I'm well aware that I have blogged almost not at all since I started my new job. And I wish I could say it was a coincidence, but it's not.I'm just flat-out exhausted. I know how silly that sounds ... but being semi-retired for two-plus years gets a person used to a stay-at-home schedule. The new job is a thinking job, by and large, which uses different brain muscles than a deadline job, but leaves me weary nonetheless. I think, too, that a lot of it is about the newness ... jumping into something so out of my comfort zone and trying to learn a lot of new stuff with new personalities. But if my summer stint at the IHT in 2007 was any indication, I'll get used to it in another week or two. For the time being, though ... phew. And this was a four-day week!
So here are some things I wanted to mention but didn't get around to: On Valentine's Day (and there are pictures, so I'll try to post one) I got good and drunk. That's the short version. The nice version is Paul and I went down to Carlsbad to the Four Seasons hotel and had a lovely dinner with my cousin and her husband. But first we stopped at their place in San Clemente for a little wine tasting and a bottle of our wedding Champagne. It was just as good as we remembered, so that was nice. We were really in the spirit, so to speak, so we opted for the corkage charge instead of the wine list and had a fabulous Caravan Cabernet and another bottle of Champagne. I'm having brain fade now, trying to remember what label it was ... but it was a nice one. *Judging from the photo, it's a vintage Taittinger, yum!
Our meal was really nice. Normally, I don't like to go out for Valentine's Day because there's usually a special overpriced menu and too many people and expectations and all that. But this was a great dinner. The dining room at the hotel was lovely, the service was gracious and the food was delicious. The company was pretty darn good, too. I just love going out with Joanne and Scott -- we always have such a good time. It doesn't hurt that Scott likes to drink as much as I do.
So there's that. Valentine's Day. I had more to say the day after, but it's the 20th already, so my memory is pretty useless.
I tried to buy an umbrella last weekend, and realized that buying an umbrella when it's raining in California is like trying to buy a fan during a heat wave in Paris: Not gonna happen. And then today, walking home in the oh-so-nice evening, I tried to think when was the last time I actually used an umbrella in California and I couldn't remember. I've always been able to drive where I'm going, so never needed one. And even at the L.A. Times, it was easier to just run across the street from the parking garage to the office then to lug around an umbrella. So it's gotta be 15 years. I found that curious.
On the way to and from work I walk past a Civil War statue, and I thought that was really weird. I meant to ask Paul, because why would there be a Civil War statue in Long Beach? I asked my mother-in-law, Sally, and she said, "You mean the statue in Lincoln Park?" and then of course the light bulb went off. But still. I think it's weird.
The view I posted from my office ... well I make a point of looking at it as many times a day as I can, and after the recent rains, it's been just crystal clear out. Astonishing. I can see probably 40 miles away. That won't happen much once summer comes, but it is nice to see the snow-covered mountains that ring the valley I'm in.
And those are the only random thoughts I've had in two weeks. Apparently I only have room for extra thoughts on the weekend. Stick with me, though, I'm bound to get more interesting sooner rather than later.
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