want to fly to a place where it's just you and me

I wasn't as productive as yesterday, but that tends to happen since my productivity ebbs and flows. Still, today was pretty good overall - I got a lot of sleep, then did some market research this morning. I'm trying to figure out exactly what subgenre I think I'm writing, since that dictates some things that I may want to include or avoid. I haven't had to make this decision in quite this way before - when I decided to write historical romance, I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to write Regencies, and that was that. With this book, it could be high fantasy, or urban fantasy, or romantic fantasy, or paranormal romance, or maybe even YA, or fantasy/scifi, or something else. All of them have slightly different reader expectations, niches, etc., and the fact that I don't know what I'm writing is starting to cause me some angst.

So, I did some market research, then ate lunch with [censored], and then watched some writing videos to try to triangulate on what's blocking me. I also did a bit of mural stuff, ran to the grocery store, and wrote a bit in the late afternoon. I made spaghetti for me and [censored], using Grandma Barb's famous spaghetti sauce recipe - note that we don't have a Grandma Barb, but the random spaghetti sauce recipe I found online is a real winner.

Then, after eating, I wrote for an hour while sitting on my balcony. I also read for a bit - I started a nonfiction book about the history of fabric/textiles (called THE GOLDEN THREAD), since for some reason I think textiles might play a role in my book that I don't understand yet. And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

you pick me up you make me a believer

Today was one of those quiet, somewhat sullen days - I blame the switch to daylight saving time (which I am v. excited about in the long run, since I like seeing sunlight after work, but today was a rough adjustment). I wanted to write, theoretically, but was really not in it to win it. And so I spent far too much time on Twitter and doing some online browsing of patio furniture and generally messing around, when I should have just gone outside or read a book or done literally anything else.

But I did take a shower, so I guess that was a plus. I also talked to my parents, who were in fine form. And I managed to do two loads of laundry, trim my bangs, pack up some packages to send back to online retailers, clean the kitchen, and make lunch (scrambled eggs) and dinner (slightly more impressive: chicken breasts with creamy mushroom/onion/parmesan gravy, which was surprisingly delicious).

I should have done day job stuff tonight, but instead I made some hot chocolate and ruminated in my journal, spilling several pages' worth of ink about what's bothering me and why I'm stuck with the writing. Don't get too excited, I didn't come to any seriously dramatic revelations - although I think I'm getting there. The writing will happen again - it's just that everything that I want to write requires me to dig even deeper into my psyche, my memories, my old wounds and fresh scars. In other words, writing is a total bitch sometimes, and it has been easier to avoid it for the last few months than it was to dig deep into myself while also trying to get settled into a new job/city/life. But I'm reaching the point where I'm feeling a little more settled, and the ache to write may eventually overcome my avoidant tendencies.

Tonight, though, I should probably get some sleep - goodnight!

as i recall i think we both kind of liked it

Long day of screen time, short day of productivity. I'd been doing pretty well staying (somewhat) off twitter and the news the last couple of weeks, but today I consumed it to the point that I drained my phone battery by seven p.m. Bleh.

But I got some good stuff done - I woke up in time to have a video chat with my friend Sarah from Bali (we hadn't talked in ages, so were way overdue), and then I made a tasty omelette with bacon, onions, mushrooms, and pepperjack, so the morning got off to a good start. I then went on a slow slide into social media hell, but I did manage to do just a little bit of writing (I'm avoiding the story and I know it), and I watched all of Sessions' testimony (lolol), and I took a walk down to the corner and back (an accomplishment when it was ninety degrees and the wind was whipping up all the dust from the dry gravel). I also formatted a paperback, answered some email, and had a long argument (or shall I say discussion?) about politics.

So, all in all, it wasn't the worst day, but tomorrow I need way less time on twitter and politics and way more time writing. Goodnight!

forest sounds

Today was immensely boring, although I talked to my parents (always entertaining) and to Bali Sarah (no closer to figuring out where I'm living this summer, but I'm itching to make some plans, and since she's also nomadic I'm trying to intersect with her for a couple of weeks). I also wrote, did laundry, answered emails, and got way too distracted. And I took a walk and picked up takeout for dinner, since I was desperate to leave the house for a little bit.

But this book is soooo close to done, and yet so far away, and I can't waste any more time if I'm going to finish by Friday. Every other book has required me going away for a few days to finish it, and I hit that wall today - and so while it feels ridiculous to book a hotel to take a break from my hotel, I'm owning my ridiculousness and doing it anyway. I can't go tomorrow because I have an interview for a podcast and I have to have good internet, but Tuesday morning I'm going to an undisclosed location (aka York) and staying until Friday. And I'll either finish the book there, or I will come back a sobbing mess and will drink wine until it's time to go to Venice so that I can forget my failures.

And now I shall sleep, and aim for a better day tomorrow (which requires staying in my room so that my #fomo doesn't result in me talking to everyone who wanders through the kitchen/coworking space). Goodnight!

i really want to come kick it with you

From a productivity standpoint, today was kind of a mess - I crossed a whole bunch of things off my to-do list that I'd been neglecting from a business standpoint, but I didn't get as much writing work done as I'd hoped (yes, you've heard this story before).

But I stopped working at six to take a shower and meet up with Jen for dinner. We're also meeting tomorrow night, but she invited me to have dinner with her and an old coworker of hers tonight - and the entire reason we all said yes was because the friend is a member of Soho House (a private members club with branches in a bunch of cities). This is exactly the kind of place I would be a member of if I a) had a sponsor and b) spent enough time in cities where they're located (and c) wanted to spend the money). It wasn't over the top fancy, but the vibe was nice and I liked the decor and the food, so I was v. pleased with all of it.

However, when Jen and I met up, we were early, so we grabbed a quick drink down the street (note: cheap prosecco out of a mini bottle is an odd way to prep for dinner, but hey, it was fun). Then we had dinner with her friend, who I really liked - she was entertaining and just ridiculous enough even though she was really tired, so we had a good time. And their gluten free pasta was top notch, which made me happy (too happy, since I ate all of it and was stuffed).

Then we parted ways, and Jen and I took an uber back to her hotel, where we wandered around and took pictures - it turns out the grand staircase there has featured in both a Spice Girls video and the recent Taylor Swift/Zayn Malik video, so of course we had to see it. And we went to Kings Cross (next door) and took a photo at Platform 9 and 3/4 (apparently it's packed with tourists during the day, and there's a line and they charge you to take photos, but at 11pm we had it all to ourselves). And then we parted ways, I took the tube back to my hotel, and now I'm desperate for sleep. Goodnight!

as it you pass it off so cavalier

In case you didn't already assume this, I'm safe in London - it was raining and so I didn't go out today, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't have been at Westminster at exactly the wrong moment. You never know, of course - I spent the morning figuring out part of my schedule for the rest of my time here, and Westminster Abbey (not the Palace of Westminster, which is where the attack was) is on my list. But luckily most of the things I want to see are quite esoteric, and I doubt that anyone is all too keen on attacking the Museum of London (not the main museum - the one about shipping in the Docklands area).

In other words, keep calm and carry on.

I spent most of the day thinking about the story and rearranging puzzle pieces to try to make it coherent. This is of course making me think that maybe I never want to write historical romance again - and while that may be true, I need to also consider that once I'm done with this book and am not in a place of such self-inflicted suffering.

I also took a break to call my parents - it's their anniversary (happy anniversary!), so I broke our usual routine and called them on a Wednesday. They have been together for thirty-seven years despite my dad's unusually high percentage of Neanderthal DNA (this isn't intended as an insult; he told me it was true based on his 23andMe results), and hopefully they have many more good years ahead of them.

And then I stopped working altogether to help Michelle get ready for community dinner (including picking up some gluten free + vegan carrot cake for Penny's birthday - she's vegan, and this carrot cake was somehow amazing despite being vegan, since the cashew cream they used for the frosting was on point), and then I ate community dinner, and then I drank a lot of wine and told a lot of jokes. And I also answered pings/texts/FB messages confirming that I'm alive, so that was fun.

Now, though, I need to sleep - I had another piece of the puzzle fall into place in a blinding moment of clarity (can clarity be blinding?) when I came back to my room tonight, and I furiously took notes so that I could capture the piece before I lost it. Hopefully that means tomorrow goes more smoothly - goodnight!

but it ain't nothing new

Today was kind of a mess - I woke up with all sorts of good intentions, but I got derailed pretty quickly by all the nervous energy that surrounds the day when RITA/Golden Heart finalists are announced. Sadly I didn't final, and I disliked one of the books that finaled in my category when I read it last year -- but it took until 7pm in London to be absolutely sure that I didn't final, which made for a long day.

However, a couple of my friends finaled, so that was exciting. And I had already decided that I would have champagne tonight regardless of what the result was. So at 3pm, when it was clear I would not get anything done beyond the little I'd written in the morning, I walked to Bluebird and had a cheeseburger and fries and a glass of wine, followed by champagne and some writing. That was a decent way to clear my head. I also stopped at Zara on the way home and bought a truly ridiculous sweatshirt (ripped up and covered in paint and metallics), so my retail therapy helped.

And when I say it helped, I mean it - I got back around 7:15, made some tea, answered some emails I'd been neglecting (but not all of them), and then put in another solid hour of writing. That puts me in a much better place for tomorrow, so I'm going to take it as a win. And the sooner I finish this book, the sooner I can do something else, which is becoming my mantra. Goodnight!

a case for shame

I need to go to bed immediately. Today was okay, but not great, mostly because I didn't leave the building (in an attempt to focus), but also didn't focus very well. Oops.

But I had some entertaining conversations with Jenn and Michelle, and I ordered some tasty Lebanese food for dinner, and I got some writing done and answered some emails, so it could all be worse. And now I'm going to sleep and aim for better stuff tomorrow - goodnight!

man in the mirror

Today was a fairly shitty day, all in all. It got better towards the end, but I woke up to grey gloom, immediately panicked because I thought I hadn't paid my health insurance bill (I hadn't, but it wasn't due yet, but since I just switched insurers I don't have autopay set up, etc.), and then wasted a lot of time online. Then I took a shower, and the steam set off the building fire alarm - this also happened last week, but last week, the community manager (Michelle) told me that it was a different room responsible and that they'd been smoking in their room. But there's no other explanation why it went off today. It's also annoying since I'm not showering particularly long or hot, but my room is small and I guess the steam does what it wants.

sssanyway. After that I was in a very foul mood, and I pretty much continued to stay there. But the day ended on a slightly brighter note - I ordered in Indian food with Jenn and Michelle, and we ate it in the coworking space while talking to a guy whom they call Strong Michael (he was apparently here before I was and just came back, and when he was here earlier, there was also a smaller Michael). Strong Michael is an Irish fitness coach who's potentially moving to LA, so I dropped some knowledge that I've acquired from Alyssa and thus befriended him immediately (and by that I mean I think he now wants to hook up with Alyssa, but you know, that's how friendships form).

So at least there were some positives today. I also wrote a little bit tonight when I got back to my room. But at this point I'm just going to pull the covers over my head and hope that tomorrow is better. Oddly enough, Jenn and Michelle had the exact same day - so maybe it's something in the air today (that something being lack of sun, perhaps). Goodnight!

don't want to fall in love with you

After a sweltering day with no rain, the winds are beginning to howl outside and it feels like a storm is moving in. Yes, I've been complaining about the rain, but when it's not raining, steam rises from the ground and turns the world into a sauna. With the heat and humidity, I had an odd moment today where I could almost feel corn silk in my hands, like it was summer back home and I was shucking corn (not that I ever had to do that, since my parents usually took care of it).

But I'm not at home - I'm still in Bali, which continues to delight. I had breakfast and a long conversation with Sarah; Yellow Flower has rice pancakes, which are basically a big, thin crepe covered in bananas, coconut, and syrup, and they were completely delicious (and an odd departure for me, since I rarely have sweet things for breakfast). And Sarah and I had a lot of interesting parallels in our respective lives, so we've gotten pretty deep into our summer camp friendship.

After breakfast (which basically became brunch), I came back here and did some work, although I wasn't satisfied with what I got done. Then I got a massage, which I was v. satisfied with - it was better than either of the other massages I've had here, and was a three minute walk from the hotel (made perilous only by roosters in the rice paddies and angry dogs that seem to belong to the spa and are doing nothing for their business). Then I came home, rinsed the oil off, and took my laptop and snuck out to have a solo dinner at Element. As mentioned yesterday, I haven't been getting enough alone-time, so dinner and a glass of wine and my journal and some work on my laptop were like balm to my soul.

Then I came back and did a bit more work upstairs, but the wind kicked up and I'm feeling tired, so I think it's time to sleep. Goodnight!

you take my love for granted

I had a slow, sullen day - allow me to return to a moment to my common refrain of how social media and my addiction to the internet is destroying everything that's good in this world. In this case, I woke up this morning and made the mistake of checking twitter...and then spent two hours reading inauguration coverage, which was exactly the opposite of what I was supposed to do today.

I did, at least, get out of the hotel - I repeated last Saturday's mission, actually, since I went to Elephant Cafe and the grocery store. However, last time I walked along the road, which is steep in places and has no sidewalks in places and is generally mildly unpleasant. I later learned that there's a footpath through the fields/houses between here and the grocery store, so I decided to give that a try. When I heard 'footpath' I assumed it was dirt, like a cow path; this was developed/paved the whole way, sometimes running down a channel between the walls of two different compounds. More frightening, sometimes it was an open path with a drainage ditch full of running water on one side and a ravine (with a river at the bottom) on the other, and no guard rails on either side. That was only a small portion of the walk, and it was still lovely, but my intense fear of heights did not enjoy the knowledge of the ravine on one side. But maybe this is exactly the aversion therapy I need to get better about heights - or maybe I'll just quietly never have to get groceries again the rest of the time I'm here.

My heights issue aside, though, the path was really cool - except for when I walked back in the afternoon, when it was blazing hot in the places where the path was cut between two walls and the sun beat down into the trench like a broiler. And I had a lovely breakfast, and I got the stuff I wanted at the grocery store. But when I got back, I was way overheated and super sweaty, so I crawled onto my bed with the A/C on and tried to cool down.

I did spend an hour or two writing this afternoon - not enough to feel great, but enough that I wasn't a total waste. Also, tonight I was supposed to go to a women's party at Hubud (a now-famous coworking space in Ubud that is frequently mentioned as one of the best co-working spaces in the world) - Sue, the girl I met on Monday, was going, as were a couple of women from Roam. However, while I had been interested (they had gotten an interesting lineup of speakers, both for the political events in the US and for Indonesian women's issues), I realized that the last thing I wanted to do tonight was socialize with a bunch of strangers.

Luckily, the women I was going to go with (Sara and Dillon) also decided to bail, and so we hung out in the kitchen with Nadia and Xavier while Nadia made dinner. This turned into quite the serendipitous, lowkey evening - we talked a lot about nothing, and then talk eventually moved into politics. It turned out to be an interesting discussion; Nadia is Swedish, with African descent, and she perhaps has some sort of policy background because her views on what's happening with the Indonesian economy were pretty nuanced.

sssanyway. We ended up on the roof to watch 'Tank Girl', which is a cult film based on a graphic novel, and it's one of Dillon's favorite movies. I enjoyed it, although the pacing was slightly off - it was postapocalyptic, but also kind of humor, which worked as a whole even though a couple of scenes dragged.

And now I need to sleep, and block the internet from trying to take over my life tomorrow - goodnight!

bad medicine is what i need

It's quite possible that I'm starting to panic over all the stuff I have to do in the next week. Things started to get real this morning...I had an appointment with a travel clinic to check in on my vaccinations, since I'm pretty serious about making sure I'm not going to get preventable tropical diseases (although many of them are unpreventable, unless you cover yourself in DEET all the time). My vaccines are mostly up to date, since I've been to India multiple times and my old employer was pretty serious about prepping me for that - but I got a flu shot, and I also got another round of typhoid vaccine (this time I'm doing the live doses that last for five years, rather than the shot that lasts for two). And she warned me about rabies and monkeys, which is not a reminder I needed, since I think monkeys are fucking creepy.

sssanyway. After that, I went to Philz and worked for awhile. Then I went to Mangosteen and had pho, and then I came home and wasn't feeling totally well, so I took a long nap instead of working. Then I called [censored] to talk about [censored]. Then I messed around and answered emails and took care of things around the house while watching 'Project Runway.'

But now I need to stop being overwhelmed by my to-do list and go to bed so that I can actually accomplish something tomorrow - goodnight!

falling out of love with molly

I feel like I should just draw a veil over today and try again tomorrow. But I at least got a bit of work done, and took a walk, and bought groceries, and set up my new phone (I'm back to Android after a sojourn in iPhone-land - thanks to my desire for the new Pixel and my more practical desire to switch to Google Fi, which will make for cheap/easy data worldwide + the ability to get better service at my parents' house). I also binged some of last season's Top Chef, which was not strictly necessary but was better than aimlessly browsing through twitter.

But tomorrow's another day, and I intend to seize it - goodnight!

find my sun in the dark side of my shadow

Today was one of those rough mornings where I thought I should tackle the manuscript head-on and instead sat around and avoided it, which always leads straight into a death spiral of doubt. This was despite getting up and making a frittata and some coffee and taking a shower early, all of which usually help to jumpstart me.

But, unlike usually, I actually remembered this afternoon (in the middle of a writing date at Starbucks with Anne) that this particular type of block is almost always because something's wrong with the story and not because I'm a lazy disaster - I wish I would have remembered this yesterday, but remembering it today is about three days earlier than I usually remember it, so I guess that's progress? Anne and I had spent the first portion of our writing date talking about all and sundry, but then after I realized the problem, she and I talked through that instead, and I think I have a better plan for how to tackle the next few scenes. Of course, that meant I didn't get that many words on the page this afternoon, but it's all good.

When we were done writing, I grabbed a few things from the grocery store next to the Starbucks (the lines were surprisingly short, thankfully), came home, and did some stuff around the house. I should have written or worked tonight, but I was feeling strangely tired, and I accidentally fell asleep at nine. So I'm going to indulge my sleepiness and go to bed, and hopefully get some decent writing done in the morning before pursuing my Thanksgiving plans. Goodnight!

today i regret the night i put that ring on

Getting ready for my trip took waaaay longer than I intended, and so I got basically no writing done today, which is frustrating - especially since I think I might have figured out what was blocking me (note to self: when you wax philosophical about how you're so self-sabotaging, remember that within a day or two, you'll probably realize that something was wrong with the story and not your ability to focus) (note to readers: you are probably becoming just as familiar with my writing patterns as I am at this point).

However, I'm all packed up, and my kitchen is cleaned out (I feel like I do this every week...oh, wait, I do do it every week), and I did my civic duty and took my library books back and also voted. Voting took forever, thanks to California's rather idiotic ballot initiatives - there were 40+ between state and city initiatives, some of which contradicted each other (there was one to abolish the death penalty and one to speed up the death penalty; there was one to raise the tax on cigarettes with the ostensible goal of saving lives and one to legalize marijuana without any apparent concern about smoking; there were two different ones on plastic bags; there were like a million things about housing and taxes and homelessness). So I read up on all of them and generally voted my conscience, and then I walked it over to City Hall and dropped it off in person. And now I would like to abstain from all further political discussion until 2020, tanks.

And now I really need to go to bed and try to get six hours of sleep (luxury!) before getting up and going to the airport - goodnight!

say hello, wave goodbye

I had the day I probably needed to have from a life standpoint, but not the day I needed to have from a word-production standpoint. It's been so long, it seems, since I was actually home that I wanted to take care of all the things - which mostly meant cooking, with some tidying up and a lot of crossing things off lists. I slept later than planned, and then I made a frittata so that I have breakfast for the next few days (until I leave again, actually) - this frittata was chopped onion, spinach, diced ham, and cheddar, and it was quite possibly the best of all the ones I've made so far. I chopped the other half of the ham and threw it in the freezer so I can make this again when I get back, and I should do the same with the spinach (and some of the other veggies in my fridge, since I'll be gone again before I can eat everything).

Then I showered and did some work until it was time to meet up with Adit for a late lunch - I hadn't seen him since before I went to Iowa back in September, and I'm unlikely to see him again for awhile, and he's on paternity leave, so it made sense to get together. We met up at Morning Due for old times' sake, which was as delightful as always (and their greek salad with chicken is incredibly yummy). His back was hurting and I was still a little surly from hitting my introvert wall, so we were rather lowkey, but it was still great to hang out.

Then I came home (with a stop at Philz) and spent way more time than I should have making an extravagant bolognese sauce (which I made three weeks ago - it's only extravagant in the sense that it takes a lot of time, not because the ingredients are particularly crazy). I'm cutting all grains again at the moment because my hands have started hurting again, which leads me to believe that I am having some sort of inflammation issue that was temporarily helped by my whole-30-ish diet last month - so when the sauce was done, I ate a bowl of it with some cheese and nothing else, and it was incredible. However, I have grand plans to make a mini zucchini lasagna with it for Wednesday/Thursday - I think it would kick the usual lasagna up a notch, and I'm eager to test it out.

And then I mostly procrastinated the evening away, since I was luxuriating in the feel of being alone - but I finally opened the manuscript and thought about it for a little bit and made some edits, so hopefully it won't be as hard to get back into it tomorrow. But tomorrow will come all too soon, so it's time for bed - goodnight!

i love cheap thrills

I caught up on a lot of things that were necessary to feel human again - three loads of laundry, for example, which I'd been putting off since getting back from Iowa thanks to my stupid cold. I also did some things that were unnecessary, but good for my sanity - I tried a new recipe for bolognese sauce, which took several hours, but the sauce was to die for (it would be great in lasagna; the gluten free penne I put it on wasn't quite as delightful, but c'est la vie). And I talked to Katie, who always delights me (especially when she teaches me a fabulously dirty word - not that she would do that, since she's an upstanding citizen, but even upstanding citizens say things like 'Poonghazi' in the current election cycle).

sssanyway. I did not, however, write as much as I had intended to, because I'm apparently a lazy wench. A lazy wench who is running very behind on her deadline...which means I should probably sleep so that I can try again tomorrow. Goodnight!

cut your teeth

Yesterday was great for writing, and today wasn't. I woke up with grand plans (despite too much coughing), but I got sidetracked by some administrative stuff, and then I couldn't get in the zone. Finally, I walked over to Fillmore and tried writing at Starbucks - but I sat next to the wrong person (a slightly batty old woman who might have been in the early stages of dementia, or maybe just doesn't have any social skills), and she kept trying to talk to me. I still got two pages, but that was a far cry from yesterday's productivity.

Then I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home, which took too long since it was peak time. Then I made soup, which also took way longer than anticipated - the recipe claimed 45mins, but it took more like 80. The soup was an attempt to rid myself of this cold once and for all - I can't have chicken noodle soup, and I'm avoiding corn, so chicken tortilla soup was also out. But I made some paleo-type chicken soup with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cauliflower, and other herbs, and it turned out pretty well. I thought it cooked down a little too much, so I added some extra liquid before storing it - but otherwise, it was what I wanted.

As I was getting ready to eat it, Chandlord showed up unexpectedly, so we caught up for awhile. After she left, I was going to write - but it still didn't happen, and now I'm tired. Tomorrow's another day, though - so I'm going to take my cough and my surliness and go to bed. Goodnight!

i've done did a lot of shit just to live this here lifestyle

Tonight was one of those nights where I went out but kinda secretly hoped to be back by ten p.m.....and instead it's a quarter til four, and Adit and Vidya and a lot of small decisions yielded a big night out. Granted, I actually got home at 2:45ish, but that's a far cry from spending the evening looking at pics of the royal tour in Canada and possibly reading something....

But it was all worth it. I spent the day working (or pretending to work, more like it), but eventually I showered and made myself pretty for an early dinner with Chandlord, Adit, and Minnie and Ambar (Minnie was a college friend; Ambar was Priyanka's friend in business school; Priyanka introduced them and they got married a month ago). We went to Dos Pistos over in North Beach - I never go to North Beach and have never been to Dos Pistos, but I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty my carnitas tacos were. At that point, I was still feeling like calling it a night early....

But then we went to the main plan for the night, which was a comedy show at Cobb's Comedy Club. The main act was Hari Kondabalu, who was extremely funny; the previous acts were all great as well, although I particularly enjoyed the guy who pretended to be his Cuban immigrant father talking about how his son (the comedian) is a total fuck-up, and who also 'translated' the song 'La Bamba' into English. But Hari Kondabalu was worth seeing - I thought his act was quite strong, and it was fun to see comedy live since it's been quite awhile since I've done that.

There was a two drink minimum at the comedy club, so Adit and I both drank boulevardiers, and Chandlord had irish coffee to keep herself going. This ended up amping us up, so the five of us walked back into the heart of North Beach to grab another drink. The cocktails at this place were tasty, and I enjoyed my bourbon continuation there. But then as I was going to order another round, I somehow inadvertently made friends with someone behind the bar, who completely unexpectedly comped me a shot of vodka (#protip: make friends with the bartender). Then, Chandlord stopped me from ordering another round because they'd decided to go elsewhere...so I thanked the bar dude and went off on my merry way (with more vodka in my belly than I had intended to have tonight).

Adit, Chandlord and I split off from Ambar (who at this point had sent Minnie home and found his friend Sriram instead) and took a lyft to Geary Club, since at this point the night had descended to full-blown nostalgia. Geary Club used to be a dive, and it still technically is (they were playing SNL on the tv and the bartender is a good thirty-forty years older than us, and we got three drinks for $14, which is noteworthy), but it feels more brightly lit and way less divey now that you can't smoke inside.

Eventually, Ambar and Sriram reconnected with us, and we went down the street and smoked hookah (extremely unusual for me, but I liked it, even after someone accidentally knocked one over and nearly set my dress on fire) Then, we went to Grubstake and had cheesy potatoes, because that's what we have to do.

And now, I need to sleep - the sun is going to rise all too soon, and I'll have to start paying the wages of my sins while also getting something done. Goodnight!

guess i better wash my mouth out with soap

Today was not a good day in the writing cave, for reasons that remain illusive to me - but now that I'm finally finally getting into the story, I'm also falling asleep over my laptop because it's time for bed. Maybe the writing didn't go that well because I just wanted to be outside - so I did take a break in the afternoon and hang out in Lafayette Park, which was nice (and looking at Danielle Steel's mansion is good for some inspiration, or at least a bit of greed). But for the most part, it was a hermity, fairly unproductive day, which was unfortunate because it was also my quietest day this week and theoretically the one where I could have gotten the most done.

But that's how it goes - and I'm going to go to bed, write today off, and start fresh early tomorrow. Goodnight!