and i'll spend all my tomorrows coming down

I made it back to ye olde Iowa without incident yesterday, although it felt like I was just barely escaping in time - I felt a baby earthquake while I was showering, and another big storm was headed in, so the fact that my flight was on time felt like a minor miracle. I was later getting to SFO than I like to be, so I was a bit rushed, but I had time for eggs and potatoes before boarding, which made being squished into coach (after failure to get an upgrade) a little more palatable. I also had a v. tasty salad in Denver, and then getting into Des Moines was a breeze.

I had intended to come straight home, but I had to go to West Des Moines to pick up a prescription, and Drewbaby texted me while I was in Denver to see if I wanted to get together. He moved to the Des Moines area recently, which is the first time since 1999 that all three of us ([censored], Drewbaby, and I] have lived in the same state. Since Drewbaby was six that year, we really don't have much experience being in the same place as adults. So, we met up for dinner, which was delightful, even if the service was absurdly slow (but the portions were huge, which meant I was able to have leftovers for lunch today rather than scrounging in my barren fridge).

When I got home last night, I stumbled around to unpack and unwind, and then slept for almost eleven hours. My mom stopped by briefly after I woke up, and then I scurried to get ready and get into town for a meeting regarding the mural event I'm getting involved in. Then I grabbed some groceries, came home, took care of a bunch of online tings, did some work for the mural project, etc. And I also made dinner - a new-to-me shrimp and broccoli stir fry that was adequately tasty and also adequately easy, and also gluten free and hopefully easy for my still-recovering-from-trip stomach.

Eventually, [censored] came home, so we talked for awhile and also watched some tv. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

and you'll begin to wonder why you came

I had a lovely day, despite the fact that it continues to be mercilessly grey and dreary. I made a lightning-quick trip to Des Moines out of sheer necessity - my tires were basically bald, so I had an appointment to get them changed, and then I picked up a bunch of alternative tile options for the bathroom, grabbed a salad to go, got a handful of groceries, and came back home. The tires are something I could have theoretically done closer to home, but the Audi is an unfamiliar vehicle in the land of tricked-out pickups, so I thought the city would be a better place for such service.

The tile, of course, could not be done closer to home - I had picked up trim pieces for the shower, but we decided they weren't quite the right depth, so I got some more tile (and some more shower shelves) and returned a previous set of shower shelves. And the groceries perhaps could have been done closer to home, but I'm excited to have nice-looking blueberries for my oatmeal this week.

sssanyway, I was home by 3:45, which was good. On the way, I listened to part of Prince Harry's memoir - it's amazing how that family has so much innate privilege, and also so much built-in hierarchy on which to treat each other badly. Also, his recollections of his mom's death are unbearably sad. There's a lot of memoir to get through, which will take awhile since I usually only listen to audiobooks in the car - but I would say, without going into any of the rest of it, that his hatred of the British press is entirely justified.

When I got home, I procrastinated for awhile, said farewell to [censored], and made myself some v. delicious salmon teriyaki with roasted broccoli and rice. Then, I talked to Veronica for awhile, which was what I needed. I also checked in on the Iowa State score, which was great (we beat Texas!). And then I finished reading A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE - it's a bizarre space opera that I think I enjoyed? Actually, I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it. And now i want to read the sequel, but I also have a million other books on my list, so we'll see.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

i skip stones and wonder how long till i'm discovered?

I'm preparing to hunker down for the next few days - we're headed into a winter storm warning with -40 wind chills, which is putting a serious damper on Christmas. In fact, Christmas appears to be mostly canceled - I was prepping for Aunt B and Uncle B to stay with me, and we were going to make all sorts of food for them + Kathy and Drewbaby (and Drewbaby's girlfriend), but as of right now it looks like travel is going to be too treacherous. After canceling several covid Christmases, this is unfortunate, but hopefully we can get together some other time soon.

Despite that, I still needed to get a whole bunch of stuff in preparation - mostly house stuff (i.e. backsplash tile, undermount lights, etc), and also a couple of final presents + some groceries. So, I took advantage of the relatively balmy weather (14 degrees!) to dash up to Des Moines and run a bunch of errands. I was on a flat-out pace to get to everything and still get home before dark, but I successfully accomplished all of my missions (tile store, Container Store, mall, Lowes, Home Depot, Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, premium gas for my fancy car that I can't get in my town). So, I can still cook the pared-down holiday menu + feed me and [censored] the next couple of days, as long as we don't lose power.

When I got home, I unloaded all the stuff so that it wouldn't freeze immediately, and then I ate some leftover chili and took care of some house tings. Eventually, [censored] showed up, and so we talked for a bit. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

while my blood's still flowing and my heart's still beating like a hammer

I had a v. busy day and I'm happy with what I accomplished - we'll see how I feel about my progress tomorrow when I'm able to review it in daylight. When I woke up this morning, I immediately got to work on my bedroom - I wanted to spray the ceiling today, but I had a "hard stop" (as people say at work, although that vocabulary is slipping away from me) at 11:45, which added some time pressure. However, I managed to get it done - it took some additional prep time to seal the last bits of plastic, prep the sprayer, open all the paint, etc. But the spraying itself took less than an hour, and that was even with a major debacle with the spray tip guard that resulted in paint leaking where it shouldn't have leaked (but, as far as I can tell, no damage was done).

So, I sprayed the ceiling, wrapped up the paint and dunked the spray gun in water so that I wouldn't have to clean up immediately, and took a v. brief shower. I was five minutes late for my 'hard stop', but on time enough that I was able to do some [censored] with [censored]. Then, I ran some errands in Des Moines - this was perhaps not entirely necessary, but I need to buy a fridge and a stove, and the Labor Day sales are pretty good. So I did another round of touring Best Buy and Lowes to investigate tings and reexamine other tings, and it was pretty fruitful. I think I'm getting close to making some decisions, but we'll see.

Then I sped home, where I promptly did a bit of minor touching up of the ceiling paint and then removed all the tape and plastic from the walls and baseboards. Overall I think it looks pretty great and I don't think I have much touching up to do, but we'll see how it looks tomorrow. I still have to clean up all the drop cloths, vacuum, and put away all my painting supplies, but the project is close to done and I'm delighted that I'll be able to get my bedroom properly set up soon.

I rounded out the evening with some leftover fish/potatoes/green beans and a bit of procrastination. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

this car drives all by itself

I'm in ye olde Iowa, after a fairly uneventful trip. This was the same flight I took here three weeks ago, but I'm only staying until Monday night - I'm here purely to pick out cabinets, which means I'm looking at swatches in various lights today and tomorrow and then meeting up with the kitchen person on Monday to finalize my choices. I kind of regret coming just for the weekend since I have a million things to do in Denver right now - but once I get back there, I can hermit to my heart's content and order takeout / perhaps see some of the people I didn't really get to say goodbye to at work.

sssanyway, I got to the airport early enough to have a proper breakfast, and then I slept most of the way to Des Moines. [censored] picked me up and we made a stop at a home improvement store to get some stuff for my house; I am capable of paying for things but not capable of lifting things over pickup tailgates, so I was perhaps only marginally useful for this errand. But we got what we needed, and [censored] only [censored] a little bit, and then we drove to southern Iowa. Along the way, we stopped at Taco John's - the one we went to has the weirdest drive-through I've ever seen (a u-shape that is v. difficult to navigate), but I was v. pleasantly surprised by my Super Potato Olés (basically nachos but with tater tot rounds instead of chips), and also happy that they were gluten free.

It's a million degrees here, so we didn't feel like doing much after getting back to my house. We did run out to the parents' house to say hi, drop off sweet corn, and pick up the cabinet samples that my mom had graciously retrieved for me. Then I made some cold brew coffee, took care of some tings, took a brief nap, took a brief shower, and ran to get a few groceries. Eventually, we had dinner with the parents - my mom made sweet corn (the first I've had this season, and it was great), and my dad grilled brats and hot dogs, and it was all tasty. There was also leftover pineapple upside down cake for dessert, so I'd say I got my carbs in for the day.

I then spent the rest of the evening saying that I needed to do stuff / sleep while instead watching YouTube videos with [censored]. But I came up to my office an hour or so ago and actually did do some tings, so at least I have that feeling of mild accomplishment to lull me to sleep. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

like i can tell that my luck's gonna change

I had a pretty good day, but I flew back to Denver and the scramble to get ready took it out of me. It started by not getting enough sleep the last couple of nights (hence the lack of blogging), and so I was super tired when I woke up. It didn't help that I woke up early to say goodbye to [censored] before he left on an errand, and then instead of going back to sleep, I randomly drove to the next town over to take another v. brief look at cabinet options.

One of the things that happened yesterday was that a guy came over to give me a quote on remodeling my kitchen in Iowa. I've been talking to someone about cabinets, but it was in a somewhat non-decision-making way - but Randy finished most of the inside of my parents' house when they built it, and he's generally acknowledged to be the best around. He took a look at the project and decided he can fit me in in November(ish), which would be great, but requires ordering the cabinets in the next few weeks. Of course, I'm still dithering between going bold with paint, going with the boring light color I originally scoped, or taking a left turn and going for a walnut/white mix that might be the winner.

In classic #smalltownlife vibes, though, Randy quoted me an initial price per hour (which is relatively low, especially compared to what I would pay anywhere else), and then without even being prompted offered to cut another $5/hr off that because of my family. Small town vibes are taking me far - [censored] also got my mail started because he ran into our mailman at a store and told him we'd put up a mailbox (which he'd seen and admired) and were ready to start getting mail there. And [censored] called his friend the county assessor and got a long-gone hot tub taken off my tax assessment with approximately 30sec of conversation. There are disadvantages to #smalltownlife (namely, I continue to be depressed at the lack of food delivery), but many tings are easy to get done.

sssanyway, after my errand this morning, I hurriedly shoved some clothes in a bag, tidied up a bit, and then caught a ride with my parents to Des Moines. They dropped me off at the airport, which felt like old pre-pandemic times before I started driving most trips. I was through security in five minutes and had a salad while doing some writing. My flight to Denver was uneventful, but it took me approx 30min to get out of the airport - getting out of the airport and into town takes almost as long as the flight itself.

When I got home, I crashed - I took a nap, messed around, ordered sushi for dinner, and nursed a massive headache that was likely caused by weird sleeping, weird eating, and altitude. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i'm the house you hold your kickback at

I'm in ye olde Iowa after a long but uneventful day. I worked + did some last minute things around the house for several hours, but I went to the airport pretty early so that I wouldn't catch the beginning of rush hour. That meant I had a couple of hours to kill in the Amex lounge, where I had two glasses of wine and some snacks while answering more email. Then I grabbed a burrito bowl, went to my gate, and flew to Des Moines. My flight was delayed by about 25min, which was particularly unfortunate for [censored], who was killing time in the city waiting to pick me up. But we had a nice conversation on the drive home, and then we said hi to our parents and chatted for a bit before it became clear that it was bedtime.

So, I should probably go to bed too - goodnight!

the kind that blindside you at four p.m. on some idle tuesday

I'm v. v. v. v. v. tired and should probably have gone to bed an hour ago, even though it's currently only 10:30pm in Iowa. The last couple of days have been a lot (and a lot of time spent in my 2007 RAV4, which I sold to my mom after buying my Audi; I never planned to spend this much time in it again). Yesterday we took my dad up to Des Moines for a procedure, which ended up taking forever because the doctor had to do an emergency procedure for someone else first, and then they decided to keep him overnight.

This news of course came after [censored] and I had spent most of the day sitting in the RAV4 staring at a tree, since only one person is allowed into the hospital with the patient due to covid. Also due to covid, we couldn't sit at a coffee shop, and it was too cold to sit outside. So I spent as much time in the RAV4 yesterday as I would have spent if I'd driven from Denver to Iowa, which is really too much.

sssanyway, I drove my mom back home last night, then back to Des Moines this morning. Luckily my dad got out around noon, so we drove home (with a stop in Indianola for lunch w/[censored], who was on his way to [censored]). My dad had to go to the hospital here for his usual antibiotics after, and I used that time to start prepping some instant pot beef stew. I also talked to Alyssa, which was great. And then I finished making the stew, went into town to harvest my dad's latest asparagus haul (I suspect he has a thief pillaging his asparagus patch since there wasn't much there), ate with my parents, talked to my dad, etc.

And now I really need to go to bed so that I can attempt to focus tomorrow - focusing is something I am having a terrible time doing right now, but I live in hope. Goodnight!

starting from zero got nothing to lose

Today was the last day of my week of working from Iowa....which means vacation starts now! Of course, I had a ton to do before I left, so I got up around 7:30, showered, made some coffee, and then slogged from 9ish until after six. It was a constant slog, too - I didn't have as many meetings as I did the last couple of days, but I had a million things to cross off my to-do list, so I had to stay buckled down.

But, I got to the point where I felt comfortable calling it, so I guess I'm on vacation. Of course there are still a few things I want to try to do this weekend before being off-off, but they're minor and won't take much time. And then I can slide straight into writing / family stuff / Iowa stuff for a few weeks, which will be delightful.

When I finished working, it was just in time for supper - my mom made a ribeye roast (similar to prime rib) and corn on the cob and layered lettuce, and it was perfect. We had some drama after dinner involving a raccoon and a kitten, but everyone who was meant to survive is still alive, so I guess it wasn't that much drama after all. Then I hung out in the kitchen and inadvertently got into a political discussion with my parents, but we went to our corners after eleven, so I've been unwinding / taking care of some tiny bits of work stuff since then.

And now it's time for bed - I want to spend some time tomorrow thinking about how to maximize my vacation, or at least how to effectively annoy [censored]. Goodnight!

chandelier

I worked a ton today, so I really need to sign off and decompress for approx thirty seconds before going to sleep. I got up in time to do a few hours of work before my meetings began - thanks to be in the central time zone, my first meeting wasn't until eleven, so I was able to crank through stuff this morning. But then I had a meeting from 11-12, a break for lunch, and then meetings from 1-6.

At that point, I had to switch into Iowa mode - my mom made sweet corn for dinner (the first of the season! my dad picked it up in Des Moines today), so we ate corn as one should in July. Then, my mom and I went into town for a sort-of socially distanced (at least it was outdoors) gathering of some women that we're in a club with. It was good to see them all, and I sincerely hope I didn't take them coronavirus (although some of them are being less careful than I am, so ultimately I probably wouldn't feel compelled to take the blame on that one).

Then we came home, and I've been working for almost three hours - which means I should throw in the towel and go to bed. Goodnight!

shuffle to the left let's glide now

I meant to go to bed an hour ago (the story of my life). Today was a v. v. long day - I woke up at 3:45 after a few hours of fitful slumber, which is the equivalent of waking up at 2:45am in Colorado. My flight was at six, so I left the hotel at 4:45, took the shuttle for a few minutes, and was through security by five - the DSM airport is remarkably efficient. That gave me time to grab an iced coffee before boarding, which was an attempt to wake up...

...but I took half a dramamine before takeoff, which may have knocked me out. I did write for a little bit on the flight (in between naps), and then we landed around seven a.m. When I got to Denver, I grabbed another iced coffee, grabbed my car, and drove to the office, where I made it in time to enjoy some free breakfast before the long slog began.

So I worked all day with varying degrees of energy, came home a little before five, messed around on my phone, and took a v. necessary nap. Then I did three loads of laundry and worked for an hour on day job stuff, and then I changed my sheets and unpacked and tried to straighten up. And now, it's definitely time to sleep - goodnight!

the people of the town are strange, and they're proud of where they came

Just like the past two days, I spent much of today driving up to Des Moines and back. [censored] bought a [censored] from Uncle B and needed a ride up to retrieve it, so I volunteered as tribute. We stopped in town first so that [censored] could run into the courthouse while I washed my car, and then we drove up to the city. The drive was entirely uneventful and filled with pleasant conversation, although it took slightly longer than I would have liked because I couldn't speed aggressively - the cops are out for a 4/20-related drug dragnet all weekend, and my car here still has Colorado plates, which seemed like a good way for me to get tased.

sssanyway, I dropped [censored] off at [censored], then went to a Caribou Coffee and wrote for an hour. The writing was great and the Caribou Coffee was quite nice, so that was a lovely way to spend an hour in the city. Then I drove home, although I met [censored] in Indianola, where we had a quick lunch at [censored]. The rest of the drive was good enough; when I got home, I made a quick stop at the house, then took [censored] into town to pick up [censored] (and drop some stuff off at the secondhand store).

Then I came home and was v. lazy the rest of the day - I journaled a little, took a long nap, read a little, and then enjoyed supper with the family. I spent a couple more hours hanging out in the kitchen talking to my parents - but now I'm wiped out and it's time for bed. Goodnight!

your hand in mine is all i want

I'm in ye olde Iowa, where I arrived yesterday after a day that was simultaneously v. relaxing and a total mad scramble. I woke up at seven yesterday and was going to write, but instead drank coffee and dealt with house stuff (both the house I'm buying and the house I'm renting). Then I showered, tidied up a bit, started packing....and suddenly realized there was a risk I was going to be late.

So I finished packing in a rather panicked fashion, then drove to the airport. I was actually early enough to have a salad and a glass of rosé at Elway's, which calmed my nerves a bit - which was a good thing, since it was turbulent going both up and down. [censored] picked me up, and we had supper at a Mexican restaurant called Old West (not sure why their 'fajitas Montana' had pineapple in it, but I didn't try it, and if that was the only weird thing on the menu, I suppose I'll take it). Then we drove home, after a brief stop at a v. sketchy home improvement store, and I spent the rest of the evening talking to the parents.

That trend continued today - I spent most of the day hanging out in the kitchen, showing them photos and videos and paint chips, among other things. However, we had to leave the comfort of our middle-of-nowhere to drive up to Des Moines. We had dinner with Aunt B, Uncle B, Aunt Kathy, and Drewbaby at a Brazilian steakhouse that opened last year. It was really really delicious - lots of different, excellent meats (although I ate three of the sausages, even though they were probably the cheapest thing there, because I couldn't help myself), and lots of tasty sides and salads.

Of course, it was weird that Mark wasn't there, and will continue to be weird. But there's nothing anyone can do about that - so now that I'm home and in my bed, I think I'll sleep. Goodnight!

forever may not be long enough

I'm back in ye olde Iowa, a little more than a month since I last left it. I looked at my calendar today and realized that I have only spent seven business days in the Boulder office in the last six weeks - it's amazing that I'm still employed. Granted, that covered Christmas, a nearly two-week trip to California (in which I went into the MTV/SF offices every day), a massive sinus infection, and last week's vacation...but still. By the time I get back to work it will be seven days in seven weeks, which has to be some kind of record.

sssanyway, I'm avoiding my emotions by typing that. I woke up this morning and it was a mad scramble to get out the door, but I think I have appropriate clothing for the week ahead (mourning, with enough coat/hat/glove/mitten investment to get me through the next polar vortex). I made it to the airport, returned my car to the same parking lot from whence I'd picked it up last night, checked a bag, made it through security, scarfed down a burrito bowl, grabbed some coffee, and made it to my gate (at the very farthest reached of the terminal) just in time to find out that my flight was delayed by 30mins. That 30mins could have enabled me to have a margarita, but since the gate was in the farthest reaches (literally going off the end of the terminal rather than being perpendicular to the terminal like all the other gates), there was no time for margaritas. Sigh.

But the flight was otherwise fine, despite being on a tiny tiny plane (we boarded outside via walking up a ramp, and I had a window/aisle seat and had to be careful not to hit my head standing up, which should tell you something). My parents picked me up in Des Moines, and then we drove to Altoona, where my dad schmoozed with some people for a few minutes before we met up with Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, Aunt Becky, and Uncle Brian (who now goes by 'Brian') at The Big Steer. We walked in right at five, and the place was packed shortly thereafter - understandably so, since my ribeye was the best steak I've had in forever (even better than the steak I had in Oceanside, which I thought was outstanding...and this one was half the price, which is still $10 higher than what my parents pay in our town, so as usual the economics of my life is confusing).

Of course, it was a somewhat melancholy meal; the only other time I've eaten there, Uncle Mark was there too, and he was never far from any of our thoughts. I'll be up around Des Moines quite a bit this week, but tonight my parents and I came home, where we (or at least Mom) watched the Iowa State basketball game. And now, about two hours after I'd planned to, I need to go to sleep - I'm going to do some day job stuff tomorrow so that I'm not completely AWOL, so sleep would be a good idea. Goodnight!

it's hard to say it, time to say it

Wow, last night's entry went totally off the rails. I was falling asleep as I was typing, and somehow I thought that I had cleaned it up and written something passably coherent, but apparently I was incorrect. I wasn't even that intoxicated - just ready to fall asleep, and my brain started playing tricks on my fingers.

sssanyway. Last night did not end at Maven - we had dinner at Maven at 6:30, then headed toward the Mint, where we were planning to do karaoke. On the way, Adit and I walked by the apartment where we lived together, and while the smell of urine at the Safeway down the street and the crazy homeless guy weaving around on the sidewalk barefoot while holding his shoes reminded me why I left San Francisco, I was struck by some intense waves of nostalgia. Or maybe that was just the urea causing hallucinations.

sssanyway again. We discovered that the old bar down the street from us, which used to be the Residence and was our third or fourth choice of bars when we couldn't get into Churchill or Blackbird, has (as of this week) become a tiki bar called Last Rites. I normally don't go to tiki bars two nights in a row, but we went into this one and it was quite delightful. It was too crowded for us to sit down, but we had a quick drink there, and the rum went a long way toward helping me catch up to my friends after driving them around wine country all day (although since they went for a rum drink as well, I was destined to never catch up).

Then we went to karaoke at the Mint, which was super fun - Claude, Vidya and I all managed to get songs in, which felt like a real accomplishment. Then we adjourned to Grubstake, where we finished the night eating plate of cheese (and bought more bottles of hot sauce for the road).

Today, of course, I had to get myself out of bed and to the airport, since my sojourn in the city of sin is over for this round. I had a direct flight to Des Moines (yay) on Frontier (boo) - I'd never flown them before, and while it wasn't the worst, it certainly wasn't the best. It didn't help that Frontier flies out of Terminal 1, which is a dismal hellhole compared to the renovated areas of T 2/3; it also didn't help that the air outside was also a dismal hellhole due to wildfire smoke, and so my flight was delayed by an hour. And also, some kid threw up in the check-in line and I heard the ticket agent tell his grandmother that they might have to stop him from flying; apparently he faked his way into seeming better, because when our plane was finally ready to take off, we had to wait while they kicked the grandmother/kid off the flight and cleaned up more vomit. #ihatepeople

But the flight itself was uneventful. When I landed in Iowa, my parents picked me up; we went straight to Johnny's for dinner, which was fairly unexciting/disappointing (the food, not my parents). And now that I'm home and have taken a look at my hopeless work to-do list, I need to go to bed - I'm working from home tomorrow and Tuesday, and I need to get a lot done, so wish me luck. Goodnight!

flies in the vasoline we are

I'm in ye olde Iowa for the weekend - I wasn't ready to take off today from a work standpoint, but I was definitely ready from a life standpoint. Or maybe I wasn't totally ready...I barely made it to work in time for breakfast because I had to finish packing, take out the trash, etc., etc.

Once I got to the office, I should have slogged really hard to get through as much stuff as possible, but instead I spent some quality time joking around with people. I learned that this guy Mike grew up in Germany as a small child, where they apparently have something called Krampus (the opposite of Kris Kringle) who eats bad children's families at Christmastime. This convinced me that instead of doing a Secret Santa at work this year, we should do Secret Krampus and just play pranks and steal people's stuff. Sounds like a great idea, amirite?

So, after learning a lot of facts that explained a lot about Mike, I did manage to do a bit of work. I also had a meeting w/my VP, but it all went smoothly, so that was good. Then I ate a quick lunch, left for the airport, and drove all the way through snow (I maintain it was snow; one of the Californians I sit by thought it might be hail, but I was pretty convinced that none of them knew any of the words for the myriad forms of frozen precipitation). I worked for an hour when I got to the airport, then boarded my tiny plane. I read the whole way to Iowa, which was lovely...

...and then my parents picked me up and we went to Johnny's for our usual post-airport supper. I had a pretty tasty ribeye and a baked potato, which was great. Then we successfully made it home, and I stayed up later than I should have talking to my parents (and even later than that unpacking and messing around online). But now I need to stop messing around and get some sleep - goodnight!

i want to shut down the club with you

I'm back in Boulder, but I wasn't convinced that this would happen. When I woke up this morning, I don't know exactly what the temperature was, but it was something like -24 (with additional windchill). That, as you might know, is really fucking cold. So cold that vehicles that had been left outside were in danger of not starting. Luckily, [censored] had put his car in my mom's spot in the garage yesterday, so it started (unlike [censored]'s other car, which was outside and totally incapacitated).

And, while I was enjoying a leisurely morning of getting ready, finishing packing, making sure my mom's TV/Roku/Chromecast/Sling were playing well with each other and the wifi, and eating breakfast, I got a text with an airport scouting report - Drewbaby was supposed to leave Iowa last night, but his flight last night was canceled (non-weather), and so he was on a 6am flight this morning. But, that flight didn't leave at 6am because all of the deicers were broken *and* none of the refueling trucks would start.

So, I was half-convinced that I would be stranded in Iowa. But I finished packing, said my goodbyes to my parents, and then hitched a ride with [censored], since he was headed north (albeit several hours earlier than he probably would have gone if I hadn't coerced him into giving me a ride). We had an uneventful ride, although it was still super cold - but luckily [censored] has heated seats, and I was barely in the cold long enough to be affected.

And, surprisingly, everything worked out okay - [censored] dropped me at the curb, and while there were a lot more people than usual milling around the airport, I had no issues at check-in or security. I had time for a quick, somewhat sad salad, and then they actually boarded almost on time, and we took off only ten minutes late. We somehow jumped the queue on a lot of other delayed flights (although Drewbaby had already made it out), but I'm guessing they flew in from Denver with enough fuel to get themselves back (Drewbaby reported that some of the flights that took off earlier in the morning were making stops in Cedar Rapids and other nearby cities to refuel, but we didn't have to do that).

So, I got to Denver with no issues, retrieved my bag, and found the bus to Boulder. I was lucky to get a seat - the bus was totally full, and I was surprised that they let people stand in the center aisle - it's 30mi of freeway from the airport to the first stop, and that's a long time to stand in a moving vehicle. Also, the bus was so heavy with all our bags and all the people that the last two people to board (so, standing nearest the driver) had to get off before we could leave so that the driver could get the bus to lift up from its parked/accessible position, which it apparently couldn't do with the weight of two extra people (?!!). But, as I said, I had a seat, so I read/napped the whole way, and no one died, so it all worked out.

Then I walked home (slightly too far from the bus station with a heavy suitcase, but it was only 12min and I didn't want to wait for a lyft), called my parents, unpacked, did a couple of loads of laundry, read, and watched a couple of episodes of Top Chef. And now I should sleep, since work starts again tomorrow and I'm not ready to confront reality...but I'll survive. Goodnight!

he knows when you're awake

I haven't been in the mood to blog the last couple of nights...and even if I was in the mood, I was always falling asleep on my feet by the time I got to bed, which meant any post would have been nearly incoherent. The last couple of days have been delightful, with lots of playing and no work at all (although I need to do some writing-related work tomorrow for sure).

Tuesday was mostly a lazy recovery day after the holidays, and we played Codenames in the evening before I eventually played Civilization until very late. Yesterday I woke up and went to Des Moines, where I got some jewelry cleaned/checked and stocked up on bougie necessities (a case of wine to leave here for future trips, along with a bunch of stuff from Whole Foods). It was v. cold yesterday (like -4 when I left the house)...but that's nowhere near as cold as it's going to get this weekend. And then when I got home, we ate ham and scalloped potatoes and played Ticket to Ride ([censored] won, alas). And then I didn't play Civilization - instead, I stayed up talking to my dad until after one a.m. But then I played Civ until about three, which made for a very late night...

...which meant I didn't crawl out of bed until eleven this morning. I spent most of the afternoon hanging out in the kitchen with my mom, and I also made chocolate chip chewies - I haven't made them in forever, but I still remember the recipe by heart, and they turned out perfectly even with gluten free flour. We had tasty beef and mashed potatoes for supper, and then we were going to play a game, but everyone seemed to be falling asleep instead...except for me, and so I (you guessed it) played Civilization.

The Civ marathon will end soon enough, though - it's a good end-of-year palate cleanser, but I'm starting to itch to accomplish something meaningful (like writing a book, or at least journaling regularly again; or cooking tasty paleo things; or getting deep into financial planning; or any number of other things that don't involve playing Civ). But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

she sets the city on fire

I have successfully arrived in ye olde Iowa after an easyish travel day punctuated by mild annoyances. I woke up this morning, finished packing, moved my car down the street (they're trimming trees in my complex today, which was v. poorly timed since it meant I had to leave my car at the office), and then took care of the last pieces of stuff around the house so that I could vacate it in good shape. Then I stopped at REI, which is practically a 24/7 operation in Boulder, and bought a new long coat - my previous long coat is a little too tight over sweaters, and it's about to get cold as fuck in Boulder, which reminded me that I need to get a legit winter coat while I still have a chance. No, the patagonia down jacket that I wear all the time in SF/Boulder is not sufficient for winter, even if SF in summer often feels like winter.

Then I went to the office and slogged as much as I could, interrupted by an alcohol emergency (long story) that necessitated me dropping some champagne off somewhere before taking a lyft to the bus station. I tried the bus to the airport for the first time and it worked out quite well - it was definitely cheaper than parking at the airport or taking a lyft all the way there (the bus is ~$9, but my company bought us bus passes, so it was free except for the lyft to get to the bus station). It took longer than driving would have, but all in all it was a pretty pleasant experience (although it was super hot on the bus, but I've already forgotten that pain, so we're all good).

When I got to the airport, I stopped in for a snack at Cantina Grill, where I worked on my laptop until I realized I needed to leave immediately to walk to my gate. My flight was slightly oversold, so I didn't want to be late to board - especially because the plane fit like eight people, so any late arrival would have been super obvious. Okay, it fit more than eight, but not a lot more - I had both a window and an aisle seat because the plane had a seat on one side and two seats on the other, if that tells you anything about the comfort level of the flight....

We were twenty minutes late taking off, but we made up some time in the air, and when I landed my parents and [censored] were waiting. We had dinner at Johnny's, as per usual (they carry one of my favorite pinot noirs (Meiomi), which was nice even though I wasn't particularly in love with the meal this time) - but any lack in food was made up for by our favorite waiter, who we always happen to see when we go there. Then we drove home, and now i need to sleep so that I can work tomorrow (working from home to get some stuff done, but then hopefully taking the rest of the break completely off if I can swing it). Goodnight!

chasing stars

I ran tons of errands today, and I'm wiped out as a result - it's hard to leave the house when you're not used to it, but my mission was vital and my sacrifice was therefore necessary. I went to Des Moines to take care of business related to my trip - I set up a post office box (for my alter ego), went to AAA to get an international driver's permit in case I decide to rent a scooter in Bali (I'm entirely unclear on the odds of whether renting a scooter is a bad idea or a terrible idea, but I'm going to find out!), went to Whole Foods to get gluten free snacks for the plane (and enjoy a surprisingly wonderful gluten free sandwich from their deli), went to Container Store to get more containers, and then went to the mall, where I wandered around and bought some stuff at Sephora and sat at Starbucks for an hour to get some work done.

While I was running all these errands, it was approximately 15 degrees with crazy wind - so crazy that one of my lids from Container Store blew out of my cart as I was going to my car and almost hit an oncoming vehicle. But I managed not to freeze, even though I stayed in the city until late - I had dinner plans with Aunt Becky and her scandalous pirate husband (aka Uncle Brian). They took me to Django, which is a French-type place downtown, and I really liked it a lot. I had the niçoise salad, which is an unusual order for me since I usually go for steak frites at French places - but it's been awhile since I've had fish, so the ahi tuna was great, and I thought the salad was excellent.

The company was excellent, too - we caught up on a bunch of stuff, and were there for over 2.5hrs, which was v. nice. But I had to call it a night then, since I still had to drive an hour and a half to get home - through deer-infested wilderness, which always adds drama to the drive.

I made it safely, spent some time playing around, and then did some more travel prep - ordering things on Amazon that I didn't get today (mostly mosquito repellent) and booking my tickets from Bali to London. I thought it was probably a good idea to settle my onward voyage before going to Bali in case the immigration people want to see proof that I'll eventually leave, and so I booked a flight to Singapore, a night in a hotel in Singapore, and then a flight to London the next day. All in, this was ~$400 - I used points to buy the SIN->LHR flight (business class for free!). The flight to Singapore could have been $65 instead of $200, but I like to survive my flights (knock on wood), and the budget carriers in Asia don't seem to be uniformly safe, so I went with a known quantity instead. Of course, I'm flying Malaysian for the SIN->LHR, who lost two planes awhile back...but given that one of them was shot down by zee russians (allegedly, of course) over Ukraine, and the other was never found but was quite likely a suicidal pilot, I'm chalking those up to bad luck instead of a reason to be worried.

So, that's more detail than you need, but I'm geeking out over travel planning, so get used to it. But now I'm desperate to sleep - goodnight!