worth it.

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Three Things Thursday - Realizations

1. I miss snow. Yes, it's July. Yes, it was 95 out today. And, yes, it's DC, so there isn't much hope. But I kind of miss snow. This past winter was pitiful by comparison to it's Wisconsin equivalent. I know everyone here is terrified of another Snowmageddon,  but I wouldn't be one bit sad if next winter we got a few, substancial inches of the white fluffy stuff.

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And, yeah, I know it's a weird thing to think about today, because it's the middle of the summer, but when I came across this picture tonight it literally stopped me in my tracks. It reminds me of campus, in a very eery way. Something between the lights on campus, the trees, and the brick buildings everywhere, it all had an orange glow, like this, whenever it snowed. 

I totally heart you, UW-La Crosse. See you in a couple of months.

2. I need a race. Like, seriously. I need something to kick my ass, and remind me that I'm not back in it yet. I'm signed up for this race series, which starts next Friday. So I should probably go for a few runs before then, right?

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Good news is, instead of running (cause it's so damn hot) I'm swimming. Not like floating around in an inner tube, laying out on a lawn chair swimming; but actual swimming. I'm not fast, and if you ask my sister everything I know about swimming is wrong, but I can get around just fine. So, while it's not running, it's stopping be from being a lazy, lazy summer bum. If there's any hope of me doing this race, like any hope at all, I need to kick it into gear.

3. I've got the annual post-birthday/almost-end-of-summer-blues. Happens every year.

But I think a nice beach weekend will fix that. So, see you next weekend, ocean. I've missed you.

Just Start

Advice of the day:

When procrastination is hurting your motivation,

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“The pen is mightier than the sword, but a well-aimed typewriter packs good punch too.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to the coolest, f*cking thing I own.

Yeah. It's a typewriter. And it's amazing.

A huge shout out to Ange, who lugged this beauty, in its massive case, 

through airport security and halfway across the country for me. 

But the real thanks goes out to the greatest mother in the world, who searched all 

over Milwaukee for a vintage typewriter to surprise me with on my birthday. 

Seriously. Greatest mother in the world.

For those of you who care, it's a Royal Quiet Deluxe Portable. Introduced to the market in 1941, it had a very short-lived run because the Royal Typewriter company, like everything else, shutdown production to help with the war efforts. You'd be surprised at the vast amount of information out there about typewriters. What you wouldn't be surprised at is the fact that I researched it. I'm a book nerd. You should have known by now that it'd translate over mediums.

I've been tinkering with it since I got it on Thursday night, and I almost figured out all of the margin settings and whatnots. Since, clearly, the average computer paper will not do for a machine of this caliber, I'll be heading to the paper store in Old Town this week to get something special. 

For what occasion, you ask? For every occasion. Or for no reason at all. 

It is a machine built for writing. And writing I shall do.

How well do my best friends know me?

They know I like maps.

They know I like unique little decor things.

And they know I love the BYM. 

It's adorable. Thanks for the birthday present, girls <3

Disclaimer: the color is actually somewhere between the two. I don't have the greatest camera. 

Check out Felix Street Studio on Etsy for more adorable, handmade stuff like this.

My birthday present to myself? Crossing off another item on my list.

Check it off the list. The birthday was golden. The friend was the best. And the city was fabulous.


18. Celebrate my golden birthday with my best friends in a fabulous city

More updates and photos later tonight, but for the meantime, I was just happy to check something off the list.

A BYM Birthday Trip

Dear Ange,

You are the classiest person I know, and today is your birthday.

You came to visit for the weekend, and I'm sure we're having a great time despite the fact that we're currently walking around DC looking like a snowman that's outstayed its welcome.

It's true. It's hot out. But we're having a great time. Just like we always do.

Thanks for coming to visit. 

Thanks for always laughing when I laugh. 

Thanks for loving baseball as much as I do 

(because without you there'd be no other girl for me to talk to about it).

Thanks for constantly helping me justify ridiculous life choices.

Thanks for trying to give me a series of small heart attacks by not planning things.

Thanks for being one of my best friends.

Three Things Thursday - DC heat won't bring me down

Welcome to the East Coast. 

Today's temperature is 95 degrees, with a heat index of 110 . 

Enjoy your weekend.

Seriously? 110 degrees? From the air-conditioned comfort of my office, it looks like a sunny 75 out. But I know when I walk out that door at 5:01 I'll be hit in the face with the hair-dryer effect that DC is known for. (Read: Hair Dryer Effect: In any other part of the country, a breeze on a hot day would bring comfort and a brief moment of relief from the sun's heat. In DC, a breeze on a hot day brings more heat. It's like holding a hair dryer in front of your face. On high.)

But you know what else I've got waiting for me at 5:01? The freedom of my weekend with one of my best friends in the entire world, Ange. She's coming to the surface of the sun DC so we can celebrate our birthdays together; they're only two days apart, and for the past four years we've always celebrated them together. There's no breaking with tradition now. 

This week's Three, what's on the weekend agenda:

brunch, beers, baseball...

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...and that's just Saturday.

Happy early-weekend Coasters. Stay cool.

Writer's Block

I've got it. A pretty bad case, too. I have three different posts in the works right now, but they're just loose concepts right now, still need to be worked out a bit. I think if I could get one of them out of my head, the other two would have some space to work themselves out.

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It was pointed out to me yesterday that I am indeed on break from school. I technically don't have to think about it for six weeks. And I'm not. But I still need to write, about something, about anything. Otherwise I feel like my brain is going to melt out of my ears.

I've been particularly obsessed with a certain TV show and a certain book lately. So obsessed over it that I found myself thinking about what thesis I'd have in a dissertation on it. Totally f*cked up, I know. The show is quite complex, and I'd like to break it down a bit. I'm avoiding reading all of the online reviews of it, to keep my opinion pure, but I'll get there eventually. I need to finish watching the first (and only) season, and reading the book, before I write about it. So, coming soon...

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Here's to hoping I can just make the lambs stop screaming for a few minutes, and I'll get one of my ideas sketched out and share it with the world. At least those who care...

What I'm Reading: A Dog's Inner Thoughts

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I picked up Garth Stein's The Art of Racing In The Rain on Tuesday night after getting several recommendations from friends and colleagues. I then proceeded to stay up until 1 a.m. the next two nights, and finished it. I could bear to go to bed without knowing how it ended. Although, to be honest, I knew how it was going to end. Semi-Spoiler: It ends the same way all other dog novels end. 


So a quick synopsis; the book is narrated by Enzo, a terrier mix whose owner, Denny, is a semi-professional Indy car driver. Enzo is a tv-watching, philosophizing companion who envies humans for their thumbs and speaking ability, although he often communicates his message quite well without it.

Enzo seems like a great dog, a good life long companion. I couldn't help but picture my parent's dog Buddy while reading this book. With each little head tilt and snout nuzzle, you can tell he's listening to what you're saying.

There's a lot of potential problems with a dog narrating a book, mainly the fact that they can't conceivably understand or see everything they end up talking about. But this book avoids those pitfalls. Enzo's uses his canine humor to show the honesty of his understanding of the scenarios happening around him.

My one request, is that they don't make it into a movie. There's no way they'd cast Enzo or Denny to match the images I have in my head. And it seems that the publishers couldn't even keep the image of Enzo straight; there are several different book covers out there, along with a book trailer, all with different dogs on them.

My only criticism of the book would be that it's a bit too heavy on the race car details sometimes. Although the metaphor eventually connects up with the storyline, for someone who knows nothing about racing cars it was a bit dense to get through those chapters (albeit they were extremely short).

I'd recommend this book to any dog lover, or anyone looking for a break from their heavier reading materials.

Three Things Thursday - The Half Way Point

Ladies and gentleman, I'm officially half way done with graduate school.

applause, applause, applause. 


Yes, that's right. Year one. Complete.

This week's Three is things I learned in year one of graduate school:

(and it may not be what you expected, and in no specific order)

1. People read this blog. While the stats may not reflect that on a massive scale, people who matter to me read this blog. For better or worse. Well, now I know. But what you should know is, I have a reader who has fantastic calves, which I am jealous of. 

2. It's not going to be easy. Because it's not supposed to be. Because it's graduate school. Because it's The George Washington University. I feel like I skated through my undergrad for the most part. So getting here, and actually having to work, to work really hard was different. But I adapted. Because I had to, and because I wanted to.

3. When I get to the halfway point in a race, there's only a split second where I think "it's exactly the same distance to the finish," and I keep running. The next six weeks is going to be that split second for me. Then I have to do this all over again. But now I have the benefit of knowing what to expect (to a certain extent). But far more important than that, I've got some great friends to experience it with.

Many thanks to my friends for the support in this first, challenging yet rewarding, year in the program.

Many, many thanks to my family for the love and understanding through my journey here.

Many, many, many thanks to all my fellow Cohort 6 book nerds who have enjoyed every minute of it with me. I look forward to celebrating it all again one year from now. Cheers.

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Own it

Advice of the day:

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Inner Peace comes in the form of Belgian-style ales

Saturday morning started with sunshine on the west lawn of the Capitol for the Dalai Lama's public talk as a part of his Kalachakra for World Peace. This was one of the many events this week in DC, but unlike the rest, this one was free and open to the public. It's been my experience that those six words ("free and open to the public") can often lead to disastrous, overcrowded, and generally uncomfortable situations. But I've got to give a lot of credit to the Capital Area Tibetan Association (the group who hosted the event); while there were a lot of people there, it was an extremely well organized event. 

The west grounds were well organized, with people at every corner to usher the crowd in the right direction, I'm sure with much assistance from the Capitol Police. There was ample space (at least for those who showed up before the event started), with clearly marked aisle ways for people to exit and move around. And on top of all of that, they were giving away free bottled water. Yeah, that's right - there was an endless supply of free bottled water. They were handing it out when you walked in and there were volunteers walking around throughout the seating areas distributing more. 

This may seem trivial to some people reading this, but let me tell you - when it's 90 and climbing with no water fountain in sight, there's nothing you appreciate more than an endless supply of free water brought right to you.

For anyone who wasn't able to make it down to the Capitol, here's the webcast of His Holiness' talk.

Fast forward a few hours...

Drinks and dinner at The Argonaut on Capitol Hill with some new and old friends. Great outdoor seating options, with the most amazing outdoor bar service I've ever had (kudos to the bartender, whose name I didn't get). 

As a group, we got three beer flights (four beers per flight) to try their various options on tap. The bartender was great at walking us through the various beers, from light and citrusy to dark and hoppy. I like beers on both ends of the spectrum, but ended up getting a couple pints of the Double White, from South Hampton Publick House brewery. It was delicious; light, refreshing, and perfect to enjoy with this...

...Their Cubano sandwich (pulled pork and ham with emmantaler cheese on cibatta bread, grilled panini style), with sweet potato fries. The sandwich was great (I'm on a big pulled pork binge lately, I can't get enough of it), and the fries were amazing. I've actually yet to find a sweet potato variation I didn't like.

The neighborhood and people watching was questionable at times; but the company, the refreshments, and the service more than made up for it.

And the final piece to my Saturday was to cross something off my 101 list: #11 - Go to Rocky Horror with Carly. Check. No pictures for this one, but I've got to say it was a memorable experience. Sister and her friends back home frequently go to midnight screenings at the Oriental, so we thought we should check out the E Street Cinema's screening. It was a small theater and a small crowd, but definitely an enthusiastic cast. It was a fun night, and there's nothing I like more than crossing something off that list.

Happy Sunday night.

Gunga Galunga

Happy frickin' weekend east coasters! And to the no-coasters too, it's just that you're an hour behind us so we're technically closer to the weekend. Sorry. It's been one long week and I'm glad it's over.

Tomorrow sister and I are going to see the Dali Lama speak at the Capitol. Probably not going to get there efficiently because of the Metro single tracking, but we'll survive. (Speaking of the Metro, have you seen the new train cars? Pretty spiffy looking. Too bad we've got to wait until 2013 to see 'em.)

But back to the Dali Lama. Big hitter, the Laama.

The rest of my weekend will include drinks with friends, quick naps, long runs, a little book browsing, and this.

So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

Three Things Thursday - Nerdy Indulgences

I'm up to my neck in school and work this week, so I'm feeling very nerdy right now.

This week's Three is to indulge my nerdiness:

One day, I'd love to own one of these. 

I'd make it the focal point of the room and make sure to use it everyday. 

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Lists and calendars keep me sane. 

Follow the link below the picture to get a free print out of this one.

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I agree with about 50% of this. I don't understand the other 50%.

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Hope you had a decent Thursday.

I'll never go to the National Mall for the 4th again...

...because it'll never be as successful as it was this year. 

Not where you thought I was goin, right? Tricky. But more on that later.

Started off the 4th with the Nats/Cubs game. You all know my distaste for the Chicago, but it being America's birthday and all, I kept my heckling to a minimum out of respect (for America, not Cubs fans).

Nats Parks, dressed up in its 4th of July finest.

Pulled pork from Blue Smoke at Nats Park (aka the best pork sandwich I've ever had). I advice you to skip the line at Shake Shack and go directly to Blue Smoke next door.

I went against all my better judgement and waited until the morning of to buy tickets. For once, it actually worked out. Got 3rd row field level tickets for a steal on Stub Hub.

 Screech the eagle, stoppin by to say hi.

You may not be as cool as Bernie, but you are pretty awesome.

Go get 'em Jordan. I appreciated that as the starting pitcher, he knew how to properly wear his socks.

The man of the game, right fielder Jayson Werth, who won the game by stealing home in the 10th inning.

This is literally the only thing that stopped me from melting into my seat at the game. It was in the 90s and humid, and despite the fact that we had amazing seats for the game, we were miserably hot most of the time.

George won the Presidents' Race during the 6th inning. Not a shock that Teddy didn't win.

But I was rooting for Hot Dog the whole time.

See. He is pretty awesome. But he doesn't have a clubhouse, or a slide.

We took to the shade during the 9th inning. Knowing at that point the game was going into extra innings, 

I needed to conserve some energy. Hey, look! Notice that I'm not lobster colored! It's because after a couple decades of sunburn I've finally figured out how to properly apply sunblock. Yay learning!

Thanks for winning the game, Nats - it makes heckling Cubs fans from across the country much easier.

From the game, we went to the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery to enjoy their free air conditioning (and art, but mainly the air conditioning), then did dinner at Matchbox. Very yummy. I've been to the Capitol Hill one for brunch, but I'd heard great things about their pizzas. My lack of photos of their delicious pizzas confirms that; we ate everything so quickly that I didn't even stop to think about it.

Then we decided to join the other million people down on the National Mall and wait for the fireworks. I've heard horror stories from everyone who has been down in previous years: don't even think about taking the metro, stay away from the Mall at all costs, yada, yada yada. There were tons of people down there, that's for sure, but I'm no stupid tourist who is going to try and get a spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial or off the edge of the Capitol or something. Sister and I had the perfect escape route. We sat on the steps of the National Gallery of Art (on the Mall side) and had a straight shot up 7th St. to the Chinatown Metro. We were on a train and halfway home before most people were done folding up their picnic blanket. Success.

But rewind a second - it's extremely hard to get pictures of fireworks, and I don't especially feel the need to show you what fireworks looks like because I'm assuming you haven't been living without the joy that is fireworks all your life. I will share this one picture with you though, because it, to me, was everything that the 4th of July is about. These two firefighters had the best seats in the house - on top of their truck.

Hope you all had a safe, happy, tourist-less, 4th of July.