And now, Pennsylvania, too...

First, a WWF star in the midwest. Then, the terminator in CA. Now, a former Steeler is running for governor in my homeland. Lynn Swann, owner of 4 super bowl rings, officially threw his hat into the ring today in PA. Man, I don't know what I think about that. I guess I have a lot of reading to do now. I mean I love the Steelers and all, but that doesn't mean that I would trust them to run the state. Oh, and he's calling his campaign team 88... he wore #88. That's a little cheesy.. .sorry, it is.

Oh wait... I'm not a resident anyways...I can't vote. Weird. Well, I guess I'll read anyways.

Validation

The Washington Post reviewer for Wicked agrees with me. Nice.

Review of Wicked at the Kennedy Center

Metro operator quote of the day

On my commute home this evening, the red-line operator seemed to think it necessary to fill all empty space with her voice. So, at every stop, she's telling the people on the platform that she has a full train load and not to overload the train. Well, when we stopped at Metro Center, she declared, "As you can see, I'm a little loaded here." I'm hoping she was actually sober and clean, but at least our train car got a good laugh out of it.

Happy New Year!

I'm home! I'm home, I'm home, I'm home! Aaah...nothing like my very own space!! It was a fun holiday, though. Always good to see the family and then I saw a bunch of friends I hadn't seen in nearly a year. But, it will be good to fall asleep in my own place tonight.

However, I wanted to wish everyone the best for this coming year! I'm a sucker for resolutions and, as usual, I made a whole list of 'em. Here's a few fit for public consumption:

• Explore 10 metro stops I've never checked out before.
• Read 5 non-fiction books about things I wonder about.
• Edit my thesis for publication.
• Learn a new sport.
  

Happy resolving! I'll keep you updated on my progress. (Don't hold your breath!)

Also, in other news, I got a digital camera for Christmas so there should be more illustrations from here on out!

A month-old post

Well, I've safely escaped Cambria county to enjoy a few days in one of my favorite cities, Philadelphia. Yay! I'm about to head down to the market and a few of my favorite shops, but first, I think I'm finally ready to spit out my year-end thoughts. Bear with me if I repeat myself a little.

Reflecting on the past year, I realize that so much has changed in my life. I live in a new city: last year Philly, this year DC. I have a new job: last year part-timing it at Trader Joe's and teaching piano lessons, this year Master Chorale of Washington. I no longer have roommates. Last year at this time, I was living with a cool, but deceitful 19-yr-old and a slightly psycho woman in her forties (we'll leave it at that, but if you ever want some good stories, ask.). This year, drumroll please.... I have my own apartment on Capitol Hill!! yay! I'm still excited about it 9 months later. Last year I had a car, this year - no car.

But even my family has changed. No new babies this year, but new life stages all around. Grant, Steph and the girls moved to Arizona in June to help Scott and Caryl start a new church. They've since decided not to start the church, but are staying in AZ, at least for now. But, it's a great new phase of life for them because for the first time ever, they have a really nice house and enough bedrooms for everyone. I'm very happy for them even though I know that it's been tough for them. But, I digress... The holidays are different now because no one comes home. Just me. We're still figuring out how exactly to do this new stage of family-ness. My dad retired so mom and dad are travel-happy now. Which is cool. They've never really done that much other than to visit us.

Anyways, so the point is that there is so much different-ness in my life now. Well, I guess not everything's changed... still single... I'm taking suggestions, folks! But seriously, life has brought all sorts of changes this year so as I look forward to 2006, I hope to bring more changes to my life, but perhaps have fewer changes thrust upon me. Through it all, though, God is the same. Love that!

LED lights: not just for Christmas

I sent some LED Christmas lights to Korea for my friends and apparently, Nathaniel thought they were a toy. Turns out, it's a pretty cool toy. They're half-off now. Go get your toys while you can. (Also, a general TY to Jonathan for introducing me to the coolness of LED holiday lights.)

the effects of a weekend in my hometown

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my Western Pennsylvanian heritage. I like the idea of coming home and getting away from the city and, theoretically, spending time with my family. I love the snow hanging on the trees and seeing "real" winter. However, I always quickly remember all of the reasons I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge when I was a teenager. Except that now, even the things I never noticed because they were just part of my concept of normalcy (is that a word? aah! this mountain is eating my brain!) bug me now. Things like the fact that something as simple as going to a coffeeshop is completely impossible here. But, even more, people seem to be living in this bubble where the word "doesn't" don't exist. (Yes, that was intended.) I have to stop myself from launching into a grammar lesson in the store.

This is a world where the hairstyle you had when you graduated from high school is the one that you are destined to have for the rest of your life. And, it's a world where girls are expected to meet a "nice boy" in high school or, for the late bloomers, college and then settle down and have a nice little life where meals consist of a meat and a potato and a vegetable. I don't fit in here. Not one tiny iota. My parents giggle at the mention of an alcoholic beverage and are uncomfortable with the word, "bar". I love them all dearly, but I really do need out. And, to top it all off, I have no car here. (Ok, so I guess I don't have a car anywhere else, either, but you know what I mean.) Talk about freedom deprivation!

K, I'm done now. Someday, I will write about all of the wonderful-ness of growing up in Ebensburg. There really is wonderful-ness, too. I'm just having trouble seeing it through my boredom at the moment.

My Christmas vacation kickoff

I am so psyched. I don't have to go back to work for 10 days! And, I'm getting paid! Having a salary job is nice sometimes. Which brings me back to my twelve days of Christmas. This year has brought so much change in my life, most noticably my physical location and the existence of an actual full-time job for the first time. But, I digress....my Christmas kickoff... (I promise I'll spit that thought out eventually!)

Today, we closed the office at noon, which worked out perfectly for me to make the matinee of Wicked at the Kennedy Center. What's that you say? You thought it was sold out? Oh, yes, it is, actually. Having box office connections pays off from time to time!! So, Tara and I saw a musical to kick off the holidays. It was fun... a very fun musical. Big and fancy and complicated as usual, but pretty good. The second half suffered less than I expected which makes it a good musical in and of itself, I suppose. I have this theory (that has yet to be disproven) that the first half(s) of broadway shows are always better than the second half. It still holds true in Wicked in that the first half is a beautiful interweaving of character portraits and intriguing plot hooks. You really have time to, in the words of musicologists, "revel in the sights and sounds" on stage. But, then the second half comes and all of a sudden, you feel as though you're being drug through the plot as its twists and turns jet past you leaving you a bit breathless. But, I guess that's kind of what Broadway is all about... music that isn't "boring". Leave the audience breathless and always give them lots of spectacle to look at.

Wow, that sounded really negative... I didn't mean it that way... Anyways, so I kicked off the holiday break with a musical... a rare treat for me! Tomorrow I'm off to PA for football and Christmasing and general relaxation.
Happy holidays! I'll check in soon!

One more reason Christmas rocks

Because there are shortbread cookies everywhere! I love shortbread!

And, really, how often do you see shortbread? Christmas and girl scout cookie season... that's just about it.

The 8th day of Christmas brought me shortbread cookies! whoo-hoo!

my pirate name

Another blog I read had a link to find out your pirate name... this is me:

Red Bess Bonney

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

If you want to know what kind of pirate you are, (or just have nothing better to do for the next 10 minutes), check it out here

yummy fries and a holiday greeting, to boot

Um... so much for the twelve days of Christmas. Sorry, work kind of ate me alive and after regurgitation (now, isn't that a lovely word?), I didn't feel much like waxing eloquent about Christmas.
However, a random woman totally imbued me with holiday spirit tonight. I was just getting dinner at the local ghetto-palace-of-burgers-and-fried-foods when a woman, who was also waiting for her food, started talking to me. She asked me if I was ready for the holiday. I kind of laughed and out of politeness, asked her if she was ready. Well, she was so super nice! For the next ten minutes, she told me about what she was giving her husband and nieces and gave me the scoop on where to find gift boxes around here. (I asked... she didn't just randomly start recommending gift box vendors.) Sometimes I'm so busy maintaining my personal space walls that I forget how nice it is to just chat with someone for no good reason. And, also, while I'm thinking about it....what is it in black people's blood that makes them so friendly to everyone? It used to kind of freak me out (and it still does sometimes, e.g. the guy calling after me, "sweet cakes, boo-boo" etc.), but I realize that usually people are just being nice. Maybe we should teach that to the white folks?
In any case, when that woman walked out the door, I had a big smile on my face... So, there, I guess that's my sixth day of Christmas.

The second day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas, my life gave to me, two rejection letters and a new life in Washington, DC.
Yeah, I didn't have a whole lot of Christmas spirit this afternoon after being turned down for two jobs. Probably, two jobs I wouldn't accept, but still... it's the principle of the thing. On the upside, though, I got to see the National Christmas tree lit up, finally. And, the yule log! That's the best part. We have a national yule log! How cool is that? Turns out that a yule log had to do with the festive celebrations associated with the god Thor. Who knew?
So, yes, two rejection letters, but also a yule log! Maybe I'll incorporate the yule log into tomorrow. We'll see.

The first day of Christmas

I've decided to post something for the twelve days of Christmas from now until December 24. I think that the real twelve days of Christmas start on Christmas, but whatever, it's my blog and I get to do what I want. I should warn you, though, that they may read more like a New Year's entry than a Christmas entry. My inspiration was a series of thoughts (there needs to be a word for the conversations that take place in my head) centered around the things that are different in my life today from one year ago. So, it's more reflection, perhaps, than festive greetings. Anyways, so without further delay, the first day of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas, I woke up and found, a life in the nation's capitol. Christmas in DC is a whole new experience. I've had to really try to seek out Christmas-ness. I'm not entirely sure if that's endemic to Washington or if it's just because I'm new in town. I knew how to "do" Christmas in Philly, but I'm not that adept in DC yet. I'm working on it, though. So, if anyone has any great Christmas-y suggestions (Metro or foot accessible, please), I'm all ears!!

It's football Sunday again

Well, fortunately, the Steelers picked off the cobwebs and played a fine, snowy game against Chicago today. I love watching football in the snow. It looks like so much fun! Anyways, at the other end of the room the Bengals/Browns game was on (we would be helped by a few Bengals losses) so I was yelling things at the tvs on both ends of the room. Fortunately, Tara didn't seem too disturbed by my antics. I'm so embarrassing. I think at one point I yelled, "Hurt a Bengal, get a cookie" And, I still have friends? wow.


My boys in the snow--
SO PRETTY, SO MESSY!

Thanks, once again, to Pandora

I've been listening to jazz on pandora.com (if you haven't checked it out yet, go there right now, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go straight to pandora) and I never realized how much I like Diana Krall. Her band is good, her voice even better, and her sense of musicality and style is just plain hot. If I was a guy, I would totally be in love with her, or at least crush on her.
Unfortunately, I'm too lazy right now to post a clip, but you can check out some clips on her website at dianakrall.com. Her Christmas album is AWESOME.

A retroactive post

Since I can't change the date and time in blogger anymore, I'll 'fess up and say that I wanted to post this yesterday, but it just didn't happen.

So, it's happening again - Washington's giving me yet another reason to love it against my will. Snow delays! I haven't felt like this since I was a kid. When the weather report says there's a chance for snow, the whole city crosses their fingers and hopes for no work! No joke! Most companies here go by the federal government schedule and they close their offices or delay opening when there's bad weather. And, around here, a skift of snow is a good enough excuse to close up shop. So, that brings me to yesterday. There was a delayed opening of two hours. For me, that means I wouldn't have had to go in until noon if I didn't want to! Whoo-hoo! I think it might snow again next week! I can hardly wait!

Also, a random comment from my oh-so-exciting life: I never realized how many trees I walk under on an average day. Yesterday, though, they were all dripping on me so I noticed them. It turns out that I walk under a TON of trees! (as my wet head would testify)

Happy weekending!

If only God had e-mail

I wish God would e-mail me a brief summary of what it is that He wants me to do here in DC in the next year. I know he's stirring things up and moving me into different areas to build relationship with people and generally do good PR for Him, but I could use an itinerary right about now.
I feel like I know there's a lot going on somewhere, but I can't quite see it right now.
Allow me to give a little parallel from work: I sell tickets for Kennedy Center concerts, right? Well, in the side tiers, there is limited visibility of the stage and I tell patrons when they buy those seats that they will have a restricted sightline. I feel that way now, that I have a restricted sightline. I know there is a lot happening onstage, but I can't quite see all of it. I hear it and get glimpses when it's on the right side of the stage, but it would be nice to see the whole picture. Oh well, I suppose the journey is half the fun!

Sentenced to Marriage

I went and saw a documentary film this evening about Israeli women bound to marriages because their husbands won't consent to a divorce. I liked it. It wasn't overdone, wasn't overdramatized...just showed the footage and presented the situation as it is. Apparently, because Israel does not separate church and state, there is no such thing as a civil marriage. Therefore, there is no such thing as a civil divorce...everyone must go through the rabbinical court. Anyways, it was interesting and it was good to stretch my brain a bit. If I wasn't so tired, I would stretch it more successfully and share further. Unfortunately, you'll have to settle for this. I included a link about the film, but I don't know that it's playing anymore around here. Who knows when it will show up in other cities, though?

Check out the film

Word of the day

Today's learning moment comes from the second book in the Chronicle of Narnia series.

biv·ou·ac ( P ) Pronunciation Key (bv-k, bvwk)
n.

A temporary encampment often in an unsheltered area.

intr.v. biv·ou·acked, biv·ou·ack·ing, biv·ou·acs, also biv·ou·acks

To camp in a bivouac.

But, as you all know, true learning comes from application. And, so, a few of my own interpolations:

-Stranded at O'hare, we did our best to defend our bivouac.

-"No, Mom, please... not bivouacking AGAIN!"

-She bivouacked for three days outside the box office waiting for U2 tickets.

And, he wrote these books for kids? Now, seriously, how many 10-year-olds know the word, bivouac... heck, how many 30-year olds know that word?

Anyways, happy bivouacking.

The boats were a bust

Ok. So, I was looking for something cool to do this weekend b/c a friend was visiting me and I thought, "hey! what a good opportunity to do something Christmas-y!" So, I found out that there was this parade of boats that would be coming by the SW waterfront tonight by 6:30. I found it on cityguide, but then someone at work told me about it, too. So, tonight, my friend and I trudged down there (knowing how relatively inconvenient it is from NE - my neighborhood) all psyched for this parade of 50 decked-out boats. We got there a little early and it was cold, but it wasn't bad at first. So, we sat and waited and talked and then walked some more. So, it was 6:30 and no signs of the boats. 6:40 - no boats. 6:45 - no boats. Also, relatively little sign of life - as in people watching for boats. Where were the boats? Is there another SW waterfront? It said the Washington Channel/ SW waterfront. I feel betrayed, as though it was a big joke on me. Ha, ha... stupid girl thinks there are going to be big, beautiful decorated boats... she's going to freeze her ass off out there and drag her friend the whole way down there just to see the water and half the washington monument peeking up over buildings. Last night, I took her to see the National Christmas tree and we missed it by 4 minutes! 4, mind you. What do the festivity gods have against me? I just want to see some Christmas lights!! I haven't given up yet, but I am getting discouraged.