show me why you deserve to have it all

I have successfully ended work for the week and begun my writing retreat. Today was a slog to get to this point - I had a bunch of work to do, and I also had to pack, and there was v. little time in which to do those things because I also had a million meetings. But I got up early, grabbed some coffee, and got into the slog, and I would say I got done about as much as I needed to get done before signing off. I also took a break in the middle to eat some corned beef hash from the cafe downstairs, which was v. tasty. And I took my last two meetings from my balcony, which felt like a #treatyoself moment when compared to taking meetings from my desk in the wintery grey of ye olde Iowa.

sssanyway, check-in at the retreat was at 4pm, and check-out at my hotel was also 4pm, which was fortuitous. Even more fortuitous, they were only ten minutes apart. So I checked out at 3:45, grabbed an uber, and got to the house just in time to meet all my friends. There are 14 of us here, and there will be 15 for a couple of nights later in the week, so it's quite a full house. We drew numbers for rooms, and I drew fairly poorly (#9), which seems like happens every year - but thanks to many people having room preferences that I find bizarre, I managed to get my third choice despite being ninth in the choosing order. So I think everything's coming up Sara, but we'll see what I get done this week.

So we all hung out all evening, and we ordered and ate some tasty pizza, and I placed a bevmo order that came almost immediately. Then we did our usual exercise of intro'ing ourselves (we have a couple of new people this year) and sharing our goals for the year, which was fun. And then I stayed up until around 10 before deciding that I should go to bed. Of course, I didn't go to bed immediately - I decided to unpack, which always makes me feel good. But now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

rikki don't lose that number

No blog tonight - I had a v good day of working (much of it in the sun), and I also got a massage. But I'm quite tired, so I'm going to got to bed so that I can get up and keep cranking early tomorrow - goodnight!

i'm in california dreaming about who we used to be

I had a highly productive day until the last couple of hours - I woke up reasonably early, grabbed coffee downstairs, and then got straight into work. I continued slogging over a late breakfast, then had more meetings, then kept slogging through the afternoon.

Eventually, I took a bit of a break to grab a gluten free pocket pie (tasty, but they gave me apple and I wanted cherry), and then I walked along the ocean for a bit. And then I grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant - which happens to have a michelin star and a chef who was just nominated for a James Beard award, so it's better than most hotel restaurants. I sat at the bar, which has a pretty limited menu, but my quesadilla with wagyu beef was perfect, and my margarita was also a delight. And I did some good journaling about what I want to accomplish with my writing this week, so I'll take it.

And now, I need to sleep and repeat these feats tomorrow - goodnight!

right place wrong time

I had a reasonably nice first day in Oceanside - it would have been even better if I'd been able to keep going with the productivity I started the day with, but c'est la vie. I woke up reasons early, grabbed some coffee, and did some decent day job work before showering. But since my first meeting was at 10am PST instead of 12pm CST, it really cramped my style.

Still, I persevered, and I feel like any productivity issues were my problem rather than a product of my new environment. Also, I slacked off at the end of the day to get a manicure - I'm fairly unimpressed with every salon I've tried in Oceanside, but today's attempt wasn't as bad as last year's, so I'll take it.

Then I came back and did a wee bit more work, went out the bar to grab food (and was low-grade appalled by how bad the spicy tuna bowl was - like, I haven't been shocked by food in a long time, and this did it), and was going to journal/write but instead watched the ISU/Arizona game. I didn't intend to watch it, but it was on in the bar, and I was able to watch the second half from my room. Pretty disappointing outcome...but I've been anti-Arizona forever since they used to be in the same conference as Stanford (pour one out for the PAC-12), so at least I've had some practice watching Arizona beat teams I care about.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

keen grits his teeth and enters sand yego

Today turned into a mad scramble, but I'm safely ensconced in a fancy hotel in Oceanside, where I'm sure I'll recover. I set my alarm to wake up in time to say goodbye to Becky and Brian, who left before seven...and then I promptly went back to bed for another hour even though Kathy was wide awake and likely ready to hang out. But the extra sleep was, in my opinion, v necessary. 

Then I got up and made coffee, and enjoyed the first cup in a v leisurely manner while talking to Aunt Kathy and [censored]. I also watered plants and did various things around the house until it was time to say goodbye to Kathy and start packing in earnest.

I thought I was in good shape with my list, but I ended up probably over packing dramatically - or maybe I under packed and forgot a bunch of stuff. It was hard to winnow the outfits because I didn't know what I'll want to wear while working vs writing vs doing other things. And I had to bring two laptops and a host of writing related stuff, so that added a lot of weight/space. 

But I made it out of the house by my real-real deadline (after blowing through my 2pm and 2:15pm planned departures). This meant I didn't have time to sit down for a salad like I usually do, but I survived. Both my flights were uneventful and I got some tacos in Denver, so everything worked out. The Uber situation at the San Diego airport was a total zoo, but my Uber driver was nice (and has had some crazy health issues), so at least the ride was good.

And now I'm fully unpacked and need to go to bed immediately so I can get up and slog tomorrow - goodnight!

it doesn't have to rhyme so don't you feed me a line

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, so this will be brief. I slept surprisingly well on the air mattress last night, and I got up briefly to say goodbye to Sammie and Drewbaby before sleeping for another ninety minutes. Then I had a leisurely cup of coffee, showered, and took the remaining houseguests to Snyder's to explore the many and varied wonders of the store that sells everything. We detoured through the metropolis of Garden Grove before I dropped them off at my parents' house to watch ISU basketball. 

Meanwhile, I dealt with some unexpected mural stuff (and now have a piece of mural in my garage), which sucked up time I meant to spend packing. Then I went back out to Mom and Dad's, where Becky made pizza on some surprisingly good gluten free cauliflower crusts. Then we came back into town and talked for awhile, but we wrapped it up much earlier than last night since everyone but [censored] is leaving tomorrow.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

this is calcutta, bohemia is dead

Today was a whirlwind of various tings. I woke up and talked to Aunt B while making coffee, and then I scurried around and got ready so that I could go into town for allergy shots. Then I came home and slogged through three hours of meetings*, ate some soup (some might consider it sludge), and then took Aunt Becky and Aunt Kathy to the local thrift store. I didn't find any treasures to document here, but I did drop off four bags of clothes that had been sitting in my garage for two months, so I considered this a big win. And the aunts both found tupperware of varying shapes, so everyone was happy.

Then I grabbed a couple of things at the grocery store, dropped them back at my praents' house, and sped home so that I could work some more. When I finally wrapped up, I did a few things around the house and then prepped the last tings for dinner - I made some extra sauce for the ham balls (which I'd made on new year's day and frozen for tonight) and also prepped a batch of scalloped potatoes (potatoes au gratin if you're fancy).

Then I grabbed the potatoes, ham balls, extra sauce, and several bottles of wine and went out to Mom and Dad's. We had to have our belated Christmas celebration tonight because Drewbaby and Sammie could only come down tonight, but that ended up working pretty well. I put the potatoes in the oven and then we all hung out and chatted about various things while eating the relish tray that Kathy made in the shape of a Christmas tree. Then we ate dinner, continued chatting, and eventually some of us played a card game (Skyjo, which is basically a card game called Golf, which I have also never played). It was a fun way to pass the time, but then [censored] pointed out that the only people still awake and playing cards were the people who were staying at my house, so we vacated my parents' house and came back here.

Now, after several hours of chatter (which involved several more mentions of human feces than I'm used to discussing in this family, even though my San Francisco family often discusses feces thanks to Adit), I need to sleep - I volunteered to take an air mattress in my office since Aunt B/Uncle B are in the guest room, Aunt Kathy is in the basement, and Andrew/Sammie would be better off in my bed since they have to get up super early tomorrow. We'll see how that goes for me, but I think I'm tired enough that I'll get at least some sleep. Goodnight!

* I should clarify that one of the meetings wasn't a slog because it was a catch-up with my friend Natasha, whom I haven't talked to in ages and who is an absolute delight. And luckily my other meetings weren't bad either, but I would have rather had the whole day off...

i'm on that supersonic boom, y'all hear that spaceship? zoom

I have v. little to report - I slogged relentlessly today in anticipation of knocking off work early tomorrow. That meant a ton of work this morning and a whole bunch of meetings this afternoon. But since I like the people I work with, this was not actually that big of a deal. And when I was done, I talked to Katie while cleaning my kitchen, and then ran to the grocery store for some last minute necessities.

When I got home, I threw together a double batch of what [censored] and I affectionately call 'Elmer's Chili' (so named because it is more like glue than soup, but I love it). It was ready just after Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian arrived from Colorado - and happily they were ready to partake in it. So we ate chili (at the table that I procured from Uncle B, so that's a fun trip down memory lane for them), and Brian partook of my underused liquor cabinet while I drank some pinot noir. All in all it was a v. fun couple of hours, and a good way to kick off 'Christmas weekend' (if you want to call it that).

And now I need to go to bed so I can do a bunch of work tomorrow before slacking off for family time - goodnight!

wristwatch, drip drop, labels want the tiktoks

I've had quite a bit going on the last couple of days - starting with allergy shots yesterday, followed by the v unpleasant discovery that the pipes froze in the house (shed? shack?) that I bought next door. I have temperature sensors over there that alerted me that the temp was 45 yesterday morning...which wasn't a shock since outside was -14. But unfortunately that wasn't warm enough to keep the pipes underneath the house from freezing, which is what I assume happened. There wasn't any visible damage inside, at least.

So I called the city water guy and he came and turned off the water at the curb, which is probably how it will stay until spring. Then I slogged relentlessly - my last meeting didn't end until almost seven, which was rough. And then I don't even remember what I did - definitely some cleaning, and maybe some journaling? 

Today was more of the same - I slogged all day (with varying productivity) and then slacked off a little early to do house stuff. I have a full crew staying here this weekend, and then I'm leaving Sunday for California, so I have a million things to do.

At some point [censored] returned, and we chatted for a bit before [censored] couldn't bear it anymore and had to go check out the leak. I probably incited that, since I was playing some "Songs for Cats" station on the speaker, and the only way for [censored] to escape was to go to a different, worse house. Happily there was no further sign of damage after my inspection this morning, and the water appears to be shut off, so hopefully it can wait for warmer weather to be resolved. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

little did you know your home's really only a town you're just a guest in

I am feeling tired at 9:48pm, and I'm going to valiantly attempt to go to bed right away so that I don't get a second wind and stay up until 2am. Today was fairly productive, though - I didn't get out of bed until after ten, but I got a lot done this afternoon. I'm getting close to being able to host guests next weekend, depending on whether and when those guests decide to spend the night.

I mostly focused on the downstairs this afternoon, and I tackled the worst chore first - I washed the pendant lights above my kitchen island, which get grimy because they're also about the stove. Every time I wash them I live in fear of breaking them, which is why I don't wash them often enough - but they'll look great until I made a stirfry again. I also took down my Christmas decorations. I had planned to leave them up since we're doing Christmas with Aunt B next weekend, but I realized that if I left them up for that, they would be up until sometime in February due to my travel schedule. Hopefully we can still get in the holiday spirit without a tree in the corner of my living room.

Sometime in there, I also said goodbye to [censored], who had to journey north. I also dusted and vacuumed the living room and guest room, washed the guest room sheets, vacuumed the carpets in the basement, tidied up the dining room, and did various other tings. Eventually, I was out of steam, so I ate some leftover pizza, scrolled for awhile, and did some day job stuff that I was putting off. I'm still putting off some of it and will have to get up early tomorrow to finish it, which is another incentive to sleep soon. So on that note, goodnight!

ra-ra-rasputin, russia's greatest love machine

I failed to get up in a timely fashion this morning because I went to bed at two a.m. (which is not what I intended to do when I blogged, but my phone got the best of me). So I was in bed until 10:30, and then I made coffee and got around in a v. desultory fashion.

However, I was slightly more productive than yesterday - I showered, then checked on the house next door (where there is no water leaking despite me completely ignoring it for the last month - but I do have temperature sensors and cameras, so I know it's not inhabited by squatters or at risk of freezing). Then I ran into town to grab a couple of tings for dinner. I threw a chuck roast into the slow cooker along with some beef stock, lime juice, vinegar, onion, and a bunch of spices, and the smell of it cooking for five hours was nearly enough to drive me mad with hunger.

While it was cooking, I did some other random tasks and cleaned my room. This included setting up the new shop vac that I'd ordered several months ago so that I could try vacuuming my bedroom with it. I hadn't shared this fact since I was quite sad about it, but I lost one of my favorite earrings on thanksgiving (a diamond stud my parents gave me). I was sure it had to be in my room, but after repeated searching of the carpet, my clothes, etc., it was nowhere to be found. [censored] suggested using the new shop vac before it had any other debris in it, and I finally got around to testing it. The pile in my carpet is such that an earring could easily get hidden within it, but I wasn't looking forward to spending many minutes/hours carefully sweeping every inch of the room. Happily, though, I heard something hit the inside of the shop vac within the first minute of my attempt - and my earring was there, looking none the worse for wear. So that was a real win, even if I accomplished nothing else.

This meant I could finally actually vacuum my room, which I've been avoiding due to the missing earring. I did not do that today, but I did dust and clean my bathroom and generally clean up. I threw together some mexican rice in the rice cooker and let dinner finish making itself. I also inspected my basement, where [censored] discovered a leak today - unrelated to any water pipes, and relatively fixable, but still quite annoying (and darkly funny that we were worried about the abandoned house next door instead of the basement).

Then I shredded the beef barbacoa, heated up some refried beans, and ate with [censored] while watching last night's SNL. The beef was amazing tonight, and I'm looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow. And after we were finished with SNL and cleanup, I came upstairs and read for the last few hours - I started THE GOLDFINCH, which came out several years ago, and which I only picked up because we're reading it for a book club at work. So far so good, but I'm curious to see where it's headed.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

sometimes there's airplanes you can't jump out

I am back in Iowa after a slightly chaotic day yesterday. Nothing terrible happened, but I woke up slightly later than I should have, decided to prioritize a final cup of Philz over packing (#worthit, even though it ate 30min since I had to drive there and back), and then had a meeting that took 45min instead of 30. Because of all of this, I had to scramble to pack, shower, and return my rental car. I made it through security in time to grab some food, which I ate as I watched the first half of my plane board, but I was in my seat before final call, so I guess it was all fine.

My flight to Denver was uneventful, and I grabbed a snack (burrata, which is pretty fancy for a snack, but also gluten free) before boarding my Des Moines flight. It was starting to snow in Denver, and so we were delayed by about thirty minutes for deicing. But the flight was otherwise smooth, and I was in my house by 11:15pm. I chatted with [censored] longer than I should have, but then I retired and v. much enjoyed being back in my bed.

I was pretty lazy today despite my best intentions - but I think I needed a lazy day after a long trip. I made some coffee and sipped it while talking to [censored], and then I messed around online for way too long. I finally ate some lunch, took a shower, cleaned out the fridge and took out my trash, moved a couple of tings from the garage to the shed, and ran to the grocery store. It was chilly today but it's going to be absurd tomorrow, so I'm glad I got some stuff done.

Then I was going to work, but I got sucked into the Iowa State / West Virginia game, which was not a fun game to get sucked into because we lost. As soon as it was over, I ordered some pizza and [censored] and I picked it up to take out to the parents' house. We hung out there for awhile, which was nice, and I was happy for them that [censored] fixed all sorts of stuff for them while I was flitting about in California.

And now, I need to sleep and aim for more productivity tomorrow - goodnight!

knocking on heaven's door

I had a lovely final day in the city of sin. I got up and grabbed coffee downstairs and then relaxed a bit before getting ready, which was v necessary. Then I carpooled into the office for a million meetings, one of which included walking for an hour like a peasant, but it was like a peasant who lives next to a beautiful body of water, so I'll take it. 

After work, we had a lunar new year party at Palette, which is the dim sum restaurant I went to with the friendship renewal crew last month. It was a raucous time, mostly because I sat at the "kids table" (which was the table of people who attended without kids). I felt bad abandoning the actual kids, but as at least one of the kids had an active fever, I felt it was better to hang with the adults and drink some medicinal tequila to stave off illness. 

Either way the kids table was where it was at - I sat next to Adit, and we v competently trolled everyone else at the table. We also created a new drinking game ("call your shot") which is excellent for tables with lazy susans (lazies susan?). All in all it was an excellent evening, and I'm glad I enjoy the people I work with so much. 

After dinner, I came back to my hotel with Jamie and Kleidi, and we had a v delightful afterparty in the hotel bar. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

we'll be counting stars

No blog tonight - I slept fitfully last night and had a bunch of meetings today, followed by a team dinner at Mykonos. All in all it was good, but I need to sleep before I start typing gibberish. Goodnight!

wonderin' if i could sneak out the back

Today was entirely slogging - I got up early enough to sneak into downtown Burlingame and pick up a Philz coffee before doing some work and then going into the office, but I cut it all close. Then I slogged through meetings all day, came back to the hotel (with a coworker who is also staying here), and accidentally took a nap.

But I did a bit of journaling this evening, which is always great. And I ate some takeout thai food, had a glass of wine, and did a bunch of work that I needed to get done, so I'll take it. And now I need to go to sleep so I can rinse and repeat tomorrow - goodnight!

the drugs, the women, the wine, the weed

I did not sleep at all well last night, and I had to get up at six because I needed to do work before work and my meetings start at nine a.m. here instead of the much more civilized hour of eleven.

But despite these tragedies, I persevered. I had a v long slog of meetings, but also a v tasty lunch from a place called Healthyish Republic, which I would happily have again. Then I had more meetings, until I rebelled at five and drove myself and another coworker back to the hotel. I dropped him and my laptop off and then sped to downtown Burlingame to meet Lauren (aka Subz) for dinner at pizzeria delfina. We had many tings to catch up on, which I v much enjoyed. I also realized we're about to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the time we spent in India together, which feels impossible. She did not seem interested in a reunion trip to Hampi, but I still have time to work on her.

After we parted ways, I came back to the hotel, did a bit of work, and also journaled. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

marry me juliet, you'll never have to be alone

I had a lovely day, although I'm crashing hard now. I slept a little fitfully last night, which is not a surprise since my advanced age makes it hard to have more than one or two drinks in a night. But I got up early enough to walk to the nearest Philz for coffee, do a bit of writing, and then shower and pack up all my stuff. Then I drove down to Woodside to meet Shedletsky and Bride of Shedletsky for brunch at the Village Pub.

Village Pub sounds like it might be lowkey, but it's definitely not a Village Inn. It's actually part of the same restaurant group that owned my beloved Des Amis before it closed, but Village Pub has been a mainstay forever (and has had a michelin star for twelve consecutive years). They have a three-course brunch offering, which was truly excellent - and we opted for the additional fourth course, which was a perfect risotto covered in shaved truffles. I did oysters for my appetizer, then the risotto, then a perfect french omelette, and then a chocolate souffle, along with my share of a bottle of sauvignon blanc. When I type all those dishes together, they don't match at all - they were spaced out with plenty of time in between each, so it was almost like four mini-meals (or real meals, since the risotto and the omelette both could have been a single meal in their own right).

So we have a very leisurely almost-three-hours hanging out and catching up, and it was a delight to see them. When it was finally time to part ways, I went to Stanford Shopping Center to check in on my old haunts. The mall continues to get more upscale, but it was also absolutely buzzing compared to most malls these days. I also got some interesting intel from the guy who rang up my purchase at Anthro, and I enjoyed wandering around in the sunshine, so it was a worthwhile way to spend an hour.

Then I drove north, checked into my new hotel, unpacked, and zoned out for quite awhile. I finally rallied to grab a burger from the bar (which was fine but extremely subpar compared to my brunch experience) and do a bit of work. And now I'm going to go to bed and hope that I can get a million things done tomorrow morning. Goodnight!

no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her

I had a perfect day in the city of sin. I woke up pretty early, and I grabbed coffee and journaled in the lobby until the sun through the windows was too intense for my winter Iowa constitution. Then I looked for dinner reservations for tonight before showering and vacating the hotel.

I took an Uber to the airport, which was out of my way - but I had to pick up a rental car and this seemed to be the best time. Luckily my next stop was nopalito for brunch with Katrina, and there is parking at nopalito (an extreme rarity in SF), so it was smooth sailing.

Katrina was in fine form, although she was wearing the same pants as she did the last time I saw her, which was a bit of a surprise. Then I got my nails done at my favorite nail place before going to Flax at Fort Mason and picking up a bunch of journaling stuff (and bonding with the checkout person and showing each other or annual planners).

I took the embarcadero back to my hotel, where I relaxed, napped, and wrote for a bit. Then I meet John, Claudia (aka Dr Santa) and Chandlord at Mestiza. It was a v tasty meal - they handled our combined gluten free + vegetarian needs quite well. We discussed all manner of topics - aging, aggressive optometrists, the conditions under which someone would leave a group chat, bird flu, alpacas as beasts of burden, etc, etc. 

We continued that convo over a one night celebration at alchemist, and then John dropped me off at my hotel. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

I want you to know

No blog tonight - I've already been dozing in bed for two hours, but I finally roused myself long enough to wash my face and take out my contacts, and I don't need to wake up more fully. Today was all slogging anyway - I started with a detour to Philz coffee while walking to work, and then I worked all day. But I got free lunch (the perks of being in the office), and then had a team dinner with Adit and several other folks. We ended by standing in a long line for ice cream, which is not what I normally seek in either desserts or ways to spend time, but the ice cream was ultimately worth it.

And now it's time to sleep (again) - goodnight!

be still my foolish heart

I am safely ensconced in the city of sin. I spent too much time packing today because I couldn't decide what to bring, but I got out of the house on schedule (after eating a ham salad sandwich courtesy of my mom, and after talking to [censored] (who I guess is also courtesy of my mom)).

My drive to the airport was uneventful, and I had time to grab a burger and do some work at the airport before boarding. My flights were fairly smooth and I got to SFO almost half an hour early - and I was at my hotel in less than 45 minutes, which I was v pleased about. So I got fully unpacked, and if I go to bed now, it's not that much later than my usual bedtime in Iowa. 

So, I think that's what I shall do - goodnight!

back in the gasworks, screaming the song

I slept a little later than planned today, which doesn't mean I'm any less tired tonight. But I had a solid day of slogging - relatively few meetings, but plenty of tings to do. And when I was done for the day, I went out to my parents' house. My mom made roast beef, and I enjoyed it while hanging out with them. At some point [censored] showed up, although he was too late for dinner - but he came bearing dinner for the cats (in the form of cat food that he procures for them in the city), so everyone was happy.

Then I came home, chatted with [censored] a bit, and then started organizing clothes. I'm leaving for a quick work trip to California tomorrow, and as per usual I haven't packed yet, but I have narrowed down all my outfit options. And now I'm going to go to bed so I can do a million things before leaving tomorrow - goodnight!

i touched you for only a fortnight

I have v little to report today. I got up in time for a v hurried shower before going to get allergy shots, and I did some day job work while I sat there. When I left, I discovered my parents in the waiting room (or rather, they discovered me - I would have walked right by them in my narrow-focused attempt to avoid any waiting room illnesses). So we chatted until they were called back for my dad's appointment, which was fun (the chatting, not the appointment).

Then I came home and slogged excessively all day, with a few breaks (if you can call them that) to do laundry, remake my bed, reheat some leftovers, etc. Unfortunately I didn't wrap up meetings until 7:30, but that was fine - it wasn't a stressful day, just a long one.

And then, because my brain had melted, I relaxed the rest of the evening. I tried some new-to-me gluten free frozen fish planks, which were quite good - haddock that seemed reasonably high quality + some sort of breading. They were kinda expensive as far as frozen breaded foods go, but I only ate a third of the package, so I have more to look forward to. Then I watched some Seth Meyers while playing on my phone. And then I came upstairs, journaled, paid some bills, took care of a couple of other tings, etc.

Now I need to go to bed so that the slogging can commence again tomorrow. Goodnight!

sleep just to dream her

I had a v. long, v. productive day. I started slogging at nine and worked basically all day, with a quick break for some leftover salmon and freshly cooked rice with [censored]. [Censored] left around five to go to his usual weekly haunt, and I did a bit more work before making dinner. I also did several hours of writing, which felt both great and annoying (great because yay I wrote something, annoying because I'm a little stuck on it).

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

forgot about dre

I had a v nice, hermity day - and there was basically no snow, so I didn't have to sit inside and feel guilty while [censored] dealt with it, which was nice.

I spent the morning doing a bit of writing and other activities, and I also did a couple of hours of work (but that included talking to Adit, which is always reasonably pleasant). I did some more tasks in the afternoon, and I made salmon teriyaki for dinner. [Censored] and I ate it while watching the Golden Globes, which were reasonably entertaining.

And now that I've unwound and journaled and realized it's getting late, it's time for bed - goodnight!

do you separate your whites

I've spent the last couple of days getting ready for the new year and also for any snow we might get tonight. Yesterday I slogged all morning, and then I drove to Des Moines to run some errands. I made it back in time to have dinner with my parents, and then I screwed up my sleep by napping for two hours (unintentionally) and then scrolling/reading a book from midnight to two am.

Today was good despite last night's sleep issues. I was lazy most of the morning, but I went to Centerville and stocked up on groceries and other tings. I dropped some groceries off for my parents, and then I came home, put everything away, cleaned the garage enough to get my car inside, and cleaned the kitchen. 

Thus feeling v industrious, I took a break to eat leftovers and watch a Craig Ferguson stand-up special that was on Amazon Prime. It was pretty funny, although he made me feel old because most of his jokes were about how he is now old. I could use fewer reminders, tanks.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i can't feel my face when i'm with you

I have nothing to report - the first day of work after the new year was quite busy, which was kind of a bummer. I brought this upon myself since I insisted on doing various planning activities to kick off the new year, and I'm not saying I regret it, but it would have been nice to ease into 2025.

However, my day was generally good, especially since I had ham balls for lunch. I slammed my laptop shut around six and made burrito bowls, which made [censored] happy. I then relaxed for a couple of hours, but I got lured back into work (mostly because I had to catch Adit while we had some overlap, which has been difficult since he's in ye olde India).

But now, I have done all I can do and it's time for bed - goodnight!

we got five minutes for us to disconnect

The new year has arrived, and I was unusually productive today. It felt like a Sunday, which made everything extra confusing. But I slept in a bit, did some journaling to kick off the year, and then took care of a bunch of tings - specifically, dealing with Christmas cards, doing laundry, walking into town to mail my Christmas cards, and making a couple of batches of ham balls. Some of the ham balls became tonight's dinner, but most of them went into the freezer to be enjoyed when we finally do our family Christmas later this month (as long as [censored] recovers and doesn't get sick again).

After all that, I was pretty wiped out, so I took a break after eating dinner. But eventually I came upstairs, and I wrote for awhile - it felt like the right thing to do on the first day of the new year, and I'm v. glad I did. And now I need to sleep so I can focus on the day job tomorrow - goodnight!