morning mood

Is there anything better than listening to music in bed while drinking coffee and spooning your dog, and then he sighs, puts his paw on your hand, and cuddles deeper into the crook of your shoulder? (The answer is no.)

when it rains

I had won the Hamilton lottery only after months of playing, then I won again yesterday for tonight's show. I asked Boyfriend if he wanted to go, and it turns out that he won, also, after playing maybe five times. He can't go, so I'm going with a good college friend. 

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.

weekend recovery

Really rough week at work, followed by the exact weekend I needed: dinner and concert with friends, sleeping in and napping on and off until 4, TV and reading, and now a sewing night with some girl friends.

third time

Saw Hamilton again yesterday with Boyfriend and a couple of friends, then got dinner at a Mexican

seafood place. Going to a concert next weekend and then Jesus Christ Superstar in a few weeks. It's a good month for live shows!

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!!

worth waiting for

In this world of instant gratification, I'm trying to appreciate things that are worth waiting for. Clothes that are made to order (with a month or two of lead time), and experiences, as well. We went with a couple friends to our favorite restaurant in the city last night (reservations that I made on 1/1), and I bought tickets earlier in the week for a small venue concert for one of my favorite artists, three months out. Good things are worth the wait.

guitar lessons

I'm doing it. I'm taking guitar lessons with the guitar my co-workers bought me for my birthday.

jesus christ

Jesus Christ Superstar on TV, and Judas rocked it. Love that show, and loved seeing all my music and theatre geek friends nerding out about it on Facebook, too. A nice break from the usual politics and inspirational quotes and awful recipes.

young people

Cambodian mentee stayed with us for a few days, and two girls who currently sing in my college choir stayed for the long weekend. Went to a concert with another choir friend, and got pulled up on stage to sing the signature song of the a cappella group and the Radcliffe alma mater and fight song. The nostalgia for college days was strong this month.

second to last

Almost the last day of the year, and I managed to return library books, sort through a bunch of clothes and books and donate them, redo my purple hair dye, and firm up plans for tomorrow to pick up my mentee, go to brunch and a sing along Sound of Music with my sister and a former work friend, and go to a New Year's Eve party. I think my reading total for the year will be 65; nowhere near where it's been for the past seven years, but still quite respectable, given the hours I've been working.

my jam

Went by myself to a community sing of the Brahms Requiem last night, as my other friends couldn't make it. It was me and 100 old people I don't know. We didn't sound great, but I loved singing it again, just the same.

hamilton

Finally got to see it a couple weeks ago with my sister and brother in law, and it was fascinating and lingers in the mind. I'm not a history junkie, nor am I a big hip hop fan, but it was pretty brilliant and both of our time and of his time.

tgif

Fun new hat, cafe au lait, food tour, comfortable new sandals, only a little bit of rain, dinner at our favorite place from last time, great live music, no line for late night Cafe st Monde beignets on the way back to the hotel, no rain in tomorrow's forecast.

west meets east

That thing where you fly cross country for a wedding weekend with college friends, and you split a house, and you remember why you loved them in college and you realize they're even more awesome now, and you get to sing in the ceremony with those awesome college friends, and the groom turns out to be just right for your friend, and one of the readings is from the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality, and you may have sung college fight songs at the reception. That thing is so great.

fully committed

Met up with college friends for dinner in the city and then karaoke, and the bar we went to was small, full, and totally into it. Unexpectedly awesome!

bird

Went to see Andrew Bird with Boyfriend and two friends over the weekend. It was a beautiful night at an outdoor venue, and we had a really sweet parking spot that got us out and home way faster than expected.

new direction

Last weekend (not this past weekend), I met up with a college friend to hear the Stanford Chamber Chorale sing a concert under the direction of our college conductor, who was a key figure in our college experience. He even remembered my last name, after all these years.

laughing all the way

Things that made me laugh today: Henry circling the speakers, trying to find the birds that he thought were trapped inside; a dream I had in which Boyfriend took it upon himself to buy me a bra, and ended up picking one that looked like a tube top with the brand name Dressy Bressy; mishearing something Boyfriend said as "tuckle," and googling it; old music videos by the Hooters.

you've got mail

On the way home from seeing The Postal Service with a friend from work. Their songs are just as good now as they were when they came out ten years ago.