that's evolution

No blog tonight - I had an excellent day, but tomorrow's sessions start 30min earlier than they have been, and I also have to pack and check out of my hotel, so I need to go to bed immediately. Goodnight!

I keep showing you doors

I had an excellent first day at my writing conference. I got off to a slow start because I’m still feeling sick and didn’t get enough sleep, but I made it to the event before the first session, and I even had time to grab cold brew on the way, so I’m counting it as a win.

Almost all of my sessions today were great, and I sloughed off the less great last session by going out to an early dinner to revive myself. And now I’m going to go to bed (after already having taken a nap) in an attempt to recoup some sleep - goodnight!

must have seen too much in the blotted ink

I am in Okoboji, in some ways despite my better judgment - I woke up this morning still feeling pretty ill, but I knew that would turn into feeling sorry for myself if I stayed home and skipped the retreat. So I puttered around the garden and dealt with a lot of very wet things, took care of some things around the house, packed up, and left around one.

My drive was long but uneventful - Okoboji is on the other end of the state from me, so I saw a lot of (fairly similar-looking) countryside. It's been one of the wettest Septembers on record and no one seems to be harvesting, so traffic was fairly light, and I got into Okoboji a little after 6:30 (after a stop at Starbucks, and then pulling through five or six different gas stations around northwest Iowa before finding one that sold premium fuel for my Audi). I was starving after I checked in, so I went down the street to have dinner at a place I went to last year. My burger was v. tasty, and I was getting some decent work done when I was interrupted by the kind of guy who does not take any hints that you are not interested in having a conversation. Parts of it were entertaining (especially making eye contact with some of the staff + talking to another guest as he was walking out, all of whom seem to be long-suffering as a result of this guy), but I eventually absconded to my hotel so I could unpack and do some writing before bed.

And now I must sleep immediately since things start too early tomorrow - goodnight!

tell all the magazines i'm a celebrity

So, I did end up getting quite sick, which has been a brutal thing to carry back with me from an otherwise-great trip to San Francisco. I made it through Thursday morning's packing + checking out of the hotel sprint, and I even made time to run to a nearby Walgreens to get some cold medicine (although the pharmacy itself wasn't open yet, so I had to make do with what I could get in the regular aisles, which turned out to not be enough - although getting a bunch of travel packs of kleenex and some cough drops was v. helpful). Then I went to the office, where I had several meetings before heading to the airport.

The airport was easy peasy, and I grabbed a decent salad for lunch before taking a meeting from the boarding area and another meeting on my phone while boarding continued (I hate to be that person, but I was off the phone before the door closed, so c'est la vie). If I hadn't had to fly, perhaps I would have recovered more easily - but taking off and landing twice on Thursday did a number on my ears. They didn't pop on the first landing very easily, and they barely popped on the second, so I was in an unfortunate bit of pain by the time we hit the ground in Des Moines. It was also midnight in Iowa, and so I was really not in the best shape.

So I spent the night in Des Moines (which I had already planned), but it wasn't enough sleep to save me. In the morning I grabbed some real drug-filled Sudafed, ran the one errand that I couldn't cancel, had a late lunch at Green Olive, and holed up at a Starbucks for awhile to take some meetings that I couldn't skip before driving home. When I got home, I chatted with [censored] for a bit (although I didn't want to get him sick), and I ate some gluten free kraft mac and cheese before retiring to my room.

My sleep was suspect last night, but I woke up at nine thinking that I was over the worst of it - until I went downstairs, said hi to [censored], and realized my ears are still jacked up. I then spent most of the day lounging and feeling sorry for myself - it doesn't help that it's rather dreary and rainy, nor does it help that my ears are still plugged. I did do a wee bit of writing and other tasks at my desk in the morning, and I did a load of laundry and changed my sheets, so it could be worse. And [censored] very kindly picked up Mexican despite typically hating to go inside to pick up food, so I v. much appreciated having some real food (although the 9-month-old chili made with ground turkey and white beans and green chiles that I found in the freezer for lunch was better than you might have guessed).

And now I need to go to bed - I'm supposed to leave tomorrow to drive to a writing conference in Okoboji, but tbd on whether I'll feel well enough to go. Goodnight!

so caught up in you

I had a reasonably good day, although I fear I might be getting sick - which often happens after these team super spreader events, but I hope I'm wrong. I woke up at 6:30 and spent the morning working from the hotel - first catching up on some work while drinking coffee in the lobby, and then taking three hours of video calls from my room. Somewhere in there, I ordered a gluten free bagel with salmon and cream cheese on doordash, and it went a long way to sustain me. 

I thought about staying in my room and resting the rest of the afternoon, but I convinced myself that I was just experiencing allergies and so ubered to the office. Sadly this did not make me feel better. So I ended up cancelling my dinner plans tonight, which was a real bummer, and doing a bunch of work instead (a bummer that I'm used to).

But now I need to sleep and hopefully stave off whatever is lurking - goodnight!

all my worst nights are the best times

I had a v nice day in the city of sin. I got up early enough to get some work done while also drinking coffee and showering and washing some pants in the sink, and I still made it to the office by 8:30. I took a waymo to the office so I could work on my laptop while the robot drove, and I had a pretty entertaining conversation with some dude through my half open passenger window at a stoplight, so that was a real highlight. 

At the office, I worked some more, grabbed a coffee and some gluten free banana bread with Martha, and then went to the north bay to do a site visit for an event next year. We had lunch at the main restaurant on site, which was fantastic, and then we got a tour of the hotel so we could get a vibe check in advance of setting our agenda. I think it will be a v nice time, and I'm excited to go back for more than just a couple of hours. 

Then we came back to the city, dropped our stuff at the hotel, and met the rest of the team for happy hour at spark social (an outdoor area with food trucks etc). For most of us this evolved into dinner at rooh, which I always love; the food was excellent, as were the two bottles of wine some of us split, as was the company (I sat next to Geoff, Emre, Trevor, Timothy, and Ali, and it was all v hilarious). I also realized that I should be writing a book because I can probably convince my coworkers to buy several thousand copies if I play my cards right. And I would have kept going, but everyone was losing steam, and I suddenly realized that if we didn't leave immediately we would get screwed by the ending of the Giants game, so I bounced abruptly. 

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

I thought you were gonna catch me

No blog tonight - I was up and slogging by sevenish (with free coffee in the lobby), and I worked straight through until 4:30 (including a site visit to a place where we're having an event next year, which went well despite some backseat driving on my part when a teammate drove us to the location (although my backseat driving was perhaps warranted?)).

Then I took a break to sneak out and get a mani/pedi at my favorite nail place. It was long overdue, since my last nail salon visit was when I came here in July and snuck away to see them on that trip. Then I lured Chandlord here so that we could grab Thai food across the street from my hotel. We properly caught up and debriefed on seeing each other yesterday, which was great. Then I came back to my hotel and worked until I started involuntarily falling asleep, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

i love the way we synchronize

I've had a v nice weekend and now I'm enveloped in San Francisco's fog, which is a good way to end my Sunday. On Friday I slogged all day and much more diligently than I wanted to, and then Mom and [censored] and I went to Seymour for steak (partially because Mom likes it, partially because I didn't feel like cooking). We saw our usual staff + a bonus baby, and we also went to the cemetery to pick up floral saddles before the end of the season, so that was all quite nice. 

Yesterday, I got up fairly early for a Saturday, made coffee, and did some desk work. Then I ran out to the barn to see Mom (the barn was open this weekend for the Iowa Barn Association fall tour) before running back into town to catch the parade. It was the town celebration this weekend, and as an elected public servant I felt I should be there. The parade lasted approximately eight minutes, and then [censored] and I talked to various people about various things (but mostly the gas station). [Censored] got a tenderloin from the fire department - I heard later that they sold like 260 tenderloins - while I deferred to my gluten issues and got a baked potato loaded with pulled pork from the (only) food truck.

All in all, I was pretty impressed with the turnout and organization - they also managed to pull off a car show that had close to forty cars, which was impressive for a first effort. Unfortunately the weather was not very cooperative, but there was no rain for the parade, so it was all good. 

Then [censored] and I walked home and I spent the afternoon procrastinating and attempting to force myself to pack. I also made dinner (taco salad), and just as we were eating, the weather radio went off - and we decided to put my car in the garage, which required moving a bunch of stuff, which was too bad.

But we survived the night, and after watching some TV and cleaning things up,I spent the rest of the evening packing. Today was more of the same - I packed, did a bunch of gardening and tidying etc, and then drove to the airport. 

Now I'm falling asleep, but I should add that I'm currently safe in SF afterì me to only be ten minutes late to family dinner. Dinner was accomplishedat Clementina with Adit, Claude, and Vidya, and it was quite nice. 

And now I must sleep immediately - goodnight!

a hundred good stories makes me interesting at parties

I have been slogging, quite diligently, so week, which makes me start to believe a crash is imminent because I rarely string this many highly productive days together. Yesterday I slogged, and then I talked to Tanya (whom I haven't talked to in months), and it was good to talk to her since in many ways we have very similar lives. Then I slogged all day before meeting Bonita for a margarita - we were supposed to meet Brenda too, but she's busy installing the mastodon exhibit at the museum. When I got home last night, I procrastinated, ate takeout from the Mexican place, and talked to [censored].

Today was a relentless slog too - but I signed off at six, sat on my balcony with some wine, and then made a mid (but okay) dinner of chicken breasts and sweet corn. Then, [censored] and I watched Conan's podcast with Taylor Tomlinson, which was quite excellent and thought provoking. And now I must go to sleep - goodnight!

take me to your best friend's house, going 'round this roundabout

I have nothing to report - I've been pretty locked in at work the last couple of days, which is convenient since it's been rainy and generally unpleasant outside, but I've been too busy to mourn the passing of summer. Not that summer is actually over - my tomatoes are still going, and when there was a break in the rain yesterday it was 77 degrees, so I was able to sit on my balcony for an hour after work. But still, the weather is a harbinger for how I will feel when fall properly arrives, and I'm not exactly looking forward to being seasonally depressed.

Anyway, yesterday was a whole bunch of work, and then I said goodbye to [censored], and then I sat on my balcony before eating some leftover steak + a baked potato and generally chilling the rest of the evening. Today was more of the same - I got up early and did some writing, then slogged all day. I took a break in the early evening to have a chat with Heather (aka dear respected madam), whom I hadn't talked to in ages, and so it was nice to catch up. Then I ate a leftover hamburger with two ears of sweet corn (yay), scrolled a bit, and then managed to pry myself off the internet and write for an hour, which felt great.

And now, I need to go to bed to see if I can repeat the same feats tomorrow or if I am destined to crash - goodnight!

crop top and a bandolier, swinging from a chandelier

I had a fairly decent weekend, all in all. Yesterday I woke up in Des Moines, grabbed breakfast from the cafe downstairs, and drank coffee in the lobby while working on various tings until it was time to check out. Then I drove to the Michaels store in West Des Moines to find some decorative paper - I'm on a bit of a kick of making my own planner inserts since I can't find one that is perfect for all my needs, and I wanted some paper for the covers. After completing that errand successfully, I drove south, stopped at the Starbucks in Indianola and did some journaling, grabbed some steaks at Fareway, and drove home.

When I got here, I unloaded my car, relaxed a bit, took a quick nap, and then helped Mom water the planters in town (for what is likely the last time this year). Then I made dinner for Mom and [censored] to celebrate my birthday - I was going to make them take me out, but my place of employment sent me a gluten free pie for my birthday (that arrived mostly thawed because UPS doesn't deliver here on Thursdays) and so I decided to cook so we could eat pie after. Cooking was about as easy as it gets, since I just grilled ribeyes and boiled some of the last of this year's sweet corn - and the pie (a mixed berry with a nice crumble-type top) was v. tasty with vanilla ice cream.

After Mom left, [censored] and I watched the rest of the Cy-Hawk game. Iowa State lost almost all their players last year after our head coach left, so we knew almost no one on the field - but it appears we have a surprisingly good quarterback, so we'll see how the season goes. Unfortunately the Cyclones lost right at the end, but it was closer than might have been expected given how the roster turned over, so I'll take it.

Today I meant to be in it to win it, but I spent too much time lying in bed scrolling on my phone. Then I made coffee, talked to [censored], did various tings around my room, did some hurried harvesting of my garden, and then generally had trouble getting into anything the rest of the afternoon because it started raining and really didn't let up. However, I did write for awhile (while sitting at my desk instead of on my chaise, shocker). And then I ran to town to get groceries, came home, and grilled burgers and hot dogs + made some caprese salad for dinner. The burgers turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself, and [censored] and I ate them (+ more pie) while watching 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' and some clips from various Conan podcasts.

And now I need to unwind so that I can go to bed at a reasonable hour - goodnight!

victim of luck

Happy birthday to me! I had an excellent day, thanks for asking - I took it off from work, and I spent the morning puttering around and doing some tings that have been lingering on my to do list for a long time. Thus accomplished, I showered, ate some peanut butter, and drove to Des Moines. 

My destination was the Lexus dealership, where I test drove a couple of cars - zee Audi is still going strong, but it's eight years old, and it's hitting the age and mileage for increasingly expensive repairs (and I'm also starting to hanker for something new). So I drove a couple of options, which were both great, and also both different enough that I need to sleep on it before deciding. 

To do the sleeping, I decided to stay in Des Moines - I was in the mood for a nice evening out, so I checked into a hotel, and then had a long and delicious meal (including one of the best pork chops I've ever had, and a flourless chocolate cake because why not). The bartenders were entertaining, I did some good journaling, and the bar was empty enough that I didn't feel too rude texting various people and talking to Chandlord when she called. 

But now I need to sleep - goodnight!

out of the sea, into the fire

I have had very little to report this week - or rather, I did a lot of things yesterday, but not all of them are appropriate for the blog. I was completely useless on my day off on Monday - the weather was unexpectedly grim, and I didn't feel like doing anything noteworthy. However, I did try a new recipe for dinner; I made a picadillo recipe out of the Nopalito cookbook, and it was relatively quick and extremely delicious.

Picadillo is actually not crazy dissimilar from a bolognese sauce or some kind of Maid-Rite - it's ground beef, onion, carrot, potato, canned diced tomatoes, jalapeño, tomato paste, and some spices, cooked up until everything is perfectly done. I chose to eat mine inside some corn tortillas with refried black beans, but the picadillo would be awesome in stuffed peppers (or stuffed into just about anything else). [Censored] happened to be home and also enjoyed it, and we ate while watching some TV and catching up.

Yesterday, I was too busy with various civic engagements to get much else done - I had an economic development board meeting in the morning, and then I had to vote in a special election, and then I had a city council meeting directly after work. These kinds of days are good for catching up on gossip and bad for doing anything else, but I enjoyed myself. And the special election went the way that I wanted it to - we were voting to extend/renew the local option sales tax, and the vote went overwhelming in favor (with the exception of two of the smallest towns in the county, where the yes/no tied, which is a real bummer because putting on a future special election ballot would cost $8000, which is pretty silly in a town where only 2 people turned out to vote and they disagreed with each other).

After all that excitement yesterday, I wasn't feeling totally in it to win it today. I did get various tings done, and I participated in various meetings, but none of that should interest you. And now I need to go to bed so that I can hopefully be a bit more on my game tomorrow - goodnight!

beaches in tennessee

I had a v lovely day of family stuff, although it started a little earlier than I like Sundays to begin. Mom and I drove up to the metro area for Drewbaby's daughter's baptism; I have been in that church for three events (Uncle Mark's funeral, Drewbaby and Sammie's wedding, and now Marcella's baptism), and I'm glad the count continues to go up with good events.

Marcie was a trooper during the baptism and didn't cry at all, and the service itself was nice. After, we hung out and ate cake with the congregation, and then the family had lunch, which was v. tasty. I got to catch up with Aunt B for a few minutes, and I got to hold the baby, and all in all it was a pleasant way to spend the day.

After we were done at the church, Mom and I swung by Aunt Kathy's house to check out a family furniture piece that may make its way back to southern Iowa (it went to Oklahoma and back in a covered wagon, so hopefully [censored] and I can get it here in some sort of modern conveyance). Then we drove home, with a couple of errand stops on the way. And then I vegged for awhile before making myself an excellent girl dinner (2 of my own tomatoes, which tasted perfect with a ball of burrata mozzarella and some olive oil / balsamic glaze / basil), having a glass of wine, and doing a bunch of stuff on my laptop until now.

And for posterity, the rest of my weekend was uneventful - I spent Friday flying back to Iowa (via Kansas City) and had dinner with Mom and [censored] after I got home. Yesterday I did various tings around the house, cleaned a lot of random tasks off my desk, and made spaghetti (with sauce from the freezer) and garlic bread for me and [censored]. And now I need to go to bed so I can accomplish a bunch of stuff with my day off tomorrow - goodnight!

cut me down where the water meets the sea

I had a v nice day in the city of sin. I got up in time to journal before work, and then I showered and took a meeting from the hotel before grabbing a waymo to work (so I could take another meeting from the car without issues). When I got to work I had many meetings, and some chicken and hummus, and a v tasty iced coffee (which I enjoyed during my favorite meeting of the week).

When I was done with meetings, I skipped out early to meet Claudia for happy hour at Waterbar. This was the perfect happy hour location for us since we were able to share two dozen oysters and some fries, and we each had two glasses of wine, and the bill was surprisingly cheap for SF (but still expensive compared to ten years ago, or to Iowa). We had an excellent time catching up, and I got to see photos of her child (who continues to be one of the cutest children ever), so that was all a delight.

When we were done, I walked Claude to the ferry, caught an Uber to my hotel, and packed in advance of my departure tomorrow. I should have done more work, but I wasn't feeling it, so I vegged instead. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

feel the rain on your lips

I had a lovely day in the city of sin, but I'm deeply ready to go to bed. I took a waymo to work, had a couple of meetings, grabbed coffee with Timothy, had some more meetings, and then had a meeting/lunch with an external vendor. They took the finance team (and me) to Restoration Hardware for lunch, which was quite entertaining - I do not know why a furniture store has gotten into the restaurant business, but since they did, we might as well enjoy their overpriced (but perfectly cooked) entrees in their marble-encased Palm Court.

After lunch all I really wanted was a nap, but I had several more meetings. When I was done, I took a waymo out to Ocean Beach - this took longer than a human would have taken since it's so cautious and follows all speed limits, but I also felt fine dozing off on a way that I do not feel safe with a random human driver, so this was an intentional trade-off. I was early to dinner, so I spent an enjoyable fifteen minutes sitting outside in the sun....

... And then I met up with Anne, Grace, Barbara, and Veronica at Beach Chalet for dinner. We were way overdue to catch up, so we spent a lot of quality time talking about work and life. It was wonderful to see them, even if seeing writer friends makes me wistful about my career choices (although Restoration Hardware gives me other reasons to feel fine about those choices).

But now I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

california succumbed to the fault lines

No time to blog tonight - I had a nice day full of many meetings, and I ended it with a quick drink with Martha before heading back to my hotel. I was wiped out when I got here, so I ordered Mexican takeout (delish) and generally chilled/worked in a desultory fashion until now. But now I must sleep if I'm going to have any hope of being productive tomorrow - goodnight!