i didn't know i was lonely til i saw your face

I had an amazing day that was much longer than planned, and I'm probably going to be wrecked tomorrow, but #noregrets. The bay area has its problems, but it also has some of my favorite people in the world, and I saw a bunch of them today. I started it off right with a latte with Veronica and Adam, and then I got ready and drove over to Shedletsky's house. They had a babysitter (aka Tina's mom) for the morning, so we had a super fancy brunch at Madera (which I guess has a Michelin star, if you care about such things). It was long and leisurely and slightly boozy, which is like all of our trips and sleepovers together, so it was great to see them after many months separated by the plague. I really did not see this kind of fancy brunch coming when Shedletsky lived next door to me in college back in 2001, since at the time it seemed like he could be the Unabomber, but I guess it all worked out.

Then I left them and took a small break to myself to contemplate my book, and then I met Kristen for drinks in Redwood City. Kristen moved to California during the pandemic, so we couldn't do backyard hangouts in Denver... But we were able to sit on a patio and have rosé and gossip, and that was all wonderful.

Then, I drove back to Menlo Park and meet Joann, Jen, and Jane (the friendship renewal crew) for dinner at Farmhouse Thai. Menlo Park and Redwood City have both changed a lot since I was hanging out there in the early 2000s, and I suppose J/J/J and I have changed as well - we met in the same batch of start classes at work back in 2003, so we've known each other for eighteen years this month. That's impossible to fathom, but I'm deeply glad it's true. We had an excellent dinner there on the heated front porch, and it was so great to see them in person after many months of zoom calls.

Then, I had intended to be back at Veronica's at the civilized time of 9:30... But instead I got lured to the city of sin by Adit and Chandlord. We had a v low-key night in deference to our age... We hung out at Adit's for awhile, and then Priyanka went to bed and Adit, Vidya and I walked (well, Vidya hobbled) to Mothership. We had palomas on their back patio while looking at people's Halloween costumes and discussing covid, cancelation, handsome monkeys, and the origin of the phrase "cut from the program" (which my college friends say and can no longer remember why).

And now, I really desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

polarized feelings, i don't wear them on my face lately

I am sitting in Veronica's guest room (which is technically not her guest room; it's the extra room in her airbnb, which she's staying in because of renovations) in the bay area, down in the peninsula haunts of my youth. Actually, I didn't haunt San Bruno in my real youth, but I did write in San Bruno in my early thirties, so I'm counting that.

Today was lovely, but v. long and I'm v. tired. We had to leave Tahoe today, which made me sad; happily, I drove back Grace and Anne, whom I adore, and it made for excellent conversation. Traffic was really bad getting out of Tahoe due to multiple places where the road was cut to one lane to allow for ongoing cleanup from the fires - it's really quite astonishing that so many houses and town survived given the intense fire damage along the way. So, it took longer to get back than expected, and we certainly weren't pushing it (we stopped for a late lunch, which was v. needed). I dropped Anne off at her place, then took Grace to Barbara's to pick up her car. Happily, Barbara and her husband showed up at the same time that we did, so I got a tour of Barbara's new house (same location as the old house, but I hadn't seen the new version since it got finished just before the pandemic). I'm super sad that our retreat is over, but I'm looking forward to more fun times with the group in the next few months.

When I was done driving + saying goodbye, I drove to Veronica's. I was supposed to just drop stuff here and then head into SF for dinner, but I called an audible and canceled on dinner - I was cutting it way too close, and was too tired, and really just wanted the comfort of Veronica and sweats and a bottle of chablis. So, Veronica and Adam v. graciously pivoted and included me in their dinner prep - we had snacks and talked while Adam cooked, and Adam made us gins and tonics (followed by the aforementioned chablis), along w/v. tasty rice bowls. And we watched some tv and I had retired to my room by ten, which is exactly what I needed. And, as always, Veronica and Adam are a delight, and I'm delighted that I got to spend extra time with them.

And now, I really need to sleep - tomorrow I'm peregrinating around the south bay and seeing a bunch of people I haven't seen in 2+ years, and I'm both v. excited and also already tired. But it should be a great time. Goodnight!

stop for a minute and see where you hide

I am v. sad that today was the last day of my retreat - I could have easily used another week. The fun doesn't end completely tomorrow, since I'm going to San Francisco for a few days after, but I really wish I could spend another week holed up in Tahoe and submerging myself in the writing.

Today was a lovely last day, though - I slept in a bit (but not enough to make up for staying up so late last night), and then I went to Nevada to pick up a rental car. This sounds more onerous than it was, since the state line is eight minutes from here and I just went across the border to the Hard Rock Casino to get the rental car. Then I spent the afternoon brainstorming the book concept we came up with yesterday, which I'm pretty excited about.

The day ended with me and Grace going down to the Heavenly plaza to pick up takeout - since I had a car today, and we haven't had a car all week, the group took advantage of it to get food from a place that doesn't deliver. And now, I'm mostly packed and mostly ready to go, but I should get some sleep if I want to drive to SF tomorrow. Goodnight!

the fear has gripped me but here i go

I stayed up way too late reading, but #noregrets. Today was really great - as I was making coffee and tidying up the kitchen, I asked Barbara to "give me some advice I won't take" (she once gave an entire keynote on how everyone wants her advice but doesn't actually listen to her, while looking at our table, so I continue to find this hilarious). This somehow turned into her and Veronica helping me to brainstorm a totally new book idea that I wasn't expecting and am now vastly intrigued by. We continued the brainstorm over lunch and I think there's a "there" there, so I spent the afternoon messing around with it. It felt fun to play with something new, which is also a great thread between previous projects....so we'll see what happens.

Sadly, Veronica left this afternoon, but the rest of us ordered dinner from a bar and grill type place (tasty, but not the best ever) and hung out for a couple of hours. And then I curled up in the media room and read the entire first Sookie Stackhouse book in one sitting - I should have read it years ago, but I never read it or watched True Blood, and so I was way overdue. It wasn't quite what I expected, probably because it's been so hyped - but it was v. useful for my purposes.

And now it's almost 1:30am and tomorrow is my last day here and I want to enjoy it, and enjoying it will be easier with some sleep. Goodnight!

first sip of coffee

I had a really delightful day, all in all - it's great to be around other writers, and also great to be in Lake Tahoe after two years away. I messed around this morning and then took a walk - partially to mail my absentee ballot for the Denver elections next week, and partially to check out the new Whole Foods that opened here since the last time I was here. It was a nice day for a walk even if things are still really slushy from yesterday's snow, and it was great to get out of the house for a bit.

Then I came back to the house, made a tuna melt (which convinced Grace to also make a tuna melt), and spent some time working on book stuff. I broke for a bit to talk to Alyssa, which was illuminating as per usual. Then I messed around online, ordered dinner for the group (delicious Indian takeout), and then enjoyed said Indian takeout.

The surprise came after dinner - I was completely shocked when my friends all started singing happy birthday and brought out cupcakes, a balloon, gifts, and sparkling rosé. In fact, I was so shocked that I started singing happy birthday because I had no idea what was going on (ha). I had planned to do something fun and raucous for my 40th but had canceled it due to the 'rona, but they decided to help me celebrate tonight. It was such a fun surprise, and I'm glad I got to celebrate with them! And a bottle of rosé (which I shared) + a Sephora gift card (among other things, which I did not share) were pretty #onbrand gifts.

So, that was a super surprise, and I spent the rest of the evening drinking some rosé and basking in the glow of good company (and a working fireplace, which was fixed this afternoon). And now I should really sleep - I want to write as much as possible tomorrow, and sleep would be useful for that goal. Goodnight!

i take my gun to the enemy's side

Today was a strange, lovely day - it snowed a lot this morning, and when I woke up I discovered we had lost power and the house was dark. So I got ready in the dark, went downstairs, found no one was here, and started to investigate - when suddenly the power came back and everything was fine again. The snow was pretty dramatic this morning though - it fell heavily for several hours, and it made for a moody and atmospheric view of the lake.

But by early afternoon it started to clear up, and eventually the sun was out and everything was bright and cheerful again. I didn't get a lot of writing done today - after the power outage everyone was discombobulated, and then around lunch Veronica arrived (yay! and also crazy that she managed to get here with the snow) and so of course I wanted to talk to her. I did a bit of writing in the afternoon, but I broke early to make my chicken tortilla soup. This takes some time due to the chopping + the amount of time it has to simmer, and that was all extended because I made a triple batch. But it turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself, and it was fun to cook for other people after a lot of #quarantinechef activities.

After dinner, we hung out for several hours, and it was delightful. But now I really need to sleep so that I can focus more on storytelling tomorrow - goodnight!

she's got a fake ID and a nose ring

No blog tonight - I already fell asleep and don't want to fully wake up writing this. But today was good (stretching, eating huevos rancheros, talking a lot to both writer friends and also to Terry, my parents, and [censored]) and less good (extreme rain, several hours of day job work I didn't do last week).

So hopefully I can get back to my writing tomorrow, but we shall see... So far I'm having fun, though, which is probably what I needed more than anything. Goodnight!

muscle to muscle and toe to toe

I had intended to go to bed an hour ago, but I did some desultory shopping of tings online (without actually buying anything) and attempts to figure out where to stay in San Francisco next weekend (without actually booking anything). I had a really nice day in Tahoe, though - I got eight and a half hours of sleep to start, and then I made some coffee, took a shower, and made an omelette. I spent most of the afternoon hidden away in the media room reading a book and journaling, which was exactly what I wanted - while I've been doing writing retreats with some configuration of this group for seven years now, and while I usually try to write when I'm on a retreat, I'm treating this one as a combo vacation + refill the well. That means I'm more focused on reading and also spending serious quality time with friends (beyond the usual lunch or dinner excursion) for the first time in sixteen+ months.

Of course, it's a little silly that I came to Tahoe in late October - winter is coming to Denver but it's not there yet, while here we're getting slammed by an atmospheric river that's going to dump rain and snow for the next couple of days (and there's a winter storm warning in the mountains above us). I felt my inner rural Iowan kick into anxiety over the state of our grocery / food situation, since we didn't stock up enough to make me feel like we could survive a storm - so at some point this afternoon I ran across the street with Jules to get some more stuff, and carried back what I could carry (ingredients for chicken tortilla soup + another bottle of wine + some lotion = the necessities).

Late in the afternoon, Grace joined me in my media room hideout, so we both worked/read for awhile and then talked a bit. And then the group broke for dinner - Christie made soup, and we hung out and talked for a few hours. It's mostly the usual suspects (or at least the usual suspects from the last couple of Tahoe retreats) - Barbara, Christie, Anne, Grace, Tina, and Jules, which makes for a v. manageable group (i.e. one in which everyone gets their own bedroom and there are plenty of places for everyone to work and we can all fit around one table). Veronica is supposed to be here too, but due to some scheduling woes isn't here yet - but I'll take any time I can get with her.

sssanyway, I need to go to bed now - I have to do a bit of day job work tomorrow that I didn't get done before I left, and then I want to read something fun. Goodnight!

but it's hard to know what's right when i feel like i'm borrowing all of my time

I'm super tired and desperate for sleep - today was a fun day, but it required getting up earlier than usual so I could finish packing, watering my plants, etc. and getting to the airport. I'm taking the next week off, which I'm v. much looking forward to - but I will share more about that tomorrow. For now, I'm falling asleep and need to go to sleep - goodnight!

i'll take one lift, your ride, best trip

I'm super tired tonight - I didn't sleep all that well last night, and I had a ton of slogging to do today. The whole company has tomorrow off, but that didn't make today low-key, and I'll probably have to do a bit of work this weekend that I didn't get done and really have to get done.

However, it wasn't all work and no play - I cut out a little early to get a mani/pedi, and then I picked up Katie and we went down to the Union Station area to have dinner at The Kitchen. I hadn't been there in a couple of years, but I am reminded that I should go there more often - it was a total delight. I ignored my gluten issue (which was a mistake, since it's an actual issue) and we split a tomato flatbread to take advantage of the last tomatoes before winter, a few grilled oysters that were delish, a miso black cod, and some gnocchetti bolognese that was absolutely the best thing I've eaten in awhile. It was unfortunate that the black cod came after the gnocchetti, because it was impossible for anything to follow that. That said, dessert was pretty great too - we split a sticky toffee pudding that was more cake-like (British) than pudding-like (American), and it was perfect. And, my skills at getting free alcohol randomly comped remain undiminished because the waiter was so charmed by us that he brought us each a glass of madeira to pair with the pudding, and it was such a perfect way to end that I was utterly delighted.

Of course, I was also utterly delighted by Katie - we had much to catch up on, so it was a great evening. Then I came home and rather frantically tried to accomplish tings until now. And now I must go to sleep - goodnight!

he said it's all in your head, but keep an ear to the grapevine

I had a frenetic day - way too many things going on, and not enough time to get everything done. I slogged through my meetings, which were so back to back that it took me grazing for ninety minutes to finish eating the sandwich I'd ordered at Snarf's. Somewhere in there, I got my car back from getting serviced by the Audi dealer - they had picked it up yesterday and brought it back today, and while that service is super nice, I think I would rather drive it in in the future just to control when the whole thing happens.

I also talked to my mom a couple of times - a dishwasher got delivered to my house in Iowa, but the guy brought the wrong one and so couldn't install it. I was about to go ballistic on the dealer, but it turns out it was the driver's fault for loading the wrong one (white instead of stainless). So the driver showed up again with a new one, and I'm super grateful that my mom was able to be there so that I'll have a functioning dishwasher when I'm there again. One replacement of something strange down, ninety-nine thousand more replacements to go!

But after all that slogging (and a quick break to go get botox in my jaw, which prevents me from clenching it in response to all that slogging), I was done a little before six. I should have worked tonight, but I couldn't bring myself to - instead, I ate takeout chicken shawarma (a far cry from the döner kebab pictures that Google Photos keeps flashing me - I was in Berlin two years ago right now, and it feels like a lifetime and a half), did a bunch of laundry, and otherwise messed around the house.

Now, though, I need to sleep - I have another million things to do tomorrow and not enough time in which to do them. Goodnight!

disinfect the scene

No blog tonight - I was going to go to bed an hour ago, but I accidentally got a second wind and it's suddenly eleven p.m. Seriously, my body is not made for modern capitalism, since I would much prefer to sleep in weird chunks (and mostly in the afternoon or very late at night).

Today was fine, all in all - I puttered around the house for quite awhile this morning, then slogged all day. I ended the day with sushi, laundry, and other chores - and I probably should have done some day job work, but it didn't happen. So going to bed earlyish (for me) is a good idea so that I can hit it hard tomorrow - goodnight!

show me some of them spanish dances

I have nothing super exciting to report today - since I drove back yesterday, today was a continuation of yesterday's exhaustion + an attempt to recover. I don't know if recovery was particularly successful, but I tried. That mostly meant drinking water, having a poke bowl for lunch, taking a walk around the block, and otherwise trying to survive my many meetings.

However, I was able to stop around five and drive to Lafayette (which I easily confuse with Louisville, because I know nothing about any of those suburbs) to have dinner with my friend Sara. She recently left our mutual company and I am v. sad that she's gone, but v. happy for her that it seems like it was a good move. We talked for a couple of hours over tacos and margaritas, and it was as delightful as usual to see her. If only she lived closer...but we seem to be able to make it work.

Then I came home and got sucked into a bit of work, and now I'm going to try to stop looking at screens so I can go to bed early. Goodnight!

you're under the gun so you take it on the run

I'm back in Colorado, after a v. long day of driving - I'm glad I stayed in Iowa last night, but it made today kind of brutal. Luckily I slept great last night, and since my car was already packed, I was able to get up, do a couple of quick house tings, say goodbye to [censored], and get out of town by 8:30am. I got into Denver by around 6:45pm MDT - it took about an hour longer than it should have, but that's because I stopped multiple times to walk around (my belly is almost fully healed but my belly button still gets tender if I sit too long).

Nothing of note happened during my drive, and nothing of note has happened since getting home - I have a driving/altitude headache and should have worked tonight, but instead mostly watched Property Brothers. And now I need to get to bed so I can recover before work tomorrow - goodnight!

that's how they getcha

I'm not where I intended to be tonight. I should be somewhere in Nebraska, regretting that I was somewhere in Nebraska. Instead, I made a gametime decision to stay in Iowa and do the whole drive in one go tomorrow. I realize that's what most people do between Iowa and Colorado, but I am not most people and I hate driving for 10.5hrs in a day. So I had planned to do a bunch of house stuff and then leave around three, but....

Instead, I did a bunch of house stuff and tired myself out enough that I didn't feel safe driving. Of course, I decided that after I'd loaded my car and said goodbye to my parents, but they were kind enough to feed me tonight anyway.

And my staying was rewarded in other ways. I got a lot of stuff done today, as did [censored]. I put together my standing desk, organized my office, etc, and now feel v. able to be productive here. I unpacked some more kitchen stuff. I helped [censored] unload a bunch of stuff he's storing here ([censored is switching jobs and cities, so my new house is becoming a staging ground for his move). [Censored] and I also got a bunch of stuff we'd pillaged from Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian, which was stored in one of [censored]'s many garages. I also did laundry, loaded my car, etc.

Then I went home and took a shower and prematurely said goodbye to my parents... But driving into town after with the sun in my eyes made me realize I had no desire to drive with the sun in my eyes across the rest of Iowa. So I stayed, and that meant [censored] and I were able to rearrange the living room, install a nest thermostat, and do a bunch of other random tings. And I got the aforementioned bonus supper from my parents - my mom made a delicious roast, and it was worth staying for.

And now, I need to sleep so that I can get up and out early enough to accomplish something in Denver tomorrow night. Goodnight!

integrity, faith and crocodile tears

I took today off, but it didn't feel like a vacation because I attempted to get a million things done. This perhaps was wishful thinking, but I do feel like I accomplished a lot. I spent some time this morning starting to put together my new desk while drinking coffee - I'm not done, but I think I can finish tomorrow. Then I quickly showered (in my absurdly tiny master bath - seriously, the previous owner must have thought that bathrooms should never take more than the size of a portapotty, because the bathrooms are all nearly unusable) and came out to my parents' house to rendezvous with my dad. We drove over to the next town to finalize the deal on my dishwasher - I could never get them to call me back, but when I walked in the guy recognized me immediately, rattled off the number of what I was ordering, and confirmed delivery for next Wednesday. Of course, I won't be here, which unfortunately means my parents are taking the saintly step of dealing with it, but I'm excited that the dishwasher will get installed before Thanksgiving.

After that errand, my dad and I went to the grocery store (Mom suggested that we buy her some ham salad, but that wasn't a "suggestion" so much as it was a requirement of reentering her house). Then we stopped at KFC/Taco Bell and ate lunch in my car. We had a nice drive, all in all, and I think my dad understands the appeal of my Audi even if it's now three years old (hard to believe - but the last year and a half barely counts since I don't commute anywhere except from Denver to Iowa).

I dropped Dad off at home, picked some stuff up to take to town, said hi to Mom, etc. Then I went into town (the town where the grocery store is, not where my house is) and hit up a garage sale. This is not something I usually do, but I heard this one would be particularly good (for unfortunate reasons) - someone's sister died somewhat unexpectedly out in the DC area and had no family there, so they hauled most of her worldly goods back here and have been having an epic garage sale. This worked out great for me - for $30 I scored a bunch of glasses, some square white appetizer plates, a pyrex baking dish, a utensil holder, a couple of Christmas candle votives, and (most excitingly) some Crate and Barrel dishes that match my current pattern. For some unknown reason Crate and Barrel discontinued the blush pink shade of my dishes early on (even though I can still get all the other colors) - but this woman had seven plates and six mugs, and I got them for $5 total. If I could find garage sales this good every day, I could furnish the place in no time. But sadly she had no lamps and no newly-finished bathrooms, so I'm probably going to have to keep looking elsewhere for some necessities.

sssanyway. Then I spent a few hours cleaning up my yard for winter, putting things away, installing some things, uninstalling other things (like the funky toaster that had been mounted under a cabinet), etc. I eventually came home, where [censored] showed up just in time for supper - my parents made bratwurst and french fries and baked beans, and it was delish.

And now, I should really sleep - I have another million things to do tomorrow, and I need to start heading back to Colorado at some point. Goodnight!

when the lights go down in the city

I am sleeping in my new bed in my house in Iowa for the first time. I realized today that this house may have the most traffic noise of anywhere I've lived in awhile, which is hilarious given that it is in a town of less than six hundred people - but it's close to the intersection of the two main streets in town, both of which are still paved (a nice selling point of this house). Since it's harvest time, and since I had the windows open this afternoon, I heard a lot of machinery revving up after making the turn toward the lake. So, it's kind of fun to discover new things and rhythms that I wasn't expecting to discover.

sssanyway. I didn't blog last night, but you can probably guess that I worked all day, which is what I also did today. Yesterday, I had a bit of a snafu with my bed delivery, which I still need to rectify (the delivery guys think the base of the bed is broken, but also it is fine right now, so that's a conundrum). However, the mattress seems great, so I'm excited to see how I sleep on it. Last night I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with my mom in the kitchen (of her house, not my house), and tonight I also went home for supper and some quality time (my dad told some stories of when he was a cop, some of which I hadn't heard before, so that was interesting). However, I decided that I should sleep in my new house once or twice before heading back to Colorado just to see what happens here at night - although I can't really see what happens here at night because there's a serious lack of lamps. But that's a rectifiable problem on my next trip.

And now, I think I shall sleep - I have grand plans tomorrow during my day off, and I want to make the most of it. Goodnight!

fresher scents

I'm too tired of looking at screens to blog - I just worked for three hours, which was not what I wanted to do tonight but was probably necessary. Today was fine, though. I spent time before work getting [censored] to do things for me - we installed cameras to keep an eye on my back doors / garage / shed, which gives me some decent peace of mind. We also hauled my new desk upstairs. And [censored] generally inspected tings and discovered some interesting surprises - nothing crazy or out of the norm for buying a house (unless you think your ductwork should remain attached to your HVAC system instead of detached so someone can run a speaker wire from the basement to the living room via an air vent).

I finally wrapped up work around six, then came to my parents' house and had a v. delicious supper (a classic family dish with pork steak in a really nice sauce - you would have no idea what it is). After talking to my parents for a bit, I came downstairs and slogged - and now I should sleep so I can get to work on time tomorrow. Goodnight!

hang from our invisible cords

It was back to the grind today, although perhaps it wasn't too grind-ish - I had meetings somewhat nonstop from 11-5, but it could be worse. I spent some time this morning doing tings around my house and getting some stuff done before work started. And at some point in the morning, [censored] showed up with a trailer full of stuff to put in my garage - some of it may benefit me in the short term (like end tables), but most of it is destined for temporary storage while [censored] relocates from [censored] to [censored].

So, I worked the rest of the day - it was pretty dreary because it rained over two inches, and for some reason the previous owners didn't like having lights in their house, so it felt dark. But I got through what I needed to do, came home, and then cooked supper - I made a creamy parmesan chicken and mushroom dish that I'd made before, along with mashed potatoes, and it was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. Then I cleaned up the kitchen while [censored] played me various clips of Norm MacDonald's many jokes about OJ Simpson. And then, eventually, I tried to work, but I didn't really succeed, and so I think I should go to bed rather than trying to force it.

So on that note - goodnight!

please break my heart

I've had a pretty good weekend, all in all - acquiring a new house requires approximately one million chores, and I'd say I've done at least seven of them. Yesterday, my mom and I went to the next town over (aka Centerville) to look at dishwashers and microwaves. My dishwasher appears to be poorly functioning / broken, and the microwave is original to the house (1988) and so probably cost many hundreds of dollars but has no turntable and can only hold a small quantity of food. I think I found a dishwasher, which I'm finishing the deal on tomorrow; the microwave I wanted was only available in a floor model, which was broken, and the soonest they could get another was December 21 - so I'm unfortunately giving my microwave business to Best Buy instead of the small local appliance store :(

After we looked at appliances, we met my sister in a parking lot to exchange goods (nothing illicit, unless the electric roasters that she borrowed for my niece's wedding are somehow illicit). Then my mom and I bought groceries and came home. I then spent the rest of the afternoon doing house stuff - but I also made a critical trip to Dollar General, where I acquired a flyswatter (an absurdly ugly pink camouflage, but I've now killed multiple flies) and a starter kit for a Swiffer (somehow the Swiffer supply chain appears broken, since I couldn't find Swiffers at Target or Lowes or anywhere else I looked the last few weeks).

Today was more of the same - I slept in a bit, then took care of some tings for my dad, and then spent the rest of the afternoon doing house stuff. I took down the fake ivy that the previous owner had hung in the kitchen, which immediately made it brighter since the ivy was blocking the light over the sink. I also put tings away, cleaned a lot, and generally examined what needs to happen next. So far I'm pretty pleased with the house, although there are many projects to do - but that's a problem for Future Sara. Right now, I think it's time for bed - goodnight!

purple hat, cheetah print

I took the day off, but it still felt busy - I didn't sleep in, and instead got up, made coffee, took a shower, and was out the door before nine to head to the city (in this case, Des Moines) for a stock-up run to buy things for my new house. I met up at Costco with Aunt Kathy, and we spent several hours pushing carts around big box stores - it takes a lot to set up a house when you're not moving your previous house into it, and I needed cleaning supplies, some basic kitchen stuff, etc. Kathy was a trooper - we went all over Costco and Target, and then we took a break to have a (surprisingly delicious, given we'd never been there) lunch at Urban Cellar. We then made a quick stop at Lowes to buy me a stepladder, which is probably the most important thing on the list given how difficult it is for me to reach things.

So, all in all we shopped or ate lunch for 4+ hours, and I was pretty pleased with hanging out and buying tings (even if I didn't get everything on my list). When we parted ways, I drove south and chatted with [censored] while unloading my car. Then I came to my parents' house and spent the rest of the night hanging out - we watched some fine obscure reality television, ate supper (cheeseburgers and homemade french fries, which were delish), and generally sat around.

And now, I should really sleep, which is what I should have done two hours ago. Goodnight!

somebody's ripping you off, tryin' to sell you good news

Today was sort of my Friday, but I was way more productive than I normally am on Fridays. I had a few hours of meetings, and I did a bunch of other work, and all of that was fine enough. I also messed around with some house things - nothing too onerous, but I had to walk down the street to pay the deposit on my natural gas service. Since this is extreme #smalltownlife, the gas company office is only open two hours a week. The woman who works there also wasn't entirely sure what she had told me I owe for a deposit since she'd accidentally left her papers in her office in a different town, but we both assumed I remembered correctly. And they had started service without the deposit anyway - they know my dad, so I think they know I'm not a deadbeat.

At a different point in the afternoon, I also walked to the lumber yard - I was hoping to buy a fly swatter because I have one v. persistent house fly, but they didn't have any. The owner offered to loan me his, but that seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I picked up some paint chips so I can daydream about paint colors, but I don't know if I'll get around to any painting activities on this trip or not.

As you can tell, my house in town is walkable to all the local businesses - but since there are basically no local businesses, this is not as exciting as it might sound. But the lumber yard is fun, if you're into that kind of thing. And I can get chips or a coke zero whenever I need it, so that's in some ways better than Denver, where I don't have a convenience store nearby. But I can't get a margarita or a glass of wine or a book or a new outfit, so Denver still has some superficial advantages.

sssanyway. After I was done with work, I came home and hung out with my parents. They had gone to Des Moines today, but they beat me home - they had also had a late lunch at two p.m., so I'm pretty sure they ate just to humor me. We had leftover steak + some scrambled eggs, and I had a baked potato in the microwave, and it was all good. Then I took my dad into town so that he could drop some stuff off at his shop and I could drop off an office chair at my house - it got delivered to my parents' house today, and I'm excited to get my actual office set up this weekend.

Then we watched some episodes of a show about gold mining in the Australian outback, and then I worked for an hour and a half or so. And now I need to sleep so I can run a million errands tomorrow - goodnight!

and gray clouds, or white walls, or blue skies

I'm too tired to blog, which is my own fault because I stayed up too late. Today's working hours were fine - nothing exciting, nothing profound, just some light slogging and meetings with too many also-burned-out husks who used to be human. I also puttered around my new house a bit - mostly getting my coffeemaker set up and doing some more laundry.

Eventually, I was done, so I came home in time to steal food from my parents - my mom made tenderloins and fried potatoes, which were delicious. In deference to our household's gluten free world, my mom now uses crushed potato chips to bread the tenderloins instead of crushed saltines, and they are excellent. Then I hung out until both my parents fell asleep, came downstairs, played a game on my phone, and messed around in my journal / planner until now.

And now I need to sleep so that I can repeat these amazing feats tomorrow - goodnight!

but i probably won't have the tools to keep myself off the street

I have nothing noteworthy to report tonight - I got up, went into my house in town, and slogged all day, but my meetings were pretty easy. I took a break after one of them to walk next door to the convenience store (the only one in town, of course) and grab some chips, and unexpectedly ran into my dad, which meant my chips were unexpectedly free (thanks Dad!).

I was done with work around six, and then I talked to Katie for awhile as I packed up and headed to my parents'. When I got home, we had dinner (steak and baked potatoes, yum), and I spent quite awhile after in the kitchen talking to my mom. And now, I should probably sleep so that I can repeat this all tomorrow - goodnight!

it doesn't come from without, it comes from within

I'm falling asleep in my recliner in my bedroom in my parents' house, so you almost didn't get this post. But I wanted to document that I did my day job while sitting in my new Iowa house - packing up and going there this morning weirdly felt like the first day of school or the first day of a new job or something. Of course, it wasn't entirely glamorous - I was working from a folding table and chair in the dining room, and I had a peanut butter sandwich (with milk in a wine glass) for lunch. But I'm excited to get some projects done there and start figuring out how to turn it into a good space for future trips.

The first thing that had to happen to make the rest of it possible was internet - and that was installed in approximately five minutes, thanks to the two guys who showed up and took the former router (which they'd told the former owner to just leave behind) so that they could replace it with a new router. Since it's #smalltownlife, I knew or recognized both of them and they asked me how my dad was doing. Then I set up my wifi, did a couple of tings around the house, and then did some work.

My work day was not particularly onerous, although it was frustrating in parts. But I had a nice social chat with Heather (aka dear respected madam) at the end of it. I also got to watch the comings and goings at the convenience store next door, which was mildly entertaining. And my mom stopped by at the end of the day to check on me, so I got to hear my doorbell ring for a second time and that was exciting too.

Then I came home (to my parents' home) and mooched off them for supper - my mom made philly cheesesteak and french fries, and it was very delicious. I also watched some tv with my dad and chatted with both of them and heard sad stories and (possibly) tall tales. And then I came downstairs, did a bit of day job stuff, added some things to my shopping list, and kind of fell asleep. So now it's time for bed in earnest - goodnight!

hey, sleepwalker, don't you miss the way wildflowers paint the western hills?

I'm finally at the end of my most recent car journey - I have never taken three days and two nights to drive ten and a half hours, but the stops along the way were worth it. This morning, I got up, threw my stuff in my car, said goodbye to my sister and my younger niece, and headed southeast. I was only 2.5hrs from my parents' house, and I decided to stop at a grocery store on the way to pick up some basics and snacks so that I can sustain myself during work this week.

When I got home, I spent a little bit of time talking to my parents, and then we all went into town to check out my new house. I think it's going to be great - the structure is solid and it has been well maintained, so no concerns there. However, it was built in the 1980s and some of the fixtures and other choices are pretty dated; it also deeply needs a fresh coat of paint on everything, and I'm debating whether new carpet or other flooring should be part of that immediate refresh. The biggest question is whether I'm going to change anything structural - the bathrooms are awkwardly shaped / sized, and if I were going to redo something, that should happen before the paint/flooring do.

sssanyway. I got everything unloaded that I brought home with me, and I also moved several packages that I'd ordered from my parents' house to my new house. Then I had supper with my parents - my mom made french fries (from scratch, with lard, which are to die for) and baked beans, and my dad grilled bratwurst patties and hot dogs, and it was v. tasty. We also watched my niece's wedding, which I surreptitiously videoed - since my parents couldn't make it, I was glad they were able to see it via the wonders of modern technology.

And now I really must sleep - I have an appointment to get my internet installed tomorrow morning, and then I need to slog all day. Goodnight!

in the club looking so conspicuous

I'm in a different hotel in a different small town in the great American west (although Iowa is firmly Midwest, so I don't think this counts). Today's trip was smooth - I had breakfast in my hotel in Kearney (the buffet is reopened, which I gave a side eye to, but I was far from other people and the sausage lured me in (that's what she said)). Then I drove a few hours across Nebraska and into Iowa. I got to my destination right around two, checked in, and had an hour to relax, eat the food I'd grabbed along the way, and make myself look presentable.

A little after three, [censored] showed up and took a few minutes to freshen up before we drove the six minutes over to my niece's wedding. (note: it's [censored]'s niece too, but maybe that gives you too much of a clue about who [censored] is). Sammi actually got married last year, as many couples did, but she does opted for a ceremony this year. The ceremony was nice, and the reception was fun - they had a taco bar for the dinner, which was delish (again, I look askance at buffets these days, especially since I found out a bunch of people from the groom's family were missing because they currently have covid, but I was assured that they didn't have any contact with the people at the wedding; and also, who can resist a taco? (that's what he said)).

Ssssanyway. I sat at a table with [censored] and my sister and her husband + my other niece + her boyfriend, who got the full vetting since it was our first long interaction. My nephew wasn't there due to the fact he and his wife just had a baby (valid) and my parents weren't there because it's been a rough few weeks/months healthwise (also valid), but I really enjoyed hanging out with Allie and drinking a variety of drinks of the two-ingredient variety (aka whiskey and ginger ale, gin and tonic, Jack and coke).

[Censored] and I left after doing some dancing, so I was back at my hotel around 9:30. [Censored] opted not to stay and instead drove back to his abode, which he made it to safely - I was tempted to go to my parents' instead of staying here, but was too tired and had a too-late-in-the-game jack and coke that was mostly Jack, so I opted to lounge in bed, take the pressure off my belly, and play some games on my phone. My belly is substantially better post surgery, but it starts to hurt if I sit upright in a chair for too long, which is basically what I did today between the drive and the wedding.

And now I should sleep - goodnight!

signed a deal, i got papercuts

I am sitting in bed in a hotel in Kearney, Nebraska - a place I have stayed often enough that I feel right at home. Today went much more smoothly than I expected it to - I got up early enough to move most of the stuff that I was taking to Iowa out to my garage before starting my work day, which made the afternoon easier. I had a long 'offsite' meeting (they called it a homesite to pretend that it was exciting, but it was just sitting in my house looking at people on a screen like I've been doing for the last 571 days, so whatever) - but the 'offsite' that was supposed to be four hours turned out to only be three hours, so that really helped. I did a bit more work after that, but then I sneaked away from my laptop to finish my preparations.

Katie and James stopped by briefly right before I left - I had groceries that were going to go to waste, and since my journey this weekend is more involved than usual, I couldn't just bring a cooler of stuff with me. So they came over and picked up the making for a peasant feast (mostly potatoes, onions, and dairy products, although the peasants would say wtf to the almond milk). Hopefully I shall see Katie again someday, since we are as ships crossing in the night the next few weeks - but since our friendship managed to survive the travails of junior high, we'll probably make it through this drama too.

I left my house around 3:30, which felt like a miracle. Traffic getting out of Denver definitely wasn't a miracle, and I hit some ubiquitous construction at the I-76 / I-80 merge at the Colorado/Nebraska border, but otherwise it was smooth sailing. I stopped for gas somewhere, and then I grabbed McDonald's in Ogallala, where I made the decision to shoot for Kearney. By making it here tonight, I have a <4hr drive to get to tomorrow's destination - my niece's wedding, which is in western Iowa and so closer to here than my parents' house.

And now, if I want to get to that wedding and appear to be well rested and in good health, I should probably go to bed. Goodnight!