do you want to kick it seaside

I had a very nice low-key day. I got a ton of sleep last night, which was very welcome after a long week of fitful slumber. And I worked from my hotel this morning while having breakfast, which is one of my favorite things to do. 

At some point I went into the office and said hi to Adit - we recently switched spaces and I wanted to acclimate before the million meetings I have on Tuesday. Then I met up with Heather (aka dear respected madam) for lunch at Regent Thai. She lives in Oregon now, but she happened to be in SF this week, so it was v serendipitous to see her. At some point Durand joined us, which was also great, and it was a v nice couple of hours.

Then I came back to my hotel and worked the rest of the day, with some breaks to talk to Katie and also to Chandlord. And now I need to sleep because I have a v rigorous day planned tomorrow (which means I'm going to veg out at a spa for a few hours). Goodnight!

heartbreak hotel

No blog tonight - I'm safely ensconced in my hotel in SF after wrapping up an excellent conference. I drove to the city with Emily, which was a v fun way to end, and then I grabbed pizza at delfina, ran some errands, unpacked, etc.

But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

greensleeves

I'm still v tired, but I've survived my event. Today was painful, but reasonably so - I had breakfast (a buffet that was much worse than yesterday's), had some meetings, snuck off for a solo lunch somewhere that wasn't in the broiling sun, had some afternoon meetings, and took another break.

The evening's activities more than made up for a somewhat quiet day. We went to a nearby castle, which was built by some rich guy from imported 13th-century brick. The happy hour and castle tour were nice, and then I had a very long, intense dinner conversation by someone who happened to be seated next to me, which was a real highlight.

At some point Adit tricked people into making it seem that I wanted three desserts, and then we had more wine and a magic/mentalist performance that was mind-bogglinglgy good. And then I wrapped up the night with tequila, and I don't think I made any bad decisions as a result.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

so baby pull me closer

I'm still too exhausted to blog, but I had a good day - an amazing breakfast and good general session, a lunch that almost gave me heatstroke, a v interesting afternoon session on regulatory issues (fun bc I like politics), some good one on one convos, and a lightning trip back my hotel to freshen up for the evening activity. 

The evening was at Safari West, and it involved riding around in a big safari-style jeep and looking at random (mostly non dangerous) animals they've acquired over the year. Dinner included the best gluten free mac and cheese i've ever had, followed by a long conversation with Adam. Then I did an hour of playing drums just to appease the conference organizer...

But my goodwill can only extend so far, and tonight it did not extend to the after party. So I got back to my room at eleven and I'm hoping I'll sufficiently decompressed to go to sleep. Goodnight!

tell 'em bring another out, we need plenty more

I'm too tired to blog, but I had an excellent first day at this event. I spent the morning doing a bit of work and then grabbing some breakfast nearby before walking to the main venue to kick things off. At each point in the day I was a little worried that there wouldn't be enough food, which turned out to be a ridiculous fear - after my tasty breakfast, I had some sushi and a little bit of a smoothie at the welcome thing.

The food continued at the afternoon activity I had volunteered for - which I thought was a wine tasting at one winery, but actually started with a whisky tasting at a distillery. The distillery is built into the old Calistoga Depot and there were a bunch of rail cars that had been refurbished to house little restaurants / shops, which was super cute. We sat outside and tasted whiskies while also eating a ton of food - chips and guac, oysters, sandwiches (which I did not partake in), and profiteroles (which I also did not partake in, since I don't eat gluten and I did eat a ton of oysters).

Then we went to the winery, which was gorgeous - I went to Sterling on a birthday bus one year, but they had to do a total remodel after being badly damaged in the Napa fire a few years ago. Their new facility is beautiful, and the gondola ride up to the venue is fun. I didn't finish my wines, but they were quite tasty, and there was more cheese and charcuterie there as well...

Then I had to do a meeting as soon as I got back to the resort, followed by another meeting, followed by dinner out in the vineyard (which was tasty, but it was way too hot to be sitting in the sun and I wanted to die just a little bit). I saw the beginning of the entertainment, but then I quietly skipped out because I am v. tired and need to preserve my energy for two more days of back to back stuff. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

like a tear in space

I'm extremely tired, but I have switched gears from Iowa to San Francisco and I'm #inittowinit. I woke up at 6:15am Iowa time after slightly fitful slumber and took a quick shower before heading to the airport. Des Moines was as easy to fly out of as if usually is, and my flights were both perfectly on time, which gave me time to grab some food in Denver. I probably should have worked on the flight, but I mostly napped in preparation for the rest of the day...

... And that was a good thing because I was on as soon as I hit the ground in SF. I grabbed my bag, went to the rental car center, rendezvoused with Jamie, and picked up a car. We drove into the city to retrieve Martha, and then we headed for Calistoga, which is almost a two hour drive (like going to Des Moines, but the destination is a bunch of wineries instead of Costco).

There was some debate about whether we should check into our hotel or go straight to our event, but checking in prevailed, which I appreciated since I wanted to put on a real bra and some jeans instead of the sweats I wore to fly in. We reached out event just in time for happy hour, which was followed by an excellent dinner (in which we determined that one does not, in fact, spatchcock a fish). And then I was dragooned into singing a bunch of karaoke with Adit because that is what is required of us at team events.

And now I need to sleep before I die, since my body thinks it's 2am - goodnight!

to make you feel my love

I had a very delightful day celebrating Drewbaby's wedding to Sammie (even if apparently no one else calls him Drewbaby). I got up in time to go to the venue and help decorate, but I mostly spent that time using the last paper cutter owned by a millennial (aka me) to cut the wedding programs. We all had sandwiches for lunch, and I hung out on the patio with Becky, Brian, Kathy, and [censored] before heading back to the hotel to get ready. I made good use of that time and repacked so that I can get out of the hotel and to the airport as efficiently as possible tomorrow. 

Then I went to the church, where we took family photos before the wedding. It was a little bittersweet - other than the rehearsal yesterday, the last time I was in that church was for Uncle Mark's funeral, and he was very much missed today. My parents made it up in time for photos, although they didn't stay for the reception. But our side was well represented even if we're not a particularly large crew.

I was the usher (the only usher, for reasons that I won't blog about but that I find hilarious), so I handed out programs until it was time to start. The wedding was beautiful, and Sammie looked gorgeous (as did Andrew, I guess). And then we all headed to the reception venue, which was at a local winery. 

The reception was quite nice too - they had a buffet that was very well labeled for gluten free, and the food was delicious. I didn't cry during the wedding, but I cried during the first dance and the parents' dances. And I had a nice time catching up with Terry and Sheila (my gram's cousin) and many other guests. 

[Censored] and I ducked out earlier than we should have because I have an early flight tomorrow, so we came back to the hotel and had some of the flourless chocolate torte that Becky had baked for my dad and forgotten to give to him (#sorrynotsorry, it was excellent). And now I need to sleep so I can shift great tomorrow - goodnight!

let it ride

Today was a bit more stressful than I intended it to be because I had a million things to do before leaving the house and it was a real scramble to get out the door. I left at the exact last minute that I could possibly leave to make it to Des Moines for my mani/pedi appointment, which was a v necessary thing to do given how abysmal my nails looked. Then I returned some things to the mall, bought a wedding card, and made it to the church at exactly five pm for the rehearsal. 

Drewbaby is getting married tomorrow, although apparently no one else at the wedding calls him Drewbaby. I am the sole usher, which is a tremendous responsibility, but I think I can do it. We all rehearsed, and then we went to the Ames country club for a v nice rehearsal dinner. I sat next to Aunt Kathy, who has a v nice dress for the party, but it was weird sitting at a table between her and [censored] and not playinga board game.

Other guests showed up for a welcome party, and Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian arrived in time for that, which was great. We all departed around nine, and now I need to sleep and hopefully recover a bit of my energy for tomorrow - goodnight!

glue

I'm v. tired - I worked all day, and I've spent most of the evening attempting to pack for a trip of indeterminate length with too many activities packed into it. Yesterday I had to go to Des Moines with my parents, and today I slogged in an attempt to catch up before being off again tomorrow. Drewbaby is getting married this weekend, and I have to go to Des Moines tomorrow afternoon to run a couple of errands before the rehearsal. But after the wedding, I'm flying straight to California for a work event, and I'm currently scheduled to stay for an extra week after. This, as you can imagine, makes packing tricky.

I want to be someone who goes carry-on only, but I don't know if it will happen this trip. However, I'm mostly packed and I'm taking a v. reasonable amount of clothes, so it may be feasible if I cut down on all my toiletries / shoes / etc. That, however, is a problem for tomorrow - and I need to go to bed asap if I'm going to get up early enough to do everything I need to do before I leave. Goodnight!

icebreaker

I had a not-exciting day - it was perhaps exciting for me in little spurts, since I got a lot of work done, but none of it is exciting for my loyal reader(s). And while I would like to find a story to make up for you so that this post could be more interesting, I do not have the energy, and I should really start winding down. You can leave your negative reviews with the management - right now, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

florida!!!

I have nothing to report - my Mondays are always too meeting-intense, and today was no exception. It's a bit of a rough way to enter the week, but it's still fewer meetings than I used to have every day at my old job, so I guess I should be grateful. But it's infinitely more meetings than I had when I wasn't working for someone else, so I'm less grateful than I might be.

However, all the meetings were good, and I had ample balcony time, so I'll take it. After [censored] left I ran to the grocery store, and then I came home, did some laundry, journaled for awhile, and generally procrastinated. Then I did one work thing that I really needed to get done, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

ga ga ooh la la

Sorry for not blogging yesterday - I actually had many tings happen, but I was too tired to recount them. I got up yesterday morning and went into town to work at the library's annual book sale. Since I'm now a proud member of the board, this occasionally requires some other effort beyond our monthly meetings, and the book sale is one of them. Another board member was there too, and we spent a v. nice time selling books from 10-12.

Then I sped home to grab a couple of tings, drove back into town, and uncharacteristically opted into riding in the Old Settlers parade on my class float. It's my reunion year, and tradition requires that each reunion class ride in the parade. Also uncharacteristically, our class won the prize for best class float - which was awarded before anyone seemed to realize that we were just listening to 'Party Like it's 1999' for an hour straight. The float experience was a little hysterical because of the characters involved + some non-frozen Otter Pops, and also because we for some reason we decided to go through the parade again. Everyone lining the square looked much less happy to see us the second time, probably because we were behind the horses and everyone was ready to go.

After that, I went to my reunion, which was a chill and nice couple of hours. Then I came home, with no desire to go out again - but I was lured out with the promise of free steak. So I met my parents at our usual prime rib place, and we had a v. nice dinner (and I discovered they sometimes order dessert when [censored] and I aren't there).

Today, I didn't get much done - three loads of laundry and some random household tasks, but far less than I intended. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

ro ma ro ma ma

My day felt longer than I would have liked - I got up after much less sleep than I needed so that I could shower and get some work done. I had a long but mostly fun meeting, and then I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and headed for Des Moines. I needed to see my allergist, so the drive was necessary - but so was pulling over at a gas station so I could spend thirty minutes in a zoom with my boss. There are upsides to living here, but needing to drive ninety miles to go to the doctor isn't one of them. 

After the allergist, I ran a couple of clothing related errands and then met Drewbaby for happy hour at Louie's Wine Dive. My shrimp tacos were tasty enough, and it was nice to spend some quality time with him. Then I came home, struggled to stay awake, spent too much time on my phone, and now feel a v unwelcome second wind coming on even though I'm already in bed. So I'm going to try to stave it off and sleep - goodnight!

fa la la la la la la la la

I have been staring at my screen entirely too long - after slogging all day, I had to write a final report for a grant that the mural festival got last year. No one remembered that we had gotten it, and somehow I didn't find out about the reporting requirement (which is technically not on me anyway) until after the reporting deadline had passed. So we got an extension to today, but it was still a scramble to fill out approximately sixteen pages of info on what we spent and why, and who benefitted, etc.

But that's done and I submitted it at 11:49pm (a whole 11 minutes early for the extended deadline), so hopefully there are no further surprises. The rest of my day was fine - as I said, I slogged all day. After my last meeting ended at 6:30, I baked some bacon and made some cobb salads, one of which I ate. Then I relaxed on my balcony and watched the lightning in the distance while talking to [censored]. And then I finished this grant report, and now I have to get my brain to shut off so that I can get to sleep. Goodnight!

and now the bells are ringing

I was not at all in it to win it today - I did too much yesterday and burned out my productivity brain cells, and the rain and clouds didn't help my mood. I got just enough done that I didn't feel like a complete failure, but it was close.

However, I grabbed a little bit of stuff from the grocery store, cooked some chicken for salads tomorrow, ate some leftover spaghetti sauce (with fresh spaghetti), and did some other random tasks. And then [censored] got home, so we caught up briefly. And now I need to go to bed so that I can get up early tomorrow and hopefully be more capable of finishing tings. Goodnight!

la la la la la

My eyes are crossing from looking at screens too much today, but it was good overall. I got over eight hours of sleep last night, which is what I needed, and I still managed to get up in time to crank through a bunch of work before I had to present something in a meeting. It's amazing what I can get done when I have three hours and some fear of embarrassing myself if I show up without a presentation.

After that adrenaline rush, I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting through a whole bunch of meetings. I wrapped up around 6:15, and I should have done some personal work...but instead, I ate some peanut butter and jelly, poured a glass of wine, and sat on my balcony with a book. I rarely do this because I can't control myself when I pick up a book, and tonight was no different - I read the entirety of THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE, which is the fourth book in a cozy mystery series that I had started earlier this year. It was fun and a little bonkers; the plot felt a little weak, but there was a dementia subplot that was really moving, and I overall enjoyed it.

Now, though, I should sleep so that I can accomplish a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

this love's for gentlemen only

Today was a bit rough because I stayed up so late last night - I am not as young as I used to be, and while my brain likes working at one a.m., my body needs eight hours of sleep. But despite how rough today was, I still got a decent amount done.

I probably should have done more work tonight than I did, but my brain refused to cooperate. So after [censored] left, I did a bit of journaling, ate some leftover pizza, did a bit of work, and then cleaned up my room and watched the replay of the men's javelin final. Yes, the Olympics are over, but I had wanted to see this event because the guy who won did it by setting an Olympic record, and he won Pakistan's first-ever individual gold. He basically had to crowdfund his training and plead for funding to get a new javelin for the Olympics, so it was a pretty cool feat to witness.

And now, I'm going to go to bed early and hope I can crank out a bunch of work in the morning - goodnight! 

have fun cheap thrills

I accidentally stayed up way too late, but hopefully this means I have a head start on work tomorrow. Today was mostly fine, although I woke up too early and couldn't go back to sleep (unusually for me). But I spent the day doing a variety of tings around the house, attempting to write, doing a some day job stuff, etc.

In the evening, I made a triple batch of spaghetti sauce, which netted 4 quart jars of sauce for the freezer + dinner tonight + plenty of leftovers for tomorrow. [Censored] and I ate the spaghetti while watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics. I'm v. sad it's over and also sad that I didn't watch much of the second week - between the concert in Cedar Rapids + going to Des Moines on Friday + being at my parents' last night, there were five nights in the last seven that weren't ideal for watching. But the closing ceremonies were fun, and I'm v. v. excited for LA in 2028 (and, of course, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy). The handoff from Paris to LA was full of bonkers displays of things the US and LA are known for, and after all the patriotic energy of this Olympics, I expect the next one to be even bigger.

But now, I desperately need to go to bed if I'm going to be functional tomorrow - goodnight!

in the night, the stormy night, she'd close her eyes

I had a decent day - it was almost too cold this morning to work on my balcony, which made me sad. But I slogged all morning and got some good work done, so at least there's that.

I skipped out a little early this afternoon to run to Des Moines and get my hair cut. I'm telling myself this was a valid work activity since I want to look my best for an event I'm going to in two weeks (although I'm also going to Drewbaby's wedding in two weeks, so maybe that was a bigger incentive). I also dropped off some dry cleaning, ran to the mall to return a couple of tings + buy a couple of other tings, made a quick stop at Trader Joe's and Target, and overall fulfilled many of my city needs.

Then I came home, and I should have watched Olympics but I messed around on my laptop and talked to [censored] instead. But now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

the things we do to the people that we love

I'm so exhausted, but the trip to cedar rapids was worth it. I spent the whole day working from the hotel - [censored] did pick me up so we could have lunch, and then I spent the afternoon slogging in the lobby. I also availed myself of some happy hour rosé and nachos before [censored] picked me up, which was a nice accompaniment to the spreadsheet I worked on for hours. 

Then we drove home, with a brief stop at a McDonald's drive through. I wanted to watch Olympics coverage when I got home, but I'm so tired that I'm going to go to bed instead. Goodnight!

are you drowning or waving

I had an excellent day. I worked from the hotel all day, with a break to eat lunch from doordash. Then I took an Uber downtown for a ridiculous activity that I will explain later. 

Then I met up with [censored], who was at a conference directly adjacent to my activity. I chatted up some of his coworkers, which was fun, and then we came back to the hotel and rested for a bit.

The rest of the evening was fantastic - we had dinner at Black Sheep, and then we walked to an amphitheater to see Bush. I have loved them for over twenty years, and I can report they still put in a great show. But for now I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

trouble in the suez

I had a v busy day today - I got into slogging pretty much as soon as I woke up, and I continued all day with a v brief break for lunch around 1:30. I did a bit of work while sitting on my balcony because I wanted sunshine, but it was too hot to even sit out there by 10:30ish. So I spent the rest of my day chained to my desk, which at least made for some productivity. 

When I was done, I hurriedly packed so I could go to cedar rapids with [censored]. We're seeing a concert tomorrow (theoretically) and so I tagged along on his usual commute. It was all v boring and v uneventful, and now I'm ready to go to bed so I can make the most of my day tomorrow. Goodnight!

what we doing? what we chasing? why the bottom? why the basement?

I didn't do nearly enough today, but that's often par for the course for Sundays. I sat on my balcony and journaled / made lists / daydreamed until it was too hot to be outside anymore. I took care of various tings inside after that, and then I showered before [censored] and I went out to hang out with mom and dad for awhile since we didn't see them yesterday. Then I came home and did some personal work while watching tonight's Olympics coverage. It was all fairly thrilling - the US came up with a bunch of medals, including many golds. Swimming is done, which is always sad, but track and field is picking up and there was a pretty exciting photo finish in the men's 100m.

So, I'm nowhere near Olympics'd out, which is a good thing since there's still a week left. But I need to conserve my energy, so I'm going to bed - goodnight!

but I left it way too late

I had a good day, all in all - I went to a garage sale with my mom briefly before watering the planters in town. Then I came home, relaxed a bit, and put a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker to make beef barbacoa, which turned out just as great as it did last time. 

While it was cooking, I ran up to Snyder's to see if I could find the appropriate purse/wallet thing for a concert I'm going to this week, since I forgot they have a clear bag policy or only allow a 5*8" wristlet, neither of which I have. I was successful in my errand, and then I came home and wrote on the balcony until I could no longer bear the heat. 

Then I watched some Olympics, shredded the beef, made nachos for me and [censored], and continued to watch Olympics. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

sandstorm

I slogged all day, with a break in the morning for a quick errand to chase down a FedEx driver and force him to take some return packages. He asked me if a 5-digit number on the label was a zip code, which did not bode well for my packages' safe arrival, but according to the system they're all en route, so I will live in hope.

So I slogged for a v. long time, since my last meeting ended at 6:30. Then I watched the women's gymnastics all around on my laptop so I could sit on my balcony (and see it before I stumbled across any spoilers - I successfully stayed off line and didn't spoil it for myself, although the outcome wasn't in much doubt). Then I ate a late dinner and watched the prime time coverage, although I forwarded through a bunch of stuff that I'd already seen. [Censored] also got home, so we exchanged Olympics notes, and also watched the gold medal match of mixed team 10m air pistol.

I'd seen the bronze match on a whim, but the gold match featured the Turkish shooter who became meme-worthy because he had none of the equipment (blinders, lenses, ear protectors) that everyone else had and so looked like an assassin who came out of retirement for one more job. The shooting was interesting to watch, and I could have watched many other sports, but instead I decided I should go to bed. Goodnight!