Miss-Mishap-Pening

Speaking of friendship...

My darling friend Emma has started a blog and yours truly appears in the first post. If you don't check it out, I will assume you think negatively of me. Please don't let that happen. It would make me truly sad. So go here to read it!

I can't wait to see you

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

In just 2 days I will travel to Phoenix for US Masters Swimming Spring Nationals. While I am very excited to compete all weekend (and for the 90 degree weather what?!), I am most excited to see one of my closest friends in this world-- Rachel.

I have known Rachel since the 8th grade when I moved to Wyoming. Our friendship has seen some great adventures, extreme silliness, and some of the toughest challenges from life. It is such a comfort to me to know that no matter where I am or what I'm doing, I have Rachel as a friend right there next to me (even if we're on opposite sides of the nation- or world). 

Our lives have taken very different paths- both good. We don't get to see each other often anymore, but when we do see each other, it warms my heart. I have so many good memories that exist from knowing Rachel and for that I am so thankful!

And this time there is a tiny Rachel on the way! See you soon Rachel, Devin, and little baby-to-be. I can't wait!

love always,

E

Easter flowers on Capitol Hill

Happy Easter!

Thought Vomit

There are so many things to tell about today, and none of them have anything to do with each other. Ready go!

I have a few blogs that I like to read regularly. Some are hilarious, some belong to friends, and some are just sweet and happy. I posted a while back about wanting it all. Well, over at the Nat the Fat Rat blog, the author recently posted this, and I really enjoyed reading it. Plus, it's always nice to know that there are other people living without cable tv, too.

Last night there were no less than 5 police cars outside of my bedroom window and lots of policemen engaging in entertaining (at least for me) dialogue with some hooligan. Too bad my contacts were already out because I couldn't really spy out of my bedroom window, but the ensuing drama unfolding out there kept me awake for a good extra hour. If I had tv this probably wouldn't have been so fun for me. But whatever the situation was got intense enough for the cops to get a police dog sniffing through everyone's front yards-- mine included. I just knew that this would be the one time where some blitzed hobo would have spent the prior night throwing out needles in my front yard or something and then the drug dog would find one and all the cops would come running to my front door with their guns drawn at 11:30pm. But don't worry, absolutely none of that happened. It was very urban-lifey though. Really this whole week has been full of urban living experiences for me.

I swam Zones this weekend and was overall happy with my performances. I can swim a much better 100 free though. I know I have it in me, but my 50 free just keeps getting better, and that makes me happy. There is always room for improvement in swimming though, which is something I love about the sport. Another tough practice tonight and then it's almost taper time... oh taper, je t'aime.

Hopefully I'll find time to make some cookies for Easter.

 

This is the best support staff cart in my office building. He changes out light bulbs and such.

The end. Have a great Easter weekend!

Royal Romance

A friend of mine shared this video with me, and I adore it. Also, the group is really good. Dare I even say that now I have a favorite a cappella group? Does that make me nerdy? Ok, we already knew this.

And now, with 8 days left until the wedding of Wills and Kate, I give you "Royal Romance" by The Other Guys.

DC Spring

hey-yo! the cherry blossoms are pretty much done being cherry blossoms. they've turned into normal looking trees. well, there were some pink trees along the orange line metro in VA that i noticed while driving out to the swim meet this weekend, but they got blasted by ugly weather on saturday, so maybe they don't look that great anymore either. whatever. here are some pictures for you. also, i really don't want to capitalize anything today. sometimes i just need some lower case letters in my life. even if it's a proper noun.

 

love always <3

One Dollar Sandwich

Ok, I'm in love. If you haven't heard of Groupon or LivingSocial or similar sites, you're missing out. LivingSocial just started an "instant" section for Washington, DC. Today, for one single American dollar, I got $12 worth of sandwich and drink from Taylor Gourmet on H Street.... only the best sandwich place in the history of the universe.

Sandwich love. Total steal love. Almost the weekend love.

And you know what? The above businesses ought to love the free love I just gave them. So much love today... probably cuz it's sunny out.

Workin' hard or hardly workin'?

I take pride in my work, but sometimes in weekly staff meetings, this is what happens:

meeting notes

Also, I like to look out of the window near my desk each morning to see what's going on out there. This is from last Friday:

Doesn't it look like DC has mountains in this picture? Too bad it was a massive storm front.

I will make an entirely different post dedicated to the subject of this next picture. Any guesses as to what this is?

Good news... I am now the owner of a laptop, so I have somewhere to put my pictures (you know, actual pictures-- not the camera phone variety). This means my posts are about to get a whole lot prettier. Yayayay!

Love always <3

All I can remember is chicken and cucumbers

Noor comes to DC today for one night and one night only! I cannot contain my excitement. Furthermore, this might be the last time I get to see her for a year and a half, and that makes me 1) happy that she's here, 2) panicked that we can't fit all there is to do into one night, and 3) sad because I'll miss her dearly. Some of our most fun times were when we lived in the same little house where I live now... George, Noor, and I were the original tenants. Noor introduced me to chocolate chip pancakes at Eastern Market on Saturday mornings. Emma, Noor, and I went and watched airplanes take off and then proceeded to behave like airplanes at Gravelly Point this time last year.

getting ready for take off.

Well, anyway, we're going back to Gravelly Point for airplanes round 2, and of course there will be some quality time at Union Pub this evening with friends. There might even be some chicken and cucumbers. Mmmmmmm.

I love it when friends come to visit.

Beery and Nooralein

What is this, a school for ants?!

I'm skipping swim practice tonight. Even though Zones is this weekend, and I'd like to kick, um, hard (the mom reads this, after all), ants have declared war on my roommate Jenny's windows. Well ants, you picked the wrong girls to terrorize with your crawling all over the place and being freakish and frightening in general. Mark my words: YOU WILL LOSE, ANTS.

Jenny and I are going on a cleaning rampage. Indoors and out. Poison included. We will take no prisoners. and hopefully my temporary foray into ant extermination doesn't give me a thousand tiny karmic points against me for killing things that are alive but then really, make a less creepy, squirmy, colonizing-y creature, ok?

I dig the warm weather, but I anti-dig the bugs. Ants sick me out. They always have. And they are not invited into my house.

The only ant related thing I like is this. And now, Ants Marching by Dave Matthews. you're welcome.


Oh yeah, and I'm so antsy (ha) because one of my favorite people gets to DC tomorrow. YAY for Noor!

Feeling (shut)down and out?

This looming government shutdown is creating full, crazy, long work days for me this week. To be quite frank, I am tired. Washington, DC gets a bad name sometimes because it is the seat of the government, but all I have to do is look around to see how wonderful the city itself is. Here are a few favorite pictures of mine.

Smithsonian Castle and Washington Monument along the National Mall

Capitol at sunset

My favorite building

Marine Corps memorial

My favorite space in the Capitol

Everyone is certainly on edge around here, waiting and wondering about the possibility of a shutdown and its implications. No one really knows how it is implemented, what it means for employees, or what it means for the economy. I'll tell you one thing-- Washington, DC is never boring.

Oh, a final word: It is wonderful to have passion, but feeling passionate about something does not grant a free tickets to treat others disrespectfully. Be open to opinions and thoughts that might be different from your own. It's OK to have disagreements, but it is important to stay civil and open minded always.

I want to kiss you on the mouth to stop you from saying such ridiculous things.

DID YOU KNOW that THE Alec Baldwin was in my office building yesterday? 2 floors directly below me? Talking to my favorite Capitol Policeman Bill? AND NO ONE TOLD ME?! I have a tendency to be very enthusiastic naturally, and I'm pretty sure that even a glimpse of Mr. Baldwin would have sent me into enthusiasm overdrive, so maybe it's a good thing that I missed him. I could have died.

One time I was driving around with Emma and Kenny texted me all the way from LA to tell me that he was in line at a bagel shop and A. Baldwin was right behind him in line on the phone. I nearly crashed my car. Well, not really, but my reaction was big enough to be cause for concern. The thing is, I wouldn't even go up to him if I saw him because, can you imagine being assaulted by every member of the public who recognizes you? GEEZnothankyou. So I'd just stand there in an overly enthusiastic state about to burst at the seams until the moment had passed.

But a message to him because, well, I feel like it: Thanks for being you. Your portrayal of the character Jack Donaghy is the highlight of a TV show that I go out of my way to watch. Seeing as how I don't own a TV, this speaks volumes for your talent. I read in a magazine on a plane (was that Hawaiian Airlines? American, maybe.) recently that you will not continue on the show so that you can accomplish other things. Admirable. Onward and upward, Mr. Baldwin! And keep on keepin' on with those bagels.

March Madness for nerds

Can you read this bracket? It's pretty small. sorry.

http://www.outofprintclothing.com/bookmadness_a/302.htm

I am ashamed to say that I've only read 14 of these books. And that's being kind to myself for trying to read A Clockwork Orange numerous times and just being too idiotic to get through his made up language. Also, I didn't give myself points for trying to read Wuthering Heights and not enjoying it and quitting. Also, I own Jane Eyre and I haven't read it. D'oh!

I haven't read Frankenstein? Fahrenheit 451? Slaughterhouse V? Lord of the Flies? 1984? Anna Karenina???? GEEZ LOUISE, what have I been doing with my life? Living it, I suppose. 

Anyway, I have a long queue of books that I will read, but I just added a really large quantity to that list, since this bracket is a shameful reminder of how many of the classics I have not read and couldn't discuss for even 3 seconds. I can pick a winner though. At least I've read those.

And I know that most people won't agree with me here... but I pick the green light and the American Dream.

Friday Picture Day

THANKGODIT'SFRIDAY!

Seriously.

Here is a random assortment of phone pictures for your Friday viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

AIRPLANE SISTER TIME!

Lovely Casper, Wyoming as seen from, oh 15,000 feet or so

My cowboy boot rain boots because I'm the coolest

The parking garage at the Teet (Harris Teeter) is all DC'd out

Lunch can be so simple and pretttyyyyyy

Transformers 3 films explosions in DC

The kitchen/laundry room/office of my first DC house, a doll house

Once upon a time, I found a 4 leaf clover

Aloha (the sad kind), Hawaii. I should never have left you.

xoxo have a good weekend.