I ought to be working on that conference proposal for tomorrow's review at work but whatevs. Had a pretty good weekend, though it was mostly spent with MAC. It's odd to be with someone who's pretty giving, as I'm the one who is the care giver and my partner is the lazy receiver who takes it for granted. Ha. but seriously, it's very nice to be the receiver though I'm still struggling with being gracious instead of panicking and thinking about how I can give back. For example, at United Noodle, I paid for lunch since MAC got drinks last night, but then MAC paid for all the random snacks. I got a little tipsy since I'm still suffering from some viral infection that doesn't manifest in incapacitating illness but persistent malaise and got real PDA-y at Republic last night. EK thought we were cute together and immediately my negativity turned it around as "everyone's said that about every past partner. it's because I make us look cute, dammit!" I hate my mind sometimes.
I spent Thursday night at MAC's since MAC spent Tuesday and Wednesday at mine. Plus, my boss was going to Boston and I wanted to tour the university greenhouses before it closed at 3:30p. Though, after work I had gone to GHS's to watch the Mummy 3 and eat chips and guac. I like hanging out though I had to make it clear I was seeing someone else. I was afraid to approach it initially since I didn't want to lose the one work friend I'd made, but I rather deal with it upfront and the consequences instead of making someone feel like they'd have a chance with me. Funny, the older I get the more I recognize that I'm a catch? GCH is another interesting person I'm glad to have known. On the outside looks average and boring, but really inquisitive and interested in new experiences. I hope we become good friends.
When we woke up Friday, MAC offered to go out and buy croissants at Trung Nam. It was a nice gesture, but I said no since I wanted to be easy-going. Also, it was below zero outside. When we got out of bed, MAC pulled out cereal but then paused and asked if I wanted croissants. Normally I would have refused again, but in a previous conversation with Thuy - who told me that I should accept it when something is offered - I said yes.
While MAC was out scrapping the car and warming it up, I tried to log into the work VPN. The wifi was so awful and my work laptop is so awful, it was a no go. I didn't have a meeting until 10a and it was just a dial-in, so I wasn't too worried. So I just surfed the internets on my phone until MAC returned. Breakfast was shared: one plain croissant, one almond croissant, and a sliced pear with crushed walnuts and honey drizzled on top. NICE JOB, WILL BANG AGAIN! I told MAC my work predicament and was given a UMN password and log-in. That's pretty big, in my book. Then I was driven to the St Paul Student Union. It felt awkward to work and be on campus, but I got over it. After an insipid meeting, I called MAC and got picked up and we were off to the biological greenhouses. Very small, but very nice. MAC has a lot of interests that I don't so it was refreshing to hear someone excited about plants, which I can barely manage to keep alive.
I was back in my home about 1p, but felt so tired even after a full night's rest. So I was pretty useless and ended up taking a lot of naps. Went back over to MAC's around 7:30 to go to a friend's house-warming party. MAC brought spring rolls so I didn't have to worry about bringing stuff as I usually did in the past even for events where I was technically the plus one. SO NICE. It was great though kind of alienating at first since MAC immediately went to jam with some folks in the basement. All bug-geeks and then me in the living room. But we played charades and that was fun and made it less socially awkward for me. We left around 10p. Fooled around and went to bed at 12:30ish.
Had a terrible night of sleep. I was finally getting congested and woke up periodically to find my mouth super dry since I was breathing through my mouth. Also woke up freaking out at the radiators sounding like someone banging on the windows. I moaned and MAC leaned over to calm me down. Had a dream where I found out JS was mad at me because I said something abut her not travelling while DH gave me a one page essay on his trip to Spain. I left the room and came back to JS' office which was totally cleared out, though the printer had something in the tray. It was her outline for a novel about the two of us, though we were hookers at a brothel and I was a total bitch. I was not well-rested in the AM. Went to the Farmer's Market in St Paul so MAC could buy eggs and mushrooms. I bought a small jar of pickled green beans randomly. Left MAC's and headed to BU's place round noon.
Before I left my place Friday, I saw a Facebook post where BU was pretty despondent about his job hunt. I felt bad since I realized I hadn't seen him since he picked me up at the airport because JS was being sketchy. So like pretty much a whole month. I called and made sure he was ok in real life, and offered to get lunch. Picked Las Teresitas since JM liked it, and also invited JM to come along. It was a good hang; good tacos, good company, and I dragged everyone to IKEA so I could buy more candles for my poorly-ventilated apartment. Forgot how much I enjoyed their company though I had to evade questions about my evening plans. I know JS blabbed to JM that I was dating someone, but I don't feel like bringing up too much. Didn't get home until 3p and realized how tired I was. Tried to nap without success and dragged myself out of bed to shower and get to MAC's place by 5 to prepare some dough to make gougeres for a dinner his adviser was hosting.
Made it to MAC's by 5:30. Called earlier to apologize without saying sorry but seemed ok with it. We cooked the pate a choux (pat ah shoe), though MAC did most of the actual cooking of the dough. I was ok with it. Made it to George's by 6:30, started baking round 7 and by 7:30 dinner was about to be served and the gougeres looked great! Made two batches, one plain and one with finely diced prosciutto that MAC had that I dried out in a saute pan. The ones with ham went quicker. I think it's because I piped them out pretty big so they looked more approachable? It was cool, especially since one woman came up to me and asked if they were pão de queijo, which are similar but made with tapioca flour so they are a bit chewier. Brazilian! Her little kid was so cute and kept speaking in Portuguese. It made me realize that I forgot how to speak most of it and that I miss speaking it. It's a pretty language and brought back a lot of memories from the early 2000's. It made me think of R, and of Marcel and Ana Cristina. I didn't see much of Marcel and Ana Cristina after I broke it off with R and that was also around the time that their daughter died. I only read about it after somehow hacking into R's email account (my name was part of the password).
Left George's round 9:30 to go to Uptown and meet up with EK and her crew. I wanted to sleep at my place and we picked up my overnight things at MAC's place. Republic was fucking crowded but EK had wisely reserved a table. Almost made it until midnight but I was tired and the cider I had - MAC bought - was making me cross and congested. It was fun though. EK's boyfriend is extremely entertaining and mostly hangs out with family so it was a lot of family riffing. Frenched MAC with Pop Rocks which was hilarious. But it was nice to sleep at my place.
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