chill chill

Cold weather and a holiday week meant lots of hanging out in the house, working on making a jacket, buying a few things from small businesses, sleeping, eating and drinking more than is wise, hosting an impromptu Thanksgiving hotpot with a couple coworkers and partners, and having my sister's family and my former work wife over for fondue and general goofiness. Tomorrow was intended to be another house day with more sewing and reading, but I won the Hamilton lottery, so we're catching the matinee tomorrow!!

what i needed

Friday soup dumplings and games at home. Saturday spontaneous In-N-Out in the sun, then Vietnamese dinner with sister's family and Jesus Christ Superstar with them and a friend (and Jesus and Abbas had voices to die for), then a drink with the friend. Sunday facial and then a work call in my kitchen with my CTO neighbor (and our CEO across the world). And then I finally finally finally got a solid night of real sleep after three nights of terrible sleep.

And happy 11th anniversary to Boyfriend and me today!! We're bringing a bottle of champagne to our Monday games night, because that's how old nerds celebrate.

fam

There's the family you're born with and the family you choose, and if you're lucky, the two overlap.

Tuesday, grabbed lunch with a college friend (after already getting properly soused with her and another friend over wine and cheese on Sunday).

Spent Wednesday afternoon in the city with the friend visiting from Switzerland, and I'd forgotten how he's just sunshine for the soul. It was good to catch up and just bask in that for a bit.

Thursday late night hang with work friends, talking and eating bad pizza over wine.

Friday afternoon hot tubbing with my sister turned into Friday night dinner with her family, complete with YouTube gems, BIL guitar jams, and just general reminders that when your blood family overlaps with your chosen family, there is nothing safer or more secure.

throwback week

Lunch with cousins. Mending and gossip with a couple of girl friends. Visit from a former coworker who lives in New York, dinner with old girls' night crew, dinner with old with team, concert in the city with my sister's work wife, seeing one of my favorite bands. Can it get better than that? Yes, it can: dinner and cards tomorrow!!

sunday crushed

Did seven errands on Sunday, spanning three cities, and seeing family and friends. Even managed to hustle a referral credit (and run into two former co-workers) when returning some shoes. So productive.

sunday surprise

Out of town cousin texted this morning that he's in town, and the stars aligned so that he, my sister and her girls, Boyfriend, and I were able to go eat lots of soup dumplings and then talk for a few hours. Then older niece took a bunch of my clothes and shoes that I had just culled from my closet this week, giving some of my old faves a second life.

summer party

Summer party at the boss's house with my sister. And a baboon. Followed by burgers with coworkers at home.

summer lovin'

A roasting hot day in the suburbs means a sunny, gorgeous day in the city, timed just right to meet up with a childhood friend for boba, return and exchange some shoes, meet up with my sister, go over to her place for hand rolls, give my niece some funky sneakers, and get back home once it had cooled down. The perfect city Saturday.

me time

Boyfriend is doing family stuff on the East Coast, which means I get the whole bed and complete latitude on the social calendar. Korean BBQ with coworkers last night, Eurovision/lunch/dinner/Super Nintendo with friends today, reading/shopping/dinner with family tomorrow... Lots of selfish fun.

sent

Finally got the first wave of invitations sent out for our crazy summer camp, and it's fun to see the RSVPs coming in. Can't wait!

feast finished

Forty hours of family, friends, and food complete. This year, we scaled it back, so we "only" had veggies, hummus, cheese, bread, smoked salmon, pork belly buns, prime rib, asparagus with eggs, Brussels sprouts with bacon, mashed potatoes, bourbon sweet potato souffle, and pumpkin pie with ice cream. Plus our traditional fondue the night before and crepes the morning after. Mischief managed.

at least

At least the uncontrolled communications within a nosy family mean I was able to avoid an awkward conversation with my parents and find out their thoughts without taking to them...

coup de grace

When you're the black sheep of the family, but everyone believes you when you tell them about a terrible thing that happened in the past, and they band together to try to do the right thing, and you almost start to understand why other people trust their families.

me too

When your friends and family start telling you the things they have been most ashamed of, and you feel honored to receive such trust and faith.

prison break

Had my third prison volunteering event today, and realized that a lot of the things that we've been teaching the guys in the program and vulnerability, shame, and trust are things I've been working on because of the program. I posted my #metoo posts partly because I found myself telling things to strangers in prison that I was afraid to tell my own friends and family. I owe a lot to these men, who happen to be in prison, and who have taught me so much.

Also, I won a t-shirt in a raffle there! I've never won a raffle in my whole life. So I get to keep my family AND I get a shirt. It was a good day.

bombs away

Drew a line in the sand with cousins. Waited. And watched as a large number stepped over to my side.

summer is here

Accidental hiatus! Life is intense, but lots of good things. Henry is back up and running, and has had a couple of weekend playdates. It's finally summer in earnest, with hot sun and long days every day. I've come to terms with reading only 50-60 books this year, instead of 100. I'm getting lots of work done, I still haven't gotten yelled at, and my new boss seems to like me. I'm testing out our product, and I can see it improving as the engineers push out changes. I've started climbing again, and am still fitting in time with friends and my sister, despite long hours at work.

change of plans

Friends who were going to come over for dinner last night couldn't make it, so we went to my sister's for fondue and games, instead, because why not stay up until 4:30 on a Saturday?

meet the parents

My parents came to work today. I gave them the tour, took them to lunch, and introduced them to some coworkers, all of whom said nice things about me. I think they want to work there now.

airport

Spent five hours at the airport protesting the Muslim ban, and despite my usual reluctance to leave the house, wear real pants, drive long distances, and deal with large crowds, it was worth it to see the hundreds and hundreds of people there, including friends, former co-workers, and family. Like many (so many) other lawyers there, I wore a tag and carried a sign identifying myself as a lawyer, in case any families or protestors needed help, I walked along the barricades to let the police know they were being watched, and I explained legal issues and spread status updates on detainees. I've never had so many people thank me and tell me they appreciate my work. It almost makes me proud to be a lawyer, and it definitely makes me proud to be an American. This is what my America looks like -- a mass of diverse people demanding that everyone else get a fair chance, too.