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!

good times never seemed so good

I am still not getting enough sleep, which is common on trips, but I'm delighted with my days. I got up this morning, put in a pair of contacts, put on a pair of pants, and walked down the block to Starbucks to grab a cold brew. Then, I sat in bed and wrote for a couple of hours. I unfortunately let myself get distracted by some research that turned into procrastination, but things are starting to gel and I'm excited to see where they go.

After that morning session, I took a shower and adjourned to the gazebo by the beach, where Barbara was writing. I ordered a poke bowl and hung out down there for a couple of hours - Anne joined us and we spent some quality time plotting Barbara's next book, which is always fun (way more fun when you don't have to slog through writing it). Veronica also joined us, and it's clear we're here from different climates since she was wearing cashmere leggings and a sweater and gloves, and I was sitting in the sun in my tank top. But it will be approx zero degrees when I get back to Iowa, so I'm soaking this up.

Eventually, I decided to take a break from writing, which turned into a somewhat ill-advised nap. Then, we ordered dinner and some of us walked to pick it up, since it was around the block. And then I spent the night hanging out - mostly chatting with Barbara, although I did some v. late brainstorming with Anne after most people went to bed. We also all survived a rather ridiculous interlude where it seemed someone might have been trying to get in from the garage, and people had varying responses to this (my contribution was to tell the blonde not to get killed by going into the garage by herself to prove to us that nothing was happening).

And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

i talk to myself and it's quite surprising

I had an excellent and productive first day of the retreat. I woke up unusually early for me, but I'm sure it's because of the timezones + the fact that I can hear people moving around and others are also early risers. So, I made a quick and dirty iced coffee with a Starbucks Via packet, and then I wrote in bed for an hour and a half while watching the ocean through my window. Yes, you should be jealous.

After that, I took a shower, grabbed a second iced coffee from the actual Starbucks down the street, and got a mani/pedi. I didn't completely love it, mostly because I have sensitive toes and they were too aggressive with cutting / filing - but it felt great to get my nails done for the first time in almost three months. My bougie ways are really suffering in the country, but it's probably good for me.

sssanyway, while I was getting my nails done, I started reading a book called SATURNALIA - so far so good, and I like her depiction of a Pennsylvania after a lot of climate disasters. After the mani/pedi, I came back to the house, ordered a poke bowl to get delivered, and ate it on the rooftop while chatting with Veronica and Barbara. Then, I thought about writing and instead took a long and delicious nap.

I spent the late afternoon in a long business-focused brainstorming / sharing session - I got some good ideas, but at this stage in the game I really need to be thinking about writing more than about tracking URLs. Then, we ordered food, which is a trick for fifteen people, but we managed (mostly by getting from two different restaurants - my Mediterranean was tasty, so #noregrets).

I spent the later half of the evening talking to Grace and Sylvie, and hoping that Sylvie will be my new friend coming out of this retreat (I'll probably make more friends than that, but Sylvie seems to be a winner). I also chatted a bit with Barbara and Anne, but I missed out on both the hot tub (because I was too cold) and a game of Cards Against Humanity (because they don't need to find out yet that I'm evil).

And then I came to my room and wrote a couple more pages, and now it's officially time for bed - 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!

never forget

I had an excellent birthday in the city of sin. Despite last night's blog post ending abruptly, I was actually pretty sedate yesterday - I guess we're all growing up, or something. After seeing Jess yesterday afternoon, I came back to my hotel, freshened up briefly, and then went to ABV for a pre-dinner drink. ABV was one of my old haunts in my youth, and it's still got it - I had a Mumbai Mule that was quite tasty. Claudia and Sam joined for the pre-dinner drink, which was a nice way to get the party started. 

Then we walked to Burma Love, which I chose specifically because I now live hundreds of miles from the nearest Burmese restaurant. We met up with Adit, Priyanka, Chandlord, and John, and the seven of us had a decadent and delicious dinner. It of course devolved into the usual shenanigans (i.e. everyone got to ask me a question; we wanted to do a candle ceremony, but there were no candles, and the birthday dessert that was brought out to me had a rather dangerous sparkler in it instead of candles). Then we adjourned to Elixir, where we drank alcoholic slushies (mountain = irish coffee; beach = spicy margarita) and felt like we were going to get run over in our parklet every time the MUNI went by. I must say, I like the proliferation of parklets (booths outside in former parking spots, created tanks to covid), but this particular parklet felt like we were going to die (especially after John and I accidentally broke the plastic divider, ha).

Side note: San Francisco feels like it's finally coming back to life. The handful of trips I've taken here since the pandemic have been strange and sad and apocalyptic, since no one was out and everything was closing early. But Friday, Saturday, and today were all busy and bustling and wonderful. The first two bars we tried to go to before Elixir were either too noisy or had lines out the door and around the block; Friday was also surprisingly busy and back to normal. It's too early to say what the future holds, but this is closer to the San Francisco I remember, and my heart was happy to feel it.

After Elixir, the final crew (me, Chandlord, the cat, and Dirty John) went to the Hideout and had a final cocktail while ensconced upstairs. Then it was last call, and we got overly-expensive ubers to get ourselves out of the Mission. As usual, family dinner was a success, and as usual, I remain happy/surprised/delighted/confused that I've been friends with most of these people for twenty-three years and counting.

So, this morning was better than it could have been - last night's alcohol consumption was pretty relaxed, and my physical health this morning was wrecked more by lack of sleep than by tequila. So, I was lazy this morning before eventually rallying to have brunch with Chandlord, since we haven't had 1:1 time in ages. We went to True Laurel, which was incredible (I've had some great meals this weekend, and Burma Love and Beretta held their own, but this may have been the best) - I had a fantastic deconstructed pork fried rice that I'll probably dream about. We also got to catch up on work and life in ways that are harder in big groups, which was much overdue. And I got to see Chandlord's remodeled bathroom, which gave me some ideas...

Then I came back to my hotel, took a long nap, and talked to my parents. And then I had a late afternoon snack with Katrina, who came to Japantown for me - I had ended our hangout Friday rather abruptly, so we continued the convo today. We hung out in one of the pedestrian areas of Japantown, then had some shishito peppers and seaweed salad (for her) and buns with pork and sweet/sour chicken (for me), and it was v. lovely.

Then, I spent approx ten minutes switching out of sweats into a dress and also putting on eyeshadow, and then I met up with Veronica for dinner at Gardenias. Today was v. much a #girlsdayout since I purposefully chose to hang out with some of my favorite girlfriends, and dinner was exactly what I need. V and I hung out over dinner, then came back to the Kabuki for one last drink before she headed home. And then I switched back into sweats, came back to the bar, and nursed a final ginger beer while writing this.

And now, my birthday is nearing its close - but it's the best one I've had in quite some time, and I'm happy that I got to spend it here. And now, I should sleep - goodnight!

oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart

I'm back in Denver and brutally tired, but I had an excellent long weekend in the city of sin. Friday was particularly delightful - I spent an hour drinking coffee and journaling at Philz, and then I packed up all my stuff, checked out of my first hotel, and left my tings there while I took an uber out to Beach Chalet for lunch with Anne and Veronica. Barbara is out of town and Grace couldn't make it, so we were a smaller group than usual, but I was v. happy to see Anne and Veronica. I am reminded, as always, how much I miss my writer group in SF, even if we usually met at an uninspiring Starbucks in the peninsula instead of having a fancy lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

After we parted ways, I went back to my hotel, grabbed my stuff, and took an uber to the Fairmont, where I checked in for wedding shenanigans. I had just enough time to get ready and put on my outfit before it was time to head out - I shared an uber with Lauren (aka Subz) and Nathan to the Friday evening party, where I met Adit (some people call him the cat), who was my date for the night. I wore the v. fancy lehenga that I bought in Denver last month, and I loved it - it was v. princessy, which is not usually a look I go for when I'm a wedding guest, but it was great.

The first night was dry, which was less than ideal, especially since I had to give a toast. However, Terry's dad snuck in approx 100 airplane-sized bottles of vodka, so I was able to have a vodka and diet coke to get me ready to go. Also, the food was really excellent and the venue was nice, so all in all it was good. My toast was also great, if I do say so myself, so it felt like a rousing evening.

After the Friday event was over, Adit and I went back to the Fairmont and rendezvoused with Chandlord. We were going to go to the Tonga Room, but it was stupidly closed early, so I changed clothes and we ventured into the Tenderloin. Our first drink was not great due to a potential bartending mishap, but then we went to Zombie Village and had a couple of punchbowls while holed up in a booth and talking about Ritu's nephew (our favorite topic of conversation). And when we were done, I took an uber approx five blocks because I didn't feel like walking up Nob Hill at 2am.

The next day, I had room service breakfast (my favorite) and then went downtown to quickly buy a new pair of shoes, since my Friday shoes had created blisters and I didn't have any other options. That errand was easily accomplished, but getting back was a pain - the St Patricks Day parade was happening all along Market, which completely screwed up traffic, and so I ended up walking up Nob Hill with my shoes. This was not what my blistered feet wanted, but I made it back, took a shower, and took a nap. Then, Subz came to my room so we could get ready together - she had arranged some people to do our hair + her makeup, which was super fun. Unfortunately, the wedding was so windy that my updo didn't look as awesome as it did in the first thirty minutes of its life, but it was still great to get some girl time with Lauren.

Then we went to the wedding, which was at Cavallo Point in Sausalito. The vow renewal was outdoors, and since it's San Francisco, that meant it was totally freezing - I was glad I had decided to prioritize comfort over fashion and brough my down puffer, because I needed it. However, the Golden Gate Bridge made for a gorgeous backdrop, and Terry and Haseeb's vows (a vow renewal, since they got married at City Hall as NYC was shutting down two years ago) were beautiful.

The rest of the night was super fun - lovely cocktail hour followed by dinner, then lots more toasts, and then dancing. Eventually we all headed back to SF, and I ended up going out with most of Terry's siblings + Lisa (an old Stanford friend) until whatever bar we went to shut down. And then the time changed as I got back to my hotel, so suddenly it was three a.m. and I was ready to collapse.

Today was smooth, even though I didn't get nearly enough sleep - I got up, ate breakfast, packed, showered, etc. and made it to the airport with just the right amount of time. Getting to Denver was easy (albeit turbulent), and my house is still here, and I had takeout sushi to celebrate being home. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

торнадо!

I'm in San Francisco, safely ensconced and yet also waiting for the next apocalypse (I would actually prefer not to be here for the next mega earthquake, tanks). I actually arrived yesterday, after I v. casual day of packing, prepping, and then having my beloved airport margaritas at Cantina Grill before my flight. However, when I landed, I was texting [censored] in a v. desultory manner when he suddenly reported that the train he had heard was actually a tornado and he was heading to my basement. Then, a minute later, he texted to say that Dad had texted him to say they'd had a direct hit (my parents' house is a mile east of mine and tornadoes move quick).

sssanyway, this was all v. startling and surprising and upsetting, and it didn't help that I was slightly drunk and stuck in an uber and unable to do anything to help. As it turns out, my parents were fine, and our house is mostly fine too - they were extremely lucky, since the tornado basically went over the top of their house. It took off the ridge cap on the roof, but that was the only damage that needs to be fixed immediately (before too much snow goes through the 4" of open roof along the top of the roof line). It also blew an old fuel tank into the side of the house, but other than cracked siding it didn't really screw anything up. The tornado took out a big old maple in the front yard, and it knocked a shed over onto its door, and it somehow picked up my dad's smoker off the patio and tossed it a few hundred feet (but the grill and patio furniture are all still there). It also picked up a pickup cab in the north yard, bounced it on top of another car, and then threw it 700 or so feet so that it's now half-submerged in our pond.

So, needless to say, it's a big relief that my parents were fine and somehow the storm didn't knock out any windows or do anything more dramatic. It's also a relief that we tore down the old house last year - it would have been scattered over several thousand square feet of field, and that would not have been a good outcome. Some other people had damage too - a neighbor's shed was completely destroyed, and the ballfield where I played tee ball as a kid was completely leveled (no fence, no scoreboard, no concession stand, and no sign of any of those remnants). Tornadoes are eerie in terms of what they touch and what they take and what they leave behind, and this one was no different.

sssanyway, Last night I couldn't do anything, so I kept my dinner date with Veronica - we went next door and had food + two bottles of wine + a lot of conversation, and it was fantastic. This morning was not so fantastic - between worries about tornadoes + my hangover, I was not in it to win it. But I ate brunch nearby, and I spent the afternoon doing day job stuff that I had to do to prep for the week ahead. I also talked to my parents and to [censored], and everyone seems to be handling tings okay for now.

Luckily, I didn't have to work the whole night - I met Jane and Jen at Akna for a lowkey friendship renewal dinner. Akna is a popup in Hayes Valley serving Mayan/Yucatan food, and it was extremely tasty - our tamales were excellent, and the ceviche as great, and the cheese dip with beans and chorizo was lowkey the best thing I've tasted in weeks or months. I was v. impressed, and it was a great place to catch up for a couple of hours and discuss life.

And now, it's still early in California, but I think I would be best served by disconnecting for a bit and going to bed. Goodnight!

lonely water, lonely water, won't you let us wander

I'm feeling better, but I may have slightly overdone it today. I actually sat at my work setup (my dining room, not my writing desk) for the first time since I got sick, and I put on eyeshadow and a slightly dressier outfit in deference to the meetings I had today. However, I took too many meetings (in which several people helpfully mentioned that I still sound congested), and I was completely wiped out by the end of them.

But the day wasn't all grim - I did get up and write for just a little bit before work, which was delightful. I had leftover enchiladas for dinner, and I had pho for lunch, so at least I ate some tasty things (and my taste buds seem very unaffected). Some fantastic writer friends sent me flowers, which are exactly what I need. And I ended the day by spending some time reading SWEEP IN PEACE, the second book in the magical innkeeper series that I started last week - it's only 9pm, and I'm not ready to go to bed yet, but I am perhaps ready to crawl into bed and read a few more chapters before making myself go to sleep earlier than usual. We shall see, we shall see. Goodnight!

i remember her, i don't remember me

I had a nice, quiet day, but it sure would be nice if the pandemic ended. It's too easy for me to fall into mindlessly scrolling twitter because nothing else is going on. But I managed to avoid that temptation for most of the day - I slept in a bit, made coffee, read one of the new cookbooks my parents gave me for Christmas, and then made scrambled eggs since I didn't have the ingredients for anything I might have made from that book. I then spent some quality time this afternoon trying to get my house back in order here - this mostly meant doing a bunch of laundry, organizing things in my bedroom, etc.

At some point, I had a long phone chat with California Barbara - we hadn't talked in a couple of months, and she texted me about something, so we ended up talking for an hour. That was a delightful break, and also made me deeply miss my California writing crew. Then, I made a new-to-me recipe for chicken enchiladas - they weren't from the cookbook I read, but rather from a reliable recipe website. I wasn't at all sure how they were going to turn out because the enchilada sauce tasted a little too oily and my corn tortillas were a week past the expiration date (despite having been purchased four days ago) - but they were really delicious and I would totally make them again. I also spread them across three different smaller baking dishes rather than making a 9x13 pan, so I can put two in the freezer and have a couple of meals each when I thaw and bake them at some future date. All in all, Future Sara is v. lucky that I had this foresight.

While I was cooking, and for a couple of hours after, I watched most of a Masterclass by N.K. Jemisin (author of some totally amazing fantasy novels). I signed up for Masterclass last week on a bit of a whim, thinking that watching some writing-related classes might replace the inspiration that I used to get by attending conferences - and while Masterclass can't replicate the real magic of conferences (aka sitting in the bar and getting industry gossip), the lecture itself was pretty thought provoking. There are a ton of interesting writing classes available, so we'll see what I get through in the next few weeks / months.

And now, I should go to bed - but first, allow me to document that yesterday I had a v. long, luxurious dinner with Katie at Bar Dough. We hadn't seen each other in almost two months, so we were very overdue - and I was able to snag a reservation for a private greenhouse, which is a totally enclosed space with heaters and a bluetooth speaker to play your own music. The reservation was supposed to be for ninety minutes, but they let us stay almost three hours - so we had burrata, and then a completely delicious pasta (I ate every bite despite the server selling it as 'big enough for leftovers'), and then a glass of fernet for dessert in homage to my San Francisco life. Then we left and sat in my car outside Katie's house talking for almost another hour. It of course wasn't enough to get fully caught up, but it went a long way.

And now, I'm going to bed for real - goodnight!

polarized feelings, i don't wear them on my face lately

I am sitting in Veronica's guest room (which is technically not her guest room; it's the extra room in her airbnb, which she's staying in because of renovations) in the bay area, down in the peninsula haunts of my youth. Actually, I didn't haunt San Bruno in my real youth, but I did write in San Bruno in my early thirties, so I'm counting that.

Today was lovely, but v. long and I'm v. tired. We had to leave Tahoe today, which made me sad; happily, I drove back Grace and Anne, whom I adore, and it made for excellent conversation. Traffic was really bad getting out of Tahoe due to multiple places where the road was cut to one lane to allow for ongoing cleanup from the fires - it's really quite astonishing that so many houses and town survived given the intense fire damage along the way. So, it took longer to get back than expected, and we certainly weren't pushing it (we stopped for a late lunch, which was v. needed). I dropped Anne off at her place, then took Grace to Barbara's to pick up her car. Happily, Barbara and her husband showed up at the same time that we did, so I got a tour of Barbara's new house (same location as the old house, but I hadn't seen the new version since it got finished just before the pandemic). I'm super sad that our retreat is over, but I'm looking forward to more fun times with the group in the next few months.

When I was done driving + saying goodbye, I drove to Veronica's. I was supposed to just drop stuff here and then head into SF for dinner, but I called an audible and canceled on dinner - I was cutting it way too close, and was too tired, and really just wanted the comfort of Veronica and sweats and a bottle of chablis. So, Veronica and Adam v. graciously pivoted and included me in their dinner prep - we had snacks and talked while Adam cooked, and Adam made us gins and tonics (followed by the aforementioned chablis), along w/v. tasty rice bowls. And we watched some tv and I had retired to my room by ten, which is exactly what I needed. And, as always, Veronica and Adam are a delight, and I'm delighted that I got to spend extra time with them.

And now, I really need to sleep - tomorrow I'm peregrinating around the south bay and seeing a bunch of people I haven't seen in 2+ years, and I'm both v. excited and also already tired. But it should be a great time. Goodnight!

stop for a minute and see where you hide

I am v. sad that today was the last day of my retreat - I could have easily used another week. The fun doesn't end completely tomorrow, since I'm going to San Francisco for a few days after, but I really wish I could spend another week holed up in Tahoe and submerging myself in the writing.

Today was a lovely last day, though - I slept in a bit (but not enough to make up for staying up so late last night), and then I went to Nevada to pick up a rental car. This sounds more onerous than it was, since the state line is eight minutes from here and I just went across the border to the Hard Rock Casino to get the rental car. Then I spent the afternoon brainstorming the book concept we came up with yesterday, which I'm pretty excited about.

The day ended with me and Grace going down to the Heavenly plaza to pick up takeout - since I had a car today, and we haven't had a car all week, the group took advantage of it to get food from a place that doesn't deliver. And now, I'm mostly packed and mostly ready to go, but I should get some sleep if I want to drive to SF tomorrow. Goodnight!

the fear has gripped me but here i go

I stayed up way too late reading, but #noregrets. Today was really great - as I was making coffee and tidying up the kitchen, I asked Barbara to "give me some advice I won't take" (she once gave an entire keynote on how everyone wants her advice but doesn't actually listen to her, while looking at our table, so I continue to find this hilarious). This somehow turned into her and Veronica helping me to brainstorm a totally new book idea that I wasn't expecting and am now vastly intrigued by. We continued the brainstorm over lunch and I think there's a "there" there, so I spent the afternoon messing around with it. It felt fun to play with something new, which is also a great thread between previous projects....so we'll see what happens.

Sadly, Veronica left this afternoon, but the rest of us ordered dinner from a bar and grill type place (tasty, but not the best ever) and hung out for a couple of hours. And then I curled up in the media room and read the entire first Sookie Stackhouse book in one sitting - I should have read it years ago, but I never read it or watched True Blood, and so I was way overdue. It wasn't quite what I expected, probably because it's been so hyped - but it was v. useful for my purposes.

And now it's almost 1:30am and tomorrow is my last day here and I want to enjoy it, and enjoying it will be easier with some sleep. Goodnight!

first sip of coffee

I had a really delightful day, all in all - it's great to be around other writers, and also great to be in Lake Tahoe after two years away. I messed around this morning and then took a walk - partially to mail my absentee ballot for the Denver elections next week, and partially to check out the new Whole Foods that opened here since the last time I was here. It was a nice day for a walk even if things are still really slushy from yesterday's snow, and it was great to get out of the house for a bit.

Then I came back to the house, made a tuna melt (which convinced Grace to also make a tuna melt), and spent some time working on book stuff. I broke for a bit to talk to Alyssa, which was illuminating as per usual. Then I messed around online, ordered dinner for the group (delicious Indian takeout), and then enjoyed said Indian takeout.

The surprise came after dinner - I was completely shocked when my friends all started singing happy birthday and brought out cupcakes, a balloon, gifts, and sparkling rosé. In fact, I was so shocked that I started singing happy birthday because I had no idea what was going on (ha). I had planned to do something fun and raucous for my 40th but had canceled it due to the 'rona, but they decided to help me celebrate tonight. It was such a fun surprise, and I'm glad I got to celebrate with them! And a bottle of rosé (which I shared) + a Sephora gift card (among other things, which I did not share) were pretty #onbrand gifts.

So, that was a super surprise, and I spent the rest of the evening drinking some rosé and basking in the glow of good company (and a working fireplace, which was fixed this afternoon). And now I should really sleep - I want to write as much as possible tomorrow, and sleep would be useful for that goal. Goodnight!

i take my gun to the enemy's side

Today was a strange, lovely day - it snowed a lot this morning, and when I woke up I discovered we had lost power and the house was dark. So I got ready in the dark, went downstairs, found no one was here, and started to investigate - when suddenly the power came back and everything was fine again. The snow was pretty dramatic this morning though - it fell heavily for several hours, and it made for a moody and atmospheric view of the lake.

But by early afternoon it started to clear up, and eventually the sun was out and everything was bright and cheerful again. I didn't get a lot of writing done today - after the power outage everyone was discombobulated, and then around lunch Veronica arrived (yay! and also crazy that she managed to get here with the snow) and so of course I wanted to talk to her. I did a bit of writing in the afternoon, but I broke early to make my chicken tortilla soup. This takes some time due to the chopping + the amount of time it has to simmer, and that was all extended because I made a triple batch. But it turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself, and it was fun to cook for other people after a lot of #quarantinechef activities.

After dinner, we hung out for several hours, and it was delightful. But now I really need to sleep so that I can focus more on storytelling tomorrow - goodnight!

muscle to muscle and toe to toe

I had intended to go to bed an hour ago, but I did some desultory shopping of tings online (without actually buying anything) and attempts to figure out where to stay in San Francisco next weekend (without actually booking anything). I had a really nice day in Tahoe, though - I got eight and a half hours of sleep to start, and then I made some coffee, took a shower, and made an omelette. I spent most of the afternoon hidden away in the media room reading a book and journaling, which was exactly what I wanted - while I've been doing writing retreats with some configuration of this group for seven years now, and while I usually try to write when I'm on a retreat, I'm treating this one as a combo vacation + refill the well. That means I'm more focused on reading and also spending serious quality time with friends (beyond the usual lunch or dinner excursion) for the first time in sixteen+ months.

Of course, it's a little silly that I came to Tahoe in late October - winter is coming to Denver but it's not there yet, while here we're getting slammed by an atmospheric river that's going to dump rain and snow for the next couple of days (and there's a winter storm warning in the mountains above us). I felt my inner rural Iowan kick into anxiety over the state of our grocery / food situation, since we didn't stock up enough to make me feel like we could survive a storm - so at some point this afternoon I ran across the street with Jules to get some more stuff, and carried back what I could carry (ingredients for chicken tortilla soup + another bottle of wine + some lotion = the necessities).

Late in the afternoon, Grace joined me in my media room hideout, so we both worked/read for awhile and then talked a bit. And then the group broke for dinner - Christie made soup, and we hung out and talked for a few hours. It's mostly the usual suspects (or at least the usual suspects from the last couple of Tahoe retreats) - Barbara, Christie, Anne, Grace, Tina, and Jules, which makes for a v. manageable group (i.e. one in which everyone gets their own bedroom and there are plenty of places for everyone to work and we can all fit around one table). Veronica is supposed to be here too, but due to some scheduling woes isn't here yet - but I'll take any time I can get with her.

sssanyway, I need to go to bed now - I have to do a bit of day job work tomorrow that I didn't get done before I left, and then I want to read something fun. Goodnight!

lover come hold me, head's on the fritz

I had a v. lazy day, with the intent of supporting my recovery as much as possible. However, the pain in my abdomen was slightly worse today than it was yesterday - the incisions are tiny and don't look particularly angry, but perhaps those holes were just big enough to slip an immersion blender inside and go to town with it. Who knows - I certainly don't, since I was asleep when the robot attacked. But as along as I take ibuprofen or tylenol as scheduled, and occasionally slip in something stronger, it's all totally manageable.

So today was fairly boring, but I got plenty of sleep last night and took a couple of naps today, so that seems good. I also grazed on soups and various snacks throughout the day, texted with some people (hi master of disaster!), and talked to my parents, [censored], and Veronica. And I've finished the evening by reading quite a bit of a book called FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS, which is a self-help type book that is anti-productivity (at least in the classic sense of how productivity books are usually written) - so far it's really good and is hitting a lot of nerves that I've been working through recently, but I'll have more to say about it when I finish it.

And now, even though my mind wants to stay up and finish the book, my abdomen is telling me it's time for bed. Goodnight!

can't keep up with my rhythm though they keep trying

I'm exhausted and need to go to bed asap, but I had a delightful day and wish that more days were like this. Actually, in fairness, I had a mediocre day - I had way too many meetings, I didn't leave myself time for breakfast and then ate lunch too late, and generally things were a bit annoying.

But I had a wonderful afternoon / evening - I did a quick training session with Alyssa at four, and then Veronica and her family descended for an evening of delight. V's daughter is in college in Boulder, and they were all out for a visit before V's son starts college in a week, so they came into Denver to hang out with me. We had a lovely hour hanging out on my patio with snacks and sparkling rosé, and then we had dinner at Brazen. I've never been, but I'm really glad we went - it's very close to me, has a magical back patio with a view of a small park, and the food was perfect. We lingered over it and generally caught up, and while V's Gen Z kids had v. judgey and hurtful things to say about millennials, I had a great time overall. And, of course, it made me wish that Veronica and I lived in the same city (or even state), which is something I shall dwell on in my dreams tonight....

So, after four or so hours together, it was unfortunately time to part ways, but I have high hopes that we'll see each other more this fall. And now I should sleep since I have a million and one meetings tomorrow - goodnight!

the water is warm, but it's sending me shivers

I had a lovely day - it started a bit quiet because I was so tired and so stayed in bed until after nine, but then I rallied, ate some oatmeal, took a shower, and drove to Colorado Springs to see Barbara. We hadn't seen each other in several months, since I've been in Iowa a lot and have generally not been available in person or virtually recently, so we were way overdue to catch up. I met her at her permanent house, which she has temporarily vacated for a massive renovation - the renovation is getting close to done, and the kitchen is so gorgeous that it makes me want to demo and redo my kitchen immediately.

So, Barbara gave me a tour of her house, and then we went out for brunch. The food and the juice at the place we went were really good - I haven't had breakfast out in awhile, so the skillet hash hit the spot. Also, the waiter was a little hilarious in an almost-too-much way - he complained deeply about how much some other tables were demanding of him, but also offered to add vodka to my juice if I met him in the employee parking lot. I'm taking that as a sign that nature is healing and that I will get back to my usual 'odd interactions with strangers' game as soon as things open up just a bit more.

When we weren't dealing with the waiter, Barbara and I had a delightful, meandering conversation about life and writing, which is what I always enjoy about spending time with her. We went back to her house and hung out some more, and I would have liked to stay all afternoon - but it was raining off and on and I was flagging, so I said my goodbyes sometime after three and drove back to Denver. On the way, I talked to my parents and was shocked to hear that they were about to eat some of the boneless skinless chicken breast I left in the freezer - I'm hoping this isn't a sign of some dire personality shift.

I basically collapsed into bed and took a nap as soon as I got home, which is not what I normally do at six p.m., but that's what I did today. Then I made myself some boxed gluten free mac and cheese, which is not exactly a delicacy, but it hit the spot. I also planned some stuff for this week, did some laundry, and talked to [censored] about our plans for next weekend, so at least I salvaged some productivity tonight.

And now I think I'm going to fold towels and then perhaps read and go to bed - goodnight!

manifest a ceiling

I'm v. v. tired (which is three fewer v.'s than last night, so I suppose that's an improvement). The tiredness is more mental than physical, I think - the kind of tired behind the eyeballs and around the corners of the mouth that comes from stress rather than exertion.

I went back to work today, and by that I mean I sat at my desk in my parents' house and pretended to focus on meetings that were difficult to focus on, and ignored emails I didn't have the space for. I had a good conversation with my boss about all of this, though; she's really supportive of everything going on with my dad, so I'll probably take a couple of days off next week to regroup. And I did get some critical stuff done and am sorting out what else needs to get done tomorrow, so it certainly could be worse.

Sometime around five I was done for awhile, so I hung out with my parents and then drove into town to pick up Mexican food (basically the only takeout in town, so it's a good thing we like it since we're now eating it 2-3x / week). It was pretty tasty tonight, so no regrets there. I hung out upstairs a bit more, then came downstairs with the intention of being virtuous and answering work email. But instead I had a v. impromptu, v. overdue zoom with my friend Grace - she and I hadn't caught up in ages, but we exchanged texts about a ridiculous writing drama today, and then we ended up zooming for over an hour. It was very much what I needed, even if it wasn't exactly the same as our previous catch-ups, when we would drink margaritas (three for me, 0.25 of one for her) and laugh so hard that we would come close to wetting ourselves. Still, I'll take a zoom with Grace anytime, and tonight was a delight.

And now, rather than trying to clear my work inbox, I'm going to go to bed and attempt that feat in the morning - goodnight!

let's get it started in here

Well, I am certainly awake later than I had planned. Today was pretty productive, from what I remember - I made some oatmeal for the week, journaled, showered, etc. and then talked to Veronica for an hour, which was very much overdue. She was a delight, as usual, and I feel v. grateful to have writer friends who know exactly what a struggle the writing can be sometimes.

Then I spent the afternoon taking care of tings around the house, including another attempt at the harissa-rubbed pork shoulder that I made last weekend. Last weekend's effort was a disaster that was so bad that I threw out four pounds of pork, which is really just a total tragedy. But I was determined to try again. So, I made the rub and put the pork in the oven around one. Then I messed around, did some laundry, and did a couple of hours of day job work to make tomorrow just a little more bearable.

Eventually, the pork was at the right temperature (part of what I didn't like of the original recipe was that she gave a time for cooking it, not a temperature to cook it to, which is really not a good idea when it comes to big chunks of pork). So I let it rest and did some more work, and then cranked up the oven heat, threw some beans in with the pork, and finished it off. The end result was much better than last week - it was actually good, and while I think I could still perfect the technique, I was happy with how it turned out.

Then, as supper ended, I poured a glass of wine....and accidentally watched the Oprah/Harry/Meghan interview twice. I say accidentally because I very much intended to watch it once tonight (I had set a recording and also told myself that if I finished work I could watch it undistracted). But then Adit texted about a live watch as a family, and they were an hour behind me (two hours, actually, since the timezone is an hour back but then the broadcast schedule is even later). So I finished my watch and immediately hopped onto a zoom to watch with Adit / Chandlord / Riturani.

I had a lot of thoughts, but I'm too tired to recap here - basically it's just a sad situation and it's kind of shocking that the royal family (esp Charles) doesn't seem to have learned any lessons in the past forty years. Not so shocking that the palace is full of racist, hidebound courtiers - but shocking that the family didn't do more to figure this situation out. Anyway, it was v. interesting to watch, and it was entertaining to watch it a second time with the family (I did my nails while watching the second time, so at least I have something to show for it).

After the interview was over, we debriefed (and Priyanka joined)...and now it's after midnight here and I desperately need to sleep. Goodnight!