Quote of the Week: If you eat a thing with cheese filling…then you become a thing with cheese filling.

MONDAY

My view while reading…the laundry and the light. I feel like if this was a painting it would become very famous. I may or may not suffer from delusions of grandeur at times.

Labor Day. Quiet. Read, watched a movie, cleaned up a teeny tiny spot in the bathroom. Continued to not continue doing laundry.

TUESDAY

For better or worse, I trimmed my bangs.

Made myself run some errands today. I DESPISE ERRANDS. I had to go into work to pick up a package and do some returns at Old Navy. Fill the gas tank. Check the “flat on Sunday” tire (so far so good). Put a “moisture-wicking” thingie in the car to help dry out the seats and floor from a WEEK ago. Got some lunch on the way home, ate, finished my book, finished my Korean homework and now it’s 5:00 and I feel like I could go do something but I don’t know what.

WEDNESDAY

Heart-shaped buffalo caulifower

LAST DAY OF VACATION.

Met a friend for birthday lunch. We sat outdoors in the shade and waited for the wind to blow the big umbrella down onto us. It was nice.

Korean class. STRESS. FUL. Ha ha. I can feel so (sort of) prepared beforehand, and three minutes in I want to cry. I can remember nothing, I can read nothing, I cannot pronounce anything right. It’s a mess. I’m a mess.

The good news is, when I go back to the beginning to review, I find I have retained SOME things, so…SOMETHING’S getting in and sticking, albeit slowly.

THURSDAY

Late summer light

FIRST DAY BACK TO WORK.

Oh my. After the quiet week working when we were closed and hardly anyone was around, then almost two full weeks off, today seemed crazy. Five days worth of mail, some new processes for things, lots of events all coming up at the same time…It was a lot.

On a bright note, Birthday Desk when I got in – Happy Birthday sign, confetti, flowers, some presents – a BTS coloring book, ha ha ha I love it.

OH. Another downpour soaked my car again. When it had JUST dried out from the week before. The wet dog smell has never left. Suggestions for SUPER powerful bad smell removers? I already have a damp-rid thingie in there like I use in the apartment when it’s humid out and squishy in.

FRIDAY

Poke Bowl Goodness

I thought YESTERDAY was bad?? Today was ROUGH. Rough. Ruff. Combine yesterday with another day just like it, and that was today. WHAT IS HAPPENING???

BUT, birthday lunch was nice. Yummy. A new poke bowl place by work. So yummy.

I was EXHAUSTED when I got home, did a couple things I had to do, then fell asleep on the sofa…then did MORE things I had to do when all I really wanted to do was sleep on the sofa.

SATURDAY

I’m working hard…Jane-shi not so much. Plus, I photoshop vaccuumed again.

Woke up several times during the night DID I MISS THE ALARM? AM I LATE FOR WORK? DO I GO TO WORK TODAY? WHAT DAY IS THIS? Ha. Spent several hours (SO FAR) on homework.

Am thinking about doing a series on TikTok called, “I Try Things On So You Don’t Have To,” which would essentially be clothing try-on hauls, but short. Under three minutes.

Does anyone miss the “What I Bought” series I was doing here? I’m on the fence about continuing it. On the one hand I think it’s useful to see things on, and why they worked or didn’t work. On the other hand, it was always challenging to get pictures of me trying on all the things cuz when I’m returning, I do it as quickly as possible so I get the refund as quickly as possible and don’t always manage to get pictures of me wearing the thing. And to just say “here’s a thing I didn’t keep,” doesn’t seem all that useful.

I think maybe it was more interesting when it included STUFF, but I don’t buy much STUFF these days (besides restocking on supplies I always have: hot spicy ramen, instant black bean noodles, low-carb protein shakes, etc.). I’m trying to get RID of stuff, not bring more in.

SUNDAY

Japanese dinner: Braised and seared pork belly chashuu, served with shiso verde, rice, nori and lettuce wraps. My friend and I shared this.

SPICY TUNA CRISPY RICE: Spicy tuna, wasabi aioli on sushi-style crispy rice patties. I do not share this with ANYBODY.

Woke up at 7am and went straight to the homework table…and was there til 11:30. UGH. And I have MOST of the homework done – there were a couple things where I just don’t understand WHAT to do. Then I still have to memorize vocabulary…and write out all the RULES for the things we learned this week. I learn by WRITING. I can’t think well “in the air,” if that makes sense. And I have to write things BAEGMAN TIMES (a MILLION times) before I start to retain it. It is HARD getting old. Anyway, even just having ONE class a week is hard…and now he gives twice as much, ha. This was TEN PAGES of exercises. Ten. So many pages.

Then I wrote a blog post, roasted soy-marinated chicken thighs for the week’s breakfasts, and headed into the city at 3pm for some FUN. FINALLY.

A) RUFFLES, and B) how fun is that green plaid coat???

Overthrow New York: Home of Underground Boxing. By day…

And by night

Night fleurs

My “the GPS keeps sending me through the Battery Tunnel to Brooklyn and I’m going in circles” entertainment.

The PLAN was…meet up (friend was coming from PA) in Meatpacking, whoever finds a spot first, wins…loser drives. Since my GPS was hell on wheels tonight and kept trying to send me to Brooklyn from the Financial District…I was the loser. That’s okay. We were to have dinner then head to Times Square to see Kim Namjoon’s (BTS) Big Birthday Billboard…but the timing of everything was working against us, and while we had (yummy) dinner, I did NOT make it to Times Square for Joonie’s birthday 🙁  And I just got home at 10:00 and I’m a pooped puppy.

So, good night.

PS: BTS won Group of the Year at the VMA’s tonight, among other things. You did well, guys!