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.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
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!!!
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!!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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!
Monday, September 7, 2009
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!
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!
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