we are all innocent

Work is way too brutal this week. But then, as per usual, I'm trying to cram a full workweek into four days, since I'm taking Friday off to hang out with zee parents. So today was v. busy, and tomorrow and Thursday are absolutely jammed with meetings. But my boss continues to think I'm doing a good job, and even suggested that I take it easy in September...so I suppose I'm not going to get fired anytime soon.

Beyond the day job, there's nothing of interest to report. I was going to be v. good tonight and work all night, but Terry kidnapped me for a margarita at 5:30. She caught me in a moment of weakness, since I was in the midst of a particularly annoying data project, and so I said yes despite my better intentions. And then our favorite waiter at Fiesta comped our margaritas, which is always dangerous. Then I worked at Verde for an hour while she hung out with her brother, and then she drove me home, so that was all v. nice. And now, even though it's not even ten p.m., I'm going to go to bed - I have to be in the office at 8:30, and I have a million things to do before then, so I'm going to try the plan that never ever works and go to bed early so I can get up early and work on the shuttle/in the office before the meeting. Ha, good luck with this stupid plan, Future Sara. Goodnight!

he tastes like you only sweeter

I wanted to write tonight, but I'm too tired, probably because I'm still vaguely sick and have the remnants of a smashing headache. I think the headache is from my office, though - there's something about the lights or the noise or something that gives me a raging headache (probably because I've irrevocably become a hermit and can no longer handle being out among the people).

However, today wasn't all bad; I managed to write on the shuttle and then again late this afternoon, so I got six pages for the day, which is a great way to start the week. And I slogged all day and felt somewhat accomplished with what I did, so I'll take that as well. I feel like I'm never going to catch up on the day job stuff, but I somehow manage to stay on top of what absolutely must get done, so as long as that holds true, I think I'll be okay. And I ended the day with a long, lovely dinner with Heather (aka dear respected madam), and she was as delightful and perspective-filled as always.

And now I must sleep; I have an eight a.m. meeting, which I should probably go down to Mountain View for, but I think I'll sleep for nine hours and take it from home instead. Goodnight!

not a kitchen story

I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow, mostly because I still feel like crap. But on a brighter note, today was both v. pleasant and v. productive, so it was a win-win despite my sinus situation. The day started earlier than I usually like to start on a Sunday, but I managed to drag myself out of bed, through the shower, and into a dress/tights/heels in time for a 9:30am family breakfast. Yes, I was way overdressed for family breakfast, but I intended to write after, and I know I write better if I'm dressed up and professional instead of comfy/slovenly.

I made it to the appointed rendezvous location exactly on time, miraculously found a parking spot half a block away, and was just getting out of my car...when I got a call from John saying that the plan had changed. Typical. So Adit, Priyanka, John, and Jess rolled up in Adit's car and picked me up from the appointed restaurant, and then we drove to a totally different restaurant that hadn't even been on the (admittedly brief) list of suggestions. That restaurant is substantially more popular, so there was a line, but there was no wait if we sat outside, which we did. We managed to cram five people around a table meant for four people, with a somewhat serious downhill slope, and this all made it more cosy/comforting/ridiculous. I also adored our waitress, who seemed to adore us back, which is a testament to how endearing my friends can be in their insanity.

So many jhokes were told and much food was eaten, and then we parted ways so that they could all go to the dirty east bay on a variety of errands. I came home to write (with a brief stop at the salon to get yesterday's manicure fixed, since it started chipping two weeks earlier than it should have - they were super gracious and quick about it), and I procrastinated for an hour before realizing I was getting nothing done. So I walked down to Fort Mason and wrote about six pages, which was much-needed and actually felt like they were good sentences rather than utter dreck. Then I came home, talked to my parents, did a bit of tidying up of my room, and had a relatively early dinner down the street (steak was v. necessary for my recovery, I think), where I wrote another four pages. Thus feeling v. smug with my ten-page day, I came home, procrastinated some more, and then did an hour or so of work for the day job.

And now, it's still early, but I have the lungs of an octogenarian, so I might as well have the bedtime of one. Goodnight!

kiss me hard before you go

I didn't write any new words on zee manuscript today, but I was stuck, so I can't be too mad at myself (says the person who is always mad at herself for not writing enough). I think I figured out how to unstick myself, though, thanks to a lot of scribbling in a variety of notebooks and a brief 'conversation' with Terry (where 'conversation' is in quotes because I rambled out loud to her for a few minutes, without expecting or asking for much input from her). Or, at least, I figured out the plot for the next part of the book, and what I need to change in the first part to make it work. Thankfully, this doesn't require rewriting the first half, which is a major miracle.

It wasn't all hermitage, though. For one, I felt too ill this morning to cook or go to the grocery store, so I had breakfast down the street while plotting in my notebook. Then I came home and took a nap, since I felt wretched. Then I worked for a couple of hours before getting a mani/pedi (a requirement for romance writers, since we need pretty nails to liven up our usual pajama uniform). Then I picked Terry up and took her to the airport. On the way there, I got a missed call from Adit, so I called him back, and I ended up meeting him and Priyanka for a restorative supper at My Tofu House. I had absolutely no desire to go out, but soup was exactly what I needed, and it was good to see them even if I wasn't up for going out for a drink after. So I left them to their own devices after dinner, came home, and worked for the last three hours (mostly plotting + looking through a bunch of name books and maps to come up with a Christian name and title for one of the characters in Prudence's book, who is currently only called [big bad]).

And now, I must sleep; my book is due in thirty days, and I've got a metric shit-ton of writing to do before then. Yes, that's a precise measurement. Goodnight!

hapsburg jaw

I am supposed to be at a party, just as I was supposed to be at a party last night, but I feel like total crap, and so I have decided to go to bed at ten p.m. instead. Yes, I am old and sad. At least I was in a decent mood today, despite my illness; I had to go into the office this morning, but I left at 12:30 to drive back to the evil city. I ran a couple of errands when I got here, then grabbed coffee and came home with the intention of working. But Terry was here when I got home, so instead, I talked to her for awhile, ordered some stuff online for a secret side project, and then ate supper while watching the first episode of this season of 'Top Chef: Masters'. Then we watched two episodes of 'Drunk History'. Then I tried to rally for zee party, but I failed, since I can barely breathe and have no desire to choke on my own phlegm while trying to do karaoke.

And given that I'm attempting to misspell everything (in that last paragraph, I started typing 'shef', 'breethe', and 'caraoke') and I'm not drunk at all, that's probably a sign that I'm incapable of thinking (or 'encapable', as I started to say). So, I desperately need to sleep and hope that I can recover from this cold so that I can write a million words this weekend. Goodnight!

there are many things i would like to turn you onto

I'm in a moderately less shitty mood, but I'm still just as sick as I was yesterday, which is super annoying. I got up this morning at 6:30 and was going to make it down to the office...but the act of getting dressed wore me out, so I decided to work from home. Unfortunately, the internet was not being very cooperative, and unfortunately I had so much to get done that I felt compelled to slog like crazy when I wasn't in meetings, but I still managed a half-hour nap this afternoon, which may have saved me.

I didn't stop working until almost seven, and then I had to drag myself down the street for a massage, which I sniffled through in a most pathetic way. I also missed Nathan's birthday party, which I was supposed to go to post-massage, but I'm in no state to go out. And now, I really should sleep; I need to make it into the office tomorrow, partially to do a couple of key tasks and partially to retrieve my car, but I want to leave Mountain View at noon to avoid the predicted carmageddon that will result tomorrow night, when there are several concerts and sporting events all starting at the same time. Boo. Goodnight!

i know more of the stars and sea

Today didn't go as planned - I woke up sick, after thinking that I had escaped the usual cold that I seem to catch after traveling. Boo. Unlike my usual strategy, however, I decided to stay home today rather than trying to work and make myself sicker. So I didn't write, I didn't get everything done at work that I had planned to get done, and everything was generally shitty and full of malaise. But I did sleep for eight and a half hours last night, and I took a nap this afternoon (only half an hour, because I got up for a meeting that was then canceled), and I did a bit of testing some stuff for the day job, which always amuses me.

And now, I'm going to take my malaise and go to bed - hopefully tomorrow I will be in both better health and better spirits. Goodnight!

born to run

I still didn't get enough sleep last night, but I took two naps today (one in my car in the parking lot during my lunch hour, one on the shuttle on the way home at eight p.m.), and I think I'll get eight hours tonight, so I hope this helps me to survive the rest of the week.

I was going to say today wasn't all bad, but that might actually be a bit too rosy. I had an eight a.m. meeting, which I took from home, but I awoke to discover that the hot water was totally gone (which never happens), so I didn't get to shower before. And I didn't get to shower after, so I had to accept that I was going to look like a hot mess and go to work. Feeling like a hot mess never improves my mood or my productivity, so I was a little surly for the meeting I got there for, but the secret nap helped me recover. I lost the secret nap buzz, though, when I went back to my desk and found that a coworker's dog was whining and howling next to my desk, which was super annoying - this is one of those times that I really don't love our policy of letting people bring dogs to work, since I was distracted during my only free hour of the afternoon. Boo.

But the rest of the day picked up a bit; the rest of my meetings were good, and I talked to Katie for a few minutes (always lovely), and I talked to my parents, and I read too much coverage about the royal baby. I left the office at 6:45, grabbed a v. quick dinner at one of the office cafes, and then slept on the shuttle all the way home. When I got here, I procrastinated, then worked, and now I should sleep. I have grand plans to get up in the morning and write for a couple of hours before work, and I want to honor that plan since Prudence is being a lazy wench and refuses to write herself. Goodnight!

all that she wants is another baby

I'm super tired and wanted to sleep for ten hours tonight, but it's not going to happen - particularly since I may have guilted myself into getting up in time to drive to MTV for my 8am meeting tomorrow. Yes, that sounds silly, I know. I may have just unconvinced myself. Today was good, but it was a v. rude return to the day job; my commute took nearly two hours, which was particularly rough, and then I was hungry and cranky and tired all day. I also had more work than I could possibly get done, so I took my usual tack and didn't do any of it. Okay, that's not true, but I would like for it to be.

However, the royal baby was a bright spot, even if I realized that I know way too much about all this stuff when I would say things like 'well, James is her brother's name, so I don't know whether that's a pro or a con', or 'Camilla is the Duchess of Rothesay when she's in Scotland, not the Duchess of Cornwall'). But I can pretend that it's my job, right? I skipped out of work around five so that I could catch a ride home with Terry, and we ended up having dinner in the evil Marina so that she could hear all about my conference experience while I ate steak and tried to recover from said conference experience. Then I came home and worked until now, alas.

And now, I really must sleep if I'm going to stave off whatever illness is sure to descend upon me as a result of my travels - goodnight!

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

I am home, yay. Sadly, I got home later than I had hoped because there was an inconveniently-timed thunderstorm in Atlanta that led to us sitting on the runway for an hour and a half. But I was in the door just after ten p.m., so I suppose it's all good.

And the conference itself was awesome - it's going to be hard to go back to the day job tomorrow when my mind is furiously thinking through all the million and one things I want to do with my writing career. I'm sure I'll be able to focus once I get in...but I have to say, again, ad nauseum, that I'm feeling v. inspired. Also, I'm feeling slightly hungover; drinking water for a few days is probably just as important as fixing my metadata.

Anyway, today was good; I woke up at 9:45, showered, finished packing, checked out of my room, and ran into Courtney at the reception desk. We discovered that we both had six p.m. flights, so we had breakfast together at the hotel, then shared a taxi to the airport, then wrote for a couple of hours before having sushi at the awesome sushi place where I said goodbye to Ritu and Bill after Puerto Rico a few months ago. So, it was fun to have someone to share my halfway lazy day with. But once I got on the plane (and once we were in the air), I was mostly productive; I made a few pages of notes about what's working (or, more accurately, not working) with Prudence, and then I paid for internet and answered a whole bunch of four-month-old email for my Sara Ramsey account. If you have a four-month-old email sitting in my personal inbox, perhaps your time will also come before my desire to answer email wanes again, but it might already be gone, so don't hold your breath. Sorry that I'm terrible.

And now, I must sleep, so that I can confront my work inbox in the morning (and hopefully just delete all of it and start over). Goodnight!

and he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at johnny's feet

I am both v. sad and incredibly relieved that conference is over for another year. Sad because I think this is the best conference I've ever been to; relieved because I need to finish this damn book, then write several more to fulfill my one-year plan for world domination (call it a Great Leap Forward, sans Mao Zedong and the forced relocation of a bunch of intellectuals). Today was utterly exhausting and rewarding, though. I woke up hungover, which is what I deserved, but I made it downstairs in time for a metadata workshop with Courtney Milan, who is one of the smartest selfpubbers in the business. Then I had lunch with Grace, Tina and Kristin, which was lovely. After lunch, I spent half an hour thinking about writing and instead making a list of all the things I want to do publishing-wise when I get home (which is v. extensive), then went to another couple of workshops, then went to my room and rested for a bit.

Tonight was the last night, though, and it was also the RITA/Golden Heart ceremony, so I needed to rally. I put on my dress and some eyeliner, met up with some friends for dinner, and then had a drink in the bar and another while standing in line for the ceremony (the hotel v. smartly sent waiters down the line, so I got some more red wine, which was a triumph and a tragedy). The ceremony was fun, although I personally think last year's was better, but I may be biased since I planned that one. Yes, my inner bitch is showing.

After the ceremony, I hung out in the bar for three hours or so with Kathia and whoever happened to wander by. Then I came upstairs, packed most of my stuff, and am now blogging so that you know I'm not dead (as of when I hit 'publish'; my liver makes no promises after that).

But if you care to know my heart and soul rather than just the facts of my day, I will say that this conference (and this year) has been quite excellent for me in terms of figuring out my priorities, feeling like I know what I'm doing, and making or reinforcing connections that will hopefully be good friends in the long term. Whether I'm faking it until I make it or I'm actually becoming friends with people, I would say that I'm getting to know some of the awesomest people on both the historical side and the selfpub side, which is wonderful and enjoyable even if it does nothing for my career. And I'm feeling that now, more than ever, I can see a path toward gaining a ton of readers and making a ton of money with my writing, which is a goal I've theoretically had all along but have not worked particularly hard to achieve.

But that path requires a lot of writing and a lot of business stuff - and since I have a full-time dayjob, I may need to reconsider all of this (or hire an assistant, which I've considered doing). For now, though, suffice it to say that while I'm looking forward to returning to my real life and my real-life friends, I have enjoyed being Sara Ramsey this week, and I'm so psyched to finish Prudence and Alex's book. I'm sure that feeling will die a hideous death when I try to write on the plane tomorrow, but c'est la vie. Goodnight!

i'm staring right at the other half of me

The conference continues to be a perfectly hot mess. Today was lovely, and I learned a lot even if I didn't make it to a single workshop. I woke up in time to meet with my freelance editor, who gave me some v. good career advice, and, more importantly, told me that my book is due August 23, which is about twenty days later than I thought it was, which is a good thing since I'm so not done. Then I had dim sum with some writer friends, which was a carryover tradition from Kansas City - one writer friend in particular is a freaking genius at self-publishing, so that was a v. useful endeavor. Then I came back to the hotel, listened to some soothing music, and pitched an editor at Avon for the idea for my next Regency series (which I think I'm only considering publishing with a NYC publishing house because I want the prestige; I doubt I would make more money doing it, which is such an oddly liberating thing to say). But the pitch went really well, so if I do decide to go that route, at least I have something of an in.

After that, I grabbed some free books, grabbed a Snickers to recover from my rapidly dropping blood sugar, and met with someone for the day job. Then I had dinner with my friend Grace, which was perhaps the highlight of my conference - we joined the San Francisco writing chapter around the same time, and she finaled in the Golden Heart in between my 2009 and 2011 finals, and she self-publishes, so we have a lot in common. We had food and margaritas at a steakhouse down the street, then came back to my room with the intention of making a list for a crash-course book club we're going to force each other to do (in which we read a whole bunch of currently-successful selfpub stuff to see what's working with it so we can try to replicate it), but we started laughing at awful covers and even awfuler samples and had to take a break. So we went to the bar, where I had six times as much to drink as she had (since she had half a mojito and I had three), and then we dragged our mutual friend Tina back upstairs, where we plotted world domination for a couple of hours.

And now that I'm thoroughly energized by writing and publishing and the industry and life, and now that I'm destined for a join alcohol/gluten hangover tomorrow, it's time for bed. Goodnight!

well let me tell you how we do it in california

My best laid plans continue to go awry. Blame it on the alcohol, indeed. But I'm having a glorious time at the conference; this year I'm feeling no pressure at all, since I'm not up for anything, wasn't responsible for anything, and had to give one workshop that was done by noon on the first day (that would be today). So the rest of the conference is pure working and fun. Actually, I suppose I should be thinking about the editor meetings I have tomorrow (both my freelance editor and the editor I'm pitching), but I prefer to ignore all of this.

Today was utterly lovely - I woke up too early, since I thought my workshop was at ten, but that meant that I was able to meet up with my friend Sarah in the lobby and write over coffee for an hour or so. I didn't get much done, since I discovered a massive fucking problem right in the middle of my manuscript, which I now think I know how to fix but wasn't making me happy this morning. Then I gave the workshop, skipped out of the hotel (not fast enough, since I kept running into people, which meant I had to take a taxi), and went to the office, where I did one meeting while eating a whole plate of steak. Then, I left the office, got to the subway, realized I'd left my phone in the office, went back to the office, and then had to call an Uber to take me to the Ritz-Carlton, which was an expensive but luxurious way to roll up to the fanciness in style.

At the Ritz, I had high tea (and a bellini) with some historical writer friends and the readers who won having tea with us as part of a charity auction we participated in in May. And I utterly gorged myself on gluten, but for once I don't regret a single bite, because it was all totally amazing. They had this grand marnier infused cream puff that was the best thing I've ever eaten, and there were all these great tea sandwiches, and they had scones, and I wanted to die from happiness. Then I almost really did die when the taxi on the way to the hotel had no air conditioning and took forty-five minutes, which meant I sweated ('glowed') all the way through my dress and missed my meeting with my freelance editor (who was luckily in communication via text, so we're meeting tomorrow).

So after all that, I was going to take it totally low-key - but instead, I took a cold shower, went downstairs, and had a v. lovely dinner with my San Francisco writing chapter (a dinner I was way too stuffed to eat, so I just had alcohol and a potato, which is like my perfect meal). Then I was going to go to my room and write, but I walked out of the restaurant with Rachael, so I ended up in her room talking selfpub over a glass of scotch. Then I actually made it to my room...but Kristin texted me, so I met her in the bar, where I had two drinks and networked with a million awesome people, and also told two Microsoft guys my father's distinction between romance novels and porn, which is too dirty to repeat here. The Microsoft guys were perhaps initially uncomfortable, since I overheard one of them whispering to the other that 'all the women here write *smut*), and I v. uncharacteristically interrupted and called them out on it. But then we had a rambling half-hour conversation about romance, which was made particularly shocking to them when they learned that I work at [tech company] and one of my fellow writers is an Episcopal priest. Heh.

sssanyway, after having a v. fruity drink with Tessa Dare (namedropping) and her v. high-powered literary agent (who lives in the same town as my former agent, may her name live forever in my heart), I have finally returned to my room, and I shall stay here for eight blessed hours. And then the fun will commence again, hopefully without me developing cirrhosis overnight. Goodnight!

you'll still be standing next to me

My best laid plans went ridiculously awry tonight - but it looks like I'll be in bed before 12:30am, so it's better than last night. Today was utterly lovely; the conference doesn't officially start until tomorrow, but I had a full-day retreat for current/former Golden Heart finalists, followed by a signing, followed by dinner, so I already feel exhausted by the whole endeavor. Shockingly (both in light of my hatred of mornings and my eyebrow-raising scotch consumption), I made it up in time to have a real sit-down (my Iowa roots are showing) breakfast before going to my nine a.m. event. Crazy, I know.

The retreat was awesome; I don't know that I particularly learned anything, but I was v. inspired. Susan Elizabeth Phillips started it off, then Courtney Milan talked selfpub (the most useful part of the day for me, since she's crazy smart), then Nora Roberts (aka Nora, since there is no other) gave the keynote. She happened to say that we should 'do your writing a solid', which I thought was rather hip phraseology for the queen of the genre, so needless to say I was impressed (if having two hundred books out wasn't impressive enough). Then I ate a v. hurried lunch so I could sneak back to my room and take a thirty-minute nap, which totally saved me today.

The afternoon session was mildly interesting, if I'm being frank, so I left as soon as it appeared to be wrapping up and wrote in the lobby for forty-five minutes before grabbing coffee with some writer friends. Then I went to the huge literacy signing and signed books; the event lasts for two hours and I sold five books, which I was actually thrilled with considering that I was competing with 400 other authors and am relatively unknown. Then I had dinner with the Rubies (we rented a bus to take us away from the hotel, which was a good move), then came home and was about to go to bed...but when I got to my room, my keycard was demagnetized. So I went downstairs, got it reprogrammed, was coming back upstairs - and then ran into my friend Kathia, whom I've been writing with in SF. So I had a gin and tonic with her and nibbled on her fries while she had a late dinner, and it was all v. lovely.

And now I must really go to bed - I'm giving a workshop tomorrow, and having high tea with some historical writers at the Ritz Carlton, and generally being my fabulous Sara Ramsey self instead of my hermity regular self. Goodnight!

the devil went down to georgia

It's not even officially conference time yet, and I must report that I had entirely too much scotch tonight. I don't even like scotch. But I was hijacked as I was going through the hotel lobby, and I ended up hanging out for a few hours with two of my very favorite San Francisco romance writers (Rachael, whose birthday party I went to in Oakland last week, and Sophie, who would need no introduction if you knew her). So, I have no regrets at all, but my boss may have regrets, since there are many emails I meant to send tonight. j/k, he has no regrets either, since I'm a rockstar. And clearly I'm drunk if I typed that publicly. So perhaps tomorrow I will have regrets!

But today was great - I had a fabulous day at work, and wished that I could work out of Atlanta all the time, since I was closer to Dublin (my Europe meetings started at the v. civilized hour of 11am) and could actually afford to buy a house here. Also, I felt like I contributed something valuable in every meeting I had, which is rarer than I wish it would be. I left the office around 6:15, came back to the hotel, took a wrong turn coming out of the subway and ended up a block away from the hotel, and on the way back ran into one of my fellow '09 Golden Heart finalists. I ended up having dinner with her and two of her friends from Houston at a place called Juke Jive or something - there was live music and pretty good food, so that was all nice. And then I came back to the hotel, was on my way to my room (having valiantly forsaken the bar in the interest of getting work done), and ran into Rachael and Sophie. And the rest was gloriously drunken history.

And now I truly must sleep; I have a retreat tomorrow that is going to be the fucking best thing ever, and registration starts at eight, so I should skedaddle. I would never type that sentence sober. Forgive me, Sara Ramsey. Goodnight!

in this tidal wave of mystery

My first day in Atlanta got off to a v. late start; I tried to get up at eight, and promptly went back to bed and slept until eleven. That was only eight a.m. my time, which still felt rather unfortunate, but at least I got eight or so hours of sleep before starting zee day. I got ready, contemplated eating at the hotel, and instead figured out how to take the subway (aka MARTA) to the Atlanta office so that I could get some work done (and, more importantly, eat a free lunch).

The Atlanta office is really nice - not any nicer or less nice than other offices I've been in, with a small cafe that seems to be mostly catered in (but, since it's caterers, they seem to care less about broader health and wellness initiatives, so I saw my first bag of Fritos at work in a million years). I procured a desk, slogged away all afternoon, and then got called into a 6-7pm meeting with the guy who sits next to me at my regular desk. This was fine, since the meeting needed to happen, but it meant that I forgot to call my parents as promised (sorry, parents!), and didn't make it to the hotel until 7:30.

So, I messed around on zee internet, played on Twitter (this is 'work' for Sara Ramsey), and ate a decent room service cheeseburger. I also wrote three pages of Alex and Prudence, since this book can wait for no man, and answered some work emails on my phone. And now, I desperately need to sleep; I want to try to get on Georgia time so that I can get some work done in the morning before California wakes up, and it would behoove me to get on EDT anyway because the rest of the week will start early as well. Goodnight!

take you where you want to be

I'm on my phone, in Atlanta, and it's nearly three am here, so I must be lonely. Jhokes. Sssanyway, I spent the day packing, and I ended up fitting eight dresses, four tops, jeans, unmentionables, and five pairs of shoes into my carry-on, so I felt quite pleased with myself. Terry was kind enough to take me to the airport, where she said goodbye (or good riddance). Everything at the airport was smooth, our plane boarded in record time...and then we sat for an hour due yo a maintenance issue. Boo.

But the flight was fine, and I had a glass of wine and wrote ten pages, so that was all good. And now I desperately need to sleep - I have a ton of work to do tomorrow, and I need yo find the Atlanta office if I want to be productive (or, more to the point, if I want free food). Goodnight!

even when the sky is falling down

I'm way too sleepy to blog, so this is all you're getting. But I wanted to make sure that I mentioned Vidya so that she can pull one stroke ahead of Adit in the competition for 'most-labeled' on my blog - I saw her and her cousin for brunch, but I didn't see Adit, so he's losing ground.

The rest of my day was uneventful; I got up at 7:45 and went to Fort Mason, where I met up with a writing friend and wrote eight pages. Then I ran all sorts of errands (dry cleaning, mani/pedi of which I somehow messed up the pedi - annoying, Walgreens, the bank, etc) and had a v lowkey dinner with Terry. And now that I have a list of all the stuff I need to do tomorrow and the realization that none of it is going to get done, I'm going to take my little ulcer friend and go to bed. Goodnight!

safe and sound

I didn't do nearly enough to get ready for my trip, but I suppose I am closer to ready than I was yesterday. I worked from home and slogged pretty much nonstop for six hours - at which point I realized I was starving, so I took my laptop to Roam and had a burger while continuing to work. Eventually, though, I had to skip out and go downtown to get my bangs trimmed (bad timing, since I found out later that the cops were everywhere because of a robbery that turned into a double murder about six blocks from my salon). After that, I went to sephora to get foundation, then to the mall to get a strapless bra (I may have lost mine, don't ask how) and some other things. Yes, this all sounds like pure gluttony, but I assure you it's v necessary for the upcoming moment when Sara Ramsey has to make her appearance.

I didn't get home until almost eight, and then I should have gone out to see Katrina, but I was beat. So I watched some "Drunk History" with Terry, which was hilarious. Then I put away my freshly laundered clothes, took care of some tings, and realized I must go to bed immediately. Goodnight!

my love, my love, my love, she keeps me warm

I think I need to stop staring at screens, so imma keep this brief. I dragged myself out of bed this morning and made it to my writing date by 7:15am, which was some kind of record, particularly since I managed to put on a cute dress and be mostly polished by the time I walked out the door. My writing date wasn't as productive as I might have hoped, since I only got two and a half pages, but it was two and a half pages I wouldn't have gotten otherwise, so I'm pleased. Then I abandoned my friend and my manuscript, drove to Mountain View, and slogged through many hours of meetings. The evening took a fun turn when Terry and I had roommate dinner at Fiesta (and the waiter rewarded my short dress with free margaritas and guacamole), but then it took an annoying turn when it took well over an hour to get home.

However, I don't have to commute again for like ten days - I'm working from home tomorrow, and then doing errands and getting ready for my trip. I'm a little sad that I don't have another normal week ahead of me, since I feel like I got so much done this week, but I suppose it's time to let Sara Ramsey out to play for awhile. And on that mildly-schizophrenic note, it's time to put away the laptop - goodnight!