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.