Notes

valentine's

dusting

I saw a beautiful flowering cherry branch sticking out of a NYC trash can on the way to work this morning. I wanted to save it, but there was already somebody digging around in that trash can for something else.

I pay for a mail box/package service in the city so that I can receive packages, since my door is right at the sidewalk and only the USPS can get in to leave something. Conveniently, this place is in between my office and one of the trains I can take home. Not a big fan, however, of schlepping boxes on 3 trains home. This morning I had to return a small, heavy box… I made it to Brooklyn before realizing that the seller sent me the wrong weights, so I had to do a round trip. Does everyone in NY deal with this comical lameness?

All of the electricity in all of the buildings managed by my employer comes from wind energy! This place rules! I love that I am continually pleased and impressed by my new employer.

I go out to lunch by myself all the time. It is at once lovely and kind of sad.

I just bought a 6 quart slow cooker… far too large for a single person, and yet I’ve already outgrown my smaller one. Going to lunch alone all the time means you’ve got to have a crew over for brisket sometimes.

salad diary

ruler

One More Long Night

four days and three nights

Today was my third day in Albuquerque.  Save that first lunch on the way home from the airport, I’ve only been out of the house once, to take a 20 minute walk with my mom in the nearby canyon.  Well, they call it a canyon, but it’s more of a wide dip of open space between a housing development and her neighborhood.  Other than that, I’ve only left the computer for naps, the bathroom, and to eat… though I’ve been eating at my machine a lot.

This sordid tale ends tomorrow.  Whether it’s done or not, I’ll be through with this project, this documentation, this employer, this seven year chapter of my life.  I’ll definitely miss some of my coworkers, but I don’t need the job to stay connected with them.  I’d rather kick it when I’m relaxed, not venting about dumb work shit.

still life with peace lily and dull machete

On a lighter note, this awesome scene is the entryway to my mom’s apartment.  Still life with machete, peace lily, ganesha, and peppermint essential oil.  Truly the house of a mountain lady.  Apropos, as well, because in some circles I’m known as Dull Machete (Dully for short), and I’m about to reconnect with those friends in The City.

Albuquerque

first impression of the southwest

prickly

My mom picked me up from the Albuquerque airport yesterday and we went in search of food.  I wanted southwestern style food, and after some wandering around in the car and wandering around on foot in old town, we settled on a place called the Church Cafe.

Busy Autumn

outside the boston book festival

Oh, Autumn.  You make it so hard to leave New England.

Last weekend I went with RB to the Boston Book festival, and even though we were left with the lousy distinction of being the very first people who didn’t get in to see Ken Burns and Scout Tufankjian, we did end up having a pretty productive day.   We made it to the book signing, RB made progress on her grad school application, I hit the going out of business (*sniff*) sale at the store for wicked tall women (need business casual for the new job!), and we had lunch, tea, and crumpets with jam and devon cream.  Good day.

Pen Tests

illy collection: pen tests (by padraig timoney)

Just before a move is the worst time to be acquiring new stuff.  However, I’ve had a saved search for this set on eBay for years, and for one reason or another I kept missing the opportunity to buy when they popped up.  Saved search deleted: I’ve got the signed and numbered set now.