playing my candied tangerine telecaster

I didn't write today, and I'm trying not to let it eat at me. I did, however, get a lot of sleep last night, which is a feat I want to repeat (and need to go to bed immediately if I'm going to accomplish that goal). And I was awake in time to greet Randy when he arrived - suddenly, after almost two months, he's basically done, which is both v. exciting and also a little bittersweet. He finished installing the vanity today, touched up a bunch of paint, fixed some grout in my kitchen, and did some other finishing touches before packing up the majority of his tools in the garage. He hasn't billed me for anything yet, so I assume I will see him again - and he's supposed to come back to finish some trim work after the flooring is installed, so we're not totally done. But as much as he's been great, I'm really looking forward to having my mornings to myself again.

Tomorrow morning is not that dream come true, though - flooring installation starts tomorrow, unless they are held up elsewhere. Since that's happening tomorrow, I had to run errands today - so I went to the next town over to hit up bigger grocery stores + Walmart in preparation for this weekend's festivities. I found just about everything I needed, so presumably we'll be well fed for Christmas Round Two.

After Randy left for the day, I did a bunch of cleaning / moving tings in preparation for flooring. Then, I went out to my parents' house - my mom offered to cook for me, and I wasn't going to turn down a cheeseburger (even if my coconut chicken curry leftovers are so delish that no one else in the family will take them from me because they don't want to make me sacrifice such a delight).

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

my heart's been pouring through my chest

I really wanted to be as lazy as possible today, but the house project stops for no one, and I'm also hosting people for Christmas later this week, so I had to get cracking. I did sleep in a little bit, but then I forced myself to get up, shower, and make eggs and hash browns for me and [censored]. Breakfast was v. tasty and I enjoyed it up until the point where I spilled coffee in my lap - not a lot, and luckily it had cooled down a bit, but I think I gave myself just a bit of a burn to remember the moment by for the next few days.

After that, I definitely wanted to be lazy, but I forced myself to clean the living room. This doesn't sound like an onerous task, but construction has produced so much dust that I needed to clean everything. And that meant tediously vacuuming all sides of all cushions on the sectional, since it was clear that the couch was just as dusty as all the other surfaces. After a few hours of cleaning, the living room was mostly restored to cleanliness - it still has some issues because it's housing items that belong in other rooms, but for now it's much better.

I also did a variety of other tings, like three loads of laundry, and also cleaning out the bathroom closet so that we can install new flooring this week. And eventually, I made burrito bowls (dinner of champions) for me and [censored], as a continued effort to (under)pay [censored] for leadership contributions to the house's plumbing situation.

And now, I need to gather my thoughts in anticipation for the week - I want to write as many days as it's possible to write, and that means starting tomorrow. Goodnight!

awake on my airplane

I have returned to ye olde Iowa after a completely uneventful day of travel. I left the house in Carlsbad this morning before anyone else was stirring, and I didn't have to wait for an Uber to take me to the airport. He and I had a nice chat about nineties fashion and I was hideously reminded that I used to have a t-shirt with Tweetie Bird on it, which has apparently come back. I am amused and appalled.

At the airport, check in was a breeze (thanks to stacking premier status + precheck + clear), and I ate breakfast and grabbed Starbucks before my flight. We landed in Denver early and my gate for Des Moines was directly across from my gate from San Diego, so it could not have been easier. And my bag was the first one off the plane in Des Moines, so travel really worked in my favor this time.

Of course, leaving the airport changed my mind about the wisdom of coming home - it was sixteen degrees, snowing, and icing on top of that. So, my drive home was a bit treacherous, especially since my headlights iced over and weren't very bright. But I got groceries on the way, so at least there's that.

When I got home, I unloaded my car, and then [censored] and I grabbed Mexican food (even though we really wanted [censored], but the ice was kind of brutal). And then we discussed house updates and watched two utterly absurd episodes of Letterkenny. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

where a girl sells her nights to the god of ocean tides

No blog tonight - I have to get up early tomorrow to go to the airport, and I'm too exhausted to string together a compelling entry. But I'm delighted to have been at my retreat this week, and I'm excited to write this book, so hopefully I can keep that momentum going through the flight and when I get home. But for now, I'm signing off - goodnight!

i know the sea leads me straight to the sun

Retreat continues to go quite well - I'm starting to figure out the shape of my book, and the series that it starts, so that's a v. welcome feeling after a long time wandering around in the story forest looking for a book. I was lazier this morning than I intended to be, but I eventually hung out in the gazebo for a couple of hours and brainstormed / talked to Barbara/Grace/Veronica / ordered a v. perfect poke bowl for lunch. It was my third poke bowl of the week and it was definitely the best - so much so that I want another one tomorrow, but I probably will abstain so that I don't give myself mercury poisoning.

After lunch, I sat in the gazebo a bit longer, but it got too hot, so I moved to the living room to write. I got six pages, which I will definitely take. Then, we met to discuss business for a couple of hours before eating dinner - we ordered from a Thai place that was really excellent, and Anne and I shared some curry and pad thai that made my heart happy.

After dinner, I hung out downstairs for awhile, then absconded with Veronica to the roof deck to brainstorm my book. I also talked to Anne about it for a bit before deciding that it was in my best interests to go to my room and recover a bit of my energy / wind down before bed.

And now, I really need to go to bed - goodnight!

did i leave my life to chance

I am weirdly exhausted, which I attribute to not getting enough sleep and then doing some heavy brain activity all day every day. I'm going to try to go to bed tonight and not nap for tomorrow, but now I think there's a good chance I'll adjust to the time zone just in time to fly home. C'est la vie, I guess.

But despite that, today was great. I woke up a little after seven and made myself a coffee, but then decided it was dump to wake up and so slept/dozed for an hour and a half. I also treated myself to some retail therapy - I went out to breakfast since I do not want to have to cook anyone for anything here, and then I bought a sweatshirt and a flannel shirt that I think I will put to good use.

I spent the afternoon writing outside with my usual crew - it felt just slightly chillier than yesterday, but it's also approximately sixty bajillion degrees warmer. Then we adjourned to Fresco, which was as delicious as promised by the group that went there last year while I was on my covid deathbed.

After dinner, I hung out in the living room, and now I am desperate to go to sleep - goodnight!

good times never seemed so good

I am still not getting enough sleep, which is common on trips, but I'm delighted with my days. I got up this morning, put in a pair of contacts, put on a pair of pants, and walked down the block to Starbucks to grab a cold brew. Then, I sat in bed and wrote for a couple of hours. I unfortunately let myself get distracted by some research that turned into procrastination, but things are starting to gel and I'm excited to see where they go.

After that morning session, I took a shower and adjourned to the gazebo by the beach, where Barbara was writing. I ordered a poke bowl and hung out down there for a couple of hours - Anne joined us and we spent some quality time plotting Barbara's next book, which is always fun (way more fun when you don't have to slog through writing it). Veronica also joined us, and it's clear we're here from different climates since she was wearing cashmere leggings and a sweater and gloves, and I was sitting in the sun in my tank top. But it will be approx zero degrees when I get back to Iowa, so I'm soaking this up.

Eventually, I decided to take a break from writing, which turned into a somewhat ill-advised nap. Then, we ordered dinner and some of us walked to pick it up, since it was around the block. And then I spent the night hanging out - mostly chatting with Barbara, although I did some v. late brainstorming with Anne after most people went to bed. We also all survived a rather ridiculous interlude where it seemed someone might have been trying to get in from the garage, and people had varying responses to this (my contribution was to tell the blonde not to get killed by going into the garage by herself to prove to us that nothing was happening).

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

i talk to myself and it's quite surprising

I had an excellent and productive first day of the retreat. I woke up unusually early for me, but I'm sure it's because of the timezones + the fact that I can hear people moving around and others are also early risers. So, I made a quick and dirty iced coffee with a Starbucks Via packet, and then I wrote in bed for an hour and a half while watching the ocean through my window. Yes, you should be jealous.

After that, I took a shower, grabbed a second iced coffee from the actual Starbucks down the street, and got a mani/pedi. I didn't completely love it, mostly because I have sensitive toes and they were too aggressive with cutting / filing - but it felt great to get my nails done for the first time in almost three months. My bougie ways are really suffering in the country, but it's probably good for me.

sssanyway, while I was getting my nails done, I started reading a book called SATURNALIA - so far so good, and I like her depiction of a Pennsylvania after a lot of climate disasters. After the mani/pedi, I came back to the house, ordered a poke bowl to get delivered, and ate it on the rooftop while chatting with Veronica and Barbara. Then, I thought about writing and instead took a long and delicious nap.

I spent the late afternoon in a long business-focused brainstorming / sharing session - I got some good ideas, but at this stage in the game I really need to be thinking about writing more than about tracking URLs. Then, we ordered food, which is a trick for fifteen people, but we managed (mostly by getting from two different restaurants - my Mediterranean was tasty, so #noregrets).

I spent the later half of the evening talking to Grace and Sylvie, and hoping that Sylvie will be my new friend coming out of this retreat (I'll probably make more friends than that, but Sylvie seems to be a winner). I also chatted a bit with Barbara and Anne, but I missed out on both the hot tub (because I was too cold) and a game of Cards Against Humanity (because they don't need to find out yet that I'm evil).

And then I came to my room and wrote a couple more pages, and now it's officially time for bed - goodnight!

right here coming through

I'm exhausted, but I'm safely ensconced in my retreat room (I got an ocean view!, which means I probably don't need to play ocean white noise on my phone). I had a lovely day despite inadequate sleep - I had coffee while I got ready, then checked out of my hotel and took myself out to brunch.

Brunch was good, although I shouldn't have ordered huevos rancheros because my old cafe friend Tony made the best ever and all other huevos rancheros are a disappointment. Then a bunch of bees arrived, so I adjourned to a coffee shop + wine bar to get some work done. I had a good writing session, so I'll take it ....

And now, having survived the start of the retreat, it's time for bed - goodnight!

all my tears have been used up

I'm exhausted, but I've reached Carlsbad, CA, approximately two hours after I'd hoped to be here. My travel day was actually relatively smooth, but we sat on the tarmack in Denver forever waiting to get de-iced, which was a bummer. Luckily, I was upgraded, so I had champagne to tide me over... But unluckily, that means I have more of a headache than I might otherwise have.

Still, I'm glad to be on my way - I have a writing retreat starting tomorrow night, and I want to write a million words (or, ten thousand). I spent yesterday and today preparing to go, since I barely remember how to pack anymore. Hopefully I brought everything I need, but we'll see when I sift through my belongings to discover whether I brought clothes or trash.

And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

i get lost on my way searching for liars

Today was much less social than yesterday, which helped me to get some tings done. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep in like I wanted to because Randy always shows up just before eight and I usually try to make it downstairs around his arrival - but I was not feeling particularly chipper to be awake this morning.

The day didn't entirely improve because it was vaguely snowy and very grey all day, which does not help my mood. However, I managed to work despite that - I spent a lot of time doing some office-related tasks, which felt good to get organized. I also had a burrito bowl for lunch, which was delish. And, I had a coaching call for the writing strengths class that I'm taking - the call is a 1:1 included in the course registration, and it was super helpful to talk through my own unique blend of strengths with someone (especially someone who matches approximately five of my top ten strengths).

So, the coaching was v. interesting - I walked away with some practical tips for my writing, plus some new ways about thinking about some of my problems. I'm eager to see what's in the remaining lectures, but at this point I'm ready to start setting some writing goals for this year with a bit more intention than I've had in the past couple of years.

After that, I messed around with house stuff and then continued organizing my office. Eventually, I made a v. delicious ribeye using the reverse sear method (roast it low until ~95 degrees, then sear it and then let it rest), and I also made some broccoli and heated up a frozen-for-a-gloomy-day twice baked potato. The ribeye hit the spot, so #noregrets on that even though my house now smells like the charcoal part of a barbecue.

I think wrote just a teensy bit, and then [censored] showed up and we talked for awhile. And now, I need to go to bed - it's not at all late enough for me to *want* to go to bed, but I'm so tired from not getting to sleep in that I think I need to make the shift. Goodnight!

so i woke up with a curse, i was searching i was looking through the purse

I had a strangely busy day, which was probably good because it was incredibly gloomy out, and I could feel the freezing rain start to drag on my mood. Rather than sitting at my desk or kitchen counter, I spent most of the day curled up on my chaise in my bedroom - good for my coziness, bad for my spine.

I spent some time in the morning reading the lecture for my writing class and thinking about the main takeaways. Then I had a long chat with a college friend, which was really lovely. After that, I swung my kettlebells for a bit, took a shower, and had a late, ravenously-consumed burrito bowl for lunch. And I chatted with Katie, who is always a delight.

I spent the afternoon taking care of some tings and talking to Randy, and then I had another long chat - this time with Barbara, whom I hadn't seen in ages, and who has now abandoned Colorado just like I have (although she moved to a small town on the Oregon coast, which is far more picturesque than here, although maybe my view of the gas station and the rodeo arena is just as impressive as her view of the Pacific Ocean). It was great to catch up and talk about writing and life, and hopefully we'll chat more now that I've (mostly) recovered from my extreme Zoom aversion.

After that, I procrastinated a bit, did some laundry, and ate leftover salmon for dinner. Then I wrote a handful of notes to myself about my book, folded my laundry, and spent the rest of the evening reading the first section of THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA. It won the Booker Prize last year, and it's a magical realism novel set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's civil war - so far it's interesting, and the premise/voice are compelling. But I need to stop reading it and go to bed immediately if I'm going to wake up in time for construction to begin tomorrow - goodnight!

and you'll begin to wonder why you came

I had a lovely day, despite the fact that it continues to be mercilessly grey and dreary. I made a lightning-quick trip to Des Moines out of sheer necessity - my tires were basically bald, so I had an appointment to get them changed, and then I picked up a bunch of alternative tile options for the bathroom, grabbed a salad to go, got a handful of groceries, and came back home. The tires are something I could have theoretically done closer to home, but the Audi is an unfamiliar vehicle in the land of tricked-out pickups, so I thought the city would be a better place for such service.

The tile, of course, could not be done closer to home - I had picked up trim pieces for the shower, but we decided they weren't quite the right depth, so I got some more tile (and some more shower shelves) and returned a previous set of shower shelves. And the groceries perhaps could have been done closer to home, but I'm excited to have nice-looking blueberries for my oatmeal this week.

sssanyway, I was home by 3:45, which was good. On the way, I listened to part of Prince Harry's memoir - it's amazing how that family has so much innate privilege, and also so much built-in hierarchy on which to treat each other badly. Also, his recollections of his mom's death are unbearably sad. There's a lot of memoir to get through, which will take awhile since I usually only listen to audiobooks in the car - but I would say, without going into any of the rest of it, that his hatred of the British press is entirely justified.

When I got home, I procrastinated for awhile, said farewell to [censored], and made myself some v. delicious salmon teriyaki with roasted broccoli and rice. Then, I talked to Veronica for awhile, which was what I needed. I also checked in on the Iowa State score, which was great (we beat Texas!). And then I finished reading A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE - it's a bizarre space opera that I think I enjoyed? Actually, I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it. And now i want to read the sequel, but I also have a million other books on my list, so we'll see.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

waving your banner all over the place

I got some good stuff done today, even if my 'writing' consisted of 3min around 8:30 before I suddenly had to make a critical decision re: shower niches. The remodel is closing in on the home stretch, though - another 2-3 weeks and we'll be basically done, which is exciting.

Today, however, we're not done. [Censored] is feeling this pain more than I am, since [censored] has to shower in the prison shower in the basement while the main bathroom is out of commission - and [censored] also has to complete a fairly major plumbing project in his non-day-job hours. I must say that I'm pretty happy that I picked up writing as a second profession, rather than developing any of the trade skills, since I would not want to have to relocate any bathroom plumbing myself.

So, to reward [censored] for continued excellence in being Mario, I made burrito bowls tonight. I did a bunch of other random stuff today as well, and tonight I was actually able to focus and cross a couple of bigger tasks off my to-do list. I'll take all of that and hopefully carry similar energy into tomorrow.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

sometimes quiet is violent

I did a whole bunch of stuff today, and I missed some stuff I intended to do - so it was pretty par for the course. I got up, did some kitchen stuff, and made breakfast for me and [censored] - the usual eggs, with some hashbrowns to add a bit of decadence. I also did a bunch of office-type work, which felt good even though I had a headache from looking at my screen.

I should have had a friendship renewal call this evening, but I ended up canceling due to a combo of the headache + all the stuff that [censored] and I were doing around the house - we put a bunch of stuff in the dumpster, and [censored] was doing some plumbing and needed the occasional assist. And, I had volunteered to make dinner for the family tonight, so I prepped some food at my house and took it out to my parents' to cook. I made mongolian beef with rice and broccoli; my dad and I thought it was great, and I'm always happy when my dad likes something because his taste buds are basically destroyed and they're fickle on the best days.

Then I came home, and I messed around on my computer to be in range for the occasional help needed by [censored] as he continued the house project. And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

took my heart to the limit, and this is where i stay

I feel like I did some things today, but upon further reflection, perhaps I didn't. I woke up this morning and made some v. tasty eggs for me and [censored]; to defer to my bougie tastes, I cooked the bacon/onion/mushroom filling together, then split into two pans and made [censored] some scrambled eggs with those toppings + cheddar, and made myself scrambled eggs with those toppings + goat cheese + some extra herbs. This was a good touch, since we were both happy with the outcome, I got to eat something bougie, I used some leftover goat cheese that would have gone to waste, and it took approximately one minute of extra effort.

After eating, I did some work upstairs, trimmed my bangs, and showered. I spent the afternoon trying to get some writing done before throwing in the towel and watching the ISU/Kansas game with [censored] - it's a shame ISU lost, but there is never shame to losing to Kansas at home, and ISU is having a great season so far.

Then, I hung out for a bit before calling in an order for Mexican food. [Censored] and I picked it up and took it out to the parents' house, where we ate and discussed various tings (like Ukraine and auger bores and mural painting). Then, Dad challenged us (but mostly [censored]) to a game of Ticket to Ride, so we stayed and played - and Dad actually won, which was delightful. I would have rather won myself, but I'm happy for anyone who beats [censored], and Dad came out on top. [Censored] managed to get second, which I am statutorily obligated to tell you. It definitely wasn't my game, since my destinations were terrible, but it was fun to hang out.

Then I came home, talked to [censored] about a variety of house projects, and took care of some business. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

right at the borderline

I had a good day, all in all, although my struggle to focus on writing is real. I got up in time to greet Randy, made some coffee, and read the lecture for the writing strengths class I'm taking. Then I got ready and went into the other town to meet someone to talk about a volunteer project that I got roped into - I'm actually happy to get involved, but I wasn't expecting it.

This led to an impromptu meeting with someone else to discuss the same project - it's the 30th anniversary of when a group of artists painted a bunch of murals in town, and they're coming back to do some more this summer. The group started here, but they have since painted every year in towns all over the world, which is pretty cool. So I met with the woman who started it - they need registration/website help, which I'm much more equipped for than climbing a ladder or painting (despite my experience painting my house this year).

Then I came home, ate some lunch, did some house stuff, and mocked up a registration form. My mom also visited, which was great. And then I made chili, did some laundry, and mostly procrastinated all evening, to my chagrin. [Censored] showed up at some point, and reminded me that we have lots to do this weekend - so I should probably sleep. Goodnight!

criss-cross in the wrong direction

I did a lot of thinking today - which doesn't mean that I actually wrote fresh manuscript words, but there are some days where thinking is more important than anything. I also continued to navigate my remodel (I had no decisions to make today, which was a relief), and I had a v. boring but tasty sandwich for lunch. I also had a long catch-up with Heather (aka dear respected madam), whom I hadn't talked to in ages - she was as great as ever, so I'm glad that my post-day-job aversion to Zoom is slowly healing because I really do want to be able to connect with people again.

After I talked to Heather, I quickly reheated some chicken and composed a beet salad for dinner. Then, I went to a meeting of my secret society - I'm the second youngest person there, but I've been a member longer than several of them, which is an interesting situation. I guess in this case I'm what the tiktok kids would call a 'nepo baby', since my mom and aunt and grandma and great-grandma were all in the group, which is why I was initiated at eighteen instead of waiting until a more respectable age. All that aside, I had fun at the meeting and got some jello for dessert, so I'll take it.

Then I came home, did some more thinking/journaling, and wrote a couple of emails (v. unusually for me, don't get excited). And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

don't tell me I lost a step

I have nothing to report today - the remodel continues, and I find it very hard to focus while that's ongoing. I also had to drive an hour round trip (to the next county north) to pick up an $8 part that we needed to vent the new exhaust fan. But today was smooth, all in all, so I'll take it.

Eventually, Randy left, and I took a walk to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Then I wrote for an hour, which was v welcome. And then I ate leftover beet salad + roasted chicken, procrastinated, and eventually read some more of the book I started the other night (A MEMORY OF EMPIRE, which won a big award a few years ago; my verdict is still out, but the section I read tonight was pretty interesting). And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

socialite and heiress

It's Monday, which means that Randy returned and progress continued on my remodel. The bathroom is moving pretty fast, so I'm hoping we'll wrap up pretty quickly, but we'll see how this week goes.

While Randy was remodeling (with a big assist from [censored], I mostly stayed out of the way. This meant doing some work, taking a walk to pay my water and lumber yard bills, and planning out my week. I also used my new rice cooker to make steel cut oatmeal and it was *perfect* - I'm never going back to other methods unless I am forced by either knifepoint or the complete collapse of the national power grid.

At some point, I ate a leftover burrito bowl, and then I trained with Alyssa - I find kettlebell snatches weirdly soothing (when I know I won't hit my light fixture), so we did some of those and I ended in a great mood. Then I went out to see my mom and pick up some stuff that I'd left there during the holidays - I beat the rush (aka the skunks), so my mission was successful.

Then I spent some quality time roasting beets for a fancy beet/arugula/radish/goat cheese/pistachio salad, and roasting some chicken hind quarters to go with it. [Censored] was leaving tonight and so I made a meal that I was craving, but then [censored] stayed later than usual and had to hear me go on and on about how good my dinner was, even though it would look highly suspect to anyone who doesn't like beets or prefers white meat chicken. But I was v happy to eat it, so #noregrets.

Then I rounded out my evening by reading a book, and now it's time for bed. Goodnight!

you'll just do it again

Nothing exciting happened today, although I did make some v. tasty hash browns. The day was more filled with house stuff than I would have preferred, but I've put almost everything of note back into my kitchen. Of course, there are many boxes of kitchen tings in my basement, and I'm not sure what to do about that - combining my Denver kitchen with my Iowa kitchen after I'd already bought a bunch of stuff for Iowa (when I assumed it would be a second home) is kind of a mess. But that's a mess for another day.

For now, I'm just happy that my kitchen is fully functional. I celebrated by making burrito bowls tonight, which always go over well with [censored] (who deserves them, since [censored] spent the whole day doing house projects too). [Censored] and I also measured out dimensions for various tings in the bathroom so that we can nail that down with Randy tomorrow, which felt good.

And now, on this boring, entirely remodel-focused note, it's time for bed - goodnight!

got to keep on pushin', mama, you know they're runnin' late

I have nothing particularly noteworthy to report - my house is still a mess due to construction, and it's even more of a mess because I'm trying to put my kitchen goods in order and that means things are strewn all over every available bit of counter space. However, I'm deeply excited to get my kitchen in order - and I added to the mess because I made a grocery run to Des Moines yesterday and also got a delivery of cooking ingredients from an Asian online grocer today. As soon as tings are in shape and I have my days mostly to myself again, I'm eager to cook as many tings as my heart desires.

So, as I referenced, yesterday was a Des Moines run, which I made quick due to my remodel situation. After, [censored] and I picked up takeout from the local Mexican restaurant and ate it with our parents. Then I spent some late evening time watching the last two votes for speaker of the house, which was as absurd as expected - why McCarthy wants the job is beyond me, especially after Ryan and Boehner were both pushed out by their own party, and especially because it's already clear that the far-right fringe is going to ruin McCarthy's life until he retires or loses the House again as a result of their disorganization. But it made for excellent late night tv, so we'll see what fresh misery the next two years of disfunction bring.

Today, I slept later than I should have due to last night's shenanigans, and then I did some writing/writing-adjacent work this morning before showering and making a late breakfast. Then I talked to Veronica, who was in fine form. And then I spent the afternoon doing some kitchen organization activities and watching pieces of the ISU/TCU men's basketball game, which ended well for the Iowa State side.

Eventually, [censored] and I went out to our parents' house, where we had vegetable beef soup and played a game of Ticket to Ride (I can't remember who won, but it was probably [censored], and I probably came in last due to poor luck in the destination draw). And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

even old new york was once new amsterdam

I feel like I did a lot of tings today, but perhaps I did nothing. I'll let you be the judge with my list of accomplishments:

• I walked to the hardware store through the snow, where I was briefly propositioned by someone (hard pass, although it became a hilarious topic of conversation later because my contractor heard about it when he took his coffee break there).
• I talked to Katie for quite awhile, which is always a delight.
• I reheated shrimp fra diavolo for lunch, which I shared with [censored] (perhaps to [censored]'s dismay).
• My dad showed up to inspect the kitchen and drink some iced tea, which was nice.
• I watched a video and read a couple of lectures for a writing / performance / strengths class that I'm taking, which reminded me that I really am wired to need to research copious amounts while in the story formation phase.
• Along those lines, I read most of a book about ancient Cahokia, which was the largest city in North America at one point pre-Columbus (as large as London was at the same time ~1050AD), and is located east of St Louis.
• I baked potatoes to go with some leftover/frozen pulled pork and leftover/indestructible nacho cheese for dinner.
• I gave an extremely minimal amount of assistance to [censored] on a plumbing project in the basement, which thankfully didn't reveal any (more) centipedes.

And now, I really need to sleep, since I'm going to bed much later than intended - goodnight!

feel the city breaking and everybody shaking

I had the nicest day I could have given how dreary the weather was - I am reminded why I used to live in California, since January here is miserable. Of course, California isn't so great right now either...but I wouldn't mind some sun somewhere soon.

Despite the usual remodel distractions, I was able to get some stuff done this morning. I also cleaned my bathroom and vacuumed my bedroom and office, so I felt moderately industrious. Randy finished the countertops and other tings today, so the kitchen is about as finished as it can be at the moment - and it looks fantastic, so I'm v excited.

To celebrate, I made a new-to-me recipe for fettuccine and shrimp fra diavolo (that's "shrimp [censored] devil" in Italian). While my kitchen is still not totally put together since most of my cookware is boxed up, this was the first time I could use my oven with an actual counter top next to it, so it was v exciting. I think the layout is going to be great for cooking, so I'm looking forward to spending some quality time in the kitchen in the near future.

After I ate my v tasty pasta and cleaned up the kitchen, [censored] arrived and we chatted for a bit. Then I came upstairs and wrote a tiny bit, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

transliteration

Today went much better on the construction front - Randy was able to fix both countertop issues, and his cousin came over to help him move it from the garage onto the kitchen island, so that's all coming together nicely. I'm lucky that Randy's cousin apparently owes Randy some favors, and also lucky that Randy is quite good at what he does and so was able to get everything going again. He also grouted the rest of the backsplash (sans what I asked him to take out yesterday)...so once he finishes attaching the island countertop and adds a couple of other finishing details, my kitchen will be fully functional. Yay!

Of course, immediately after that, the main floor bathroom will be non-functional (boo), but it's a worthy cause and will be v. nice when it's done. Even though construction went well today, I was pretty distracted - it's hard for me to get focused writing time in the midst of stuff. However, I did spend several quality hours reading a research book on witches and elves (hopefully Randy didn't see the title...or, if he did see it, knew that it was for my writing; otherwise, everyone at the lumberyard will know by tomorrow that I'm a wannabe witch, which isn't true). I'm trying to figure out some questions about the magical systems in my story, and so research is a better way to spend my construction time than instagram.

After Randy was done for the day, I procrastinated a bit, ate dinner (leftover salmon, so good), and then had a long chat with my friend Caroline. After we were done, I did manage to get almost an hour of writing time - I haven't been writing at night, but I may have to until construction is over.

And now, I should sleep so that all the fun can begin again tomorrow - goodnight!

this song's about the beach

Today went almost comically awry on the construction front - things have been proceeding nearly perfectly, but things cannot always be perfect, and today was the day that proved it.

Part of it was my fault (a miscommunication + a possible mistake on the part of the person who sold me tile, which led to me requesting Randy to remove the last bit of backsplash so we can re-trim it), and I did not enjoy having to request a redo even though Randy was, as always, v. nice about it.

Then there was a possibly misglued bit of laminate that may or may not have led to a chip on the edge of the island countertop. It's repairable, and [censored] v. helpfully went above and beyond by going to the store and chatted up the guy in charge, whom he knows, to organize the fix. But this did not make anyone's day any happier.

And then, there was a very slight cutting mistake...again, repairable, but by this point I think we all thought the day was cursed (since all of these issues were highly uncharacteristic, and taken together were almost statistically impossible), so hopefully tomorrow is better.

And finally, completely unrelatedly, Claudia messaged me to say that Hong Kong Flower Lounge closed at the end of 2022, which is a real bummer. This was the home of the infamous "Shrimp or Feet?" game that we played in our early twenties, and I have many fond memories of many hours spent eating dim sum there, before Claude and I discovered our mutual gluten sensitivities (which explained why we always fell into headachy comas after dim sum). So, that was an extra dose of sadness to round out the day.

sssanyway, these are the joys of home ownership and remodeling, so all in all it's totally fine. But I was quite distracted by all of this, which impacted the rest of my productivity. I did get an hour and a half to do some writing stuff this morning (in between the tile conversation and the first counter issue), so I'll take that as a minor win and move on.

The rest of my day was pretty uninteresting, and I spent way too much time on my phone while lingering around the construction (+ decompressing from it after), so I need to unwind and go to bed. Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully tings are smoother then. Goodnight!

i ain't no fortunate son

Welcome to 2023! I rang in the new year mostly like any other weekend day (which means I made scrambled eggs and hash browns for me and [censored]). However, I did write for an hour this morning, which felt great after some extended time off during the holidays. I also took a walk around town this afternoon since it was a balmy forty degrees. And I read a book tonight...so in terms of filling the first day of the new year with things I want to do the rest of the year, I think I got off to a good start.

Beyond all that, I mostly did house stuff. I also made a new-to-me recipe for dinner with great success. Ina Garten's cookbooks never fail me - I got the new one for Christmas, and I made her salmon teriyaki tonight, and it was excellent. It's a super simple sauce (soy sauce, olive oil, maple syrup, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes), boiled/reduced just a bit, and then poured over salmon to bake for <15min. I also roasted broccoli to go with it, which turned out perfectly. And, I experimented with my new rice cooker, which is a gift to myself - I had never thought I needed one before, but I used to live places where I could get Asian food whenever I felt like it, and I find myself wanting perfect rice more than ever. So far, I'd say it was a worthwhile investment - the rice really was perfect, and made it easy to time with the other meal components.

So, supper was excellent - even [censored] thought so, and turning [censored] into a roasted broccoli convert is a crowning achievement. After that, I cleaned up the kitchen, and then read a research book about elves and witches (so far, I don't know where the elves come in, but we'll see). And now I must sleep - goodnight!