With Love and Squalor

I grabbed a bunch of We Are Scientists from my little bros while I was home, but I didn't delve into them til today when the pod was on shuffle.

Newly addicted to It's a Hit. It's the happy song of the week. Shame I missed them at Black Cat.

But I still don't understand
What this whole thing's about
When all the words that you said
Are somehow stuck in my mouth
And this was going so well
But I don't know what I did
All I really can tell
Is that I always get hit

Sorry, Think You've Got the Wrong One....

I have a fairly common name, I suppose. Last name is very common, first name is top 40 for my year of birth, according to the Social Security Administration. My email address (or one of them, I should say) is first name.last name at gmail. I get LOTS of email for other people with my name. Does this happen to anyone else? Some recent samplings:

• A Hallmark card from "my mom" who is "thinking of me" and wishing she could hug me through the computer screen. She hopes I have a good trip to DC this weekend, and wants me to know that the hot water heater died so she's using the motor home to shower.
• Aparna wants me to know that priceline booked her flight a week early, and they won't change it and it's gonna cost 1300 so she can't come see me. She's really upset, but sends xoxo.
• Karen sent me her strategy paper for a class. Too bad I'm not actually in her group; marketing is my field!
• Keli filled out one of those "How well do you know me?" quizzes that she wants me to fill out and return. Somehow I don't think she'd know any of the facts I'd send back.
• Brandon and Krystal included me on an Evite to their wedding! Congrats, I suppose.
• Liz needs to reschedule our Friday meeting.
• Kathryn picked out some headphones that might work with my new iBook.
• Keli (same one as above) sent me my Feng Shui horoscope. Apparently I love kisses and affection, my love life will soon blossom, I like adventure (because I chose CA over FL), and I like to please people. Huh.
• Dr. Harber sent me notes from his lecture in the class I'm taking on human genetics.
• Anna thinks I want to be a panelist for the SWE overnight in Rochester. Weird....
• Scott congratulated me on my promotion with an Apple ecard.
• "Mom" sent me an Italy vacation itinerary. Wish I could've taken her up on that!
• Lisa wants to go out for drinks, wants to attend law school since she liked the Law and Order marathon, and has some wacky stories about Charity to share.

Hello Again and Adios!

I really have to set a lunch budget for work, or all my $ is gonna go bye-bye real quick, with no trace of disappearance. While out on Thursday for lunch (even though I took in leftovers with the good intent of eating at work), I ran into a former coworker who now works 2 blocks down. We're going out for lunch next week. Must stop! I resisted on Friday though - even after a group email went out with lunch plans. I had to eat those dang leftovers or they were gonna be bad. Next week I think I'll allow myself out on Tuesdays and Fridays. No more than 2x a week. Gotta join the gym still too. I'm drinking way too much soda. Health and wellness kick off with August....

Friday night was a reunion with NH (now NS) and JS and JL and other Gtown crew. The N and JS now live in Boston and got married in March. I don't think I've seen them in about a year, so it was fun to catch up. J wanted gossip - I have none! We dined at Cheesecake, and I definitely ended up 2 sets of leftovers from just one entree order there. It's always a struggle to pick something there - huge variety and huge portions. What exactly do I want to eat for the next 3 days?

PE picked me up after and we headed to Iota to see Getaway Car and to say adios to CN, who is soon leaving for New Orleans because of her husband's job. Maybe this is the year I'll finally get to Mardi Gras. On the way we listened to some old school Graham, and PE poked fun at my claim that they were the "band that changed my life." Truly they did, since they're the reason I even know CN! He said that just as we stopped behind a car with Michigan plates, a sign of my first outing with her. We met online because of GCB, and I went on a road trip to Detroit with her one weekend without ever meeting her in person first. Three and a half years later, we're still friends. Now she's moving on, but the GCB love will continue!

GAC was good, minus the crazy groupies that showed up and took over the place. Iota is really laid back, neighborhood bar, local music type of place. A gaggle of ridiculous girls showed up, probably 10-12 of them, hooched out, boots, fishnets, mini skirts, huge sunglasses, and gobs of jewelry. They snapped photos of themselves like wanna-be Paris Hiltons, danced all over each other, and even split up into two groups so they could stare at each other from across the room and crawl towards each other to meet in the middle and have a tryst. Ewh. At least they knew the words to all the songs. They gave them one iota of credit. (Ha ha, look at me, I'm so clever.)

I'm Really Tired of Coming Up with Titles

From now on maybe I'll just name the post after whatever song is playing on my computer, whether or not it has anything to do with anything, just FYI. The creative juices are running dry.

Thursday evening I got home pretty early after work, all set for a quick nap before seeing Editors at 930. I'm old now - I need a nap before I can go out. However, a call from a former coworker had me quickly headed out to catch a bite to eat with him before I hit the show. Finally I hung out at the famous Mackey's with SS! Good times all around.

Met up with PE in the metro, though I was 10 minutes late and he was just about to take off without me. I suppose I'm usually about 10 minutes late to anything. Ooops. We made it in plenty of time though; Cedars hadn't started yet. I really liked them. I hope they play again soon, which they should since they're a local band. Band #2 - not so much. We found a seat in the back and talked through their set, pretty much hating it.

Editors put on a good show, of course. The lead singer didn't seem quite so weird this time; he acted mostly normal. No strange poses, glares, intense eye staring, etc. Camera is really great live. I don't like it so much on the album, but there's another dimension to the song on stage.

Look at us through the lens of a camera,
does it remove all of our pain?
If we run they'll look in the back room,
where we hide all of our feelings.

I'll just close my eyes as you walk out.

You fall from grace, we fall with such grace.
You fall from grace, we fall with such grace.

They closed with Fingers in Factories, my fav. Very, very loud, hard, strong. Excellent end. I know they've been pegged as "Interpol from the UK," but I hope they keep going for awhile. I enjoy. The only thing I didn't enjoy was drunk girl in front of me doing a half-cheerleader woo-hoo yell, hands in the air, half Partridge family sway dance and hugging her friends after each song that was "soooo good." That, and the cigarette smoke. Can't wait til that Smoke Free DC thing kicks in next year. Febreeze might see a drop in sales!

Ups and Downs and Ups and Downs

Since starting my downtown job, I have yet to join a gym like I promised myself I would during the first week. I intended to go yesterday afternoon, but phone calls happen and I didn't actually make it. However, 2 points to me for working out at home. I tried a new workout, and apparently I can now look like Nick Lachey, according to the website. I am also super sore this morning.

I checked out a gym after work today - major sales vultures everywhere. I get a pretty decent corporate membership, so I'll probably cave in and do it. It's good for me, right? I'm still weighing other options, but I'd better move fast before motivation wanes.

I made it to Screen on the Green last night with BH and a couple other friends. The movie seemingly went on forever.... I love the concept of SOTG, but in all reality it usually goes like this: Get there 20 minutes before start time, and scramble for a seat. Tolerate mosquitoes. Make it through the opening Looney Tunes, and 20 minutes of the movie. Fall alseep for 30 minutes. Wake up, confused and cold, find an escape route and get outta there.

I had lunch with an old friend from home today. One weird thing about working downtown - your spheres of reality change during the day. I don't really know how to explain what I mean by that, but when I worked out in the burbs, there was nothing around. Everything revolved around work and coworkers. However, downtown I can step outside at lunch, eat with people that aren't my coworkers and have more than 3 lunch options. Then I go back and step into the work role. It's kinda weird to shift during the day. I like it though. I'm much, much happier downtown.

Looks like the rest of the week is going to be packed with activities. I need that right now.

Mondays.....

But right now
Everything you want is wrong,
And right now
All your dreams are waking up,
And right now
I wish I could follow you
To the shores
Of freedom,
Where no one lives.

The Weekender

Thursday I went with JMO, ACS, and a very special guest to the Gtown Young Alum happy hour, after a quick HH at work (Science Club was very cool - definitely gets my vote for a return). Surprisingly we knew no one! All class of 2005.... I guess we're old now. Oh well. Had some quality night time at the Cathedral afterwards. It's been awhile since I've done that.

Friday's plans got shuffled a bit. JAC came up from Charlottesville that night. I napped for about 3 hours so I could be prepared to go out (it's always so hard to actually get outta the house on Friday nights), but I decided to stay in instead. However, as soon as the pj's were on, contacts out, and opening movie credits were rolling, I got a phone call from some peeps at a club in Wheaton. I had promised them I'd go, but bailed at the last minute. They weren't having any of that, and they had a car come get me. I rolled outta bed and took off in the middle of the night. Turned out to be a hot night. I'm glad it went the way it did.

I slept til 12:30 on Saturday. What a bum! I guess I needed it though. The rest of the day I had no energy to do anything. I grabbed lunch with B in Alexandria and bought some stuff at the Crate outlet. I'm banned from clothes shopping, but I didn't say anything about housewares! It's all useful stuff anyway. We had a small crowd over on Saturday night - girl's night at Rita's.

Sunday was a huge BBQ at our house. I don't know how we seem to end up hosting these things every weekend, but it happens. We had a great spread, and thankfully some guys brought their huge gas grill. Cooking a full rack of ribs on a tiny hibachi wouldn't have worked out, I don't think. Also watched Everything is Illuminated. Watch it. Love it. Highly amusing. Many girls want to be carnal with me... because I'm such a premium dancer!

A Feat

Every single piece of clothing I own is clean at this very moment. The gigantic dirty clothes bin is absolutely empty. They're not all put away, mind you, nor will they ever be, but at least they're clean and not on the floor! I could probably go two months and not have to do laundry... Don't think I'm quite ready for that challenge, but it's a step in not buying clothes til Sept 1.

First day of work today was awesome. Yes, orientation was a little long and at times boring. It's gonna be cool though. After all the options I had several weeks ago, I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.

This is disturbing on many levels, but at least there's a new episode of TGS!

New Kid on the Block

It's been a good/busy/wallet-draining weekend. First day of new school tomorrow. My clothes are all laid out. I'm ready to go. Yay for a new job!

Down the Drain....

I spent a ridiculous amount of money today. I'm starting to notice a pattern - about every 3 weeks on a Saturday when I have no plans, I shop, shop, shop and drop a couple hundred dollars. This isn't good for the budget, people. I'm enacting a no-clothing rule til Sept 1. My birthday is that month, so I can splurge a bit then. But not before!

AF is out of town for the weekend and loaned us (I speak in the collective now. The roommates and I are married, we are inseparable, we did everything together today.) her car. That meant - dun dun dun - Target! First stop this morning. I really had nothing I needed. I came out with two shirts and pairs of yoga pants for the new gym I'm starting next week. Got a little gift for a friend that just moved back to town. A couple other things I got, in photo form:

One hundred+ dollars later, we went down the row to the cheap grocery store where I spent another hundred+ dollars. I haven't had a stock of food in so long though, so it's nice to actually have something in the cupboards. No more pasta!

We had to rush home to meet the Comcast man who came to fix our internet. When I called them on Thursday to report our constant outages, I expected the worst service, of course. Surprisingly that wasn't the case. Both people I spoke to were helpful, they scheduled someone to come within 48 hours (even on a weekend) and the technician showed up at the very beginning of the 4-hour timeframe I'd been given. He had us up and running in 20 minutes. They deserve a positive comment card, and I'm gonna give 'em one.

After that we had the rest of the afternoon free. Caro wanted to hit a couple stores downtown, and I needed to return something at BR, so we made our way down there. I walked straight to the counter to return my shirt, not even wanting to look around, no more purchasing, nothing. As I was waiting in line though, my eye wandered over to this super cute green cargo/military jacket on the sales rack. Hmm... I will resist. But of course the salesgirl commented on it. So I tried it on. Along with a super soft brown knit cardigan. Both were marked at 50 bucks, but I decided I'd get enough wear out of them that it was worth it. The start of my fall wardrobe! Luckily the cardigan was actually marked at 25 bucks, so I'm very satisfied with my purchases. But no more!! Someone find me some self-discipline...

Let's Go South

Last weekend was the long-awaited camping-turned-condo visit to MV and KatC's new place in the NC. KerC rented a PT Cruiser (I still really don't know why) for our ride down, super bright metallic blue. Google maps gave us the long directions, but TT, KerC and I finally arrived at 11ish Friday night. Yay for reunions! (There are way too many abbreviations in that paragraph.)

Highlights:
New fav board game ( thanks for the introduction KatC and MV!) - Settlers of Catan. At first I thought I'd be all confused and never get it, but by the second morning I was rarin' to go. I still don't think KerC gets it though.... Bye bye True Colors; you've been good to us, but we're moving on.

I almost bought one of these, but Tim convinced me that I wasn't really convinced. We drooled over some super-mod cool furniture that was way too expensive for any of our current statuses.

Super yummy Thai/Japanese food at a cool restaurant that's in a strip mall. I guess that's how they do things in the South.....

The drunk spelling bee at the Bickett gallery that we couldn't find. I think we were all out at the 2nd round, except KatC who went on to win 2nd place! Amazing. Some of those words were absolutely ridiculous, with varying degrees of difficulty. Stupidly, I missed justicious.

It was a wonderful chill weekend, lots of catching up, reading on the porch, pool time, board games. Always refreshing.

Caught the World Cup final. Yay for Italy!

I love this pic.

KerC needs to keep the tongue in check.

Tim is sneaking into the pic.

Kat, the wonderous hostess, even provided me with refreshing facial mask!

Anger Rising in Dreams

I had the worst dream last week. Awful!

NN, CB and I lived across the street from an airport. It was afternoon, C was on the phone, I was hanging out, and N had gone to the airport. She came back to the house to grab a couple things, and C realized that she was going to be late too. She quickly hung up and yelled that she needed to run to the airport. I offered to help her carry stuff, but I didn't really know what was going on.

We walked into the terminal and C began to check in at a kiosk. I asked where she was going and she said, "Oh, we're going to the Radiohead concert." Hmm.... okay. Where exactly, I asked. "Oh, it's in Salamanca." Internally I was about ready to burst since I've been dying to go back to Spain, but I kept my cool, realizing that they probably paid a LOT of money for their ticket and I wouldn't have been able to go anyway, even if I'd been informed. So, how much, I asked. "It was only like 300 bucks."

WHAT?

I freaked out. I started screaming my head off right there in the terminal. How could they not have told me? Why didn't they tell me? Do they hate me? Do they know how important this would've been?! Hello, Spain! Hello, Radiohead!

I walked outside and saw Niki walking towards the airport to board the flight. I started running towards her, freaking out, screaming, head about to burst. Thankfully I woke up then, but I have never been so angry in my entire life. Majorly intense.

That Disney Song Is Right

It is a small world, after all. (Apologies if that never-departing song is now stuck in your head.) Last week a few circles were connected, or reconnected, all within about 24 hours.

1) Left the house in the morning, headed towards the metro. As I crossed the street closest to my house, a guy came around the corner and walked next to me. He made some comment on the weather, we started talking, turns out he used to work at the place I'm starting at next week. J and I were headed in the same direction to work, so we continued our chat on the metro. He's a bartender/bouncer on the side, and asked me where I usually hang out in the city. Right then I remembered that he used to work at the Reef, where DH and I went every single evening in the summer of 2004. J totally remembered me and DH, even though that was a long time ago. Funny running into him in my neighborhood.

2) Saw an email on a list-serv from a guy looking for housing, since he's moving to DC in a few weeks. I totally recognized the name - I went to a church camp in Utah in 1997; we were in the same group together. I emailed him randomly to ask if that was indeed him, and sure enough! Crazy... 9 years later...

3) We had a little happy hour after work. Coworker A and I drove to Coworker B's building to pick her up after she dropped her car off. A said she knew someone who lived in that building - B wanted to know who, exactly, since she doesn't know anyone in her building. I then realized that I knew this person too; I interviewed with him and another friend of A's a few months ago. A also knows a friend that I was about to road trip with - she interviewed with him at his former company, then temped at his current company. Randomness. However, a reason that I do love DC.

It Is Finished

It's over. Break from the rat race for a few short days.

Breathe......

Adios....

Off to NC for the weekend with the Crate crew. Yippee!

While I was burning road trip CDs, my CD drive jammed shut. Uh oh....not looking forward to that when I get back. Tips, anyone?

Fantastic Fourth

Totally generic title, but I'm not in a creative mood at the moment. It's past my bedtime, but I'm not sleepy. Not good when you have an early morning meeting...

Anyway, the 4th of July was actually pretty perfect. The roommates and I + Javi + Shawn braved the mass Mormon breakfast party at the bishop's house, which turned out to be really fun. It was a trek out to Potomac, but well worth it. I actually got to talk to people that I don't usually see when we're in the swarm of 300 on Sunday. Plus there was a pool, tennis, b-ball, soccer, baseball, volleyball..... and lots of bacon! Mmm....bacon..... We stayed out there for a couple hours, then came back into the city for some BBQ and World Cup. At this point I'm not sure who I'm rooting for, now that Spain and England are out. No more watching hottie Ballack :(

We had a nice little crowd at our house for afternoon food and the game, then we watched the Wizard of Oz. It's been a long time since I've seen it - I've forgotten a lot of the weird little things that go on. As a child I was absolutely petrified during the tornado scene, so I usually hung out in my room during the first 10 minutes of the movie, waiting for the "It's Over!" shout from my mom. Of course I still had a nightmare about a tornado last night. I guess those will never go away.

After stuffing ourselves, we headed down to the Mall. I was a little skeptical, not wanting to deal with the crowds, but as least we're in walking distance. You couldn't have paid me to get on Metro last night. Some people from church planned to stake out a spot and raise balloons. We didn't necessarily intend to find them, but we saw balloons in a perfect viewing spot, and lo and behold, it was our peeps. We sat on the hill, right next to the Washington Monument, facing Lincoln and the show. You can never be disappointed with that type of location!


I tried to remember what I've done every year for the 4th since I've been in DC. I think I got it:
2006 - duh.
2005 - Just landed at National Airport from a trip to Phoenix as the fireworks were starting. I watched them from the airport windows.
2004 - Baltimore with Sam M. and Paul. Waterfront, music, etc. Then some random house party in Federal Hill.
2003 - NYC with Debbie, Jen, Kevin's secret burgers. Somewhere near the river, with an overpass blocking a lot of the view.
2002 - Just home from Spain. I think I hung out in Poteau, then headed to Tulsa the next day to start working at UCA camps...
2001 - Dinner in Gtown, with plans to head to the Mall after. It poured rain all through dinner, so Justin and I walked back to campus. Just as we arrived at our apt complex, we heard the fireworks starting. I think we climbed on the Henle roof to watch...or maybe we ran down to Village A....not sure.
2000 - Mall with Brooke and Erin. We walked there, and miraculously found Robin in a sea of 600,000. This was before I had a cell phone.....

I'll Never Grow Up

I just had to play that game with myself, the one my mom always made me play, where I had to pick up 5 things in my room. Her rationale - I pick up 5 things every day (or spend 5 minutes cleaning, etc), and eventually I'll get it all done.

With as many clothes as I have, it's gonna take me a month of 5s. I still haven't unpacked a thing from my trip two weeks ago. But I did 5 today! That's some progress....

Lyrics I Temporarily Forgot that I Love Until 5 Minutes Ago

I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed
Little angels hang above my head and read me like an open book
Suck my blood
Break my nerve
Offer me their arms
Well, I will not be an enemy of anything
I'll only stand here

Waiting for you
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming

I'm gone......

Two Loves

I've never seen a single episode of Entourage, but I may have to start thanks to Mr. Grenier. He was quite lovely in this past weekend's movie watching. I think we all drooled. Why haven't I paid him any attention previously?

Second love of the moment - the Guillemots full album is here! Well, almost. It's released in the UK next week; not sure when the US date. However, you can listen to the whole beautiful thing on MySpace right now.

I'm mad raving about it. It's wonderous.

Blah blah blah blah

Blah.

Blah. I really don't feel like writing anything else.

Weekend's been pretty excellent, though I'm pretty much broke. Darn pay checks being spread out for almost 3 weeks. Seriously - who does that?

JO, AT and I caught Devil Wears Prada Friday night, after a quick dash down to Alexandria once the Gtown theater was sold out. We squeezed in a Mexican dinner first in Del Ray, which is a super cutesy neighborhood, complete with "the regulars" at all the 'hood restaurants, dog walkers and lots of stroller-pushing parents. I feel like that's the place you go when you graduate from the city. It's the starter neighborhood for the beginning of settled life. Will I ever know such a thing? Don't think I want to....definitely not anytime soon. I also realized that once I start the new job, I'll be within blocks of AT, JO and AS - all of us, back to college BFF state and regular luncheons. Yay!

Saturday morning drug me back to urban reality. Waited at home til our groceries were delivered from online shopping, then hopped the metro 2 stops to Mocha Hut, the best coffee shop/hang out/cafe around. I need to make it a much more frequent occurrence in my life. The food is seriously excellent. Free wirless. Comfy chairs and fun bar stools. N and I got some work done after scarfing down lunch, then I ran home to get my Spanish cooking started.

A guy from one of the gargantuan Mormon congregations in VA decided to host a Spanish pot luck dinner for those who have lived in Spain and advertised in on the list-serv. I didn't know him, nor do I know many people in the VA sector, but I decided it'd be good for me if I went. So I did.... A tad scary, but turned out quite alright. Que comemos durante la cena? Bueno, tuvimos una paella maravillosa, tortilla (mi favorita!), papas con mojo, chorizo, queso manchego, gazpacho (lo traje eso), arroz con leche, galletas.... Mmmm....deliciosa! Espero que tengamos otra cena en el futuro.

Pues...nada. Eso es todo. No estoy cansada, pero pienso que deberia ir a la cama. Manana es domingo, y ahora que Caro no tiene coche, tenemos que tomar el Metro a la iglesia. Tenemos que salir media hora mas temprano, lo cual es un desafio para nosotras. Voy a escribir mas en espanol otro dia.... es buen practica, no?