guess all the mystique only works in your prime

Today ended on an unusual note, which I shall explain momentarily. It started off fairly normally - I got up (later than intended), made some coffee, and then sped into town to get allergy shots. Then I came home and attempted to get a bunch of day job stuff done, with varying degrees of success. I also did a bit of house stuff, also with varying degrees of success.

So I slogged until fourish, and then I stopped for the unusual note: my friend Vivi arrived for a quick visit in the midst of her drive across the country. Her real name is actually Sarah, but I met her many years ago when I was a baby writer and she was writing as Vivi then, so that was what I called her first. I always used to see her at conferences, and she also stayed with me in SF and Boulder at various points, but I shockingly haven't seen her since 2018 (thanks to the pandemic + the complete breakdown of RWA leading to the end of conferences). So I'm delighted that she swung through my neck of the woods on her way to Seattle.

After Sarah arrived, I immediately plied her with bourbon, and we hung out in the kitchen until it was time for dinner. Luckily I remembered to start the rice cooker on time, and then I made salmon teriyaki and broccoli (which was pretty good, if I do say so myself). We had a v. long and lovely chat until it was clearly bedtime for both Sarah and [censored] - at which point I came upstairs, got my usual second wind, and so am wrapping up at 12:30am as I usually do.

And on that note, I should sleep so that I can get up and hang out tomorrow - goodnight!

i can't ignore the crazy visions of me in LA

I've been slogging, or attempting to slog, pretty relentlessly the past couple of days - I say attempting to slog because I had a headache off and on and wasn't feeling in it, but I have still crossed some things off my list. Yesterday we also got several inches of snow, which was pretty to watch, but the cold doesn't make me any more enthused about getting things done. 

Today was otherwise fine, though - I worked all day, and then had a library board meeting, which I was able to get to because [censored] kindly cleared the driveway. Then I came home and ate leftover chicken tortilla soup that I made last night. [Censored] also introduced me to the Liberty Mutual commercials featuring Limu Emu and Doug, which I had somehow never seen, and for some reason we went v deep on them. They were oddly hilarious, although I don't think I'll switch insurance anytime soon. 

Then I spent some time prepping the guest room because I have a friend arriving tomorrow, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

it's snowing in baltimore, fifteen miles east

My day was almost entirely consumed by work - I've been grinding in an attempt to get caught up after vacation, with mixed results. But work went fine, so I have no complaints. I also did a v. minor amount of prepping for tomorrow's snow - I went to my dad's shop to drag his dumpster inside, and I got my car into my garage. I'll be curious to see how much snow we get tomorrow, and I'm hoping that the snowy conditions don't impact my mood as negatively as cloudy conditions do.

I took a long break around dinnertime to talk to Katie - we hadn't caught up in awhile, so we chatted for about an hour. As we talked, I prepped dinner, which required a lot of knife work, which felt appropriate for the subjects of conversation. I made a sheet pan full of roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts, red onions, and chicken, along with a dijon/maple syrup/balsamic/olive oil marinade, and it turned out great. I've made it before, but it's been a minute, and this is a good meal to prep ahead and then freeze for Future Sara.

So after we got off the phone, I ate a serving of the chicken/veggies and relaxed for a bit. At some point [censored] showed up - [censored] never comes back on Tuesdays, but given tomorrow's conditions, it was probably wise. We talked for awhile, and then I came upstairs and worked off and on until now. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

are you my friend? are we locked in?

I had a very focused day of work activities, spurred partially by having more to do than I could get done, and also by the fact that Mondays tend to be meeting heavy. But all in all I was pleased with what I did manage to get done, and I have high hopes for tomorrow (although with fewer meetings I often tend to sabotage myself, so hopefully I can avoid that fate).

I had to end slightly early because I had an unusual 6pm Monday meeting. My secret society usually meets on Wednesdays, but tonight we had a joint social/meeting with the Corydon chapter. Of course, I know most of them as well - they're heavy on teachers and former teachers, so there were many familiar faces. It was fun to hang out with them; less fun to move into a standard business meeting, but I survived.

Then I grabbed a couple of tings at the grocery store, came home, took care of a few personal tasks, should have worked, and instead caught up on Reddit. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

a minor

I had a much more productive day than yesterday - still not maximally productive, but I'll take it. I spent the morning doing some writing/journaling and various other tasks, and then I decided to go to Walmart as it's the nearest purveyor of okay produce (can't get Swiss chard or mint, but can get limes and Brussels sprouts, so I'm calling it a win).

When I got home, I dropped a couple of things at my parents' house, and then I came home, put away groceries, relaxed fit a bit, and then continued to do tasks. Eventually I turned on the super bowl, which was already on progress - I missed the beginning of the shellacking, but I certainly saw the middle and end. While I'm nominally pro-Chiefs, I'm more pro-Niners, and so this was somewhat satisfying to watch after I saw them beat the 49ers last year (at a party in the SF area, which made it even worse).

But I wasn't actually that invested, so I watched while doing various tings on my laptop. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

denial is a river

I had a pretty annoying and ineffective day - I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, and I spent too much time buried in my phone while ignoring my to-do list. I did manage to finish unpacking from my California trip and put things away, do some laundry, etc, so at least there's that.

I ended the day with dinner with the parents and [censored] at our usual prime rib place, which was nice. Then we came home, and I continued to do very little, and now it's time for bed. Hopefully this means I got the Sunday scaries out of the way early and can focus tomorrow - we shall see. Goodnight!

the weather ain't been bad if you're into masochistic bullshit

I have nothing noteworthy to share - I woke up this morning after not nearly enough sleep, and then I slogged all day. Luckily my meetings were all good, and I remembered that I could have tuna salad on toast for lunch, so things definitely could have been worse.

When I was finally done with meetings, I ran to the grocery store to get a few tings, and then I made a shrimp and andouille pasta that I haven't made in quite some time. It turned out well, and [censored] and I ate it while watching two episodes of Stargate (the 90s called to get their TV back, but they got a busy tone). And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

house so empty, need a centerpiece

I am back in ye olde Iowa and back to the grind. Yesterday was a whirlwind, which was partially colored by the fact that I had two to-go margaritas on the last night of the retreat (Anne and I had the stunning realization that we could order margaritas before dinner and then get more margaritas for dinner itself since the Mexican place is 200ft from our rental, and they sell margaritas with shrink-wrap sealed tops to go). I had to get up at 5:30am to catch an uber to the airport, which was not my favorite thing. But San Diego has a brand new Chase Sapphire airport lounge, which I happened to walk by - and so I walked in and got free breakfast + two free cups of coffee, which helped me stay alive.

Then I boarded my flight and slept most of the way to Denver. My layover in Denver was just long enough for me to get a burrito bowl at Cantina Grill, and then I flew to Des Moines. My arrival was basically on time, but my trip home was treacherous - we got all sorts of ice yesterday, so my drive was pretty unpleasant. My driveway was so slick that I couldn't walk on it, and [censored] put on his yaktrax to come out and tow me inside like a child learning to ice skate. But I survived, which is all that matters.

Today I was reimmersed immediately into the slog, which meant many meetings, and also weird food choices because I have no groceries and no time/desire to cook. So I had a frozen enchilada for lunch, and then for dinner [censored] and I ate the last of the spaghetti sauce that I'd stashed in the freezer - so I'd say it's time to make another giant batch. It was still tasty despite being frozen six months ago, so Past Sara really did me a solid. [Censored] and I ate it while watching SNL from a couple of weekends ago, and it was pretty funny all around, so that was a nice break.

Then I came upstairs and did some more slogging for the last couple of hours, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

under streetlights in the city of palms

I had a great last day at my retreat, even though I had to do some day job stuff. I would tell you all about it, but I have to get up in less than six hours to go to the airport, so I think sleep is more important. Suffice it to say that writing + friends + a surprise tarot reading + two to-go margaritas = an excellent time. But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

lost in modern music

I really screwed up my sleep schedule last night, and it messed up my productivity today - it turns out that napping from 9:30-11:30 and then staying up until 2:30 isn't a recipe for success.

But I persevered - I got up and got coffee, chatted with Veronica, did a bit of work, and then took a slightly inadvertent nap from 10 to 10:45am. Then I did a little day job stuff, showered, had leftovers for lunch, and buckled down for the afternoon. I wasn't as productive as I wanted to be, but I still got through some writing, so I'll take it.

Tonight we went out for dinner, as we usually do towards the end of the retreat - and we went to the same place as usual, which was as tasty as it always is. I had a fun convo at my table -- which happened to segregate into the group that ordered three bottles of wine instead of the group that ordered six appetizers, so it all worked out.

Then we came back to the house, and ended up with the OG Montauk crew hanging out in the living room - the six of us discovered that another group of six at the retreat have their own group chat, which is somewhat hilarious. Of course, we also claim V and Steph even though they weren't at the very first retreat in Montauk, which gets us up to eight. But if gang warfare is going to break out at the end of the retreat, I don't know how it will shake out.

But for now I'm going to stick my head in the sand and call it a night - goodnight!

embrace the deep and leave everything

Today wasn't quite as good as yesterday, mostly because I didn't get quite enough sleep, woke up a little too early, and then spent too much time reading the news. I did get myself out of bed and go for a walk around eight - I found an excellent coffee shop by following signs into a parking lot that promised coffee. This is not how I normally find coffeeshops, but it was much better than Starbucks, so I'm happy I did. And I walked around Carlsbad for awhile after that, which was a good way to wake up.

Then I came back, did a bit of writing and other work while sitting in bed, and eventually showered and ate lunch while talking to Anne. Barbara lured me to write outside with the promise of a fire pit - we have been sitting in the gazebo, but it got foggy / windy today and the gazebo wasn't quite as nice. The fire pit was great, though - it was more of a fire stand since it was chest-high (waist-high if you're taller than me), but it put out the right amount of heat to keep us both comfy while we wrote / chatted most of the afternoon. I also took a break to call my parents, which felt very pleasantly like Sundays of old.

Eventually we came inside, and I placed the dinner order while we all talked about business stuff. I was my usual social self during and after dinner, but it was hard to focus. There's a lot of cognitive dissonance going on when the specifics of this retreat -- a house we've stayed at several times, a book I want to write, and easy and plentiful food delivery -- are so standard and mundane. Meanwhile, outside political events are anything but mundane.

One example of a thousand: Musk and his staffers -- several of whom are interns at Musk's companies who dropped out of college and are now in charge of the government despite not being elected or appointed, or potentially even paid by the government -- are accessing and downloading sensitive/classified information and shutting off Treasury payments to groups like Lutheran Family Services. All of this is a clear violation of the Constitution's laws around appropriations and spending, and apparently being done without any of the security clearances or information handling laws that administrations have historically followed.

[If you don't believe me about them targeting Lutheran Family Services, Musk tweeted it himself. He also tweeted that he spent the weekend "feeding USAID through the wood chipper" - even though much of that money stays in the US, and it's a key way we compete with China and Russia's efforts to buy allies around the world.]

While I knew the general shape of this was coming given what was said on the campaign trail, it's still shocking to watch it happen. It's also worrisome to know that many people I love, who are affected in some way by government spending (via funding for their jobs, medicare, the farm bill, social security + social security disability, or even just wanting roads/safe air travel/a functioning post office/a functioning society in general) are in for a lot of pain.

But I need to write a book tomorrow, and this isn't helping me to go to sleep. Goodnight!

if you close your eyes

I had quite a nice day in Carlsbad. I woke up at 5am to the dulcet tones of pigeons on the roof, but I put in the earplugs that I got via amazon same-day delivery, and that solved the problem so that I could sleep until after seven. I did a bit too much reddit scrolling, but then I did some journaling, showered, and went to Starbucks to get a coffee (and do a little browsing in the clothing store next door, which was surprisingly open by nine).

When I got back to the house, I did some good morning writing while watching the ocean and admiring the birds that are still alive to fly in formation over the waves. Then I took a slightly too long break for lunch - but I ordered a gluten free sandwich that was absolutely perfect, so it was #worthit. I spent the afternoon in the gazebo with Barbara, getting a nice amount of sun while doing some more writing-adjacent work.

The evening was also fun - we picked up Mexican food from the place down the street, and happily they do margaritas to go, so that was a nice bonus. I spent the last hour of social time with Anne, Tina, and Christie, and it got as absurd as it usually does with that group, which means it's good that we adjourned at 10:15 because I don't think I could handle another hour without either another drink or some ibuprofen (I'm equal opportunity about my painkillers).

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

electric avenue

I had an excellent day, but I'm v tired. I got woken up too early by door noise, and then kept awake because there seems to be a pigeon infestation on the roof/gutter above my room. Pigeons aren't crazy disruptive (they certainly beat my old neighbor's dog). But still, I ordered some earplugs to get same day delivered from Amazon.

After I was fully awake, I ran to 7/11 I pick up a couple of things, and then I went to a coffee shop for awhile. I alternated between working and playing the rest of the day, and I enjoyed a poke bowl at lunch as well as a fun convo with Barbara in the gazebo. We all also had a v long discussion about AI, which was super interesting.

Then we had dinner, hung out some more, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

show me why you deserve to have it all

I have successfully ended work for the week and begun my writing retreat. Today was a slog to get to this point - I had a bunch of work to do, and I also had to pack, and there was v. little time in which to do those things because I also had a million meetings. But I got up early, grabbed some coffee, and got into the slog, and I would say I got done about as much as I needed to get done before signing off. I also took a break in the middle to eat some corned beef hash from the cafe downstairs, which was v. tasty. And I took my last two meetings from my balcony, which felt like a #treatyoself moment when compared to taking meetings from my desk in the wintery grey of ye olde Iowa.

sssanyway, check-in at the retreat was at 4pm, and check-out at my hotel was also 4pm, which was fortuitous. Even more fortuitous, they were only ten minutes apart. So I checked out at 3:45, grabbed an uber, and got to the house just in time to meet all my friends. There are 14 of us here, and there will be 15 for a couple of nights later in the week, so it's quite a full house. We drew numbers for rooms, and I drew fairly poorly (#9), which seems like happens every year - but thanks to many people having room preferences that I find bizarre, I managed to get my third choice despite being ninth in the choosing order. So I think everything's coming up Sara, but we'll see what I get done this week.

So we all hung out all evening, and we ordered and ate some tasty pizza, and I placed a bevmo order that came almost immediately. Then we did our usual exercise of intro'ing ourselves (we have a couple of new people this year) and sharing our goals for the year, which was fun. And then I stayed up until around 10 before deciding that I should go to bed. Of course, I didn't go to bed immediately - I decided to unpack, which always makes me feel good. But now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

rikki don't lose that number

No blog tonight - I had a v good day of working (much of it in the sun), and I also got a massage. But I'm quite tired, so I'm going to got to bed so that I can get up and keep cranking early tomorrow - goodnight!

i'm in california dreaming about who we used to be

I had a highly productive day until the last couple of hours - I woke up reasonably early, grabbed coffee downstairs, and then got straight into work. I continued slogging over a late breakfast, then had more meetings, then kept slogging through the afternoon.

Eventually, I took a bit of a break to grab a gluten free pocket pie (tasty, but they gave me apple and I wanted cherry), and then I walked along the ocean for a bit. And then I grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant - which happens to have a michelin star and a chef who was just nominated for a James Beard award, so it's better than most hotel restaurants. I sat at the bar, which has a pretty limited menu, but my quesadilla with wagyu beef was perfect, and my margarita was also a delight. And I did some good journaling about what I want to accomplish with my writing this week, so I'll take it.

And now, I need to sleep and repeat these feats tomorrow - goodnight!

right place wrong time

I had a reasonably nice first day in Oceanside - it would have been even better if I'd been able to keep going with the productivity I started the day with, but c'est la vie. I woke up reasons early, grabbed some coffee, and did some decent day job work before showering. But since my first meeting was at 10am PST instead of 12pm CST, it really cramped my style.

Still, I persevered, and I feel like any productivity issues were my problem rather than a product of my new environment. Also, I slacked off at the end of the day to get a manicure - I'm fairly unimpressed with every salon I've tried in Oceanside, but today's attempt wasn't as bad as last year's, so I'll take it.

Then I came back and did a wee bit more work, went out the bar to grab food (and was low-grade appalled by how bad the spicy tuna bowl was - like, I haven't been shocked by food in a long time, and this did it), and was going to journal/write but instead watched the ISU/Arizona game. I didn't intend to watch it, but it was on in the bar, and I was able to watch the second half from my room. Pretty disappointing outcome...but I've been anti-Arizona forever since they used to be in the same conference as Stanford (pour one out for the PAC-12), so at least I've had some practice watching Arizona beat teams I care about.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

keen grits his teeth and enters sand yego

Today turned into a mad scramble, but I'm safely ensconced in a fancy hotel in Oceanside, where I'm sure I'll recover. I set my alarm to wake up in time to say goodbye to Becky and Brian, who left before seven...and then I promptly went back to bed for another hour even though Kathy was wide awake and likely ready to hang out. But the extra sleep was, in my opinion, v necessary. 

Then I got up and made coffee, and enjoyed the first cup in a v leisurely manner while talking to Aunt Kathy and [censored]. I also watered plants and did various things around the house until it was time to say goodbye to Kathy and start packing in earnest.

I thought I was in good shape with my list, but I ended up probably over packing dramatically - or maybe I under packed and forgot a bunch of stuff. It was hard to winnow the outfits because I didn't know what I'll want to wear while working vs writing vs doing other things. And I had to bring two laptops and a host of writing related stuff, so that added a lot of weight/space. 

But I made it out of the house by my real-real deadline (after blowing through my 2pm and 2:15pm planned departures). This meant I didn't have time to sit down for a salad like I usually do, but I survived. Both my flights were uneventful and I got some tacos in Denver, so everything worked out. The Uber situation at the San Diego airport was a total zoo, but my Uber driver was nice (and has had some crazy health issues), so at least the ride was good.

And now I'm fully unpacked and need to go to bed immediately so I can get up and slog tomorrow - goodnight!

it doesn't have to rhyme so don't you feed me a line

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, so this will be brief. I slept surprisingly well on the air mattress last night, and I got up briefly to say goodbye to Sammie and Drewbaby before sleeping for another ninety minutes. Then I had a leisurely cup of coffee, showered, and took the remaining houseguests to Snyder's to explore the many and varied wonders of the store that sells everything. We detoured through the metropolis of Garden Grove before I dropped them off at my parents' house to watch ISU basketball. 

Meanwhile, I dealt with some unexpected mural stuff (and now have a piece of mural in my garage), which sucked up time I meant to spend packing. Then I went back out to Mom and Dad's, where Becky made pizza on some surprisingly good gluten free cauliflower crusts. Then we came back into town and talked for awhile, but we wrapped it up much earlier than last night since everyone but [censored] is leaving tomorrow.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

this is calcutta, bohemia is dead

Today was a whirlwind of various tings. I woke up and talked to Aunt B while making coffee, and then I scurried around and got ready so that I could go into town for allergy shots. Then I came home and slogged through three hours of meetings*, ate some soup (some might consider it sludge), and then took Aunt Becky and Aunt Kathy to the local thrift store. I didn't find any treasures to document here, but I did drop off four bags of clothes that had been sitting in my garage for two months, so I considered this a big win. And the aunts both found tupperware of varying shapes, so everyone was happy.

Then I grabbed a couple of things at the grocery store, dropped them back at my praents' house, and sped home so that I could work some more. When I finally wrapped up, I did a few things around the house and then prepped the last tings for dinner - I made some extra sauce for the ham balls (which I'd made on new year's day and frozen for tonight) and also prepped a batch of scalloped potatoes (potatoes au gratin if you're fancy).

Then I grabbed the potatoes, ham balls, extra sauce, and several bottles of wine and went out to Mom and Dad's. We had to have our belated Christmas celebration tonight because Drewbaby and Sammie could only come down tonight, but that ended up working pretty well. I put the potatoes in the oven and then we all hung out and chatted about various things while eating the relish tray that Kathy made in the shape of a Christmas tree. Then we ate dinner, continued chatting, and eventually some of us played a card game (Skyjo, which is basically a card game called Golf, which I have also never played). It was a fun way to pass the time, but then [censored] pointed out that the only people still awake and playing cards were the people who were staying at my house, so we vacated my parents' house and came back here.

Now, after several hours of chatter (which involved several more mentions of human feces than I'm used to discussing in this family, even though my San Francisco family often discusses feces thanks to Adit), I need to sleep - I volunteered to take an air mattress in my office since Aunt B/Uncle B are in the guest room, Aunt Kathy is in the basement, and Andrew/Sammie would be better off in my bed since they have to get up super early tomorrow. We'll see how that goes for me, but I think I'm tired enough that I'll get at least some sleep. Goodnight!

* I should clarify that one of the meetings wasn't a slog because it was a catch-up with my friend Natasha, whom I haven't talked to in ages and who is an absolute delight. And luckily my other meetings weren't bad either, but I would have rather had the whole day off...

i'm on that supersonic boom, y'all hear that spaceship? zoom

I have v. little to report - I slogged relentlessly today in anticipation of knocking off work early tomorrow. That meant a ton of work this morning and a whole bunch of meetings this afternoon. But since I like the people I work with, this was not actually that big of a deal. And when I was done, I talked to Katie while cleaning my kitchen, and then ran to the grocery store for some last minute necessities.

When I got home, I threw together a double batch of what [censored] and I affectionately call 'Elmer's Chili' (so named because it is more like glue than soup, but I love it). It was ready just after Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian arrived from Colorado - and happily they were ready to partake in it. So we ate chili (at the table that I procured from Uncle B, so that's a fun trip down memory lane for them), and Brian partook of my underused liquor cabinet while I drank some pinot noir. All in all it was a v. fun couple of hours, and a good way to kick off 'Christmas weekend' (if you want to call it that).

And now I need to go to bed so I can do a bunch of work tomorrow before slacking off for family time - goodnight!

wristwatch, drip drop, labels want the tiktoks

I've had quite a bit going on the last couple of days - starting with allergy shots yesterday, followed by the v unpleasant discovery that the pipes froze in the house (shed? shack?) that I bought next door. I have temperature sensors over there that alerted me that the temp was 45 yesterday morning...which wasn't a shock since outside was -14. But unfortunately that wasn't warm enough to keep the pipes underneath the house from freezing, which is what I assume happened. There wasn't any visible damage inside, at least.

So I called the city water guy and he came and turned off the water at the curb, which is probably how it will stay until spring. Then I slogged relentlessly - my last meeting didn't end until almost seven, which was rough. And then I don't even remember what I did - definitely some cleaning, and maybe some journaling? 

Today was more of the same - I slogged all day (with varying productivity) and then slacked off a little early to do house stuff. I have a full crew staying here this weekend, and then I'm leaving Sunday for California, so I have a million things to do.

At some point [censored] returned, and we chatted for a bit before [censored] couldn't bear it anymore and had to go check out the leak. I probably incited that, since I was playing some "Songs for Cats" station on the speaker, and the only way for [censored] to escape was to go to a different, worse house. Happily there was no further sign of damage after my inspection this morning, and the water appears to be shut off, so hopefully it can wait for warmer weather to be resolved. 

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

little did you know your home's really only a town you're just a guest in

I am feeling tired at 9:48pm, and I'm going to valiantly attempt to go to bed right away so that I don't get a second wind and stay up until 2am. Today was fairly productive, though - I didn't get out of bed until after ten, but I got a lot done this afternoon. I'm getting close to being able to host guests next weekend, depending on whether and when those guests decide to spend the night.

I mostly focused on the downstairs this afternoon, and I tackled the worst chore first - I washed the pendant lights above my kitchen island, which get grimy because they're also about the stove. Every time I wash them I live in fear of breaking them, which is why I don't wash them often enough - but they'll look great until I made a stirfry again. I also took down my Christmas decorations. I had planned to leave them up since we're doing Christmas with Aunt B next weekend, but I realized that if I left them up for that, they would be up until sometime in February due to my travel schedule. Hopefully we can still get in the holiday spirit without a tree in the corner of my living room.

Sometime in there, I also said goodbye to [censored], who had to journey north. I also dusted and vacuumed the living room and guest room, washed the guest room sheets, vacuumed the carpets in the basement, tidied up the dining room, and did various other tings. Eventually, I was out of steam, so I ate some leftover pizza, scrolled for awhile, and did some day job stuff that I was putting off. I'm still putting off some of it and will have to get up early tomorrow to finish it, which is another incentive to sleep soon. So on that note, goodnight!

ra-ra-rasputin, russia's greatest love machine

I failed to get up in a timely fashion this morning because I went to bed at two a.m. (which is not what I intended to do when I blogged, but my phone got the best of me). So I was in bed until 10:30, and then I made coffee and got around in a v. desultory fashion.

However, I was slightly more productive than yesterday - I showered, then checked on the house next door (where there is no water leaking despite me completely ignoring it for the last month - but I do have temperature sensors and cameras, so I know it's not inhabited by squatters or at risk of freezing). Then I ran into town to grab a couple of tings for dinner. I threw a chuck roast into the slow cooker along with some beef stock, lime juice, vinegar, onion, and a bunch of spices, and the smell of it cooking for five hours was nearly enough to drive me mad with hunger.

While it was cooking, I did some other random tasks and cleaned my room. This included setting up the new shop vac that I'd ordered several months ago so that I could try vacuuming my bedroom with it. I hadn't shared this fact since I was quite sad about it, but I lost one of my favorite earrings on thanksgiving (a diamond stud my parents gave me). I was sure it had to be in my room, but after repeated searching of the carpet, my clothes, etc., it was nowhere to be found. [censored] suggested using the new shop vac before it had any other debris in it, and I finally got around to testing it. The pile in my carpet is such that an earring could easily get hidden within it, but I wasn't looking forward to spending many minutes/hours carefully sweeping every inch of the room. Happily, though, I heard something hit the inside of the shop vac within the first minute of my attempt - and my earring was there, looking none the worse for wear. So that was a real win, even if I accomplished nothing else.

This meant I could finally actually vacuum my room, which I've been avoiding due to the missing earring. I did not do that today, but I did dust and clean my bathroom and generally clean up. I threw together some mexican rice in the rice cooker and let dinner finish making itself. I also inspected my basement, where [censored] discovered a leak today - unrelated to any water pipes, and relatively fixable, but still quite annoying (and darkly funny that we were worried about the abandoned house next door instead of the basement).

Then I shredded the beef barbacoa, heated up some refried beans, and ate with [censored] while watching last night's SNL. The beef was amazing tonight, and I'm looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow. And after we were finished with SNL and cleanup, I came upstairs and read for the last few hours - I started THE GOLDFINCH, which came out several years ago, and which I only picked up because we're reading it for a book club at work. So far so good, but I'm curious to see where it's headed.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

sometimes there's airplanes you can't jump out

I am back in Iowa after a slightly chaotic day yesterday. Nothing terrible happened, but I woke up slightly later than I should have, decided to prioritize a final cup of Philz over packing (#worthit, even though it ate 30min since I had to drive there and back), and then had a meeting that took 45min instead of 30. Because of all of this, I had to scramble to pack, shower, and return my rental car. I made it through security in time to grab some food, which I ate as I watched the first half of my plane board, but I was in my seat before final call, so I guess it was all fine.

My flight to Denver was uneventful, and I grabbed a snack (burrata, which is pretty fancy for a snack, but also gluten free) before boarding my Des Moines flight. It was starting to snow in Denver, and so we were delayed by about thirty minutes for deicing. But the flight was otherwise smooth, and I was in my house by 11:15pm. I chatted with [censored] longer than I should have, but then I retired and v. much enjoyed being back in my bed.

I was pretty lazy today despite my best intentions - but I think I needed a lazy day after a long trip. I made some coffee and sipped it while talking to [censored], and then I messed around online for way too long. I finally ate some lunch, took a shower, cleaned out the fridge and took out my trash, moved a couple of tings from the garage to the shed, and ran to the grocery store. It was chilly today but it's going to be absurd tomorrow, so I'm glad I got some stuff done.

Then I was going to work, but I got sucked into the Iowa State / West Virginia game, which was not a fun game to get sucked into because we lost. As soon as it was over, I ordered some pizza and [censored] and I picked it up to take out to the parents' house. We hung out there for awhile, which was nice, and I was happy for them that [censored] fixed all sorts of stuff for them while I was flitting about in California.

And now, I need to sleep and aim for more productivity tomorrow - goodnight!

knocking on heaven's door

I had a lovely final day in the city of sin. I got up and grabbed coffee downstairs and then relaxed a bit before getting ready, which was v necessary. Then I carpooled into the office for a million meetings, one of which included walking for an hour like a peasant, but it was like a peasant who lives next to a beautiful body of water, so I'll take it. 

After work, we had a lunar new year party at Palette, which is the dim sum restaurant I went to with the friendship renewal crew last month. It was a raucous time, mostly because I sat at the "kids table" (which was the table of people who attended without kids). I felt bad abandoning the actual kids, but as at least one of the kids had an active fever, I felt it was better to hang with the adults and drink some medicinal tequila to stave off illness. 

Either way the kids table was where it was at - I sat next to Adit, and we v competently trolled everyone else at the table. We also created a new drinking game ("call your shot") which is excellent for tables with lazy susans (lazies susan?). All in all it was an excellent evening, and I'm glad I enjoy the people I work with so much. 

After dinner, I came back to my hotel with Jamie and Kleidi, and we had a v delightful afterparty in the hotel bar. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

we'll be counting stars

No blog tonight - I slept fitfully last night and had a bunch of meetings today, followed by a team dinner at Mykonos. All in all it was good, but I need to sleep before I start typing gibberish. Goodnight!

wonderin' if i could sneak out the back

Today was entirely slogging - I got up early enough to sneak into downtown Burlingame and pick up a Philz coffee before doing some work and then going into the office, but I cut it all close. Then I slogged through meetings all day, came back to the hotel (with a coworker who is also staying here), and accidentally took a nap.

But I did a bit of journaling this evening, which is always great. And I ate some takeout thai food, had a glass of wine, and did a bunch of work that I needed to get done, so I'll take it. And now I need to go to sleep so I can rinse and repeat tomorrow - goodnight!

the drugs, the women, the wine, the weed

I did not sleep at all well last night, and I had to get up at six because I needed to do work before work and my meetings start at nine a.m. here instead of the much more civilized hour of eleven.

But despite these tragedies, I persevered. I had a v long slog of meetings, but also a v tasty lunch from a place called Healthyish Republic, which I would happily have again. Then I had more meetings, until I rebelled at five and drove myself and another coworker back to the hotel. I dropped him and my laptop off and then sped to downtown Burlingame to meet Lauren (aka Subz) for dinner at pizzeria delfina. We had many tings to catch up on, which I v much enjoyed. I also realized we're about to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the time we spent in India together, which feels impossible. She did not seem interested in a reunion trip to Hampi, but I still have time to work on her.

After we parted ways, I came back to the hotel, did a bit of work, and also journaled. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

marry me juliet, you'll never have to be alone

I had a lovely day, although I'm crashing hard now. I slept a little fitfully last night, which is not a surprise since my advanced age makes it hard to have more than one or two drinks in a night. But I got up early enough to walk to the nearest Philz for coffee, do a bit of writing, and then shower and pack up all my stuff. Then I drove down to Woodside to meet Shedletsky and Bride of Shedletsky for brunch at the Village Pub.

Village Pub sounds like it might be lowkey, but it's definitely not a Village Inn. It's actually part of the same restaurant group that owned my beloved Des Amis before it closed, but Village Pub has been a mainstay forever (and has had a michelin star for twelve consecutive years). They have a three-course brunch offering, which was truly excellent - and we opted for the additional fourth course, which was a perfect risotto covered in shaved truffles. I did oysters for my appetizer, then the risotto, then a perfect french omelette, and then a chocolate souffle, along with my share of a bottle of sauvignon blanc. When I type all those dishes together, they don't match at all - they were spaced out with plenty of time in between each, so it was almost like four mini-meals (or real meals, since the risotto and the omelette both could have been a single meal in their own right).

So we have a very leisurely almost-three-hours hanging out and catching up, and it was a delight to see them. When it was finally time to part ways, I went to Stanford Shopping Center to check in on my old haunts. The mall continues to get more upscale, but it was also absolutely buzzing compared to most malls these days. I also got some interesting intel from the guy who rang up my purchase at Anthro, and I enjoyed wandering around in the sunshine, so it was a worthwhile way to spend an hour.

Then I drove north, checked into my new hotel, unpacked, and zoned out for quite awhile. I finally rallied to grab a burger from the bar (which was fine but extremely subpar compared to my brunch experience) and do a bit of work. And now I'm going to go to bed and hope that I can get a million things done tomorrow morning. Goodnight!

no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her

I had a perfect day in the city of sin. I woke up pretty early, and I grabbed coffee and journaled in the lobby until the sun through the windows was too intense for my winter Iowa constitution. Then I looked for dinner reservations for tonight before showering and vacating the hotel.

I took an Uber to the airport, which was out of my way - but I had to pick up a rental car and this seemed to be the best time. Luckily my next stop was nopalito for brunch with Katrina, and there is parking at nopalito (an extreme rarity in SF), so it was smooth sailing.

Katrina was in fine form, although she was wearing the same pants as she did the last time I saw her, which was a bit of a surprise. Then I got my nails done at my favorite nail place before going to Flax at Fort Mason and picking up a bunch of journaling stuff (and bonding with the checkout person and showing each other or annual planners).

I took the embarcadero back to my hotel, where I relaxed, napped, and wrote for a bit. Then I meet John, Claudia (aka Dr Santa) and Chandlord at Mestiza. It was a v tasty meal - they handled our combined gluten free + vegetarian needs quite well. We discussed all manner of topics - aging, aggressive optometrists, the conditions under which someone would leave a group chat, bird flu, alpacas as beasts of burden, etc, etc. 

We continued that convo over a one night celebration at alchemist, and then John dropped me off at my hotel. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

I want you to know

No blog tonight - I've already been dozing in bed for two hours, but I finally roused myself long enough to wash my face and take out my contacts, and I don't need to wake up more fully. Today was all slogging anyway - I started with a detour to Philz coffee while walking to work, and then I worked all day. But I got free lunch (the perks of being in the office), and then had a team dinner with Adit and several other folks. We ended by standing in a long line for ice cream, which is not what I normally seek in either desserts or ways to spend time, but the ice cream was ultimately worth it.

And now it's time to sleep (again) - goodnight!

be still my foolish heart

I am safely ensconced in the city of sin. I spent too much time packing today because I couldn't decide what to bring, but I got out of the house on schedule (after eating a ham salad sandwich courtesy of my mom, and after talking to [censored] (who I guess is also courtesy of my mom)).

My drive to the airport was uneventful, and I had time to grab a burger and do some work at the airport before boarding. My flights were fairly smooth and I got to SFO almost half an hour early - and I was at my hotel in less than 45 minutes, which I was v pleased about. So I got fully unpacked, and if I go to bed now, it's not that much later than my usual bedtime in Iowa. 

So, I think that's what I shall do - goodnight!

back in the gasworks, screaming the song

I slept a little later than planned today, which doesn't mean I'm any less tired tonight. But I had a solid day of slogging - relatively few meetings, but plenty of tings to do. And when I was done for the day, I went out to my parents' house. My mom made roast beef, and I enjoyed it while hanging out with them. At some point [censored] showed up, although he was too late for dinner - but he came bearing dinner for the cats (in the form of cat food that he procures for them in the city), so everyone was happy.

Then I came home, chatted with [censored] a bit, and then started organizing clothes. I'm leaving for a quick work trip to California tomorrow, and as per usual I haven't packed yet, but I have narrowed down all my outfit options. And now I'm going to go to bed so I can do a million things before leaving tomorrow - goodnight!

i touched you for only a fortnight

I have v little to report today. I got up in time for a v hurried shower before going to get allergy shots, and I did some day job work while I sat there. When I left, I discovered my parents in the waiting room (or rather, they discovered me - I would have walked right by them in my narrow-focused attempt to avoid any waiting room illnesses). So we chatted until they were called back for my dad's appointment, which was fun (the chatting, not the appointment).

Then I came home and slogged excessively all day, with a few breaks (if you can call them that) to do laundry, remake my bed, reheat some leftovers, etc. Unfortunately I didn't wrap up meetings until 7:30, but that was fine - it wasn't a stressful day, just a long one.

And then, because my brain had melted, I relaxed the rest of the evening. I tried some new-to-me gluten free frozen fish planks, which were quite good - haddock that seemed reasonably high quality + some sort of breading. They were kinda expensive as far as frozen breaded foods go, but I only ate a third of the package, so I have more to look forward to. Then I watched some Seth Meyers while playing on my phone. And then I came upstairs, journaled, paid some bills, took care of a couple of other tings, etc.

Now I need to go to bed so that the slogging can commence again tomorrow. Goodnight!

sleep just to dream her

I had a v. long, v. productive day. I started slogging at nine and worked basically all day, with a quick break for some leftover salmon and freshly cooked rice with [censored]. [Censored] left around five to go to his usual weekly haunt, and I did a bit more work before making dinner. I also did several hours of writing, which felt both great and annoying (great because yay I wrote something, annoying because I'm a little stuck on it).

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

forgot about dre

I had a v nice, hermity day - and there was basically no snow, so I didn't have to sit inside and feel guilty while [censored] dealt with it, which was nice.

I spent the morning doing a bit of writing and other activities, and I also did a couple of hours of work (but that included talking to Adit, which is always reasonably pleasant). I did some more tasks in the afternoon, and I made salmon teriyaki for dinner. [Censored] and I ate it while watching the Golden Globes, which were reasonably entertaining.

And now that I've unwound and journaled and realized it's getting late, it's time for bed - goodnight!

do you separate your whites

I've spent the last couple of days getting ready for the new year and also for any snow we might get tonight. Yesterday I slogged all morning, and then I drove to Des Moines to run some errands. I made it back in time to have dinner with my parents, and then I screwed up my sleep by napping for two hours (unintentionally) and then scrolling/reading a book from midnight to two am.

Today was good despite last night's sleep issues. I was lazy most of the morning, but I went to Centerville and stocked up on groceries and other tings. I dropped some groceries off for my parents, and then I came home, put everything away, cleaned the garage enough to get my car inside, and cleaned the kitchen. 

Thus feeling v industrious, I took a break to eat leftovers and watch a Craig Ferguson stand-up special that was on Amazon Prime. It was pretty funny, although he made me feel old because most of his jokes were about how he is now old. I could use fewer reminders, tanks.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

i can't feel my face when i'm with you

I have nothing to report - the first day of work after the new year was quite busy, which was kind of a bummer. I brought this upon myself since I insisted on doing various planning activities to kick off the new year, and I'm not saying I regret it, but it would have been nice to ease into 2025.

However, my day was generally good, especially since I had ham balls for lunch. I slammed my laptop shut around six and made burrito bowls, which made [censored] happy. I then relaxed for a couple of hours, but I got lured back into work (mostly because I had to catch Adit while we had some overlap, which has been difficult since he's in ye olde India).

But now, I have done all I can do and it's time for bed - goodnight!

we got five minutes for us to disconnect

The new year has arrived, and I was unusually productive today. It felt like a Sunday, which made everything extra confusing. But I slept in a bit, did some journaling to kick off the year, and then took care of a bunch of tings - specifically, dealing with Christmas cards, doing laundry, walking into town to mail my Christmas cards, and making a couple of batches of ham balls. Some of the ham balls became tonight's dinner, but most of them went into the freezer to be enjoyed when we finally do our family Christmas later this month (as long as [censored] recovers and doesn't get sick again).

After all that, I was pretty wiped out, so I took a break after eating dinner. But eventually I came upstairs, and I wrote for awhile - it felt like the right thing to do on the first day of the new year, and I'm v. glad I did. And now I need to sleep so I can focus on the day job tomorrow - goodnight!

don't you want to play the beautiful game out in brazil

Happy New Year! I spent the day getting allergy shots, baking, and playing a game of Ticket to Ride with the family (my dad won handily). Then [censored] and I came back to town so that he could continue coughing up his lungs in peace (and also watch a few episodes of Stargate).

Then I wrote in my journal to ring in the new year, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

she's a magnet pulling me under the sheets

Happy Monday! Today was supposed to be family Christmas, but we canceled due to [censored]'s lingering plague. I woke up this morning feeling not so great. My fitness tracking smart ring (a phrase that would have been incomprehensible back when I was seven and the only medicine around was some whiskey poured into a warm Coke) said that I'm showing symptoms of minor illness strain, but who knows? Maybe I'm strained from continually fighting off a week of exposure to [censored].

sssanyway. Despite not feeling all that hot, I worked most of the day - I have some tings I want to get done before the new year but have also been procrastinating on, so I decided to knock some of them out. I also watched the Iowa State / Colorado basketball game tonight - it was too close for comfort at various points, but it was fun to watch, and it's clear that Big 12 play is going to be as brutal as it always is.

After the game was over, I did another couple of hours of work so that I could send some tings to Adit (no one calls him the cat at work, even if some people theoretically call him the cat elsewhere). And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

caught up in your headlights, frozen again

Apologies for not blogging the last couple of nights - I would attribute it to the head injury I sustained when [censored] shot me in the forehead with a dart gun a few days ago, but I think I've recovered from that (unless I have a secret brain bleed, in which case I haven't). I have had absolutely nothing to report - [censored] is still sick, which means tings are very boring around here. I was looking forward to spicing things up by having some houseguests this weekend, but the houseguests decided that they didn't want to get exposed to the plague, and it was also clear that exposing a plague victim to some houseguests probably wasn't a good call either.

So, our broader family Christmas is officially canceled, which is a bummer, but it was the right call. I was going to spend today and tomorrow cleaning - and I probably still should - but the lack of immediate houseguests made me lazy. Instead, I did a bunch of desk / paperwork-type stuff (still worthwhile!), messed around, ran some errands, and watched the very tail end of the Iowa State bowl game (the Pop Tarts bowl, which was an absurd theme that the Pop Tarts crew really ran with).

Then I made some pasta to use up a bunch of mushrooms and cream that were going to go bad. [Censored] and I ate it while watching the end of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' (still a banger), followed by Nate Bargatze's latest comedy special, which was great.

And now I need to sleep - or perhaps read and pretend I'm on vacation for one night only. Goodnight!

christmas comes this time each year

Merry Christmas! Today was an unusual departure from our usual traditions - [censored] is still pretty sick, but we decided to go ahead with brunch and packages at the parents' house. However, we had brunch at noon and did presents after for the first time in my entire life - usually I have to get up super early (like seven a.m.!!) to open gifts first thing.

So this situation was good for me, even if it still seems likely that I'll get strep or whatever [censored] has - no signs yet though. I made coffee and played Christmas music while I finished wrapping presents, and then we went out to Mom and Dad's. Mom made breakfast casserole and some awesome muffins, which we all enjoyed. And then we opened gifts, and I was delighted by what I got (and also delighted by what I gave). It was a fun afternoon even if we didn't get to play games, and hopefully we can do that another day. 

[Censored] and I came back to my place after that since we decided not to extend the exposure through dinner. I was v lazy the rest of the day - I watched some tv, played on my phone, looked at cookbooks, ate some leftovers, journaled with my new fountain pen (it's extremely hot pink and has extremely hot pink ink to match, and I love it), etc. And now I'm going to read a bit before bed - I have to work tomorrow, which is a cruel jhoke, but I'll survive. Goodnight!

baby it's cold outside

Merry Christmas Eve! Or not so merry, bc [censored] is sick and that has thrown plans into disarray. I got up this morning earlier than I wanted to so that I could get allergy shots. They went fine, but there's a reason they're not a traditional Christmas Eve activity. I also grabbed a couple of last tings in town before coming home.

My afternoon was much more chill than I had planned - I did take care of some work and also some personal stuff, but I didn't make lasagna (our traditional Christmas Eve dinner) because we decided not to do dinner with the parents to avoid exposing them to whatever [censored] has. I also skipped going to Christmas Eve church with my mom for similar reasons. Instead, I finished decorating, and then ate some leftover soup while watching TV with [censored]. I'm probably going to catch whatever he has, but I haven't succumbed yet. 

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

go slow-motion, cut it to black

I apparently didn't blog this weekend, which surprised me too - but I've been frenetically trying to prep for the holidays while also dealing with my job getting busier than I expected, which has taken it out of me. Saturday, we celebrated Christmas at my sister's house - which mostly meant getting status updates on my nieces and nephew, while listening to children shriek in the background. There were fewer children than last year and also a new face thanks to some life changes in the group, but on the whole everyone seemed to be doing fine.

After our Christmas celebrate, [censored] and I came home and I made an attempt at kung pao chicken using a spice packet I'd acquired, but neither of us liked it very much, which was a shame. Then we watched some SNL from the previous week, and I attempted to get a million hours of sleep to make up for what I missed last week.

Sunday was a blur - I mostly spent it cleaning and making some feeble attempts to decorate for Christmas, and then I picked up Mexican takeout before watching this weekend's SNL (which was a real highlight thanks to cameos from many former SNL stars/hosts). Today was also a blur - I thought this week would slow down, but my boss takes approximately zero days off a year, and so many meetings with him went on as usual.

So I did a few hours of meetings, took a break to go into town for groceries, and then went back into town for more groceries when [censored] suddenly fell ill and clearly needed some soup to help with survival. Any soup I could make with ingredients on hand is more of a sludge than a soup, so I ran back into town for carrots/celery and made chicken tortilla soup for dinner. This was pretty tasty, and if I succumb to whatever illness has suddenly sprung upon [censored], I'm going to want soup leftovers too.

After eating / chilling for awhile, I came upstairs and did a couple of hours of work to make up for my long afternoon break. And now I need to go to bed and hope I can stave off whatever [censored] is getting. Goodnight!

and all our ghosts get swept away, it didn't used to be this way

I did not slog as incessantly today as I usually do - today was the Garden Club Christmas lunch, and I decided to go to that rather than being a good corporate drone. My mom picked me up and we went to Tracy's house, which was v. well decorated for Christmas (in fact, it was approximately the exact opposite of how much I've decorated for Christmas). Many of the usual suspects were there, and we had a v. tasty potluck before exchanging some grab bag gifts. All in all it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours, and I'm glad I made time for it.

Then I came home, should have worked, and instead didn't get quite enough done because I accidentally took a nap. But I crossed a few things off my list and had one final meeting of the week, so I'll take it.

Then, I bundled up and braved the cold with [censored] to have dinner with the parents in Seymour. We went out tonight to celebrate Mom's birthday, which we accomplished with onion rings and the usual tasty offerings. Then we came home and watched a bit of the most recent SNL. I ended the night by folding laundry, doing the last work task that I hadn't finished today, and taking care of some personal business - so all in all it was a pretty good day.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

hold me fast 'cause i'm a hopeless wanderer

I have once again stayed up too late - but I had a decent day, so I guess it's fine. I slogged pretty relentlessly from 9:30ish to 5ish, and then I took a bit of a break before a 6:30 meeting. Once that was done, I ate some leftover butter chicken and messed around on my phone(s) for awhile. Eventually, I had procrastinated enough, and so I spent the last two hours doing the final bits of work stuff that I needed to get out tonight.

And now, I need to sleep - I have a dentist appointment tomorrow, and while it's not at an ungodly hour, it still requires me to get out of my pajamas earlier than I am accustomed to.

Finally, though - happy birthday to my mom! and also happy birthday to chandlord! I did not see either of them on their birthdays, so at least this year I'm keeping it fair between them. Goodnight!

don't you want to spend it with me

I'm v. tired - I had a good day, but I spent too much of it looking at screens. I journaled over coffee when I woke up this morning, which was great, and then I went straight into slogging. I worked until almost seven, but I took a break for allergy shots (not exactly luxurious). Then I ate chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries (dinner of champions), did some Christmas stuff, and designed my Christmas card (which is a New Years card this year because it's already December 17 and it will not get out in time for Christmas).

And now, after expending all of my creativity on the card, it's time for bed - goodnight!

i've got my contact high, you've got your powdered lies

I woke up in Des Moines this morning feeling like I got a decent amount of sleep, but I need to remember not to stay at the Fairfield - the hotel is totally fine, but the bedding is basically a thin coverlet instead of a comforter, which I hate. But otherwise, my evening / morning were fine. I didn't dilly-dally after I woke up, so I got out of the hotel at a reasonable hour and headed south. I stopped for some groceries, and I probably should have had more coffee than I did - especially since I had to navigate an increasing amount of fog over the course of my drive. But I made it home before noon, so I'll take it as a win.

Once I got here, I probably should have been more productive, but I wasn't feeling it. I talked to [censored] for awhile, went through the massive number of packages that arrived while I was gone, did a tiny bit of unpacking, took a nap, etc. Then I went out to my parents' house to say hi to them and stayed for a bit. By the time I got home, [censored] had disappeared to head north, and so I took advantage of his absence to make butter chicken using a spice packet that I'd ordered from a spice shop that my work friend (not Adit, another one) recommended. The sauce was super tasty, and the chicken was too - but the chicken was a little too well done for my tastes. I followed the directions on the packet, which recommended broiling for 15min, but as someone who never uses a broiler, I didn't know that the chicken by the door might still look fine while the back was charred. It was all edible, and a slight amount of char would be great, but I think I'll cut the time next time.

Despite the overcooked chicken, the dish was super tasty, and I would 100% make it again. After I ate, I cleaned up the kitchen, folded some laundry, and then did a bit of work while chatting with Adit about it. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

I've been drinking from a periscope

I'm back in ye olde Iowa, but I'm not in my house - I landed a little before midnight, and it's foggy and icy, so I decided not to be a hero and to check into a hotel instead. Luckily Des Moines is so efficient that I'm literally in bed, after getting my checked luggage and my parked car, less than an hour after landing, so it could be worse.

My day was generally good, but it got off to a bizarre start - my phone(s) woke me up at 5:45am with a blaring tornado warning. This is a normal thing in Iowa, but this was literally the first one ever in San Francisco. I did not go downstairs because I didn't want to risk getting stuck eleven floors down if the power went out, but I retreated to my windowless bathroom while I figured out the danger level. I quickly determined I was going to be fine, but I was extremely unimpressed by the local news coverage - where Iowa meteorologists would have had a tracker on possible rotation and projected it down to the block level, the SF news caster said, "there's a tornado warning in San Francisco, but the rain is clearing out in the north bay," and then went to a story about the insurance assassin like the weather was of no importance. But I saw enough to tell my friend Jane that she could stop hanging out in her garage, so at least I did someone a favor with my Iowa knowledge. 

After that, I dozed for awhile, then finally got around, grabbed coffee, packed, showered, etc. Then I took an Uber to Hillsdale, where I had a friendship renewal brunch with Jen, Jane, and Joann. We went to Palette for dim sum, and since I hadn't had dim sum in forever, I mostly ignored my gluten issues and went deep. Jen convinced them to make honey walnut shrimp even though they only serve it at dinner, and we had many tasty morsels (including eel wrapped in rice crepe that was very interesting and good, and my beloved braised pork in bean curd, and shrimp dumplings and shu mai, and some tasty little egg custard dumplings, and I even loved the radish cake and the pea shoots, which I can normally take or leave).

We had many things to catch up on and clearly didn't have time for it all, but it was great to spend a couple of hours with them. Then Jane dropped me at the airport and I sped through security, grabbed a glass of rosé, and did some work stuff and personal stuff. Both my flights were mostly on time, which was a surprise given the weather, and I slept and journaled and read through both. 

But now I need to sleep so I can get home tomorrow - goodnight!

I got new rules I count em

I'm falling asleep, but I had a good day - lots of sleep, some coffee, some stretching with my travel theragun, etc. I slogged all day, had lunch and a long meeting with Adit, and then I left, got my nails done, and ran some errands on Fillmore.

I was going to pack and generally chill tonight, but instead chandlord came over and we had drinks and takeout. This was v necessary and I'm glad we made it happen. But now I need to sleep and- goodnight!

song of the yellow, song of the red

I had a v long slog today - there was some stuff launching at work, and so when I woke up at 6:30, I grabbed some coffee from the lobby and then worked extremely diligently and without pause (except to grab another cup of coffee) until 11:30. Then I took a v quick shower, grabbed an uber, went to the office, and walked in just in time to do a 12:30 meeting.

But then I decreased my stress levels by hanging out in the kitchen and eating lunch with several people, which was excellent. And then I had some more meetings / more work, but it was all manageable. One of those meetings was a book club (where I discussed PLAYGROUND again), so I can't complain. And then we had a team dinner - unfortunately it was in San Mateo, and the traffic sucked due to some rain, but I rode down with Timothy, Kate, and Adit, and we had a v. fun time (or at least all of us who weren't driving had a fun time).

The team dinner was in a private room in some hot pot place, which was delish - for those of you who aren't hot pot aficionados, we each got our own pot of broth on top of an induction burner at our seat, and then a whole bunch of meats and veggies to toss into it and flash cook. It was v. tasty, but at some point I stopped caring about the broth and went too deep on several bottles of sake (as did six or ten other people, so I was in good company). We had to meet the food and beverage minimum, and the easiest way was through beverages, so really we were being quite responsible. And we discussed all sorts of absurd subjects, like dental dad cults and whether oysters are smart, so I'd say it was a success.

And then I ubered back to my hotel, did a v. tiny amount of additional work, and now I need to sleep. Goodnight!

where do the good boys go to hide away

I had a long but good day - I woke up at 6:15 and started working almost immediately, since I had a million things to do. I slogged, fueled by free hotel coffee, until I had just barely enough time to shower before getting to the office for a ten a.m. meeting. Then I had more meetings and more slogging, but it wasn't as onerous as yesterday's slew of meetings.

I left early and came back to my hotel, where I worked for an hour while eating some french fries to tide me over. Then I took BART to Oakland, which is not what I usually do - but I had a dinner date with John and Jess, and it was the most viable option. We had a book club of sorts to discuss PLAYGROUND, which I loved talking about, and we had a good time catching up on life.

Then I came back to the hotel (courtesy of an overly chatty Uber driver), and now I'm desperate for sleep. Goodnight!

you have a drumstick and your brain stops sticking

I had a v v busy day - I did work at the hotel until I had to go on, and then I had meetings straight from 10-4:15 with no break. I used to do this all the time at my old job, but I'm out of practice, so it felt like my brain was melting by the end.

But I survived, and then I had dinner with Veronica, which was a delight. And now I'm going to go to bed v early for California so I can hopefully get cracking when I wake up. Goodnight!

even the devil needs time some dometimes

I had a lovely day, all in all, but I'm jet lagged and did way too much with today. I would regale you with the details, but I'm falling asleep while typing this, which never ends well. So I think sleep is more important to my overall life than writing this - which means goodnight!

the city that rocks

I'm extremely tired, but I had a successful day - I got a lot of sleep last night, and then I spent the morning getting ready to leave my house and fly to SF. This trip has been tentatively on the books for awhile, but I made zero plans for it (other than booking the flight and hotel) bc I was waiting to see how my dad's appointment last week went. So, I'm slap-dashedly pulling together social plans for the week, but since the primary purpose of the trip is work, I know that at least that will be accomplished. 

Anyway, I packed, watered plants, took care of various things, and left in time to get to the airport and eat a salad before departure. My first flight was easy, and then I had a long layover in Denver, where I worked and ate some more. Unfortunately my flight was delayed on the runway for awhile, so I didn't get to SF until after 11pm...but my bag beat me here, so I didn't have to wait. And I slept on the plane, which is all that saved me.

And now, I've unpacked and settled in and desperately need to sleep before I collapse - goodnight!

along for the ride

I got up, v. unenthusiastically, at 5:30am. I actually woke up at 4:30 and couldn't really fall back asleep, which made it even more unfortunate. But I dragged myself out of bed, made coffee (in my new coffeemaker, yay), and then [censored] and I drove up to Des Moines to pick up my dad's truck. We got there shortly after the service center opened, and [censored] and I parted ways ten minutes later - [censored] to come home and get started with the rest of his day, while I did a bit of grocery shopping.

First, though, I grabbed some McDonald's and then took a nap in the Whole Foods parking lot. Then I stocked up on gluten free frozen meals - even though they're basically awash in plastics, sometimes desperate times call for a little extra cancer risk. And then I went downtown to check out an Asian grocery store I've been wanting to go to - it wasn't as impressive as H Mart, but it was quite well laid out and had a lot of tings, and if you want pigs' feet I now know where to get them. Their produce looked especially promising, but I didn't get any because my plans this week mean I won't have time for cooking.

Then I drove home, with a quick stop at a greenhouse for some poinsettias (for me) and a grab bag gift (for some lucky Garden Club person). When I got home, I unloaded the car, made some more coffee, and helped [censored] deliver the truck to mom and dad's. We hung out there for a bit, and then I came home, attempted to do tings, and mostly failed.

But I made breakfast for dinner, which was tasty, and I made a bunch of lists and did some laundry and took care of other tasks. And now I'm going to go to bed early and hope that I recover my energy so I can do all the tings tomorrow - goodnight!

where are you now

Yesterday was a v. nice day, and I should have blogged about it - although in retrospect, I only thought it was nice because it ended with a v. lovely chat with Ritu. Otherwise, it was mostly the usual - I did a bunch of work, then made chili for dinner. But Ritu is always a good time, so I'm glad we caught up.

Today was similar - I woke up, chatted with [censored] while making my coffee, and then slogged through the morning / afternoon. I ran into town to get allergy shots, and then I came home and worked the rest of the day. At some point, [censored] and I ate dinner, and then I set up my new coffeemaker. This was one of my black friday #treatyoself purchases, since my current coffeemaker is slowly getting less hot - and I'm pretty excited to actually make coffee with it tomorrow.

Unfortunately, that experiment is going to be insanely early because [censored] and I have to run a six a.m. errand to Des Moines - so hopefully the coffee tastes good enough to make me less surly about getting up. We shall see, we shall see. But now it's time for bed - goodnight!

born slippy

I did a million hours of work today, which is perhaps an exaggeration but doesn't feel like it. I did my best work before I showered, when I could sit on my chaise while wearing sweats and pretending that I was living my best life. I also had a long chat with one of my work friends (not Adit), with whom I've become close enough that I accepted a video call even though I hadn't done my makeup or washed my hair.

Then I finally showered, had meetings, ate some leftover pizza, made a v. quick trip to the grocery store, came home, and slogged until evening. Then I made a pretty basic but reasonably tasty chicken stirfry and some rice. I finished eating right before [censored] came home, and we watched the tail end of a v. good Iowa State basketball game and chatted a bit while I took care of some minor work tasks.

I came upstairs with the intention of folding laundry and going to bed, but I decided to be a good corporate drone and make a slide tonight rather than going to bed and hoping for the best tomorrow. Happily the slide is done; unhappily it's now after midnight and I need to get to bed immediately. Goodnight!

baby i'm howling for you

Nothing to report - I had a supremely boring day, since I spent it mostly slogging. However, I slogged while well-caffeinated, and I had some fun chats to break up the day, so it could have been worse. I was also in a surprisingly good mood considering that I woke up to clouds and a dusting of snow, and I managed to stay focused despite being cold (and somewhat surly about being cold).

At some point [censored] left, and I spent my solo evening eating leftovers, messing around online, doing some more work, and taking advantage of the last of the cyber monday sales. And with that all accomplished, it's time for bed - goodnight!

dancing through life

It is absolutely freezing here, which is a harsh reminder that winter exists and I live in a place where there is several months of it to contend with. I did not want to get out of bed today, but I had an 11am appointment in Des Moines to get my nails done, so I forced myself to rally. Unusually, I drove my dad's truck to the appointment - the real reason I made it was because I was going to have to go to Des Moines to drop the truck off for service anyway, so I might as well #treatmyself in the meantime.

So I got my nails done, then went to the mall and did a bit of shopping / browsing. Most of the stores were fairly quiet, but Scheels was an absolute zoo - but a worthwhile zoo to go to, since I wanted thick waterproof gloves with e-tips and I managed to find them (and a few tops on sale). Then I went to Container Store to further my efforts to organize my freezer, and then I picked up Starbucks on the way to meet [censored] at the car dealership. We dropped Dad's truck there, and then [censored] brought me home, which was v. kind of him.

I then spent the rest of the evening doing a variety of tings that were necessary, but perhaps not the most urgent - but everything feels necessary and urgent right now, so I guess it will have to do. And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

you can beat the heat

I did not blog last night because I had nothing noteworthy to report - Aunt Kathy and I hung out for a couple of hours in the morning before she left to head north, and then I worked with v. mixed results. In fact, because I didn't have any meetings, I never actually got out of my pajamas, which is v. unusual for me. But I ended the day with some journaling and vowed to begin again today.

And today was, in fact, better and more productive. I got up in time to meet up with my mom and go to a local craft fair to check out the wares. I bought a few cute tings, and we talked to many people, so all in all it was a worthwhile endeavor. Then I came home, did some online shopping / listmaking, and then cleaned out my garage freezer. I never got it properly cleaned / arranged when I bought it, but I decided that I needed to get it properly set up so that I can go deep on meal prep. So I put all the food in coolers, took the shelves out and cleaned them, wiped down the walls, and then got the shelves into a better formation. I still need some bins or something it keep things organized, but it looks much better than it did.

Then I threw together some chicken and rice to bake, and then I continued to do various house tings until the food was ready. [Censored] and I took it out to Mom and Dad's house, where we ate the chicken and rice with some broccoli that Mom roasted + some leftover deviled eggs from Thanksgiving. After dinner, I drove my dad's truck into town for an adventure that I'm taking tomorrow, and then I messed around, did a bit of day job stuff, etc., until now.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

it's an art

Happy thanksgiving! I had a lovely day - yesterday was a total slog (albeit a nice slog, since I had some decent meetings with people I like), but today was much more chill. I got up, made myself some coffee, and then made apple crisp using Gram's recipe. I had to use store bought apples instead of apples from her tree, and I had to use gluten free flour, but it still turned out to be quite tasty. 

As it baked, I cleaned up the kitchen and living room and took a shower, and then I finished getting things ready and went out to Mom and Dad's. Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Sammie came down for the day, and we had the usual thanksgiving meal with all the main food characters (turkey, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, etc). I made the potatoes and was pleased with how they turned out, and everything else was even better. 

Then we spent the afternoon playing two new-to-us games: Chameleon, which I liked, and some icebreaker type game that [censored] absolutely hated. Eventually we parted ways - I gave Drewbaby and Sammie a quick tour of my new property (it is quick by default bc it's small), and then I chilled for quite awhile. Then Aunt Kathy came to my house after doing some extended visiting with my parents, and we caught up until late in the evening. And now she's in my guest room, which means I'll see her tomorrow - but I don't have tomorrow off, so I'm going to do a bit of slogging again. Goodnight!

fragments

I'm not feeling all that tired, but I think I should go to bed - I've been going to bed too late, which means getting up too late, which impacts my ability to get anything done before the endless rush of slack messages and meetings kicks off. Today was fine, though - there was more stuff on my to-do list than I actually got done. But I had my favorite meeting of the month (which is basically just me and Adit and a couple of people who also do not call him the cat), and I had some other fun meetings, and so even though it was busier than I would have liked for Thanksgiving week, it's still not bad.

After I was done(ish) working, I had a glass of wine while chatting with [censored] and then eating some leftover mongolian beef. We watched the first half of the ISU / Dayton game, and then I adjourned upstairs, where I took care of some personal tings and then did a little bit of work.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

don't worry, i'm not in a hurry

I have nothing to share with you today - I slogged all day, with nary a break, and then made dinner, which turned out very well. And then I should have done some more work, but instead I messed around online, did a bit of shopping/browsing, and had a v. entertaining chat with Katrina. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

if you want a second to breathe

I was far more productive today than I usually am on Sundays - it was sixty degrees today and it's going to drop precipitously this week, which made it feel like the last possible day of the year to do many tings. Not that I entirely focused on the outdoors - I spent the morning rearranging my coffee mugs and cleaning some of my kitchen cabinets. This wasn't exactly a necessary task, but somehow in the midst of all of my moving / remodeling, my favorite coffee mugs ended up in a box in the basement and my less favorite coffee mugs ended up in my kitchen. Since I have a million coffee mugs and go through phases of wanting yetis, ceramic tumblers, mugs, whatever, this has been a v. low priority to solve - but today felt like the right day.

Eventually, I finished that task, ate some cottage cheese, talked to [censored], did some more tings around the house, had a bagel, etc. And then I got cracking on outdoor stuff - I dumped my remaining dead plants on [censored]'s property, washed the outside of most of my downstairs windows, cleaned my grill and put the cover on it, blew leaves off my deck and driveway, and also did some laundry while I was at it. When the sun went down, I took a shower, started some rice in the rice cooker, and ran into town to get groceries. Unfortunately for me, one of the bags ripped as I was carrying it inside, and I broke a jar of salsa, which sent glass and tomatoes everywhere. Thanks to [censored]'s shopvac we managed to get it cleaned up, but it wasn't how I wanted to end my day.

After that, I was glad that [censored] and I had already decided to eat some frozen barbacoa beef from the freezer, since all I had to do was heat it up + heat a can of black beans. After dinner, I cleaned up, came upstairs, and did some v. important pre-black-friday shopping for myself. It's crazy how many sales are already going, and it seems like everything that has been on my list for awhile is marked down, so I'm trying to refrain from buying a million tings.

But now I need to go to bed so I can get up and do the job that will pay for those tings. Goodnight!

the emptiness machine

I had quite a productive Saturday, which I'm pleased about - I spent too much of it at my desk, but it was all in service of crossing personal tings off my to-do list, so I'm glad I was able to focus. I also took a walk, used my leaf blower to clean leaves off the deck of my new guest house (there is no bed and no appliances, but at least the deck won't rot), and did a variety of other tings.

Once evening rolled around, [censored] and I met the parents for prime rib at our favorite prime rib place. This is not entirely accurate; my mom and I had prime rib, but [censored] had a cheeseburger and Dad had fried shrimp. However, it was pretty tasty and definitely a good outing - winter is coming in fast and it will probably feel too cold to go next weekend (when the lows are supposed to be around 10-15). Tonight was chilly, especially near the door, but it certainly could have been worse. And I absconded with many after-dinner mints, so if we don't go back for awhile, at least I'm stocked up.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight! 

relativity

I have been slogging like a very dedicated little corporate drone the last couple of days. Today was more of the same, although I spent a lot of it working from my chaise while wearing leggings and a sweatshirt, so it could be worse. Unfortunately the only time that I still feel bruising on my tailbone from my fall down the stairs last week is when I sit on my chaise - but I am more productive here than I am at my desk, so I shall suffer through.

So I did a bunch of work and had a bunch of meetings today, and then took a break to chat with [censored] and eventually eat dinner. And then I did another work session from 9ish to 11:30ish. And now I need to get my contacts out and wind down so I can sleep - goodnight!

hotstepper

I had an extremely boring day - allergy shots, followed by a whole lot of work and meetings. Luckily it was sunny outside, so I was able to tolerate everything slightly better, but still - it was all very boring and not at all noteworthy. And I ended the day with more work + laundry + a pretty tasty dinner (some pulled pork from the freezer + some leftover cheesy potatoes), which was not the worst way to end the evening.

The only actual noteworthy thing was that today was my dad's birthday - Happy Birthday, Dad! And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

got an unseen hand, it's better than the rest

Apologies for not blogging yesterday - I have been informed that this is leaving critical gaps in the historical record, which I may regret someday when AI replicates me and then doesn't know what I did on November 17, 2024. That could lead it to making decisions that are totally out of character for me - but will I care if I'm unconscious and the AI is just using my body as a battery while it lives my life for me?

Oops, that got dark!

So yesterday I decided to perk myself up by getting my nails done, but that meant making a fast trip to Des Moines since I live in the aesthetically challenged hinterlands. After a mani and a pedi, I went to the mall and stocked up on fleece leggings - just in time, since winter is definitely coming and the wind outside sounds brutal tonight. Then I came home in time to make burrito bowls for [censored], who deserved them since he cut down a [censored] for me while I was gallivanting around the city, despite his fear of [censored]. [Censored] is a better person than I am, but I shall continue to take advantage.

Today was a quick descent back into slogging, with a variety of meetings and other tasks. I finally wrapped up a little before seven, ate some leftovers, messed around online, and then had a long and v. overdue chat with Katie. After we hung up, I did the work that I needed to do tonight, which unfortunately took an hour and a half, but at least I won't have to do it tomorrow.

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

this world is not meant for you

I got a million hours of sleep last night, but somehow I still felt tired today. Despite that, I dug out a bunch of clothes from the basement and tried them on to evaluate whether to keep vs. donate. I also cleaned up some random tings, did a bunch of laundry, started a crockpot full of cheesy potatoes for dinner, took a nap, and made chocolate chip chewies. This was definitely not all that I intended to accomplish today, but overall I'll take it.

Eventually, [censored] and I went out to the parents' house, where I took advantage of the last almost-grillable day to grill ribeyes. It did not actually feel like grilling weather, but it's still above freezing, so I'll take it. I overcooked most of the steaks despite the cold - they were sliced thin, and 5mins was too much, but they were still totally edible. With the cheesy potatoes and chocolate chip chewies, I don't think anyone cared about the steaks anyway, but I could be wrong.

And now, I need to go to bed - I have many errands and other things I want to do tomorrow, which means sleep is imperative. Goodnight!

so open up i'm climbing in

Yesterday I hit a wall and had to go to bed immediately - and I should clarify that I figuratively hit a wall, and I'm glad it wasn't literal because I'm still sore from falling down the stairs the other day and am not enjoying sitting while working all day. But yesterday was good - a lot of slogging, two different board meetings in town (economic development at lunch, library board after work), and then takeout from the Mexican restaurant in town.

Today was a little easier in that it only involved one trip to town. I did a bunch of work during the day, talked to my friend Tanya, did some more work, and ran into town to get allergy shots. Then I came home and worked until 6:15ish. At that point I was feeling v. done, so I went downstairs and made spaghetti - luckily I still had some jars of sauce in the freezer, so [censored] and I were able to feast with basically zero effort on my part. Thanks, Past Sara, for doing me a favor for once.

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

yo operator, or innovator

I got up and wrote this morning before work, and then I slogged all day. This continued through dinner time - someone asked if I could chat just after I started my rice cooker, and I said yes, but that chat lasted for an hour. So it turned into an impromptu cooking show (for them), since we kept talking on video while I chopped tofu and peppers and mixed up the sauce for a stir fry. I did eventually stop the call just in time to actually stir fry everything, and I had just enough time to eat and put away the leftover before dashing into town for a meeting of my secret society.

The meeting was good, and the program after was excellent - Donna showed us her button collection, which was cooler than it probably sounds. Then I came home and said hi to [censored] and discussed renovation plans, which has been a topic of conversation more than I think either of us ever thought it would be. And then I came upstairs, got ready for bed, did a bit of journaling, etc. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

she's long gone

I have nothing noteworthy to report. I woke up this morning and wrote for an hour, which I suppose does feel noteworthy. I also fell down the stairs, but that wasn't that big of a deal - somehow my foot slipped while I was carrying a whole bunch of stuff, but I landed on my tailbone and slid down a couple of steps without further injury. I feel a little bruised, which I think is to be expected, but otherwise I'm none the worse for wear.

After that exciting start to the morning, I got ready and spent the rest of the day slogging with reasonable productivity. I should have slogged tonight, but I wasn't in the mood - I took care of a few minor tasks, but I will have to commence slogging tomorrow in earnest. Beyond that, I did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, ate some leftovers, etc., none of which was exciting but all of which was necessary.

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

your mind is not your friend

I had today off because my company's days off are based on federal holidays - I'm still not totally on board with that because I would rather have a couple of extra days off around 4th of July or Christmas instead of random Mondays, but it's better than nothing. However, I wonder if my work days usually look lazy from the outside, because [censored] didn't realize until almost 3pm that I had the day off. This despite the fact that I wore sweats the whole time, sat around doing v. little, and took a walk and did some outdoor / next door tasks in the middle of the afternoon. I know my work process looks odd to people who are used to having set times in office (and this has been true whether I work at a corporate job or am writing), but I didn't realize it looks like I'm not working at all.

Anyway, my day was fine - I didn't get as much done as I had intended to, but perhaps I needed the day to be mostly chill. [Censored] left around his usual time, and I spent the rest of the afternoon / evening messing around, eating leftovers, writing a bit, listening to music, etc. And now I'm going to read a bit and try to go to bed early (for me) so that I can reset for the week ahead. Goodnight!

they say you're basic, they say you're easy

I've had a reasonably productive couple of days, if I ignore the multiple hours that I spent lying in bed / sitting around this morning. Yesterday I slogged all day, and it actually felt good to slog. I worked until 6:15, and then [censored] and I went out to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made beef stroganoff, which was quite tasty, and we hung out for a bit afterward. Then I came home, curled up on my chaise, and finished reading PLAYGROUND. I'd started it in SF a couple of weeks ago and was really enjoying it, but took a long hiatus due to other distractions. But I'm glad I finished it - the book was gorgeous (it's fiction, but a weird combo of oceanography, philosophy, and AI) and it had a twist at the end that made me want to immediately reread it.

Despite going to bed at a reasonable hour last night, I lazed about in bed until 10:30 this morning. Then I made some coffee and journaled for awhile before eventually getting with it. I did a deep clean of my bedroom and bathroom, which was v. necessary - between vacuuming and then cutting a ton of hair away from where it had wrapped itself around the vacuum, I probably could have made myself a small cap of my own hair. But now everything is delightfully clean and I rearranged some of my makeup so that I remember that I have it, which is pretty exciting.

However, I was definitely done with all housework by six and had no desire to do more. So I took the trash out, took a shower, and then ate leftover chicken and rice with [censored]. Then I did a small bit of day job stuff for my boss. And then I curled up on my chaise and started reading THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER, which I'd checked out from the library last week. So far I'm not sure about it - somewhat interesting characters, but I don't have a clear sense of what exactly the point is, so we'll see if we get there eventually.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

that's that me espresso

I have v. little to report - I've been slogging, which is not interesting, and occasionally catching up with friends, which is interesting. This has mostly involved texting, which is always nice. But I also had a brief impromptu phone call with Terry yesterday, and I had dinner with Hannah last night, both of which were v. necessary. I've also been tidying things, doing laundry, etc., in an effort to exert control over my internal environment when my external environment is a dumpster fire.

Today was more of the same, but at the end of it I made chicken and rice for me and [censored]. This was an old favorite when I was in high school, but I haven't had it in years since canned Campbell's soups have been off limits due to gluten. But they recently started making cream of chicken and cream of mushroom in gluten free versions, and that means this casserole is back on the menu. It was quite tasty, if I do say so myself - and certainly easier than my usual recipes, which nearly always involve some amount of chopping of fresh ingredients.

After dinner, I worked for another couple of hours to make up for lost productivity during the day. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

and when it heals it beats for you

I had a v. unusual day. It was quite rainy this morning and I felt a distinct lack of motivation to do anything, but I forced myself to go to Des Moines to stock up on many tings. The day job is putting a cramp in my style when it comes to being able to do these errands on weekdays, and I know every weekend between now and Christmas will only get worse in terms of shopping.

So, I made a speed run through Costco, Whole Foods, Menards, and Target, and I also got my nails done, and I somehow still made it home by 5:15. I unloaded the many tings from my car and was looking forward to a relaxing evening + getting some work done, but [censored] discovered that the sump pump wasn't working, which was not a pleasant revelation given that we've gotten a lot of rain and will soon get some more. So I went ahead and fixed dinner (with brunch items) while [censored] scrounged for supplies, and we ate while watching last night's SNL.

Then, we spent more time than either of us wanted to messing around in the basement - it was really all [censored], but it was a two-person effort to try to pump water out of the pit and into any drain in the basement that could handle a fire hose of water. The issue still isn't resolved, but to be clear, my basement wasn't flooded - and hopefully [censored] can figure out a solution in the near future.

But for now, that's a problem for Future Sara (or, more likely, Future [censored]) - for now it's time for bed. Goodnight!

i got edges that scratch

Apologies for not blogging the last couple of days - I was trying to be diligent with work and also with bedtime, and that often eliminated my desire to sit on my laptop/phone and write a post before bed.

Yesterday was lovely, though - I worked all morning, and then [censored] and I picked up takeout and went out to Mom and Dad's for a rare Friday lunch. Aunt Kathy had come down to hang out, so we all ate together, which was v. nice. And then we took a tour of my new holdings, which were a pleasant surprise for some people since everyone was expecting a garbage dump based on the last neighbor. That's not to say that it's amazing, but for my purposes, it will suffice.

I spent the rest of yesterday slogging until almost eight p.m., and then I ate leftover chicken and mashed potatoes while watching 'Stargate' with [censored]. Today, I got up with more urgency than I usually do on a Saturday (but still not exactly early) because I had volunteered to host a writing thing at the library at 10am. No one showed up, which suited me just fine - we didn't really publicize it much, and NaNoWriMo is basically defunct this year, so people who don't follow the library on Facebook were unlikely to see it. But I got a couple of hours of writing done, which I will totally take.

Then I went across the street and voted, and I felt v. lucky because there happened to be no one in line in front of me when I got there (although someone walked out as I walked in, and three or four people were behind me by the time I was done). Then I came home, ate lunch, did some tings with [censored], and then spent the rest of the afternoon organizing my office papers. Eventually, I stopped so that I could make some chili for dinner, which hit the spot, and then I spent the last couple of hours doing various online things.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!