I dropped off to sleep Thursday night at 3:30 or so, then woke up Friday at 8:00 to check my work email (on my phone, flat on my back in bed). If the draft I’d submitted a few hours earlier was okay with my boss, I wanted to forward it right away to the DO who was waiting on it. It was okay with my boss, and I did forward it, and then I went back to bed for a couple more hours.
Did a few tasky things, then my boss emailed me to ask if I’d submit an invoice for her. I’ve never done it, and I’m terrible with money and with administrative paperwork, but I did sit through the training in May for the new system, so I figured I’d learn to actually do it. Anything that makes me more useful is good.
It took two hours for what I think most people do in five to fifteen minutes, but now I know how to do it. Now it will take me only half an hour, I think. Yeah, paperwork takes me extra extra long, something I’ve told all my bosses since I got hired at Assets. I know what I do quickly and well. I know what I do slowly and poorly. You gotta communicate that stuff.
I also worked on my monthly report. No actual writing, even though I still have one late story. It’ll wait until Monday. The wounds on my wrists where I slit them open for the last story still haven’t healed.
Watched the news, did the crossword, listened to music. Got writing at close to nine, then made a chocolate mug cake, something I haven’t repeated since I first did it in April or May. At about 9:30 one of the other Skypers asked how I was doing, and we agreed to a fifteen-minute word war.
My new idea for finding my review voice? Write as much as I can in ten two fifteen minutes. I’ll find my voice by writing a bunch of these, and I’ll write a bunch of these if I turn off my internal editor and just write. NaNoWriMo-learned skills, but for something different.
I wrote kind of a lot in fifteen minutes, and it absolutely did not suck. There’s something there. It felt good to realize. Needs editing and thinking, of course, but not yet. I’ll write some more and see what emerges, the same way: sprinting.
Called it a night half past midnight or so, then did a few chores and went to bed around two.
Breakfast and lunch was some cold tofu, cubed, with kimchi and blanched bean sprouts. It was delicious. I could eat like that every day if someone else would make it for me.
Dinner was leftover hapa rice with corned beef hash and a couple of eggs. It didn’t fill me with the remorse it did the last time I made this.
I texted with Crush Girl a little about weekend plans. Texted with Sharon about work stuff, but it turned into some casual chat about one of our former coworkers. We were good friends but when she left I lost touch with her. So I emailed her, finally, after almost a year and a half, chatting about the Bachelorette (which she’s a huge fan of) and how much I miss her. I do not think I’ll hear back from her, but I had to try. This is why I texted Sharon, actually. She knows how it ended and she knows I’m unlikely to hear back from her and she knows how I’d really like to. It felt good not to have the ball in my court anymore.
Jennifer texted me a photo of these Japanese Kit Kats aged in old whisky barrels. It makes sense. Some of Scotland’s venerable distilleries are owned by Japanese companies now, and Japanese scotch is excellent. Ali texted me from working at home and we had a little conversation about what that’s like for her. And I wished her a happy weekend.
Before bed, I watched a little bit of the first episode of The Morning Show, that Apple TV+ program with Jennifer Aniston. So far so good, but the episodes are an hour each, and I had to get sleep.
Comments are down there. Leave one if you’re not connected sufficiently as the holidays barrel upon us like barrels full of Japanese Kit Kats rolling down a hill.