In Orbit, but Wobbly

Our product launch has not been perfect. But. There is no going back. No rollback on this one!
Nope. We're committed to the bit. Doin' it! DOIN' IT!

It goes without saying, I'm so very thankful for the team that I work with. Honestly, when I look back on some of the project managers, product owners, developers that I've worked with previously.... I'd have run screaming into the night if it was't for this team. 

At our scrum yesterday my work son pointed out this was 18 months in the making. I didn't even get brought into the process until the fall of last year. 

We were bombarded with tickets right out of the gate. We had an outage where the product just failed and fell over sideways before we even told clients they could get into it. Turns out, people saw the icon live on their dashboard and they started jumping in. Oooops. There was a load limitation on the product while it was under construction because we didn't need to be paying a bajillion dollars for the site to be hosted, and that neeed to be adjusted when more and more people started getting on the platform. 

Oops. OOOOOOPS!

Momentary panic but it worked out. 

We have discovered some bugs, which are now "known issues" and are being tracked by my boss so we can tell the clients "we know about the XYZ thing doing the ABC thing" or "Yes, this is missing thank you, we know." so they don't have to submit more and more tickets. 

And we are getting feature requests for things to do differently or display differently.

And there are some issues being reported to us that we have had to jump on immediately. By we, I do mean our wonderful developers. 

My work son and I were talking about this, and how we're so thankful for [just about] everyone on the team. I reminded him of a fight, and actual yelling fight, I had with a developer on another product when he just kept disagreeing with me and saying that something could not be done the way our clients (and I) felt it should be done. My expertise in something should mean something to the devs I'm working with, and my knowing how it should go down, how it should work, should not be met with derision. Respect my experience and authority, please. 

He ended up getting taken off our product and put with some other company, I got a new dev who saw what I meant and I was talking about, and in the end I was 100% right and it worked out great. Thank you. 

Work son totally remembered this. 

And I pointed out to him that the 6 or so guys working on this project are so good. So good at listening, so good at follow up and follow through. They treat me like I know what I'm talking about, because honestly, I do!!!  I've supported this product for 11 years. Call me a subject matter expert. 

So I gave them some severe praise to the person at my company that oversees the product team. They deserve it. I hope she shares it with them.

I got up this morning super early, not at 4am but before 6, and I started working immediately. And at 8pm I was still working. New tickets flowing in, Chris answers them. 

In other news. Because our outdoor spigot isn't working, I cannot use the hose. I hand watered everything except the veggie beds. But those were nice and wet after I watered them the other day. My contractor isn't able to fix it (he winced and said "I'm not really good at plumbing" .... sir thank you for your honesty), so he referred me to a buddy of his that is able to fix it, and he is coming by tomorrow morning. 

Doug and Geoff are going to his mom's on Wednesday. This was a comedy of errors in planning. It was going to be Thursday but he called an audible to go up tomorrow after work, which upset her apple cart and her plans and whatever, so there was just a 40 minute discussion of the plan. 

So help me if he decides NOT to go on Wednesday after work. Ha! 

Also, I was going to go if Geoff opted to stay home, he floundered back and forth and decided he would go after all. Which additionally confused and confounded her.

I'm kind of glad they are going together, because I am just going to put on music, drink mimosas, and CLEAN! With these two guys totally out of my way, it'll be bliss. Oh, and answer helpdesk tickets. That will continue through the next couple days.

Here's a picture of tomato babies! Digits below!

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill; 120 min/1.37 mi. Walk, 18 minutes, .96 mi. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

6:45am: 165
4:30pm: 125
10:30pm: 117

food & meds:

6:45am: jardiance + phentermine
11am: english muffin w/pb
noon: met+glip
2pm: some sort of pb/chocolate "protein" meal bar
6:45pm: chicken w/white bean sauce (a Geoff recipe)
7:15pm: met+glip
8pm: remainder of the chicken stuff
white wine

It's Like NASA Sometimes

Right now, today, tonight, this moment - this  is the last night of a product I've been the support manager on for .... 11 years. It's crazy! I can't believe we are retiring this. Years in the building and planning, my work son and I have been the best besties. My manager has been an amazing colleague and support. 

Someone said something in passing (and this someone has not been part and parcel to all the work we've done) that he heard a "rumor" that our launch was going to get scrapped. He posted it  in Slack and no one replied. 

I direct messaged him, cause to be honest this was a surprise to me, whatever the rumor was that he heard, and I asked him what was going on.

"I'm not sure! I just heard something in a meeting! So I thought I'd go into the slack channel and ask" was the basic vibe. 

So there I am, at 11am, slightly panicked. We already moved the launch back once from May to June, I cannot disappoint the masses. WE cannot disappoint the masses. 

Thankfully my boss knew exactly what he was talking about. He allayed the fears, and I immediately felt calm again. I felt like NASA folks must feel when everything is so close to coming together and there's a thunderstorm coming. Something you can't control. Something that grinds it all to a stop. Would it be a 24 hour stoppage? We've been in a code freeze all day so the team can prepare migration. 

My boss is sending out an all points communication at 11pm (soon) and I'm wondering if he needs me to proof it. He hasn't messaged me, I'm online. He can see me. So he will tag me in if he needs. 

Once that note goes out it is "Pencils Down" for all the users of the product. And we anticipate the "all clear" to get into the new product will go out by 10am. 

Wish our team luck, would ya?

I didn't sleep much last night. Couldn't fall asleep, couldn't stay asleep. My handyman called me at 7:45am (ugh) to say he'd come by this afternoon and then did not. I didn't reach out and bother him. I worked until after 6, almost 7. Doug took Toffee for a walk and when they got back I realized I should have gone with them. So I took her on another walk. Cut a corner, missed 1 mile. Doh.

Tonight I am hoping for better rest. I took some Zquill, I put the biofreeze on all the sore spots (I ran yesterday and today after a week of NO running so. Ouch). 

If I wake up at some ungodly hour, I'll go downstairs and pick up the laptop. I'll even shower first seeing as I didn't take the time to do that today. 

Let's Go. 

And here's a "What Toffee Thinks of Soccer" picture for ya. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  15 min on the treadmill, 1.06 mi. 24 min walk with Toffee, .96 mi. 10k+ by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 175
4:45pm: 125
10:30pm: 158

food & meds:

8am: jardiance + phentermine
11am: small bowl of mac & cheese w/hamburger
12:30pm: 2 pieces of multigrain bread toasted with pb & no sugar j; met+glip
6pm: white wine; kielbasa, pierogis
7:30pm: met+glip

Wet Dry Vac Adventures!

(Saturday and Sunday)

Saturday
My friend H has a wonderful house and two guest rooms and two cats and a lot of kindness and hospitality. I stayed there Friday night. We had a lot of chat time, girl time, fun. A great yap. We didn't get a selfie or anything, it was just purely organic hangout time. I did take a picture of her cat David Wallace (yes, he's named after a character on The Office). 

Saturday morning, she ordered doordash breakfast from a bagel shop near her house that I really like (Asiago Cheese bagel, big chef kiss). Her company offers some extra double-time pay when workload gets to be too much, so she woke up at about 6am and started working. I came out around 9, and we sat on the couch, chatted while she worked. I would have brought my laptop and worked too if I knew she was going to take advantage of the extra pay! I have things I could be doing. 

Around 1pm she had a date to go over a friend's house and babysit her 1 year old so the friend could go get a haircut and grocery shop. I hit the road. Traffic going home was much better than getting there. And I am reminded that even though we are "close" to Baltimore, it's still a heck of a trip. 

While I was at her place, my fitbit battery died. I don't know if it has anything to do with the update of the app by Google (they ruined a perfectly good app) but I notice my fitbit vibrates more frequently, unexpectedly, unwantedly. And I had 20% battery when I left the house Friday and it was dead by 11am Saturday. And, of course, I did not have a charger. So I had to live without it, without checking if I did my steps, without seeing how many more steps to 10k. 

Kind of a freeing experience. Recently I told myself maybe I need to stop focusing on getting the steps and beating the 10k and whatever but I rely on it when I run to know how far I go. So I'm not quite at the point of giving it up. 

But I did take a complete break from it, as you'll see in the digits below.

While the fitbit was charging, I took a big nap. I used to be the queen of naps, but in the past couple years daytime sleep eludes me. Not yesterday. Not sure why I was so tired... but it felt good to do a snooze. 

Geoff made a really good dinner, and we thought it would be great with orzo or couscous so he noted that for future opportunities. Sometimes he finds a recipe randomly online and it just really works. 

Sunday
I slept in. The drone of the AC and the lack of a dog hogging up my side of the bed was nice. Doug had gone downstairs sometime after 3am, and she followed him. I woke up organically without an alarm, sometime between 9 and 9:30, and just relaxed until I had to get up to use the bathroom. 

Around 10:30 I went out to water the garden, front and back. It's wild - I went away a couple days and it is like things went into high gear out there.  I sat outside drinking coffee, aware of how hot it was but also not letting it bother me that much. Doug came out to join me, and we chatted about everything. 

Right after we ate lunch Geoff came upstairs and said "we have a leaking pipe in the basement." The room where I keep threatening to set up my office, right where the spigot for the garden hose comes into has a pipe that decided to start leaking. 

Ohhhhh no. That's where All My Treasures are. I have posters, Guster memorabilia, all the photo albums (they're in plastic bins), my future desk, my future office chair, boxes of books. Crap. 

We headed downstairs and Doug turned the valve off that feeds the spigot. Easy stop to the problem. None of my stuff was wet, one box with some books in it had started to absorb water but I emptied it out and chucked the box into recycling. We have a stairway runner carpet remnant that I put flat on the floor when we moved in to help it stop being rolled up and funky, and that was soaked. 

I told Doug that I'd go upstairs and get all the crummy towels. Thank goodness we keep all our crummy towels! 

He said not to. 

"I'll go to Lowes and grab a wet/dry vac as an investment in the estate of our home. And the thing for the inside of the toilet so it'll stop running." 

He did, and I moved anything out of the way of being in danger of getting wet. 

When he got back, I tackled the basement and he fixed the toilet. Within 90 minutes, nothing but victory. 

The wet/dry vac is small. He could have gotten the next size up but he opted for this one. Four trips upstairs to dump out the water, and I think it is a 5 gallon container... Good grief. That's a lot of water when you think about it, but it could be worse.

Thank goodness for Geoff hearing the hissing sound and wondering what it was. When I think that we could have just still been sitting here tonight watching hockey and that would still be happening... 

Water is such a jerk. 

Digits below this picture of my new best friend. May I not need to pull him out for service anytime soon. I will post garden pictures tomorrow!

Saturday digits

exercise: 5/12 hours*. No walk, no effort, big rest day!  2k steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 194
xpm: n/a
10pm: 110

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance + phentermine
10:30am: beautiful asiago bagel w/cream cheese; giant iced coffee
11:30am: met+glip
3:15pm: Oikos zero yogurt w/granola bar crushed in
6:30pm: some sort or chicken and peppers in a nice sauce (A Geoff creation); met+glip
8pm: 4 Aldis "monster" cookies

Sunday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Treadmill 25 min/1.77 mi; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 145
4:30pm: 103
11pm: 77

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance + phentermine
12:30pm: 2 slices of multigrain bread w/pb and zero sugar j; met+glip
6:30pm: spinach & cheese ravioli in Alfredo sauce
7:30pm: met+glip
9pm: mixed nuts; vodka tonic

Home and Gone Again

This entry covers Thursday and Friday and is technically published on Saturday ... early

Thursday night driving home it was a very interesting experience. 

I left the office at 5, about 3 hours later than I wanted. Being on a very full Metro was something I'd forgotten about. I got to the stop near where my car was parked and it was 98 degrees outside. I opted to walk over to the pub for some refreshment, and summon an Uber.

Remember lessons learned. Heed them. Obey them. 

It would be a 15 minute wait, so, I had a second drink and talked to the guy next to me about how cool the music was in the 80s when we were growing up. Whatever music system they had running was playing all our favorite childhood hits from ABBA to ZZ Top. INXS and A-ha. 

It was getting close to Uber time so I settled up the tab, left a giant tip, and hi-fived the dude at the bar who sang along to the Beastie Boys "Paul Revere" with me. 

The Uber and I met right on time (technology can be amazing) and I got in. I told him I felt like an idiot for calling him but he said in a very wonderful accent from wherever he was from "No! Do not feel shame! It is hot out. I've done so many half mile, one mile trips. People who usually walk to the market and back, all their things will be melted by the time they get home. No. It's no shame. Stay hydrated too!" 

Excellent advice, sir. One mile later, I'm putting stuff in my car and getting ready for the ride. It is 6:30pm. ETA to the house, 90 minutes. 

Except the weather had alternate plans for me. As I was driving to the north, to my left the sky was angry and ready to kick ass. To the right, sunshine, lollipops, puffy clouds, angel songs. And I needed to turn left. 

I got right to the rest area (and needed to pee, thanks to the G&Ts) and made it to and from the bathroom right before the sky unleashed the furies. Glad I was not trying to drive through that. I called Doug to let him know where I was (approximately 10 miles from my front door) and that I would be waiting it out for a little. He said it was done at our house, so it probably wouldn't be too long. 

Guster kept me company, and I kept the car running so the AC would keep me comfy and the defroster would keep it from getting too foggy in there. 

Back on the road, home, happy to see the dog, happy to see the fam, happy to watch hockey and sit and eat leftovers on my couch. 

Doug informed me that he and Geoff were going to be going up to see his mom next weekend. Oh, okay. I didn't remind him that I told him I was probably maybe going to go up to my mom's that weekend. Mostly because it has been about 6 months since he went there last, and it would be a very good thing for them to go up. Maybe see if she needs more help at the old house. She does want a new phone, and she said her tablet keeps overheating, so she wanted to maybe get something new. I told him to invest in an actual laptop for her.  

This morning, I didn't set an alarm. No one made noise, and I woke up organically at 9:15am. With my dog. I got up, futzed in the kitchen, futzed with laundry, and picked up the laptop to remind my team I was OOO today. Set my out of office, which I'd forgotten to do. And then I did helpdesk tickets, and a check in with my work son because he was not at the conference and we missed each other. And there was a lot of drama at his end which I wasn't looped in on. 

Glad to have been oblivious for a bit. 

I watered the garden and the indoor plants. Geoff went to the market and took my bank card so I hit the treadmill for a bit to make sure I keep up on steps. I hit the road to head to my friend's house in Baltimore about 2 hours later than I intended but. Made it by 6pm. We immediately headed to where the venue was, ate dinner, connected with S & H. 

I have said it before, and will again and again, Amythyst Kiah is a national treasure. What a fantastic show she gave us tonight. Before the show, I got a call from the venue. I'd asked if it was okay when I bought the tickets if an 11 year old was in attendance because there was no age guidance on the website. I never heard back. But they called to say they wanted to know the name of the 11 year old, so I told the woman that H had met Amythyst previously and told her he "played keys" so they gave her a note to see if she'd shout him out from the stage. And she did. Delightfully. 

The last two songs of the night H and I went to kind of the back and we danced, Empire of Love and Black Myself - anthems for a new age. 

We waited after and he got his CD signed and we took some pictures. And I asked the venue for copies of the poster, and they gave me four. 

There was another kid around H's age there, so I handed him a poster. He was thrilled and had her autograph it. 

When H talked to Amythyst, he specifically asked about her cat, and I think Amythyst was especially entertained by that. His name is Zuko (like from Avatar, the Last Airbender) and because he is Orange and Naughty. 

Gotta love it. 

We went out for more chinese food after the show because that was the only restaurant in the neighborhood still open after. And we had a mini dance party to some Guster songs when Hallie asked them to play something on their spotify or whatever service they had. 

Back at Hallie's very tired, very bedtime. Wondering if her orange cat will come see me. I left the door open for him.

Digits! Below.

Thursday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  three measurable walks around DC, don't feel like digging out the details from the fitbit app. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

7am: 141
4:30pm: 153
10pm: 118

food & meds:

7am: jardiance + phentermine
9am: 2 frittatas (goat cheese! asparagus! sausage!) some hash browns
2pm: met+glip; roast beef & cheddar on whole wheat wrap w/ltm
6pm: 2 G&Ts
8:30pm: chicken thighs & some dirty rice; met+glip
1 beer

Friday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  20 min/1.5 mi on the treadmill. 12k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:30am: 124
4:15pm: 110
after midnight-ish: 146

food & meds:

9:30am: jardiance + phentermine
12pm: small bowl of mac & cheese w/bacon
1:15pm: met+glip
6:30pm: met+glip, chinese food; a couple beers
at the concert 2 beers
after the concert: more chinese food, 2 more beers

Conference Day 3

 Will include Thursday digits in an entry tomorrow but I just wanted to post that I got home safe, there were some hellacious storms across the region tonight and yeah, I pulled over and waited them out. 

My glucose monitor is upstairs and I have to remember all of what I ate etc, so that'll be part of tomorrow's post. 

I had a great trip. I love my co-workers. I love my work family. I love my projects and doing support. I liked going into the office for a couple of days but honestly I can live without doing it on a regualr basis. Happy to visit, don't want to live there.

Also, today is Jess' 34th birthday and I just wanted to think on how very much I love them and the good human they are. I'm so proud of the humans I brought into this world. 

Doug let me know that he and Geoff are going to visit his mom at the end of next week. I thought maybe I'd go visit my mom the end of next week but okay. He hasn't gone since November so do go. Do. Go. Go visit. 

I'm going to bed. More tomorrow. 

Conference Day 2

I massively overslept this morning. I had an alarm set for 7 and turned it off but thought I was resetting for 7:30. Woke up at 8:15. I had signed up for the early check-in desk slot, at 8am. 

Oops. I messaged the team and they told me they had it covered. Good. Nice. Okay. I jumped in the shower, had a bitch of a time cutting the tags off my dress that I wanted to wear, and almost came here with them on but finally succeeded without destroying my outfit. 

Today was a day filled with swag, and getting to meet some of my heroes. And finding out I'm someone's hero. 

Sometimes moments like this energize me and fill my sails. Overall these events are a giant drain on my social battery, but this felt fantastic and I needed it in order to get through today. 

At about 4pm the sky opened up. I was ready to go back to my hotel but swing into the grocery store for some hot bar stuff for dinner for myself. We have really good restaurants by the office, walking distance, but I knew I wasn't going to want to go to the hotel and go back again. 

After I left the office an older couple was coming towards me. I smiled, he smiled. She looked exhausted and he looked like he could go for days. Around the corner, I stopped in at the market and there was nothing good on the hot bar. So I walked around the corner to a restaurant that I've been to many times to have dinner solo. They were standing outside, he was looking at his phone, and she was leaning against the wall. 

So again, I smiled. She did smile back, while he was focused on the phone. I stood at the front counter and was completely ignored, so, I gave up and walked back out. They were about to walk in, and he said "oh, are they full, is there a wait?" 

I said, "no. I waited and they ignored me so I'm going elsewhere." 

"Oh," he said "Where's elsewhere. What's good around here?" 

My favorite game. I love when tourists ask me what to do. I loved this in Boston, and love it in DC. I told him about the brewery. "They have great beer, and really good food. You guys look beat, otherwise I'd send you another couple blocks up to the right to Union Market but you need to take a load off right now, am I right?" 

She smiled and nodded. 

"She's got a couple new hips and I've walked her a whole lot today, so you are absolutely right. Let's follow you to the brewery." 

He asked if I lived in the neighborhood, I said no, but my office is around the corner and I'm here for meetings.

"Are you a lawyer?" 

First time anyone has asked me that. Do I have lawyer vibes? I mean, I am wearing a dress and cute shoes. Maybe I could be a lawyer. "Nope. I do technical support." They're from Chicago and they're in town for the 50th anniversary of their friends in Virginia. They came a couple days early for some sight seeing. "We were here 40 years ago," he said. "She was pregnant with our first son. He'll be 39 next month." 

"It is a whole different city," she said.

We came in and I explained how ordering worked, and I asked well, what kind of beer do you like?

She said she didn't like beer, so I said they make craft cocktails, they have wine, not a big selection and tea, sweetened and unsweetened. He said "I like an IPA but only really Hazy IPA." Well then sir, have they got the beer for you! 

I ordered my beer and a burger, and leaned in to the beertender "I'm buying their first round, these people behind me. Don't tell 'em." 

He very cutely winked and me and said "I hear ya!" 

I turned around and told them to enjoy their time, and there was a table with 6 of my co-workers and I went over to join them. 

Didn't see them again before I left, but I do hope they enjoy their visit. And I like that he knew her needs after a long day of walking around. Get that woman a cocktail! 

It was a great day. 

Last day here tomorrow, I'm looking forward to home. As much as I love being here, I also love my house and my family and I'm very happy to be going home. 

Geoff sent me this today. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Three walks that were measured by the fitbit but i'm too lazy to look up how long / far. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 118
4:45pm: 103
11:15pm: 117

food & meds:

8am: jardiance + phentermine
9am: small little container of overnight oats w/berries and spinach? it wasn't bad but very small. one sausage pattie, 3 strips of bacon
12:30pm: some chicken and veggie teriyaki, lots of green beans
1:30pm: met+glip 
4:45pm: chocolate chip cookie & some trail mix
6:30pm: cheeseburger & some fries; 2 beers

Conference Day 1

I woke up about 20 minutes before my alarm. I had left the window shade up overnight, and the mood light on inside the shower. I should take some pictures in this room. I did take some down the lobby while getting steps.

It's a vibe. 

My cel phone dinged, and my work wife said she was getting off the train in downtown. I knew she had to go to Dunks to get some donuts for the team so she dumped her stuff off at the office and walked to me. 

I had wanted to do that gym thing, but here I was scrambling to get ready to run downstairs to get with her. 

We got our donuts and coffee, came back here to drop me off so I could get ready. Shower. That whole thing. 

I got to the office at 9:30 in time for our team meeting, and donuts. We headed to the lobby, and clients started to come in. Registration, chats, catch ups. A client from the Eastern Shore was especially happy to see me. This was the first big in-house conference she'd attended and we had a great time catching up. Her boss showed up and they were scheduled for a private tour of the building. 

More clients. More co-workers. 

Everyone went into a group session and I opted to sit at registration instead of going to the big group session. 

The day was kind of a blur. Lunch. Sessions. Chattings. And then Dinner and cocktail reception. 

I sat with a client from Kansas who I saw in the morning walking around with his wife and kids early. We had a great catch up and chat about how they drove all the way here in 2 days, the wife and kids were doing the absolute tourist thing while he was tied up with us. They are leaving Friday morning and driving to Santa Claus Indiana, there's a water park/holiday themed holiday destination and there is a german restaurant that, he's not kidding, he's driven 11 hours to get to and stayed at a hotel next door so he could eat there several times. 

I guess I'll put that on my "maybe let's go there" list. 

Around 7pm, my social battery was asking for me to check out of the scene, so I did. Back at the hotel, I realized I should have gone to the market and grabbed something, because I'd be hungry by like 8. Sadly, I did not. And by 10 pm I was mad at myself, but I didn't want to go walking around the neighborhood to the market. 

That's okay. 

In the morning, I'm supposed to head over early to meet with a client from Guam. They are here for the conference and having tech support problems. Considering that when it is 13 hours ahead of us there, having them in the same time zone is a joy. So I can tackle some of the issues and problems that they have, and have breakfast. Alarm is set. 

I didn't get a good picture, but, I am reminded of how I love this neighborhood in DC. I did see a man wearing a top hat walking 2 pitties down the street, and ... I resisted saying hello. 

Digits below some pictures from the hotel when I just went on my last steps of the night journey.

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 3pm because I was sitting chatting with a client and lost track of time. no measurable walk. 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8am: 110
5pm: 119
11:30pm: 154

food & meds:

8am: jardiance + phentermine
11am: 1 dunkin donut
12:30pm: turkey & bacon sandwich w/mustard and veggies; met+glip
two Coke Zero
6:30pm: tiny cheeseburger slider, a lot of buffalo chicken dip and crostinis. One beer 
7:30pm: met+glip
2 beers back at the hotel

Sometimes just call the Uber

I had big plans for this morning. 

I knew Doug had to be up early, so I was going to wake up same time do stuff blah blah blah. Good lord. It didn't happen. 

We both were up around 2 and went to the bathroom. He went to the guest room so I knew I wouldn't be hearing his alarm go off.. My alarm was set for 8:30 just in case I didn't wake up at the same time as Doug... and I didn't get up. I didn't hear him get up. I didn't hear him come upstairs to get his clothes, his laptop, anything. 

When my alarm went off at 8:30, I heard him close the front door and go. A half hour later I think than his original plan. 

Got my coffee and my dog and I went out to the patio. I answered some tickets, did some other work, attended scrum, and got to finishing my packing up. 

I got in the car a little after 12, realized I had forgotten to water the houseplants. That's okay, they'll be fine until I get back. sensitive little babies that they are, they're pretty tough. Made it to S's house a little before 2, and started to walk to the Metro. 

On paper, it said it is about a little over a mile. But, I kind of didn't go the most direct way and it ended up over a mile and a half. And it was hot. And I was dragging my wheely bag behind me. Regretting that I thought to myself "it's only a mile. I can do this it is only a mile!" 

When you don't go the route that is only a mile, and you accidentally put yourself another more than half a mile, Jesus. Don't do that to yourself. Call an Uber when you have your suitcase. 

I made it to the pub next to the metro, I had to pee. So I went in, used the bathroom and ordered a Gin & Tonic. I earned that. Sweating my ass off, finally cooling down in the AC, I ordered a second one. I deserved that one as well. 

Metro into town was super easy, hotel check in smooth. The hotel is cute, but the rooms are all really small. King bed but it is tucked up against the window, and if this was a room I had to share with Doug it would be a challenge. But solo, this is nice. 

There was a baby shower for one of my colleagues here at the office for this conference, so I ran over to connect with that. Some of my other teammates were also at that little gathering so we decided to head over to the brewery by the hotel, and we are all staying at the same hotel. 

I basically was feeling wiped out, opted to head back to the hotel instead of going to watch the Knicks game with the gang. They're texting me about how much fun they are having, and a "cute little DC rat ran through the outdoor beer garden." 

"He's so little, not like a New York City rat." 

Okay. Ha. 

I'm very happy I'm in my hotel. 

They have an iPad to control everything, change the lights and vibe, control the TV, put up the blinds, put down the blinds, all the fun stuff. 

Tomorrow, early start. I think I will do my best to get up and run in the gym. I packed my bathing suit but there is no pool. They do have a gym. If I'm able to motivate myself to go, that'll be a good thing. But even if I don't, I'll still get a lot of steps in, I am sure. 

Digits below this picture of the DC metro map. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  a couple measured walks but the big one was 35 min/1.56 mi. 15k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

8:30am: 129
4pm: 153
10pm: 143

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance + phentermine
11:45am: english muffin w/pb & low sugar j
noon: met+glip
3pm: 2 g&t
4:30pm: slice of baby shower cake
6pm: chicken fingers and 2 beers
8:30pm: met+glip

Farmer Chris the Chaos Gardener

The previous tenants had an RV that they parked in the yard, it killed all the grass, and left a wasteland. This spring, giant horse lettuces and thistles took over the spot. I didn't take a before picture of this for you so you can see what this was like, but. Let me tell ya - she was full.

We put out the 2 raised beds, which, by the way, are making great progress. But the rest of the area, oh my goodness. Doug has hit it with roundup, Geoff mowed it, and finally I got so sick of these shitty things that I decided to pull them up. Weed that shit. 

Now, I hate weeding. Absolutely hate it. But I was in a rather determined mood. Doug was napping, and I just put on the headphones, cranked up the Decemberists, and had at it. 

It took me 90 minutes to get this far. I had picked up gloves at ACE hardware, and I'm very very glad I did. Even with the gloves, i got a nasty blister on my palm, and on my thumb, and somehow managed to cut the back of my middle finger,  all on my right hand. If I didn't have these dumb cheap gloves, I probably would have given up after a few minutes.

This, dear hearts, was hard. These stupid things have deep ass roots, and they network together. I bent my trowel and after 90 minutes I said "why am I sitting on the ground using my trowel! I should get a shovel!" 

But the shovel was not helpful. The ground was too hard. And at that point I was too over it. I'm standing up, no longer on the ground, I'm out of here.

Honestly, this kind of task needs professional skills. Some dudes would have had that whole big ass rectangle cleared in a half hour. 

But I did the level set best a girl could do. And I got filthy doing it. Sometimes that's the fun part. 

Doug was on the treadmill when I came back inside, I sat on the porch drinking as much water as I could. He took a shower and headed to the market. While he was in the shower, I hit the treadmill, I think it was 15 minutes. I just knew that I had a lot of movement and activity but not a lot of actual steps all day. The 15 minute effort got me well into the 10k point well before bedtime. 

And then I showered. 

And it was a great shower. You know the feeling when you are just so dirty, and stinky, and just have dirt all under your finger nails. Scrubbing your skin and watching all the brown head down the drain. I laughed because yesterday I cleaned the shower so I ended up having to do it again. No worries. Clean showers rock.

Doug went to Aldi to get things Geoff forgot to get (and, also forgot to get a couple things Geoff forgot!) and made dinner. After dinner, I went out and sowed wildflower seeds, I mixed up a bunch of potting soil and two packets of seeds, and just threw them all over the cleared area. I poured 3 full watering cans of water on them. I said a blessing. 

Go little seeds, go! 

The packets say 43 days to sprouting which is a long time. I probably should have done this a month or so ago. 

But that's chaos gardening by Chris. It's been a while since we've been able to do any sort of gardening, chaotic or orderly. When we owned the house that we lost to the bank, we had a giant semi-circle in the driveway and Doug would order bags of wildflower seeds and just go out and huck'em into the island. Minimal work prepping the ground, maybe a hoe, some raking away of the pine needles. Expose the dirt and give her seeds. I feel like I need more seeds. Like do it the total Doug way from the island. He called it Darwinnian Gardening. Throw out seeds and let's see who makes it! 

While I was sowing the seeds he was mixing up a concoction. Green drinks are also the best drinks. 

Tomorrow, I have to go to the office. I'm already exhausted from even just thinking about it. Doug also has to go to his office but he's leaving at 8am because traffic. I'm going to leave around 11, drive to S's house, park my car and walk to the metro from her place. It is a little over a mile walk, so hey, I'll get my steps in!  I'm staying at a hotel near the office, and will be there until Thursday when I check out. I already miss my dog. And the maker of green or blue or pink drinks.

Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. did a treadmill run, about a mile. Phone is upstairs so I'll edit for accuracy later. 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:

9:00am: 112
4:30pm: 112
10:15pm: 119

food & meds:

9am: jardiance + phentermine
11:30am: potato roll w/roast beef & 2 slices of colby jack
1pm: met+glip
6:45pm: one piece of french bread pizza w/pepperoni & mushroom
7:30pm: met+glip
some sort of green cocktail concoction by Doug

Rock you like a hurricane

Today was a helluva long day. I didn't set an alarm and woke up at 8:30am, which is when I usually start working, but after a few minutes of panic, I realized hey, it's Saturday. Alright! Okay! Alright! 

I had to pee so out of bed I got. Doug was already up and he and Toffee were on the couch doing the morning phone/cuddle thing. 

I farted around the house and he started farting around outside at 10. I took a shower, and realized the shower needed a scrubbing so I commenced to doing that. I got out of the shower and the toilet looked gross, so. I commenced to doing that cleaning thing. 

Pretty soon it was 10:50 and I knew I had to leave so I whipped up a quick lunch. Gotta eat something since I probably wasn't going to see food until after 2pm. 

Dout was washing the cars when I went out so I said "oh, okay? I was gonna take a car?"

He seemed confused even though we talked about me going 900 times. So. He rinsed off the car with air conditioning (the Mini needs some help and I refuse to drive her until she has AC). And I hit the road. I remembered that I needed gas.

Mind you.

Mind everyone. 

It is an hour and ..... 10, 15 minutes to where I'm going. Henry's band goes on at 12:15. I'm now not going to arrive until 12:30 if I'm lucky. 

I texted S to let her know and she said it was okay if I didn't come. But no. What kind of Auntie am I if I'm not coming down. 

"I will just be late so I know their sets go for like 45 min. I won't miss .... much?"

I got there at 12:29. 

Ha! 

I did miss his keyboard part on Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, but S was sure to record it for me. It was very very good.

We very much enjoyed cheering for all the kids, not just Hen. Pictures will be at the bottom. 

At the end of the show, Hen said "Well, it's pretty much tradition that we go out to eat after one of these shows!" S told me I didn't need to join but I wasn't going to miss out. Especially because his real blood auntie and his grandparents once again left and didn't join us. 

It is tradition. I love traditions.

Hen said he didn't want to go to the place we usually go to so I suggested we head to Brew Belly. Hen had not heard of it, and I said "I think you may like it." And he did. 

I ordered myself a cheesesteak, but shared it with him. S was objecting that his food was coming and he could wait, but my food was there and I wanted him to save me from the roll. 

"I'm a Breadaholic," he said to me, as he chowed down on 1/4 of the roll, with a bunch of the cheesesteak stuff on it. 

"Well my friend, once upon a time I was too." 

We had a grand time, yapping about all the things. I showed S's mom pictures of my dumb face from when I fell. S hadn't seen them since I didn't put them up on FB. Everyone was screaming. 

I have to say, it was kind of fun. Like, Look at me, I survived myself. 

I headed home, traffic was great, I was blasting Guster and missing my sister sitting in the passenger's seat to sing harmony with me. I'm always Ryan, she's always Adam. Gusther. 

As I approached my exit, there were the storms. Everything was sunny and beautiful back behind me, Frederick and Montgomery County. Shit this looks bad. Sing louder.

Getting off the highway, the road I come on to is a two way highway split down the middle. Trees were dancing, roadside signs were airborne. A tree landed on a woman's car where she was making a left by the Walgreens. I was in the far right lane, any other time I may have stopped but I saw the car behind her, the guys got out and ran to her. I knew she was in good hands. 

The traffic lights had no power. I wasn't sure if we were in a Derecho, I just knew I was a mile from my house and could make it no problem. And I did. 

Here I am, Rock you like a hurricane. That was one of the songs Hen's group played. They did a great job. 

Our power was out, Doug was napping and Geoff was sitting in the living room with Toffee, who was very happy to see me. 

About an hour later we got power back. Geoff made dinner and I left for a walk. I needed the steps so I leaned into it and headed out on a loop walk that I coulda extra looped but man I was feeling tired. 

Like I said, this was a long day. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Post-Thunderstorm walk. 30 min/1.51 mi; 10k+steps by midnight

blood glucose:

8:30am: 106
5:15pm: 143
10:30pm: 96

food & meds:

8:30am: jardiance + phentermine
10:45am: left over chicken in cheese sauce
2:30pm: part of a cheesesteak, some poutine, 2 beers, met+glip
7pm: meatballs
9:15pm: met+glip
red wine+diet ginger ale