So, today was fine, but it really wasn't all that great; I wasn't nearly as productive as I should have been, probably because I had to get to the office for a 7:30am meeting and lost interest in everything after that. I did have lunch with Marci, which was nice, and I spent some time with Joy and Natasha, so it wasn't all bad. I also tried to go to this talk by Alton Brown (of Food Network fame), but thirty minutes before the talk was supposed to start, the biggest venue on campus had already filled up, so I abandoned the attempt.
I left work around five, stopped at Starbucks, and then called my dad to wish him a happy birthday (happy birthday, Daddy!) The drive home took an hour and a half, and then I proceeded to waste more time by sitting on the couch and watching whatever Adit happened to come across (in tonight's case, a Biography feature on Oasis, part of a feature on Amy Winehouse, twenty minutes of 'The Green Mile', and the beginning of 'The Predator'). Now, on that incredibly boring note, it's time for bed!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
wait a couple months then you gonna see, you'll never find nobody better than me
It is way past my bedtime; yes, it's only 10:40ish, but since I just got home twenty minutes ago and have to be back in Mountain View by 7:30am, sleep is imperative. However, overall today was a great day; we successfully concluded the three-day offsite that I had planned, and the feedback was generally positive, so that made me happy. Of course, I have a ton of work stemming from the discussions in these meetings, but c'est la vie.
Actually, I shouldn't use a French phrase; I planned a two-hour break this afternoon so that the Irish contingent at the offsite could go to a sports bar and watch the Ireland vs. France World Cup qualifier, and Ireland lost (and so missed out on a World Cup berth) on a bit of v. questionable referring in extra time. That's simplifying things as bit, as even if the French goal hadn't counted the teams would have been forced to do penalty kicks rather than Ireland winning outright, but the Irish guys came back v. sad. However, we bounced back, ended the day on a positive note, and had dinner at Reposado in downtown Palo Alto. I've never been there; it was tasty, but it was definitely overpriced, overgourmet Mexican food. It was delicious, of course, and since we expensed the dinner, I wasn't complaining. I especially wasn't complaining when I drove home and saw an Orkin car parked outside the Taco Bell in my neighborhood -- not exactly the relationship you want to see flourishing, even if it's a good thing that Taco Bell is taking care of whatever Orkin was there to do at 10:30pm.
That's all you get from me tonight -- goodnight!
Actually, I shouldn't use a French phrase; I planned a two-hour break this afternoon so that the Irish contingent at the offsite could go to a sports bar and watch the Ireland vs. France World Cup qualifier, and Ireland lost (and so missed out on a World Cup berth) on a bit of v. questionable referring in extra time. That's simplifying things as bit, as even if the French goal hadn't counted the teams would have been forced to do penalty kicks rather than Ireland winning outright, but the Irish guys came back v. sad. However, we bounced back, ended the day on a positive note, and had dinner at Reposado in downtown Palo Alto. I've never been there; it was tasty, but it was definitely overpriced, overgourmet Mexican food. It was delicious, of course, and since we expensed the dinner, I wasn't complaining. I especially wasn't complaining when I drove home and saw an Orkin car parked outside the Taco Bell in my neighborhood -- not exactly the relationship you want to see flourishing, even if it's a good thing that Taco Bell is taking care of whatever Orkin was there to do at 10:30pm.
That's all you get from me tonight -- goodnight!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
baby it would bury me if you were in the public eye, giving somebody else a try
This is a four-minute post. I just barely made it in time for the 8:30 start of my offsite today, but I succeeded in beating a couple of other people there, so my close call went unnoticed. Unfortunately, we're now starting at 8:15 tomorrow morning, and ending with dinner, which means it's going to be at least a twelve-hour day, which I why I want to wrap this up and go to bed.
Generally, things are going well with the offsite, although I have stuff that I will need to get done surreptitiously tomorrow while I should be paying attention and participating in the discussion. I am extremely eager to go on vacation next week; I'm leaving for Iowa early Sunday morning and will be there almost a full week, which is much needed at this point. However, it's not all work and no play; I made it back to San Francisco tonight in time to have dinner with Alaska Matt and his wife Kia (who should theoretically be Alaska Kia, but as she is the only Kia I know, there is no need for the distinction). We went to a Thai place near Fillmore that served up some delicious curry and pad seeuw, and it was fantastic to see both of them; they've been in Dublin for the past six months (where they successfully avoided the near-deportation that I endured while in Dublin), and so it was v. good to catch up. Now, though, I'm going to go to bed immediately, as I can't survive tomorrow if I don't get eight hours of sleep. Goodnight!
Generally, things are going well with the offsite, although I have stuff that I will need to get done surreptitiously tomorrow while I should be paying attention and participating in the discussion. I am extremely eager to go on vacation next week; I'm leaving for Iowa early Sunday morning and will be there almost a full week, which is much needed at this point. However, it's not all work and no play; I made it back to San Francisco tonight in time to have dinner with Alaska Matt and his wife Kia (who should theoretically be Alaska Kia, but as she is the only Kia I know, there is no need for the distinction). We went to a Thai place near Fillmore that served up some delicious curry and pad seeuw, and it was fantastic to see both of them; they've been in Dublin for the past six months (where they successfully avoided the near-deportation that I endured while in Dublin), and so it was v. good to catch up. Now, though, I'm going to go to bed immediately, as I can't survive tomorrow if I don't get eight hours of sleep. Goodnight!
Monday, November 16, 2009
someone's gonna tell you lies, cut you down to size
This is a four-minute post. It's the end of day one of a three-day offsite that I planned for the big boss, and I'm v. tired; it's surprisingly exhausting to sit in a poorly-ventilated room with fourteen other people and talk strategy for eight hours. It's even more exhausting to think about doing it all again tomorrow and the next day. However, despite my desire to go to sleep and my inability to stop myself from eating snacks all afternoon, everything went really well today, so I'm pleased to see that my extreme procrastination and sloth and general bad behavior this weekend didn't adversely affect my preparation for the event.
After work today, I went to a party supply store to buy some ridiculous tings for the senior staff dinner on Wednesday, and then I had a burrito at Baja Fresh before driving back to the city of sin. I worked from 9ish until now, and luckily I'm done with everything that absolutely must get done tonight, so I get to go to bed at a reasonable hour. And that's all the content you're going to get from me tonight, so I hope you're satisfied. Goodnight!
After work today, I went to a party supply store to buy some ridiculous tings for the senior staff dinner on Wednesday, and then I had a burrito at Baja Fresh before driving back to the city of sin. I worked from 9ish until now, and luckily I'm done with everything that absolutely must get done tonight, so I get to go to bed at a reasonable hour. And that's all the content you're going to get from me tonight, so I hope you're satisfied. Goodnight!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
lay all your love on me
I'm going to be immediately, so hopefully this won't even qualify as a four-minute post. Today was generally great, but I am so ill-prepared for tomorrow that it's not even funny. I don't regret it, though; last night was wonderful, I wasn't that hungover this morning (although I did sleep until ten a.m.), and then I spent the day foolishly squandering my wealth. And by that I mean I went shopping, and while I didn't squander my wealth, I did do some celebratory damage at Max Studio and picked up a few 'essentials' at Nordstrom and Sephora. Then I came home, talked to my parents, did three loads of laundry, and watched '60 Minutes' and 'The Next Iron Chef' with Adit while working on a recommendation for someone who is applying to business school. It was only when I looked at the rest of the to-do list that I hadn't bothered to look at earlier that I realized that I'm screwed; but, since Adit needs to get up at 6:30, and I have stuff that requires my presence in the office somewhat early anyway, I'm going to just go to bed, get up at 5:30, and hope that two hours in the office before the start of my nine a.m. meeting will save me. At least I will look stylish while I fail -- wish me luck!
you can't start a fire sitting around crying over a broken heart
Today was totally awesome, and judging by the fact that I'm writing this post at 3:35am, it's clear that typing will be the ultimate challenge. I woke up around eight, refreshed by twelve hours of sleep (perhaps someday I will write the 'lost post' of what happened on Friday and why I didn't blog last night), and Adit and I watched "The Royal Tenenbaums" while drinking tea and trying to avoid confronting the day. Finally, we successfully confronted it, and went to brunch with Julie, who was in town from Seattle with her fiance and their friends. Brunch was totally delicious, although I paced myself by eating a piece of toast with cheese and fruit since I was leaving brunch to immediately go to lunch. It was good to see Julie; I don't think I had seen her in at least three years, but she appeared to be similar to her usual self, even if she is grappling with a different situation now.
I left brunch to meet up with Irish Matt for lunch. I took him to Tadich Grill, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in San Francisco; they have a ton of seafood dishes, as well as steak, and so I hoped that it would appeal to Irish Matt's tastes. It lived up to his desires, so we had a lovely lunch. Then, we walked around the Ferry Building before walking all the way back to Union Square, where we sat in the park and were inadvertently extras in some amateur film about a makeup artist (or something, it was really hard to tell).
I came home around five, and I ended up taking a nap, which was dangerous but I rallied sufficiently to hang out with and hopefully entertain Vidya when she came over around nine. I was supposed to have dinner with Alaska Matt and his wife, but they rescheduled, and so I was able to spend some quality time with Vidius Chandicus. She fell asleep while I changed my clothing and freshened up my makeup, so it was no surprise when she parted ways with me as we went in search of cabs.
I ended up rallying enough to meet up with the boys for Folkman's thirtieth birthday; they had been out to dinner (which I missed, thinking I had other plans), but I found Folkman, Adit, Jav, Oniel, Timmy Timer (real name: Peder), Lily, Caca (real name: Ed) and others at the Liberties. I proceeded to do all the drinking that I intended to do last night; not to make a big deal of it, but I got promoted last week, and I was in the mood to celebrate. After a shot of Fernet, a white peach cosmopolitan, a pomegranate mojito, and three watermelon mojitos, I was definitely in a celebratory mood, and we ended up walking over to a late-night taqueria after last call, where I had a carnitas super burrito and we peer pressured Folkman, Jav and Caca to do the worm breakdance move on the floor of the restaurant.
So, a good time was had by all, and I'm glad I abandoned my responsibilities for one night. Now, it's time for bed; I anticipate that I will feel miserable tomorrow, but there's no rest for the wicked. Goodnight!
I left brunch to meet up with Irish Matt for lunch. I took him to Tadich Grill, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in San Francisco; they have a ton of seafood dishes, as well as steak, and so I hoped that it would appeal to Irish Matt's tastes. It lived up to his desires, so we had a lovely lunch. Then, we walked around the Ferry Building before walking all the way back to Union Square, where we sat in the park and were inadvertently extras in some amateur film about a makeup artist (or something, it was really hard to tell).
I came home around five, and I ended up taking a nap, which was dangerous but I rallied sufficiently to hang out with and hopefully entertain Vidya when she came over around nine. I was supposed to have dinner with Alaska Matt and his wife, but they rescheduled, and so I was able to spend some quality time with Vidius Chandicus. She fell asleep while I changed my clothing and freshened up my makeup, so it was no surprise when she parted ways with me as we went in search of cabs.
I ended up rallying enough to meet up with the boys for Folkman's thirtieth birthday; they had been out to dinner (which I missed, thinking I had other plans), but I found Folkman, Adit, Jav, Oniel, Timmy Timer (real name: Peder), Lily, Caca (real name: Ed) and others at the Liberties. I proceeded to do all the drinking that I intended to do last night; not to make a big deal of it, but I got promoted last week, and I was in the mood to celebrate. After a shot of Fernet, a white peach cosmopolitan, a pomegranate mojito, and three watermelon mojitos, I was definitely in a celebratory mood, and we ended up walking over to a late-night taqueria after last call, where I had a carnitas super burrito and we peer pressured Folkman, Jav and Caca to do the worm breakdance move on the floor of the restaurant.
So, a good time was had by all, and I'm glad I abandoned my responsibilities for one night. Now, it's time for bed; I anticipate that I will feel miserable tomorrow, but there's no rest for the wicked. Goodnight!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
play that record baby
I don't know why I'm so tired all the time -- maybe I have mono? I got eight hours of sleep last night, and yet my energy level is equivalent to an irradiated sloth. Also, I'm worried that I'm going to get arthritis like my grandmother and end up with twisted, gnarled fingers; my joints are aching constantly when I type, which is quite frustrating.
On that bleak note about my impending old age and death, I shall transition into happier topics. Today was a relatively good day; I made it south in time for my nine a.m. meeting (but didn't get up until seven, which was awesome), got my allergy shots, and was productive all day. I wrapped up around five and spent half an hour reading thirty pages or so of a book for the book club that Vidya's starting; the club met tonight, and so I tried to cram some reading time in before going to the evil city. However, I miscalculated; there was a 49ers game at Candlestick tonight, rendering my commute a complete nightmare, and so I was 45mins late to the book club. As a result, I missed most of the discussion of the book, but did get to eat some tasty crackers with cheddar cheese and fig chutney. I also got to hang out with a bunch of Indians, which is my favorite thing to do; oddly, the only other white girl there was someone who had also lived in Ireland and also basically got deported from there, which is sufficiently hard to do for Americans that we bonded over our twinned fates.
So, that was fun; then I came home and spent the last hour doing the random hodgepodge of things that absolutely had to get done tonight. I have plenty of other things to keep me busy tomorrow, though, so I need to go to bed and try to raise my energy just a little bit. The weekend should be fun, although I need it to be productive too given the stuff going on with the day job + the desire to write my book. I'm going to Vidya's rehousewarming party tomorrow night (where we're conveniently finishing off the alcohol that I mistakenly left in her place), and then I have Saturday lunch plans with Irish Matt and dinner plans with Alaska Matt and his lovely wife Kia (although Alaska Matt has been in Ireland for the past six months, but I have to keep him as Alaska Matt or else things will be too confusing for everyone). I'm also super psyched to read this book that I just got from Amazon - "The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre, 1730-1830". Yes, I am a dork. Goodnight!
On that bleak note about my impending old age and death, I shall transition into happier topics. Today was a relatively good day; I made it south in time for my nine a.m. meeting (but didn't get up until seven, which was awesome), got my allergy shots, and was productive all day. I wrapped up around five and spent half an hour reading thirty pages or so of a book for the book club that Vidya's starting; the club met tonight, and so I tried to cram some reading time in before going to the evil city. However, I miscalculated; there was a 49ers game at Candlestick tonight, rendering my commute a complete nightmare, and so I was 45mins late to the book club. As a result, I missed most of the discussion of the book, but did get to eat some tasty crackers with cheddar cheese and fig chutney. I also got to hang out with a bunch of Indians, which is my favorite thing to do; oddly, the only other white girl there was someone who had also lived in Ireland and also basically got deported from there, which is sufficiently hard to do for Americans that we bonded over our twinned fates.
So, that was fun; then I came home and spent the last hour doing the random hodgepodge of things that absolutely had to get done tonight. I have plenty of other things to keep me busy tomorrow, though, so I need to go to bed and try to raise my energy just a little bit. The weekend should be fun, although I need it to be productive too given the stuff going on with the day job + the desire to write my book. I'm going to Vidya's rehousewarming party tomorrow night (where we're conveniently finishing off the alcohol that I mistakenly left in her place), and then I have Saturday lunch plans with Irish Matt and dinner plans with Alaska Matt and his lovely wife Kia (although Alaska Matt has been in Ireland for the past six months, but I have to keep him as Alaska Matt or else things will be too confusing for everyone). I'm also super psyched to read this book that I just got from Amazon - "The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre, 1730-1830". Yes, I am a dork. Goodnight!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
i'll be there 'til the stars don't shine, 'til the heavens burst
I'm exhausted, so I'm trying to go to bed as soon as I'm done with this. I had to write a review tonight that I absolutely couldn't put off, which was unfortunate; I took a nap when I got home because I was so exhausted, and I'm still exhausted. But, today was great overall; I got my shit done, and then Natasha and I went to a veterans' event on main campus to support Pete, Dan and some of the other veterans. I also talked to my dad on the way home, which was fun (and also served to keep me awake).
Now, though, I'm too exhausted to even think about a coherent blog post, so I'm going to sleep. Please accept my apologies and look for something slightly better tomorrow!
Now, though, I'm too exhausted to even think about a coherent blog post, so I'm going to sleep. Please accept my apologies and look for something slightly better tomorrow!
i'm on top of the world, the coolest kid in the neighborhood
The title line is a complete lie. I'm exhausted; I was at the office from 9 to 4:30, came home to beat traffic, made dinner, had a conference call at 7pm, and then worked straight from 7:30pm until now (11:45pm). Ugh ugh ugh. I mean, I feel a lot better about where I am with the day job and got enough done that tomorrow won't be a complete disaster for me (even if it could well be for some other people), but it still wasn't ideal. It particularly wasn't ideal because I have to be back down in Mountain View by 8am tomorrow, which means that I have to get up in about six hours.
That means it's time to go to bed. Apologies for this being such a lame post; this is just a generally lame week, so I'm sorry. Goodnight!
That means it's time to go to bed. Apologies for this being such a lame post; this is just a generally lame week, so I'm sorry. Goodnight!
Monday, November 09, 2009
there's a story in my eyes...turn the pages of desire
This is a four-minute post. I was in a terrible mood at work for absolutely no good reason; the problem, I think, is that I am all aflame with ideas for my book, and sitting in the office directly stops all progress on the writing. Then again, it also keeps me fed and clothed and shod and all those other good things (shod is particularly important, given my love of shoes), so I should stop complaining. I should also stop procrastinating while I'm there; I was just so not looking forward to anything on my to-do list today that I found it exceedingly difficult to concentrate. I need to snap out of this fast; my new job is too demanding to do more than a couple of days' worth of procrastinating, and I hate to fail.
But, I succeeded in leaving at five (not exactly a rebellion, since I got there at eight). I promptly went to Starbucks near my old slummy apartment in Mountain View (the one of Walter fame, with the crazy landlord and the illegal car repair service run by our neighbors in the carports beneath their apartments). The apartment may have sucked, but the Starbucks was v. nice, and I sat there for an hour and wrote a blog post for the group blog I'm a part of with my fellow Golden Heart finalists. I would link to it from here, but the group blog posts trackbacks to any blog that links to it, and while I'm not particularly good at keeping my alter ego and my real-life persona completely separate, I don't want to explicitly link it there either. So, you'll just have to visit my romance website (linked above), click on 'latest posts', and link to it from there if you're curious.
I came home, ate some black bean soup that I stole from work and finished the cut tomatoes, cucumbers, pita and hummus from yesterday while I got the blog up and going. Then I did some desultory other work, sent a long email to my agent with more ideas about my upcoming manuscripts, etc. while listening to Survivor's "I Can't Hold Back" on endless repeat. Now, though, the four minutes are up, and I have to get up early if I'm going to accomplish stuff tomorrow. Goodnight!
But, I succeeded in leaving at five (not exactly a rebellion, since I got there at eight). I promptly went to Starbucks near my old slummy apartment in Mountain View (the one of Walter fame, with the crazy landlord and the illegal car repair service run by our neighbors in the carports beneath their apartments). The apartment may have sucked, but the Starbucks was v. nice, and I sat there for an hour and wrote a blog post for the group blog I'm a part of with my fellow Golden Heart finalists. I would link to it from here, but the group blog posts trackbacks to any blog that links to it, and while I'm not particularly good at keeping my alter ego and my real-life persona completely separate, I don't want to explicitly link it there either. So, you'll just have to visit my romance website (linked above), click on 'latest posts', and link to it from there if you're curious.
I came home, ate some black bean soup that I stole from work and finished the cut tomatoes, cucumbers, pita and hummus from yesterday while I got the blog up and going. Then I did some desultory other work, sent a long email to my agent with more ideas about my upcoming manuscripts, etc. while listening to Survivor's "I Can't Hold Back" on endless repeat. Now, though, the four minutes are up, and I have to get up early if I'm going to accomplish stuff tomorrow. Goodnight!
Sunday, November 08, 2009
it always feels like somebody's watching me
I can't tell whether to be thrilled or annoyed with how much I accomplished today. All in all, I think I'm leaning towards the thrilled side; I finally took care of a lot of paperwork and organizational tasks that I had been putting off, so I can see the entirety of my desk surface (other than the parts covered by my permanent mementos) for the first time in weeks. I also windexed the glass top of the desk and file cabinet, swiffered the whole apartment, did dishes, and cooked for both lunch and dinner (although cooking is used loosely for lunch -- I toasted some pita and cut up half a cucumber and a tomato to eat with hummus). I had my usual hour-long call with my parents, who seemed to be doing well; I got the latest updates on the wildlife in the area (including a bull who escaped from someone a couple of miles away a week or two ago and has been hiding out in the back of our property), and I got to vent about my writing. I finally critiqued another writer's first twenty-five pages that she had sent me because she had won a critique from me on the romance blog that I'm a part of, and I sent an email back to my agent about my ideas for my next book. Then, I wrote a review for tomorrow, and now I'm going to go to bed.
So yes, it looks like I got a lot done. However, I haven't written in three days, and I think I'm changing my focus; rather than trying to make fast progress so that I can enter the Golden Heart again, I'm going to go back and rewrite the beginning, and make a bit slower progress so that I can feel better about the overall first draft. That doesn't make me feel entirely good about it, since I was rather enamored with the idea of finishing a book in twenty days, but I'm trying to focus on the long term.
Okay, it's bedtime!
So yes, it looks like I got a lot done. However, I haven't written in three days, and I think I'm changing my focus; rather than trying to make fast progress so that I can enter the Golden Heart again, I'm going to go back and rewrite the beginning, and make a bit slower progress so that I can feel better about the overall first draft. That doesn't make me feel entirely good about it, since I was rather enamored with the idea of finishing a book in twenty days, but I'm trying to focus on the long term.
Okay, it's bedtime!
baby just say yes
I unintentionally gave myself the day off; I'll have hell to pay tomorrow, but it felt very good in the moment. I slept until 8:30, puttered around the apartment until 10, and then got a facial. The aesthetician convinced me to let her wax my eyebrows as well because she said they had "character", which would have been insulting if I didn't agree with her. She was originally from Lithuania, so we had a conversation about the former Soviet Union while she tortured my face. I left feeling happy and relaxed, and I spent an hour relaxing at home before going down over to Samovar at Yerba Buena Gardens. I sat there for a couple of hours and brainstormed in my journal (so maybe that's not time off, but it wasn't immediate productivity) while enjoying my traditional quiche, scone, and masala chai, followed by some moorish mint tea. The mint tea, while not as delightful as the chai, was still v. good, and I know from bitter previous experience that having two chais in a row would have made me felt like I was having a heart attack.
After Samovar, I walked over the Borders, where I browsed for an hour or so, but ultimately left without buying anything. Instead, I came home and read a book on my Kindle -- "To Seduce a Sinner" by Elizabeth Hoyt. I liked it quite a bit; her writing style is v. engaging, even if I wasn't able to completely stop analyzing and fully immerse myself in it. Adit came home from dinner when I was almost finished with the book, and we ended up watching the last 85% of "The Dark Knight." Theoretically a Batman movie shouldn't move me so much, but I was just as affected by it as I was when I saw it in the theatre. I still think Christian Bale is yummy despite his apparent insanity; I mean, who hasn't lost it and yelled at a cameraman at some point in their careers? And Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent was extremely inspiring and ultimately tragic. Of course, the film belonged to Heath Ledger, and his performance is only more haunting because he died shortly thereafter; his Joker was truly chilling and difficult to watch.
Adit ended up making us a midnight snack from the groceries I bought earlier this week and failed to cook; we had English muffin pizzas, for which I had purchased absurdly good fresh mozzarella, and so the pizzas were to die for. Then we watched Saturday Night Live (which had a hilarious knock-off of "Twilight", which isn't online yet, but you should search for it tomorrow), and now I should go to bed. I need to be productive tomorrow; I'm more than 3000 words behind on NaNoWriMo thanks to my time off, and I need to get back on the wagon. It's just a struggle because I came up with a new idea and am trying to decide whether to keep writing flat out with the goal of entering the Golden Heart again at the end of the month, or whether to take a breath, revise what I have, and move forward at a slower pace. Perhaps the answer will come to me in my dreams; goodnight!
After Samovar, I walked over the Borders, where I browsed for an hour or so, but ultimately left without buying anything. Instead, I came home and read a book on my Kindle -- "To Seduce a Sinner" by Elizabeth Hoyt. I liked it quite a bit; her writing style is v. engaging, even if I wasn't able to completely stop analyzing and fully immerse myself in it. Adit came home from dinner when I was almost finished with the book, and we ended up watching the last 85% of "The Dark Knight." Theoretically a Batman movie shouldn't move me so much, but I was just as affected by it as I was when I saw it in the theatre. I still think Christian Bale is yummy despite his apparent insanity; I mean, who hasn't lost it and yelled at a cameraman at some point in their careers? And Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent was extremely inspiring and ultimately tragic. Of course, the film belonged to Heath Ledger, and his performance is only more haunting because he died shortly thereafter; his Joker was truly chilling and difficult to watch.
Adit ended up making us a midnight snack from the groceries I bought earlier this week and failed to cook; we had English muffin pizzas, for which I had purchased absurdly good fresh mozzarella, and so the pizzas were to die for. Then we watched Saturday Night Live (which had a hilarious knock-off of "Twilight", which isn't online yet, but you should search for it tomorrow), and now I should go to bed. I need to be productive tomorrow; I'm more than 3000 words behind on NaNoWriMo thanks to my time off, and I need to get back on the wagon. It's just a struggle because I came up with a new idea and am trying to decide whether to keep writing flat out with the goal of entering the Golden Heart again at the end of the month, or whether to take a breath, revise what I have, and move forward at a slower pace. Perhaps the answer will come to me in my dreams; goodnight!
Friday, November 06, 2009
i'm a man on a mission, rhyme vigilante
I'm utterly exhausted, and so I'm going to take the lame route and go to bed as soon as I'm done typing this. I had a good day at work; I had a meeting in San Francisco at 11am, and then I drove down to Mountain View to finish out the day. That may have sounded stupid, but my good friend Heather (of Heather and Salim fame) was in town for one day only, and I wanted to have dinner with her.
We ate at Amarin Thai; it's not as good as her favorite place in the city, but the spicy eggplant dish and the yellow curry came pretty close. We continued to catch up over pearl milk tea at Verde, where Heather and anyone else in the entire cafe who could see the tv became completely enthralled with an episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos". Despite that, we had a great time; I'm crossing my fingers that she will move back out here, since that would be totally ideal.
Now, though, I think it's time for me to go to sleep. It's like my brain has shut down. Maybe it's because I didn't get enough sleep last night; or, I burned out a vital part of my creativity circuit and need to let it rest. I had an awesome idea on the way down this morning, so much so that I rather dangerously drove one-handed while I pulled my notebook out of my bag and jotted a few thoughts. I'm going to spend some significant time this weekend brainstorming; as I result, I didn't hit my NaNoWriMo goal for today (didn't even try), but I intend to get back on track tomorrow. Goodnight!
We ate at Amarin Thai; it's not as good as her favorite place in the city, but the spicy eggplant dish and the yellow curry came pretty close. We continued to catch up over pearl milk tea at Verde, where Heather and anyone else in the entire cafe who could see the tv became completely enthralled with an episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos". Despite that, we had a great time; I'm crossing my fingers that she will move back out here, since that would be totally ideal.
Now, though, I think it's time for me to go to sleep. It's like my brain has shut down. Maybe it's because I didn't get enough sleep last night; or, I burned out a vital part of my creativity circuit and need to let it rest. I had an awesome idea on the way down this morning, so much so that I rather dangerously drove one-handed while I pulled my notebook out of my bag and jotted a few thoughts. I'm going to spend some significant time this weekend brainstorming; as I result, I didn't hit my NaNoWriMo goal for today (didn't even try), but I intend to get back on track tomorrow. Goodnight!
i can't hold back, i'm on the edge
Today was entertaining, productive, ridiculous, and many other things; it was also longer than usual, as evidenced by the fact that I'm still up at 11:40pm when I usually go to bed at ten. I feel less pressure to go to bed because I don't have to get up early; my first meeting is in the San Francisco office at eleven, which is infinitely better than the Mountain View office at seven.
But the more embarrassing reason why I'm still awake is because I got so caught up in "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" that I didn't get enough work done. For whatever reason, the string of fine programs that Adit and I watched tonight included "60 Minutes", "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", and "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans". How embarrassing is that? I had actually been proud of myself for not going to see any of the "Underworld" movies in the theatres, thinking that that was a bridge too far; but now, I've broken the seal, and I'm sad and disgraced by the fact that I really want to see the others. Sigh.
In other news, I did manage to drag myself out of the office around 5:30, and I went to Cafe Borrone to write for a little over an hour. I was incredibly productive, writing 1897 words (two hundred more than the amount required to stay ahead of the game), which made me feel good about my progress even when I spilled my diet coke all over the counter and down my front when I got my free refill.
Upon further reflection, today was just a richness of embarrassments, given that I spilled all over everything and watched that stupid movie. I shall persevere, though; I wouldn't be myself if I didn't embarrass myself on a regular basis, so I shall survive. Now, though, I shall go to bed so that I can rejuvenate for a weekend of writing. Goodnight!
But the more embarrassing reason why I'm still awake is because I got so caught up in "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" that I didn't get enough work done. For whatever reason, the string of fine programs that Adit and I watched tonight included "60 Minutes", "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", and "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans". How embarrassing is that? I had actually been proud of myself for not going to see any of the "Underworld" movies in the theatres, thinking that that was a bridge too far; but now, I've broken the seal, and I'm sad and disgraced by the fact that I really want to see the others. Sigh.
In other news, I did manage to drag myself out of the office around 5:30, and I went to Cafe Borrone to write for a little over an hour. I was incredibly productive, writing 1897 words (two hundred more than the amount required to stay ahead of the game), which made me feel good about my progress even when I spilled my diet coke all over the counter and down my front when I got my free refill.
Upon further reflection, today was just a richness of embarrassments, given that I spilled all over everything and watched that stupid movie. I shall persevere, though; I wouldn't be myself if I didn't embarrass myself on a regular basis, so I shall survive. Now, though, I shall go to bed so that I can rejuvenate for a weekend of writing. Goodnight!
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
promote synergies
The time change is really wreaking havoc with my sleep schedule -- or perhaps I'm just feeling slightly overworked and so am tiring more easily. I suppose it's understandable that I'm ready to go to bed, since I made it down to Mountain View for a 7:30am meeting and then was really busy all day. I had a nice break around 4:30 for coffee with a few members of my old old team (Tolu, Vickie, and Erin), which was great; they were the team that I was on before I went on leave (almost two years ago, hard to believe). Then, I managed to take an hour or so out tonight to have a cafe au lait and write at Cafe Borrone, hitting approximately six pages and nearly meeting my NaNoWriMo goal for the day. I'm really proud of that; rather than throwing in the towel and going home like I wanted to, I forced myself to be as productive as possible with the writing for a concentrated burst of time, and it really paid of. NaNoWriMo is really helping to get me back on track with Madeleine and Ferguson -- hopefully I'll have a first draft by the end of the month!
But, when I came home, I worked for a couple of hours; the big boss is in Singapore/Indonesia, so I get requests from her at odd times, and I had some stuff that I had to deal with tonight. I have another handful of things that I should have done tonight as well, but I'm going to try going to bed and getting up early. It's always a dangerous approach since I have a nasty habit of hitting snooze for as long as possible, but hopefully I will remember all these pressing things when I wake up in the morning. Now, though, it's time for bed!
Oh, that reminds me -- Natasha suggested today that perhaps I should come up with a new tagline; I usually close with 'it's time for bed' because blogging is the last thing I do before I go to sleep, bu perhaps I need something snappier like "here's looking at you" or "that's the way it was" or "yippee-ai-oh, mini sirloin burgers". Suggestions?
But, when I came home, I worked for a couple of hours; the big boss is in Singapore/Indonesia, so I get requests from her at odd times, and I had some stuff that I had to deal with tonight. I have another handful of things that I should have done tonight as well, but I'm going to try going to bed and getting up early. It's always a dangerous approach since I have a nasty habit of hitting snooze for as long as possible, but hopefully I will remember all these pressing things when I wake up in the morning. Now, though, it's time for bed!
Oh, that reminds me -- Natasha suggested today that perhaps I should come up with a new tagline; I usually close with 'it's time for bed' because blogging is the last thing I do before I go to sleep, bu perhaps I need something snappier like "here's looking at you" or "that's the way it was" or "yippee-ai-oh, mini sirloin burgers". Suggestions?
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
i want you to show me how mad is your love
This is a four-minute post. I can't decide whether today was good or not; it definitely ended perfect (more on that in a moment), but the day itself was kind of meh. I worked out of San Francisco today, which was great; the downside is that while my commute is better (fifteen minutes each way door to door via the train that stops half a block away from my apartment), I'm less productive when I'm sitting in a random visitor cube instead of my desk. I don't know why; my desk and office are covered in distractions. But I didn't get nearly enough done today, and so tomorrow and Thursday are going to be unpleasant. Tomorrow would be unpleasant regardless, since I have a 7:30am meeting, but my lack of productivity today will make it worse.
However, I did manage to write about five pages (~1300 words) for NaNoWriMo this morning before work, which was great. I also had lunch with Pete, whom I adore; he seems to be doing well, and had an awesome time on his honeymoon. But the best was definitely dinner -- Jenni, James and I amazed ourselves by actually following through on an alcohol-fueled plan within a month of the original discussion. When we went winetasting for Jenni's birthday, we had quite drunkenly agreed to go to Little Star sometime; but since little Star is one of my favorite restaurants, I had a vested interest in making it happen. So we went tonight; the advantage of going on a Tuesday is that we were seated immediately and didn't have to wait an hour and a half. We had a great time, and the pizza was perfect as always, so I'm quite full and contented.
I should be writing performance reviews, but I had two glasses of wine and need to get up at 5:45 tomorrow, so the performance reviews aren't going to happen. Instead, it's time for bed!
However, I did manage to write about five pages (~1300 words) for NaNoWriMo this morning before work, which was great. I also had lunch with Pete, whom I adore; he seems to be doing well, and had an awesome time on his honeymoon. But the best was definitely dinner -- Jenni, James and I amazed ourselves by actually following through on an alcohol-fueled plan within a month of the original discussion. When we went winetasting for Jenni's birthday, we had quite drunkenly agreed to go to Little Star sometime; but since little Star is one of my favorite restaurants, I had a vested interest in making it happen. So we went tonight; the advantage of going on a Tuesday is that we were seated immediately and didn't have to wait an hour and a half. We had a great time, and the pizza was perfect as always, so I'm quite full and contented.
I should be writing performance reviews, but I had two glasses of wine and need to get up at 5:45 tomorrow, so the performance reviews aren't going to happen. Instead, it's time for bed!
Monday, November 02, 2009
out here the bell don't ring
This is a four-minute post. Today was pretty uneventful at work; I was forty minutes late to my eight a.m. meeting due to traffic, which put me in a rather bad mood all morning. But, I was pretty productive during the day, and so was able to leave at 5:30 p.m. to go to Cafe Borrone and make progress on NaNoWriMo. I didn't hit the 1667 word goal, but I got to 1344, which is pretty good; with yesterday's surplus, I'm still ahead. I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and write from home for a couple of hours before going into the San Francisco office, so hopefully I'll stay on track. I have dinner plans tomorrow night that will hamper my ability to write in the evening (although dinner will be super fun, so that's fine), but I'm trying to be really diligent, and giving up on the third day would not be good.
After Cafe Borrone (where I had a delicious black bean and vegetable soup), I finally bought the groceries that I had tried and failed to buy all weekend, then drove back to the evil city. I should have worked tonight, but I couldn't bring myself to do it; instead, I'm going to go to bed so that I can keep slogging forward with the book. Goodnight!
After Cafe Borrone (where I had a delicious black bean and vegetable soup), I finally bought the groceries that I had tried and failed to buy all weekend, then drove back to the evil city. I should have worked tonight, but I couldn't bring myself to do it; instead, I'm going to go to bed so that I can keep slogging forward with the book. Goodnight!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
a unique talkshow host
I meant to be in bed half an hour ago, but I've been messing around with my laptop and taking an inordinate amount of time to get ready for bed, so this post will be quick. I'm quite pleased with my day; while I didn't get up quite as early as I intended, I still managed to pump out ~3500 words (about fifteen pages) for the first day of National Novel Writing Month (heretofore referred to as NaNoWriMo). That's about twice as many words as the daily word count needed to stay on track to hit 50,000 words by the end of November, and I feel pretty good about what I wrote today, so I need to keep up the momentum! I blocked off time on my work calendar on either mornings or evenings all week to write for a couple of hours each day, which should be enough to hit the necessary word counts and set myself up well for another marathon writing session next weekend.
I probably could have written longer, since I only really wrote from eleven to three, but I decided to go in search of groceries before my required Sunday afternoon phone call with my parents. However, the parking lots at both Whole Foods and Safeway were full; while I could have circled and parked on the street, I knew that I would not want to venture into either store if there were no parking spaces, since that implies that there were hoards of scavenging disasters inside, and I was in no mood to stand in line. Perhaps I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow after I've hit my word count for the day, but we shall see. So I came home emptyhanded, spent a few minutes finally completing the unpacking job from last week's trip to Dallas, and then called my parents. We had a v. good conversation, talking for almost an hour and a half before parting ways. Then, I ate a bowl of frosted flakes (one of my comfort foods, oddly enough) and watched a bit of a Craig Ferguson episode from last week. But then I talked to Vidya, and we decided to get a snacky snack before the movie we were going to see, so the frosted flakes were ultimately a waste for reasons which will become abundantly clear in a moment.
Vidya wanted to try this dive/hole in the wall Vietnamese place next to the movie theatre, and I was highly amenable to that suggestion. The place really was a hole in the wall, and small enough that we were practically sitting on top of the cook, giving us perhaps too much insight into how greasy the food was and the crazy process that goes into cooking it. For instance, she was keeping the egg rolls (which were called imperial rolls, likely because they were the size of four egg roles smushed together) warm by occasionally tossing them back into the fryer. I ordered a combo so that I could try several things at once; Vidya ordered the garlicky tofu since she's a vegetarian and they seem to be heavier on the meat side of the menu.
The verdict? it was delicious, and a ton of food for only $10 each (including my diet coke). My combination was one imperial roll, some 'shish kebab' (really flattened skirt-type steak or something cooked on a griddle), some shredded cabbage, and a whole ton of rice covered in 'meat sauce' (which was some sort of strangely pasta-sauce-like tomato-based sauce with pork in it, which was okay but didn't really go well with the shish kebab). I also tried a bite of Vidya's dish, and it was quite delicious as well. But the end result was that because they were packed and we didn't want to rush our food once we finally got it, we missed the movie. Instead, we ate leisurely, enjoyed ourselves, and continued our conversation over Turkish coffees at the restaurant around the corner from Vidya's place. So we ended up hanging out for exactly the amount of time it would have taken to see the movie, but it was a much more social event (even if I still know nothing about black people's hair, which was the topic of the movie we were supposed to see). We'll try to see it again later in the week, but I wasn't too disappointed, since this was still the perfect cap to a great weekend.
Now, though, I really must go to bed; I have an eight a.m. meeting, and then I need to slog diligently throughout the day so that I can get out of there at five p.m. to write. Wish me luck!
I probably could have written longer, since I only really wrote from eleven to three, but I decided to go in search of groceries before my required Sunday afternoon phone call with my parents. However, the parking lots at both Whole Foods and Safeway were full; while I could have circled and parked on the street, I knew that I would not want to venture into either store if there were no parking spaces, since that implies that there were hoards of scavenging disasters inside, and I was in no mood to stand in line. Perhaps I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow after I've hit my word count for the day, but we shall see. So I came home emptyhanded, spent a few minutes finally completing the unpacking job from last week's trip to Dallas, and then called my parents. We had a v. good conversation, talking for almost an hour and a half before parting ways. Then, I ate a bowl of frosted flakes (one of my comfort foods, oddly enough) and watched a bit of a Craig Ferguson episode from last week. But then I talked to Vidya, and we decided to get a snacky snack before the movie we were going to see, so the frosted flakes were ultimately a waste for reasons which will become abundantly clear in a moment.
Vidya wanted to try this dive/hole in the wall Vietnamese place next to the movie theatre, and I was highly amenable to that suggestion. The place really was a hole in the wall, and small enough that we were practically sitting on top of the cook, giving us perhaps too much insight into how greasy the food was and the crazy process that goes into cooking it. For instance, she was keeping the egg rolls (which were called imperial rolls, likely because they were the size of four egg roles smushed together) warm by occasionally tossing them back into the fryer. I ordered a combo so that I could try several things at once; Vidya ordered the garlicky tofu since she's a vegetarian and they seem to be heavier on the meat side of the menu.
The verdict? it was delicious, and a ton of food for only $10 each (including my diet coke). My combination was one imperial roll, some 'shish kebab' (really flattened skirt-type steak or something cooked on a griddle), some shredded cabbage, and a whole ton of rice covered in 'meat sauce' (which was some sort of strangely pasta-sauce-like tomato-based sauce with pork in it, which was okay but didn't really go well with the shish kebab). I also tried a bite of Vidya's dish, and it was quite delicious as well. But the end result was that because they were packed and we didn't want to rush our food once we finally got it, we missed the movie. Instead, we ate leisurely, enjoyed ourselves, and continued our conversation over Turkish coffees at the restaurant around the corner from Vidya's place. So we ended up hanging out for exactly the amount of time it would have taken to see the movie, but it was a much more social event (even if I still know nothing about black people's hair, which was the topic of the movie we were supposed to see). We'll try to see it again later in the week, but I wasn't too disappointed, since this was still the perfect cap to a great weekend.
Now, though, I really must go to bed; I have an eight a.m. meeting, and then I need to slog diligently throughout the day so that I can get out of there at five p.m. to write. Wish me luck!
i had visions, i was in them, i was looking into the mirror
Today was, for the most part, a totally excellent day, filled with equal parts productivity and fun -- and only a few small annoyances in an otherwise delightful Saturday. I woke up around eight and spent an hour or so finishing a recommendation for a friend/coworker who is applying to school. Then, I quickly cleaned up around the apartment, showered, and packed my things for a day of writing. I mailed the recommendation, then settled in at Leland Tea -- the combination of tea, scones, adequate power supplies, and a hilarious owner (who unfortunately wasn't there today) makes it one of my favorite places to work.
I was highly productive for the first two or three hours that I was there, writing a full ten-page synopsis of my second book that I shall tweak tomorrow to send to my agent. But then, madness descended, since Vidya, Katrina, Omar, Adit and Priyanka all arrived within fifteen minutes of each other. Vidya and I had discussed working there when I had dinner with her on Thursday, and I mentioned to Adit that we were going there -- but that large of a group isn't really conducive to working, especially when most of them aren't really there to work, and so I wrote about ten lines in the second two hours that I was there. I finally gave up around four and went to Vidya's to retrieve my car from her garage, but went upstairs to say hi to her first since we hadn't gotten a chance to talk at Leland Tea. This was both a wise and stupid move; it was stupid because it eliminated my last chance at productivity for the day, but it was wise because I ended up having a totally fun evening as a result. We hung out in her apartment for a bit and chatted; as a result, I was still there when her friend Vidya (yes, I hung out with two Vidyas -- but only one of them is the Chandlord) showed up. I intended to part ways with them then since they had much catching up to do, but they convinced me to have a 'totally low-key' drink at my favorite wine bar a few blocks from Vidya's apartment. 'Low-key' is the key to getting me to do anything after six p.m., and in this they were successful; we each had wine (flight/small servings of three different wines for me and Chandlord and a glass for Vidya #2) and shared a cheese plate while having a generally good time discussing life, work, issues, etc.
After that, we were in the mood for some more light snacky snacks, so we made a quick stop at a Salvadorean restaurant on the way back to the apartment. It was quite entertaining watching people walk by the restaurant tonight; given that the restaurant is in the Tenderloin and a block from a tranny bar, there were plenty of people who merited a double-take to see whether they were wearing a Halloween costume or their normal get-up. The other restaurant patrons including a man dressed as Thor who kept making loud, Thor-like statements behind me (none of which I can remember now, but I was entertained). We also watched someone spend four minutes trying to parallel park his car (including one attempt at getting out of the car to verify before reparking -- which is understandable except when you, like him, are trying to park a standard sedan in two contiguous spaces that you could just drive straight into. And, VIdya #2's friend showed up since the snack made us run late; it was lovely to meet her as well, and a fun time was had by all! After that, we went back to Chandlord's to grab stuff, and then I dropped them off at their first party of the night before coming home.
Theoretically I should be out embracing the last remnants of my fleeting and tattered youth, but I'm over it. Actually, it's more that I want to use this weekend to get back on track with the book, and tomorrow (actually, now) is the start of November and thus the start of National Novel Writing Month. The entrance deadline for the Golden Heart is also at the beginning of December, so if I want to enter book two, I really need to get cracking. Not going out tonight will ensure that I'm well-rested enough in the morning to go forth and write the 3000 words or so that I will need to write in order to feel productive. And so, goodnight!
I was highly productive for the first two or three hours that I was there, writing a full ten-page synopsis of my second book that I shall tweak tomorrow to send to my agent. But then, madness descended, since Vidya, Katrina, Omar, Adit and Priyanka all arrived within fifteen minutes of each other. Vidya and I had discussed working there when I had dinner with her on Thursday, and I mentioned to Adit that we were going there -- but that large of a group isn't really conducive to working, especially when most of them aren't really there to work, and so I wrote about ten lines in the second two hours that I was there. I finally gave up around four and went to Vidya's to retrieve my car from her garage, but went upstairs to say hi to her first since we hadn't gotten a chance to talk at Leland Tea. This was both a wise and stupid move; it was stupid because it eliminated my last chance at productivity for the day, but it was wise because I ended up having a totally fun evening as a result. We hung out in her apartment for a bit and chatted; as a result, I was still there when her friend Vidya (yes, I hung out with two Vidyas -- but only one of them is the Chandlord) showed up. I intended to part ways with them then since they had much catching up to do, but they convinced me to have a 'totally low-key' drink at my favorite wine bar a few blocks from Vidya's apartment. 'Low-key' is the key to getting me to do anything after six p.m., and in this they were successful; we each had wine (flight/small servings of three different wines for me and Chandlord and a glass for Vidya #2) and shared a cheese plate while having a generally good time discussing life, work, issues, etc.
After that, we were in the mood for some more light snacky snacks, so we made a quick stop at a Salvadorean restaurant on the way back to the apartment. It was quite entertaining watching people walk by the restaurant tonight; given that the restaurant is in the Tenderloin and a block from a tranny bar, there were plenty of people who merited a double-take to see whether they were wearing a Halloween costume or their normal get-up. The other restaurant patrons including a man dressed as Thor who kept making loud, Thor-like statements behind me (none of which I can remember now, but I was entertained). We also watched someone spend four minutes trying to parallel park his car (including one attempt at getting out of the car to verify before reparking -- which is understandable except when you, like him, are trying to park a standard sedan in two contiguous spaces that you could just drive straight into. And, VIdya #2's friend showed up since the snack made us run late; it was lovely to meet her as well, and a fun time was had by all! After that, we went back to Chandlord's to grab stuff, and then I dropped them off at their first party of the night before coming home.
Theoretically I should be out embracing the last remnants of my fleeting and tattered youth, but I'm over it. Actually, it's more that I want to use this weekend to get back on track with the book, and tomorrow (actually, now) is the start of November and thus the start of National Novel Writing Month. The entrance deadline for the Golden Heart is also at the beginning of December, so if I want to enter book two, I really need to get cracking. Not going out tonight will ensure that I'm well-rested enough in the morning to go forth and write the 3000 words or so that I will need to write in order to feel productive. And so, goodnight!
Friday, October 30, 2009
bailamos
I'm suddenly on the verge of falling asleep on my laptop (some exciting Friday, right?) and so this will be v. brief. Today was the de facto celebration of Halloween at my office; it's hard to believe that this is my seventh Halloween experience with my illustrious employer, and it did not disappoint. It perhaps wasn't as over the top as in years past -- but I also had a meeting with the big boss at the height of the festivities downstairs, so perhaps I missed the juicy stuff. I did see our department's costume contest, however, and was v. impressed by many of the costumes (including Balloon Boy, Octomom, Lady GaGa, Anna Wintour, the dude from "I'm On a Boat" -- which was highly inappropriate given that the dude was wearing a suit jacket and very small black shorts, and a loofah). For my costume, I focused on three things: 1) snarkiness, 2) satisfaction, and 3) comfort.
The result? I went as a death panel. While sarcastic joke costumes usually require an explanation to everyone you run into, which is a little frustrating, it seemed to get good reviews -- I wore scrubs, but the most important element was that I custom-ordered a big red stamp that stamped "DEATH" on the fake forms that I made regarding patient diagnoses and cost to treat. The stamp was insanely gratifying, since you slam it onto a piece of paper and it then reinks itself; it's supposedly good for a couple thousand uses. If only we used more paper in my office so that I could stamp reports and things; the only things I regularly print out are my agendas for the big boss (not a good target for the death stamp) and my employees' performance reviews (also not a good target, although the HR people who saw my costume were among the least offended by it, which was nice).
Anyway, today was fine; I sort of got thrown for a loop at the end of the day regarding some thinking that I need to do (why do I always have to be doing some thinking?), but the various outcomes of the loop are mostly positive, so I'm waiting to get more clarity on things. When I got home, Adit and Priyanka were putting the finishing touches on their Halloween costumes, which took them almost three hours before they rushed out the door to have dinner. I parked myself on the couch (after washing my sheets and duvet cover) and thought about writing, but instead procrastinated by signing up for NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month). My first book actually got its vague start during NaNoWriMo in 2004; I"m hoping that signing up for 2009 will be the spur that I need to force myself through the rest of the first draft. And now, the bed beckons -- goodnight!
The result? I went as a death panel. While sarcastic joke costumes usually require an explanation to everyone you run into, which is a little frustrating, it seemed to get good reviews -- I wore scrubs, but the most important element was that I custom-ordered a big red stamp that stamped "DEATH" on the fake forms that I made regarding patient diagnoses and cost to treat. The stamp was insanely gratifying, since you slam it onto a piece of paper and it then reinks itself; it's supposedly good for a couple thousand uses. If only we used more paper in my office so that I could stamp reports and things; the only things I regularly print out are my agendas for the big boss (not a good target for the death stamp) and my employees' performance reviews (also not a good target, although the HR people who saw my costume were among the least offended by it, which was nice).
Anyway, today was fine; I sort of got thrown for a loop at the end of the day regarding some thinking that I need to do (why do I always have to be doing some thinking?), but the various outcomes of the loop are mostly positive, so I'm waiting to get more clarity on things. When I got home, Adit and Priyanka were putting the finishing touches on their Halloween costumes, which took them almost three hours before they rushed out the door to have dinner. I parked myself on the couch (after washing my sheets and duvet cover) and thought about writing, but instead procrastinated by signing up for NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month). My first book actually got its vague start during NaNoWriMo in 2004; I"m hoping that signing up for 2009 will be the spur that I need to force myself through the rest of the first draft. And now, the bed beckons -- goodnight!
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