All I can think to do is groan and sigh these days. In the office at 8:00, out at 6:00…if I’m lucky…then there’s the work I do at home…I don’t mind the work, especially when it’s something you love to do, but dammit…I’m exhausted.

And not because I’m tired…I can handle tired, I can handle stress and multitasking…I can handle 13 hour work days…but it seems lately I can’t catch a moment for myself. I’ve been eating lunch at 4:30 pm on a regular basis because I just never have a moment. When I’m home I don’t always remember to eat dinner because I’m so swamped with article and deadlines before I know it, it’s 2 am and I’m just too tired to cook. It’s almost foolish to say that everyone needs some relax and regrouping time, even if it’s only five minutes, but I haven’t even been able to swing that lately…and that’s always a slippery slope when you’re juggling alot of things at once.

So…so I made dinner plans for a friend and I at Mr. Chow’s (mind you I was feeling guilt over leaving the office at 6:00 pm to make our reservation). I NEEDED to do something solid to get me out of my workaholic ways before I burned out, and I’ve been telling friends for months that I’m unavailable to do anything until February 22nd. But really like Mr. Chow’s squab with lettuce and the ma mignon so I thought it would be an excellent remedy. And it was…right down to the Cy Twombly plates and the five waiters that dote on you to an unnecessary extent.

I say that time and time again, having dinner with friends is the best way to collect yourself and sooth your nerves. Sometimes a good talk or a good laugh paired with chicken satay and wine is all you need to get back on track. So I did….at least for 2 hours before I raced home and began my fellowship application (due Monday).