I have a gazillion things to figure out/do between now and October 22nd. Please, please, pretty please help me make it to October 23rd in one piece. I promise to work my hardest to get my work done and find an apartment. I guess I’d be okay with a few mental scars and even a few zits on my face, but nothing too serious - like a broken arm, blindness or being admitted to a mental institution. I don’t want to be a hot mess when I see Emily 1, Megan and Peter. I’m sure they’d love me just the same, but I’d rather not press my luck. Thanks a bunch :)
I think the last time I did that much walking was while I studied abroad in Spain. I walked about a gazillion miles a week.
Yeah - so, Patrick and Emily 1 came to visit Adam and I, and it was good times. As stated earlier, we did a whole lot of walking. Lots. For hours and hours.
Unfortunately, they only spent around 36 hours here, so we had a lot of places to visit in a very limited amount of time. We didn’t get everything done, but we sure as hell crammed a lot of into those 36 hours.
The picture version of the weekend:
bienvenidos al bronx zoo
adorable pig/hogs
peacocks were all over the zoo
mama gorilla
Then:
Asian snacks
And:
crowds in Little Italy
Brooklyn Bridge
Eventually, after walking into and out of a couple of weird shops and eating dinner at an Indian place with terrible service, we made it here:
lower-ish Manhattan
I apologize for the blurriness of my pictures. Unfortunately, you have to be perfectly still to use the night shots on my camera - except the bridge wouldn’t stop shaking.
That was all on Saturday.
Sunday we slept a little later, had some brunch, then walked through about 1/7th of Central Park. At 2:30pm, we left Patrick and Emily 1 at Penn Station to return to VA/MD.
All in all, it was a successful weekend. Emily 1 visited NYC for the first time, everyone went to the Bronx for the first time (except for me - I lived there until I was 7), Patrick tried eggs benedict for the first time (and liked it), Emily 1, Patrick and I “discovered” a mouse in Adam and Ryan’s kitchen cabinet while trying to fall asleep, and the weather was great.
Hooray.
Next weekend: my parents come to visit. More good times to come.
The past 3 days felt like 2 days, and that’s no good.
I told people I was spending the weekend in DC, but I actually only spent about 3 hours in DC the entire time. I went to the new and greatly improved Murky - Peregrine Espresso. I’m so glad I was right on time for the grand opening :)
It looks absolutely fantastic inside, and I got to see my pals Randy, David, Mike (who worked at the old Murky Capitol Hill) and store owner, Ryan. Unfortunately, I forgot to buy one of their shirts. Next time.
So, my weekend in a nutshell was jam packed but fun (except when UVA lost to USC).
After spending most of Friday night on a bus from NYC to Virginia, I crashed on Patrick’s* couch until early Saturday morning. We did some shopping before heading to the sports bar where we met up with Emily 1 at a sports bar where we watched Virginia Tech lose to East Carolina (YAY!) and then Virginia get kicked in the face shat on by USC. It was a very sad game. Patrick, Emily 1 and I did some more hanging out before parting ways. I headed to Melissa and Emily 2’s apartment. The second I walked through the door I was greeted by this hyperactive little man:
His name is Tiki Barber (or Tiki-tik, if you want to be cute) and he’s a black pug. Emily’s family is big on pugs (she already has 2 pugs that live with her parents), so Tiki fits right in. I really wasn’t expecting such hyperactivity - he was licking every surface of my head, from my hair to my nostrils to my ears. It was pretty disgusting, but I guess he missed me. Sunday morning was more of the same; Melissa woke Tiki up and he almost immediately attacked my face again.
I eventually got a chance to take some pictures of him when he was not as crazy. He’s a cute puppy (and he’s a UVA fan, obviously). When I wasn’t being attacked by a 5 pound dog, I got a chance to catch up with Emily 2 and Melissa, which was nice. They’re great. Almost as soon as I got there, it was time to leave and meet up with another friend of mine, Ally, at Peregrine Espresso. An hour later, I was leaving Virginia and DC. Somehow I managed to see 5 of my friends in 1.5 days.
Mission Accomplished.
Then - Labor Day. I ventured out to NYC to meet up with my cousin, Allison, who I hadn’t seen since her college graduation last year. It was nice to spend time with her, especially since a lot of my family is so distant. That’s what happens when your extended family is huge, I guess. I roamed the city a bit before bothering Adam and Ryan while they moved into their new apartment.
And that’s that. I’m in serious need of a relaxing weekend. Unfortunately, I’m not seeing that in my future.
I went to my first Pride Parade today. Although I’m not into the ladies (I love the guys) most of my closest friends are homosexual - so I went in support of my pals (and the LGBT community). Unexpectedly, I left with a lot of goodies:
I didn’t even have to flash anyone for these… only scream at the top of my lungs. I gave up once it started raining buckets.
I hate peanuts. I was really hoping these were pretzels, so I took them. Now I know not to fly Southwest because they serve peanuts.
Everyone was tossing candy at the crowds, so I got plenty of that. One group threw bouncy balls at us. That was pretty awesome (but weird).
The gay couple standing next to us gave us their extra condoms. I didn’t want to ask why they were giving them up, so I just took them. Perhaps they could tell I wasn’t a lesbian. Whatever the case may be, I hope those guys are practicing safe sex.
I am so tired right now. All that Pride really wore me out, I guess.
The past few days have been crazy busy… sorta. I was graced with the company of some of my closest friends for my graduation (and the week prior), so I haven’t been glued to my computer in my normal fashion.
The post-school fun kinda started on Wednesday when Adam and I went shopping for work clothes. He ended up buying much more than me - but actually has a job. Me - I’m still unemployed, so I only left with a shirt and chinos from Banana Republic and a skirt from New York and Company (to wear for graduation). After a long day of stimulating the economy, we got back to my apartment just in time for David Cook and David Archuleta’s Guitar Hero commercials…
I flipped out when I saw these commercials.
Thursday morning, after brief water problems (a pipe burst in my building so they shut off the water for a while), Adam and I headed for the District. The trip wasn’t really as adventerous as we’d hoped, but we made a pilgrimage to Vapiano’s for some not-so-fast food pasta. Anyone craving pasta for a low price (with free gummy bears for dessert) should head to that place. We hit up a few more stores, then returned to home base to begin Music Downloading Fest 2008.
We cashed in our change at Coinstar for amazon gift cards… which meant a night of reviewing and downloading music. One of our favorites was Little Jackie - “The World Should Revolve Around Me”. We fell victim to its catchy-ness, I guess. I grew attached to this one:
Oh Kate Nash…
So yeah, eventually Adam got the munchies (for lack of a better word), so we made an emergency trip to shoppers for some cornbread and lemon cake - Bake Fest 2008. Two hours later, we experienced great disappointment:
The cornbread turned out okay (yay for Jiffy!), but our lemon cake broke :( At least it was still fun to bake, I guess.
Friday was graduation. It was boring. I was happy some more of my friends got to come to the ceremony: Emily from band and Jessica, my “sister from another mother”, and her mom. Then my parents took even more of my friends (474-7 HOLLA) and I out for a ridiculous feast at Maggiano’s. I almost died every time they brought out another course… the amount of food we got was pure insanity. For dessert the waiter brought out a graduation cake (about 7″ high) for me with super cool candles. Even with 10 people eating, I have about 10 separate containers of leftovers…
On Saturday, Adam left me (sniffle) and Jessica and I had some time to hang out. This began DC Photo Fest 2008:
Her camera was much better than mine.
We hit up Zaytinya (of course) for an awesome lunch - with even more pictures…
After lunch, we roamed Georgetown, where Jessica started to get a little tired of walking. So, we visited the waterfront, took some more pictures, then finished up DC Photo Fest 2008.
I don’t have as many pictures from the rest of the day - but we hit up Beth’s (one of my roommates) graduation party, ate some Japanese for dinner, and finally threw in the towel.
Jessica and her mom left pretty early on Sunday morning, so here I am again - in front of my computer. Just like the good old days… minus the constant memo writing.
Question #13: What would constitute a “perfect” evening for you?
Answer: Oh gosh, I don’t know. This is not a question I think about… ever. I guess I can come up with something.
a) a perfect evening with friends
This is a hard one, only because if I’m hanging out with the right people, I’m always having a “perfect” evening. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Karaoke + drinks would be a good time. Singing 5 CDs of Disney songs with my roommates on my 22nd birthday was a good time. Sitting around and having a lively discussion is a good time. Playing board games/Catch Phrase is a good time. Going out to bars and NOT having to pay for a single drink would be a good time (as long as my friends got free drinks too). Again, most anything would be a good time, as long as I’m with the right people.
b) a perfect evening with my future boyfriend/husband (FBF/H)
First of all, it would have to be between 65 and 70 degrees outside. Around 7pm (because I’d be hungry), we’d go out to a nice restaurant (some type of foreign cuisine) and eat outside, because the weather is amazing. Actually, it wouldn’t have to be a nice restaurant - just somewhere that serves really good food and has outdoor seating. Anyway, my meal would definitely include broccoli, by the way (very important detail). My FBF/H and I would talk about anything and everything, because we’re just that cool. We’d finish eating and our meal would be free, because… well, it’s my perfect evening. Then, after dinner, we’d “take an old fashioned walk” - just like the Doris Day and Frank Sinatra duet. If we actually sang while we walked, I wouldn’t mind. Or if Michael Buble were somewhere close by, my FBF/H and I would stop and see him. After visiting Buble, we’d continue the old fashioned walk, just talking about whatever, and find a super awesome coffee shop to recaffeinate (not a word, by the way). Then, (finally) we’d find a place where we could just sit or lay down and stargaze for the rest of the night.
***Side note: I really love looking at the night sky (as long as it’s not filled with light pollution). I could stare at stars for hours - it’s so relaxing.
c) a perfect evening by myself
I would sing aloud like no one’s listening. All night. Regardless of where I am. Actually, I’d probably be laying down in a dark, treeless field (without creepy rapists strolling around) staring at the stars.
Yeah, that’s it. I was thinking about including my family, but anytime when we’re all together, it’s pretty perfect (in that “oh my gosh, these people are a bunch of psycho freaks - I can’t believe I’m related to them” kinda way).
***Side note: If Melissa reads this, I had a terrible time tonight and my food was disgusting. For all other readers, please disregard this side note.
Tonight, I had one of the best dinners I’ve ever had in DC. I blame Skewers… and Melissa’s birthday (the reason for our outing). Melissa gets an A+ for finding this place; there’s absolutely no way I would’ve discovered Skewers on my own. Middle Eastern food crosses my mind just about as much as the idea of staying at my current school to get a PhD… Anyway, after tonight, I will probably start to dream about Middle Eastern food - especially, what I ate:
For starters, this is not MY dinner. I was too busy stuffing my face to take a picture, but this picture (minus those pink thingys, plus a leg of lamb) is a close representation.
That’s what I ate, in words. I didn’t know what Biryani was before tonight, but I took a chance and it was amazing. Not too spicy and not at all bland. The veggies were tasty; It takes a very special dish for me to eat squash, cauliflower and/or zucchini. All of it was delicious, down to the very last grain of rice (kinda).
I’ll admit, the lamb could’ve been better seasoned, but that’s my one and only food related issue.
Also, I think this was the first time I’ve ever eaten hummus and enjoyed it. Congratulations to me (I’m looking forward to a hummus-filled future).
The service was okay. I’ve dealt with better.
And finally, the company was fun, of course. It’s always a good time hanging with the old roommates (474-7 HOLLA), old choir buddies/person I’ve known for half of my life (Yay for Jill) and friends of old roommates.
