up on a hill across the blue lake

I had a v. nice day, even if it did involve going to the dirty east bay. It helped that I got a lot of sleep last night and so was starting to feel normal again - and I also wrote for an hour or so this morning, which felt great. Then, I walked down Post Street to a rental car place; while my current abode in Japantown is still quite nice and the neighborhood here is generally good, it seems that the Tenderloin is encroaching on the eastern part of Post. Post was always just a little sketch, but I walked it all the time from Lower Nob Hill to the SF office (or Union Square and the mall) back when I lived at Chandlord's place. I would still walk it today, but it felt grimier. So far my impression of SF has been mostly positive (it's definitely livelier than it was during any visit I've made during the pandemic), but I'll be curious to see how the rest of the week shakes out.

sssanyway, I picked up a rental car and immediately remembered how to drive in the city, which is a good thing since it's a next-level mess of one-way streets and ill-enforced traffic laws. I drove across the bay to Oakland, where I was 40mins early for my lunch (unheard of), so I sat in my car and wrote. Then, I met up with Victor for lunch, which was a real blast from the past - I'm guessing it's been well over a decade since we last saw each other. He was in my freshman dorm at Stanford, and we kept in touch for several years after college - but he and his wife moved away at some point, and we fell out of touch. We reconnected via LinkedIn recently, though, and decided to get together since I was going to be here. It was really wonderful to see him - and a little strange to pick up with someone again after fifteen years, but it seems to be one of my skills.

After we had lunch, I drove to Berkeley and wrote for another hour at a way-too-cool-for-me coffee shop (the building felt like it was just a hallway and everyone was sitting on the floor because there were no chairs (although there were posh cushions for the floor), and grabbed a table outside that was on a fairly steep hill). Eventually, John joined me, and we caught up for forty-five minutes or so. He was at my party with Jess on Saturday, but we hadn't really chatted, so it was nice to say hi.

Then I drove back to the evil city, and was pleasantly surprised that traffic wasn't a nightmare. When I got here, I wrote for just a bit more and then walked over to The Progress to meet up with Claude. We spent a couple of hours eating a variety of tasty things that I absolutely can't get in Iowa, and we also went deep on each other's lives. I may have convinced her to come visit me in Iowa, especially by offering up [censored]'s services to let her son play with a tractor or excavator, which would probably be the best thing to ever happen to that kid.

After we parted ways, I walked back to my hotel and met up with Chandlord, who was here for a drink with one of her coworkers who is also staying here. So, we chatted for a bit (and I referenced my blog to settle a dispute, which the coworker was in awe of). And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

i don't wanna rain on your crazy parade, buddy

Today is essentially my last day in the city of sin, and while my body will be happy to get back to avoiding gluten and getting eight hours of sleep, my heart is happy that I made the trip here.

I woke up this morning in Tracy, and Jen, Joann, Jane, and I finished our sleepover with breakfast, which was basically last night's leftover dinner. We had enough tater tot casserole left for all of us, and we put a fried egg on top of each serving, which made it a total winner. I'm tempted to experiment with making a breakfast tater tot casserole (with sausage and maybe some peppers instead of the carrots/onions), but we'll see what I discover. We also had leftover apricot salad, which is also a nice breakfast treat. So, all in all, my attempt to bring Midwestern culinary delights to California was a success.

Eventually, I left Tracy (while the rest of them stayed and continued hanging out) to drive to Alameda to see Claudia. Claude's mom was visiting, so we had a nice chat - I hadn't seen her since Claudia's wedding, but it was great to see that she's doing well. She brought tamales with her, which were delish. And I took some leftover jello to Claudia and her son Téo - Téo wasn't really interested in lunch since he'd already eaten, but he had a small scoop of jello and then demanded three more scoops of jello with a crazy gleam in his eyes.

So, we had to take him to the park to burn off a bunch of sugar. Claudia and I talked while watching him play in a sand pit, and it was actually pretty delightful - the weather was nice, Claudia and I were overdue for a chat, and Téo (who turns three soon) is perhaps the cutest child in the history of children (no offense to my other friends' children). It was a really nice afternoon, so hopefully we'll get a chance to do it again sometime soon.

Then, I parted ways with them and drove to Berkeley to see John and Jess. I did not see their kid, so I have no report about Ian since they dropped him at his grandparents' place. But I'm happy to report that John and Jess are doing well. We went to Saul's Deli, which is where we always go for breakfast, and I was surprised to see that it's open for dinner and also serves surprisingly fancy (and inappropriately named) cocktails. So we had latkes, and I had a sandwich with roast beef / harissa / horseradish / swiss that was excellent, and John and I each had a cocktail and split another while Jess enjoyed her fancy healthier beverage choice.

And then, I parted ways with them, drove back to the city of sin, and met up with Chandlord. We were supposed to grab a drink, but instead we stayed in - and I somehow, some way, tricked her into watching SAHARA (and paying to rent it). This is basically the opposite of doing something nice for someone who hosted you. I, of course, still love it, but Chandlord seemed rather displeased with a variety of plot holes that I thought she made much too big a deal of. C'est la vie, I guess.

And now, I need to sleep so that I can pack up tomorrow - I'm moving to an airport hotel tomorrow night and doing some exploration of the south bay before that, so I want to get out of the city in good time. Goodnight!

the city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps

I had such a wonderful day - it's amazing how a random Thursday can be great when I am in San Francisco and don't have to work. I spent the morning getting ready, drinking cold brew, and journaling...and then I had a call with Alyssa, which was excellent. This week has been quite stressful, but time off is already helping me to decompress.

After I talked to Alyssa, I walked over to the Ferry Building, where I browsed and then got lunch (a gluten free BLTA) and snacks (a gluten free bear claw) at Mariposa Bakery. They are entirely gluten free, and it was nice to take my sandwich out back and people watch near the ferries. Later, I went to Yerba Buena Gardens, where I meet up with Jess for an extended chat in the afternoon sun. My beloved Samovar had been replaced (at least for now) by a pizza place, so we shunned it and just hung out on the lawn. It was a delight to see her, and I am v happy to hear that leaving her last company has gone so well for her. And we took a selfie with the Shaking Man statue, which always amuses me.

After we parted ways, I ran a quick errand at Nordstrom, came back to my hotel (which took too long because of a random fire at Fifth and Mission, which is par for the course there), changed, and then met up with Adit (some people call him the cat) at the

Embarcadero bart station. We took the train to the dirty east bay, where John picked us up at the station so that we could have an old school night out.

We started at North Light (after attempting to start at Snail Bar and discovering it was too popular), and it was perfect. My first cocktail was a Spice Runner, which was a refined, low-key tiki-type drink, and I adored it. My second drink was the Jaguar Shark, which was good, but Adit lured me into lapping up the topping (egg white, which is standard in a cocktail, and squid ink, which is definitely not) like I was a cat with a saucer of cream, and I've got to say that cocktails with squid ink as a topper aren't meant to be lapped. But maybe squid ink and caviar would be a nice way to step up future Olympics parties (certainly classier than just dumping black food coloring in a cocktail to represent the black Olympic ring), so perhaps I should experiment.

sssanyway. We talked about work and life and whether we would fight or evacuate if we were in Ukraine, and we ate some tots, and it was great. Claudia eventually was able to join us - I continue to be amazed and grateful (#gratitude) that Claude was my random freshman roommate and Adit/John lived next door to us and we're still friends over twenty years later.

We switched to a table then and ordered another drink so that we could talk about algebra and SATs and conspiracy theories, but our new table was cold, so we adjourned to Cholita Linda next door and had tacos (and margs for me and Adit, who weren't driving and won't be in peak physical condition tomorrow). Adit gave me a surprisingly earnest pep talk (surprising only bc he had said an hour earlier that gen z-ers give each other too much praise and then realize it's awkward to do it in person instead of on tiktok), and our overall convo was exactly what I needed.

Eventually, it was time to part ways, so we said our farewells (not for long, since I'll be back in April) and then Adit and I shared an Uber to the city of sin. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

heat of the moment

I had a gorgeous day - or at least a gorgeous evening, once I got through a whole lot of slogging. But the slogging included a lunch with Aga, Chris and Alice - Aga left the team a few months ago, and when she told her new team that she had to go to a different building to have lunch with 'tiki boss', this apparently confused them. Who knew that tiki boss as a brand isn't really something that people in corporate America are accustomed to?

But I left the office around 4:40 and went to the dirty dirty east bay to hang out with my college friends. I never go to the east bay willingly, but the people I wanted to see are mostly there, so I put in the massive sacrifice and made it happen. We had a dinner reservation at 7:30, but almost all of us met up at East Bay Spice Company for drinks first. So I hung out with Jess and Chandlord (hereafter called 'Zoochander' because Oniel made it happen), and then John showed up, and Claude and Sam came too. The cocktails there were v. delightful - especially one that had carrot juice in it and so looked healthy, but also had mezcal and two other liquors and so was completely, definitively not healthy.

After two drinks and my discussions of Johnny Depp and Steven Seagal, we went to Saha - a tasty restaurant that also happened to be the only place where I could get a reservation for seven people with only 24 hours' notice. Oniel was the only person who couldn't make it to drinks, but he met us at the restaurant - I hadn't seen him in many many months, so it was super exciting that he was able to come out. So the seven of us all did the three-course menu, and we split two bottles of wine, and we shared the chocolate mousse that they brought me for a birthday dessert + some Syrian cheese thing that made for an incredible dessert. I also practiced 'man hugs' with Oniel, although that meant I mostly tricked him into hugging me for real. We also all laughed about many things, especially the guy who had a Volvo parked outside, which led him to confront us about it since the restaurant window was open and he apparently knew we were talking about him. Oops.

Then we all adjourned to John and Jess's house, where I had some port while discussing the Human Centipede and a bearded Ellen DeGeneres - as one does. And then Zoochander and I rode back to the city together in a lyft that made me mildly carsick, but I shall survive. Happy early birthday to me - goodnight!

i had a dream we were back to seventeen

I had a perfect day in the dirty east bay and a perfect night in the city of sin...so it's probably best for me to leave tomorrow before I get seduced into the idea of moving back here. Not that I want to move back here after watching a child play with rocks in a tree enclosure after realizing that all of those rocks were probably covered in dog urine...but I digress.

I got up relatively early and still a little too late, and I scrambled to pull myself together so that I could drive to Berkeley for brunch (but to Jess, it's breakfast) with John and Jess and Ian at Saul's. You probably wonder how they're doing, but my main concern was getting the corned beef hash, so I had #priorities. However, from what I could gather while hanging out, they're in fine form.

I spent the rest of the day hanging around Berkeley - shopping, more shopping, and some quality time at Philz. I also got my eyebrows waxed from my favorite person ever, which was delightful.

The I met Claudia (aka Santy Cluade if you're lucky) for a drink - this ended up including oysters and olives, which were delish. Then we walked down the street to meet up with Chandlord .... and this eventually turned into drinks with Adit and a late night at Grubstake, but I'm falling asleep while writing this, so you'll just have to trust me on that. Goodnight!

hold back the river let me look in your eyes

Apologies for not blogging last night. I've had a v. eventful couple of days in my old hometown, starting with brunch with Heather (aka dear respected madam) yesterday, which was a perfect way to end my time with her. Then I drove from San Jose to Marin to see Grace - Grace is one of my favorite writerly people, and while our time together was all too brief, we enjoyed some delightful conversation over tea next to a (nonfunctioning) fire pit at a store near her house.

Then I drove back to the city of sin and had a v. perfect (for me) night - I actually gave myself a night off from the social whirl, went to Gardenias (v. near my hotel, and a place I'm v. familiar with) and had a pork chop and three glasses of wine while journaling for a v. long time. No, wine isn't whole30 approved - I've decided that while I'm traveling the whole30 thing is v. difficult, but I'm being v. strict on grains and sugar and mostly strict where possible on the rest of the weird restrictions. And if this is the last time I'll be in SF for awhile, my soul craved one of my favorite kind of nights - holed up at the bar of a nice restaurant, watching the wait staff execute their carefully orchestrated dance while sipping wine and writing in my journal.

It was #worthit, but when I came to my hotel I was so tired that I fell into bed without even taking my contacts out, let alone washing off my makeup. Oops. I didn't sleep all that well, no doubt impeded even more by the guy outside at 4am who was either high or mentally ill (or both) and kept screaming about killing someone and stabbing them in the eyes. Since I'm on the sixth floor, it's clear this guy was really going for his verbal threats, even though I heard nothing to indicate that he was talking to anyone but himself.

Today was super fun, all in all. I got up earlier than I wanted to to move my car, which was made slightly more interesting by the dead bat on my windshield (I did not touch it, obvi, since rabies is not my jam). Then I showered and drove to the dirty east bay to have brunch with John and Jess. I was going to make it clear that I am in it for John and Jess instead of Saul's (which is not entirely true), but since Jess made it clear immediately that she was there to eat my bagel (which comes with my order even though I can't eat it), I think all pretenses of friendship are over.

sssanyway. We had a delightful breakfast (don't call it lunch), and then they went home to retrieve the baby from the nanny and I got my nails done in a rather impromptu fashion. Then I drove back to the evil city and went to the marina for awhile, where I sat/watched the water/journaled/wandered around Fort Mason and bought a stupidly expensive $6 juice.

Then I went to visit Lauren (aka Subz) - we had tea and sympathy at a cafe near her house, and it was perfect. I, of course, wish that we had more time, but child duties called. But I'm glad we're still friends almost thirteen years after living together in India (and almost sixteen years after I went to Berlin with her now-husband), and it's always great to hang out with her.

Then I went to my old haunt at Morning Due and had a snack and journaled some more before meeting up with Adit (no one calls him the cat) at Schmidt's, where we had heated mulled wine and conversation until we both had to rendezvous with our other plans. In my case, that meant picking up Vidya (aka Chandlord) and dragging her to the Marina so we could eat at Bistro Aix (one of my old faves). I had the chicken and we split the burrata (ooops, dairy, but #sarasnotsorry).

But now I really need to sleep since I have to get up in seven hours - goodnight!

lost frequencies

Today went about as well as it could have gone. I met my movers at my storage unit just before 9:30am, and it all went super smoothly - which makes sense, since everything was packed up and ready to go. One of the two guys had moved me before, which was pretty funny - weirdly, I'm kind of sad that I'll never run into any of these movers again, since I always had a great experience with them. However, the mover dude followed me on instagram at the end - he's also a painter, so I followed him back, which I guess means I'll still be connected to him even though the chances that he'll move my stuff again are slim to none.

sssanyway. They loaded up all my stuff while I answered work emails on my phone. Then we all drove to Oakland, where they moved everything into two shipping containers, which will be delivered to Colorado in 5-7 business days. It was a little surreal to see things carried past me that I haven't seen or potentially thought of in ten months - and it made me that much more excited to unpack it all when it finally arrives. Someday soon, I will be a real adult again - and I don't know for sure how I feel about that, but I'm 85% excited and 15% wishing I was lazing in a hammock waiting for my next massage.

They wrapped up everything a little before two, which was perfect timing since I had a meeting I didn't want to miss - which, thanks to the marvels of modern technology, I took as a videoconference from my laptop, which was hooked up to my mobile hotspot while I was sitting in a Home Depot parking lot. As far as meeting places go, this was not convenient, but I got it done. Then I took my leftover rachet straps and extra lock back to Home Depot, then drove to my hotel, where I promptly took a nap. Then I answered some work emails, repacked my suitcase, and had a long, leisurely dinner/journaling session in the hotel restaurant - I probably should have made contact with at least one friend, but friendship has to wait when I'm feeling this much like a hermit.

And now, after watching some meaningless tv (including a truly stupid episode of some show where some idiot was hunting werewolves in Romania and only made it look interesting by doing it in the dark with night vision camera equipment), it's time for bed - I'm flying back to Denver tomorrow, provided that the smoke from the fires doesn't keep me grounded. Goodnight!

despacito

Seriously too tired to blog...I got a ton of sleep last night, but it wasn't enough, and I need to recuperate some more before the week starts. But I did manage to meander down to Union Street to have brunch at my favorite cafe - Tony was too busy to talk since it's Fleet Week and so everything is insane around there, but he sent me a mimosa and we exchanged phone numbers, so I think we're still friends (I joked about not usually taking phone numbers from married men and he tried and failed to take his wedding ring off, so that was pretty special).

Then I was going to shop around Union/Chestnut, but the crowds were huge and I was in no mood to deal with them, so I went to the airport to pick up my rental car. Unfortunately this turned into a total cluster due to the AirTrain being broken, but I eventually got my car and survived some hideous traffic from SFO to Berkeley. I rendezvoused with John, Jess, and Ian - Ian still can't say 'Auntie Wamp', but he can certainly con me out of half my gelato, so I'm predicting I gave him enough for a major sugar high....

...but that's not my problem, is it? We hung out in a park for awhile, then went to Cesar for some tapas, and then adjourned next door for gelato, and it was all delightful. Then I said my farewells to them and picked up Claudia (aka Santy Claude) in Oakland for second dinner - we went to Nito, which is owned by the Nopalito folks. The wait was a lot shorter than the SF restaurant, and the food was delish - totally different menu, so none of my Nopalito faves were there, but it was tasty regardless. And Claudia, of course, was in fine form.

Then I drove back to SF, eventually found parking for my rental car, and holed up in my hotel so that I can recover some of my introvert/extrovert energy reserves. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

another day in paradise

I'm in Denver, and I should go to bed immediately so that I can eke out whatever sleep I can get before the dulcet tones of children's screams wake me up in the morning. You can probably guess from that that I'm staying at Katie's tonight (and tomorrow night)...I woke up in SF at six a.m., showered and threw my stuff in my rental car, and drove to SFO. I made it there with enough time to eat breakfast (one of the best airport breakfasts I've ever had - I need to remember that the wine bar next to gate 70 serves a killer breakfast), and then I boarded my flight.

We were slightly delayed, and then as the pilot was taxiing to the runway they slammed on the brakes to avoid another plane, throwing one of the flight attendants into the galley wall, where she appeared to hurt her shoulder. However, we took off anyway even though the attendant looked miserable for the rest of the flight - I guess United's new policy is to leave you on the plane if they've injured you, so I guess that's progress!

sssanyway. I spent most of the flight napping, snacking, and reading the inflight magazine, since I was too tired to contemplate anything else. When we got to Denver I retrieved my bags, took a lyft to Katie's, dropped my luggage off, and then walked to Avanti to meet her for a quick drink. This turned into me having a glass of pinot by myself since she had trouble finding parking, and we would have only had twenty minutes together there even in the best circumstances since she needed to go home to relieve the nanny.

But she parked long enough to come in for two minutes, and then we came back here, made dinner, did some crafting activities with the girls, ate, and then gossipped off and on for the rest of the night, as we're wont to do. And now I must sleep (and also hydrate) - goodnight!

storming through the party like my name is el niño

I had a great day, but I don't want to blog tonight - I need to get off screens and devices and news sources, which is basically the refrain for 2017. I woke up relatively early this morning, did some work, and got a mani/pedi - the nails all looked great until, much later in the day, I tripped over my own sandal and wiped out on the sidewalk, bruising my knee and scraping the paint off my big toe. This is not the first time I've tripped like that and I'm sure it won't be the last, so I brushed the dirt off my shoulders (okay, my knees) and moved on with my life. I also got a bottle of nail polish at Walgreens tonight that is a close-enough substitute for the color that got scraped off, so no one will see my unsightly toe and assume I'm a vagrant.

Anyway, after the mani/pedi, I ran a couple of errands and had a salad at sweetgreens (yum). Then I went back to my temporary abode and worked for a couple of hours, but I slacked off to go shopping with Jess. Jess *never* shops for herself, and I was on a mission to make her buy something (err, facilitate her desire to buy something). So we went down to Fourth Street, explored some clothing shops, explored some even more interesting paper shops, and ended up at Marine Layer, where Jess bought a super cute dress and I got a sweatshirt and a button-down. I also discovered that Nopalito has a cookbook, which is a game-changer! If I could make their food at home, I might never have to come to San Francisco again....

...j/k, I would miss the three of you from SF who read this blog too much to abandon you forever. After we shopped, we went back to the neighborhood and hung out with John and Ian, and I delivered the lemons that Adit had given me to give to them - I'm hopeful that this will turn into limoncello that I can benefit from, but we shall see.

Then I called my parents, and then I spent the rest of the evening working (with a break for Mexican food, since I was craving chips like there's no tomorrow...and maybe there won't be a tomorrow, but I'm not in the mood to think about nukes and Nazis, so I'm going to bed instead). Goodnight!

theme and variation

I'm going to bed asap because I have a million things to do tomorrow and not nearly enough time in which to do them. Today was lovely, though, with some unexpected twists. I spent the morning procrastinating far too long on twitter (news is enraging, particularly coming out of Charlottesville - remind me again how we used to have all sorts of national pride over the fact that we destroyed the Nazis? although since some of the top Nazis got to come to the US and be scientists and military advisors after the war, one could argue we didn't exactly do everything we could to root out Nazi ideology..).

But I managed to put away the twitter, make some coffee, take care of some stuff around the house, and then speed (aka crawl) across the bridge to the evil city. I hadn't seen Katrina on this trip, so we agreed to meet for brunch at Nopalito. This is, of course, one of my favorite places to eat when I'm in the city, and it was great to spend some time there while catching up with her - we went deep on a lot of topics, many of which were amusing/wtf-generating.

When we were done with that + our errands, I dropped her off at a grocery store and said my fond farewells. Then I got my hair cut - I was way overdue for a bang trim, and also ready for some of the layers to be cleaned up, and my stylist (Lauren, whom I adore) did a great job. While I was sitting in her chair, I got a text from Adit/Priyanka suggesting that I stop by - if they'd texted thirty minutes later they would have been out of luck, since I would have gone back to the east bay and categorically refused to drive the bridge again.

So, after my hair was stylish again, I went to their new house - they recently bought a place and are in the middle of getting the permits for a renovation. The house shows a lot of promise, although I'm guessing that the construction will take awhile. But we had a good time hanging out in the backyard talking about life while watching Vihaan trying/not trying to impale himself on various thorns, brambles, scissors, and other instruments of toddler destruction.

Eventually, we took Vihaan home so that his grandmother could start the dinner/bedtime process, and then Adit, Priyanka and I went to Namu Gaji (a Korean place near them that I also really like, although I don't make it there all that often, mostly because it usually has a line). Since today was Outside Lands over in Golden Gate Park, Adit's neighborhood was pretty empty, and they were able to seat us right away. We had a delish stone pot (with a small worm crawling on one of the cucumbers, but we ate the dish anyway) and a couple of other dishes, and we discussed how we're living and how to move faster and what we want to accomplish this year, and it was all v. good.

But we're getting old, and they needed to get back to Vihaan and I wanted to come home and sleep, so I drove back to Berkeley as soon as I left them and was here before 8:30. This means I missed out on potential fun in the city with other fun people (aka Vidya), but I probably need to stay in tonight and get some rest anyway so that I don't sabotage my body for all the stuff I've got coming up.

Speaking of, it's time for bed - goodnight!

if she remembers, she hides it whenever we meet

I have relocated to a house down the block from where I spent the last ten days - which means no more access to the hot tub (sadness) but also no more responsibilities to a dog who sometimes adored me and sometimes wanted to eat my face. I spent the morning getting ready, packing, walking the dog, tidying up after myself, etc., and it's a good thing that I was efficient about this because the owners came back several hours earlier than I was expecting. But that was actually good for me - it meant that I could leave their place around noon without worrying that Lily would think I was abandoning her just like everyone else had.

So I said goodbye to the dog and dragged my stuff into my rental car, which I then drove halfway down the block so that I could unload it. I'm staying at John's parents' house since they're in Tahoe this week, which is super convenient for me (and v. kind of them). I unloaded my car when I got here, then promptly left to run some errands - this mostly involved going to Walnut Creek and window shopping (and shopping shopping), which was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Then I came back here and spent an hour talking to my friend Maya, who is also a writer, and I am slowly seducing her into the idea of coming to Denver next year for a writing retreat. This is an easy sell because next year's RWA conference happens to be in Denver, and if I'm living there and have a guest room (obvi not a done deal yet, but my inclinations are in that direction), she could stay with me.

As soon as I was done with her, Jess called, and we rendezvoused and John and Jess's house for dinner. John made some vegetarian tacos (zucchini and onion) that were utterly delish, so I loaded up on that (which was really a perfect base for guac/salsa/cheese, which is what the people actually want). I also loaded up on boulevardiers and port...it's clear that I'm growing up since port is now a delightful sipping moment at the end of the evening rather than the disastrous cheap port debacles that Adit poured down my throat so many years ago. And yes, that's me playing the victim and blaming Adit for all my bad choices, #sorrynotsorry.

But by nine it was time for all good adults to be in bed, so I left John and Jess and walked across the street to settle into my new abode. I wanted to fall asleep then, but instead I unpacked and did a load of laundry (not necessary from a quantity of clothes standpoint, but v. necessary from how much dog hair was on my stuff). I fell asleep waiting for stuff to dry, then woke up and folded tings, but now it's time to sleep in earnest. Goodnight!

we could have had it all

I know I start half my posts with saying that I'm too tired to blog, but tonight it's really true. I spent the morning answering emails, the afternoon shopping for clothes (Berkeley has a surprising number of nice capitalist shops given its hippie reputation), the late afternoon hanging out with John and Ian in their backyard (Ian didn't die despite finding every rake in the bay area), and the evening with my friend Rachael (who taught my Venice retreat). Rachael and I spent copious amounts of time in the hot tub, and when she left I decided to reenter for some alone time under the stars (and by stars I mean fog)...so it's no wonder that I'm wiped out, since white wine and steam will do that to a girl.

And now it's time for bed - I have to pack tomorrow to relocate to a different house on this street since the owners are getting back in the afternoon, and I'll probably have to hide my packing so that Lily doesn't freak out and trigger all her abandonment issues. Wish me luck with that - goodnight!

help me stay awake i'm falling

I had a v. lovely day even if it involved far too much driving around the bay area (which is a good reminder that I never want to have to drive/commute here regularly again). I woke up a little later than I should have this morning after only getting six hours of sleep, so I really should go to bed immediately...but I managed to drag myself out of bed, make coffee, walk Lily, eat breakfast, shower, and get out the door in a reasonable time frame. I needed to pick up a rental car at SFO, and before I did that I needed to stop at Nordstrom in SF (which was basically on the way) to pick up a pair of shoes I'd bought from the anniversary sale. So I took BART from Berkeley to SF, made a quick stop to pick up the shoes (they're lovely, thanks for asking!), and then took BART to SFO to get the rental car.

Unfortunately the car kind of smells like someone was trying to cover up the smell of vomit, which is a real bummer since it has less than two thousand miles on it. But it was the only one available, except for one that had a note on the window in marker chalk saying that there was an issue with the tires, so I chose smell over risk. I like driving with my windows down anyway, so it isn't the end of the world.

Then I drove back into SF to have a too-quick lunch with Lauren (aka Subz) - her life is chaotic and mine has been v. focused on being a hermit in the east bay, so this was a good chance for us to get together. We talked about all manner of subjects in a relatively short period of time, and I was super bummed to say goodbye to her - but I try to content myself with the knowledge that I'll be back in September, so hopefully I'll see her more thoroughly then.

Then I drove back the east bay, which took an hour at 3pm (this place is a cesspool). Then I did a couple of hours of work. Then I picked up Chandlord at the BART station, and we hung out in the backyard and drank wine and talked about life. Eventually Claudia and Sam showed up, and even more eventually the pizza we ordered showed up, and it was super fun (C/S) and super tasty (the pizza). At some point John and Jess joined us and we spent a long, lovely time in the hot tub, drinking prosecco and pretending it was spring break (and pretending that we don't all need the hot tub for our aging joints).

And now I need to go to bed so that I can accomplish all the things tomorrow - goodnight!

outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned

If you'd asked me three hours ago whether I would still be awake right now, I would have said no. Now that I've typed that, I feel like that could be the title of my memoir: "If you'd asked me three hours ago whether I would still be awake right now, I would have said no: The Sara Wampler Story".

But I stayed awake after all, despite a day that made me sleepy. I spent some quality time walking the dog and eating yogurt and messing around in my bullet journal - I need to get back on track with my tasks and writing, and planning helps with that. I also had a long conversation with my friend Barbara (the one who lives in Colorado), another long conversation with my mom, and a third conversation with a guy I met at RWA who wanted to talk about operations/management stuff (not long, but interesting). Then I took a nap in the sun because #yolo.

But after that, I buckled down, did some work, took care of some house chores, and then went over to say hi to Ian because he was making kissing faces at me through the window (supervised by his nanny, who luckily knows who I am and so didn't call the cops on me). As I was walking over, I ran into John, who was just getting home from work, so we sipped some port and watched Ian walk/crawl around and generally troll us.

Jess eventually got home, and we had dinner (tamales! and a boulevardier for me) before they put Ian to bed and I came back to walk the dog again. They rejoined me later, though, for some hot tub action - but this is all v. sedate, since we are old people and want to go to bed at nine.

Of course, I didn't actually go to bed at nine - I came upstairs, quite relaxed, and then finished reading the book I started the other night (PRIMATES OF PARK AVENUE - pretty good, all in all). And now I muuuuuust sleep - goodnight!

all monkeys do what they see

I had a pretty perfect day in the dirty east bay. I got enough sleep, then got up, showered, took Lily for a walk, and talked to my parents - probably not for long enough, and definitely way earlier in the day than usual, but I wanted to catch up with them before the rest of the day's plans commenced.

Then, John and Jess and Ian and I went down to Saul's (aka the best place to have breakfast/lunch/brunch in Berkeley, although don't tell Jess that we had brunch since she disapproves of such a dissolute meal). We had to wait a little bit for a table, but it was totally worth it - I had my favorite corned beef hash, which was as perfect as always, and I also got a latke and inhaled almost all of it. John's spinach benedict looked amazing, as did Jess's pita/egg sandwich, and Ian did a great job trying to eat his crayons. In other words, we all won!

Then they left to come home, and I wandered around the neighborhood for a bit and bought some groceries just in time to get picked up from Safeway by Heather (aka dear respected madam). She v. kindly drove all the way up from San Jose to see me, and it was totally delightful - we spent a good seven hours hanging out, mostly on the back patio in the dappled sunlight with a bottle of rosé and some snacks. Then we ordered Indian food for dinner (pretty tasty, not the best I've ever had), and then we sat in the hot tub as the sun went down, and it was all pretty much perfect.

Then she left, I took a quick shower to get rid of the hot tub feeling, and I also messed around online for too long. But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i stay awake with my disease

Way too tired to blog (I'd fallen asleep with the light on while reading, but I rallied to write this). I had a great day - brunch with Claudia (aka Santy Claude) at a ridiculously overpriced, trying-to-hard gluten free place, followed by Philz coffee, followed by an oddly meandering/entertaining conversation with a Berkeley hippie/construction contractor, followed by a nap in the sun and some quality time on the patio. Then I ate some soup, hung out with John and Jess and Ian and two boulevardiers (the land of wampertunity), walked Lily, and wrote in my journal as the sun went down.

After Ian was asleep, John and Jess came over and we hung out in the hot tub - this seemed like an acceptable risk, since a) his baby monitor was playing on their phone and b) Ian's window was closer to my outdoor jacuzzi than many nurseries are to living rooms in big houses around the country. It was a pretty idyllic end to the evening, and I followed it up by reading in bed until my eyes gave up the fight.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

someone how we mixed up goodbye and goodnight

I'm too tired to blog, which I realize is an all-too-common refrain. I got up this morning and took care of some tings, and then Veronica showed up and we of course had to catch up while I made an omelette. Then I walked the dog and we did a bit of work, but we had to take another break when Grace arrived. Grace came over from Marin for the day, and it was great to see her - the writing dates are one of the things I really miss while traveling.

Anyway, we all worked until lunch (with varying degrees of success), before picking up salads at Sweetgreen. Yes, I've become a California stereotype again. V had to leave round 3:15, but Grace and I kept going - alternating between reading and talking and discussing life with John, who dropped by to work at my kitchen table and also drink some of the limoncello that the house owners left for me.

Then Grace and I ordered thai delivery, which turned out to be really delicious (surprisingly so for delivery). We sat outside and enjoyed the evening, including when John and Jess showed up for an impromptu five-minute visit so that Ian could kiss me goodnight. I could also hear them yell 'wamp' through their kitchen window, so it's possible that this neighborhood doesn't really have boundaries in the same way that other neighborhoods do....

sssanyway, everyone eventually left me (after Grace and I laughed harder than I have for awhile after comparing notes on a writer who was v. v. successful in indie erotica back during the gold rush days, and who is now using a gofundme to pay for her divorce and is writing really short, really ridiculous erotica to try to cash it. Lol.

And now, after taking Lily for another walk and reading and daydreaming, I'm desperate feor bed - goodnight!

he said they toured the country far away from the rio grande, but the road just wore them down

I need to go to bed immediately - I spent far too much time staring at my computer today, and only a hard reset on my eyes will stop the headache currently brewing behind them. Today was pretty good, all in all - Veronica came over, of course, and we spent the morning working. We also ate leftover chicken tortilla soup, and I think I've convinced her that I'm an excellent cook (true, but I'm also putting way more effort into this than usual). Then we worked this afternoon, but when she left I had her drop me off at Philz, since I hadn't been there on this trip to California (waiting four days to go to Philz is criminal!).

I was going to write there, but I started texting [censored], and that turned into [censored], so no writing happened. Then I took a lyft back to the house, talked to my parents, and walked Lily, since she was v. eager to go for a walk (she's a weird dog; she refused to go this morning, then couldn't wait to go this afternoon). Then I talked to Terry half an hour later than we had scheduled - we'd been trying to catch up for awhile, so it's too bad that I kept her waiting because of this dog situation :(

But it was fun to catch up, so hopefully she'll forgive me. Then I had dinner with John and Jess and Ian - but it was in the third house I've been in on this block, since his parents bought the house across the street from them and they decided to eat over there tonight. I got a tour of the house, which is gorgeous; I also got twenty million kisses from Ian, who was being v. demanding that Auntie Wamp kiss him at every opportunity (you know when he wants a kiss because he scrunches up his lips into a pucker that takes up half his face, so the kisses are a little slobbery, but he's young enough to get away with it).

Then I came back to my house, soothed Lily since she had apparently decided I was never coming back after an hour away, and then worked until now. And now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

the girl you’ll always love, the one you have no memory of

Today was really lovely, all in all. I slept in a little later than planned, so I waited to walk the dog until after Veronica arrived - the dog (Lily) is now totally fine with me, so that's a good thing. Then I spent the morning writing and journaling, all of which was v. good for me.

But I had to get myself out of the story and into the shower so that I could get ready for my big plan of the day. V and I had a reservation for late lunch (1:45!) at Chez Panisse Cafe, which I was super excited for. I've been to a lot of great/famous restaurants in the Bay Area, but somehow I've never been to Chez Panisse. The lunch scene is more lowkey (especially in terms of ability to get reservations) than the dinner scene, and it was totally perfect. We sat by a window overlooking Berkeley, and it was a delightful place to have a glass of rosé and some wonderful conversation with a great friend. It was also a delightful place to eat duck (I don't usually order duck, but this was too delish to resist), and our dessert was somehow amazing despite being a relatively simple pairing of a blackberry sherbet on top of a meringue.

After that, I could have easily napped/daydreamed away the afternoon, but instead I parted ways with Veronica and went across the street to the grocery store, where I got stuff to make dinner tonight. I was in the mood for chicken tortilla soup, and I'd invited John and Jess over to partake of it with me. The cooking all went well and I was really enjoying it...until I discovered that the tortillas I bought today were somehow moldy even though they claimed they weren't expired yet. Gross. Luckily, I still had four from the fish tacos I'd made yesterday, and also John came to the rescue - he brought Ian and some corn masa and a tortilla press over and made me three more tortillas, which were perfect for the soup. We also had quite the adventure trying to keep Ian and Lily separate when they both wanted to get in each other's faces - perhaps it all would have turned out fine, but it seemed like a high possibility for disaster if they hung out in each other's space.

When the soup was done, John and Jess and Ian came back over, and we had a rather idyllic time outside until a bee drove us inside. We still enjoyed soup and limoncello inside until it was time for Ian to go to bed. Then I cleaned up, took Lily for another walk, and spent some quality time outside in the twilight with my laptop and my exploding to-do list.

And now I need to sleep so that I can repeat some aspects of this process tomorrow (mostly the friend time, sans the delish Chez Panisse lunch and my adventures in soup-making). Goodnight!