I'm ready to let go

Happy New Year! I'm back in Denver after surviving an incredibly boring drive across Kansas. I rolled into town around 1:30, laid on my couch and did nothing, and them tried to coordinate with Katie on what I should cook for our planned brunch tomorrow...which instead turned into us meeting at Ash'kara for happy hour tonight, since we didn't want to wait. We ended up hanging out there for four hours, which was a v delightful way to finish the decade.

Then I came home, watched some Beyonce videos, and am now going to bed before midnight so I can start the new year off right. Goodnight!

come with me, catch a rare type specimen

I'm in a hotel in the vast interior of Kansas. I am headed back to Colorado, but i-80 through Nebraska was looking dicey and had been closed in spots, so I took i-70 instead. I have never taken this route, so it's almost interesting... But it mostly isn't, since I'm staying in the same brand of hotel as usual, and had the usual sad dinner with several awkward locals at a nearby Applebee's.

But I had a nice, lazy morning at home, and then I said farewell to the family around two. I drove almost straight through, although I had to stop for fuel about four hours in. And I spent half the ride listening to the audiobook of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman - it's pretty funny, so it's good for staying awake.

And now I need to sleep so I can get on the road tomorrow - goodnight!

bury me face down

I spent today prepping to leave ye olde Iowa, and also procrastinating from the prepping. This meant I didn't get out of bed until after ten, and then lazed about the kitchen and ate the v. tasty breakfast that my dad prepared.

I did end up spending a couple of hours of quality time packing my car - between the things I got for Christmas + the fragile things from my bedroom that I decided to finally pack up and take with me, my whole trunk is full. But I'm mostly packed; I also packed my main suitcase tonight, so my only packing-related tasks for tomorrow are to pack my overnight bag with all my many and varied toiletries, as well as pack any snacks or drinks for the road.

Of course, I'm not quite done despite that rosy pronouncement - I also need to deal with all the trash I emptied out of my room (into the hallway), and I'll need to shower, eat, hang out with the fam, etc. But all in all, I'm closer than I usually am - so I'll probably get out of here around noon tomorrow, with the plan of staying in North Platte tomorrow night.

The rest of the day was uneventful. My dad tried out his new popcorn maker - it will probably work really well once he gets the hang of it. My mom made ham and beans for supper (with gluten free corn bread muffins!), which was delish and v. much what I wanted. And then we played Ticket to Ride - I edged out Mom for the first victory, and then lost badly to [censored] in the second.

After that, I packed, messed around, tidied up my desk, and redid my financial records so that my family can piece together what to do in the unlikely event of my untimely demise. And now, with that cheerful task done, I should sleep - goodnight!

rebels and mutineers

I had a pretty quiet day in ye olde Iowa. I inadvertently slept until almost ten, which delayed breakfast (they must really love me if they didn't start without me). But then Dad made bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns, and it was all delish. After breakfast I showered and then spent way too much time online, but I eventually broke myself of my relapsed Twitter addiction and spent the afternoon organizing my room.

Since I never feel like cleaning when I'm here, and since I am slowly accumulating detritus from deceased grandmothers, white elephant gifts gone awry, etc., my room has been slowly descending into squalor. I went a long way toward rectifying that today - I threw away a couple of bags of garbage, organized a bunch of stuff to take to Colorado with me, and generally tidied up. I also enlisted [censored]'s help in rearranging furniture - I'm getting rid of the papasan, which was replaced with Gram's recliner and the cedar chest, which is the right height of stand for my old tv.

That all felt like an accomplishment, so I deserved the prime rib that I had when we went out to eat tonight. And now, after having done some more stuff in my room so that I could unearth my bed from the wreckage, it's time for bed - goodnight!

i know the score like the back of my hand

Happy two days after Christmas! The last couple of days have been pretty fun, all in all - Drewbaby and Aunt Kathy came down yesterday, and so we ate and drank and played games. It was Kathy's birthday, and I'm not entirely sure she wanted to celebrate it by losing Settlers of Catan, but she seemed to accept it.

Catan was new to most of us; Andrew has played it some, but none of the rest of us had. So we played a few games of it yesterday, and then [censored], Drewbaby, Aunt Kathy and I ended the night by watching a couple of comedy specials in the downstairs living room. I also spent way more time on social media than I should have - I got more embroiled in the latest romancelandia controversy than I usually do (long story short, most of the board and the president have now resigned from the main professional romance writing organization after a flare-up that started on Monday, and I expressed an opinion about the staff that has led to me getting like 200k views on twitter in the last three days - which is probably not a lot for real influencers, but has been a bit distracting for me. sssanyway. This controversy will probably sprout like five different adjacent scandals, and I'm not sure I want to get involved in any of them, but time will tell).

So. When we woke up this morning, we hung out, ate breakfast, and then played a couple of games of Ticket to Ride before Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby headed back to Des Moines. Tonight I convinced the family to play Catan again (although I'm not sure any of them like it), and I managed to claim victory, so now we'll probably never play it again.

And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

don we now our gay apparel

Merry Christmas! I had a pretty lovely day in ye olde Iowa, although it felt like bizarre-o Christmas because it was 60+ degrees and sunny, and also we were missing people but it almost didn't feel like they were missing because we historically didn't do things on Christmas Day with most of the rest of the family anyway.

But the day was still pretty nice. I set my alarm for seven and discovered that I was the last person up by a mile (even though I could have slept another hour). We did our usual slow unwrapping of presents, and everyone got some pretty great stuff - it turns out that when I'm going to drive, rather than fly, I get much bigger and heavier stuff (like an ice scraper for my sidewalk that is as tall as I am, or some Crate and Barrel hauls that would be v. annoying to have to ship back). I also got a couple of cookbooks that I'm eager to try, a drill to continue feigning capability as a homeowner, a mug that lists all the main attractions in my hometown and includes my neighbor (Lorena) as a key attraction in the middle of a list of buildings (I agree with that sentiment), a stock pot, and some other fun gadgets and gizmos for cooking, gardening, homemaking, etc.

So now the trick will be spending enough time at home in 2020 to actually put those things to good use - we'll see what happens!

After we unwrapped all our gifts, we ate brunch (breakfast casserole, gluten free blueberry muffins, ambrosia), relaxed a bit, etc. I ended up taking a nap, as did most other people in the family (other than my father, who industriously went to wash his truck, which is never possible on Christmas Day). I spent a rather desultory afternoon messing around online, and then the family played Ticket to Ride (my dad won, edging out my mom). Supper included a 22lb ham (we have some leftovers, lol), scalloped potatoes, and baked beans, and it was all v. tasty.

And now, I really need to sleep - Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby are coming down tomorrow, so I need to get my game face on for whatever fun we might have in store. Goodnight!

i am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame

Merry Christmas Eve! Today was pretty lowkey - my mom has a cold, I feel like I could succumb to it, and we were all generally housebound. Some of us escaped for various errands; in my case, I went into town to make a grocery store run before everything closed early. I'd completed my grocery run and had swung through the cemetery to say hi to Gram and Granddad before heading home - but then I got an urgent request for more oranges. I made it back to town with ten minutes to spare before the grocery store closed, and so my dad was able to finish making ambrosia for tomorrow's breakfast. This is a Christmas tradition - he doesn't make it any other time of year due to the effort involved, since it requires meticulously cutting out sections of grapefruits and oranges (and then adding some bananas for good measure). But I'm looking forward to tomorrow's batch!

When I got home, I ended up making supper (you know my mom isn't feeling well when she delegates the kitchen). I made my grandma's traditional Christmas Eve lasagna - this is what we always used to eat when I was little, since we always celebrated Christmas Eve at Gram and Granddad's. It wasn't so traditional this time since we used gluten free lasagna noodles; also, it turned out way less saucy than hers, which makes me wonder if something is off about the recipe we have. But it was still pretty tasty, and I made some gluten free garlic bread to go with it, so that was all nice. And Mom had made a pineapple upside down cake before succumbing to her illness, which was also great.

Then [censored] and I adjourned to the basement, where we had to finish wrapping a bunch of gifts for tomorrow. And now I should sleep and hope that this isn't actually a cold coming on - goodnight!

give me a break, let me make my own pattern

I inadvertently slept until almost ten, so it's no wonder I've inadvertently stayed up until one a.m. Today was pretty good, all in all - I wandered upstairs to make coffee, and I took care of some tings, and then I showered before going to Osceola with my dad in search of a new phone for him. I successfully switched him over to a Pixel while also resisting the annoying sales pressure tactics of the salespeople, so I consider that a success.

I also saw part of the surrounding areas that I don't usually see, since I would normally take main roads rather than backroads over there. Dad took me through what used to be Lewisburg, and you might never guess that a town used to be there - but there is a small, ancient two-story school (now covered over with tin and badly leaning, but still home to a Masons group), and also a cemetery filled with some of our relatives. The rest of it is mostly fields and hills, plowed over and fading out of memory.

But the weather was gorgeous for December, and we're still here, so let's make the most of it. My dad and I stopped at the grocery store, then came home and ate steak for supper since it was nice enough to grill. Then we all played Ticket to Ride (twice), and now I should really sleep - goodnight!

i showed up late one night with a neon light for a visa

Today was another round of Christmas festivities - my sister and her family came over, so we spent the afternoon together. This was much louder + twice as big as yesterday's Christmas festivities - Sammi has two kids of her own, and her boyfriend brought two of his kids, so it was a bit of a madhouse. Zane and Allison couldn't bring their daughter since she was at her dad's house, but from a noise level that was probably for the best.

So we ate lunch, hung out, opened presents, and Sammi's boyfriend's son showed me his Pokemon deck. Sammi and crew were the first to leave, so [censored] and I hung out with Zane, Allison, and Allie in the living room until it was time for them to take off.

Then I took care of some Christmas stuff, and then I ate leftover gluten free pizza, and then we played a game of Ticket to Ride (which Dad won by one point). And now, I should sleep - goodnight!

don't i make you cringe

No blog tonight - I made it to ye olde Iowa after a v. uneventful (but 4.5hr long) drive. Then we celebrated Christmas at Aunt B's, which involved prime rib and a lot of white elephant gifts (the usual white elephant + Aunt Kathy brought a bunch of stuff that was Mark's, which was fun and bittersweet). I would go into more detail, but I have been falling asleep off and on over my laptop while trying to do stuff for the last couple of hours, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

sweating all your sins out, putting all your thoughts back together

I'm lying in a too-hard bed in Kearney, Nebraska (home of the Archway Museum, one of the very very many gateways to "the west"). Today went as smoothly as it could have, although I woke up at six (after five hours of sleep), started stressing about something at work, and didn't really sleep again. That was unfortunate, and is why I'm in Kearney instead of Lincoln.

But I drank coffee, journaled, showered, packed my car, and got to my office in time for a meeting, so it all worked out. I did a couple of hours of work, and then snuck out for a fancy lunch with Nicole - we work together and could have eaten free food, but instead we celebrated the end of the year with salads and sauvignon blanc at River and Woods. The office was totally dead today, so this was a great day to catch up a bit without feeling rushed.

Then we went back to the office, I did another hour of work, and then I headed east. Northeast, at first, since I had to cut across the northeast corner of Colorado (which makes it sound fast, but it takes a couple of hours). I didn't really stop to eat, other than some fries and coffee in North Platte and some Doritos from a stash of snacks in my car. Instead, I entered a meditative fugue state, fueled by caffeine and music and some snippets of an audiobook about Princess Margaret.

Now, though, I really need to sleep - I need to be out of here by seven so I can make it to lunch in Des Moines, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

can you whisper in my ear the things you want to feel

I had a decent day, although I was a few minutes late to work due mostly to general laziness with a side of construction. But I had some good meetings and also some great brainstorming on a project that I am passionate about and am going to do even if it feels like Frodo volunteering to go to Mount Doom.

I then left around five, ran an errand, drove to Denver, and grabbed a drink with Kristen at Ash'kara. We also had hummus, which was as great as usual, and it was a fun bit of downtime before the end of the year. Then I came home, did a bit of laundry, and mostly relaxed and sent some personal business emails and ignored my corporate inbox for the night. Fun fact, though - the laptop that I thought I'd fried yesterday miraculously repaired itself overnight, so that was good news. The screen wouldn't turn on yesterday, but I knew the hard drive was still working because I'd plugged it into an external monitor. So whatever rest it got overnight was enough to cure it.

And now I need to go to bed - after wishing my mother and Chandlord both the happiest of birthdays! Goodnight!

what did you expect to find? was there something you left behind?

I'm ready to go to bed - today was a bit brutal. I managed to get to Boulder by eight, but in my not caffeinated state I spilled water in my backpack and may have fried my laptop. I had a whole bunch of meetings (with a highlight of lunch with Aga, from my old team), then escaped at 5:30 and had a long dinner with my friend Christine to celebrate her birthday. We went to Jill's, and it was great...

... But that meant I got home at 9:30 and then worked for another ninety minutes. And so I'm wrecked and need to sleep - goodnight!

I should be on top but I'm always underground

I had a decent Monday - I slept poorly, which is unusual for me, but I made it out of bed by 6:30 and journaled for half an hour before tackling the day. I had to drop my car off at the Audi dealership for service and recalls, and then I went to work and slogged all day. I had more free time than I usually do, so of course I messed around instead - I had lunch with Kelly, gossipped with some people, and generally wasn't totally in it to win it.

So I left around 4:30, picked up my car, and went to a super Target to finish Christmas shopping. I got toys for the kids in the family, and I picked up a copy of Settlers of Catan, which is a classic board game that somehow my family has never played (probably because it doesn't have trains). So, that was a v worthwhile errand, even though I would've rather been home.

I eventually made it here, though, where I ate leftover pizza and did some more Christmas browsing. Then I did a couple of hours of work to make up for being lazy at the office. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

rescue me with a little whiskey

Fun fact: this is my 5118th blog post. Not exactly an anniversary, but I missed saying anything on my 5000th post, so this will have to do. I realize that this has been a supremely bizarre exercise in (edited more than you probably know) self-reflection, capturing most of my life since 2004 in a way that almost no one is doing in the blogosphere anymore. So thanks to those of you who've been around the whole time. Thanks to those of you who have dipped in and out. Thanks to those of you who became friends with me long after this began and didn't ditch me when you discovered that this is what I do. And thanks to that random person who used to read every day from Ohio [analytics tells me states/IP networks like Comcast, not individuals, just fyi], then occasionally hit me up from a hospital network in Ohio, then disappeared completely (I have no idea who it was, but thinking about that stranger makes me sad since I can only assume they're dead - unless they recovered and vowed not to spend so much time reading my blog).

sssanyway. I guess I'm going to keep going with this blog thing since I'm in too deep to stop now. Today was not particularly noteworthy, although it was really nice. I slept in a bit, then drank coffee and journaled by my fireplace and felt like I was living my best life. Then I talked to [censored], who did his best to deflate my good mood, but I did not rise to the bait of our usual sibling antagonism (but ignoring [censored]'s attempts to annoy me felt like its own kind of antagonism - which is pretty much the definition of siblinghood).

sssanyway again. I then spent multiple hours doing stuff around my house, for the first time in forever, and it felt pretty great. I tidied everything up, which wasn't too hard since I usually keep things pretty neat. I also hung up the fake buffalo head that I ordered for my downstairs powder room - it looks great above the toilet, and certifies me as an urban hipster. I wrapped 50' of garland and a couple of strings of lights around my stairway banister, which was a last-ditch effort to make it feel like Christmas in here since I didn't get a tree. I put out a bunch of candles, finished putting back all the stuff I packed up when the painters came a couple of months ago, and put out a couple of other holiday-type things. Then I showered, took out the trash, and talked to my parents to solidify Christmas plans.

And then, I took a break and was also rewarded for tidying and decorating - Morganne and Kristen came over for pizza and wine, and my place looked cute and well-kept (rather than looking like a dumping ground for luggage, which is what it has looked like between my trips recently). We grabbed pizza from Blue Pan and ate it around candles in my dining room, and it was all fun and lovely in the best way. They caught me up on what I missed from the holiday party, and we generally gossipped and had a good time.

And now, I should probably sleep so that I can tackle the week - goodnight!

green lights in your body language

I feel like this is the first day in months where I could take a breath. So, I took it. I slept until 8:30 (a far cry from when sleeping in meant noon, but I'll take it), then drank coffee and journaled, and then puttered around the house. Eventually I ran some errands - in had to do a bunch of returns to Nordstrom, so I went to Flatirons, where I accomplished that + window shopped at Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, etc. Then, I did what I never do on the weekend and drove into Boulder - I wanted to pick up the wreath that I'd ordered that finally got delivered to my office yesterday, and I also took the opportunity to procure some Christmas gifts for my team and drop them off at my desk for later distribution. 

I also made a stop at Home Depot, which I visit far more than I used to - I needed some shelves for my office closet, so I procured those + some Christmas lights. I haven't been home this month and am leaving for Iowa on Friday, so I didn't really decorate for Christmas - but I'm planning to score the end of season sales so I can prep for next year.

Then I came home, unloaded my car, messed around a bit, and left again to meet Sarah-Frances and Brea for a drink at Lady Jane + dinner at Bar Dough. I work with both of them and find them delightful, so I'll glad we had a girls night out. The dinner at Bar Dough was particularly tasty - the special was a gnocchi that I decided to pretend was gluten free (gnocchi is potato, but they usually roll it out on a floured surface), and I'll glad I got it because it was incredible. We also had a nice bottle of wine, some dessert, and a lot of fun conversation, so I'm glad we made it happen.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

jeremy bearimy

Sorry for not blogging last night - nothing of interest happened (other than that [censored] rightly gave me feedback for telling him that a member of Roxette died via my blog rather than a personal telephone call). I've also been trying to embrace the mindfulness/lack of Internet that I built in Santa Cruz, so I tried to stay a bit offline.

Today was more of the same - I woke up and actually didn't check my phone, and then journaled a bit before starting my day, which was a win. I worked from home, and I was done at 4:30....and unfortunately around five, as I was making chili, I had what felt like it might have been a migraine. That kind of knocked me out, so I ate and napped and skipped the holiday party I was supposed to go to. No regrets, though...when I eventually recovered a bit, I journaled some more, made a list of decorating things to do, and then watched several episodes of The Good Place.

And now, it's later than I've stayed up in ages and my residual headache needs a bed - goodnight!

i don't care when i'm with my baby

I had a v. long day - I woke up at 5:40, showered, and got out of the hotel so that I could drive up to SF. I made it there a little before eight, so I got an hour of work done, then did a couple of hours of meetings, and then headed for the airport.

Unfortunately my flight was delayed for an hour, so I ate some sad Chinese food and then worked while waiting for my plane. And now, after making it home and after feeling somewhat wrecked all evening (the dramamine didn't help) I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!

I'm watching the phone ring

No blog - I woke up feeling like I'm getting sick, so I managed to extend last night's hotel for tonight and cancelled in shedletskys so I wouldn't get their kid sick. It was a miracle I got a room since everything area-wide was sold out, so I'm glad it happened.

So I spent the day drinking emergen-c and coffee, had a meeting with my boss (among many other meetings), and had a quick meeting with Heather (she messaged me to express condolences for one of the members of Roxette dying, which was good timing for us since it brought us together). Then I grabbed food at my beloved Vive Sol, came to the hotel, worked, and am going to sleep so I can get up early - goodnight!

I know I was lost but I miss those days

After getting up at six and driving down to Mountain View (sans coffee), then talking for nine hours, I managed to take a delightful break for a friendship renewal dinner with Joann, Jen, and Jane. But I had to do another couple of hours of work tonight, so I'm too wrecked to blog - more tomorrow. Goodnight!

karl malone

I had a fabulous weekend in Santa Cruz + the city of sin, which is dangerous for my endlessly-wandering, never-satisfied soul. My writing class/retreat was really wonderful - the last couple of days were restorative and inspiring in a way that I was really craving, and I hope I carry that with me even though it's back to the grind tomorrow. The teacher (Dani Shapiro) was one of the best writing teachers I've ever heard speak, and the subject (memoir) was something I'm deeply interested in and also deeply avoided. But maybe it's time to stop avoiding.

It was also wonderful to spend a weekend with Veronica, who is one of my favorites - we had a lot to say to each other, and she was the perfect person to have this experience with. It was the perfect blend of 'earnestly engaged with the material' and 'snarkily rolling eyes at everyone else', so we got along swimmingly. We also got massages yesterday, enjoyed some time talking over wine in the cafe, and generally made the most of our weekend away.

The program ended this morning with two hours of work + Q&A, which was pretty illuminating. Then we bounced rather than waiting for lunch to open, so we got back to V's around 1pm. I promptly drove over to Nopalito - when I realized I could have lunch in SF by myself, I considered My Tofu House, Samovar in Yerba Buena, Caffe Union (my true love, but hard to park next to), and a variety of other spots, but I ended up at Nopalito. So I journaled and ate more than I should have just because I never have it, and it was lovely.

Then I drove to the Kabuki, checked in, did an hour of work (a stupid expense report), took a twelve minute nap, got myself ready and went to the lobby. I talked to my parents for a few minutes to verify that they were still alive, and then hung up as Lauren (aka Subz) walked through the door. We only had an hour to catch up but we made great use of that time - it's great to have friends who are always friends, no matter the distance or changes between interactions. Also, she has the best hair in the world (as a slightly sketchy man in the bar told her), so she has that going for her, which is nice.

After she left, I took an uber to Chandlord's, where I made small talk with her roommate (who almost didn't let me in at first) until Chandlord was ready. We went to Rye, where we had a drink, and were shortly joined by John and Jess. We eventually adjourned to Esan Classic, where we met up with Oniel (aka Fauxniel, the surprise special guest who no one knew was coming except for me), Aditya, Santy Claude, and Sam (who needs a nickname at some point). We had a very delightful, very standard Sunday family dinner over a lot of delicious thai food; it was pretty sedate since it's a work night for all of us, Claude is pregnant, and Adit is starting a new job tomorrow. But it was nice to have some family time, even if it was in the heart of the Tenderloin and men were waving iron bars around outside in an ominous and/or drug-fueled manner (note: I chose the location and knew exactly what I was doing when I did it, tanks).

And now, after a v. successful weekend, I need to sleep so I can drive to MTV tomorrow - goodnight!

good words

I'm in Santa Cruz, listening to the rain fall outside my window. I had a great day in SF - I did a bit of work this morning while watching the crashing waves on Ocean Beach, and then V and I met Barbara, Anne, and Grace at Cliff House for one of our fancy lunches. It was great to see them, although it felt like I just saw them...but I've lived a year in the two months since we were in Tahoe, so time has ceased to be a fathomable thing.

Then V and I drove to Santa Cruz, where we're spending the weekend at a memoir class in the same facility where I did a class with Grace last year. It's great to be back, and I think I'll get a lot out of it. But in order to get a lot out of it, I want to be more present, and that means less device time. So if I don't blog tomorrow, don't assume I'm dead...I may just be avoiding tech. Goodnight!

so when you cut me, cut me deep

I'm safely ensconced in Veronica's guest room, with the Pacific somewhere outside. I had a very long day - I cut it closer at the airport than I like to, partially because my Uber driver had to get gas before picking me up. But I still had time to grab coffee before boarding, and I got a lot of work done while we sat for a stupid long time on the tarmac, and then I worked the whole way to SF rather than napping like I wanted to.

I eventually made it into the office, where I saw a bunch of people (including a v impromptu lunch with a Singapore director who happened to be in town), and that was all good. Then I spent a v long time navigating rush hour, which seems to be continually worse. When I got to Veronica's, we ate burritos and drank chenin blanc and discussed many things, until my body could no longer discuss (even though my heart wanted to).

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

trying to pull ahead, i'm always chasing time

I had a rather insanely busy day at work, and then I sloughed off at 4:30 to get a mani/pedi. I hadn't gotten a manicure since September, which is proof of just how ridiculously swamped I've been - I'm usually fairly religious about #treatyoself activities, especially manicures, but I just haven't been able to make it happen. I did today, though, and my usual nail lady was v. happy to see me (and given the state of my cuticles and the fact that I'd painted my own toenails, it was obvious that I hadn't been cheating on her with some new salon in Denver, which is what she had assumed).

Then I drove home, ate some leftover pizza, laid on the couch for ten minutes because I couldn't handle the idea of doing anything, and then got ready to go to California tomorrow. This involved watering my plants and packing; I was going to try to fit everything in a carry-on, but since this trip is half writing-related and half work-related, and since it's going to be rainy and cold, and since there's a likelihood that people in Mountain View will try to send stuff back with me for the team in Boulder, I decided to just check a bag. I will probably regret this at the baggage carousel tomorrow, but c'est la vie.

And now I'm going to go to bed and get approximately six hours of sleep - goodnight!

they say the nile used to run from east to west

No blog tonight - I'm weirdly tired (which perhaps isn't weird since I feel like I haven't had a break in months, but c'est la vie), so I'm going to crash. Goodnight!

i told you the truth about the old me

I had a decent day back at the office, mostly because I didn't have a lot of meetings. That's not going to be true tomorrow, unfortunately. I also left at five and had a glass of wine with Vicki at Shine - we initially kept the conversation light, but then we got into a very detailed conversation about which of us should own something at work, which was kind of a hilarious turn of events. Then I grabbed motomaki, drove home, should have worked, and instead messed around online. I did eventually work for an hour, but it wasn't all that productive - and rather than push it, I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight!

as we stand upon the ledges of our lives

I had a surprisingly productive day, especially given that I haven't had time to curl up in my own bed and do nothing for weeks (my last weekend day in my own bed without leaving for the airport was four weeks ago). I did take advantage of some lazy Sunday morning time to read news in bed, but I eventually dragged myself out of it and got on with my day. The first priority was coffee - I didn't have any fresh cream in the house, so I went to Allegro, grabbed a nicer coffee than what I usually make for myself, and journaled for an hour. Then I grabbed some groceries, came home, and spent the day taking care of a variety of tings.

This involved scooping out both my front sidewalk and my back patio path to my garage - some kind neighbor cleared the main sidewalk, but I needed to take care of the path to my front door. I also did four loads of laundry, tidied up the kitchen (after making scrambled eggs and hash browns), finished my Christmas list, took out my trash, and put the new registration sticker on my Audi. I even spent some quality time in the basement - I finally put together the wine rack I'd ordered, which matches the shelves [censored] and I put up downstairs, and I'm really enamored with it. I may have to get another one...or I may have to stop stockpiling wine, one or the other. But I have a temperature sensor down there and I'm extremely unlikely to ruin the wine by temperature fluctuation; the humidity might be a factor long term since the low humidity can apparently cause cork issues, but I doubt I'll keep anything long enough or expensive enough to matter.

Eventually, though, I stopped doing house stuff and took a v. quick shower. Then, Katie, James, and the girls came over for dinner - they picked up pizzas I'd ordered at Blue Pan along the way, so we ate pizza and generally had a v. good time. The girls were very excited to see my place, since they hadn't been here before, and they have now decided they want to move in (even though I have no toys and they had to resort to playing with my door stopper before I played them some kids show on Netflix). So, a good time was had by all, and it was a great way to end the weekend.

After they left, I took care of some laundry, did dishes, ordered stuff online, and generally messed around. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!