel in the morning - I'm going to pretend that the champagne I had this afternoon and the wine I had tonight are restorative rather than being the worst possible things I could have to aid my recovery.

Then I went to work, where I slogged v. diligently (er, mostly diligently), for a few hours. Then I went to a music festival on campus; one of my coworkers organized a tent for our group, so he and I went over early and got set up and generally enjoyed the sunshine (and the champagne I brought + the cider he brought, even though there were of course free beer and wine tents). I did some work while hanging out, and the rest of the team showed up over the course of the afternoon, so it was all v. delightful. But I left early to drive back to the evil city, where I had a leisurely dinner with Terry before coming home and finishing my last bit of packing.

And now I must sleep so that I can catch my flight in the morning - small town life awaits. Goodnight!

this is how i show my love

I was supposed to go out tonight for like the seventh night in a row, but I just couldn't do it - I needed to do laundry, start packing, and try to get eight hours of sleep tonight so that I don't die tomorrow. I had gotten to the office at eight this morning, which was about two hours earlier than I probably should have gone in since I was dead on my feet and pretty surly most of the morning. But things picked up after I had my third cup of coffee, and I managed to get through an afternoon full of meetings in fairly good spirits.

I stuck around from five to six-thirty to hang out with my team, which was what I should have done even though I really just wanted to sleep. Then I drove home, bailed on tonight's dinner plan (sorry, John and Jess!!), did laundry, packed for my flight on Friday morning (earlier than ever, but I have to leave for the airport at six a.m. Friday and I have dinner plans tomorrow night), ate some leftover steak, bought a concert ticket for a concert in Germany in October (more on that someday later), and generally tried to feel like I was getting on top of things.

But now I must sleep - I dream of getting eight hours tonight, but it can only happen if I go to bed right now. Goodnight!

babe we're only here, oh, for a little while

I had a delightful day! Despite my lack of sleep and my vague hangover (nothing too tragic, just general dehydration/exhaustion), I woke up at seven and wrote for an hour and a half before working. Thorington is slowly coming together, and I was happy with what I wrote today even if I wasn't ready to toss it aside and get into the day job. But luckily for me, my 8:30 meeting was canceled, so I was able to work on day job stuff for an hour and a half while lazing in bed (lazing is probably the wrong work; I was reclining in bed while answering emails). Then I drove south and trained with Alyssa - she continues to push her nefarious kettlebell agenda, so I did a whole bunch of twelve-kilo single-arm swings, which will likely come back to haunt me tomorrow (for Americans, that's 26.5lbs; my standard double arm swing is more like 16-20kg, but that's still easier for me to do with correct form than singles). But it was good to see her despite her agenda, and hopefully I can get in another good workout on Thursday before returning to ye olde Iowa and swinging with the minicows instead.

sssanyway, then I went to the office, showered, ate a v. subpar salad (even for my cafe, which is always subpar - and yes, I can complain about free food), had a bunch of meetings, and then grabbed a restorative iced latte before my final meeting of the day. Then I worked for another hour or two, spent an hour and a miserable half commuting, and had just enough time to refresh my makeup before heading out to Des Amis (do you know that place?). I wasn't there to do work, to the surprise of everyone; instead, I met Ritu, Bill, Adit, and Priyanka, and showed all of them where I spend all my time. Tuesdays are half-off wine bottles, so we had two bottles of wine, five cheeses to start, and some v. tasty main courses, and it was all perfectly lovely.

But now I must sleep so that I can continue my unsustainable mix of writing/work/friendship tomorrow - goodnight!

you're my head start, you're my rugged heart

Slogging is probably uninteresting to you, so suffice it to say that I slogged. Traffic was surprisingly wonderful this morning, and so leaving at seven got me into the office by eight, which gave me time to read my email (translation: ignore my email), eat breakfast, and finish drying my hair. Then I had a meeting, followed by an odd block of free time - so odd that I didn't know what to do with it. I suppose I did some work? Who really knows what work is if it's done without meetings? I also had lunch with a coworker (pulled pork with kc-style barbecue sauce + cherry/vanilla froyo = heaven), did some more work, had a couple of meetings, and left ridiculously early so that I knew I'd beat traffic home.

Once I got here, I ran a couple of quick errands, then worked at my home desk until 6:30. Then I went to the Mission, where I met up with Ritu Rani (remember her?) and Bill (and Alex, whom I haven't seen much of since colege) at ABV, which is the bar I went to on Saturday with Adit et al. We had a small snack to get us through until dinner, and the snack was really quite awesome - the pork tacos were tasty, and I liked the padron peppers even though some of them were way spicy. Also, I ordered the whisky-based drink they'd ordered on Saturday (the Jackel, misspelled like that), and it was so good that I had two of them.

After continuing to prolong their buzz (and start mine), we adjourned down the street to Locanda for family dinner (tm). Chandlord, John, and Jess were there when we arrived - and this was lovely, since I hadn't seen John or Jess in ten weeks or so due to their European adventures. Adit and Priyanka showed up in due course, and we had a v. good, v. relaxing, v. easy family dinner. Also, Locanda has gluten-free pasta, which is great. Also, my friends remain the same, which is both concerning and heart-warming.

And now I should really sleep if I have any hope of functioning tomorrow - goodnight!

your drug is a heartbreaker

Today was a surprisingly delightful mix of writing, socializing, and more writing. It might have been perfect if I'd snuck in a nap as well, but we can't have everything (yes, this is #firstworldproblems). I tried to wake up at eight, which was an exercise in sadness, but I managed to get out of bed and meet Kathia at 9:30 for a writing date (it was supposed to be nine, but see: inability to get out of bed). I only had it in me to go for a couple of hours, and I think most of what I wrote was complete crap, but that's how it goes when getting back into the story after several days away.

After that, Kathia and I parted ways, and I came home, messed around on the internet, showered, and then met a friend from work for lunch. A burger and a glass of wine at Roam turned into two more glasses of wine at Des Amis, and it was all v. delightful and entertaining and mostly civilized. Sadly, the friend had to return to the south bay after that, so I came home and called my parents, who seemed to be in fine spirits. Or I suppose they're in as fine a spirits as one can be when one has found a tombstone in one's pile of rocks - this happens to other people too, right?

My parental conversations ended in due course, and I really just wanted to curl up on the couch and watch 'Drunk History' (or my eyelids), but I forced myself to text Kathia and see if she wanted to do another writing date. She was in it to win it, so we went back to Des Amis, where I had another glass of wine and got another four v. hardfought pages that I'm (mostly) proud of. Then we ordered dinner, Todd (my fave manager) joined us, and Kathia's husband showed up, so that made for quite the round of socializing.

And now, I should really be smart and get some sleep so that I can survive the week ahead - goodnight!

but first let me take a selfie

I did not achieve Peak Thorington today (which would equal five to seven thousand words), but it was a great day nonetheless. I slept for eight and a half hours or so, woke up, had some tea, and reread a big chunk of the manuscript to get back into it. Then I ate breakfast and pondered the story while spending the next three hours cleaning my room - I hadn't unpacked from my trip, and everything was feeling v. cluttered anyway, so it was time to clear things out and refresh everything. I haven't tackled my closets yet, but three hours was enough time to get to my desk, library cabinet, and file cabinet, which was v. important for my productivity.

Then I tried to write, but after getting a gluten-free sandwich at the grocery store down the street, then settling in with a latte at Rapha, I wasn't totally in the mood. I know this is just a matter of getting started, since I'll be fine once I get in the groove again, but I didn't really feel like working. So I came home, messed around with one of my fountain pens, took a nap, and then went to my salon to get my bangs trimmed. As it turned out, my appointment was the very last appointment of the day (I usually don't go on Saturday evenings), but my stylist took care of me well despite the fact that they could clearly all get the hell out of there if she rushed it.

I then went to Whole Foods, which is across the street from the salon, and was about to buy sushi for dinner so that I could have a v. hermity night (I was thinking eating sushi and watching 'Thor', which sounded kind of like heaven) when I got a text from Adit asking about dinner. So I put away the sushi (but still bought the New Orleans iced coffees that Blue Bottle has started making in little single-serve milk cartons), scurried home, and had just enough time to put everything away before he, Priyanka, and Chandlord rolled up and took Terry's parking spot so that we could have dinner in my neighborhood.

And you'll be surprised to know that I confined myself to three drinks, despite Adit's influence. We had a v. lowkey dinner at Roam, which I'm guessing has the best veggie burgers ever since Adit actually suggested it as the place he wanted to go. Of course, my meat burger was tasty, and we split truffle fries, so that was all great. Then I let myself be peer pressured (it didn't take much) into going to Cafe Soleil (near where Adit and I used to live) to meet Jesse and Maya. They recently had twins, so I haven't seen them since Chandlord's birthday party (December), but we had a great time. We had wine there before getting booted at closing time, so we adjourned to a new bar (ABV?), where I had some cocktail made with mezcal and wished, for once, that I'd ordered whisky instead. Maybe my palate is finally overcoming the PTSD induced by memories of the Three Wisemen shot Adit gave me years ago (sometime around February 14, 2005, to be exact).

But now I should sleep - while today was a v. necessary quiet day, with enough cleaning to clear my mind of my churning thoughts, it would be great to get some writing done tomorrow. And to that end, I have a writing date with Kathia at nine a.m., so sleeping now would be a good idea. Goodnight!

a lack of color here

I'm so tired...this should not surprise you. But I still haven't recovered from my overly social, overly alcoholic week in San Antonio, and I probably won't recover until I get a ton of sleep and a few hours alone. I had to go to the office today, which was accomplished fairly easily, and I slogged without break (other than lunch with my boss) until it was time to leave. I got out of there by three, drove home, stopped and got coffee and stared into space, came home and played with fountain pens (I'm a dork), took a nap, and had dinner at Mezes with Terry.

And now I'm going to sleep - I have grand plans to sleep at least nine hours and then work on Thorington, so wish me luck. Goodnight!

fifty ways to say goodbye

Today was v. long, and I remain exhausted, but in the end I felt vaguely triumphant. I had to wake up early to train with Alyssa, which was an exercise in futility; I was ten minutes late, and so tight and tired that my workout was kind of a joke. I have a feeling I will be even tighter and tireder tomorrow, but we shall see. However, Alyssa took it all in stride and helped me to stretch a bit, so I left feeling better than I did when I arrived, which is always great.

Then I went to the office, showered, made an iced latte, and prepared for a presentation I was giving. It was v. successful, if I do say so myself - and if I'm going to continue to praise myself, I'll say that I'm usually pretty good at giving presentations, but I still felt happy about all of that. Then I grabbed some lunch (a v. boring but satisfying salad), met with my boss, had some more meetings, and ended it with some entirely unnecessary wine and cheese during our team meeting.

Then I sped back to the evil city ('sped' being a complete lie, since it took an hour and forty minutes to get home, but luckily I talked to my parents for most of it, which helped the time go by), put on some tights and boots to turn the dress that was appropriate for 85-degree Mountain View into something that could be worn in 55-degree San Francisco, and ran over to Sabrosa to meet my friend Grace. We spent three hours talking about writing and life, wrapping up our date over dessert at Des Amis (which duly impressed her, since everyone there knows me), and hanging out with her was exactly what I needed tonight even if what I wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours.

But that's something I can do this weekend - although going to sleep now is imperative if I'm to survive my workday tomorrow. Goodnight!