never gets old

Mac and cheese, you're delicious out of a box, and even better homemade or from the place down the hill. You're delicious fresh, and still good reheated. You can stand on your own, but you also play nicely with truffle salt or pulled pork and BBQ sauce. I want to be you when I grow up.

brown paper packages

I'm in one of those phases where I order lots of things online, admire them for a little while, then return most of them, because I don't actually need to spend more money or have more stuff. So many packages makes it feel like Christmas!

box dinner

Last night, we tried one of the many services that sends you a recipe with pre-measured ingredients to cook at home, and it was actually pretty awesome.

good customer service

There is so much bad customer service these days that when you get good service, it is shocking and wonderful. The kind, patient sales associate who helped me three times as I changed my mind about hiking shoes (and even remembered my name) and the accommodating manager at REI who let me transfer the since-expired discount from the first pair to the second to the third, that's good customer service there.

stranger things

I never thought I'd like rain, after years of living on the East Coast and Europe, but after a three year drought here in California, every time it rains, it makes me happy and a little bit hopeful.

late rain

The smell of freshly washed eucalyptus trees while walking the dog at Stanford after what is probably the last rain we'll see until October.

jasmine season

six eyes

Vision plan covers two pairs of glasses now, so I ordered two. Doctor called today to say one pair had come in, and by the time I went to get them, the second had arrived, as well.

insomnia wins

Wide awake at 5:30 = at my desk before 7:30 = so much work done by lunch.

the new black

These are my favorite wildflowers in California. They surprise me every year with their orange-ness.

sound of music

It just so happened that The Sound of Music was showing at our local theatre in honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie release. I've never seen it on the big screen before, so we went, and I ate a whole box of Milk Duds, so it was pretty much amazing. I thought I knew that movie inside out, but you can see so many more subtle facial expressions and random things in the background, so that was awesome.

food glorious food

Went off-campus for a team lunch today, and had a nice steak and amazing cheese grits.

And for dinner, we're eating pasties that Boyfriend brought back from the place we like near Phoenix, where he had a conference. We tried making them at home, but they just weren't the same.

wild

The wildflowers are out in full force all over the place, even on scrubby, neglected, little patches next to the freeway. Impossible shades of orange, purple, and pink in the most improbable places.

happy feet

Spent hours yesterday and today agonizing over the right pair of waterproof (for rainy winter days in California) hiking (for Namibia) shoes, and finally settled on the right ones. They were 20% off, love REI. Also picked up nine pairs of socks to replace the ones I've had for ten years that are finally going into retirement as they grow holes (is there anything quite the same as feeling like you have enough socks or underwear?). 

Bonus round: I had thought about getting Five Finger shoes years ago, but never pulled the trigger, and now they've come out with one that suits me better. Good things come to those who wait?

high efficiency

Ran around to four different stores today returning a ton of stuff I didn't really like and buying a few discounted things that I like or need, so it was a satisfying day. Net income from all those returns, decrease in the total amount of stuff I have, net increase in things I have that I like, and a well-plotted day that ran right on schedule.

seconds

Went to the lobster shack at the bottom of the hill to have dinner with a friend yesterday. I ordered pulled pork, and got a good sized plate of pork, mac and cheese, and baked beans, but after I'd started eating, the guy came out with another plate of pork, because he thought my portion had been too small. So now I've got another two meals covered :)

neck pillow revisited

So I had decided I was going to buy a neck pillow, then couldn't decide which size to get, based off of Tempur-pedic's online sizing guide. My cousin happens to work for them, so I asked him for advice, and he referred me to his sweet coworker and also gave me a discount, so now I have a neck pillow on the way, peace of mind that I picked the right one, and it cost much less than anticipated! My neck is excited, as is my wallet.

itinerary

Next two New York trips booked, one with a weekend in DC for a wedding! Working on nailing down Namibia details (including a crucial layover in Zurich to see friends, grill at the lake, and buy gummy candy), looking into another DC trip for another wedding, and maybe a weekend in Portland or Vancouver? Probably one more New York trip, and then Vietnam and Cambodia are so far in the future that they're just pleasant shadows, but what a year!!

the perfect storm

Went to bed last night, and it was clear outside. Woke up in the middle of the night a few times, and it was raining. By the time I left for work, it was clear again. The only sign that it had rained was that the giant bird poop deposited on my windshield yesterday afternoon (big enough to warrant sending a picture of it to Boyfriend) had been washed away.

poorer and happier

Filed my taxes, which always gives me a sense of satisfaction, despite the fact that it always costs a lot. I just like the sense of accomplishment, and finding and filling in the numbers is oddly soothing.

Also, I finally got around to paying off the balance of my law school loans!! You're supposed to pay the minimum on government loans and invest it in something else, because the interest is so low, but I've never invested the money elsewhere, so I finally admitted that it was better to just pay them off and not have that piece of debt anymore.

cannot be overstated

The deliciousness we experienced in Japan cannot be overstated. Simple things, like tempura shrimp heads (and I don't usually like shrimp heads). Perfect ingredients, like Kobe beef and fatty tuna. Creative dishes, like a yuzu sourdough bread that cooked at the table. Every day was another feast, and out of the hundreds of things we ate, these dishes were some of the very best.

sweetness follows

What can I say, I'm Asian, and I think beans belong in desserts and sweet dishes. Like so.

cherry blossom

We were a bit early for cherry blossom season, but did get to see a few.

neck pillow

The hotel in Tokyo offered a selection of pillows, so I tried one of those weird looking Tempurpedic neck pillows, and it was so good. Might have to get one for my crazy neck.

sad but good

A high school friend's dog passed away this week, and this time two years ago, I was in the midst of losing Fiver. Terrible and sad, but emailing with my friend and remembering it all over again reminds me of how much Fiver changed my life for the better by influencing my choices, setting examples on love, patience, and forgiveness, and giving me more empathy. I am a better person for having known Fiver, and hope that Henry is reaping the benefits of what Fiver sowed.

fully stocked

A trip to Japan means all kinds of bounty: we ate so much good food, I can't even pick a favorite restaurant or narrow down favorite dishes to fewer than ten (and I only gained two pounds!!); I've got tons of pajamas (this means a lot to a  couch potato with hoarding tendencies); the TiVo is full of so many options (which I can watch in my new pajamas while pacing around the room trying to lose those two pounds).

april fool's

My product team did a clever prank today that was simple and fun (com.google was a flipped version of google.com), and even gave me credit for making them think of doing one in the first place.

together again

First play date after Henry and his favorite work dog both came back from vacation. They played long and hard, then cuddled on the couch, then played some more.

take care

Back in town after a month of mostly being away, and I'm making appointments and taking care of all kinds of things I was putting off, from taxes to toenails to back pain to pores to glasses to allergy shots to checkups. Some are fun, some aren't, but it's good to get things done.