long train running

I had an excellent day off, which was exactly what I needed. I got up reasonably early, went to Philz to grab coffee, and then wrote from the window seat in my hotel room for a couple of hours. Then I showered, ate breakfast, and drove to the Art Institute of Chicago to spend an afternoon immersing myself in art.

The museum is massive - I spent five hours there and didn't see it all. But I did see the special Matisse exhibit, which I enjoyed much more than I expected to. And I saw some famous works that I didn't realize were in Chicago (American Gothic; the Edward Hopper 'Nighthawk' painting of people in a late night diner; various European masters and Japanese masters, etc). There was also a totally bonkers wing full of miniatures that were v impressive, a temporary exhibit of Korean art collected by the dynasty who founded Samsung, some excellent photographs, an astonishing mural that took up the entire gallery connecting two buildings, a lot of armor and arms, a mummy inside a coffin, etc etc etc.

So needless to say it was all v enjoyable and inspiring. I could have stayed longer since they are open late on Thursdays, but it was rather stormy this afternoon, so I chose to get to safety. After taking a short break at my hotel, I grabbed dinner at the bar at Petit Pomeroy, which was excellent - I had a nice Beaujolais (which I usually don't like, but the bartender gave me a taste and sold me on it) and an incredible lobster risotto that was pretty much perfect. 

And then I came back to the hotel to beat the rain, and I watched the thunderstorm through my window while finishing A CAUTIOUS TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS, which I quite enjoyed. If you like the idea of the trans Siberian railroad running through a dangerous and arcane wasteland full of magical creatures, this one is for you. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

returning it all

I had a surprisingly delightful day in Chicago. I had to work, and it was also bitterly cold with strong winds coming off the lake, but I made the best of it. When I woke up, I got dressed and walked a couple of blocks (or was blown a couple of blocks) to Philz to grab coffee and work for awhile. Philz is my beloved San Francisco brand, but they have an outpost in Chicago, so I loaded up on caffeine on a familiar setting. Then I grabbed a quick breakfast at the tail end of breakfast service before retreating to my room for an afternoon of meetings. 

Luckily my meetings weren't too onerous, and I'm taking the next two days off, so it could be worse. I had intended to go out for dinner tonight, but it was cold and I wasn't feeling it. So I grabbed a decadent sushi dinner and a glass of wine in my hotel instead. I quite enjoyed journaling and talking to the bartender while eating sushi, so #noregrets. And then I came back to my room, took a v luxurious bath, and read some more of the book I started a couple of weeks ago.

And now I must go to bed...but not without wishing a happy birthday to Ritu Rani, my favorite April fool. Goodnight!

vampire bat

I had a surprisingly delightful day in Chicago, especially given the temperature dropped twenty degrees and I had to slog unceasingly all day. But I got some decent sleep, took a nice shower, availed myself of the v tasty free daily breakfast that I got by booking with Amex, and then did a bunch of work from a nook in the lobby. It rained for a few minutes right as I needed to grab coffee, but I borrowed a hotel umbrella for the incredibly difficult walk down one block to a Starbucks, so I survived. 

Then I slogged in my room for six hours, but I had the best salmon poke bowl from room service for lunch, so it wasn't all suffering. And then I ran an errand to return a sweater I bought in New York (it had some defective stitching, and the maker has no stores in Iowa, so bringing it to Chicago seemed like the most efficient solution). And then I had a v tasty gluten free pasta at a random Italian place, where an even more random guy told me his life story even though he decided not to order any food or drink and just finished his free glass of water. He said at one point that he couldn't believe he was telling me all this stuff, and I thought "I can't believe no one told me their life story on Sunday or Monday because this happens to me all the time".

Anyway, after that I needed to regroup, so I grabbed a glass of wine at my hotel bar, eavesdropped, and journaled quite productively. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

it's always a good time

No blog tonight - I got up this morning after sleeping fairly well, and then I slogged basically all day (over breakfast at the hotel, a late salad that I picked up at Potbelly down the street, and continued late afternoon activities). But I took a break to get my nails done, which was long overdue. Then I grabbed a steak, came back to the hotel and journaled for awhile, and then worked for another hour+.

And now I need to sleep if I have any hope of getting tings done tomorrow - goodnight!

good morning and good night, i wake up at twilight

I had quite the eventful weekend, and so I'm entering the week feeling quite content and not at all rested.

Yesterday, Mom and I went up to Des Moines for Sammie's baby shower. It was a bit of a struggle to get up... which I'm assuming was true for everyone, since everyone in the family had stayed up until midnight on Friday watching the Iowa State game. But I successfully roused myself, made coffee, cleaned up the kitchen, showered, wrapped my gift, etc. And then Mom and I drove up early so that we could meet Aunt Kathy and Aunt Becky for lunch. Becky came in just for the shower, and so the four of us met up at Palmer's and had a delightful lunch while catching up over sandwiches and salads.

Then we went to the shower, which was held at the community center of a retirement home that several of Sammie's family members live in. The shower itself was really nice, and Sammie's friends put a lot of effort into the decorations and food. We had fun hanging out and playing games and celebrating the mom-to-be, and I think we're all excited to see another Wampler join the family. 

Then Mom and I drove home, with a stop in Indianola for me to wash my car, which was long overdue. Once we got back, I spent the evening tidying up the house, eating leftovers, and watching some of last night's basketball games. None of them were as exciting as the Iowa State game, and I also felt a little bit torn because I didn't really want to root for Iowa and yet was still sad that they lost. But Arizona won, which made me happy since I'm hoping that the Big 12 somehow redeems themselves.

I woke up this morning and spent quite a bit of time finishing my preparation for today and also taking care of all of my various plants. Not only do I have a lot of indoor plants, thanks to the various things that I've acquired over the past year, but the seeds that I started the other night were germinating at a rapid clip. I had spent some time on Saturday night after getting home from Des Moines setting up a grow light for the tomatoes, which had already germinated after only four days. This morning, my eggplant were also ready to go, and so I swapped things out from the heat mat to the grow light, watered everything, and generally tried to praise my little seedlings so that they would continue to grow in my absence.

"My absence" is burying in the lede - I ended up driving to Chicago today so that I could treat myself to a solo work/writing/vacation retreat. I can't take the whole week off because I have way too much to do, but I really want to try to take off Thursday and Friday. I decided that the most efficient use of my time was to drive to Chicago today, work from here Monday, Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday, and then spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday writing / going to museums / refilling my creative well. Oh, and probably shopping and also eating in a lot of great food, which is what I always want from my vacations.

So I spent the rest of the morning packing, cleaning up my kitchen, etc. I also got outside and helped [censored] pick up sticks, which I felt pretty responsible for, given that it is my yard. Since [censored] usually takes care of the lawn care, though, he often gets suckered into picking up sticks, especially because I usually try to schedule trips during these springtime weekends. But we got my yard pretty picked up, which is great, since the fact that it's already been over 80° several times this month and looks to continue that trend means that the grass is growing at a rapid clip.

I left my house around 1:00, which was a couple of hours later than I planned, but since I drove pretty much straight through, I made it to Chicago by seven. I spent the drive drinking coffee, eating snacks, and listening to a variety of podcasts, which did a lot of good for my mental state. When I got to Chicago, I checked into the hotel, got fully unpacked, and grabbed dinner at the hotel bar, which was a delight. And now I should go to bed so that I can get as much done tomorrow as I intend to - goodnight! 

rollies that don't tick tock

I've had an absolutely insane few days of work and now I'm about to go to bed later than I would like, especially since I have more plans tomorrow. Wednesday was not as much of a slog as it usually is, but that's mostly because I took Mom to Chariton to go to the eye doctor. I did get up and do a bunch of work before taking her, and I managed to eat something before we left - which was a good thing, since her appointment took a lot longer than expected. It was scheduled for 12:10, but they had to do various measurements and dilate her eyes, and she didn't actually get seen by the doctor until like 1:30. Other than the lateness of the appointment, though, everything went smoothly. And when I got home, I spent the rest of the day catching up on work, doing more work from my balcony, and eating random things that I found in the freezer. And then [censored] got home after a more traumatic day than I had, so we caught up on life before it was bedtime.

Thursday was another slog. I spent a ton of time working, which is beginning to be a bit annoying, but I suppose that's what they pay me for. But I slacked off around 6:00, and then Mom and I went into town to the museum's annual meeting / fundraising dinner. I've never been, but I want to spend more time at the museum this year, and I thought the speaker sounded relatively interesting. We bought tickets and ate a very tasty meal of ham balls and cheesy potatoes, which was served by a new Seymour restaurant that is open for breakfast and lunch. Luckily, when we got to the museum, there were two seats empty next to Margaret and Shelda, and so we had quite an entertaining time talking to them. All in all, there were about 60 people there, which was a pretty good turnout. I have to say that our county's historical society must be one of the best run and supported historical societies for a community of our size. And they have grand plans to get the mastodon exhibit finished this year, which will be pretty exciting to see.

Anyway, the speaker was a guy who lives in Iowa City but has met at a point to travel to all of Iowa's counties and write a poem and also run a mile in every town that he visits. He was kind of a kooky guy, which you might expect given his goals, but he gave a really interesting talk and seems to have built a following around this. So I'm glad I went, even though I'm sure that I got glutened by the meal and also came home and ended up doing some combination of unwinding/working until almost one a.m.

When I woke up this morning, I started working pretty much immediately...although I did have to tell somebody that I couldn't think about their question until I actually made some coffee and got some caffeine in my system. I spent the morning working, and then I snuck out around 2:00 to go to town and go to my garden club meeting. I usually skip garden club because it's on Friday afternoons, which is prime working time, but I happened to have the program this time - so I felt like I had to attend.

Garden Club was at Outlaw this time, and we had the back room, which was perfect for the ten or twelve of us who showed up. We had a good business meeting and talked about plans for the town gardens this summer, and then everyone ate dessert pizza while I gave a very brief program on how to use silica gel to preserve flowers. It seemed to be pretty well-received, and I think I was careful enough when pouring the silica gel that I didn't accidentally give anyone exposure to anything that might cause them lung disease in the future - but we shall see.

Then I picked up some groceries, came home, slogged relentlessly until after six (well, as relentlessly as I can claim to slog when I spent an hour of it talking to Adit), and then realized that if I didn't make some food, [censored] and I would starve. So I took a break to throw together this orzo chicken pasta bake that I've made before, which is extremely tasty and also pretty easy - although the fact that I modified the recipe to add sautéed onions and mushrooms makes it take a little bit more time. Then I wrapped up a little bit of work, did some laundry, and when the pasta was done, [censored] and I ate dinner while watching this week's episode of Scrubs, which continues to be a delight.

Unfortunately, what did not continue to be a delight was the Cyclones basketball season. We watched the game tonight, and it was pretty sad to watch them go down to Tennessee - it probably would have been different if Jefferson had been able to play, but as it stood, they didn't seem to have a lot of opportunity against a team that was so much bigger than them. However, they had an amazing season, and it was really fun to watch all of them this year - especially Tamin Lipsey, who I hope go on to do great things.

But the game didn't start until almost 10pm, and now it's 1am and I have to get up in the morning in time to go to Des Moines for Sammie's baby shower (+ lunch with my aunts beforehand). So I think on that note it's time for bed - goodnight!

but soon as all that money blows, all the pigeons take flight

Sadly, the fact that I worked this weekend didn't mean that I got to relax leading into the week itself. Instead, everything else that is typically part of my job caught up to me, as did another time-sensitive and labor-intensive project that I have to get done absolutely immediately.

I don't actually like working this hard, and I'd rather be spending my time right now figuring out how to use AI to do my job for me, but unfortunately my main skill in corporate America is to bring order to chaos... and since I work someplace where there is always chaos, there are always new and interesting ways for me to attempt to enforce order. But I would like to do it in a way that doesn't make my brain feel like melting quite as much as it has the past few days. 

sssanyway. I slogged yesterday until [censored] left, and then I took a long evening break to journal and otherwise unwind before doing a bunch of work from 10pm to 1am. This morning I woke up and had to start working almost as soon as I was out of bed, which was rough - and I worked from 9 to 7 pretty much without any break at all. I did manage to reheat my leftover ribeye from the other night and make some sweet potato fries while I was prepping for a meeting, so at least my lunch sustenance was better than it usually is.

And as soon as I closed my laptop at 7, I was done done. So done that I couldn't even think about what to eat. Instead, I rather manically started planting seeds in set of seed-starting cells so that I could try to get a jump start on my garden. I can always buy plants at the greenhouse if this seed experiment doesn't work out. But I really wanted to try more peppers than I seem to find around here, as well as some varieties of tomatoes that are less common.

I planted my seeds, and then I took a break to eat the last of my leftover fish tacos for dinner. I then spent quite a bit of time scrolling on Reddit, which I have no regrets about since my brain had already fully melted and I didn't really have much energy for anything else. And then I tidied up the house and unfortunately did about an hour of work just so that I could be caught up going into tomorrow morning and not feel quite so much pressure to get up and do stuff. And now it's time for bed - goodnight! 

it's a kangaroo court

There were many personal things I intended to do today - perhaps journal or write, or reflect on my parents' anniversary, or start some seeds, or repot some plants. Instead, I did day job stuff for many hours. This is extremely unusual, since I pretty much refuse to work weekends - but in this particular case, it couldn't be helped. This was especially true because this project required concentration that I simply could not muster during the usual work day, when I also have many meetings.

I did sleep in until almost nine, but then I made coffee, tidied up the kitchen a bit, and got to work. I worked until around 1:30, and then I took a quick shower before taking a break to watch the Iowa State / Kentucky game. Luckily the second half was much (much) better than the first, and so watching it was quite enjoyable.

Then I did a bit more work, prepped some accoutrements for dinner tonight (mostly making slaw and pickled onions and mixing up the marinade for some tilapia), and worked some more. I ended up spending almost four hours on call with Adit to work through the final sprint on various bugs, although I did take a break to cook the tilapia and eat fish tacos with [censored].

We wrapped up and launched our ting around 10pm my time, which was an extreme relief since this project has been an albatross for months. And now I need to unwind so I can get some sleep - goodnight!

keep me young forever

I have had an absolutely brutal few days at work, which has made blogging fall down to the bottom of my priority list. Even when I do blog, I tend to forget things -- like the fact that on Tuesday night I said that my day was quite boring, but I completely forgot that I had spent an hour talking to Heather (aka dear respected madam), which was a real bright spot and worth documenting.

sssanyway. Thursday was brutal, and I was completely brain-dead by the end of it, which means that I spent the evening eating leftovers and then attempting to recover with limited results. I was so brain-dead that I even picked up a book in an effort to relax, which is very unusual for me these days. I started reading "A Cautious Traveler's Guide To the Wastelands," which is a pretty entertaining version of a journey on the Trans-Siberian Railroad set in an alternative world where Siberia has been completely walled off by China and Russia due to an unknown (to me, at this point in the book) contagion of monsters or something. Hopefully I'll pick it up and finish it sometime soon, but in the meantime I've had to return to slogging.

So yesterday was more of the same, and I worked an absolutely insane number of hours, especially for a Friday. I was also the only person in my family who couldn't watch the Iowa State basketball game because I was stuck in meetings, although I'm glad that I didn't have to see video of Joshua Jefferson injuring his ankle. At the end of the day, I forced [censored] to go to town with me to eat Mexican at the restaurant rather than picking up takeout, as we usually do. Unfortunately, it was the slowest service that we've ever had there -- and so while the food was good, I feel like [censored] somehow claimed the moral high ground in terms of whether we would have saved time by picking up versus eating there.

Today was unfortunately even more of the same, made slightly more apocalyptic because it literally reached 90 degrees, which it should not do in March. I woke up this morning and spent a couple of hours doing my own things, but then I had to sit down and keep working on a project for work that we're trying to launch this weekend. I did most of that work while sitting outside on my balcony, which at least means that I got some fresh air and sunshine, but it wasn't quite the same as being able to putter around the yard and do my own thing at will.

Finally, at 4 p.m., I took a shower, and then, as I was finishing getting ready, [censored] showed up and told me about the fire that was burning in the field east of Mom's house. I ended up going out there with him so that we could drive around in the gator and inspect the property. We couldn't really see much since the fire had burned towards the east and north of us, which means that we weren't able to see the damage beyond the ridgeline of the back of the property. And luckily, it appears that the fire department was able to put it out, which I'm sure was a relief for them since there were multiple grass fires around, given the high temperatures and even higher winds. It was probably also a relief for them because they probably accidentally started it, since they had burned the field at Becky's a couple days ago and it's possible that they didn't get it entirely put out. But it was a nice day for riding around in the gator, so I was happy that we took the opportunity to go back and check things out.

After that, I finished getting ready, and then [censored] and I picked up Mom and went to Seymour for dinner. Mom and Dad's anniversary is tomorrow, and we celebrated their anniversary last year in Seymour, which was the last time he went out to eat before his final decline. So it was a little bittersweet, but it also didn't feel at all the same - I seem to remember that last year was pretty cold, but this year was super hot, and because they had just turned on the mini splits for the first time this season, the AC above our table seemed to be blowing some black crud on the table at regular intervals throughout the meal. I might have been disgusted at another time, but for some reason tonight I just found it on brand and oddly charming. And my ribeye and fries were excellent, so no complaints there.

Then we came home, I spent some time relaxing and reading reddit and watching basketball, and then I sadly did another ninety minutes of work. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

we gonna party like it's the end of the world

I have very little to report. Work has gotten quite busy over the past couple of days and so I feel like all I've really done is slogged, much to my chagrin.

Yesterday was quite boring despite my busy situation, and I ended the day by making spaghetti for me and [censored]. Today was even more brutal in terms of the amount of work done, especially since I thought I would have all morning to work and instead woke up to an invite for a 9:30 meeting that I didn't know was happening. Of course "invite" implies something you can turn down, which is not actually true in corporate life, so I forced myself to get ready in time to attend. 

But I survived the day, and then I took a break in the evening to run to the grocery store so that I could make chicken chile verde in the instant pot for dinner. [Censored] liked it more than expected, perhaps because I pandered to him and used chicken breasts instead of thighs. But it was quite tasty, and we ate while watching Scrubs, which was fun. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

it's gonna be a big night

I have done nothing of interest the post couple of days. Yesterday we had a but if a blizzard, and so I hunkered down, cleaned my office, and made tater tot casserole for dinner (which would have been better if my tater tots weren't suffering from freezer burn). Today, I unfortunately had to work - I did not feel in it to win it, but I accomplished just enough to not feel terrible, so I'll take it.

After work, I made a triple batch of Grandma Barb's spaghetti sauce - I do not have a Grandma Barb, but whoever did really was lucky to have that recipe. This resulted in six jars of sauce for future meals + sauce for dinner tomorrow night, which is great. And Ritu fortuitously called while I was cooking, so we talked for over an hour, which was fantastic and long overdue. 

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

you and i flying on an aeroplane tonight

I had a nice day despite getting up much earlier than I wanted to on a Saturday. I had a haircut booked in Des Moines at 10, and I left my house right on time... But I did not realize that the St Patty's Day marathon was being run on a course that directly impacted my salon downtown. Luckily this is Des Moines and not Boston, and so even though I was basically at the finish line, I was able to quickly detour and find parking within two blocks of the salon. So I ended up five minutes late, but they were understanding. 

As for the haircut, I was pretty happy with it - I'm cheating on my other salon and stylist bc she's out getting married, and also bc the salon moved into this new space that is both gorgeous and feels too much like an office park. Tbd on whether I fully switch, but today was a good test run (no marathon pun intended).

When I was done, I went to West Des Moines and met Drewbaby and Sammie for brunch at Homegrown. The wait was surprisingly quite long, but it was worth it - they had excellent gluten free pancakes, as well as a variety of other tasty things. The cousins were in fine form, and it was good to see them even if I did walk away with a box of old plat books that I had forgotten to expect. 

Then I stocked up on wine - I was down to the last dregs of my pre-Christmas stockup, which only lasted this long because we had one fewer day of festivities than I expected. I was going to go to whole foods after that, but I discovered that there's now a fareway west of Jordan Creek where there were empty fields a couple of years ago. It's quite nice, and I was able to get everything I needed (with the exception of chicken, because I don't like their chicken even though their beef is excellent).

So I came home with a couple of stops on Indianola to get gas and wash my car. When I got here, I unloaded, put things away, and made dinner for me and Mom and [censored]. I was too lazy to really cook, but I reverse seared some steaks and reheated some twice baked (now thrice baked) potatoes and made some green beans. Dinner was delayed by the end of the Arizona/Houston game, but it was pretty tasty overall. 

Then we said farewell to Mom, I cleaned the kitchen, and [censored] and I watched scrubs. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

standing in line to see the show tonight, and there's a light on

Yesterday was quite a busy day, and I was wiped out by the end of it. I had a bunch of meetings, followed by a library board meeting, followed by some more work when I got home. Eventually I had a chance to talk to [censored] before it was time for bed, and by then I had no desire to blog or do anything else.

Today I'd hoped to be #inittowinit, but when I woke up this morning, I had a crushing headache. Unfortunately, this happens occasionally, and while I often push through, I wasn't in the mood to even try today. I called in sick to work and spent most of the morning sitting on my chaise and trying to avoid looking at screens...which certainly helped the headache even if it didn't help my productivity.

I rallied enough to make myself a very tasty hot ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, which I ate while watching the second half of the Iowa State vs. Texas Tech game with [censored]. The game was almost as good as my sandwich, which should tell you just how good my sandwich was. Then I closed my eyes for a bit longer before deciding to finally do a couple of hours of meetings just so that tomorrow wouldn't be quite so brutal. I wrapped up the day by making dinner for me and [censored] - chicken and mushroom pasta, which was quite tasty, if I do say so myself. And now it's time for bed - goodnight! 

by the way

I was busy, busy, busy today, as the people say. I had to wake up early this morning so that I could go into town for an economic development meeting, which was complicated by the fact that it was extremely foggy. The meeting went as well as they normally do, and then I had to go to the doctor's office to get allergy shots, which also went as well as they normally do.

Then I came home, took advantage of my only window in which to do some real work, and then sat in meetings from 12:00 to 5:00. This is approximately four hours of more meetings than I wanted to sit in, but at least they were decent enough. Unfortunately I didn't really eat at proper times and so my brain was melting by the end of it. Luckily it was fairly sunny out, so I decided to let my body melt instead - I sat out on the balcony and dozed a bit as I tried to recover.

Recovery was crucial because I also had a city council meeting tonight. I walked at downtown just in time to get started, and the meeting went about as well as can be expected. I also got a surprise tour of the back half of City Hall, which was wilder than you might expect. And then I came home, ate, did some work, did some laundry, procrastinated, etc. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

and i your willing victim

It was far too beautiful today to be stuck inside, but duty called. So I spent my Monday in my usual slew of meetings with barely enough time to eat anything, which always gives me a bit of a headache. My headache was perhaps compounded by feeling the sun through the window as I tried to focus on my meetings, but I survived.

And literally as soon as I possibly could, I shut my laptop and took a walk downtown (if you can call it that) to drop off some food for the town play's concession stand later this week. Then I came home and sat on my balcony for the first time this season, where I journaled with a glass of zinfandel, which was just about perfect. Then I talked to Katie for an hour while I fended off the season's first mosquitoes, who seemed to be getting into the game early this year. The birds were all awake and there were a suspicious number of box elder bugs on the side of my garage, which makes me wonder what the season portends.

After I said au revoir to Katie, I procrastinated for a bit and then made myself a sandwich rather than cooking anything like I had planned. I then spent the rest of the evening sitting on my chaise and alternating between journaling, daydreaming, and considering work. Now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

the ultimate test in cerebral fitness

I'm back in Iowa and I spent the weekend recovering. Yesterday was a bit of a show mostly because I got unexpectedly delayed in New York. I had gotten up at 5:30 because I hadn't packed yet, and I made it to the airport in time to hang out in the Amex Lounge. My flight boarded on time and everything looked good...but because of turbulence somewhere between New York and Iowa, they decided that they were going to have to reroute north. That meant we needed more fuel. Somehow that took an hour and a half... but at least there was fuel, which seems like something that maybe I should be concerned for future air travel given what's happening in Iran.

sssanyway. I was 2 hours late getting into Des Moines and slightly hangry as a result, but I still wanted to run errands on the way home. I stopped in at a couple of stores in Indianola, got groceries, and made it home just in time to unpack everything before having dinner with Mom and [censored]. We picked up takeout from El Vago, which was tasty, and it was good to hang out for a bit. Then [censored] and I came home and watched the latest episode of Scrubs, which was quite funny. It's pretty amazing that they've managed to pick up right where they left off, with seemingly no issues around chemistry or writing.

Today I of course intended to do all the things and of course didn't do most of them because I was too busy recovering from my trip. I made coffee, cleaned up the kitchen, did a bit of unnecessary organizing of my mug collection, and then helped [censored] with the cleaning out of the garage fridge. It's been having a bit of a crazy buildup of ice ever since I bought it, and we finally decided to tackle the issue. Of course by "we" I mean that I cleaned out what was in the freezer and then [censored] did basically all of the work, including removing the back panel and figuring out what was going on with the blocked drain. But hopefully it's fixed and I can continue with my hoarding of food as I desire.

I spent the rest of the day procrastinating, buying groceries, fixing dinner, and repotting a bunch of plants that I had meant to repot over the past year. [Censored] and I ate dinner while watching last night's SNL, which was fairly funny despite some weird moments. Now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

montepulciano

I have nothing to report tonight - I had a long but productive day at the office, and then a 1:1 with Finn turned into a happy hour for six of us at a wine bar near the office. Someone actually called Adit "the cat" without knowing that supposedly some people call him the cat, which was the most ridiculous moment I've experienced in awhile.

And now I'm going to go to bed early since I need to pack and go to the airport tomorrow - goodnight!

calling out across the line

No blog tonight - I had a lovely day, with plenty of sushi for lunch and a fun dinner with Emily in Brooklyn, but I'm exhausted and already falling asleep. Goodnight!

tyger tyger burning bright

I had a very nice day in New York today. I woke up early enough to get out of the hotel before the elevator apocalypse happened, and then I worked at a Starbucks for a bit before meeting my friend Sherry for brunch down around Union Square.

This was quite the surprise because neither Sherry nor I live in New York, but Sherry had reached out to me last week asking where I was. It turned out we were both going to be in the city this week. She was here for much more exciting reasons than I, since she was accepting an award for best mystery novel from Libby while I'm just here to sit in a conference room with Adit and talk about spreadsheets. I let her buy me breakfast since it was a) really on Random House and b) she felt that perhaps it was deserved for me to partake in her breakfast, since her book had something to do with both rural Iowa and crypto. When she was finishing it in 2024 I was literally the only beta reader she could ask to review both of those things, and so I'm delighted that the final product was a winner. 

After brunch I went to the office, where I slogged for about eight hours straight. Then we all adjourned to Tyger, which is a Pan-Asian restaurant down around Soho. We had a semi private room for a belated Lunar New Year celebration for the New York office. This turned out to be quite fun, and I hung out and ate way too much food while discussing a variety of topics with the people at my table. And now, after a very delightful evening, I'm ready to go to bed - goodnight!

time ain't on my side, time i'll never know

I had another v. busy work day in the city that never sleeps. Unfortunately I slept slightly too long, which resulted in hitting the elevator at peak time, which resulted in a mild bit of claustrophobia because we literally stopped on twenty different floors (and were full within the first six), and it took almost ten minutes to get to the lobby. But I escaped before I totally panicked, and then the cold rain/sleet of New York washed away my nerves. I hung out at a starbucks and worked for an hour, and then I went to the office and spent another long slog sitting in the same conference room with the same people I spent yesterday with.

So, there's nothing to report there other than we made some progress and I still like them. I left the office around 6:30, walked toward my hotel, and stopped for a slightly decadent dinner at Zaytinya (a Jose Andres establishment, with v. tasty scallops and equally tasty halloumi cheese). This delayed my arrival at the hotel long enough that I was the only person in the elevator going up, which was v. welcome. And now I need to go to bed so I can get up early and pursue tomorrow's plans - goodnight!

time everlasting, time to play b sides

I had an excellent day in NYC. I woke up fairly early, got ready, and walked to a nearby Starbucks, where I worked for an hour and a half before going to the office. I tried a new workflow of recording a voice memo to myself while walking, then using AI to translate my thoughts into clear bullet points, and then putting those bullet points into slides. I'd say it saved me a couple of hours, which was a decent return on the rain forest I burned down to fuel the data center needed to achieve this. 

Then I went to the office, where I spent eight hours in a conference room with Adit (among other people) discussing audits (among other topics), which causes some subtle cognitive dissonance since no one there calls him Adit. But no one calls him the cat either, so at least that's consistent. 

When we were done, I did a bit of shopping, and then I had a solo dinner at the same place I went Saturday (no shame, they have the best gf pasta in the world). And now I'm going to bed - goodnight!

I might have lingered in purgatory

I felt a little off today, although I do not know what to attribute it to - but I got nine or ten hours of sleep last night and still needed a nap at six, so idk. I spent the morning messing around in my room, and then I met Terry for lunch at Le Petit Village in Greenwich Village. We had a delightful time - the vibe there was lovely, and then we adjourned to another spot around the corner and had a drink so we could keep the convo going. Unfortunately her plans changed and we couldn't prolong the festivities, but at least we got a proper catch up.

After we parted ways, I walked to Soho and did a bit of shopping. Then I came back to my hotel, took a nap, should have worked, and instead did basically nothing other than order sushi and chill. But now I'm going to go to bed so I can get up early and do the tings I should have done today - goodnight!

you know, know, know your only mistake is if you stand still

I am ensconced in a very comfy large bed in a very small room in New York, with a very surprising sliver of a view of the Statue of Liberty from my window. Today was as smooth as it could be - I had actually planned to leave yesterday, but I changed my flight to today and I'm v glad I did since I would not have possibly been ready yesterday.

But today I got almost a normal amount of sleep, and then I cleaned the kitchen, watered plants, showered, and grabbed the last few tings before leaving. I was slightly later than I wanted to be, but I still had time for an omelette and a mimosa at the airport before boarding. We took off early and got to New York almost 30min early, and my bags were at the carousel when I walked up to them (I overpacked, partially bc I didn't have time to figure out this week's variable weather, partially to have room in case I buy tings). And I was at my hotel about an hour after landing, which I consider a success.

Then I did a speed round of unpacking and fitting everything Tetris-style into the room's very limited storage. And then I got a manicure at a place around the corner - they were surprisingly good, and so even though I chose a color that may have come out slightly too goth, I'm pretty delighted.

Then I grabbed an early solo dinner at La Pecora Bianca, which has perhaps the best gluten free pasta of any restaurant I've been to (they apparently make it in house). But I was exceedingly tired, and so when I got back to my room, I promptly passed out. It's now midnight NYC time and I've slept most of the last four hours, so I anticipate some struggles tonight...but we shall see. Goodnight!

now and then i think of all the times you screwed me over

I slogged today, of course - it started out somewhat laid back, and so I was able to wander around the house while drinking coffee and recording voice memos to myself of all the tings I need to do and tings I'm thinking through. And, I walked to City Hall to sign something related to my official duties - while it wasn't super warm out, temps in the 40s and plenty of sunshine is better than it has been. So, I enjoyed the walk and I enjoyed my chat with the city clerk, and that was all great.

But then I had five hours of meetings, and then I was a bit fried. Sometime in there [censored] got home, and we ended up watching the first two episodes of the 'Scrubs' reboot, which were surprisingly good and quite nostalgic. I also ate some leftover chili, contemplated various tasks, and started planning my packing list for my next trip.

And now I need to go to sleep since I need to do a million and one things tomorrow. Goodnight!

dancing in the dark

I had an absolutely brutal slog today - meetings straight from 9:30 to 5:30, no breaks, and then a couple of hours of follow ups after. And I had to do some work before my first meeting to pull things together for all these meetings. Luckily they were all internal, so I could wear sweats and also eat leftover beef and noodles while talking, but still. 

By the time I was done, I was done done, and so I poured a glass of zinfandel, ate some leftover frozen gluten free pizza (which was way better than that phrase implies), and spent the evening scrolling / listening to music / doing skincare / journaling. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

someone pour me up a double shot of whisky

I had a v nice weekend, even though it was colder than I would like (I was, perhaps, born to be a snowbird - or maybe eighteen years in california made me weak). Yesterday, I got caught up on various personal tasks that I had been putting off, which felt good. I also made a very delicious dinner - I was in the mood for something cozy, but also beefy, and so I made beef and noodles and mashed potatoes. The beef and noodles are an instant pot recipe that turns out perfectly every time (although it always takes longer than I think it should), and you wouldn't know it's gluten free except for the fact that the noodles soak up every ounce of liquid. And of course, since we're Iowans, we have to put our starch on top of another starch - which is a good thing, since my mashed potatoes are perfection.

So I made supper, and Mom came in to eat, which was v. nice. I'm sure she would have rather had prime rib, but sometimes I would rather not put on a bra and real pants to go to dinner (although that's probably not strictly required at the place we go to for prime rib). After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen, watched a little bit of Olympics, gave up on it, and read for a couple of hours - I'm deep into a book called THE INFORMATION, which I'm quite enjoying, even if I can't explain it.

Today was a bit more of the same - I spent the morning at my desk doing a variety of personal tings, and I also did four loads of laundry, put together some drawers that I'd ordered six weeks ago, tidied up my room, finished unpacking from Carlsbad, etc. And then I made a fresh batch of mashed potatoes to go with last night's leftovers, which [censored] and I enjoyed. I probably should have watched the Olympics closing ceremonies tonight, but I have been unusually disengaged this year - instead, I cleaned up the kitchen, folded the last of my clothes, and did an hour and a half of work so that tomorrow morning goes just a wee bit smoother.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

don't bother fixing your hair if you've got nothing to wear

I had a long day of slogging, mostly because I shadowed an interview at 9am and then conducted an interview until 5pm, and I had meetings in between. But everything was fine, all in all, and then I slacked off to reheat various tings from the freezer stash. [Censored] wanted vegetable beef soup, and so I grabbed a cube of that - my souper cubes are a delight when it comes to freezing leftovers and then being able to stack them later. And I decided to eat some chicken chile verde that has been in the freezer way too long (but luckily was still delish). Of course, I couldn't defrost them in the microwave together, so the heating up process took a bit - but we were both satisfied and didn't have to do any real cooking so I'm calling it a win.

After that, I could have watched Olympics, but instead I retreated to my room and wrote/journaled/debated myself about various tings. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

even when the paths are all crookedy

The weather is turning, and I have a slow building headache that I blame on the cold. Today was mostly fine - I got plenty of sleep, had ham and beans for lunch, and knocked off at 5 to drink a glass of wine and do some journaling before dinner. I'm sure I should have worked, but that's a problem for Future Sara. 

Instead, [censored] and I ate last night's leftover pasta (still tasty) and watched the Olympics. I was delighted for the gold medalist in women's figure skating - she was my favorite at Worlds, and her comeback has been quite inspiring. I've been much less invested in this Olympics than usual, but at least I've been able to enjoy some good moments. 

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes

I've had a pretty good couple of days - busy, since I'm back at work, but it could be worse. Yesterday I had a million meetings, but I went out to Mom's for supper. She made me ham and beans (is that appropriate for Mardi Gras before Lent??), which were quite tasty and much appreciated. And then I came home and caught up on Olympics coverage - the women's short program had some unfortunate developments, but I was distracted by a project I'm working on and so wasn't completely invested. 

Today was more of the same, but luckily it was sunny, which always improves my mood. I had far more meetings than I like to, and I didn't really have time for lunch. So I cut out at five, bought some groceries, and made a new to me recipe. It was an orzo and chicken casserole, which was kind of funny bc I realized that orzo is meant to be shaped like rice - but since gluten free pasta is predominantly rice, that may have been an unnecessary processing element. 

But the dish was delicious, and I ate it while watching Olympics, which was great. And now I need sleep - godnight!

go for launch

I have been back in ye olde Iowa for a couple of days, but I haven't had the desire to blog (mostly because I have been staring at screens for other tings). Saturday's travels were about as smooth as they could be - I made it out of the rental house by 6:10am, and so had plenty of time at the airport to grab breakfast and coffee (and a little early morning free rosé) at the Chase Sapphire lounge before flying out. My connection in Denver was about as tight as I ever allow it to be (58min), but luckily we were early and my gates weren't as far apart as they sometimes are, so I had time to grab a Mediterranean bowl from Garbanzos on my way to boarding. I even had time to eat it in the gate area, so I wasn't a monster and didn't have to take food onto the plane.

The rest of Saturday was also uneventful - my bags came out quickly, my drive home was easy, and I had time to grab Starbucks and get my car washed on the way. Then, [censored] and I picked up takeout from El Vago, which was completely slammed for Valentines Day. And then I went to bed early in an attempt to recover from my mild sleep deficit from the retreat.

Yesterday was supremely low-key - I barely did anything, although I did go out to Mom's and hang out for awhile. I didn't even really do anything that would qualify as cooking, since I just pulled some ham balls and twice baked potatoes from the freezer and reheated them. But that was still a v tasty meal, which we enjoyed while watching some fine Olympics coverage.

Today was better than most Mondays, mostly because I had it off - so I got up and did some journaling / planning this morning, and then I ran into town to get allergy shots. When I got home, I made frozen fish and fries for lunch for me and [censored], since there were no leftovers in the fridge. And then I spent approximately seven of the last ten hours playing with Claude Code - I feel like I need to get more up to speed on the more technical applications of AI, and so I'm doing a little mini project for myself to teach myself some tings. My eyeballs feel like they're about to fall out of my head, but my experimentation today was illuminating, so we shall see what else I come up with.

At some point I took a break to make dinner - [censored] suggested I put leftover queso from Saturday on today's leftover fries, and I realized that I could also add carnitas from the freezer. That sounds kind of sad to combine leftovers from three different meals, but I heated it all up optimally, and the result was amazing. I ate it while watching tonight's Olympics coverage, where I was delighted for the women's bobsled winner (finally got gold at the age of 41, after many other medals!), and was also thrilled that the Japanese pair won the pairs' gold since they were my favorites at Worlds last year. And I kept an eye on the ISU/Houston score, which turned out great. So all in all it was a great night for sports, which may be the only thing humans have left after AI takes over, so I'm glad it all went well.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i can ride my bike with no handlebars

I had a lovely final day of my retreat, although I'm v. sad that it's over. I spent the morning drinking coffee and writing, and then I ordered a poke bowl and ate it while setting up tonight's dinner order. I spent most of the afternoon outside, writing (perhaps dozing) in the sun, and hanging out with Barbara and Grace in our usual spot. Then I treated myself to half an hour sitting in the sand and watching the waves, which was a lovely end to the day.

Eventually, I went upstairs to join the business meeting, and we interrupted it to take a few group photos as the sun set. Dinner arrived shortly thereafter, and the Mexican place I found tonight seemed much better than the one earlier in the week, so I definitely overstuffed myself. Then I hurriedly packed everything so I could drag my suitcase upstairs tonight - I have to leave the house around 6am tomorrow, and I didn't think I would want to drag all my stuff up the equivalent of 2-3 flights of (outdoor, slightly uneven) stairs at that hour.

But I finished packing quickly, so I was able to spend another hour hanging out with the remaining crew in the living room (Barbara, Anne, Rachel, Tina, and Melissa - Melissa was a new addition this year, but we have much in common since she was at Stanford twenty years before me and also went to the Nationals figure skating competition this year like I went to Worlds last year). And now I should probably go to bed in deference to tomorrow's early start.

But before I go to bed, I should tell you - the friend I mentioned earlier last week who was in the Bad Bunny halftime show? It was Adit, my erstwhile former roommate; some people call him the cat. You can read this post if you want to get the details.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i've been thinking may...maybe you're right

Today I hit a wall, which usually happens around this point in the retreat - I slept somewhat poorly and didn't want to do anything today. It didn't help that I showered early (to take a single 8am meeting before being off for the day), and ran out of hot water just as I had conditioned my hair. I kept telling myself that the cold was invigorating, but it was really just terrible.

Then I went out and got coffee, spent the morning journaling / dozing, ate some leftover Indian food, and attempted to write outside during the afternoon with mixed results. Then I took a long nap in my bed (after a short nap outside), and awoke with a sudden flash of clarity about some writing tings, which was good. But I didn't have time to pursue them - I met Anne for some mildly illicit behavior on the beach, and we watched the sun go down while freezing and talking about AI.

Then the group went for dinner, which was a bust for me - the food overall seemed to be good enough, but the service was poor and they forgot my entree entirely, and didn't bring it until everyone else had already been done for 10-20 minutes. They did comp it after I complained enough and said that giving me a free dessert wasn't good enough; and then they brought dessert for the table as an apology, but I couldn't eat the dessert anyway. However, they did ultimately give me my entree, and I boxed it immediately so we could leave, and then I ate it while sitting in the living room, which was almost preferable because we could hear each other. In the end, this wasn't the end of the world - but I suspect Barbara and I will conspire to do our dinner out elsewhere next time.

And now, I need to sleep - I have high hopes for the last day of the retreat tomorrow, and I want to be well rested for it. Goodnight!

harness the light

I had to do my day job yesterday and today, which was not entirely what I wanted to do in Carlsbad - but I feel better knowing that I'm still slightly caught up at work, and so it wasn't as annoying as it could have been. Last night I also dialed into my local city council meeting so that I could help ensure that we had quorum, and tonight I dialed into my library board meeting, so I managed to keep up my Iowa civic engagement despite luxuriating in coastal life.

Today felt slightly less luxurious, mostly because it rained all morning - but rainy oceans are still picturesque. And since I'm sharing a two-bedroom section of our enormous rental with Grace (in which we have our own kitchen and laundry), I was able to chat her up while eating leftovers and doing laundry during my breaks, so that was still a delight.

I wrapped everything up today by 4:30, just in time for our usual business discussion - and I was much more engaged tonight because we were talking about AI, which is my current hot topic obsession. We wrapped up when dinner arrived, and Luna Grill was as tasty as it is every year (as was the wine I got delivered). I spent the post-prandial discussion time chatting with Anne and various other characters, and then I came downstairs and did a bit of work (mostly managing to unsubscribe from Evernote, which has been a long national nightmare that has cost me several hundred dollars from failing to cancel in previous years...but it took me several hours over the past few days to deal with, so it's no surprise I hadn't done it before).

When that was over, Grace happened to be getting in the hot tub, so I joined her, and it was a rare delight to catch up in such pleasant surroundings. And now I'm going to bed - goodnight!

they justify my claims

I had an excellent day in Carlsbad - I wrote early, grabbed brunch nearby, did a quick perusal of the nearby shops to see if anything struck my fancy, and then spent another couple of hours doing various writing related tasks. Then I got a spur of the moment manicure, which felt great. And I spent the rest of the day doing a bit more work, talking shop with the writers, and then catching up with Anne, V, Rachel, Melissa, and Grace.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

debí tirar más fotos

I had an excellent first day of my retreat. I slept better than I ever have on a retreat thanks to getting a room in a quieter part of the rental (and thanks to my own pillow). Then I woke up and went out to grab coffee - sadly the Starbucks closed, but I got a passable cold brew elsewhere.

I did quite a bit of good writing work today while sitting outside - it was gorgeous and sunny here, and I browned up my arms a bit while brainstorming. I mostly hung out with Barbara and Grace, but I had some late afternoon time with Anne and Tina, and then we watched the Super Bowl halftime show. I had no interest in the game, but I like Bad Bunny (he is particularly excellent as an SNL host, although that's obvi not what he's known for). And one of my friends was in the halftime show as one of the trees - I can't say who because I don't know if it's public, but that was pretty exciting (although they could have been lying, since it was impossible to tell the trees apart).

After that, we ordered Mexican food, hung out, and then watched some Olympics coverage. And now I need to sleep so I can have a productive day tomorrow - goodnight!

fate of ophelia

I'm exhausted and going to bed immediately (at ten pm PT, which is unheard of for me at a retreat). But my travels were incredibly smooth today despite being lengthy - I had a three hour layover in Denver, which I put to good use by drinking rosé and eating a Caesar salad and doing some (personal) work.

I got to the retreat house just as checkin began, which was good timing. I drew a pretty bad number in the room drawing process (11/15 - there are 16 people here but Barbara doesn't draw) - but I somehow got one of my top four choices because other people's priorities are v strange. So between the room location + bringing my own pillow I'm hopeful that I'll sleep better than I usually do on these trips, although we'll see.

And now I'm desperate for sleep - goodnight!

great divide

I am heading to Carlsbad for my annual writing retreat tomorrow, and I'm shockingly packed and in bed before eleven for a nine am flight. The bad news is that I didn't get to watch any of the Olympics opening ceremonies tonight, which is a tragedy. But I'm sure I'll somehow survive. 

I almost didn't go on this trip - work had been busy and I wasn't sure this was a good time to take off. But now that it's settled, I'll glad I'm going. Unfortunately I'll have to work a couple of days while I'm gone, but that's not the end of the world.

My day was otherwise pretty standard - I got up and slogged v effectively for several hours, showered when I should have had lunch, and had lunch while I was in my meetings. I was done around six, and then I picked up pizza for me and Mom and [censored]. And then I finished packing, and now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

i'll be looking out night and day

The last couple of days have been fairly decent, although I could use some bright sun at some point. Yesterday I got up early, slogged for awhile, had lunch, and then went with Mom to an eye appointment. My presence wasn't strictly necessary, but driving with dilation is not fun, so I was happy to do it. Then I got home, ran a quick errand with [censored], and spent the rest of the evening working / journaling / reading / etc.

Today was pretty chill - I got up and started working immediately, and eventually took a quick shower before my first meeting. Then I got allergy shots, which took awhile because they were backed up, but I was able to do some work from the clinic while waiting to see if the allergy shots would kill me (spoiler: they didn't).

Then I came home, put together a burrito bowl with leftovers from the fridge, and had a long work chat with Adit. After that, I slogged the rest of the day, and while I didn't get done as much as I probably should have, it felt like a win. I spent the evening doing various tings around the house, attempting some writing, doing some writing-related work, and generally unwinding. And now it's a little later than I had planned to go to bed, so I should sleep immediately - goodnight!

integrity, faith, and crocodile tears

I had a pretty good weekend, all in all. Yesterday I didn't get nearly enough done, but I did go to Gloria's birthday party, which was v. fun. It was supposed to be a surprise, although it wasn't quite as much a surprise as intended - but the turnout was really good and she was clearly delighted. I spent the party talking to a variety of former teachers and old neighbors, and I also got some extremely hot gossip (pun very unintentional) of a sad nature, which are descriptors that usually don't go together. Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to self-motivate (but mostly drinking hot chocolate), and then [censored] and I went out to Mom's for dinner.

Today was more productive, albeit a bit sad - I was thinking of Uncle Mark today and can’t believe it’s been seven years. So I spent the morning reading, drinking coffee, and doing various writing-type things. At some point I took a break to watch ISU destroy KSU, which was fun. I then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning, organizing, finally unpacking from my last trip, and then making dinner (mostly a variety of rices to eat with the pork I made on Friday, and then to freeze with it). And then [censored] and I ate dinner while watching last night's SNL + some of tonight's Grammys.

Sadly, I had to finish the night by doing some day job stuff, but I got through what I wanted to get through, and now I desperately need to sleep. Goodnight!

I gave your name as my emergency phone call

I have had an exceedingly boring week, made more boring by the fact that it's been zero degrees outside more times than I think it legally should be, even in winter. I've been alternating between slogging, cooking, writing (a little), and procrastinating (a lot), so I have had nothing to report. 

But today was nice despite all that. I woke up and decided to make carnitas, because I went to the grocery store yesterday and found a pork butt that was on sale for a dollar a pound. It was so cheap because it expired yesterday, but I bought it anyway. It was almost nine pounds, and so I ended up trying two different carnitas recipes - I put one chunk in the crock pot for ten hours, and I cut the other chunk up and baked it later. Both had orange juice, garlic, and onion, but the crock pot version had a rub of cumin and oregano, while the baked version had bay leaves and a cinnamon stick. 

I thought they both turned out great - unfortunately [censored] doesn't really like pork and so this bounty is wasted on him, but my tacos were v tasty. They would have been better with a proper salsa verde, but I can't get such a thing here and my salsa stockpiles are low. But now I have leftovers + will freeze a bunch for Future Sara, which is quite exciting. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

chimes

I have nothing to report - I have just been slogging and trying to stay warm. I did do some writing last night and tonight, but it's rough going - I would find it easier at a coffee shop or wine bar, but those things are in short supply here. But my day overall was good, and now it's time for bed - goodnight!

send lawyers guns and money

I have apparently not blogged in several days - I blame a perfect storm of factors (pun intended).

Thursday was my last full day in SF and I slogged relentlessly before meeting Lauren (aka subz) for dinner at Rooh. She was in fine form and we enjoyed dinner v tasty Indian food - and a surprise sighting of our old boss from India, who was completely shocked to see us (and probably to see us together, since most work friendships don't survive a couple of decades and continents). Then I had to pack as fast as possible because...

Friday I was supposed to leave SF at the civilized hour of 1pm, but with the massive weather issues happening this weekend, and the fact that I had only a thin coat, fingerless gloves (cashmere, but still fingerless), and a hat I stole from the office swag closet meant that I thought it prudent to get into Des Moines during daylight hours. So I flew out of SF at 5am, which was as painful as it sounds. There weren't any restaurants open then, but luckily our robot overlords/underlings never sleep, so I got a decent latte from a robot barista before boarding. My Denver layover was a hike but went fine, we were delayed an hour by deicing plus a maintenance issue, but I made it to Des Moines by early afternoon and was able to grab groceries on the drive south. 

When I got home, I said hello to [censored], unloaded my car without freezing my ears off, and then made chicken and rice for dinner. And then I went to bed early ish and accidentally slept for ten+ hours, which was great. 

Yesterday I did basically nothing. But I did heat up some ham balls to take to Mom's, which we enjoyed with her scalloped potatoes and baked beans. And then I did more nothing and went to bed. 

Today it was still brutally cold, but it was sunny and well reflected by the snow, so I was in a decent mood. I did a bunch of cleaning, a bunch of laundry, a bunch of podcast listening, and also made a gigantic batch of beef stew. And now, I need to sleep since work is going to be busy busy busy this week - goodnight!

sleep tomorrow but tonight go crazy

No blog tonight - I had a v good day at work, but I got up early so I could grab Philz and make it to the office before an 8:30 meeting, and then I slogged relentlessly all day. Eventually I cut out so that I could meet Veronica for dinner at Beretta, which was excellent (and featured a surprise run-in with Katrina as I stepped out of the Uber, who discovered me cheating on her with Veronica at a restaurant that Katrina and I often go to).

But now I need to sleep so that I can make it through my last full day in SF tomorrow - goodnight!

long train running

I slogged completely incessantly all day, starting at 7:20 when I realized I had a meeting at 7:30 (that is usually at 9:30 in Iowa) and still hadn't showered. I made it through the shower in record time, took the call with my camera off, did another call, dashed to the office, and was in meetings straight until five. 

After that I continued to hang out with work people, but that involved drinks at True Laurel and dinner at Heirloom, where I had a v excellent duck and some surprisingly good wine. Yes, Adit was involved; no, we did not go off the rails. But now I need to sleep so I can do it all again tomorrow- goodnight!

brightest lights

I had a chill day, sort of - my morning was more chill than I planned, and then I drove to a random Philz somewhere and worked for a few hours. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind for my day off, but it wasn't all bad. In some ways it's nice to go into tomorrow not feeling completely behind, although I never exactly feel caught up. 

All of this happened before a 5pm dinner with the friendship renewal crew (Jen, Jane, and Joann). We went to Seapot, which is a hot pot place I'd been to before, and it was quite tasty. It was a little more chaotic than I would have preferred for a proper catch up after being separated for too long, but it was still fun and I got the high level overview of what my friends are up to. 

Then I dropped my rental car off at SFO, and endured an absurd wait for an Uber. It became clear that no one wanted to pick someone up at the rental car center (I assume it's either inconvenient for them to get to or they assume the clientele is worse). So I took the airtrain two stops to the Grand Hyatt, which is v nice, and I was promptly picked up by an excellent Uber, so the airtrain gamble was worth it.

And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

working on mysteries without any clues

I had a lovely day in the city of sin. I got up at a reasonable hour and went to Blue Bottle, where I drank some New Orleans iced coffee and planned my week. Then I got ready, retrieved my car, and drove to the dirty east bay to have lunch with John and Jess. We went to Saul's in celebration of old times, and it was a delight to see them (and their child, and their child's friend, who I mentally call Yahtzee even though that's not his name).

Then I took the long way (by distance, not time) back into the city, which meant going over the Golden Gate Bridge yet again on this trip. I spent a couple of hours hanging out at fort mason/the marina, where I bought some art supplies, grabbed some coffee, and talked to my mom while taking in the view of the water. 

Then I came back to my hotel, vegged, ordered takeout sushi, journaled, and generally wasn't quite as productive as I wanted to be, but c'est la vie. Goodnight!

cozy era

I need to go to bed immediately since I'm falling asleep, but I had a great day in the city of sin - I got a bunch of sleep, talked to Katie for quite some time since we hadn't caught up in a coon's age, had an extended brunch with Katrina at Nopalito, and then did some work at Arbor in Hayes Valley. And then I had a v leisurely dinner with Claudia at Coqueta, where we had excellent tapas and even more excellent conversation. 

But now I'm desperate to sleep - goodnight!

they're gonna eat me alive

No blog tonight - I got up early enough to grab philz on my way to the office, and then I slogged all day. I ran some errands in japantown after, grabbed some pizza at delfina, and was back at my hotel by 7:45.... Where I proceeded to doze the rest of the night bc I'm in a deep sleep deficit. And now I'm going to bed for real - goodnight!

you make me glow

I had a nice morning even though I got less than four hours of solid sleep and wanted to die as a result. I had breakfast, then used the steam room and hot tub, which made me want such things in my bathhouse. Then a group of us set off toward SF in three cars, but we stopped for lunch at Boon Fly, which was delightful. 

I did a tiny bit of work when I got back, chatted with Adit, and then checked into my hotel, drove straight to Burlingame, and had dinner with Anne and Barbara. And now I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

i would come back a thousand times

The first part of this is what I started writing at one am last night...

I had an excellent day at my offsite, including many meetings, many opportunities to consume food, a v fun ceramic etching class at a winery, and more drinks + book club + more dinner + more drinks. Book club was v fun since we were in person for the first time ever and also some of us thought it was terrible while others thought it was great.

//

That's where I fell asleep, but unfortunately I only got five v fitful hours before waking up. I had a massage this morning that I didn't want to miss (rough life), so I overcame my extreme apathy for waking up + my mild hangover to go to the spa. It was definitely worth it and also definitely sad that I had to immediately shower and lead a breakout.

But the meetings were all good, I ate many tasty snacks, and I got a nap around 3:30, which is all I wanted. Then I grabbed a wine tasting with Adit, Emily, and Baz, which is a core group of favorites. And then we went to the team dinner, which was delicious, and I closed out the after-party tonight with Adit and Martha, which is exactly what happened last night (although I drank much less tonight and so have high hopes for my sleep).

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

tell me never

I'm too wiped out to blog but I had a lovely day - I woke up v early, packed, checked out, grabbed a gigantic cold brew, and went to the office to work on slides. I had one long meeting, and then six of us went on an expedition toward wine country - which involved lunch in Berkeley and then a nice tasting excursion. Then I checked into my hotel, did a bit of work, had dinner, hung out, and escaped unusually early (for me) to do some more work. And now I need to sleep immediately - goodnight!

busy child

I had a v busy but lovely day in the city by the bay. I woke up relatively early this morning and spent a pleasant / frustrating hour finishing reading the book for this week's work book club, which was (in my opinion) badly written but full of interesting ideas that weren't fully developed.

Then I did a bit of work, showered, and drove to Corte Madera, where I grabbed lunch, grabbed a couple of tings at Sephora, and then worked at philz for several hours to prep for this offsite this week. Since I basically foisted this offsite on everyone, I feel some duty to make sure it goes well, and so we shall see if I have prepped enough (right now I feel like I haven't, but there is still time tomorrow). Then I got a mani/pedi before going to my friend Grace's.

Grace made an extremely delicious dinner (including a salad that would be like a hundred dollars at Restoration Hardware), and I enjoyed hanging out with her and Brian and Brendan. I had never seen her new house even though she moved a couple of years ago, and seeing her was worth the drive.

But leaving there at 8:30 meant getting to my hotel at 9:30, and I need to go to bed immediately if I'm going to get up in time to check out and do some work before the shenanigans start. Goodnight!

measly means

I am ensconced in a hotel near the airport, which is not where I usually stay (although I have stayed here before), but it was convenient for the next couple of days. Getting out of my house today was a bit of a mad dash, as it always is, but I made it to the airport with enough time to eat a burger and have a glass of rosé, so I timed it just right. I was also upgraded on the flight to Denver, which made the flight to SF even more painful since I was but upgraded and was in a row with a woman whose small dog was very unhappy to be flying and let everyone know it through most of the flight. 

However, I had headphones and the book I need to finish for my work book club, so I survived. Getting out of SFO was about as smooth as possible, and I had my bags + rental car + keys to my hotel room within 60-75min, which I will totally take.

I spent the rest of the evening unpacking a few tings, eating a pizza that I got delivered since I didn't feel like going out, and reading some more. And now I need to sleep - or finish the book, but sleep is prob a better idea. Goodnight!

slumber lands

I have been slogging relentlessly the last few days, but I have prioritized sleep well enough that I'm not dying despite feeling like I've worked excessively. I'm going to California for an offsite next week, and since I was the one who 1) said we should have an offsite, 2) planned it, and 3) made myself responsible for the content, I suppose I need to get everything done and show up. I haven't had a chance to plan much personal stuff in SF after the offsite yet, but perhaps that's something I can do from the plane. Or perhaps I'll just show up and hope people are around.

sssanyway, my week has been good. Wednesday I slogged, made some turkey and white bean chili for dinner, and then watched the second half of the ISU/Baylor game with [censored]. Thursday I slogged, drove to the next town over for a dentist appointment (where I made an excellent joke about donkeys), came home, slogged some more, and then had my first city council meeting as an elected official. So far so good, although I look forward to seeing what the populace will bring up in future sessions. Today, I had allergy shots, ran some errands (including to the lumber yard, where I made an excellent joke about strippers, unrelated to yesterday's donkey joke), came home, and slogged.

But I was done by 5:15, and then [censored] and I picked up Mom and went to Seymour for prime rib. Then we came home and I spent the last four hours tidying up my room and figuring out what to pack. I don't really want to do laundry on my trip, but I'm also traveling for many days, so it's tempting to take everything I own. So far I think I have the right mix of stuff, although I may sleep on it and completely change my mind in the morning.

But now I need to sleep since I need to get out of here tomorrow morning - goodnight!

sun ain't shining no more

I have reentered the work slog - it was nice while most people were out of office, but now it's a firehose of catching up and preparing for the upcoming year. 

So I slogged all day yesterday and celebrated with a frozen pizza - somehow the local Hy-Vee has the best gf frozen pizza I've ever found. Today I got up and slogged again, rather manically bc I had many hours of meetings in a row where I actually had to participate. But I did do some writing last night and again this morning, which was a real win. 

After work, my mom came over and we ate leftover chicken and wild rice soup, which was tasty. Then I washed a sweater, packed up a table to return (it was for my chaise lounge in my bedroom and it unfortunately arrived damaged, which is real annoying bc it's literally 45lbs and I didn't find the damage until after I'd unboxed it and carried it upstairs), and did various other tasks. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

road shimmer wiggling the vision

I was reasonably productive today, despite staying up far too late last night reading that stupid book (which I should continue reading tonight, but I shall not). I got up later than I had intended to, but I spent quite a bit of quality time writing today, which I will take. I also took a shower, got groceries, made some chicken and wild rice soup, hand washed several sweaters, cleaned the kitchen, watered plants, and did some day job stuff.

So, all in all, it was not the most exciting day, but I'm just a little bit better set up for the week than I could have been, so I'll take it. Goodnight!

dude don't take it personal

So far my new year is off to a reasonably good start. I spent some time on new years day journaling and setting up my planner, and then I made prosciutto wrapped chicken breasts to take out to Mom's for dinner. We played two games of ticket to ride and [censored] won one and Mom won the other, which was great for them I guess. The only good news was that [censored] somehow managed to lose points at the end of the game, which never happens, and I had to take that as a consolation prize for not winning myself. 

Yesterday I had to work, and I had to do it while slightly itchy because I had to get allergy shots. I only had four hours of meetings, which was both chill and an ominous prelude to everyone coming back online Monday. 

Today I decided to do various things around the house, mostly successfully. I also wrote for awhile, also mostly successfully. Then I made chicken Alfredo pasta for me and [censored], which we ate while catching up on the last SNL episodes that we hadn't seen - the random duet with Jane Wickline and "Lil Jon" was a highlight, but there were some other v funny moments. And then I crawled into bed and spent a couple of hours reading SECRET OF SECRETS - it's the latest Dan Brown book, and it's fairly terrible, but we're reading it for book club at work and I decided to go with it.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!