Vegas: The Portraits

(Ridiculously good-looking, even in a tiny hat)

( Step off my shoes! Don't make me come over there...)

(There's a subtle difference in being danced WITH and being danced ON)

(Lobster paws!)

Vegas Saga Cont'd, Part III

I'm totally finishing the story with this one, I swear. I'm a little over writing about it...

Saturday:

We sleep in again (I think we rolled in around 3 am...4 am...? gah, I forget now) and as this has been designated the day o' shopping, go directly to the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. Coffee is procured (for me, anyway) and we hit the stores. Hard. After we wander and shop and such for a bit, we find a sports bar, and Ebony finally gets her hot wings (do you also hear the "Hallelujah Chorus" in the background?). We also get really awful other food, like potato skins, jalapeno poppers, and cheese fries. In hindsight, we're lucky we don't die of artery blockage on the spot. Delicious.

Back to shopping some more, and then we call it quits (after a good haul, mind you). As the Eiffel Tower (or "Tire" depending how Texan you're feeling that day) drinks were such a blurry hit last summer, we walk down to the Paris hotel to buy some, only to find they've been out of the drink holders for weeks. Sigh. We still head in and frolic a little in the coffee shop, where the sorbet is plentiful and tasty.

(At Ebony's request, we are being "silly." For instance, Aleta's pretending to drink coffee out of a creamer...)

For this evening, Aleta has elected to go to a Coldplay concert, and Ebony, Gina, and I decide to walk to the Bellagio and see the flowers and fountains. The fountains are so cool that we stay and watch four performances. We also play in the flowers and take lots of photos of the cool glass ceiling, but I can't remember which came first.

(The white fuzzies are the fountains)

We then head to the club at the Bellagio (since we're there already), where we are forced to wait an absurdly long time. To get into a rinky dink, wannabe cool Vegas club. I am super done with the whole thing, apparently standing there with a very peeved look on my face, when the bouncer freakin' finally points to me and hauls the four of us in. I guess the trick is to look like you're going to walk away at ANY MINUTE. And then when we're inside, it's sort of boring. And crowded. The most interesting action comes when a guy is totally passed on a sofa, two stories downstairs from the main entrance (right next to the dance floor). We watch the bouncers try to rouse him for a while, and all of us wonder, "How the heck are they getting him out of here?" He is definitely not going to be walking, and dragging would be a huge pain. Solution: they roll over a wheelchair, throw him in, and head to the elevators. Genius!

We head out after a while (I am limping due to a poor but yet totally awesome leg-enhancing shoe choice), play a few slots since we haven't gambled at all really, and we are in the capital of gambling, and eventually call it a night.

Well sort of a night, since Ebony and Aleta have to leave for the airport at 4 am...we all nap at around 3 am, they leave, and then Gina and I crash for real.

Sunday:
Gina and I decide to go to a Mexican place for lunch, since she's craving it all week, and I really don't have much preference. We decide to go to the few hotels we haven't seen - the Luxor, Excalibur, and a few others. Weirdly enough, it RAINS on us. In the middle of the desert. All of the outdoor escalators immediately stop working, which is bizarre. As we have basically an afternoon to kill before the flight leaves at midnight, we hatch a plan to see a movie. Actually two movies, one in the afternoon, and one after dinner. We see "Wanted" (blah...wants to be cool like "Fight Club," comes not even close), and "Mamma Mia" (hilariously wonderful, but you gotta love some ABBA). We eventually share a cab to the airport with these two stereotypical Canadians (eh?) that may still be a little drunk. They are very entertaining. We debate our options of travel pillows for purchase and then eventually catch the flight home. Just in time for me to grab my suitcase and head to work for an opening (brilliant timing, brilliant...it ruins the rest of my week, no lie).

And that's Vegas! One more part, solely picture oriented, is forthcoming.

The Vegas, Part II

Okay, so where was I...

Friday:
We sleep in for real this day, although really we just give it the old college try and still roll out by 10, because we are 1) on east coast time, and 2) too damn old to be able to sleep until 1 pm our time (ain't it sad?). Ebony had the brilliant plan of renting a cabana by the pool that afternoon, but since we have a few hours to kill until then, we decide the best plan is to head to New York New York for some thick, cheesy pizza. Mmm, breakfast. Well in all honesty, I think I had some sort of coffee first, but maybe we really did just go straight for the pizza and beer. Did I mention we have beers? Yes.

So after that and a little browsing through the shops (Gina and I also pick up some Nathan's Hot Dogs for a later snack), we head to the pool. I of course cover myself in baby sunscreen (SPF 55, what's up!). We order cocktails and ice (water is included in our little mini-fridge, but it's not cold...boo), and generally loaf away the afternoon. Aleta and Gina work in some actually tanning time out in direct sunlight. Ebony also avoids the sun - she doesn't want to get TOO brown, meanwhile were I to join we would all be headed down to the ER later that day for treatment. The shade and the pool and the misters are also very lovely.

We have reservations for dinner at Mesa Grill so eventually we head upstairs to shower and glam up. The meal at the restaurant is completely spectacular. I have the Green Chile Cioppino (I seriously wish, in hindsight, that I'd taken a picture of it. It was beautiful...and delicious). It comes with all sorts of gorgeous seafood, including a huge lobster claw. At some point, Ebony inexplicably refers to it as a lobster "paw" and we continue to refer to it as such for the rest of the trip. Just on the other side of the glass (as we are in a hotel) there's a huge statue of Joe Louis in fighting stance. No less than 20 guys of various ages stop to pose with him - we get in as many of their pictures as possible. Our obliging waiter takes our picture at the end of the night:

Poor man. We are lovely people to wait on (we are charming and like to eat, what's not to love?), but at the end of our meal, a trashy, trashy group is seated at the table next to us. By the time we leave, they have sent back a bottle of wine and a steak (to the tune of ~$150). I'm not sorry to leave them behind us.

So then we head to the bus, after having received detailed instructions earlier in the day about how to take it to the Hard Rock hotel. After riding the bus for about 45 minutes, and the getting dropped in the middle of absolutely nowhere, it becomes apparent that we have been misled. We hail a cab, and after 10 minutes of going in the totally opposite direction of where we originally headed, we arrive.

(Still on the bus)

(Gina and Ebony, too sexy for this bus)

Earlier we had read that they would giving away a ton of Betsey Johnson merchandise at the club, but by the time we arrive, we assume we've missed all that. As we wait in line, a girl walks up to Aleta and hands her a Betsey Johnson card with "6 1/2" written on it. She tells Aleta "Your name is Natalie Vaughn." Sweet. When we get inside, we grab drinks and start dancing. The music is pretty fun - the crowd is rather interesting. At whatever appointed time the shoe giveaway begins, Aleta heads to grab them. She comes back with the PINK platforms featured in my other post, which are sadly too small for her. Apparently several of the girls are going to trade later, so after a bit, we all head that way - Aleta for swapping shoes, and we could all use a little break from shakin' it. As we wait on her, Aleta informs us that they are just passing out the shoes to anyone, so of course we queue up, rattle off our various sizes, and walk away with FOUR pairs of crazy pink platforms. We have to dance with boxes the rest of the night, but it's totally worth it.

Nutty dance shots:

(I love how serious this guy is about his moves...Aleta and me, not so much).

Okay, this got way longer than I thought it would. Saturday and Sunday, coming in Part III!

Vegas Trip, Part I

Okay, I can't quite figure out what to write, because so much happened. I'm going to just start with the general itinerary and then go from there.

Wednesday:

We arrive at a late hour at the airport, all of us are starving. Grab a cab to our hotel, check-in takes about two years. Ebony is craving hot wings. We finally get to the room, decide on room service pizza, and make the call only to be informed that on Wednesdays only there is a reduced menu that does not include pizza. Curses. We eat in the greasy diner at the hotel and crash.

Thursday:

We get up early-ish to pick up our rental car for the Hoover Dam trip. We get to the rental car line to find that the guy has no paper on which to print contracts, and he's waiting for it to arrive. I wait in line (with my donut) while the others head to the bar for a little Vegas "breakfast."

Finally we get the car and head out of town. The drive is lovely - full of desert and mountains and blue skies. We get to the much-awaited Hoover Dam! Which is, if nothing else, super impressively huge. Also, we get hats as a part of our tour:

We spend an inordinate amount of time posing with them. We do all the educational touristy things, like watch the little movie, go to the observation deck, and finally take a tour through the dam itself. We also stop at Lake Mead on the way back to town.

We are, once again, starving. Ebony and Aleta still want hot wings. We end up eating in an adorable wine bar in Boulder City (no hot wings on the menu, unfortunately). We then head back to the hotel, all tuckered out from our field trip. Naps all around.

Later that evening, we decide to head to Fremont Street, which is not on the strip, but north (?) and full of older casinos and such. To me it looks much the same, except the buildings are shorter here. There's a huge light display on the roof that plays a cool montage of Queen music, but later in the evening plays a laughably suggestive number full of showgirls in various uniform costumes. Firewomen with hoses are included, if that gives you any idea. More hilarious than sexy in my mind, but that's veering off subject. We head back to the strip and top off in the evening in a piano bar. First full day is finished! More to come...

(Photo credits go to Ebony and Gina...I have some of Hoover Dam and environs, but then my batteries died, and they were both taking so many pictures I didn't see the need to replace them!).

A Preview

I just finished watching "Juno" in an attempt to stay awake and get over lame west coast time jet lag. It did not disappoint, despite all of the hype.

So yeah, I went to Las Vegas for a few days. All in all, it was a pretty rockin' trip. Although my sleep schedule is now totally screwed...there's something about being there that makes you feel obligated to stay up until crazy hours (4 am, for instance), and combine that with three hour time difference (so really 7 am) and my poor inner clock has no freakin' clue what time it is supposed to be. Plus the red eye flight, which didn't help. And anyone that knows me also knows that I am girl that needs her sleep. So that's what I'm working on currently - re-entry.

There will be much, much more to come (I've already composed a "best of" portrait section in my head for the four of us that went...it's going to be AWESOME). In the meantime, let me leave you with this:

Now what is this, you may ask? These are free shoes that were given to us in a club. They are very Elle Woods, and they make me about a foot taller. It's a rather ridiculous set up as to how we got them in the first place - honestly I'm still not really sure how it all went down in the end. But very PINK and fun.

So I'll leave you all with that as your tease for further updates...I'm off to bed for my second round of sleep today.

Texas Trip Wrap-Up

I made yet another pilgrimage to the Lone Star State, for yet another wedding. Based on current circumstances, this should be the last one I will need to go to for a while though - and actually I'm not whining, it's a great chance to see everyone and visit and have people ply me with wine and cake and yummy food. And because we're a bit over going to the clubs and such, it's a good opportunity to get a little dancing in :).

My first (very quick) stop was Houston, Texas. I know you're thinking, what? WHY? Yes, Houston is a bit gross and all, but it is the home of my lovely friend Ginger and her husband, James. She's all preggers and such now, so not only did I want to see their new house, but wanted to spend as much time with the typically tiny Ginger when she has a belly. She's still tiny everywhere else though, which I'm sure provokes much hatred in the waiting room at the doctor's office. At one point, we went to Target to register for things, which was a bit ridiculous, because we have absolutely no idea what babies need. I mean, we've both done some extensive babysitting, but when you do that, the mom already has all the necessities. There was a lot of "um, how many of these do you think we'll need?" "Beats me, just start zapping stuff..." Very productive trip, that.

We then drove to Austin for the wedding, all the while playing the "name that tune/artist challenge" for the 80's radio station. There were also wildflowers everywhere:
The wedding was very lovely - Sarah and Matt seemed very relaxed and happy...
and I got to put my wannabe seamstress skills to use in fixing bridesmaids' dresses. Brianna the flower girl was very cute (can you believe I babysat for her when she was two weeks old? Me neither...) and got to spend lots of quality time dancing with the big kids.


The next few days were mostly punctuated by lots of good meals and hanging out time. I finally broke down and bought myself some perfume. It was definitely time, since we calculated that Sarah gave me the least old perfume bottle I own about eight years ago...and I bought the others in college, so when I wear them, it's like eau de Rachel a 19 ans, which is an odd sort of throwback.

We celebrated cinco de mayo at Trudy's (north) with ridiculously cheap margaritas (at least, so it seemed to this DC gal - $3.50 each!? I'll take four! Wait...bad idea) and all of the yummy snacky Tex-Mex stuff I could squeeze in.

All in all a very lovely time. And now the crazies are planning a summer trip to Vegas, which I can state that I DO NOT HATE FOR THE FREAKIN' LAST TIME, because it's my blog. So there.

Annapolis love (and kitsch)

Outside view of the staircase windows (mentally added in my dream house "to do" list).



People pay money to take these things home with them. Really?


View from the Bay Bridge, on the way to eat at the crab shack.

The Trip for Ginger's Wedding in Review

Flying: D-
I seriously had the most hellish trip getting from Philadelphia to Houston. The only reason flying didn't flunk entirely was that my trip home was uneventful (albeit a little tight, as I was in a window seat with two rather large people next to me, and they encroached on my seat space a bit). Getting to Houston involved being bumped off a flight, melting down at the ticket counter (at which some nice lady took pity on me and gave me her seat and some kleenex), hanging out on the runway for an hour, running low on fuel and having to stop in Shreveport, having mechanical problems in Shreveport and waiting there for two hours, and finally landing in Houston approximately 4 hours late. And then my taxi got a flat tire on the way to the hotel, which technically doesn't count as flying, but was a fitting end to the journey, I think.

Clothing: B
Mercifully after that trip everything in my luggage arrived on schedule, with nothing spilled or damaged (including my dress for the wedding, which I was stupid enough to pack in my checked luggage, but it all worked out). Unfortunately, the red dress for which I spent a great deal of time hunting in the spring ended up being a wee bit snug in the um, bosom area, so I was not the most comfortable person on Saturday night. I got a few compliments though, so apparently I was the only one aware of the squeeze situation.

Food: A+
I ate so well - favorites included my fish (trout with almonds) at the rehearsal dinner, Dos Salsas in G-town, and of course some good old-fashioned BBQ at Rudy's. I think the wedding food was pretty good too, but I wasn't all that hungry due to adrenaline and such. And the dress, as mentioned above, did not really lend itself to comfortable eating.

Book, Devil in the White City: A
Now I really, really want to visit Chicago. And am very glad I wasn't born in like 1880 or anything. If you like history/architecture/murder psychology, this is a good book for you too!

Amtrak Station at BWI: F
Seriously, BOTH of the elevators are out of service? Both? What the heck am I supposed to do with this giant suitcase and a freakin' sewing machine in a box, huh? Better yet, what do people in wheelchairs do?

People to whom I would send thank you letters if I knew their names and/or addresses:
Nice lady at the PHL airport
Two guys at BWI that helped me lug suitcases up and down the train station stairs
Taxi driver who continued all the way to the hotel on a flat tire
The people who invented champagne

Happy Marriage, Ginger and James!

So cool

This couple (along with their two sons) dropped by my work today. Check out the website, and then try to make me believe that you aren't the littlest bit jealous.

I am too. And planning a road trip :).

Here comes Peter Cotton tail...

Oh, internet...where did a whole month go? More than that even. I have been one busy girl, if I do say so myself. So what happened?

Well, first, Barbara got married to this great guy named Zach. And I flew back and got to hang with everyone. And it turns out, there are a lot of you that read my blog, and I had no freakin' clue. So now I feel like such a slacker, and since the wedding was May 5 and that's where I heard all about you blog-readers, you would think that I would have updated more. But that's where you're wrong...

Because I came back to a new position at my job! It's only a seasonal promotion, but it comes with an office, with a door that I can close, should I choose to do so (although I haven't yet). I have to give the office back in October, but it's good experience for me, and lets me use my brain in all sorts of new and interesting ways. But leaves sadly little time for internet perusal and/or blog writing.

Last weekend I went to West Virginia, home of...John Denver? Was he from there? I mean, I know "Country Roads" references it, but it just could have been that he liked it there. We had a very historical afternoon at Harper's Ferry, and then drove through a town with the world's best diner-like/hometown fastfood place (they had FUNNEL CAKES, people. And FRIED CAULIFLOWER. I cannot begin to tell you how delicious fried cauliflower is...I don't think I'm going to be able to go back to it healthy-style). If you ever find yourself in Fairmont, West Virginia, give me a call and I will totally hook you up.

So after the grease-binge, we drove on to a state park that also had a nice lodge to stay in (they called it a resort, which sounds fancier and snottier than it was, though it was really very lovely). It was right next to a lake, where we kayaked. That's right, I, Rachel, paddled a kayak around a lake. And LOVED it. Wasn't even sore the next day, which I think is totally a fluke thing. I felt like such an Amazon though...I mean, KAYAKING. Me! We also spent a ridiculous amount of time at Wal-Marts (yep, plural) because we first needed snacks, and also I forgot pajamas. At the first Wal-Mart stop, Kandi found $1 sequin tube tops for each of us (there were exactly 4 left! Providential!), which will perhaps be making an appearances at an upcoming 80's concert, assuming I'm feeling brave :).

My most recent adventure today involved a last minute decision to stop into the so-named "Oriental Grocery Store" that is across the street from my house. I have all these fresh herbs, because I had this romantic idea that I could grow them in my window box, and holy cow, I can, but whoa are there now a lot of herbs and I really haven't had a great deal of time to cook with them. So I decided to make spring rolls, and what better place to buy the wrappers and noodles than the local asian dive grocery store? The best part though was the 10 minutes I spent gawking in the frozen section. Have you ever seen an entire frozen eel curled up in ziploc baggy? I have! Also, whole frogs, crates of fishes with scales and eyes still there, and random bags of stuff labeled (helpfully) as "seafood." It was the most fantastic and horrifying thing I have seen in a while.

Well, I do believe that is enough rabbit chasing for the night. I'll be back soon...er than last time, anway.

Come ON, People

Right before I left on my cruise, my aunt asked me if I had a passport. Of course, I replied. I have studied abroad. I would like to be prepared in the event that I A) need to leave the country in a hurry, or B) find some incredible, last minute travel deal that is too good to pass up. Neither of which have occurred as of yet, but one never knows.

Apparently with all of the DHS and TSA and other annoying acronym-using agencies trying to weed out the terrorists, they are cracking on people coming in from Mexico and Canada who, until yesterday, could come in with their birth certificates. And these are only the people who are flying - everyone coming by car or bus or boat (presuming they are coming legally, of course) can still use their birth certificate or driver's license. All the experts are worried about the impact it will have on tourism, because passports are apparently prohibitively expensive (mine was $60 a couple of years ago...and in light of all the 13 year olds I see with iPods, I somehow find the expense argument a little hard to swallow).

So all of this is mostly to say: SUCK IT UP AND GET A PASSPORT. I find it disgraceful that so few Americans have them (around 20%, based on the range of statistics I could find). Get off your lazy asses and pretend that you have some interest in other cultures. Or at least in cultures that allow you to have a fruity drink with an umbrella (and just so you know, if you add an "o" to the English word, i.e. a "seabreeze-o", that's not Spanish). It's much better to actually interact with people from other places, but honestly, if you will even make it to another country, even one that is so white-washed you might as well be in Disneyworld, I'll take it. You have to start somewhere, right?

Oh, little blog, I have been woefully neglectful of you. Often (well, every now and then) I think, "I should write about this in my blog" but then that thought is always followed by another, "Meh. I don't feel like it." And here we are, the entire month of December passed by with nary an entry.

I mean, stuff DID happen in December. I went on a cruise, which was pretty cool. And no, I did not get a tan because some things are just against the laws of nature. I did buy some fun things, and ate a lot, and was so relaxed by the end that my whole body felt like one giant noodle. I also went to my parents' for Christmas, which was great, albeit crowded. I ate a lot (again) and did some crazy power yoga with my mom and Sarah (and Holly and anyone else the yoga-crazies could rope into it). And when it was time to come back to DC, I was feeling a little mopey at having to leave my family and sad because they live so far away...but then I got back and was driving down Rock Creek Parkway (best drive in DC) and it opens up onto the Potomac River right next to the Kennedy Center, and I thought it was also nice to be home here too. So recent stats: heart is 2/3 in Texas, 1/3 still in Virginia. I'm such a dork. If only I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up - that might make future planning REMARKABLY easier.

So anyway, Happy New Year to you all. Hope you smooched someone fantastic, or had some champagne, or at the very least played dominos and drank red wine with your family like I did. It was a rockin' good time (with no sarcasm at all! Really!).

To Do List

My friend Anne has inspired me: she has a goal to see all 50 U.S. states by the time she's 30. Really I don't care about an age deadline, but it would cool to check them all off. As of now, I have 21 to go:

1. Nevada
2. Oregon
3. Arizona
4. Massachusetts
5. Connecticut
6. New Hampshire
7. Vermont
8. Maine
9. Rhode Island
10. Kentucky
11. Ohio
12. Indiana
13. Illinois
14. Michigan
15. Wisconsin
16. Minnesota
17. Iowa
18. South Dakota
19. North Dakota
20. Alaska
21. Hawaii

Now, I don't define having been to a state too narrowly, except that a layover in an airport does not count. Driving through a state, however, does count. Not that that will help me much with Hawaii.

What are your random goals?

My life is spinning wildly out of control

I just realized that I'm going to be out of town for the third weekend in a row, and the thought made me want to break down and cry at my desk from despair. I doesn't help that I'm running on about 5 hours of sleep, because there's this long story about my flight being delayed from Seattle and having to spend the night in St. Louis with no luggage, and then to have my luggage arrive at 4 am this morning (via a courier who called my cell phone in the freakin' middle of the night to let me know he was downstairs), and then I couldn't really go back to sleep, and I have really bad sinus headache. And a lot of my stuff is still in boxes and our bathroom smells really funky and there's just NO TIME to deal with it all.

But then I realized that I don't have to work on Monday, and that thought made me so happy I considered tap dancing on my desk.

I'm feeling the strain of the emotional roller coaster - as I haven't felt it since, oh, we'll guess the age of 14.

When I was mentally composing this post, I had three things I wanted to talk about. But now I can only remember two. I think this is very indicative of my long travel day yesterday.

Speaking of which, there was this guy on the second leg of my flight. And it was a little windy and bumpy during the flight, especially at take-off and landing times. Poor guy was not taking it well. He started stream-of-consciousness talking to me, the total stranger to his right to whom he had not introduced himself, about all sorts of stuff. Particularly his anti-anxiety medication that he forgot to take. The bumpiness made me feel a bit queasy, so I didn't mind the conversation (if you could call it that, monologue with interjected "oh's" and "rights" from me is really more appropriate) because it took my mind off my own troubles. But let me tell you, it's a good thing I don't have any flying-related phobias, because on the way down he chose to cope by telling me flying horror stories. The one where the plane crashed in Charlotte because of a sudden wind gust when it was taking off (he wasn't on that plane, but lives in Charlotte). The one where the plane had to take off at the foot of a mountain in St. Martin's and was flying up at an 80 degree angle (he was on that plane). The one where the plane hit a huge air pocket over the Pacific Ocean and dropped 1800 feet, sending those not buckled in knocking into the roof (that one too). So understandably he was a little paranoid about flying, but I don't really see how recounting scary plane times helped. If we had a big lurch he would have to pause (while white-knuckling the tray table) to regain his composure. I guess I just find the whole story interesting because I didn't talk at all, he just talked to me, and I can't decide if it's something nice, like I have a sympathetic face, or less nice and I was the body that happened to be next to him.

Also, on an unrelated note, does anyone have any good book recommendations? Now, when I mean good, I do not mean anything written by this or this person, for instance. It is important that we delineate between "entertaining" and "good." The last really good novel I read (that I can remember, anyway) was The Kite Runner. I've also read some good memoirs, Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Bookseller of Kabul, so a memoir would work too. My brain has been feeling a bit like mush lately, and I'm not okay with that. Any thoughts are much appreciated. Gracias, merci, and thanks y'all.

I'm not really sure what happened...10 days with no blogging have just gone by really quickly I guess.

I went back to Texas. And there was a hurricane. Much drama - grandmother had to be evacuated from Beaumont (by the Air National Guard!), friend was trapped in Houston, other friends couldn't make it up for the planned Saturday night fun. It was crazy. But fun too, and incredibly hot. And that's not Paris Hilton "hot", it's 102-for-a-high-in-September-breaking-all-former-records-hot. It's almost unbelievable that I'm back up here and our low last night was in the 40's. One nice thing about the east coast: fall is an actual season as opposed to a couple of days in October.

I also went to the Coldplay concert, which was GREAT. I love seeing bands I like perform live, there's really nothing like it. And I got to feel like a benefactor: we had an extra ticket because Ginger (as formerly mentioned) was trapped in Houston, so at the last minute we thought to invite my twenty year old cousin. Turns out she is a huge fan and literally went into a girl screaming fit of excitement after I called her, prompting the girls in her tiny college dorm to ask "Is someone engaged!?" Oh but no, way cooler than that (at least when you're 20!) - Coldplay tickets!

I think that's it. I'm so glad it's Friday and the weather is gorgeous. I just might be a good citizen of our nation's capital and hit a museum or two this Saturday. I'll keep you posted...

Hello everyone! Sorry for the hiatus, wasn't exactly into the idea of being on the internet all that much. I was on vacation, after all...not that I didn't check my email at least once a day, because I am attached to it as though it is my invisible umbilical cord to the outside world.

I had SUCH a good time, got to do everything on my list and lots more. Movies in my hometown theatre are a whopping $4.50 for the matinees, so I saw two. I also ate lots and lots of Mexican food, and some barbecue; it all comes back to food for me.

There's more, I'm sure, but my brain is a bit fried. I drove 20 hours to get back to DC, so I could have a car here. Oh the glories of a car in this formerly inaccessible city! It cut my commute in half, and that alone was worth the twenty hours. But I saw some interesting things along the way:

License plates are quite varied. I saw one with a dancing crawdad in the middle, and I thought it was from Mississippi but then I couldn't find it on their website. A dancing crawdad license plate might make living in Mississippi worthwhile. Maybe the plate is from Louisiana - that might be more appropriate, but it was impossible to find anything on their website (which is also quite appropriate). Kentucky, however, had one that looks as though it should be painted on velvet.

Somewhere in southwest Virginia, there is a person or company building houses that look just like Lincoln Logs structures. Each log had to be at least two feet wide (in diameter, for you math nerds out there) and the houses even had the same little green roofs. There's no explaining taste sometimes, I suppose.

The Blue Ridge mountains are bee-yoo-ti-ful. I would totally have taken the scenic route had I not been roughly 16 hours into the trip.

Near Luray Caverns, they have "ENDLESS CAVERN" written a la the "Hollywood" sign on the side of a mountain. Seriously...illusions of grandeur much? I mean, I'm sure they're great but no one thinks you came up with that ad idea on your own.

Mostly the drive was uneventful. And it was quite enjoyable. Not that I'm looking to do it again any time soon, but all things considered I definitely had a good time. Now I just need to get lots of sleep to recover!

I'm comin' home!

Look out, Texas, because I will be there at approximately 7:41 pm. For my week and some-odd days at home I would like taste/experience/participate in the following (in no particular order):

Cheap movies
Mexican food
Happy Hour in Austin
Barbecue
Sonic fountain drinks
Chat with Brianna
Hang with my extended family
Drive a car
Catch up with Sarah

Give Eb hugs

And then I ask all of you to think of me on Monday and Tuesday (the 25 & 26 of July) as I will be driving a 1999 Saturn across the country. Yay for a car in Virginia! Someone really ought to warn Target. And Trader Joe's. For those of you in DC: will miss you, have a fun week, try not to cry yourselves to sleep every night from missing me; for those in Texas: can't wait to see y'all!

Things are nutty these days at the National Mall, aka the big green lawn that spans from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. There are hordes of tourists, although Sunday afternoon wasn't all that bad...maybe by that point the tourists that were in for the weekend were already starting to head home.

I went to the National Gallery to see the Toulouse-Latrec at Montmontre exhibit. Now, I know that sounds awfully arty of me, but then keep in mind that I've been meaning to see this exhibit since April and I just went on the very last possible day. And it was crowded, not surprisingly. I didn't really get all that annoyed, because I had mentally prepared myself for lots of people...not without some self-criticism ("this is why I shouldn't put things off!!"). One thing that was unexpected: I miss Paris. A lot.

In looking at all of the great lithographs and paintings of people and Montmartre, a wave of homesickness for a city I only lived in for a few months just tackled me, right in the middle of the museum. I miss Paris and its winding, tiny streets with patisseries and crepe stands; and artists standing around and drawing people and buildings; and sidewalk cafes with good strong French coffee; and speaking French and knowing my way around the world's best Metro system; and the beautiful bridges that span the Seine; and the incredible art galleries, especially the little ones that none of the tourists visit; and oh la...I miss Paris.

I realize this might sound a bit snotty, as if I'm writing about Paris like people name shampoo products with French sounding names to make them seem fancier. But French culture and living and people and food and just everything really got under my skin over a long period of time, not just when I was living there. And I don't think I really realized to what extent this had occurred (or maybe I just remembered again...) until this afternoon.

So, Paris in October, anyone?

My weekend in the Big Apple*

*Some alternate title ideas included:
"Babysitting for Friends: the Real Birth Control"
"Screaming Children and Bus Trips: Oh the Horror"

So as you can see from the above, my weekend was in many ways defined by the children I was around. My best friend from high school has a one-year old (which still completely weirds me out) and we spent a lot of time watching him while she went to rehearsals, performances, etc. Her son, whose real name is Tymin but I like to shorten to Ty, is really, really well behaved and good natured. Even still, just watching him for a few hours pretty much wore me out. New York is not exactly friendly to kids in strollers. Especially kids who are just starting to be mobile and would really much rather be crawling around on the ground, even if that ground is a filthy NY sidewalk. And the mama, she just seems tired all the time. Much as I do eventually want to have children some day, the fact that that day seems very far away at this moment is more than okay with me.

I tell Misty (the mama) all the time that I still cannot believe she has a child. Maybe it's because I was always the one doing the babysitting to earn extra money, while she never even changed a diaper until it was her son's. Or maybe it's just that this girl that I used to have sleepovers with and lot of silly, stupid fun could really be doing so very, very differently with her life than mine. I have another friend from high school that has a baby, but she's the type that was always meant to have one by the ripe old age of 24 (at least in my head) so it's less weird. I should say though that watching Misty with her child is (for lack of a better word) beautiful. She loves the mess out of that kid. And of all of the things that I worry about that kids need, and the awesome responsibility that those needs entail, I feel at least she's got the most important part of it down.

Oh, and as for the bus: on my four hour bus ride home, there was this horrid three-year old who threw SHRIEKING fits roughly every 30 minutes. And then did I long for my sweet but mobile one-year old...