just meet me at the apt

I had a pretty good day in NYC - it felt surprisingly easy to drop into the city and get on with my day. I got over eight hours of sleep last night, and my cough is barely lingering - getting out of the ice rink and into normal temperatures will probably help. And I decided to work from my hotel so that I could catch up on stuff without distractions, which was the right call. 

So I got Starbucks to fuel my morning, and then I crossed a bunch of stuff off my list. I mistimed my lunch, which meant I was ravenous and then too full when my earlyish dinner approached. And then I slogged until five, when I signed off and walked south for my dinner date. On the way, I talked to my parents, who seemed to be doing well. And I got to the restaurant a few minutes early, just in time to step inside and avoid the sprinkles starting outside. 

My dinner date was my friend Maya, whom I haven't seen since before the pandemic. She's also a writer, and the same age, and we have other parallels, so it was fantastic to properly catch up with her. We went to Nami Nori, which is a gluten free Japanese place, and it was absolutely delish. Unfortunately for me I was too full to finish everything due to my aforementioned lunch debacle, but I did finish my half of the bottle of champagne and the gf churros we had at the end. And talking to Maya was fantastic, so hopefully I have many more NYC trips in my future (or convince her to come to Iowa, which is a possibility).

After we parted ways, I walked back to my hotel and did a bit of desultory work. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

cruel summer

I have successfully arrived in New York after a v smooth day of travel. I am also feeling quite a bit better, and my cough has mostly subsided (although it sounds gnarly when it does happen. But unfortunately I didn't sleep at all well last night, possibly due to all the drugs I'm using to cure myself. So, I was dragging this morning when I had to get up and pack. 

But Sherry and I successfully made it out of the Airbnb for the last time and said our farewells. Then I took an Uber to the train station, where I boarded an Acela train to New York. It was perfectly on time, and I spent the four hours writing, reading, dozing, etc. When I got to the city, I walked to my hotel, checked in, and promptly took a nap. 

Once I was a little more recovered (even though I could have slept for hours), I unpacked, and then I grabbed dinner at La Pecora Bianca (translation: white sheep, which seemed like a good omen given my grandparents). Their gluten free pasta was excellent, and I sat at a bar seat at the window and enjoyed some people watching on Broadway while journaling. Then I came back to my room, did some more tasks, and decided to go to bed v early (for me) in hopes of recovering more before tomorrow. Goodnight!

i'm not a vampire

The figure skating championships ended today, and they went out with a bang. I had thought about watching the men's practice this morning, but it was v cold and a little rainy, and so I decide to stay close to home to preserve my health. Luckily I'm feeling better than I did yesterday - still congested, but not getting worse.

So I spent a v pleasant hour at a nearby Starbucks, where I wrote/journaled. I also picked up some additional supplies at CVS, then came back and ordered Thai food because I'm in a place where I can. Then, Sherry and I went to watch the ice dance final. I still don't love ice dance, but the final twelve performances were quite fun. And Madison Chock and Evan Bates won gold, which was v exciting for American figure skating. 

We didn't stick around for that medal ceremony, though (even though we watched it for pairs and women's) bc there was v limited time to dash home and eat before the men's final. I wanted to see as much of the men as possible (that's what she said), so I left Sherry behind (she is on deadline with a book) and got back to the arena in the middle of the first group. Sherry did come for the second half, which was by far the better half, but I still enjoyed the earlier guys.

Overall, the men did great - a lot of pretty clean programs, and some v nice artistry. I especially liked Adam Siao Him Fa from France - like his French predecessor Surya Bonaly (whom I loved in the nineties) he does a back flip that is to die for, but it no longer gets a penalty as of this year. There was also a kid from Kazakhstan (Mikhail Shaidorov) who gave an awesome performance and ended up getting silver. But the star of the night was definitely Ilia Malinin - he gave an awesome performance and netted the third gold of this Worlds for the US. We did stick around for that medal ceremony before calling it a night.

So all in all, I had a great time at Worlds. The energy was excellent - the audience was really into it and gave standing ovations to a lot of skaters (not just Americans), which clearly meant a lot to the performers. It was cool to see the skaters who will likely be at the Olympics next year - and while I was too tired to talk about the women last night, Alysa Liu for the US and Kaoro Sakamoto for Japan were both phenomenal. It'll be interesting to see what impact the Secret Russians will have next year - there were a bunch of them allowed to compete for other countries at Worlds (including the woman in the US's best pairs team) but they can't compete at the Olympics without having actual citizenship of the countries they represent. So it's a mad dash for them to all get citizenship in time...but a million things will happen between now and 2026, so we'll see what happens.

And now I need to go to bed - I had a great time at the competition and a great time with Sherry, but it's almost time to continue my adventures. Goodnight!

running up that hill

I had a great day of skating - or at least a fantastic evening of skating. I was going to watch the women's practice this morning, but I took it easy instead - I'm definitely sick, which is v unwelcome. It's a v weird situation because I don't actually feel that bad, but it's like I skipped a cold and somehow went straight to the hacking, lingering bronchitis that I sometimes get after colds. I coughed so hard at the rink this afternoon that I felt like I was having an asthma attack - this pattern of getting sick and then getting bronchitis used to happen frequently enough that I took an Albuterol inhaler on trips, but it probably hasn't happened since pre pandemic. But I survived and I'm sure I'll feel better soon. 

Ssssanyway, I spent the day hanging out and doing laundry and having copious amounts of hot liquid. Then Sherry and I caught the second half of the ice dance rhythm dance portion of the event. Judging by the fact that I stepped out to take a call for 30min, and Sherry slept that whole time, I'd say it's safe to say that watching dance in person isn't that much more exciting that watching it in on TV. We came back to the Airbnb to grab dinner, then caught most of the women's final, which was electric.

And now, I'm falling asleep while trying to write this so I think it's time for bed. Goodnight!

all my tears have been used up on another love

Another day of skating down, and it was pretty great. Sherry and I had a v leisurely morning - she made pancakes, and I benefitted from her desire to use up groceries in this way. We hung around the apartment until lunchtime, and then we went to the rink to watch the men's short program. The men were definitely worth watching - lots of good programs, including some very good performances by the first two Americans. But Ilia Malinin, the third American to go, shut the whole thing down - I have not been following skating for awhile, but I now know why he calls himself the "quad god" and why it's deserved. The final should be great, but there's much more skating to come before we get there.

After the men, Sherry and I dashed back to the Airbnb to eat dinner. I didn't want leftovers, so I stopped by whole foods and grabbed some sushi, which I paired with some cottage cheese to get more protein for the night ahead. Then we went back to the rink to catch the pairs final.

We missed the first couple of groups, but  we saw the last twelve pairs to go, and they were generally pretty lovely. However, many of them had at least some mistakes, which always makes it slightly less fun. The best program of the night was from zee Germans, who were almost flawless - not enough to catch the Japanese pair, but enough for silver. The Italians took bronze, so it was a v. Axis podium, but at this point we're probably more of a threat to world peace than the former Axis powers, so I guess I don't begrudge them this minor victory.

And now I need to sleep so we can watch more skating tomorrow - goodnight!

there ain't nothin' safe in this world

I had another great day of figure skating (or rather, consumption of figure skating). It was, quite possibly, a little too much - I was at the skating rink for something like 10-12 hours today, since we watched some of the pairs' official practice, then the women's short program, then the pairs' short program. This was a lot of skating, but there were some truly lovely routines (and, of course, the usual random heartbreaks since a missed edge or bobble can change the whole trajectory of someone's final score).

The saddest part of the day was the tribute they did for the skaters who died in the airplane crash when their jet crashed into a military helicopter a couple of months ago. Several of them were affiliated with the Skating Club of Boston, and many others were also in the skating community, so it was quite a powerful moment (and heartbreaking to see photos of the kids who died, many of whom had just been competing/training that weekend).

I would tell you more, but I'm very tired and think there's a possibility that I'm getting sick, so I'm going to save the commentary and go to bed. Goodnight!

don't you know that you're toxic

The first day of figure skating was a good way to ease into the whole week of competition. Today was all the official practice sessions, which Sherry and I have tickets for. We did not go to the ice dancing practice that started at six am because we're not masochists; instead, I woke up in a fairly leisurely way and Sherry made us kimchi pancakes, which were pretty tasty.

Getting to the arena was easy - we're only one stop away on the subway, so we got there with zero issues. We saw most of the pairs' practice, and it was fun to watch - and odd to see so many skaters on the ice, especially since they played each pairs' free skate song once, which meant one pair doing their routine while the others all skated around them.

So I watched a bunch of that, but then I ducked out to take a couple of work calls. Yes I'm on vacation, but since I was just missing some practice sessions, I decided to make it easier on myself later by keeping up with some stuff now. And all the meetings were with Adit, so it wasn't a big sacrifice. Also, today was my one year anniversary of starting this job, which seems impossible. They usually send treats for anniversaries, but since I live somewhere with no food delivery (and am in Boston anyway) they sent me a gift card for a mani/pedi at my favorite place in Des Moines. As far as jobs go, this one is a good one.

After, Sherry and I took a break from skating and came back to the Airbnb, where I chilled while she made jambalaya. Then she decided to go back and watch some of the men's practice, but at that point I decided that I would rather go to bed early - which didn't mean right away, but did mean taking a shower and then doing a thing I had to do for work so that I can get it off my back and watch all the competition tomorrow. I was successful with all those goals, and I'm in bed and ready to sleep at 11:15, so hopefully I keep up with this virtuous plan. Goodnight!

ridin' high when i was king, i played it hard and fast cause i had everything

I had a v. v. hermity day despite being in a new city - the event that I'm in Boston for doesn't start until tomorrow, and so Sherry and I both worked today. I was not feeling in it to win it - I'm usually quite productive on the day before a vacation, but because I'm already at my destination it feels like I should already be offline, and I was surly about having to do stuff. It didn't help that it rained all day - which was perhaps good for feeling like I wasn't missing anything outside, but certainly didn't help my energy.

But still, I survived the day and got a few tings done, so I'll take it. Then I ran to Whole Foods, grabbed some groceries, and made the sausage / swiss chard / parmesan pasta that I sometimes like to make. Sherry seemed to really like it, and it was good to carb load before a competition (even if that probably isn't a requirement for audience members the way it is for athletes). We talked about many and varied tings, and I journaled for awhile, and then I was going to go to bed but decided to do one more work thing instead.

And now, I really am going to go to sleep - goodnight!

I saw the solstice, the service station on the road

I am safely ensconced in Boston, for reasons that will become clear over the course of this week. Today went as smoothly as one could hope - I got to Des Moines in time to grab a v rushed omelette (and a mimosa) before boarding a flight to LaGuardia. My flight landed early, so I had time to get a Caesar salad with salmon before catching the v quick flight to Boston. My bags also came quickly, and the Uber wait was fine, so I arrived at the Airbnb earlier than the earliest possible time I'd anticipated. 

I beat my friend Sherry here by twenty minutes, so I dropped my stuff (up a very steep, very narrow half spiraling staircase - which made me glad that I repacked this morning to split my stuff into two lighter bags, because I might not have made it up the stairs with one 50-lb suitcase). I grabbed Starbucks to reenergize myself, and then I greeted Sherry.

We had a v lovely evening - we haven't seen each other since 2019 (the beforetimes) so we had much to discuss. We also walked around the corner to whole foods to pick up a few things, and then Sherry made dinner (some vegetables and a v tasty tomato and tofu soup that I would happily eat again). I did some chilling and some journaling and some talking after dinner, all of which was great. And I'm fully unpacked and ready for the week ahead.

But now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

without you, beside you, but you knew what i knew

I have nothing of interest to report today - my headache was mostly gone, although it's started to come back in the last hour (probably because I should have gone to bed). I got up early and went into town to get allergy shots, which was an accomplishment. Then I came home and slogged for several hours, but it all went fine. At some point I checked in on the end of the Iowa State March Madness game (we won handily). I also took a power nap since I have not been getting enough sleep the last few nights. Then I continued working until it was time to stop.

After work, I made some chicken with mushrooms in a creamy parmesan sauce to eat with all the leftover mashed potatoes that I made the other night. This was pretty tasty, and [censored] and I really enjoyed it. Then I spent way too long scrolling on my phone while half-watching Family Guy with [censored], and then I finally came upstairs, folded laundry, dealt with some minor tasks, contemplated my packing list, etc.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

show me how in old milano lovers hold each other, oh so tight

The headache I had last night continued unabated today - I didn't sleep particularly well, woke up with a crushing headache, and felt incapable of doing anything. So, I mostly didn't do anything - I lounged around waiting for ibuprofen and then excedrin migraine to kick in, and neither really did.

I canceled most of my meetings and continued to be mostly decrepit for most of the day. I did dial into a few things as the day wore on - I showered and changed into fresh sweats for the occasion, but I left my camera off for half of them. The other half were with Adit and other people whom I don't mind seeing me looking bedraggled.

By 7pm I was starting to feel a little better, although I still didn't feel like eating much. That meant dinner was as bland as possible (tortilla chips and cottage cheese), so we'll see how I'm feeling in the morning. I also talked to [censored] and watched the end of the Drake/Mizzou game, which ended in Drake's favor (exciting since they haven't won an NCAA first-round tournament game since the 1970s).

Then, sadly, I had work that I absolutely had to get done since I didn't do it last night. I used my second wind to work for the last three hours, which was good for my job security and potentially bad for my headache. And now I need to go to bed immediately - goodnight!

adrenaline keeps you in the game

I have had a v v busy couple of days. I got up and wrote for a bit this morning before work, which felt good until I suddenly didn't have time to shower or eat lunch because I was too overscheduled. Some of this was my own doing - I had invited Heidi and Sammi over to discuss some library stuff, and I'd also offered to make dinner. So I threw some beef barbacoa in the slow cooker before beginning my afternoon rush of meetings, and I also paused early to do a speed clean of the living room. 

But the meeting went well, and then we had a v nice dinner, which [censored] joined us for. Sammi stuck around for quite awhile after, which was nice. And then I should have worked, but I have a pretty bad headache and didn't get much done. So I'm going to sleep and attempt to get up early tomorrow - goodnight!

come home late in the morning light

It was a v. typical Monday - I woke up, made coffee and journaled a bit, slogged relentlessly for a couple of hours, took a shower, and had a meeting. Then I sped into town for allergy shots - I reacted a bit to them, but it was not bad. Then I came home, immediately jumped on more meetings, and worked until I could do no more.

Then I spent some time cleaning out the fridge and gathering trash from my bedroom and office so that [censored] could dispose of it in the parents' dumpster. After that, I sat on my balcony and wrote for thirty minutes, which felt great. Then I made fresh spaghetti to go with last night's spaghetti sauce. While that was cooking, I jarred up the rest of it, so now [censored] and I have five jars of sauce for future suppers.

After dinner was ready, [censored] and I ate while watching some Big Bang Theory reruns. And now, I need to unwind - goodnight!

don't you miss the breathlessness, the wildness in the eye?

I was fairly productive today, all in all - I actually wrote for an hour in the morning and another hour before dinner and another thirty minutes or so before bed, which was v. nice. I also did a bunch of laundry, got groceries, and made a triple batch of Grandma Barb's spaghetti sauce. You may recall that I don't have a grandma named Barb, but I found a recipe online for a spaghetti sauce made my someone else's Grandma Barb, and the sauce is a winner. A triple batch is almost nine quarts, which means [censored] and I ate a ton of spaghetti tonight and will have more tomorrow, and then we'll have several jars of sauce in the freezer for future rainy days.

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

come get lost in a fairground crowd

I was falling asleep and almost skipped blogging, but skipping two in a row feels bad, so I guess I'll wake up long enough to do this. Yesterday was long but productive - I got up early and did a few tings, and then I sped to Des Moines for a couple of appointments. I was overdue for botox in my jaw, and since I was starting to clench again I was getting more headaches. Luckily my new job is way less annoying than my last one, so I was able to go nine months between injections instead of four - but eventually I need help from my little neurotoxin friends.

So, I got my injections very quickly and mostly painlessly. Then I did some work from a coffee shop, ran a couple of errands, and grabbed a quick lunch. I also got my hair cut while I was in Des Moines, which turned out well. And then I normally would have worked some more before grabbing groceries, but the weather forecast for yesterday afternoon was wild. So I drove straight home, put my car in the garage, and joined a video meeting at work. Within twenty minutes of getting home, the winds picked up - and while we didn't get hail or any other real damage, I was v. glad not to be driving in 60+ mph winds.

I spent the rest of last night working / eating random frozen foods in lieu of cooking / talking to [censored] / messing around. I managed to get up at a reasonable hour this morning, and I spent most of the day being productive (shocking, I know). I finished my closet cleanout project today - I still need to haul a bunch of stuff to the basement or make some donations, but it feels good to be organized going into spring.

This afternoon, I picked up my dad and we drove around for awhile. I think he was in it for the promise of donuts more than anything, but we had a good time. After I dropped him off, I caught up on reddit for awhile, then finished cleaning up my room. [Censored] and I picked up Mexican takeout and took it out to Mom and Dad's, where we had a nice time eating while catching the end of the Big 12 championship game. And then I came upstairs with the intention of working, but other than refilling a fountain pen, I mostly read / dozed until waking myself up to write this.

And in tonight's bad news report - Trump shut down Voice of America and defunded Radio Free Europe / Radio Free Asia (and also shut down a bunch of other agencies, including the one that funds state libraries). This is likely at least partially illegal since VOA is part of an independent agency created by Congress, but Trump's gonna Trump when it comes to ignoring the Constitution's well-defined separation of powers. Personally, I'm pretty sad - I listened of Voice of America for an entire year when we lived in Ukraine, so I have more personal nostalgia for it than most Americans.

I suppose you could argue that radio isn't that important anymore - although VOA/RFE/RFA still have ~380million weekly listeners. And I would buy the argument to stop funding this and invest in better methods of spreading America's message globally... if we hadn't also completely gutted USAID, betrayed Ukraine, are likely to leave NATO, launched a series of confusing and likely disastrous tariffs and started trade wars with our closest allies, etc., etc. But again, Trump's gonna Trump, and we'll be picking up the pieces for a very long time.

And now, goodnight!

alien in utero

I did not blog yesterday because I was tired of keeping up with the day - I slogged incessantly, then had a library board meeting, then ran home for dinner, and then had peo, which was a lot of stuff.

Today was somewhat similar, but way more chill - I got up and worked for a couple of hours, then went into town for an economic development board meeting followed by a meeting with the old mural festival group to discuss the ongoing topic of repairing one of the murals. Those both went well, although it's clear that I will never fully get out of somehow being responsible for these murals. I guess that's fine? I should probably do more with them, but that's an issue for another day. 

When I got home, it was over seventy degrees and very pleasant out, so I spent the afternoon working while sitting on my balcony. It's disconcertingly early in the year for a balcony work session, but I'm excited to kick off the season. I sat out there until basically dark, at which point [censored] got home. So I came inside, cleaned up the kitchen, reheated some leftover tofu, and caught up with [censored].

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

pnd life went on beyond the palisades, they all bought cadillacs and left there long ago

I have nothing interesting to report today - I had a much better day than yesterday, and was far more productive, so at least there's that. It helped that I slept until the point that I wanted to instead of having to get up early - I made some coffee and got to work quickly, and managed to knock off some tasks that I'd been putting off. I had some meetings in the early afternoon, and then I went into town and got allergy shots. Then I came home, worked a bit, said farewell to [censored], did some housework, and then worked some more.

At some point I took a break from the laptop and took advantage of [censored]'s departure to make myself a tofu stirfry with brown rice while listening to an audiobook. I folded some laundry, cleaned my room, and got ready for my various volunteer meetings coming up while watching some of Seth Meyers' recent shows. And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

undercover russians in a pink rolls royce

I did not get up early enough to get on track with the time change - staying up late last night was a real mistake, but I'm glad I got stuff done. And today went well despite starting already off the rails. I managed to write a bit after I made coffee, which felt great. And then I spent the day doing a variety of tasks - I took care of some online tasks, did three loads of laundry, washed and changed my sheets, and continued my attempt to reorganize my closets (which has now also spread to reorganizing the basement).

At some point, I took a walk downtown to pay all the myriad water bills that [censored] and I are responsible for. This felt risky since the railroad has been doing a lot of work and periodically blocking the crossings in town, and I would have been unhappy to be stuck on foot on the other side. But the weather was nice, and the walk ended up worth the risk.

Then I came home, put a chicken in the oven to roast, and carried on with my wardrobe shenanigans until dinner. The chicken turned out quite well, although I should have made gravy to go with it. [Censored] and I ate it while watching last night's SNL with Lady Gaga - they really leaned into the quirkiness of their guest, and the sketches were all a little bonkers, which I enjoyed.

And now, I need to force myself to go to bed (even though 11:13 on a normal night feels early, and it's very early if it feels like 10:13) - I have a v. unusual 8am meeting tomorrow, which means I have to be fully dressed and functional before I usually have to even get up for work. Wish me luck with that (and yes, I know I get v. little sympathy for the fact that I don't have to get up before 8am on normal days). Goodnight!

she's so good with her geppetto, you don't really mind the pain

I had an okay day - not as productive as I'd intended, but it could have been worse. I did some house stuff, some journaling stuff, and some reorganizing of my closets (after putting up my new mirror), so that was all good. I also went to the grocery store so that I could cook tonight.

Tonight's menu was tater tot casserole, which I took out to Mom and Dad's to share with them (and [censored] because I'm not a monster). We hung out there for awhile, which was nice. Then I came home, cleaned up the kitchen, read Reddit for a bit, and then did another couple of hours of closet stuff. This will probably screw up my attempt to adjust to daylight saving time, but we'll see. Goodnight!

how'd you find a party when you're in your room

I did not blog yesterday because v. little happened - I worked all day and had meetings until 6:45pm, and then I made quesadillas for me and [censored]. The quesadillas were decent because they were filled with chicken taco meat that I'd made in the slow cooker over the course of the afternoon, but that was about as much effort as I could muster to feed myself before it was time to retire for the night.

Today was a little more of the same - I woke up and worked all day (with a brief break to talk to Natasha, who was a delight) but then I slacked off at 4pm because [censored] and I decided to make a mad dash to Des Moines to run some errands. I wanted to get some plastic tubs for storing clothes, and also a cheap mirror so that I can see my outfits in the comfort of the second story of my house rather than having to go up and down the stairs to check myself in the only current mirror, which is in [censored]'s bathroom. The lack of a mirror in my bedroom has been a challenge since I moved in, and it's especially challenging when I'm getting ready for trips and need to pack outfits that look better than my usual sweatshirt and leggings.

[Censored] also had a couple of tings to pick up based on some weekend sales, and so we swung through Theisen's, then went to Menards, Harbor Freight, and Target. I would have potentially bought fruit trees at Menards, but we weren't really equipped for that. But I did get everything on my list, as did [censored], and we made it through those stores in record time. Then we treated ourselves to Johnny's instead of McDonald's, which was certainly more expensive but much less gluten-filled (for me; [censored] ate all the gluten on my behalf). My prime rib was perfect and my baked potato and glass of wine were great, although neither of us were particularly fond of the caesar salad. But we lived to tell about it (which was somewhat in doubt, since [censored] is allergic to spinach and some of the leaves looked questionable), and we made it home without issue.

And now that I've accomplished more than I do some weekends, it's time for bed - goodnight!

chicken in the bread pan picking out dough

I had another day of slogging - which is, I suppose, what I get paid for. I spent the morning working in my pajamas while drinking coffee and listening to techno and burning one of my favorite candles, so that got me off on the right foot. I works have liked to have done that all day, but I had meetings most of the afternoon, which harshed my mellow, as the kids used to say a couple of decades ago.

By seven I was done with meetings, and [censored] came back early due to the weather (we had high winds all day and would have had a blizzard if we'd gotten more snow). So I reheated frozen soup for him and chana masala for me. And then I read a bit of a book, scrolled a bit, and got ready for bed. Goodnight!

so here's the thing

Today was a long and brutal slog, but I managed to survive despite way too many meetings and way too much time looking at my own not-made-up-enough-to-cover-the-ravages-of-age face.

After my meetings were over, I took a quick break to run some errands - I grabbed groceries, dropped some hamburger off for the play, and put my dad's dumpster inside so it wouldn't blow away in tonight's gales. Then I came home and made chana masala for dinner since [censored] isn't here to judge. It turned out super well - I used a spice packet that was intended for chicken tikka masala, but I instead put in a couple cans of chickpeas and some tomatoes, which made for a very tasty, extremely easy, and almost authentic-tasting dish.

Then I alternated between relaxing and working, and now it's time for bed - goodnight!

miles from budapest

I did not blog yesterday because I was too tired, which means I have to blog today, which is unfortunate because I'm also too tired. Yesterday was fine, though - I had a v. smooth, uneventful return to ye olde Iowa. I wasn't even the slightest bit hungover from seeing Katie (probably because we were very sedate and didn't end the evening with multiple espresso martinis like we did the last time we saw each other), and the hotel had a reasonably nice continental breakfast. And my uber driver was, v. oddly and coincidentally, the same uber driver who picked me up at the Denver airport on Thursday.

I got to the airport early enough to grab lunch before boarding my flight. I worked during most of my airport time + most of my plane time, and then I drove home just in time to make it before dark. When I got here, [censored] and I decided to grab Mexican food, and we also got a couple of groceries so that I can survive the week. Then I actually unpacked everything (fastest I've ever put away my luggage in my entire life, I think), which took it out of me.

Today was all slogging - I had a million things to do since I didn't do much actually work Thursday and Friday. So I slogged from 9:30ish to 6:30ish, with a couple of breaks in between. At some point I said goodbye to [censored], and I also took a 10min nap before my 5:30 meeting that saved me. When I was done with meetings, I took a break, made a frozen pizza, journaled a bit, and caught up on Reddit. Then, sadly, I still needed to do more work - which I did off and on for the past three hours while also watching some Seth Meyers in the background.

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

olalla

I had a v low-key day that ended in the best way. I woke up and did some journaling while drinking free hotel coffee and looking out over downtown Denver, and the sunlight was good for my mood. Then I showered and packed up - I had to switch hotels this morning, which was pretty disruptive. But luckily my room was ready at my new hotel when I arrived at 11:30, so it could have been worse.

Upon checking in I discovered that this is the oldest hotel in Denver and they still use actual keys (on keychains!), which is bizarre. The room smells like ghosts or maybe mold, but otherwise it's quite nice. There's also a stuffed peacock with a full tail of feathers mounted in the stairwell, which makes me think I need one of those (living or dead, but if living it can't be housed in my staircase).

So I got safely ensconced in my new hotel and unpacked some clothes that I had packed half an hour earlier. Then I had a tasty omelette in the hotel restaurant. I was going to go to Cherry Creek and do some damage to my wallet by buying stuff, but I wasn't in the mood to spend frivolously since I can't wear cute clothes during WWIII anyway. Instead, I wandered around the downtown area, got some sun, and took a nap. 

Finally, I changed and walked over to LoHi to meet Katie for drinks and dinner. The walk itself was nice - about thirty minutes, over the Platte River (and the interstate, which is less scenic), and still sunny even though it was starting to cool off. 

Katie and I started at Williams and Graham, which is a speakeasy style bar hidden in what looks like a bookstore. Their drinks are great, although we avoided the weirdest ones (which involved asparagus, or goat cheese, or other ingredients that I prefer not to drink). I had rum (a Queen's Park swizzle) followed by whisky, which is not usually a good idea, but rum and whisky felt v appropriate for discussing how disastrous it is to be a federal employee right now. 

We caught up on like for the full two hours of our reservation at the bar, and then we walked down the street to Bar Dough, where we spent another two hours continuing the convo with some excellent pasta (gf gnocchi for me). It had been far too long since I'd seen Katie, and it will be far too long until I see her again, but our evening was just as great as always despite the heavy subject matter.

And now, I'm already in bed and it's time to sleep - goodnight!

they just keep on looking to the east

I had a decent, slightly chaotic day - I was at the first event that I had to help out with a little before 7 am, and I did events stuff straight until 5. They all went well and I got a v nice free sweatshirt from one of them, but it meant I didn't get much other stuff done.

So I holed up in my hotel room and was going to work/relax, but I was too upset by the latest wrecking balls to national security and global democracy - Trump berated Zelensky in a press conference and made it clear that he's going to support Russia and abandon helping Ukraine and Europe in the defense against Russia's ambitions. This was in the same week that the US voted against a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine - joining only Russia, Belarus, North Korea (an illustrious set of allies!), and a dozen other small countries in pretending that Russia wasn't the aggressor. Europe and Canada can see very clearly now that they shouldn't trust us, and it seems the only countries this might actually help are Russia and China, because it certainly doesn't help us.

And then the President of the United States tweeted tonight about how he's going to pardon Pete Rose posthumously (for tax evasion - he can't pardon him for the betting that got him banned from baseball) and said baseball needs to get off their "fat, lazy asses" and induct Rose into the Hall of Fame. Nice to see we're pardoning tax evasion while supposedly cracking down on fraud.

But if you prefer not to get upset about global politics or stupid tweets, maybe you can instead get upset that DOGE fired an estimated 1300 NOAA employees yesterday, including a bunch of forecasters at NWS local offices, just as we head into tornado season. The National Weather Service was already considered understaffed, and cutting thousands more isn't going to help. Taking a sledgehammer to the most basic and important functions of the government can be done in a day, but will take years to recover from - if we're able to recover, which I have some doubts about.

My bet is that they'll screw up every agency with indiscriminate cuts, use the resulting chaos to claim those agencies are incompetent, privatize them, and the taxpayer will either pay vastly more for less (see: increasing postage costs with decreasing service) or not have service at all. This is the classic private equity playbook playing out with critical government functions, and we're all going to suffer for it.

And on that note, I'm going to bed.