Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

...but the fire is so delightful. And since we've no place to go...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We got a good bit of snow this past Saturday...it definitely was coming down hard. It still hasn't melted completely! I met a few people for brunch on Saturday morning, so I decided to take the metro since it was downtown. It takes me 15 minutes, give or take a few, to walk from the house to the metro station...I was all prepared in some good shoes, warm coat, scarf, gloves- I was good to go! Or so I thought...I was debating whether to take an umbrella or not. I'm thinking, "I'll be fine, I can just dust off the snow once I get there." Yeah...no. These snowflakes were GY-NORMOUS and melted the second they touched my head. I got to the restaurant with my head sopping wet. The best part? I went to dry off in the restroom looking for paper towels, hand dryer, something. They had a hand dryer, alright...only it's some new, advanced kind where only your hands will fit in it. Could not catch a break! I tried dangling some strands of hair in it, realized how ridiculous I looked, and left after drying 3 strands of hair. But, hey, lesson learned!

I think I've had some bad luck this week- all related to the weather in some way. Not a good sign seeing as it's only the beginning of December! I left the house yesterday morning to go to work...it was about 6:40am. I've seen Home Alone too many times to not be aware of ice on front walkways and stairs. I examined the 5 stairs leading down to the driveway...staring down the ice. I grabbed both rails with each hand, taking one step at a time. First step...I could feel how slick it was. My foot slid around a little bit, but I was fine...I had the rail. Second step...disaster. I started with my left foot to follow my first step....slid right out from underneath me. It barely even touched the ice! Fortunately, I managed a very ungraceful half-save. Somehow, I managed to hit the back of my hand extremely hard against the railing and came about 1 millimeter from banging my shin into the stairs. By that time, I "made it" to the bottom of the stairs and walked it off to my car...thankful that I'm the only one leaving at that hour. I still don't understand HOW I fell...I saw the ice, I was prepared. I'm ready for a rematch...me vs. ice.

THIS morning, another incident while leaving for work. The ice had melted off the stairs (thankfully, because I wasn't ready for my rematch yet). I made it to my car safely, BUT apparently Suze (my car), wasn't liking the cold weather either. Yep...her battery was dead. LUCKILY, my only other roommate that has a car was awake and she gave me a ride to work. When I got home today, she jumped it for me and I rode it around for about 20 minutes. I have a funny feeling Suze is gonna throw another tantrum tomorrow...just a feeling. We'll see what happens! I heard the weatherman calling for rain!

I'm so excited about going home for Christmas! I wish it could be longer than a few days. It's so hard to believe that Christmas is here already! BUT, it's my favorite time of year so I'm happy. Enjoy the rest of your ice-free weeks!

R is for Radon

I just made my first student loan payment today. I owe $100 every month until I'm 32...sad....day. Well, with the rate time is flying by now, I'll be 32 in the morning because I swear I was 12 yesterday.

I haven't blogged in almost a month and I don't know whether to update you from where I left off or start with the present. Hmm...I guess since I already told you about my giant shove into adulthood today, I'll go from there...

The weather was incredible here yesterday! It felt like Spring outside...definitely not mid-November. Dara, Sarah, and I decided to walk to the park to do some reading. Apparently, there's a park in our neighborhood that I had no clue about. Something good to know! Anyway, we found some bleachers by a baseball field to sit on (the ground was too wet). Both Dara and Sarah ended up on the phone, wandering in the outfield. So I donned my iPod and started listening to a little Michael Buble in the sunshine. I spent about 20 minutes watching a boy and his dad playing baseball...then another kid and father came to play with them and I spent another 20 minutes trying to figure out if this kid was a girl or a boy. Ultimately deciding it was a girl..because no parent would let their son have a bob haircut. The flat-billed Yankee hat (with the sticker on the bill) and the basketball shorts and shoes were throwing me off.

Saturday night, we had our first house party. It was a great success! Our house is actually great for parties...lots of open space, seating, a deck. We even made one of the rooms into a dance floor with a blacklight! Oh yes, we do it big. In honor of 4 of my housemates doing research (being scientists)...we had a themed party. It was an Element Party. You are probably thinking, "what is that?" I was right there with you, but it wasn't as nerdy as it sounds. Maybe a little, though. Everyone dressed up as a different element from the periodic table. I.........was Radon. I dressed all in black and had a flashing red light as a Radon Detector. We had a few Neons and Californiums, a Manganese, Florine, Potassium, Aluminum, etc. It was a lot of fun!.....don't judge me.

Last weekend, I went on a retreat with some women from the church I've been going to. We went to Ocean City, MD...google it...ah-mazing!. It was very laid back and low key...no schedule. There were 12 of us crammed into a 3-bedroom condo...talk about get-to-know-you time! I shared a bed with 2 girls I just met. One big weekend of bonding! Everyone took turns making a meal for everyone else...Sarah and I made tacos for lunch that Sunday. Can't go wrong with tacos! But other than eating, we watched some movies, walked on the beach, and had some great discussions. I believe I ate my weight in chocolate that weekend...that's what happens when you get too many girls together!

I'm gonna try harder to keep my updates more regular...I did so well at the beginning! That way I can give you more deets (details) about things.

Love and miss you guys!

Free Cocktails and a New Church

Oh my goodness, how have I let it go this long without an update?? Well, I have lots to tell!

Work is still going very well...I ALMOST got to give a lecture at an NIH Health and Wellness Symposium last week. Unfortunately, due to the cold, nasty weather it got cancelled (yes, it was supposed to be outside). My talk was on "Pain and Injury Prevention with Aging." The symposium got rescheduled to the spring, so I'll be doing it then! Honestly, I was a little relieved when it got cancelled because they sprang it on me at the last minute...but, still pretty excited about the opportunity! Also, I've been talking with this guy that instructs boot camps at NIH and possibly might start teaching those!! All kinds of opportunities popping up!

Kelsie, Bekah, and Lolli came to visit about a week and a half ago...I was so happy to see them! We packed about as much as anyone can in the few days they were here! A few highlights: we went to a fancy sushi restaurant and ended up getting a free round of drinks and edamame, because they forgot to bring our appetizer! Our check went from $100 to $50!!! Um, you can forget my edamame anytime.

We also made a spur of the moment decision to go to New York for a day. It's about 4 hours from DC, so we took advantage of it. We drove to stay with Lolli's relatives in New Jersey on Sunday night, and took a train into Manhattan Monday morning. This is what we did in the 6 hours we were there: arrived at Penn Station, walked to Times Square, ate lunch at the Roxy in Times Square, took a subway to Chinatown, shopped/walked down Canal St. (I got an awesomely fake Burberry scarf for $5), walked halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge, walked to Ground Zero, took a subway up to Chelsea/Meatpacking District, walked around there, then walked back to Madison Square Garden/Penn Station and caught a train back to New Jersey! I was definitely exhausted...but we drove back to DC that same night after we ate dinner with her relatives. It was such an awesome weekend!

My housemate, Sarah, and I found a church a couple Sundays ago. We googled churches in Bethesda, and it came up with The Church of Bethesda...why didn't I think of that name? So the website seemed contemporary enough so we decided to check it out. The service was great, but the really awesome/exciting thing was a dinner we went to Friday night. It was at one of the girl's apartments and there was about 15 people there from ages 22-30...young crowd. I have never had so much fun with a group of people I just met! The dinner started at 6:30pm...Sarah and I didn't leave until 12:30am! It felt like I'd known these people for a long time...I have really needed a good push and motivation to get plugged into a church up here, and God provided! I can't believe how blessed I've been since I moved up here...God just keeps on providing. He can't make it any more clear that He wants me here right now. Amazing!...So, uh, God...don't you think it's about time for a guy? :)

I love fitness center stories!...

-There are these two asian girls that work out at the fitness center, who always come together. I've never seen one without the other. Whenever they workout, they do everything exactly the same! I watch them and think "Stop synchronizing your crunches...this isn't the olympics! We know you guys are good at everything!" They get their little mats, lay them side-by-side, and execute their rou-...I mean, workout perfectly! I swear they run on the treadmill at the same speed, feet striking the belt at the same pace, in sync! And they slow down at the same time! I honestly feel like I'm on Candid Camera. Why are they doing this??...Nonetheless, I'd give 'em a 10 for synchronization....about a 7 for difficulty.

-I was talking to one of the older ladies that comes into the gym (Vivian, if you remember her from an earlier story) the other day. On her way out she told me that she liked my "top knot." Noticing my confused expression, she pointed to my hair and said, "your top knot." My hair was in a completely un-fancy, messy bun (how it usually is when it's up). I now call it my top knot.

I Make It Rain

Just got back from the Nationals/Braves game...the Braves won and kept their winning streak going, hopefully we'll make the playoffs! If I've ever gone to a Braves game with you, it's probably rained it some form or fashion. It never fails...really kind of astonishing. I went with my friend, Andy who is a big baseball fan. I thought we were in the clear when it was the 6th inning, 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky...all of a sudden the dark, thick mass came rolling in and wouldn't you know it started raining!! REALLY? Even when I'm not in Atlanta. What can I say?...I bring the rain!

Friday was an extremely busy day. Friday is the day I work part-time with Just For Kids in Georgetown...the fact that I have to work seems to escape me pretty easily, though. I never remember I have to go until the morning of. And this Friday?...just the same. EXCEPT, I told one of my co-workers at NIH that I could stay a little later for her. Typically, I get off work at NIH at 3pm and have to be in Georgetown by 4pm...not a huge window. So, when I told her on Thursday that I could stay late for her Friday...it didn't hit me until I was getting dressed for work and had to pack my JFK (Just For Kids, not John F. Kennedy) shirt. Gotta make life interesting right? I spent the whole day trying to pull strings/stressing out...anyway, once I got off work at NIH, I raced to Georgetown (thankfully I didn't have to parallel park that day). Got there exactly at 4:00pm, ran up to find all the babies with their over-sized JFK shirts on, holding their soccer balls. These kids are PRECIOUS! Some of them don't even speak they are so young. We'll do a lot of simple "drills" (for lack of a better term) with them. One is where we have them put their ball on the "volcano" (volcano shaped cone)...p.s. If you haven't noticed I enjoy utilizing all the " " and ( ). I digress...anyway, we have them count 5 steps backward, wait for the whistle, then run and kick their ball towards the goal. Every time, this never fails, there are always two of the same kids that hear the whistle, run and pick up their ball and run to the goal. It is impossible to get upset with them, because it is so doggone ADORABLE! No matter how many times you tell them to use their feet, watch them nod in "comprehension," they still use their hands. Another one of my favorites is an exercise where we have them run in and out of a line of cones...this is kind of like watching Bambi learning to run crossed with a drunk. With their wobbly legs, they start to veer away from the cones toward the right usually. It's rare that they actually weave in and out of the cones...if they've seemed to master their coordination, they just make a beeline toward the other side, avoiding the cones all together. These kids make my week.

Straight from Georgetown, I went over to Margo and Deedy's for dinner. My cousin Amy and her husband PJ were in town, so they came to eat dinner as well. I think the kids lack of coordination rubs off on me, because when I was at Margo's I ran into a huge picture on the wall on the way to the shower. Anyway, dinner was great...I learned a lot about immigration and the dentention centers in the US from PJ. He's getting into social justice and is very actively involved....as a matter of fact, they were in DC for that very reason.

I planned to meet up with my roommates in Dupont Circle (neighborhood where Margo lives) to go out for some drinks. Didn't meet up with them until about 11:30pm at a bar called Madhatters. I've been there a couple times and it's a fun place...they played the new Miley Cyrus song and EVERYONE, including guys, sang along. I was amazed because I hadn't even heard the song yet...but you know what? I have it now...gotta love some Hannah Montana!

Very fun day...5:30am to 1:00am nonstop! Wouldn't have it any other way!!


Random happenings:

-My neighbors have a huge sign in their backyard resting against their fence that says "Jonas Brothers"...written in graffiti. I bet they hijacked it from a Disney Concert.

-A few nights ago there was some kind of strange animal fight in our backyard. When it began, I thought it might be two cats...but once it progressed, I knew it had to be an elephant and Bigfoot.

-Aerobic Annie is a Fitness Center Fugitive! She owes membership dues, but she always seems to elude me. I think I'll call her Evanescent Annie now.

-I went to buy some stoppers to put under the wheels of my bed...every time I sit on my bed it rolls about a foot because the wheels are on a hardwood floor. This man at the hardware store helped me pick out the right size for the bed, I asked him something about the stoppers being big enough, because I tried to buy some before but were too small. He said as long as I don't do anything to make them jump the track they'll be fine, whatever he was implying. After that he realized how that sounded and I could feel the awkwardness set in. I said "thanks" and left.

DC Dawgs

I'm sitting on my back porch right now, with my feet kicked up, in the sunshine, listening to music...just ate some homemade Shrimp Pesto Pasta for lunch...life is going well!

I've had a really fun week this week...some guys that come and work out at the fitness center invited me to happy hour with them on Wednesday! We left from work and I drove one of them to the restaurant...I had to parallel park and it took me about 20 tries to get in...embarrassing. It was a meter, so I put enough money in to last an hour and a half. A little later, my friend Ken said he would go put more change in the meter, but when he came back in he put his change on the bar and said, "well, the good news is we don't have to pay for parking anymore." I looked at him and knew exactly what he meant...yep, I got my first parking ticket, which was inevitable in this area, BUT Ken ended up paying for it which was really nice. Being the new girl has its advantages...hey, you'd do the same!

NIH had an Institution Relay on Thursday which I got the opportunity to work! It was a lot of fun and very popular with the employees. We had over 100 teams with 5 people on each team, so over 500 participants! The relay consisted of a half mile loop on the main campus...each runner would run the loop then pass their baton to the next teammate. Everyone really gets into it which is a lot of fun. I worked registration and the finish line....the finish line was pretty entertaining. I had the "simple" task of collecting batons from the finishers as they funnel down a set of cones. The purpose of the funnel was so we could keep track of the order they finished in. Sounds like an easy job, right? Well...keep in mind these people just sprinted half of a mile and are basically incoherent as they cross the line, so trying to communicate to them that I want their baton was a little difficult. This is how it would go....I would shout "BATON!" and they would look at me, mouth wide open trying to breathe while someone else was trying to get the tag from their bib...I'm still pointing at their baton...kind of like a frustrated 2 year old that can't communicate what they want. It was almost as if they thought if they let go of the baton, it meant they lost. I don't know, but it proved difficult. All in all, it was a lot of fun...hopefully, I'll be able to run in one! I must add that Chick-Fil-A sponsored the event and I got a free sandwich :) they always come through!

Last weekend, my friend Carrie and I decided we wanted to find somewhere we could watch the Georgia game this Saturday. So she looked online and found this website called DC Dawgs that watch the UGA games every Saturday at the same two places. Last night, Carrie, her sister Brooke, and I went to the Penn Quarter Sports Tavern in DC to watch the game. I end up getting there first and walk up to see red shirts, hats, and big Georgia flags everywhere...I felt like I was in Athens! Flat screens everywhere...every single one on the game. I loved it! Southern accents, Georgia chants...I was just amazed there was an entire place dedicated to hosting Bulldog fans and the game, but it was definitely packed out! One guy accidently stepped on my foot and said, "oh excuse me, ma'am...I am sew saaawry." (that was supposed to be written so it sounded like a southern accent.) Anyway, I was just glad to get a little taste of Georgia! After we left the Sports Tavern, we went to Adams Morgan which is the big nightlife area of DC. We met up with some friends of theirs and had a blast!

Going to Margo and Deedy's for dinner tonight and then work tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great week! Go Dawgs!!!

My Roommates

Finding a place to live on Craig's List definitely raises a lot of questions...especially about the roommates. How can you just randomly live with 5 other people you don't know?, that's too many people, etc. Everyone always talks about that one awful roommate they've had and how miserable they were. Fortunately, for me, I have been blessed with a lifetime of great roomies!

So, there will be a grand total of 6 people living in the house. Right now, there are 4 of us...we comprise the upstairs crowd. I live across the hall from Dara (rhymes with Cara), down the hall from Dan and Adrian (both guys), and share a bathroom with Dara and Dan (Adrian has the master bedroom/bath). We have 2 more girls, Sarah and Beth, moving in later this month...they'll be in the basement.

I've spent the most time with Dan...he's a really smart guy, went to Yale, and is applying to Med School for 2010. He has a really good sense of humor and keeps me laughing! Good guy to have around. I helped him pick up a mattress he found on Craig's List the other week...he thought it would be fine to just throw it on top of my car without tying it down. Now, I didn't go to Yale but I do know about the Law of Inertia. He assured me he'd keep his window open and hold on to it...nope, we got a rope. His family is Russian, so he speaks it fluently...very cool to listen to! Dan and I went to explore downtown Bethesda on Friday night. Scoped out the nightlife and bar scene...there's definitely some good places, but DC rules the nightlife! Dan is a vegetarian...which is really interesting/cool to me. I helped him bake for the first time today and he made Dara and me some awesome baked apples with ice cream! De-lish!

Dara and I have hung out quite a bit, too! She introduced me to my first experience of Vietnamese food this weekend....sooooo good. Dara's from Minnesota and is doing research on Eniomology (don't ask) at NIH. She is a semi-vegetarian...eats and cooks straight-up vegetarian, but will eat fish and chicken if she is somewhere she can't do otherwise. She said pretty much so she isn't an inconvenience. I'm going to attempt cooking my first real vegetarian dish for them soon!

I haven't spent a ton of time with Adrian, yet...he's from Arizona with Latin/South American decent (I believe). He was in Arizona all of last week. He's a really laid back guy, the oldest of all of us...been doing research at NIH for 2 going on 3 years now. He keeps to himself a little more than the rest of us, but a great guy!

Going to bed now...gotta get up at 5:15am! Oh the time that I post these is a few hours slow...not sure why. It's 11:14pm right now...past my bedtime!

I Love Story Time!

This is my fabulous new room! I definitely still have some work to do as far as decorating goes, but it's lookin' good if I do say so myself!

So this is the portion of my blog I like to call Story Time...a couple little random stories that hopefully you'll enjoy:

-I made my way to Giant (grocery store) for my first big shopping trip here in Bethesda on Monday...I was very excited about picking out all my food since Margo's been teaching me a ton about cooking and eating healthier. In college my idea of cooking was Chick-Fil-A. So I go through all the isles with my little list of healthy stuff, planning meals in my head, and so forth...definitely expecting the money total to be high. It's definitely not cheap eating healthy, but that's a choice you have to make. I get all my things and stand in line to check out, admiring my cart of delicious and nutritious food. I load all my groceries on the belt, then look to my purse to get out my wallet...my stomach dropped. Yes, indeed...I forgot my wallet. Uhhhhhhh, this would happen! I played several scenarios in my head: wait for them to bag everything, take the cart and sprint all the way home with them chasing me; wait for the leading-man of my story to come and say "oh, no problem...let me get that for you;" get arrested right then and there for making them put all my food back. None of those seemed too likely, so I went the realistic route and told the woman I accidently forgot my wallet...she was very polite about it which made it a little easier. The worst part was my walk of shame out of Giant...leaving with no groceries in hand. They have this corral-type walkway when you exit the store like they are trying to herd you to the parking lot...and of course, at the exact time I leave to get my wallet so does the oldest woman on the face of the earth!...with her precious little walker. I don't think she was even aware of the line of 10 people inching along behind her, as we were held hostage between her and the store because of the dumb corral!

-Speaking of the elderly, there is this adorable married couple that come to work out in the mornings at NIH. They are both retired but still keep a membership to the fitness center, which is so great to me! I always spend a lot of time talking with them because of how sweet they are...here's a conversation I overheard between the two of them, as they were deciding when to leave:

Vivian is on the elliptical, Manny is on the stationary bike (across from each other)
Vivian: "Are you just about through?"
Manny: "I am if you are."
Vivian: "So are you finished?"
Manny: "Are you?"
Vivian: "If you're ready to go."
Manny: "No, I'm ok."
Vivian: "About 10 more minutes?"
Manny: "I think so."
Vivian: "Ok, I'm getting off."
Manny: "Oh alright." (Manny gets off too)

They went back and forth like that for a long time, and I sat there smiling and laughing to myself at how funny they were. Manny always brings me articles from this Jewish cooking website he gets emails from...oh yes, Manny's all high-tech with the email! They definitely make getting up at 5:30am a lot more enjoyable!

Hope you enjoyed those...I'm sure there are more disasters and funny people for me to encounter!

One-Year Plan

Uh oh! Time has definitely gotten away from me! I was afraid of this. So, I've officially been in DC/Maryland for 5 weeks now...it's ridiculous how time flies. It's kind of on the scary side!

My dad and Beth drove up this weekend to bring a ton of my stuff and see the house (and me, haha). It was so great of them to drive all the way up here with a U-Haul and the ridiculous amount of things that I own...I cannot see the floor of my bedroom right now. I'm looking at it now and I see a vase, extention cords, a box of index cards, textbooks, hair products, cups...I could go on for days. So that's what I get to spend today doing. Yesterday, I took my dad and Beth to the National Mall and we walked around and saw all the monuments...it was a perfect night, nice breeze, cool, and pretty much at sunset. Couldn't have been better! We got back to the car just in time before it started raining. It was an extremely short trip for them because of all the driving..they left this morning to head back to GA. Thanks again for coming!!!

I definitely feel like i'm in the right place right now...it's safe to say this transition couldn't have been much easier. I know I still have a lot to do, but with finding a job and a house so quickly it reaffirms the fact that I'm supposed to be here. I've been going with the flow on a ton of things, and they've worked out great! My current goal is to get my CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach) and work towards personal training. It's very possible for me to start PT at NIH within the next few months, which is awesome! For now, I'm on a one-year plan in Bethesda...but I have no idea what will happen. I think the unknown is a huge draw for me...I love not knowing where I'll be next, who I'll meet, and what will happen. I feel extremely blessed for everything working out the way it has, but I've also had great people helping me!

P.S. Aerobic Annie was back on Friday...and no, Annie isn't her real name.

P.S.S. Firemen have been at stoplights everywhere collecting $$$ for Muscular Dystrophy. Guess who is a sucker for saying yes, nonetheless to good-looking firemen? Yeah...you try and say no. I'm running out of cash...must avoid driving until they leave!

P.S.S.S. Got my first paycheck...feels pretty good!

I'm a Yankee :(

I don't think being out of school and really being on my own hit me until last night. Between talking with my dad and Margo about income, rent, bills, etc...I never felt like I REALLY had to watch what I spent, until now. I was feeling uncomfortable about signing the lease with the group house because I almost felt rushed into it, and that I wasn't ready to pay the security deposit along with September rent. I also felt a little uncomfortable with signing a lease on my own...not fully understanding the ins and outs of the text, and worried I might miss something important. Also, the landlord added a surprise $200 to the rent every month ($33 each)! That being said, Margo offered to come and even though I wanted to be able to do it on my own, I knew I would feel better if she was there. Plus, if anyone knows Margo she can ruffle some feathers and do some serious intimidating...she intimidates me half the time! haha.

So, we roll up to the house with the others there already...there are 5 others and we pretty much cover every corner of the country: Atlanta, Austin, Arizona, Seattle, Minnesota, and Buffalo...and now living in the DC area. We've come full circle! They are all Research Interns at NIH, studied Biology/Chemistry (something science-related), and are all scientists pretty much on their way to being doctors! Yeah, uh...I took Anatomy! They are all super-nice and I think it'll work out great! Anyway, everyone has been worried all day about the rent hike at the last minute by the landlord...in comes Margo, "I hear he's trying to get some extra money out of you...we'll talk him down." It was hilarious how quickly everyone's faces brightened. It was like we were all 10 years old again and we had an adult there to save us. We gave Margo the tour of the house and everyone told me, "your aunt is awesome!" It definitely gave us confidence to have her there.

Long story short, we didn't get the $200 lowered because it ended up being reasonable why he added it, but we did get clarification and felt good about the lease. So, I signed a 12-month lease which pretty much matches my commitment to NIH...we'll see what happens after that! Moving some things in today, I don't have much except clothes right now, but my Dad and Beth are coming up next weekend or one shortly after to bring my bedroom furniture. Everything's working out really well and coming along pretty quickly! I'll keep you posted :)

The Real World: Bethesda

This is the Real World DC house...2 blocks from Margo's! The season should air in 2010, after the next RW/RR challenge.

So, I've settled into my job...loving it! Everyone is so great! Today I actually am working from 1:30-7:30, so I got to sleep in :) I decided since I'm working in Bethesda, that it is more practical for me to live there! It would be closer to work, a little more affordable, easier to have my car, but still on the metro line and extremely close to DC! I found some people on Craig's List that were putting a group together to live in a house. Definitely makes rent a lot cheaper! I met up with them at the the house yesterday, and it was fabulous! The house isn't much to look at on the outside, but the inside is newly renovated and looks great! There would be 6 living in the house...3 guys, 3 girls...everyone is from different states. Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, New York, North Dakota, and a few other places. Very Real World-esque! The catch is that two rooms in the basement are joined, so you have to go through one room to get to the other...AND the bathroom is inside one of the rooms. There are also 7 people trying to get a spot in the house, and there's only room for 6. 4 people are locked in, but I'm one of the 3 that isn't. Fortunately for me, they want 3 girls and the other 2 that are trying to get a spot are guys! We'll see what happens! They are signing the lease tomorrow, ahhh!

Bethesda is really a great city! It's right inside Maryland...pretty much on the border between DC and Maryland. It has a great downtown area, lots of restaurants, lots to do, easy to get around. My initial idea when I moved here was to live in the district, but as I think about it...it's more practical and affordable for me to live in Bethesda. Plus, it is really close to DC anyway.

I'll keep you updated :)

Aerobic Annie

This is the escalator on the way down to the metro at Dupont Circle...and this is after you've gone down half of it already!! The metro definitely makes it easy to get around the city. A lot easier than trying to find parking!

I've had a fantastic week this week! I officially got the Fitness Specialist position at NIH and started on Wednesday. I get there around 7am :( but get to leave at 3pm! Everyone I work with is extremely nice, and so are all the employees that come to work out! When I tell people that I just moved here from Georgia, they look at me and ask where my accent is...I think they're a little disappointed that I only say "y'all" on occasion. Maybe I should start faking a southern accent. Anyway, basically what I do is roam the floor, socialize with the employees while they workout, help them with any exercise-related questions, activate new memberships, renewals, give tours/orientations, do exercise assessments, and give occasional lectures. Pretty awesome job if you ask me! Great benefits as well (paid holidays!)...working for the government pays off!

Throughout the day there are a few aerobics classes that take place...there's a separate room attached to the gym where these go on. I walked in a few minutes before the class starts to introduce myself to the instructor, and a couple ladies who were warming up. The first woman I see is around 50 years old, short "blonde" hair, glasses, probably the skinniest stick of a woman I have ever seen. The best part was her outfit...sweat headband (oh yes) with poofs of hair pouring out the top, workout pants pulled up high, white tank top tucked into the pants. This woman was serious about her workout! She was quickly pacing around the small room with high knees, turning about every 3 seconds because she already reached the wall. I immediately knew I had to "observe" this class. I know this doesn't sound very nice, but when something is funny...it's funny. There ended up being about 8 ladies for the class, which filled up the room nicely. Our lady grabbed a set of 5lb. weights (which wasn't required, no one else did) and a spot with plenty of room. It looked like she would need it. Typically in an aerobics class there is a little moving from side to side, but for the most part you stay in the same vacinity. Oh no...not our lady. She explored the whole room, almost in her own little world. She would add arm pumps when there weren't arm pumps to do, kicks when no one was kicking...it took everything in me to keep my face at a smile! I really don't think it would have been as entertaining if she wasn't wearing the headband. I did love her enthusiasm for exercise!

So now that my job hunt is over, it's time to start looking for a place to live! As you know, DC is not the cheapest of places and my job is actually in Maryland, but only right across the border. So this is next on my to do list. Hopefully won't take toooo long...the job came quicker than I thought it would, so hopefully it'll be some of the same!

You Mean I'll Get Paid To Do This?

Margo's building...nice, huh??

Before I tell you how my job hunt is coming, I want to just list a couple things I've seen/heard in the past few days...there's no way for me to incorporate them into the story with any kind of smooth transition:

-I was on the metro (subway) the other day, when I got on the same car with about 5 or 6 Italian boys...all cute. They proceeded to talk about how many chin-ups each of them can do, while I am standing in the middle of them. To my disbelief, one of them actually started doing chin-ups on the metro! Luckily, the metro came to my stop and I walked off smiling/laughing to myself. If any of you have seen The Wedding Planner, you know what I am talking about.

-Saw a completely black squirrel carrying an acorn bigger than he was...not gonna lie, freaked me out a little. I was waiting for it to morph into something else.

-Wandered down Connecticut Ave. yesterday and found a Borders...interesting layout putting the kid's section by the adult restricted section.

-Searched online for the nearest Bank of America ATM and found one about 12 blocks away. I had time to kill so I decided to walk...when I was on my way back and about 1 block from the apartment, I see a BoA ATM...a little too ironic for my liking.

I wanted to keep you all updated on how my job search is going! After being in DC for a little over 2 weeks, I am really happy with the job prospects I have right now. I heard from the National Institute of Health this morning, and they said they have narrowed their search for the Fitness Specialist down to 2 and I was one of them! This job would be from 7am-3pm helping employees with fitness equipment, workout programs, possibly do fitness lectures, etc. So I should here the final word about that in the next few days! My other job opportunity, which I have pretty much already accepted as part time, is working with Just For Kids. It's a program run by this guy that teaches sports to kids. What could be better?? The classes are in the afternoons, so it wouldn't conflict with NIH...but in order to make enough money to make a living up here, I need both. So, John (founder of Just For Kids) called me this morning to tell me he ruptured his Achilles Tendon this weekend!!! Uh oh, turns out he needs a lot more help from me than originally intended. It would be kinda tough for him to teach kids soccer without being able to use one of his legs. So...if I do happen to get the Fitness Specialist position, it's going to be tough balancing the two but I am up to the task!

A Small Misunderstanding

To my suprise, I have actually had some great luck with jobs this week! I didn't think things would be rolling this quickly, but I'm sure glad they have! I had an interview with the National Institute of Health as a Fitness Specialist on Tuesday, lunch with a friend of Margo's today that works with kids year-round doing sports classes, and just some casual rubbing of the elbows with established business people that are looking for anyway to help!

One of Margo's clients is a well-established dermatologist and has an office in Georgetown. She has been really sweet and offered me a part time job in her office to start making some money during my job search. She also has a 3-year-old daughter that needs some babysitting every now and then, which I would be more than happy to do. Anyway, she gave me a call this morning and told me to stop by the office so we could meet...and I was like okay, great...my lunch meeting (love it...makes me sound professional, doesn't it?) is in Georgetown, so this will be perfect. So I walk over to the office, walk in and tell the girl (we'll call her Leslie for the story's sake) at the desk who I was, and that I was there to see Dr. Isaac. Leslie smiled, said ok, and nudged the sign-in sheet towards me...I then told her I didn't have an appointment, but Dr. Isaac was expecting me. Leslie looked at me confused and asked if my visit was medical-related. After I said no, she was even more perplexed and told me she'd let her know I was here. So I went and sat down feeling a little awkward, now knowing I wasn't fully expected. After about 5 minutes, a girl dressed in scrubs came from the back, looked at me, then walked over to Leslie and whispered, "is that her?" She wasn't a very good whisperer. After learning that I was indeed the girl she was looking for, the girl in scrubs looked at me and said, "Erica?"....close enough, I let it slide, just glad she was there to get me out of the waiting room. So I smiled and followed her to the back. Immediately, she told me her name was Laura and started giving me a tour of the office and the description of the job Dr. Isaac was offering me. I was taken aback because this felt a little more like a first day on the job, rather than an informal meeting. I'm pretty sure everyone that worked there was wondering who in the world I was...some random girl in flip-flops, a short-sleeved shirt, and shorts about to grab a clipboard and start bringing patients to the back. Umm what?! At this point I was thinking "someone bring out the doctor, she knows who I am!"....and finally she came out of one of the rooms, smiled at me, and I felt the biggest wave of relief. I hadn't even met this woman, but couldn't have been happier to see her. We started talking a little about what I was doing job-wise, while I think Laura was standing there still confused as to why I was there. Dr. Isaac then looked me up and down, and said "well you won't be able to start today because you don't have the appropriate clothing." I'm sitting there thinking "I'm sorry...I don't generally go around meeting people wearing scrubs....I don't typically bombard people with medical terms when I meet them either."

But anyway, it ended well and i'll probably be doing that part time for a little while to make some extra money. Margo left this morning for Lake Tahoe...she'll be gone for a little over a week. Time for me to spread my little wings! No weekend plans yet, but we will see!

It's Like Riding a Bike...

You never fully understand the saying "...it's like riding a bike," until you hop on a bike after not riding one for 10 years. I felt like the most uncoordinated person on the face of the earth when I tried to get on it! The seat is a lot higher then it used to be on a kiddie-bike and it's a lot harder to reach the ground, so...watching me attempt any kind of mount/dismount makes for an entertaining show. ANYWAY, after I got all of that out of my system, my aunt thought I would be ready to take a ride around the city...and I was, but she'll never know how many times and how close the handlebars have come to bumping a rail or pole and sending me to Trauma 1. She'll throw a glance back my way makin' sure I'm still there, not knowing the second before I was battling to stay on the sidewalk. How else will I learn? :)

My personal favorite place to ride is underneath this bridge where they have you pinned between a rail and a wall on the sidewalk...this has definitely tested my baby-bird bike skills. The worst part is that you see it coming for about a hundred yards so you have time to think.."am I supposed to fit through there?"..."there's no way i'll fit through there"...so you almost start building speed like you're about to perform some big jump, but thinking it'll be easier to keep the bike straight if you go a little faster. So I pedal faster, holding my breath, wishing I could close my eyes in this neverending tunnel! With God's amazing grace, I have somehow managed to come out of that tunnel alive twice!....sorry, anticlimactic I know....don't worry, it's not my last venture through the tunnel.

It really is a great way to get around the city! Everything is so accessible and really makes it easy to get from A to B...except for dodging pedestrians and cars. You can definitely tell who's a local...the people zooming in and out of traffic without the helmets, the one pant-leg rolled up. Here's Erin...going a little faster than the speed of a pedestrian with fingers on the breaks, on the sidewalk, with the helmet! Whatever, I go at my own pace. It's really been awesome to have the freedom to just bike down to the National Mall and see all the monuments, ride by the White House, bike through Georgetown, etc. I love Atlanta, but it is definitely not an easy place to get around...DC practically begs you to use anything but cars. Great metro, busline, lots of walkers, bikers...definitely an eco-friendly city!

I've been staying pretty busy! Got to go visit some old family friends this past weekend, the Pecks! We used to live right next door to them from about 91-95. They took me back to my old neighborhood, school, soccer park, and everything looked tiny!!!! It really was mind-blowing, but so great to see! Thanks again for having me!

Lots of stuff to do this week...figuring out student loans, an interview with NIH, meeting up with friends, and then who knows! I love it!

Exciting find for those who may care: Margo and I were walking to dinner when we saw a couple guys being followed by a filming crew. They weren't engaging with the cameras at all so I immediately thought it was some kind of reality show when it hit me....MTV is having the new Real World in DC this summer! Come to find out the Real World house is 2 blocks from where Margo lives in Dupont Circle and apparently the new cast just moved in last week!...this could be interesting.

New Windshield and a Tennis Match

So when I came to DC, I had a huge crack across the top of my windshield. Didn't think much of it because it wasn't obstructing my view and I thought I'd get around to it when I had some extra money. Come to find out that a law in the district states that you cannot have a broken windshield or it's ticket city!! So great...paranoid about getting a huge ticket. Long story short, I ended up getting a guy to come out and replace it on the street for a lot cheaper than taking it in! I would like to think I'm a good barterer, but it kinda happened by accident...oh well, I'll take what I can get! Embarrassing side note: when he was done I saw some black goo on the edge of the windshield...and since I'm 5 years old, I decide to touch it and this stuff would NOT come off! In fact, I think the tiny bit I touched spread into about a gallon. So I'm sitting here trying to pay him with all this goo on my hand that definitely was NOT supposed to be touched (and now I know why).

Exciting story of the day! Last night I got on Twitter and I follow Andy Roddick. He had a post that said he was giving away 150 free tickets at the Lacoste down in Georgetown the next morning at 11am. What?! My aunt and I have been trying to get tickets to this tournament all week! So I ride a bike over there a little before 10am because there is no way I'm missing out and I was about the 5th person in line....yeah!! Turned out not too many people heard about the giveaway, so I snagged 2! Going to see Andy play tonight, woohoo!!

Still working on finding a job...nothing too promising yet, but hopefully soon!

DC...here I come!

I'm starting this blog to keep everybody updated on what's going on with me and my life in Washington, DC! Hopefully I'll have some exciting stories to come!

My drive up here definitely was looooong. It ended up taking me 12 hours (6am-6pm) to get here! I hit some serious traffic after Richmond...and that killed me! Nearing the end of my trip, back stiff, legs falling asleep....sitting in traffic within miles of the VA/DC border. But, all in all it was an easy drive! I was so excited driving into the city...the first thing I saw, of course, was the Washington Monument standing in the middle of the city. I don't think that will ever get old to me.

My aunt, Margo, is letting me stay with her for a little while until I can find a job and place to live! How awesome is that? Not too much space in DC apartments (not too mention I brought way too much stuff), and she's letting me take up some of it! I haven't had much down time since I got here...we've always been doing something! I've already been introduced to the speed of city life/traffic and it's definitely apparent that I am a foreigner that's been living in small town GA for the past 4 years!...not to mention I haven't parallel parked in years and I've already done it a hand full of times! I should be an expert in a few weeks.

Lots of people to meet this week about jobs and such...wish me luck! I'll keep you updated!