Drunken Owls and Other Delights

...until we officially move into our new place! I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. It's not helping that I feel like I've been putting off all the packing even though I've done quite a large amount of it (and tossing/donating) already. It's also not helping that the Day Job has had some of its busiest days in months these last couple of weeks. I'm deliberately running on half-speed to conserve energy -- I'm not as fast at work so I can keep some of that oomph to move boxes and bins over to the new place.

We've also been doing a lot of shopping lately, buying stuff for the new place. We've even gotten ourselves a membership to Costco after all these years! Not that we're about to buy Armageddon Preparation Size boxes of cereal mind you, just looking for good deals on things we frequently use and need like household stuff. We're also buying things other than bookshelves (heh) at Ikea for storage modules we will need. We're trying not to go overboard considering we're moving into a slightly smaller space and there's only so much space for storage, but being smart about the space we do have is important. I will be heading to said Costco later today to pick up some storage shelves for the garage.

And INTERNETS! As of yesterday we are all wired up at the new place so that's one more thing to cross off our to-do list. Yay!

I am a little worried about some of the stuff we're getting rid of, though I'm hoping that won't be too much of a problem. We'll be getting rid of our old Dyson vacuum cleaner which we've had for almost 20 years that STILL runs perfectly (not bad for a refurb at that) which I'm sure a neighbor will yoink. The living room couch is going to be tricky, though. It's the one we bought from Home Reserve, known for their really good durable furniture that comes in boxes that you put together yourselves. I want to see if one of our neighbors wants it first before I put it up on FB Marketplace. I'd rather someone take it because aside from a bit of wear and sun fade, it's still in great condition, but if we have to toss it, at least it's gotten sixteen years of use!

I'll be honest, what's bothering me the most is that I'm barely getting any writing work done. I'd packed all my notebooks and brought them over to the new place so I haven't done any journaling in ages. I might squeeze in a few pages of revision and editing on the trilogy remaster, but that's about it. I just haven't had the time. I'd expected this and I'm using the time as a bit of a vacation from all that, but I am SO itching to get back to it once we've moved.

On that note, I have today and tomorrow off and I'd better get moving. Still using pockets of time to rest and relax, but I still have a lot to do.

Wait, is that blue sky I see outside the window...? It's been a weird wave of good and bleh weather over the last several weeks -- and it's been quite nice when I'm stuck inside at work for hours on end -- so it's a pleasant surprise when the fog and the clouds have dissipated for the moment.

A and I walked to the other end of Clement for the farmer's market, and I think I can safely say that with all the walking I do at work, a simple just-over-a-mile walk up to Arguello and Clement has become a pleasant one rather than an exhausting one. We picked up various tasty fruits and veggies (A wanted some squash for pickling purposes, I wanted some Concord grapes which are finally in season again), and had a very filling lunch of chilaquiles at Taqueria Los Mayas. [We of course took the bus home because we were now carrying many things.]

It's been a very busy month both here in Spare Oom and at the Day Job, but I think I've managed to maintain that balance and get most things done that I'd been wanting to do. I feel that the writing work could use a bit more focus, but I'm not too worried about it considering most of it is revision right now. Still, I'd like to be a bit more serious and consistent about it. Maybe come October...?

Which reminds me, I am going against my better judgement and doing Inktober this year. Whether it'll be on paper or elsewhere, I'm not sure, but we shall see.

Before my PC went all funky last month, I had a really good habit of running various cleaning apps on Sunday afternoons just to keep it in tip-top shape. (And considering I did that with my old PC and it still runs fine after four years, that's saying something.) Unfortunately I've been distracted by other things on the weekends so I've been missing it for weeks at a time.

Which is not as bad as something else I'd do on Sundays, which is water the plants in Spare Oom. I was reminded by A some weeks ago that I really needed to do that as some of them were looking extremely wilty. I am now back in the habit of watering the plants, running the PC cleaners, and doing any other around-the-house stuff that needs doing. I'd have done laundry today as well, but a) I'd forgotten to ask A to pick up quarters (which I can get at work tomorrow) and b) we spent most of today in the East Bay shopping at Ikea and elsewhere in Emeryville. 

In the meantime, I've also done some much-needed dusting and putting away of things, so all I need to do now is prep a few blog entries for the week and maybe get a bit of revision work done as well.

Today we drove down to the IKEA in Palo Alto for various home-related things. The weather was quite nice for the most part and we haven't done any major road trips lately, so why not? We may have spent a bit more than expected, but it was worth it. One of the major things was to get new dishes, as we've had our old fiesta ware once since we moved out here in 2005 and they're getting quite worn. We also got a duvet cover in the hopes that this will keep Certain Destructive Kitties from further destroying our comforter, and a few storage bins for the kitchen and Spare Oom. [I bought a standalone wire mesh storage thingie that I can put under my desk as I have lots of space under there. I figure that'll clear up the desk space a bit as well.] On the drive back we took the main surface roads instead and though it took a good hour and a half or so, it was worth it!

Meanwhile, I have been told by the landlady that our washing machine is borked (I think the agitator is broken as it popped out of place when I was using it the other day) but it won't be fixe for another week due to the usual repair team being booked up. Which means that I'll be spending tomorrow morning (I have tomorrow off) heading over to our local laundromat again. The good thing is that I can use multiple machines and it'll take much less time, so if I do it in the morning I'll be back before lunch. Which means I'll have to think of a few writing-related things to do while I'm at the laundromat instead of goofing off online. I'm all caught up with the Trilogy reread, so maybe I'll read What I Have So Far of MU4 instead...? Or maybe go over what notes I have so far? We shall see.

Of course, this also means tomorrow will also be partially spent putting the two IKEA items that need building. That shouldn't take long, however...!

At the moment the Day Job has settled into a schedule that allows me Saturday afternoons off as well as the entirety of Sunday, so we've made our weekend plans accordingly. And given that we've been lucky with the weather for the most part, we've been out and about! Yesterday we made our way over to the Botanical Garden as the magnolias are just about to bloom (it's still a bit early so not all of them were out yet) then stopped at the Richmond Republic (one of our favorite local alehouses) for dinner. And today we visited the Haight for the first time in ages, checking out some of the nicer houses off the main drag and visiting some of our favorite stores as well.

It's still a bit cold and it rained late in the afternoon today, but it does feel really good to get out again!

It's been a relaxing week here, spending the time focusing writing catch-up and driving A up to Corte Madera on Friday for her booster shot, and seeing her parents for a quick lunch and shopping. (We spent yesterday just kicking around as A was tired and sore from the shot and I had a few things I wanted to finish up. And Sunday has pretty much become household errand day around these parts.) 

I have been thinking of what my next writing project (or projects?) may be, but at the moment I'm still keeping that open for now, so I can continue to focus on Queen Ophelia and Theadia. Still, it's always a good thing to let my mind wander a bit for that sort of thing. I do have a few very vague ideas but I'd really need to spend an afternoon or two to work them out into a workable outline to see if they're worth expanding on. I'll most likely do that in the next few weeks or so.

And I restarted my daily stretches and exercises again! Those didn't quite fall by the wayside so much as I was just busy and considered our few-days-a-week neighborhood walk as part of that. I figure now is a perfect time to start them up again, considering a) I'm not currently ailing with some weird back twinge of dubious origin, and b) I have the time and the mindset to do so. (I should probably keep a better watch on my diet as well, to be honest. I've been snacking and drinking too much soda lately.)

Not much planned for the week other than writing, job searches, and doing a double donation drop-off at Goodwill and the SF Public Library. Yay for clearing up Spare Oom floor! We have a goodly amount of things to get rid of and I'll be happy when I'm not climbing over it anymore.

Oh, and I'm on jury duty the week of the 18th. Fun! This will of course depend on whether they'll actually have it or delay it due to Covid reasons, but I don't even know which court house I need to go to! I'm hoping it's the one near City Hall, because the one in SoMa is a HUGE pain in the butt to get to and all its nearby parking lots aren't in the safest of areas. Either way, I'll need to do one of those call-ups the night before to know for sure.


Hope everyone has a lovely week!

Our weekends are usually reserved for outside excitement -- we're usually holed up all day long during the week that we like to get some fresh air and a good long walk in on our days off. Yesterday we took a drive down to Half Moon Bay for the first time in ages -- mainly to get some sun, which we hadn't seen in our own neighborhood in a good few weeks! It was fleeting but it was worth it, as we were able to get our sunshine as well as some tasty brunch at the Main Street Grill, which we love stopping at. We even bought more plants at a small garden pop-up across the street!

And today was our "get our walking out of the way so we can be lazy for the rest of the afternoon" day. I had a book to pick up at Green Apple (the new Becky Chambers), so we headed up to that great coffee spot on 8th and Cabrillo (there's always a line outside the door, but their Whopper Lattes are SOOOO tasty), circled over to Clement for books and brunch (so happy that Richmond Republic is back open!), then headed home.

Which means it's early afternoon and I have little to do except laundry, vacuuming and catching up on my blogs!

But yeah...our summer doldrums are really kicking in because it stays so overcast and foggy on this side of town. We're both really looking forward to more sunny days.


Hope everyone has a lovely week ahead!

It's Sunday afternoon and most of the house errands are done. We walked up to the other end of Clement to stop at the garden store, the Ace and then check out the farmer's market, pick up some pork buns for lunch, then walked back, totaling just over three miles. We're understandably tired now, but I ended up doing the laundry anyway!

Speaking of which, someone spilled what I think is laundry detergent three days ago and no one has cleaned it up yet, so instead of doing my usual well I'd better clean it up BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE EFFING WILL, I decided to be a bit catty and post a sign above it: "Come on, people...this spill has been here for THREE DAYS. Didn't your parents teach you to clean up after yourself??"  We'll see how long it lasts. And yes, I plan on going down there and updating the sign as the days go on.

ANYWAY! Not too much else going on. Saturday was a shopping day and we were indeed happy that pretty much every person we saw at the Target and Home Depot had the masks on and were keeping a decent distance. We bought a few things including carpet tape in hopes that our throw rugs will finally stop migrating of their own accord (our big rug under the kitchen table seems to move significantly which is a weird thing and I have no idea how it happens...I'll be taping that one down later this week).

I'm still doing fine with the whiteboard schedule, either hitting all the daily projects before A is done working for the day, or making up for it the next day. I'm averaging about 300 - 500 words a day for Theadia, which is pretty good for starters. I'm even getting some poetry done! Woot!

So...any plans for the week? A few, including the carpet taping. I'm gonna see if I can get some of these Goodwill donations out of Spare Oom because I am REALLY sick of looking at them and would love to have some floor space back! And I'm also thrilled to discover that the Friends of SF Library is taking book donations again, so those can go as well once I'm able to get an opening for it! [Side note: One of the reasons I wanted to clear out that space is because that will then give me room to go into Spare Oom closet and start weeding out the CDs that are there, so I can start selling them at Amoeba. That was one of my plans from earlier this year before the 'rona scuppered it.]


Hope everyone has a good week! :)

It's a surprisingly warm weekend here in the Bay Area, already in the low 60s at 8am (that's a rarity here!).  A and I are going to do a bit of walking today, going up to Fillmore for some shopping, and perhaps down to Japantown (a few blocks away from where we'll be) for lunch.  But right now I'm watching the news and realizing just how many things are going on in the area this weekend!  A race up at Sonoma Raceway, and not one but THREE pride marches in town (Trans March was last night, the Dyke March is today, and the Pride March is tomorrow).  We take our pride seriously here, yo.

There's also the fact that I *think* I have a few books waiting for me at Green Apple, but I have yet to hear from them...

In other news, I just hit the major climactic scene on In My Blue World last night (woo!) so now I need to start winding it all back down.  I'm still on schedule for finishing the book by the end of this month!  I do feel like I've rushed it just a bit, but I'm okay with that.  I have a month and a half to get a good portion of it in shape with revision.  I've done it in that amount of time in the past, so I think I can do it again.  Added to that, I'm quite happy with the scene I just finished last night for the Apartment Complex story as well.  All in all, a really good couple of writing sessions yesterday!

The Day Job training session I had to go to wasn't nearly as much of a pain in the ass as I thought it would be -- it was long, but the person running it actually made it fun so it wasn't a complete slog.  [I still have a few points of contention with what they're trying to roll out here, but they're at least being realistic about it.]  One more trip to Concord next Thursday for the quarterly meeting (and yay, free food!) and I'll have made my quota for office visits for the next couple of months.  Heh.


Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Whee! Nothing like kicking up years of dust and bits and detritus in a fit of housecleaning. In this case, the desk and the bookshelf here in Spare Oom. Dead pens, expired coupons and membership cards, old batteries, scraps of paper, a million tiny rubber bands and paper clips, paperwork that can be filed away. And adding to that, rearranging one of the shelves so there's less wasted room, and a place where I can put my art supplies with the brand spankin' new art supply box I bought today! So much more organized now. (There's still a small pile of et cetera stuff across the room in a forgotten corner that I need to get rid of, but that can wait.)

This weekend was basically spent being kind of lazy and not getting much work done, but that's okay...I so rarely let myself have a full lazy weekend anymore! Yesterday was a trip over to Amoeba Records in the Haight. I was a little let down that everything I was looking for was out of stock -- which always seems to happen when I go there, even though I'm not looking for anything incredibly obscure -- but I did find some neat dvds instead, which is all fine by me. And today was a trip up the hill to the Legion of Honor to see the 'Monet: the Early Years' exhibit (side note: is it elitist of us to say we remembered seeing some of the paintings previously the last time we went to the D'Orsay in Paris? :p ), and then a quick trip down to Fort Mason in the Marina to pick up that art supply box, where we happened upon a farmer's market! And lastly our weekly trip to groceries at the Trader Joe's. But yeah -- I don't think I did a lick of writing work this weekend up until just now, writing this.

Oop -- that's right, I need to write tomorrow's Welcome to Bridgetown post as well! And then maybe I'll sneak in a bit of Lidwells work before the evening's out. Other than that, it's been a nice relaxing weekend, so I can't complain!