Steak Shack

So I am a little bit in love.

So no, I cannot eat burgers every day, though damn, Steak Shack burgers are the best ones I've had. In a long while. Better than fast food or Spike's or Fuddruckers or Five Guys. The Shack Burger's special sauce, the perfect amount of fry and salt on the french fries, the delectable meat perfectly cooked medium.  Yummmmmy.

And yes, I will fill uncomfortably full and bloated later. And I may regret the red meat. It is calorically bad, and I may regret that, too. But that is why you work out: so you can indulge in the Steak Shacky goodness of that beef patty with cheese and special sauce. Oh god it was sooo good...the absolute perfect burger. And fries. Sigh.

Retired!

Mom's last day of work at the hospital was today.  She is soon to turn 65.  I think she started volunteering there when I started college, so maybe 17 years ago? Wow. I know she's worked there at least a decade.

I am very proud of her for going back and working so long, especially after being out of the workforce for so long.  She deserves a chance to rest and relax and spend time with her family.

Working role models are usually graduated educated career women, but mom went back and was a hard worker, a volunteer, devoted, and will be missed by her colleagues. I am so proud of her and lucky and blessed to be her daughter!

Books and Updates

This book looks funny and awesome. Ever since we started getting into the Office earlier this year, I've just adored the witty writing and thus adored Mindy Kaling, who seems so relatable and thus fun. Will buy this when it comes out.

Though how sad the release date isn't until November.

I did finish the Rumsfeld memoir on my trip around the country last week. What a great read, a great guy, and how much went on during those six years.

Good Bye Oprah

As a former guest (kind of) and someone who has spoken with Oprah, I have to say farewell today as she broadcast her last show. I ordinarily don't care so much for this "you are good enough" talk, but I think she has spoken some powerful words. And her obsession with the Obamas outstanding, I do have to say she's been a powerful and positive force to be reckoned with.

And this is as conservative a thing as someone can say:

From her early shows, when there was a focus on people making mistakes and learning from them, Oprah says the ultimate lesson there was that "nobody but you is responsible for your life. It doesn’t matter what your mama did, doesn’t matter what your daddy did, you are responsible for your life. What is life? Energy. And you are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself and you are responsible for the energy you bring to others...That's what we learned on this show. You are responsible for your life, and when you give back, everything changes. Don't wait for someone to fix you, complete you, or change you. When you are responsible for your life, you get free."

Thanks, Oprah, for a great twenty five years. I've watched her by myself and with my mom, and I'm sure there has been a show or two that has really resounded with me. Even dad watched her Sound of Music reunion!  So she will be missed, even by me.

Packing

I am so ready to move.

I feel like this has been so long in coming.  I just want to move.  Like now. I'm tired of the boxes and having all of my "stuff" put away. I am tired of waiting for the moment when we can pack up the pots and pans and the plate and silverware and the wine glasses.  I am ready to unpack and I am ready to move out of this place.  I am just so ready to move.

I want to set up the new kitchen and set up the bedroom and the bookshelves.  I want to have my coffee table back.  I want my new guest bedroom and my roofdeck. I want to be set up and homey once again.

I am just so ready to move.

Nostalgic

Yes, my eyes watered looking at the images from the 2011 SMC graduation. I cannot believe it has already been thirteen years. It was a beautiful blue day, with not a cloud in the sky, and I remember waking up that morning and thinking wow, I'm a college graduate.

And now it's been so long, now it will be 17 years since I started college, and that is nearly a half of a lifetime ago. It's amazing how slow those first 18 years are, and how fast the next 17+ go. It is such a milestone. Though now I think of how the parents feel, seeing their children so bright and so grow-up. That must go by in a moment or two. I hope I get to experience that one day. So bittersweet to me.

So much going on

I've been in Chicago, Milwaukee, northern CA, and Chicago during the past seven days.  I've driven to airports, taken planes, taken trains, taken cabs, taken metro. I've had a few mediocre meals and we ate at Henri last night. 

Moving has taken a backseat, though I did some packing today.  Non-stop til I finally vegged on the couch watching SATC and now Grey's.  I did cram in a run to clear my head and in an attempt to keep going.  If that makes sense.

It is always somewhat larger than life to be amongst the group and flying around the country and trying to spark conversation and say hello to everyone and just be a good person. Making the rounds.  I don't know how it can possibly be May already.  And how in two weeks we finally will be able to move.

Whirlwind

There has been a lot going on lately, including the last two weeks before the move, Steve's trip, my visits to Chicago and Milwaukee and now California. And the taco championship which was unexpected fun.  Rumsfeld was awesome, and one of the most memorable dinners I've had the privilege to enjoy.  Now I'm sitting in my hotel room here in Menlo Park, waiting for one more lunch so I can hop on a plane and fly to the east coast tonight.  Only to be home for 26 hours before trip #2 of 3 commences. I guess trying to make life as busy as possible is the only coping mechanism I have to get through all of the upcoming stress. But it will be worth it, right?

Still Standing

I'm feeling like I'm going to crumble at any given moment. Just frustrated and on edge and feeling like I'm going to break when I can't be broken, there is too much going on to be broken. Trips and moving and dealing with postal bureaucracies and dealing with people who cannot read and write. And dumb questions and the lack of thoughtfulness. 

It will be okay. But I will miss my friends and my nephew who will be three tomorrow. I wish I could celebrate at home, with them, and not alone.

Feeling Old

I liked this.

I had that issue of Seventeen. I remember it. They should have used Sassy, though.

Not sure how much of it made me feel "old" in some sense. Though hearing that this year's crop of incoming college freshman were born in 1993 is scary. I will be twice their age, just about.

17, 18, 20 plus years...one mistake, though. I believe JFK was born in 1917. He would have been 94 had he lived, instead of tragically forever young.

Oh, and these comparisons...that makes me feel old. Last time I saw something like this, Joey was about 6 months old, maybe? Now he'll be 3!

(Lack of) Patience

I am not very patient. I am always on the go, and I think that is why I took up running. It's immediate. Yoga or Pilates is slooow. 

Email is fast. You send a message and expect instant gratification. I don't do well with waiting. I want to move NOW. I want to pack and unpack NOW.  I want to get home quickly, start dinner quickly, all so I can get to vegging out time, quickly.

I need to learn that not everyone goes at my pace. There can be learning curves, or slowness, or just patience for all in good time. But how patient can you be for patience? Do you count to 10? Do you never convey that immediacy is sometimes warranted?

I waited seven years to get engaged, so yes, I am capable of patience. But maybe that waiting period just made me impatient for everything else I needed and craved in life.

Weekend

It was a dull one. The husband worked most of it, and the highlight was seeing Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey at the Red Palace.  It was about time we saw a bizarrely ridiculous burlesque type show at the Club with Danielle and crew. It was absurd but I think we needed to get out like that.

I did miss Joey's big birthday party and Mother's Day. Makes me sad to think about it :-(

Running Slump

I feel like I have been in a bit of a running slump lately.  I had a good 4.5 mile run tonight, but in general, it has been tough lately. I want to pick up some yoga or something else to break up the usual routine.  But I want to keep running and being strong about it.  Part of me thinks I have slowed down after turning 35,which I hate admitting is a sign of "old age."  But I do worry about it.

I did gain some momentum about 2/3 of the way tonight, and I finished strong.  But I feel slower.  Hopefully this is a temporary thing that rebounds. 

New York IV

The fourth trip to New York City this weekend, and the second of the week, was okay. I had way too much to drink at the W bar, though we did see Vince Neil. The dinner at the Four Seasons Restaurant was very average. Ridiculously bad caesar salad. The Dover sole was good, and the strawberry souffle was good. But average. Very average.

And it was another long day, followed by another not so great night on Sunday. I really need it to get better.

The Day Osama was Killed

How fitting was it that I spent part of the day in New York City, part of this day that killed Osama bin Laden

See the world rejoice.

God bless America, God bless our soldiers and the Navy SEALs team that took him down. God bless those families and friends of those who were murdered on 9/11.  And God bless all of those who took to the streets in Times Square and at Ground Zero and at the White House to cheer. Some are uncomfortable at the thought of cheering for a man's death. But I saw this on facebook and liked it...It is God's judge to judge Osama. It was the job of the United States to arrange the meeting.