Monday, December 31, 2012

question answered

Q: I want to get two massages, soak in two hot tubs, hang out in two steam rooms, take a long bath, get a facial, try two different showers (one of which has ten shower heads), and eat out for three meals over a three day period. Is that a good idea?

A: Yes.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

choco-what?

I picked these up at the Japanese dollar store, and boyfriend thought they were Mexican, so instead of calling them "CHOC-o-CONES," he was calling them "CHO-co-CO-nes."

exceeds expectations

Just had a girls' night with my sister, and the place we went was pretty awesome. Really nice private hot tubs and steam rooms, perfect for talking without having to worry about offending or annoying people. I think we'll have to go back again soon. Then we had dinner and got massages.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

plans

After spending most of the holidays rather aimlessly (which is a good thing), other than Christmas dinner with family and watching The Hobbit, I've got lots of plans for the next few days: hot tub/steam room/massage and dinner with my sister tomorrow, a likely overnight spa trip with Boyfriend (with more steam room/massage/sauna time, and perhaps a facial), and a possible second movie outing to see Les Mis. I admit that it's a lot of self-indulgent loafing, but it has been a rough week in which I lost an old friend, and it's going to be crazy at work once the new year starts, so I'm going for maximum self indulgence while I can, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

crunch time

Five days left in the year, and I'm 2.25 books away from hitting 150. I think I'm gonna make it!

the lorax

Boyfriend bought me a limited edition print of the Lorax, and admitted that he might be snagging one of the Sneetches, as well. My two favorite Dr. Seuss books (I even listed The Lorax on my application to Princeton eighteen years ago), and my most favorite boyfriend.

family dinner

Christmas dinner with Boyfriend, my sister and her family, and my cousin and his family. Lots of wine, cheese, fondue, and hilarity, and nary a headache in the room.

double rainbow

First rainbow: Found out yesterday that my parents have changed their stance on gay rights in the most amazing way. Twenty years ago, my dad was a Republican, and completely opposed to the concept of homosexuality. These days, he's a Democrat who tries to convince his friends to accept their gay children, who are gay through biology, just as they are Asian or short or smart through biology. Wow.

Second rainbow: In the middle of a rainstorm today, there was a rainbow on my way to the dentist.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

tis the season

Chocolate peppermint soy milk, white chocolate peppermint pretzels, Christmas music on the radio, and final rounds of donations for the year (this week's picks were for organizations focused on clean water, hunger relief, girls' education, wildlife preservation, and electronic freedom).

read my mind

I had been thinking of getting smartphone gloves for a while, especially since this year's winter is colder than usual and I'm becoming a bigger weather wimp the longer I live in California. Turns out that my product group got smartphone gloves made as group swag! I've gotten good swag before, but never the exact thing I've been thinking of getting, anyways.

Monday, December 17, 2012

hairdo

You know what's kind of fun, is when you absentmindedly put your hair in a bun when it's still wet and then forget about it all day at work because you're, well, working, and all of a sudden, before you know it, it's bedtime, so you unravel it, and it turns out that it dried out over the course of the day, and even though you're wearing frumpy pajamas (and even though you wore your rather unremarkable, quasi-uniform of sweater, sneakers, and jeans all day), you have this little moment of secret glamour, as your drab little bun comes down in a wild tangle of curls.

cryptic

Sometimes it's really hard to figure out what's the right thing to do in a complicated situation, and even when you've decided what the right thing is, it can be really hard to actually do it. Once it's done, however, it feels good to know that you did what you thought was right and that maybe it will make a bad situation better.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

dress up

As much as I love wearing pajamas all day when I'm home, and jeans and sneakers when I'm at work, I do appreciate the occasional fancy event, complete with dress, heels, hair, and makeup. My product team had its holiday party last night, and half of us didn't recognize each other in our grownup clothes. Dressing up doesn't mean being stuffy, though. We still reveled in embarrassingly bad karaoke performances and silly photo booth pictures.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

achievement unlocked

Never has making and eating a piece of wheat toast felt like such an impressive accomplishment.

Monday, December 10, 2012

bright side

I'm trying very hard to see the silver lining of this sudden stomach flu or food poisoning, and I've decided that there are two dubious benefits: first, I'm going to be so happy when I can eat something and not puke it back up. Second, at least my low net calorie intake for today will help balance the massive food fests that took place over the weekend.

Also, I'm very glad that I've made it to the toilet or a bowl every time so far.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

free

I love all the extras you get when you order things from Sephora. This time was an especially good haul, because I had a card for $20 off, found a coupon code for a free eyeliner, cashed in some points for two other things, and got the usual free samples that are always included.

friend in need

My headache remedy apparently works on my cousin's vicious headaches, too.

new again

I rediscovered a pair of jeans I had forgotten I owned, buried in a pile of clothes that finally fit me again, now that I've lost all this weight. The jeans were exactly the kind of jeans I've been thinking of maybe considering getting. I should go through the rest of that pile, because it will be like a shopping trip where I don't have to leave the house, dig through styles I don't like, or pay for the clothes!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

sushi

That was some excellent sushi we just had for dinner with my sister, my cousin, and his wife. Plus, we had ridiculous dinner conversation. And my sister bought Boyfriend a gold thong.

Friday, December 7, 2012

making a list

One great thing about the end of the year is that all of the newspapers and blogs start publishing lists of the best books of the year. I like combing through them to see what I missed, and adding the ones that sound good to my list of upcoming books to read. I think my queue is up to almost 50 now!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

good job

We can give peer bonuses to people at work, it works out to about enough money for a nice dinner. I sometimes forget that we can do that, but it's fun when I work with someone who is awesome and then remember that I can give them something more than just a thank you email.

Monday, December 3, 2012

cheap thrills

I kind of forgot I had $10 of credit left in the Google Play Store, and the weather has been dreary lately, so I bought a fun, frivolous pop album to chase away the rainy day blues.

targeted

So, I know we're all supposed to hate ads and get creeped out when promotions are too personally targeted, but I have to say that Target always prints me coupons for the exact things I want to buy, and I appreciate that. Why pay full price for floss, Advil, and vitamin C when I can use coupons?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

believer

We went to see The Book of Mormon last night with my sister, brother-in-law, and a couple other folks, and it was fun and funny. First real musical I've seen Boyfriend actually enjoy.

cooking class

Boyfriend and I spent the day at my parents' place, watching my mom cook some of my favorite dishes and getting precise measurements and instructions so that we can have definitive recipes. Then, a couple of coworkers, my brother-in-law, and my nieces cane over, and we ate. My niece gave me a sticker for my drawing skills, and we took home lots of leftovers.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

what's that smell

There is a particular, slightly funky smell when a dog chews on rawhide for a while. It's not really a good or bad smell, but I like it, because it means my dog is happy.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

days like this

Even on tough days, there can be good moments.

Moment #1: I decided to sit in the Legal building today, and my wonderful officemate, whom I see far less than I used to, had brought me three bags of my beloved gummy candy, which her cousin had tracked down and carried back from Germany for me.

Moment #2: our bagpipe teacher was in a charitable mood today, and went very light on his critiques, which was good, because I was woefully unprepared and also just didn't feel up to a tough lesson.

Monday, November 26, 2012

stay at home

I love having a job where I have the ability to work from home if I don't feel like wearing real pants and makeup. Some days, I just want to get my work done and VC into meetings without giving up my pajama pants.

grand opening

Just found out that the new cafe in my building is opening in Thursday, just in time to save me from walking to other cafes during rainy season! This also means that I'll probably see my team more, since everyone will converge on my building for lunch.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

what's for dinner

Okay, I keep posting about our new weekly steak night, but seriously, it's amazing, especially since I'm not eating much red meat these days (so it's a treat), and it is still a pretty low calorie meal (so I don't feel like I'm wrecking my weight loss plan to indulge).

It was even better tonight with some of my sister's sweet potato casserole as dessert.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

repeat

Today was a quiet day at home, spent enjoying things that have improved with age. I ate leftovers, caught up with a couple of friends from high school and college, and walked my senior citizen dog. This is what Saturdays should be like.

sweet

Today, my sister came home from work and specially made a second batch of her top notch bourbon sweet potato souffle for me to take home, because we ate all of the first batch last night.

She also scrounged up her gym pass so I could go work off some of my delicious guilt from last night and stay for dinner (crabs!) tonight.

She's pretty awesome.

Also, I got to take home some of my brother-in-law's amazing prime rib, and my mom brought me a doggie bag of some of her Chinese cooking (separate from the Peking duck she brought as an appetizer).

If I'm going to break my calorie goals, then let it be on these kinds of things.

Friday, November 23, 2012

meta thanks

Yes, I am thankful for the things I should be thankful for: friends and family, health, shelter, food, work, a great boyfriend, clean water, blue skies and red trees, and living a life that generally falls somewhere between plentiful and over-abundant.

But I'm also thankful for being more aware of these bounties, both big and small. Today, I'm thankful for being thankful.

turkey day

On a walk early this afternoon, I saw: a beaming older couple on a tandem bike, a beautiful vintage car, a mailbox that looked like a Dalmatian, and impossibly red trees in front of a perfect blue sky.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

more thanks

I wrapped up my work by 3:30, got to the gym, went to the grocery store (the high price of groceries at Whole Foods used to shock me, but now I'm just glad that I live somewhere that has so much food available and that I have the resources to buy it and not mind the price), bought stuff to make mashed potatoes (and also a couple of irresistible cheeses), and came home to an empty house. I love living with Boyfriend, but I also love having some time to myself.

Also, I think sneaking some cauliflower into the mashed potatoes is actually going to work out. It will taste fine and save some calories.

Speaking of calories, after spending the last twelve weeks counting calories, I'm looking forward to eating with joyful abandon tomorrow.

sushi

It's sushi day at my cafe at work, and when the library truck came, the awesome guy who runs the mobile library program had set aside a copy of Jiro Dreams of Sushi for me!

aww thanks

Our annual performance review cycle is finished, and I just read all of the peer reviews I received, and am glad that the reviews were positive. I always worry about being good enough and doing better, especially since switching teams and diving into the deep end of new issues, so it's really reassuring to read other people's positive reviews that say that my hard work is actually paying off.

Monday, November 19, 2012

highlights

One of the great things about reading books on Kindle is that you can highlight the best lines or bits of information in each book, and you can look at all of your favorite quotes from every Kindle book you've ever read online or in a separate document on Kindle. I highlight compulsively, but only remember to go back and look at my highlighted quotes every few months, and I can see what kinds of things I was thinking about based on what I was highlighting.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

here comes the rain

Safe and dry in my pajamas, listening to the rain outside and hoping it turns all the grassy hillsides green again soon.

not so rainy

After a grey morning, the skies are blue and the sun is out, but I'm not complaining. Boyfriend got steak for our dinner, and is testing a recipe to make caramel pecan sticky buns for tomorrow (after we spent the last couple of weeks talking about how good the one we got at Baker and Banker was), so I think I might be a good girl and go to the gym, the bank, and Target, so I can deserve all this deliciousness.

weekend plans

Rainy weather with no obligations means I have a good excuse to spend most of the weekend reading in bed. My friends in Zurich are celebrating Thanksgiving early, so I can even say I hung out with friends over Google Hangouts. It was good to see them.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

drought over

I usually give stars to about 1/6 of the books I read, but almost four months (and nearly 50 books) passed without a starred book. I enjoyed all that reading, but sometimes I want something that moves me enough to warrant a star. The wait is over. My last book got a star, and I'm 73% through a book that I suspect will receive one, as well.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

happy reunion

My car is back! It smells right, it sounds right, it brakes and accelerates right, the locks and windows are automatic, and it has a built in GPS and garage door opener, unlike the rental car. So good to be back in my normal car, which I never appreciated enough on a daily basis.

Also, they cleaned it more thoroughly than it has ever been cleaned since I bought it. They cleaned the hubcaps and put something shiny on the tires. And they gave me gift cards for coffee and gas to thank me for using their services.

Welcome home, Prius, I missed you!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

bookish

One unanticipated benefit of tracking all of the books I read and the dates I finish reading them is that I can look back at the past couple of years and see what I was reading at this time each year. It reminds me of what was going on at the time and I am always surprised at how quickly time (and books) can fly.

cookie monster

I've generally been quite good about eating healthier foods in reasonable quantities lately, but the toffee chocolate chip cookies they had at lunch yesterday were so good that I had to eat four, and avoided eating ten only through exercising monumental self restraint.

prius

The two days that I have appreciated my car the most were the day I bought it (after months of waiting) and today (when I got behind the wheel of the loud, smelly, unfamiliar rental car I'm using while they fix my rear bumper).

Sunday, November 11, 2012

we were young

Look how young my dog was in 2003!

what's for dinner

It's our second weekly steak night. Ah...

Saturday, November 10, 2012

ancient history

There's so much fun to be had from digging through old photos and going through the same series of thoughts: Look how young we were! What was I wearing? Those were such good times! This one is from 2000, my first New Year's Eve in New York. It's fun to think that the pictures we're taking now will one day be a window back into the good old days, as well.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

007

Google bought out an entire cineplex for the whole day today and gave us tickets to see the new Bond movie,a day ahead of the US release. I went with some of the engineers I work with (there's nothing quite like listening to a theater full of engineers scoffing at faux engineering in a movie), and ate a box of Milk Duds for lunch.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

relief

I am so relieved that Obama won the election. I am a cynic and a pessimist when it comes to politics (especially after 2000 and 2004 broke my naive heart twice in a row), but at least we have four more years under someone I think shares the same social ideals and priorities as I do. Even if he can't make them happen, at least I feel confident that he won't be working against them. There's also the added bonus of maintaining dignity in front of the rest of the world.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

moving along

Moving offices again, within the same building, and the new desk is pretty sweet. Window seat, more light overall, good lounge spaces, and a massage room right down the hall (which I might take advantage of if any of my favorite therapists get scheduled there). Building cafe should open up soon, too. And Fiver got his security badge today. Another week at Google.

ten down

Today, I have officially lost ten pounds, and am back to what I would consider my "normal" range! I'll keep going for a while longer for good measure, but I'm pleased that the last couple of months of doing something (diet and exercise) were so much more effective than the last year or so of just thinking about it. It seems obvious that that would be the case, but I was a little worried that maybe diet and exercise wouldn't work, and I'd be stuck suffering at the gym and not eating as much junk food for nothing.

Monday, October 29, 2012

bun in the oven

The bun was incredible.

Boyfriend had the patience to put it in the oven to heat up before we ate it, and it's a good thing he did, because there were hidden pockets of chocolate inside that turned extra gooey and delicious. I was worried that no cinnamon bun could live up to my day-long expectations, but a warm cinnamon bun with secret chocolate exceeded my expectations.

wait for it

One of the reasons I've resisted the Halloween candy today is because I've been looking forward to eating this cinnamon roll that we got at dinner last night all day. It smells even better than it looks.

trick or treat

I bought a ton of candy for Halloween, and have managed not to eat any of it yet, even though I worked from home today.

date night

Aw, Boyfriend just asked me to go to the movies with him tomorrow night to see a movie I've been wanting to see for a while (Looper).

Sunday, October 28, 2012

four more years

Happy anniversary to us!

Friday, October 26, 2012

security

Just found out yesterday that if I submit a photo and a request, the security team will make my dog a just-for-fun employee badge. Why not? After all, he does come to work every day. I'll get him one and see if he'll wear it.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

happy donutversary

My four year anniversary with Boyfriend is coming up, and the big news is that we figured out where we want to go for dinner: Baker & Banker. Burrata, crispy beef cheeks, poached eggs, slow roasted pork shoulder, maple glazed bacon donuts with bourbon cheesecake filling, and pumpkin gingersnap tarts are making our anniversary look even more worth celebrating!

day one

First day back in my normal/skinny jeans!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

that's hot

Simple pleasure: sitting in front of a space heater when it starts to get chilly.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

downsizing

It might be time to go back to wearing my normal jeans again.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

at long last

One of my favorite books of all time is Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. I read it in 1993. I had the good fortune of meeting the author when he came to Google in 2008, and mentioned wistfully that I loved Haroun, and he said that he had been meaning to write another like it. It turns out that he did, in 2010, but I only found out about it now. I got it from the library, and can't wait to read it.

cancellation

Sometimes it feels good to cancel an obligation and reclaim the time for my own purposes.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

zzz

Sudden, irresistible nap on the bean bag. Fiver joined me for part of it.

red

I went and got a haircut today, and had my red streak redone, and it definitely came out pretty red this time. And my salon had sent me a birthday card with 25% off. Fun hair and a bargain!

lucky

I got rear ended today, but no one got hurt, and there's just a little scratch on my car. Could have been worse.

tgis

I thought it was Sunday, but it's Saturday!

what's your emergency

We were at a restaurant for dinner, and a man at a nearby table collapsed rather suddenly. I called 911 for the first time ever, which was kind of exciting in a somewhat inappropriate way. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as it is on TV. I was surprised, however, by how many people did absolutely nothing after he collapsed. It felt good to be doing something. He seemed ok by the time the paramedics finished with him. So that was an exciting evening in the suburbs.

bam

The second half of this week suddenly turned into a few simultaneous emergencies, so I organized them as much as possible, and was able to resolve two of them yesterday. Just six more to go. It feels good to get things done, even the panic is rather enlivening.

good old days

Good friend from my Zurich days is in town for a quick visit, and it's the most 1:1 time we've had since I left. It had been really good to see him, catch up, reminisce about our trips to Kenya and Bonaire, talk about when we were office mates... As we were reflecting on those days, we really concluded that those were golden days of friends, travel, silliness, and exploration. Golden days.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

master of the universe

I took some of my new headache medication yesterday, then we watched some TV. It had been over 25 years since the last time I watched He-Man, and it was hilarious and confusing in so many ways.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

how things change

Actually kind of looking forward to a six hour class on tort law tomorrow, partly because it might be if practical use, and partly because I'll get to see some of my coworkers from Legal, whom I rarely see these days.

best medicine

My coworker's wife gave me a few samples from her clinic to try out for my headaches, which have been attacking with sporadic ferocity in the past few months, sometimes for a week at a time. I am no longer afraid of when the next one will hit.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

mission accomplished

Just used up the last of my prepaid balance on Google Wallet, just days before they switch everything over to credit cards. Whew!

small packages

Tiny little Reese's cups to toss into the brownies I'm making tonight!

morning routine

The best mornings are weekend mornings. Wake up a little too early, eat a yogurt or some fruit, read a bit, fall back asleep. Repeat at least once more before actually getting up.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

home cooking

We went to see my parents for dinner, and my mom had cooked ten dishes!!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

little things

Eight perfectly cooked pan fried dumplings. They usually come out well, but it is rare that they come out perfectly. Note to self: cook with shallow water and lid on with burner set to 4 until the water is almost gone, then lower heat to 2 until done.

Monday, October 8, 2012

import

Gummy candy from Switzerland, courtesy of a five-minute acquaintance (and now new hero) I met a few months ago!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

staying on target

I'm a few days ahead of schedule to read 150 books this year (and having a little buffer is always good), AND I'm over 80% of the way to my goal of losing ten pounds.

freebies

I always take such care picking the free samples that come with each order from Sephora, and then promptly forget about them once they arrive. I dug a bunch out and have been trying them, and it's fun, even if I'm probably not going to buy any of them.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

girls girls girls

Friday plus girls' night means lots of wine, gossip, and raucous laughter.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

shockingly delicious

resolutions

I've been making really good progress on one of my resolutions for the year (losing ten pounds), and doing a respectable job on two others (being more social and positive), so I have turned my focus to my fourth resolution (giving more).

Today, I spent an hour making a bunch of donations to some of my favorite organizations and filing for gift matching from my company (which helps me keep my resolution, but also just feels good). Last week, I spent a couple hours working on some legal stuff for my college choir. Yes, it's already Q4, but better to jam a lot into Q4 than to slack off and not keep it at all. I'm feeling good about my resolutions this year.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

crying

I love it when Boyfriend makes me laugh until I cry, especially when he's making me laugh at myself. Even more especially when he's making fun of me making fun of him.

heaven

I went in for a massage today, and it went a little long. About fifteen minutes long. Bliss.

taco day

I was really hoping that today would be Hawaiian taco day in the cafe in the Legal building, and it is!!! Definitely glad I decided to sit here today.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

book of mormon

My awesome sister was able to get us tickets to see The Book of Mormon at the end of November! I love having something to look forward to.

rolling

Fiver and I recorded a brief session today that may end up in a video about what our group does. They even got a few closeups of him.

let's do lunch

Lots of random lunches and meet-ups with old friends, former clients, visitors, and minor Google celebrities these next few weeks.

pants

Pretty sure that the last time I fit into these pants was two years ago.

Monday, October 1, 2012

twisted

I am really lazy about my hair. I wash it, I brush it, and sometimes I put it in a ponytail. This is what I've done with it for the last 20 years. I often wish there were a way for me to have more of a hair style without requiring any effort or maintenance on my part, and usually, when I ask the hair stylist about this, the "low maintenance" suggestion starts with a hair dryer or a curling iron, and I zone out. The last time I went in, however, she suggested a bun with a bit of a twist that is easier to do when my hair is wet (big bonus, since I never dry it), and really only takes two minutes to do (despite my lack of skills or patience), and it has become my go-to ponytail alternative. Even better, people comment on it all the time, so apparently it looks better than a two-minute, wet haired, lazy hairstyle. All-around win.

Monday, September 24, 2012

less than three

Boyfriend got me this cool <3 ring for my birthday (with a gentle suggestion on my part). It came today! Birthday in September!

fancy meeting you

I skim Facebook once or twice a day now, so a lot slips through the cracks, but I happened to check this afternoon, and a college friend (who rarely posts) happened to post a complaint about Apple maps, and happened to geotag it in Mountain View, so now we're getting dinner in Wednesday before he leaves town again on Thursday. What are the chances?

Friday, September 21, 2012

fifty percent

I'm halfway to my goal of losing ten pounds! I started exercising in mid-July, and started watching my diet this month, and the last couple of weeks, I've finally been seeing real results. This means that I'll have lots of jeans again soon!

doorbell

I totally bought a cheap, wireless doorbell and put the button next to the bed so that I don't have to yell through the door to get Boyfriend's attention when he wakes up before me.

bird plane shuttle

I wasn't planning on watching the space shuttle Endeavour fly over work today, but happened to be in the parking lot a few minutes before it happened, and decided to stay and watch with a few coworkers. I'm glad I did, because it was a surprisingly moving and emotional moment that doesn't come across in photos or videos of the flight. I hope we find new ways for science to reach out and inspire people, or find a way to bring back the manned space program, now that I've seen what it looks like when it's gone.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

one two punch

One of my clients recently sent me an email saying how much he missed working with me, which was really nice. It's good to be appreciated and missed. Today, I met a new client, and she mentioned my former client, saying that he had been talking me up as one of his top favorite lawyers to work with. Secondhand compliments are extremely effective, especially when paired with direct ones.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

saison

We had dinner at Saison for Boyfriend's birthday. The food and service were excellent, and we got to go meet the chef in the kitchen. I think that my favorite thing, though, was that they played this nostalgic 80s playlist to keep the atmosphere light. They even played Rick Astley. Yes, the fancy restaurant Rickrolled us.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

benefits of ocd

Today marks eight weeks since I started doing this gym thing (although two of those weeks were vacation and shouldn't be counted), which is much longer than I usually last (especially without a buddy). Part of the success so far is because I really want to lose a few pounds and not have to buy new clothes, but part of it is that I've found an app that lets me track food and exercise down to a level of detail that has triggered my weird obsession with numbers. As much as I hate exercising and skipping treats, I'm oddly enjoying finding ways to put in smaller food numbers and bigger exercise numbers. I think it's actually working, too... I've got lots of TV loaded onto my tablet, and I've ordered a couple more pieces of gym clothes, so I don't have to constantly do laundry, so I'm hoping to hit my goal by the end of the year.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

painted lady

Legal picnic today, and I took advantage of booth the face painting booth and the henna booth.

kindness of strangers

Never underestimate the power of a random compliment from a stranger. In this case, it was the checkout girl from the pet supply store, commenting that my skin was "glowing." I stammered out that I had just been sweating at the gym, but have been rejoicing in it ever since then. I may be another year older, but so far, so good.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

dreamy

I had a dream last night in which Boyfriend was inexplicably wearing a hydrangea print romper to a party at Walmart. I wish I could record my dreams, because he looked pretty hilarious.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

ice ice baby

I've wanted to go to Iceland since I first started listening to Bjork in high school (and to a series of Icelandic bands ever since), so it was exciting to finally go. It was a wonderful, alien, fascinating place. Amazing graffiti, late sunsets, random live music, great music shops, geysers, geothermal baths, lava fields, waterfalls, tectonic plates pulling apart. I can't even describe what it was that made it so awesome, but it was really awesome.

visitor

Now that we've moved offices and I sit one building over from my clients, I seem to have fewer impromptu meetings and huddles, which means that for the first time in ages, I'm going to spend the whole day sitting in the Legal building. It's good to be back.

still at it

I've shocked myself by continuing with this fitness kick. Other than when we were on vacation, I've been going to the gym 2-3 times a week, and this week, I've even started making a conscious effort to eat more healthily. This is the longest I've managed to stay on the workout wagon since 2006 (which isn't saying that much, since I only go every few years, for 5-10 visits each time). Watching terrible TV while at the gym helps. I am determined to get back to my normal weight, and it seems like my determination and my effort level are matching, this time.

Friday, August 31, 2012

pipers piping

It was amazing to see hundreds of pipers competing in Glasgow, of all ages and many levels. I think it inspired us to practice more, and I think seeing and hearing the music actually made me understand it a bit more, which has in turn made practicing a bit easier. I bought Boyfriend a set of electric bagpipes for his upcoming birthday, so that he can practice with headphones when I'm home.

fringe

We saw something like sixteen performances while we were in Edinburgh, most of which were good, and some of which were excellent. It was really cool seeing such a variety of shows, sometimes up to four in one day. When they were great, it was great, and when they weren't, we weren't so disappointed, because we had plans to go to a lot more. I feel like in normal life, I go see performances so infrequently that it's a big production to go, and so I have much higher expectations, more potential for disappointment, and less room for whimsy. Loved it.

office space

Apparently, working in an open plan office, elbow to elbow with your neighbors, changes your expectations a lot. I just moved offices, and the three-person office I'm in now seems ridiculously spacious and eerily quiet.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

catching up

June was killing my reading productivity (but totally worth it for I/O). I didn't read as much as I thought I would for most of our vacation, because we were so busy doing things, but I started regaining ground the last day or two, and have been making up for lost time since getting back. Currently reading books 98, 99, and 100, and hoping to be back on track for 150 by next week.

Monday, August 27, 2012

encounters

You wouldn't think a trip to Scotland and Iceland would be a trip for meeting up with friends, but we got to see a couple friends from Switzerland (and their baby) right before leaving San Francisco for our trip, two friends in Edinburgh (one in from London and one in from New York), and then met up with a friend and her husband for dinner in the Denver airport on the way home.

queue

I have something of a fascination with respect to music from Iceland, so it was really cool when Boyfriend said he had researched some music shops in Reykjavik. We spent a couple hours at one, listening to a bunch of CDs (they let you open and listen to anything they have). I bought some and made note of a bunch of others to look into later. Then on the fight from Reykjavik to Denver, I realized that Icelandair has tons of music you can pick from, so I even found some more music on the flight. Leave it to Iceland's airline to have surprisingly awesome music on board.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

overload

So many frabjous things happened over the last few weeks (many relating to our two week vacation to Scotland and Iceland), that I kind of froze up and was too overwhelmed to pick particular things to post about. That's a pretty great reason not to post, but I will think about it and start posting some in retrospect, now that the frabjousness is less overwhelming.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

bargain

I went to buy new jeans last weekend because the ones I usually wear were wearing out. I found two pairs that cost 99 dollars each and I couldn't make up my mind. Then I realized that most jeans cost two or three times as much a pair, so I bought both. Bargain.

Friday, August 3, 2012

just in time

The cover for my new (free) Nexus 7 arrived today, just in time for my trip.

t-1

All packed and ready to go, and everything fit into carry-on! Spending the evening catching up with friends in town from Switzerland. Yay, vacation!

Friday, July 27, 2012

crunchie

One of my coworkers from London cane through and brought me Crunchie bars! Haven't had one in years, but I was kind of obsessed with them in college, so this is exciting.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

balloons


Stayed with a few of the engineers at the office until 10 last night preparing this birthday surprise for one of our coworkers. It's a network of long, skinny balloons interwoven with round balloons (with glitter confetti inside to discourage popping), all tied to her desk. No helium involved, there are just so many balloons that they stay packed together. Add in some little exploding poppers in her chair, a silly cake during our weekly meeting, and I think her birthday counts as celebrated. Definitely the most fun reason I've had to stay late at work.

thingy

When I went to get lunch yesterday with a couple of coworkers (and the student I interviewed who got into Harvard, and happens to be interning here this summer), we went to a building that has a receptionist, which also meant that I was able to get a replacement badge holder thingy. My last one broke a week ago, and it was driving me crazy.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

yesterday

I got to meet an author, get a signed copy of his latest book, and eat lunch with him and some other cool people. The funny thing is that he was probably just as happy, because he got to talk to folks from NY team, and try out Glass and the self-driving car.

perk

Not sure which was the best part of the day: getting a Nexus 7, lobster rolls, sushi, table massage, or spending three hours after work executing an elaborate prank.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

hard knock life

This is a tough decision I'm facing at work: go to see The Dark Knight Rises tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the Patents team, or go at 7 p.m. with the Glass team. Or both?

edin-burra

So far, we've booked tickets to three comedy shows in Edinburgh (and flagged half a dozen other events that look interesting), and bought tickets to the World Pipe Band Championships (which also includes the Highland Games) in Glasgow.

Also, we'll get to meet up with two of my friends while we're in Edinburgh.

day three

Today is Day 3 of my attempt to be more active. On Tuesday, I did some cardio at the gym at work. Yesterday morning, I did a quick at-home routine that I found on YouTube, and I'm still sore from that (so either I am completely out of shape, or the exercises were actually pretty tough). I plan on doing more cardio today.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

brush with fame

All kinds of people reach out to meet my awesome teammates. I am coordinating a visit from an author, and perhaps one from an actor, as well.

fitter happier?

I bought some workout clothes today. I think I may be committing myself to some active effort to lose the extra pounds, which would be a good thing.

haha

Meeting up with a college friend on our Scotland trip, and catching three comedy shows together!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

so sorry

Not legible in this picture, but just spotted on a banner being pulled by a plane: "In case you forgot, I'm still sorry."

something fishy

I forgot that Wednesday is sushi day!

Monday, July 9, 2012

me too

One of the engineers invited me to paintball last week. I got back from vacation today to find one of the more impressive pranks I've seen (coworker turned my desk into a lawn). This week, there's poker night with some of the team, and some other people are getting drinks up in the city. Had lunch today and discussed nerdy cartoons from the 80s. I may not make it to all of the events, but it's good to know that people on the team feel like including me in random things. I think I'm settling in.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

trip prep

In somewhat premature preparation for our upcoming trip to Iceland and Scotland, I've started browsing around and downloading Kindle books -- I've picked eleven so far, but since the trip is almost four weeks away, and I only have about six library books lined up for that time period, I'll probably read a few of the books I bought today before we even leave (which will be an excuse to download even more!). I got behind in my reading in the month leading up to I/O, so I'm determined to do some catching up on vacation, and still hope to make it to 150 again this year.

visitor

Had a good friend from my brief law firm days in town for five days, and we packed a lot in:

  • soup dumplings (at a place Boyfriend and I hadn't tried before, and were very pleased to find was quite good, since the place we used to go to changed owners)
  • Japanese Garden
  • Golden Gate Park
  • Golden Gate Bridge and Crissy Field (clearest day I've ever seen in the city -- we could see the bridge, the bay, and Sausalito without a cloud in the sky or a trace of fog on the ground)
  • The Haight
  • The Castro (complete with middle-aged gay nudist men)
  • Mexican food (not my favorite, but Boyfriend was pleased to get to go to a Mexican restaurant for once)
  • Napa and Sonoma, including seven wine tastings (I was the designated driver, but she enjoyed the wine and bought a bunch -- I was even able to leave a few cards for complimentary tastings for a coworker who was coming up to Sonoma just as we were leaving) and dinner at Cyrus (the waiter was kind enough to send a little something back with me for Boyfriend when he learned that Boyfriend was staying home to watch the dogs); perfect weather all around
  • Tour of Google
  • Japanese grill
  • Brunch
  • A short hike at Half Moon Bay
It was good to catch up with her for the first time in a few years, and to really get away from work for the first time since I started working full time with my group.

Monday, July 2, 2012

check out

Why, yes, we are taking a trip soon, how did you know?

Sunday, July 1, 2012

ging gong

Calamansi juice at Whole Foods, which takes me back to our idyllic vacation to Palau and Yap two years ago...

Thursday, June 28, 2012

pilot program

One of the people I met is a pilot and developer with Swiss, and was surprised when I greeted him in Swiss German. We chatted a bit, and he gave me some chocolate, which brings back memories of my many flights on Swiss. We also exchanged business cards, and I offered to give him a campus tour next time he comes in town, and he offered to try to help me get better seats on flights. Not a bad trade.

booth babes

It was super fun helping with the developer pre-order at the conference. I got to meet lots of excited people and tell them a little bit about Glass, and I don't think I was completely prepared for the level of interest and excitement. I also want completely prepared for the night out with the team afterwards, so my old self is skipping the party tonight to relax at home.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

i/o

I/O, I/O, it's off to work/play I go!

oh yeah

I'm staying at my friend's place for a couple nights to be close to I/O. After a couple years of house living, I totally forgot that hot water always comes instantly in an apartment.

Also, check out the view from his place.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

godliness

I'm not the best housekeeper ever, but Boyfriend was pretty impressed when he came home today, and I had done laundry and dishes, collected and taken out the trash, compost, and recycling, and started tidying up the house a bit in anticipation of the cleaning lady coming tomorrow. I also put Fiver through his bath-teeth-nails-ears ritual. Not bad for my messy self. Boyfriend claims that this was not the reason for the flowers and steak.

birthday

It's kind of liberating to be able to tell my mom that no, I really, truly don't want or need her to get me anything for my birthday, because I'm doing fine on my own, and that I really would be perfectly happy if she gives the money to her family back in Taiwan, instead.

steak dinner

Boyfriend went to the store to buy steak for dinner, and brought back these.

Also, we're having steak for dinner.

fun money

I just went through my bag of foreign money to sort out my pounds and pence for the upcoming trip (more than five weeks away, but it's fun to start thinking about), and remembered how much fun it is to look at all these souvenirs from past trips. One little bag has money from dozens of countries...

mon-key

Two years after moving into this house, I finally realized that the key fits into these little monkey holders. I had one on my house key when I was living in Zurich, and it was kind of exciting to put one on again.

founder's day

Spent Thursday hanging out with the team at a party hosted by one of the founders. I had a bit of wine, so I decided not to risk wielding knives or working with open flames during the cooking lessons. Second bonus was that a few of us stayed around after most of the people left, chatting and sobering up before driving home. Good times.

summer plans

A bunch of stuff came together over the last few days, and the rest of summer is suddenly looking very inviting:

  • I got my pass to go to I/O, which is this week
  • My good friend made up her mind and booked her tickets to come spend July 4th here, and so I've started making plans and restaurant reservations
  • Two of my favorite people may come through town for about 20 hours in August, which would be awesome, as we haven't seen each other since they had their baby
  • Boyfriend and I booked the major flights for a two week trip in August -- we'll check out Fringe in Edinburgh (the main purpose of the trip), but it turns out we'll also catch the annual World Pipe Band Championships, and we'll spend some time in Iceland, as well (something I've been wanting to do for almost 20 years)
Life is so much more exciting when you have fun plans coming up.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

wakey wakey

Chicken sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich in bed? Don't mind if I do.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

sunday

Forgot to write about Sunday:

  1. Scottish coworker had an afternoon party at his place, complete with cucumber sandwiches, Pimm's, scones, and a bouncy house.
  2. Then we went out for crabs, but there was a line, so we got bubble tea.
  3. Then we had crabs.

welcome wagon


A few of us took one of the conference bikes for a ride yesterday (and Fiver came along), to welcome a new lawyer after his first day of orientation. 

twins

It has been decades since I've cracked open an egg with twin yolks. I'm going to take that as a good omen.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

we are young

Had a mini work reunion last night, so we ended up with four lawyers and a law student hanging out after a stressful week all around, a little bit giddy about getting together and blowing off some steam, and ended up blowing off more steam than expected. After champagne, wine, beer, rum, Coke, vodka picklebacks, and liberal doses of Rock Band, YouTube, pizza, and ice cream, we went to sleep as the sun came up. Yes, it was a drunken lawyer sleepover, and it was hilarious fun.

Friday, June 15, 2012

sugar rush

Care package from abroad, sent by friends via the luggage of a coworker. My gummy and chocolate supplies were dwindling to dangerously low levels, so this will tide me over for a while.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

to do

These will keep me busy for a while.

good news

I just got to deliver some unexpected work-related good news to Boyfriend! Stay tuned to see how this pans out...

visitor

A very good friend might be coming out here over July 4th, which would be awesome, because it looks like we won't be able to travel to the East coast, as originally planned, due to work conflicts...

lobster again

OK, twist my arm, I'll have more lobster for lunch today, this time in a sunomono salad.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

maybe maybe

My biggest work headache, the one that has woken me up at odd hours and find its way into my dreams (which is unusual, as my dreams usually go towards surreal rather than real) may have become a lot less of a headache.

lobster

Lobster rolls for lunch today! I ordered one for later, because I had already made lunch plans to meet up with the one student I've interviewed so far who then got in and matriculated to my alma mater. So I got to catch up with her and eat a lobster roll.

Monday, June 11, 2012

weekend retrospective


  • Had people over for a work BBQ, and introduced the willing to donut burgers
  • Went to a friend's housewarming party, with several benefits: we were able to use up the rest of our keg and extra cookies and donuts from my work BBQ, had fun food from the food truck she had hired, and caught up with my former manager, who is on leave
  • A friend came by yesterday to catch up over burgers; he came all the way down from Oakland to check out Project Glass (and see us... but mostly to check out Project Glass)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

one upmanship

I invited my entire group over for a beer and donut burger cookout tomorrow. Lead software engineer had our product team over for a fancier affair tomorrow. Founder having us over at his place soon. I hope no one notices that mine is the least fancy.

trick

It seems that the trick to making people like your presentation is lots of pictures, which works out, because that's the part I like doing best.

two day streak

Another day, another pleasant surprise. Some days I can't believe I get paid to do this, and then it gets even better. This is one of those days.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

open season

Engineer coworker left his computer unlocked. I updated a few things, some of which he discovered. Big hat tip for deciding that he liked having "pull my finger" as his chat status at work.

windfall

Unexpected bonus!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

demo

Me, do a big demo? It just might happen. I actually did a happy dance at work when the possibility was raised.

Friday, June 1, 2012

win

I got Glass today, after much waiting, and the team awarded me the weekly internal MVP award (hence the cape). Happy day for this geeky lawyer.

reunion

Office mate from last summer is back in town, and he came over for dinner. Fiver was ecstatic, once he figured out who it was.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

business

This is how I show up when I join meetings over VC and I'm at my computer (and not in a VC room).

winning streak

Just a day after giving the team what they wanted, I got surprising news today that we can have even more than what we were hoping for, and more than we thought was possible, based on precedent. It's kind of a miraculous combination that I want to savor for a moment before diving into the next tangled maze...

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

good girl

Got not one, not two, but three email pats on the head from the product manager in the last 24 hours, so I feel like I'm getting some hard-earned legal street cred on this team.

tomorrow

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow, you're only a day away. A little over seventeen hours until the moment I've been anticipating for weeks...

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

tada

Finally gave the team something they've been asking for since Day One. It felt really good to send that email. I felt kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa Claus were a lawyer.

Friday, May 25, 2012

solvation

I think I might have found some unexpectedly workable solutions for what seemed like nearly insurmountable problems at work, and it was like the sky opened up and poured sunbeams of salvation on me. Then I was able to leave work on the early side, thereby extending my long weekend by a few hours.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

pile it on

You know what's even better than pranking your coworker by making his wife think he was fired? Changing his chat status, mission statement, and auto-responder right afterwards.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

five

Five simultaneous explosions at work, of varying levels of urgency. The most immediate one appears to be resolved, and I've made significant progress on the next few just in the last couple of days. It's going to be a long haul for the next month, I think, but I'm learning a lot. A period of terrifying chaos and long days makes the lull at the end of the tunnel look more beautiful. Keep going towards the light...

Monday, May 21, 2012

twelve

Yesterday, we celebrated Fiver's twelfth birthday. He got to skip his bath, and partake in some normally forbidden human food: cheeseburger with tomato, ham, and mango. He also got some extra dog treats. I think that's a good birthday for a dog.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

treasure

The secret to an exciting burger, apparently, is to hide spicy chicken Italian sausage on the inside.

what work

Saw a coworker playing a gig with his band on Friday, and had I known some Flo Rida song, they would have had me do it. Movie and burgers in the backyard with another coworker yesterday. This was pretty much the most awesome weekend in a long time. I did a little bit of work, but it was totally overshadowed by all the play.

eclipse

And at Maker Faire, I got a thing to watch the eclipse, so when I got home I watched it, and it was cool, and I got to share it with a couple of families who passed my way, and the kids' wonder gave me some hope that science and learning aren't dead. Perfect day.

meet your makers

Randomly decided to go with a friend to Maker Faire today, and it was a million kinds of awesome. Great weather, good vibe, and the most fascinating intersection of creativity, whimsy, innovation, cleverness, hacking, tinkering, and joy.

Friday, May 18, 2012

that time

Hooray for jasmine season, the best-smelling season of the year, which also coincides with the best weather of the year!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

lazy productivity

Who says you can't get anything done when you're being lazy? I didn't set foot outside my house this weekend, and I still read over 1300 pages, had a quasi-work-related VC, practiced bagpipes, watched about six hours of TV, gave Fiver a bath, did the dishes, called my mom, watched a movie, and caught up with friends in Switzerland.

final countdown

Only days remain until I get my happy little paws on a new gadget to test, if all goes smoothly. Days...

Saturday, May 12, 2012

giggles

Uncontrollable giggles today when one of the engineers told me to navigate through a menu and then told me to pick an option and "tap that." Odd sense of satisfaction when he and the other engineers and product managers in the conversation were surprised that a lawyer would laugh at something like that.

Friday, May 11, 2012

navigation

Law on the bleeding edge is tricky territory, so it's satisfying when you get a question that ends up being easily answered, and the answer is exactly what you were hoping to hear.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

modeling

One of my colleagues pinged me today to say people really liked my presentation last week, and that they want to use it as a model for the training series they're doing on various legal topics, to show the presenters how to keep their presentations interesting. I think I had an unfair advantage with the content I was presenting, but I was still flattered.

new girl

Fiver and I have a new work neighbor for the week. We played some fetch and tug today, and she totally cracked me up when she went swimming in the fountain.

Monday, May 7, 2012

solo

One good thing about having the house to myself is that I can turn up the music and sing along as loudly as I want.

back on track

Surprisingly, after a slightly slow start, I seem to be on track to hit 150 books again this year, although it's early days yet, and we'll see if it holds. Some real stunners so far, too.

caretaker

It's kind of adorable that whenever he has to travel on business, Boyfriend stocks up on groceries and makes lots of reheatable food for me so that I won't go hungry from a combination of his absence and my laziness.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

encore

Two weeks in a row. I must be doing something right.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

present

Made it through a presentation to the legal department about Project Glass, and it went pretty smoothly.

Monday, April 30, 2012

gifted

Third surprise present (from a different coworker this time) in less than a week! I will need to plan the best days to wear this based on meeting schedules.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

second life

I have vivid dreams that usually bear no relation to reality and range from horrifying to bizarre to beautiful. Last night, at the end of one if my dreams, I watched fireworks like no fireworks I've ever seen. They looked like supernovas and galaxies and mushroom clouds and all kinds of huge events of creation and destruction. To cap it off, there was no smoke, and the stars were shining almost as brightly as the fireworks, and my dream self took pictures on my smartphone, and they came out perfectly. It was pretty awesome.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

satisfactory

This will do.

weekend plans

Girls' night last night. Now I'm going to try one of my new lounge chairs and read in the back yard until Boyfriend breaks in the new grill to make burgers for dinner.

those aren't groceries

Boyfriend got me something extra when he went out for the weekly shopping this morning.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

left field

A friend pinged me today asking me to stop by his office because he had a package for me, which was a fun surprise. This is the result of his random, quirky generosity.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

chop

Got to my desk in the Legal building today to see that my coworker recently returned from a vacation in China had gotten an inside joke made into a chop, used it to stamp a piece of paper, framed it, and left it on my desk. Classic.