☙ Memory Jar 2023 ❧

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New year get! Here's to a new year and a new memory jar! Please feel free to join me and chat about my memories/goals/etc.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

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It's hard to believe it's a new year already. It feels like 2022 flew by! So much happened last year and I have a lot to be thankful for but I won't bore you with all of the details. Today was a catch-up day. I did my best to catch up on unpacking in laundry and other mundane tasks to try to start off the year, and the work week, with things taken care of so hopefully my mind can be at ease to focus on my projects.

I did make a little time too to play Phantasy Star Online. I missed most of the Christmas event but there's still a New Year's event going on so it was nice to finally relax after all my chores today (though I probably stayed up later than I should have...) Anyway, I still have one more day off tomorrow so I'm hoping to tackle a few more things then and maybe get to play a little longer. Wish me luck!

Monday, January 2, 2023

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I'm super happy to have one more day off before heading back to work tomorrow. I went to bed too late so I ended up sleeping in a bit late and then walked to the chiropractor. Man that hurt!!! Still, it was a nice walk and I was super happy to catch sight of a bunch of lizards on the way. I love those little guys!

For dinner we went to our favorite hot pot place. OMG it was so good! After that we wandered around the shops in the area. In Petco I saw a little bearded dragon and completely fell in love with it. My boyfriend almost had to drag me out of the store I couldn't stop looking at it! I think I will make it a goal to get a bearded dragon for my birthday this year...

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

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Today was my first day back at work since the Christmas break. I like my job but...I did not miss working. I definitely wasn't 100% focused today. Mene is very distracting sometimes! Anyway, I made it through the day and got most of my stuff done that I needed to so there is that. Other than that nothing terribly interesting happened, just dinner, a brief sting playing PSONGS, and then off to bed.

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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Another day another dollar! I'm still trying to get used to being back to work. It's hard to not get distracted by all the other things I want to get done that isn't work when I'm working from home. I had a good meeting with my boss though and we're starting the process of hiring a part-time marketer to help me out because my workload is just insane. I'm excited to be working towards a promotion this year!

I also heard back from a program I applied to for the city I'll be moving to later this year. They're offering some remote workers $10,000 to move to the city and live there for at least I year. They must have liked the first part of my application because they want me to do a video interview! Still, I'm a little nervous. There's $10k on the line! But I guess easy come easy go. Either I'll get it or I won't. *shurg*

Thursday, January 5, 2023

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Today was a meh day. It felt like a long day and I had a headache that turned into a migraine in the evening so I ended up having to abandon my plans and go to bed early.

Friday, January 6, 2023

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I had a really hard time concentrating at work yesterday. I haven't been managing my ADHD well lately... I had a nice evening though! We went to a fancy restaurant to celebrate my boyfriend signing his work contract (he signed it a while ago but then got covid and then things were busy because of the holidays). We did a 6 course tasing menu! I tried a lot of things I don't usually eat. Here's what we had:

• A glass of David Page Chardonnay, a really yummy wine that was $23 per glass.
  
  
• Four different kinds of bread: honey oat, asiago cream cheese, salami focaccia, and brioche, all with home made butter with sea salt and olive oil!
  
  
• The first course was a lobster bisque with parmesan mousse! I'm not a huge sea food person but it was pretty yummy! This was probably my favorite course.
  
  
• The second course was a wagyu beef pasta dumpling things with Japanese BBQ and some sort of mushroom sauce. It was good!
  
  
• The third course was the main course. It was scallops with crispy prosciutto and a lemon couscous. Again seafood is not super my thing so I probably wouldn't do this one again but it was still pretty good!
  
  
• The fourth course was quail with a kale fruit salad and roasted cauliflower. I've never had quail before so it was interesting to try! It tasted kind of like turkey but maybe a bit more gamey?
  
  
• The fifth course was a cheese plate with a smoky cheddar with roasted onion, mustard, and a green onion oil drizzle. I don't typically just eat cheese by itself so I didn't end up finishing this one but the cheese was good!
  
  
• The sixth course was a deconstructed banana thing with bananas and coconut gnache and this wafer cookie type thing topped with chocolate gelato. I'm not a banana desert gal but I did enjoy the wafer and coconut and gelato!
  
  
• Then to top it all off I had a decaf cappuccino. It reminded me a bit of the cappuccinos from Venice I had last year. Soo yummy!

The food was all really small portions but I still felt pretty full afterwards. The servers were all super knowledgable and professional and friendly. It was a really nice evening! I'd love to go back and try their steak frites sometime!

Saturday, January 7, 2023

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This evening we went to St. Augustine to see the night of lights festival! We had tried to go last year but went too early in the day and ended up leaving before the lights really came on so it was nice to go back and try again! We had dinner at our favorite French restaurant and then walked around look at all the lights. It was really pretty! We stopped for a while to listen to some street musicians. They were actually pretty good! You can check them out here on Instagram if you're interested in that sort of thing. Afterwards we grabbed dessert (also from a French place, lol!). It was fun to listen to the staff speaking in French since it had been a while. After that we headed out and stopped at Buc-ee's on the way home. They have the best snacks.

Sunday, January 8, 2023

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Today I tried to tackle some of my hanging tasks. I did manage to make some headway which is nice but I still feel a bit like I'm drowning. I'll see if I can get my stuff in order a bit better this week. In the afternoon I went for a massage. It was pretty nice but I had a hard time shutting down my monkey brain. My ADHD has really been killing me lately and I need to work on managing it better...

Afterwards we went to the beach thinking it would be a nice day for a walk but unfortunately it was colder than we thought it would be so we didn't stay long. I did get to see some little sand pipers though. They're so freaking cute! I love watching them run back and forth into the waves and back. I'm really going to miss those little guys when we move away... The water was really pretty too with the way the sun was hitting it. If I can remember I'll try to add a photo in here later.

Monday, January 9, 2023

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Today I woke up earlier than I usually do (on accident, I just woke up). It was nice to get an early start and actually feel ready in the morning rather than rushing around. I did sort of crash and lose focus later in the morning though which was not as fun.

It was a so/so day. I got some work done but I also lost focus quite a bit. I did do a Focusmate session this afternoon. It's a thing where you work silently on camera with someone else to help you be accountable and get your stuff done. It's pretty helpful for people with ADHD who have trouble getting started on things. I did manage to finish up two marketing emails during the call that I had been putting off so that was nice.

In the evening I chatted with my sister and we looked at possibly updating my PC. It's horribly out of date sadly and it'll cost quite a bit to get everything up to speed so I'm thinking about exploring a Steamdeck. My sister got one and she quite enjoys it. I'll give it a try when she comes to visit in February and see if I like it.

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

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Today was an okay day. I got a bit distracted chatting on the site but I also got a pretty good amount of work done. In the evening I finally managed to cook a dish I've had the ingredients for in the fridge for a while too so that was a nice win. In the evening I worked a bit on a project I've been trying to finish and listened to an audiobook. Not bad overall!

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

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Today felt like an eh day. I was not super focused and didn't get as much done as I wanted to. I was supposed to have a career coaching call in the evening but it got canceled. I was kind of happy about that actually because I didn't really feel ready for it. A food truck came this evening so we grabbed burgers and hot dogs and fries for dinner and I tried to get a few things done. I finished my first two books of the year and started a third but ended up getting to bed late. Oops...

Thursday, January 12, 2023

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Eh, today was another low focus day so I didn't get a lot of work done. I did manage to fix an online photo album that I hat that was screwing up though so that was nice. In the evening I ended up with a massive migraine and had to lay down and ended up just going to bed early.

Friday, January 13, 2023

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Today was a better day. I managed to get almost all my work done. I still have one big thing hanging over me though so it looks like I'll be working at least for a few hours this weekend. Still, it's a long weekend so there is that. I worked a bit late and cleaned the apartment and made chicken parmesan for dinner with mushroom rice and bok choy. It was yummy! After dinner I listened to my boyfriend play his ukulele and guitar for a while. I can't believe he can remember so many songs from memory when he barely every plays! I played a little bit of PSO and then it was basically time for bed.

Saturday, January 14, 2023

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Yay for the weekend! I was hoping to sleep in since I went to bed way too late but no luck. I had an eye appointment for a contacts fitting and got my final trial pair. I'm glad to finally have that over with, so many freaking appointments for contacts I doubt I'm really going to wear anyway. After that I wandered around the Town Center for a while, browsing the shops, and had lunch at California Pizza which was really yummy! It was nice to warm up since it's so freaking cold here! After that I got groceries and headed home and got online to play a game with a friend for a bit. Overall not a bad day!

Sunday, January 15, 2023

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Today was mostly a catch up day. I ended up working for 4.75 hours since there was a project I needed to finish. It sucked having to work on my day off but I'm glad it's finally (mostly) done.

Afterwards, I was hoping to go ice skating or bowling but the bar/bowling place we ended up going to had their lanes down for repair. . We ended up going to eat at the Loop instead. It was really yummy so that made up for it!

After that we stopped for some groceries and got ice cream at Coldstone. Sooo yummy! Not much exciting after that happened, just went home and read a little bit before heading to bed.

Monday, January 16, 2023

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Today was a pretty good day! I had the day off for the holiday which was really nice. I had a telehealth appointment and then a chiropractor appointment and then went out to do some errands. When I got home I ran around like a madwoman trying to catch up on a bunch of stuff before my Dungeons & Dragons game and actually managed to get a lot accomplished! The game was okay, we spent most of the time in combat though which can be a bit tedious. I did actually manage to do some damage this time which was a nice change to almost dying!

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

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Crap, I'm starting to get behind on these entries and my memory is failing me. Tuesday was an okay day, I focused really well which was nice but ended up working late which was not so nice. For dinner we had this honey chipotle salmon which I really wanted to like but the breading didn't turn out crispy so I was disappointed. And that's about all I remember.

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

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Another okayish day. I focused ok in the morning but got distracted in the afternoon. I had a doctor's appointment and it looks like I'm going to try some different meds so we'll see if that has any impact on my focus. There was a food truck downstairs in the evening so we had that for dinner. It was a hibachi thing but I wasn't really in the mood for it so I got some spring rolls and gyoza dumplings instead. I played a tiny bit of PSO NGS and then finished reading the book I started, a memoir about OCD, and headed to bed.

Thursday, January 19, 2023

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The day went okay in the morning, I was getting quite a bit done. Things sort of devolved into stressyville in the afternoon when I was chatting with Google about an ad we were trying to run and simultaneously trying to have a meeting with my boss and realizing that I thought I was on top of everything but I'm actually a bit behind. I ended up with a killer migraine too and then accidentally overdosed on pain meds. Typically you can take most pain meds every 4-6 hours so I took a second dose but it turns out the meds I have are only meant to be taken once a day. I took a nap and woke up feeling sweaty and dizzy and nauseous and ended up calling the poison control center. They told me that since it's such a new medication they don't have a lot of data on overdoses but that I'd likely be okay and could just manage it at home as long as I wasn't feeling too bad. I ate a little bit of macaroni and cheese for dinner and then headed to bed to try to sleep it off.

Friday, January 20, 2023

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Today was an okay day. I woke up feeling okay after my overdose yesterday minus some residual pain in my head. I got some work done and listened to some old 80s country music and read a book.

Saturday, January 21, 2023

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Today I went to pick up my contacts and browsed the new clothes at Target. They're doing some pretty good stuff these days! I got some sleep shirts and button ups and pants. We had Chipotle for lunch (yum!0 and then headed to a comedy show for Pinky Patel. I saw her on Facebook a couple years ago and she's pretty funny. I'm not her biggest fan or anything but it was fun to go to a comedy show since I haven't been in forever. In the evening we had some yummy homemade pasta for dinner and I played a little bit of PSO NGS and then finished the book I was reading and headed to bed.

Sunday, January 22, 2023

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Today we tried to go to brunch at this French place I've been wanting to try so I got all dressed up to go but they were all booked out so we went to Longhorn instead. Still, it was nice. I managed to get a bit of work done too preparing for this interview thing that I have on February 1st. I've been putting it off so it felt good to tackle that. Afterwards we walked around the mall for a bit. There were French bull dog puppies! Not the cutest in my opinion but it made my boyfriend happy. I ended up getting a longline bralette from aerie that is super comfy and will look good with some high rise pants and a hoodie from H&M that says "Bonjour mon cheri". It was nice to find a piece of French related clothing that was not ugly and covered in sequins or horrible clip art. In the evening I had a call with a friend to help her with some job stuff. It's been a while since I talked to her so it was really fun to catch up!

Monday, January 23, 2023

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Nothing terribly exciting happened today. I worked. On my lunch break I went for a walk and called my mom. It had been a while since I talked to her so that was nice. In the evening we had hamburgers for dinner and I packed for my work trip.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

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I'm behind on this again. I can't really remember anything noteworthy happening today.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

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Today I left for my work trip. My mom sent me a message in the morning that apparently there was a tornado watch here so I wasn't sure if my flight would get canceled or not. Thankfully it didn't but it still got delayed a bunch and was super turbulent and I ended up being late for my work lunch thing which was not cool. The weather in DC was pretty shit, super rainy and cold and blah. My boss had the restaurant save my plate so I still got to eat when I got there. I had steak and mashed potatoes asparagus and caesar salad, a glass of chardonnay, and a little dessert trio that had berries with whipped cream, cheesecake, and a chocolate moose thing. It was yummy! I skipped the cheesecake though.

Afterwards we headed to a karaoke bar for a team event. I was a bit nervous singing with everyone but it actually ended up being pretty fun! I was still full from my late lunch at dinnertime so I popped into a Whole Foods near my hotel and got a chocolate chip scone for dinner. Back at the hotel I watched some Forensic Files (my guilty pleasure) and headed to bed early.

Thursday, January 26, 2023

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Last night I slept sooo bad. It was not cool. At least the weather today was better. We had an all day meeting. The morning was about some logistical sort of things and then we breaked for lunch. We went to this historical inn and I had eggs benedict. It's been such a long time since I've had that so that was a nice treat! I also got a home made donut and whipped cream for dessert. Back at the meeting, the second half of the day was spent on evaluating what processes work and where we need improvement, etc. It was a pretty interesting discussion. Afterwards most people headed home but I stayed for a drink with my boss, the CEO and another coworker because I had a bit of time to kill before my flight. The flight home also got delayed and I had an awful time getting a taxi home so I didn't get to bed before 2am. So not cool.

Friday, January 27, 2023

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I let my boss know I'd be a bit late today since I didn't get home until so late so I got to sleep in a bit. I was still pretty tired though. My boyfriend left in the morning for a weekend training thing so I'll have the weekend to myself. In the evening we had a D&D session that I wasn't super looking forward to but it ended up being pretty fun.

Saturday, January 28, 2023

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Today I did all the things. I spent hours cleaning the apartment and doing laundry and all sorts of unfun stuff. In the evening I was super tired out and actually sat down to watch a movie which is a pretty rare occurrence. I ended up watching a thriller thing though about a couple who buys a home where someone died and creepy shit happening. Maybe not the best choice when you're home alone.

Sunday, January 29, 2023

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Today I had a massage. It was nice but I had a lot of stuff bouncing around in my head so it wasn't super relaxing. I ran some errands and then met a friend at a thrift store. I tried on a bunch of pants and some shoes but didn't end up going home with anything which is fine. I didn't get much time in the evening to get to the rest of the things I was hoping to do though so that's a bit stressful. Hopefully I can find time to catch up this week.

Monday, January 30, 2023

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I had a hard time sleeping last night and then ended up accidently turning off my alarm and falling back asleep so I was late for my morning meeting. That kind of threw the rest of the day off and I felt like I was sort of rushing around to try to catch up. In the evening I wasn't really hungry so I just had a peanut butter english muffin. I think the new meds I am trying are suppressing my appetite which isn't terrible considering I tend to want to snack a lot. More troubling though is how it's affecting my sleep. I'll have to see if that evens out with time. If not then I'll probably switch back to what I was taking before. I didn't really get to relax much in the evening. I spent a lot of time looking up stuff for my interview on Wednesday and didn't get to bed until midnight again. Still, I feel pretty confident about all the research I've done that I'd make a good candidate and can hopefully get in. Anyway, wish me luck!

Tuesday, February 1, 2023

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I didn't sleep well last night and has a hard time waking up. It was a busy day at work. I went to the chiropractor on my lunch break. I ended up staying up late to do more interview prep stuff and then couldn't fall asleep until sometime after 3:30am. Stupid hyperfixation and insomnia...

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

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I barely slept at all last night. I didn't fall asleep until well after 3:30am and then I woke up at 6:00am. I ended up sending a message to my team to let them know I wasn't feeling well and that I'd get on later in the day hoping I'd be able to get some sleep but I couldn't fall asleep at all and ended up starting work around 12:30pm. I felt like it was such a loss of the day and I was just so tired but I had to pull myself together for my interview that I've been preparing for for like a month. I was able to put on a smile and I think I did ok. I expressed a lot of enthusiasm for the program but I felt like I was rambling quite a lot and the whole thing didn't come off as polished as I was hoping. Still, I managed to get all of the important points in so I guess that's what counts. I'll know in a week or so whether or not I've been accepted. I really hope I do, it would be such a big help having support for my mover later in the summer.

In the evening I had some other homework I was supposed to do. I started it while I tossed a quiche in the over and waited for it to cook. We watched the rest of some movie while we ate dinner. Something about pale blue eyes on Netflix. It was pretty good. I didn't manage to finish the rest of my "homework" afterwards though but I did take a ton of sleeping med stuffs and actually got to bed early so I guess there's that.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

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Yesterday I got two really great pieces of news! The first is that I'm getting a raise at work. Woop woop! The second is that I was accepted to the remote program for the city I am moving to this summer! I'll get a monthly stipend for living there for a full year as well as membership to coworking spaces in the city. They'll also help us with finding housing and resources within the city and host regular meet ups so I can connect and make friends! I'm so happy I got in, that's definitely a huge relief knowing that I'll have this kind of social interaction built in and won't have to work so hard at finding ways to make friends once I move. I'm also excited to try the coworking space! It might help me to have a bit more structure and boundaries in my work life. Anyway, yay! Plenty to celebrate today.