run away, run away, you have been forewarned

Today was kind of long but mostly really good (if you ignore all my work meetings and focus entirely on personal conversations). Actually, work was fine as well, but I have too many meetings and not enough time to think, so it's been a bit brutal. But I got up in time to write a bit before work, which always helps my mood. I also talked to Alyssa, which was a nice break. And I took a walk while talking to Terry - we had a lot to catch up on, so I walked for 30min or so, and then picked up takeout pizza from Blue Pan after I was done talking to her.

When I got home, I ended up talking to [censored] for an hour and a half. And then I should have worked, but I sent a bunch of personal emails instead. And now, I'm going to continue my attempt to go to bed early - goodnight!

i got a skeleton under the floorboard

I'm attempting to go to bed earlier, and on Night 2 of this endeavor it's already 10:32, so this will be brief. Today was fine, all in all - I had to record a couple of videos at work, so I had to get up and actually fully dry my hair, which was a real sacrifice. But I recovered and got through the rest of my day just fine, and then ended it by talking to Heather (aka dear respected madam). I also texted with some of my romance friends who have houses in Tahoe that are perilously close to the Caldor fire, which has jumped every attempt to contain it and is burning both sides of the highway that I always took into South Lake. So, that's potentially devastating....

And now, on that note, it's time to sleep. Goodnight!

the world's most pointless superhero

I almost forgot to blog, which means I'm already in bed and ready to put my phone away. Today was good, though - I had a super fun morning hosting a tea party for Katie's girls, which mostly meant getting them super hyped on sugar. Then I spent the rest of the day doing almost nothing - my allergies flared up after being outside, and I took that as an excuse to nap / do nothing for most of the day. The news is all bad, especially with the hurricane in Louisiana and the fire that is headed into Lake Tahoe basin - so I guess it's not surprising that I spent a lot of time doing nothing.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

listen to the mariachi play at midnight

I had a lovely day, thanks for asking. I did not get enough sleep because I went to bed stupidly late last night, but I rolled out of bed sometime around 8 or 8:30 and showered, drank coffee, etc. Then I strolled down the street to a street fair that was going on today - a big reason why I bought in my neighborhood is because it's walking distance to things, and having street fairs within walking distance is great. I beat the heat and most of the crowds by getting there around 10:30, and I spent an hour browsing and buying things. They had closed six blocks of 32nd and had vendors set up on both sides of the street, so there was plenty to see. I got a couple of pairs of earrings, a couple of airplants in cool laser-cut wooden hanging pots, and a print of a painting of four birds in a police lineup (they were wanted for dining and dashing, which entertained me since I've witnessed a lot of bird thefts back in the day when I used to leave the house). All in all it was a fun way to spend the morning....

Then I came home and took care of some tings that had been on my to-do list. I also took a nap, which felt pretty necessary. Then I had a video chat with Joann, Jane, and Jen (the friendship renewal crew) - we hadn't caught up in awhile, and there was so much to discuss that we talked for almost three hours. By the end of it, I was starving, so they watched most of my dinner prep - I made another chicken tinga quesadilla like I did last night, but I also made fresh guac and a margarita to go with it.

I then spent the rest of the evening procrastinating + baking cupcakes. And now I need to sleep and try to catch up on the sleep I missed last night - goodnight! 

lover come over, kick up the dust

I'm too tired to say anything substantive tonight - I worked all day, as per usual, and then ended the day by making a v. delicious quesadilla with some of the leftover chicken tinga taco meat that I made earlier in the week. And then I messed around and did absolutely nothing, and now it's time for sleep. Goodnight!

don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy

Today was great, if you ignore the middle part where I had to work. I got up and had intended to write, but instead I took a twenty minute walk, and that was much better for me than anything else. Then I slogged through the day - nothing actually hard, but my meetings were frustrating and I wasn't in the mood for it.

However, I was done by around five, and so I threw on a dress and walked ~15mins to Brazen (the place I discovered with Veronica two weeks ago, which has a perfect outdoor patio removed from the noise of any nearby traffic). Katie and I met there for a v. belated catch-up + celebration of her birthday - she is one month and one day older than me, so of course I wanted to dress up and remind her that I'm still in my thirties. We spent a v. long time enjoying a variety of foodstuffs and several glasses of rosé (well, she had one glass...I had more than that). And we talked about all the small town things that we only have in common with each other, and I am once again reminded how grateful I am that there is someone in this world who both knows where we came from and also where we live now (and also likes raw oysters, which is pretty much the pinnacle of friendship).

After almost four hours, Katie dropped me off at home, and now I'm contemplating going to bed somewhat early since I have a million things to do tomorrow. Goodnight!

is it time to lead or is it time to die? time to raise hell or walk on by?

I had the kind of day that recharges my extroverted soul, although now I'm tired and eager to crawl into bed. I actually went into the office today for the first workday since March 2020 - it was a bit bizarre because it was a ghost town, but otherwise good. Going back right now is entirely optional and it's clear that not many people are taking them up on the offer, but that meant parking was easy and I didn't have to wait in line for food or the barista, so all in all it was pretty great.

Of course, that meant that I had to commute to the office, which was a good reminder that I don't like commuting. But the commute wasn't terrible enough to ruin my day, and I grabbed Starbucks on the way (something I never did in the beforetimes). Today was part of no-meeting week, but I somehow managed to only have 90mins free between 9:30 and 4:30 - still, I'll take it. I had lunch with someone who joined my team / company during the pandemic and so hasn't gotten to meet anyone in person, and we also had our 1:1, so it was fun to get some in-person interaction. And I took advantage of the free food, but I don't know if it's worth driving 45min each way for...

Eventually, I called it quits on work and met up with Caroline for dinner at River and Woods. This is where I used to go alllll the time when I lived in Boulder, but I hadn't been since pre-pandemic. It was as great as I remembered it, and seeing Caroline was great too. One of my favorite servers was still there, still remembered me, and was happy to see me - so I convinced Caroline to stick around the bar for another drink, which was advantageous for me because mine ended up getting comped (yes, I have that kind of sticking power with places, and I'm glad my 'give me free alcohol' mojo still works despite not getting any practice during the pandemic).

Then I said goodbye to Caroline, drove home, and messed around online until now. And now I should really sleep - goodnight!

you're not my homeland anymore, so what am i defending now?

Today was pretty good, all things considered - I only had a few hours of meetings, and yet somehow I managed to procrastinate enough that I still had to work for an hour tonight. But I had a nice morning and did some planning to get ahead of the rest of my week. I had leftover thai food for lunch, which was a delight. And I had a session with Alyssa this afternoon - almost all of my conversations with her these days are about how to make progress on my goals when I'm stressed and the world is a mess, and while I don't think I had any stunning realizations today, it's nice to feel supported in my journey through the end of the world.

After we were done, I messed around online and then made some delicious chicken tinga tacos. They could have been a bit spicier, but they turned out well and I made enough to freeze leftovers, so Future Sara will hopefully be grateful. And then I eventually stopped procrastinating and did some work. And now I should really go to bed - goodnight!

this is a spiritual world, i'm a material boy

I had a better than usual first day back, likely because I remembered that I do better if I relax in the morning before getting straight into it. Still, I had a lot to do today and will have a lot to do all week - it's performance review season (which it always is) and I have a million extra things to do as a result.

But I sneaked out in the afternoon and got a mani/pedi, so it could be worse. Then I did some work, ordered and ate Thai takeout, relaxed a bit, and then worked again from eight to ten. At that point my eyes were attempting a coup to get me off my laptop, so I read a decorating magazine for awhile, which was better than Twitter or work (but probably slightly less useful than going to bed). So it's time for me to sleep - goodnight!

put your loving hand out, baby

I'm sleepy and need to go to bed immediately - happily/sadly, that bed is my bed in Denver, which I returned to today. My trip to Iowa was excellent, even though I worked the whole time. And yesterday, which I didn't blog about, was fun - [censored] and I ran up to Des Moines to liberate some possessions from Brian (aka the scandalous pirate uncle). We met up with Aunt Kathy there, who was similarly liberating possessions that are destined for Drewbaby in Fargo. We walked out with more stuff than I was expecting to, and [censored] may have to make another trip next week.

It isn't an exaggeration to say that our family has a slow-moving but relentless current of stuff moving between us, something like one of the ocean currents that fuels the world's climate. In this case, we're just endlessly moving stuff between us; for example, Aunt B took all of Gram's china, moved it to Colorado, eventually put it in my basement here, and I'm likely to take it back to Iowa this fall. But since we all like stuff, and since there are many basements and sheds and garages between us (more basements and sheds and garages than there are houses and people, actually), the current shows no signs of slowing down.

sssanyway. Today was lowkey - I hung out with my parents, watered some of their garden, ate some snacks, showered, packed, etc. [Censored] and I left around 2pm, and [censored] kicked me out at the airport, where security was worse than usual (I think it took four minutes instead of two). Then I had a salad and a glass of rosé while writing for an hour. My flight was uneventful, and my drive home was uneventful, and now I should sleep since I have to work tomorrow and can pretty much guarantee I won't be in the mood. Goodnight!

punch tropical

I of course intended to go to bed an hour ago, and of course I did not. Today was fine, I suppose - I mostly spent the morning subsisting on coffee and kind bars while slogging through meetings. I had a tiny break for lunch, then had some meetings, then had a break in which I should have gotten work done and did not.

But after my last meeting ended at five, I was done. I hung out with my mom on the back patio for quite awhile, which was lovely. Then I drove into town and picked up takeout from the Mexican restaurant (sorry you missed it, [censored]!). After supper, I drove my dad into (other) town to pick up his truck, and then I came home, retreated to my room, and did some work until now.

And now I should sleep if I want to aim for being a happy human tomorrow - goodnight!

i remember happy wasted days

I have nothing interesting to report - today was a mix of meetings and downtime, but none of it was particularly noteworthy. I ended the day with a quick training session with Alyssa, followed by a long chat with [censored], followed by dinner and an evening of conversation with my parents. I finally came back to my room around ten and spent an hour or so doing some day job stuff that needed to get done - and now I'm well and truly tired, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

cut the cord

I'm still in Iowa, but today was a work day, so since I spent the whole day at my desk I guess I could have been anywhere. And also since I spent the whole day at my desk, I have nothing of interest to report - so I think I'm going to try to get off my screens and go to bed. Goodnight!

i see you darling but you pixelate

I'm in Iowa, and I had a v. lowkey day - [censored] had told me to bring my work gloves home so that I could pick up sticks, but it turns out I didn't need them because I promoted myself to assistant supervisor. This meant that [censored] cleaned up three whole trees from the front yard (using heavy equipment, not his hands) while my dad and I sat in my dad's truck and occasionally hauled a dump trailer full of limbs back into the field to discard. It was a very nice day for sitting around and watching [censored] work, so I quite enjoyed myself!

The rest of the day was fairly quiet - I had some tuna salad on toast for lunch, took a bit of a nap, and otherwise did very little. For supper, we had brats and sweet corn and baked beans, all of which were perfect. And then my parents went to see some of my mom's cousins, and I took the opportunity to relax in my room with my journal, which was pretty much what I needed.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i'm the house you hold your kickback at

I'm in ye olde Iowa after a long but uneventful day. I worked + did some last minute things around the house for several hours, but I went to the airport pretty early so that I wouldn't catch the beginning of rush hour. That meant I had a couple of hours to kill in the Amex lounge, where I had two glasses of wine and some snacks while answering more email. Then I grabbed a burrito bowl, went to my gate, and flew to Des Moines. My flight was delayed by about 25min, which was particularly unfortunate for [censored], who was killing time in the city waiting to pick me up. But we had a nice conversation on the drive home, and then we said hi to our parents and chatted for a bit before it became clear that it was bedtime.

So, I should probably go to bed too - goodnight!

awakening

I meant to go to bed an hour ago, but as long as I'm asleep before midnight, I'll take it. I had a not-totally-ideal morning, mostly because I woke up already thinking about work and definitely didn't want to be thinking about work before seven a.m. But I was able to make coffee and drink it outside while working on slides for a couple of hours, which is better than it could have been.

Later in the afternoon, I drove to Boulder for the first time in possibly ten months - I had an optometrist appointment, and since my optometrist is near the office that I no longer go to, it was a much longer drive than I'm used to making in the afternoon. My visit went fine (my right eye is getting worse, but I don't need bifocals, so I guess I'm not old yet!), and I'll have new contacts in a couple of weeks, so I'm happy about that.

Then I actually *went into the office*, which was completely bizarre. My actual building isn't open yet, so it didn't really feel real - I went to the main office in Boulder, and since I got there at four p.m., most of the amenities (such as they are in the time of covid) were shut down. But I stole some Andes mints, and I ran into a coworker whom I hadn't seen in seventeen months, and I took one meeting from a conference room, and it was all novel and interesting. Not novel and interesting enough for me to commute there if I don't have to, but novel and interesting nonetheless.

Then I met up with my friend Nicole for dinner - we went to a fantastic sushi place that she frequents, and it was great to catch up with her. She left my company a couple of months ago, so we gossiped and I got to hear about how things are in her new venture, and it was all great.

And then I drove home, messed around online, and packed since I'm leaving for Iowa tomorrow afternoon. I still have a couple of things to throw in the suitcase, but I'm packed enough that I may be able to get some work done tomorrow before I go. We shall see, we shall see. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

ain't no way around it

I had a completely ridiculous day of meetings - I started at 9am and didn't stop until six (although I found fifteen minutes in the middle to make some tuna salad and throw it on some toast, which I ate during the next meeting). And so even though I have things I desperately need to get done, I was too fried - so I did some stretching, ordered takeout Indian food and ate it while staring off into space in my backyard, did some laundry, and otherwise mostly let my brain melt into a puddle of goo and half-formed thoughts.

So, rather than try to reconstitute my thought patterns now, I'm going to journal and go to bed early and then get up early to finish what I should have done tonight. Goodnight!

can't keep up with my rhythm though they keep trying

I'm exhausted and need to go to bed asap, but I had a delightful day and wish that more days were like this. Actually, in fairness, I had a mediocre day - I had way too many meetings, I didn't leave myself time for breakfast and then ate lunch too late, and generally things were a bit annoying.

But I had a wonderful afternoon / evening - I did a quick training session with Alyssa at four, and then Veronica and her family descended for an evening of delight. V's daughter is in college in Boulder, and they were all out for a visit before V's son starts college in a week, so they came into Denver to hang out with me. We had a lovely hour hanging out on my patio with snacks and sparkling rosé, and then we had dinner at Brazen. I've never been, but I'm really glad we went - it's very close to me, has a magical back patio with a view of a small park, and the food was perfect. We lingered over it and generally caught up, and while V's Gen Z kids had v. judgey and hurtful things to say about millennials, I had a great time overall. And, of course, it made me wish that Veronica and I lived in the same city (or even state), which is something I shall dwell on in my dreams tonight....

So, after four or so hours together, it was unfortunately time to part ways, but I have high hopes that we'll see each other more this fall. And now I should sleep since I have a million and one meetings tomorrow - goodnight!

i think you better turn your ticket in and get your money back at the door

Today was a pretty standard Monday - I managed to overcome my extreme resistance toward all things work and actually got out of bed in time to do a bit of stretching before showering / starting the day, which was better than nothing. And at some point in the middle of the day I did a quick Peloton ride instead of napping, so I think I'm basically an Olympian.

The rest of my day was full of meetings, but they were all fine, so I'll take it. I spent the evening doing some house things, doing some slothful things, doing a few more work things, and doing some personal bill-paying type things. And with that extremely scintillating update, it's time for bed - goodnight!

every time you close your eyes

I had a v. lowkey day today, which is what I needed after staying up until almost two a.m. watching the end of the US women's volleyball game (they won!). I forced myself to get out of bed at nine despite not wanting to get up yet just so I didn't screw up my sleep schedule heading into the week, so I'm definitely dragging now.

But I spent most of the day taking care of tings around the house that needed taken care of, including washing my sheets, doing other laundry, and spending quite a bit of time organizing my dining room (which has been my day job office for the last year and is slowly falling apart at the seams). I also did some similar organization of my writing office - it still has some mess, but it's no longer in view of my desk, so perhaps I'll feel like getting back in her sometime soon.

At various points I also talked to Terry, and then talked to my parents; I'm going to Iowa on Friday, so I'll have plenty more time to catch up with them in person. I also made dinner - grilled ribeye + grilled veggies with halloumi (a salty cheese that you can slice and throw on the grill). It wasn't as smoky outside tonight as it was yesterday, so it was nice to spend a few minutes outdoors before retreating to the safety of my house.

And now, I should contemplate sleep - goodnight!

run past the heather and down to the old road

I had a pretty relaxing day, which is generally what I needed. I got almost nine hours of sleep, then spent the morning messing around the house, doing laundry, making meal plan lists, etc. Then I got a manicure; my new place in Denver will never replace my old place in San Francisco in my affections, but it's good enough. After that, I broke down and got groceries; I've been mostly subsisting on takeout and tuna sandwiches, but I feel like maybe I'm ready to cook again.

So I grabbed groceries, came home, messed around online, and eventually made pork chile verde in my instant pot. I haven't had it in a long time and it turned out deliciously - especially since I ate it with tortilla chips instead of rice. So I ate my pork while watching the Olympics, and it was an easy and lowkey evening.

And now I've stayed up later than I'd intended and should go to bed, but I'm watching the gold medal women's volleyball match and may finish it if the US can wrap it up before I start falling asleep. Goodnight!

everyone showed you where to turn, showed you when to run away

I'm tired and typing this on my phone in bed, but I had a decent enough day and some fun at the end of it. My work day was pretty low key since I didn't have very many meetings, but the lack of pressure also meant I wasn't as productive as I could have been (but that was probably necessary).

As soon as I wrapped up, I put on a dress and went to Fifth String to have dinner with my friend Alice. We hadn't seen each other in almost a year, and we had a ton to catch up on, so we lingered over a delightful dinner. It was great to see her and to remember that I do actually have a bunch of friends here even if it doesn't compare to the multiple San Francisco crews I used to be part of...

Then I came home, read a magazine, messed around on Twitter, and finally decided to go to bed. Goodnight!

everybody ends up here in bottles

Today was fine, all in all - my heart rate continues to come down, and I didn't have any meetings to raise it back up. I also ordered a poke bowl for lunch and ate it on my patio, which is always delightful. And when I was done with work for the day, I made myself a new cocktail I've never tried before (from the cocktail book [censored] gave me for Christmas) - a High Five is very similar to a Hemingway daiquiri, but it has gin and aperol instead of rum and luxardo cherry liqueur. It was just the right drink to enjoy while catching up with Terry - we hadn't talked in a bit, so we had a quick phone chat and it was great, as always, to catch up.

Then I ate the leftover fajitas from last night's excursion with Katie, relaxed while watching Olympics, and eventually did an hour or so of day job work since I don't have time to do work during the day. And now, I should probably sleep - goodnight!

while he wishes he could escape this but it all seems so contagious

My mood is improving slightly, which is good news for my fitbit since it has been tracking a higher-than-usual heart rate the whole last week. Rage is a powerful drug, kids. But today was better - I had a bunch of meetings, but all of them were good. I had some time in the afternoon to get some work done. I had a training session with Alyssa in the late afternoon, and doing some work with kettlebells may have helped burn out just a little bit of my grievances. And then I took a quick shower and walked down to El Camino to meet Katie for dinner. She was in fine form, and we had much to discuss, so we did so over queso (it turns out their queso is great) and margaritas. Since we had plenty of chips with the queso (as well as guac and salsa), I skipped my usual nachos there and got fajitas instead. And Katie v. kindly listened to my raging about various tings that happened last week, thus ensuring she didn't end up on my rage list, so our friendship lives another day.

After we finished at El Camino, we walked down the street to Sweet Cow and got ice cream for dessert. Then we parted ways and I perhaps should have worked, but instead I did absolutely nothing. And now I'm going to go to bed and hope that I get some decent sleep before tomorrow, since tomorrow is brutally packed with meetings. Goodnight!

i spin on a whim, i slide to the right, i felt you like electric light

I continue to be in mostly a bad mood, thanks to a wide-ranging variety of perfect storm factors. But I started my morning with coffee, a shower, and a playlist based on 'Machinehead' by Bush, thus proving that when stressed I revert to the angry music of my teens and early twenties. Hopefully my stress levels will go down in the next few days, but we shall see.

So, I spent the morning / afternoon working and attempting not to think about anything stressing me out (not entirely possible, since some of my meetings added to it). Then I spent the evening drinking a margarita, eating frozen enchiladas and an ice cream bar, and watching the Olympics. It's entertaining to watch world class athletes at the peak of their athletic performance while eating the most unhealthy meal I've had in awhile - I highly recommend it. I finally logged in and did an hour and a half of day job stuff to get a little bit more caught up from being out Friday, so I can go into tomorrow without things being quite as bad as I expected.

And now I need to go to bed and hope that my stress factors start getting better soon - goodnight!

blood is like wine, unconscious all the time

It doesn't quite feel right that I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed early and hope that I can reset in the morning in time to get into work. This morning was pretty lowkey - I got up in time to do some stretching for my always-tight calves, and I ate some toast while chatting with Barbara. Then I showered and we managed to vacate the rental on time - checkout was at ten, which felt a little early, but all in all the place was really good. We dropped off the keys, and then I dropped Barbara off at a different rental - her partner was coming up to spend the day/night up there, so I dropped Barbara and her stuff off so that she could rendezvous with him. All in all it was a successful retreat, so I'm hoping I can carry the writing momentum into the week.

Then I drove home - I took a slightly longer way so that I could see something different than I-70, but I was still home in a little over two hours. The drive was quite pleasant, and it just reminded me how muchI have yet to explore in Colorado. When I got home, I ate some leftovers, messed around online, and took a nap - all of which was clearly necessary to rest after a weekend in Breckenridge on top of last weekend in San Francisco. Then I ventured out to pick up / return something at Nordstrom + pick up a small handful of groceries.

Then I talked to my parents, who were in fine form. I also talked to [censored] while picking up a takeout pizza; we had a lot to catch up on, so that was enjoyable (although he might not have enjoyed listening to me perfecting my margarita shaking technique). Then I ate pizza, drank my margarita, and watched the Olympics. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!