forgiveness

My boyfriend didn't get mad at me for backing my car into the garage this morning, hard enough to nick my car and dent the garage door. His dog had popped into the garage through the doggie door, and was busily trying to find a way into the car, and I was so intent on not running over the dog that I hit the garage door, instead. So, at least the dog is alive and my boyfriend isn't annoyed at me.

absence -> fonder <3

I was in Vegas over the weekend for a bachelorette party, and just 37 hours apart (plus a terribly early airport drop-off, perfectly timed airport pickup, and homemade pizza upon my return) made me appreciate my boyfriend even more than usual. Also, going out in Vegas, which is teeming with desperate singles, reminded me of how lucky I am to have caught a fish that is so much better than all the other ones who are still in the pond.

small packages

Technology is so mind-boggling sometimes. My MP3 player, which is about the same volume as my pinky and costs about $50, has the same memory as the enormous state-of-the-art desktop computer we got in 1994, which cost around $3,000. I know that expressing such wonder makes me sound old, but it's still pretty incredible, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next ten years.

early delivery

I've been loving the music I've been downloading from my birthday credits on Amazon (like the track I posted yesterday). One album I was interested in was not available for download, so I ordered it, and it took a while to ship out, and then it wasn't guesstimated for delivery until next week. After all this waiting (I ordered it on August 12), it got here one business day earlier than expected, which was kind of disproportionately exciting.

song of the day

This song, played perhaps a dozen times this day, made this day much better.

gazpacho saga

The gazpacho was on the menu this week, and I had a ton. I even brought some home to compare the batch I made using the recipe the chef had given me. I emailed the chef to tell him I had done a side-by-side tasting, and that my version was somehow lacking in comparison, and he said that it was probably partly due to specific ingredients (my olive oil probably isn't of the same quality, for example), but also because every time they make it in the cafe, they fine tune everything to match the exact flavors of the actual produce, which you can't capture in a recipe.

That made me a little bit sad. I am not a chef, and when I cook, things can turn out well, but I just don't have the level of knowledge and understanding and artistry that it takes to deviate from a recipe and perfect a dish.

The chef then suggested that I go to the cafe sometime to make the gazpacho with the staff, so I could try to get the knack. Really? Really. He even offered to give a free cooking lesson to a group if I wanted to set one up. Really? Really.

Then I had an inspiration. Some friends and I get together pretty regularly for themed potluck dinners, and the next one happens to be themed around heirloom tomatoes. I suggested that he come to that, do a demo for us, and stay for dinner. That would be such a coup, if we could get a chef to start coming to our dinner parties, although it wouldn't be much of a coup for him, since none of us can cook at the same level.

So let's review. Just by asking questions along the way, I went from wanting a gazpacho recipe, to getting the recipe, to having it served at the cafe, to getting an offer to participate in making it, to getting an offer of a free cooking lesson, to perhaps adding a chef to our dinner party.

grownup life

One of the long-anticipated advantages of being an adult (and having food in the office) is that I can have chocolate pudding for breakfast if I want to.

mix

A good friend at work randomly sent me an MP3 he thought I would like, so I figured I would respond with a mix CD.

It has been too long since I've made a mix CD for someone. I love the whole process: guessing at what the person will like, picking out too many songs, weeding them down so that the mix will fit on one disc, figuring out what order to put them in so that they flow...

wait for it

One of the best and most agonizing things in life is waiting to see if a prank worked.

8.5

Number of days until we leave for Hawaii!

60

Just hit 60 books since getting my Kindle last October (48 of which were in 2010), so I'm way ahead of schedule. Dare I dream of hitting 70 by my Kindle's one-year birthday? I'm going to dream it right here, to make it more likely that it will happen. I've got six weeks.

crickets

We're having a heatwave after several months off what has been a relatively cool summer for the area, which means that I've been leaving the windows open at night, leading to my accidental reacquaintance with the sound of slow suburban summer nights. I had forgotten what dozens of crickets sounded like -- after years of city and apartment living, even solo crickets seemed surprising and out of place.

chicken with pants

It makes me inexplicably happy that somewhere out there, someone decided that there was market demand for little figurines of chickens wearing pants, and they went to the trouble of designing, producing, and distributing such pants-wearing chickens, so that anyone with two bucks can have their own dressed up chicken for an office decoration.

midsummer afternoon dreams

Is there anything quite like succumbing to the irresistible forces of an afternoon nap? It has happened twice this weekend, and the sleep was so enjoyable that I stayed under, even after realizing that I was having a nightmare, because it was worth it.

pizza night

It's pizza night, and my boyfriend makes the best pizza from scratch. I think I've earned some pizza, after doing two loads of laundry, shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and preparing a batch of gazpacho for tomorrow. I also picked up some burrata to eat with basil and heirloom tomatoes while we make the pizzas. We've both been busy at work, so it has been a while since we've cooked, so I'm looking forward to messing up the kitchen and eating some good food.

rofl

Also, another highlight of mini golf today was that my manager (who is already quick to laugh harder than anyone else) was actually laughing so hard that he was rolling on the ground. Funny things become even funnier if someone is literally rolling in the grass next to a miniature windmill, kicking his feet in the air.

another day at work

I spent the first part of the day doing pro bono work, helping senior citizens get financial power of attorney set up, and the second part if the day playing mini golf, air hockey, and arcade games, and drinking Icees with my coworkers. I forgot how good Icees are, and I somehow managed to win at mini golf.

vicious cycle

I love when my dog suddenly starts snarling and chasing his butt in frenzied circles. He did it a few times at work today, and as always, it cracked me up.

six years

My dog has been coming to work with me for six years now, and having him at work makes both of us much happier. Drafting is better with a dog in your lap (except when he farts).

advice

Talking to people who want to apply for a job in our department always reminds me of why I wanted this job so much in the first place. It's reassuring to step back and look at the big picture and remember how it felt like to be an outsider, then a newbie, and then to finally feel like I had started figuring things out. I've come a lot further than I thought I would.

be prepared

Nine solid hours of sleep go a really long way towards preparing me for a day full of meetings. 

magazine day

My boyfriend is staying at his old house tonight, and my monthly mindless magazine came in the mail today. Perfect timing.

flow

It's always a relief when some of my deals start closing, especially after a few weeks of gridlock. Even if I'm doing the same amount of work each day, there's a psychological boost if a day's work results in signatures and closed deals.

even better

I won't have to make the gazpacho myself, because the chef just emailed me and said he's going to put it on the menu next week.

ask and you shall receive

After obsessing about the gazpacho they used to make at the tapas-themed cafe at work for over a year, especially after that cafe stopped serving dinner last year and more recently, announced that they were going to change their theme altogether, and after telling myself countless times that I would have to ask the cafe staff for the recipe, I randomly saw and recognized the chef at his new cafe today. I must have looked at him for a second too long, because he noticed and made eye contact in a way that made me feel like I ought to say something, so I said the first thing that came to mind, which was to tell him that the gazpacho at the old cafe is the best I've had, and to ask him whether I could get the recipe. He said I could just email him and he'd send it to me. And he did. And it was at a normal person scale (not cafeteria level, no need to work off a recipe that initially asks for 100 tomatoes), so I might actually make it soon.

Next time, I should spend less time idly obsessing, and more time just asking.

flower power

Wow, lavender chocolate is pretty interesting. I like it.

where is thumb man

For some unknown reason, I always liked those shirts and jackets with the little hole for your thumb, but for some other unknown reason, I never had one, until recently. Not sure why I like them so much, but they make me happy whenever I wear this sweatshirt.

serenade

My toilet has learned how to sing -- a long, aching, resonant howl -- and every time I flush it, I have to listen and giggle as it does its best impression of an amorous steamship. It's really quite impressive. Then again, my family has a history of unconventional appliances, including a shrieking freezer, a whooping toilet (probably a long-lost cousin to this one), a self-starting TV, and most recently, in my last apartment, a hyperactive washing machine.

there's the rub

I just used my company-issued free birthday massage credit (it never lasts long in my account), and it went overtime, and it was wonderful. Going out for a last dinner with my remaining visitor (one left on Tuesday, and #2 is leaving tomorrow), and I can already taste the deviled dates.

our song

Ever since last October, when we went to Hawaii and the resort played this song many times a day, my boyfriend and I have heard it everywhere: in restaurants and stores, on the radio, on TV, and we have come to the inevitable conclusion that it must be "our song." It's a good song.

We're going back to the same resort in a few weeks, and we're wondering if they will still be playing it. If not, it's OK, because I downloaded it.

discount soundtrack

I received some Amazon gift credits for my birthday this year, and I've already bought a couple of Kindle books, but I have also decided to make a concerted effort to download some songs I've been listening to a lot on YouTube, and some complete albums of new music. I then discovered that lots of albums are $5 each for the next couple of weeks, including some that I actually want, which will allow me to get that much more music (and still have credit left over for even more books). I love music, books, and presents, and I love a bargain, so this is kind of a magical moment.

satisfaction

It is admittedly somewhat satisfying to honk very loudly at someone who drove his BMW from his driveway into the street without looking, forcing you to brake hard enough that your dog flew across the back seat. It is tempting to go back tomorrow to honk at him some more. Revenge is a dish best served loud.

free upgrade

Why is it that I like my house and office, but I like them even more if my friends like them? Nothing has changed, but hearing good things about them makes them better, somehow.

wine

We went wine tasting today on our way back from our trip up to Cyrus, and both places where we stopped had some really interesting (in a good way) wine, and I bought a couple of bottles to have another time. We got back in time for me to show my friends around our revamped office and then grab dinner.

so full

Lounging at the hotel where we're staying for the night after eating so much food that I look pregnant. I've been too busy hanging out and having fun to update since Friday, which is my favorite reason for not updating.

almost there

If my brain and I get along for the next few hours, we will make it to the weekend, which will be full of good things (and hopefully not too much work):

(1) Sleeping in on Saturday

(2) Two of my favorite people arriving on a jet plane Saturday evening

(3) Hanging out with those friends (and a few others) Saturday night

(4) Going up to Sonoma on Sunday for dinner at Cyrus

(5) Three-day weekend (taking Monday off!)

(6) Wine tasting in Sonoma on Monday

aloha

Even though I came home from work a little bit cranky, my boyfriend still gave me my birthday present: an extremely silly poem (which I'm not allowed to publish online, but have posted on the refrigerator) and a surprise trip to Hawaii in four weeks. Now that's what I call a beamish boy.

icing on the cake

An afternoon meeting turned out to be birthday cupcakes :)

2^5

It's my birthday! I like some numbers more than others, and 32 seems like a good one. Here's to the power of two.

The year has started off well so far -- the dogs didn't bark to wake me up, my friends have been sending funny emails and quick message on Facebook, I had a good lunch with some coworkers, and a negotiation call ended up being with a lawyer who was a law school classmate of mine, whom I had just run into a couple of weeks ago. It was one of the smoothest calls I've ever had.

I hope these are indicative of how the rest of the year will go, at home, with friends, in the office, and at work.

early

My parents sent me flowers for my birthday, which is tomorrow.

no on 8

My exciting moment of the day was finding out that Prop 8 was overturned. It has no practical effect for me, since I'm straight and not a big believer in the institution of marriage, but it just appeals to my sense of justice and logic.

routine

It's always been convenient that my boyfriend and I work in the same department, so that we see each other every day, but it's so nice to know that now I'll get to see him every night, too.

democracy

I find it hilarious that in an online poll of my department to brainstorm ideas for ways to reward people for good work, one of the current leading ideas is: "Dress up [the general counsel] for a day in the outfit of your choice."

at the car wash

The guys were having a dude moment, washing a vintage car in the driveway. I asked them to do "sexy poses, like girls in silly movie scenes about car washes," and this is what resulted.

time capsule

One of the side effects of being a pack rat who moves a lot is that I have a lot of boxes full of random things that represent various phases: boxes from law school, boxes from when I lived in midtown, boxes from Switzerland. I generally give up on unpacking before I get to the last few boxes, but this time, I did a more thorough job, which meant that I got to rediscover some old memories with good friends as I unearthed, among other things, photo booth pictures, a magazine from Argentina, postcards from Russia, a volume of printed and spiral bound emails. I've had some pretty good times with really cool people.

this is it

By engaging in another mad session of unpacking yesterday, preceded by a morale-boosting dance party with my dog, I unpacked most of my remaining boxes. Today, my boyfriend moved some furniture into the guest room (just in time for our guests this weekend), and he'll move the rest of his stuff in gradually.
The place is looking less like a storage locker or skating rink, and more like a home.