Category: Life

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Life: I slept more than 7 hours!

During night time hours… in my own time zone! Seven hours that were more or less consecutive!

I was confused when I looked in the mirror this morning. I looked like an entirely different person…

No, that’s not right. I looked like the dewy, relaxed, possibly healthy version of myself in some selfies I made in Kobe last month. Selfies that I used to reply to a friend in Germany in WhatsApp, which inspired her to send laughing emoji, because I looked “great” and “relaxed,” which are not ways she is accustomed to seeing me in photos.

Gosh.

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Life: Beauty, Friendship, and Unpleasant Revelations

Tuesday, a gorgeous autumn evening
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.

The first week of November… was something.

Beauty: the weather was stunning. Cold mornings led to unexpectedly warm evenings. I made time for pleasant weekend walks with friends, and we basked in sunshine while the bay reflected blue skies. Weeknight sunsets turned the sky nearly every color but green, shortly after the time change let me out of work in time to watch. Clear nights made our local cities sparkle.

Friendship: I’ve spent time with people I’ve known for more than a decade, chatted amiably with people I met only this week, and enjoyed unexpected “quality time” engrossed in long conversations with people I’ve known for only months. Life stories. Travel plans. Disappointments in politics. Pet strollers. Compliments on my non-Sharpie-styled eyebrows. Mohawk hairstyle maintenance. A surprising number of people who know where the best Thai Buddhist temples in the region are. Good Indonesian restaurant recommendations! I’ve felt warmth, curiosity, kindness, and delight. I feel so lucky to have people around me who make me feel this way, and I hope I can do the same for them.

Unpleasant revelations: The U.S. elected a grifter felon president before being willing to elect a woman… AGAIN. Nationalism and fascism have more appeal than I can readily accept, as cartoon-villain-types providing simple-but-untrue answers continue to win out over the stickier details of a measurable consensus reality. I see there are plenty of people who prefer to watch the world burn if they don’t get their desired place near the front of some metaphorical line, but don’t hear them offering anything better. (Though I understand from Adam Serwer’s clearly reasoned book. The Cruelty is the Point, that they don’t intend offer alternatives, as their goal is not to improving anything.)

The returning-to-the-opposition party still fails to rise to new challenges, remaining blandly lukewarm about most topics of import (getting elected to protect the environment, but approving fossil fuel projects; being elected to protect individual reproductive rights, but having defectors spoil every opportunity to pass protections; letting allies and trading partners engage in genocide, rather than standing up for human rights; being bipartisan in situations where cross-aisle-status-quo posturing benefits no one…). Failures to deliver results drive apathy; being an alternative to an apocalypse only works so many times.

The fights for progress and justice never end, but it would be nice if they sometimes offered intermissions for refreshment breaks AND guaranteed no backsliding. Since they don’t, please take care of yourselves, avoid the conspiracy theorists in the breakroom, roll up your sleeves, and find a niche where you can make a positive difference.

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Life: Travel to Tokyo and Kobe, Japan

Image of Mt. Fuji reflected in a river on a cloudy day.

I am stateside again after ten satisfying days in Japan. This trip was my third visit, and the best yet.

The +16 hour time difference continues to haunt me, as does whatever is happening in my left ear that makes my hearing come and go. I’m working on re-establishing a sleep schedule that overlaps with nighttime here. I’m also sorting out when and if to eat, which is confusing (and not helping me slim down as I’d hoped).

I had a new Chromebook with me, and so was able to organize favorite photos capturing my many interests into massive Google Photo Albums with lengthy captions about flavors, pools suitable to occupy as water spirits, and watercolors that match drying rice… and then realized that innocent colleagues will likely be overwhelmed by these details, and that I should offer something snack-sized.

So I’ve illustrated my ‘top ten’ favorite experiences from this trip. You will not be surprised that many of them relate to food. Those experiences are:

  • Kobe and Tokyo: Vegan and Vegetarian Foods (Food!)
  • Kobe: Sorakuen Garden
  • Kobe: Waterfalls and Emerald Streams
  • Tokyo: Matcha and Wagashi (Food!)
  • Tokyo: Tokyo Ramen Street (Food!)
  • Tokyo: Lotus Ponds and Temples
  • Tokyo: Art Supply Heavens
  • Tokyo: Dining in a Traditional Building (Food!)
  • Tokyo: Immersive Contemporary Art
  • Tokyo: Shrines

You can see little collages and read brief summaries of these topics in ten blog posts at the link below.

Mobilelene
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.

I’m unlikely to write a single, long travelogue entry, though I kept a diary while I was there. I’ll take more time to reflect on the trip before considering that. However, it’s safe to say that the trip exceeded all of my expectations, and went SO well that I’ve already booked flights for a 2025 return.

I used my travel time to enjoy some books, and will post about those here soonish.

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Life: I Love Autumn Sunrises

Glowing morning
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.

I know I’m more likely to see them because it is so darned dark when I get out of bed, but… STILL.

THE COLORS ARE AMAZING. I get the warm fuzzies just for being alive and having color vision to see this.

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Life: Hottest Day of the Year (So Far)

Screenshot of an iphone displaying a preview grid of reflections of blue and brown (from pollution) on water
I am exactly the sort of person who stands on the back of the boat, taking entirely too many photos of the colors reflected in the boat’s wake at dawn. But you knew that about me already.

It was 93 degrees Fahrenheit in San Francisco today, our hottest day of 2024 so far. (Any day when I’m in shorts at a bus stop at 6:30 AM is already too hot a day.)

I fear it won’t be our hottest day overall.

As a native San Franciscan, I’m only fully operational up until about 78 degrees, so this was a tough one. Yes, I remember that day when it got up to 106. No, I do not remember that fondly. Yes, the whining here could likely be heard from space.

I’ll be optimistically hoping for fog in the very near future.

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Tea: Almond Milk Matcha Latte

image looking down into the bubbles of a recently blended matcha latte
Bubbles at the top of a blended and stirred almond milk matcha latte. I heart ceremonial-grade match.

I stayed in bed until after 9am, and I’m still astounded at how it feels to be RESTED.

I’m also a little concerned that this feeling is so novel.

And how quickly lunchtime arrived…

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Life: Migraines & Friendships

Novelty pens labeled "failure is always an option" and "you can be replaced"
Novelty pens labeled “failure is always an option” and “you can be replaced” from a colleague. I laughed out loud. She noted that those of us who are more seasoned see them as funnier than young people. Note that we work in the legal profession.

I returned home from work on Wednesday, and wondered why the lights were so bright and the lines in my kitchen seemed so wavy. I was just tired enough to wonder what was wrong with the lights… but it wasn’t the lights.

This is called “aura,” and it’s like the special effects you see when you have your eyes dilated by an eye doctor. I can achieve the same effect through the magic of MIGRAINE HEADACHES.

Despite the beginning of a new migraine series (they rarely happen just one day in a row), it’s been a lovely week. It isn’t just all the people congratulating me on my promotion, though that is sweet: it’s all the people just being delightful to interact with.

It’s the scientist I bumped into after leaving a bookshop, who chatted with me on the sidewalk for perhaps 20 minutes; it’s the young person from another team who is always so optimistic; it’s the gal from another company who once had me sample farmer’s market strawberries, and who chats with with me so comfortably that it feels like we’ve always known each other; it’s the gal from a global function who bought espresso with me and was charming even at 6:45 in the morning as we made our way toward our ferry; it’s the shuttle driver I ride with 3 or so times a week, who knows I don’t ride in the evening, yet rolled down his window to try to tempt me with a shuttle ride to the train station (which made me laugh out loud – it’s a free shuttle); it’s the attorney who popped into my office with a question, and then told me she is amazed that I am so consistently PLEASANT and that listening to my voice is like walking into a spa; it’s the workers at the fancy coffee place who know my name, and I know theirs…

Perhaps it was the isolation of 2020-2021’s safety precautions still influencing me, but I appreciate people being casually enjoyable so much. I’ve enjoyed it in the past, but it feels… more special now. Having lost those opportunities for a while, I ensure that I notice and enjoy them now. I will relish them right up to the next pandemic!

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Life: Business Travel

Valley Lights
Weblog by A. Elizabeth Graves. iPhone photography and links to science-y and foodie topics.

This year, I’ve traveled by plane three times for my career, but only once for recreation, which likely does reflect my priorities (ouch). It also feels like a lot of flying after the pandemic shelter-in-place times, even though it pales beside my old regular-commute-to-Europe phase.

This past week, I attended a conference in Las Vegas, where it reached 107 degrees outside. The conference schedule was packed and in a large hotel/conference center, which made it easy to stay engaged while hiding indoors from the heat. There were coffee and even espresso stations to help balance out the increasingly aggressive air conditioning with inner warmth. It was a good experience, and I even dreamt about new (highly sci-fi versions) of the presentations last night, so I am still processing what I experienced.

I’ve only been to Las Vegas twice, both times for this conference.

I have found it difficult to explain to friends who like Vegas why I don’t: just because I don’t enjoy drinking to excess, smoking of any kind, gambling, dressing for attention from hard-partying strangers, etc., doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with those activities. They just aren’t my cup of tea. And when it is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, it isn’t like I can escape to the great outdoors – even frozen tea wouldn’t be enough to cool me to functional temperatures.

Returning home, I was filled with joy at the fog, plainly visible from the airplane, as we approached the City… It’s so good to be back in my natural habitat!

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