A sunny breakfast can fix a lot of things

 Not much is happening or at least this is what is seems like to me.

A couple days after my last post, Mischief sent me a long text that I'll partly copy here (I cancelled some things that include details on our clients):

Just wanted to say hi and hope all is well there. I am coincidentally in Seattle and had dinner with [our firm] Telco leader who is from Rome which was fun. I liked him. Didn't know things were crazy there like in Paris or so he said. Nothing new here. Been doing a lot of longevity stuff. I also heard your client [my main client for whom I do a lot of work with -us West Coast] on Bloomberg the other morning and was surprised. Oh you'll be surprised to hear I pinged [long piece about an investment he wanted to make a few months ago on which I gave him a bit of help in my professional capacity]. They said everyone we met is asking all about me and what happened 😬! Felt bad but the data center stuff was the right call. Anyway, I hope you're well. ♥️

To add some context, this was after the weekend where protests spiked to a riot downtown here, but I think media put more hype on the story than it deserved. I consciously let the text simmer for 12h before giving a short reply ("hey! so did you meet [name of Telco guy]?"). he went on with long texts and I gave in and resumed the conversation. We discussed how I am currently not very happy with the firm and that I should explore other opportunities, among other things. I am probably reading too much into the fact that he resumed the conversation.

Meanwhile, I just spent two days in Taormina for my firm annual partners meeting, which is in my humble opinion the most beautiful place in the world (although I would not want to live there). Taormina is in Sicily and a number of movies were filmed there, like Aquaman 2):

The volcano was calmly erupting (it's almost always the case), it felt like summer with 24 Celsius, weather was amazing. We had dinner in the hotel of the White Lotus Season 2, everything was good. A colleague that was with me in Mountain View spent a good 30 minutes obliviously talking to me about Mischief and how the guy was interesting and how he spent all his time with me and am I still in touch with him, he's such a handsome guy - at this point I smiled and politely said I'm certainly better looking and I think he got the hint to stop buggering me.

I spent the night working after receiving a call at 1h30 in the morning (hello West Coast), had a bit of a stressful situation and at 7h30 when I was done I called my friend Cinzia, who was staying in the bedroom next to mine, and we went to breakfast. Breakfast was here:

Needless to say, this took away my stress.

I'm afraid my decisions about avoiding contact with Mischief were also taken away but hey, a girl can dream.

Song for this post: "Angel of the morning" by Juice Newton

October gloom

 After a long day, largely spent helping out California-based partners of my firm that I'm helping in winning projects with my main client, I texted Mischief

"How come I spend half of my days in calls with LA and SF partners and it is never you?"

I didn't have to wait long for a reply "Hey how are you? Who are you working with?"

And off we went chatting and gossiping a little.

 

At least this is how it played in my mind. In the real world, I did not text him in first place. I am thinking that he will slowly fade away from my thoughts, but after a vivid dream last night I am not so sure this is happening (in case you are wondering, in the dream we were walking and he was talking about his dog). In any case, I am still avoiding to reach out to him and I still feel it would hurt my dignity doing so at this point.

 

In other news, it's the time of the year where I feel frustrated and depressed. We close the fiscal year at the end of June and as partners we are notified our annual compensation at the very end of October/beginning of November, but at this point of the year everyone is anxious to hear the results. I've had (as always I would add) a great year and I'm consistently in the top revenue-making partners of my Group. Unfortunately, two factors play against me:

i) my boss does not believe in the industry I advice (tech & media, while he's a real estate person) and does not understand how I manage to deliver these results (he's very formal, I always show up in jeans and sneakers, and I've come to the conclusion that every year he thinks something very lucky happened and that the results I brought must be a one-off thing)

ii) while I lead the tech & media thing also at Europe West level, most of the work I bring in to the firm is in the US these days (unsurprisingly, given most deals I work on are companies selling apps), and I'm not rated based on this but only in relation to Europe West work.

Finally, the Indian summer we enjoyed is over, and the weather is gloomy. The streets downtown were burning over the weekend, with violent protests boiling (as all around Europe these days). Depressing.

 

Weight wise and goal wise, there is nothing to report.

I've had a chat with chatGPT explaining my goals and it bluntly told me that I'm eating roughly half of the protein I would need and thus thinking I can really improve my pull-ups or my 6pack is unrealistic. I always struggle with proteins indeed. And I am also not losing (nor gaining) weight, but TBH this is not a main concern right now.

I can do 3 unassisted chin-ups when rested (probably 2 pull-ups), while with an elastic band I usually do 3 sets of 8 during my training, and I would want to reach at least 5 unsupported ones. We'll see.

 

Song for this post: Someday (I'm coming back) by Lisa Stansfield

post scriptum

 and as silly and childish as this is: he shouldn't have kissed me. I was used to men not being attracted by me, it was okay. He did wake up the monster that had been sleeping for so long.

So I do blame him for this

Taking over me (voices in my head)

 Mischief has disappeared again, which is completely expected because he's at home and not travelling.

The whatsapp chat lays empty (because he's a psychopath obsessed by confidentiality and has set the option that deleted messages older than 7 days). I am trying (and succeeding so far you may say) not to reach out. But what do I get from my succeeding in not reaching out?

Not much honestly

Do I think less about him? I probably do, like 5% less. Not materially lee I would say. Meaning I still think about him a lot.

I am not proud of this and I do not think this is smart. To quote Evanescence, "but who can decide what they dream, and dream I do".

 

I think part of the problem is I now feel again I have "a right to win". Again, I'm not proud of myself, but let me explain.

Over the past few years I never felt beautiful or sexy or anything and would never have imagined a man to be interested in me. Men simply did not see me, and it's funny how sometimes the bigger you become, the more invisible you get.

 

However, I should probably mention that at some point in my late teenage years, I realized I could (at the time) step in any room and if I decided I wanted a specific man, there was a 95% probability I could have him. (Not something I am proud of, unsurprisingly, but this is the honest truth, based on statistical evidence). Unsurprisingly that revelation changed my life because I previously had been invisible (ugly duckling anyone?).

 

Now let's not dwell on my young years, but the reality is that now men see me again. I'm not claiming I could have anyone I wanted (I also do not want anyone really!) but now men SEE me again. I get a lot of compliments both from people I see daily and from people who do not know me, and I have found again self confidence, which in turns generates attention. Which is funny really because hey, I'm still the same person, I still dress every day in jeans, a button down shirt (and a leather jacket now the Indian summer we've had is over) and sneakers. Every single day.

 

And the part of myself I despise most keeps telling me that things would be different if I had had the current looks back in Mountain View and in San Francisco.

 

Which is probably not true because in the (according to the rationale part of me) the reason Mischief does not want to meet me is he is a good man who has a family and does not want to cheat on his wife. But the voices in my head say that no, I was ugly and fat, I'm still ugly and fat, and they would only be sedated by him drooling on me I guess. At least they would be sedated for five minutes.

 

The worst thing in this messy thoughts is that on a lot of awkward situations I am able to understand if my neurodivergence is spiking or if I'm reacting like a "normal" person, but when it comes to anything that is sexual or romantic I really don't know.

 

I just know I should stop obsessing but I cannot seem to move forward. If I let the communications die, I may just start idolizing him into someone that doesn't even exist. Chasing a man is somewhat below my dignity.

 

Song for this post: "Taking over me", Evanescence

Not yet there, it seems

 Went to the dietician this morning, weighted at 57.5kg (126.7lbs, BMI 19.9).

While my BMI could be lower, I have honestly developed a certain level of muscles over the last 6 months. I may not be able to do pull-ups, but I can do unassisted chin-ups (ok, 3 or 4 depending if I'm rested or not, but still).

This to say, I honestly expected to receive a "maintenance" diet, a pat on my shoulder and a goodbye.

Instead, he said I should try to reach 55kg (121.2lbs - BMI 19). And gave me another appointment in 40 days. I am kind of wondering (provided I meet the target) if at that point he'll say that 53 would be even better considering then the Christmas season brings a lot of food, and maybe then why not make it 50?

I'm probably nasty, but I was honestly surprised.

On a different topic, we're having an Indian summer and I spent the weekend wearing short jeans, thinking it was likely the last chance to show off the legs. Husband muttered all the time (he would prefer me all covered up in baggy clothes of course), but honestly it was too warm for anything else. I don't recall ever such a warm weather in October, but considering I go to work by bike, I'm not complaining. At least we've had sex over the weekend, after a dry spell of September.

Ok, I'm dancing around what's going on. The last few days have been a bit difficult, with a friend from work who called me crying after stepping out of an MRI (I knew he was going for it) where they found him a prostrate cancer, my neighbor visiting yesterday after she's had a brain tumor removed two weeks ago, and a client who called me on Friday to announce he'll be off for a while for pretty much the same reason. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful that Husband, I and our families are overall in good health, and I'm also humbled that these people trust me to talk about private matters. It's just I struggle to find words to console them, I wish I could do more although I perfectly know the best I can do is to listen to them when they need to talk to someone.

Finally, I have not been writing about Mischief but he's not disappeared from my life. As Bath suggested, I'm clearly the emotional crutch and he writes me any time he's not home. I wish I could say I don't think about him, but that would be a lie.

Song for this post: "Say it right" by Nelly Furtado

Back to it

 Husband was slightly dizzy for a couple days during our stay in Greece, I got him some antibiotics and he immediately improved - two days later I spent 6 hours puking VIOLENTLY - like 12 times in 6 hours and I got a throat ache from the acid. The antibiotics quickly kicked in, which was lucky because the next day we had a rough 3 hours by boat to get to Mykonos from where we were flying back (I cannot imagine how I would have managed to do the whole journey while sick).

Despite this and the work, the week in Greece was amazing. We've been to this remote island so many times that by now we know the locals, and Greek hospitality is still more sacred than it's depicted in the Odissey, trust me. The weather was amazing, the food is always good, the place is beautiful, what else could I ask? The cherry on the top: we even had sex three times and one of them it was not me starting things!

It was a week lived from dawn to night, everyday watching the sun rise during a morning walk/slow run, and every evening enjoying the sunset. One day, not too far, I will be able to live a life where I can enjoy every sunrise and every sunset, it's a promise I've made to myself.

One mor pic from Greece (I don't know why I always look short in pictures when I'm tall in reality!):

I'm also happy that overall during the stay at the lake, the couple days in Zermatt and the week in Greece I did not gain a single pound- I did not lose either but that's okay, it was not the goal.

Now I'm back and I need to do another next step - although it's not gonna be easy as September plan includes:

- 3 and 4: corporate party event at the best beach club in Tuscany (it's the only event I am in charge of and trust me it's huge). Fort the first time in years, I will not cover up like a nun - I think I'll wear a bikini with my short jeans

- 9 and 10: corporate partners meeting in Rome

- 19: Anyma concert with one of my nephews (at least this will be an event with no food)

- 20 (Sunday): family gathering at our place to celebrate some birthdays (husband and a brother in law, it's going to be 20 ppl)

- 21 to 23: corporate Europe leadership meeting in Munich, will include two dinners one of which at Oktoberfest

- 23 to 24: other corporate event in Munich

- 26 (Saturday): big family lunch at the lake

- 28 and 29: meeting in Frankfurt with dinner

I guess I'll throw in as many gym sessions as possible! I think this will not leave me any time form the customary September melancholy, which is actually good as I tend to get that a lot.

Did I forget Mischief? I did not. He texted from Hawaii where he was with the family, than from DC (funeral), and now he's in Japan.

America?

 Summer is half over and I'm still here working.

I finally got the deal that made me spend so many nights in negotiation calls signed, but another one started, the team has signed off for vacation (some projects finished, some not) and as always when I feel I'm alone working on something I feel lonely. It's not even fair that I write this because I have a manager who is working with me super hard on this project but he's based in India and I still feel lonely.

I also miss Mischief, who has last texted on Tuesday and then went MIA.

Spotify just gave me an old Italian song that says this:

Make me dream! she bites her lip and can feel America

Make me fly! he reaches out with his hand, and she can touch America

Make love to me! stronger and stronger, as if it was America

Make love to me! stronger and stronger, and I am America

Food control has not been good but yet I did lose a little more and woke up at 59.9kg - 132lbs - BMI 20.7 -  while change is minimal, the psychological threshold of having a different first number when you do kilos is big. I felt a little in a rut but now I feel again I can reach 57 by end of September. I want to need new jeans.

I'm also still working hard on the pull-up goal. I can do two non-assisted chin-ups and if I have a good bar 1 pull-up but I need to see improvement and am a bit worried about vacation as I won't have access to a bar. Whatever.

Song for this post: "America" by Gianna Nannini

More zombies please

 Believe it or not, just as I wrote my last post, that night Mischief reappeared. I am starting to think I have jinx powers - when I write here he disappears, he resurfaces. When I write here he's supposed to call he never does.

I also realize what this actually means: he's just not that into me and he probably writes and calls when he feels lonely or bored, or when he needs something from me.

In case you were wondering, he just randomly texted, it was late and I was with work friends at a champagne tasting experience which should have involved 6 wines and actually involved 12 glasses. It was a fun night overall, I sent him a pic of the glasses and then he went on bitching a bit about how he works too hard and has too many social nights with clients. As much as my heart kind of skipped a bit when I saw he was texting, I was overall unimpressed. I'll try not to initiate any conversation going forward (but the reality is that if I travel to the US I will text him, let's face it, even though he said he does not want to see me, because I apparently have 0 dignity - and I am likely to travel to the US in Autumn). 

On a different note, my training schedule still involves some elliptical machine sessions, which I especially love because I watch those films and shows that my husband is not keen on while doing this. I try to watch them in English (unless if they are French of course) to practice a bit. The thing is lately (after finishing Euphoria I should say) I have indulged in romance (One day, Before Sunset - which really struck, Notting Hill). I do not think this is good for me right now, so once I'm done with Notting Hills I shall go back to something violent an unromantic - my top pics are usually shows involving zombies, although I will re-watch Fauda in the autumn before the new season comes out. If you have recommendations, they're welcome! (I would love to watch Station Eleven as I adored the book, but it's not available in Italy).

Weight update: 60.3kg - 132.9lbs, BMI 20.9

Final appointment with the dietician in a week and I still have one kg to go - fingers crossed

Song for this post: "The Spectre" in the Alosa version

Jeans and clients

I lost count of the jeans I've bought and discarded this year as they were getting too loose. 

Last night I was talking to a client (my main and my favorite by far incidentally)  and he was commenting the counterparty requests on a deal we're working on and he said "it's like the thing you always say, right? about how anyone can lose 20kg by dieting but what we're buying is the current situation, not a hypothetical adjustment". And I said "so true! but I may need to change example because I lost 19 kg, you have not seen me in a while". And he was like "really??? are you like massively training, or dieting or both?" and I explained and honestly, I think it's the first time I realized that I have really lost 19 kg and in pounds the number is even more satisfying (42lbs).

If I'm being honest, I'm also more slim than I used to be at the same weight in the past - I think it is because I am doing a lot of strength training on top of cardio, and I never lifted in the past - my posture has improved as well.

Mischief has of course disappeared entirely, as expected. To Bath point, yes, he is married and has two teenage kids. I may also add that there was a bump in his marriage many years ago when he spent a night with a colleague, who later sent a letter to his wife informing her she had given him a blow job.

Which incidentally brings me to the BJ topic - I never understand if Americans are obsessed with blow jobs or if they simply don't get them at home? I realize it's my neurodivergent mind that dwells on these kind of topics, but I have come to peace years ago with the fact that my mind is wired differently than most people's.

Weight update: 60.8kg - 134lbs - BMI 21.0

Song for this post: "Dernière Danse" by Indila

the end of Mischief

 Me: Mischief, can you find 5 minutes to talk?

Mischief: sure call me tomorrow - I'll be in the car 8AM to 8h30 

That was yesterday. My last ancestor passed on Sunday, she was my grandmother's sister but we always treated her like a grandmother and she was extremely close to my mother. She was 99 and she died weighting less than 55lbs (25kg). The poor woman had shrank to almost nothing.

The funeral was this morning so I went to the lake and even gave a speech at the funeral - I think this really made my mother happy, so at least there's that. Husband was super nice and drove with me. I admit I wasn't very emotional - to be honest, I have already grieved her, I know it sounds bad but I realized that this is how it works with me when people lose their minds. Also I believe in being there for people when they are alive, rather than at their funeral - but still, all went well.

We drove back and I admit I escaped to the office since husband was working from home. I did not want to be mean, but I thought it was time to close things with Mischief and I could not possibly do this while I was sitting in the same room with S.

So I called, he did not pick up but called back in a couple minutes. Small chatted for like 15 minutes, told me a lot about his plans, his upcoming vacation, business etc. When he asked me about my travel plans I said the reason I wanted to talk to him is I am figuring out whether to push or not to attend certain US meetings. I said

"I figured you did not want to see me two weeks ago when I was in NY so I did not call or ask, you were with your family and it would not have been a good idea."

and he was like "wait you were in NY? when?"

I said "July 1st and 2nd. I sent you a picture"

"Oh I did not realize you were there. I would have wanted to see you but you are probably right"

I said "Look it's fine but honestly - I want to see you but at this point, I need to understand if you do want to see me or not. For the sake of clarity, I would never try to mess up with your life or your family, but I know what I want. I believe we can work this out but in the end I need to know if you want it"

I knew this was not going well. He stayed quiet and then said "I do not think it's a good idea to see each other. I want to but I don't think we can handle this".

I said "Fine. I understand. I do not agree but I understand"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I would want to see, I do not want or wish anything crazy but I feel like I'm 17 when I'm with you and I think it's the same for you and this is not going to happen to me again, but I understand your motives so it's fine."

And then he was like "Wait so we're not friends anymore? You're like not gonna talk to me again?"

I said "Mischief, when have I ever not talked to you?" (inside my mind I was like what are you, 15 years old?)

He rumbled a bit more about how he wants to see me but thinks this is too difficult to manage and so on, and then thanks God he said he had a meeting and he had not realized I wanted to have this kind of conversation or else he would not have talked with such a short timeframe and basically the poor guy panicked. I said "Mischief, it's fine, don't worry - I also have a meeting to go. We're fine, don't worry"

And this was it.  I was a bit flushed by the end of the call, but to be honest I saw this coming and I cannot say I'm broken hearted. I get his motives, and I respect he prioritizes his family (trust me I do). If anything, I feel guilty for not doing the same, and I guess it's good that things are improving with husband. I am grateful that Mischief has seen me when I was still fat - this really boosted my self confidence which was in rugs at that time, and somehow it helped me losing weight.

I am also not ok, I dreamed about this, made plans and castles in the air, and now reality made me crush on earth, but it will be okay. I guess like all dreams it had to come to an end and I do not regret at all cornering him.

My next goals are:

- letting this very emotional day come to an end

- work on my relationship with husband

- work on my 6pack and drop the last 3kg

- incorporate certain exercises in my routine to improve strength in the right areas to be capable again of doing pull-ups

- keep up with what I'm doing at work, as I'm having my most successful year ever.

It's a lot but having goals is good. Let's start with item 1 on the list, I'll shoot a couple emails and sign off.

Song for this post: Don't cha by Pussycat Dolls

PS my belly piercing is healing nicely and did not give me any trouble at all!

As summer goes by

 Mischief replied on Monday as soon as he got off the place - as I had suspected, he had eventually stayed in New York with his wife for the 4th of July weekend, then his flight back home got delayed by 11 hours. We messaged a bit over the week, but to be honest I must get him on the phone at some point. I think I'm losing him, which I can accept, but I will at least try. I want to tell him I want to see him but also that he needs to understand I will not screw his life, family etc. I want him to know I was in NY as he was last week and I did not call him bcs I knew he was with his wife; in short, he can trust me if he wants to.

I can't help thinking I probably should never have asked him the infamous "Did you fly here to fuck me?" question... 

While I have not lost more weight, I did go and get the piercing. I actually told my husband I was going to and asked him if he wanted to come with me, which he did. I think it was nice. Unfortunately I did not get the kind of piercing I wanted (with the gem in the belly button and a small ball above), but I got a small gem above the belly button and basically nothing visible in the button - apparently my button shape is not ok with the gem in the middle or something. I expected it to be painful but it was really not. It also has not bothered me with the trainings, which is good.

Things seem to be a bit better with S and trust me, I'm trying real hard. For the sake of clarity, I'm not at all bothered with him going to the gym every day, quite the opposite actually as it helps me get going as well. I'm more concerned with the fact it seems to be the only thing he's into these days. My plan in life is to take an early retirement in 6-8 years from now - my dream would be moving to a Greek island but I do not know if that will happen, we'll see.

I had a lot of work events over this week, and on Wednesday we attended a party together (organized by an M&A boutique I sometimes work with, they invite us every summer). It was fun and cute, and like every year we ended up going home by bike, quite drunk, riding through the night in Milan, laughing and calling out at each other.

On a very different note, my friend Kat will be visiting tomorrow. Kat was my best friend in high school, then she broke my heart and we did not talk for years. When i moved back to Italy in 2009 we made up and stayed friends, but she moved to Poland in 2011 and we have only met twice since - last time was 9 or 10 years ago. It feels a little strange, and I'm excited to see her. She has a teenage daughter... which I still struggle to believe. It seems like yesterday when we would go to the river in summertime and dive from the waterfalls.

Song for this post: "The river" by Bruce Springsteen

The Tan

 Just as if I jinxed it by writing that Mischief was in touch on a daily basis, he disappeared. Since he's a psychopath about privacy and online presence, he set our whatsapp chat to delete messages after 7 days, which is something I hate as I'm the kind of person who religiously keeps old letters, messages etc.

The chat is now empty.

I know I had said I would not reach out, but eventually I wrote this morning "Stranger, did something happen?".

 

He was probably already sleeping by the time I texted (remember he's 9 hours behind, and I sent this after training at the gym), so we'll see. I know he was spending the 4th of July on his own and his wife was staying back in NY, so either they changed plans and stayed as well, or it's strange that he was on his own and has not reached out.

 

I know I should just let this go, and you know I won't. And the reason is simple. I am fairly confident he feels the same way I do. And I am very confident that neither of us will experience this again, considering we have not in more than 20 years. I do not want nor plan to wreck his or my life over this, but if I get a chance to enjoy this and see his a couple times a year, I will.

 

 

On a different note, I went to the lake for the weekend and managed to grab a quick coffee with my brother. I was wearing short jeans and a polo shirt and he was like "Sis, you look amazing! The tan! And I love your shorts, these clothes really suit you". This made my day.

 

I have an appointment with a piercer tonight. I don't think I'll go through, but let's see.

 

Weight wise: 61.8kg (136lbs) - BMI 21.4. Slow progress, but still progressing.

 

Song for this post: "Don't think of me" by Dido

The monster's running wild inside of me

 It's been a crazy few days. The client that was furious kept calling, and I had to manage the shit that hit the fan both internally and with client. Eventually I soothed them and persuaded not to sue and to continue the projects with us, but I'm honestly exhausted - to some extent more in relation to internal management of colleagues who did the fuck up.

 

Last Sunday I drove back from the lake to the city with the car top down which admittedly was a bit crazy - it was so warm that at some point my iphone stopped working because of a temperature alert. When I got home I took a big bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it all down. Then proceeded going to the gym. I trained almost every day over the past month, I think I took three rest days in total over the last 30 days. My next appointment with the dietician is on July 2nd and I'm almost to the target weight he gave me for such date (roughly one pound to shed, but in one week I hope to do even more) so that keeps me motivated.

 

Mischief is oddly present in a continuative way… I think he was very empathic with the client issue and not a single day has passed he's not been in touch. He's on East coast this week so that helps with a few less hours of time difference. I'm certainly not complaining - but… I long for him.

On the other hand, I'm working on a San Francisco project so I end up having calls until 10PM at night, which sucks. It's also not an easy project, and I can't help feeling it would have been so smoother if my team and I had gone to SF to do this but whatever.

 

I can't wait for vacation but that's still 2 months away - although I do have plans meanwhile for a few weekends at the lake and hopefully one at the seaside (our neighbors invited us as they have a villa there).

 

On a different topic, we'll have to neuter Loki. It is a bit strange as he's already 4 years old and we've never had any problem until a couple months ago, but when we go to the lake to my parents he gets aggressive (which I cannot have since he stays with my parents when we go on vacation) and more over, although he does not pee outside his litter box, his pee stinks, and I find myself sniffing the air as soon as I step in at home. Husband is against this but his solution involves a stinky home and never going on vacation - I love Loki but I cannot live with either of those. So we have the vet appointment in July, I really hope this won't be too hard on him.

 

This post was a bit random, I'm sorry about it - I'm afraid it reflects my current mindset. Weightwise: still stuck at 62.8kg (138lbs - BMI 21.7)

 

Song: "Faded" by Alan Walker (again)

All my life on my head (don't want to think about it)

 It's been a bit of a rough week. First my computer died on me on Wednesday, and after arguing with IT (they initially offered to give me a new one on June 25....) for a couple hours, I managed to grab one at 6PM, with most of the updates yet to be done but at least I'm relatively autonomous at this - I still lost almost a full day of work, and this is the busiest season of the year...

On Thursday I had a client event in the evening at one of the rooftops with the best cathedral view in the city - just as I was about to leave the office with two colleagues who were also attending, a (difficult) client of mine called screaming and threatening to sue the firm. Long story short, legal department (not mine) has made a mistake in sharing information, and client now wants their heads on a tray. Which is not something I can offer. I apologized profusely, called legal and ask them to deal with the mess. Fast forward to Friday morning 7h30AM (after a relevant number of gin tonics on Thursday night I shall add) client was already calling me, screaming, even more enraged than the previous night. Among other things I heard "we're going to sue everyone in the firm" "we're going to drag you in the dirt" "we will destroy your reputation" and much more. I took about 20 minutes and then calmly said "Look, I do understand you are furious and rightly so, I apologize again and I'm trying to work to fix this. At the same time, you've been working with me for over a year, and you always noted how good and professional my team was. Now as much as I understand your position, please try and also see mine: it's another team and another partner that made a mistake, and I'm taking all your frustration". He calmed a little but reinstated he wants this to escalate.

It was not a great day.

Mischief called me that night (he needed more help with his investment thing) and could see I was not in a very good place, he was nice at listening to what happened and trying to cheer me and shared some gossip from the US firm. I stayed away from any conversation about meeting each other or anything about the two of us, I was not calm enough to have this kind of conversation. I have also kind of decided to try and not be the one who initiates conversations - not sure I'll be capable to respect this decision, we'll see. I should also mention: he looked incredibly good. I kind of wanted to eat him. I think he just got a haircut, and he was tan and oh my God I wanted him. (at least I think I also looked good, I have a bit of tan, had my hair straightened and was wearing a shirt same color as my eyes)

I'm spending the weekend at the lake, trying to get a tan and spending some time with my parents. I drove here this morning, I put the car top down and just drove by the lake in the warm air and that was by far the best hour of the week. I normally hate driving but it felt good.

Weight update: yesterday I woke at 62.5kg - 138 pounds - BMI 21.5. But I may have been a but dehydrated, it's been consistently reaching 100F and Thursday night event was open air so...

Song for this post: "Disturbia" by Rihanna

Ad a pic of Thursday night - my arms are still big but overall I was not unhappy with the look

A big question, followed by a big silence

 Today I turn 44, which sounds unreal. I had a party at home last Friday night, and I must say I really felt loved and surrounded by friends. I know, most of these relationships stem from work, but the fact that people who stopped working with me years ago are still friends I see and talk to often and that they show they still care is somehow reassuring.

(my mother in my young years and then my husband always told me I have no friends and I never managed not to be hurt from their assessment).

The party went on from 7PM to midnight when I basically told the last few people it was time for them to go home, considering the amount of alcohol consumed :-)

Sunday I suggested that maybe husband and I could spend an extra half an hour in bed for some fun and was clearly met with a "no it's late I have to go to the gym and then I want to work a bit before lunch". ooooookay.

The rest of the weekend was spent tiding up, going to the gym, having lunch outside and working a bit - and talking to Maria who at least is going through phases now, sometimes she's obsessive and crying but sometimes seems to be more tranquil - and this is a big improvement from crying 24/7. I suspect I will probably have to talk to her every day at least until mid August when she gets to Italy but it's ok as long as she's making some progress. I wish I could convince her to seek professional help but she flatly refuses.

Mischief is.... I don't even know what to say. I ended texting my question and well, a big question was met by a big silence I would say. Well, that's not even true, I explained about the SF thing which blew up and something crazy that happened with a client and  wrote:

Me: "question is: if I happen to be in the US this summer/autumn, do you want to see me?"

Mischief: "That's crazy stuff. Yes call you Friday"

Then he disappeared, texted some random stuff yesterday and disappeared again.

Honestly I don't know. There are moments when I think I shall just tell him hey, let's meet in NY in a couple of weeks (he'll be there) and moments when I think "what the hell Lucy? the guy does not want you". The first kind of moments usually happen when I'm high from vaping.

I hate it when I cannot read a situation but I'm not sure if I cannot read it, or to quote my brother, if he's just not that into me. May be I just do not want to acknowledge the latter, but on one thing I trust my gut: I have never felt so alive in the past 20 years as I have with him, and I feel the same is true for him.

Weight: still stuck at 64kg (141lbs) BMI 22.1. But after the drinking, the pizza, the meat of the weekend, I consider it a success. Now I have two weeks ahead of restriction.

On a different note, I want to fully enjoy this summer. I want to travel a bit, to spend more time outdoor, to get as tan as possible (I am a huge user of SFP 50 don't worry). My friends from university were organizing to meet in Helsinki and I immediately said yes (then plans got postponed to next summer because the one who lives farther away (Bangkok) broke his feet but my point is until last year I would have said "sounds lovely but no thanks". Now that I feel good again, I want to live.

Song for this post: "Spending my time" Roxette

I would stand in line for this

 "Interesting" was his reply. (I had texted him: "So.. when I said I’ll be traveling again in July what I meant is there’s a 90% chance I’ll be in California" ) Then he added: 

"Lmk when you know" - followed by

"I'm on NY and India in jul"

I did not reply to this.

Meanwhile, since my life is never under control (and never was, let's face it), the situation has changed entirely:

- I will actually be in San Francisco again in late June for a few days, I probably won't in July

- I have been so busy I literally have not had the time and energy to even text Mischief, but interestingly he hasn't either.

My idea is to get him on the phone early next week, tell him about the SF and ask if he wants to see me or not. At this point I want to understand it, I'm not interested in being someone he chats with when he is bored if he chickens out when it's time to see each other.

This may sound aggressive, but I do not want bullshit. If he backs out, fine, I'll lick my wounds and move forward.

Weight-wise, I am exactly where I was at the last post, despite training like crazy. Still better than a gain though.

On a completely different note, I got tickets for a big Anyma show. If you've never heard of him, check out the Sphere show he did last year.

Song for this post: "Extreme ways" by Moby (one of the songs that keeps coming back into my life as decades go by)

Cliffhanger

 It's a long weekend down here as Monday and Tuesday we have bank holiday.

The heat wave is incredible, given it's not even June, but I'm not complaining. I'm at the stage is life where I realize the number of summers I have ahead of me is finite. I love the long days, I usually wake upd before 6AM and I love that it's not dark.

Weight update: 65.1kg or 143.5lbs - BMI: 22.5.

Not where I want to be of course but at least it's progress.

Tomorrow we booked a day at a new SPA with lots of outdoor space and water, I really hope to tan a little, as I'm still pale and I love being tan. I'll use sunscreen don't worry! But I really love laying in the sun. We could not go to the seaside for the weekend, so I'm happy at least we're doing this.

Jay update: first of all, from now on (and backwards) let's change his name to Mischief.

After a couple days of internal debate (during which Mischief texted me frequently) I finally dropped a bomb text today (I assume he's still sleeping given time difference). It says:

"So.. when I said I’ll be traveling again in July what I meant is there’s a 90% chance I’ll be in California"

Admittedly I'm kind of scared to see how he will react, as this will define a lot about the future of this dream I guess. I mean, this can literally be the end of it, but it has to be I'd rather end it now than spending 6 months watching it fade away.

Also I kind of hate when I give myself this kind of cliffhanger but it is what it is.

First day of summer

 Happy Memorial day to US readers!

 

Weight update:

I started this year at 75kg (165lbs, BMI: 26). Am currently at 66kg (145lbs, BMI: 22.8).

It would have been a 65 had I not been in Madrid last week (lus last Saturday - more below; however, Madrid was good. It was a meeting of the western Europe leadership for work, and everybody commented on how great I looked. At almost 44, this is still a trigger and I'm afraid I will not get better - I enjoy compliments.

 

 Tomorrow I am seeing the dietician - I was supposed to reach  65, but again, with three weeks of work-related travel, I feel it's still okay, but I'm keen to see if he will change the diet or not. I kind of hope not as I'm genuinely enjoying what I'm eating, but we'll see.

 

I have two goals that are so different from each other it's almost laughable. First one (I'm almost there): no chafing tights when I walk. I've been wearing shorts under dresses for so many years…. I think if I drop a couple more kg I will get there.

Second goal: I'd really like to get a 6pack again. I know, this is pure vanity but… I even have a few pcs from AFTER I got married where I sported a 6 pack. But I think I need to be max 55-56kg for this and it's a long way from where I am now so we'll see. I probably need an intermediate goal (first number to be a 5 - at 59kg I would be 130lbs or BMI 20.4).

 

I wrote that I'm fighting for my marriage to work - and I am. For the weekend I organized something: my team had gifted me a wine experience at Masi, a fine producer of Amarone in the North East of Italy, that involved a guided tour, wine tasting (5 wines) and lunch - so I booked and we went. I convinced husband to take the roof off the car (we have a small convertible) and it really was the first day of summer, we enjoyed the escapade a lot. Of course it was a disaster diet-wise, but at least I skipped dinner. There was also some sex on Sunday (but guess who got things started?).

 

Mischief called me on Friday night as he was heading to a show at the Sphere in Vegas and spent one hour on the phone. Half of it was in relation to some investment he wants to make and he asked if I could help him with this, which I'm happy to do. No he's not exploiting me - and he has helped me with getting insights and collabs with other West Coast people in our organization, which is not a given at all trust me.

 

A couple of pictures: first one was taken over our wine experience, and second in Madrid by a silly colleague

San Francisco part II

 "What? no! I mean, it's not that I don't like you, but I didn't have a plan or anything"

I stayed quiet and looked at him

"Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because I don't know your intentions"

"I don't - I - ..." (I am so mean that I smiled, it was good that for once he was the one stammering in a conversation) "I haven't thought about it this way, I just wanted to see you, I think about 24/7.." and then he quieted.

I stood up, took his hand and said "Let's go and walk. I didn't want to make you unease, I was genuinely curios of your motives and am too neurodivergent to figure". He smiled, held my hand and off we went walking. At this point of course he started making fun of me, and we were laughing all the way to the waterside. We got to one of the piers, close to the San Francisco - Oakland bay bridge, that was all alight in the dark, and suddenly we went quiet. I may have shivered (it was getting colder), he got his arm around me and leaned in to kiss me.

I whispered "Mischief you said.." and he backed off, saying "You are right. Let's go back". We walked back to our hotel and went to the bar and got a bottle of white wine and talked until after the bar closed, I think little after midnight. It was surprisingly not awkward, we talked about our spouses, his family, lots of things really. Then he said "I need some sleep ahead of tomorrow meeting" and we went to the elevator.

As soon as the doors closed, he kissed me and this time I could not back-off. He took me to his room and went on kissing me softly. Then suddenly he was backing off, and i said fine but walk me upstairs to my room. Of course he came in and we must have gone on kissing for another hour based on the watch although it seemed like 5 minutes

I have replayed this scene endlessly in my mind and the only way I have come to describe how I felt is: I felt I was sixteen years old again, minus the anxiety.

I said I was going to write the truth, so: at some point I peeled his hands off my ass and placed them on my boobs (braless, like 95% of the times these days - and to be honest, my boobs are my best asset after my hair) and I guess this was crossing an unseen line because he moaned and say "I must go now - call me for breakfast" and left. He texted me a minute later Goodnight (this is how I know it was almost 2 AM).

I think I just stood by the window in the same spot we were together, breathed and watch the bridge for a long moment. Eventually I washed my face, changed into my PJ, drank some water, set the alarm at 5h45AM and went to bed.

I got up that early as I had a videocall for a project at 7AM with an European client, so I did a bit of yoga, showered, washed my hair, braided it, got dressed, started the call, went through it like a champion (allow me this much guys), talked some more to my team in Europe, packed my stuff to be ready to leave later for my flights, and called Mischief who was clearly sleeping. 

I went downstair for breakfast and to my utter horror some of my colleagues were still there. At least I had told one of them that I was staying and meeting a friend! I got a table for two and then went to sit a bit with them while waiting for Mischief, who arrived ten minutes later and then we sat at our table. At least we did not arrive together!!

I was a bit shaky. I ordered yoghurt and granola and almost spit the first spoonful. My inner lower lip was throbbing, and later I realize it looked like a nightmare. I was puzzled, but did not really think much of it, except I was unable to eat anything. We went for a long walk and talked a bit, we even saw a coyote (America is full of wonders). There was a bit of an awkward moment when I slipped my arm in Mischief's and he stepped back saying sorry, I cannot be seen around holding arms, but I shrugged and we went on; Mischief was switching between how we were going to see each other again in the future for sure, and work topics, and then maybe we'll see each other in a year or so (my heart sank). Eventually we went back to the hotel, I got my stuff and started to wonder if he was going to say bye like this as if nothing happened. He walked to to the corner where my Uber was waiting and then hugged me super tight for like three minutes and then kissed me in the middle of the street. Eventually I got into my uber and off to the airport. This was on Thursday early afternoon west coast (night in Europe)

My lip was killing me...

I was dazed and shaky. he kept texting me until I was home in Milan (so basically non stop over the following 20 hours (my connection in Paris was delayed), although I slept a lot on the plane). I could not eat anything until Saturday morning, when luckily I had already scheduled a dentist appointment for a normal check up (I'm doing aligners these days), and then my dentist went on nailing me. She said "This is an allergic reaction, how come you ate something that gave you this and did not end up in ER?"

It suddenly dawned on me that Mischief had had shrimps (I end up into ER if I eat shellfish). I think I blushed a lot and made up some unconvincing story. She gave me a cortisone cream and cut off some tissue and made things better.

And this is it my friends. Mischief texts me and sometimes calls, I have been travelling to Lisbon and Madrid, and am finally back home. He should have called on Sunday night but I was home with husband and asked him not to, as last time I spoke to him my legs were shaking so bad I had to sit for 5 minutes after the call and this even my husband would notice.

Short weight update: I ate too much in Madrid and am now at 66kg (145lbs, or BMI 22.8). 

I'm sorry this post was so long, but I really wanted to spill everything and be done with telling the full story. I do not know where this leaves me, except that I am still fighting for my marriage to work. Mischief is a dream that I will never forget, but such dream lives 10 thousand miles away, and while I'd like to keep dreaming a little longer, I know I'll likely never see him again.

Song for this post: "Don't be so shy" by Imany. Check it out if you don't know it

San Francisco part I

 While I know this is debatable, I need to tell the whole Mischief story, and trust me, I'm doing this for me as it helps me getting in touch with reality. So, here's another portion.

Once I got the news that I did not need to have a massive surgery, I decided that it was time to get some help on the weight loss journey, beyond ChatGPT which is very dear t me, but has its limitations. I went to see a doctor who is very well known, in the hope that he would maybe give me a GLP1. Although he did not, he gave me a diet that I'm actually enjoying, making sure to include lots of things I love and that I find satisfying.

I got there in late March, and I was 71kg (BMI 24.6), and I'll have to go again next Tuesday. 

Work was a bit peculiar in April, I had few projects, all more complex than they were worth, so a bit unsatisfying. I knew I was thinking too much about Mischief but told myself to just drop it, as I was never going to see him again in my life. I was (and still am) training a lot, I have upgraded my routine to include some weights on top of the elliptical machine, and on Thursdays I do HIIT at the park outside my place with a personal trainer and a small group of 4-5 people.

In early April I found out that I was going to San Francisco in the first week of May, and in the chat that Mischief had set up with me and Carlos we had promised to update each other on travels, so I did mention this. Mischief replied immediately "I can arrange plans to meet there". Then he disappeared for a couple weeks which admittedly kind of lowed my spirits. I remember biking to work one morning and telling myself that I had been dreaming, that he certainly had not been giving me the eye, and to move on with my life. I even kind of managed to do so.

I was on the verge of buying my plane tickets without further considerations, when he resurfaced and started texting me outside the chat. As my agenda was super packed from breakfast to dinner from Monday to Wednesday, and I wanted to set up a couple extra meetings on Wednesday afternoon when my main purpose of travel would be over (and my other European colleagues were flying back), he suggested to meet for dinner on Wednesday and I thought this was a good plan allowing me to meet the bankers I wanted to see while there, as there were no convenient flights back on Wed night, I would fly back on Tuesday afternoon. Mischief being Mischief he also set up a few meetings on Thursday (read: he went to see Nvidia guys) and thus the plan was settled.

I had never been to San Francisco, and travelled there with French colleagues, which I love because French is much easier than English for me and they are really two fun guys. Once landed on Monday, we had a couple hours to spare and walked to Pier39 to see the sea lions (that I had never seen in my life and man I loved them!!!!), and the long walk really helped me start the week on the right foot with almost no jet lag. The days flew by and in an eyeblink it was Wednesday afternoon. I wrapped up my meetings, and walked back to the hotel - it was a lovely warm day, and Mischief was texting me about dinner plans, and I wrote him "I've literally spent the last two days seating - can we just walk around a bit and grab something casually? I swear that if you told me let's skip dinner and grab something from a food truck I would be delighted" and he said that sounded great. I showered, looked at the classy, feminine and expensive top I had brought with me for the occasion, and instead I wore a man button down shirt, the usual kind I wear at work these days, with some white linen trousers and my black leather jacket. I literally had no idea on Mischief's motives to be there, and I thought it made more sense to just show him the same exact version of me he'd seen in Mountain View. Well, at least I was 67kg (148lbs), so roughly 15lbs less than I was at such time.

At 5PM I was in the lobby when he came - he saw me, smiled and hugged me tight - and at that point I thought "All is good, he really wants to be friend with me". 

We stepped out and started walking randomly and picked up the conversation as if Mountain View had finished 2 hours earlier instead of 2 months earlier. At some point we stopped at a nice place, sat at the bar drinking Sancerre for a while and we were having a blast. We got a table and a beef tartare and Mischief got some shrimps and I was teasing him endlessly on his eating non kosher food. All was good but I started having mixed feelings about what was going on, not in a bad way, but I was unable to read the situation. Once food was finished and we were finishing our wine and that is when the neurodivergent me straightly said: "Let me ask you a question: did you come here to fuck me?"

Song for this post: "Supergirl" in the Della Chaos version