Author: August

I was going to rant/complain about how much I miss being able to do things outside due to the increased number of people in my formerly favorite places (the trail, the river, etc), but it’s currently in the realm of 100º at 9:00PM, I’ll refrain!

I had an amazing run with Peloton digital earlier, so I’ll just mention how grateful I am for our awesome treadmill. I had no idea what the years would unfold when we bought it, but it’s been such a key part of keeping me fit and is really dang nice for temperature controlled runs!

Yep. I stopped watching Hamilton in favor of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. ABBA > historical hiphop, says this aged American History major. (Film at 11)

I haven’t given up on Hamilton. I just need time and space and not 2.5 consecutive hours of it.

I’m sorry for being an old.

Having too many options makes me a little overwhelmed, so I wasn’t (am not) sure what to do about my 5-year-old macbook pro with a bulging battery. I go down the rabbit-hole of trying to find the “optimal” solution, and as with many things in life, there is no such things – just a series of trade-offs to be made.

In the end, I pulled my husband’s old, abandoned 2008 macbook pro out of the back room, dusted it off, plugged it in for a bit, and just decided to make due for now. If we calculate my hourly wage * time spent +/- number of curse words, buying a new one with same-day shipping would probably have been cheaper in some sense.

But in some ways, it’s nice to have a fresh start on a slower computer (tbf it’s impressive how well this 12-year old beast works).

Picking my battles. Using what I have. Letting go of perfection and the idea that new is always better. I’m sure there’s some life lessons in there somewhere, but don’t quote me on any of it.

a sure-fire way to make your non-work laptop sad? commit to daily posting on your non-work blog.

it’s annoying but ultimately fine. i have many options for repairing / replacing it.

all the options. so very many options. 🙃

We’ve reached the portion of this pandemic where my only pastime is scrolling through Realtor.com and daydreaming of living somewhere else – preferably far in the remote wilderness with a pool to call my own and a nearby lake for a kayak. Which would actually be great, even do-able, if moving were a kind of magical process that didn’t involve me having to travel long distances, go through other people’s homes and/or have people walk through mine. But the daydreaming part is pretty nice.

I know that things will turn around eventually, and when it does, I probably won’t be sad that I don’t live on 5 acres with plenty of space but no delivery :laughing:

Our most recent Sunday evening routine is to sit down and have ‘evening coffee’ and while Mr. Z watches The Joel McHale Show, I futz around on my computer.

I’ve realized that one of my favorite things on the web are old school blogs and the “stuff I’m doing/buying/loving” posts. So, hey, I have an old-school-style blog (does it count that this blog is still, for all intents and purpose, a protracted carry-over of the one I started in 2000?) and I could write my own lists.

Maybe someone will read this, maybe not, but I’m going to enjoy writing it.

Buying:
Stuff from Poshmark. I’m so very late to the game, but last week I bought a pair of Madewell jeans (inspired 100% by Adrien) and a gorgeous purse at completely reasonable prices.

Reading:
Three Questions to Save You from Self-Punishment. I’m actually enjoying the whole blog/community they’re building.

Crash Course for the GMAT. Yeah, this is something on my mind that I’d like to happen before the end of the year.

Planning:
A bunch of home improvement projects. I ordered a lift-top coffee table, and we have an appointment on Wednesday to finish speccing-out a fence for our front yard, to be followed by all new sod. What can I say, spring is in the air!

If only I could:
– find the right planner
– buy the perfect work bag
– discover the skincare that would stop my face from aging
– get people to stop calling me ‘lady’
– become someone I’ve never been

then, it would all be okay. Those are the stories I tell myself when the entire world is google search away and I can insert my shorter-than-average self into every instagram ad and envision how I would be. Alas, it’s all brilliant lazy marketing campaigns, punching me right in my most vulnerable spot.

I took today off work – I wanted another day to reflect and enjoy and truthfully, I wanted to come back to a shorter week. I enjoyed it: I laughed, I exercised, I went out to dinner, I got drunk on a single margarita and it was fabulous.

Despite the days I took off, and the time I spent reflecting and the miles I thought about running and the ways I envisioned the new year ushering in a whole new me and us and reality, it turns out that time passed and I’m still me and you’re probably still you.

As I said before, I don’t really believe in resolutions. But I believe that today, tomorrow, and maybe some other times, I can try to make better decisions. I can practice the keyboard and work on passion project — because the time is going to pass whether I do or not. I can stop asking you about the weather, or the news or how your stupid meeting was. I can ask you about the last book you read, the last thing that made you laugh, the idea that makes your heart sing.

I’ve had just enough liquid courage to post this, so I’m going to.

Happy New Year, to the same old, new and improved us. Love you, but for real.