go through the evolution

I had a pretty nice day in Denver - I basically didn't stray more than three blocks from my hotel, but I kind of needed that. I spent the whole day slogging through a variety of meetings, and then I grabbed a late afternoon snack at the bar. I also went to Room and Board to sit in a variety of dining room chairs and make some decisions about what I want to order for my dining room - results tbd, but I think I have a plan (once I get the dining room painted, which is an annoyance).

Then I ran to the mall, where I didn't buy anything; came back to my room, where I worked/dozed; and went back downstairs for another snack. My eating times have been very bizarre on this trip, and so I had a sushi roll at 9pm - but the roll was excellent and quite interesting, and also the bartender comped me a v nice tequila shot (it's nice to know that I've still got my talking-to-bartenders skill even though I'm at an advanced age and don't get much opportunity to practice in southern Iowa).

And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

top down

I had a nice day off today, although now I wish I could take off the rest of the week. I woke up in time to do a hike with Aunt B, which was v nice. Then I said my goodbyes and drove back to Denver, with a stop for Starbucks along the way.

When I got to Denver, I grabbed lunch (a dozen oysters, fries, and a glass of rosé), ran a couple of errands, and then checked in and unpacked. I was going to stay in Boulder this week, but I decided that I'd rather be in Denver, so I rebooked the hotel I stayed in yesterday. Hopefully it's good for working the rest of the week, but we shall see.

Eventually I drove to my old neighborhood, where I hung out with Caroline and Alice at El Camino (home of the best nachos in the world). It was strange to be back there - both like no time had passed at all, and like I had never lived there at all. And now, with those thoughts in my head, I need to sleep - goodnight!

more than a name

I had a v productive day - so productive that I feel like it's later in the week than Tuesday. I got up early and ran an errand and grabbed coffee, and then I slogged in my hotel room (with room service breakfast) until my late checkout at 3pm. Starving, I took another hour of calls from the bar while eating a couple of tacos.

Then I slammed my laptop shut and drove south to Aunt Becky's, where I am now ensconced in her guest room. She made a v tasty dinner (jalapeno poppers, pork loin medallions, twice baked potatoes, and salad) and I had a limoncello spritz to go with it. We chatted for quite awhile, but eventually it was clear that I was too tired to continue - and now it's time for bed. Goodnight!

carry me home tonight

No blog tonight - I slogged incessantly all day, and then decompressed with a solo steak at the hotel bar. So I'm wiped out, but at least a little more caught up than I felt when I woke up. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

born slippy

I had a lovely day in Denver, and I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, because I would like to continue just having fun. I woke up and had a v leisurely hour drinking cold brew and journaling in the lobby. Then Katie and I grabbed breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which was as delicious as it was yesterday. We continued to chat in our room for a bit, and then Katie took a stroll while I showered and packed. 

After we were ready, we still had an hour to hang out before parting ways, and so we walked down Sixteenth Street for a bit. They've finally finished renovating it, and the shops are slowly starting to repopulate, so that was nice to see. And I bought a pair of shoes by one of my favorite shoemakers, which was sold by a small independent shoe store, so I felt like I basically had to support them, amirite?

Sadly all good things come to an end, and so Katie and I parted ways. We could have hung out another week and not run out of things to talk about, but I'm sure we have many other weekends in our future for such shenanigans.

After Katie went home, I checked out of the hotel, took an Uber to a car rental place, picked up a car, and checked into my new hotel, which I went to for a change of scene. It's quite nice, which is why I'd rather just hang out tomorrow, but c'est la vie. After I checked in, I unpacked, washed a couple of things in the sink like a peasant, and then had some tacos at the hotel bar to fend off starvation. And I took a nap because I'm v short on sleep compared to my usual weeks. 

Eventually I rallied, did a bit of work, and then went to Sunnyside to meet up with Andy and Nina. They were some of my favorite denverites when I lived here, and they continue to be on the shortlist when I come to town. We had an excellent sushi experience at Nozomi, and then we grabbed a cocktail at Semiprecious, which was excellent. My daiquiri was one of the best I've had, and I was sad not to finish it, but I'm getting old and need to sleep tonight.

So we had a fantastic and meandering conversation, and then I came back to my hotel with the goal of going to bed early. Goodnight!

it was a graveyard smash

Katie and I had an excellent day in Denver. I woke up early and went downstairs to drink free coffee and journal until Katie was ready, and then we grabbed a v nice breakfast in the hotel restaurant. After we were done, I took a quick shower, and then we went to Alamo Drafthouse to see "You Can See Everything". It's the new documentary about Elizabeth Holmes (of theranos infamy), and it was three hours long and completely wild for all of it. It gave us much to discuss and ponder, which was a great way to spend a somewhat cold and cloudy afternoon. 

Then we came back, went to Ultreia in Union Station, and ate tapas and drank wine while debriefing. We took a break in the room to decompress, and then we forced ourselves to wake up (a difficult feat) and spent another few hours hanging out at a bar in the Dairy Block + the bar at our hotel. We are aging, and so we only had two cocktails and a mocktail each, so hopefully my body rewards my forbearance tomorrow. 

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

take it on the run

I had a very hectic but ultimately very nice day in Denver. I woke up at 6:30 because I desperately needed to work, and so I worked from 7-10:30 (while eating breakfast, and with a brief shower break). Then I had a three hour meeting, which I had to take from the lobby because my room doesn't have a desk and I didn't want to sit in bed that long. By 2pm I was done with all immediate obligations, and also was very burned out from working seven hours before two pm, so I walked out of the hotel and found a fairly mid (but quick) lunch option. And then I did a walk in manicure before coming back to the hotel and wrapping some stuff up. 

Happily, I was able to stop working and meet up with Katie - we had early dinner reservations at El Five, which was v exciting. We enjoyed our tapas and paella, and then came back to the hotel and had a drink at the v nice hotel bar. And then we came upstairs (mostly to avoid seeing one of the more violent scenes in the Shawshank Redemption, which was playing above the bar) and chatted for a couple more hours. 

But now I need to sleep so I can continue the fun tomorrow - goodnight!

jokers at the bottom with the radio guitar

No blog tonight - I got up super early to do work before an 8am allergy shot appointment, got my shots (and my arms swelled, which was annoying), came home, worked a bunch more, said a brief hello/goodbye to my mom (and pawned a bunch of produce on her), watered various plants, finished packing, etc. Then I sped to the airport, where I got through security in time to have a glass of wine while participating in my favorite meeting of the week.

Sadly my flight was delayed an hour, and the extra glass of wine I had while waiting didn't help my productivity. But I got to Denver smoothly, got to my hotel smoothly, unpacked, and then did a couple of hours of work because I absolutely had to. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

we drove out to the desert just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars

I had an insanely busy day, in ways that are unusual, so I shall recap. I got up early this morning because I had allergy shots at 8 am. I was apparently in trouble with my allergist because it had been over a month since I had managed to make it in. He wants me to come in every 2 days to catch up, which is a bit of a jhoke, considering:

1. I had always been told that I could never come in with less than 3 days of a gap, and

2. I am going to Denver next week. Luckily, my nurse thought this is all very funny and doesn't seem to think I'm actually in trouble. But I am going to get allergy shots again on Thursday, which is not really what I planned to do with my Thursday morning. 

After I got allergy shots, I went to the courthouse and voted, since I wanted to make sure my vote got in before my travels, in case anything happened. Then I went to Hy-Vee and bought six bottles of wine, which is also not what I usually do on a Tuesday morning. However, on Saturday I noticed that while the wine selection is usually abysmal, they had a Cabernet that was, for some reason, marked down from $55 to $22 a bottle. I had bought one bottle to try and really liked it, so I decided to go back and clear out some of their stock. I'd say they got a whole case, since there were still several bottles left, but I thought that six bottles was more than enough to make the cashier worry about me.

Then I came home and immediately jumped into my usual run of meetings. I was also doing laundry at the same time because of my aforementioned travels. During one of my meetings, I baked an entire package of bacon - it's a bit concerning that I'm still getting gorgeous tomatoes in late October, but I decided that I wanted another BLTA before the end of the season. I cooked the bacon, had a meeting with Emily, and then took advantage of a wee break in my schedule to make a couple of open-faced bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado sandwiches on some gluten-free bread. They were delicious, and I'll be sad to see the tomatoes go, but at some point, it should probably cool down, or I'll begin to wonder whether we're going to survive the coming decades.

Then I slept for a couple more hours before dashing out the door for the most unusual errand of the day. Yesterday, I happened to stumble across a meetup in Des Moines for a group related to startups and writing. This, as you can imagine because of my day job and my night job, seemed right up my alley, and so I decided on a whim to go. The meetup was located a block from the Drake Diner, which was infamous in my childhood for being the site of a shooting. It's funny that, in my mind, I still consider that to be an incredibly dangerous neighborhood even though I have lived in objectively far more dangerous places than some place that had a random restaurant shooting 30 years ago. You'll be pleased to know that I did not get shot, and the venue was actually super cool, so I would happily go back.

Anyway, the meetup was fun and worth going to. There were about 15 people there, but I had some really nice conversations with some people. I ended up sticking around to chat with a few after our event ended and an overlapping trivia night started. And then I drove home, got back in time to do a bit of tidying up, and realized that I really need to go to sleep if I have any hope of getting my job done tomorrow. Goodnight!

there's been a robbery

I had a pretty good day, despite the fact that I went to bed after one, and then woke up before seven and was only able to fitfully doze for an hour before giving up. I was not as productive as I intended to be today, but I helped [censored] with some stuff, changed my sheets, tidied up, did a bit of work, etc.

And in the afternoon, I went into town to get groceries, and made a v impromptu stop at the museum to see the new mastodon exhibit. I got a sneak peek while they were installing it, but the finished product is pretty cool - it's the best mastodon remains ever found in Iowa, with most of the skull and a bunch of other bones. The museum finally got it back from U of I, who had it for a couple of years to preserve and study it, and the display is very nice. 

Then I went to the grocery store, came home, messed around, and made beef and noodles and mashed potatoes for dinner for me and Mom and [censored]. And now I'm going to bed early because I did not get nearly enough sleep last night - goodnight!

lunation

No blog tonight - I did nothing of note beyond slogging, which I did excessively (including three hours tonight from nine to midnight). But I got done a swath of tasks that I couldn't put off any longer, and I won't have to work much this weekend as a result, which is a win. And I also did various tings around the house when wandering during my breaks - I did laundry, opened various packages, picked up some alterations, and brought in some pepper plants that I decided to save from tonight's frost.

When it was time to take a real break, I made dinner - [censored] and I enjoyed a batch of Elmer's chili, which hit the spot since it's suddenly feeling like winter here. Okay, maybe not winter yet - but it will freeze tonight, and it was 85 last weekend, so this is a real rude awakening. It should warm up again later this weekend, but clearly summer is at an end.

But I have nothing else to report and really need to get some sleep - goodnight!

we could probably fix it if we clean it up all day

I have really fallen off the blogging wagon - partially because my days are somewhat boring, partially because I'm trying to stay off my laptop late at night, and I have gotten tired of blogging from my phone. But I just worked until 10:30, so while I'm still on a large keyboard, I shall fill you in.

I had Monday off for Indigenous Peoples Day, which was a welcome treat. I managed to stay quite busy, though - and I filled the house with the smell of pork, since I made carnitas in the slow cooker and then also made pork chile verde in the pressure cooker. A nine pound pork shoulder is arguably more pork than I can eat, but carnitas and pork chile verde both freeze well, so I shall have many porky meals in the future. Also, I made the chile verde almost entirely from ingredients from my garden - while I had to buy a white onion, I was able to do the rest with poblanos, anaheim peppers, jalapenos, and tomatillos from the garden. It turned out quite well, if I do say so myself, and I've enjoyed eating it this week.

On Tuesday, I had to get up early for an economic development board meeting, which was a rough way to have to start the shortened work week. Then I slogged all day before taking a brief walk around town to decompress. I'm sure I did other tings in the evening, but I can't remember them.

On Wednesday, I slogged all day (again), but I had a call with my friend Tanya at 11, which was a delight. I also had my library board meeting, which was a good way to get out of the house. Our meeting was accomplished pretty quickly, and then we helped the librarian move a v. large bookshelf - it went smoothly, but it was a ridiculous process. After, I talked to Sammi for half an hour, and then I ran to the grocery store. While I was in town, the local florist stuck a couple of roses in my driver's side door, so I took one to my mom, and hung out with her while she cooked and ate her supper. I declined to eat her food since I had so much pork at home, but it was nice to chat. Then I came home, ate pork, and wrote until past my bedtime.

Today, you guessed it - I slogged. I also went to city hall to take care of a water bill issue and talk to the city clerk about various tings. You probably also guessed that I ate more pork - chile verde for lunch and carnitas with a baked potato for dinner. I froze almost all the rest of it, so I can move on to other culinary delights. And I also had many meetings, then chatted with [censored] when he got home, and then worked for the last couple of hours.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

someone stole my shoes, but there's a couple of bananas and a bottle of booze

Apparently I have not blogged all week - this happens when my weeks are v. boring. I shall recap for posterity, such as it is:

- Wednesday, I had many meetings, which is true of most days. I then talked to Adit about work stuff while wandering around outside to take a bit of a break, and then I drove into town because the Vietnamese food truck was on the square. This was only the second time I've gotten them, but I was happy with this order - their pork skewers and shrimp skewers were excellent, and their pad thai and fried rice were pretty tasty (and, as far as I could tell, fairly gluten free except for the soy sauce). It took quite awhile for my food to be ready, but I spent that time chatting with various townsfolk who were also hanging out in the yard waiting for or eating their food, so it was a v. nice evening. And then I came home, ate, and welcomed [censored] back from his usual weekly jaunt.

- Thursday, I had many meetings, which is true of most days. I also had a city council meeting, which meant that I had to spend two hours talking to various townsfolk about various issues. I still have not been run out of town, so I think that means this is going well?

- Friday, I had many meetings, which is usually not true of Fridays but happened to be true of this one. I ended the day by making burrito bowls for me and [censored], which really hit the spot after not having them all summer. We ate the burrito bowls while watching last week's SNL, which was middling, and perhaps I did other stuff that I cannot remember.

- Saturday, I had no meetings, and yet somehow I managed to fill or squander the vast amount of excess time. I guess I did talk to Adit about something work-related for awhile, so it was almost like a meeting? But I also did various tings at my desk, procrastinated a bit, did a whole bunch of laundry, ate a couple of tomatoes that should not still be in season but are because it's 85 degrees here, messed around, and then went into town to get groceries. And then I made potatoes au gratin to go with the steaks I had thawed out to grill, and I also made some excellent onions and mushrooms to top the steak with. Mom came into town to join us, and so we had a v. tasty dinner.

- Today, I had no meetings, but I did spent a lot of time at my desk researching various tings. I also did some gardening - theoretically I should be cleaning up my gardens, but instead I harvested a bunch of tomatoes and peppers, and everything is still attempting to go strong (the eggplant is putting out more flowers than I saw all summer, the tomatillos are still attracting pollinators, the cucumber is trying to cucumber again, etc.). It will cool off by the end of the week, so we'll see what that does, but my semi-apocalyptic garden is hanging on in this unusual heat. Beyond gardening, I did various tings, wrote on my balcony for awhile, and then grilled hamburgers for me and [censored] (which turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself). We ate them with leftover potatoes while watching last night's SNL, which was surprisingly excellent. And then I came upstairs and read the first few chapters of FAMESICK, which I am enjoying so far.

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

if i bring a little music, i could fit right in

I have been v. busy at work the last couple of days - this is what happens when I go to san francisco for a week and then take a few days off. I slogged relentlessly yesterday, including working later in the evening than I am accustomed to, and then I woke up this morning and did it again. By the time all my meetings were done around five, I was done too - so I examined my gardens, took a quick walk around town to unwind, came home, and ate leftovers for dinner (which were tasty).

Then I did a wee bit more work, watched a couple of youtube videos, and then decided to read the book for my work book club. We were reading PIRANESI, which I found quite strange - I'm not sure how I feel about it or what I want to say, but it was a nice way to spend the evening. Then I made the mistake of checking out Prime Day sales, which is how they get you. But now I have finished my perusings of various items and am going to go to bed - goodnight!

i won't trust my eyes until i make it to the other side

Sorry for not blogging all weekend - I thought I was mostly recovered from my illness, but I woke up Friday and ended up having a migraine, which really put a damper on my hoped-for day of productivity to catch up from being out. So I spent most of the day trying to avoid looking at screens (not helpful for my job), and then having meeting as soon as I was recovered enough for them. And then [censored] and I had to scrounge for dinner, but that was fine with me because I had a v. tasty baked potato and some carnitas from the freezer, so it could have been worse.

Yesterday I was really unproductive, sadly - but I did rally to get a few things done, and then I went out to Mom's, where I grilled brats to go with her delicious (as usual) potato salad and baked beans. The weather is lovely right now, so grilling season isn't over yet, but it felt like a good opportunity to use the brats before everything turns cold and bleak.

Today, I was productive enough to make up for the last couple of days of sloth; I mostly stayed off my phone, which always does wonders for the rest of my tasks. [Censored] and I took a tour of some of my holdings in an effort to determine what to prioritize this fall, and surprisingly this did not depress me, so I'm taking that as a good sign. Then I did a bunch of stuff around the house, including unpacking from my trip, tidying my room, and then cleaning my office (dusting, vacuuming, getting rid of various boxes, etc.). And I wrote a wee bit - not as much as I planned, but better than nothing.

At some point, I made supper - since I came through Des Moines on Wednesday, I was able to procure some swiss chard, and so I made the sausage and chard rigatoni that [censored] and I both like to a surprising degree. We ate that while watching the first two episodes of this season of Scrubs, which were pretty good. Then I cleaned up the kitchen, came upstairs, procrastinated for awhile, and then did an hour of day job work that I really should have done on Friday. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

bury me in motion

I am back from my trip to Okoboji, and mostly recovered from my illness, although I wish I had taken today (and maybe tomorrow) off. I had a great conference despite being sick - it was a bit of a bummer because I skipped the optional evening dinners in the interest of getting more sleep (and avoiding making things worse by getting rained on all evening), and so I feel certain that I missed out on some serendipitous encounters that might have led to making friends. But it's also nice that I didn't fall asleep while driving home yesterday, and nice that I'm no longer hacking up my lungs regularly (just occasionally), so I think I made the practical choice.

Anyway, yesterday's morning sessions were both great, and I left feeling v. inspired by everything I heard. Then I drove home, which felt like it took forever, but I listened to some podcasts to try to keep myself entertained. I also stopped for groceries (and to eat some late lunch from the prepared foods bar) at Whole Foods in Des Moines, grabbed some gluten free bread in Indianola, and got home in time to unpack my car before going out to Mom's to have dinner with her and Aunt Dee. Aunt Dee came up to visit for a couple of days, but I wouldn't have seen her if I skipped dinner last night - so I'm glad I braved the v. muddy roads to hang out. It has rained a tremendous amount here this week (and month), and there's water everywhere, so the gravel was treacherous - but Mom's vegetable beef soup was #worthit.

Today, I was more in it to win it than I expected to be, but less in it to win it than I needed to be to actually get caught up. However, I did various day job tasks, ate some leftover soup and another grilled cheese for lunch, and then worked the rest of the day (with a long chat with Adit and Emily sprinkled in there to get me through). Tonight, I made a stew with chickpeas, coconut milk, turmeric, and swiss chard; it's something I used to make during the pandemic, and it was a v. viral recipe back in 2020, but I don't make it often now since 1) it reminds me of the pandemic and 2) [censored] has no interest in eating it. But it turned out well, and I read a book while it simmered (instead of scrolling my phone), so I feel v. smug about that.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

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!