fishy business

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I'm wired and ready to stay up all night. It's probably good that I haven't really adjusted - and I weirdly haven't been super affected by the jetlag, although I have a 20-30min span every afternoon where I want to die. But maybe that's just the existential realization that nothing matters and we're all doomed, amirite?

j/k, j/k. I had breakfast at the hotel this morning, then went to the office and plowed through a bunch of work. I was v. fortified because I discovered the chai cart (not open during lunch, but open in the morning/afternoon), which was super delish. I had lunch with some of the team, then met with some of them, then went over to another office and spent the afternoon/evening with that group. They took me out for dinner somewhere called Fisherman's Wharf, which looked v. nice (better than many restaurants I've been to around here)....but I was alarmed by the fish aspect of the evening, since they pulled a dead fish out of a bucket and showed it to us before cooking it. I expect to die tonight. And if that doesn't kill me, the ice and the questionably washed jalapenos in my cocktail might do the job instead.

If I survive, remind me not to eat things just to be polite in the future (I'm sure I'll forget that lesson). Anyway, after dinner I went back to that office, caught a cab to my hotel, and worked for the last two hours. And now I need to sleep and conserve my energy for whatever vomiting may start later - goodnight!

welcome to the hotel california

I'm in Hyderabad, which was the expected (though perhaps not desired) outcome of all my flight time on Saturday/Sunday. Personally, I would have rather flown first-class to the Maldives or something, but instead I spent the last 4.5 hours of flying time on a small, shabby-ish plane from Singapore to Hyderabad, surrounded by a group of middle-aged men who all knew each other (and stood in the aisle around me so they could better talk to each other), and who were all drinking as much beer as possible and belching with equal enthusiasm. This, of course, was all rather unwelcome after the sixteen-hour flight from SFO to Singapore...

...but then I was picked up at the airport by both a driver and a security guard (my old friend Ismail, who now runs the cab program at work, hooked me up with the VIP treatment - although I felt I was more likely to be murdered by the security guard than the driver, since he didn't say a word to me while the driver was quite friendly). They whisked me to my hotel - being whisked anywhere is only possible at midnight, and only on the new toll road they built sometime since my last trip. That road is so fast, in fact (greater than thirty mph!!), that we were actually nearly hit by two expensive-looking sports cars that were racing each other. I have never seen a sports car here, and I have also never seen anyone racing - the competition here seems to be more about who can fit into the tightest space between two other vehicles, rather than who can go the fastest. So, things have definitely changed.

But some things haven't - I went to the office this morning and had coffee with Ismail before getting started, and it was great to see him. Then I met the team I'm working with here, had lunch, took a cab to another building to see a different team, and verified that the roads are just as horrible and chaotic as always if you try to cross town in the afternoon. Then I came back to the hotel, took an ill-advised but entirely necessary nap, had dinner (murgh makhani and garlic naan, and I don't even care that the naan was totally full of gluten because it was #worthit), and then worked through a variety of meetings and emails for the past three hours.

But now, it's 12:30am here, and I'm wide awake but am going to try taking a melatonin and sleeping anyway. Goodnight!

i've got this sentimental heart that beats

I am sitting at the SFO Westin after a gloriously uneventful flight - I'm glad that everything was on time and easy, since it would have been stressful to be delayed before leaving for Singapore tomorrow morning. Getting ready to leave, however, was not relaxing - I was cutting it down to the wire, and my place will be a mess when I get back, which is my least favorite thing to deal with. However, since much of it still isn't unpacked, that wasn't really something I could solve today. And I took out my trash, cleaned out my fridge, ran the dishwasher, and recycled almost all the boxes that I'd unpacked so far, so things could be a lot worse.

Anyway, I scrambled and got out of the house by 2:15, which was ten minutes later than I'd wanted to, but I drove to Golden and got there three minutes before my official appointment with the Colorado DMV. I signed in for my appointment and they called my number before I even sat down, which seemed v. efficient compared to all the people who were waiting to be called.

So, after answering some questions, I suppose I'm officially a Colorado resident. They punched my California license, so there's no going back (ha - I'm sitting in California while I'm typing that, so maybe I'm wrong). They gave me a nice paper copy of my license, and I'll get the real one in the next few weeks - but I won't be in Colorado for two weeks, so it's a little anticlimactic. But it felt good to check that off my list - and somehow, it was a moment of clarity and realness in the midst of several weeks of feeling like I'm play-acting at being a professional/executive and a functioning member of corporate society. I'm happy to be back at work, but it's all been so fast and such a 180 from the last two years that I don't feel like I've actually given myself the mental space to contemplate and absorb the differences...

...but I have sixteen hours on a plane to Singapore tomorrow to consider this. After the DMV, I drove into Denver and saw Katie for a glorious hour and a half. I was beyond starving when I got to Avanti since I'd skipped breakfast and lunch to pack (two kind bars are not a meal, it turns out), so I got some gluten-free gnocchi with bolognese sauce that was delightful. Katie eventually showed up (we have reverted to type now that we're in the same place), and we caught up for awhile, and then I drove my car to her place so that I could leave it there while I'm gone. We chatted for a bit longer, and I showed pictures of saris to her kids (they decided that Adit = Aladdin, since I showed them pictures from his wedding, but I think Adit = Abu), and then I said my bittersweet farewells and took a lyft to the airport.

And now, alas, I need to sleep - I don't want to sleep too much since my jetlag might go better if I slept the first half of tomorrow's flight and forced myself to stay up for the second half, but there's no way that will happen. Wish me luck - goodnight!

transparency

I spent all day today in a manager training - yes, I have gone so far back into the corporate bubble that they're training me to drink even more kool-aid. It was useful and fun, etc., but by the end I was exhausted - so I solved my woes by shopping, since I needed to look for something I can wear when speaking to several hundred people in a couple of weeks (last minute thing, not that big of a deal, but when all my dress clothes are still in a variety of boxes and may not fit, I wasn't taking chances). Then I ate some Chipotle (dinner of champions), came home, journaled over wine, made some packing lists, and did some more work until now.

But now I need to sleep - I'm leaving tomorrow night and haven't packed anything and also have to go to the DMV before I flee the state, so I should probably get some sleep. Goodnight!

steel stars

Katie called me tonight to confirm something, and when I told her that I was eating a frozen enchilada, she was horrified at how quickly and completely I've fallen back into "2007 Sara" instead of "eat pray love Sara". Yes, I'm shocked too.

I do think it will all slow down...but probably not until the holidays. It doesn't help that I'm still slowly unpacking. But I got my moving blankets folded and off my patio before it potentially snows tomorrow, and I unpacked all of my alcohol (priorities), and I did a couple of loads of laundry and unearthed some travel adapters and things from the piles of stuff that I haven't unpacked yet, so I'm slowly getting ready. I also trimmed my bangs and plucked my eyebrows in an attempt at looking like less of a boho vagrant - we'll see how they turned out. And, of course, I had a 9pm call with someone in India, since that's how I apparently roll now (again).

But now I should sleep; I have an all-day training tomorrow (part of why I'm too swamped), so getting some downtime in is imperative. Goodnight!

you better run for the hills before they burn

Today felt endless - I woke up this morning, was at the office by 8:30 (okay, 8:34), and was in meetings all morning/early afternoon. However, one of those meetings was a three-hour training that I could listen to from my desk, which I promptly used as a block to do some of my crazy involved expense reports, etc.

But I skipped out at 2:50 to have coffee with a friend of Natasha's who is looking for a job - and that turned into a cocktail across the street, since we had a lot to talk about (and I'm desperate for friends). Then I went back to work for one final meeting, then went to Walgreens to stock up on things for my respiratory/digestive/reproductive tracts (India requires inhalers, antibiotics, immodium, etc., along with ear plugs and face wipes and emergenc-y and my usual birth control).

By the time I got home I just wanted to crash, but I forced myself to finish unpacking my kitchen - and now it looks awesome, so I'm glad I did. Of course, I still have empty boxes everywhere in the dining area, and the living room is still a mess - but perhaps I'll take care of that tomorrow night. It would be ideal if the downstairs was in some semblance of order by the time I leave, but I'm making no promises.

Then, at 10:30, I did a bit more work, which turned into an hour and a half of slogging. This is my fault for not setting better boundaries...or for being too interested in the job and wanting to get to know it better, which is perhaps beginning to be too much to the detriment of the rest of my life. But we all know I tend to be a bit all-or-nothing with my focus, and at the moment, I'm all-in on this.

Now, though, I need to be all-in on sleep - goodnight!

everything is free

I was a bad mover and didn't really unpack today, beyond putting a few more things into my kitchen cabinets. I wasn't really feeling the whole getting out of bed thing this morning, and so I was seven minutes late to my first meeting - but since it was at 8am and no one goes into work at 8am, I was forgiven (I think). Then I was in meetings basically allll day, and by 5:30pm I was really done.

So, instead of unpacking, I went shopping and bought more stuff to put away later. Was this necessary? Questionable. But my pants situation is not up to my standards/desires, and I need some options for Hyderabad since I remembered today that I'm kind of a big deal and need to dress that way when I'm meeting people (note: this is not true. however, I also don't want to look like a twelve-year-old when I'm meeting business-types, especially business-types who don't necessarily work with my team). Of course, the options I picked up are still jeans, but I'm feeling better about my possibilities.

Then I came home, messed around the house, and had a 9:30pm call with someone in India. Then I answered emails until now. And now I need to sleep - I have precious little time to get ready for my trip, so I'm going to try to cut out of the office and get some personal stuff done tomorrow night. Goodnight!

pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

I should probably go to bed right now, but I really want to keep unpacking. I took a longer break than I planned this evening - I started dealing with travel/life stuff, and I also talked to [censored], who was [censored] and so had time to [censored]. And I ate leftover taco salad with a real fork - unpacking has progressed to the point that all of my kitchenwares are unpacked, although they're still strewn all over the countertops since I'm trying to figure out how to arrange everything.

But today was great, although I didn't leave the house (beyond trips to the recycling bins). I spent most of it unpacking, and I did several loads of laundry and several loads of dishes, so things are gradually coming together. I also think I've made some decisions about furniture to order, so I need to take care of that tomorrow in hopes that I can get it delivered when I'm back from ye olde India.

But now that I've remembered that I'm going to India at the end of the week, I should definitely stop typing and either get something done or go to bed - goodnight!

whisky neat

I had a long day that began with a hangover and ended with creating the makings of another one. This is, in some ways, a real upgrade, since it means I have friends to hang out with, but my headache tomorrow may tell a different story.

I awoke at Katie's this morning after far too little sleep of far too low a quality - I blame my #fomo in terms of not wanting to lose any precious moment of her company, and also my unending quest for the best glass of red wine in the world. I got ready fairly quickly, said goodbye to Katie and her angelic host, and drove to the place where my pods were shipped so that we could unload them. It turns out that pod shipping (or, in this case, U-Pack container shipping) is the way to go - they got to Denver in less than three days, and when we opened them, we discovered that nothing had shifted at all on the move. So far I've discovered one casualty (a glass), but for a move of that duration after many months in storage, I'm please to discover that many of my tings are intact.

So the movers were with me from 8:45ish to 1:30, and they did an awesome job running boxes upstairs, getting my furniture set up, etc. They also ran into none of the issues that my couch delivery guys did - but it probably helped that they speak the same language and so are able to troubleshoot in advance to determine a strategy to get stuff into place.

When they were finished, I opened a couple of boxes and put a bunch of stuff in the dishwasher. I also realized I was super hungry, so I went to Modern Market and ate a salad; after that, I took a nap, took a shower, and then unpacked for another hour. All in all this move was super painless, and I'm looking forward to being out of day-to-day escalations so that I can focus on the real work at hand.

I stopped unpacking, though, because my friend Tomas was here exploring the city with his wife in anticipation of a possible future move. I'm obviously supportive of this, especially since it gives me exponentially more friends in the area, but I think they're loving it in their own right. We had a v. fancy dinner (set courses) at Black Cat, where we did the tasting menu and were overwhelmed woth food.

I would go into more detail, but I'm falling asleep - goodnight!

do the clam, do the clam, grab your barefoot baby by the hand

After several weeks of corporate whoredom, it's clear that I hit a bit of a wall this morning. I didn't *have* to be in the office until 10:30, but I had set my alarm for 7:30 and was intending to get lots of stuff done...and then someone scheduled me for a 10am meeting, which was annoying because it was a) earlier than I needed to be there and b) somewhat superfluous. But the fact that I got annoyed at all tells me that I need to slow my roll a little bit and make sure that I'm not working too much, since a ten a.m. meeting isn't exactly an irrational request.

Or, conversely, I can still be annoyed because I had meetings from 10:30-5 with a half-hour break for lunch, which is not enough time for a break or for lunch (although I had a sandwich, which can be consumed in 30min, but I had to eat it during my next meeting). But work was good, all in all, so #noregrets (although I need to find a massage therapist to help me through the transition back to hunching over my laptop all day...yes, that's a super elite thing to say, but it's not as elite as admitting to Katie that I intended to hit up my favorite stationery store during my layover in Singapore, so #sorrynotsorry).

sssanyway. After work I drove straight to Katie's, with a short detour to buy some wine to imbibe with her. We had dinner at her house with James and the girls, and when it was time for the kids to go to bed, Katie and I went out to a bar, where we discussed clams and sociopaths until the wee hours. Yes, it was even more intellectual than it sounds.

And now I must sleep (in Katie's guest room, after watching the last half of 'Dr. No', which made me regret all my lust for Sean Connery) - goodnight!

those champagne glasses tinkling

I should have stopped staring at screens and gone to bed awhile ago - but getting ready for India is taking a lot of time, which is unfortunate since I don't have time. I spent most of this evening applying for my visa - at least now it can be done online, but it is just as byzantine as the paper process used to be. I also had to arrange hotels, etc., but for the most part the bulk of my trip is now arranged - so maybe I can focus on my real job again. Or unpacking. Or something.

Today was good, though - I slogged all day, then skipped out at four to have coffee with someone Chris wanted me to meet (no, not a love match, a possible interview candidate). Then I came home, organized my downstairs in preparation for my movers (they're coming Saturday and I'm SO PSYCHED), and made the taco salad that I meant to make three days ago. It was super tasty and there are leftovers, so I felt like I was properly productive tonight. I also watched a couple of episodes of Project Runway while dealing with my travel stuff, and I'm almost caught up - just in time to go to India and fall behind again.

But now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

working on the night moves

I didn't sleep all that well last night, and I need to go to bed immediately if I'm going to recoup some lost energy and also get up in time to do some stuff in the morning. Today was good, but my stress levels increased because I decided yesterday that I need to go to India...and that I need to go next weekend. lolololol.

It's the right call in terms of timing (because there was only one other week I could go between now and Thanksgiving, and that week didn't work for that team), and it's also the right call in terms of getting it over with so that I don't have to go in January, and it's also the right call because it needs to happen. However, it's a wee bit exhausting to even think about, since I have to go directly to San Francisco right after, and I also will be in the midst of unpacking hell next week and so need to make sure I stay organized enough to pack for a trip (and not pack as badly as I did for Bora Bora/Easter Island, where I packed for the heat of Bora and forgot about Easter Island's cool weather completely, which is exactly what could happen to me when going to Hyderabad/San Francisco). That said, I was looking at the Hyderabad map to decide where to stay and I was flooded with memories from a lifetime ago...so I think once I'm in the air and can't turn back, I'll be thrilled.

So I spent more time today than I should have investigating flights and tings, in addition to a million meetings. I also talked to my parents during a rare weekday phone call (because the India visa application requires the city of your parents' birth and for some reason I never remember where my dad was born). But I forced myself to take a break tonight - I picked up a salad from Modern Market (this is predicted to happen far too frequently in my future) and watched a couple of episodes of Project Runway. And now I should sleep - goodnight!

victory is ours once we strike the source

Suuuuper tired - I did not do a good job today of disengaging from work stuff after leaving work. However, I did take a break and walk from my place down to the main drag of Pearl Street (less than fifteen minutes!), where I found a tasty hipsterish pizza place. I journaled and indulged in some gluten free pizza and wine while watching the passers by, and it was all delightful. I think Boulder will suit me very well, if I'm ever here to enjoy it....

But now I must sleep - goodnight!

versace on the floor

I didn't get up early enough this morning - I blame the residual adjustment to Pacific time + the fact that I didn't go to bed until 1am. So, I didn't make it into the office until ten, which means I missed breakfast, which meant I had to have cereal to get me through to lunch, which was more carbs than I'm used to eating in the morning. Yes, I'm already spoiled.

But I had a good day at the office - a couple of meetings, lunch with someone I'm going to be working with, and a little downtime in the middle of the day to figure out my car insurance situation (verdict: after an entirely unsatisfying call with my insurance agent, who has always been supremely unhelpful and somehow didn't get that I was moving to Colorado despite me saying 'Colorado' multiple times, she told me that she couldn't help me move and that I should just find an Allstate agent in Colorado and they would help me get everything transferred over....so I dumped Allstate and got a couple of quotes and went with American Family instead. Too bad, so sad, Allstate!). I also answered a bunch of emails, which has become my life.

I peaced out around six and stopped at Whole Foods, where it was too late for me to be buying groceries since I was already ravenous. So I bought some Indian food from the buffet and ate that in the cafe area, then bought groceries so I can cook dinner tomorrow. Then I came home and took care of online tasks with my newly-minted internet while watching a couple of episodes of Project Runway on my other screen. And then I had a 9:30-10pm call with someone in India, which is why I felt no shame over getting to the office at 10am today (not that I would have felt shame even without that).

But now I'm going to trim my bangs (ill-advised at this time of night, but the situation is dire) and go to bed - goodnight!

we could wave until the walls come down

I spent almost all day taking care of tings around the apartment, which means that I finally have internet. This required some effort, since the setup process required hooking into the router with an ethernet cable, and of all the laptops and chromebooks and other devices I have, none of them have an ethernet port. Lol. But I acquired an ethernet-to-USB converter, and I got my wifi hooked up, and I promptly used it to listen to 'Despacito' on repeat, which probably means I don't deserve internet.

Beyond the internet, the rest of the day was great. I woke up at 9:30, got my coffeemaker set up, and enjoyed my coffee while talking to Aunt B. I also made an omelette (with garlic salt, since I couldn't find my sea salt), did like five loads of laundry, measured all sorts of things in the apartment, and eventually went to Container Store, where I got a bunch of shoe racks on the last day of their shelving sale (which I'm sure will start again in two weeks, but I succumbed to the lure of the discount).

Then I came home, talked to my parents, and went out again to run some more errands and eat dinner at Chipotle, and then spent the last four hours folding clothes, collapsing boxes, organizing things, etc., etc. And now I'm watching the first episode of this season of Project Runway (which I'm ten episodes behind on) on one laptop screen while typing this on the other - someday I will have a tv again, and while I usually don't watch tv, I'm weirdly excited to get back into tv again. Yeah, I know, my life has taken a total 180 in the last two months. I'll examine that fact later...for now, it's time for bed. Goodnight!

you know grey is my favorite color

I had a long day, although it wasn't particularly out of the ordinary - my new second home is the Denver/SFO flight, so I should get very very comfortable with that route in the next few months. I've got three more trips planned to SF between now and the end of the year...so my plans to escape California forever seem to have hit some snags.

I woke up this morning and dallied a bit as I was getting ready, but I still made it to the airport and returned my rental car with enough time to grab a quickish breakfast before boarding. I spent the flight reading THE MADWOMAN UPSTAIRS and trying not to vomit - the book itself had nothing to do with my nausea, although reading it while dealing with more turbulence than usual (which is saying something, since Denver almost always has turbulence) was probably ill-advised.

When I landed in Denver, I picked up my luggage, took the v. v. long shuttle ride to my offsite parking, and then drove towards Boulder. I didn't come home first, though - instead I stopped at Crate and Barrel and bought some pillows to jazz up my new couch (verdict: I love them!). I also got some new stemmed wine glasses, a couple of plates/bowls to get me through the next couple of weeks (which match what I already have), and a couple of new knives since mine are all fairly cheap and not particularly good. I was all excited to start cooking tomorrow, but then I realized that if I wanted to make a lot of things, I would also need measuring spoons, hot mitts, spatulas, tongs, possibly other pans than the couple that I have here, etc., etc....so I should probably slow my roll on the cooking and just eat takeout for the next ten days until my stuff gets here.

But I at least have the right stuff to make scrambled eggs and coffee, so I'll survive. After Crate and Barrel, I came home, turned up the heat, briefly verified that everything still looked good, and then went to Modern Market to grab something to eat. I also finished the book I was reading on the plane - it was good and I think (?) I enjoyed it, and yet I found it pretty irritating, possibly because the narrator was irritating. I also didn't believe the ending, but since the whole premise of the book included whether you can trust narrators, maybe I wasn't supposed to. Idk, ymmv.

Then I went to Whole Foods to get eggs and milk, and Target to get a spatula (only one!) and another pillow for my bed, and then I came home and took care of a variety of sundry tasks until now. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

lost frequencies

Today went about as well as it could have gone. I met my movers at my storage unit just before 9:30am, and it all went super smoothly - which makes sense, since everything was packed up and ready to go. One of the two guys had moved me before, which was pretty funny - weirdly, I'm kind of sad that I'll never run into any of these movers again, since I always had a great experience with them. However, the mover dude followed me on instagram at the end - he's also a painter, so I followed him back, which I guess means I'll still be connected to him even though the chances that he'll move my stuff again are slim to none.

sssanyway. They loaded up all my stuff while I answered work emails on my phone. Then we all drove to Oakland, where they moved everything into two shipping containers, which will be delivered to Colorado in 5-7 business days. It was a little surreal to see things carried past me that I haven't seen or potentially thought of in ten months - and it made me that much more excited to unpack it all when it finally arrives. Someday soon, I will be a real adult again - and I don't know for sure how I feel about that, but I'm 85% excited and 15% wishing I was lazing in a hammock waiting for my next massage.

They wrapped up everything a little before two, which was perfect timing since I had a meeting I didn't want to miss - which, thanks to the marvels of modern technology, I took as a videoconference from my laptop, which was hooked up to my mobile hotspot while I was sitting in a Home Depot parking lot. As far as meeting places go, this was not convenient, but I got it done. Then I took my leftover rachet straps and extra lock back to Home Depot, then drove to my hotel, where I promptly took a nap. Then I answered some work emails, repacked my suitcase, and had a long, leisurely dinner/journaling session in the hotel restaurant - I probably should have made contact with at least one friend, but friendship has to wait when I'm feeling this much like a hermit.

And now, after watching some meaningless tv (including a truly stupid episode of some show where some idiot was hunting werewolves in Romania and only made it look interesting by doing it in the dark with night vision camera equipment), it's time for bed - I'm flying back to Denver tomorrow, provided that the smoke from the fires doesn't keep me grounded. Goodnight!

case the grounds from the cascades to puget sound

Too tired to blog - I worked allllll day, went to philz to stock up on coffee beans (I don't trust Boulder yet), went to Home Depot to get rachet straps for my move (I also bought a lock and rope, so I expect to end up on a Criminal Minds episode), switched hotels (to the Westin SFO, which is serviceable enough), and had dinner while answering a hundred-plus work emails (if you're waiting for a personal email, keep waiting :(

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

it's the sun that burns, it's the wheel that turns

It smells like death in Northern California - which is more accurate than I would wish to be, since the particulates in the air and the grim haze that hangs over our heads come from thousands of homes and an unknown number of lives lost. I'm a hundred miles from the fires, but the winds that are fanning the flames are also carrying the smoke south, so strongly that by this afternoon, even the inside of my well-insulated, well-purified office building smelled like a campfire. 2017 was already feeling apocalyptic, but adding visible death to the air certainly hasn't helped things.

sssanyway. I've stopped checking my favorite wineries' facebook pages for updates, since it's useless, superfluous, and also so fucking elite to care about the wineries at this point. But I've had so many great times in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, and I hope enough survives that they can bounce back quickly....

sssanyway again. I had a long day that was completely full of meetings - I had fifteen free minutes from 9:00 to 4:30, which, it turns out, is not enough time to actually do any work. But my meetings were good, etc. After my calendar freed me from my bonds, I sat around and did actual work for a couple of hours, and then I adjourned to Shana Thai, where I had a solo date with some pad see ew and my bullet journal. This one is my work version, which is not nearly as colorful (yet - I'm waiting to show them the full extent of my madness) - but I went through my first few weeks' worth of notes and migrated important things forward, which really helped me to clarify my thoughts and priorities.

Yes, I've fallen headlong back into corporate whoredom. I expect this will die down once I get settled in Boulder and can develop more of a personal routine/life, but for now, I'm weirdly enjoying it.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

this shouldn't concern you

I'm super tired - I didn't get enough sleep last night, and I had a long day of doing mostly nothing at work (the third time going through orientation is pretty boring, it turns out). But I had lunch by myself to regain my energy (bad newbie!), and I spent some quality time after training visiting Eugene, who was quite entertaining.

Then I had dinner with Joann and Jen - were are now all officially working at the same place got the first time in like a decade, so we can actually talk about stuff without confidentiality getting in the way. Not that that matters... We mostly talked about travel, weddings, puppies, and other life updates. Luckily I'll probably see them pretty regularly since I'll be in California fairly often, so that's one silver lining to the amount of travel I have to do.

But now sleep is imperative - goodnight!

lightning crashes

Fires are raging in wine country and I felt an earthquake this afternoon. If I had any doubts about Boulder (which got its first major snowfall of the season today), California is doing its part to keep me happy about my decisions.

Beyond that, I have nothing much to report - I survived my (third) first day of noogler orientation. Unfortunately that meant nine hours straight of meetings since people were trying to squeeze things in around my training, and another meeting at 8pm. But it was all mostly good - and now I'm thinking about how to rework my schedule this week so that I have a bit more downtime and a bit better of a chance to absorb it all. I also had some fun times by hanging out with Lillian and Tomas (from my old team) - it felt just like old times, which only added to the strange, surreal existence I'm leading by plugging seamlessly back into my old life after two years away. Someday I'll write a book about that...but not yet.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

I wish that this weather would never leave

No time to blog - I should have gone to bed an hour ago. But I spent the day indulging my inner hermit - I had breakfast alone (my favorite!), then went to Japantown to look at stationery, then drove to Stanford shopping center, where I engaged in some serious retail therapy (#noregrets). I also talked to my parents, thus fulfilling the only social obligation I had any desire to keep.

And now I need to sleep so I can go to work (remind me what that is?) tomorrow - goodnight!

despacito

Seriously too tired to blog...I got a ton of sleep last night, but it wasn't enough, and I need to recuperate some more before the week starts. But I did manage to meander down to Union Street to have brunch at my favorite cafe - Tony was too busy to talk since it's Fleet Week and so everything is insane around there, but he sent me a mimosa and we exchanged phone numbers, so I think we're still friends (I joked about not usually taking phone numbers from married men and he tried and failed to take his wedding ring off, so that was pretty special).

Then I was going to shop around Union/Chestnut, but the crowds were huge and I was in no mood to deal with them, so I went to the airport to pick up my rental car. Unfortunately this turned into a total cluster due to the AirTrain being broken, but I eventually got my car and survived some hideous traffic from SFO to Berkeley. I rendezvoused with John, Jess, and Ian - Ian still can't say 'Auntie Wamp', but he can certainly con me out of half my gelato, so I'm predicting I gave him enough for a major sugar high....

...but that's not my problem, is it? We hung out in a park for awhile, then went to Cesar for some tapas, and then adjourned next door for gelato, and it was all delightful. Then I said my farewells to them and picked up Claudia (aka Santy Claude) in Oakland for second dinner - we went to Nito, which is owned by the Nopalito folks. The wait was a lot shorter than the SF restaurant, and the food was delish - totally different menu, so none of my Nopalito faves were there, but it was tasty regardless. And Claudia, of course, was in fine form.

Then I drove back to SF, eventually found parking for my rental car, and holed up in my hotel so that I can recover some of my introvert/extrovert energy reserves. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps

I'm too tired to do the blog justice tonight. I didn't really want to see any humans at all after a week spent entirely in the company of other writers (this is not a bad thing, just the sad reality of what happens when I hit my introvert wall). But I took a dramamine to survive the car ride through the winding mountains, and then Grace and I dropped Tina off in Sacramento before continuing on to the bay area. Grace was v. kind and got me across the Golden Gate Bridge, but at that point traffic was clearly piling up, so I had her kick me to the curb and call me an uber so that I could get to my hotel.

When I got here I was beyond starving, so I had pad see ew at Lers Ros (note: the walk through three blocks of post-apocalyptic homeless wasteland is not great; also note to self: the pork and noodles were too greasy for my liking). Then I came back to the hotel and took a thirteen minute nap, which is all that saved me for the rest of the day. When I went downstairs to wait for my lyft, I got a high five from a homeless and/or extremely drunk man who encouraged me (and a nearby airporter shuttle) to stay single, which was a v. weird thing to be told by someone who is presumably not more of a catch than I am.

But I digress. I took a lyft to Lauren's (aka Subz's) - her baby is due any day now, and I made a joke in rather poor taste about putting my waterproof boots back on in case her water broke in the kitchen. It was great to see her, as always, and her son (who is now two) was quite happy to see me when it was clear that I wasn't there to babysit him.

Unfortunately, I had to leave before I wanted to - I had grand plans to meet Vidya (aka Chandlord) and Julie for a drink. We ended up at Doc Rickett's, where the wine was fine but the service was way too slow (I have a feeling it was a scheduling issue). We were joined there by Deano, Deano's subordinate (Jardin???), Vidya's friend Sri (2.0), and Tom (aka Tom Foolery). A delightful time was had by all, especially when Tom tried to speak to an airporter shuttle (better than the one parked right before it, which was covered in psychedelic paint).

But I was determined to stick to the original plan, so we eventually parted ways with the group, and Vidya, Sri and I ended up going down the street for pasta and burrata and wine. I could have kept going, of course, but I'm trying to 'listen to my body' or some shit and go to bed before I die. Goodnight!

saturday night's all right for fighting

Long day and I was cranky for a lot of it - I'm hitting my introvert wall hard after many months of traveling around and talking to people, which wasn't good for keeping the peace today. But I got up and said goodbye to Barbara S, who left a day early, and made myself some coffee and an omelette, which was almost enough to perk me up.

I also spent the morning taking care of annoying life tasks - but the result is that I'm going to get my stuff shipped to Boulder next weekend rather than waiting another month, which is a great thing. This meant I had to change my ticket since I was supposed to fly back to Colorado next Thursday...but staying 'til Saturday is worth it if it means my stuff gets to Boulder the following week.

I also did some solid brainstorming on the young adult book - several of us discussed it this morning, and I'm feeling like there's something good there. I did some writing this afternoon, but it was all pretty intense, so I took a nap at five p.m. (unusual for me, since I usually like my naps earlier), and then showered before dinner. I'd wanted to go out, but a couple of people wanted to stay in, so they bought rotisserie chickens and made baked potatoes and I drank almost all of the last bottle of wine I'd stockpiled, so the wine smoothed out the edges of my temper. So, too, did sitting by Grace and looking up ridiculous photos of ridiculous people (mostly my favorite old cover model ever, who shall remain nameless).

But at 9:30, as everyone else was considering going to bed, Anne and I stole Christie's car (I was not driving, obvi) and went down the road to watch 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle'. It was, without a doubt, the worst movie I've seen in awhile, and I LOVED IT. #noregrets

But now I must must must sleep, since I have to get up in less than seven hours to pack and help prep the house to be abandoned so that we can drive to SF. Goodnight!

and what you find you keep

I need to sleep immediately - I had a great day in Tahoe, full of leftover soup and writing and talking. We went out for Mexican food since it was Barbara S's last night here (she's leaving a day early), which was delightful...and then I spent far too much time with Anne tonight trying to put together this stupid puzzle that has a lot of pieces that all look the same.

But that's all you're getting tonight, since I have to get to bed - goodnight!

when there are no more gods left to anoint

I did v. little today, but #noregrets. I slept last thanks to last night's wine and conversation, and when I finally got up and showered and went over to the other house to check out their progress, I found that Barbara S was jonesing to get out of the house and eat breakfast elsewhere. Since there are few things I adore more than brunch (it was definitely brunch, since it was 11:30am), I agreed to go with her. We went down the street to Cup of Cherries, which was surprisingly delicious - I had my usual basic original-style (whatever that means) breakfast of eggs over easy, bacon, and homefries, but this particular variant of that old standby was quite delish.

Then Barbara and I stopped at Safeway on the way home. I was planning to work all afternoon, but I really wasn't feeling it - so I played around with a truly heinous new puzzle that we started, with a few breaks from that strenuous activity to send some emails and take care of some tings.

For dinner, we went to MacDuff's, which is a local pub that we all like quite a bit. It's a block away, so we headed over, waited just a bit for a table, and were thrilled to be there once we were all settled. I had the cottage pie, which involves ground beef with mashed potatoes on top, and it was so fucking good. Then we came home, messed around with the puzzle some more, and played a game whose title I can't remember which basically involved people accusing people of stuff (it was more fun and less weird/aggressive than it sounds).

But even though I was on a roll with another conversation with Anne, I'm desperate for sleep and must take that path instead - goodnight! 

i don't know, but i've been told...you never slow down, you never grow old

All the news was horrible today, but I mostly tried (with limited success) to ignore it so that I could get some work done. Of course, it didn't help that I didn't wake up until 9:30 (a feat I'm likely to replicate or worsen tomorrow, since I won't be asleep until at least 2:30am tonight). So I spent the morning over at the other house making coffee and talking to the people there. Then I came back here and talked to my sister for awhile, since I hadn't talked to her on her birthday. Then I ate lunch (avocado toast ftw), and then I actually wrote a couple of pages of my young adult fantasy, which might turn out to be a decent book if I ever finish it - but two pages was totally wonderful after two months without writing (and two+ years without working on this project), so I'll take it.

But I sloughed off early so that I could go to the grocery store with the Barbaras - I needed to buy groceries since it was my turn to cook, and they both wanted a break. When we got back, I proceeded to make chicken tortilla soup - I made a triple batch since we all love it, so that involved a lot of chopping, but it was #worthit.

Tonight turned into a two-bottle night, though - I shared both bottles with others, but we went deep and frequent on politics and it was all kinda a lot. But I ended the night with a long, quiet, lovely conversation with Anne, since we're the troublemakers most likely to stay up all night, so that was great.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i'm gonna tell scotty gonna tell him myself

My writing retreat continues as writing retreats usually do - with way too much talking and not nearly enough working. However, I reread my entire young adult manuscript - I fell asleep in the middle, but I prefer to believe it's because I wanted to take a nap, and not because it's boring. I also ate some lackluster avocado toast, talked to several people 1:1, went to the grocery store, called my parents, and got locked out on the balcony while I was talking to my parents, which necessitated calling in a rescue squad.

But all in all, it was great....and I sloughed off early so that I could shower before having dinner with the gang. Barbara S made chicken shawarma, which was super tasty, and I opened a bottle of zinfandel, which was also super tasty. Then we adjourned from the dining table and plotted Grace's book, which was fun; Grace, Anne and I were the final people still awake by the end, which was also fun, since we talked about ridiculous Johanna Lindsey novels with Russian aristocrats and Regency-era aphrodisiacs (aka Spanish fly, which is a plot twist we all must succumb to eventually).

Now, though, it's time to sleep, since I want to write something (anything) tomorrow - goodnight!

ain't no mountain high enough

Too tired to blog, since I fell asleep reading my phone in bed two hours ago and I really didn't want to wake up again to wash my face, let alone type this. But Tahoe is great and my stomach is full of Tina's tasty goulash, and I spent the day organizing my thoughts and clearing my head so I can switch gears from day job work to writing work.

But at the moment, sleep is much more pressing - goodnight!