Monday, June 30, 2025

that's all i'm gonna say now before they come knocking on my door now

I am v. tired - I am paying a bit for not working more this weekend, although somehow it always seems to work out. But I got up this morning (after working late last night) in time for an 8:30 meeting that I then got ghosted on (same meeting as I was ghosted on a couple of weeks ago, although a different participant ghosted). Luckily for them I wasn't filled with rage and was instead appreciative that I then had time to put on makeup and dry my hair before continuing with my day.

That turned into working a bit, going to town to get allergy shots, then coming home and slogging relentlessly from 10:30ish to 7ish. After that, I took a break to make dinner - which required zero effort because I had spaghetti sauce in the freezer and so just boiled spaghetti for me and [censored]. It did require some effort because I had to clean the kitchen first, but that was a small issue. Then we ate while watching some Friends, and then I came upstairs and worked for the last 2.5hrs. But I'm pleased with what I got done, so at least I can go to bed feeling a teensy bit okay about tomorrow.

But now I need to sleep - goodnight!

Sunday, June 29, 2025

beat bobby flay

I have not been blogging because 1) I have been very busy with work and life is v boring as a result, 2) I am listening to the same songs on repeat and so am out of song lyrics, 3) I have gotten into a bad habit of blogging on my phone and am also trying to break my bad habit of being on my phone in bed, which means it's v difficult to blog.

However, tings are all fine (or as fine as they can be when it's a million degrees and my dad is gone, I guess). I am working on a big project at work and I probably should have worked all weekend, but I mostly avoided it in favor of doing my own stuff. This included monitoring my garden (I have some baby peppers and tomatillos, which is v exciting), watering the town flower planters with my mom, making taco salad for Mom and [censored] for dinner Friday night, and doing a lot of journaling, reading, laundry, dishes, and other tasks.

Today was more of the same, with the added excitement of a heavy downpour and a bunch of lightning. But I was still able to sit on my balcony in the late afternoon, so it wasn't all bad. I unfortunately worked for the last three hours, but it felt pretty necessary - and my job is usually relatively chill, so I'll allow it this time.

But now I need to go to bed so that I can slog all day tomorrow - goodnight!

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

showbiz rule

I'm in a middle of a massive slog at work - this is what happens when artificial quarterly deadlines run into differing personal priorities. I have worked basically all day with v. few breaks - but the breaks I did have weren't entirely satisfying (allergy shots; laundry; eating leftovers out of the freezer that were actually pretty good). I did have one satisfying break while sitting on my balcony - it was rainy all day, but my couch was dry enough to sit on, so I caught a break in the rain to hang out and journal for just a bit.

But now I need to sleep because tomorrow promises to be another slog - goodnight!

Monday, June 23, 2025

switch it up like nintendo

I guess I forgot to blog last night because I did very little yesterday - I was somewhat productive in the morning (gardening, doing various house tings, etc.) but then went off a cliff in the afternoon because it was too hot. Mom and I did water the planters in town because it's our week to water, and I ate some leftover pizza while watching the NBA finals with [censored] (which were v. sad because I was watching entirely for Tyrese Haliburton and his achilles rupture was heartbreaking/painful to watch).

Today, I woke up semi-early so I could get cranking on work. It was still hot, so I was forced to mostly work inside - but I did take a break to water everything and pull some more cabbage worms off my broccoli plants, which was a nice little interlude. At some point I said goodbye to [censored], and then I slogged some more before watering plants again with Mom. It's raining now, which means perhaps we didn't have to water - but it means we almost certainly won't need to water tomorrow, so that's exciting.

After that, I came home, ate my leftover prime rib from Friday's feast with Drewbaby, sat on the balcony and procrastinated a bit as the storm rolled in, and then did a couple of hours of work. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

Saturday, June 21, 2025

their laughter is contagious

I do not want to risk getting a second wind, so I'll keep this brief. Yesterday was as smooth as my travels could be -  I made it to the rental drop off more than 90min before my flight, which was clutch because I was able to check my bags at the rental car counter. This saved me when airtrain was being weird and I got off to walk across the international terminal instead of risking missing my flight. Then I almost missed it anyway because I had a three hour layover which I spent cranking through work in the Amex Lounge, and I got sidetracked from looking at the time until it was almost too late.

Anyway, i survived, got to Des Moines, and met Drewbaby and Sammie for dinner at Skip's. It was fun to see them, and we continued with frozen custard at a place on SE 14th, which was delish. Then I picked up stuff for [censored] at Home Depot, picked up wrapping paper, drove home, and slept v well in my own bed.

Today I could have happily putzed around all day, but I had to go to a baby shower for Allie and Chris. I spent the morning running errands nd checking on my little plant friends (the garden is looking great!! Especially after a smashed a lot of cabbage worms with my fingers after finding them eating my broccoli). Then Mom and I drove to Moravia to go to the shower. It was a v nice event (thrown my one of my sister's other sisters, if that makes sense to you) and it was nice to see the whole crew (and to meet Zane's new son Callum, who was born three weeks ago).

When we got home, I chilled and rearranged the junk drawer (not at all the highest priority, but it's 100 degrees and I don't feel like doing anything). Then I grabbed takeout pizza, which [censored] and I ate with Mom. And now I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

Thursday, June 19, 2025

find a boat

I need to get up in like five hours, so this will be brief. But I had a nice last day in the city of sin. I woke up at a work-appropriate time to take one 8:30am meeting and send some emails, and then I had the rest of the day off for Juneteenth. Because of that, I drove deep into the heart of Noe to meet Adit and Chandlord for brunch at Taffi's. We had a delightful time discussing the usual topics (life, Mission Impossible, AI, etc). Then we walked to Adit's to look at his outdoor furniture before Chandlord and I left him and went to Room and Board.

Room and Board is not our usual hangout, but I wanted to get some inspiration and the closest one to my house in Iowa is probably Chicago or Minnesota. So Chandlord accompanied me through three floors of furnishings and we sat in many dining chairs while talking about life. Then we came back to Kabuki and hung out in the lobby for a few hours - ostensibly to work, but mostly to discuss how life may be mid and there's really no escape from suffering despite what the art at Borobudur (or the google office in Boulder) might proclaim (you probably had to be there to get this).

Then we walked to Fillmore and parted ways, and I did some shopping and bought nothing but a sports bra and some children's gifts, which was not the mix I intended to pick up but was good nonetheless. Then I ordered takeout sushi for one last fishy meal, drank a glass of rosé in the lobby, and packed everything up. I also moved my car to a spot as close to the hotel as possible, thus saving me from having to wander around and look for it at four in the morning.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

threw a bottle across the water to someone who's thinking of me

I had a busy but mostly lovely day in the city of sin. I woke up and did a tiny bit of work before retrieving my car and speeding to the office. I then had meetings for approximately eight hours straight after my calendar collapsed and tings kept getting added, but I survived (and some of the discussions were even fun).

I finally escaped a little after five and went to Burlingame, where I parked and talked briefly to my mom before meeting Lauren (aka Subz) at pizzeria delfina (yes, the sister restaurant of where I had family dinner last weekend, but the repeat was worth it). We had a long and deep conversation about all the usual things I've been talking about this week - community, death, AI, grief, needing reading glasses, the future, etc. It was great to see her, and I'm already looking forward to our next meetup. 

Then I came back to the city, parked on the street like I still live here even though it's been almost nine years since I've had a SF address (crazy), and basically fell asleep (or wanted to) as soon as I got to my room. So now I'm going to go to bed for real - goodnight!

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

I had an absolutely chaotic day, thanks for asking. I woke up early, got partially ready, took a 7:30am meeting from my hotel, finished getting ready (haphazardly), sped to the office through the chaos that is driving through SF (one ways, crazy hills, crazier bikers, far too many four-way stops), and got to the office just in time to start a full on slog of meetings.

And it really was a slog - I had meetings straight until 4:30, with far too many tasks to try to squeeze into the breaks while people were talking. Then I sped back to the hotel, ran upstairs for two minutes to swap bags and shoes, and then met John and Jess for dinner at An Japanese.

I was delighted to introduce them to my favorite secret sushi place in SF (which I believe I was introduced to by the original Jen Lui). It's tucked away into the Japantown Mall and has seating for <20 people, and the sushi is absolutely incredible. We did the eight-course omakase (chefs choice), and every bite was perfect. I don't even know what the best thing was - my least favorite thing was probably the tempura made from tiny whole fish whose dead eyes stared me down as I picked them up, and even that was delicious, so I'd say it was all winning.

We also had a delightful, far ranging conversation about life and storytelling and AI and humanity, which was a treat. And the walk back to my hotel took perhaps sixty seconds since they're adjacent, so it was about as perfect as it could be. After we all parted ways, I came back to my room, laid semi comatose on the bed for an hour, and then did an hour ish of work so that tomorrow will be oh-so-slightly less painful.

And now I need to go to sleep - goodnight!

Monday, June 16, 2025

I've hung my hat with diplomats

I had a v long, somewhat frustrating day, but it ended well enough to make up for it. I woke up early (after a late dinner, which meant not sleeping super well) for a 6:30 am meeting that the organizer no showed for, which sent me into a murderous rage. Then I did various things, got ready, and made it to the office by 9:30, only to discover that no one else chose to come in today. This is not that surprising since we're pretty remote friendly, but it did feel like a waste of my time to be there instead of ensconced in my comfy hotel room (it, even better, in bed).

But I slogged through a bunch of work and meetings, and I did get to do some stuff related to the office remodel, so it wasn't all a waste. Then I came back to my hotel, took a brief nap to make things right with the world, did some work, and then went to Piccino Presidio to rendezvous with my writing friends.

Happily, Anne, Barbara, Grace, and Veronica were all able to hang out, so we had a long, lovely dinner and discussed many writing and life topics (and especially AI, which is the topic of every conversation in SF). It was a delight to see them, and I wasn't ready to part ways ...

... But sadly all meals must end, so I came back to my hotel and immediately got ready for bed. And now I must sleep - I have early meetings tomorrow (although I declined the no show's attempt to reschedule for 6:30 am tomorrow because that's just absurd). Goodnight!

let your body move to the music

I had a very lovely day - it was almost as chill as yesterday, but the chillness was by design and not incited by a hangover, so it felt much better. I got plenty of sleep, woke up, grabbed some coffee, and took care of some tings. Then I grabbed breakfast, showered, and went on a little excursion to my favorite Japantown shops - which means I acquired some stationery and ink at my favorite stationery store, as well as some plant accoutrements and some earrings at various other stores. 

Then I came back to the hotel and wrote, with a quick break for some poke delivery. 
Eventually I retreated to senspa (my favorite place in SF), where I got a facial and a massage and spent the intervening relaxation time journaling. The treatments felt great, and I could have easily done them and then gone to bed...

But instead, I came back to the hotel, showered, got ready, and had a v late (8:30pm!) dinner with Adit. We went to Side A, which is apparently v difficult to get into - and the food was excellent, so it makes sense why they're doing so well. We shared a kale salad and an artichoke dip that were outstanding, and I had the halibut that was also tasty. And we had a soft serve swirl for dessert, which I didn't know I had been missing until it came out. 

Anyway, dinner was great and now I need to sleep because I have a 6:30am meeting that I'm destined to be surly for. Goodnight!

Saturday, June 14, 2025

total eclipse of the heart

I did not mean to skip blogging last night. In fact, I woke up at six a.m. propped up on my pillows (not how I usually sleep) with the bedside lamp on and my phone on the duvet as though it had just slipped out of my hand. At that point I thought there was no point in waking myself up further to blog, so I took some ibuprofen, turned out the light, and went to sleep.

Yesterday was pretty good, though. I was exhausted from my failed travel day, so getting up sucked, but I did manage to rally in time to take a couple of meetings from the hotel. Then I ubered deep into Noe Valley to meet Heather (aka dear respected madam) for lunch at Regent Thai. Heather was the main reason I flew in Thursday - she lives in Oregon now and I rarely see her, but I found out she'd be in SF and leaving Friday afternoon, so I changed my flight to get in Thursday night so we could see each other. She was in fine form and I was really glad to see her. And I caught a ride with her to the airport so that I could pick up a rental car for the rest of this week's shenanigans.

When I got back into SF, I did another couple of hours of work, and then I snuck out to get a mani/pedi at Silk (where they still remember me and are always happy to see me). Then I walked back to the hotel, changed, and ubered to the Mission to meet up with Adit, Claude, and Chandlord for drinks and dinner.

We started at Big Finish, which replaced Monk's Kettle. They have a bunch of wines on tap, and we ordered some pimento cheese (with ritz crackers for Adit) and fries to tide us over until our 8pm dinner reservation. We heard all about Adit's woes with the new electric suv that Priyanka bought, and we discussed a variety of other topics.

Then we adjourned to Delfina, where we had a v. delightful dinner and the server gave us all gold stars (metaphorically, but definitely at my request) for being such good guests. They handled the two vegetarians and the two gluten free people quite well, and the food was v. tasty. I also had a version of an aperol spritz and my share of a nice bottle of white wine. And we ended with pavlova for dessert, which was perfect and now something that I want to learn to make.

As we were wrapping up dinner, John showed up, which meant we had to keep the party going (no regrets there). So we moved to another bar whose name I do not remember (although I believe it was Wildhawk), where we all had cocktails. We stayed there until midnight, and Claude and Chandlord both left, but John, Adit and I continued on to Beehive, where we had another cocktail. John and I also had tequila shots given to us by a woman who claimed she was trustworthy because she was a lawyer, and then we all reminisced about times when we've suspected we were roofied. And then I got back to my hotel around 1:30, managed to wash my face, and promptly passed out.

This morning was rough, no doubt in large part because one is not supposed to drink a variety of white and red wines + aperitifs + bourbon (with a teabag in it) + tequila over the course of an evening. It also didn't help that I woke up to some suspicious messages regarding my credit report being checked for a credit card application, which I did not do. So I spent some headachy time freezing my credit and making phone calls to ensure the credit card wouldn't get opened. I don't think anything truly bad happened, but still, it was an annoyance I didn't want to deal with.

At some point I grabbed breakfast at the buffet downstairs, and I continued to laze in bed and do various mundane tasks until it was time to get ready to see Katrina. I went to her house first to see all the new and interesting things she's gotten up to in the last few months. Then we walked to Nopalito, where we caught up over some totopos and panuchos, which were v. tasty. It was great to see her, as usual, and it was nice to reflect on life together.

Then I came back to my hotel and took a v. long nap. When I forced myself to wake up I still wasn't rallied enough, so I canceled on plans to grab a late (after 9:30pm) drink with Adit and Vidya since my body would rather sleep and be sober tonight. Then I grabbed a solo dinner at the bar at Tailor's Son, which I've always wanted to try. They're usually slammed, but tonight the bar was weirdly quiet, so I ate a perfect seafood risotto and also half of the budino (chocolate mousse), and it was divine. I also journaled and soaked in the feel of being somewhere new (to me) and buzzy, which I do not get in ye olde Iowa.

And now, I'm going to go to bed and hope that I can do all the things that I want to go tomorrow if I get some quality sleep tonight. Goodnight!

Friday, June 13, 2025

rise with fire

I am safely ensconced in the city of sin, after an absolutely brutal day of travel. Most of my trips have been relatively smooth the last few years, but today I got a notification that my flight to Denver was delayed two hours just as I was parking at the Des Moines airport. This resulted in them rebooking me on a later Denver to SFO flight (and, insultingly, booting me out of business and into economy). I did get to have a burger in Des Moines, so at least I wasn't starving. But they boarded us earlier than necessary so we could sit on the plane for like an hour before taking off...

And then when we got to Denver, my later flight also ended up being delayed over an hour, and much of that delay was spent needlessly sitting on the plane. And when we finally got to SFO, there was a baggage handling delay...and so all told, my trip door to door from my house to my SF hotel took thirteen hours, which was far longer than I anticipated.

But, I made it and so did my bag, and now I'm going to bed - goodnight!

Monday, June 09, 2025

song to say goodbye

Today was kind of rough - I was not at all in it to win it, but I had to get up and take meetings starting at 8am, which is obscene from my viewpoint. And then I slogged all day despite not wanting to. I took a break to talk to Veronica, and then I did a bunch of random house stuff, made fresh pasta to go with last night's sauce, and then ate with [censored].

After that, I took out my trash, paid some bills, discussed various tings, and then worked for the past two hours in a very surly fashion. And now I need to go to bed - I only did one of the tasks I meant to do tonight, which means tomorrow morning will be painful, but I'll survive. Goodnight!

Sunday, June 08, 2025

blessed with lucky sevens

I was as productive today as I was unproductive yesterday, so on the whole the weekend was pretty good. Yesterday I basically did nothing (which I'm sure isn't actually true, but my memory is blanking) - although I did go out to Mom's and grill bratwurst to go with the potato salad and baked beans that she made, and that all turned out quite well.

Today I woke up determined to be in it to win it. I did some outdoor stuff before it started raining, and planted the tomatillo my mom found for me on Friday (I had bought one tomatillo and planted it already, but discovered belatedly that you need two to cross-pollinate each other). I also added some twine to my raised bed to support my peppers, which have been slow to grow since it's been a little cold but are starting to hit the point where I can incorporate them into this Florida weave method that I'm trying. I was going to do more, but it started to sprinkle...which turned into a rainy day, which was too bad.

But I did manage to do a bunch of stuff indoors, and I cleaned my balcony so that I can enjoy it more as it starts to heat up. At some point [censored] helped me to plant my lilac bush, which was v. exciting. And I made chicken alfredo with bacon and mushrooms for dinner, which I think repaid [censored] for the planting assistance (if such repayment is possible).

And now, I need to go to bed since I have unusually early meetings tomorrow and need to be focused for them. Goodnight!

Friday, June 06, 2025

that's my will and testament

I had an okay day - it was four weeks today since Dad died and I was most certainly not feeling in it to win it at work. Nor was I ready to wake up - but I had to get up and go to town for allergy shots at nine, with at least got me out of bed and dressed even if they also made me itchy.

When I got home I did a few hours of meetings and tings, but I sloughed off a bit early so I could think and chill. Then I met Hannah for dinner - we went to The Brick, which was actually pretty good, but it's also true that the the entrance is pretty unappealing (which I'd heard from someone else - you walk through the exhaust from the kitchen fans, which is certainly not ideal). We had a tasty dinner, and their service was so fast that we weren't nearly done talking, so we can be back to my house and sat on the balcony until ten pm, which was lovely.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

Thursday, June 05, 2025

did you notice our friends are running late

I've been fairly productive at work the last couple of days, although I hit a wall this afternoon. It makes sense, since I stayed up too late working last night and knew that I threw my sleep off - especially because I woke up too early yesterday and so was off in both directions. 

But all my meetings and things were generally good today, and I ended it with some writing time on the balcony, a frozen pizza, some laundry chores, and a bizarre episode of Stargate with [censored]. And now I should sleep - goodnight!

Tuesday, June 03, 2025

you and me at the war of the end times

I had a v productive day, which was surprising since it rained all day and usually that puts me in a foul mood. But maybe I was happy about the rain because it meant that I don't have to water trees and tomatoes and all the other ill advised tings that [censored] and I have sunk into the ground in the past few days. 

Anyway, today was one of the days when I have the most meetings of the month, and I have to lead half of them, so it's a lot. And I had some tasks I needed to get done, so I kept slogging until seven. Then I ate a cottage pie that I'd thrown in the oven while listening to a podcast. And then I relaxed, did a bit more work, etc. And now I need to sleep and see what tomorrow brings - goodnight!

Monday, June 02, 2025

we refuse to run, we've only just begun

I got up early (for me) that so that I could go into town for allergy shots, and I was back and ready to work before I am accustomed to working these days, which was good for my productivity. I then slogged all day, with a break for a ten minute nap in deference to the fact that I didn't sleep well last night. But I did the last couple of hours of work from my balcony in anticipation of being stuck inside tomorrow, and the sun helped me as much as it always does.

Then I checked on my gardens and ended up adding a couple of lines to my Florida weave to help hold my tomatoes up before it rains. And then I sat on my balcony and worked on personal stuff until it was basically dark. Then I had a v late sandwich, intended to get back to work, and instead mostly procrastinated. But I'm going to try the strange strategy of going to bed before midnight, so let's see how that treats me. Goodnight!

Sunday, June 01, 2025

beat it

I'm v tired but I had a pretty productive day today. I did not write as much this morning as I intended to, but that's okay; I spent the afternoon cleaning and made some real improvements to my living room, kitchen, guest room, bedroom, and bathroom. I didn't quite get through the whole list of cleaning chores, but things feel fresher than they did, so I'll take it.

Of course, I feel like a total sloth in comparison to [censored], who planted [censored] all afternoon - but for a Sunday, I got a lot done. I also listened to a couple of episodes of Trevor Noah's podcast, which I quite enjoyed. And I threw together some chicken and rice to bake for dinner, which turned out v. well.

And now, I need to sleep (in fresh sheets, which is always a delight). Goodnight!