admission

I just found out today that one of the students I interviewed got into Harvard, and I'm so happy for her -- out of all of the candidates I've interviewed in the past three years, she's the one I liked best (and, I admit, the one who reminded me the most of myself). I hope she chooses Harvard, and I hope she loves it.

gloves

Boyfriend got me a pair of boxing gloves (plus a pair of blocking mitts for him) so that I can burn off my extra energy and punch out my frustrations from time to time.

85

Any day can be improved with 85 minutes of massage.

80

This week, we are finally getting a couple of days with temperatures in the 80s.

compliments

Sometimes you have to take compliments wherever you can get them. I had my annual checkup today, and was oddly flattered (and somewhat amused) by the nurse practitioner's enthusiasm over my "great cholesterol," "perfect heart," and "wonderful blood pressure." She even complimented my breathing skills while she listened to my lungs. I should add that to my CV.

Also, (stop reading if you don't like TMI), I'm so glad that the NIH recommends Pap smears once every three years instead of every year.

pants graphs

Spotted on a whiteboard at work yesterday. I feel vindicated in my love of not wearing real pants (any pants that have a zipper or a button count as real pants) except when required by law or office policy.

Note that there is absolutely no intersection between "Times am happiest" and "Times I am wearing pants":

nom

I just saw this picture (originally from here), and think it's probably the most brilliant cupcake ever made:

twice

Boyfriend is not as much of a cuddle junkie as I am, so I'm glad he has indulged me for the past two days, rather than immediately jumping into the day upon waking up.

success

Dinner turned out really well, and there are even leftovers for later this week. Also, I discovered that I like feta cheese if it's made from cow's milk. It's just the goat milk kind that I don't like.

no pants day

Boyfriend and I went to see my sister and her family, and then went out to dinner with two of his friends yesterday, so today was my weekly "stay in the house and wear stretchy pants all day" day. It was something of a rough week last week, so I mostly indulged myself:

1. I slept in as long as I wanted to.
2. Boyfriend picked up an almond croissant and left it by my bed to eat when I woke up (he was already at the gym).
3. I had a video chat to catch up with my friends in Zurich.
4. I called my oldest friend for a quick catch-up, and found out that she is pregnant with her sixth child (our paths have obviously diverged a lot, but we still love to talk when we can, even if it's only a couple of times a year). She's thrilled, so I'm happy for her, but I'm also happy that I'm not her.
5. I made good progress on reading The Happiness Project, the book written by Gretchen Rubin (who has a blog by the same name, which was part of the original inspiration for me to keep this blog, as a reminder to myself of the good things in life). I've flagged a few bits in the book for further follow-up.
6. Partly because of my reading The Happiness Project, and partly because I've noticed how much making donations or reading good books have helped to improve my mood with immediate results, I did some poking around and made some lists of (even more) books I want to read and possible charities I'd like to donate to, so that the next time I want a quick pick-me-up, I'll be prepared, and I won't need to do any research, but can just go to the library or make a donation online, for a no-brainer source of instant gratification.
7. As I started to think about dinner, I mentioned to Boyfriend that I really felt like eating quinoa, and he offered to go to the store to buy some. I looked up a recipe online, and I'm going to be experimenting tonight -- I've never made it before, and Boyfriend has gamely agreed to try it out.

badge

Last week, when I was having a particularly frustrating day at work, I discovered that our internal work directory has a function where anyone can upload a little image and some text, and then direct that it be posted on anyone else's directory entry. It's called a "badge," and I had previously assumed that it was a function that required some kind of admin rights. It gave me a disproportionate amount of joy to create a few badges and put them on a few of my friends' pages. I've already started making plans for more of them. It was the highlight of an otherwise dark day, sad but true, but at least there was a highlight.

athlete

Our last team offsite was mini golf, and today we went bowling. Due to my extraordinary athletic prowess and legendary motor skills, I managed to get the high score at both. Maybe I should consider going into sports instead of law?

marmot

Work has been pretty rough since we got back from vacation. Tons of work, and everything seems to be urgent. A deal that I picked up on Friday got especially crazy, and I worked for most of Saturday and Monday on it, and then fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the deal died Monday night.

What I wanted to share, however, is this wonderful painting, which reminds me of Boyfriend. This is what Boyfriend would look like if he were a marmot, and if he were wearing a golden helmet. It's set as my desktop wallpaper, and I love it.

rainbow

Big old rainbow, horizon-to-horizon, on the drive into work today, which made the 8:30 call more palatable on a Monday morning.

balance

Another thing that is helping ease me back into work is that our bonus checks were deposited right before I got back to the States.

transition

I don't think I've ever had a harder time making the mental transition from vacation back to work. Positive side effects, however, have been that I spent some time researching and donating to charities for disaster relief (I'm recommending the American Red Cross and the International Medical Corps, which both have at least 90% efficiency in use of funds) and also got my vacation pictures sorted and uploaded (they're on Facebook, if you want to take a look).

trip list

Because I wasn't posting while we were in the Philippines, here's a list of things that would have made this blog:

• Business class makes a huge difference when you're taking six flights, two of which are over ten hours long.
• The long-haul flights didn't have to make any refueling stopovers.
• We caught an earlier flight once we got to the Philippines, so that we arrived six hours early to the resort in Dumaguete.
• The outdoor shower in our room in Dumaguete was actually quite nice. I have no idea how they keep an outdoor shower so clean in the tropics.
• The dive shop in Dumaguete was run by Swiss guys, so it was the most organized dive operation I've ever seen. 
• Dumaguete has the most amazing muck diving (diving in small, sandy areas to look for tiny, mindblowing critters that are sometimes the size of a fingernail clipping).
• Despite the fact that I can get seasick in a swimming pool, for some reason (I am guessing magic), I experienced no seasickness the whole trip -- not on dives, not on the week-long liveaboard. Nothing.
• The mangoes. Oh, the mangoes.
• There were small scuba tanks available on the boat, which meant that for the non-strenuous dives, I was able to tool around with a less cumbersome tank on my back.
• I racked up another 25 dives.
• I made it through seven books.

sendai

Found out on Sunday that my high school host family (who live in Sendai, Japan) are all safe after the earthquake and tsunami.

tick tock

Leaving for the airport in ten minutes, and I'm all packed and excited, plus I also managed to book tickets to Chicago and Zurich for April and May. Today is all about travel.

I'm kind of hoping that this won't be updated for the next two weeks, because that will mean that I have no Internet access, and will be having a truly unplugged vacation.

ooo

Leaving the office now, and won't be coming back for two weeks!

smooth

Asian (lack of) leg hair + a good men's razor = very smooth

order

Outwardly, I am a very messy person, but I prefer for my thoughts and work to be very organized. It doesn't always happen if things are too hectic, but when I have time to impose order on my thoughts, work, and schedule, it gives me a feeling of immense satisfaction.

deutsch

I met a new lawyer we hired into our Zurich office, who is doing a couple of weeks in California for orientation. When he found out I lived in Switzerland for four years, he asked if I spoke German, and I said I had forgotten most of it, but then he spoke German for a few minutes, and I understood it all. Turns out that I hadn't forgotten everything, and he has the perfect accent (southern German, which is softer than true high German but more proper than Swiss German) for me to understand.

almost summer

Weather reports say that highs in the Philippines are in the upper 80s. If summer won't come to me, I'll go find summer.

three day weekend

Day 1: Up to the city to see friends and hang out with my sister and her family. Crabs for dinner.

Day 2: Lazy day with naps and books. Downloaded a dozen Kindle books for upcoming trip. Boyfriend coming back from two day trip to Boston.

Day 3: Tomorrow will be my productive day, and I intend to run errands, go to the gym, and start packing for the big trip.

Weekends really ought to be three days long, so that I can do all three things every week: be social, be lazy, and be productive.

countdown

Eight days until we go to the Philippines!

next

Ahh... I just found out today that someone else will probably be able to take over the product that just launched on Wednesday. It has been a long, twisted road since I first started with the team in March of last year, and I think it's at a good transition point, so I'm looking forward to moving on to something different.

work it out

Work has kind of gone crazy, and it has been driving me crazy. One of my products has a big launch tomorrow, and things just weren't pulling together.

Out of sheer frustration, I decided to work on my 2010 taxes. (I know, it's strange, but doing my taxes soothes me.)

I got the taxes done, two months early, which both soothed me and made me feel like I had accomplished something (even though I owe a bunch of money), and then a series of miracles happened, plus a renewed spurt of belief and effort on my end (partly due to the completed taxes), and several deals closed, rather unexpectedly, and we are almost there for launch.

good girl

I've eaten big salads at lunch and dinner all week (starting on Sunday), with lots of things that are supposed to be extra-good for you, like quinoa, barley, blueberries, spinach, almonds, and broccoli. They've actually been pretty tasty, and I feel so virtuous. I draw the line at kale and chard, though.

pick and choose

One of the things that I really appreciate about my job is that I get a lot of variety and autonomy, and my manager also gives me a surprising amount of input into whether I want to work on a particular product or deal, and how I think it should work.

pink tree

This is what the trees are doing. By the time we go on vacation and get back in mid-March, I think winter will be safely in the past. Whew.

february

Ah, February, when the temperatures reach the 70s and the trees burst into bloom?

sunday dinner

I talked myself into going to the gym again, and was pleasantly surprised when I remembered that they've started weekend meals at work again, so I was able to eat a big, healthy, convenient salad after I finished up at the gym.

business class

We have booked everything for our dive trip (which is in three weeks!) to the Philippines, and because Boyfriend doesn't like long flights, we decided to book business class flights the whole way. This is the first time I've paid for business class (as opposed to getting bumped or using miles), and I intend to enjoy every minute of it.

pass

How cool are virtual boarding passes on your mobile phone? One fewer thing to lose when traveling.

blood

I flew to Utah for a quick visit to see my cousin. It's amazing how much blood counts, even though it has been years since we've spent regular time together. I'm really glad I got to see him.

grape

Perfect grapes (the really round, firm, extra sweet, seedless ones) are perfect. My mom packed them in a bag dinner (which was kind of adorable) to take on the plane with me.

facebook

I'm still reveling in the successful Facebook escapade we pulled off on my millipede-phobic coworker today. Our externs lured her to a staged lunch meeting, whereupon we proceeded to bombard her page with millipedes. We completely filled her page with pictures, videos, links, tags, and comments. It was the highlight of my day.

007

Exciting, ridiculous discovery of the day: Sean Connery in Zardoz. Kind of amazing that this exists and I'd never heard about it until now:

amazon

It's so impressive that Amazon still has direct customer support over the phone, and that it's actually good. Kindle issue resolved today in under five minutes.

quinoa?

For once, I tried eating something that's supposed to be super-healthy, and I liked it for more than its nutritional benefits.

gilead

"There are a thousand thousand reasons to live this life, every one of them sufficient." -- Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

personal record

I'm pretty sure that Boyfriend has now broken the record for longest relationship ever. He is now the holder of the championship trophy. Me :P

old job new job

Also, this launched today, which was pretty cool. Working on this particular deal has been an interesting collision of worlds for me. When I left my old job, I didn't think I was ever going to get to work on Holocaust issues again (which was sad, because it was very meaningful work), so coming here and then leading the Legal part of this has been a serendipitous way to stay involved from a different angle.

larp

Funny thought of the day: Imagine LARPing. On a trampoline. With people from work. It's not going to happen (we're not quite that nerdy), but it's pretty hilarious to think about.

philippines

Looks like the trip is going to happen in a month! Two weeks of diving in the Philippines, and we are so close to booking. Just the thing to motivate another session at the gym after work today. I think I can manage a total of a dozen cardio sessions before the trip.

501(c)(3)

Fun procrastination activity of the day: donating to some good causes and filing for matching funds from my company.

no rain

It has been sunny and warm (hitting 70 degrees) for the last couple of weeks. My secret optimist likes to think that this means that winter is over, but even though that's probably not true, at least it's a nice break.

rehash

Did another round of Harvard interviews tonight, but this time, two of my college friends were also there, interviewing students, so we went out for drinks afterwards to rehash the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's kind of like Kids Say the Darndest Things, except for that they're not really kids anymore.

Sample question: Tell me about your high school.
Sample answer: It's on a hill.

start

I usually love being super lazy on the weekend, but I also try to prepare a little bit for dive trips. With a potential trip in March, it's time for me to get my lungs in shape again. I managed to get myself to the gym and on a bike for an hour. (And this was after waking up earlier than usual, going out for breakfast, and dropping my friend off at the airport, and before facing the Sunday afternoon crowd at Whole Foods and doing two loads of laundry).

dinner x 2

Dinner last night with some of Boyfriend's friends (Japanese grill), and dinner tonight with one of my friends from my old New York days (seafood).

gizmo

I am accumulating gadgets at a rather embarrassing rate -- one benefit of working in tech.

relief

It's a little bit of a relief when I get a few deals with my favorite business people after a long stretch of working on other deals. It's like the work equivalent of coming home.

happy birthday

One of our good friends at work is celebrating his birthday in a couple of weeks, but I realized this morning (when checking Facebook) that his birthday is actually today. Surprisingly, even on such short notice, we managed to get a group of people to go out for birthday drinks after work. Random fun on a Tuesday night.

clean slate

My cleaning lady is back from her long hiatus, and tomorrow, I'll come home to a clean house. I went for 30 years without having a cleaning lady, but the last two years of having one have converted me to the "Have" camp so thoroughly that I look forward to tomorrow with as much pleasure as young children look forward to a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

my day so far

It's a day off from work. Boyfriend picked up a sticky bun for me when he woke up to get his coffee. He warmed up the sticky bun and brought it to me in bed. I ate it, finished my book, then took a nap. I'm going to eat leftovers, read, and maybe take another nap.

pho

There's nothing quite like having a huge craving for a particular food and then getting it.

revelation

Two people discovered pranks that we pulled on them at work yesterday, much to the amusement of the rest of us. A few more unsuspecting victims still remain in the dark, and I've got some good ideas for the next round...

We ended the day with drinks at a nearby dive bar, and now we've got a long weekend. I've polished off two books and ghost-written my parents' annual Christmas letter (we're always late), all without leaving the house.

business relationship

I had dinner last night with one of my clients, which in most companies would probably sound like a lame business thing, except that it's a bit different here, and she and I get along really well, both in and out of work. In terms of work, she's one of my favorite people to do deals with, and if we didn't work together, I think I'd still want to hang out with her. We spent a few hours catching up, gossiping, speculating, and it was really fun. She's also an incredibly positive person (it's really hard to get her to say anything bad about anything or anyone), which is sometimes what I need. As a lawyer surrounded by lawyers, I tend to see things in a somewhat cynical and jaded light, so to spend a few hours hearing another perspective that is full of silver linings and big dreams kind of scrapes the barnacles off of my crusty attitude. We had a great meal as friends, and also exchanged a lot of information and compliments as colleagues, so the whole evening was just lots of fun.

alumna

I've gotten more involved with Harvard since moving back to the States, interviewing students for admission and now bringing an undergraduate into work. It's kind of fun talking to these kids and remembering going through the things they're doing, and it feels like I'm giving back a little bit. Also, some of the candidates are pretty hilarious. I will always remember Ballet Girl and the Stoner, and wish them well wherever life takes them.

big plans

We've begun planning our next big dive trip in earnest. Looks like a liveaboard in the Philippines in March? I convinced Boyfriend to use my dive travel agent that I've used before, and he now agrees that a good dive travel agent is awesome.

twizzlers

Why, yes, I'm having Twizzlers for lunch. They called out to me when I was at Target, finishing up my weekend errands before going to pick up my friend from the airport so that we can hang out before going out to dinner.

deal

We went to the discount pet supply place, because I had to get food and bones for Fiver, and Boyfriend found a bed that is very much like Fiver's favorite ratty old bed, which never seems to have an equivalent anywhere that I look. It was marked $12.99, a bargain. The cashier wasn't able to get it to scan and ring up, so despite the price tag, she just charged it as $5.99, even better! Boyfriend is amused, but I still feel like it was a big victory. Hope Fiver likes it.

cover

I love cover versions. Cover versions have the potential to turn bad songs into good songs, and to put good songs in a new light. When they come from unexpected sources, it's even more exciting.

I listened to The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs obsessively in law school, and some of the songs still make regular appearances in my playlists. One of those songs is "The Book of Love." Today, I came across an amazing cover of the song done by, of all people, Peter Gabriel. I was never a Peter Gabriel fan, but this song has given me a new respect for him, and it pretty much made my day.

calendar

The pope in a sombrero!

help

I have a tendency to be snide and lazy, so I'm making an effort to try to "be good" sometimes. I'm bringing an undergrad from my college alma mater in next week to shadow me and meet people in the department. I'm making some charitable donations. I'm trying to help friends out with things, ranging from bringing in boxes to help with their moves to working on CVs. It actually feels pretty good to try to be good. Sometimes.

part two

So after our lobster and crab dinner last night, I came into work and found out that lunch included lobster and crab pot pie. I wolfed some of it down after killing my inbox off and before running off to my first table massage of the year.

crustaceans

Got some coworkers together after work, picked up some freshly steamed crabs and lobsters, and between the seven of us, we ate seven Dungeness crabs and two lobsters. The lobsters were over three pounds each. Three other coworkers came to watch. It's a spectator sport.

new year

It's almost a week since my last post, which is the longest I've gone without posting here, but it was for a good reason -- the first couple days, I was being just plain lazy, which was awesome, because I was able to be lazy due to the fact that work was quiet and my clients were too busy doing holiday stuff with their families to send me any work-related email. The last few days, I wasn't posting because I was hanging out in Chicago with good friends, playing games, catching up, exchanging gifts, and eating an incredible meal at Alinea.

So I rang in the new year with a combination of laziness, friends, and food, which is about as good a way to start a year as any.

100

Made it to 100 books for 2010 today (including 50 on Kindle, 18 on CD, and the rest in print, mostly from the library), and it looks like I will finish the year at 101 or 102. Thanks, work, for slowing down enough to let me read.

work day

Today is technically a work day, and I came in after the movers finished with Boyfriend's stuff, but the office is almost empty, and my inbox is very quiet. Tomorrow is the last official work day of the year, and I'm hoping this means that my clients are all laying low until next year.

big day

Boyfriend's furniture finally made the journey to the house, which makes things seem a little bit stressful and real, but also kind of exciting.

spontaneous

I decided to meet up with my sister at my parents' place yesterday (which surprised my parents and scored me some of my mom's cooking), and then my sister and I decided to head back to her place. I picked up Dungeness crabs on the way there, and we spent the evening eating crabs and hanging out with the kids while my brother in law was on call at the hospital. I spent the night and hung out for a few hours this morning. It was nice to have some unplanned, low-key family time, especially with my sister. We're both so busy with work, and she has three kids, so life is usually so hectic that we only have short, planned time together.

ho ho ho

Boyfriend and I went up to my sister's place and spent Christmas afternoon and evening there with her family, my parents, one of my cousins, and a friend of my sister's. It went pretty well -- I think that both of my parents liked what I gave them (which is not always something I'm sure of), the kids were in a present-filled haze of joy, and we all just ate and hung out. Eventually, we started goofing around, and my cousin grabbed Boyfriend's butt. Boyfriend has always done pretty well with my family, but I'm kind of proud that he has been elevated to butt-squeezing status. It may sound strange, but in my family, that's kind of a mark of acceptance.

fin

I had finished all of my Christmas shopping except for Boyfriend. I finally finished one part of his present (a framed picture from our trip to Palau and Yap) and gave it to him because I couldn't wait, and ordered the rest of it (a Kindle and cover) to be delivered in a few days. It feels good to have that all taken care of.

say cheese

Truffled Brillat-Savarin.

millipede

My coworker has a deep and amusing fear of millipedes. I printed a picture of one yesterday, cut it out, and hid it in her wallet. My only regret was that I wouldn't be there to see her reaction. Today was my lucky day, because she discovered it while we were at the nail salon, so I got to witness her little yelp of surprise and disgust when she opened her wallet. Merry Christmas to me!

weekend?

Finished work for the day (and perhaps even for the weekend) earlier than expected, and then went for spur of the moment pedicures with two friends from work. Now I'm settling in for an evening of reading, as I realized that I have four books going at the same time, and need to finish all of them in the next week.

unlikely combination

The ChromeOS netbook, when brand new, smells ever so slightly and inexplicably of some combination of neoprene and other scents that I strongly associate with dive gear. So basically, it's a gadget (one of my favorite things) that reminds me of diving (another one of my favorite things).

making a list

I'm going to just list some unrelated things:

1. Every day for the next six months will be longer, and it is only a matter of time before we can start leaving work before dark again.
2. Grooveshark is a pretty awesome app. It's like Last.fm and iTunes had a child. A child that got the best genes from both sides.
3. I love when Hyperbole and a Half gets updated.
4. Dinner with a friend is great, especially when that dinner also involves all-you-can-eat meat.
5. Although it really shouldn't be that surprising, it's still fun to randomly run into people unexpectedly.

my precious

I got an email before I came into work today, letting me know that I could pick up a Cr-48. I worked a ton on the launch, and am excited to try it out, thanks to some finagling by the business guy and the product counsel to help me scoot up the list.

the good news...

The bad news is that work kind of blindsided me today. The good news is that I managed to crawl back on top of it. The bad news is that the cafes were closed before I could get dinner. The good news is that I had enough energy to make dumplings at home, instead. At least there's good news, right?

rofl

No one makes me laugh as often, or as stomachache- and hyperventilation-inducingly hard as Boyfriend makes me laugh. No one else takes pictures of me sleeping so that he can show me how my feet look like giant marshmallows in the duvet. That counts for a lot.

new phone

I love gadgets, and it's kind of perfect that I work somewhere that keeps me supplied with new gadgets from time to time.

This time, it's a new phone. It's pretty slick.

Also, gone are the days when getting a new phone meant having to enter all of your numbers in again. Everything loads up automatically. I got my first cell phone in 1998, and it's so amazing how much more they can do now.

twelve days

Twelve days left in the year, and I'm about to start book #96. It's going to be a race to the finish. 100 just might happen...

wrap it up

I can call this a productive day, because I did the dishes and wrapped all of the presents I bought. It's also a successful day, because I didn't have to change out of my pajamas or leave the house.

shopping

I finished all of my Christmas shopping (except for Boyfriend) with a week to spare, and the only time I had to set foot in a store was to pick up wrapping paper.

messiah

They say that cleanliness is next to godliness. I am not good at cleaning. This means that my cleaning lady is the closest thing to god in my life, and she went to Mexico to get married. This meant that my house was slated to go for eight weeks without a cleaning. I can make as much mess in eight weeks as a normal person can make in months.

But salvation is at hand. Her cousin is going to come tomorrow (3-1/2 weeks since the last cleaning), and maybe again in the remaining time. Hallelujah!

90

I hit 90 books consumed in 2010 today. There almost three more weeks left in this year... 100 would be awesome but perhaps unattainable.

holiday cheer

Egg nog and karaoke!

night light

Boyfriend complained often that the mud room adjacent to the garage is always poorly lit. I finally got a photo sensitive night light to put there, and there's one problem solved.

canine companion

I love that my dentist lets me hold a dog (mine or hers, whichever one is around) while I'm in the chair.

schwag

One of my products had a big launch yesterday, and my business guy picked up schwag for me from the launch event. Super nice of him.

crabby

Two whole Dungeness crabs for lunch? Don't mind if I do...

dog's life

Received an Amazon package early today, a special dog heating pad, and I couldn't wait to tuck it into his bed, so Fiver got his present early. I hope he likes it.

highlights

The latkes and gingerbread cupcakes at dinner tonight were amazing.

ready

I have no idea how this happened, but I think everything I had to get done for my next launch got done early. That never happens.

simulation

Today has been a day of simulated perfection. It's cold and dreary out there, but I've barricaded myself in the bedroom with a humidifier and a space heater, drifting in and out of sleep between phone calls, meals, and books. It's pretty perfect in here.

lotr

My coworker's boyfriend is renting out a 300 person theater and showing the first movie from the Lord of the Rings trilogy to celebrate his birthday. Instead of presents, he just wants people to bring donations for Toys for Tots. I love the combination of fun, nerdiness, and charity.

counting down

Lots of things coming up, and I'm getting stuff done for them: a big launch, Christmas shopping, and planning for a friend's wedding shower.