Show Notes
Day 19 · Before The Meeting Monday morning. The big week starts now. And before heading out, I looked in the mirror and gave myself a firm nod. I got to the office, made coffee, opened my notes app. I started a new list. Just three things for today. One: I proofread the design doc with ChatGPT. Took half an hour. Two: I shared the deck with everyone on the invite. Three: I dropped a message in the group chat. Reach out anytime. Leave comments by 11. I hit send. Honestly, it felt like half the work was done.
Day 20 · Closing The Loop Tuesday morning. I refreshed my inbox first thing. Two more had come in overnight. By 9, I pinged the folks who hadn't sent feedback yet. And by 11, all the feedback had come in. Luckily, fewer comments than I expected. I sat down with Claude. We resolved the easy ones first. Just one comment from Lisa was a bit vague. So I set up a quick 1:1 to talk it through. Fifteen minutes. We were on the same page. Back at my desk. I worked all the changes into the deck. Closed the loop. Sent the updated deck out. The draft is locked.
Day 21 · Dry Run Wednesday morning. I brought the final deck over to my mentor's desk. She walked me through it once more. It all made sense. "Let's do a dry run with the team this afternoon." She suggested it. I went with it. 4 p.m. sharp. Everyone showed up, laptops open, coffees in hand. Lots of questions came up. One stood out. How do we plug AI into the data flow? We pinned that down as our open question. A teammate gave me a thumbs up. "Don't stress tomorrow." Before heading out, I dropped a quick heads up. 10 a.m. tomorrow.
Day 22 · Green Light Thursday morning. I came in early to set up the meeting room. I hit record. Everyone started showing up. I took a deep breath. "Thanks for joining today's design review." "Feel free to jump in with any questions." Most comments were already resolved from yesterday. It went smoothly. On the open question about AI, we decided to go with the MCP tool. Sales can upload data directly. The team gave it the green light. A few thumbs up across the room. I wrapped up. My phone buzzed. Mentor: "Drinks on me." Me: "Coming now!"
Day 23 · The Overshare As I said, we went to a bar last night. The waiter was completely on it. Soon as I put my glass down, he'd refill it. Like there's no tomorrow. Two glasses in, I was like, "Wow, this guy gets it!" But three glasses in, I was like, "This might be a problem." The little angel on my shoulder kept whispering "stop." The devil won. I knew I should have said "that's enough." But I started oversharing. Like, my whole life story. Now that I'm sober, I'm just dying of cringe. Don't ask me what I said. I promise I won't hit the bar anymore. Ok, I mean, at least this month! Please pass the water. Thank you.
More from TingMate · English Learning
📝 Today's sentences ① I went to Costco again. ② And I bought a huge box of strawberries. ③ It looked like such a good deal. ④ But it's just the two of us. ⑤ There's no way we can finish it. ⑥ Half of it went bad in the fridge. ⑦ I do this every single time. ⑧ I know it's a trap, but I can't help it. ⑨ The big packs are always cheaper per unit. ⑩ It feels like I'm losing money if I don't. ⑪ But I always end up wasting more. ⑫ And I'll do the exact same thing next time. ⑬ I guess I just never learn.
📝 Today's sentences ① My hair is getting long again. ② But I keep avoiding the haircut. ③ Getting one here is expensive. ④ It's like sixty or seventy bucks, before tip. ⑤ And it's kind of a gamble. ⑥ They don't always know how to cut Asian hair. ⑦ Last time, I came home and fixed it myself. ⑧ So I'd rather just wait. ⑨ And get it all done back home. ⑩ It's cheaper there, and they do it right. ⑪ But you know how I am. ⑫ Some things I just save for home. ⑬ So now I've got one more excuse to fly home.
📝 Today's sentences ① I was at the store today, using self-checkout. ② I scanned a few things and bagged them. ③ Then the machine started beeping at me. ④ It kept saying, unexpected item in the bagging area. ⑤ But I didn't do anything wrong. ⑥ I took it out and put it back. ⑦ It still wouldn't work. ⑧ The line behind me kept getting longer. ⑨ I felt like everyone was staring at me. ⑩ I was so embarrassed. ⑪ Finally, I had to wave down an employee. ⑫ She tapped one button, and it was fine. ⑬ Next time, I'm just going with a real cashier.
📝 Today's sentences ① I've been back in Austin for a few days now. ② And I finally figured out what I miss most. ③ It's not the California sunshine. ④ It's the little café right by my old place. ⑤ Back there, it was within walking distance. ⑥ I could just shuffle over in my slippers. ⑦ Here, everything is a drive. ⑧ If I want a coffee, I have to get on the road. ⑨ That's a half hour round trip. ⑩ So now I just make it at home. ⑪ But it's not the same. ⑫ Maybe it's not really about the coffee. ⑬ It's the whole way of life that came with it.
📝 Today's sentences ① I just landed back in Austin. ② The heat hit me the second I stepped outside. ③ It's like walking straight into a wall. ④ Three weeks of Bay Area weather, gone just like that. ⑤ And I already miss it. ⑥ I got in my car and cranked up the AC all the way. ⑦ On the drive home, I kept asking myself why. ⑧ Why do I keep doing this to myself? ⑨ But deep down, I already know the answer. ⑩ There's no state income tax in Texas. ⑪ And my rent here is about half the Bay Area price. ⑫ So I wiped the sweat off and reminded myself. ⑬ This is what I signed up for. ⑭ Maybe I'll get used to it in a few days. ⑮ I'm here now, but my heart hasn't caught up yet.