echoes in the dark

I have nothing to report today - I had some meetings, but a bunch of stuff in the middle got canceled, and so I played hooky and took myself out for lunch rather than ordering in or eating a sad sandwich. I went to Sassafras, which is two blocks from my house and yet someplace I've never been - it's usually super busy on weekends, and weekdays during the pandemic haven't been conducive to eating out in a public setting. It was pretty slow to get seated, but the food was great - my poached eggs were perfect, and they served them with some v. nice sausage and also a potato casserole that was delish. This meal went a long way toward restoring me, even though work is ridiculous right now.

So I spent the afternoon working (with a break to chat with Alyssa), and then I ended a little after six. Then I talked to [censored] so that we could catch up on our respective weekends. I also got a call from my friend Sara to follow up on a discussion we had at dinner Saturday night, so I would say I'm all talked out. And that means it's probably time for bed - goodnight!

like a videotape, it's just a memory slipping away

I'm not ready for the weekend to be over, but I suppose that's a common human sentiment. Today was lovely, all in all - I didn't get enough sleep last night because I stayed up until one finishing my book, but I spent the morning puttering around the house, cleaning, drinking coffee, etc. At some point, I did some research into couches / sectionals, since [censored] will no longer be my buddy if I don't replace the horrible sectional that Marvin left behind and that is currently our frenemy in my Iowa house (frenemy because it's better than having no couch at all, but also maybe I would prefer to sit on a beanbag because it would be equally impossible to get out of and also I would not find leftover candy wrappers of Marvin's whenever I move).

Eventually, I spent some quality time catching up with my parents, who were doing well (although there is much cleanup to do after the tornado). Then, I picked up Chandlord near Union Station - she was in town for the weekend with some coworkers, but they departed this afternoon so that I could have her all to myself. We went to Bookbar and had coffee on the back patio, and then we walked up and down Tennyson (not as exciting as San Francisco, but also not as much visible drug use), and then had dinner at Mazevo. I've ordered takeout from there during the pandemic, but it was my first time eating at the restaurant, and it was a delight.

Then, Chandlord and I adjourned to my house and watched some tv (a surprisingly uninspiring episode of Queer Eye, followed by a couple of episodes of 30 Rock). And now I need to sleep if I'm going to get up in time to bid Chandlord farewell before work - goodnight!

i step off the train, i'm walking down your street again...and past your door, but you don't live there anymore

This is only my fourth-ish healthy weekend, by my count, that I've been in Denver (and not recovering from covid or surgery) since late August. It's no wonder my house is kind of a mess and I'm feeling in deep need of some nesting. I could, perhaps, have done something fun today, especially since Chandlord is in town - but what I really needed today, and what felt better than going out, was taking care of some tasks, throwing some things away, washing my sheets and the guest room sheets, taking two naps, and reading a book. Also, my neighbor hired someone to pressure wash the house - I have not yet fully inspected the results, but they also pressure washed my patio, which is great because the fact that I was barely here last summer meant it was pretty neglected.

sssanyway, eventually I did rally and drive up to Longmont, where I met Sara and Caroline for dinner. Sara made a reservation at this new tiki restaurant that has taken over a former Outback Steakhouse, which made for a strange but entertaining vibe - when I walked in there was an overwhelming crowd, as would usually happen at an Outback Steakhouse in the 'burbs on a Friday night, but luckily Sara had secured our table and we had a delightful evening. My drink was served in an over-the-top tall mug in the shape of a tropical bird, and I had the Hawaiian fried rice (with ham and pineapple in it), and their fried calamari appetizer was gluten free, so that as great.

The three of us had much to discuss, so we took our time having those discussions over our meal. Eventually, it was time to part ways, so I drove home, got ready for bed, and spent the last three hours finishing reading DIRT, which is the memoir I started awhile ago about a guy who moved to France to learn from Lyonnais chefs. This, of course, is doing nothing to prevent my wanderlust; I want to disappear deeply into some sort of weird hobby and emerge several years later with a book and a lot of weird stories. And perhaps it's getting close to time to make that happen. But right now, I need to sleep so that I can seize the day tomorrow - goodnight!

pick up daddies at the playground, how i spend my daytime

Today's day job engagements were ridiculous, so I shall draw a veil over that and move on. I did have an afternoon catchup with Eugene, who was a friend from ye olde books days - we have a semi-regular gossip session on calendar, and we kept it for today, which was a delight. And eventually, when I was done with all work, I took an uber to the Four Seasons. For some reason it does not occur to me that Denver has a Four Seasons - in my head, I am v. judgey and bougie and this is still a cow town, but that is clearly somewhat unfair.

My friend / former coworker Kelly was there getting a massage, so we met for a drink and a shrimp cocktail. This turned into three drinks, a shrimp cocktail, and some fries. Then, we met up with her husband and had dinner at The Bindery - it's Denver restaurant week, and they were clearly overwhelmed, but the server was v. sweet. Dinner was not all that I wanted it to be, but we had an excellent bottle of pinot noir and a v. hilarious conversation, so in that respect it was perfect

Eventually, Kelly and Jackson dropped me at home, and we'll see each other again at a wedding in a couple of weeks. And now I am quite desperate for sleep - goodnight!

all of the friends you had before are raindrops just falling at your door

I had one of those days at work that will be hilarious in a few weeks/months, but for now it's just confusing and annoying. It didn't help that I had actually been looking forward to going into the office today, but my plans were canceled due to inclement weather. However, all the snow we got fell on warm pavement, so even though there was several inches of snow on my balcony, I didn't have to shovel any of it off my patio. And I had leftover pizza for lunch, which was a delight.

When I was done with work, I didn't do much - I took a quick nap, messed around, ate some leftover Indian takeout, and did a bit of reading / journaling / personal stuff. And now, I think I should go to bed - my meetings are frontloaded tomorrow, so getting to bed so that I can wake up for them is probably a good idea. Goodnight!

i want to hold you so hear me out, i want to show you what love's all about

It was seventy degrees yesterday, and now it's raining, but I'm also in a winter storm warning and had to cancel a planned event at the office tomorrow due to snow. Tanks for nothing, Denver in March!

Beyond that, today was good - I had to work, but I enjoyed a poke bowl in the middle of it. And to celebrate getting through the workday, I walked down to Blue Pan - they redid their dining room (by expanding into the building next door) during the pandemic, and this was the first time I went in to eat. It was pretty great - I had a salad and some rioja, and then I ordered a 'little rose' (pepperoni pizza, but with some salami and a lot of garlic and some honey, which was ridiculously good). The salad meant that I was able to save enough pizza for lunch tomorrow, which Future Sara will be quite happy about.

But now, I'm home and listening to rain, and even though it's only 9:30pm, I think I need to wind down and go to bed. Goodnight!

i got five on it

I'm already in bed, so I'll keep this brief. I had to work today, which was not lovely, but then I got a manicure, which definitely was. And then I met up with Katie at bartaco - it was a relaxed vibe, especially early on, which was great because we had much to discuss. We held our summit over chips and margaritas and tacos (Baja fish, pork belly, and falafel for me, all of which were excellent). Much was discussed and reminisced about, and while no firm decisions were made (other than a commitment to hold further talks in Italy at some point), it was an excellent meeting of the minds.

Sometime before nine, I dropped her off, then came home and talked to Barbara to get some advice on something and generally catch up (since we hadn't seen each other in SF). At some point I should probably answer all the email and texts from people who aren't in SF or Denver and so aren't getting love because I've been too stressed to do anything but talk to the people right in front of me, but that won't happen tonight.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

it goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun

I have nothing to report today - mentally I'm not ready to go to bed, but physically I should have gone to bed as soon as the sun went down. Today was pretty good, all in all - I had some meetings but they weren't too onerous. I spent some quality time talking to my parents and to [censored], since my trip to California interrupted my usual Sunday calls. And I had takeout from Himchuli for dinner, which was as delightful as always.

But now, I should really consider sleeping so that I can further my post-California recovery - goodnight!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes

No blog tonight - I had a surprising amount of alcohol considering that tonight's wedding festivities were dry, but that's what happens when you leave the wedding at ten and then go out with Adit and Chandlord until two. I have much to report, but sleep is more crucial than memory. Goodnight!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i look around and sin city's cold and empty

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

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

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

i said, ooh, i'm blinded by the lights

Hello from San Francisco. I read some hot take on Twitter today about how people with ADHD forget all about people who aren't right in front of them (which is relevant for all the people whose emails I have not responded to), and it's exhibit #973 of how social media is convincing me that I have ADHD...but my midwestern / puritanical work ethic would tell me that I'm just lazy, so who knows what is right?

sssanyway. Today was pretty good, although I'm severely overcaffeinated - if I can get a large Philz at 7:30am, and then some coffee, and then an iced latte, and then a chai (the non-Philz cups provided by the free barista at work), it turns out that my body is jittery and my heart is fluttering by 4pm. But other than that, today was great. I am not looking forward to a commute, but my secret extrovert heart is delighted by seeing people in person.

So, I spent the whole day at the office, then walked to my hotel, took a nap, and then worked at Le Meridien's bar while having some wine and dinner (and observing yet another bad first day from the guy who I saw here last time I was in SF + the last time I went on a bad first date in SF - apparently he does not give up, which is why he + other bacteria will eventually win the evolutionary wars after humans destroy themselves). And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

all about that bass

I'm v v tired - tings have been stressful with work + Ukraine + natural disasters + looking at my hands and realizing they're aging [note: not all disasters are actually of equal importance].

But, other than the end of the world, things are going well. I went into the SF office and got a lot of work done, which was necessary. I left the office around five and talked to [censored], then stopped at Sephora for a couple of tings I needed, and then talked to Terry briefly about wedding plans. Then I took a ten minute nap. And then I met Katrina for a long dinner at Otra - we usually go to Nopalito, but we switched it up with a different Mexican restaurant. The bean dip was the star of the show, but my margaritas were excellent and the other dishes were tasty as well. We hadn't caught up in a long time, so it was nice to have a v. long and detailed discussion. And, ridiculously, in the middle of it Adit interrupted us - he showed up for a dinner with some coworkers, so he said hi when he saw us. This felt so much like old times that it was total cognitive dissonance, since I don't live here and also don't go out to eat due to the pandemic, and so a casual run-in at a restaurant felt bizarre.

But now, I need to sleep since I have an early meeting I have to be on for - goodnight!

торнадо!

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

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

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

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

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

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

it's my life my worries

Apparently yesterday's blog post was designed to haunt [censored] by reminding him of that Russian song... So he retaliated today by reminding me of "It's My Life" by Dr. Alban, which was mysteriously popular in Ukraine in the summer of 1993. I suppose I deserved that, but I wasn't ready to remember it.

Today was a long slog, and I'm going to have to do a bunch of work this weekend. But overall it was good, and I skipped out at five to get my nails done for my upcoming trip. Then I came home and should have packed, but instead talked to [censored]. I did eventually get mostly packed, but I still have to do a bunch of stuff before going to the airport tomorrow. So, I should prob sleep so I can deal with everything tomorrow - goodnight!

Знаю я, ты помнишь обо мне

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

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

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

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

And now I need to sleep - goodnight! 

sexy villain

I had a long day of working from home, but it was pretty productive, so I'll take it. More excitingly, I got out of the house again for dinner - I met Andy and Nina at Bar Dough for a decadent greenhouse experience. We had charcuterie and olives, and then I had gluten free pasta while they shared a pizza that was so spicy I could smell how spicy it was, and we ended with shots of fernet like the San Francisco refugees that we all are. It was a really fun time, and I'm reminded that Denver can be great when it's not in the pandemic (and when you ignore world war iii).

But now, I need to unwind since I have a long day tomorrow - goodnight!

if the end comes soon i'll be here, i'll be here with you

It has been almost two full years since I last went into my office building, but I went back today and it was surprisingly glorious. My building had been undergoing renovations before the 'rona (which had been a thorn in my side, because I am involved in site stuff and had to deal with a lot of complaints because apparently people don't like it when ceiling tile dust falls into their food during lunch). But two full years with no one in the building meant that the facilities team could spend as much time and energy as they wanted in making the building better. And, since I'm still technically responsible for site stuff, my team ended up in a v. nice spot - facing the mountains, with outdoor balcony spaces on either side.

It was bizarre to go back, though - I weirdly almost teared up when I got there and saw some fresh macarons that the kitchen staff had made for an event I was hosting, since it's been so long since I've had any office amenities. I was hosting a welcome back event (optional) and it was great to see some people I hadn't seen in a long time - there are a lot of people I like whom I don't get to actually see in the meetings I'm usually in, so it was pretty energizing to see them.

Of course, I can revert to being spoiled and jaded easily; my lunch had too many vegetables and lentils, so that will take some adjustment. And don't assume I'm suddenly going in every day - I probably won't go in for another couple of weeks, since I'll be in San Francisco next week. But it was really nice to go in, so we'll see what happens.

I eventually drove home (rush hour reminded me that I don't like it, but it's not awful) and met up with a coworker for dinner. We were supposed to go to El Camino, but the line was 20+ minutes. So we went across the street to Mead Street Provisions, which I've never been to - but they had really nice gluten free bread, and I got a great gf sandwich and an excellent bourbon cocktail. My coworker and I have been trying to meet up for months, but between her relatively new child and my various issues, it has taken months to make this happen. So it was nice to socializing in person, even if I have definitely hit my people wall today.

And now I need to sleep so I can do a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

drink til i'm sideways

I had a nice early morning (blew out my hair with some new product that was quite lovely, picked up coffee from starbucks, journaled, etc). Then, I had a bunch of meetings that gave me a headache, but I paused for a poke bowl to celebrate being back in a city. Happily, Alyssa helped me to make my headache disappear before I picked up Katie for dinner - we were supposed to go to Ash'kara, but Ash'kara had a plumbing issue and canceled our reservation, so we went to The Kitchen instead.

It wasn't as good as our last experience because we had a different server who somehow wasn't as charmed by us and so didn't comp us an after-dinner drink, but it was still a delight - we caught up on a lot of stuff over food + some madeira to cap off the night, and it was lovely. Katie made a v. strong sales pitch for me to stay in Denver forever, and the madeira helped it along - and it is true that Denver has not gotten a fair tryout since almost all of my time in Denver has been spent in a pandemic, interacting with coworkers on video calls via small laptop screens. So, we'll have to see how things are when I'm no longer stuck in my house...

...but that's a story for a different night. Right now, it's only 10:30 but I really want to go to bed and get as much sleep as possible - goodnight!

i caught a vibe

No time to blog tonight - I'm exhausted, but I'm safely ensconced in my bed in Denver. I didn't leave Iowa as early this morning as I probably should have - I was finding myself loath to make the drive and loath to come back to my Colorado life (especially since this week requires a lot of meetings and a lot of extra work). However, I'm excited to be back in my house here and I'm excited for some social plans this week - and I leave for California next weekend, so it's not like I'm going to languish here.

sssanyway, after I loaded my car and took care of some house tings and said goodbye to [censored], the drive was entirely uneventful - I had to stop for a fifteen minute nap at a rest stop near Kearney, and I ate a proper supper at the Qdoba in North Platte, but otherwise the drive was steady. I spent most of it listening to an audiobook called PEAK PERFORMANCE, which was actually pretty good / inspiring - I haven't been in the mood for peak performance in awhile due to the pandemic, but maybe the war horseman of the apocalypse makes me think I should go out and achieve something before it's too late.

But there's no performing tonight - I need to sleep nine hours so that I can survive work tomorrow. Goodnight!

am i holding for applause

I should have gone to bed an hour ago - but I also should have left for Colorado today, so clearly those things aren't happening. I spent way too much time today doomscrolling about Ukraine, which is probably expected. I also made bolognese sauce, hung out around the house, took care of some things to close up shop here, packed, etc.

[Censored] and I went out to the parents' house for dinner with some of my bolognese sauce in tow, and when we got there we managed to fix their adjustable bed frame (whoever decided that the optimal design of the frame required it to put batteries right in the middle of the frame, requiring you to take apart the whole bed and lift up the mattress and frame to replace them, was clearly a sadist).

So, we hung out there for awhile, and then I said my farewells to my parents and came back to my house. I haven't loaded my car, but almost everything is packed, so hopefully the morning goes smoothly and I can get out of here early enough to make it back to Denver in time for dinner. We'll see how it goes - goodnight!

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

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

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

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

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

when the sun comes up on a sleepy little town

Honestly, I'm pretty depressed / anxious / angry / sad about the Ukraine situation. Those of you who read this probably know that my family lived in Ukraine for a year when I was twelve, and we went back for a visit in 2007 - all the people my dad got in touch with this weekend in Ukraine didn't think an invasion was happening, so Russia's aggression took them all by surprise.

It's completely crazy to me that we're seeing a massive land/air invasion (against the second-largest country in Europe, to be clear), and also completely crazy to me that 20-30% of the US population will probably casually support Putin on this because Trump says that Putin is very smart, and they because they admire Putin's strong-arm tactics to create a Russian ethnostate and wish to recreate that kind of power in the US. Putin *is* very smart, because he successfully (and provably) used Russian disinformation tactics to 'flood the zone' at various points in the last five years and create extreme confusion and conspiracy theories on American social media, which is a contributing factor to the wedges driven between American groups in the last few years. But I'm hoping that the Ukrainians will be able to hold out, and I'm hoping this stops soon and doesn't domino-effect its way into another world war.

sssanyway. I did have several hours of meetings today, so I couldn't spend all my time doomscrolling. I also had to deal with carpeting - they finished today, which was a day ahead of schedule, and I'm delighted with the results. After they left and I was done with work, I spent some time vacuuming, which is probably a task I will have to repeat regularly for awhile. [censored] and I also went out to our parents' house for dinner - my mom made ham + gluten free mac and cheese, and it was completely delicious. Then we came back to my house, and I did some house stuff, talked to Terry for awhile (it's hard to plan a wedding in a pandemic + a possible world war), got ready for bed, wrote in my journal, etc.

And now, I really need to sleep - even though it's now morning in Ukraine, I'm trying to remember that doomscrolling doesn't actually do anything to help the situation, and I would be better served by getting some sleep instead. Goodnight!

she knows it's too late as she's walking on by

I had a long day but I'm happy enough with what got done. I had to work, which was less onerous than usual due to "no meeting week" (which meant I had 2.5hrs of meetings instead of seven), and the schedule allowed me to get some actual work done. I also spent time 'supervising' the carpet installation - this continues to be a v. entertaining process, mostly because of the conversation happening around the carpet installation. But despite the amount of talking, they're making fast progress - they will likely be done tomorrow instead of Friday, since they only have to do my bedroom and the guest room tomorrow.

Other than that, I worked all day. After work and carpet were over, I spent some time touching up [censored]'s bedroom - the paint looked great, but since we went dark it was less forgiving in terms of places where the original (dingy) light color was still visible right against the trim. But I was able to fix all of that tonight, and I celebrated by eating the pizza that [censored] picked up. Then, I spent the evening dealing with house tings, moving things from my room to my office so that they can carpet in here tomorrow, helping [censored] move all his stuff from the guest room back into his bedroom, etc. I also, of course, obsessed over the news out of Ukraine, which is really not looking good.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

so i start a revolution from my bed

I'm quite tired, mostly because I spent too much time the last few days + today doing house things and am now also trying to do my job on top of them. Today's task was to greet the people installing my carpet - I'm getting new carpet everywhere (except the kitchen, bathrooms, and dining room), and this obviously involves moving and re-moving a lot of furniture and other items to make way for the work.

Since I live in ultimate #smalltownlife, getting carpet installed is quite entertaining - I didn't know one of the guys since he grew up in the next county north of us, but the main installer (part of the family that owns the flooring store; I dealt with his sister to pick out the carpet) has lived around here forever. So, while I don't really know him since he was seven or eight years older than me, we know a lot of the same people. I realized that he's probably a good source of gossip overall, since they're one of the only flooring games in town and so he makes his way through many houses in the county. Things were quite chatty in the morning since he was waiting for some bonding agent to dry before putting tile in front of my front entryway, which was fun.

But then I had to get some actual work done, and they got down to business. No actual carpet went in today, but every room except my bedroom and the guest room are re-padded and ready for carpet tomorrow. When they left, I worked until five, and then I quickly cut in paint around the stairs - I'm not ready to paint the staircase, but the carpet goes all the way to the wall without any trim, and it seemed easier to cut in now so that I won't have to worry quite so much about getting all the way to the carpet when I do paint the stairs. The degree of difficulty on this was higher since the lack of carpet means that tackboard is exposed everywhere, which feels precarious - but I got it done, so at least that's over with.

Then [censored] and I went out to our parents' house, where my mom v. generously fed us a roast. And then we came back to my house and I spent the rest of the evening doing various tings around the house and sending a few work emails. And now, I really need to sleep - carpet work is starting earlyish again tomorrow and I have a lot of work to do, so rest is a good idea. Goodnight!

i'm gonna pop some tags

Today was full of bad global news that I almost entirely ignored - instead, I went super deep on house projects, which means I'm exhausted but also didn't have a lot of time to indulge in the long weekend make-up Sunday Scaries. I got up, made coffee and eggs, and ran to the next town over again to reconsider some cabinet choices + look at appliances. The appliance conversation was informative  - but perhaps more informative for the initial person I talked to at the appliance place, who had never heard of induction cooktops before. However, the owner came in, whom I had talked to before when I bought my dishwasher, and he was all over the induction question. I would normally prefer gas, but gas would require moving a gas line + having a gas stove without a hood since there is no hood in the current setup, and I just don't know that those things are worth doing (although, I guess, I may move a gas line anyway for a grill someday, but that's a different issue).

So, I got some numbers and some printouts of some options, and we parted ways with me promising to get back to him on what I decide. I asked if he needed a deposit or something to order things and he said that normally he would, but I'm on 'another level' and so he'd order it for me before I get back to make a deposit. There are disadvantages to living in small towns and not being able to get lots of tings / order takeout / etc., but there are also advantages in terms of just doing things on some sort of honor system.

While I was there, I looked briefly at washers and dryers, but I didn't pull the trigger because I won't be here to get a delivery and also thought it was a little indulgent to buy them right now even though the current washer is ancient and the dryer isn't perfect. Hilariously, while I was driving home, [censored] called to tell me that the dryer sounded like an airplane engine, which explains why my last load of laundry took absolutely forever to dry. So, that was a bummer. Luckily, [censored] is the kind of [censored] who has spare dryers lying around, so [censored] hauled a dryer into my basement, hooked it up, and was surprised / delighted to find that it works. A new washer/dryer is still on my list (especially since the washer seems to have something disintegrating within it), but at least we have a dryer.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon painting the ceiling in [censored]'s bedroom. It turned out well, all in all - the blue wall color that we painted yesterday is not very forgiving of mistakes (any remaining white between the paint and trim is very noticeable), so there are some places where we need to touch up, but it looks great otherwise. And I supposed I should say that [censored] was actually the one who sprayed the ceiling, but I was the one who taped most of the room and set up / cleaned up the sprayer, so I did my part.

Then I spent a lot of time cleaning up and moving tings around. I also talked to Alyssa at some point and she had me do some squats and presses, which felt good but probably wasn't necessary on top of all my other manual labor. I'm getting new carpet put in the rest of this week, so I had to get a lot done tonight - but I think we're ready.

And now I desperately need to go to bed since I need to get up early tomorrow for the carpet - goodnight!

faster higher stronger together

Today was productive, although I still have a lot I want to do around here - but I got up, made coffee, finished doing some prep work, made eggs, and eventually [censored] and I painted his room. We didn't get the ceiling yet, since we need wall paint to dry before we can tape it and hang plastic to protect it (trust us, this is the best method we've found for spraying) - but the walls look fantastic. [censored] would prefer to sleep in a tomb if at all possible, but as a compromise went for a nice medium-deep blue that complements the rest of the house while being dark enough to suit [censored]'s tastes. I'm delighted with how the color turned out, and I'm looking forward to getting the ceiling done tomorrow.

While we were painting, we also made a list of many possible house projects (too numerous to list). And I roasted another pork shoulder throughout the day - it took a solid nine hours, but that involved less than ten minutes of hands-on time today (plus a lot more time than that to shred seven pounds of meat). I'm intending to freeze most of it, but it made for a good supper tonight - I took it out to my parents' house, and my mom contributed scalloped potatoes and a salad to the cause. Then [censored] and I came back to my house and I watched the Olympics closing ceremonies - I'm always sad for the games to end, but it's time for me to get back to my regularly scheduled life.

And now, I should sleep so that I can accomplish a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

why do all the monsters come out at night

I meant to go to bed an hour ago, so I really need to shut down so that I can get up in the morning. Today was excellent (or at least excellently productive) - Aunt Kathy came down from the city purely to help me with house projects, which was incredibly nice of her. So, I was up and at 'em before nine, since I assumed she would arrive relatively early. We spent the morning prepping and painting the closet in [censored]'s bedroom, and then in the afternoon Aunt Kathy painted the living room / front entrance closet while I finished prepping [censored]'s room to get painted tomorrow. All of this was a huge help since I would not have gotten it done by myself - and now I'm ready to paint a room tomorrow, which is exciting.

So, we spent the whole day doing house stuff, which [censored] joined in on a little after lunch. My parents stopped by somewhere in there to inspect progress, which was fun - we all continue to marvel at how terrible the bathrooms are in this house, but right now the stove and the kitchen in general are my nemeses and will need to be replaced before the bathrooms.

Eventually, we were done, and so Aunt Kathy went to my parents' house and [censored] and I picked up Mexican takeout to supply for dinner. We hung out at my parents' house for a couple of hours, which was nice - Dad told a story about a dead cat [not recently; it died in the 1970s, which I guess you had to be there for. And then [censored] and I came back to my house, where we tested out some tings, watched some Olympics, discussed kitchen options, etc.

And now, I'm desperate for some sleep since I'm 100% committed to painting a bedroom tomorrow - goodnight!

you and me together through the days and nights

I took today off, but I'm still super tired - I stayed up way too late watching the Olympics last night, and I had to get up this morning to meet my mom and go to the next county over to run some errands. I met her at the secondhand store in town since she was there for a different activity, and I ended up spending $15 to basically outfit my whole kitchen (okay, that's an exaggeration, but I got two platters, a pretty serving bowl, and five glasses, so it was a good deal).

Then we drove east, where our first stop was an appointment to look at cabinets and finishes for my kitchen. I think I have a good idea of what I want to do from a cabinetry standpoint, but I need to think some more about other finishes - but I'm hopeful I can kick off the project this summer. I may have to fire the designer, though, because she told me I'm turning into my mom (she designed my mom's kitchen in 2007 and I am apparently planning to pick the exact same style, although I'm planning to go lighter with the wood and different on the hardware). I like my mom's kitchen, so turning into her isn't the end of the world, but hopefully I can maintain some fanciness/travel that my mom doesn't embrace.

Then, we went to Walmart, where I stocked up on many things (and I discovered they have fresh tomatillos in their produce section, as well as a wide variety of peppers, which is game changing). We also went to Fareway and I bought a lot of meat for my freezer, so all in all it was a great excursion.

After that, I dropped my mom off (and ate leftovers there), then came to my house, put things away, tried to take a nap, and instead talked to [censored]. Then I went back to my parents' house to help my mom repot a monstera that was out of hand. I had originally planned to have supper with them, but I was super tired, so I came back to my place, spent some time prepping to do some painting tomorrow, did some dishes and laundry, and watched some Olympics. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i'm the bad guy

No blog tonight - I had way too many meetings today, so I had no time for anything interesting. I wrapped up around six, and I picked up Mexican takeout for me and my dad. My mom was actually at the same Mexican restaurant for a night out with some women from her church (which was not a surprise, since I knew she would be there and also there are basically no other restaurants in town). But that meant that my dad and I had dinner by ourselves, and we mostly talked about Ukraine (and then a bunch of other stories from when he was younger and did things like drive cattle down the main street in town). And [censored] should be happy to know that we all still intend to have Mexican again this weekend if [censored] is interested.

I hung out at my parents' for a few hours, and then I came back to my house, put on my pajamas, and watched the Olympics. And now I really need to go to bed - I have tomorrow off but I have a lot of things on my to-do list, so I should sleep. Goodnight!

model citizen, zero discipline

I just spent the last few hours answering email, which I should really do more often - it's my least favorite work task by far, but if I could make it just a little bit more consistently, I would probably be CEO by now. Instead, I'm not a CEO, and am just curled up on the couch with a blanket and the Olympics. That's probably a better outcome, but the couch could be much nicer if I were a CEO, so idk.

sssanyway. Today was a slog, mostly since I stayed up late last night and then got up early for morning meetings. But I took a break to eat a potato / cheese / pulled pork for lunch, which was absolutely perfect - I just want to eat that all the time. I also took a break because my dad showed up in my driveway, so I talked to him for a bit (and accepted getting a large painting of the round barn pawned off on me - I do actually want it for my house, but it's hard to deny that by dropping the painting off here, my dad avoided having to carry it into his house). Then I walked halfway across town to drop something at the post office - but this is not really that impressive when town is only seven blocks from north to south, so that three blocks was pretty easy (except for the fact that it was cold and windy).

After that, I had one more meeting, and then I made a double batch of chili so that I would have something for supper + something to freeze. Then I watched some Olympics before picking up my laptop and answering email, and now I'm done with screens for the night. Goodnight!

pull it out of park put it in drive

I'm sleepy - I had meetings earlier than usual this morning, and I stayed up for an 11pm version of a meeting that I could have attended tomorrow instead (but I preferred to watch it in my pajamas). Today was good, though - I had some entertaining and bizarre meetings, which are my jam. Then I went to my parents' house, where I gratefully scrounged leftovers for dinner. And then I came back to my house and watched the Olympics before my late meeting - I continue to be astonished and disgusted over the Russian doping issue, and it will be interesting to see what comes of this.

But now, I should really sleep so that I can make it to tomorrow's meetings - goodnight!

back to the lab again, yo, this whole rhapsody

I had two big presentations today, which is unusual because I haven't had big presentations in awhile due to various work changes and challenges. I must have been out of practice, and I must have been amping myself up for my new VP (whom I know, so it's not that bad), and maybe my post-covid heart is still just a little more likely to beat faster, because my Fitbit thought I got 96 minutes of exercise today 😂. I did not, as it turns out, get 96 minutes of exercise. But my presentations went well, and I'm happy that they're over.

In between presentations, I had lunch with [censored] since he worked from here today before heading back to his real home for the week. And at the end of the day, I changed into non-work-clothes and met with Alyssa. It was weird to wear 'real' work clothes, since I wore jeans and a nice shirt and a sweater/blazer that I used to wear regularly at work and haven't worn in two years - overall it felt good, but it also felt good to switch into leggings and a hoodie.

After I talked to Alyssa, I wrapped some things up, took my trash out, and ate dinner. I'd had the foresight to bake a potato while talking to Alyssa, so my supper was a baked potato with pulled pork and nacho cheese - not my usual dinner, but it was completely delicious. I may need to buy and roast another pork butt just to freeze single portions for future use - I froze a bit tonight, but it's tasty enough that I could see it going with a variety of meals.

Then, I spent the evening mostly vegging out and watching the Olympics, since I don't have the brain power for anything else. And I think I shall go to bed soon - goodnight!

he opens his mouth, but the words won't come out

I need to go to bed right now; the Sunday Scaries hit hard today, and I need to give two presentations at work tomorrow, so I should probably get some rest. But today was otherwise good - I got up in time to put a pork butt in the oven, where it roasted for approximately nine hours, and it was totally perfect for supper.

Then [censored] and I spent a lot of time discussing possible renovations to my Iowa house - I shouldn't do everything I want to do because property values here aren't exactly skyrocketing and I don't want to completely overinvest, but I have also accepted that I'm going to make a nice kitchen because I cannot stand the kitchen I currently have and like cooking enough to invest there. We also spent twenty minutes planning out how we would paint the staircase next weekend before agreeing that there's absolutely no way we'll paint the staircase next weekend, so that was a relief.

At some point in the afternoon, I did a bit of writing, and I also took a tiny nap. We went out to mom and dad's for supper - Mom made scalloped potatoes and baked beans to go with the pulled pork, which made for a v. tasty meal. Then we came back to my place, and I watched the end of the Super Bowl + Olympics coverage. And now, sleep is imperative - goodnight!

same as it ever was

My phone is about to die so I shall keep this brief. I had a nice day overall, although I overdid it - I need to get more sleep than I'm currently getting. So, with that in mind, I'm going to cut this off and go to bed - goodnight!

many days fell away

I'm too tired to blog and meant to go to bed an hour ago. Today was partially good, partially rough - I got up earlier than I wanted to and drove up to the town where I'm getting my carpet so that I could look at remnants of stuff they have on hand for my front entryway. No one uses the front door, and the previous owner had carpet all the way up to it, but it would be better to have some sort of hard surface. So, that was a worthy errand, and I have some samples here to look at this weekend.

Then I came home, did some work, snuck out again to buy some more paint, and then slogged without break until around six p.m. At that point, I went to my parents' house, where my mom served pizza surprise (so named because of the night when we had 'surprise, it's not pizza' in Ukraine many years ago). Then I came back to my place, tidied up some stuff, and watched a ton of Olympics. [censored] showed up at some point and hadn't seen any Olympics so far this year, but within an hour was just as invested in the end of the mixed snowboard cross relay as I was. It was v. exciting, and overall a nice way to relax for the evening.

And now, I really desperately need to sleep - I need to do some work tomorrow, and I also need to cook, and I also want to paint, and clearly I can't do everything. Goodnight!

off off off with your head

I meant to go to bed an hour ago, but I needed to unwind a bit, so I guess I'm not surprised that I'm still awake and watching Olympics at a quarter to midnight. Today was a little rough - I didn't get enough sleep last night, and then I had to do quite a bit of work this afternoon / evening on something that I need to get done for next week. But I did a bit of writing this morning and I had time to make huevos rancheros, so I'll take it.

Eventually, I took a break to go out to my parents' house for supper (cheeseburgers and french fries and creamed peas, yum). Then I came back into town and worked most of the rest of the night, while also keeping an eye on the Olympics in the background. There are a lot of athletes in their late thirties hanging out in the games, and it was crazy to me that Shaun White's last halfpipe event was today and that I now like him after finding him ridiculous (when he was like twenty) in 2006.

And now, I really should go to bed so I can get everything done that I need to do tomorrow - goodnight!

now we are free

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

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

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

switch triple cork eighteen hundred

I had a weird day. For the most part, it was because I was in a bad mood, and also tired, which made it hard to focus. I did get some writing done in the morning before work, and I snuck out in the middle of work to buy paint. Paint is still v. hard to come by, but luckily one of the colors I need (for [censored]'s bedroom) uses a darker base, and so Kent had enough paint for that even though he's completely out of the pastel base needed for the colors I would get for the rest of the house.

sssanyway, the rest of my day was sort of fine, sort of annoying. It got better when I left my house and went to my parents', where I hung out for awhile and then made supper. I had a leftover batch of bolognese sauce in my freezer from when I was here in December, so I took that with me and made spaghetti and garlic bread. It was pretty tasty overall, and now I need to make another big batch of sauce so I can freeze it for future evenings.

I came back to my place around 8:30, and happily I didn't get rabies - before I left, there was a massive fight between two big raccoons on our back patio, which was not something you really want to walk into. I spent a bit of time installing my new air fresheners - I deeply judged how many air fresheners the previous owner had and I threw them all away because they gave me a headache, but that made it clear that there's a smell issue that necessitated the air fresheners. [censored] and I are still debating the source, but in the meantime, I got some fancy smart diffusers that can be programmed for when they're on/off, can be used as nightlights, can switch between scents, etc. I'm sure Marvin would be unimpressed by me buying smart air fresheners to make my house smell like Anthropologie (literally - one of the scents I got is the signature scent used in Anthropologie stores), but so far I find it much better than an assorted pack of Glade fresheners competing with each other for dominance.

sssanyway, then I turned on the Olympics and did a couple of hours of work that I should have done this afternoon. And now I need to sleep since I have unusually early meetings tomorrow - goodnight!

grey clouds roll over the hills

I'm falling asleep while sitting up in bed typing this, so I think it's time to sleep. Today was good, though -  I got up early enough to get ready before my first errand of the day. My errand didn't involve me going anywhere - instead, a woman came over from the next county over to measure my kitchen and discuss new cabinets. She's the same woman who designed my parents' kitchen and other cabinetry when they built their house fifteen years ago, so she knows what she's doing and was great to chat with. And I'm pretty excited to design a kitchen from scratch (albeit within the constraints of Marvin's previous strange choices), so we'll see how that goes.

After that, I had to work until five (with a break for a bologna sandwich, lunch of champions), and then I had a call with Alyssa. And then I went out to my parents' house for dinner - it was last night's leftovers + some leftover ham balls that I made at Christmas, so that was all tasty. And I got to see the prices / plans from my parents' kitchen, since my mom saved it all - so I look forward to finding out just how much more expensive cabinets are now.

Then I came to my house and should have done some work or watched Olympics coverage, but I mostly looked at house stuff and dozed off a bit. So now it's time for bed - goodnight!

i can tell that we are gonna be friends

I'm safely ensconced in (one of) my bedrooms in ye olde Iowa, fully unpacked and set up for the week ahead. This took most of my energy - since I made it to Lincoln last night, I got into town around eleven, even with a stop for McDonald's in Shenandoah and another stop for gas. I talked to [censored] for a bit, unloaded some tings, and eventually took a nap since I needed to rest my still-recovering-from-covid body.

Then, I went out to my parents, where I hung out for a bit. I also went to the grocery store so I would have food for this week, she's unloaded most of the rest of my car. Then I went back to my parents' house for a few hours - my mom made pork steaks using an old family recipe, and gluten free mac and cheese that is definitely not an old family recipe but is still excellent.

Eventually, I came back to my house and spent the evening getting settled. My clothes are all unpacked, my desk is set up, and I have all the ingredients for coffee tomorrow, so I'm as ready as I can be for the week ahead. Goodnight!

are you taking it black, are you taking me back

No energy to blog tonight - I expended it all on cramming as much stuff into my car as possible and then driving across Colorado and almost all of Nebraska. I didn't intend to get all the way to Lincoln - due to a variety of factors, I couldn't leave Denver until two (mostly because I hadn't packed anything until this morning, and also I had to pick up the lehenga that I'm wearing to Terry's wedding. But once I was on the road, I was surprisingly full (enough) of energy - I'd planned to stop in Kearney, which is roughly halfway, but when I got to Kearney, I decided to just get gas and push ahead another two hours.

So, I should be able to be home by eleven or twelve tomorrow, provided that I get to sleep and get on the road tomorrow. So that's what I plan to do - goodnight!

death spiral

I had a pretty great day, although I was quite tired at the beginning - for some reason I didn't sleep all that well last night, and it had me dragging. But I got some good work done, and I had a final poke bowl for lunch before my next sojourn in ye olde Iowa.

Eventually, I was done, so I did a bit of housework and prepping to load my car, and then I welcomed Katie for a late afternoon happy hour. We lounged and had aperol spritzes and cheese and jam, and it was pretty great.

And then, the evening stayed great but took a different turn - I'd invited her whole family over to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and so while Katie came early so we could catch up a bit, James and the girls showed up in time for dinner. We ordered pizza and I gave them "baby champagne" (aka sparkling apple grape juice, which hypes them up like nothing else), and then we watched the opening. Overall, it was pretty gorgeous and well done considering the covid restrictions, although it's weird to see a basically empty stadium. And of course it's a prime opportunity for propaganda, which is always interesting to watch.

James and Julia left early, but Katie and Anne stayed until the end. It was v. different than old Olympics parties from days of yore, and I didn't bake any cakes at all, but at least it felt festive and entertaining. And Katie, as always, is great.

Eventually they left, and I did some more house prep while watching some taped skating stuff until I suddenly was too tired to continue. And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

muscle to muscle and toe to toe

I had a pretty good day today - it was the first day where I didn't feel like I had to take a nap, although I do feel like I need to go to bed early. I wrote for a bit before work, which was great, and I survived all of my meetings unscathed. And when I was done with meetings, I probably should have done house stuff or packing stuff to prep for going back to ye olde Iowa this weekend...but instead I made spaghetti all'amatriciana (one of my favorite fast-ish weeknight suppers - cook bacon, red onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes, add some tomato sauce, and toss with spaghetti). It was delicious, and also made me want to go to Italy.

Instead of going to Italy, I spent the rest of the evening torturing myself by reading the first couple of chapters of DIRT - it's a memoir by a guy who moved his family to Lyon so he could learn French cooking. So far so good - his style is easy (he's a writer/journalist by trade, not a chef, so of course the writing is easy) and I'm completely ravenously desperate to go to Europe. I also tortured myself by texting with my family time group; Jess had sent an article yesterday about how all the pandemic group chats are dead, which is quite unfortunately not true of ours, since it mostly consists of unwelcome reminiscences (Adit reminded me tonight that I was in his bottom 8 - aka the least cool people in our dorm), insults (see the aforementioned), and too much discussion of Ritu Rani's nephew the tiktok influencer. But at least I'll be in SF in a month, which is not Europe but is also better than nothing.

And now I need to sleep so that I can power through some work tomorrow and then also power through some house stuff and then also watch some Olympics (YAY) - goodnight!

got stacks on deck like he's saving up

I have nothing of interest to report tonight - I'm still tired, which is probably all you need to know. I was in my pajamas until my nine a.m. meeting (okay, I did take a shower), and I got into them as soon as was feasible after work. Work itself was fine, but I'm finding it hard to muster the energy to get through a full day of meetings. Or perhaps the multiple inches of snow + subfreezing temperatures were impacting my energy - it's hard to tell.

But I ended the day with a chat with [censored], some day job work, a chat with my mother, a late dinner, and some journaling + some interior design exploration, so it could be worse. And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

turn the car around

I'm still pretty insanely tired - I had to take two naps today and didn't get to everything I wanted to get to at work. Absolutely nothing of interest happened today (at least nothing I can share), so at least I had some space to take a break. I guess I did talk to Terry for awhile, which was something of interest, so I apologize for misleading you with the last sentence.

And now, I really need to crawl into bed - goodnight!

guess i gotta go and get famous for doing nothing

First day back at work and I didn't exactly have a case of the Mondays, but I'm definitely suffering from some post-covid exhaustion. Today wasn't all that bad, though - I got some work done, and I enjoyed my coffee, and I had leftover fish chowder for lunch. I met with Alyssa at the end of the day, and she determined that my breath is still way too shallow - I'm not noticing it, but I can't fill my lungs as deeply as I should be able to. So, I'm going to ease into some stretches and breathing exercises this week, and we'll see how that progresses.

After I talked to Alyssa, I was really tired and should have taken a nap, but instead I ran (well, drove) down the street to my favorite cheese shop to get some supplies, since it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Then I came home, ordered Thai takeout, waited for it, and was v. disappointed when the order got canceled right as I was expecting it to arrive. So I ordered different Thai takeout via a different app, and when it finally arrived it was quite tasty.

I had intended to write or do something else moderately productive tonight, but I'm too wiped out - so I put on my pajamas and finished reading CIRCE by Madeline Miller. It was a total delight - I'm a sucker for Greek mythology anyway, and this retelling was excellent (and very much about humanity, even if the main character was a goddess).

And now that I'm done with that, I think it's time for bed - goodnight!

i pretend i scraped them climbing in the trees

I think today was the first day since getting sick that I didn't take a nap. That's not to say that I didn't need one, but I didn't need one as badly as I've needed them on previous days. I also left the house for the second day in a row, which was exciting - but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I spent the morning drinking coffee and lounging in my living room. I also, v. surprisingly, fixed my gas fireplace without electrocuting myself or blowing up my house, so that was really exciting. The fireplace hadn't ignited since last winter, even though the pilot light was clearly going steadily the whole time, but I hadn't had time / inclination to find someone to check it. However, I did some research and discovered that the likeliest culprit was that the connectors in the wall switch were dirty or corroded - the fireplace switch takes such little electricity that any dirt or corrosion can potentially stop it from completing the circuit. So, I pulled the switch out of the wall, cleaned the connectors, replaced the switch - and happily, it worked perfectly. So now I have a fireplace to lounge next to, and that makes everything better.

Eventually, I scrambled to shower / eat so that I could run some errands. I took some stuff back to Nordstrom, but I didn't shop at all, so I was in and out of the mall in record time. Then I went to Room and Board and browsed the whole store - I'm daydreaming about couches, and while nearly any couch would be better than the one Marvin left for me in my house in Iowa, I would like to do better than that very low bar. So I sat on every couch in the store and got a lovely associate to give me some fabric swatches. No decisions yet, and of course everything is backordered, but hopefully I'll get a couch sometime this year.

Then, I drove so far into Aurora that it felt like I was basically in Kansas, found a house in a random residential neighborhood, and bought a lehenga for Terry's wedding. I'd found an Indian dress shop on Google and made an appointment for today - the seller runs it out of her basement, but she has some really lovely stuff. I bought the first thing I tried on because it was perfect (and extremely sparkly - I think the skirt has every sparkle that I didn't get to wear during the pandemic), and she's going to tailor it and get it back to me next weekend.

So, that errand was accomplished quickly, and I was delighted. Then I drove home, with a stop at BookBar to pick up an order that had been waiting for me since the covid beforetimes. And then I spent the rest of the evening talking to my parents, messing around, eating fish chowder, talking to [censored], etc. And now, I want to actually try going to bed at a better hour than the after-midnight times I usually go to bed. Goodnight!

i was taken by the sound of a spirit in need

Today felt very much back to normal - I'm still not physically 100% there, but mentally / emotionally I'm ready to be better. I spent the morning hanging out with my coffee and messing around online, mostly trying to figure out some decor-type stuff for my Iowa house. I also made bacon and eggs, and I did a load of laundry, and I took a nap...so so far, that's mostly a standard quarantine Saturday.

However, I broke out of quarantine in mid-afternoon to meet up with Katie and El Camino for a very extended happy hour. It was a really nice day in Denver, so we were able to hang out on the back patio (with heaters) and have margaritas and two orders of nachos and plenty of time to catch up and discuss life. We were there for almost 3.5hrs, and we still had plenty to discuss, but eventually we decided it would be wise to part ways. It was an excellent first outing for my post-covid life, since I love Katie and I love nachos, so hopefully we'll be able to repeat it again soon.

Then I came home (well, Katie dropped me off), messed around, changed into pajamas, and had a friendship renewal call with Joann, Jen, and Jane. And as soon as that was over, I messed around on my laptop a bit more and dozed off like the recovering invalid that I am. So I think I should probably go to bed - goodnight!

you can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart

Today was another step closer to normal - I'm just the slightest bit congested, and I'm still more tired after doing things than I think I should be, but I'm on the mend. It helped that I was done with meetings by 12:30 today - I still had work to do, but I also ate lunch and took a nap, and that helped. And I was even able to shovel a path from my back door to my garage this morning so that it would melt off and not turn into a massive ice problem, so that was more effort than I've expended on anything other than showering in the last two weeks.

I cut off a little earlier than usual and got a mani/pedi - my nails were dire, and I was deeply in need of getting out of my house. I also got a few groceries, since my fridge is completely empty and I've been living on takeout. Then I came home and talked to Katie for a bit to muster a plan for the weekend. I then, v. ill-advisedly, spent two hours making fish chowder - I hadn't cooked anything more elaborate than heating up some frozen enchiladas or making toast or fried eggs in the last two weeks, but the moment I felt like cooking, I wanted to *cook*. It ended up tasting fantastic and was exactly what I wanted, but it took more chopping / stirring / standing energy than I probably should have put into it. And you know I'm still not quite in it to win it, since I used my coravin to extract half a cup of white wine from a sealed bottle to put in the chowder, rather than opening the bottle and drinking a glass of it to go along with the cooking.

But I was delighted by the chowder and happy to be cooking again, so #noregrets. Then I spent the evening reading CIRCE by Madeline Miller - it's been on all sorts of bestseller / recommended lists for years and sitting on my Kobo for awhile, but I picked it up tonight on a whim. I'm probably two-thirds of the way through and so far I'm really enjoying it - I probably could have kept going until I finished it, but I know that staying up until three is not what I should actually do tonight.

So, on that note, I'm going to go to bed and hope I can use this weekend to sleep off the rest of my ailments. Goodnight!

it's hard to believe such a calamity

I would finally say that I'm truly feeling better. I'm still pretty tired overall and I had to take a nap this afternoon, but I had much less headache today and my voice is getting a little more normal. For some reason most of my skin itches, but that could just be because it's v. dry in my house and I never leave anymore. But compared to how I felt last week, I'll definitely take this.

So, I worked all day today, with a break sometime for leftover pho for lunch (and another break for the aforementioned nap). I spent some quality time writing this evening, which felt great. I made a v. sad huevos rancheros (sad bc I realized as I was making it that I don't have any salsa in the house), which felt less great but was at least some sustenance. And I watched some YouTube videos on my laptop, which was a nice break from Queer Eye.

And now, I need to go to bed - I have to make it through work tomorrow and then I intend to spend the weekend attempting to finalize my recuperation. Goodnight!

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

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

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

nobody knows any better, anyway

I have nothing of note to report - I'm feeling slightly better tonight, but I had a headache most of the afternoon. Again, it's unclear whether that's covid or my life, but I'm pretty sure it's covid. I'm still not working at 100% capacity, but no one else is either, so I think I can take it easy-ish for another couple of days and hopefully be fully recovered by the weekend.

So, that's all, really - I worked, ate some salmon on toast for lunch, and made some enchiladas for dinner. That was super easy, since I'd made them a couple of weeks ago and frozen them, so I just pulled them out of the freezer this morning and cooked them tonight. Somewhere in there I took a nap, which was v. needed. And I should have gone to bed, or at least gotten off my laptop, hours ago, but I distracted myself with looking at things for my Iowa house, which is not urgent but is certainly fun.

And now, I really need to sleep - I do unfortunately have a couple of meetings that I have to be "on" for tomorrow, which means I should probably wash my hair and perhaps wear something other than a sweatshirt. We shall see, we shall see. Goodnight!

sit back and wave through the daylight

I went back to work today, but it's pretty much impossible to tell how much of my malaise is covid vs. how much is just that I would rather be watching Queer Eye than doing my job. I was pretty tired all day, however - I took a shower for the first time in a few days, and that was enough to make me want to take a nap. So I canceled all non-essential meetings, and I took a break in the middle of the day to enjoy my lunch like a normal human + take a nap before the next round of work.

This evening was more of my general relaxing, which I'm getting somewhat cranky about - not that relaxing is bad, but I'm quite tired of my living room. But I ate the last of some leftover Indian food, watched an episode of Queer Eye, sat around, procrastinated, and then took care of a few minor tasks online. And now, I'm tired but don't feel like sleeping, but should probably try anyway. Goodnight!

wear it out, it's getting hot, crack a window, air it out

I am almost entirely recovered from the 'rona, but I occasionally get hit with a blast of fatigue that makes me want to lie down. I only took one nap today (after the herculean effort of finally unpacking my last suitcase from Iowa three weeks ago), but I probably could have / should have taken three. Overall, though, I feel a lot better than I did a couple of days ago, so I would say I continue to be on the mend.

Because of the fatigue, though, I did basically nothing today. I made some coffee, which was the extent of my culinary endeavors. I wrote in my journal, which was nice, and spent a lot of time on my phone, which was less nice. Eventually, I talked to my parents, who were mostly in fine form - my mom seems mostly recovered from whatever she had before, so hopefully they both stay on the mend. I also talked to [censored] for a bit, which was entertaining as usual. And I watched the last couple of minutes of the Chiefs / Bills game, which means I got to see two touchdowns and a field goal, which should not be what one sees in the last couple of minutes of a game.

And now, I think I'll try to go to bed early (for me) - I'm going to do some work tomorrow, but I expect that I will not be fully #inittowinit and will need to take some naps along the way. Goodnight!

some color on monochrome

I'm feeling quite a bit better today - still fatigued enough that I needed a nap this afternoon, and still a bit headachy, but overall much improved. My fitbit also shows that things are getting better in terms of both sleep and heart rate, so that's exciting. I'm definitely not 100%, but I'm also getting very tired of sitting around, so I don't quite know what to do with that other than forcing myself to continue taking it easy.

However, I did do a load of laundry so that I could wear my favorite most comfy things again, and I also trimmed my bangs since I couldn't really see through them anymore. And, I left my house for the first time in a week - I had to mail a check, so I drove through the post office drop off and came home again. That was not a particularly exciting outing, but at least I got it done. I also got a few personal online tasks taking care of, and overall didn't feel quite so sluggish, so I'll take it.

I also took my aforementioned nap, and I took a quick shower, so I'd say the self-care is doing okay. In the evening, I ordered takeout Indian food (delish) and watched another three episodes of Queer Eye. It's just mindless enough that I don't have to worry about a plot or watch them in order, but the stories of the people they feature + the interactions they have while helping someone to rebuild / reshape their life are pretty lovely. So, perhaps I'll watch some more tomorrow - or perhaps I'll do something else before I get bored of this too.

And now, I need to sleep - I've been looking at screens too much, and I'm guessing that's a small contributing factor to my headache. Goodnight!

we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife

I've had a fairly miserable headache all day today, which is apparently an omicron thing (side note: somehow I don't think a tshirt that says "It's an Omicron thing" would sell very well, although it sounds catchy). Luckily, my sore throat is basically gone and my congestion is decreasing, so I feel like I'm on the mend. But the headache is a real aggravation, and I am tired enough that I took an hour nap this morning and took a two-hour nap this afternoon.

This was not, of course, what I wanted to be doing - I wanted to be well enough to pick up a couple of curbside things that have been waiting for me, and maybe cook something. I did shower, and I even shaved my legs, but that took basically all of my motivation for the day. It was snowing lightly most of the afternoon as well, so it was perfect for hanging out on my couch - which is all I did. I made some mac and cheese for lunch (I had other leftovers, but boxed mac and cheese was what I wanted), and I had leftover pizza for dinner, and otherwise I just alternated between napping and watching five episodes of Queer Eye.

So, with that very exciting time behind me, I think I should consider going to bed - goodnight!

spaceman, smoke show, scarecrow, geronimo

I still do not recommend getting covid. I think today was slightly better than yesterday - my throat isn't hurting quite so much, which is v. welcome. However, I've had a headache off and on all day - perhaps some of it is due to covid, but some of it is probably due to the day job. I took today off and I'm preemptively taking tomorrow as well - and I can't remember the last time I took four days in a row off for an infectious disease, so I guess this is not great.

But there was an issue at work that kind of blew up, and I felt like it was in my best longterm interests to fix it. That involved more screen time and more thinking than I was probably capable of, and I also had a video chat with my boss to discuss it, and all of that was just a bit too much. But it's fixed and I don't have to do anything tomorrow other than perhaps answer a couple of last minute questions, so hopefully I can sleep as much as I want. I only got one hour-long nap today and it definitely wasn't enough. When I wasn't working, I mostly showered, snacked, stared into space, texted, and stared into space some more. I also had a quick chat with Terry and Lauren (aka Subz) - luckily I'll see them soon enough in person, since Terry's third wedding attempt is coming up in March. I'm desperate for some San Francisco time and will be superimmune by then, so that's keeping me going.

When I was fully done with work stuff, I zoned out on my couch, drank a Sprite (beverage of invalid champions), and watched a couple of episodes of Queer Eye, which cheered me up immensely. And now, I need to get some sleep - goodnight!

i can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire

I'm still sick; perhaps this blog will become a plague journal like so many great plague journals that have gone before. I don't know that I'm any worse, necessarily, than I was yesterday - but my throat is sore enough that it makes it hard to sleep, so I'm tired and cranky and generally over it.

This meant that I didn't read a book, which is what I should have done - I mostly just alternated between napping, snacking, and doom scrolling, with a little journaling thrown in for the hell of it. I also did a wee bit of day job stuff tonight - that definitely wasn't what I wanted to do, but someone else on my team is also sick and so a thing that's due tomorrow is dangerously close to slipping through the cracks, and so I decided I should probably do something about it.

And now, I'm going to crawl into bed and see if I can sleep for more than two hours in a row before my throat wakes me up (or before I have to pee because I drank too much water / tea to keep my throat soothed today). Goodnight!

i have five clocks in my life and only one has the time right

Well, it's official - the 'rona finally got me. I don't know where or how, and I never will, but sometime last week it slipped through my defenses. I started feeling sick on Saturday night and my test then was negative, but my most recent test was positive. So far it doesn't approach the lofty heights (or, more accurately, deepest trenches) of my worst colds, but it doesn't feel like a picnic either. It doesn't help that Colorado is super dry, so my throat turns to fire if I'm not regularly drinking something - which is what happens when I sleep, so I woke up this morning feeling like death.

Luckily, approximately forty ounces of water helped, as did a whole liter of hot tea over the course of the morning. I also found some Sudafed (the real behind-the-counter stuff) in my bathroom, where Past Sara had stockpiled it during the early days of the apocalypse; luckily it doesn't expire for a few months, and it saved me.

So, I took today off and mostly sat around the house doing nothing. I did order some chicken pho, which was exactly what I needed - I'm glad I gave pho another try after not really liking it when first exposed to it twenty years ago, because it turns out that pho is basically gluten free chicken noodle soup (with rice noodles instead of wheat noodles), and that was what my body wanted. I also took two naps. And I talked to my parents to update them on my status, which was a real sacrifice in between naps (but my voice held up just fine). I also took a shower, which revived me somewhat.

I spent the evening glomming another Ilona Andrews book - this time the first book in her Innkeeper series (CLEAN SWEEP), about a magical inn in some small town in Texas. I'm trying to triangulate on the kind of world I want to build for the project I'm writing, and this put marker in the field of my imagination. I'm taking tomorrow off too, and I fully intend to glom something else, but we'll see what I find.

And now, I need to sleep - sleep, tea, and books are about all I can handle right now, but I think that's exactly what I need. Goodnight!

with their lips on fire and your head unscrewed

I had the day off today, and since I'm still not feeling well, I spent it indulging in not-feeling-well things. That meant that I spent the morning drinking tea and journaling, which was pretty relaxing. I also ordered Instacart groceries, mostly so I could get ice cream (success - I never eat ice cream, but it felt like something I should have today) and orange juice (not a success - they subbed 'light' orange juice for regular, which is an abomination of stevia). But the ice cream was worth it and I got some fresh Emergen-C packets, so all in all it was worth it.

I didn't do much this afternoon, either - I took a nap at some point, which was great. And I spent the evening reading a whole book in one sitting - Ilona Andrews' MAGIC BITES, which came out forever ago and I somehow never picked up. It's relevant to the type of world I might be building with my new project (a fledgling thing that is picking up steam, but I'm still deep in worldbuilding mode and trying to figure out how to shape it). Like I said, I read it in one sitting, with a break to eat some leftovers and another break to talk to [censored]. The book was great, and now I want to glom on to more of the series.

And perhaps that will happen tomorrow - I called in sick and canceled almost all of my meetings, hoping that more sleep will help me recover faster. We shall see, we shall see. I don't feel like death, which is an improvement over most colds I get, but I'm definitely congested and I don't want it to get worse. And with that in mind, I should probably go to bed rather than staying up late as is my instinct. Goodnight!

the god of maine proclaims the last evacuation of the dream

I wasn't feeling all that great today - and in the year 2022, it's impossible to tell if it's malaise caused by news of covid, or malaise caused by covid itself. I tested negative yesterday, so I'm hopeful that it's just general 2022 malaise. But I still took it as an excuse to do absolutely nothing today - I haven't been sleeping enough, and I haven't been relaxing enough, so I decided that's basically all I would do.

So, I drank coffee, messed around online, and did a little laundry because I couldn't totally relax even when telling myself to relax. At some point, I took a nap; I also took a shower, and those things combined were pretty great. And I talked to my parents - my mom seems to be recovering from whatever she had after Christmas, and my dad's foot is still on the mend, so hopefully they continue to do well.

Right as I got off the phone with my mom, my takeout Mexican food arrived - I could have / should have eaten leftovers, but I was craving enchiladas and rice and beans and queso, so that's exactly what I got. I decided I didn't have the energy or attention span to watch a two-hour movie...so instead, I watched four hours of The Witcher. Ha. The first half of the second season is quite enjoyable, even if I do have to have captions on so that I can understand when Henry Cavill is grunting vs. when he's actually saying something.

Luckily, I have tomorrow off, so I can either get things done or I can finish bingeing The Witcher (it's anyone's guess!). For now, I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!

undercover russians in a pink rolls royce

I had a lovely first day of the long weekend, thanks for asking. I spent the morning hanging out, and then I eventually ran an errand at the mall (picking up an order at Nordstrom, which resulted in me buying other things at Nordstrom as well). I also stopped at the grocery store to get a couple of things for dinner, and I found a dry cleaner (finally) who will hopefully not ruin the sweaters I stopped wearing during the pandemic.

I spent the rest of the day chilling at home - I made a slower cooker chicken tikka masala that turned out pretty well (although I probably would have tweaked the flavor profile and made it spicier). While that was cooking, I cleaned some stuff up, did some laundry, and did some writing business. And I ended the night by reading some more of the nonfiction tome I'm working my way through, although perhaps I should lighten things up and read some fiction at some point soon.

And now, I need to sleep even though my natural inclination is to stay up until two a.m. - goodnight!

hiding in the radio while we devour the world

I have a three-day weekend ahead of me, and while I'm delighted by that fact, I'm not delighted by the fact that this weekend was supposed to be a friendship renewal girls' trip in Denver and we canceled several weeks ago due to omicron. Stupid pandemic.

sssanyway. I worked all day today, and it makes for a supremely boring post. The highlight was the tuna melt that I made for lunch, which was pretty much perfect. After work, I read too much twitter, but then I forced myself to ride my Peloton - I have not been nearly consistent enough with it since I was in Iowa for approx twenty weeks last year, but it felt good to ride tonight. Then I reheated some eggplant parmigiana, ate, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing / planning for the weekend / journaling, etc.

And now, I should sleep - I don't think I'm getting enough sleep overall, which is hard because I'm a night owl but also need to get up earlier than I would prefer, and that's a dangerous combination. Goodnight!