don't put your blame on me

I had a lovely day in ye olde Iowa. The morning was consumed by a) going down a wikipedia rabbit hole on genetics, which started by looking up coelacanths (it's a fish - there, I saved you an hour), and b) making bolognese sauce. My bolognese sauce takes multiple hours - first, an hour or more of cooking veggies and hamburger and milk and wine and spices to reach the right mix, and then six or eight hours in the slow cooker to meld it all together. So I got the actual work part of it done around noon, and then I did the dishes, showered, and ate a v. quick sandwich before proceeding with the second half of my day....

...which involved picking up my car (I got the water pump replaced, yay), then taking my mom on an adventure to two towns north of us. The first stop was a greenhouse, where she perused the remnants of their summer plants and bought a couple of things. The second was Indianola, where I canceled a post office box I'd gotten there for writing stuff - I never get anything, and since I'm leaving next week and may not be back until Christmas, I figured it made sense to cancel it now. While there, we saw a car that had just lost its entire front passenger wheel, so I was feeling v. smug about doing my preventative maintenance before suffering such disasters.

Then we drove home (Indianola is an hour away, which is slightly inconvenient) and ate the bolognese sauce with some gluten free spaghetti. Mom also made garlic bread with gluten free bread, so that was a yummy accompaniment. My dad had been gone all day, but he got back in time for supper, so we enjoyed it while hate-watching King of Queens (no, wait, it's Kevin Can Wait, but I still hate it). Then we watched Big Brother (our hometown boy well and truly screwed himself, and he deserves to go home for it), and then watched Zoo, and now I need to sleep so I can get some stuff done tomorrow. Goodnight!

i'm only human after all

I haven't gone two nights without blogging since the silent retreat I went on in Bali - and the last two days have been anything but silent. Monday I awoke in Zach and Maggie's house at a rather early hour so that I could leave when they left - I said goodbye to Maggie and Eddie before eight a.m., but then Zach and I went out for breakfast. This was a lovely end to my weekend - we had crepes and I loaded up on coffee for the drive home, and we also had a meandering conversation about life, books, memories, etc. Then I took him to work, where he showed me around his lab - I saw many wonders, and I was super impressed by his work. However, I'm also happy that I went down the romance novelist path instead of the nematode-counting path, even if he may make major breakthroughs in our understanding of aging mechanisms and I may just make major breakthroughs in coming up with synonyms for penises. #noregrets

After I said goodbye to Zach, I drove home, which took several hours (and a couple of stops for caffeine, bathrooms to deal with the results of caffeine, and snacks to keep me going). I spent the rest of Monday wasting time and eating corn, which is the definition of my usual #smalltownlife antics.

Tuesday, I wasted more time, but didn't eat corn. Instead, I tried and failed to answer emails. I also learned that crickets can eat clothing, which was a "key learning", as they say in corporate America.

Today, I vowed to stay off social media - I need a break, since I clearly did nothing yesterday, mostly because I spent the whole day checking twitter like a fucking addict. And for the most part I succeeded - I still read some news and read some emails, and also got a brief fix from a long convo with Katie, who told me some stuff about current events (and I told her about the Twitter parody of Joel Osteen called Joel Dongsteen, which takes Osteen quotes and replaces 'God' with 'your dick', which yields hilarious results if you hate Joel Osteen as much as I do).

But today felt better than yesterday, since I sent like five emails instead of negative two emails, so that's great. And I drove into town to pick up some groceries, so that also felt like a real accomplishment. And then I spent the evening watching fine CBS programming (the hometown boy on Big Brother made a totally dumb move that will probably cost him his game, but I'm cool with that). And now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

don't belong to no city, don't belong to no man

I'm still at Zach and Maggie's - I'd thought about going home tonight mostly so that I would have a full day there tomorrow, but I decided I didn't want to drive back through vast swathes of rural wasteland in the dark. But we had a lovely day today - Maggie was on call and had to go into the hospital, so Zach and I took Edna to a 'museum' that is basically a gigantic multi-story playground built from an old factory with all kinds of cool places to climb, crawl, jump, and generally burn off energy. Of course, this left me totally exhausted and didn't seem to phase Eddie a bit.

But it meant that Zach and I got some time to talk while she jumped around, so that was great. I also got some solo catch-up time with Maggie while Eddie and Zach both napped later in the afternoon. And we ended it all with a walk to a park (where I nearly nauseated myself on the swings), followed by some tasty Indian-style butter chicken at home.

And now I may contemplate going to bed early so that I can leave when they leave for work and head back to ye olde Iowa - goodnight!

fallen empires and raging bush fires

Way too tired to blog, since I got up at 6:15am (shocking, I know) - but I got up, showered, made coffee, and drove off in search of friendship. And by that I mean that I kept my long-arranged weekend rendezvous with Zach and Maggie (and their daughter Edna, who is an adorable toddler dictator). It took several hours to get to them, but it was worth it - I rolled in around one, and we chatted while she napped before taking her to a circus. Some of it was quite impressive - the tumbling acts were incredible, and the contortionists were highly disturbing (and since Maggie is an endocrinologist, she was guessing which genetic issues they probably had to yield such crazy joint/limb configurations). The elephants, however, were super sad - I would have rather not seen them. And I did wonder what life decisions could possibly take a man down a path toward wearing a sparkly shirt in the middle of a circus tent while herding camels and miniature zebras around in a circle....

...but I'll probably never know the answer to that. After the circus, we came home, ate dinner, read books to Eddie, and then we all passed out as though we're octogenarians in truth rather than just verging on old. And now I'm going to bed for realsies - goodnight!

put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me

No blog tonight (except, actually, this is a blog, unlike last night, when I didn't post at all). I've had a v. lazy couple of days, but I need to go to bed immediately, since I have plans tomorrow that require waking up at 6am (shock, horror). Goodnight!

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strange)

Today was v. sloth-filled. I woke up and spent too much time on my phone, so I put it down and went upstairs without it...and then promptly discussed politics with my parents for two hours, which was just like being on Twitter except with fewer gifs. But I got a tasty breakfast out of it (my dad made hash browns in addition to the usual bacon/eggs, and there was still watermelon from our eclipse trip), so it was still better than Twitter. #winning

I did eventually get some work done - I spent the afternoon outside, messing around in my journal, and that was all lovely. Then I ran into town to grab some stuff for dinner, and I ran into Gloria and also my old chemistry/French teacher, so that was entertaining. We had taco salad for supper (yum), and I made margaritas for me and my dad (also yum), and we watched Big Brother (the rodeo clown on this season is actually from my county here), and it was all v. lovely.

But now I need to sleep and do a better job of actually getting work done tomorrow - goodnight!

i face in the direction i am bound

Apologies (to myself, mostly) for not blogging last night - when I'm home I tend to fall into some sort of torpor by 10pm, and blogging becomes increasingly difficult. Or maybe it's that it's been so long since I've been somewhere that counts as 'home' that I'm willing to abandon everything for the chance to lie in bed for as long as possible.

Either way, I should start off by saying that yesterday was great - although we didn't see the full totality of the eclipse because it was cloudy and kinda raining during the peak moment. Sadness. If it had been half an hour later, the skies had cleared enough for us to see it, but it wasn't meant to be.

Still, we had a delightful time - it was a family reunion of sorts, since we met up with Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy in a tiny, tiny town called Hale, Missouri. Living Wamplers were slightly outnumbered by dead Wamplers at this affair - this is the town where my granddad grew up, and his parents, grandparents, and two uncles and an aunt are buried there, all in a row in a small cemetery just outside of town. We spent most of the lead-up to the eclipse in a park in the middle of town, where there were picnic tables in a shelter house and a bunch of people from surprisingly far-flung places (aka Minnesota and Wisconsin). But just before the totality we loaded up (ourselves...we left the food and stuff on a picnic table) and went to the cemetery, where the six of us who lived stood and watched the eclipse with the dead.

It would have been even cooler if we'd actually seen the corona - but even with the clouds, it was obvious that the land turned dark as nearby security lights came on and dogs howled in the distance. And I hadn't been down there since my great-granddad died (when I was eight; my great-grandma died when I was twelve, but we were in Ukraine when she died and didn't come back for the funeral), so I'm glad that we made the trip.

After the totality, we went back to the shelter house and picnicked, which was delightful (helped along by the wine Kathy brought...I'm pleased to report that I'm not the only lush in the family). We also met a woman who works for the newspaper/museum/library (#smalltownlife) who knew our family name, so she opened up the museum for us so that we could take a look around. They had a picture of my granddad and his twin in grade school, as well as some other interesting relics, so it was worth a visit.

Then we drove home in a long line of cars headed north, but the only slowdown was in Chillicothe (home of sliced bread! according to a mural, and backed up by a fact-check on Wikipedia, which says they had the first bakery to ever use a bread-slicing machine). When we got home, we generally hung out, had supper (ribeyes and sweet corn), and then took a break while my parents went to a round barn meeting. Then we played a quick game of Ticket to Ride, which my dad won handily.

Today was a bit more lowkey - I got up later than I should have and earlier than I wanted to so that [censored] and I could deal with an issue with my [censored]. Then I spent the afternoon hanging out with my dad in the kitchen, saying [censored] to [censored] (who has to go back to work, alas), writing in my journal on the back porch, and eating supper with my parents (yummy pork chops and baked potatoes and green beans and watermelon). I also talked to Terry briefly, and I enjoyed some wine that I'd stockpiled here - if wine really is good for you, I'm losing out on a lot of health benefits while being here, so I figured I should medicate.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

make the waters come and wash me away

Today was a v. typical Sunday in #smalltownlife. I woke up around 9:30, which was an hour and a half later than I intended, but still early enough to throw on some clothes and go into town with my dad to see my grandma. She is the same as always (alive, unable to remember five seconds ago), but as always, I'm glad I went to see her.

Then we came home and my dad made breakfast for all of us. We ate and talked and generally enjoyed ourselves. Meanwhile, I was engaging in a bit of rapacious capitalism - when I ordered eclipse glasses for the family, I discovered that the best option was to get a pack of 25 direct from the manufacturer. Of course, we don't need 25 - so with [censored]'s help, I sold a bunch of them. We save a couple for my niece, and gave a couple to [censored]'s friends [censored], who came out and visited for awhile with their adorable daughter [censored] (who calls [censored] "[censored]", which [censored] hates, but is on the same level as 'Auntie Wamp', which is Ian's name for me, so [censored] will hopefully get over it).

But we ended up selling enough at $4 apiece to cover the cost of the glasses + most of the food I picked up for tomorrow, so this was a v. worthwhile endeavor (especially since they cost me $1 apiece). I was afraid the bottom would fall out of the market this afternoon since the forecast isn't looking good, but we'll see what happens.

We spent the evening getting ready for tomorrow's eclipse outing, eating supper (brats, scalloped potatoes, baked beans), and playing a game of Ticket to Ride (which I won handily). And now I need to sleep so that we can get on the road in the morning - goodnight!

cover up the sun

I had a lovely day in Iowa...I got just enough sleep, then spent most of the day hanging out. [censored] and I did some work on our [censored] (mine supposedly has a problem with the water pump, but I am skeptical and wondering if the Toyota dealer was trying to upsell me on an expensive service). I also went to the grocery store to prep for the solar eclipse, and then we all went out for supper at our favorite (also, our only) local restaurant. Prime rib and other assorted foods came out to $78 for four people, which is one of the many ways in which Iowa beats California.

But I've already fallen asleep while typing this once, so I won't regale you with any more stories. Goodnight! And happy birthday to Katrina!

punk rock video

I awoke this morning in Nebraska, wishing that I could snap my fingers and skip the rest of the drive (even though the drive across Iowa is infinitely more enjoyable than the drive across Nebraska). But I couldn't escape my fate that easily - so I showered, packed up, ate the free hotel breakfast (great coffee, tasty sausages, really sad powdered eggs), and headed east. I made pretty good time, although I had to stop in Creston (Iowa) for lunch - which required going into a McDonald's and sitting there, since I can no longer have my go-to road trip protein (McNuggets) and also can't easily eat a quarter pounder without the bun. Yes, life is hard.

But I got to my ancestral home a little before 2pm, and my wandering lifestyle can halt for awhile (j/k, I'm going on a road trip next weekend, and that doesn't count our plans to watch the eclipse deep in the dark heart of Missouri).

And now, I need to sleep - I spent some quality time on the patio this afternoon, but I want to spend even more time there tomorrow. Goodnight!

you got something to prove, you got nothing to lose

I need to go to bed - today was yet another long day on I-80 and I'm ready to sleep. This is my ninth or tenth time crossing Nebraska, and my sixth solo voyage...and Nebraska is super fucking boring even on the first pass, so today was pretty annoying. But it started off great - I had breakfast with Katie, and we daydreamed about how wonderful it would be if I lived in Denver/Boulder (I realize that some of you will not be happy to hear this, so apologies in advance for leaving you forever).

But I had to get on the road eventually, and then I drove alllll day. I'm spending tonight in Lincoln, the capital of this illustrious (aka incredibly boring) state...I got here around 7:30, and then had dinner at a Mexican place nearby. And now I'm going to sleep early - I'm ready for Iowa and some #smalltownlife, so I don't want to dawdle while getting out of here tomorrow. Goodnight!

juggaloooooooooos

No blog tonight, I've stayed up too late with Katie and I must sleep so I can drive to Iowa tomorrow. Goodnight!

another day in paradise

I'm in Denver, and I should go to bed immediately so that I can eke out whatever sleep I can get before the dulcet tones of children's screams wake me up in the morning. You can probably guess from that that I'm staying at Katie's tonight (and tomorrow night)...I woke up in SF at six a.m., showered and threw my stuff in my rental car, and drove to SFO. I made it there with enough time to eat breakfast (one of the best airport breakfasts I've ever had - I need to remember that the wine bar next to gate 70 serves a killer breakfast), and then I boarded my flight.

We were slightly delayed, and then as the pilot was taxiing to the runway they slammed on the brakes to avoid another plane, throwing one of the flight attendants into the galley wall, where she appeared to hurt her shoulder. However, we took off anyway even though the attendant looked miserable for the rest of the flight - I guess United's new policy is to leave you on the plane if they've injured you, so I guess that's progress!

sssanyway. I spent most of the flight napping, snacking, and reading the inflight magazine, since I was too tired to contemplate anything else. When we got to Denver I retrieved my bags, took a lyft to Katie's, dropped my luggage off, and then walked to Avanti to meet her for a quick drink. This turned into me having a glass of pinot by myself since she had trouble finding parking, and we would have only had twenty minutes together there even in the best circumstances since she needed to go home to relieve the nanny.

But she parked long enough to come in for two minutes, and then we came back here, made dinner, did some crafting activities with the girls, ate, and then gossipped off and on for the rest of the night, as we're wont to do. And now I must sleep (and also hydrate) - goodnight!

if you want to destroy my sweater

No blog tonight - I spent the day taking care of business and the evening hanging out with John and Jess (and Ian, who is very close to being able to say 'wamp'). John made a cocktail that was better than I expected it to be (we named it 'walk the dog'), and then we had some wine and some tamales and a lot of conversation on their second-floor deck + in their living room (mostly about life, careers, the pursuit of happiness, and the genetics around quadruple half cousins, as we do).

But now I need to sleep - I'm leaving for Denver relatively early tomorrow, which means leaving Berkeley even earlier in an attempt to survive traffic. Goodnight!

storming through the party like my name is el niño

I had a great day, but I don't want to blog tonight - I need to get off screens and devices and news sources, which is basically the refrain for 2017. I woke up relatively early this morning, did some work, and got a mani/pedi - the nails all looked great until, much later in the day, I tripped over my own sandal and wiped out on the sidewalk, bruising my knee and scraping the paint off my big toe. This is not the first time I've tripped like that and I'm sure it won't be the last, so I brushed the dirt off my shoulders (okay, my knees) and moved on with my life. I also got a bottle of nail polish at Walgreens tonight that is a close-enough substitute for the color that got scraped off, so no one will see my unsightly toe and assume I'm a vagrant.

Anyway, after the mani/pedi, I ran a couple of errands and had a salad at sweetgreens (yum). Then I went back to my temporary abode and worked for a couple of hours, but I slacked off to go shopping with Jess. Jess *never* shops for herself, and I was on a mission to make her buy something (err, facilitate her desire to buy something). So we went down to Fourth Street, explored some clothing shops, explored some even more interesting paper shops, and ended up at Marine Layer, where Jess bought a super cute dress and I got a sweatshirt and a button-down. I also discovered that Nopalito has a cookbook, which is a game-changer! If I could make their food at home, I might never have to come to San Francisco again....

...j/k, I would miss the three of you from SF who read this blog too much to abandon you forever. After we shopped, we went back to the neighborhood and hung out with John and Ian, and I delivered the lemons that Adit had given me to give to them - I'm hopeful that this will turn into limoncello that I can benefit from, but we shall see.

Then I called my parents, and then I spent the rest of the evening working (with a break for Mexican food, since I was craving chips like there's no tomorrow...and maybe there won't be a tomorrow, but I'm not in the mood to think about nukes and Nazis, so I'm going to bed instead). Goodnight!

theme and variation

I'm going to bed asap because I have a million things to do tomorrow and not nearly enough time in which to do them. Today was lovely, though, with some unexpected twists. I spent the morning procrastinating far too long on twitter (news is enraging, particularly coming out of Charlottesville - remind me again how we used to have all sorts of national pride over the fact that we destroyed the Nazis? although since some of the top Nazis got to come to the US and be scientists and military advisors after the war, one could argue we didn't exactly do everything we could to root out Nazi ideology..).

But I managed to put away the twitter, make some coffee, take care of some stuff around the house, and then speed (aka crawl) across the bridge to the evil city. I hadn't seen Katrina on this trip, so we agreed to meet for brunch at Nopalito. This is, of course, one of my favorite places to eat when I'm in the city, and it was great to spend some time there while catching up with her - we went deep on a lot of topics, many of which were amusing/wtf-generating.

When we were done with that + our errands, I dropped her off at a grocery store and said my fond farewells. Then I got my hair cut - I was way overdue for a bang trim, and also ready for some of the layers to be cleaned up, and my stylist (Lauren, whom I adore) did a great job. While I was sitting in her chair, I got a text from Adit/Priyanka suggesting that I stop by - if they'd texted thirty minutes later they would have been out of luck, since I would have gone back to the east bay and categorically refused to drive the bridge again.

So, after my hair was stylish again, I went to their new house - they recently bought a place and are in the middle of getting the permits for a renovation. The house shows a lot of promise, although I'm guessing that the construction will take awhile. But we had a good time hanging out in the backyard talking about life while watching Vihaan trying/not trying to impale himself on various thorns, brambles, scissors, and other instruments of toddler destruction.

Eventually, we took Vihaan home so that his grandmother could start the dinner/bedtime process, and then Adit, Priyanka and I went to Namu Gaji (a Korean place near them that I also really like, although I don't make it there all that often, mostly because it usually has a line). Since today was Outside Lands over in Golden Gate Park, Adit's neighborhood was pretty empty, and they were able to seat us right away. We had a delish stone pot (with a small worm crawling on one of the cucumbers, but we ate the dish anyway) and a couple of other dishes, and we discussed how we're living and how to move faster and what we want to accomplish this year, and it was all v. good.

But we're getting old, and they needed to get back to Vihaan and I wanted to come home and sleep, so I drove back to Berkeley as soon as I left them and was here before 8:30. This means I missed out on potential fun in the city with other fun people (aka Vidya), but I probably need to stay in tonight and get some rest anyway so that I don't sabotage my body for all the stuff I've got coming up.

Speaking of, it's time for bed - goodnight!

so come dance this silence down through the morning

I had a long day that was totally full of conversation, so I'm ready to crawl into bed and turn my brain off for awhile. I woke up this morning in time to shower and stop at Philz before heading to the evil city - there are things to be said for the Bay Area, but those things are mostly reduced to a) Philz coffee and b) friendship. Of course, Karl the Fog was devouring San Francisco, as he always does in August (#fogust)...but better fog than a nuclear holocaust, amirite?

Too soon, too soon. sssanyway, I got to SF a little before eleven and did a bit of work in my car before meeting Barbara and Grace for lunch at the Cliff House. This is our usual spot since it's convenient from the north and south bay, but it's really not convenient from the east bay. However, the ocean view was as delightful as always, and it was good to see Grace and Barbara one last time before I head out again. When we were done, Barbara and I went over to Veronica's - V lives on the ocean and is quite close to Cliff House, but she couldn't come to lunch since she had electricians and furniture deliveries and all sorts of other useful-but-temporarily-terrible situations going on.

So the three of us hung out for awhile. When Barbara left, I probably should have left as well...but I looked at maps and it was going to take me 90mins to get back to Berkeley (25mi). So, I lingered until Veronica invited me to stay for dinner, which I then acted surprised about accepting (okay, maybe that's not exactly how it went down, but that's not entirely inaccurate). So we hung out the rest of the afternoon, and when her husband got home we hung out some more and also ordered sushi. I avoided all crab, but I'm still not feeling super great after that eating experience...it was delicious, but I feel vaguely queasy now, and I don't know whether it's some other shellfish issue, some cross-contamination, something psychosomatic, or bad dreams of my recent crab experiences. If I vomit for three hours tonight I'll probably just kill myself and be done with it, so if that happens, know that I loved you all very much.

But I doubt I'll get sick...fingers crossed. I didn't get home until almost eleven, since we had many things to discuss, and now I'm desperate for sleep so I can take care of lots of tings tomorrow. Goodnight!

if she remembers, she hides it whenever we meet

I have relocated to a house down the block from where I spent the last ten days - which means no more access to the hot tub (sadness) but also no more responsibilities to a dog who sometimes adored me and sometimes wanted to eat my face. I spent the morning getting ready, packing, walking the dog, tidying up after myself, etc., and it's a good thing that I was efficient about this because the owners came back several hours earlier than I was expecting. But that was actually good for me - it meant that I could leave their place around noon without worrying that Lily would think I was abandoning her just like everyone else had.

So I said goodbye to the dog and dragged my stuff into my rental car, which I then drove halfway down the block so that I could unload it. I'm staying at John's parents' house since they're in Tahoe this week, which is super convenient for me (and v. kind of them). I unloaded my car when I got here, then promptly left to run some errands - this mostly involved going to Walnut Creek and window shopping (and shopping shopping), which was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Then I came back here and spent an hour talking to my friend Maya, who is also a writer, and I am slowly seducing her into the idea of coming to Denver next year for a writing retreat. This is an easy sell because next year's RWA conference happens to be in Denver, and if I'm living there and have a guest room (obvi not a done deal yet, but my inclinations are in that direction), she could stay with me.

As soon as I was done with her, Jess called, and we rendezvoused and John and Jess's house for dinner. John made some vegetarian tacos (zucchini and onion) that were utterly delish, so I loaded up on that (which was really a perfect base for guac/salsa/cheese, which is what the people actually want). I also loaded up on boulevardiers and port...it's clear that I'm growing up since port is now a delightful sipping moment at the end of the evening rather than the disastrous cheap port debacles that Adit poured down my throat so many years ago. And yes, that's me playing the victim and blaming Adit for all my bad choices, #sorrynotsorry.

But by nine it was time for all good adults to be in bed, so I left John and Jess and walked across the street to settle into my new abode. I wanted to fall asleep then, but instead I unpacked and did a load of laundry (not necessary from a quantity of clothes standpoint, but v. necessary from how much dog hair was on my stuff). I fell asleep waiting for stuff to dry, then woke up and folded tings, but now it's time to sleep in earnest. Goodnight!

we could have had it all

I know I start half my posts with saying that I'm too tired to blog, but tonight it's really true. I spent the morning answering emails, the afternoon shopping for clothes (Berkeley has a surprising number of nice capitalist shops given its hippie reputation), the late afternoon hanging out with John and Ian in their backyard (Ian didn't die despite finding every rake in the bay area), and the evening with my friend Rachael (who taught my Venice retreat). Rachael and I spent copious amounts of time in the hot tub, and when she left I decided to reenter for some alone time under the stars (and by stars I mean fog)...so it's no wonder that I'm wiped out, since white wine and steam will do that to a girl.

And now it's time for bed - I have to pack tomorrow to relocate to a different house on this street since the owners are getting back in the afternoon, and I'll probably have to hide my packing so that Lily doesn't freak out and trigger all her abandonment issues. Wish me luck with that - goodnight!

help me stay awake i'm falling

I had a v. lovely day even if it involved far too much driving around the bay area (which is a good reminder that I never want to have to drive/commute here regularly again). I woke up a little later than I should have this morning after only getting six hours of sleep, so I really should go to bed immediately...but I managed to drag myself out of bed, make coffee, walk Lily, eat breakfast, shower, and get out the door in a reasonable time frame. I needed to pick up a rental car at SFO, and before I did that I needed to stop at Nordstrom in SF (which was basically on the way) to pick up a pair of shoes I'd bought from the anniversary sale. So I took BART from Berkeley to SF, made a quick stop to pick up the shoes (they're lovely, thanks for asking!), and then took BART to SFO to get the rental car.

Unfortunately the car kind of smells like someone was trying to cover up the smell of vomit, which is a real bummer since it has less than two thousand miles on it. But it was the only one available, except for one that had a note on the window in marker chalk saying that there was an issue with the tires, so I chose smell over risk. I like driving with my windows down anyway, so it isn't the end of the world.

Then I drove back into SF to have a too-quick lunch with Lauren (aka Subz) - her life is chaotic and mine has been v. focused on being a hermit in the east bay, so this was a good chance for us to get together. We talked about all manner of subjects in a relatively short period of time, and I was super bummed to say goodbye to her - but I try to content myself with the knowledge that I'll be back in September, so hopefully I'll see her more thoroughly then.

Then I drove back the east bay, which took an hour at 3pm (this place is a cesspool). Then I did a couple of hours of work. Then I picked up Chandlord at the BART station, and we hung out in the backyard and drank wine and talked about life. Eventually Claudia and Sam showed up, and even more eventually the pizza we ordered showed up, and it was super fun (C/S) and super tasty (the pizza). At some point John and Jess joined us and we spent a long, lovely time in the hot tub, drinking prosecco and pretending it was spring break (and pretending that we don't all need the hot tub for our aging joints).

And now I need to go to bed so that I can accomplish all the things tomorrow - goodnight!

outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned

If you'd asked me three hours ago whether I would still be awake right now, I would have said no. Now that I've typed that, I feel like that could be the title of my memoir: "If you'd asked me three hours ago whether I would still be awake right now, I would have said no: The Sara Wampler Story".

But I stayed awake after all, despite a day that made me sleepy. I spent some quality time walking the dog and eating yogurt and messing around in my bullet journal - I need to get back on track with my tasks and writing, and planning helps with that. I also had a long conversation with my friend Barbara (the one who lives in Colorado), another long conversation with my mom, and a third conversation with a guy I met at RWA who wanted to talk about operations/management stuff (not long, but interesting). Then I took a nap in the sun because #yolo.

But after that, I buckled down, did some work, took care of some house chores, and then went over to say hi to Ian because he was making kissing faces at me through the window (supervised by his nanny, who luckily knows who I am and so didn't call the cops on me). As I was walking over, I ran into John, who was just getting home from work, so we sipped some port and watched Ian walk/crawl around and generally troll us.

Jess eventually got home, and we had dinner (tamales! and a boulevardier for me) before they put Ian to bed and I came back to walk the dog again. They rejoined me later, though, for some hot tub action - but this is all v. sedate, since we are old people and want to go to bed at nine.

Of course, I didn't actually go to bed at nine - I came upstairs, quite relaxed, and then finished reading the book I started the other night (PRIMATES OF PARK AVENUE - pretty good, all in all). And now I muuuuuust sleep - goodnight!

all monkeys do what they see

I had a pretty perfect day in the dirty east bay. I got enough sleep, then got up, showered, took Lily for a walk, and talked to my parents - probably not for long enough, and definitely way earlier in the day than usual, but I wanted to catch up with them before the rest of the day's plans commenced.

Then, John and Jess and Ian and I went down to Saul's (aka the best place to have breakfast/lunch/brunch in Berkeley, although don't tell Jess that we had brunch since she disapproves of such a dissolute meal). We had to wait a little bit for a table, but it was totally worth it - I had my favorite corned beef hash, which was as perfect as always, and I also got a latke and inhaled almost all of it. John's spinach benedict looked amazing, as did Jess's pita/egg sandwich, and Ian did a great job trying to eat his crayons. In other words, we all won!

Then they left to come home, and I wandered around the neighborhood for a bit and bought some groceries just in time to get picked up from Safeway by Heather (aka dear respected madam). She v. kindly drove all the way up from San Jose to see me, and it was totally delightful - we spent a good seven hours hanging out, mostly on the back patio in the dappled sunlight with a bottle of rosé and some snacks. Then we ordered Indian food for dinner (pretty tasty, not the best I've ever had), and then we sat in the hot tub as the sun went down, and it was all pretty much perfect.

Then she left, I took a quick shower to get rid of the hot tub feeling, and I also messed around online for too long. But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i stay awake with my disease

Way too tired to blog (I'd fallen asleep with the light on while reading, but I rallied to write this). I had a great day - brunch with Claudia (aka Santy Claude) at a ridiculously overpriced, trying-to-hard gluten free place, followed by Philz coffee, followed by an oddly meandering/entertaining conversation with a Berkeley hippie/construction contractor, followed by a nap in the sun and some quality time on the patio. Then I ate some soup, hung out with John and Jess and Ian and two boulevardiers (the land of wampertunity), walked Lily, and wrote in my journal as the sun went down.

After Ian was asleep, John and Jess came over and we hung out in the hot tub - this seemed like an acceptable risk, since a) his baby monitor was playing on their phone and b) Ian's window was closer to my outdoor jacuzzi than many nurseries are to living rooms in big houses around the country. It was a pretty idyllic end to the evening, and I followed it up by reading in bed until my eyes gave up the fight.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

someone how we mixed up goodbye and goodnight

I'm too tired to blog, which I realize is an all-too-common refrain. I got up this morning and took care of some tings, and then Veronica showed up and we of course had to catch up while I made an omelette. Then I walked the dog and we did a bit of work, but we had to take another break when Grace arrived. Grace came over from Marin for the day, and it was great to see her - the writing dates are one of the things I really miss while traveling.

Anyway, we all worked until lunch (with varying degrees of success), before picking up salads at Sweetgreen. Yes, I've become a California stereotype again. V had to leave round 3:15, but Grace and I kept going - alternating between reading and talking and discussing life with John, who dropped by to work at my kitchen table and also drink some of the limoncello that the house owners left for me.

Then Grace and I ordered thai delivery, which turned out to be really delicious (surprisingly so for delivery). We sat outside and enjoyed the evening, including when John and Jess showed up for an impromptu five-minute visit so that Ian could kiss me goodnight. I could also hear them yell 'wamp' through their kitchen window, so it's possible that this neighborhood doesn't really have boundaries in the same way that other neighborhoods do....

sssanyway, everyone eventually left me (after Grace and I laughed harder than I have for awhile after comparing notes on a writer who was v. v. successful in indie erotica back during the gold rush days, and who is now using a gofundme to pay for her divorce and is writing really short, really ridiculous erotica to try to cash it. Lol.

And now, after taking Lily for another walk and reading and daydreaming, I'm desperate feor bed - goodnight!

he said they toured the country far away from the rio grande, but the road just wore them down

I need to go to bed immediately - I spent far too much time staring at my computer today, and only a hard reset on my eyes will stop the headache currently brewing behind them. Today was pretty good, all in all - Veronica came over, of course, and we spent the morning working. We also ate leftover chicken tortilla soup, and I think I've convinced her that I'm an excellent cook (true, but I'm also putting way more effort into this than usual). Then we worked this afternoon, but when she left I had her drop me off at Philz, since I hadn't been there on this trip to California (waiting four days to go to Philz is criminal!).

I was going to write there, but I started texting [censored], and that turned into [censored], so no writing happened. Then I took a lyft back to the house, talked to my parents, and walked Lily, since she was v. eager to go for a walk (she's a weird dog; she refused to go this morning, then couldn't wait to go this afternoon). Then I talked to Terry half an hour later than we had scheduled - we'd been trying to catch up for awhile, so it's too bad that I kept her waiting because of this dog situation :(

But it was fun to catch up, so hopefully she'll forgive me. Then I had dinner with John and Jess and Ian - but it was in the third house I've been in on this block, since his parents bought the house across the street from them and they decided to eat over there tonight. I got a tour of the house, which is gorgeous; I also got twenty million kisses from Ian, who was being v. demanding that Auntie Wamp kiss him at every opportunity (you know when he wants a kiss because he scrunches up his lips into a pucker that takes up half his face, so the kisses are a little slobbery, but he's young enough to get away with it).

Then I came back to my house, soothed Lily since she had apparently decided I was never coming back after an hour away, and then worked until now. And now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

the girl you’ll always love, the one you have no memory of

Today was really lovely, all in all. I slept in a little later than planned, so I waited to walk the dog until after Veronica arrived - the dog (Lily) is now totally fine with me, so that's a good thing. Then I spent the morning writing and journaling, all of which was v. good for me.

But I had to get myself out of the story and into the shower so that I could get ready for my big plan of the day. V and I had a reservation for late lunch (1:45!) at Chez Panisse Cafe, which I was super excited for. I've been to a lot of great/famous restaurants in the Bay Area, but somehow I've never been to Chez Panisse. The lunch scene is more lowkey (especially in terms of ability to get reservations) than the dinner scene, and it was totally perfect. We sat by a window overlooking Berkeley, and it was a delightful place to have a glass of rosé and some wonderful conversation with a great friend. It was also a delightful place to eat duck (I don't usually order duck, but this was too delish to resist), and our dessert was somehow amazing despite being a relatively simple pairing of a blackberry sherbet on top of a meringue.

After that, I could have easily napped/daydreamed away the afternoon, but instead I parted ways with Veronica and went across the street to the grocery store, where I got stuff to make dinner tonight. I was in the mood for chicken tortilla soup, and I'd invited John and Jess over to partake of it with me. The cooking all went well and I was really enjoying it...until I discovered that the tortillas I bought today were somehow moldy even though they claimed they weren't expired yet. Gross. Luckily, I still had four from the fish tacos I'd made yesterday, and also John came to the rescue - he brought Ian and some corn masa and a tortilla press over and made me three more tortillas, which were perfect for the soup. We also had quite the adventure trying to keep Ian and Lily separate when they both wanted to get in each other's faces - perhaps it all would have turned out fine, but it seemed like a high possibility for disaster if they hung out in each other's space.

When the soup was done, John and Jess and Ian came back over, and we had a rather idyllic time outside until a bee drove us inside. We still enjoyed soup and limoncello inside until it was time for Ian to go to bed. Then I cleaned up, took Lily for another walk, and spent some quality time outside in the twilight with my laptop and my exploding to-do list.

And now I need to sleep so that I can repeat some aspects of this process tomorrow (mostly the friend time, sans the delish Chez Panisse lunch and my adventures in soup-making). Goodnight!

we keep living anyway...we rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes

I'm happy to report that my new dog friend seems happy enough - I'm pretty sure she won't eat my face off in the middle of the night, so that's good news. She didn't howl at all last night, and she was happy enough to go on walks this morning and tonight, so it all seems good. I probably shouldn't be away from the house too long since she seems to get neurotic again when I go away for awhile, but since I want to get some work done this week, that's not such a bad thing.

Anyway, today was good - Veronica came over again, and I sacrificed some quality writing time to make us some fish tacos (using the recipe that Aunt B made, which turned out really well). V left around 3:30, and then I took a nap and did some more work before meeting up with John and Jess (and Ian, who was reluctantly along for the ride) to go to Berkeley Bowl (the local version of Whole Foods). Chandlord (remember her?) met us there, since she took BART over from the city, and we went back to John and Jess's and ate the spoils of our Berkeley Bowl pillaging. When it was time for Ian to go to bed, Chandlord came over here briefly, but she took off pretty early to get back to the city. And then I walked the dog again and spent the rest of the evening playing around in my new journal - I go through a journal every 3-4 months, and it was time to start a new one.

And now I'm desperate for sleep - goodnight!