This has been a week of novelty, which added more joy into my busy work and home life. I did a better job of integrating work into the rest of my life, meaning I scheduled things I wanted to do and I fit work around them.
On Tuesday I attended the annual meeting at the kids’ school about Cambridge testing results. This is my fifth year and I enjoy it because I love data and charts, and it gives me a better idea of how school is going. Once my kids started middle school, there was a lot less information coming home, so I’m in for any chance I get to hear about what’s going on. TJ and I went together (yay house-husband!) so that was nice. I also got my new phone - a Google Pixel 10 Pro! I love a new gadget.
Wednesday was lunch with friend S at a new-to-us Indian restaurant. I also hadn’t seen S since June so we spent a long time chatting. That same day my Hair Wizard was able to schedule me for a cut and color so I really appreciated having a fresh look, too!
Thursday was both difficult and great. One kid was having a bit of trouble at school and did NOT want to talk about it, but this was a situation that required a resolution. Patience is not my forte so I slept poorly the night before. I gently checked in with kid a few times and they were finally ready to talk. As usual, my initial assumptions were wrong, we had a really great chat and we were able to come up with a solution together over boba. (Y’all if you have a 7 Leaves Cafe near you, get the Brazilian lemonade and thank me later. I’m addicted.)
That afternoon the kids’ school hosted a lecture about AI from a philosophy professor, so we all went and it was *delightful*. We learned about Searle and Turing, we listened to discussions about why they might be wrong, and continued talking about it through dinner at the OG and the drive home. Yes, we’re nerds, but we all got something from that talk.
Today the adventure continued. I attended an all-day User Group meeting sponsored by my company. A few coworkers had flown in to speak, and two of my local coworkers attended too. AND IT INCLUDED A DATA CENTER TOUR. I got to see The Cloud, y’all!
Since I’m so new at my job and it’s fully remote, it’s been really nice to connect with people in person! The nice thing about a technology user group is that a lot of the attendees seem to be introverts so there was a great mix of chatting and quiet time on devices. Clearly these are my people, lol. Afterwards we went to an amazing local BBQ place that I haven’t tried (but wanted to).
Tomorrow I am going to see Toad the Wet Sprocket live at my favorite local venue, and on Sunday I am driving to Santa Barbara to take a little “workcation” in better weather and see friends, including one I haven’t seen in 20+ years.
That’s a lot of deviation from “the routine” for a week, and I thought it would be hectic, but instead it has been energizing. It made me realize that we have really slowed down on fun events and activities in recent years, especially as the kids have gotten more busy. It’s definitely time to fix that! I realize not every week can be this exciting, but I sure can do more to add SOME novelty in.
What did you do that was new this week?
I loved without a fridge this week. The technician finally admitted defeat and I ordered a fridge first thing this morning and we get it on Tuesday!
I checked in for my cruise. That's it. But reading your blog makes me want to start doing some different things during the week. WFH often means I don't leave the house, and I kinda need to,