**Chicago and Catch up** Hello Inkwell World! I apologize I was absent for the weekend. The SO and I had an adventure in Chicago and there was not nearly enough time for anything. I wanted to post about my trip but also let everyone know that I appreciate their roadmap items and I’ll start working on the 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #DailyInk #WeekendTrip * * * Hello Inkwell World! I apologize I was absent for the weekend. The SO and I had an adventure in Chicago and there was not nearly enough time for anything. I wanted to post about my trip but also let everyone know that I appreciate their roadmap items and I’ll start working on them today. The drive up to Chicago had me nuts by the end of it. My poor bf listened to a lot of bitching because I’ve seen the city so much, and getting there and driving through it is maddening. Next time we agreed we are taking the train. We stayed in a Airbnb in Chinatown. The red line for the L was across the street but also a fire station and all the city noise you can imagine. We got into town around 7:30-8 but had to grab dinner before meeting up with my Chicago friends. We went to a Demon Slayer Cafe that was really cool but the food was overpriced and meh. My friends let me park my car in their neighborhood so I could save some money on Chicago parking. We went out to Boystown with them afterward. I stayed out way too late, but I hadn’t seen my friends from Chicago in a long time, so we stayed out just chatting and having a few drinks. We ended in an arcade bar that had a few old games that were all free. So I had to play everyone, of course. After that, we went home (it was around 2am), so naturally I did not get enough sleep. The next morning we had an architectural tour cruise at 10am. It was the highlight of the trip for me and cute that my bf planned it. It got cold and it was long, but I didn’t mind. He did by the end of it haha. After it ended we walked down the Magnificent Mile and found the Bean. He wanted to buy little beans, so we did. We backtracked to the Harry Potter store and bought chocolate frogs (we both got wizards I have never heard of). We were exhausted so we took the L back to Chinatown. We were so indecisive and ended up going to a Sushi restaurant. It was not good to me, but I might have just been tired because we were out in the Sun so long. We went back to try to nap before the concert, and I couldn’t sleep because some older man was singing Chinese karaoke at the top of his lungs, complete with background vocals at some points. It felt good to at least rest my feet haha. We got up and got ready for Doja Cat. The highlight of the trip for the bf. I’m not sure I would know who she is if it wasn’t for him, but we do things for those we love. She actually put on a bop. But the bop didn’t start until 8:45, and it was the longest bop I've ever heard. I was very ready for bed by the end of it. We did finally get out of there and walked away from the madness to grab an Uber back. We grabbed some Sesame Chicken from the building below our Airbnb and had some of the best food of the weekend. I slept a bit better but still not near enough. In the morning, we packed our things and met up with our friends again to go to the Pokémon Exhibit at the Field Museum. It was cute but underwhelming. They could have done a lot more, but it was still nice to see so many people there interested in Pokémon. I’ve played it since I was a kid and have always liked the games. They wanted $40 for an ‘exclusive’ Pikachu Excavator Plush that you couldn’t even buy unless you paid $50 to go to the museum and exhibit. I wanted it, but my pride and wallet said no. I’m going to play the shit out of Palworld soon to get back at them. After the museum we had a very long lunch at a Latin restaurant. They were serving brunch and the food was pretty good. It was nice to spend more time with my friends. I suck at keeping up with people when I’m not around and literally all my friends live in different cities. So I am thankful my friendships hold up, and people put up with my shitty texting and communication skills. There really isn’t any excuse and I need to do better. Maybe I should just start writing letters to friends. hahah. Or at least do better with sending cards and stuff. My rambling has made this way longer than I intended but that is okay I guess. I want to be able to come back and read these experiences. After lunch, we left Chicago and got home about 7. I was so excited to see my animals. My mom next, and then my bed. I slept like a log last night and wish every sleep was that good. Okay, I need to get back to being productive.

I haven’t written daily like I have wanted. Surprise, work is doing its thing again. I’m trying to prove myself as a product manager, and the last couple of weeks have felt like I’m starting to get there. There has been a lot of interest in my product since launch, which I think 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #DailyInk #ProductManagement * * * I haven’t written daily like I have wanted. Surprise, work is doing its thing again. I’m trying to prove myself as a product manager, and the last couple of weeks have felt like I’m starting to get there. There has been a lot of interest in my product since launch, which I think is a positive sign. We already have a couple of large hotel chains that have other services with us, and they all seem interested in the solution. I’m flying out to San Diego next Wednesday through Friday to pitch to one of them. Young me would have jumped up and down getting to travel for work. Now I’m mostly dreading it. I’m going to Chicago this weekend so that’s going to put me out of the house back to back. My poor animals. :(. The family will be here for them, but I know they miss me when I leave. And I miss them almost too much. Do I have separation anxiety from my pets? Maybe haha I also volunteered to help out with a sales campaign but didn’t realize the turnaround was 1 week, and no one else is owning their deliverables (the story of my life). So I’ve basically mapped out the full vision over the last couple of days and am now trying to make it happen. I’m sure no one cares about my work, but it’s all I’m doing right now, so that’s what I’m writing about. I am excited for Chicago, though. Weekend getaway with the bf to see Doja Cat, the Pokémon Fossil Exhibit at the Field Museum, and meet up with a couple of my friends.

**My mess** I’ll go ahead and put everyone’s fear behind them. My mess is too much right now. I still have stuff sitting on my desk from the move. I still need to rearrange and install some stuff, but you know, life. 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell * * * I’ll go ahead and put everyone’s fear behind them. My mess is too much right now. I still have stuff sitting on my desk from the move. I still need to rearrange and install some stuff, but you know, life.

**Where You Write (Don't Tidy Up First)** This week's prompt comes from @stoicalgeezer - show us where you write. Not the version you'd clean up for company. The real one, right now. The coffee ring, the stack of books you swear you'll get to, the pen that only works if you hold it just right. Maybe it's a desk, maybe it 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell * * * This week's prompt comes from @stoicalgeezer - show us where you write. Not the version you'd clean up for company. The real one, right now. The coffee ring, the stack of books you swear you'll get to, the pen that only works if you hold it just right. Maybe it's a desk, maybe it's the couch, maybe it's your phone on the bus haha. Post a picture if you'd like, or just describe it. Tell us one thing about it that nobody would guess, and one thing you'd change if you could. There's no right way to answer this one. A few lines is plenty.

**Spam, Spam, Spam** Some people like spam. Canned food is a delicacy meant for the furriest and best of souls - my animals love it. So naturally some people probably do too. I think I had a fried spam sandwich once and it wasn’t bad. But there is another kind of spam that isn’t okay. And it’s ads, u 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #BuildInPublic #Spam #Inkwell * * * Some people like spam. Canned food is a delicacy meant for the furriest and best of souls - my animals love it. So naturally some people probably do too. I think I had a fried spam sandwich once and it wasn’t bad. But there is another kind of spam that isn’t okay. And it’s ads, unwanted solicitation, and fake accounts signing up for misguided purposes. We are all inundated with ads day in and day out. On Facebook, the new form of ad is a post that looks like a real post, only to link to some website selling junk. That is not what Inkwell is for. While I was absent dealing with the new job, new house, and new puppy, spam overtook Inkwell. Tons of profiles were created that only linked to outside sites to gain SEO traction. I’ve added a moderation tool that automatically limits and blocks any account suspected of spam. It’s new and likely has some bugs, but I’m hoping it helps limit the spam we see. Apparently the community guidelines mean nothing haha. Inkwell is meant for writing, sharing ideas, and hopefully a community space where people get to know one another. Keep your spam on FB, X, and other shitty social media sites. PS - if you were inadvertently suspected of spam and are not spamming, please reach out. As mentioned above, there could be bugs, and I don’t want to limit true creativity and writing.

**Happiness** Today my pets posed for me and it made it happy. Zelda, Quistis, and Katniss. 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #Pets #Dailyink * * * Today my pets posed for me and it made it happy. Zelda, Quistis, and Katniss.

**To do** I have so much I need to do but I’m too overwhelmed to know where to start. Let’s make a list: Mow the yard (this needs to happen frequently for some reason) Deal with the 10 tons of wood chips I have left in my front yard (ordered from ChipDrop - it works…) Finish putting my ext 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #Procrastination #DailyInk #ToDo * * * I have so much I need to do but I’m too overwhelmed to know where to start. Let’s make a list: * Mow the yard (this needs to happen frequently for some reason) * Deal with the 10 tons of wood chips I have left in my front yard (ordered from ChipDrop - it works…) * Finish putting my extra bedroom/office together * Figure out where my kitchen cabinets are and get them installed - will need to get the countertop. * Organize the kitchen in a way I can live with for now (smallest kitchen of my life and too many people & stuff) * Clean & organize the bonus room to bring my plants inside before it gets cold * Put the last bit of shelving together in my garage (still in boxes) * Remove the shelves that never worked (didn’t get the poles/stakes to mount them) * Put together the workbench gifted to me and replace the bad plywood * Put up and organize all the tools that were gifted to me once the garage is set up * Put extra plywood in my attic so I can get around without falling to my death * Run a cable from my internet modem to the access point (in the attic) so I can play Fortnite and other games * Finish peeling all the paint off my ceiling room wall so I can properly sand and prep for painting * Paint all the walls in the house * Redo the plumbing under my kitchen sink (it’s a weird setup and has leaked) * Fix my shower faucet my sister installed incorrectly Oh, and I also have to work, take care of animals (my favorite part of the day), and deal with a family I’m supporting financially. I let them cook and clean (which they aren’t no Mary Poppins haha). I’m exhausted and want to do things like hang out with my bf, travel, read, play frisbee golf/pickleball (be outside in general as it gets nice), play video games, or just stare at my animals in adoration. Anything but all of the things I need to do. Maybe writing them down will make me want to get more done. Or I’ll look back at this post and say, shit, I still need to do all of that.

**Thursday, Sept 24th. 2006 - Another day, another nickel** Let’s have an optimistic post. I feel like we are still getting good traction with Inkwell. I’m making improvements and the site is growing. I could use more Plus sign-ups, but I don’t blame people for not throwing money at every subscription they see. They would make us pay mont 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #DailyInk * * * Let’s have an optimistic post. I feel like we are still getting good traction with Inkwell. I’m making improvements and the site is growing. I could use more Plus sign-ups, but I don’t blame people for not throwing money at every subscription they see. They would make us pay monthly for oxygen if they could. Wait, they do for people who need supplemental O2. _Shit - be optimistic!_ I already mentioned but I launched my first product at work on Monday and I’ve had a lot of interest and excitement with the sales organization even though our enablement team dropped the ball for the launch. Who knew hotels wanted to integrate their property management system with their phones? Well, they do, and there aren’t enough providers that make it easy, apparently (yet to be seen if I can get my company to ‘make it easy’). I’m trying so hard to manifest a sale before the end of the month or within 30 days. My company hasn’t had much success launching new products lately, and I was the project manager helping make it happen. I hope I learned from Product’s mistakes and can build something that solves a customer pain point. I can’t help but mention that I wish I were doing something more worthwhile with my life. My job keeps me busy and challenged, but I want to do something that makes a difference. I created Inkwell for that reason. I’ve always tried to do my own thing so I can stop depending on others. Inkwell is the first thing that is even mildly successful. So thank you if you are reading this. Is it Friday @ 5 pm yet?

**Peeling Paint** I bought my house and when I went to paint the walls, the paint peeled off instead. I need to fix it, but it will take time and money. wah wah 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell * * * I bought my house and when I went to paint the walls, the paint peeled off instead. I need to fix it, but it will take time and money. wah wah

**Tell me your poor without telling me your poor** We are all struggling. Or at least, everyone I know is. Find a way to say or show you are struggling without using the words verbatim. 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell * * * We are all struggling. Or at least, everyone I know is. Find a way to say or show you are struggling without using the words verbatim.

**Paying for Mistakes** I found out yesterday that I was still having issues with Square payment processing. It looked like there was an error in the flow and prevented anyone from signing up (and paying) for Plus since April. If this impacted you, I’m sincerely sorry. I believe the issue is fixed, and 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #Inkwell #DailyInk #Mistakes * * * I found out yesterday that I was still having issues with Square payment processing. It looked like there was an error in the flow and prevented anyone from signing up (and paying) for Plus since April. If this impacted you, I’m sincerely sorry. I believe the issue is fixed, and I've improved the debugging so we can better track it if it happens again. I should have caught this earlier. I’ve tested on my side and everything seems to be working. But I’ll be monitoring like a hawk and hope we get another Plus subscriber soon so I can put the issue to bed. Oh well, mistakes happen. And I tend to learn a great deal from them, haha. Happy hump day, everyone!

**Thoughts not for everyone** I feel like I have a lot of controversial thoughts. I normally keep them to myself or only share them with my closest friends and family. However, this is my journal and part of why I wanted to write again was to vent about frustration with all the bullshit in the world. A lot of 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell ##DailyInk * * * I feel like I have a lot of controversial thoughts. I normally keep them to myself or only share them with my closest friends and family. However, this is my journal and part of why I wanted to write again was to vent about frustration with all the bullshit in the world. A lot of people keep their head in the sand about what is going on and only get information from their biased social media accounts. I know if I find myself scrolling on FB that I'm not seeing anything from people I know. It's conspiracy or left/right propaganda every other post. Is that just me? I've been reading what has gone down with Macklemore, Pink, and Ed Sheeran. Some people would say it's noise from people more entitled than us. But they have large audiences that their words reach. I was frustrated when I read about Pink taking Macklemore's message about Israel and making it about Jews as a people. I don't know anyone who dislikes Jewish people, and being Jewish is as much heritage as it is religion. I call myself a Christian, but I don't stand with all of the conservative bigots that think they know God. Many of them abuse the word of God and live lives Jesus would be pissed about. You should be able to condemn the state of Israel without it being assumed you are attacking Jewish people. How can you look at what is going on and not think Israel and the U.S. government are corrupt and are committing genocide? I'm not an expert on what legally counts as genocide, but a UN commission says it is, and destroying most of Gaza and continuing to kill people long after the "cease fire" and "peace agreements" sure looks like it to me. Fuck all of that. I don't like to see innocent people die and people with power try to silence people who are outraged by it. More should be pissed. We can hold government accountable without it being about race or religion. The people in power want us fighting about that so they can continue to send us towards all out war. Okay. Yeah it is very easy for me to rant about this. But I don't see enough people talking about it and as Ed Sheeran learned, you can't choose to "not pick sides" when it's inconvenient.

**Sun, Sept 20th. A regular day, not my Mom's Bday?** I have so much to do and have no desire to do anything of it. Is that depression, exhaustion, or simply being overwhelmed? I almost forgot my mom’s birthday today. I didn’t notice the date and facebook was telling me to wish her a happy birthday. Well damn. Facebook +1, Inkwell 0 📖 Read the full entry on Inkwell #DailyInk #100DaysToOffload #ShibaInu #Journaling #BuildInPublic * * * I have so much to do and have no desire to do anything of it. Is that depression, exhaustion, or simply being overwhelmed? I almost forgot my mom’s birthday today. I didn’t notice the date and facebook was telling me to wish her a happy birthday. Well damn. Facebook +1, Inkwell 0. Maybe we need birthdays on Inkwell. Hmm I’ve been thinking a lot about growth. I want to get the word out about Inkwell but I don’t know how to go about it. Luckily, slow growth is happening and google decided we are worthy to show up in search. Maybe slow and steady wins the race? Best thing that happened today: Zelda let me pull her into a cuddle when I was laying in bed for a nap. I rubbed her belly and petted her head until she fell asleep. We both were passed out over an hour. I’ve read (and experienced) Shiba Inus’ adversity to cuddling. I broke the stereotype and slept so good. I may not sleep tonight.