living and learning

you never know where the wind will take you.

[roughentumble]

my friend just told me that there's a secret second dashboard that solely contains posts from people you've turned on post notifications for, and when i click the link in the messages it opens it within the tumblr app, so the tumblr app also has a secret second dashboard for post notification blogs, and the only way to access it is to open the link for it within the app.

i literally love tumblr

[thulium]

What the hell tumblr.

[alo83]

Vague work post ahead.

We are working on a task with outside people. But the outside people are annoying and incompetent. So I routinely have to be like “no, this is incorrect. The right answer is x. Please see page z of the attached y document which has been shared previously for confirmation.”

Thankfully my colleagues are like “Abbey will know the answer and she’s always right.” But like man, how are YOU so incompetent at YOUR job? And why are you making my day have a million dumb emails that didn’t need to exist.

Anyways, it is nice to have colleagues who respect you. But outside people need to stop so I can do my actual job.

[alo83]

I went to breakfast this morning with my oldest friend- my bestie from grade school who I stayed in touch with even when we went to separate high schools. I realized I hadn’t seen her since our wedding in 2022 (where we did not get to catch up as much as I would have liked) and before then probably was 2019. Her oldest (twins) are turning 10. And she had another baby a few months ago?!?

She hasn’t changed. It was like being back in our rooms when we were 14 - gossiping and chatting and figuring out lives. Now we’ve figured out some things but have others to still navigate. I don’t know if we would have pictured our lives then as it is now, but man did it feel good to connect again.

I need to be better about keeping in touch. Pre Covid I worked insane hours. Then it was grad school and wedding planning. Then it was two years of being dumb and in my own bubble trying to figure out my own shit, followed by the last two of illnesses and fighting to feel normal again. I’m finally on that other side and can remember that I used to be better about calling and catching up. That is important and also a way to show up for myself.

Here’s to more of that in 2026 and beyond.

[my-dailydreams]

[alo83]

I put on a shirt

[movementnudge]

Movement nudge, tai chi edition

Source

[alo83]

This looks like the am stretch I need to start doing daily

[alo83]

Okay so copilot was actually helpful today. Maybe there are uses for AI. But it’s for stuff I don’t want to spend my time on.

For the building, we are applying to a grant for some help on construction costs, and the application requires a letter of support from a community association. We bought the building from a community association, so I reached out to our contact (the president) to see if they would give us said letter by our application due date. She said she would be happy to but that timing would be difficult as they had their board meeting last week and their bylaws require a vote for letters of support. But she also said send a draft letter and she would circulate to the board to see if they could do a virtual vote.

Copilot drafted the draft letter of support. And it’s pretty good too. Only one revision after the first three sentence ask.

I fully could have written the draft, but it probably would have taken me 60-90 minutes to find an example and then to craft it to our story. Copilot did it in 5 minutes flat.

I guess that’s a win for small businesses??

[alo83]

This afternoon’s Nationals baseball game was A TIME.

I need to preface this story that we have season tickets- and have since 2019 (the year the Nats won the World Series). And so I go almost 1x/ week all summer, and we’ve had the same seats the entire time.

I went to the game this afternoon by myself because J had a wine thing, and all the friends I asked were busy or out of town. No big deal, just sit outside and watch the game. They were playing the Orioles - so the Beltway Classic. Lots of Orioles fans (as normal).

Our seats are in the upper deck, in a section that is empty other than us on random week night games. But today, I walked up at the top of the 2nd inning (after eating) to a basically full section. People were in our seats, so I sat in the last remaining seats two rows in front of our seats to just enjoy the game.

In 5 minutes, I realize it’s going to be a long game. Some asshole is taunting and yelling. This isn’t abnormal, but annoying. He was a Nats fan, but was taunting the Orioles pitcher and then their batters. Loud and obnoxious.

There were lots of Orioles fans around us, and when the Nats scored 3 in the third inning the annoying fan started yelling “sucks to suck” etc. And the Orioles fans are all complaining to themselves about it.. At this point I was like, oh shit- that’s ALSO the asshole who is in my seats!!

So I’m sitting there watching the game, and the people whose seats I’m in show up. We chat and the two gals are like cool, we will just sit here in other empty seats.

The taunting gets worse. Now some of the Orioles fans are starting to yell back. And I am also, I just want to watch the game in peace. So I turn to the woman across the aisle, who watched me tell the women I’m in their seats because some asshole is in mine. And I say, should I kick them out? She goes, those are your seats? And I tell her yes. She says yes please.

There is no usher at our section, and I didn’t see one on either side of us.

So middle of the top of the fourth inning, I walk up and go. “Hi. You’re in my seats. You need to leave.” Guy starts to say something to me which was probably not going to be nice, and I go “No, you’re being annoying and you’re in my seats. I’m a Nats season ticket holder, you have to go.” The friend goes “Let’s just go.” He gives me a dirty look, and they walk down the aisle and out of the section.

EVERYONE suddenly turns to me and is thanking me. In front of me, behind, the woman I was sitting near and her group, the people to the right of me. It was very nice. I’m just glad he didn’t throw his beer on me.

I then tell the women they can have their seats as simultaneously the people whose seat they sat in come back.

And so then, I sat in our seats and enjoyed the weird presidents race (see video). And the Nats score 7 in the bottom of the 7th inning. And it was a beautiful afternoon at the ball park. My first win of the season - 1/5 which is about normal.

[alo83]

I have two licensures as an architect. One is national and the other is by by state. But I also have a “record keeper” that keeps my test records that requires an annual membership. I have always thought “record keeper” was a scam, and today I found out, it’s clear it is.

My national membership is not required but is $1k/ year, but I do get perks like trade discounts at furniture stores, etc. My state is $30/ two years. The “record keeper” is $300/year.

So I am trying to get another state license to help with the building we bought. Save on drawings, etc. Today I looked into all that to get a new state license: it’s $30 for a background check, $30 application fee, and $500 for the “record keeper” to share my record with the state. Plus then paperwork to get a stamp afterwards.

Whut? I thought I paid “ record keeper” every year to not have to pay more to share the record. Please make it make sense?

What is wrong with our world? You’re literally paying for servers and to just share ONE pdf that says I passed all my tests in 2018…

It’s all a scam. You could just give me a record I keep on my computer and share with whoever whenever I need, like a university transcript. But no, you have to share and you get to set the price.

Wtf is wrong with our world?

[anxietyproblem]

[alo83]

I hand make Christmas cards every year. I had an idea when I was making last years that I can’t seem to get out of my mind. However, it’s a craft I have not done since I was a pre-teen. And it could take forever. So I ordered some test materials to try it last night. Maybe I only make one for me/ family if it’s really hard. Or maybe it works. Who knows. But at least I can stop dreaming about it.

[alo83]

I’ve been replaced.

[alo83]

One of my best friends and I bought a building in her neighborhood. It’s 100+ years old with a small retail space and two apartments. I didn’t see it until we bought it, but the building needs more work than I originally thought. We are using money from my investment account for the construction work and we got a loan (commercial mortgage) for the building purchase. While we have owned the building for almost two months we are really just getting our ducks in a row for the work that needs to be done. But we are working on it. And one apartment has a tenant, so that is keeping us afloat.

Anyways, E wants to start a blog writing about it as a way to a) boost her credibility in her industry and b) create a future revenue stream via substack. And overall I don’t have an issue with this and would be like okay but I want to be involved somehow too as this is half my project as well. And I’m the majority funder.

But she wants to take the slant on all of this as a working mom. Which I am not (though just hopefully not yet). And the emotional wreck this is having on me is intense. Being a mom is something I’ve wanted my entire life, but E just happened to fall into by accidentally getting pregnant and then building a life with her partner. When we first became friends she said she didn’t want kids. Regardless, this is all happening while j and I are on our fertility journey that I am also for whatever reason an emotional mess about at the moment.

And add to that I am tagging along on my husbands work wine trip. So I am alone most of the day and drinking all the wine.

So anyways. This was more about me just getting my feelings out as I forgot my journal at home. But like feelings matter and I just don’t know what to say as I feel left out by something out of my control. And I know it’s not done purposely but it also feels that way. Which is how a lot of the fertility stuff is which also sucks but like… you just keeping swimming.

[alo83]

Never not annoyed that someone at Rolling Stone in July of 2024 was like. Sure we will change the size and binding of the magazine and NOT finish the “one”.

[depsidase]

[mrtechlab]

Learned recently the Artemis II mission is carrying a 1in. x 1in. piece of the canvas used in the Wright brother’s Flyer, oohhh man. I love technology but I also adore beyond everything the sentiment for the past we attach to advancements, because a lot of people think there’s no need to remember the time we could barely figure out plane flight while blasting off to go briefly orbit the moon.

There’s sometimes a mindset of science purely for advancement, the next big thing, which feels both distinctly human and un-human (inhuman? Uhhhh) It’s our nature to go as far as we can, build until we hit something that can actually stop us. Learn and see it all. But we’re also the people that saw shapes in the stars; we have to give it all meaning. Artemis II is only one part of a much larger plan, but by itself it’s still an incredible feat. Every step of the way has meaning to the world, and taking a single square inch of fabric to make us look back is a really nice reminder of all of it.

[areweperfectlywhelmedyet]

There are other interesting and historic things on board, too! Worth the quick read to click through!

Dirt, a 1970s flag, a stuffie: What's inside the Orion spacecraft

Keeping the flight kit tradition alive.

[alo83]

This so cute!

[alo83]

I’m on the free (tourist) trolly to get to my house from the metro faster. And everyone is talking about how cute things are. This is my town, my home, my dog shop. I need to do this more as I forget how great ALX is. And get annoyed with the tourists who just stop in front of us on the dog walks… but it is cute and great! Old and charming!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This is a lovely, huge townhouse in this mammoth building in Bath, UK. It has 8bds, 8ba, & 7 reception rooms, 8,352sqft, including a carriage house. It's pretty pricey, though- £6.250m / $8,316,250.00 approx. USD.

The Royal Crescent was designed by John Wood the Younger, built between 1767 – 1775, and is an example of Georgian architecture.

Can you imagine living in this unit? The unit was renovated and designed by Interior Designer Clair Strong.

Since there are 7 reception rooms, it makes sense that one would lead into another. What beautiful wood on the doors.

This is a family/reception room with sliders to the beautiful garden on one side, and the patio on the other. The room features a built-in shelving unit and a large skylight roof.

Here's a pretty dining room with a fireplace and a niche with a bar.

Large eat-in kitchen with modern gray cabinetry.

Nice comfy TV room.

These dark rooms simulate a 1920s Speakeasy with a bar.

And, this is the home gym.

Stairs in the central hall.

Upstairs there are 8 sophisticated bedrooms.

And, 8 renovated baths.

This room is used as a home office.

The designer made the bedrooms very subdued.

The chimneys and clocktower on the roof are lovely to look at.

There's a park, but this is a beautiful private courtyard.

The private patio and garden.

It also comes with the carriage house.

You can see all the park land.

The units of are various sizes, but the smaller ones must be at least $2m.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/172925441#/media?

[alo83]

Sweet dreams are made of these.