rest your eyes and stay in the shade

I slept pretty well last night, except for the hour after the smoke detectors went off at 1am. I was pretty sure there was no actual smoke since only the Google smoke detectors alerted (and they stopped after a minute), and the hard-wired ones did nothing. But still, [censored] and I both got up and checked things out, and I ran next door to make sure the other house wasn't on fire (it wasn't, although if it was, that would have saved me from having to make decisions about what to do with it).

So I eventually went back to sleep and slept until almost nine. Then I was slow to get around, but I spent a few hours engaged in some writing-adjacent activities while drinking my coffee. After I got dressed and ate lunch, I ran into town to buy some broccoli, and then I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing my basement project. I got all of my stuff organized, for the most part; there are some empty boxes to throw away and some empty plastic totes to do something with, but I'm quite pleased with how organized everything looks.

Unfortunately, just as I was wrapping up in the basement and getting ready to make supper, I dropped a bottle of wine and shattered it. Luckily it was one of the cheapest bottles on the rack, and also luckily it was rosé and so didn't stain; unluckily, the glass went everywhere, and it was a bitch to clean up. That took my last bit of energy and willpower, and then I still had to make dinner if [censored] and I wanted something to eat. Luckily again, I had planned to make salmon teriyaki, which is one of the easiest things to throw together, so we ate only ten minutes later than I had intended.

But now I need to go to bed so that I can recoup some energy for a long work slog tomorrow - goodnight!

somebody told me to believe in better times

I was going to write a proper blog post, but my laptop battery is dead and I would rather be in bed than tethered to a power cord. I've been keeping busy the past few days; I started managing a new team at work, and so I'm trying to ramp up on everything they do in addition to continuing with everything I usually do. My workload isn't as insane as it sounds (although it's possible I have Stockholm syndrome from working in tech), but there's always lots to do, so work is a good distraction right now.

On Thursday, the highlight of the day was finding nine morel mushrooms in my front yard, there for the taking. I wasn't planning to cook that night, but I decided to fry them up for me and [censored]. I haven't had fresh fried morels in possibly decades, and even with dredging in gluten free flour, they turned out super tasty. It's too bad they were the perfect appetizer, since then there was no appropriate dinner to accompany it, but c'est la vie.

Yesterday, I slogged until after lunch, and then I ran to Des Moines to take care of some tings. I didn't really have time for the trip, but I was nice to get out of the house for a few hours. And then I came home and talked to [censored], who tolerated my jhokes because I brought him a piece of cheesecake - I know how to bribe him.

Today, I was more productive around the house than I often am on Saturdays - I made some headway on organizing the basement. I spent several hours down there, which went by quickly since I was listening to music and in the zone. When I was ready for a break, I ate girl lunch (some cheese and salami, with some expired but still okay gf crackers and some tasty marmalade). Then I went out to my parents' house; Dad was napping, so I talked to Mom for a bit and we agreed that I would come back and feed them supper.

So I ran to the store to grab a couple of things, came home, lost some steam, and took a nap. I also defrosted a couple of jars of spaghetti sauce - I offered to feed the family, but I didn't commit to putting any effort into the endeavor. Just as I was getting ready to go to their house, I emerged from another basement excursion to find multiple missed calls from [censored]. He was doing a project on a lift, and the lift had died, and so he was stuck fifteen feet in the air.

I decided that I should probably rescue him, so I went to his building and helped him out. The solution ended up being dragging his biggest ladder over, which was very nearly not tall enough, and he was able to climb down. It could have been worse, and I'm glad I wasn't in Des Moines today instead of yesterday.

Then I went out to Mom and Dad's, heated up the sauce and boiled the spaghetti, and threw together a bagged Caesar salad. [Censored] made it out just in time to eat, so we enjoyed dinner and hung out for a bit. Then I came home, showered, hung out a bit, and now need to sleep. I haven't been sleeping enough (or well enough) the last few nights, so it's time to get myself back in the sleep program. Goodnight!

setting the lea of nebraska alight

Let's see, what's going on. Yesterday was all slogging all the time - I didn't have a tremendous amount of meetings, but I had a lot of work that I needed to get done. Luckily I was able to do some of it on my balcony, and I also had some journaling time out there, so it could have been worse. I stayed up too late finishing some stuff, but that's the way it goes when you're in the corporate trenches.

This morning, I woke up and took my time getting ready instead of jumping straight into work. This was probably good for me stress levels, although I felt a little behind all day. Around 5:45 I threw in the towel, ate a quick and early dinner of leftover chicken chile verde, and sped 'downtown' to take a group photo with some of the secret society members. Our usual meeting was tonight anyway, but we met early to take a photo to send to the state office. Then I sped back home and changed my clothes before going to the meeting, since I had to wear something specific tonight and did not want to wear it for the photo.

So I went to the meeting, and a good time was (mostly) had by all, and I got to eat Reese's Pieces that Julie brought as part of her snack offering, which I enjoyed. Then I came home, did a tiny bit of work, and talked to [censored] for awhile. Then I came upstairs and did a tiny bit more work, but now I think it's time to throw in the towel. Goodnight!

baby when I'm yelling at you it's not your fault

Nothing to report today - I was pretty productive all day, which felt good. And I took my last two meetings from my balcony, where it was warm enough to sit outside - and so I continued to sit outside and work/journal until almost dark. Then I ate a v late supper, watched some of the new John Mulaney show on Netflix (did not love as much as I expected), and decided I should go to bed early rather than getting my second wind. Goodnight!

quiet now, will we gather to conjure the rain down

I spent entirely too much time this weekend staring at laptops, but since it rained all day today, that was probably the best thing I could do. I spent the morning doing some desultory writing + messing around with some research into marketing techniques. I also read a bunch of online content in an effort to get inspired, with mostly positive results.

Then I took a break to have a turkey sandwich (thanks to my mom's efforts yesterday), did a couple of loads of laundry, and threw together some chicken chile verde in the instant pot. This was not what was for dinner, since I was pretty sure [censored] wouldn't like it - I had some chicken thighs languishing in the freezer that I never cook since [censored] doesn't like dark meat, and I also had some tomatillos and peppers that I bought on my grocery run last weekend that were about to go bad. So I threw them all in the pressure cooker purely so that I will have food to eat this week without needing to cook on my work nights. It turned out quite well, if I do say so myself, so I can cook some rice tomorrow night and feast as soon as [censored] departs.

After I cooked that and cleaned everything up, I made actual dinner - elmer's chili sounded good on a rainy day like today, so I threw together a batch. [Censored] and I ate it while watching some Big Bang reruns, and then I finished cleaning up the kitchen, came upstairs, procrastinated for a bit, debated going to bed, and instead forced myself to get a second wind so I could work for a couple of hours and take care of a task that I desperately needed to do before tomorrow. There's another task I also need to desperately do tomorrow, but at least I got this one done and it's (almost) feasible to do the other task in the morning.

But if I'm going to do that, I need to sleep - goodnight!

did you notice, did you notice i'm feeling uninspired? i think i'm crossing wires

I had a reasonably good day - I woke up feeling inspired to be productive, and I was moderately successful at that. I mostly messed around on my laptop, but I felt like it was mostly for good endeavors. And I took a couple of breaks, did several loads of laundry, took a shower, and generally enjoyed the afternoon.

Eventually, I went out to Mom and Dad's for dinner - it is Easter but it felt like Thanksgiving because my mom thawed out a turkey that needed used. So we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, layered lettuce, and five cup salad, and it was all quite tasty. I had to carve the turkey because my dad wasn't up to doing it, and I did not cut it as nicely as he is capable of doing - but the turkey itself was excellent, so we were all happy about that.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

so clear but so unheard

I had an okay day, but my energy was off - I stayed up way too late last night, and I had to get up at seven if I had any hope of making it to the hospital by eight (which I did, but just barely). I got my annual mammogram, and then I went to the clinic next door and got allergy shots, which unfortunately swelled up. But I was home by 9:30ish, and ready to get on with my day.

So I worked all day, with a couple of meetings in the afternoon - my focus was a little off since I was tired and not feeling #inittowinit, but it was better than nothing. And I stopped around five to drive over to Centerville for dinner with Hannah. We went to our usual spot to celebrate her recent birthday, and we had a delightful time - many jokes and philosophical topics were exchanged, and I'm glad we were able to get together.

Then I came home, said hi to [censored], dozed while scrolling reddit (and while [censored] watched a youtube video about tractors, which seemed to have a meandering plot and limited character development), and then came upstairs. I think I'll try to go to bed early (for me) in hopes that I can seize tomorrow. Goodnight!

lay me down in a field of flame and heather

I have screwed up because it's after midnight and I have to be at a doctor's appointment a little before 8am. Today was a bit of a slog - I had a bunch of work to get done (with mixed results), and a bunch of afternoon meetings, and I got pulled into another meeting from 7-7:45pm. So that was all a lot.

But I took a break before the 7pm meeting to make dinner, with mixed results - I wanted to attempt pancakes, and they were pretty good, but they weren't exactly what I had in mind. And in the process, I did not do as good a job with my hashbrowns as I usually do. But [censored] and I enjoyed it all anyway, especially with the bacon that turned out perfectly. And I got some good work done tonight after dinner, so I'll take it.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

wednesday my empty arms were open

I have nothing to report this week - I'm just working, sleeping, having headaches, and monitoring the economy/political situation with increasing alarm. But I did some work/writing after work from my balcony, which was v. nice. And [censored] is around this week, so we ate frozen fish (regular for him, gf for me) + curly fries for dinner, which was pretty tasty.

And now, even though it's still early, I think I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!

we can't be defeated

I have nothing to report today - I woke up, spent some quality time planning out my week, and then worked all day with a brief break for some leftover pasta at lunch. I did have a fun and long-overdue chat with Heather (aka dear respected madam), and it was v. nice to catch up - and v. hard to believe that we were in India together twenty years ago this month. It was a lifetime ago, but I don't like putting hard numbers like "twenty years ago" on it, because that makes me feel ancient.

My last meeting ended at six, and then I started the rice cooker while I made paneer makhani. [Censored] was here for dinner tonight and usually I would spare him a creation like this, but I had paneer in the fridge that was going to go bad, and there were enough other leftovers to keep him from starving, so I indulged. The recipe was super easy since I used a spice packet (although the spice packet was meant for murgh makhani aka butter chicken instead of paneer/cheese). So all I had to do was cook some canned tomatoes and a bunch of butter, then add the spices with heavy cream, and then add the paneer right at the end. It wasn't as good as what I used to eat in Hyderabad, but it was good enough, and I have plenty of leftovers since [censored] turned his nose up at it.

When it was done, I ate while watching the latest SNL with [censored], and then I came upstairs and did various tasks. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

for every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable

I'm all wiped out on words - I did some decent writing today, spread out over several sessions, which felt great. Much of it was done while sitting on my balcony this afternoon, which was good for my mood - I'm definitely ready for summer and outdoor time, although I doubt I'll get more of it this week.

Over the course of the day, I also took care of various house chores and chatted with [censored], who also availed himself of my balcony temporarily. Then I hit pause on the writing and did a speed clean upstairs - I was v. v. overdue to dust and vacuum my office, and I vacuumed my bedroom as well. Then I made burrito bowls for dinner, which [censored] and I enjoyed while catching up on a couple of episodes of SNL.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

light me up

I had a nice couple of days - yesterday wasn't worth blogging about because I worked all day and then slacked off to go buy groceries in the next town over before coming home and making pasta for dinner.

Today was moderately productive - I did some great writing, so I'm happy with that. I also helped [censored] pick up sticks at Mom and Dad's, of which there are plenty to go around. And I cleaned their grill and grilled some bacon wrapped sirloin that I picked up yesterday, which made for an excellent meal.

And now I need to sleep since I was already asleep while typing this - goodnight!

camera snapping, my eyes hurt

I had a fairly chill and productive day, all things considered. I got up and wrote before work, which felt great, and then I slogged pretty steadily all day. When I was done, I put some chicken and rice in the oven, and then I did a bit more work/writing while it was cooking (slowly). And then [censored] and I ate it while watching some tv. I still need to tweak the recipe - I used some bone-in skin-on breasts and I swear the temperature or the cook time isn't right because it takes way longer than I think it should, but at least the rice is tasty.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

don't you dare get comfortable

I had a long but good day - I didn't wake up very early and didn't push too hard because I was up so late last night. But I did get going, shower, do laundry, work, etc. Then I talked to my friend Tanya - we were overdue for a catch-up and it was great to chat. 

Then I did some more work and housework, had a few meetings, ate some frozen chicken tikka masala that I had in the freezer, and generally slogged. I stopped early for a library board meeting, which was fun and productive. Then I did home, sat on my balcony for a six pm call with Adit and Baz, ate an extremely fast dinner of sweet potato hash (from the freezer) and a fried egg, and sped back into town for PEO.

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

you're agitated, you're prayed and meditated, you're concentrated on getting elevated

I am v. tired but I had a reasonably good day (two days, since I didn't blog yesterday). I've fully re-entered the slog, mostly because it's the beginning of the quarter and I have a million things to do. So I worked all day yesterday, and then today I got up and worked some more. All my meetings went well, and I took care of some personal errands / tasks in a few spare moments.

Tonight, I went out to my parents' house and made them dinner. I hadn't seen them since the day before I went to Boston/NYC, so I decided not to wait for the weekend to see them. After my last meeting ended, I packed up a bag of supplies and went to their house, where I made shrimp alfredo. My dad seems to always like it, which is unusual given his taste bud issues, and it has the bonus of being v. easy to make.

So I cooked while I talked to my mom, and then the three of us hung out around the dinner table. All in all it was a nice night, and I only feel a tiny twinge of selfish regret for leaving the leftovers with them. Then I came home, tidied up the kitchen, and promptly took a v. ill-advised nap. I don't usually nap at 9pm, but I had a task that I promised my boss I would do tonight, and I was too tired to contemplate it immediately.

So I dozed / scrolled reddit / texted my college friends (today is the 20th anniversary of the release of SAHARA, which should be celebrated much more than it has been - and by that I mean no one has celebrated it). And then I eventually did the task for my boss, so at least I can cross that off my list.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

and don't be selfish and keep this all to yourself, and don't eat shellfish

I have returned to the place of my birth after a somewhat-delayed but otherwise smooth travel day. Sadly my flight was delayed by over two hours, but not in a way that enabled me to do much of anything fun. However, that meant I could take my time getting ready, and I was feeling zero stress getting to the airport. Also, I discovered that I could get into the Delta first class lounge with one of the perks of my Amex card, so the long wait was quite pleasant - I had a comfy chair, free lunch, free coke zero / rosé / coffee to give myself all the uppers/downers I desired, and space to write for awhile. So I did write, while also people watching, and it was a nice way to get some downtime before the flight.

Once we did board, the trip was uneventful, and I alternated between napping / journaling / reading to Des Moines. I must say that LaGuardia is quite nice and having a direct from Des Moines to NYC is a major bonus - so if I get a say in whether I visit the SF or NYC offices more frequently in the future, NYC does have some points in its favor.

So, after I landed, I retrieved my bags and my car, grabbed the last Starbucks of the foreseeable future, and drove home (with a stop for a v. necessary car wash). When I got here, it was a little after seven, and [censored] and I went into town to grab some groceries and Mexican takeout since I had no food or desire to cook. After we'd eaten and caught up, I partially unpacked, made a list of the million things I have to do tomorrow, and generally unwound.

And now I need to sleep if I'm going to do those million things - goodnight!

play that music too loud

I had a v nice final day in NYC. I got up and walked to Starbucks, where I wrote for an hour while drinking some cold brew. Then I came back to my hotel and got ready for the day. The first stop was meeting Terry at the Met - I had not seen Terry in the flesh since her wedding in 2022, so we were overdue. 

We wandered around a bit of the museum before realizing we just wanted to talk, so we grabbed coffee in the cafe and sat for an hour or so. Then we checked out some of the painting exhibits, which were varying degrees of lovely. It was nice to hang out in a museum for awhile, and even nicer to go with Terry. 

Then we walked across Central Park to the upper west side, where we spent twenty minutes browsing at the Strand bookstore while waiting for a wine bar to open. The wine bar was quite good - I had an excellent red (and another half glass of the same), and we had fries to revive ourselves, and then they have us a free glass of champagne as we settled the bill. This is, as you can imagine, my kind of scene. 

Then we adjourned briefly to Terry's apartment, where I met her daughters, who are super cute. We also said hi to Haseeb before leaving them to go out for an early dinner at a nearby Greek place, which was delish.

So, all in all it was a v nice day, and it was great to spend so much quality time with Terry. Then we parted ways and her doorman procured me a cab so I could return to my hotel. When I got here I accidentally took a nap, and then I packed so I'll be ready to go tomorrow. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

rest in peace bob marley

I had a v low-key day compared to all the other days I've had recently - I worked from my hotel, saw no one, and slacked off early to go shopping in Soho. I bought several cute tops before the economy collapses and tariffs render clothing impossibly expensive, so that was exciting. I also started reading a book about AI (NEXUS by Yuval Noah Harari), which is probably silly because a book that came out last year is already obsolete, but it's interesting so far. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

joy to you and me

I felt about as well as I deserved this morning - not bad, but not really in it to win it after getting less than six hours of sleep. But I rallied and went into the office, where I had v few meetings and so was able to get a lot done.

I cut out around five, and I said my farewells to the NYC office crew before walking back to my hotel to drop off my laptop. Then I caught the subway to Brooklyn, where I met Emily (one of my favorite coworkers) at Laser Wolf. This sounds like a much different scene than it was - maybe it sounds like a dance club, but it's a Mediterranean place with fantastic food and a great view of the Manhattan skyline. This was a great way to catch up with Emily outside of work, and also to meet her wife Lauren, who was v interesting (also a lawyer, ran for Congress in Florida at some point, seems super smart). All in all it was a great evening, and much more sedate than last night since I had one cocktail and then called it quits by 8:30.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

top down

I had an excellent day in New York - it really is a delightful city, perhaps even moreso than SF (and certainly moreso than Des Moines for my specific vibe). I got up, showered, ate some leftover pasta instead of breakfast, and then walked to the office. There, I slogged for several hours, until it was time to abscond to the two pm team lunch (which was two hours later than I'm wanted to eat, but when in Rome...).

So eight of us had lunch at a fancy place nearby that satisfied my coastal elite desires for rosé and appetizers and a perfect burger. We had many fun convos about crows, raccoons, and other topics. And then we went back to the office around 3:45 and pretended to work until seven...

... When Kleidi, Emre, Finn, Gary, Sid, Swati, Adit and I went to some Georgian restaurant (the Caucasus country, not the southern state) restaurant for a team dinner. It was less fancy than lunch, but we made up the spend by ordering many cocktails and basically closing the place down. We lost some people over the course of the evening, but of course Adit and I wanted a punch bowl to close out the night. So we dragged Gary, Sid and Swati to Jungle Bird, which we thought would have punch bowls, but we were misled. We still ordered drinks, and then more drinks, and suddenly we had discussed our company foibles until two am. 

And now, after an imminently fun evening it's time for bed - goodnight!

oysters in my pocket

I had a v nice day in NYC. I got plenty of sleep, got ready, and walked to the office, with a stop for Starbucks en route. The office is near Union Square (the NYC version, not the SF version), and the walk was easy and a good way to wake up.

Then I slogged all day, but with several fun coworkers around and the ability to order doordash for lunch. I had a plethora of meetings in the afternoon, and then I skipped out at 5:15 to walk west toward Chelsea. I had a date with my friend Sara at Mermaid Inn, which I was v excited about. It was a strange situation for two reasons: 1) Sara is my friend from Boulder and I never expected her to leave Colorado, but she got a job at YouTube and so she and her husband moved here, and 2) Mermaid Inn is a restaurant I associate with Ritu and many, many oyster massacres.

We arrived just on the late edge of happy hour, and I panic ordered six oysters before Sara arrived bc I didn't know if she would eat them. Then we ordered dinner, which for me was an appetizer of risotto (delish) and eight more oysters. And we caught up on all the many changes in each other's lives - I hadn't seen her since before I started my job (a year ago) and we had many many things to discuss. 

So, that was accomplished in style, and I'm looking forward to seeing her the next time I'm in NYC. Then I walked back to my hotel (for a total of three miles of walking today) and had a late meeting with Adit and Baz. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!