every perfect summer's eating me alive until you're gone

Today was a carbon copy replica (remember carbon copy?) of yesterday - pretty much the same mix of writing before work, slogging through some meetings (although today I had to present to a senior VP for approx 90 seconds), and answering some emails. I did take a break in the afternoon to make chicken tortilla soup for dinner - my last meeting ended at six, so I had to get a head start on cooking dinner if I wanted it to be ready at a reasonable hour.

So, when my work was done, I took my soup and went to my parents' house and hung out with them for a couple of hours. I got back to my place a little after nine and should have worked or something, but I'm feeling too tired, and I have to get up early tomorrow. So, I think it's time for bed - goodnight!

on a night when bad dreams become a screamer

I have nothing to report today - I got up in time to write before work this morning, which felt amazing and set the rest of the day up right. Then I slogged all day, but it wasn't too hard - just some meetings as I prep to take time off. I had plenty of time to also do three loads of laundry and make lunch, so I'll take it.

When the work day ended, I went to the grocery store, and then I went to my parents' house for supper. My mom made cheeseburgers and french fries, which were great, and I enjoyed mooching off of them. And then I came back to my place and alternated between buying Cyber Monday deals and half-dozing until now.

So, I think it's time for bed - goodnight!

wait for them to ask you who you know

I'm feeling v. sleepy and should go to bed asap - I have to work tomorrow, and since I've almost completely put it out of my mind this week, it may be tricky to get back into it. Today was fine, though - [censored] and I messed around the house this morning, and then we tested my new paint sprayer this afternoon. We were a day behind where I intended to be with painting because of the water heater fiasco, and we didn't actually end up painting anything (other than testing the sprayer on a red wall that is no longer red but also isn't the color I plan to paint it). It's kind of a pain to clean up, but not that bad of a pain - so there's a chance I'll get with it and paint this week before / after work, but we shall see.

After [censored] left to go back to his home, I tidied up downstairs, put things back in order since I'm not painting in the living room, cleaned the kitchen, etc. Then I went out to Mom and Dad's - I had seen them briefly earlier in the day when they had stopped by, but tonight we hung out for a couple of hours. Mom made french fries to go with the leftover turkey, and there was still a bit of pie and apple crisp left, so it was a pretty tasty dinner.

Then I came back to my place, finished tidying, and took care of some online tings tonight. And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

all my favorite colors

No blog tonight - I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night, and I exerted myself all day. I didn't get a chance to play with my new paint sprayer, but I did get as much as possible prepped for tomorrow. Forward progress on other activities was halted due to [censored]'s more pressing need to install a new hot water heater, but I now have hot water and [censored] is still speaking to me, so I take that all as a good sign.

So, [censored] successfully got the water heater installed and it looks much better than how the previous one was hooked up, so I'm grateful for that. [Censored] also put in the new shower head in my bathroom, so I may truly enjoy the hot water tomorrow. My dad also spent some time outside with a skid loader and a dump trailer - the previous owner had left a raised flower bed made of old railroad ties, which was good in some ways because I could see it looking good when it was full of flowers (and it also kept you from backing straight into the tree stump that was part of the flower bed). But it was also bad because it made getting in and out of my driveway more challenging than it needed to be.

I also ran some errands - primarily to buy paint, which is in such short supply nationally that the lumber yard can't get a lot of stuff and I may not be able to get enough paint there to finish every room in my house in the next month. But, they mixed me six gallons and sent me on my merry way without having to sign or pay for anything (see: yesterday's post about the beauties of charge accounts in small towns). So we'll see what that means...but that's a problem for Future Sara.

And now, I'm falling asleep typing this and have a million things I want to get done tomorrow. Goodnight!

no colors anymore, i want them to turn black

Today did not go as expected, and I am choosing to find it hilarious rather than admitting that it's actually not, in fact, hilarious. [censored] and I had grand plans to paint today, and [censored] had already taken down blinds and removed outlet covers, etc. when I got up. I made some coffee and started taping trim, and all was going swimmingly...

...until [censored] went to the basement for something and discovered that my hot water heater had died and sent a river of water across the basement. Of course, the river did not go to the floor drain because that would be too easy; it mostly headed for the corner where [censored] had stored some stuff. Luckily it only got a few boxes wet; unluckily, some of those boxes were books. But also luckily, [censored] discovered the problem before anything got worse, and was able to shut off water to the house and prevent a catastrophe.

So this, of course, changed today's plan. [censored] and I pushed the water to the drain (using a long-handled squeegee broom helpfully left by the previous owner, as though he's had water down there before....). Then we went to our parents' house to shower and eat, which restored a bit of my mood. Then we went to the lumber yard, where I picked up more paint chips while [censored] loaded up a water heater in his truck. I also established an account at the lumber yard so that I can just charge stuff and they'll bill me later - this is a nice thing about #smalltownlife, since 1) I established the account just by giving them an address (but that was probably easier bc they know me and my family), 2) now [censored] or I can charge house stuff there and I get an itemized bill at the end of the month without having to track what I'm spending on each project every time I go in. Store accounts used to be all the rage - the convenience store I worked at in high school allowed store charge accounts, so people could just sign a ticket and pay the bill later. But I don't think they're a thing in the coastal elite places I have spent most of my adulthood....

sssanyway. [censored] is a complete boss when it comes to home improvement projects (and also, strangely, has a master plumber license despite never having been a plumber), so he drained my old water heater, hauled the new one down to the basement, and is in the process of hooking it up + fixing some other plumbing weirdness while he's at it. While he did that, I kept prepping for painting, which will happen someday. We took a break to go to Mom and Dad's for supper - leftover Thanksgiving was just as tasty as original Thanksgiving. Then we came back into town, and [censored] did more plumbing stuff while I started prepping the living room for paint + measured all the windows for new window coverings (which will have to happen someday, unless future guests want to sleep in a guest room with the previous owner's red chiffon saloon/bordello sheer curtains).

And now, I should really sleep - I'm useless with the plumbing projects, but I'm hoping to paint tomorrow even if [censored] isn't available to contribute to that cause because he's doing other even mightier causes. Goodnight!

thanksgiving, sans parade

I'm super tired and need to go to bed posthaste if I'm going to accomplish a million things tomorrow. Today was great, though - I got up this morning in time to make apple crisp (and verify that my oven works, and talk about kitchen remodeling with [censored]) before heading out to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving. Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Drewbaby's girlfried Sammie came down for the day, and it was really lovely - I'm overfull, and I had too much sugar, but my mom made an excellent Thanksgiving feast and we all enjoyed it.

And now, I need to sleep - I'm already falling asleep while writing this, so bed would be a better place to do that. Goodnight!

somewhere between the soul and soft machine is where i find myself again

I'm v. v. tired and I spent a lot of money today, but all in all those things are good problems to have. Or, at least, they will provide some of the supplies I need to fix other problems. [censored] and I left around 8:45 this morning to go to Des Moines, and we spent nine hours either driving or walking around big box hardware stores looking for stuff.

This was helpful for me because 1) some of it was not stuff I would have known what/how to buy; 2) [censored] took his trailer, so I was able to get a Best Buy Black Friday deal on a 70" tv and haul it home without having to pay for rural delivery; 3) we can fit a lot more stuff in one trip in [censored]'s truck and trailer than I can in my Audi. We picked up the tv first, then went to two different Menards (a Midwestern version of Lowes) and one Lowes, with a stop somewhere in there for lunch at Panda Express (not as good as [censored] or I remembered). I bought a variety of light switches and sockets, a kitchen faucet, a showerhead, a toilet, a whole passel of wall registers to replace old/broken hvac vents, a laundry sink (for a project in which I might get a sink in my garage, which would be v. handy), and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Of course, just because the stuff is now sitting in my garage doesn't mean that anything will actually change or get done - and the first step (for me) is painting (even if the first step for [censored] likely involves some plumbing). But I feel prepped to make some significant progress over the next month or so, so we'll see what happens.

When we got back to my house, we unloaded and were both pretty fried, but I tidied up the kitchen before heading to my parents' for dinner. We ate a bunch of leftovers to clear out the fridge in anticipation of tomorrow's feast, and then I experimented with an apple peeler / corer for a possible recipe tomorrow. Eventually, [censored] and I came back to my place, and I tested the oven to make sure it works (answer: pretty sure!). And then, I organized my bedroom and put as much stuff away as I could given I have no drawers or shelves.

And now, I really need to sleep - I didn't get enough last night, which didn't make today any easier, and I need to get up and bake before Thanksgiving dinner. Goodnight!

i dyed my hair blue, it came out a seasick sort of green

I need to go to bed immediately because [censored] and I have grand plans to go to Des Moines in the morning to pick up a million house goods. Today was great, though. I got plenty of sleep last night, made coffee when I got up, and wrote for almost an hour, which was fantastic. I then spent the morning prepping some tings and painting samples of paint on the walls in the living room and guest room - I'm not sure I've found the right color, but at least I made a start (which now means I can't change my mind about painting).

I took a break at lunch and went to my parents' house, where I talked to them while eating leftover Mexican food from the other night. I spent the afternoon messing around my house some more - there are a million things I haven't done, and not in the upbeat peppy way of the song from Hamilton. But I have some ideas about next steps, so I'm ready to get cracking.

I took another long break at supper - [censored] had picked up bratwurst from the next town over, so we had brats and baked beans and it was perfect. It was not ideal weather for grilling - it was a clear night earlier and I could see a million stars, but the wind was pretty brutal and has gotten worse. I stood outside with my dad while he grilled, which was not the same as offering to do it for him, but at least there was solidarity, right?

After dinner, I talked to my mom for awhile, and then I came into town and messed around counting things that need to be replaced and giving [censored] moral support while he stood in the basement and looked at the plumbing setup and mumbled to himself. [Censored] also fixed my bathroom faucet aerator so that it doesn't shoot water out like needles, so that was pretty great. And now, I need to sleep so I can get cracking tomorrow - goodnight!

all eyes on me, i feel like i'm a superstar

Today was a great first official day of vacation. I mostly spent it preparing to do house stuff - kitchen stuff, organization stuff, etc. At some point, [censored] and I went to the lumber yard to buy paint - I got a couple of samples, but they told me I can only get three more because they only have three more quarts of the base, so I need to choose wisely. Paint is apparently in short supply and Kent can only order four gallons of ceiling paint a week - so I bought four, and we'll see where that gets me.

I also looked at flooring - it's not the most important thing to do here, but it's a) good to do before there's a ton of furniture, b) probably a good idea since most of the carpet is 30 years old, and c) imperative to know whether I'm doing because it will dictate how careful I am with painting. I definitely didn't make any decisions, but it was helpful to get a sense of what it's going to cost so that I can make some plans.

Then, I ran past the grocery store (and ran into two different high school teachers), dropped things off at my house, and went to my parents' house, where I made tater tot casserole. It turned out deliciously, if I do say so myself. And now, I am going to attempt to go to bed and get a lot of sleep so that I can tackle some other projects tomorrow - goodnight!

one for the now and eleven for the later

I'm in my house in ye olde Iowa, where there are approximately a million things I want to do. Today was extremely uneventful - I woke up in Lincoln, showered, packed, had a bit of hotel breakfast, grabbed a bit more breakfast and coffee at a McDonald's in Nebraska City, stopped for gas in Mt Ayr, and was home by 12:30. I got my car unloaded thanks to some help from [censored]; I'm certainly not unpacked or settled in, but at least my car is empty.

Then I went to my parents' house, which is less than five minutes away, so that I could liberate them from all the boxes that showed up over the last ten days. There's more coming, but the arrival of a trash can today meant their front door was officially blocked. Of course, I said hi to them as well - and after we chatted for a bit, [censored] helped me load everything into my car and [censored]'s truck so that we could relocate it all to town. We got everything but the paint sprayer (did I mention I have a million projects?), but that can wait.

Then I went back home, took a nap, and then ran into town to grab takeout Mexican for dinner. I spent some more quality time with my parents, but eventually I came to my house, where I put together one of the four lamps I ordered (this house is v. dark because there aren't enough lights), hauled stuff upstairs, tidied up, and talked to [censored] about various house projects + (unrelated) various comedy shows. On my drive today I listened to the rest of the excellent SmartLess interview with Ryan Reynolds, and I also listened to Conan interview Weird Al, so comedy was on my mind.

And that's a good thing, because this house is comedy and I definitely have some tings to joke about with it. But for now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

i can tell that we are gonna be friends

I am in Lincoln, Nebraska, which is a town I have spent far too much time in over the past four years (and by that I mean I sometimes stop here on my roadtrips, and anytime is more than I want). I knew I wouldn't get out of my house in Denver in time to make it to Iowa straight through, and I was right - but I did make it out around 12:30, which is better than I had anticipated. 

If I hadn't worked yesterday, that might have been different. But I had to load my car, and it was like playing real-life Tetris - I acquired a bunch of stuff in Denver to bring to Iowa so that I can start in on some house projects, and that stuff + the various tings I need for the next few weeks took up all the available space in my car. It's not completely crazy - I can still see out all the windows, and I probably could have fit a couple more things in the passenger seat. But loading up took quite awhile. I also had to tend to my houseplants, clean out my fridge, eat, shower, etc.

So, all of that was fine, and then the drive was completely uneventful. I listened to some music, and I listened to some podcasts - Conan O'Brien talked to Joel McHale (great), Dax Shephard talked to Stanley Tucci (Stanley was awesome; Dax can be a bit long-winded), and I'm now in the middle of SmartLess (Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes) talking to Ryan Reynolds. This was a departure from my usual trend of listening to a slightly depressing nonfiction book while crossing Nebraska, and so far it's good.

I *maybe* could have made it the whole way, but I would have gotten home right before midnight, and that seemed too risky. So, I checked into a hotel, grabbed a burger sans bun from Wendy's, and chilled until now. And I should really go to bed so I can get on the road - I have approximately one million packages in my parents' front entry (so many that now my dad is not just sending photos to me of the accumulation, but sending them to the entire family), so I need to get there before anything else shows up (spoiler: more is coming). Goodnight!

these two sides of my brain need to have a meeting

I didn't intend to skip blogging last night - I was halfway through the post and then distracted myself with other things (and then worked until midnight rather than going to bed as planned), and I went to bed thinking it had posted. But if I skip two days in a row, someone eventually asks if I'm alive - so the scraps of last night's post are now up for posterity.

sssanyway, today was fine - mostly a scramble to get ready to leave for ye olde Iowa tomorrow. That involved running errands, picking things up, and also doing day job stuff - all the usual things to prep for not being in Colorado for the next six weeks. I don't know what time I'll get out tomorrow - I'm almost entirely packed, but I haven't loaded my car, and I need to take care of some house stuff before I go. So, I suppose I should go to bed and fortify myself for the drive ahead.

And finally - happy birthday to my dad, who turned [x] today! Hopefully we'll be able to celebrate in person this weekend. Goodnight!

we took the bones out from the road

(note: I thought this posted last night but apparently I didn't finish it! Oops!)

I had intended to work late tonight, but my desire to work failed me, and so I should go to bed so that I can get up early tomorrow and take care of some tings. But today was pretty good, all in all - I slogged most of the day, and was delighted when I remembered that I had smoked salmon in the fridge and managed to find one remaining frozen bagel buried in my freezer. I took a quick break in the afternoon to run over to a coworker's to drop something off; it's finally actually chilly in Denver, but there's no sign of snow yet.

Unfortunately for my parents, I spent the evening ordering more stuff to be delivered to their house - but fortunately for them, I will be home by Sunday and so can clear out the massive amounts of stuff in their front hallway before more stuff arrives next week. The challenges of stocking an empty second house remotely are certainly interesting, but I'm enjoying the process.

take my shoes off and run

I have nothing new to report today. Work was fine, all in all; and then I ended it with a chat with Heather (aka dear respected madam), so that was a good way to close out the work day. I didn't do as much as I planned to do this evening because I was lazy and daydreaming of travel, but I ate some leftovers, messed around online, and then did an hour or so of day job stuff that didn't get done earlier in the day.

And now, I should sleep - I have a dentist appointment stupidly early tomorrow, and since I haven't been to the dentist since the beforetimes, I'm definitely overdue. In my defense, that tongue biopsy that kicked off the covid lockdown really scarred me for dental work (and I had no desire to drive to Boulder to my previous dentist just to get a cleaning), but I'm going to Katie's dentist who is six minutes from my house, so it's about as convenient as it can be (even if it is too early tomorrow).

So, it's time for bed - goodnight!

damn mrs. perkins again

No blog tonight - today was fine and I actually rode my peloton after work (the post-ride stretch still hurts my abdomen a little, but otherwise it felt good!), but otherwise I had a v. lazy evening. And now I should sleep so that I can repeat these feats tomorrow - goodnight!

killing your idols is a chore

I'm for some reason quite tired, so I suppose I should go to bed rather than engaging in bedtime procrastination like I normally do. Today was good, though - I was in a much better mood than I was yesterday, and so I got a lot more done. I spent the morning making some chicken tortilla soup for a coworker whose daughter came down with covid yesterday; her son and husband tested positive today, so they are not having a good weekend. I also talked to [censored] for much longer than the few minutes I was asked to donate, but it was great to solidfy plans for Thanksgiving and what we will / will not do at my Iowa house.

Then I ran a couple of errands, took the soup to my coworker's house (which was a bit of a trek, since she lives 45mins away), and got my first peppermint mocha of the season. Then I went to Lowes, where I hit the painting supply section hard - painting in the main task for my break back in ye olde Iowa, so I wanted to make sure I had some baseline supplies. And then I came home, talked to my parents, ate takeout Thai food, wrote for a little bit, and then ordered some stuff for Iowa. My parents' front hall is turning into a warehouse (not the first warehouse in the family, probably not the last) since I'm shipping stuff to them rather than to my own house, and it's probably going to get worse this week since I just ordered some lamps, pillows, and a comforter (thanks Mom!).

And now, I should make good on my earlier statement and go to bed - goodnight!

some killer queen you are

I had a pretty lazy day, which is probably what I needed. I lazed in bed; then I hung out in my living room and made lists and researched home supplies for my Iowa house. I also took a nap at some point, which was surprisingly necessary. And I did manage to drag myself out of the house to buy groceries, so tomorrow will be better for it.

Eventually, I ran out to get a manicure, which repaired my nails - I was three weeks out from my last one, so things were getting a little dire. Then, I picked up Katie and we went out for dinner. This was a cold exercise since we decided to eat outside in deference to Colorado's spiking covid cases, but the place we tried (Attimo) was really good all in all. They're more of a wine bar than a restaurant, so the food options were limited (but tasty). The wine flight, however, was quite good, and our conversation was a delight despite being chilly.

And now, I need to sleep an attempt to make tomorrow less lazy (or at least more satisfying) - goodnight!

here we are in the pouring home

Yay for the weekend - I'm definitely ready for it. I had too many meetings for a no-meeting-Friday (like, six hours of meetings, plus a couple of hours of work before and another hour after). And some of them were so annoying as to be completely laughable. But overall, the day was fine - and now I'm ready to start the weekend in earnest.

Sometime around the end of the day, my phone buzzed to tell me that my dad was waving at me - he pulled into my driveway in Iowa just to wave at my camera and leave. So, we caught up for a bit, which was nice. I should have made something delightful for dinner, and I suppose I did to some extent - I tried a new-to-me cocktail from the Cocktail Codex (which so far has never steered me wrong). It's a Southside, with gin, lime, mint, simple syrup, and bitters, and it was so good that I had two. The second one was paired with chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries from the freezer, which were pretty delicious (especially on the second cocktail; and especially since these gluten free chicken nuggets were pretty good). And then I worked on the design for my Christmas card - I'm not feeling a lot of cheer or good will towards men right now, but I'm going to try to fake it.

And now I think I'll go to bed so that I can do some fun tings tomorrow - goodnight!

i get high like colorado

Today was fine, all in all; nothing exciting, but nothing terrible. I had meetings all morning, and I got up early to do some work before they started. I had an open-faced tuna sandwich for lunch, which is like a practically-free version of a poke bowl (okay, it's nothing like a poke bowl except for the fact that it includes tuna; and it's also not practically free because gluten free bread is expensive and I only by bougie tuna instead of Chicken of the Sea; but it's one of my go-tos and I love it).

And now, despite this post being boring, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

i can crave you, but you don't need to know

I'm super sleepy, but that's what happens when I have an 8:30am meeting (especially when my last meeting didn't end until eleven last night). Today wasn't too bad, all in all, but since I worked the whole day, I have nothing of interest to report. So, I think it's time to start winding down - goodnight!

you ride the waves but don't ask where they go

No blog tonight - work wasn't all that onerous today, but I had a 10-11pm meeting that just ended, and I have an 8:30am meeting tomorrow, so it would behoove me to go to bed. Goodnight!

captivated

I have nothing of interest to report today - I was not particularly enthused to get out of bed this morning, but I was quite productive despite that. I worked all day, with a quick walk down the street around lunch to buy some cards (which also turned into buying a gorgeous journal that will *definitely* make it possible for me to write a book). Lunch was leftover soft tofu soup, and it continued to be excellent - I'm astonished. At lunch I also marinated some steak for fajitas, so I felt quite accomplished from a cooking standpoint.

After work, I took a break, and then I cooked those fajitas - they turned out v. well, especially with a whole avocado's worth of guacamole and some refried beans. Then, I wrote for a bit in my new journal, mostly to prove to myself that the journal is going to solve my entire writing career (I swear it will). Then I did some day job stuff. And then I ended the day by looking at fixtures for the Iowa house - the choosing is sort of fun, but I'm sure I'll rue the day when I suddenly have torn out both bathrooms and am shitting in a bucket (but I'm sure I will have bought a v. nice bucket!).

sssanyway, now it's time for bed - goodnight!

dawn breaks like a bull through the hall

I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night and I was dragging all day, and so even though it's only 9:30pm I think I'm going to go to be early and hope that I can get up early enough to do the work I should have done this weekend. Today was great, though - I spent the morning lazing around and talking to [censored] about measurements for some tings at my Iowa house. Then I spent an afternoon browsing in person at Crate and Barrel and also Room and Board - I don't want to go too overboard buying furniture for Iowa, especially when there are many tings that need to be done before we get into the cosmetics and aesthetics of the furniture. But I also want it to feel comfortable when I'm there, which probably means I need more than just the sectional the previous owner left behind.

After I was done browsing (and got some great ideas), I drove home and talked to [censored] some more. Then I talked to my parents. And then I made dinner - I tried making soft tofu soup, which is one of my favorite comfort foods from San Francisco that I never get here. It turned out surprisingly well - perhaps 10% less good than the restaurant version, but still 90% better than I expected on my first try. So, yesterday's wandering around H Mart was #worthit, and this was so easy that it may become a comfort food here too.

And now, I should sleep - goodnight!

old teeth and a curse for this town

I inadvertently stayed up too late and I'm falling asleep on my couch as I type this, but I had a v. nice day all in all. The last couple of months have been almost absurd in terms of what I've been able to do - between my dad being in the hospital a couple of months ago + my surgery immediately after that, followed by two weeks in Iowa and almost two weeks in Tahoe / SF, this really was my first weekend day here since August when I could actually lift things / walk around / hang out without my belly hurting. So, that was pretty exciting!

I mostly spent it thinking about food - I haven't cooked much at home in forever, mostly because of the aforementioned issues (and cooking when you can't lift more than ten pounds is not ideal). So I made a sweet potato and sausage hash this morning - it's one of my go-tos that I somehow haven't had in months, and it was delicious. Then I went to H Mart in Westminster in search of ingredients to try some new-to-me recipes. H Mart is a Korean supermarket with all sorts of imported Asian food products - and I always feel like it's amateur hour when I go there, since I don't know where anything is and spend a lot of time searching for things in the wrong place. For example, the dried anchovies were not at all where I expected them to be (and not at all something I usually buy). So, my shopping trip took a big chunk of time. But I got some cute little housewares along with the food products, and I got a milk tea to drink on the way home, so that was fun.

When I got home, I did a bunch of stuff around the house. Then, my new neighbors came over for a drink and some snacks - so far they seem nice, and I think we'll get along great. After they left, I put the dried anchovies to use - I'm going to try making soft tofu soup tomorrow, and it requires a dashi (stock) of water, dried kelp, and dried anchovies. I've never cooked with dried anchovies before, but pulling their heads off and removing the inner waste (similar to deveining shrimp) was oddly satisfying, and the dashi smelled amazing. So hopefully tomorrow's experiment turns out well.

I then ended the evening by looking at furnishings for my Iowa house, which was a fun exercise even if it's just an endless series of things that say they'll ship next July. And now I really should sleep - goodnight!

i need to be where you are for no reason at all

I'm still absurdly tired after my epic trip to the west coast, but I'm starting to feel slightly recovered. I had a really nice day today - I slept later than I planned, but work was less onerous than usual ("no meeting Friday" = "four hours of meetings"). So I had time to eat some leftover chili for lunch, and I also walked down to St. Kilian's to buy some delicious cheeses and salamis and other tasty victuals for a girls' night in with Katie.

The excitement of knowing that she was coming over made it hard to focus on work, but I kept going until around five (with a brief stop to introduce myself to my new neighbor). Then I placed a grocery order - Whole Foods' move to start charging $9.99 even to Prime members clearly cut their demand dramatically, because I placed the order at 5:30 and was able to get an 8pm delivery. Paying for delivery was #worthit so that I would have food for breakfast tomorrow + food to cook the rest of the weekend without wasting time on a grocery run, so we'll see what I end up making.

Katie came over a little after 5:30, and I assembled a delightful charcuterie plate (which I am so delighted by that I have decided to embed a picture for those of you who don't follow my stories on the 'gram).

We hung out for several hours, and we drank a bottle of Sangiovese from the stash that I bought at the winery during Nathan's birthday party this summer - I'm happy and deeply relieved to report that the bottle of wine was great, which is good news since I violated the cardinal rule of not ordering wine from wineries after already getting intoxicated (the cardinal rule is in place after too many bottles purchased after the second winery of the day, none of which were ever as good as my blitzed palate thought they were).

So, Katie was in great form and we had a fun evening in - it was way more relaxing to sit on my couch than it would have been to go out, although I worry slightly about whether I'll ever recover the extroversion / ability to go out every night that I possessed pre-pandemic. And now, I should really sleep - there are a million things I want to do this weekend, and sleep is necessary to start the pursuit of all of them. Goodnight!

or else i'll suffer withdrawal

Today was a decent enough first day back - I didn't get enough sleep and my meetings started too early to allow me to enjoy puttering around my house, but it was all fine. I also had a poke bowl for lunch, which went a long way toward making me happy. And I was done by five, so I scrounged up a red onion from the basement, thawed out some hamburger, and made my favorite beef and black bean chili, which is one of my winter comfort foods. Winter is definitely coming, even though it's not here yet - and I'm getting the urge to hunker, so we'll see what that turns into.

But now I think I shall go to bed - goodnight!

when the night is overcome you may rise to find the sun

I am back in Denver (yay!) after a slightly longer than planned day of travel. Today was pretty long overall - I woke up early after sleeping somewhat fitfully, and then I walked to the office (with a stop at my beloved Philz) in time for an 8:30am meeting. I did three meetings from there, walked back to my hotel, did one more meeting, finished packing, and checked out around 11:30. Then I drove to the airport, dropped off the rental car, checked my bag, sailed through security, and spent several hours eating + slowly sipping rose + doing a lot of work. This turned into more work + slightly more rose than planned because my flight was delayed by an hour, but I eventually made it onto the plane, where I dozed and drank coke zero and messed around on my phone.

Despite the delay (or perhaps because of it), leaving the airport was v. smooth - my bag came quickly and I got to the curb just as my uber pulled up, and there was no traffic getting home. So, I think I can unwind and get some sleep and hopefully wake up in time to grab coffee somewhere before my first meeting - I usually keep emergency cream in the fridge for when I return from a trip, but this time I don't have any and I'm somehow going to have to survive the morning without it. Goodnight!

are you stuck in your old ways

I had a really nice, really exhausting day in the office in San Francisco - as much as I don't want to be in an office full-time, I will say that it's pretty nice to see people. I had to be there by eight so that I could do a two-minute presentation to a senior VP, and then I dipped straight into a full day of meetings, coffees, lunch, etc., etc. And then I went out with some of my team for happy hour / food at Coqueta - the tapas were great, as were the cocktails, but the gluten was probably a bit more than I should have allowed myself.

And now, I really need to sleep - I have a bunch of meetings in the morning before heading to the airport, and they will be easier if I am a little more well-rested than I am right now. Goodnight!

but i left it way too late

I was back at work today, which was an unwelcome reawakening - it was nice to see some people in person, but I'm also tired and wanting to still be on vacation. So I worked all day, with a nice lunch break. Then I came back to my hotel, took a nap, did a tiny bit more work, and then met up with Lauren (aka Subz) for a long dinner at Tailor's Son. The service was absurdly slow, but that meant we were able to catch up without being rushed out, and I found it quite wonderful. We also ate outside, and I found myself dreading the onslaught of winter in Denver... But that's a problem for another time.

And now, even though I would like to wax poetic about how great Lauren is, I need to sleep - goodnight!

you've been dreamless and sleepin' for years

I am in San Francisco and it feels like home, which is such a strange dislocation because my tiny town in Iowa also feels like home and there is no way for my brain to reconcile these competing desires. Today was exactly the day I wanted (other than the fact that I got exactly five hours of sleep last night). I woke up in San Bruno and had a latte and some conversation with Veronica and Adam (and their dog Gus, who realized approximately eight hours too late that I broke in last night). After we chatted, I took a v. abbreviated shower and packed my bags and said goodbye (sadly)....

And then I drove to Alameda, where I picked up Claudia (who will legally be known as Santy Claude in less than a month, once Thanksgiving is over and her true identity is revealed to the world). We left her adorable toddler and less-adorable husband sitting on the porch while we went to a tea shop, where we indulged in hot beverages while hanging out on the back patio. This trip has served, as always, as a good reminder of how v. much I appreciate the friends I have collected along the way - Claudia and I were random freshman roommates back in 1999 and could have very well found each other contemptible (or, barring that, forgettable), but we're 22 years in and going strong.

So, Claudia and I caught up in a delightful but abbreviated fashion (she had a cold, which her toddler gave her via a loving donation of spit and particulates). After, I dropped her off at home and met John and Jess at Saul's, which is the home of many previous lunches (don't call it brunch in front of Jess). Saul's has created a bunch of outdoor seating due to the panny, so we sat outside and it was pretty perfect for my usual order of corned beef hash. John and Jess also gave me the best birthday present ever - a copy of a board game called 'Raccoon Tycoon', which also involves railroads, and so hits every interest I have. So, I predict some new adventures for Wampler Family Christmas (tm) in the future.

We spent a couple of hours having brunch/lunch + gelato, and then I went back to their place for a bit more chatter. Eventually, I had to come back to SF, so I checked into my hotel, took a nap, and bailed on dinner plans with Chandlord due to extreme exhaustion. The panny has left me unable to deal with so much socializing, and I have to work tomorrow, so I indulged in a lowkey evening of unpacking + talking to my parents. I also had a late dinner + wine at the bar where I had my last hotel bar experience pre-pandemic - I am pretty sure it was the same bartender, but instead of talking to a stranger who had dated someone in the Denver mafia, I talked to a stranger whose wife was at UCSF for a brain tumor. Separately, I am 99.5% sure that someone else at the bar was someone I had had a v. bad first date with years ago; I  compared notes with the bartender, who was reluctant to say anything at first bc she's been burned by secret shoppers in the past, but our resulting conversation was hilarious.

And now, after fully reimmersing myself in my San Francisco ways, it's time for bed - I'm back to work tomorrow, and that requires some amount of focus. Goodnight!