adult education

I've spent too much time staring at screens today, and I can feel the press of a headache against my eyeballs, so I'm going to go to bed early despite all the celebrating going on in SF tonight. I didn't sleep that well last night, mostly because I didn't go to bed until midnight and was awoken by the sun and instinct at 5:30 even though I could have slept until eight. Groggy, I then went to Palo Alto and trained with Alyssa, which was good. Then I had a writing date, where I did a bit of work, before coming home to beat traffic and continuing to slog until 6:30ish.

At that point, I was ready to send the first part of the gargoyles book to my editor, so I pressed send and took a break to have dinner (chicken skewers and wine at the bar at Troya; the food is delightful, but I'm not getting the vibe I got at Mezes or Des Amis, so it may not become my total go-to). Then I came home and spent another hour and a half writing a synopsis of the rest of the book + ideas for the rest of the series so I could give my editor some context about what I'm trying to do.

And with that, I'm going to take my hermity self and go to bed so that I can get eight hours of sleep before daylight and hope that it helps to restore me so that I can go back to working on Rafe's story tomorrow. Goodnight!

if i could find a way to see this straight i'd run away

I should have gone to bed ages ago, but I got lured into the book I started reading yesterday, and I'm so close to finishing...but that way lies madness. Today was okay enough, I guess; I got up earlyish and went to a cafe, where I accomplished some decent work between 8:30 and noon. Then I was going to come home and work some more, but I got distracted by Chandlord and Hugo, who had been working in the same cafe and lured me to Chandlord's place for lunch.

So that was nice, but it kind of broke my focus...and then I had twenty minutes to take a nap before John came over and helped me to jumpstart my car. This was duly accomplished without too much drama, and it was good to see him. We parted ways so that I could drive around for awhile and let the battery charge - I drove out to Ocean Beach and back, so hopefully the car will work tomorrow so I can train with Alyssa.

After that, I came home, messed around here for a bit, and then walked to the Mission, where I wrote/daydreamed for an hour at Four Barrel. Then I met up with Jen at Locanda; she's part of the friendship renewal group (in fact, was the person whom I named friendship renewal after), and she's now working in the city, so we can get together up here occasionally between meetings of the friendship renewal group in the south bay. It was great to see her, and I'm glad she's moved back from NYC and has forgiven me for showing up drunk to her wedding.

Once dinner was accomplished, I walked home, picked up my book, and was lost until now. And now I need to sleep so that I can accomplish many better and more useful things tomorrow - goodnight!

we buried it alive and now it's screaming in my head

Today was markedly worse than yesterday...but I suppose that's to be expected. When I'm being sane and self-forgiving, I remember that I tend to work like this - a twelve-hour rush of madly frenzied production, followed by a couple of days of less-than-stellar output. But that doesn't make the day after, when I just want to do it again but somehow can't find the rhythm, any easier to bear.

Of course, then there are the times when I do a madly frenzied rush for more than a day...but the recovery period is longer and more brutal. So I didn't try to beat my head against the wall too badly today; I got up and was at the cafe by 8:15 (where my possibly-adulterous lovebirds were making out again), and stayed there until noon, but even though I think I got some good words, my monkey mind kept luring me away from the page. So eventually I came home, ate a snack, took a nap, contemplated how I might get the words going, and instead said fuck it to the blank page and walked to Equinox, where a brutal kettlebell workout helped to clear my head. I should have seen Alyssa today, but since my car is still dead (a situation I hope to rectify, with a little help from my friends, tomorrow), I was left to my own devices instead.

But the evening got better, as things always do...I came home, showered, and had a hangout with Terry so that we could catch up between my Texas trip and her upcoming vacation. And then I spent the evening reading a book ("Uprooted") - it's magical fantasy, which is pretty much exactly what I wanted, and I saw a glowing review of it on twitter today, so I bought it and started it on impulse. I'm halfway in and it feels like this should be the climax, so I'm super super curious to see what happens in the second half.

However, I'm no longer a spring chicken, and so I shall do the sensible thing and go to bed even though my young, obsessive heart wants to keep going until it's four a.m. and my eyes are gritty and my body has burned itself out to get through the rest of the story...a feeling I used to have every week, but I'm too old for that now. Or maybe it's not that I'm too old, but I certainly like my sleep (see: the fact that I take a nap every day), and I have to get some immediately if I'm going to tell my own stories tomorrow. Goodnight!

the dream maker's gonna make you mad

I was highly productive today, which felt awesome (even though my eyeballs would like to fall out of my skull and surrender). I didn't get to the cafe quite as early as I intended, but I was still there by 8:15ish, which was early enough to verify that my possibly-adulterous lovebirds were back and making out in the upstairs corner table. It was also early enough that I was able to get in three hours of work/writing/brainstorming before coming home and making some eggs to sustain myself with.

After I ate, I took a brief nap (this is the best part of being self-employed), and then I spent the afternoon/early evening alternating between researching/reading on my couch and at Philz. I started reading a fascinating book on magic in the middle ages (called "Magic in the Middle Ages", of course), and the relationship between magic and religion, which is giving me some great ideas for the young adult books. I didn't do any actual writing today, but I was thinking hard about the rules of the world, how magic works, what their limits are, etc.

I also happened to come up with a great idea for Rafe's story while I was at it - I'm not quite unblocked there, and I have some reading/research to do to see if it will work, but I'm tentatively excited about it again. And I'm curious to see whether hopping back and forth between Regency and fantasy young adult will actually be good for me, or whether it's an exercise in total madness.

However, not everything went swimmingly - my car battery is dead, which is a most unwelcome discovery and means I probably won't go to Palo Alto to train with Alyssa tomorrow. However, at least I discovered this tonight when I went to get something out of my trunk, rather than tomorrow when I was trying to drive to Palo Alto. Other than that, though, the day was good, and I hope to make similar progress (but hopefully with a bit more original writing) tomorrow.

But progress tomorrow requires sleep tonight, and sleep requires that I stop staring at a screen for at least the next half-hour, so goodnight!

with or without you

I very nearly didn't blog tonight...not out of lack of desire, but because I have been staring at screens all day and can't bear to open my laptop. So you're getting an abbreviated phone version, and you'll have to take it up with the management if you're not satisfied. But today was great for getting back into the writing...I made it to a cafe by nine and worked solidly for a couple of hours (on the gargoyles book, FYI). Then, in deference to my empty fridge, I had lunch at MyMy...I've never been since the weekend line is insane, but I only had to wait for five minutes at 11:30ish, and my scrambled eggs were delish.

After that, I went to Staples for paper (my drug), then came home and had a phone date with Maya (a writer friend based in nyc). I then procrastinated/napped for a bit before going for a walk and eventually looping back to get groceries so I don't starve to death. And then I spent four hours brainstorming/falling down an infinite Wikipedia rabbit hole covering many and varied topics in western civilization, before abandoning screens in a sudden burst of revulsion. I compensated for my screen filled day by painting my nails and reading part of a paper book (shocking, I know) on effective habit-forming (so far she hasn't told me how to write a book in a week, but we'll see what happens).

Now, though, I'm going to sleep and dream the impossible dream that I'll make it to a cafe by seven tomorrow...goodnight!

sleeping children better run like the wind

No time to blog tonight, but suffice it to say that I have made my glorious return to San Francisco with only moderate delays to hold me up. Of course, this was accomplished after spending all day in transit - I had to ride back to Austin with Uncle Mark, whose flight left three hours before mine (which was better than what Drewbaby had to suffer, since his flight was another two hours after mine). Five hours in the Austin airport was about four hours more than I wanted to spend, but it was mostly done by sitting at a bar with Drewbaby, so it could have been far worse.

And happily the day started off well - I had breakfast with my parents before saying goodbye to them, which was lovely (albeit brief). And I bid my farewells to [censored], who [censored] entirely too early for my tastes. And now, after getting home and spending too much time reading the book I started on the plane, I need to sleep so I can hit the writing hard tomorrow - goodnight! And happy father's day!

i believe there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own

There are many strange and wondrous things I could tell you about today...about breakfast at Cracker Barrel, about attempts to infuse tequila with jalapeños, about using a box grater as a drink strainer, about using a potato masher as a muddler, and about eating fried catfish (which were caught when they were trapped in a spillway, and out Oklahoma relatives were able to stand in the creek and catch them with their bare hands). Or I could tell you that I continued to spend quality time with many and varied relatives, hearing about "online" dating via classified ads in the late 80s, or about genetic mutations that may mean I need to take more vitamins. Or I could tell you that the fireworks our Texas cousins shot off at the end of the night were more spectacular than any display ever put on by my hometown.

But to tell you all that while typing on my phone is simply too much, especially since I need to get up in less than seven hours to see my parents before going to the airport and eventually flying back to SF. So I shan't tell you any of it, and instead I shall go to bed. Goodnight!

don't want your picture on my cell phone...i want you here with me

The reunion started today, and I'm happy to report that it was entirely successful. We had breakfast at the hotel before starting the trek out to the ranch, which is always a good idea since it takes an hour to get there over entirely unmarked roads. [censored] drove me out there, and while I usually [censored] everything [censored] does, it's entirely possible that [censored] gunned it through a water-covered ravine, then nearly ran into a pack of wild hogs. Welcome to Texas!

sssanyway, we got to the ranch, where we spent the day visiting with a passel of relatives. It rained off and on throughout the day, which was actually awesome from a coolness perspective even if it made the swimming hole muddy. Lunch and supper both featured brisket, but the supper brisket was out of this world incredible - Wendell's son David slow cooked it all day, and it was totally perfect. And I got to spend some quality time with my more immediate family - particularly Drewbaby, who is now of legal drinking age, which meant we could enjoy cold beverages together without any possible legal repercussions.

But now, alas, I must sleep - we have to go out to the ranch again tomorrow, and even though we've now refreshed ourselves on how to get there, it's still not the easiest route in the world. Goodnight!

how much longer will it take to cure this

Today was all about what so many days are about: the War in the Pacific. I know, this is no surprise, since all y'all also spend hours at museums reading about WWII, right? But between the six of us on this trip, we're all on the 'way too fascinated' end of the bored-to-fascinated spectrum when it comes to WWII, especially since both my grandfathers were in the Pacific (and my mom's dad was in heavy fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa).

So, when we went to the Admiral Nimitz / War in the Pacific museum in Fredericksburg today, it was probably inevitable that we would spend like five hours there and feel like we hadn't seen nearly enough of it. It was very very well done, and it was v. interesting to read up on a lot of stuff from the Pacific theatre (which I know far less about than I know about Europe). After the museum, we were all ravenous, so we had a late lunch at one of Fredericksburg's fine dining establishments. Then, five of us wandered around the streets of town for an hour and a half while [censored] [censored]. Eventually, we all drove to Luckenbach, which hosts live country music every day (my idea of hell).

Luckily, no one wanted to do anything more than look briefly at the locals before leaving, so we all came back to Kerrville, where some of us reminisced about the things we saw at the museum because we're all total dorks. Then we had dinner (at the same place we ate last night, because no one likes change, although I got a steak this time), and then we came back to the hotel, where [censored], Drewbaby, and I have [censored] for the last hour (note: this time it doesn't involve lactation porn).

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

my seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking about a scar

I returned to San Antonio today for the first time since my trip there for a romance conference last year...and it's probably possible that I have no need to go back there again, although I enjoyed today well enough. But it's so fucking hot in Texas that I can't survive here longterm, and it wasn't even that hot today compared to how it was in July last year. Luckily, at the end of the week I will return to the fog of San Francisco, so if I can survive until then without my face melting off, it will all be good.

The day started somewhat lateish with breakfast around 9:30 at the hotel restaurant. Then, the six of us (my parents, [censored], Uncle Mark, and Drewbaby) loaded up and drove to San Antonio. Our first stop was the Alamo; I hadn't actually gone there when I was in town last year, even though my hotel was a block away, and I didn't really miss much. The gift shop is approximately as large as the shrine itself, which feels a little icky, but the grounds are landscaped nicely enough, and it was worth seeing (if the alternative was sticking around the hotel, which would not have been worth seeing).

Post-Alamo, we went to the Riverwalk, where Herman gave us a boat tour of the main Riverwalk area. I had walked up and down various parts of the Riverwalk last year and really liked it, but I hadn't taken any of the boats, so it was fun to see more of the Riverwalk from the comfort of a boat rather than schlepping through the heat (although in a total amateur move, I got a bit of a sunburn on my shoulders - I made it through all of Bora Bora without a burn, and then burned myself in an hour in Texas. Stupid.). After we'd seen several of the restaurants where I ate last year and several landmarks that we would never revisit (including a v. large mosaic mural, some random statues, an amphitheatre, etc....you've lost interest by now, I can tell :( ), we had a late lunch at Casa Rio. It's a bit touristy, the service was somewhat slow (although if I had to carry banquet trays in this heat, I would be dead instead of merely slow, so whatever), and the children near us kept feeding chips to the pigeons and then wondering why they were covered in birds. But the Tex-Mex was pretty good, and since I'll happily eat enchiladas until I die, it was perfectly lovely.

What wasn't perfectly lovely was the drive back, accomplished in brutal heat from which the truck's air conditioner never quite rescued us (as my stomach regretted the last half of the lunch I'd eaten and my eyes regretted the loss of my usual afternoon nap). But we made it back to Kerrville, and we rested when we got here (including some lovely discussion with Drewbaby and [censored] about [censored], which resulted in the hilarious substitution of the word "[censored]" for "[censored]"). I also spent some quality time talking to my mom by the pool, and we decided to walk back to our rooms just in time - in the fifteen seconds we were in the covered corridor between the pool and our side of the hotel, a total downpour started. It turns out we were lucky that we left San Antonio when we did, since they got four inches of rain and a lot of flooding as soon as we left. Crazytown.

Even though none of us were particularly hungry, we eventually went out for dinner (somewhat for lack of anything better to do). The food at dinner was surprisingly, uniformly excellent - we went to Billy Gene's (no apparent relation to the song, given the spelling and some other obvious clues), which had a cool deck overlooking the Guadalupe River, and a good time was had by all (except for my stomach, which is crying - I need to slow my roll tomorrow). Then we came back to the hotel, where Drewbaby and I listened to my dad regale us with stories of his misspent youth (including one I'd never heard, which involved a lot of blood, which is actually less common in his stories than I may have led you to believe).

And now, alas, I must sleep; no writing has happened here, which isn't exactly a surprise, but I at least want to be well-rested for tomorrow's activities. Goodnight!

heart skipped a beat

Howdy from Texas, where everything is bigger, including my headache. But the headache is probably because I had a glass of wine on the plane and another glass of wine at dinner, without enough water to combat both the wine and the flight. I know, I never learn.

However, my day went perfectly smoothly...I didn't write before leaving for the airport, but I took care of everything I needed to take care of around the house, left exactly on time, hit no traffic at all, enjoyed the benefits of TSAPre to get through security within five minutes, and then had a v. leisurely breakfast at the airport before boarding my flight. The flight was perfectly on time as well, and 3.5hrs is long enough to get some work done without being so long as to be unbearable.

And the work I did was mostly pleasant - I reread everything I've written for zee gargoyles, and I'm pretty happy with what I have, so I think I might pursue the plan I mentioned yesterday and work on it for a couple of weeks. If nothing else, I think it will help me to get back into the writing groove - once I've had several days in a row of writing a lot of words, it's easy(ish) to keep going, but it's the starting that is the hardest. I don't know how much I'll get done in Texas, but I'm excited to work on this project again (as long as I haven't jinxed myself by acting happy about it).

Anyway, I got to Austin at 5pm, which was v. shortly before my cousin Drew (you may know him as Drewbaby, although he's over twenty-one now) arrived from Denver. Our respective parents were already at the airport - Uncle Mark flew in this afternoon, and my parents drove down (with a stop in Oklahoma last night). I used all of my powers of sorcery to find someplace for us to eat (and by sorcery I mean I used Yelp to find someplace that looked tasty, and then Waze to avoid traffic). I was pretty pleased with the results - we went to Little Barrel and Brown, where I had a v. tasty burger and a v. respectable glass of malbec. They served the burger with 'marrownaise', which I was surprisingly not into - the mayonnaise had bone marrow in it, but it just resulted in this weirdly unflavorful sauce. Maybe it would have been better on a bun, but it was a bit strange on its own. However, the burger was great, so yay.

After Austin, we drove the ninety minutes or so to Kerrville, which is home base for the family reunion (although we're here a couple of days early). My parents and I arrived just as dusk was settling, and I hung out with them for a bit before adjourning to my room to wait for [censored] and watch the last quarter of the Warriors/Cavs game. [censored] arrived around 10:40pm, which was way later than I'm sure he wanted to arrive, but at least he made it despite the best attempts of Tropical Storm Bill to derail him. And now we're watching 'Highway Thru Hell', which I'm telling you even though [censored] usually prefers that all of our activities be [censored], but this show (about guys helping other guys to get out of the ditch during winter storms in Canada) is so fucking boring that I see no point in censoring it.

Now, though, I believe I shall go to bed so that I can be so fresh and so clean for tomorrow's festivities - goodnight!

i think you're a contra

Good evening, friends. In approximately thirteen hours I shall board a plane to ye olde Texas for a family reunion, and I can report that (miraculously) I'm all packed up and ready to go. Yes, I am as shocked as you are!

But today, while not the best for writing, was sufficient for getting things done before the trip. I did go to a coffee shop from 7:45am to 9:15am, but I only got a few hundred words; I spent the rest of the time rereading some stuff from Callie and Thorington's story to make sure I have the timeline right for this one. And I have to say...I am really not feeling this book. So much so that I'm considering giving myself a break from it, writing furiously on the gargoyles book that I keep going back to every couple of years, and turning that into my editor in a couple of weeks instead. I'm going to spend some quality time on the plane tomorrow considering my options, but there's something seriously fucked about what I've set up for Rafe and Octavia, and I can't seem to figure out what it is. Or maybe I'm not in the mood to write about love after my spinster honeymoon. Or maybe it's something else entirely - I don't know. But banging my head against it seems counterproductive, especially when there's another book I could way more easily work on instead.

Anyway, that's a decision for another time. After I was done banging my head for the morning, I came home, ate some breakfast (does a banana and string cheese count??), and went south to train with Alyssa. She was particularly brutal today, which felt good, although we'll see if it feels good tomorrow when my arms give out while lifting my bag into the overhead bin (I've always wanted an Owen Wilson nose, and this may be my chance). Then I showered, grabbed food, went to the post office, came home, and did a variety of internet-related tings.

I eventually ventured out into the fog to take a walk, get some cash, buy a couple of last-minute travel items, and get coffee to fuel me up for the evening (and consider Rafe and Octavia, to no avail). And then the rest of the evening was consumed with packing (and attempting not to overpack), cleaning, etc., etc.

And now, alas, I must sleep; I didn't take a nap today, which is very unwriterly (and untodderlike) of me, so sleep is imperative if I have any hope of writing in the morning before going to the airport (level of current hope: not much). Goodnight!

i wish that i could be like the cool kids

It was a lovely Sunday in San Francisco, thanks for asking. I didn't get up quite as early as planned (are you sensing a theme?), but I still made it to a cafe in time to write for an hour before Chandlord (aka Vidya) and Jess (aka Jwan) showed up to rescue me from my labors. We had a girls' morning out with an extended brunch at Nob Hill Grille (even though Jess hates brunch), followed by more chatting at Chandlord's house (the house she lives in now, not the place she rents to me).

This was a v. excellent outing, even if I was the only one who had a mimosa (which the menu promised was 'delicious and nutritious' - it was certainly one of those things). We had many tings to catch up on, including Jess's singing, some tribulations with someone's extended family (not mine...although maybe that's destined to happen in Texas this week, but if so, it won't be because some of them don't speak English and/or aren't willing to drive anywhere), the fact that Vidya has been to a million weddings (including two this weekend), etc., etc. So, I would judge the girls' morning out to be a success! And I would also say that it is delightful to have friends so charming and helpful, even if Chandlord only hugs me when she is distracted by something else.

Followed by that rousing effort, I came home, messed around for a bit, called my mother, had a delightful hangout with Terry, and did some laundry. Then, I spent the evening taking care of tings that needed taken care of - paying taxes, writing checks to people for services rendered, packing up things to be returned, etc. You will note that none of that includes watching either the Warriors game or the 'Game of Thrones' finale, since I am living in a strange bubble outside the confines of current pop culture. Come for the royal family trivia, stay for the fascinating tidbits about Regency history, but don't expect me to know anything about any tv show from the last five years.

And now, I believe I shall go to bed so that I can (you guessed it / you rolled your eyes at it) get up early tomorrow and write before going to the gym. Goodnight!

hunting for witches

Writing was a fail today, but I am reminded that I had planned to be nicer to myself about not working on weekends (although I'm not sure if that counts since I haven't ramped up to working full days during the week). I had meant to get up early and write before brunch, but I got up too early (5:40am, after six hours of sleep), and so dozed off and on for another couple of hours. That left me a little too lethargic, though - I should have just gotten up. When I finally got out of bed, I stared at the manuscript for just a little bit, but then I ate a snack, showered, etc. instead of facing the page.

But I made it to brunch with Shedletsky and Tina at Hong Kong Flower Lounge - we hadn't been there in ages, and it was good to have dim sum even if I can now only eat a small fraction of all my old favorites. This turned out to make it super cheap, though, since we didn't overorder; I think the total for the three of us was less than $30, which is crazy cheap for San Francisco (and especially crazy cheap given how many shrimp died to fuel our gluttony). They recently went to Italy and France, which sounded delightful, and so we exchanged notes on their Tuscan adventures vs. my spinster honeymoon, as well as discussing online marketing, ridiculous life updates, etc.

After we parted ways, I came home and took the shortest post-dim sum nap I've probably ever taken (combo of not overordering + not eating gluten makes these dim sum excursions far less challenging for my body than they used to be). Then I went a little too far down one of my fear spirals (an expected part of the transition from corporate slave to independent creative type, but even though it's expected, it's not easy to get out of once within it).

But I rallied and went to the gym, where I did a pretty heavy kettlebell workout (I'm up to swinging 24kg, so I guess that's a yay?), and so between the workout itself and the fact that I walked to the gym and back, I had almost two hours to clear my head and tire myself out, which was a good thing. Then I came home, showered again, took care of some tings, and ended up meeting Priyanka for a girls' night out at Lers Ros. And by 'girls' night out' I mean we ate curry and talked about shopping + the latest pics of Prince George; Adit is out of town, so we were able to indulge in girl talk to our hearts' content.

But all good things, even good things related to Parisian shopping (she and Adit were in Iceland/Paris for the last two weeks), must come to an end. So Priyanka dropped me off (with a v. brief stop to see the place, since she hadn't been over since I moved in), and then I spent some quality time buying plane tickets for my NYC trip next month. And now I must go to bed - I really really am going to get up early and write tomorrow. Goodnight!

ministry of love

Today was the first time in many days where I didn't have any plans at all, and while it was a little weird to be so hermity (it felt like today lasted for a week), I also managed to get 2000 words, which is better than any day I've had recently. So, I'm glad that the day shook out the way it did. I didn't get up particularly early, but I eventually went to a cafe and wrote for a couple of hours, where I got my first thousand words. Then I grabbed a late lunch, came home, took a nap, messed around in my notebook, and eventually went to Philz, where I wrote another thousand words.

I perhaps should have tried for another stint tonight, but I cut myself some slack and prepped some salad stuff again (the salad I ate tonight + hard boiled eggs and bacon and chicken for more salads the next three days). Then I curled up on the couch with a book, which was a delightful way to end my day. And now that the fog has rolled in, I'm going to go to sleep - I do have plans tomorrow, but I want to get another two thousand words at some point, so I think getting up early is a requirement. Goodnight!

i guess that i, i just thought, maybe we could find new ways to fall apart

My headache persisted when I woke up this morning, which threw a shadow over my day...but I think I've sufficiently rallied, so I have very high hopes, grand plans, huge aspirations, etc., etc. for the weekend. I want to make a lot of progress in the next four days so that I can leave for Texas feeling like things are coming together, so it's time to make it happen.

Today wasn't all bad, though. I laid in bed for awhile willing the headache to subside, and I eventually dragged myself out of bed and into some clothes so that I could go to Another Cafe to work. I was there too late to check up on my possibly infidelious lovebirds, but I wrote a couple of pages in my notebook while drinking an iced latte, so that I was good. Then I came home and enjoyed a very long, very lovely hangout date with Ritu (aka riturani) - we hadn't talked in a few months, and we had a lot to catch up on since I left my job/went on vacation and she went to Nepal to help with disaster relief there, among other things going on in her life. So we talked for approximately ninety minutes, which is never enough but was a great way to spend my early afternoon.

After Ritu and I parted ways, I ate the rest of my leftover salad from last night (happily, Past Sara didn't pick all the bacon and chicken out of the salad like she usually does, so the leftover half of the salad was actually pretty tasty) while engaging in some desultory gchatting with Terry. And then I spent the late afternoon at Philz on Golden Gate, where I messed around in my notebook some more while caffeinating myself in hopes that caffeine would help the headache (verdict: no).

But I ended the evening at Lauren and Nathan's, where I shamelessly ate their soup and drank their wine while catching up with Lauren. It was our only chance to get together before she goes to Tahoe this weekend and I go to Texas next week, so I leapt at the opportunity even though I probably should have let her go to bed instead. And now that I'm home and my headache seems to be subsiding (fingers crossed), I need to sleep so that I can get up tomorrow and hit the writing hard - goodnight!

i am done with my graceless heart...so tonight i'm gonna cut it out and then restart

I feel like I've been hit between the eyes with a brick, so it may be time to put down the screens and go to bed. Today was mostly fine, albeit fairly unproductive; I didn't get up as early as intended because the rain soothed me back to sleep after a somewhat restless night, and the rain also kept me from wanting to walk to any cafes this morning, which meant that I got very little accomplished at home. Then I drove to the south bay to see Alyssa; since she'd tortured me on Monday and I had reabused my quads by walking five miles yesterday, the foam rolling and other stretches were fairly brutal, but it was good to see her.

After Alyssa, I showered, grabbed lunch, and then meet a couple of writer friends for a writing date in San Mateo. I didn't get much, but at least I got something. Then I came home, took care of some tings, and met up with Dave for an earlyish dinner in the Marina, which was a straight-up jhoke. We had salads instead of wine, so I won't be hungover tomorrow, but I probably should have stayed home and worked rather than socializing so much - this book isn't going to write itself, and I need to focus a lot more clearly in the next few weeks (months, years) if I'm going to achieve what I want to achieve.

sssanyway, there's time for that tomorrow. Dave gave me a ride home and we parted ways, and then I succumbed to the headache that had been brewing all day (but happily I have health insurance again, so if this turns out to be a tumor, I have coverage! yay!). But I'm hopeful that water and sleep and ibuprofen (my trifecta of wonder drugs) will take care of that so I can write tomorrow. Goodnight!

our old friend fear and you and me

Today was not quite as excellent as yesterday, but I remind myself that any day when I get words on a page is a good day. I didn't get to the cafe until 8:45ish, which was later than I should have gone, but I saw the same couple making out there this morning who were making out there yesterday, which catapulted them from 'mildly interesting' to 'omg so fascinating'. They were both wearing professional business attire, although he'd hung his jacket over the second-floor railing to keep it from getting mussed whilst making out. So I must wonder now if they're having some sort of illicit affair, whereby making out in cafes at eight a.m. is the only way to see each other. I shall go again tomorrow and report back!

Anyway, despite that distraction, I got a couple of pages down, as well as doing some light editing of what I wrote yesterday (which I surprisingly liked even better today). Then I came home, showered, and walked to the SF office to have lunch with Gyre. The tacos were excellent, but of course his company was even better; I hadn't seen him for a couple of months, so we had a lot to catch up on with his job and mine. He eventually escorted me out, and I then walked to my salon to get my brows waxed (maybe not the most necessary thing in the world, but it's not high on the list of things to cut if I get more frugal). And then I bought groceries, got a lyft home, marinaded some chicken, and proceeded to take a nap and then do nothing.

I had meant to write tonight, but I sank into lethargy instead. However, I rallied, made some tea, and took care of some financial stuff - deciding whether to renew my life insurance coverage from work (answer: no, since getting it elsewhere would be cheaper), and compiling numbers for my tax advisor about how much I've made this year so I can pay my quarterly estimate. Adult life is fun. Then I wrote in my journal, painted my nails, and wrote this blog post so that you have something to enjoy in the future.

And with that, I shall sleep; I want to get up tomorrow and go back to the cafe de amor to a) write and b) spy on strangers, and then I have to train with Alyssa before meeting Anne and Barbara for a writing date. Goodnight!

i'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine

Thank you, reader, for indulging my panic meltdown yesterday. While I'm not going to go so far as to say that my comment about hitting rock bottom yesterday was prophetic, I am certainly in a much better place today...it went exactly how I wanted it to, even if I didn't write again tonight during the second shift like I probably should have. I woke up around 6:45, left the house by 7:30, and ensconced myself in a cafe for an hour and a half, where I wrote four pages that were mostly okayish, and I'm starting to maybe get into Rafe and Octavia's voices. Yay.

But the writing couldn't continue forever; I had to leave to train with Alyssa, who tortured me today, so I expect to be sore tomorrow. After we were done, I made myself clean and shiny again, and then I went back to my former place of employment for an afternoon of socializing. First up was lunch with my former boss, who told me many and varied ridiculous tings. Then, I said hello to some people in my building (but no one shows up to work anymore, apparently, so pickings were slim).

After that, I snuck over to the coffee place, where I had coffee with Eugene, Tomas, and Dave. The barista may have been the happiest of all to see me, and I ordered an extra shot in my iced latte solely because it was free. It was eighteen million degrees in the south bay this afternoon, so we had to sit inside and try not to die, but it was all decent enough. Tomas asked me a lot of questions about my trip (because he actually cares) while Eugene angrily said he'd already seen my photos (because he follows me on instagram) and Dave asked specific but uninformative questions like which seats I sat in on planes (because he'd already heard about my trip and apparently doesn't like listening to me bitch about being stuck in Tahiti overnight, unlike all of you, who have been sooooo understanding about my struggle).

sssanyway, the coffee time was more successful than that description might have led you to believe. But those fools eventually had to abandon me for meetings, so I stuck around and talked to a couple of my former teammates until Dave wrapped up his stuff, and then I gave him a ride back to the evil city. I probably didn't need him as a carpool slave today, since traffic was moving quite nicely on its own, but given that the only reason I stuck around until rush hour to begin with was to hang out with those guys, it was nice to have company on the way home. Once I got here, I did some laundry, ran some errands, ordered some picture frames, etc....none of that was writing, but I'm feeling good about today despite that.

And now, despite the early hour, I'm going to crawl into bed, read for a bit, and hopefully repeat these daring feats tomorrow - goodnight!

i'm slowly drifting drifting away

I'm not gonna lie...this morning was bleak. I woke up and started writing as planned, but I got less than two pages before I felt like it was all wrong and I still don't know Rafe and Octavia well enough, and the panic rushed over my head and drowned me. Creating something from nothing is not for the faint of heart.

Anyway. I've written five books and there's no logical reason to believe that I can't write the sixth, and I've hit this point with all the other books too, so this too shall pass. But I'm not going to lie...I spent most of the morning on the couch, staring at the ceiling, trying to breathe and think calming thoughts. I also made some eggs and bacon at some point, so it wasn't all bleak. And I showered and dried my hair and managed to look totally presentable, so if this is rock bottom, it's at least a socially acceptable rock bottom.

After I'd calmed down somewhat, I took care of some tings online this afternoon, and I also talked to my parents, which was a soothing interlude. Then, I walked down to Fillmore and met up with Claudia (aka Santy Claude) to see "Mad Max". We bought a bottle of wine and some popcorn for eleven billion dollars, and I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. I was perhaps overexcited for it because a lot of people I follow on Twitter thought it was the best movie ever, mostly because I follow a bunch of romance writers who applaud any story where women get most of the speaking/acting roles, but in terms of pure entertainment/spectacle, it was pretty awesome. Then, Claudia and I soaked up the wine by having dinner at Troya, where we continued to catch up on life until it was time to part ways.

And now I'm going to sleep, get up early tomorrow (at the time I used to get up for work), and go to a coffee shop to write in the wee hours before the panic wakes up and tries to stop me. Goodnight!

when we go crashing down we come back every time

I have nothing particularly interesting to share with you tonight...but then, you're used to that. I woke up this morning, messed around, showered, and fell in love with my new hair dryer (don't judge me, it's beautiful). Then I met Lauren (aka Subz) for brunch in her neighborhood - as usual, hanging out with her was a delight, and it was nice to be ladies who brunch together before I resumed the slog.

Not that I slogged all that diligently - I came home and took a nap instead. And then I was having trouble getting into everything, so I went to Philz, drank some coffee, made some awesome lists, did some financial stuff, and generally figured out what I need to do over the next bit of time to feel productive. That list includes writing a fucking book, but instead, I came home, ate some chicken, drank some wine, watched six episodes of Parks and Rec, and messed around with photos and other minor tasks on my to-do list.

Yes, I'm living the dream.

But now, I need to sleep; I want to get up earlyish tomorrow and write while my brain is fresh and the ideas are flowing. I never thought I'd ever be a morning person, and I would argue that I'm still not, but I feel better if some words happen in the morning, so I'm going to make it happen. Goodnight!

i'm gonna take you to bed and love you, i swear, like the end is here

Today was the perfect blend of productive and social...I probably need to keep amping up the productivity so that I can write books faster, but for today, I'll take what I did. I'm still suffering from my sore throat/cough situation, so I let myself sleep in this morning, but I got up at a reasonable hour, folded yesterday's laundry situation, showered, got ready, and mourned the final, ignoble death of my hair dryer (which luckily dried my bangs before departing from this earth, so I didn't curse its memory as much as I might have).

After all of that oh-so-interesting drama, I walked down to soma and set myself up at a Starbucks near my old SF office, where I wrote a couple of pages while drinking an iced latte. This is farther than I would normally walk to find a coffee shop in which to write, particularly since I probably passed ten Starbucks on the way there, but it was worth it for the free lunch I indulged in after. Said lunch was accomplished with Dave and Shanti (not an employee, but I've met her several times since she works for the charity whose gala I went to a couple of months ago). And while it was the first time I went back to the man for free food in almost a month (it will be four weeks on Monday since I quit), this lunch was hydra-like in my ability to get more free food, since I ran into two other people who expressed interest in having me over for lunch. And since I'm having lunch with Sriram on Monday and Gyre on Tuesday, it seems clear that I won't starve for awhile...

Anyway, lunch was fun, and the coffee after was v. restorative. When we were done catching up, we walked Shanti to Caltrain, and then Dave and I took a detour to the mall, where I bought a new hair dryer at Sephora and Dave picked up something at Nordstrom. Our errands thus accomplished in extremely efficient fashion, we parted ways, and I completed my fiveish miles of walking by walking back to my apartment, where I attempted to rectify the sticky situation that was my hair (#protip: don't shop for hair dryers with someone who is bored and may spray you with every hair product in the vicinity), and then took a nap (#protip: naps are awesome).

But I dragged myself out of my slumber to spend a delightful evening with Vidya (aka Chandlord, aka Vidius Chandicus, aka my brother from another mother). We met at a new wine bar that opened at Post and Leavenworth, which is five blocks from me and a couple of blocks from her, and it was v. nice to find another place where we can meet for a drink (as though that has been a problem for us...). So we had two glasses of wine and some cheese there, and we were supposed to part ways after that...but her late evening plans got pushed back, so we proceeded to Benjamin Cooper (the successor to Big, which Chandlord was a big fan of several years ago), where we had some tasty whisky cocktails mixed up by Vincent and Alex.

Whisky was entirely unnecessary at that point in the evening, but it was good to properly catch up with my landlord after several weeks apart. Also, I think I paid for her cocktail at Benjamin Cooper, but it's worth it not to get evicted. We eventually parted ways, and she went off to be a hip young person in Oakland while I came home to eat tuna salad on toast and consider watching a movie (but realizing I'm too tired to watch a movie). Par for the course, I guess.

And now I shall sleep so that I can write in the morning before my aggressive socializing commences -- goodnight!

i guess i'm floating

I think I'm finally, slowly, starting (don't jinx it by saying it, Sara...) to figure out what I'm doing. Or maybe not. But today felt better in terms of productivity than I've felt in ages, even if it's all still baby steps.

Even though I was exhausted last night from not sleeping at all the night before, I for some reason woke up at five a.m. My eyes felt gritty as dawn overtook my skylights, and my mind was very monkeyish, so I took the highly unusual (but hopefully oft-to-be-repeated) step of picking up my ipad and reading in bed for an hour (Amy Poehler's memoir, continued). Then I realized I was still really tired, so I slept for another hour.

This may not convince you that I was productive at all...in fact, I could understand how you might conclude the opposite. But one of my big goals is to read a lot more, since I've read very little in the last couple of years and feel like I'll be better for it if I've got more words and stories sparking in my head. So by the time I got out of bed, I already felt a little smug for having read something so early.

That smugness turned into general joie de vivre as the morning progressed. I walked down to the my old neighborhood in brilliant, unusually warm (for San Francisco) sunshine while talking to my parents, who joked that the city is now my 'campus', since I can go to whatever building I choose to do my work (although obviously coffee shops are more likely to be chosen than, say, the MUNI yard). Then I had breakfast at my favorite cafe, where Tony teased me as he always does. And then I saw my aesthetician, walked back to my neighborhood, and promptly attempted to be productive.

It's also possible that I procrastinated...I did five loads of laundry and cleaned the kitchen, which is always a sign. But my sheets are crisp and clean, so I have no regrets. And despite my procrastination (and the mani/pedi I got in the afternoon), I managed to get a little over 1000 words today, which was my unofficial goal. I need to get many more words than that if I'm to produce a full book on the schedule I plan to adhere to, but this was a very good, very necessary, very block-destroying first step.

In addition to writing, I also briefly talked to Katie (she didn't send regards to my blog readers, but I'll pretend that she thought of you), ate some tasty leftovers, and finished reading Amy Poehler's book. And now I'm falling asleep as I'm typing this, so sleep is imperative - goodnight!

she's a butcher with a smile

It's possible that today was the most brutal day I've had since I left my day job -- and I include the disastrous day when I was stranded in tropical hell (aka Tahiti) in that definition. I had an unusually abysmal time sleeping last night -- I think I netted less than two hours, which made this morning an exercise in pain. But I managed to drag myself out of bed, and I took the odd step of showering before going to the gym just so I would wake up, which I think was a decent tactic.

Despite the shower, I almost bailed on Alyssa; the idea of driving to the south bay seemed like an idiotic move, but I knew that if I didn't do it, I probably wouldn't leave the house at all. So I sucked it up and went to Palo Alto, which ended up feeling great; we did cleans and snatches, and while my fatigued self probably slammed the bell into my own wrist more often than usual, it was good to get some exertion in.

But you know I was tired when I say that I skipped lunch altogether, bought a coffee at Philz, and drove home with nothing but caffeine to make up for my workout calories. When I got here, I napped off and on most of the afternoon - it was truly impossible to contemplate doing anything productive, so I just laid around on the couch and on my bed and tried to think of nothing.

This was mostly successful, and I was mostly revived in time to take a shower and meet Dave for a late(ish) dinner/drinks at Monk's Kettle. It could have been earlier, since his bus was stuck in some sort of traffic debacle, but as it turned out, we got really lucky - the 1hr+ wait I was quoted when I put my name in turned into ten minutes when I agreed to take an outdoor table (while Dave was still looking for parking - #protip, never drive to the mission), and while the fog and wind conspired to make the sidewalk chilly, the heat lamps and the three glasses of wine and the risotto and the delightful conversation kept my insides warm. I hadn't seen Dave since my last day at work, so we had a lot to catch up on. Not that there was enough time to catch up on everything...we used to see each other every day, so three weeks is a lifetime of stories to share. But it was good to hang out, and he gave me a ride home, which my unemployed self appreciated (I mean, my employed self would have appreciated it too, but I cared about budgets much less when I was making a corporate salary and a writing salary at the same time).

sssanyway, as is probably clear, I'm short on sleep and long on wine, so I should probably go to bed before that combination results in a lot of gibberish typing. Goodnight!

tonight i'm gonna bury that horse in the ground

Today felt rather endless, but I think that's because I'm still sick, still somewhat unable to focus as a result, and so was listless and apathetic all day. That's probably overstating it...but it really did feel like today was a million hours long. I woke up and did a bit of work this morning before making eggs (with avocado and salsa, winning), getting dressed, and going downtown to see my hair person so that I could get my bangs trimmed. I was also supposed to get my brows waxed, but the salon called this morning to say that my aesthetician was sick...and I'm feeling a bit guilty to think that maybe I was the one who knocked it out, since she gave me a facial on Friday and I probably breathed all over her. Oops.

Anyway, my bangs were trimmed v. quickly, and then I went to Samovar and worked for a couple of hours while eating jook and drinking chai in an attempt to revive myself. I kept pressing on what my issues are with Rafe (I'm currently blocked because I don't understand him yet, and so whenever I have to write a scene from his POV it feels all weird and false and uninteresting), and I think I'm getting there, so I have high hopes for tomorrow. After I could take no more, I ran a couple of errands, came home, took a nap, and ran down the street to get some groceries for supper.

Supper didn't happen until later; I spent some more time writing/journaling/staring off into space tonight, which felt good(ish). Then I made chicken fajitas using a new recipe I found on Chow - I thought the marinade was quite excellent, and it was all very easy. It also gave me a chance to finally use my new grill pan, which worked wonderfully. I made a corn tortilla quesadilla to go with the fajitas, and when I added avocado/salsa/sour cream, it was scrumptious. And, since I have enough leftover for two or three more meals, this is pretty winning - I expect I'll make it again sometime (although perhaps in the future I'll start the marinade in the morning so that the flavor is even better).

After I ate, I painted my nails, and then I read the first part of Amy Poehler's memoir ('Yes Please'). So far I'm really liking it - similar to Tina Fey's memoir, it's a bit of a hodgepodge of disjointed chapters, but I'm finding myself getting into this one more easily. So easily, in fact, that it's now eleven p.m. and I meant to be in bed an hour ago, but c'est la vie. Goodnight!

boom clap the sound of my heart

Today was close to perfect, even if my cold continues to conspire against me. I woke up around 6:30, made some tea, and crawled back into bed with my laptop and notebook for a couple of hours. I'm kind of stuck on the book, but I think I made some progress today in terms of figuring out what the problem is, so that's exciting. But I had to stop working around 9:20 so that I could make some eggs and fruit, put on clothes, pack more clothes, and scurry down to the south bay to see Alyssa. She gave me a decent workout, although I was perhaps more fatigued than usual due to the cold, but it was great to see her.

After the workout, I showered, ate some lunch, and went to San Mateo to meet Barbara and Anne for a writing date. I'm v. much looking forward to doing these regularly; it actually works perfectly for me to stop there and write with them for a couple of hours, since it's totally on the way and I can get home after with relatively little drama. We weren't entirely productive today, since I hadn't seen either of them in two months, and Barbara had just come back from a publishing conference in NYC, so there was much to gossip about. But we eventually stopped talking and committed to writing...and for me that meant continuing to scribble in my notebook, which wasn't the worst thing ever.

Eventually, though, I had to leave before traffic became abysmal. When I got home, I immediately went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things for tonight, and then I came home and made chicken tortilla soup and a simple but tasty arugula salad for the family gathering I hosted. This was originally supposed to be something last weekend with John and Jess, but it ended up being scheduled for today, which meant I could add Claude since she was back in town. Chandlord (aka Vidius Chandicus) showed up after we'd finished consuming animal flesh, so she joined us for more of John's (surprisingly excellent - and I only say 'surprisingly' because he was the progenitor of such famous drinks as the Tokyo Army, the Blackberry, the Sugarcane Drain, the Blood of Lincoln/Body of Lincoln, etc.) margaritas and Claudia's wonderfully delicious boysenberry cobbler (which was gluten free to boot).

We discussed all manner of things: cat parties, moving, life, the use of pineapple cake as an assault weapon, bad ideas, artificial intelligence, whether mothers are capable of correctly identifying whether their son is, indeed, a 'catch', etc., etc. But now the time has come to say goodnight so that I can be similarly productive tomorrow - goodnight!

i've been looking for a lover, thought i'd find her in a bottle

I'm still sick, which is getting old; while I don't feel like total death, I'm tired of sniffling and sneezing. I'm sure if I were at the Four Seasons, this would not be allowed to happen, but since I've returned home, where I must cook for myself and run errands like a peasant, I guess illness comes with the territory.

Today was another not-so-stellar moment on the productivity scale, but I think I'm set up for success for the week ahead, so I don't mind so much. I mostly wasted the morning, mostly because I wasn't feeling well, but I rallied (and showered), and I wandered around for awhile, bought a couple of markers, and then grabbed a coffee at Another Cafe (part of the free tour Katrina gave me yesterday - thanks Katrina!) and sat there for an hour or so and plotted and schemed about what I plan to accomplish this month.

Writing in a notebook always helps to center me, so I came home in a lovely mood and talked to my parents for quite awhile. They're pretty much consumed with gardening, lawn care, the round barn, and rumors about Fred Hoiberg's defection from Iowa State to the Bulls, but all of those things are far more interesting than talking about my cold or my (slow, painful) writing, so it was good to catch up with them. After I got off the phone, I ate the last of my thai leftovers, did the dishes, messed around on the internet, wrote in my journal some more, etc., etc.

And now, I must sleep; I've set my teamaker to go off at 6:30 tomorrow so that I can get up and write before training with Alyssa, and I'm determined to hold myself to it. Goodnight!

i'm down on my knees, i want to take you there

Hello. I wish that my blog could be as interesting every day as it was when I was in Bora Bora or Easter Island, or when I was stuck in Tahiti and whining about it like I'd been stranded in a slum instead of a tropical paradise (although to be fair, sharing a sink is really pretty low-class...but I digress). But since I have returned to San Francisco and become even more of a hermit than usual, you're going to have to make do.

Today, however, was more interesting than it could have been, since I a) talked to people and b) left the house. I know, I'm a paragon of social virtue. I woke up around seven and read in bed for awhile; I continue to read "Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword", but it's pretty slow going (I think I've only gotten through 100 pages so far, and it feels like I've been reading for hours). It turns out this book is only mildly interesting, and so far consists more of how regiments and battalions were formed and led, rather than any of the sickness/suffering/swords I was promised, but I have high hopes that I'll get to some gore at some point.

But I took a break from my studies to make breakfast and have a long video chat with Terry (remember her? she used to be my roommate). We hadn't really caught up since she left for NYC, since I was in varying states of chaos the last two months, and so catching up over video was better than nothing. My key takeaway was that there are cockroaches in New York and the place is an abomination, but she shared other things that were far more positive, so ymmv.

After talking to Terry, I went back to my book, but I was very happily lured away by Katrina, who texted me to say that she was at Contraband with Cathy and Trang and that I should come and join them. She perhaps didn't expect me to show up since I'm normally a hermit on weekends, but since I'm adjusting to not having outside-the-house commitments (and therefore, no enforced social commitments for forty hours a week), I said I would be there immediately, and I showed up before she could get away. But she was v. gracious about it, as were Cathy and Trang; I'd met Trang once before at a party Chandlord had dragged me to, which I stayed at for fifteen minutes before realizing I'd rather be anywhere else, but Trang seemed to forgive the fact that I was a stone cold bitch that night.

sssanyway, we spent a lovely interlude outside, debating whether Katrina is in fact a contributing member of society or whether her entire academic (and therefore professional) life is a sham. I'd go for sham, but I think I'll keep her around. We were briefly interrupted by some v. strange guy who offered to let me hold his helmet and keys while he used my phone to call his wife, whom he'd somehow gotten separated from (theory: drugs can be confusing). Since my phone was on the table, it was hard to say it didn't exist, so I let him use it, much to the shock and discomfort of all of us. It was fine at first, but then I texted the wife to say where he was, and he seemed to want to hang around until she called back, which wasn't happening. Luckily, he left (although, weirdly, he didn't stay in the vicinity - he rode away on his motorcycle), and so when his wife (whom we name Sheila) eventually called back, sounding equally confused (read: drugged), we had no information for her.

Happily, this was all v. entertaining, my phone wasn't stolen, and I have not yet fallen victim to any catfishing scams, so it could have gone worse. After we left Contraband, Katrina gave me and Trang a master class in how to shop at Trader Joe's, which was just as helpful and utterly ridiculous as you might have guessed. I forgot there's one so close to me (it replaced the rather depressing Cala Foods several years ago, but that was after I moved out of the neighborhood), and it was fun to wander the aisles even though I didn't take Katrina's suggestions immediately. Then we wandered back toward my place, and she showed me a couple of cafes I want to write at, plus a liquor store that sells a great selection of mini bottles, so pretty much all my human needs can be met by her tour. Five stars!

After we parted ways, I came home, ate some leftover Thai food, took a nap (I'm still sick, so indulging any desire to sleep), read a bit, suddenly realized I needed to apply for health insurance immediately, and then applied for health insurance. That took any remaining productivity out of me, so I turned off the lights and watched 'Captain America'. And now, sadly, I must sleep again if I have any hope of kicking this cold - goodnight!

when you call my name it's like a little prayer

It looks like I'm going to bed late, but since I fell asleep on the couch at 9:45 and only woke up to wash my face and drink some water (and blog) before bed, you would be very sadly mistaken. Or perhaps I'm the one who is sad, since I fell asleep before ten p.m. on a Friday night. But since I'm trying to stave off this cold by being as slothlike as possible, I'm giving myself a pass.

That pretty much describes the whole day. I woke up not feeling very well, so I lazed about in bed before showering, making some eggs for breakfast, and eventually going to Philz to write. But even though the coffee was helpful and v. necessary, the locals (read: crackheads) were more distracting than usual, and they conspired with my headache and sore throat to make writing too difficult to pursue. So I came home and spent the afternoon doing some more stuff with my closet, putting away the last of my travel stuff, answering email, attempting to nap, etc.

Eventually I left the house to go to my salon and get a facial, but I perhaps should have stayed in; some crazy woman, in an attempt to switch lanes, backed up to give herself room and bumped my bumper pretty hard. This is no different than what I've seen other people do while parking, but it was crazy aggressive to do it in moving traffic when I was in the car honking at her. There's a small by well-defined scrape on my bumper, and I got her license plate and description (since we were stuck in traffic it's not like she could make a clean getaway), but I now need to decide whether my desire for justice outweighs my desire to not care.

sssanyway, I was two minutes late to my appointment since I spent those two minutes writing down the license plate number and taking pictures of my bumper, but the rest of my afternoon/evening was lovely. I bought orange juice and flowers after, then came home, drank the orange juice, ordered takeout thai food (my go-to when I'm sick), and was generally slothful. And now I'm going to bed so that I can (hopefully) write tomorrow - I've done about as much procrastinating around the house as I can do, and if I'm feeling better I'm going to write tomorrow even though I was tentatively thinking I should try to take weekends somewhat off. Goodnight!

as you walk on by will you call my name

Today was not the most exemplary day ever, but I'm worried that I might finally be succumbing to the cold that Joann developed at the end of our trip, so I'm cutting myself some slack. I spent the morning contemplating Rafe and Octavia while eating breakfast at Caffe Union (because I missed Tony, and because I hadn't bought groceries yet), and then rectifying the grocery situation so that I can feed myself for the next few days. Then I came home and spent the afternoon finishing the unpacking from my trip, messing around on the internet, and taking a break from all that productivity (ha) to get the gel polish removed from my nails.

By this evening I wasn't feeling well, though, so I made some chili for supper and called it a night. Rather than reading the book I had intended to read ('Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword', about British army tactics in 1808-1815 - a real page-turner), I watched 'Pitch Perfect' while folding and organizing clothes. The clothing organizing isn't done, but watching a movie while doing it made it way more fun even if I was way slower than I could have been otherwise.

And now, on that boring note (if you want to fund another trip for me so that I can write more interesting posts, feel free to donate), I'm going to bed and hoping that my throat isn't sore when I wake up in the morning. Goodnight!

i'm gonna show you what's really crazy

Day one of self-employment went pretty much according to plan. I perhaps could have gotten out of bed slightly earlier, since I woke up around 6:15 and then dozed some more until eight, but given that I was traveling for the past two weeks, I cut myself some slack. But I pulled myself out of bed in time to go to Philz and write for an hour - I didn't do much new word production, but I reread what I have so far and was v. pleasantly surprised to discover that I don't hate it. So, I have high hopes that I can get back into true productivity over the next few days.

After that, I trained with Alyssa (and the drive there reminded me why I'm so glad I don't have to commute anymore). She tortured me only a little bit, and it felt good to do some swings and deadlifts after several weeks of sloth. Then we had lunch at Joanie's so that we could catch up more properly than we're able to in the gym - I've been thinking a lot (as I've said) about setting myself up for success with the self-employment thing, and I think using Alyssa + some other regular gym sessions as part of the structure I'm trying to build for my days makes a lot of sense.

When we were done, I sped back to the evil city, where I spent too much time at my favorite art supply store looking for exactly the right new journal/blank book for something I want to make. Then I came home, did laundry, stared at the internet, messed around with some financial stuff, and eventually realized I needed to shower immediately so I could get ready for dinner. Dinner was duly accomplished at Dosa on Fillmore, which is now less than 15mins away [editor's note: I used a 'less than' sign in the original post, which Blogger interpreted as an HTML tag, which resulted in losing the rest of this paragraph as it was turned to gibberish. I think I said something about being less than fifteen minutes away from the delights of Fillmore Street and the Kabuki movie theatre, as well as all the cuteness of Japantown, which I'm looking forward to going to far more frequently; I also revealed that I was having dinner with Lauren (aka Subz). But the rest of this paragraph is lost to the sands of time and Blogger].

It was, as usual, awesome to see her; she seems to be in good form (perhaps even glowing), and she asked enough questions about my resignation + spinster honeymoon that I talked for almost an hour straight. Oops. But she handled my monologue with good grace, and we're going to try to get together sometime next week, so c'est la vie.

Now, though, I must go to sleep immediately before I start typing nonsense - goodnight!

boom boom pow

My grand adventures in the southern hemisphere have come to a close, and while I'm sad to not be on vacation anymore, I'm very happy to be home. Our trip back was entirely uneventful, but also entirely too long - nine hours on the plane to the US (although in business class, so it wasn't the worst thing ever), two hours to get through immigration in Houston, four hours to fly to LAX, an hour to turn the plane around there (we were on the same plane from IAH->LAX as we were for LAX->SFO, which meant we didn't have to walk around looking for gates - but we did have to sit there waiting for a plane that we had just been aboard), an hour to fly to SFO, and another half hour to get our baggage made for a very, very long day.

But Joann and I successfully parted ways, and I found a v. speedy taxi driver who had me home by one p.m. I was going to do all sorts of industrious things (mostly laundry, unpacking, and buying groceries), but I was so tired that I mostly stared off into space. Winning, I know. I also accomplished a shower, which was a huge feat. And I talked to my parents since I'd missed our usual Sunday call; it's weird to talk to them on a Tuesday, but it's even weirder not to call them on the weekend, so at least we got to talk at some point this week.

I'm falling asleep as I type this, so suffice it to say that I went over to Adit and Priyanka's for dinner. Priyanka ordered Thai food, which we enjoyed in an extremely lowkey manner, and it was nice to catch up between my trip and theirs (even if we 'caught up' over bits of the second Hobbit movie, gossip about the Duggars, etc.)

But if I don't go to bed right now, I won't be setting myself up for success tomorrow - I want to write in the morning, then go see Alyssa, and then get my house in order (or at least into the washing machines. Goodnight!

no scrubs

My spinster honeymoon is coming to a close...I'm at the Santiago airport, waiting for a flight to Houston, followed by a flight to LAX, followed by a flight to SFO. Today was extremely low key; Joann is most definitely sick, and so we basically lazed about for as long as we could keep the room this morning. We left the hotel around 12:30 and wandered around the neighborhoods near our hotel; this might have all gone differently if any of the museums were open, but they're all closed on Mondays, and so there were very few things we could do without exerting ourselves.

But we climbed the hill up to Castillo Hidalgo, an old fort overlooking Santiago, and we walked around there for awhile. Then we went to Starbucks to hang out and rest. After that, we wandered through a market focused on artisanal goods; there were a lot of leather goods that I coveted, but I refrained. We had a late lunch at Cafe del Opera, which was next to a fancier restaurant by the same people. We didn't quite know what we were ordering, but I had some slices of roast beef that were delightful, and Joann and I shared a carrot omelette thing that was tasty (although not tasty enough to finish).

After our late lunch, we wandered around some more before finally realizing we'd seen every street within the neighborhood our hotel is in. So we went back to the hotel, used their wifi with shameless abandon, changed into travel clothes, and left for the airport around seven. Our driver was quite nervous that we were going to be late, and also quite covered in cologne, but we made it to the airport early and didn't pass out from his manliness, so it's all good.

And now I'm going to eat something, hang out with Joann in the vip lounge (we're business class to Houston, so hopefully you won't have to listen to me bitch about non-fanciness tomorrow, but I make no guarantees), and then get on the plane. Next stop is the U.S. and my new life as a self-employed person....buenos noches!

step out the front door like a ghost

Today should probably count as the last real day of the trip, even though we don't get back to California until Tuesday...but tomorrow's grand plan consists of doing very little until it's time to go to the airport, since Joann appears to be getting sick and I really don't want to catch whatever she has. However, since today mostly involved drinking a lot of wine, I had a fine time on my last full day of vacation...and my liver, if nothing else, is ready to get back to the grind and start writing in earnest as soon as I'm back in San Francisco.

The morning started earlier than I'd have liked, since we had to get up and eat before our tour picked us up at 9am. But the breakfast at the hotel was good enough (especially after I figured out how to get pan sin glutino, which they turned into a ham and cheese sandwich for me), and I managed to put on the warmest outfit I could muster (sundress over leggings I'd already worn, plus flats that I would normally never wear with this dress, plus cardigan, plus light jacket). This wasn't nearly warm enough, since we could see our breath at the first winery, but as the day turned warmer, I was able to shed the sweater/jacket and enjoy the sunshine. Also, this is only the second time I've worn this dress; the first time was to my going-away party at work, so the drinks consumed per hour in this dress is probably an appalling average.

sssanyway, on that sobering (haha) note, let's move on. The tour took us to Casablanca Valley, which has been producing wine for around thirty years. It's just slightly too cold to be seen as an obvious place to grow wine, but they've figured out how to generally protect the vines and fruit from frost, and the results are pretty tasty. They grow a mix of red and white varietals, which was a bit surprising since I typically only see reds from Chile, but most of what we tasted was really good.

The first stop was the first vineyard in the valley; they're doing some interesting things with production, including using giant amphora (clay/concrete vats) that are egg-shaped in a way that encourages the fermenting wine to (very very slowly) stir itself, which obviates the need to siphon from the bottom of the vat and pour back over the top. I bought a bottle of their wine, and I also bought a scarf (see: packing, lack of).

Winery number two was smaller; they are owned by some Americans who moved down there, and 97% of their production is exported, so their style tends to be more Californian in nature because they want us to like it. And like it we did...their syrah was really quite excellent, and I liked their pinot noir even though I'm not typically a pinot fan. We also got to taste some juice that had only been fermenting since harvest a few weeks ago, which was interesting. By this point it was warming up, so we enjoyed our wine on the patio while looking out over their vineyard, which was lined with Chilean palm trees and graced with breezes from the Pacific a few miles away.

Winery number three was enough wine to put most of us over the edge; of the six of us, only Joann was truly pacing herself, and I may have been the only other person who didn't finish everything. The other attendees were an engaged couple from the Bay Area (you can't escape Bay Area people, it seems), a Brit who was in South America on business (the powder business, which apparently involves heavy equipment and not cocaine), and a young consultant from Texas (saying he's a consultant tells you everything you need to know about him), and we were all quite into the wines - and the wines were quite into us, since the pours were generous.

But the third winery included lunch with wine pairings, and even though I don't usually eat lunch at three p.m., this was well worth the wait. We sat on their patio as well, and it was all warm and lovely. They gave us a nice ceviche with a sauvignon blanc, followed by fish (I think? whatever the second course was, it wasn't all that memorable), a v tasty beef, and cheesecake for dessert (although I got fruit in deference to my sin glutino ways). Then we toured their vineyard while drinking more wine. I ended up buying a bottle of their carmenere, and I'm excited to see if I can get two bottles home in my suitcase. If one of them breaks, it will merely complete the destruction of my clothes wrought by a week of being wet/rotting, so whatever.

Most of us slept most of the way back to Santiago, but all in all it was a v. successful day. When we got back, we weren't hungry yet, so Joann and I hung out/rested in the hotel before seeking out a Chilean restaurant so we could try one of the famous local dishes - pastel de choclo, which is sort of a Chilean shepherds pie with corn mash instead of mashed potatoes. It came in a cast iron ramekin, and the corn mash was mixed with shredded beef - pretty tasty, albeit not crunchy enough for my post-wine desires. We also split some risotto (again, not crunchy), and it was hopefully enough to fortify us so that Joann fights off whatever she's coming down with and I don't get it from her.

Then we returned to the hotel, and I have messed around on the internet until now. And now, after a lovely couple of weeks away from real life, I must prepare to return to California and to the new life that awaits me - it's a little surreal that I walked away from my job and straight into my spinster honeymoon, which means that I'm going to have to institute some new routines when I get back to replace the things I'm used to doing. But I'm looking forward to all of it, and I'm excited (and scared) to get started on Rafe and Octavia's book in earnest. Goodnight!

he can't keep his wild eyes on the road

There's a part of me that could keep traveling down the road forever and never look back - but it's currently outweighed by the part of me that would like to stop taking overnight flights, switching timezones, and realizing (again) how badly I packed for this trip. It's perhaps laughable how badly I misjudged - usually I'm pretty well prepared, but since I was working/celebrating/drinking until the bitter end before my trip, I didn't even start thinking of what to bring until the morning of my departure. So while I was well-prepared for Bora Bora, I put basically no thought into Easter Island or Santiago - and the result is that it's going to get down to 37 degrees tonight, and my best options for our wine tour tomorrow are sundresses. Ooof.

But this is all eminently survivable, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow capping off a glorious trip before leaving (likely hungover) for the States on Monday night. Last night and today were somewhat painful, but we made the best of them. After I blogged last night, we finished getting ready, sat around, and sat around some more wondering when the owner of our hotel would decide to take us to the airport. He had been mildly late picking us up, but we had confirmed with the whole family that morning (or so we'd thought) that they were taking us back that night. But when he showed up around the time we guessed he would show up, he looked extremely surprised to see us - and then totally panicked, let us throw money at him to settle the bill (which was not the correct amount, but whatever - it's getting sorted), and then shoved us into his truck. When we got to the airport, he let out a huge sigh, said, 'the plane is still here....mi corazon was...', and then thumped his chest to simulate a heart attack while laughing. I think he thought the flight was an hour earlier than it was, but it all worked out totally fine.

What wasn't fine was that we were somehow in the last row of the entire plane, which was a real fall from grace compared to our business class experience. But we didn't have anyone between us, and we both slept most of the flight, so it could have been worse. When we got to Santiago, everything went flawlessly - our bags showed up, our taxi was waiting for us, and the hotel greeted us with bottled water and the v. welcome news that we could check in even though it was only nine a.m. We're in a tremendously hipsterish hotel in a very cute area of Santiago, and it feels like I'm back in SF (even if I still haven't found great coffee, but I'm going to try tomorrow). We spent the first couple of hours sleeping, since I knew I needed a nap if I had any hope of exploring.

But we actually rallied for the rest of the day, which was mildly impressive. We started with lunch at Nolita, which was an excellent Italian place; we each had a salad to start, followed by gnocchi for Joann and seafood risotto for me, and the risotto, at least, was pretty much perfect. The other perfect thing was learning how to order una copa de vino, since I can't drink a bottle - and the copa de vino at lunch was a delicious carmenere, v. generously poured, which made my excitement for tomorrow's wine tour only grow.

After lunch, we walked off the meal by wandering around the streets and markets of the Bellas Artes district, which is near where we're staying. We didn't find anything to buy (although I had an eye out for a coat, for reasons enumerated above), partially because many things were closed since this is a holiday weekend (more on that below). But we ended up going to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, which was a pleasant surprise - after they charged me a student entrance fee for no obvious reason, we explored a variety of artifacts from the pre-Colombian Central and South American cultures. They had some excellent stuff, all of which made me wish I knew more about those cultures (even if I'm glad that I don't currently live in a culture where it's so common to carry around the heads of your enemies that you need a specific type of rope for it (although if I did live in that culture, I have a list of heads I'd start collecting asap (but I digress))). I was most impressed by their textiles room - they have some truly ancient stuff, and it's a wonder any of it has survived, but the weaving and dying are extremely impressive and possibly better than anything I've seen surviving from European cultures. Or perhaps I was just ashamed of my own ignorance, since I had no idea the textile arts were so well-developed in Central/South America so many centuries before Europe.

sssanyway, I'm a dork when it comes to textiles, but you've stuck with me this far, so let's move on. After the museum, we walked back to the hotel, where we engaged in some research/debate over what to do for dinner. We were both tired, and we'd walked a lot, but I didn't really feel like eating a hot dog for dinner (even though that's a thing here), so we ended up going to Tambo, which was very close to where we had lunch. We asked the hotel concierge to call ahead in case we needed a reservation, but when we got there, we were the only ones in the restaurant. This is likely for two reasons:

- people here don't eat dinner until 8pm - midnight, and we chose to eat at 7:30 (late for us in comparison to most of the trip, but depressingly early compared to everyone else in this country).

- as mentioned above, this is a holiday weekend in Chile. While sitting in the restaurant, I looked up what holiday it was, and it turns out that 21 May is 'la dia de las glorias navales', which commemorates a specific battle in the war between Chile and Peru in 1879; Chile lost the battle, but it was considered a turning point, and Chile went on to win the war. As it turns out, Tambo is a Peruvian restaurant...and so while the chicken dish I had was v. tasty and Joann enjoyed her seafood stew, it's *possible* that a Peruvian restaurant might not be the hottest ticket in town tonight.

So after that (and after a copa de vino for me and an ice cream for Joann), we came back to the hotel, and I've been hanging out and indulging my inner internet-addicted hipster in the lobby since then. But now I really need to get ready for bed; I want to be well-rested for the wine tour tomorrow. These time changes have wrought havoc on my body - Bora Bora was three hours behind California, and Santiago is three hours ahead, so I've basically been just jetlagged enough to be confused this entire time. Or maybe it's the copa de vino talking. Either way, it's been a fun trip, and I intend to enjoy every last bit of tomorrow before we have to get ready to go home on Monday. Goodnight!

she's been dying and i've been drinking

Everything I own, myself included, is damp. I don't mean that in the way 'damp' is used in romance novels - I mean that it's been raining off and on ever since we got to Easter Island, and before that I was either sweating or in the ocean, and so every bit of functional clothing I brought with me (jacket, sweatshirt, multiple pairs of leggings/pants, socks, sneakers, whatever) is either minorly or majorly wet. I'm hopeful that Santiago will dry me out, but it remains to be seen whether I ever get comfortable in the Southern Hemisphere or whether I'm destined to slowly rot.

But despite the rain, today was gorgeous. I got up in the predawn hours (which sounds more dramatic than 8am, but also true since sunrise is so late here) and spent some quality time with my journal and the internet while eating a quick breakfast and drinking bad coffee (Easter Island's specialty, all of which seems to be either instant coffee or, if you're fancy, convenience store cappuccino masquerading as a coffee shop delicacy). Marcus picked us up at 9:30, and we spent the day exploring some lesser-known (but no less fascinating) sites around the island. This included a set of moai who are facing the ocean, which are the only known statues that faced out to sea instead of in toward the villages. The light there, in early morning mist, was pretty magical.

Then we went to a cave, with a detour so that Marcus could shake some ripe guava from a tree so that I could eat one. The legend is that if you eat a guava you'll return to Easter Island, which I would be happy to do; Joann didn't eat one on the basis of not liking guava, but I think by that point she was already tired of being damp, so hopefully she protected herself from future damp adventures. Then we proceeded on to the caves, and as we were reaching the entrance the rain started in earnest - so we had to make a run for it across an ancient lava field, full of broken rocks and scraggly weeds and the occasional pile of animal dung (another Easter Island specialty).

But after dashing across the lava field, we darted down into what turned out to be a massive cave with multiple chambers and entrances. The cave was technically a lava tube, made when molten lava hollowed out the ground and then disappeared, and it felt very different than the water-carved caves I've seen in the US and Europe. Also, these caves had been lived in in the past, so there were piles of stones that Marcus claimed were beds, but if I had had to live in a cave several months a year, I probably would have tried to come up with something better than that to sleep on, Stone Age technology or no.

So we walked through the caves, and when we emerged on the other side the rain was gone. But we ended up taking a long lunch break to avoid more rain, during which I drank more bad coffee and Joann and I caught Marcus up on ISIS. Then we saw another couple of sites before going to the main attraction of the afternoon - Orongo, the village that played host to the Birdman competition every year from the 1720s to the 1860s. The Birdman cult came into effect as the people abandoned statue-making and royal prerogative started 'democratically' nominating a new leader every year - but their method of choosing a new leader was to gather every year at Orongo, wait for a specific type of bird to nest on a nearby island within view of Orongo, and then send an athlete from each tribe sprinting down the outer wall of a volcano, diving into the ocean, swimming to the other island, and searching for an egg from the birds. The first egg finder shouted back to Orongo, and the chieftain of his tribe became the Birdman (and the leader of the island) for the year.

This all ended after Peruvian slavers kidnapped almost everyone in the 1860s, then 'graciously' returned some of them with the gift of smallpox, which killed all but 111 of the Rapa Nui people. But before that, Orongo was pretty amazing. I asked Marcus if they were going to do any reenactments of the Birdman challenge for the 150th anniversary of the last challenge (next year), but he said a lot of them died during the attempt, so a reenactment probably wouldn't get many signups. Also, in case you're wondering, the winning athlete didn't become the Birdman, but he got a wife for his efforts - a woman who'd been kept in the 'virgin cave' for three months to keep her away from the sun so she'd be as fair as possible. Nowadays you just need an office job to achieve the same result, I guess.

sssanyway, Orongo was pretty awesome, and I particularly liked the view of the volcano caldera (click my instagram above to see it). After that, we said our sad farewells to Marcus, and then we walked around town for a bit so that Joann could buy souvenirs and I could eat ice cream. We came back to our hotel after that, foregoing dinner in the interest of napping/showering/not getting any wetter, which was a good call since it has rained most of the evening. And now, after lazing about most of the night, we're getting ready to go to the airport - our flight to Santiago is at 1am, which is going to make tomorrow interesting (but, as I've said repeatedly, hopefully less damp). And now that our Easter Island adventures have come to an end, it's time for me to put away the ipad and prepare for flight - more from South America tomorrow. Goodnight!

we never go out of style

Today was pretty much perfect, in an entirely different way from the perfection of Bora Bora. Bora Bora is a manufactured paradise, made perfect for tourists (and honeymooners especially) - granted, they have the gift of awesome weather and an amazing setting around a sinking volcano, but the perfection comes from the setting and the service, not the saccharine cultural overlay that seems to have only minimal basis in history.

Easter Island, by contrast, is perfectly remote and very nearly totally desolate, thanks to the deforestation the inhabitants caused while using trees to move their crazy statue heads from the quarry to opposite sides of the island. Only seven thousand people live on the island, and it's nearly 2000km from the nearest inhabited land (Pitcairn Island, which isn't exactly a bustling metropolis) and well over 2000km from mainland Chile. So they're really isolated, and you can feel it in how empty the tourist locations are; only 70,000 tourists make it here per year, and we're hitting the low season, which means that the hotels aren't anywhere close to full and the tour guides have plenty of availability.

This, it turns out, worked entirely to our advantage today. After sleeping for almost ten hours last night (and still having to set an alarm to get out of bed - dawn isn't until 8:30 here, which is crazy), we met up with our guide for today's tour. It turns out that he was possibly the best thing of the entire trip - his name is Marcus, and he's a Swede who came here on a backpacking trip, came back, fell in love with a local woman, and stayed put. He's now learned Rapa Nui, which was super helpful in negotiating the local politics (more on that in a moment). He gave me and Joann a private tour of some of the best spots on the island - the most famous statue locations (the ahu, or ceremonial platforms where the moai (statues) were placed), the quarry where they were carved (and where hundreds still sit in varying forms of completion), and the beach where legend has it that the first king landed.

All of this was completely, desolately gorgeous. It rained a bit off and on all day, which added to the atmosphere. There was also a bit of local drama to add some spice; a self-appointed group of local revolutionaries has 'overthrown' the park ranger service and is now controlling access to everything, a state of affairs that the Chilean government seems to be tolerating during the low season. This is sort of good for us, since it meant we didn't have to buy the sixty dollar park pass, but it seems to be untenable in the long term. But Marcus knows them all (and everyone else on the island), and since their beef is with the Chilean government and recent Chilean immigrants rather than with the lone Swede on the island, we were totally fine.

So we spent the day touring, along with a lunch break at the beach, where I had a pork dish that completely shocked the cook - apparently tourists only order the empanadas, but since I can't eat wheat, I ordered meat. When I ordered, she made some joke about me being a Rapa Nui warrior; then she came out again later to say (in Spanish) that she was sorry it was taking so long, but she was cooking it really thoroughly so my tourist stomach could handle it. Hahahaha. But it turned out to be the most amazingly, simply delicious thing I've had in awhile, so if I get trichinosis from it, so be it.

Marcus ended the day by singing to us on the beach, and we enjoyed it so much that we booked him again for tomorrow. And then we came back to the hotel, rested a bit (or, in my case, went crazy because the internet wasn't working), went out and grabbed an early dinner (ceviche and half a bottle of wine for me, chicken stir fry and local beer for Joann), and then speed-walked back to the hotel as dusk was turning to darkness and the feral dogs started baying and snapping at each other.

And now I must sleep; we have another tour tomorrow, and then we're going to freshen up and have dinner before going to the airport for yet another short red-eye flight (in economy this time - but I have a lot of Chilean wine to look forward to at the end of it). Goodnight!

i got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt

We finally made it to Easter Island, so you can stop listening to me bitch about Tahiti like it's the worst place in the world (for the record: I wouldn't go back there). Last night went as well as it could have possibly gone - when we went to check in for our flight, we discovered that we were both in business class, which is possibly the only thing that stopped us from getting truly stabby. So we didn't have to suffer through the ridiculously long lines, and we were able to get a bit of sleep in some surprisingly nice beds with surprisingly nice amenities. Granted, it wasn't enough sleep to make today easy - I think we got three hours or so, which meant that when we finally got to the hotel (at seven am), we promptly crawled into bed and slept until noon.

So the rest of the day was a bit miserable, but a bit wonderful...we walked into town and saw some moai (the giant stone heads that Easter Island is famous for) along the way, which were pretty awesome. We grabbed a late lunch at a promising-looking restaurant that actually lived up to the promise; I had the first great steak of the trip, and it was enough to reenergize me for some more walking/sightseeing. Then we went to the museum and read about the moai and Rapa Nui's civilization. Not much is known about Rapa Nui's past (before the Europeans, before it became Easter Island), mostly because almost all of the citizens died/were killed/were enslaved in a very short time frame in the 1800s, which is deadly for the passing on of an entirely oral history. But the stone heads that remain, on an island that is farther away from other inhabited points than any other inhabited place on earth, are pretty haunting.

After the museum, we came back to the hotel to use the internet, and we very nearly succumbed to the allure of eating granola bars and staying in because we're both so wiped out from the trip. But if I had to sit around for yet another day doing nothing, after the day we spent in Bora Bora using the spa before our flight, and then the day we spent in Tahiti staring at nothing because we had nothing to do in Tahiti, I was pretty sure I was going to lose my mind. So I dragged Joann back into town, where we found a dance festival in progress, so we watched that for a bit. And then we had a delightful dinner while discussing linguistics, family trees, etc.

Getting back to the hotel was a bit interesting; this was the reason why we'd hesitated to go out, since the walk back in the dark would be super sketchy (there is enough horseshit between the hotel and town to bury a man in, without even having time to be worried about the feral dogs or the rock-strewn mud paths or the complete lack of streetlights). But we managed to find a taxi; granted, he wore a hood like he was some sort of grim reaper, but he got us back to the hotel without drama.

And now, I'm desperate to sleep - we're doing a tour tomorrow (which was supposed to be today, but they were kind enough to rebook us), and I'm excited to see more moai at the end of the world. Goodnight!

love the one you're with

Tahiti sucks. But that's probably because we should have been in Easter island ages ago, and I'm tired and cranky, and this hotel isn't nearly as nice as the Four Seasons, and whine whine whine. But we're about to go to the airport for attempt #2 at getting out of here....if I blog from Tahiti again, expect some serious rage (or petulant resignation). Adios!