wild cards, men from mars, dressed in stars and stripes

I'm still recovering from yesterday's festivities, but my recovery wasn't too bad today - my post last night was abbreviated because it was 2:30am (4:30am in Iowa) and I was so tired that I was starting to type gibberish, but I actually wasn't that intoxicated from the party. So, other than the fact that I slept like garbage last night, which gave me a headache, I felt mostly fine.

Yesterday was fantastic, though. I ran some errands in the morning (to buy decor for the party) and then had lunch with Chandlord. We went to a ramen place near my hotel, where I ordered a pork dish with rice because I can't eat ramen - it was pretty tasty, and I'm glad I got that instead of the spice that made Chandlord weep silently while she was eating her food. What a fun and interesting experience!

Then, I parted ways with Chandlord and took an uber to the Marina and back to pick up a bunch of cupcakes. I did a bit of work, took a brief nap, and then took care of some party stuff. Jess showed up at my hotel so that she could get ready, since she was already in SF for something earlier in the day, and I roped her into helping me with some decor elements. We shared an uber to the party venue, and she very kindly helped me set up the space. I'm very grateful that she was able to help, since I would not have had time to do everything myself!

Eventually, the party started, and it was a total riot. People were mostly on time and also mostly took it as an opportunity to dress up after years of no parties. The food and drinks were excellent. And I saw a total cross-section of all the major phases of my California life - Stanford people (freshman year and senior year), early coworkers, writing friends, and some connections between the groups. I'm used to seeing these people in separate / smaller gatherings, but it was really fun to see everyone in more of a party mode.

Of course, some ridiculous tings happened. Julie kept insisting on doing shots, but since the bar wasn't actually doing shots, they just poured cocktails into shot glasses - which was much tastier and safer for my liver. We discovered that Jane has a bunch of old photos stored on SmugMug, which I didn't even realize was still in business. John gave me (and everyone else) a Magic card for "The Swamp," which seemed appropriate. Walter came on his own actual birthday, which was great (and I hadn't seen him in forever, so I was glad he and his wife made it). I indulged Chris, Adit, and John, in playing "All the Way Up to Heaven" on the epic playlist. And we had an abbreviated candle ceremony in which Adit read a brief but v. dirty scene from one of my books (and other people gave other, more sincere, toasts), which will live in my heart for a long time.

So we hung out for about four hours, and people slowly trickled out at the end. The final nine went to Last Rites, which was around the block...but Adit and I made the mistake of ordering three punchbowls for nine (reasonable) and then discovering that really, only four or five people were drinking (not reasonable). I didn't need a punchbowl after the cocktails at the party, but I persevered, and Adit and I finished our punch bowl even though we had to give up on the other two. And the final group (Julie, Tom, Rachel, Shari, Chandlord, Adit, and I) was a very solid final group.

I don't think I'll have a birthday party again for a long time - but I have to say that this one lived up to my expectations, and I was thoroughly delighted by it. Happily, I have some time to catch up with poeple more quietly the next few days, but as parties go, this one was pretty great.

So I got back to my hotel around two last night, went to bed, and slept v. v. fitfully. Today, I mostly took it easy - I ate breakfast at the hotel, did some work / writing, ordered a takeout sandwich from Ike's (I do love their sandwiches), took a nap, etc. Then, I walked down to Beretta (on Divis) to meet up with Katrina - she wasn't able to come to the party last night, so it was great to see her. We caught up for three hours over pizza and squid ink risotto, and it was v. tasty (and wonderful).

And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

she might have let you hold her hand in school but imma show you how to graduate

Apologies for not blogging yesterday - I had a fun excursion with [censored], but came home v. tired. We went to Rutledge, which is a flea market in the middle of nowhere approximately two hours southeast of us. I wanted to go for the nostalgia vibes, and possibly for my book; we went there back when we had turkeys many years ago, and I had v. vague memories of the place (it makes sense that they were vague, since I was six or seven at the time).

We didn't end up buying anything of note, although I did get a tshirt. But it was fun to wander around for a bit - and also somewhat depressing, given that there were a lot of people who had put in a lot of work to haul a lot of random stuff to Rutledge and did not appear to be making a lot of sales. And I managed to leave without buying peacocks, which I think showed great restraint.

On our way back, [censored] and I had a late lunch in Bloomfield and went to a Dutch Country Store that was pretty impressive. And then we were both wiped out when we got home, agreed not to eat dinner (although I ate the peanut butter sandwich I'd taken with me to Rutledge), and went our separate ways. I thought I would go to bed early, get up early, and get cracking...

...but today I got up at ten and did basically nothing. I did make some eggs for me and [censored], and I cleaned the kitchen, and took care of a few other random tasks. I also did a wee bit of writing in the afternoon. But I have nothing of interest to report from that, so we'll draw a veil over it.

In the evening, [censored] and I went to our parents' house and had dinner - my mom made fried potatoes and baked beans (which I was grateful for, since I love her fried potatoes), and my dad grilled bratwurst and hot dogs. It was all tasty, and we hung out for awhile after. And now, I really need to sleep and aim for a more productive day tomorrow - goodnight!

i can still make the whole place shimmer

I had a v. lowkey day in the city of sin - in fact, there was barely any sinning, which seems like a waste. I got up, did some various tings, did some stretching, and treated myself to lunch at MyMy. I went there last week too, but I liked what I ordered today much better - their chorizo scrambled eggs with corn tortillas were exactly what I wanted, even if my body is starting to beg me for some water or lettuce or something.

Then, in an effort to stay out of the house (due to construction noise), I wandered amongst coffee shops. The first one was v. tasty but not conducive to working. The second one was Saint Frank, on Polk Street, which is one of my old haunts from when I used to live here. Kathia and I used to meet in their upstairs area at 6:30 or 7am before I would get on a shuttle to Mountain View - but now their upstairs area is closed, and Kathia is gone, and I no longer work for the man, so all of that has changed completely. However, I did get some good work done, and their iced latte was as good as I remembered, so that was a bittersweet delight.

Then, I wandered down Polk Street and stopped in at Amelie for a quiet glass of rosé and some more writing. I had a major breakthrough (I think) in the story while I was sitting there, so I'll take it. After I wrapped that up, I grabbed dinner at a Thai place, which was v. tasty. And then I came back to Chandlord's, curled up in my nest, and took a nap. Eventually, Chandlord showed up - we had discussed going out for a drink, but instead we hung out in her house and talked for a couple of hours.

And now, I need to sleep - I have some relocation plans for tomorrow, which means I need to get up and get organized. Goodnight!

the end is nigh

As an experiment, I asked Bard (Google's new AI chatbot, which released to early access today) to write my blog post for the day. Three seconds after I prompted it, it gave me this:

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain hitting the windows of my room at the San Francisco Fairmont. The weather was terrible, but I was determined to make the most of my day. I started by writing several pages of my novel. I was really getting into the story, and I was excited to see where it would take me.

After a few hours of writing, I took a break and went to the Fairmont bar. I ordered a glass of rosé and sat by the window, watching the rain fall. It was a beautiful sight, and it made me feel relaxed and peaceful.

After a while, I decided to go out for dinner. I met Vidya, Julie, and Deano at a restaurant in the Marina District. We had a great time catching up and talking about our lives. The food was delicious, and the company was even better.

Even though the weather was bad, I had a great day. I got a lot of work done on my novel, I relaxed and enjoyed a glass of rosé, and I spent time with some great friends. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

The weather in San Francisco today was very bad. It was raining heavily, and the wind was blowing very strong. The temperature was also very cold. I was glad that I was able to stay inside and stay warm.

All in all....valiant effort, Bard, especially since I just told it to "Write a blog post of approximately 200 words that captures what I did today. It should include that I stayed at the San Francisco Fairmont, wrote several pages of my novel, had some rosé at the Fairmont bar, and had dinner with Vidya, Julie, and Deano. It should also mention how bad the weather was in San Francisco today."

Needless to say, I'm increasingly convinced that AI is about to drive us over a job cliff in the next 6-24 months, and it's going to be like the farm crisis (in that whole industries are going to be decimated), but everywhere all at once. So I really need to write this book asap before the end arrives.

sssanyway, Bard told you most of what you need to know. I did wake up and write, although I also procrastinated and drank room service coffee (Bard thinks I'm more productive than I am). I had lunch and did some more writing, then messed around, took a nap, and availed myself of my room until my late checkout at 4pm. Then I sat in the bar and had a glass of rosé and wrote some more. All in all it was a v. good quick solo writing retreat, and I enjoyed it.

I did not, however, enjoy the weather, which is a total jhoke - downed trees everywhere (taking MUNI and power lines with them), ferry service canceled due to high winds/tides, big rig overturned on the Bay Bridge, etc., etc. We're in yet another atmospheric river system, and I had to walk to and from dinner in the rain. But it could be worse, so I guess I'll stop complaining.

After I finished at the Fairmont, I met up with Chandlord, and we walked to Julie and Deano's for dinner (they hosted; we did not go out, and they live in Russian Hill, not the Marina, but same same). We had a v. lovely evening of catching up and reminiscing, and Julie v. kindly made me gluten free pasta, so it was all great.

And now, I need to go to bed so that I can contemplate the end of humanity again tomorrow - goodnight!

it's not in the way you look or the things that you say that you'll do

I had a v nice day in the city of sin, and I spent it mostly catching up with people I haven't seen in a million years. I felt surprisingly good when I woke up this morning (probably because I felt not-good at six and took a bunch of ibuprofen), and so I had no trouble make it down to the deep heart of Noe Valley to have breakfast with my friend Chris at Front Porch. I truly haven't seen Chris in forever - he was an old high school friend from a summer camp I went to for extreme nerds, and we stayed in touch our senior years (and several of the campers went to Mardi Gras with him, since he lived in New Orleans and apparently all of our parents had similarly strange judgment and sent us to Mardi Gras while we were underage). We caught up a couple of times as adults but never got into a regular hangout cadence. But I follow his wife on insta and she alluded to some health issues he's having, so I reached out, and we got together.

This was a delightful thing, even though it was a relatively quick breakfast - it was really nice to see him, and the restaurant happened to be New Orleans-themed, so it seemed appropriate. After we parted ways, I took an uber back to Chandlord's, where I rearranged my stuff, changed into sweats, and talked to my mom. Then, Chandlord came home from her own brunch and we had a v lazy Sunday watching a movie - I conned her into watching THE LOST CITY, which I still enjoy even though she pointed out that it's basically SAHARA, which cost me a lot of friends over the years due to my staunch defense of its artistic merits.

After that, we parted ways - I spent tonight hanging out with Jenni and Jesse, whom I also haven't seen in ages (although much more recently than Chris). They invited me to spend the night at their house, which is a total delight - and Jesse made possibly the best cheeseburger I've ever had, which is a real shocker since it tasted restaurant-style but I watched him make it and there was no witchcraft involved. While he was cooking, and then while he was watching basketball, Jenni and I caught up on tons of life stuff and had most of two bottles of wine (we did share with Jesse because we're not totally selfish). It's been great to hang out with her and v. overdue, so I'm glad my trip this time is relaxed enough to let me move around and spend some quality time with people.

I also appreciate that they served dinner at six and we were all ready to go to bed before ten, which is what I v. desperately need. So, I'm going to unwind and go to bed and sleep as late as humanly possible - goodnight!

don't ever compare me to the rest that'll all get sliced and diced

I had a lovely day, and it was definitely better than I deserved after last night's shenanigans. I woke up this morning not feeling #inittowinit for obvious reasons (see: several glasses of sauvignon blanc), but I rallied and went to Another Cafe to write for awhile. This was one of my favorite haunts back in the day, and it's comfortingly similar to how it used to be - the upper mezzanine is perfectly quiet in the morning, and it was a good place to force myself back into the story after an extended hiatus.

After that, I came back to Chandlord's, got ready, and walked over to my old nail salon, with a stop for a quick Korean spicy pork and rice bowl (perfection). The ladies at the salon waxed my brows and gave me a mani/pedi, thus turning me into a better groomed version of myself. It was good to see them all, and even better to get my nails looking spiffy, so I'm glad I was able to get in today before my social plans begin in earnest.

Then I came back to Chandlord's again, did some laundry, took a nap, etc. Eventually, I left to rendezvous with her (eventually), but I was feeling like I needed to write some more, so I ducked into a strange little bar on top of the Stockton tunnel to write in the relative quiet of their establishment. I nursed a boulevardier for as long as I could, but right after I ordered my second (having already been there over an hour), the bartender gave me a free shot because the people hanging out at the other end of the bar were all getting a free shot and he decided to include me despite the fact that I was entirely antisocial. So, my second drink turned into a second drink + a shot of fernet, which is really not what I wanted, but I went along with it because that's what happens with me and bartenders and free alcohol.

However, it was all worth it because I got some really excellent writing done at the bar, and I hope to continue that tomorrow. I left the last half of my second boulevardier at the bar and met up with Chandlord, where I was dismayed to discover that she had ordered me an old fashioned (luckily, it was also free), and I said farewell to one of her coworkers (since it was a farewell party, although I had never met the guy).

Eventually, we escaped, and we tried to meet up with Adit, but it turned into a bit of a jhoke and we ended up at a v. weird restaurant that has a name like a taqueria and a menu on the door that promises pupusas, but instead they serve steak and pasta. And the steak is suspiciously cheap for SF - I had a thin-cut ribeye for $18, and it was good enough that it should have been more than that here. So maybe it's a front for something else, idk.

Adit did show up just in time to get some yogurt for dessert, and we talked until they closed, and then Adit drove me and Chandlord home. And now I need to sleep since I suddenly have three meal plans + a lot of writing to get done tomorrow - goodnight!

got an alliance with the industry man

I've made it to my destination on the Oregon coast, where I shall spend three nights ensconced in a gloomy and storm-tossed beachfront property that might be the set of a murder mystery. It's actually a beautiful house, and I lucked out with the room choice, but when we arrived just before sunset, we were greeted by the barest trace of sun as clouds rolled back in over the horizon. My entire trip will likely be affected by atmospheric rivers and other meteorological wonders, but I think I'll survive.

Unfortunately, while seven of us have made it to the house, Heather and Salim are not among them. It's Heather's (aka dear respected madam's) birthday weekend, which is the whole reason why I came - but Salim had to go to the ER last night, and so they didn't make it here today. He's out and doing better, and hopefully they'll still come tomorrow. But it made for a bit of an interesting dynamic tonight - I know two of the six other people (Durand, fairly well; and Michelle, not so well, but we were coworkers a lifetime ago). And I've met two or three of the others at least once, so it's not a total blind bag. But basically, we all came to celebrate Heather, and then had to make small talk (and dinner) for several hours without her glue to bind us.

Luckily, that all went as smoothly as it could. Durand made an excellent pasta sauce (dolling up some jars with a lot of veggies) and Simone made an equally excellent salad, and between several of us we drank four bottles of Oregon pinot noir. We told a lot of stories about prisons and murder and cruise ships and Long Islands, and it was all a delight. Hopefully we'll see the guest of honor tomorrow, but at least we made tonight a good time.

And now, I really need to sleep (and sleep off some of the pinot) - goodnight!

so i woke up with a curse, i was searching i was looking through the purse

I had a strangely busy day, which was probably good because it was incredibly gloomy out, and I could feel the freezing rain start to drag on my mood. Rather than sitting at my desk or kitchen counter, I spent most of the day curled up on my chaise in my bedroom - good for my coziness, bad for my spine.

I spent some time in the morning reading the lecture for my writing class and thinking about the main takeaways. Then I had a long chat with a college friend, which was really lovely. After that, I swung my kettlebells for a bit, took a shower, and had a late, ravenously-consumed burrito bowl for lunch. And I chatted with Katie, who is always a delight.

I spent the afternoon taking care of some tings and talking to Randy, and then I had another long chat - this time with Barbara, whom I hadn't seen in ages, and who has now abandoned Colorado just like I have (although she moved to a small town on the Oregon coast, which is far more picturesque than here, although maybe my view of the gas station and the rodeo arena is just as impressive as her view of the Pacific Ocean). It was great to catch up and talk about writing and life, and hopefully we'll chat more now that I've (mostly) recovered from my extreme Zoom aversion.

After that, I procrastinated a bit, did some laundry, and ate leftover salmon for dinner. Then I wrote a handful of notes to myself about my book, folded my laundry, and spent the rest of the evening reading the first section of THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA. It won the Booker Prize last year, and it's a magical realism novel set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's civil war - so far it's interesting, and the premise/voice are compelling. But I need to stop reading it and go to bed immediately if I'm going to wake up in time for construction to begin tomorrow - goodnight!

this song's about the beach

Today went almost comically awry on the construction front - things have been proceeding nearly perfectly, but things cannot always be perfect, and today was the day that proved it.

Part of it was my fault (a miscommunication + a possible mistake on the part of the person who sold me tile, which led to me requesting Randy to remove the last bit of backsplash so we can re-trim it), and I did not enjoy having to request a redo even though Randy was, as always, v. nice about it.

Then there was a possibly misglued bit of laminate that may or may not have led to a chip on the edge of the island countertop. It's repairable, and [censored] v. helpfully went above and beyond by going to the store and chatted up the guy in charge, whom he knows, to organize the fix. But this did not make anyone's day any happier.

And then, there was a very slight cutting mistake...again, repairable, but by this point I think we all thought the day was cursed (since all of these issues were highly uncharacteristic, and taken together were almost statistically impossible), so hopefully tomorrow is better.

And finally, completely unrelatedly, Claudia messaged me to say that Hong Kong Flower Lounge closed at the end of 2022, which is a real bummer. This was the home of the infamous "Shrimp or Feet?" game that we played in our early twenties, and I have many fond memories of many hours spent eating dim sum there, before Claude and I discovered our mutual gluten sensitivities (which explained why we always fell into headachy comas after dim sum). So, that was an extra dose of sadness to round out the day.

sssanyway, these are the joys of home ownership and remodeling, so all in all it's totally fine. But I was quite distracted by all of this, which impacted the rest of my productivity. I did get an hour and a half to do some writing stuff this morning (in between the tile conversation and the first counter issue), so I'll take that as a minor win and move on.

The rest of my day was pretty uninteresting, and I spent way too much time on my phone while lingering around the construction (+ decompressing from it after), so I need to unwind and go to bed. Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully tings are smoother then. Goodnight!

the tick tock of the clock is painful

I had a decent weekend - the main point is that I somehow still am testing negative for covid, despite having Patient Zero (aka [censored]) in my house for the past five days (and for the weekend before that). This is good news, of course, since I don't really want to get covid - but I'm still paranoid that I'm going to succumb. If I do, at least I'll be through it by Christmas. We shall see, we shall see.

The other big event of the weekend was, of course, Lorena's funeral. Due to the fact that [censored] had covid and I was afraid I might be a carrier (and that the funeral itself would be a superspreader event for every respiratory disease in the county), I sadly didn't attend - but luckily [censored] and I were able to watch the livestream. The livestream didn't work initially, but her grandson ended up streaming it on Facebook, so we saw most of it. It was a really lovely tribute for an incredible woman who lived an incredible life, and while I wish I had spent more time with her this fall, I'm grateful for all the memories I have of her over the years.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uninteresting - I had intended to watch a livestream from my favorite Dutch theatre troupe (long story), but they canceled at the last minute because an actor was injured, so I hope they're okay. Beyond that, I continued to try to cook in the midst of construction, and I also did some more organizing in my office. I realize it may be unclear why I still have anything left to organize - but between going through boxes that I haven't opened in half a decade, along with getting a bunch of bookshelves delivered last week so that I wouldn't have to triple-stack my books, I've enjoyed getting my office properly set up. I'm hoping to have all of my remaining (upstairs) boxes unpacked before my Christmas guests arrive, but we'll see whether covid and construction cooperate. And I really want to write more this week than I have been, so organizing may take a backburner.

I ended tonight with a friendship renewal call, and it's always fun to catch up with that crew. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

buy for me the rain, my darling

I had an okay day - I'm still testing negative for covid, but I'm not convinced that I'm out of the woods. I think that means I should drink an emergen-c and go to bed at ten, when what I want to do is drink half a bottle of zinfandel and watch the Harry and Meghan documentary. Being an adult is hard.

I didn't get much done today due to being distracted by my remodel, but the remodel is moving forward apace - Randy moved some more plumbing this morning, and then set a few cabinets this afternoon, and also put in some of the can lights. I'm pretty excited about how I think this is all going to look, and I'm also anxious to see it all come together and hoping that I didn't make any design mistakes. We shall see, we shall see.

Today was also Lorena's visitation, which I would have definitely gone to under normal circumstances (even though I'm sure it was v. packed + the superspreader event of the season). Since I am still negative for covid but also not convinced I'm not a carrier, I didn't really feel like I should go stand in line and potentially expose others while also potentially bringing flu or RSV back to [censored]. However, this being a small town and all, I decided to just call the funeral home and see if they were letting anyone in early to see Lorena. They told me I could come a little after 1pm, so I went - and I'm glad I got to see her, even if she didn't look right because I have never, ever seen her when she wasn't either laughing or completely engaged with whoever she was with. Losing her is really sad for the town, and for her family and friends, and for me. Unfortunately, [censored] wasn't able to go due to his continued 'rona, but the funeral is livestreamed, so at least there's that.

Tonight, I felt like doing nothing, so [censored] and I watched 'A Million Ways to Die in the West' and ate leftover burrito bowls. And now, I am going to go to bed and hope I continue feeling okay tomorrow - goodnight!

nirvana on the last try

I had a v. lovely day in #smalltownlife - while fall is definitely in the air and the colors are absolutely gorgeous, it was almost eighty degrees today. This was perfect for a long, meandering drive with my dad around the southern reaches of our county. I asked him to take me around and show me tings, although I didn't have any specific destination in mind - I am trying to figure out the vibe of my book, and because of my dad's unique history with this place, he has more stories than I will ever have.

So, he took me down a bunch of dirt roads (although one, which is part of the Iowa/Missouri line, was impassable enough that we didn't try it) and various gravel/paved roads and showed me things he thought might be interesting. I took a few photos to jog my memory later, and I made some notes. While most people think Iowa is flat, this area definitely isn't -- any number of things could happen in the draws and valleys that are shrouded by timber, and my mind is buzzing with possibilities.

All in all, it was a great afternoon, and I'm glad we made time for it. The rest of my day was fairly unproductive, but I need to get some more stuff done tomorrow - so I think it's time for bed. Goodnight!

if you've got the inclination i have got the crime

I did a bunch of house stuff today, which was a good use of time, but I'm starting to feel the itch to write more seriously / consistently. However, I'm still unpacking - so today I continued organizing and moving tings around the house. I also spent quite a bit of time prepping some cobb salads for the week - I love them, but they're a little labor intensive. But since I can't get one doordash'd to my house, occasionally I have to expend the effort to make them myself.

At some point, my mom showed up to check out the paint job in my bedroom (which does look great, I must say). Then I finished cleaning my kitchen, took a shower, and greeted [censored], who gave me a tour of [censored]. as evening rolled up, we went out to the parents' house for dinner, where we had brats and baked beans and potatoes like any good midwesterner. Tonight was the first night in months that I felt a little bit of a chill, and I'm not sure how I feel about that - but winter is inevitable, so I supposed I can't complain.

After supper, my niece and her fiancé came over to visit - I hadn't seen Allie and Chris for awhile (since Christmas, maybe??), so it was great that they were around this weekend. We ended up going to the old soda fountain in town (which is run by volunteers, and is a restoration of the old soda fountain I used to go to when I was a kid), and it was a delight to hang out. I got a coke float, which is not what my go-to order was at the soda fountain as a kid - I usually got cherry cokes, or lemon cokes, or vanilla shakes. But it was tasty and brought back memories, so I'll take it.

Then we came back to my place and gave them the tour of my gigantic bedrooms / tiny bathrooms. Allie declared that I'm too bougie for this town, which is probably true. And we Hanseled-and-Greteled them into doing some manual labor here - and by that I mean we lured children to an isolated house with the promise of treats/ice cream, and then got them to lift a [censored] for [censored]. But it all worked out and my homeowners policy won't have to pay for any injury claims, so I feel good about that.

And now, I really need to sleep so that I can continue my unpacking extravaganza tomorrow - goodnight!

leaving on a jet plane

In twenty-four hours I'll likely be somewhere over Canada or the North Atlantic en route to the Amalfi Coast and a glorious week with Katie. We have had many adventures together and we are accustomed to lazing by bodies of water, although I'm guessing that Positano and Capri may be slightly more luxurious than floating in a rowboat at the lake at Bob White. And, since we are not underage and also have better jobs than we had in high school, the drinks will probably involve real wine instead of wine coolers. But beyond that, I expect it to be pretty much exactly the same as our usual summer shenanigans.

I spent today mostly prepping for the trip, although I did get up early and grab some coffee and write for forty-five minutes or so. Eventually, I went to the mall to return some things and buy some other things, and I was pretty much the only person wearing a mask because I don't want to get covid right before my trip. I also ran a few other errands, and then I stopped by Katie's to scan her vaccine card for check-in and we ended up talking for an hour and a half. Tomorrow's seatmate should be glad that we got some initial conversation out of the way, although we have barely seen each other in the last few months and so have many and varied possible topics to cover this week.

Then I came home, ate leftover takeout, and did a bunch of organizing / packing. I haven't actually packed, but I got out the clothes I plan to take, and I organized / winnowed my cosmetics and first aid stuff and all the other things that I vaguely remember taking with me on international trips. I'm so out of practice that I'm concerned I'm going to screw up crucial things - but I found my travel adapters, and I found melatonin and earplugs and an eye mask, and as long as I have my contacts / glasses / passport / credit card, I guess everything else can be solved on arrival.

And now, I really need some sleep so that I can make the last push tomorrow before we head to the airport - goodnight!

if you live like that, you live with ghosts

I worked from home today, which saved my life - it has become deeply important to me that I can do a bit of work and drink a lot of coffee and stay in my pajamas until 30min before my first meeting, and this is obviously not possible when my commute is 45min and a shower/some makeup/actual pants are required on office days. Work was fine, all in all, but I was not particularly productive - by afternoon, the effects of the week were hitting me, and I mostly wanted to rest my eyes. So I got a bit more done, but I also talked to Katie (we have not caught up in ages as she's been super sick) and also to James (her husband, whom I also have not caught up with in ages).

Eventually, when it was marginally respectable to end the day, I ran a few errands, picked up some groceries, and got food to make tonight. I was going to make risotto and cook some scallops to go along with it, but the scallops at the fish market were $66/lb, which was exorbitant enough to make me think twice. So instead, I went across to my favorite little cheese shop and got some chorizo sausages so that I could try a Barefoot Contessa recipe instead. The recipe was for 'baked raclette', and it involved boiling and slicing fingerling potatoes, sauteeing the chorizo sausages, mixing the potatoes/sausages with some salt/pepper/thyme/white wine, and splitting the stuff across four individual baking dishes. Then, you cover the potato/sausage mix with slices of raclette cheese and bake for ten minutes so the cheese gets all melty and bubbly. All in all, it was excellent - it obviously wasn't what I had planned to have, but for a pivot it was v. welcome.

Then I spent the evening mostly procrastinating / half napping, and I should have gone to bed hours ago but it's suddenly after midnight. Goodnight!

still up with the sunrise, white lines in the hillside

I went into the office again today - now that I've been in three times, it's starting to feel a little normal. Of course, my office will never actually be normal - I found a secret room today (only because I was told there was one), where pushing the right set of boxes revealed a room with arcade games inside. I also discovered a meditation room, where I tapped on a Tibetan singing bowl for awhile and felt marginally more relaxed. And I had breakfast with Tomas and lunch with Caroline, so that was a delight.

In the afternoon, I hosted another 'treats and greets' event for a bunch of people in Boulder - I'm not entirely enthused about going back to the office permanently because I want to spend more time in Iowa than I'm going to be encouraged to in the future, but it is good for my mood to get all the sunlight in the office + all the people interactions. Then, after work, I remembered that there's a mall right next to the office - I had completely blocked it out of my mind that I used to do a lot of my errands in Boulder, because it was easier to go to Target or Sephora or Home Depot or Nordstrom Rack right next to the office while waiting out rush hour. It's amazing how many tings used to be common parts of my life two years ago and now are just...forgotten habits that may or may not return post-pandemic.

So, I went to Anthropologie to look for a dress for next weekend's wedding (I think I succeeded, although it may be slightly ridiculous due to the cut/pattern), and then drove home, messed around, ate some leftover chili, etc. And now I'm determined to go to bed legitimately early so that I can get enough sleep tonight after a week of fitful slumber - goodnight!

i look around and sin city's cold and empty

I had a v. stressful work day, but it's over and I have a four day weekend, so I'm deeply relieved about that fact. I went to the office and slogged all day (mostly meetings), but I snuck out for an early drink with my friend Lorena. We haven't seen each other in years, obvi, since the pandemic ruined business travel, but it was a delight to see her (and a delight to have a nice tea-infused cocktail at Absinthe).

Then I went to Octavia for an early dinner with Terry to celebrate a) her wedding and b) the fact that we were seeing each other in person for the first time since her bachelorette in February 2020. I'm glad we got a bit of solo time before the wedding stuff fully kicks off - it was v. nice to catch up on life, and that conversation probably requires more than the span of a single meal. But tonight was a good start - we split some delicious sweet potato tempura and also a mozzarella with beets that was excellent. I had their pork with some beans and a bunch of dill, and it reminded me of Ukraine - we ate a lot of pork there, and things were covered in dill, so while this was objectively 10x better than anything I ate in Ukraine, the flavor profile triggered some memories.

Then I dropped Terry at her hotel, came back to mine, and worked for the last three hours to wrap stuff up before going on vacation. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

Знаю я, ты помнишь обо мне

I have successfully tracked down a song I heard in Ukraine in 1993, and this is such a feat that I am in awe of my own prowess. Since I don't speak Russian or Ukrainian and yet have a memory for syllables, this song and whatever I remembered of it has haunted me since those early days in Ukraine when we sat in the basement at Viktor's restaurant, eating beefsteak (which was pork) or chickens that had starved to death, finishing up with ice cream out of the finger bowls that we had just used to wash dill off our hands, and listening to a v. earnest band that was trying to entertain us. But the song is "Странник мой", and the lines I remember apparently translate into "My wanderer, my baby / You are not sleeping at this hour. / I know you remember me." This feels like what Taylor Swift would sing if she were Russian, so this checks out.

sssanyway. Ukraine is heavy in my thoughts, and it has moved a bit into my actual day job, which makes it both inescapable and also feels good-ish that I'm not just ignoring it during the day. Today was a long day, since I had a lot of work to do. But I skipped out at 4:30 to get my hair cut, and it was long overdue - I think I got my hair cut sometime during the Delta wave, if that tells you anything, and I've been trimming my own bangs since then. Unfortunately, I think that my bout with covid in January has caused some hair impacts - I feel like I'm losing more strands than usual, and my hair is tangling more frequently. This is a defcon 1 situation (yes, more important than Ukraine) because I'm incredibly vain about my hair and feel that its sleek texture and perfect chocolatey brown color with infinitely interesting red/blonde/white strands means that I am blessed by God (you may think I'm joking, but seriously, my hair is a blessing, and my storytelling ability / people skills / empathy / strategic thinking are all secondary).

So, I got a haircut and added a moisture treatment, and it feels great. I also let the woman upsell me on waxing my eyebrows, which I am not vain about because they look like my granddad's (see: why I have bangs). But I was her last client and she didn't want to go home, so now I look slightly more presentable.

Then, I met up with Sarah-Frances at FNG, which is a block and a half from me ([censored] and I had tater tots there) - it recently reopened with an up-leveled menu, and it was a delight. My hair or my personality scored us a free old fashioned, as per my old skill level at bars, and then we had a super tasty dinner. All in all, it was great to see SF and great to know that the bar closest to my house is a contender for top hangout in the aftertimes.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight! 

i see a red door and i want to paint it black

Another day, another doomscroll through the apocalypse. I had a quiet day at work, since I had a no meeting Friday on top of a no meeting week, which meant it actually got honored and I didn't have to talk to anyone at all over video today. So, I was able to get some actual work done, although there are still some tings I need to do (which is tough, since I'm driving back to Colorado this weekend).

All in all, it was a v. quiet day, although my dad did stop by and drank some iced tea while admiring my carpet and telling [censored] and me the latest about what he was hearing from Ukraine. One of our friends (whom we call Little Sergey for reasons that now don't matter since we don't keep in touch with the other Sergeys we knew, which is a real shame because Sergey Pickup was a nice name) evacuated from Kiev with his family (and the older daughter's boyfriend, whom they had never met, which probably made for an extra bit of interest on an already-tense car ride), headed for some resort in western Ukraine that his company had rented to evacuate employees to. The friend and the daughter's boyfriend wouldn't be able to leave Ukraine now since men 18-60 aren't allowed to leave in case they need to be mobilized, but at least they aren't in the city. Our other friend (Svetlana) stayed put, but she's an hour south of Kiev; her son just turned eighteen, so they can't leave either. And our friend Vova, whom some of my college friends met during one epic dinner party at my apartment in ~2014, was already out of Ukraine with all of his family except his father and sister, so hopefully they stay safe.

Still, it's all astonishing and upsetting, so I spent more time reading twitter than getting actual work done. Eventually, around six, [censored] and I picked up takeout from the Mexican restaurant in town (which took longer than usual due to an unusual mixup) and went out to our parents' house to eat. We hung out there for awhile while discussing Ukraine, and while [censored] did some clearing of kitchen drains ([censored] is critical to the upkeep of multiple houses other than his own). Then, [censored] and I came back to my place, moved the sectional back into the living room so that we'd have someplace to sit (even though we hate the sectional), and watched a couple of comedy specials and some news.

And now, I really need to sleep - I need to pack up my car tomorrow, but I also need to get a ton of sleep because I haven't slept enough this week and I need to rest up for the road. Goodnight!

now we are free

I had a better day today than I did yesterday, probably because I spent the last five hours watching the Olympics. I felt a little melancholy while watching some of it tonight - Lindsey Jacobellis finally won gold after losing it back in the 2006 Torino Olympics when she was so far ahead on a snowboard race that she showboated and lost her balance, which was an amazing redemption story after so many years of work. But I watched most of those Olympics, and several others, with Tammy, who unfortunately passed away in 2020. So, as I was watching all sorts of ridiculous skating commentary tonight, I was certainly thinking of her.

But the Olympics were quite enjoyable tonight - I watched a bunch of snowboarding and the men's free skate, and it was a delight. And I got some work done today, took a nap at some point, and did some laundry, so I feel like I had a good combo of productivity (work) and actual joy (the Olympics).

And now, it's after midnight and I should really sleep - I want to stay up and watch the Olympics all night, but that's probably not the best idea. Goodnight!