Quotes from My Cousin's Kids: 2012 Edition

"We're getting a lot of wind out here. I bet this lake gets good reviews for its breezes." B, Age 6

"So... Can I pick a booger out of your nose?" B, Age 3

Surprise!

So guess what I signed up for in 2010?

Apparently, Adulthood doesn't start at 32 either

Was going to write some sort of deep thought about not being an adult, but then came home from random bar hopping with a friend and decided to finish cooking the previously abandoned rice I started at 10pm. Do with this information what you will. I've been out way too far past my bedtime to contemplate any sort of analysis.

Fandom

Actual conversations that happened at my going away happy hour. For context, I had stated my intention that despite moving to Texas, I would root* for the Phillies in honor of all my Philly friends. For reference, both of these guys have long-term girlfriends.


G (Phillies fan): I wish we were dating so I could propose to you RIGHT NOW.

(5 minutes later)

M (Mets fan): I wish we were dating so I could break up with you right now, on principle.
F (Phillies fan): Yeah, we actually hate the Mets.
Me: Okay, duly noted. I have so much to learn!


*And of course, by root, I mean that I will hope they win if I notice a game is on or something...I'm not going to start memorizing stats or you know, paying attention or anything :).

Goodbye, blog drought

Hello motivation to post? I wouldn't get your hopes up, but I will give it a shot.

So, what has happened in the six months? A lot. Also not so much. Not yet, anyway.

By a lot, I meant that plenty has in fact happened: dear friends had deliciously chubby babies, moved to cool places, and did fun things. I have done many of the fun things with them. And then by not so much, I mean that my life hasn't changed all that much - same job, same town, etc. However, all of that is about to change. After years of talking about how I would eventually end up back in Texas, I have taken the plunge (in the form of a new job in Dallas) and am actually moving back in a week. It's still totally surreal, but it has been official for over a month now, and it is really happening.

At this point I am in mostly disbelief that it's actually happening. I mean, I know that I'm changing my addresses and packing boxes to mail to my parents' place and those sorts of things, but the full impact definitely hasn't hit me, and I don't think it really will hit me until I'm driving out of Arlington for the last time. I'm super sad to leave this place - my friends are great, but honestly I'm not mourning them just yet, because I have no doubt I'll see all of them again. And as often as possible. Right now, I'm mourning my favorite haunts and dives...tiny restaurants where I don't have to look at the menu, yellow leaves in the fall, the crab deck in Kent Narrows, skyline drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains...it's a very long list. Because I can come back and do those things, but it won't be the same, because I won't be HERE anymore - it won't ever be a quick jaunt in the middle of a normal week, it will now be a special thing I'm doing in the middle of an unusual trip. Even good changes are crappy ones in some ways, and I'm so feeling it right now.

Also, you should stay tuned for the "I'm so sad why on earth did I move away from so many people that I love" post which will probably happen around October 1, when I have gotten into full swing of missing people. I'm not looking forward to that at all, although I have no doubt it's coming. The catch-22 is that the longer I stay, the harder it will be to go. And I need to go.

So here we go - maybe the revitalization of the blog is just the thing for the next chapter in Texas, where I will still be an ex-pat, just from my Virginia life. I have a feeling that my plane ticket expenditures aren't going to be decreasing any time soon...

Why I love Dinner Party Download

Brendan : “Yes, I hate cupcakes. I make no secret about it. I think our desire for them is this return to being children, but more than ever we really need to act like adults in this country. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the mortgage bubble paralleled the cupcake bubble.”
Rico: “You know, I thought they were just tiny cakes with frosting.”
Brendan: “Tiny frosted evil, Rico.”

Don't agree on the cupcake sentiment, but the wit is killer.

Link here.

Disney, a photo recap

I came home with:

-half a handle of rum ("but why is all the rum gone?!")

-Mickey ears...

...with my name on the back

-a Peter Pan mug that I love

-Harry Potter postcards, stamped with "Hogsmeade"

-a Mickey t-shirt

-an overpriced poncho

-Lots of good memories

Dear Rachel

What a great idea!

Dear 20-year old Rachel,

So hey, yeah, college is awesome, right? And London? That was a great decision. Way to not stress about everything that was swarming around you back in Texas, and good job on going to all those theater shows with your grocery money. It was totally worth it.

Maybe try to pay a little more attention to things in general though. I mean, you're crazy smart and good at school, but...how do I say this nicely...you're really lazy about it sometimes. Your college is full of amazing people and events and guest speakers, and you should really, really take more advantage of that. Also, it's not such a bad thing to get passionate about a cause, or take sides on things. I know conflict makes you a bit uncomfortable, but some things are definitely worth having an opinion on, even if it makes you and some other people a bit uneasy. You are a procratinator by nature, but you will save yourself SO MUCH STRESS if you would just start on those papers (and especially that senior thesis project) just a little sooner than you'd like to.

And those girls you're hanging out with? For the most part, they are some of the best friends you will ever have. You should thank your lucky stars that 18-year old you got assigned to that particular freshman hall. The sorority thing is probably not all it seems cracked up to be, alas. I mean, those girls are awesome too, but let's be honest - your heart really isn't into it, is it? I'm not saying you should drop out or anything, but think about what else you could be doing with that $75 a month.

Speaking of money, way to not have a credit card yet, that is a good move. Although, seriously: you have no concept of managing money in any kind of real way. That's going to suck in a few years when you do get a credit card, and aren't as good as you should be about paying off the balance. I know stuff happens and you DO really like shopping a lot (and you don't get expensive stuff), but you're going to be paying on those student loans and things for a really long time, and if you go ahead and skip all the credit card debt, you're going to be a much happier person for it.

Also, maybe you should think about taking some ballet classes again. I know you thought you were done with that after high school, but if you really think about it, you don't like working out at all besides dancing. So while you're in great shape now (seriously, even your stomach), it will be really good for your muscles and such in the long-term to just go ahead and keep up with that.

Your twenties are pretty much going to be great, so don't forget to enjoy them. 30-year old you would definitely do it all over again, which is certainly not something you would agree to now if you were asked to relive 10-20 or so. Mostly just the junior high and high school part though, right? Anywho, you're going to get to see and do a lot of amazing stuff, and while you will occasionally wonder if things would have turned out differently if you had made different decisions, I think we both can agree everything is going to go (went) exactly as it should have.

Best,

30-year old Rachel

Where's MY super helpful report?

All these articles, one after another, talking about how good chocolate is for you. Blah blah blah. Where's the story that justifies MY junk food habits huh? I'm not even into chocolate. Where's the study about all things cheese flavored actually being good for your pancreas or similar?*

*Although all of the pro-coffee and wine ones have been a good start. Thanks for that.

Side Effects

We've been sitting around and doing very little since last Friday afternoon, with small spurts of activity here and there.* While you might think this is quite a nice way to spend your time, there are unintended consequences, I've discovered. For instance, any activity whatsoever is really taxing, like "I could use a nap now" taxing. I just matched together three days worth of clothing to wear on our upcoming weekend getaway to New York, and am now utterly exhausted. And the two hours of snow shoveling earlier certainly didn't help either. I wonder if we're going to have to work our way to full days of doing every day things without totally wearing ourselves out.


*For posterity's sake: we had about 3 feet of snow dumped on us over the last 6 days. It was great, and then it was not so great.

Indulge me for a moment, if you don't mind

I'm super sad about the earthquake in Haiti. I've haven't said much about it via Twitter or whatever, largely because I don't know what to write that doesn't sound trite. Haiti has captured my imagination for years - I wrote my senior thesis on it, I sponsor a Compassion kid there...I might also stalk Creole interpreters for information when I have Haitian projects. I've never been, but that's not for lack of desire, it's just never been a place I could visit without a reasonable expectation of being kidnapped.

I'm also going to vent here for a minute:

Pat Robertson, you are a moron. What the hell 'pact with the devil' are you referring to, exactly? I will give you a freakin' earful about why Haiti has had such a hard time of things following the revolution, and a great big chunk of that fault lies with U.S. foreign policy. There are so many problems with this story that I can't even begin to address, but I'm angry. And you sir, should shut up.

News people: stop saying the 'island of Haiti.' Haiti is only a third of the island, the rest is the Dominican Republic. Why aren't we hearing anything about the DR? Surely there were some affected regions there, yes?

The whole thing is so tragic - as if Haiti weren't already one of the saddest places on earth. And yet, everyone I've met from there has been hopeful and well-educated and just wonderful. I hope they're all okay.

While watching a very odd Shakespeare production, something triggered this from deep in the recesses of my brain:

"Love goes toward love as school boys from their books; but love from love toward school with heavy looks."

Thanks, Mrs. Ballard. You were an awesome freshman English teacher.

It's a sign

Last night, just as I was in the midst of pleasant sleeping around midnight, I heard a horrible squeal of brakes and sounds of metal crunching. A lot of metal crunching. Right outside my open window. Car alarms went off, lights went on, doors started opening...I fumbled around for my as yet unpacked glasses and headed to the window. Apparently someone* crashed into about 6 PARKED cars in front of our house. It was a total mess - cars were turned sideways and all smooshed into each other in the parking spaces, people were freaking out and calling the police...pretty much what you'd imagine. I had some trouble falling back to sleep what with the many flashing lights from cop cars and later, the spotlight from a fire truck so they could assess the damage.

Today, it struck me as a smidge funny that all those very nice cars (the closest one to my window was a newish Audi) got whacked while my crappy old Saturn, which I would happily have lost in the wreckage for a newer model, was entirely spared. I'm taking it as a sign from God that it's going to be around for a while longer.

*Okay, probably a drunk driver, but who gets wasted on a Monday night? I'm choosing to believe (for now) that it was someone who had an as yet unknown medical issue and was uninjured in the whole incident.

Breaking through my update drought...

to tell you that Anne and Mike are getting married tomorrow!

What to wear was a challenge, so I went with a black dress (gasp! so not etiquette appropriate, and I so don't care), funky tights, and, if I do say so myself, awesome gray shoes. Perhaps photos to follow should I get motivated enough.

This marks a return to attending weddings in actual Virginia proper...such a novelty to be able to drive to this one (or ride along in people's cars, as the case may be).

And then my favorite German ever is coming to DC in just a few short days. Can't wait for the weekend to begin!

Yo yo yo

**Spoiler Alert! Photos of U2 concert included! If you want to remain surprised for your own show, look away!**

I went to the U2 concert last night. It rocked, as it should, given that they are the awesomest of Rock Stars.

Today, I am totally wiped out. And we're going to the Regina Spektor concert tonight (hellooooo coffee). Rather than attempt an explanation (I always sound like a swooning 13-year old in those despite my best efforts), I'm just going to post some pictures.

The Monster of a Set, in between the Muse and U2 sets.

From Drop Box

Our crew: Jean, Gina, Heather (hidden), and Sarah

From Drop Box

Smoke machines! Here we go...

From Drop Box

Yep, that's Bono in the spotlight and on the big screen.

From Drop Box

The screen is growing! Holy crap!

From Drop Box

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" (green in dedication to people of Iran)

From Drop Box

And then the lights and the music went nuts and we were overwhelmed by the AWESOMENESS that is (always) a U2 concert. Kick ass.

From Drop Box

The End.

My twenties, in summation

Graduated from college
Got a Master's degree
Went to London for a semester
Went to Paris for a summer
Went to Paris for a semester
Went to Bath for a summer
Got my first real job
Moved to Washington, DC
Visited Edinburgh, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Los Angeles, Monaco, New York, Lyons, Grenoble, Annecy, Valence, Cardiff, Dublin, Belfast, Berlin, Seattle, Las Vegas, Boston, Charleston and many, many others
Lived with Ebony for 3 years
Lived with Gina for 4 years
Drove a car from Texas to Virginia all by myself
Learned to drive in the snow (sort of)
Chopped off my long hair
Went to wedding after wedding in Texas
Was a bridesmaid twice (both times in red!)
Became an honorary aunt
Lived in at least 14 different houses/apartments (I shudder to think how many moves that was)
Learned to really speak French
Got my first credit card
Got my first loan
Signed my first lease
Taught myself to knit and crochet
Taught myself to cook (things other than cookies and pies and lemon squares, anyway)
Decided I like olives after all (the fancy ones, anyway)
Found a church and community to belong to without my family's help
Started a blog
Attended a Presidential inauguration
Met people representing approximately 70 countries

All in all, the 20's were great. Here's to the 30's: may they be just as wonderful!

Now THAT was a good weekend

This weekend was rather unusual in that I was both super productive and still felt like I got of good relaxing time. Things I did/enjoyed included:

• Goodwill shopping hunt for a headboard (fail), but found three very nice clothing pieces instead. DC has great Goodwill shopping - apparently there are lots of rich people who like to donate unworn expensive clothing. Meanwhile, $5 silk J. Crew skirt for me!
• Cleaned like there was no tomorrow - my room is almost uncluttered from all those little things that I can't quite figure out where they belong yet.
• Made a framed art thingy to go over my bed. Originally was going to buy a print or something like that, but decided to try and figure out something with stuff I already had. Am pretty pleased with the result. Some of the postcards have fun stories (bought the two German ones at a museum in Bonn, Ebony sent me the New York one right before she started grad school) and others are less interesting (bought a set at the Barnes and Noble in Falls Church), but at any rate a few of them will be inspirational as places I need to get to.
• Finally scraped the cracked and ugly college stickers off my car. Southwestern was missing like 4 letters, the longhorns were looking very sad...it was time.
• Went on a 5.6 mile hike (according to the guide book) with Kandi out at Thornton Gap on Skyline drive. Today pretty much every part of my body is a little achy, but well worth it.

I also managed to get in many a viewing of Supernanny, as the Style channel was running a marathon, and I do get sucked into that show despite my childlessness. It's so cathartic.

So Happy Labor Day to you! Hope yours was also lovely and all things you wanted it to be.

Stay tuned!

House photos coming soon...still a decorating work in progress, but it will be clean since we're having some people over this weekend :). Promise they'll be up soon!

The Facebook Song

Also, funniest thing ever (totally NSFW or not for those that have issues with the f word...):


(via Mighty Girl)

Another cheesy survey thing

Although I think this one is at least a bit clever:

Using only song titles from ONE BAND/ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title.

My Life According to U2 and Coldplay (I couldn't pick!). A caveat: this is likely to interest you only if you know these songs, if at all. My apologies in advance :).

Are you a male or female: Sweetest Thing/Trouble
Describe yourself: Mysterious Ways/Green Eyes
How do you feel: Vertigo/God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
Describe where you currently live: City of Blinding Lights/In My Place
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Where the Streets Have No Name (duh)/Cemeteries of London
Your favorite form of transportation: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?/High Speed
Your best friend(s): Magnificent/We Never Change
You and your best friends: I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight/See You Soon
What's the weather like: Window in the Skies/Shiver
Favorite time of day: Staring at the Sun/Daylight
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For/Life in Technicolor
What life is to you: One Step Closer/Strawberry Swing
Your fear: Numb/Lost!
What is the best advice you have to give: Grace/Talk
Thought for the Day: Love and Peace or Else/Everything's Not Lost
How I would like to die: Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World/Swallowed in the Sea
My soul's present condition: Love Rescue Me/Reign of Love
My motto: Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own/What If