endless

If you would have told me three years and 400 books ago that I would still have a rolling "to read" list of over 70 books, I would have asked you if that could really be possible. I'm so glad it is, and that the world is full of an endless stream of interesting, silly, beautiful, awful, fun, depressing, and amazing books.

welcome back

Welcome back from winter break, TV! And an especially warm welcome to The Biggest Loser, with Jillian as a trainer again. It wasn't the same without her.

package

I love getting packages. Especially when they aren't just things that I ordered for myself.

perchance to dream

We just swapped the master and guest mattresses, because the master mattress has probably had about seven years of full time use, and the guest mattress has probably had about a month of actual use. Can't wait to start sleeping on a much firmer bed.

overnight stay

We had two different out of town friends visiting the city this weekend, scheduled for dinners on Friday and Saturday, so we decided to stay overnight, to minimize driving. It also meant we were able to stay out late on Friday and see other friends and hit some museums on Saturday. It was awesome catching up with so many people in less than 30 hours, and it almost felt like a weekend trip.

personal librarian

I woke up this morning and realized that it's Wednesday, which is the day the mobile library comes to work. I hadn't finalized my resolutions yet, but I knew that learning how to sleep better would be one of them. I sent a quick email to the guy who runs the mobile library, just in case he still had time to maybe put a sleep-related book on for me, but no worries if not.

He responded immediately and when I went to pick up my book, he had set aside six books on sleep disorders. So awesome.

first

First post of the new year!

Two things:

- I actually exceeded my reading goal and made it to 151 books for the year.

- If there is a greater simple pleasure than putting your ice cold feet on your boyfriend's warm belly, and experiencing the simultaneous pleasures of thawing your feet out and watching your boyfriend writhe in agony, I can't think of it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

achievement unlocked

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

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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).

we were young

Look how young my dog was in 2003!

what's for dinner

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

four more years

Happy anniversary to us!

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.

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!

that's hot

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

downsizing

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

home cooking

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

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.

import

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

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.

girls girls girls

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

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.

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.

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.