Biznass trips change everything

I'm back from Indy (gladly returned. i don't care if i never go back). This past month has been so stressful - I didn't think I'd ever make it out in one piece. And, well, I didn't. I feel a bit scattered right now. But here are the bright sides:
1. It's a new month in 2 days.
2. It's getting warmer.
3. My last day of work is Friday
4. I'm painting a room this week.
5. I'm going on vacation next month.

Here are the sad parts:
1. I'm moving soon.
2. I won't know anybody where I'm moving
3. Me and R1 have parted ways.
4. In 3 1/2 weeks I won't get to see Iggy every day.
5. I've been plagued with a killer cold.

A lot has happened in my personal, professional, physical, and emotional life. (Lives?) And I am feeling rather down in the dumps. Kind of. I'm also feeling very hopeful. It's another New Beginning for me. A new month, a new home, a new career path, a new daily routine, a new city, new friends, new goals to set, etc. It's exciting. I just need to put on my Big Girl shoes and take my life back! First Stop: Ben and Jerry's for free ice cream day!

Who am I kidding?

If I wanted to take a real vacation, I wouldn't have chosen Indianapolis for petes sake. This place is the pits. So long suckers with your myriad of bars and strip clubs and racing themed EVERYTHING. Seriously, when your town is defined by car racing - you need a new gig. I'm just sayin.

The Boss

Lizzie and Jenny visit Gnomie

Ohhhhh I love me some Lizzie Time!!







Come visit me in NY! Looks like Lizzie already loves big apples...

I know its Tuesday

I didn't have time yesterday to post about the weekend, but today...well today I don't either. But I don't care as much as I did yesterday about working. Anyways.

So this weekend brought the influx of my dear sister, Jenny! And her beautiful, adorable, hilarious baby - Lizzie. The two of them and my dad came up to DC on Friday afternoon to check out cherry blossoms, museums, and the like. I met up with them after work and WOW it was so good to see them! My Dad is the best and my sister is beautiful and my niece is so yummy I want to bottle her up and save her for always.

We left the Mall and made a quick stop by Eastern Market to obtain some pastries and drinks, headed back to my house and got pizza, watched Friends, watched Lizzy dance to Gilmore Girls, and play inappropriate scrabble. R1 and Leslie joined for scrabble. High points for most inappropriate word. I say it is a tie between R1's "Fbbbtt" and Jenny's "Ironi"(its inappropriate cause it's spelled wrong. It was so strange and wonderful to see a babys little feet walking around the house. It brought such a cozy feeling to our home. Lizzy snacked on my Nilla Wafers and made the bold choice of dipping them in roasted red pepper hummus. I appreciate her highly developed baby palette. She giggled, babbled, crawled, chewed, screamed with joy, and -most importantly - made her presence known during our scrabble game. Jenny - I can't find the Z. If you find it..."laying around"...in the next day or so, I'd like you to just keep it. Please.

After the baby and her entourage left - R1, Iggy and I took off to Velvet Lounge to see some local, um, punk bands. I think. I don't know what type of music it was but I'm going to peg them as The Clash + early Queen / hair metal bands. Because that was R1's and Iggy's combined categorization. It was fun - I saw some old friends hanging out - the old standbys. We stayed out until 3AM and came home and CRASHED.

Saturday R1 and I had yummy toast and brie for breakfast and decided to go visit the Charlottesville clan with Jen, Lizzy and Dad. R1 had to do some maintenance work on his car and got all dirty and greasy under the hood. Holla. I hung out inside and found an apartment for the summer in NY!! Its only a sublet, but its completely furnished and I'll have a private room like 8 blocks from campus. I'm so relieved. After we finished our respective duties, we took off for a loo-ooong road trip to C-ville. May I just state for the record that I see why people believe Northern Virginia and the rest of the state should be two seperate states. My goodness. People are wiggidy wack in the south.

We finally arrived (after nearly 3 hours of driving) and hung out with babies, babies, and brothers, and sisters(in-laws), and papas, and cameras. I don't have any pics on this computer, but I'll definitely post some later. It was so nice seeing everyone and catching up on exciting news (finishing and starting school programs) and watching Abby and Lizzie play together. For a glimmer of a moment, I thought - you know maybe I do want a baby. But then someone always gets a dirty diaper or throws a tantrum and my dreams once again return to reality wherein I am a mid-twenties professional-cum-grad school student. And I live in huge cities where nobody knows their neighbors and smog isn't pollution - its a welcome blanket of protection from the suburbs.

I digress.

We left late saturday and returned to my house to watch...AIRPLANE!! R1 picked it up and it was pretty hilarious. Don't call me Shirley. Went to bed, woke up early the next morning and walked to Eastern Market to play with cameras and buy food for dinner and beautiful flowers for the entry table. Had a lazy sunday after the walk - watched The Queen, took a nap, made some curried fish and quinoa salad and grilled zucchini, then I fell asleep around 10:00. I was beat!

It was a fabulous weekend and I love and miss my family! I went to Dads house last night to spend a little more time with Jenny and Lizzy. They're so much fun and I seriously think you guys should consider moving back. Lizzy makes me laugh because of things like this:
1. Concerned with people eating noodles - how do they get slurped up so fast?
2. Is learning to talk and says "Yedllooo" for hello.
3. Responds with a "yeah" for things she likes.
4. Throws back her head when she laughs at things. Hilarious.
5. Loves healthy foods - chickpeas, tomatoes, green peas, etc.
6. Loves her momma so much - she wants to be anywhere Jenny is. It's so cute. Another thing that makes me want to have a baby. But I won't! I'm 25! And a student! With no husband in sight! Etc, etc.

Pictures to come later...

My world is getting smaller and smaller

It's basically confined to my office, the treadmill, and my bed (complete with laptop and seasons of Friends - thanks Heathbar for the addiction).

I need to get a life.

Things to look forward to:
1. Jenny and Lizzy coming to visit this weekend(and maybe Robby and Abby!)
2. Work conference next week (scary!) and then ending the following week (sigh of relief)
3. Bird Day
4. Costa Rica/Nicaragua
5. Moving (bittersweet. but changes are fun, right?)
6. New shoes coming in the mail TODAY!!

I cannot wait till this week is over. And next week.

This song is beautiful

I love that Robert Plant learned to sing in the style of Alison Krauss. Subdued, subtle music is as powerful as all the loud and intense junk (that I still completely love).

Flies in yo mouth

Last night I had this very strange dream that I was in a room with bugs crawling and flying around. Somehow - my mouth was very much agape and a fly landed on my tounge. I couldn't figure out how to get the insect off my tounge. I tried licking my hand but it didn't work. I tried my shirt sleeve - that didn't work. So I woke up from the dream, stuck out my tounge and licked my pillow. Hard. That seemed to work. I went back to the dream and continued as though nothing had happened.

This morning as I was getting ready for work, I remembered the dream. I looked at my pillow and there was a definite tounge marking. I am a little weirded out. What else do I do when I wake up in the middle of a dream to complete a Dream Task? Glad I sleep alone.

On exercise

I'm going to be bookending the month of April with workouts. After a 6 month workout-hiatus, I am going back to the gym. I hope to be able to workout a few times a week throughout the month of April, though this might prove difficult with my upcoming work schedule. If I cannot work out with the frequency I would like to, I will atleast complete my goal of bookending the month with another work out on May 1.

I packed up my backpack this morning with all the necessities. Grubby tshirt, workout shorts, old sneaks, fully charged iPod, white socks, and hair ties to keep the sweat off my bangs. It felt so foreign and I was sad to think that I used to do this nearly every day. What happened, body? Why did you give up on the working out? The weird thing is - I have dropped about 2 pant sizes in the past 5 months without working out once. I do a lot of city walking and a lot of lunch skipping. But besides the fact that no pants fit me that well anymore - my biceps aren't the size of boulders and my stomach cannot be compared to a washboard. Yet.

I did 50 sit ups on Friday morning before work and I spent the whole of the afternoon with a tummy ache. Coincidence or am I really that out of shape? Have any tips for staying motivated? Especially when my huge workout goal is to work out 3-4 times a week for only one month. Not that hard. But how does one hold themselves to these goals??

My latest activities and accomplishments, in no particular order

Easter family time
Falafalship
Look master frodo, an elefant.
Quick! Hide your children!
Le Loup's triumphant DC return
Puzzled? Check.
Upcoming activities: Polish dining, Frozen custard social hour, Saturday technicolor glamour-era-matinee at the museum, Cherry blossoms, marathon viewing(?), ok now I'm just getting ambitious. Lastly - painting. Hey, if we're being ambitious, there's no point in beating around the bush.

Everybody's workin for the weekend.

My weekends are never long enough and this past weekend was no exception. It was so much not long enough, in fact, that I took the morning off as well. Despite my relatively early bed time of 11:15, I couldn't get up to save my life. I had begun watching Royal Tennenbaums around 10:30 and fell asleep during the first half hour. I had the strangest dreams all night long about work, school, friends, family, you name it. So this morning I called in late to work and then proceeded to sleep in until a blissful 11:30.

I stretched in bed and reviewed the previous nights happenings, stretched some more and went downstairs to the kitchen for some brunch. Today's lucky meal was leftover tuna and white bean salad and an organic (yes, organic!) pop-tart. It was yummy. I brought the two items back to my bed and finished watching Royal Tennenbaums. There's something so delightful about being lazy on a work day. Everyone is busting their humps, and you are kicking back and being slothful. Blissful.

After the eating in bed and noon movie, I threw an outfit together and walked outside to catch the circus coming to town. Literally. Barnum and Bailey came into town today and they had their parade of elephants. I took some great pictures (hopefully) with my digital and my Holga - finally finished the roll.

This weekend was filled with hanging out with old friends, meeting new friends, a night in Baltimore - exploring parts of the city I never knew existed, church, easter dinner with my family and an evening of checking out camera stuffs. Oh and another show from Le Loup - DC's premiere (I think) band. Check them out!

It was a great weekend, but every weekend I spend here is so doomsday-ish. I know I only have like 6 more left. I'm having a hard time truly enjoying myself knowing that its all about to change. Am I scared? Hell yes. Has that ever stopped me from doing something before? No way. I just wish it would come sooner!! The suspense is killing me.

The Neighborhood - Riding the Bus

Part 2 in a series of posts about my neighborhood.

Every morning I have 2 choices. Take the bus through the ghetto (30-45 minutes) to get to work or take the bus through the other ghetto and catch the train (25-35 minutes)to get to work. Actually I suppose I have 3 choices - the 3rd being sleep in.
Anyway, it's never a dull moment on either bus. Sometimes I take the longer bus ride just for kicks - it's just that fun.

Allow me to share some bus stories. Sit back! Relax! Grab a cuppa joe...

Bus Story #1: The books
This isn't so much one episode- rather a reoccurring theme of the bus rides.
People read some interesting books on my bus. I don't mean interesting like 100 years of solitude or a biography on Genghis khan. I mean interesting like this: and this:
I seriously need to start a book club for Ghetto Lit. I'm sure these books must be a fascinating look inside the minds of my peers and neighbors. Or at least the fantasies they have. I'm sure when they see me reading High Fidelity, they just shake their heads and laugh at the middle aged white man on the cover. I'm severely uncool.

Bus Story #2: The Glaring Woman
Some people are very slow entering and exiting the bus. It creates a line where impatient people, like myself, get perturbed and the foot tapping begins. The other day an elderly woman made her trek on the bus. It took her about 5 seconds to go up each step and 10 seconds to put her money in the machine. She stopped in the aisle after she put her money in and I thought she was going to stay in that spot for the duration of the bus ride. I had already deposited my bus fare and so I tried to scoot around her. Well apparently she had been getting her purse in order because at the precise moment I tried to scoot around her she started walking down the aisle. She stopped dead in her tracks and gave me The Stare-down to Top All Stare-downs. Oh, I'm sorry ,I said politely. She shook her head and muttered something under her breath that SHE IS LUCKY I didn't hear. I don't take muttering very well, although it is something I've nearly perfected. But something about that stare and that muttering - I felt so ashamed for the entire bus ride and couldn't even look up from my Nick Hornby book. Now that is shame.

Bus Story #3: The Crazy Man
Now occasionally I will sit next to a crazy person on the bus. The other day it was an African Crier. She cried and cried and whispered things to herself in a foreign language for an entire 20 minute bus ride. Should I have said something to her? I didn't. I just turned up my iPod - I'm empathetic like that. Anyway I sat next to a man last night who was staring at my iPod the entire bus ride until finally he started talking to me about it. We discussed the different iPod varieties and all the pro's and con's of each. He told me about his boyfriend who bought him a shuffle and how he thinks maybe his boyfriend doesn't really love him or else he would've bought him a 160g video iPod. I had to agree with him there - I mean bigger is ALWAYS better, am I right ladies? Actually he wasn't even that crazy - I wasn't scared for my life like I have been with other Bus Friends. He was cute and funny. He even helped me with a game of iPod solitaire.

You see why the bus is so great? You find new and interesting books and genres or fiction. You become humbled. You make new friends. And you never stop wondering Why Does it Smell Like That? or Will I Puke On This Bus Ride? Ahhh, the bus. Truly God's proof that he loves us.

The neighborhood - new friend

I'd like to begin a series of posts about my neighborhood. This is post numero uno.

Last saturday I was surveying our front yard, trying to figure out what I needed to do to make it less ghetto. Even though we live in the ghetto (in the ghettooo)it doesn't have to feel like it all the time. Now when I say "front yard" what I'm referring to is the 8' x 8' patch of "grass" that is home to a pathetic little tree, 2 trash cans, one recycling bin, and some precariously placed large rocks. It's very sad. This patch was covered with trash, tons of leaves, and sticks and things. I decided that something must be done, so I searched the house for a rake. Not finding one, I was relegated to the plastic bag method - use plastic bags as gloves to scoop up the mucky. Me being the silly froofy girl that I am, I didn't want to get any worms or buggies on my hands, so I armed myself with 2 old grocery bags, one large hefty yard bag, and set out in my front yard to clean up.

I got as far as my front step when my next-door neighbor decided to initiate a little conversation. He snickered at my attempt at yard debris cleaning and offered to help. Oh, no - it's ok. I've got these bags. I'm fine. Without another question he announced he was going to get his rake and help me. Oh god help us all.

Thus began the new friendship of Gnomie and her neighbor, D. He is an urban gentleman, a rare find in this day and age. He has the ghetto fabulousness, but he is sweet and funny, too. We talked about nothing in particular while I held the large Hefty bag and he raked the square of leaves and trash. During this 10 minute escapade, I deciphered the following information out of him:
1. He is living next door with his aunt (he is in his mid-thirties).
2. He's only living there for a "quick minute" (whatever the hell that means).
3. He likes to go for "morning jogs".
4. He takes care of his women.

Look, maybe I ask a lot of pointed questions or something, but I couldn't get any real info out of him. He's the kind of person where you can talk to him for days and days and leave thinking what the hell did we just talk about anyway? We definitely talked about the weather. We discussed our mutual distaste for G Dubya. We discussed plants. BOE-RING.

So D was layin on the flirt pretty hard during this 10 minute tryst. Also I should point out that foodstuffs boy, now designated - R1 - was inside talking on the phone while I was outside cleaning. R1 heard me and D talking outside and came to check out the situation. He stood at the door like Big Brother, checking things out. D looked up and saw him standing at the door.
D -Oh is that your husband?
J - Noooooooo. No.
D - Oh, your boyfriend?
J -(Relunctantly) Um, yes. He is. (anyone who knows me knows that I HATE the boyfriend designation. But how do you explain this to an urban gentleman?)
D - So, not your husband then, huh.
J - No. And don't let him hear you say husband. Boys are scared of that sort of thing.
D - I ain't scared of that sort of thing. You need a real man to step up. A strong man. Someone to take care of you. I take care of my women.
J - Good. That's, uhhhh, good.

As a direct result of this intense 10 minute bonding period, D and I are great friends now. We chat in the morning when I'm leaving for work and he greets me when I come home. He's a front porch lounger, and my personal welcome wagon. He's like a little puppy - always excited to see me. I can always count on D. I just wish I could tell you what his real name is because it just makes his character that much better.

I actually don't really recall

This weekend was full of revelations. Not like prophetic revelations (that was last week) but maybe more like realizations. I am calling them revelations because they sound more important that way.

1. The phrase "reinventing the wheel" -
I was driving around in my friends car and was pondering what I could do to save the world (true story. I know, I'm ridiculous). "If I'm going to do something monumental, I really need to conceptualize something completely new. Something like the first invention all over again. Like the wheel. I will reinvent the...oh! I get it!"
That conversation actually did take place in my head. Don't judge.

2. I am going to miss DC. I have really grown to love this city, even more so since Iggy and I moved into our sweetly located bachelorette pad. Saturday was spent taking pictures of city scapes such as awesome rowhomes, graveyards, and urban peoples at bus stops. Don't worry that I was taking pictures on my holga and I didn't realize I was shooting on the wrong frame and all my pictures are going to be screwed up. Whatever. I'm so tee - oh'd. Anyway, I finished up the roll on my Brownie and will be processing that film this week. I want to take pics of DC to NYC with me and keep them by my bedside for when I have downtime to sit down and be depressed about missing my friends and hometown.

3. Just because you pay $5 for a small bowl of fries does NOT mean they will taste good. However if you buy 3 Zydeco songs on the jukebox as you are preparing to leave it will make you feel better about the loss.

4. Puzzles and tofu scramble are a good way to spend Sunday morning.

5. I got a new iPod! (Not a revelation but rather an exciting andecdote to be cherished. Thanks for the pod, Debbie!)

Hope you all are having a happy St. Patricks Day. I am (thankfully) wearing green underwear, so no pinchies for me. My friend, Jenny, told me on gchat this morning that she forgot to wear green and instead wore all black. She's trying to change the holiday to gothpatrick's day. I stand behind you, J Core.

Ohhhhh girls just wanna have, they just wanna, they just wanna-uhhh

Last night I had the discreet pleasure of taking in an utterly girly movie - Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. This was the ultimate chick-flick, in that it had silk robes with feathers, squeaky high voices, tete-a-tete's with a variety of men, makeovers, glitzy glamour, singing, and - yes most importantly - LOVE.

The love part was an essential part of the movie, yes, but I'm talking about when I fell in love.
With him:
Oh, Lee Pace. You are delightful, aren't you? The way you make me swoon in my seat in public. The effortless charm you possess which willed me out of my seat last night and forced my hand to fan my blushing cheeks. You are my husband, lets not deny it any further.

I had a girls night out last night with the Iggster, Mei Mei, and Mary D. I love these girls. It is so difficult to find girls who have as much depth, humor, love, sweetness, style, grace, and kind words as these 3 girls. I feel lucky to have them as friends and - girls - we need to have a sleepover so soon. I'm talking pedi's, mani's, facials, cookie dough, brownie batter, pizza, and smutty magazines and rubbish movies.

Anyway I highly recommend you see this movie. Take your boyfriends/husbands if you must. But if you really want to have a fun girly time-out: go with the gals. It wasn't even all fluff, either. The movie was superbly acted and there were some very heartfelt moments interlaced with all the bubble baths and fashion shows. See it and let me know how it changed your life.

I can't stop listening to this

It's done

Yesterday I walked into my boss's office and put in my notice that I would be leaving to go to grad school. My heart was pounding, but I had to do it because I was about to get a promotion and I couldn't have felt right about accepting the promotion knowing that I would be leaving in 1 1/2 months.

So after telling my work that I'm getting the H out of Dodge - I'm feeling like this decision is actually real. I really am going to quit my job. I really am going to move to Manhattan. I really am going to Columbia University. I really am going to have a really hard, intense year of studying and learning and growing and trying to survive on my own without knowing a SOUL in the city. It's a bit intimidating, but I'm starting to feel like - just maybe - I can do this.

Another item that sweetens the deal is that I get to quit my JOB! I love working here, but it's been a challenge to get things accomplished that I feel I'm capable on doing. One thing that is definite is this job helped shape my career path and focus my professional goals - I've learned so much about the energy sector, being a "professional" and learning how to behave in an office environment (no, its not ok to turn up your computer speakers when your watching a video with "buttcheeks" being screamed in the background). I've also learned how to keep plants alive in low sunlight, how to smile at people you don't really know who are always walking by your cubicle, and that you must put your name on food items in the fridge or people WILL eat them.

And yet ANOTHER item that sweetens the deal is that right after I quit, me and Iggy are going to go on a vacay for our double birthdays!! Somewhere warm and somewhere with an ocean for me to lay in front of and sip cold beverages as I run my fingers through the sand. Ahhhh...I can hardly stand the wait.

However, with all these great opportunities, I'm finding it really hard to deal with the reality that I'll be moving, leaving the city of poliical love, leaving my dearest friends and my family, going to a strange and unfamiliar place, ugh. I was hanging up pictures in my room last night even though I won't be there for much longer. I'm looking for rugs and furniture for the house even though I am leaving. I'm making new friends in the neighborhood to hang out with, even though I'll probably never see them after April. I can't help but feel a little sad about all this. I mean - it's the END of an ERA!!

In a frenzy

This week has been abso-nuts with work and school decisions and the whatnot.
However I have made a few really great decisions and reached some conclusions this week.
ALSO I came up with a new word:
Bro-dea: An idea from the bro's. Example: Hey bra! Lets go catch the game and drink beers on our heads! Gnarly!

I think its really going to catch on.

So it seems I have decided on a school. I had to respond to the school by this past monday on whether or not I would accept the offer. I accepted by default - mainly because I'm on the waitlist at the other school I really want to attend. And the waitlist doesn't always pan out. It's kind of like the DC lottery. People will wait in those damn lines and spend money on lotto tickets instead of food and wait and wait and wait to win money. This almost never happens. So I'm kind of bummed.
What this means is that I might be moving to New York City in the next few months. The program starts in June. I'm terrified. But once this is more solidified, I'll let you guys know a little more.

I went to a basketball game earlier this week and realized how much I despise the stupid sport. I thought it was just USU games that I hated (that Lars would always drag me to. Dumb.) but no - its pro games, too. That being said I LOVED the "cams" they put on the megatron thing. I don't know what its really called, but you know my friend, Megatron? She's super cool. Just wanted to give a shout-out. Anyway. So they have a kiss-cam, a dance-cam and apparently a flex-cam, but I missed that.
So my favorite is the usually the kiss cam because it narrows in on really awkward couples. I love it when the attack each other but i love it MORE when one person really wants to kiss the other and the other person is OVER IT. Suckers. They look like such jerks. Hilarious.
Do you have any good stories about kiss-cams or dance-cams?

Walking around, just checkin stuff out

I walked down the street over the weekend to take some pictures of the neighborhood. It was a fun time and I felt like quite the tourist. Glad to play the part.

I found a family
And a big giant pencil in the middle of a field.
Columnal.
Sepia tones make everything look old. I like it.
I need to get out and take more pictures in my neighborhood. I'm working with some old box camera right now and I got some new color lenses for a Holga I just started shooting with. With which I just began shooting. Anyway. I am trying to work on my skillz. I want to find shots that look at every day things from a different perspective. I like that.

To internets or not to internets

First and foremost, I would like to share the good news with the world wide webternet. My iPod has miraculously returned from the dead. Like Lazarus, it has begun to breathe new life again. I left it at work last night and apparently some little friendly gnomes came by to revive it and work their magic. I'll be testing the battery all day to inspect its new life and terms. I hope it continues to work, God Willing.

So the question on everybody's minds (Gnomie and Iggy) is: Should we get the internets for our new house?

Allow me to make a case for both arguments.

Yes, Internets: Sometimes I need to find a movie time. Or file taxes when I can't do it at work. Or blog from home (I never do this). It's nice to have the information readily accessible if needs be, without walking 4 blocks to the coffee shop with free wi-fi. You can't look at porn on the work computer, so I'm really not getting my fill lately. Google maps.

No internets: I don't want to pay more money. I sit in front of a computer all day as it is. If I have the internet at home I don't read as often as I would or do worthwhile things with my time. There is a coffee shop very close by that is open late and has free wi-fi and yummy teas. Not having the internets at home allows me to be more creative with information seeking and forces me to be unlazy in order to plan things beforehand.

After writing this out, I'm really thinking no on the internets. Can you think of any other reasons for or against?