softball and baseball

Wednesday was my last softball game, and I was feeling conflicted because my roommate’s friend had tickets to the Nationals game that night. I really wanted to play my last softball game, but I also really wanted to see the Nationals – it was one of the things on my “To Do” list, and since my time is almost up, I figured I wasn’t going to get to cross it off. So, I asked if I could play in the first half of the softball game (I usually ending sharing my position with another female player), and decided I could have the best of both worlds by playing half of the game and missing just the first inning or two of the Nats game. We ended up actually having just enough people to play the game, so I couldn’t really leave early… but it was so overcast (and sprinkling) that by 7:15 it was getting dark, so we called the game. We were getting our butts kicked anyways. I thanked everyone for a fun season and headed toward Nationals Park.

The new stadium is just a short metro ride from the National Mall, and I met up with Amy at the center field gate. I grabbed some food and we headed to our seats – we had a great spot in right field, right next to the bullpen. The Nats were playing the Dodgers (boo!), so I cheered on the Nats! The stadium was nice – it seemed a bit small – or at least smaller than what I’m used to (SBC Park and Angels Stadium). It was also a bit weird because there were a LOT of empty seats – not something I usually see at a major league ball game. Two of my favorite parts of the game were when the Presidents raced and when they did YMCA. I’m not sure if the Presidents are mascots, necessarily, but they are people dressed up like some of the more notable presidents: Jefferson, Washington, Teddy Roosevelt… The creepy thing is that they have normal sized bodies and GIANT heads. Here’s a picture of Jefferson and Washington (I think).

I was so glad to be able to make a game before I left, and I had a great time. The Nats even won! That made it extra special!

NY to DC and my briefing

I was not looking forward to the 4 hour bus ride back to DC. Although I had some work to do, I was eager to be distracted from it, and was glad when the bus driver put in a movie! I was pretty sure it would be a cheesy family flick, since it was a mixed crowd on the bus. I was not-so-pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a Steven Segal movie. It was pretty violent, and they cursed a lot – which I tried to escape by turning up my ipod – it only partially blocked out the sound of people getting sliced up by swords and beaten to a bloody pulp by Mr. Segal. Not exactly my idea of quality entertainment.

The next movie was just as bad. From what I could tell by my occasional glances to the screen in front of me, this movie was about a group of prison inmates who joined a poetry class. At the end of the movie, they had a party where they were reading their work, towards the end of the party, a huge fight broke out and pretty much everyone died. There was a lot of shanking going on. Again, I was less than impressed by the bus driver’s selection. But at least it kept me focused on my work!

Most of the work I had to do was for my briefing, which was only 2 days away. As I mentioned before, all of the summer associates had to do an hour-long briefing to talk about the projects they worked on over the summer. I got really nervous Tuesday morning, after my early-morning practice run went poorly. I was totally stammering, tripping over my words, and saying the wrong things. It did not bode well for the presentation! I was prepared to get through it, and then return to my office and cry, if necessary.

Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary. The briefing went WAY better than I expected! There were lots of great comments and questions, and a bit of discussion about the recommendations I suggested – it was great! It reminded me how great it is to work in a community that fosters critical thinking and discussion, in a positive way.

With the pressure of the briefing off my shoulders, I enjoyed the rest of my afternoon – and even headed out a bit early to meet a friend for Happy Hour. Cindy is a CGU alumna, she was a few years ahead of me and was someone who was always helpful in giving me advice about the program. Her dissertation defense, was also the first one I attended (she did fabulously!). Now, Cindy works in a great applied research position in DC. I was excited to hear about her transition from grad school to real life – it’s always a good reminder that people do finish successfully!

Goodbye NY!

Sunday morning we really wanted to have enough time to get brunch, walk through Central Park AND have time to spend in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So we got up relatively early and headed out to one of Ari and Paul’s favorite brunch spots. The place was right near the corner of 112th and Broadway, which is the corner that is home to the restaurant used as Monk’s Café on Seinfeld – well, they used it for the outside shots, at least. Still, being such a big Seinfeld fan, I was super excited when we walked past it.

The place we did have brunch (Campo) was great! We sat outside so that I could enjoy my last hours in New York – it was great! We were enjoying people-watching a little bit too much, though, and ended up spending a little bit too long at Campo, which meant I didn’t have time to visit the Met. We still had enough time to walk through the park and past the Met and it’s beautiful entrance. So, we headed off toward the park.

I think Central Park is one of my favorite places, and definitely a highlight of my trip to New York. We walked through an entirely different part of the park, past a large lake spotted with people in rowboats, past the giant fountain that has been in so many different New York movies… it was beautiful!


We walked out of the park and over to the Met, but the front steps were covered by a giant fence – I guess they are remodeling. :(

We hopped back on the subway and headed back to Harlem to grab my stuff. Ari rode with me to Penn Station, to make sure I caught my bus. It was so great to see her and she was such an awesome hostess and tourguide! I had the most incredible time in New York! It’s not somewhere I would want to live, but I could definitely visit there more often! I can only hope to have the chance to visit Ari again soon!

NY, day 2, part 2

After we enjoyed Hairspray and our awesome backstage tour, Ari and I said thanks and goodbye to Travis and headed back to the subway. We traveled down to South Ferry so that I could see the Statue of Liberty. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I think I expected it to be larger and much closer to Manhattan. It was kind of small and far away… I think the movies just make it look a little different than it actually is. I’m sure I would have been more impressed if we had hopped on the Staten Island Ferry and rode past it.

There she is - Lady Liberty


After my Statue of Liberty disappointment, we walked through Battery Park, browsing the park vendors and grabbing a pretzel. We jumped back onto the subway and rode into Chinatown. I was really hoping to find a cute (cheap) purse, and Ari was shopping for a clutch, so we spent a few hours shopping in Chinatown. There are a million little shops selling sunglasses, jewelry, handbags, t-shirts – you name it! Most of the owners/salespeople were pretty assertive about what they had to offer. I ended up without any purchases, but I just didn’t find the “perfect” bag.

We made our way from Chinatown, through SoHo, window shopping while we walked. Our destination: Little Italy. I really wanted to have dinner in Little Italy – Yum! So we walked down Mulberry Street to where the cobblestone streets are cordoned off and restaurants and vendors spill from the sidewalks into the streets.


We walked from restaurant to restaurant, trying to pick a place. My only criteria were that it be outside and that we not have to wait too long for a table. Almost every place had outdoor seating, and almost everywhere had a hostess stationed right at the street, trying to “encourage” people to patronize their restaurant. In some cases, we were a little put off by the hostesses, and chose not to eat there because we were feeling a little bullied! We ended up at a great little café, seated next to a very “boisterous” group of older adults. We both ordered the gnocci and a glass of Riesling, and both were fantastic! I love great Italian food! After dinner, Ari and I bought gelato from a little booth on the street (another great Italian treat!) and headed home to regroup. On the way, we made a quick pitstop at Times Square, so that I could join the tourists in visiting such a famous site. I couldn’t visit New York without stopping there!

Times Square

At Ari’s place we met up with her roommate, Paul, who joined us in a venture to the Upper West Side for an evening out. We decided to make it a little belated birthday celebration, since I had a relatively quiet birthday dinner. It was so much fun! We even stopped by a late-night pizza joint and grabbed a pie to take home. This super-sized pizza had the largest slices I have ever seen! HUGE! And tasty! :)

Hairspray and Central Park (NY Day 2)

Saturday morning Ari and I dragged ourselves out of bed and headed out to Broadway. Ari has a friend in the cast of Hairspray who told us that they hold a raffle for discounted front-row tickets for the Saturday matinee. We met up with Travis at the theater and all put our names in the drawing. Wouldn’t you know it – Travis’s name was called first! And Ari’s was second! The third name they called was this boy who was about 10 and was on crutches. When they called his name he shrieked like a 3-year old girl and shouted, “I won! I won! I’ve never won anything in my whole life! I can’t believe I won!” It was adorable to see him so excited! He kind of reminded us of Tiny Tim because of the crutches and enthusiasm for life’s little joys.

After we secured our cheap tickets, we walked a block or two to a small diner for brunch. We grabbed a booth by the window, which provided endless entertainment during our meal. New York is really a great place to see a million different kinds of people!

We wandered back towards the theater, said goodbye to Travis, and walked up the street to Columbus Circle and one of the entrances to Central Park.

I LOVED Central Park! There was a crowd gathering down on one of the grassy patches – I’m not sure what they were protesting (we couldn’t read their signs from so far away), but Ari and I decided that it was something related to protecting natural habitats. We wandered through the park, past a playground, some softball fields, a carousel, and lots of people enjoying their Saturday.

Central Park

We stopped at Sheep Meadow, a place where people lounge and sunbathe that has a great shot of part of the skyline - a reminder that this peaceful park is in the heart of a busy city. It was a beautiful day, so there were a lot of people enjoying the weather!

Ari and me at Sheep Meadow

It was about time to head to the theater for the show, so we made our way back through Central Park. I was excited to see the play, and when we walked up to the front row, we realized we would be extremely close to the stage. In fact, there were a few times during the show that I was afraid someone would fall into my lap, or drop a prop on me, or spit on me while shouting (ew!). Fortunately, none of those things happened, but we were very close. The show was great! Ari’s friend was great, and there were a lot of relatively famous people in the cast (more info at http://www.hairspraythemusical.com/hairspray_home.php).

The best part was definitely after the show. Ari and I got to go backstage for a little tour with Travis! We got to see the sets, the wardrobe and hair rooms (they have over 100 wigs!!!), the props, and we even got to meet Tevin Campbell and George Wendt! Travis walked us out, past some of the cast signing autographs for waiting fans, and we thanked him profusely. He really helped make my New York trip memorable!

New York state of mind (day 1)

No big surprise that I was late getting to the bus – I knew I wouldn’t miss the bus, but it was much closer than I would have preferred. As it turns out, I was glad not to get onto the bus until right before we left because I was trapped on it for much longer than I expected. The bus ride from DC to New York is about 4 hours, and I thought by leaving at 2 on a Friday I would beat some of the traffic. WRONG! Our 4 hour journey ended up taking about 6, and we didn’t stop for a bathroom or leg-stretching break until after about 5. It was frustrating not to have any idea how much further we had to travel or when we would take a pit stop. And let me tell you, I was definitely ready for the bathroom break!

Eventually, we made our way into New York, and through the Lincoln tunnel. We drove a bit through Manhattan as we made our way to Penn Station. I was so excited to see so many well known places for myself! My friend Ari met me outside the station, and we hopped on the subway to her house in Harlem. Her apartment was way bigger than I expected – with hardwood floors, a river view – it was a great place!

We dropped my bags off, freshened up, and headed out to a cool lounge in the West Village. Two of her friends were there, and it was nice to relax and people-watch, although the music was a bit too loud to really talk. We danced a little bit (the DJ was playing some great music!) and eventually decided it was time to grab a bite to eat and call it a night. We walked around a bit, heading to one of Ari’s favorite late-night pizza joints. There’s nothing like a 2am slice of New York pizza! I really felt like I was having the New York experience!

Only in New York can you buy a pair of sunglasses at 2 in the morning!


After our snack, we grabbed a yellow cab and headed back to Harlem. I’m sure everyone knows this but me, but apparently in New York there are two kinds of cabs: yellow cabs and gypsy cabs. Now, I had heard Lenny Briscoe on Law & Order talk about gypsy cab drivers, but I didn’t really know what that meant. Ari explained to me that yellow cabs are owned by the company and are metered like a “normal” cab. But gypsy cabs are independent cabs and just charge you a flat fee for driving to your location. If you are a local you can get the hang of how much it costs to taxi places, but if you’re just visiting, the gypsy cabs can totally overcharge you. Anyways, in Virginia and anywhere else I’ve taken a cab, it seemed like there were lots of cab companies, so having only one “regular” taxi company was a little weird to me. Fortunately, Ari knows her way around, so the few times we did take a gypsy cab, she was able to negotiate a fair price.

Rand Slams!

Monday night we had one of our last softball games. I am really glad I got the chance to play! It really gave me a chance to meet co-workers I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. The only downside was that we usually didn’t finish playing until well after 8pm, which means I don’t get home until well after 9pm. By that time, the bus doesn’t run as frequently, I don’t want to walk home because it’s dark, so I tend to shell out the $10 to taxi home. Tonight I forgot to plan ahead (i.e., have cash), so I ended up paying the taxi driver with 6 singles and two-fifty in change. He didn’t get much of a tip, but at least I had enough to get home!

Here is a picture of the awesome Rand Slams (that’s us in purple)



Friday at work was a short day for me, because I was headed out to New York to visit my friend Ariana. To make things even better, there was a special event at work, the San Gennaro Festival. I’m not sure what it was for exactly, but we basically had an Italian themed luncheon and time to relax and chat with coworkers. The food was delicious, and it was nice to talk with some of the softball team players off the field. Softball was definitely a great way to meet people!
(more on NY in the next post)

american art and portraits

I decided that with my Sunday I would visit the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and the Portrait Gallery, which are housed in the same building. I metroed over to Chinatown and had lunch at 5 Guys burgers – a place Amy had called an east coast version of In N Out. The ingredients were fresh and the food was relatively well made, but really, no one comes close to an In N Out burger.

After my lunch, I walked over to the Museum. The setup is a bit weird, since literally half of the building is American Art and the other half is Portraits – rather than having one floor of each. But it offered a bit more variety as I wandered out of one and into the other. I found that, for the portrait gallery, I really appreciated the photographs the best. I know that a painting of Lincoln is just as old as a photograph of him, but something about seeing history captured in a photograph is really cool to me – it almost seems more real to me to see in a photo. The portrait gallery also has an exhibition of portraits of celebrities and athletes throughout history that I particularly enjoyed. The American Art half of the museum was interesting, too. There was an awesome exhibit on Hip Hop music, with incredible painted portraits of some of the most celebrated Hip Hop artists. There were a few murals that were so beautiful, and there were some excellent black and white photos of Hip Hop artists on stage – very artistic. I was really disappointed because the O’Keefe and Adams exhibits were both closed for renovation. I was looking forward to seeing some more of O’Keefe’s work (there were a few pieces in the National Gallery), but I was most excited to see the Adams photographs in their collection, and was totally bummed. :(

CONCERT!

Saturday was the night for my birthday present to myself – tickets to the Maroon 5 / Counting Crows / Sara Bareilles concert. Actually, a few weeks ago, I was telling Amy that I wanted to go to the concert, but didn’t want to pay the $40 a ticket to sit on the lawn of an amphitheater. Just a few days later she sent me an advertisement for a super sale on tickets at that venue - $10 for lawn seats! So, as a present to myself, I bought 2 tickets (together, they were still less than the regular cost of a single ticket!). Anyways, the day is finally here!

Amy said that she would go with me, which is good since I don’t have any means of transportation. We headed out to Bristow – about forty minutes outside of DC. We got there just after they opened the gates and were able to get some great seats on the lawn. There was a bit of time before the show was supposed to start, so I pulled out my secret time-killing weapon: Travel Scrabble. Amy is a Scrabble fan like I am, so I was excited to play a match with her. We took a few pauses during Sara Bareilles’ set and the performance by Maroon 5, and in the end I beat Amy by a very slim 12-point margin.

The concert was great! It’s not often that you get to see three good sets (two of whom are fairly big names). Sara Bareilles is still gaining popularity… most of her music is just her and her piano, and I listen to her CD (Little Voice) almost everyday on the Metro. And she did not disappoint in her concert. I LOVE HER! Maroon 5, too, had a great concert - love them! I was less interested in Counting Crows, but they were good, and a lot of fun to watch. They even had Sara join them for one of their last numbers.

After the concert, there was a long wait to exit the parking lot, so Amy and I started another round of Scrabble and waited for the traffic to die down. After about half an hour, we headed out. I hadn’t eaten dinner, so Amy suggested we go to a local diner for a quick bite to eat. The Barnside diner was a small, family-run place and I had a great time as we sat at the counter, ate, and I gushed over how much I enjoyed the concert. All in all, it was a great birthday present!

goodbye, janice!

On Thursday, Janice and I visited her favorite Vegetarian café for a last dinner out. Honestly, the soy chicken was much better than I expected! I will have to try cooking it myself sometime. The highlight for sure was this mint cookies and crème vegan cake – delicious! I’m sure Janice wished she could buy a box full of the cakes and ship them home. :)

After dinner, I hopped on the metro to visit the Natural History Museum. I decided to swing by the White House first, to take a few pictures. I got a bit lost and was wandering around the Ellipse a while before finding the front of the White House. Unfortunately, I spent too much time walking through the city and didn’t make it to the Natural History Museum before they closed. I will have to try and make it back there another day.



Friday was Janice’s last day at work, and I was sad to see her go! Per our Summer Associate tradition, we all went to Chevy’s after work. I got a good chance to chat with another Social Psychologist (Dena, who goes to Princeton), and it’s great that I will get to reconnect with her at conferences and other events. Janice ended up arriving late to her own party (she was waiting for the FedEx guy) – but at least we had an hour or so of fun before we had to say goodbye. Janice was off for a two week vacation in Mexico, and I have two weeks of LOTS of work to look forward to. And no Janice to commiserate with. :(

excitement around town

Janice and I headed up to Columbia Heights for Ellie’s goodbye party. There were a few friends gathered in the backyard, and we played games and relaxed in the cool evening. Eventually, we had to say goodbye to our new friend, and wish her well as she headed back to school. I really enjoyed getting to know Ellie, and she was great company for happy hours, Jazz in the Sculpture Garden, and the Newseum! I miss her already!

me, ellie, and janice



The next day was a beautiful Sunday, so I met up with Amy and one of the neighbors at the pool. The weather has been really incredible (I hate to jinx it!). My first weekend here it was unseasonably hot and humid, and it was also pretty hot and sticky over the 4th of July, but other than that it hasn’t been too bad. I have been fully expecting to hate the 100° weather and ridiculous humidity, but so far, August has been great! Today, for example, it was warm (maybe low 80s?), but with a cool breeze and almost no clouds in the sky. Not as nice as California, but not too bad!

Tuesday was a day for celebration – my birthday! (Remember how I mentioned being way behind?) Unfortunately, I had to go to work – we had a couple of meetings and I had too much to do. On the good side, I entered my office to catch Janice writing me a birthday greeting on my whiteboard! She even brought me a cupcake. It was vegan, but still DELICIOUS! How do you even make good frosting without butter? It’s a mystery. A delicious mystery.

After work, Janice and I grabbed a birthday drink downtown. Then, we met up with Amy, neighbor Katie, and Amy’s friend Jason for dinner at Matchbox. The waitress even brought me a dessert to share, complete with candles! Although I don’t have very many friends here, it was great to have dinner and chat with people who I’ve gotten to know and love here in DC.

a childhood enjoyment, grown up style

(I’m sorry to say that I am still over a week behind in my writing :( Hopefully, I will be able to catch up soon!)

This week we had two more Summer Associate briefings: Ellie and Carter. Ellie had to fly to Pittsburgh to give her briefing, but we listened in from Washington. The next day was Carter’s presentation on cost factors of Navy ships, and I was surprised to find it more interesting than I expected. To celebrate both of their accomplishments, we all walked across the street to Chevy’s for happy hour after work on Friday. Although the service is usually on the slow side, something about $3 Margaritas and free chips and salsa keeps us coming back. (I think it has something to do with all of us being poor students in our normal lives!)

Once I got home from Chevy’s, Amy (my housemate) mentioned that the neighbors were having an Olympics Opening Ceremony party. So, I wandered over to the neighbor’s driveway to check it out. Someone had borrowed a projector and they set it up so that we were watching the Ceremony play on the garage door. The ceremony itself was so beautiful – it was even more incredible in giant projection!

The next day was another neighbor event, this time hosted by Andy and Katie Rogers (the friends of my roommate who helped me find a place to live). This was the Rogers’ 2nd annual Slip N Slide BBQ, and Andy decided this year he would improve upon the technical deficiencies of the traditional Slip N Slide and create his own. Let me tell you, this man takes his Slip N Slide duties seriously. The Slide was at least 50 feet long and 8 feet across, with two separate sprinklers spraying it, and soap to increase the slipperiness. It was ridiculous!

(if you look closely, you can see Andy on the Slide)


As the host, it was Andy’s responsibility to take the first run. He was fiddling with his drawstring, and some jokester in the crowd shouted, “Take it off!” Obligingly, Andy dropped his pants and took off down the Slide. Fortunately (I guess), Andy had prepared for such an occasion by wearing a silver man-thong. It was hilarious and horrifying at the same time. All I could think was, “Chris totally would have done that.”

After Andy’s trial run, a few of the guys headed down from the balcony to take their turns. At first some of the other women were too timid to try, but eventually, we convinced them to try it. Katie (the hostess) changed into a simple black one-piece bathing suit with a pair of shorts – a good choice for sliding (no accidental bikini loss). The guys, however, thought it was hilarious in comparison to her previous two-piece and kept asking why she was dressed in a suit from the 1940’s.

We had a few good runs on the Slide… Some of the girls tried sliding from opposite ends so that they would meet in the middle of the Slide, but they often didn’t quite make it all the way to the center. We also tried a Slip N Slide version of croquet, where Amy tried to slide under the legs of the other three women. I thought this would surely end in tragedy for at least one of the “wickets” – of which I was the first (and most likely to meet a violent end). It actually went fairly well, and only took us 2 tries to get Amy successfully through all 3 “wickets” – go us!



There were also a few tandem slides – the best of which was Amy and neighbor Bill’s celebratory slide. (see the video below)



After some excellent slides (if I do say so myself), I had to change and head out to meet Janice to go to Ellie’s goodbye party – more on that in the next entry.

I am not a programmer!

On Monday, I went with Ashaki to the Alexandria train station to see her off, and then headed in for an afternoon at work.

Other than Ashaki’s departure, I had a relatively uneventful week. I started on a new task at work… The big project I’m working on has a gigantic dataset of student grades, that they are going to use to look at grade changes during parent deployment cycles. I don’t really have anything to do with that part of the project, but my supervisor asked if I could help out, and of course I said “Of Course!” Basically, I have to take about 80 different datasets and fix them so they can be put into one massive set of data. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big problem for me – time consuming, yes, but we learn how to do this kind of thing in my stats classes, so it is totally do-able. Unfortunately for me, we learned how to do it in one statistical program (SPSS) and the data we have for this project is in a different program (SAS). Although there are ways to take the data from one program and put it into another program, I would have to change it back to the original program before handing it off, and if I ran into any problems, there wouldn’t be anyone to help me (or finish the work).

So, I’ve been spending a lot of time learning how to use SAS. And learning how to write program code. BLECH! Thankfully, the programmer who is helping me has been really great. She is in Santa Monica, though, so sometimes it is hard to coordinate our time zones. I was on the phone with her the other day, and in the middle of our conversation she says, “Um, I think we’re having an earthquake.” I laughed and told her to call me back – the joys of California!

Anyways, the SAS programming definitely has me pulling my hair out some days. It’s especially tough because if I write some code and it is wrong, I don’t know how to fix it myself – I have to call the programmer for help. :( Fortunately, I love the rest of the job, so I am trying to focus on that.

Beautiful Sunday

On Sunday, Ashaki and I spent a quiet morning finishing the previous night’s crossword puzzle. Eventually, we headed into The District for some sightseeing. After a quick brunch at my new favorite restaurant (Matchbox), we walked through the downtown area and strolled through the Mall. We headed over to the National American Indian Museum. We didn't have much time at the museum, but we started with a quick video on American Indians today. Then, we toured an exhibit about some of the traditions of tribes across the country. The next exhibit we saw, which was by far my favorite, was about the "evidence" of Natives in this country and through Central America. There were artifacts found from centuries ago, gold coins, jewelry, and a few crowns that were shaped a bit more like a stovepipe hat with no top than what we consider a crown. It was great, but we quickly ran out of time and were shephearded out of the museum by the security.

After getting kicked out of the museum, we headed over to Arlington Cemetery. The weather was fantastic – blue skies and not an drop of humidity in the air – I’m pretty sure it was a miracle! It was perfect for a long, sober walk through the Cemetary. The memorial that Ashaki wanted to see was towards the back, so we headed down the paths, stopping to capture a few photographs of this moving place.

We continued on to visit the burial place of Pierre L’Enfant, the man who was charged by George Washington to design the capital city. L’Enfant’s final resting place is on a hill in Arlington Cemetary, overlooking Washington, DC. On a such a beautiful day, the view was incredible.

Unfortunately, the Cemetary was closing, so Ashaki and I hopped on the metro and headed to Old Town Alexandria – I really wanted to walk down King Street and visit the waterfront so that Ashaki could see Alexandria before she left. Since the weather was so great, there were a lot of people at the waterfront, and it was great to sit on the pier and watch the families, dogs, and generally interesting people walk past.

Eventually, we made our way home, and after buying a Sunday Washington Post, we finished the evening attempting the week’s crossword puzzle.

Another visitor!

This weekend, a friend from school (Ashaki) was in town for a conference, so we planned to meet up Saturday afternoon. Before that, two of the other Summer Associates (Janice and Sara) and I traveled to Farragut (another DC neighborhood) for brunch at a vegan café. I was pleasantly surprised by my Belgian waffle! They also had some delicious looking cakes, but we are going to have to try and make a trip back for the cake.

After brunch, we headed over to the Library of Congress. This, one of the largest libraries in the world, is housed in four buildings. We toured the Jefferson building, the main building. The first thing we saw was an exhibit about the declaration of independence and the constitution. The items I liked the best out of that exhibit were personal journals and hand-written letters from the founding fathers – very cool! We also saw two of the oldest Bibles still in existence (one is an original Guttenburg!), and almost complete set of Jefferson’s original library. Apparently, he was very particular about the books he selected for his library – and he maintained an incredible collection of great works. Some of his books were ruined in a fire, and the Library of Congress has replaced most of them with the original pieces. It was incredible – I just wish I could have picked one off the shelf and leafed through it! The Jefferson building also has the Main Reading Room, which we could look into but not visit. Sara and I are going to go become registered readers so that we can go into the Main Reading Room – more on that next week!

Library of Congress


The Capitol


After the Library of Congress, Sara headed home, and Janice and I walked around the Capitol building to the reflecting pool. After taking a few photos in front of the Capitol, Janice and I headed up to meet Ashaki at her hotel. It was great to see Ashaki, and after she grabbed her bags, we decided to head out to get a bite to eat. We were surprised to see it was pouring outside! We adjusted our plans and hopped in a cab to a nearby restaurant for dinner and catching up. After dinner, we headed home and Ashaki and I relaxed with a crossword puzzle and some TV.

Back to the routine.

Friday night, after Chris left, my roommate had a couple of friends over for a game night. We played Apples to Apples (one of my favorites) – it was a much needed laugh after sending Chris back home. I spent the rest of the weekend catching up at work and at home (hello, laundry!)

Every Wednesday here in the ‘burbs is Neighbor Night – at least in my roommate’s circle of friends. There is a group of about 8 neighbors who get together every week, to hang out and have dinner. As a “guest / neighbor,” I get the privilege of attending Neighbor Night without the requirement of bringing a potluck item. So I try to make it to Neighbor Night at least every other week, not only for the delicious food but also to chat with the neighbors. This past Wednesday, we had berry cous cous, Asian noodles, fresh fruit, and homemade vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookies for dessert (I wasn’t kidding about delicious food!). After dinner, we played Catchphrase and enjoyed the evening weather. I am really fortunate to be immediately connected in a great community of friends!

The next day at work was my friend Janice’s briefing. Every Summer Associate has to present their work at a briefing some time before they leave (mine’s not until the 26th), and Janice was brave enough to go first! The briefings are an hour-long, fairly informal, presentation, with about half of the time spent on questions (that, to me, is the scary part!). Anyways, Janice’s presentation (on Iraqis’ social identity and attitudes about political violence – ask me if you want more details) went flawlessly, and to celebrate, she, Sara (another Summer Associate), and I went to Chevy’s for happy hour. Can’t beat $3 margaritas and appetizers!

Chris's Last Day

Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to Chris eventually. His flight was scheduled to leave around 5pm, so I planned to hang out with him in the morning, and drop him off at the bus stop in the early afternoon (and then maybe head in to work). We had a good morning, with brunch at home and watching TV. Amy (my roommate) even offered to drive us to the airport so that we wouldn’t have to leave so early.

On the way to the airport, I got a phone call from Jet Blue saying that Chris’s flight from NY (his only connection on the trip home) had been cancelled! After a long call back to Jet Blue, and a few frantic calls to our friends in Monrovia, Chris was booked on a flight to Burbank. The only problem was that instead of leaving at 5, his flight was leaving at 7pm. I figured that I would stay with Chris to make sure that he made it onto the flight to Burbank, so I thanked Amy for the ride and said I would take the bus back home. After checking in, Chris and I stopped by the information desk so that I could get the bus schedule for my return trip. While we were standing there, we saw a brochure for the Udvar-Hazy Museum, an extension of the National Air and Space Museum. There was a shuttle headed there from the airport and it was only 50¢ each way! Now, when Chris had visited the NASM, he was a bit disappointed because the Enola Gay was not housed there – it is at the Udvar-Hazy! It was the perfect way to spend our extra time.

The museum was a large airplane hangar, housing planes and aircraft from across history: early planes, WWII fighters from both the US and Germany, commercial planes (like an early United Air plane and a Concorde Jet), and even spacecraft (a shuttle used for flight testing, missiles, and satellites)! And, the Enola Gay.

We had just enough time to wander through the Museum and get a quick snack before hopping on the shuttle back to the airport. As soon as we got back to the airport, Chris had to go through security and I had to catch the bus back to the Metro. It was the perfect way to spend our last hours together, except that I had left my camera at home. :(

I wish he were still here!

Wed and Thurs

Wednesday I left work a little early to meet Chris and visit the National Archives. The line was a bit long, but we ended up only waiting about 30 minutes. Inside the Archives, we headed straight for the Rotunda and the Charters of Freedom. First, there was a display housing the Magna Carta. Then, in the Rotunda itself, were the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It’s incredible that we have preserved documents over the past 200+ years. Looking at those charters, I could see the signatures of our founding fathers – to think that they stood over this very parchment, reviewing it, and signing it together – it really makes history come to life! I tried to take pictures of the documents, but the Rotunda is dimly it and you aren’t allowed to use flash photography (to help preserve the documents), so my photos did not turn out well.

Chris and the Declaration of Independence

After our trip to the Archives, we dashed into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Chris really wanted to see the Dinosaur exhibit and the Hope Diamond. We only had half an hour, so we dashed up the stairs and spent a few minutes with the dinosaurs, and then raced over to the Hope Diamond. It was totally worth the quick trip.

Chris vs. the T Rex

Next, we grabbed a bite to eat at the Gordon Biersch Brewery, which happened to be celebrating it’s 20th birthday with an 80’s party (our waitress was dressed up with giant plastic bangles and serious blue eyeshadow - at least I hope she was dressed up). After a delicious dinner (complete with garlic fries), we were set to head home, when we exited the restaurant to a complete downpour. We had an umbrella, but it was fairly small and didn’t keep either of us from getting soaked. After a half-block dash, we took cover under the awning of a steak house. I was certain the rain would lighten after a few minutes, but we waited, huddled by a window, with no let-up in sight. Chris suggested we get a drink at the bar of the steakhouse to help pass the time. We darted into the restaurant and relaxed for a few minutes. After our one round of drinks, the rain had slowed to a sprinkle, so we headed home.

On Thursday, Chris and I met up for lunch. I wanted to take Chris to Potbelly, a sandwich chain that toasts their sandwiches, and puts Quiznos to shame. Although they seem to be all over DC (and I saw some in Chicago and Boston), I don’t think they’ve made their way to the west coast, so I wanted to make sure that Chris got a chance to enjoy their delicious subs. As I expected, he loved his pizza sandwich!

After our lunch, we walked over to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I didn’t have enough time to stay, so I left Chris to enjoy the exhibits and I returned to work. After a few hours, Chris called to say that he was finished with the museum… and that he was bored. So he came to the office for a visit. After signing him in and getting him a Visitor’s badge, we did a quick tour of my office and the Visitor’s Center where some of the other interns work. I did a bit more work and then we headed out for a scheduled happy hour at a sports bar in Chinatown (The Greene Turtle). We were there about 20 minutes before anyone else showed up, so when they finally did arrive and took a seat out on the patio, we didn’t stick around for very long.

Leaving the Greene Turtle, we headed down the street for an early evening stroll down the National Mall. It was a nice night out, and it was a great way to enjoy the evening. We eventually got on the metro and came home, ordering pizza and watching TV for the rest of the evening.

Alexandria and the District (Chris Visit 3 & 4)

Much to my chagrin, I had to get up Monday morning and go to work. I met Chris after work, in the late afternoon, at King Street. We walked down King Street and into Old Town Alexandria. We wandered down to the waterfront, and walked across the nearby park, taking a few pictures. Chris spent most of the time trying to convince me that we should move to Alexandria when we “grow up” – I kept reminding him that I like California.



We grabbed some dinner at Chadwicks (now my favorite Monday night eatery), and decided to continue walking through Old Town. We stopped in a small ice cream shop for a little dessert, and then went to Murphys for a nightcap. The pub was fairly busy, and we sat down at a table in the corner to enjoy the music – an older man with an acoustic guitar singing, as he put it, Irish songs, drinking songs, and/or Irish drinking songs. He even sang “Black Velvet Band,” one of Chris’s favorites. Now, I have to add Murphys to the list of reasons why Chris wants to move to Alexandria!


Tuesday I had to work (again!) and so Chris spent the day at Arlington Cemetary, which he was very moved by. We met up to spend Happy Hour with some people from my work and we went to a pub in the Dupont neighborhood called The Brickskeller. They have a ridiculous selection of beer. I was impressed, and I don’t even drink beer. Their 15 page beer list was organized by country of origin (for imports) or by name and state (domestics) – crazy! Chris got to try some new drinks, and really enjoyed some raspberry ale named UFO something or other. Anyways, after The Brickskeller, one of my coworkers (another Summer Intern) suggested a trip to a bar in her neighborhood called Tonic. We were ambivalent about going, but then heard that they had 50c tacos – we were sold. So my coworker Ellie, her friend Ayesha, Chris, and I hopped in a cab to Adams-Morgan (another nearby neighborhood). After a round of cheap tacos, and an awesome plate of cheesy tater tots, we said goodnight and headed back to the Metro – another late night out!

Spies! (Chris Day 2)

Sunday morning, Chris and I had breakfast, and hitched a ride to the nearby movie theater to watch Dark Knight. After the movie (it was awesome!), we took the bus to DC to visit the International Spy Museum. When we entered the highly recommended museum, we took an elevator up to the main entry, and were told to select an identity and coverstory for our “trip.” I was Carol Lui, a 42-year old architect from Santa Monica (I looked good for my age!), and Chris was Richie Carson, a 14-year old kid headed to Russia on vacation. We watched a short video, and were let loose into the Spy Museum. The first section had all kinds of tools and tricks of the trade: recording devices, weapons, disguises – all kinds of sneaky things! The second part of the museum was a historical look at spying. There were exhibits on early codes and cryptograms, spies during the World Wars and the Cold War, and even a section on more recent spies in the US. One of my favorite things was a cartoon they were showing about a soldier who blabbed too much about his upcoming deployment. The girl he was flirting with turned out to be a spy (with a carrier pigeon in her hat – don’t ask), and his idle chatter lead to the destruction of his ship, after which he ended up in hell. The devil even chastised him for not keeping quiet. The message was pretty clear! Anyways, the museum was really interesting, with a piece of history we don’t hear much about. Plus, they said that Washington, DC, has more spies than anywhere else. Now, anytime I’m in the district, I look around and think to myself, “Which of these people is most likely to be a spy?” It’s kind of a fun game!

After the Spy Museum, we went to my favorite restaurant (Matchbox) – yum! Then, we wandered back down to the National Mall to do some sightseeing. We walked down the Mall, past the Washington Monument, to the WWII Memorial, along the reflecting pool, and up to the Lincoln Memorial.
Chris at the WWII Memorial - He was born in Guam

We stayed awhile at the Lincoln Memorial, in part because while we were there a thunderstorm hit. We watched some great lightning shows play behind the Washington Monument, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get a picture of the lightning behind the Monument. I think I would need a much fancier camera.

Chris Visit Day 1

Friday morning, Chris arrived in DC! I rode out to meet him at the Metro station, and we rode back home to drop off his stuff and grab some lunch. We went to “our” restaurant – the Macaroni Grill – for lunch, and spent the afternoon relaxing and catching up.

That night was a birthday celebration for one of the neighbors, so we headed into Old Town Alexandria to join in the festivities. The party was at my roommate’s favorite bar, The Rock It Grill. A karaoke bar with great food and dancing, too, The Rock It was a great place to spend our Friday night. Although we didn’t stay late enough for Chris to take his turn on stage, we did get to hear a few of the neighbors, and do some dancing, which I always enjoy.

Saturday morning, Chris and I planned to go into Georgetown, see a movie (Dark Knight), have dinner and stroll through the neighborhood. We took the metro and a long walk into Georgetown, but when we got to the theater, almost all of their showings of Dark Knight were sold out. So, for a Plan B, we headed to the shopping area, and wandered down the busy streets. We stopped by Georgetown Cupcakes (YUM!) and took a chance to cool down in Subway with a sandwich and cupcake. After our snack, we decided to walk over the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and down the Mount Vernon Trail. The trail runs along the Potomac from the Key Bridge in Arlington all the way past Alexandria and down to Mount Vernon. We veered off the trail to visit Theodore Roosevelt Island, a small island in the Potomac with walking trails and a memorial to the President.

Roosevelt Island from the Key Bridge


After a brief walk on the island (enough nature for Chris), we continued down the Mount Vernon Trail. We could see the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument across the River and stopped to enjoy the view for a few minutes.



We hopped back on the metro at Arlington Cemetery and rode home. After a long day of walking, we ordered pizza and relaxed at home for the night.

A brief lull...

Sunday morning, we slept in and then Elise and I grabbed breakfast at a cute cafe (Donna's, I think). After breakfast, Elise dropped me off at the Providence train station and I enjoyed the 7 hour ride back to DC's Union Station. It was nice to finally be home, but I had to get ready for another day at work Monday.

When I did get in Monday morning, it felt like I had been away for weeks! I had a ton of catching up to do, but at the same time, it was nice to have some time away. Monday evening we had another softball game, which we lost (by 1 run!). The game started a bit late, and somehow it was nearly 10:30 before I got home. Sometimes it's tough living so far out in the suburbs.

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful - most of the time was spent getting excited for Chris's visit

Rhode Island

[I'm still over a week behind, but I'm trying to catch up!]

So I rode the commuter train from Boston into Rhode Island (not terribly exciting). My good friend and recent CGU alum, Elise, picked me up for a quick weekend getaway in RI. First, she drove me around Providence and through the Brown University campus where she works. We grabbed a bite to eat near the college at a little pizza place that had a wide selection of odd pizzas. I passed on some of the more obscure (one with ground beef, sour cream, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips, another with steak and some kind of brown sauce), and went with a piece of pesto tortellini (yes, pesto sauce and cheese tortellini on the pizza), and a piece of chicken parmagiana pizza. I was in pizza heaven! Then, we drove through some of the more exclusive neighborhoods in Providence - the architecture was amazing and the houses were beautiful.

So, the median lines in the road were decorated in different neighborhoods. In one area, it was painted red, white, and blue (presumably from the 4th celebration), in another it was red, white, and green (an Italian community) – very festive, and not something I’ve ever seen in California.

There are a lot of “firsts” in Rhode Island – the first 4th of July celebration (that one might be longest running, rather than first), the site of the first democracy on US soil, the first American synagogue, the first place to claim to be "first" of anything...

On Saturday, we headed out to Newport, with a quick pitstop in Portsmouth, where my friend grew up. Her parent's place was adorable and she even had a window seat in her (old) room that overlooked the ocean - I would have died for such a place when I was young!

Once in Newport (which is on one of Rhode Island's many islands), we parked near the marina and walked down the water front. It was a beautiful day, and although the streets were fairly busy with pedestrians and cars, it wasn't too crowded. As we strolled down the street, I got my first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean. (it looked a lot like the Pacific) We grabbed a bite to eat at the Brick Alley Pub (yum!), and enjoyed the weather at our table on the patio.

After lunch, we drove through the "nicer" side of Newport - where the multi-million dollar homes are. These houses were HUGE and some of them had incredible views of the ocean. Elise mentioned that Nicholas Cage recently bought a home in that area for something in the neighborhood of 20 million dollars (!). Our drive took us past the rocky part of the coast, and past Brenton Point, where the sky was filled with kites. I don't think I've ever seen so many kites at one time! The pictures don't even come close to doing it justice, but here's my best attempt (all of those little specks are kites):

Eventually, we drove around the island to the "beachy" section, which was packed! We decided to wander the cliffwalk - a long path winding around the coast of the island. It was a great way for me to see the Atlantic Ocean up-close (and unfortunately, smell the Atlantic Ocean up close - it was particularly stinky - Elise said it was because of the seaweed and there being no offshore windflows, or something). There was a section of ocean where there were a dozen or so surfers - I'm not sure why I was surprised - as if surfing is a solely California thing to do! Anyways, here is one of my Atlantic pictures...


After the day in Newport, Elise and I grabbed some Italian take out and relaxed in front of the TV with a movie. It was a great way to end the day!

Massachusetts

I had another conference, this time in Massachusetts. After my lengthy (and enjoyable) train ride to Chicago, I decided to take the train to Massachusetts. It was a beautiful ride, and much shorter than the ride to Chicago! We rode through Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey (not particularly nice), but when we rode through New York, I perked up a bit. I couldn’t see much across town, but I definitely got my first sight of both the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge – I am planning a visit to NY in August, and I can’t wait! After NY, we rode through Connecticut – it was beautiful! There were so many small towns on the water, Mystic, Bridgeport, New London. In Bridgeport, there was a minor league ballpark (I think) built overlooking the water – what a great place to catch a game!

After a 7 hour trip to Boston’s South Station, I hopped on a commuter train to Bridgewater, where my conference was being held. I checked into my room in the dorms – a room of my own in a shared suite. I didn’t mind staying in the dorms, but it would have been much better if they had given me an actual blanket. The blanket they provided was literally a large piece of canvas – like the kind I would throw on the ground before painting a room. But other than being a bit cold, the dorm accommodations were satisfactory.

The conference, which was focused on child and family programs and policy, was pretty good. It was fairly small, which means I could easily meet people who research some of the same things I do. I also got to see Sherylle, my supervisor at home, and we ended up taking the train back into Boston on Thursday night for dinner at the Union Oyster House. Across from Faneuil Hall, the Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in the country! We didn’t have much time, so we took the train in, ate dinner, and took the train back.

On Friday, after the conference sessions, I took the commuter train to Boston one last time. I made a quick visit to Faneuil Hall, in part to be a bit of a tourist, and also to visit one of the only 2 Wagamama’s restaurants in the country. When I was living in England, a new noodle bar had just opened (Wagamama’s) and I LOVED it! Now, there are Wagamamas across England and around the world – and only 2 in the US – and they’re both in Massachusetts! Anyways, I made a special trip to Faneuil Hall so that I could eat there. Love it!

After a snack at Wagamama’s, I headed back to South Station to catch the commuter train to Rhode Island. (more on that in the next entry)

Softball and Dancing

After our fun on the 4th, I had to say goodbye Sarah. It was great to have her visit and I was sad to say goodbye. I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from my whirlwind days.

Tuesday the 8th was another big day – a softball game and a trip to Wolftrap to see the Paul Taylor dance company. First, the softball game… our game was held on the National Mall at 7th and Jefferson, just between the Washington Monument and the Capitol building. It was so much fun to play on the lawn and be able to look over and see the Capitol! The pictures didn't turn out very well, so you will have to wait until next time to see the evidence...

Unfortunately, I had to leave the game a bit early to meet my roommate to head out to Wolftrap. Wolftrap is an outdoor theater that offers a variety of performances from Kenny G - to Rent - to the Paul Taylor dance company. We had box seats (thanks to my roommate’s sister), so when we arrived we visited Ovations, an outdoor café decorated with teak, serving hors d’oeuvres and wine. We relaxed in Ovations for a few minutes and then headed to our seats. The seats were great, and the venue was beautiful (you’ll have to visit the website if you want to see pictures). The weather was perfect for an outdoor show. The show itself was okay – the dance company was good, but their routines were relatively slow and not particularly moving. That certainly didn’t stop us from having a great time!

Independence Day! (Sarah day 4)

What better place to be on July 4th than our nation’s capital! I didn’t think I could bear the massive crowds on the National Mall, so Sarah and I decided to view the fireworks from the Jefferson Memorial. We had no idea how early we needed to be there, or how long it would take us to get there on the metro. The metro had a completely different schedule, with trains running on different tracks to accommodate the flow of traffic to the Mall, so we planned for lots of extra time in transit. Oddly, the car we were on was not even full, and it was a quick and easy trip to L’Enfant Plaza.

We had to go through a couple of security checkpoints in our walk from the metro to the Tidal Basin, but the lines weren’t too long and it was a painless process. I can’t say that much for the waiting time after we arrived. We decided to stake our territory on the steps of the Memorial, although the marble is not particularly cushion-y, the steps provided a little bit of back support. There were a lot of people there, but there was still plenty of room, so we picked our spot and made ourselves relatively comfortable. After about an hour, it started to sprinkle. We were prepared for rain (you have to be, in DC at this time of year), and figured that as long as we stayed huddled under our umbrellas, our spots, our stuff, and our selves would stay dry. This was a great plan, except that it didn’t account for the puddles of water pooling around us, especially on the step just above the one we were sitting on. Shortly after the rain let up, we stood up to stretch our legs and discovered that the water from the top step had seeped down the back of our shorts. Since she was in khaki shorts (and I was in dark denim), Sarah’s damage was far worse than mine, and she had to spend a few minutes in front of the hand dryer in the bathroom to help dry her pants. Fortunately, we were not the only ones to be surprised by the rain and we had plenty of wet company. Here is a shot of the crowd just before dark:


We bought ponchos in the gift shop and headed back to the steps. This time we sat on one of the ponchos to help keep us dry. Our plastic ponchos helped a little bit during the next downpour, but we still ended up a bit damp. Still, we were more worried that the fireworks would be cancelled because of the rain. Just after 9:00, the rain let up and the fireworks began. The show was great, and even though I couldn’t quite get the Washington Monument and the fireworks in the same picture, we were so close to the fireworks that they covered most of the sky in front of us. Here are a few of the better pics. Next year, I’ll watch the celebration from somewhere dry!

Thursday the 3rd (Sarah's visit 3)

Thursday morning I, once again, dragged myself out of bed and in to work. I had a tough time concentrating, with the holiday coming up and my excitement to sightsee with Sarah. I ended up leaving a bit early from work so that we could visit the Smithsonian FolkLife Festival. The festival, an annual event, celebrates three cultures with exhibits and food. This year the festival’s topics were Texas, Bhutan, and NASA. We didn’t see anything spectacular in the Texas section, but there were a number of interesting booths educating me (and everyone else) about life, arts, and culture in Bhutan. Very interesting. The NASA booths were incredible. An exhibit about the devices and technologies NASA has created, a number of new projects they are working on, and a few great pictures of our galaxy and beyond. The only problem was that it was hot. And sticky. (blech!)

We decided to take a break from the heat and watch a movie, and Kung Fu Panda was really the only option, so we sat down to enjoy it. It was cute and funny, better than I expected. We had about forty five minutes to squeeze in a trip to the National Portrait Gallery. Sarah really wanted to view the American President exhibit – one of only two collections of Presidents’ portraits (the other being in the White House). It was incredible to see paintings of our first Presidents – paintings they viewed themselves, painted at a time when our nation was just beginning to take shape, just beginning on its journey to where we are today. We were one of the last stragglers in the portrait gallery as they closed, and on our way out of the gallery decided to make our way to visit the Lincoln Memorial. Our path down the mall took us past the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial. It is beautiful and reverent, a nice addition to the monuments lining the center of the Mall.
We had to detour a bit on our way to the Lincoln Memorial because of the prepared fireworks. The memorial itself was overcrowded with tour groups, families, and tourists with unbelievably large cameras. We climbed up the steps, toured inside the memorial, and even walked around to the back of the memorial that faces the Potomac. It was a perfect place to relax a few minutes as the sun set.



We headed back to Chinatown for dinner, and ended up eating at a great place called Matchbox. There is one other Matchbox, in Palm Springs, and although I had noticed it there, I hadn’t eaten there before. Their speciality is “vintage pizza” and the chicken pesto was spectacular. Definitely worth the lengthy wait for a table. Somehow, we were, once again, on the last train home. I shouldn’t have been surprised.

The Midnight Train (Sarah day 2)

Sarah and I left the house at the same time as I set off for work and she for the Museum of Natural History. After work, I had a softball game – finally our first game after 3 cancelled ones! We ended up having to switch fields (it’s a long story), and Sarah met up with me right before we headed over to another field in a slightly questionable neighborhood.

After winning the game (hooray!) Sarah and I headed to grab a bite to eat in Chinatown. We ate at a place called California Tortilla, an American Mexican place that didn’t necessarily remind me of California, but did have great chips and quesadillas. After dinner we headed to see the monuments – it was dark, and the monuments are particularly beautiful in the evening. We wandered past the Washington Monument, around the Tidal Basin, through the Jefferson Memorial and the Roosevelt Memorial. We completed our walk around the Basin, but didn’t have enough time to visit Lincoln. We power-walked back to the metro station, just barely catching the last train home (whew!). By the time we finished our ride and took a taxi home, it was nearly 1am!



Although we had been up late, I got up early Wednesday to get back to work. Sarah slept in and planned to make her way to the zoo, where I met up with her after work. We strolled through some of the exhibits, only to find that most of the animals go to sleep around 4pm. At least she had seen most of them earlier in the day. We had directions to a recommended place (thanks, Erica!) and headed over to the Adams Morgan neighborhood to get some dinner. Since I’ve been living in suburbia, I haven’t really gotten a great taste of life in DC. Adams Morgan was a great urban neighborhood with tall Victorian houses lining some streets, and rows of cafes, bars, and small shops on the other streets. The Diner was relaxed and fun, and it was even the night of half-priced bottles of wine. After dinner at the diner we stopped by a used book store, one of our favorite kinds of stops! Erica had also recommended a coffee shop with great desserts, so we made a stop in there before heading home. There was a jazz ensemble playing live music, and the place was packed with people – some chatting, clearly on dates or girls night outs, others working, with laptops opened and fingers typing furiously. Again, somehow, we found ourselves on the last train home and made a late entrance through my front door.

Sarahs DC Visit Day 1

Monday morning we headed back to Orange for breakfast so that the rest of our group could enjoy it. Then, we hopped on the train to Midway and caught our flight back to DC. Sarah came with me to spend the week in sightseeing in DC. Although it's a short flight, it takes a while to get from Dulles to my place, so it was about 5 by the time we were settled in Virginia.

We decided to venture out to Old Town Alexandria for dinner. It took a little longer to walk to the waterfront than I had remembered (I thought that the 15 block walk was only 5 or 6), but we enjoyed sunset on the waterfront, and grabbed a bite to eat at a great little restaurant.

After dinner, we decided to get a treat at Ben & Jerrys. We didn't realize that while we were dining, the storm of the century had descended upon Alexandria. When we stepped outside, it was POURING. Fortunately, we both had umbrellas, but in such a storm, umbrellas only do so much. Sarah was a little bit afraid of the lightning that seemed to strike closer every time - we tried to take shelter under some of the overhangs, but we still ended up soaked. Not that it kept us from our ice cream plans. By the time we finished our cones, the rain had lightened. We grabbed a drink in my roommate's favorite bar in the whole world, in her honor. It is a small Irish pub with live entertainment and a friendly ambience. After our drinks, we headed back for a good night's sleep.

Chicago: Saturday & Sunday (3)

Saturday morning I went to an interesting conference session, and then took a long afternoon break to hit up Navy Pier with my sister and Tammy. It was a beautiful day, perfect for sightseeing and lunch in the beer garden.

I went back to the conference to learn a little bit more, and after the last session, Erica, Sarah, Kelly, Tammy, and I went to Giordano's for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It was great! Cheesy beyond belief, but great! Then, we went to a jazz piano bar, wandered around Rush Street a bit, and headed home again.

Sunday morning Kelly, Tammy, Sarah, and I got brunch at a place called Orange. The food was creative and fresh - we tried "frushi" a fruit-flavored rice rolled with fresh fruit on top, and each got a unique breakfast dish. Tammy had pan-seared oatmeal (yum!), Kelly had Chai french toast (double yum!), and Sarah had a mushroom and oregano omlet with balsamic vinegar and almonds. The fresh juices squeezed on site were also delicious!

After breakfast, we headed to the park for a quick game of Scrabble. There's nothing better than playing Scrabble in the park on a beautiful day.

After Sarah beat me at Scrabble (by 1 point), I headed over to the last poster session of the conference. There were a few interesting projects, but there wasn't enough time to see everything I wanted to see. After the poster session, I said goodbye to my sister and Tammy - it was so great to have them join us for the weekend!

Sarah, Erica, and I went to the Miracle Mile - not to shop neccesarily, but we were headed for a used bookstore prominent enough to be on Sarah's little map. We got caught in an absolute downpour on our way around town!

So to stay dry, we stopped by a cute champaign bar called Pops. We ordered a relatively inexpensive half-bottle of bubbly and enjoyed our little splurge. It was easily the most I've ever spent on alcohol, but it definitely tasted expensive.

After our happy hour, Erica had to make a quick trip back to the hotel, and Sarah and I decided to walk through Grant Park on our way back. The park was packed with Taste of Chicago vendors and eaters, so we mostly stuck to the outer edges. I was really excited as we walked past the music stage, because one of my favorite artists, Josh Kelley, was performing! I have liked him for a few years, and got to see him once at a UCLA Book Festival Concert, and it was great that at the time we were wandering through the park he was performing! They were even pumping the music through the whole park, so I got to listen to most of his show. After we took a few pictures in front of Buckingham Fountain, it was time for us to meet up with the rest of the group, and as we were walking out of the park, Josh played my favorite song of his! Talk about perfect timing!

We met up with the rest of our group and headed to see a Second City show. We saw No Country for Old White Men, which was hilarious! It was far less structured than I anticipated and there were some great laughs. My personal favorite was a brief scene where a girl was bringing her boyfriend home to meet her dad for the first time... He tells the dad it is an honor to meet a war hero who served our country overseas. The dad gets a dazed, far-off look, and the boyfriend whispers to the girl, "Is he having a flashback?" "No," says the girlfriend, "he's having a flashdance" - and the spotlight closes in on the dad who proceeds to do a little number from the movie Flashdance. Hilarious! The cast even did a round of improv games after the show, just for our entertainment. Instead of taking random suggestions from the audience, they asked if anyone had a novel with them. The book they ended up with was "Moose: Stories from fat camp" and they would randomly open it up, read a selection, and do a scene based on whatever they read. It was a great way to spend our last night in Chicago!

Cubs, Conference, CHICAGO! (2)

After arriving in Chicago, I headed over to Wrigley Field to catch the Cubs game. Although we could only get "standing room only" tickets, the standing section was actually pretty good. Two of my friends (Amber and Kendra) met me there and we cheered on the cubbies together. Unfortunately, the cubs lost (by a LOT) to the Orioles, but the game was enjoyable and everyone got really excited once the cubs scored a few runs. After the game, my friends and I walked around Wrigleyville, and got a few drinks at a local pub.

Top: Wrigley Field: Home of Chicago Cubs Bottom: Former Rancho Cucamonga Quake: Derek Lee

Later in the evening, a few more of my school friends arrived (Dani, Erica), as did my friend from San Jose (Sarah). We all grabbed a late dinner at the only place open. It was great to catch up, but I had so much to tell everyone and so many stories to hear from them!

In addition to my CGU friends, I had what Dani kept referring to as "my entourage" who were also meeting me in Chi-Town - Sarah (from San Jose), my sister, and her sister-in-law Tammy. Sarah came to town Thursday, but Kelly and Tammy weren't due in until Friday night.

On Friday, I had my conference presentation, which went pretty well, and almost everyone from CGU was there for moral support. I went to a few interesting sessions, and ended my conference day with my poster presentation. There were a TON of posters, so I'm not surprised that I only got a few people stopping by mine to chat. After the poster session, Sarah, Erica, and I wandered around looking for somewhere to eat. Eventually we settled on a cute cafe that was mediocre at best. While we were sitting in the cafe on Michigan Avenue, my sister called to say that she and Tammy were in Chicago, but were stuck in traffic on Michigan Avenue. I looked out the window and could see her! I waved like a complete maniac and everyone in the restaurant and on the patio looked at me like I was crazy. After dinner, we met up with the rest of my entourage, went with them to get a snack and hit the sack so we could get up early.

chi-cago (1)

Last weekend I had a conference in chicago, and I decided to take the train there. Although it takes 17+ hours, I don't like to fly, so my compromise was to train there and fly back. Plus, it was going to give me a chance to see a part of the country I haven't seen before. So I left work a bit early and headed to Union Station.

I wanted to see the station a bit, but was running late (surprise!), so I basically got there and boarded the train. We traveled through DC, Maryland, West Virginia... I really enjoyed watching the scenery - it was incredibly green. My roommate has often told me how brown California is compared to the east coast, and I would always argue that California is green! It is, but because of the constant moisture (hello, humidity) the trees and fields were vibrantly green. We passed through a few small communities, nestled at the base of foothills, enveloped in trees - the picture of quiet east coast towns.

I mostly lounged in my seat and looked out the window, but I did do some reading and even a bit of work. After dark we rode through Pittsburgh. It didn’t look as bad as I’ve heard it is, but then again, I was only there for 3 minutes. I really wish it had been light a bit longer, I would have enjoyed seeing more of Pennsylvania.

Since the train ride went overnight, I knew I would be sleeping in my seat (the sleeper cars were an extra $300). I can usually sleep just about anywhere, so I wasn't worried - and other than being cold and a bit uncomfortable, it was fine. I woke up fairly early, as the sun rose over a small lake beside us. I drifted in and out of sleep and each time I opened my eyes I was greeted by another beautiful scene - a layer of fog over corn fields, a small town coming to life, it was great.

we ended up being almost 2 hours late, but overall, I really enjoyed it and would do it again - if I had 17 hours to kill.

Summer Solstice

Another Friday, another evening of jazz in the sculpture garden. this time we took a blanket, snacks, and a few more people. It was not as hot as last time, although the music was not as good either. Still, it was a great time of relaxing and getting to know some of the other summer interns.

Saturday was a summer solstice pool party here in the neighborhood. I forgot how much I enjoy lounging in the sun!

Today I visited the Newseum, a recent addition to the Washington, DC scene. Despite the $20 entrance fee (most of the museums here are free), another summer intern (Ellie) and I decided to check it out. We started in the gallery of Pulitzer Prize winning photographs. At first I thought, "Ooooh, this should be good," but my interest very quickly turned to sadness. What I didn't realize is how much news is about death, destruction, hatred, and violence. So many of the photos wrenched my heart and really made me wonder how someone could take a picture of that without doing something. Pictures of starving children, executions in Africa, children running from a city being bombed... Sobering. Certainly, some of the photos were beautiful and touching in a positive way, but it was hard to view them in the context of the tragedies.
Other exhibits were much easier to view, my favorite was a timeline of newspapers. The first sets were from the 1500s! There were papers highlighting every critical moment of history for over 500 years. To see them with my own eyes was incredible!
They also have a peice of the Berlin Wall there, with a guard tower, too. I wanted to touch it with my own hands, feel the cement that separated and imprisoned so many people. But there were signs posted saying not to touch it.

After the Newseum, I wandered around Chinatown. This was definitely more of an urban center than I've seen yet. We grabbed some dinner at the Chinatown Garden (delicious fried rice!), and headed home.