chandelier

I was v. v. tired today - while I am typically comfortable in Katie's guest room (and was equally comfortable last night), I think I only got five or six hours of sleep (#blameitonthealcohol). So I got up, took a quick shower, put on yesterday's clothes, and left a little after seven. I walked out with James, who was on his way to work - and the little ginger kid next door stared at us slackjawed as we left, as though I was the worst sort of homewrecker sneaking out of her neighbor's house in the morning. I guess it was deserved, but I felt *very* judged.

I stopped at the car dealership on the way home, picked up my car, then came home, used a face mask in a vain attempt to make myself look more awake, and changed so that I wouldn't look like I'd just done a walk of shame. Then I went to the office and slogged all day, but I left around 5:30 to have happy hour with Nicole. We went to Rayback Collective, which is a bar and some foodtrucks and a lot of very distracting people milling about (one of the waiters was wearing sparkly yoga pants and a silver fanny pack for a completely unknown reason, and many of the children were obnoxious, but the dogs were cute). So we had some rosé and talked about life for a couple of hours, and were eventually joined by her husband, which was fun.

But we parted ways around eight, and I got a poke bowl to go from one of the food trucks (it was super tasty and I'll have to get it again). Then I came home, ate, and promptly took a nap. There were a million things I should have done tonight, but instead I decided that I should get up from my nap so that I could wash my face and go to bed - which is why I shall do now. Goodnight!

black and yellow

Today didn't go quite to plan, which is evident since I'm currently in Katie's guest room. This was completely out of the picture this morning when I dropped off my car (did I mention I bought an Audi?) at the dealership to get an add-on installed. But since I didn't grab my apartment keys from the ring (I grabbed my Toyota key, though), and since I didn't leave work in time to pick up my car, I got to my house at seven and suddenly realized that I had no way to enter it.

Luckily, Katie came to my rescue - I ate the takeout that I'd picked up, then bought a toothbrush and a contact lens case and drove to Denver. I had bought a bottle of rose with my takeout, so Katie and I enjoyed it while hanging out for a few hours.

So that was a delightful end to the day - and pretty serendipitous, since if I hadn't come here I probably would have spent the evening working. Now I need to sleep so I can pick up my car and go home to change to avoid a walk of shame at work - goodnight!

play secretary, i'm the boss tonight

Okay, as much as I like my job, I should probably find some ways to cut back on the emotional energy I expend with it. Today was a good day and I feel good about it, but at the same time I spent a lot of energy on other people's problems without getting a lot of my own work done. It wouldn't have been all that bad if I'd had a real break tonight, but I came home from work and only had an hour before I spent 90mins on calls with people in Asia. After that, I really wanted to do nothing...but on Saturday I leave for off and on travel that will consume the next month, and so there's stuff I desperately have to get done this week in preparation.

That stuff was all personal, so I did that, and it *almost* felt like a break...but not really.

However, this is a problem to solve another day - and at least I'm aware of it, right? But then, I've been a bit of a workaholic most of my life, so maybe awareness isn't enough. But I'm going to pretend that awareness is enough so that I can go to bed right now and get eight hours of sleep before it all starts again - goodnight!

semi-charmed life

I actually was able to sleep in and also have time at work to do actual work - shocking, I know. I also left at five and spent three hours doing my own tings, at which point I took a brief nap to restore myself. It didn't stop me from working from nine to eleven tonight, but the things I crossed off my list have been weighing on me for a long time, so I'm glad I buckled down and did them.

And now I'm going to sleep the sleep of the righteous (or at least of the tired) - goodnight!

pardon me i'm bossin' up, pressure up

I probably shouldn't have stayed up until three a.m. last night, but today was a total delight despite being a little tired by the end of it. I got up in time to shower and throw some iced coffee in a mug before driving down to Castle Rock - it's about an hour from here with no traffic, but that all felt blissful in my new car (did I mention that I got a new car? oh, I did? #sorrynotsorry).

My first stop was meeting my friend Barbara for lunch. We went someplace in an old church, and the food was a bit hit or miss (but unclear whether it was our fault for the ordering or their fault for the food - I liked my pasta, although it needed salt, but Barbara's kale salad was far too kale-y). But it was awesome to see Barbara - we hadn't hung out since RWA, which was less than six weeks ago, but it somehow feels like twenty. When I realize just how much I've had going on this summer, it's no wonder I'm exhausted....

Anyway, Barbara was great. We talked about all sorts of fun and important things, both past and current, and I was reminded just how much it nourishes my soul to hang out with other writers rather than always seeing my techie corporate types (no offense to you techie corporate types, of course, since I am also one of you).

But all good things must end, especially lunches, and so we eventually parted ways so that she could go back to Colorado Springs and I could continue with my Castle Rock adventures. I ended up hanging out in my car for an hour (did I mention I have a new car?) and talking to my parents, since it's Sunday and that's what Sundays are for. Then, I drove out to my aunt's house for an early dinner - she's in town this week to hang out at her Castle Rock house, and so I went there to see her for a bit.

So, we hung out for a couple of hours, eating cheese (yum) and then steak and Iowa sweet corn (even more yum, even if the sweet corn was a few days old - it's still one of the best things in the world). I'll be glad when she's actually in Colorado full time, provided that I don't pick up stakes and move on with my wandering nomadic heart (although that's unlikely - maybe I mentioned it, but I got a new car, and I'm also planning to buy a house in the next six months, so perhaps my withered roots will begin to grow).

But I eventually left down there, drove home, was going to do some work, and instead read about India on my phone and tried not to fall asleep too early (when I really should have just gone to bed at nine, but once I start researching something, I can't help myself). Now, though, I need to sleep - I want to write in the morning before work, and that requires some decent downtime now. Goodnight!

night court

I had a v. hermity day to make up for all the socializing I've done in the past couple of weeks. I slept to my heart's desire, then spent the morning/afternoon/early evening doing a combo of writing, housework, journaling, and sloth. The writing was going well, but then I ended up being sad about John McCain dying (I always liked him, and brain cancer is a bitch), so I threw in the towel on everything productive and played Civilization for the last five hours instead (#noregrets, although I'll probably have them tomorrow when I have to drag myself out of bed). Goodnight!

hold tight london

Today was a total return to the grind - and so you're getting nothing tonight. I'm sorry to disappoint you, and especially sorry to disappoint Ritu, who requested more salacious content. But the only salacious thing I did today was eat some tortilla chips and leftover enchiladas while standing up at my kitchen counter - while that felt incredibly dirty, it's probably not what you're looking for. So I'm going to sleep - goodnight!

the wonderful unknown

I'm still exhausted - but I spent this morning lazing in bed after last night's debauchery, so I somehow made it through today without dying. Last night was pretty epic, though; starting with wine tasting at 3:30pm, continuing with wine through dinner, and then ill-advisedly switching to tequila shots and s'mores was probably not the wisest idea I've had in awhile. But, judging by the faces of everyone who I left at the firepit at midnight last night (for once, I went to bed when I felt like it and didn't shut down the party - I know, I'm shocked too), none of us had particularly wise ideas.

Still, it was super fun and #noregrets. However, I was supposed to get another massage this morning and instead canceled it - yesterday's massage was so intense that she bruised my shoulders, so a massage would have been wasted on me today anyway, and I preferred to stay in bed. But eventually I vacated my perfect bed, showered, packed, and went out in search of coffee and food. I journaled for a bit while looking at the mountains, and then I had lunch with all the people who were in pain (and some people who showed up this morning for today's round of the retreat, which is staggered across multiple days - those people all looked bright-eyed and happy, but right about now some of them are probably making the same poor decisions that some of us made last night).

I could have stayed later, but I was over it, so I drove a few people back with me to Boulder. I got home a little after three, messed around the house, called my parents (belatedly, since we didn't talk Sunday), and then went out to have dinner at my favorite mexican place, which went a long way toward restoring me. Then I came home and took an hour-long nap, but I had to wake up to talk to someone from Hyderabad (I really hate nighttime calls sometimes). And now I'm going to go to bed - tomorrow's calendar looks super painful, so sleep is imperative. Goodnight!

i found someone to carry me home tonight

Today turned into a magical, mystical day that I thought had been lost to my company over a decade ago. The Boulder office does a summer retreat, and so I'm at Devil's Thumb Ranch - a delightful resort/spa/ranch place up in the mountains.

But I'm too tired / tipsy to blog about it - I got a massage when I arrived, and then did wine tasting from 3:30 to 5:00, and have pretty much continued to drink from five to midnight. For those keeping score at home, that's over eight hours of alcohol consumption. It's not on par with the sales conferences of my youth, but it's getting close. So on that note, I'm going to go to bed - goodnight!

tuesday, wednesday break my heart

I got tons of sleep last night, but it wasn't enough to fix my extreme deficit - so I felt tired, cranky, and off all day. However, I snuck out at five to have a drink with Tomas, and then I sat at the bar and answered email for an hour while I finished my glass of wine. When I got home, I had to unpack so I could pack again - I'm going to an offsite with my team tomorrow night (local, so at least I'm not getting on a plane), so I needed to swap out my bridesmaid outfits for some lowkey spa/banquet/drinking outfits (okay, so those are basically the same thing).

And now I really need to go to bed - I should have gone to bed two hours ago, but I got a second wind around ten as I usually do, so I stupidly stayed up. Goodnight!

scheming on a thing that's a mirage, i'm trying to tell you now, it's sabotage

I'm back in Boulder after a truly epic four days in Portland and its strangely-named surrounding cities. I should probably do a full writeup of Claudia's wedding, but I'm still too tired to do it justice - it was a mad dash to get everything taken care of, and I celebrated that mad dash by staying mostly sober at the reception (I was the emcee and had to give a toast, so I needed to stay somewhat sane)...but then went back to our airbnb around 10:30 and drank most of a bottle of white wine while hanging out in the hot tub and gossipping about the wedding. Adit, Vidya, Ayla and I were staying together, but we convinced John and Jess to come back with us and camp on the floor of the living room rather than camping in the llama fields, so it made for a super fun night (despite another guest thoroughly enraging me, but hey, I often rage over things, so it felt like I was in the zone).

The wedding, though, was totally gorgeous - everything came together well, and Claudia looked beautiful, and I cried during her vows, as I am wont to do. The reception was also fun, even with a bunch of mangy kids roaming around. And I'm glad I got to spend so much time with Santy Claude over the course of the weekend - it was a good bonding adventure, and I really enjoyed all of my time with her even if the amount of work we had to do in the last few days was bordering on insane.

So, today was all about recovering and getting the fuck out of Portland. Chandlord and Ayla left super early, but John, Jess, Adit, and I (and the fifth houseguest, who was the one who enraged me last night after deciding she wouldn't come with us when we left, then calling in tears wanting us to come back and get her, which was super annoying since it's a 30min round trip from the airbnb to the farm and I don't know her well enough to gracefully handle such ineptitude) drove a bunch of stuff over to the farm. We said our last goodbyes to Claude, and then we drove into Portland, where we had brunch at Proud Mary. It was well worth the wait - it was one of the best meals I've had in awhile, which is surprising since I had a lot of good food this weekend. I had a hash with ham and a poached egg and kale and a delish garlicky sauce, but I also tried the hotcake, which was covered in edible flowers and was one of the best breakfast sweet dishes I've tried in awhile.

Eventually, though, the fun started to die...Adit had to go to the airport, so I bid him farewell. John, Jess and I walked around Portland for another hour or so, admiring all the shops and wishing we could eat all the food, and then I said my goodbyes to them and went to the airport. I had just enough time to grab some iced coffee for the plane before we began to board, but all that iced coffee wasn't enough to keep me from sleeping through the first half of the flight.

And now I'm successfully in my own bed, and I am desperate to sleep and get a head start on what's bound to be a ridiculous week at work. Goodnight!

santy claude is coming to town

I'm way too tired to blog - and after three hours of hanging out in a hot tub post wedding and drinking a whole bottle of white wine, it's unlikely you'll get anything good out of me. So I'm going to sleep - goodnight!

i have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor

Santy Claude is getting married tomorrow! And in the meantime, we're in the frantic last minute preparations for the ceremony, which has taken our whole day. I woke up this morning in time to drink some coffee that Ayla brought back, and then I did a tiny bit of work before prepping to get out of our airbnb. I also grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Bare Bones that was super yummy and made me believe in breakfast sandwiches again.

But then the madness started. We kicked Vidya out to wait at a coffee shop for Vidya and Ayla, and then Adit and I picked up a bunch of speakers. This is the second time Adit and I have picked up sound equipment for someone's wedding and we're getting pretty good at it. Then we drove out to Washougal, with a long stop at Target, where I threw money at every problem.

When we got to Washougal, we unloaded the speaker equipment, and then we went to our new airbnb and unloaded. Then Claude and I went to Safeway, where we bought all sorts of additional things to try to make life easier. And then it was a flurry of running around and doing stuff, including all sorts of errands and tasks, culminating in the rehearsal dinner (which Claude's family made, and it was delish). And yes, my micromanagering side came to the fore, but #noregrets.

But now, even though I want to keep blogging, I need to go to sleep so I can look appropriately rested for the wedding tomorrow (despite the port that I'm drinking). Goodnight!

he drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a vodka drink, he drinks a lager drink, he drinks a cider drink

Portland really is a mecca for hipsters. I can't describe how weird it is - like a theme park designed to perfectly emulate the hipster experience, built over a potentially seedy underbelly of decadence and decay. Today I saw:

- a guy with a manbun and what may have been a fake English accent saying that he 'did Ramadan in solidarity', when it really sounds like he's just embraced the intermittent fasting fad that is sweeping the online healthy-eating communities

- a woman loading two diapered alpacas into a van

- a guy from San Francisco who said he'd gotten his hat in Berkeley, where it had been blessed by a shaman

- Adit

My day was pretty delightful, all in all. I didn't sleep that well last night, so when I finally rolled out of bed I was desperate for coffee. Chandlord and I went to a coffee shop (where we saw Ramadan guy), and waited an unusual amount of time for our food (which it turns out was likely because the proprietor believes in cooking eggs until they are rubberized). Then we came home, I took a shower, and then I did some day job stuff until it was time to transition into wedding stuff.

When that transition happened, Adit and I were all in - Chandlord stayed back to work, but we picked up Santy Claude and took her and a bunch of wine out to the wedding venue. The wedding venue is a working farm with a bunch of alpacas and llamas; strangely enough, that's entirely unrelated from the woman I saw loading alpacas into a van. Also, it's clear that the owner would rather be a farmer than a wedding planner. But we got things into a good place despite everything (and despite some conversations taking an hour when they could have happened in five minutes).

Then we drove back to Portland and met up with Chandlord at an outdoor area with a bunch of permanent food trucks. We also went to Stumptown Coffee, which is a requirement in Portland. Then we came back to the house and took care of a bunch of stuff, and then Claude, Ayla and I made a trip to Michael's to get a bunch of last minute decor-type stuff.

We probably should have done work after that, but instead Claudia, Adit, Chandlord, Ayla and I walked to dinner. On the way, we passed a dive bar called Claudia's, which required us to take a shot of cheap tequila (por supuesto). Then we went to Pok Pok, which is renowned as the place to eat in Portland. The line was 90min long, which meant we could have spent some quality time getting to know the guy whose hat had been blessed by a shaman, but instead we went down the street and had drinks and snacks at Pok Pok's sister bar.

When we finally got a table, though, it was worth the wait - the food was great (especially the chicken wings that Claude and I shared - possibly the best wings I've ever had). The company was okay too. And now I really need to sleep if I'm going to be on my game tomorrow - goodnight!

this is how it ends, i feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream

Today was a long and brutal slog (which autocorrect tried to turn into "burial shift", which isn't inappropriate). I had meetings straight from nine to four, and the only way I could grab lunch was to leave one meeting early and be late to another.

But I made it out of the office by 4:15 and drove to the airport without issues. When I got there, I pounded a burrito bowl, then found out my flight was delayed, so pounded some wine while doing day job stuff.

But we eventually took off, which was nice. I was going to work but the wifi was down, so I slept instead. This was critical, since I got in at ten, picked up luggage and a car, and then drove into Portland, dropped my car/stuff, and rendezvoused with Adit and Chandlord.

We had one drink at one place, and then a drink and nachos at another place, and all in it was lovely even if I should have gone to bed hours ago. Goodnight!

because you're so smooth

Today was a brutal slog - I had meetings forever, with no breaks, and then left at four so that I could pick up my bridesmaid dress from the alterations place, then get a mani/pedi, and then get my teeth cleaned. When I got home, I ate too much peanut butter, then packed my suitcase, then had a nine p.m. meeting with Singapore, then worked for the last 2.5 hours.

And now I need to go to bed - I still have a bit of packing to do in the morning, and then meetings almost straight from nine to four, and then I have to go to the airport. Ugh. Goodnight!

i'll be the bright, and black, that's making you run

I did successfully get up and write this morning - only for thirty minutes, but that's better than nothing. I then went to work, which was mildly stressful, but since I was only there for sixish hours, I guess it could have been worse.

But I skipped out at 3:45 to go to the dentist - I hadn't been in an embarrassingly long period of time, since I was traveling last year and then didn't bother to find a dentist when I moved here (partially because I was avoiding radiation this summer and didn't want to get x-rays). However, I didn't learn the error of my ways - I had no cavities and no gum or enamel or bone issues, so other than the fact that I live on coffee and red wine and so have stained my teeth, everything looked good. The dentist was very friendly and spent more time with me than my previous dentist used to - I'm accustomed to the dentist letting the hygienist do everything, then coming in and poking a couple of teeth and trying to sell me on invisalign braces that I don't need.

They don't do a cleaning on the same day as your new patient exam, which kind of annoyed me when I booked - but it turns out they had a cancelation tomorrow and can squeeze me in after work, which is perfect. So, I left feeling pretty happy about all of that. I should have come home and worked...

...but instead I took an impromptu drive down to Denver, where I hung out with Katie and the girls. This was partially an excuse to drive and show off my new car, but mostly an excuse to hang out with Katie before some of my upcoming travel madness. I picked up some beer for her and some cider for me - I only had one cider, but it was super tasty and reminded me that the world isn't only made of wine. She ordered pho, and we spent a couple of delightful hours interjecting grownup conversation around the delightful shrieks of her child army.

Then I came home and talked to Adit about wedding stuff (we may need to go into the wedding planning business together, although no promises until I see if I can pull a mariachi band out of thin air in the next five days). And then I did a bit of work and a bit of personal stuff, and now I should really sleep - goodnight!

you moved to west LA or new york or santa fe

Due to the new car situation, I actually got up relatively early and left the house to explore a bit of Colorado, rather than playing Civilization and pretending to write like I usually do. I headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park - I knew it would be busy on a peak summer weekend, but I also wanted to get out and enjoy some mountainous views, so I decided to chance it.

All in all, it was a lovely drive - even the drive from Boulder to Estes Park is pretty great, and then the park itself is amazing. I had planned to do a loop, have lunch in Grand Lake, and come back to Boulder via Golden. However, right before I got to the continental divide, traffic came to a sudden stop - and stayed stopped. I heard from someone who passed by that there was a medical emergency and they were trying to land a helicopter in the parking lot at the visitor center. I was desperately in need of a bathroom (since I was planning to use the bathroom at the visitor center), and also did not plan at all for this trip and so had water but no food (since I intended to make it to Grand Lake in time for lunch).

So, I executed a somewhat fear-inducing three point turn (okay, maybe it was a five point turn) on the edge of a cliff and went back the way I came. This meant no continental divide, but it also meant that I didn't urinate all over my new car, so I felt like I made the right decision.

I made it back to Estes Park without incident, grabbed McDonald's for lunch, and sped back to Boulder. Then I talked to my parents - they had the usual things with round barns and work stuff going on, but unfortunately they also had very sadly lost their kitten, whom they had raised over the winter and who had kittens of her own six weeks ago. She disappeared Friday night, and whatever got her was quick, because they found her via the circling of buzzards :( [Censored] told me yesterday, and it was v. sad since she was super sweet. Hopefully some of her kittens make it, but we'll see.

After I talked to my parents, I took a lyft to the Audi dealership and picked up the RAV4 (absence did not make the heart grow fonder, especially since I've moved on to a sexy new mistress). Then I grabbed groceries, came home, at supper, and messed around online until now. And now I'm going to go to bed early and plan to get up and write in the morning - hold me to it. Goodnight!

i dig you baby but i got to keep movin'

As you might have guessed from last night's blog, I kissed my RAV4 on the nose today and parted ways to buy a new car. I didn't actually part ways - the RAV4 is still mine, and likely destined to end up in Iowa. But it's currently taking a backseat in my affections due to the arrival of a new, shiny Audi Q5. I've been watching videos and reading reviews of the Q5 (and similar compact SUVs) for over six months, and I have to say the driving experience when I finally test drove it exceeded my expectations. And if I keep it for eleven years like I did the RAV4, it will almost seem like a bargain....(but probably not, but still, #treatyoself).

So, the car things consumed a lot of my day. The other part of my day was in Denver, where I got a facial and a brow wax in preparation for Santy Claude's wedding. The facial was great, but somehow the wax gave me hives above my eyebrows, so that was not pleasant (especially since I went to the dealership after to finalize my contract, but luckily the hives were mostly obscured by my bangs).

Then I took the long way home, but I couldn't drive up into the mountains like I wanted to because I was completely starving. So I came home, parked the car, and walked to Pizzeria Locale, where I had pizza and wine and one of the best desserts ever while reading the first couple of chapters of BLACK TUDORS (about the experience of Africans in Tudor England, which was both more common and less related to slavery than many of us might guess).

But now, I'm going to bed - I do want to play around with the car tomorrow, so getting up and driving into the mountains seems like a solid plan. Goodnight!

highway to hell

I stupidly played civilization from nine to after midnight, so I should sleep now. But today was fine, all in all, and I ended it by test driving a car, which was probably a bad idea since now I'm lusting after it (but also a good idea since my car is eleven years old and I'm ready to join the future of safety features).

But that's all you're getting tonight - it's time to sleep. Goodnight!