Playgrounds and airplanes and transformers, oh my!

So, this last week has been fun! Caryl (my sis-in-law, by way of Scott) and Johnny (my nephew, by way of Scott) have been in town. We've been to playgrounds, the Air & Space Museum (at Dulles), Eastern Market. They've been on the mall, seen dinosaurs, animals at the zoo and lots and lots of Firetrucks! Here are a few fun pics from the weekend.

Caryl and Johnny in front of National Airport at Hains Point. We went down to watch the airplanes land.

Me and monkey boy! At one of many playgrounds.

At the air and space museum at Dulles. Notice which boy is NOT behaving!

This is the face of a boy who demanded a repeat visit to Jaleo. (Yes, an upscale tapas restaurant.... they've created a monster with a sophisticated palette.)

Behold! "Clean-out-the-freezer" eggs

For those of you who keep returning to my blog for more punishment and only to find it not updated, you may recall my earlier fondness for "clean-out-the-fridge" salad. Tonight, I ventured into a new land that I will call, "Clean-out-the-freezer" eggs. I ate way too much for lunch so I was trying to figure out something to eat tonight with lots of veggies and without lots of calories and fat and such. This fit the bill. And, fortunately, it turns out that spinach, roasted corn, shrimp, eggs, feta, salt, pepper and dill is really quite, quite tasty. I think perhaps I shall try this method again soon. (But, not too soon, I did, after all, make a dent on cleaning out the freezer.)














In other news: Screen on the Green is saved!!

The Long Way

Tonight, I had a first. For the first time in my life, I swam an Olympic length pool, the long way. And, guess what? It kind of is a long way! I was disappointed to realize how very slow my 50 is, but oh well.... I guess that means there is plenty of room for improvement. Plus, the workout goes fast because each length takes twice as long and I swim half as many.
Anyways, just thought I would share! (LOVE my gym!)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is why I love my job!















When I brought up the fact that we really needed to get my 6-month review done, my boss promptly grabbed a post-it pad and gave me this. Seriously.

Today's score so far

Walked outside to discover 92nd day of rain this month: -1
Caught bus immediately: +2
Was bigger person and said hi to girl on bus who seems to routinely ignore me even though we've gone to the same church for a long time: +3
Passed Calculus (with an A- !!): +5

Total so far: +9

Derivatives Be Done!

I just finished my calculus exam a little bit ago. Whew! I am so glad that's done. And, I think I did surprisingly well on it. At the minimum, I am confident that I passed. And, let's be honest. That was the goal here. For those that don't know, I was taking calculus this semester as a pre-req. to get into the MBA program at Mason. Let's just say that it wasn't a walk in the park. The professor was less than stellar (he actually answered his phone during class one night!) and well, calculus is hard! Well, it's difficult for a girl that hasn't done high-level math in about 15 years! Anyways, so it's over.
However, I have to get a tetanus (tetnus? huh. I don't know how to spell that. That's embarrassing. embarassing? eh - I must just be tired) shot before I can find out if I passed the class. I never turned in my immunizations so my account has a hold on it and I won't get my grade until I do that. Since I haven't had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, I have to do that first! So, if I have to go get a shot and then find out that I failed the class, that's going to be a real double-downer. Hopefully, that's not the case.
Hmm... lots more to say, but I'm wilting.
Ciao

Thoughts from a Seashore

A few random thoughts from today:

• It must not just be the swimming that I enjoy. I think I enjoy the repetitive motion of many activities that I like. Today we went for a fairly long bike ride and I had the same experience - where I could just put my body on autopilot and zone out, allowing myself to think and reflect and observe whatever I wanted.
• My father and I were walking on the beach. He picked up shells that were pretty (his word) and perfect (my word). I was looking for unique, interesting shells. I have a feeling that says a lot more about our differences than just our shell aesthetics.
• I never want to take the ocean for granted. I could sit and listen to and watch the waves for forever. Here are a few random shots just to make sure I don't take it for granted. (There are a bunch of other vacation photos here, too.)
  

Today's to-do list

• Cuddle with my nephew
• Hang out with parents, who I rarely get to see
• Drink diet coke
• Sit on deck listening to ocean
• Lay on beach reading a magazine and getting some sun
• Give hugs to Scott and Caryl for first time in 9 months.
  

Good stuff!

A Walk Across Philly

I love walking around cities/towns that I love. Yesterday, I spent all afternoon just walking across Philly, stopping wherever I wanted to check out a shop, get a manicure, have a mojito, take some pictures, whatever tickled my fancy. It was very hot, but I did get to at least go to Reading Terminal Market, Elfreth's Alley, Jeweler's Row and walk by Independence Hall and City Hall.

I realized that I really miss a few things about Philly. I miss the grit... the blue-collar working-class feeling you can get there. I mean I met a machinist one night. I can't imagine meeting a machinist in DC.

I also miss the rich, rich homegrown arts scene in Philly. One of the best orchestras in the world, dance companies, Curtis Institute, lots of visual artists, a culinary canvas to compete with any city... there is a lot to miss. Like many things in DC, the arts are often (or at least feel) imported. Of course, that's one of DC's strengths: an internationa population and attraction. Even for a city, I suppose one's strengths can be one's weaknesses.

Maybe, though, what I should really do, is make an effort to do a better job of living in DC... finding great restaurants, unique shops and neighborhoods that love me back. I mean I love my neighborhood, but there surely aren't any designer boutiques there. I should go find them. They're not going to come to me.

If only I could get Philly pretzels in DC!!

A Beautiful Mix

I am officially on vacation. Whooo! My first stop is Philadelphia. I arrived here yesterday for a 3-day visit to a city I loved while I lived here and continue to love since I left. Last night, I went and took some pictures of the cross-street signs at the first place I lived here. (see below) I'm working on an art/decor project with black and whites of the signs from all the intersections where I've lived... or at least lived somewhat recently. Then, I snabbed some chicken fried rice from the yummy little Chinese place right there. It was good, but not as good as I remembered. That's a good thing. It means that I don't have to fantasize about it anymore.
Today, I checked out my old church and nearly froze to death, then headed to Manayunk and nearly sizzled to death. Manayunk is this great little neighborhood of shops and restaurants and generally interesting things and people. However, it was very, very hot so I basically went in one or two of my favorite shops and then sat in a coffeeshop for a few minutes before heading back. I tried on this shirt of total awesomeness, but couldn't justify spending $70 on a trendy shirt that I would probably only be able to wear a few times. Maybe I should have bought it anyways. Too hot to sit out and people-watch or comfortably stroll along the canal.
Then, tonight, Missy was totally awesome and cooked a phenomenal meal for us and some mutual friends here in the area. She is a great, creative cook and, as always, whipped up something totally tasty and healthy. Oh, I almost forgot! She also made smoked paprika hummus for me!! How awesome is she! She saw it on my gchat status a few weeks ago and researched it. It was really good. Thanks Missy!
Good food, good people, no work... what more could I want?

Wow. Just wow.

Wow. Today's just one of those days. The sun is shining on me... both literally and metaphorically. I love my life. Ridiculously. sigh.

Now, if only I can actually get some sleep tonight.

Oh yeah, and also, Amy had her baby. He is CRAZY-cute. Seriously. And, newborns aren't supposed to be cute.

Dear dude on the Cue bus,

I'd prefer not to hear about your controlling ex-wife and the resulting divorce.
Thanks.

I can't believe I'm typing this....

There is a very good chance that today is the day that my Amy sees her baby for the first time. They decided to induce her and so if they can "fit her in", she'll be having a baby today. Holy crap! It seems like just yesterday that I was bonding over our latest crush or bad date on her futon and today, she and Luke are having a baby. Ok, so to be fair, "yesterday" really was only about 2 years ago (maybe even less), but still.
Anyways, if you think about it, send up good thoughts and prayers and stuff for Amy today. And, for the baby, of course, too. According to her blog, she's having a little freakout, but I feel like that is to be expected.
I love you Amy! Good luck!

Dear girl in front of me on the Cue bus,

If I can hear your phone conversation over Mahler, you are talking too loudly!

Thing 9

Thing 9: On one side of my extended family, there are lots of dairy farmers. As a result, I learned the proper way to "moo" as a child. Cows don't actually say "moo", you know. They make this other sound more like "mrrrrr". I used to say that my father made me moo the "right" way and I would get in trouble if I said "moo", but now I'm wondering if I didn't just make that up. Anyways, that's thing 9. I can (or at least could at one point) moo like a cow.

Unidentified Sport

So, today, I walked. A lot. And, along the way, I saw lots of interesting things. One of those things I have yet to identify. Perhaps you can help. It involved the following things:
1 - a game/sport of some kind
2 - six guys on bikes in what appeared to be two teams of three
3 - a long-handled hollow mallet type thing for hitting a ball
4 - a ball
5 - some cones that seemed to serve as goal markers

What IS this game??

31 year old resolutions

I like birthday resolutions. No pressure to make resolutions when everyone else does, plus it can be completely individual. I get a whole fresh year on a completely different day than everyone else. I like that. Anyways, so a few 31-year old resolutions.
1 - I'm going to start getting to work on time. As has been reiterated numerous times on this blog, I am NOT a morning person so my 90+ minute commute combined with the fact that the workday is supposed to start in the morning has not resulted in a very on-time Hyla. But, now I only commute 3 days a week so I need to make an effort to actually get there by 9am. Ok. I can do this. Strategy #1: earlier bedtimes.
2 - I think I will floss more. I like having good oral hygiene, but I haven't been flossing as much as I should. Yes, I will do that.
3 - While I'm thinking about body-things, I'm going to take better care of my skin. I'm not a spring chicken anymore... I should spring for some good age-defying something or other. Or, at least, moisturize regularly.
4 - I resolve to spend at least 4 hours a week intentionally alone. Not just time that I end up accidentally alone. And, sitting at Ebenezers hoping for someone to come along and talk to me so I don't actually have to be alone doesn't count. Doing house-stuff (condo-stuff) and running errands does. No making phone calls. (But, if someone calls me, that's not my fault!) I feel much more balanced when I have a little alone-time, but I just don't like it. I like the being productive and getting things in order part, but I just don't like the alone-part. But, I know it makes me a happier, healthier Hyla and that's what we need.

Thing 7 and Thing 8

7. I am physically incapable of standing still and brushing my teeth. Actually, I'm not very good at standing still at all. I even pace when I'm waiting for the train.

8. I have a little crush on Usher. Ok, not really on Usher so much as his music. I identify with his lyrics a little more than I should probably admit.

Thing 5 and Thing 6

Thing 5: I love being single.

Thing 6: I hate being single.

This wasn't in the fairytale

I'm going to do one of my typically cryptic personal posts. Today is Easter. Easter is supposed to be filled with joy. And, it was joyful. But there was some sorrow, too. Although, by the time I was 15 or so, I started to be disillusioned and began to perceive that there was some sort of uniqueness about me that was going to pervade my relational life, when I was a truly small girl, I thought the fairytale would be for me. The fairytale where you grow up (well-educated, strong-willed and totally capable of surviving on your own, of course), meet someone who "gets" you at the deepest level, get married, have/adopt an adorable, well-behaved child and live happily ever after. Of course, I believe Easter is about Christ, but after Christ, it's also about kids. But, my Easter activities were noticeably devoid of children and full of adults.

I also didn't know there would be so much heartache in the story. I never imagined that I would come home alone at 30, try to convince my mind to stop thinking and eventually fall asleep with tears in my eyes. I didn't think that love was complicated. I wish someone had told me that relationships can be really complicated and they may make your life less simple, even more difficult that it was previously. So, you should make very wise and prudent choices. And, then I think that I wouldn't want to trade any of my experiences away for the world.

When I was 25, I made a list of goals to accomplish by 30. One of the goals/hopes was to be married. I turn 31 this week. I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed! Don't get me wrong. There are many many days when I love being single and can appreciate all of the luxuries I have because I am single. It's just that today is not one of them.

Does still = still?

I am frequently accused (usually lovingly) of not being able to relax, to slow down, to just do nothing. And, I will admit that I can struggle with this. I like being productive, active, and busy. When I'm honest, I have to face the fact that sometimes this is my mechanism to avoid being alone with my thoughts. But, I think my personal time is just a little different than many other people's. Often, my alone time is not alone and my time being still isn't actually still. For example, I consider my commute to be alone time, even though I'm surrounded by "the masses" on trains and buses.
There is a verse (in Psalms?) that says, "Be still and know that I am God." This is a verse and a concept that I've thought about a lot. And, though, I understand that I do need to have a discipline of solitude and silence and stillness in my life (I'll blog about the great book that's from some other time), I can't help, but think that sometimes I am still without actually being physically still. I think the perfect example of this is my time in the swimming pool. I am alone. Sure there are other people swimming, but there is no interaction. I can't hear them. All I hear is the awesome, rhythmic sounds of the water and the thoughts inside my head. It is so repetitive that I find it to be almost therapeutic. And, once I hit my stride, I can just let my thoughts wander and pray and, well, "be still". In those times, I sense the power and wonder of our God. And, so I suggest, that even when I'm cutting through the water at blindingly fast speeds (what!? you've never seen me swim.... shush, Amy), I am, from time to time, still before my God.

Thing 4

I learned how to swing poi when I was in grad. school. I had a colleague/friend who performed with her boyfriend, a circus artist of sorts. She taught me how to swing and also that it can be a great escape to do something physical and repetitive when you are spending a lot of time in intense thought. I'm still not very good at swinging poi, but I enjoy it.

My new hair - the straight version

You can't see it all that great because of this shirt, but I wanted to show you anyways.

Hyla.com is taken!

So, every now and then I google my name just to see what people can find about me out there on the interwebs. Today, I went to google it and noticed hyla vacuum pop up in the drop-down suggestions. Not only is there a Hyla vacuum... the website is hyla.com! Awesome (and strange) things from the website:
- a graphic with a mailbox that simply says, "Hyla"
- "HYLA will support you so that you can achieve your goals."
- "You can build a professional future with HYLA."

Also, please note their logo.

http://www.hyla.com.au/home

Thing 3

Thing 3: I love being around people, but I prefer to spend time with one or two other people rather than with a large group. Maybe it's because I'm selfish and a spotlight hog, I'm not sure. It's one of the things I love about being in a relationship, too, because I get someone's undivided attention.

Hot water and stressful dreams

I got the hot water fixed! Yay! I had been taking super-quick showers since I moved in here b/c my hot water (which really wasn't all that hot) was only lasting about 5 minutes or so. However, I adjusted the hot water heater (apparently, it's a double-boiler... who knew?) and now I am able to have a comfortable shower. That's a relief. I have a few little kinks to work out in this apartment to make sure this is a place I want to buy. That's one more down.

I think that our dreams probably tell a lot about us. My recurring nightmares aren't so much scary as stressful. The common theme is not being able to get somewhere or to get something done. Last night, I dreamed that I was trying to get home, but I kept missing my train stop. Then, somehow I ended up at someone else's house and in the morning, I gathered up all of my stuff, but everytime I went to get it, it was missing. I couldn't find my belongings, which meant that I just kept getting later and later. I was so frustrated I almost started crying in my sleep. So, apparently, I have a fear of being late. Ugh. I hope I don't have that again for a while.

This is what I live for!

I spent the last 24 hours or so on the Alpha Getaway. I got to see people visibly wrestling with their beliefs. I heard people discussing the ways their thoughts and lives were being stretched. I got to see people praying together, building really meaningful relationships and bonding over deep spiritual issues. Seeing people discover a new dimension of God or find a slightly new way to view their faith.... for me, this is the stuff of life. And, I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of it.

The Garbage Truck Time Warp

So, I was walking home tonight and a garbage truck passed me and all of a sudden, I realized something. At all of the places I've lived in the last five years or so, the garbage collectors have come at 6am. How do I know that, you ask? Well, when a huge garbage truck pulls up, picks up a dumpster and empties the contents into the truck and then compacts them with world's loudest trash compactor, you notice. Especially, if it's 6 in the morning. So, this brings me to the weird part of this realization.
How is it possible for all the trash to be collected at 6 in the morning? Either I have extraordinary luck in moving to all the places scheduled for 6am trash pickup or there is something fishy going on here. I propose that garbage trucks actually live in some sort of parallel universe where time is warped and they can continually be picking up trash and it will perpetually be 6am at each of their pickup stops. Who can confirm this? Surely, there must be someone out there who is a DC trash collector.

Things 1 and 2

So, this is the first of a series. You may have seen the "25 things about me" posts on Facebook. Well, I am tempted by the idea, probably mostly because I have unhealthy self-obsession, but I am overwhelmed by trying to do that in one sitting. So, instead, I have decided to jot down one or two here when I think of them. Then, I can compile them later if I decide I want to share them on another forum. So:
Thing 1: I confess that I have fallen asleep in my bed cradled by only the glow of my laptop on more than one occasion.
Thing 2: I don't own a car and yet, still insist on taking the bus the whole way across town to Trader Joe's rather than walking four blocks to Safeway.

Fighting through

I'm gonna be honest here. This isn't the greatest weekend of my life. I have absolutely no reason to dislike this weekend. It's actually very quiet... absolutely no plans and plenty of time to organize, clean and plan my life (and oh, how I love planning!). But, I'm not loving it. I'm begrudging it. This is one of those times that I really hate being single. What, you ask, does being single have to do with this? Well, here's the thing. If I was attached, this weekend would be the perfect opportunity to actually spend some relaxing time together. We could laze around, run errands and I wouldn't feel so lonely doing "nothing". However, doing nothing alone is really hard for me to get excited about.
Perhaps, it also has something to do with the fact that I'm essentially trying to get over a break-up all over again. I really am trying to move on, but it is so very, very difficult when you really love the person and you're the one shutting the door. It just really isn't fair. Never in a million years did I think I would be in this situation. Or, that this was even possible.
Ok, off to the store. I have to try to get myself out of this funk. More later.

A gorgeous spring weekend with a friend

Well, this is just all very intimidating. I haven't blogged in such a long time that I can't even begin to catch you up. Nor can I do an adequate job of picking a topic or two that would bridge the gap. And, of course, when I feel pressure to write, I can't write at all. So, who knows what the next paragraph or so out of my fingers will end up being!
This weekend, my dear friend Gail came to DC for her annual visit. In the past, she's come in January when it is freezing cold and we kind of shuttle from indoor event to cab to indoor event, etc. But, this year, it was absolutely gorgeous out... in the 60s and 70s. So, we took advantage of the weather to stroll around some great areas, like Eastern Market and Georgetown. And, of course, we hit a good restaurant along the way. Last night, we had dinner at Proof. Yummy, yummy. Great wine, perfectly prepared food and a really nice server. I give them two thumbs up and a "Y'all should go there." I had duck. I love duck. Yummy. (hee -- I accidentally typed yuppy.. lol)
Now, I have all of Sunday evening to just decompress and prepare myself for the week. Maybe I'll just go home and make a yummy little dinner. well, hopefully, I will be a better blogger from here on out.

Inaugural Thoughts

I have been absent from here for too long and there is much of my life to fill in here and I will do so, but I just felt inspired to write something here this evening. Also, I have a few moments to actually reflect and write so I will.
Today, I did something that I didn't really expect to ever do. I went out to the mall for the inauguration. It was a little crazy, I suppose. We left around 8:30 so not that early and walked around the south side of the capitol to get onto the mall. We ran into a few super-crowded snaggle messes, but all in all it was an orderly, though crowded, march toward the mall. We were told by the police and volunteers that the 14th street entrance was still open, but when we got there, it was (recently?) closed. Long story short, we ended up jumping the fence and only got a short ways onto the mall before we were essentially body-locked into place. The good news, of course, is that all those bodies made for some supplementary heat.
But, it was definitely worth it. To have lived in DC and not have attended at least one inauguration would be regrettable, but this one, with such historical presence would have been especially unfortunate to miss. I wasn't sure how I, as a firm fence-sitter, would react internally to be surrounded by so many excited Obama "fans", die-hard liberals and Bush haters. I did have a few uncomfortable, maybe even embarrassed, twinges when both Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. were boo'd. I did have a lot of respect for a mother nearby, though, who responded to her teenage son's booing by saying, "Don't boo. He's still your President for 45 more minutes."
But, of course, all of that was subsidiary to being there to see and hear the swearing in and speech of not only the first African-American President, but the first President identifying with any ethnic minority group. Naturally, many of the people on the mall were excited to see our last President be ushered out and the ideas, policies and hopes of the new administration ushered into Washington. As for me, I'll wait and see.
Some things I already know, though. I know that I felt the weight of today. I know that I teared up. I'm not entirely sure at what point I teared up, but I do know that it was an emotional reaction to the significance of a non-white man taking the highest office in the land. If this is even a smaller step toward a country free of bigotry and underserved prejudice, then this was a wonderful, wonderful day. I do hope that today marked even a bit of social progress.
Racial prejudice hits me very close to home and it is so painful, frustrating and at times infuriating to think that some people I love have trouble accepting other people I love merely because of their skin, background or culture. I can only hope and pray that this is a step in the right direction to join divided people.
Man, I could write so much more, but I really must get to sleep soon. Happy new administration to all. And to all, a good night!

Christmas Eve

Growing up, I was never really drawn to traditions. I prefer inventive and fresh to repeated and consistent. Many things in our house were constant and repetitive, like dinner together each evening and doing laundry on Mondays. But for some reason, holidays didn't seem to fall into that category. I seem to remember more consistency from when I was a small child, but by the time I was a teenager, every Christmas was different from the one before. Some years, we would have Christmas dinner at our house. Other times, we would go to Grandma and Pappy's. Sometimes one or both of my brothers would come home and other times, we would travel to them.
For many years, it never really bothered me, but as I got into my mid-twenties, I started to itch for my own traditions. I've tried coming up with different rituals, but most things haven't stuck. I decorated my apartment, complete with garland, lights, a tree and even mistletoe three years in a row. But, this year, I just didn't feel like I had time so I didn't. I decided one year that I would go to the National Christmas Tree every year. So far, I'm 2 for 4. Last year, I decided I would start getting a real tree each year at Eastern Market. That lasted one year. It's hard to have consistency when every year, I'm living in a different place and/or spend Christmas in a different way. I have some ideas of ways I can start spending Christmas when I'm staying in DC. I would hang a stocking on the fireplace, get my real tree again, go to Christmas Eve service and then go to the Capitol Christmas tree on Christmas. I would walk down by the skating rink and eventually make my way back up Pennsylvania Ave, stopping at any place that was open for hot chocolate. Then, I'd come home, watch Love Actually and wait for relatives to call me.
But, until then, I do have one tradition that I seem to have held onto for a long time. Every year on Christmas Eve, I sit by myself in front of the tree and read the Christmas Story from Luke 2. After all, that's what we are celebrating. Even I, a girl self-proclaimed as pro-Jesus, can forget that all too fast. Then, I sit and stare at the lights on the tree until they get blurry and I decide to go to bed. In fact, that's pretty much where I am right now.
And so, with this one, lone tradition in my pocket, I'm off to bed. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Christmas Letter Season

It's that time again. You know it well: Christmas Letter Season. I was always vaguely aware of the existence of this season, but it's only been in the last few years that my awareness has grown acute and personal. It seems that as my friends have begun acquiring spouses, pets, children, mortgages and careers, they have also acquired a desire to share their lives with their rolodex once a year, in the form of a Christmas Letter. And, so, I thought that perhaps I should share a bit of my life with you as well. However, I will follow the sentiment of a friend of mine who stated in her letter, "2008 has been a rich year filled with ups and downs and simple memories made in the routine of life." Though I was elated that according to the content of the letter, they had actually only had ups, I was just a wee bit sad that it didn't actually share the downs with me. And, so, for you, dear reader -- My Reality Christmas Letter. May it leave you with tears and joy and laughter.

Dear family and friends and foes,
I can hardly believe it's Christmas already! I'm nowhere near "ready" whatever that is, my gift list is nonexistent and my decorations are still firmly in their tupperware bin. But, I noticed the other day that the wreaths are up in Union Station so it MUST be Christmas. I know that no one really likes reading these so I will make it easier for you by skipping the flowery droll and giving you my year in bullet points.

• Last Christmas, I started dating Chris. Sometime in February, I fell in love. By summer, I wasn't sure. I broke up with the absolute love of my life in October. September-November was a living hell. I cried all the time. I'm doing better now, but it's still hard. I still love him and don't know what to do with that. It's very confusing. Thanks for asking.
  
• The job I had at the beginning of the year was kinda crappy so I quit in March. I was unemployed for four months. I found a job in July that I really like. I now do marketing for the Center for the Arts at George Mason University. The commute is 3 hours/day and that sucks.
• The apartment I lived in last year had roaches and water damage. The building management didn't seem to care. So, while I was unemployed, we had to move. We found a house that is big and nice. The problem, of course, is that it's big. Taking care of a yard is no fun. Plus, it's hot as hell here in the summer and who wants to mow? At least it's close to the metro. And, no roaches.
  
• My brother and sister-in-law have had a great year at their church. Unfortunately, finances are a bitch and they lost their house. That totally sucks. Their son is pretty much the cutest thing on earth, though.
• Mom and dad and my other brother and his family seem to be doing well, though.
  
• I'm still pro-God.
• My good friend Amy moved away, got married and knocked-up (in that order). She's psyched.
  
• In the next year, I plan to implement my secret plan to take over my workplace and then start pursuing my MBA. That will take a long time, but it's free so that's cool. Too bad I have to take the GMAT.

Thanks for reading. Until next year, have a merry and roach-free year!
Hyla

Overheard in the kitchen

Maybe our Saturday mail service was discontinued because we voted Republican.

smarties

When I was a child, I sorted smarties by color and stacked them. Then, I ate from the tallest stacks until all of the stacks had an equal number of smarties.

Sometimes, I still do.

I love smarties.

Quote of the Day:

Guy sitting at light in DC to me (in Steelers hat):
"You're too pretty to be a Steelers fan!"

Attacked?

Maybe I'm just being oversensitive. Maybe I'm hug-deprived. Maybe it's an emotional re-allocation because I'm not dealing with my breakup. Maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive because it's election time in DC and of all the times I hate, I hate election time the most. Whatever the cause, I'm feeling attacked today. Maybe I'm just taking purely benign statements personally. Or, maybe people are just being borderline mean to me. And, it's about really stupid stuff, too. I mean, who cares if someone else mislabels a neighborhood low-income? Who cares? Who cares if someone thinks I'm fat? It shouldn't matter. But, it does. And, so, I will just stay in my little shell (aka office) and wait for it to be 5. It can't be 5 soon enough.

Ghost or Witch?

Well, Halloween is creeeping up on us so the inevitable question will be raised. What will you be for Halloween? This year, my lovely mother is coming to visit me for Halloweekend so I get out of deciding which parties to go to and can just hang out with her instead. However, this brings to mind my experience of Halloween as a child.
My mother was not ever very big on Halloween in general. We didn't do much in the way of trick-or-treating since our neighbors were all about a quarter-mile apart and necessitated driving to each house. Not really the traditional Halloween method. Regardless, as a kid in a public school, it's a requirement to dress up. And, so, each year, a week or so before Halloween, my mom would ask me, "So, whaddya wanna be this year? A ghost or a witch?" The answer to this question was highly dependent on what last year's answer was. I mean, I wouldn't want to be a ghost two years in a row! We would march up to the attic and retrieve the white pillowcase already outfitted with eyes and a mouth or the witch hat and any of several witch hair options and that would be that. And, so that's how it came to be that Hyla always dressed as a ghost or a witch or a witch or a ghost.
What will YOU be for Halloween?
(Warning: The preceding story could possibly have flourished and developed over the years.)

Oh Rachie (pronounced Rocky), how I love thee

(Rachie as in Rachmaninoff, of course)
Last night, I took an orchestra virgin to the NSO (and for some Rach nonetheless!). It was awesome. I mean the concert was fair enough and everything, but the experience of introducing someone to live classical music for the first time... that's awesome. My friend is fairly stoic so she didn't say too much, but I could just see her brain taking in all the new sights and sounds and strange procedures. I don't know that much about her upbringing other than that she grew up mostly in Nigeria, but everything seemed really new to her. I even identified a bunch of the instruments for her and everything. Anyways, it was cool. That's me. Wiping out orchestra virginity one person at a time.

The "S" word

Last night, I watched Baby Mama with Amy (yup, Washington Amy -- in Washington!) and one little snippet of dialog really caught my attention.
"Being single is NOT an alternative lifestyle"
"It is when you're 37!"
Of course, this was in the midst of lots of humorously biting dialog about the main character being career-driven at the expense of her personal life, yada, yada. But, I just couldn't get this line out of my head. It resonates with me... maybe with a dull ringing in the pit of my stomach.
There was a time, not so long ago, that I was really happy to be single. But, as I looked down that path of being single, it didn't look very worn. It looks indefinite and a little lonely. It looks like a place of great reward if the pioneering is successful, but if it's not, then it looks a little scary.
And, I realized recently that one of the reasons it looks so scary is because in my world, being single is not the norm nor the goal. And, if I was to be single, then I think my path may look a little different from others. It affords me the time to pour myself into my career and overcommitment at church and excessive education, yes. But, what about other things in my life? I've wanted to adopt for a long time. I originally thought that meant falling in love with a man who also wants to adopt and then naturally going through that process. But, what if I'm single? Well, guess what? I still want to adopt! I still want someone to pour my life into. I still want someone to be responsible for and to teach and inspire. I want to experience family as an adult. I wonder, though, what people would think. Would people smile to my face, but say disparaging things behind my back or feel sorry for me?
Oh, I don't know... I think I got way off on a rabbit trail. The point is that it upsets me that in my little corner of the world, I think being single really is viewed as an alternative lifestyle. And, not alternative as in A vs. B, but as in good versus subpar. As a girl in the "B" world or "subpar" world or (gasp!) single world, I wonder how it seems so easy for some people. A lot of people seem to date one or two people, fall in love and everything lines up. Before you know it, they're in love, engaged, and married with a puppy and a spare bedroom. I don't know that world. I know a world where there have been more men in my life than I care to count. I live in a world where I fell madly and deeply in love with a man and for some reason couldn't seem to make it work. I live in a world where I don't understand how something that seems so natural is so very very difficult for me. I just don't understand.

30.5 and other sundry thoughts from a Friday

Today, I am 30.5 years old. Yep! It's my half birthday! I know I'm way too old to celebrate half birthdays, but I do anyways so whatever. Here's me at 30.5 years of age. Also, I had a raging nightmare last night that one of my good friends died. I was crying out loud, sobbing actually. I could hear myself crying, but I couldn't wake up enough to make myself stop. My eyes were all pasty and gross when I finally woke up.

In almost exactly 24 hours, I will be claiming a hug from Amy! Yay! This makes me thankful for airplanes, aeroscience, good friends, zipcars (to get me to the airport), and muffins (that's a hint, Amy).

appley goodness

So, we went apple picking this weekend. It was a good time. Mostly. I mean, I loved hanging out with my friends and everything. I just can't get over my general displeasure for picking fruits and vegetables, though. I mean, I don't mind going out and gathering a few things for dinner from the garden. Or, digging potatoes. I really like digging potatoes! That's so fun because they're totally hidden so it's like going potato hunting. Anyways, I digress. The point is that I had fun with some apple-picking cronies this weekend. (Meredith posted some pics here.)
And, so last night, I had some apples to use. So, what else? The apple-themed dinner. I had baked chicken and apples with cranberry chutney, stuffing with apples and apple crisp. Once again, my cooking skills outshine my baking skills. Seriously, apple crisp is supposed to be the easiest dessert on the planet, but I wasn't 100% happy with it. It tastes really good, but I don't like the way it looks. Oh well. I should really just stick to cooking. Really.
Anyways, that's all. Just a little apple tale.

Surplus!

I've been slowly trying to clean up my space and make it my own here in the office. That meant getting rid of one file cabinet and a gargantuan bookcase. However, now I have need for a smaller bookcase and a bulletin board. So, I decided to take a fieldtrip... to surplus! Surplus, the fabled land where computers and office furniture goes to die, but gets one last chance to be claimed by employees like me looking to repurpose it. I had decided in my brain that surplus was going to be beyond my wildest dreams, filled with awesome furniture, random campus extras and things that would generally make me happy. Well, guess what. It's not. It's not filled with fun things. It's just a bunch of dead desks and filing cabinets and a giant computer graveyard. It's a very sad place, actually, filled with the smell of office carnage and an aura of "all washed up". The feeling of glory days gone by and a longing for former usefulness was almost palpable. I wanted to save them all. I wanted to tell every computer that it had done a good job, that it did the best it could with the limited ram and memory it was given, that we were proud of it, but I knew that the next truck to the state auction was really the best place for it. And, so, I came away empty handed, leaving behind the computers, the chairs, the televisions to go on to their next life.

I'm going to try NOT to worship google

They did it! They finally did it!
I've been complaining for years about how someone needs to develop a function to prevent forgotten attachments on emails. You know what I mean. You carefully craft an email to a new contact with some sort of business idea, detail the contents of the attached proposal and then promptly hit send. Two seconds later, you realize that you've forgotten to include the attachment and about 4 seconds after that are fully convinced that that business deal will never go through. So, I've been saying seemingly forever that Google (gmail) or Outlook should develop a little pop-up reminder function if it detects the word attach in any of its forms in the email to say, "Well, pardon me, super-fast-email-writer, but I believe you may have forgotten an attachment." And, by gum, Google did it! Unfortunately, I won't be gaining any financial stature for my idea, but I'm just happy to get to use the feature. It's apparently still in its testing phase, but if this provides you with even a fraction of the excitement it provides me, you should hop right over to your gmail settings, go to the labs tab and enable it (and maybe a few other fun new features, too!).
Attach without fear, my friends. Attach without fear!

Reconnecting

Wow. It's been a while. I can't believe it's already October. And, yet a part of me is so glad that it is. I do love the fall and want to embrace this month for all that it is. Anyways, I've been very irregular in my posting lately. I feel like my life is evolving very quickly and it's been all I can do to keep up with it. I have so many thoughts in my head and I'm not sure which ones are most important to share right now. So, I will resort to bullets (god, my coworkers must hate me).

• I am taking this fall to recharge and recalibrate. I was feeling a little worn out after finding a new place to live, a new job and working on several volunteer efforts this summer. Not to mention trying to steer myself through the most serious relationship I've ever attempted. I'm less social than usual in an effort to make sure my focus is in the right place. I say that God is the most important thing in my life, but I was living my life as though other people were. And, that's not a bad thing to focus on, but I wasn't being true to myself or my God. So, I'm taking this fall to read a lot of scripture, memorize some scripture, write, meditate, pray and generally recalibrate.
• On a smaller scale, I decided to fast this week in order to try to get my head wrapped around some things in my life. I will stay cryptic on this one, but I'm sure there will be more to follow in coming days. The current update, though, is that I am not good at fasting. I like eating. :)
• I've suddenly gotten the home-ownership bug. Ok, more accurately, I've gotten the "want to live in a place that feels like home and I can make exactly the way I want it to be" bug. There are a few obstacles in my way, though. So, I've started climbing over and around them. One is my credit card debt, which I just transferred to a 0%apr card so I can knock that out in the next year. (Thanks for the kick in the pants on that one from Colleen.) Another is the whole down-payment issue. I will have to apply for lots of homebuyers' assistance, but in DC, there is a fair amount available (hopefully, that remains the case for a year or so until I am ready to buy).
  
• Also, the Steelers have a severe running-back shortage. Well, had. They just signed Russell and Davenport back on. I really liked Davenport so I'm glad to have "Naj" back. The boys are really injury-plagued this year... running backs, Hampton, Kiesel. In spite of it, I'm kind of excited to see what the game will be like this week with a short week and different personnel.

K - enough rambling. I'll try to stay more connected!

Overheard in the Office:

'Maybe I should institute a rule of "no shelf punching"'

Mayyybeee.

I have a drill

and I know how to use it!
I reminded myself that this is actually true today. The fruit of my labors? A laundry shelf holding up all of our detergents, just high enough to avoid major head injuries, but low enough that Heather can reach them. Excellent! My home-improvement project of the week, I guess.
A good week to all.

Weekend of recovery

This is the first of what I hope is many weekends to detox and refocus. I just need to take some serious time to focus on the very most important things in life. And, so, this weekend, I didn't venture too far from home. I did manage to log in a few fun moments:

• Friday night, Chris and I spent two hours walking around the National Cathedral. It was beautiful and a moment of reflecting and in a way, an exercise of refocusing. (Warning: don't go to the cathedral with Chris unless you want a quiz about the characters and stories portrayed on the frescos and iron gates. If you are me, you think that was all pretty cool and love having someone like Chris to share it with.)
• Yesterday, I just got my space cleaned up. I feel so much better when my space is in order.
  
• Today, the lawn got a haircut. I did Phase 1 (of 309?) of yard work to try to get this lawn looking better.
  
• Then, a yummy brunch at Domku with two of my favoritest people.
• My nose got readorned!
• A piercing pain withstanding reward of frozen yogurt followed by a Steelers game!

A great weekend, all around. I'm feeling good and ready to head back to work for the week.

Holding hands with a strange man

Ok, so it wasn't so much a strange man as a stranger man. Allow me to explain.
I had a somewhat traumatic experience on the way to work this morning. I was reading and deep in thought on the metro. Generally, I look up at each metro stop to see where we are, monitor our progress, yada yada. So, I was doing that and apparently, I missed a stop or two because when I looked up, it was Vienna (my stop). I leapt out of my seat to try to sneak out the door before it closed, but I was too late. Now, generally, missing your metro stop isn't the worst thing in the world. You just get off at the next stop and come back. However! My stop is the last stop on the line. Usually, the train sits there for a few minutes and then turns around and heads back into the city. But, not this morning. Oh no! It pulled away toward the train yard. I started getting a little scared so I hit the red button on the emergency box. I said, "I'm still on here! I forgot to get off!" I could hear him, but I don't think he could hear me because he just kept saying, "Hello? Hello?" With visions of me hungry and hot and tired, waiting for hours to be rescued from a metro train car, I starting freaking out a little more and dialed 411 in an attempt to reach WMATA and inform them of my predicament. Fortunately, before I got through that nightmare of a phone conversation, the conductor came back through the train.
"Whatcha doin?" he called down to me.
In an attempt to sound more relaxed than my actual frantic state, I mustered a smile and said, "I forgot to get off the train! I just wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry. What do we need to do?"
He said, "Well, I'm supposed to call my supervisor, but that will take forever. Here. Follow me."
We went through two train cars to the end and he opened the door to the outside world and climbed down onto the tracks. He looked up at me and said, "Do you think you can climb down like I just did?"
"Yeah, I can."
"You a city girl or a country girl?"
"Definitely a country girl," I said as I climbed down in an awkward, long-legged fashion.
Once I got down to the tracks, I looked up at him. He took off his glove, grabbed my hand and said, "Come on. I'll be your protector. Just walk on the ties."
He led me up to the platform and told me to have a good day.
Oh goodness! How embarrassing! At least I didn't get stuck on the train, I guess!

Load up the Hope

So, I've been working as a volunteer on a project for the last few months called Convoy of Hope. (I think the name is funny... like we're rollin' through the city with tankers ready to attack with hope) Anyways, it's finally happening this weekend. It should be good stuff (barring torrential downpours!). We'll be giving away meals, groceries, health services, haircuts, resume services, prayers plus providing kids and adults entertainment and probably more stuff that I forgot! We're expecting 10,000 people and we're pretty excited about it. You can read more about it here. If it strikes your fancy, let me know cuz we could still use volunteers Thursday, Friday and definitely Saturday.
So, that's what's been swallowing me up lately. Bring on the hope!

30-year olds go to the beach

Yup, that's us. We're thirty and we were rockin' the beach. Well, we rocked it for the first two sunny days and then we rocked the beach house. We did, however, check out some go-karts, world's smallest skee-ball lanes and the sand dunes. Most activities ended in rain, but alas, we had fun anyways. Lots of pictures are up on my flickr. (My personal favorite was the mongolian wrestling match. Colleen arose victorious again.) Yay for beachy fun!
Now, I'm in PA rockin' the family time. More news and pics soon.

For cuteness sakes...

Three eons ago, I promised to upload some pictures from a weekend home. I finally got a chance to look at them and really only two of them are blog-worthy. So, here they are.
The incredible cuteness of Jan's son, Braden followed by the tree fashioned after a 5-year-old's artwork.

Today I kind of want to:

cry, but the tears don't want to come

clean, but I don't have the energy

either kiss my boyfriend or break up with him, but I can't reach him and breaking up would just be silly

run away, but it is too hot to run anywhere tonight

be alone, but it is so lonely alone

Long lost blogger found!

Sorry y'all! I hate it when people don't update their blogs forever (yes, Kent, I'm lookin' at you) so I'm sorry I've been incommunicado for a while. However, I started my new job this week! So far, so good. The people all seem really great and I think I'll really enjoy the work, too. Yay for employment! The commute is, indeed, very long, but we'll get that figured out, too.
Hmm... guess I don't have much to say. Sorry to dissapoint.
More soon, I'm sure.

Mediterranean yumminess!

After spending the weekend in Ebensburg (pics to come!), I raced back home and quickly assembled a dinner that started out billed as a Greek feast, but really ended up more as Mediterranean feast. It was my first try at Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) which didn't turn out too badly even though I forgot to drain the excess moisture from the spinach. All of the other things were pretty tried and true or purchased. Since I wasn't home all weekend, I cheated on the hummus and baba ganoush and tzatziki and dolmas. I had intended to make them all from scratch, but there just wasn't time. Regardless, everyone seemed to like them and it went swimmingly!
Chris went to work as presentation stylist so everything looked gorgeous and then I put him in charge of the meat. There are two things I'm not good at cooking: meat and dessert. I love his creativity and meticulousness. I tease him about, but I actually love it. We should put together an intimate dinner party some time. I think we would create a beautiful meal and it would be an amazing experience... nothing would be overlooked. Perfect food, drinks, lighting, sights, sounds and smells would all be covered. Between the two of us, we could totally do that. hmmm....
But, I digress. The dinner was awesome and one of the highlights was that my friend Amanda (from back home) showed up. She is one of my favoritest people and she probably doesn't know it, but I kind of worship her. I would totally be her groupie if it was acceptable to be a groupie for any given individual. So, it was good to get to see her a little last night and let some of her awesomeness rub off on my home! Yay for Amanda living in the area!
Ok, enough effusiveness. Back to work! Pics from the weekend soon.

How to get from DC to Ebensburg

Find friend with car. Wait for friend's husband. Get in car with said friend and husband. Drive in the general northern direction. Then:

Get bored and take self-portrait.

Run into stand-still traffic.

Make faces as appropriate while stuck in traffic:
"I hate traffic!"

"I will move the cars with my powers of snark."
"What? An alternate route!?"


"Which way should we go?"

(Cars blocking our way to Ebensburg stand still.)

"I wish I had some grapes."

Celebrate traffic victory with world's worst self-portrait.

#300

This is post #300. I had intended to do some sort of blog highlights or something profound for post #300, but it just snuck up on me so I will post what I came here this morning to post. It is completely random and in reality, is probably the perfect #300 post because it is exactly representative of my blogging. Random, fun and a little inane. And so, with no further ado: Post #300.

12 ounces of difference
I've been attending a small group on Thursday mornings this summer. As you may recall from earlier posts, I do not love mornings. However, I really like this group so I've gotten myself out of bed ridiculously early every Thursday to make it to the meetings. Because I have completed this monumentous task so valiantly, I reward myself with a few little hashbrowns and a soda from the cafeteria before work. Now, ordinarily, when I get soda from the cafeteria, I get the 20oz cup... it's usually in the afternoon and 20 oz is plenty enough. But, this morning, I thought, "Well, that's silly! I should just get the 32 oz drink. It's only 20 cents more and it'll get me through more of the day. Good job, self! Brilliant!" And, then, I realized why I don't get the extra 12 ounces. I felt like such a glutton carrying it back to the office. I perceive the 20 oz size to be perfectly socially acceptable, but carrying that wide-mouthed 32 oz cup felt excessive. Never mind the fact that it's filled with the calorie-free nectar of the gods. In my world, that extra 12 ounces sent me from responsible soda partaker to fat girl with an addiction to Super-duper-biggiesize-quencher-big gulp drinks. From now on, I think I'll forgo the frugalness and have my socially acceptable 20oz beverage.

In Short

I know I haven't posted for a week and it's been a great, eventful week, too. So, I will present my news in brief.

Amy's Wedding in California
It was awesome. I hadn't seen Amy since she moved 6 months ago so I was SO excited to see her. I was prepared, though, to not spend that much time with her since she was the bride and brides are generally busy, busy. However, I got to be Keeper-of-the-Bride which meant that I was basically with her 24/7 for the 3 days I was there. I made sure she was fed and watered and relatively calm (on the Amy scale of calmness). And, as an extra bonus, this meant that I got to spend a lot of time with her! Priceless! It was awesome. With the exception of a flutist that could just barely hold it together during the processional, the wedding was great and the pictures are awesome. Congrats Amy Doolittle Bushatz! And, thanks for letting me be a part of your day.

Rent at Wolf Trap
Tara is hard to surprise. I don't even know for sure if she likes surprises or not. She says she does, but any time I've tried to surprise her, it hasn't worked. So, this year, to celebrate the passing of June (NOT a birthday, I assure you), Colleen and I put together a pseudo-surprise. We reserved her for a certain day and told her how to dress and then picked her up without her knowing where we were going. We packed a great little picnic and went to Wolf Trap to see Rent. The company, the food, the weather, the surroundings were all lovely. Rent? Well, I could take or leave that. I hadn't seen it before and though I suspect that this was a performance well below par, I doubt I will make an effort to see it again. I don't call art offensive. Ever. Hovering on the line of appropriate-ness? yeah, I think so. I think this is the first time I've ever said this about any sort of art. Does this make me a prude? Geesh, I hope not. I really do appreciate the social causes the work takes up... I really do. I think that is one of the great uses for art, which is kind of a theme in Rent anyways. I just could have had the lewd dialed down a notch. (Whoa! Is this me writing this?) Oh god, I hope I'm not turning into an old fuddy-duddy.

A Surprise Holiday
I get paid for Friday! Yippee! As a temp, I don't usually get paid for holidays, but I must have accumulated enough hours or something so I get the holiday paid! That was a GREAT surprise!

20 Reasons Why Jeni Lausch Is Awesome

1. She let Tara and I crash her apartment this weekend on our whirlwind trip to NY.
2. She adopts disabled dogs.
3. She moved to NY purely because she wanted to and made it work for her.
4. She has an amazing laugh.
5. She is super funny. (which is why #4 is so important)
6. She has overcome relationship "stuff" and allowed herself to fall in love with her boyfriend, Tim, who she's now successfully been with for 3 years.
7. She travels all over God's green earth... most recently to Cuba.
8. She grows flowers and plants and peppers and lettuce on her windowsills and fire escape.
9. She gets the most adorable sad-face when she realizes the squirrels have eaten her flowers and peppers from the fire escape.
10. Most of her art was done by her or her boyfriend.
11. She is generous.
12. She has fresh spices on her refrigerator that don't go bad because she cooks all the time.
13. She knits.
14. She crochets...
15. ... without a pattern.
16. She loves NY, but plans regular camping trips because she misses Montana and Washington and Lousiana.
17. She let her boyfriend put a British flag toilet lid in their bathroom.
18. She's one of those people that is easy to reconnect with even if we haven't talked for months. (or years!)
19. Her life motto is "everything is possible"
20. She is mad-creative. (She and her boyfriend made some sort of lego-people costumes for Halloween last year. impressive and borderline- crazy!)

Some quotes from Jeni: (paraphrase by me)

"If you don't have enough money to both eat and drink, order a drink that comes with a snack. You can get a whole little salad with a Bloody Mary!"

"Everywhere I go, I collect people. It's kind of like collecting bugs... just stick a little pin through them and put them in the collection."

I could go on and on, but I suppose this is sufficient. All this to say that it was so good to see her this weekend! She is one of my favorite people and I am so honored to have her in my "collection". She inspires me.

Whirlwind Weekend

I had a great, and very busy, weekend -- I thought I'd share a little of it here. I fear this post will get very, very long and so I will give some subdivisions rather than post 3 or 4 separate posts.

New York
I am one of those people that just isn't particularly fond of New York. And, honestly, that's a little weird because I've never had a particular dislike for any other big city. Philly, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Paris, Chicago... yup... like 'em all. Just not so crazy about New York. I think I just feel overstimulated there. I'm not sure. Regardless, my 24 hours in New York this weekend was just exactly enough. As soon as I heard that Sunday in the Park with George was being revived on Broadway, I knew I absolutely had to go. However, shortly after I found out about it, I decided to quit my job so I put it on hold for a while in the name of fiscal responsibility. Recently, though, I found out that the show is closing at the end of the month so I had to go this weekend or miss my chance for who-knows-how-many years. And so, my 24 hours in New York complete with cheap bus ride, air mattress in a friend's apartment and yummy Thai food for mere dollars. Ah - New York on the cheap! Thanks to Tara for putting up with my poverty-stricken mode of travel.

My obsession with Sunday in the Park with George
If you know me well, you know I'm not actually a huge fan of the musical genre in general. In fact, I'm quite the classical music snob and have been known to crack jokes on many-a-broadway-show. Sequins, chorus lines, unnecessary belting and jazz hands... just ain't my thing. But, I have been obsessed with Sunday for years. When I was still in high school, my friend Tara gave me a recording of Sunday in the Park with George. I'm not entirely sure why. My recollection is that I was first obsessed with Georges Seurat and his painting on which this musical is based. I fear, however, that it could have been the musical that inspired my obsession with the painting (how embarassing!). Either way, I listened to that CD over and over in my room at home, in my many college dorms and each of my apartments for the last 13 years or so. I had every word of the soundtrack memorized by the time I left for college. Today, it remains my #1 go-to CD for housecleaning.
In college, I visited the Seurat painting several times in Chicago and declared it my favorite painting. In fact, it was probably this painting that inspired my love of impressionist art in general (that has more recently faded, but I'm still fascinated by the techniques). I loved standing close to the huge canvas and staring and staring until my eyes lost focus and all the colors started to blur together. It really is a fascinating technique. If I ever decide to be a painter, I want to try to paint this way.
But, I digress. So, I love this musical. But! I had never seen the show. I wanted to see it live, but it's not performed all that often and I missed the few chances I had here and there. I never let myself watch the DVD because I wanted to see it live. And, so, this weekend, I got to do just that!

Sunday in the Park at Studio 54
This weekend, Tara and I schlepped up to NY to finally see this show. I loved it. I can't lie. I really did. I'm not saying that it was perfect. No show ever is, but it was really good. The male lead was really quite strong. I could take or leave the female lead, but she was pretty strong, too. I'm not the kind of girl that goes to NY and sees Phantom and says it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I'm just not like that. I err on the side of critical. However, this show held a little childlike fantasy for me. I had been looking forward to seeing this show for so long that there was no way that anything was going to ruin this for me.
Oh goodness, this post is getting really long and I have so much more to say. Perhaps, I will add another post later. For now, though, I will say this. I laughed... truly laughed... at scenes like the dog dialogue done by the lead and the scene with the "fake" soldier. I couldn't help but think of Jan when the line, "I don't want the other. I don't want the other either" came up. And, I cried. I cried exactly where I expected to... during We Should Have Belonged Together (I may have messed up that title). This has long been a tear-jerker for me. I feel so deeply the emotions written in this song. You really just have to listen to it, but basically she tells him he could tell her not to go, that he could tell her anything, any reason and she would stay because they belong together. But, he doesn't and she leaves. "We should have belonged together. But, we never belonged together." Aggg.... the agony. It kills me every time. I also cried somewhere I definitely did not expect to cry. I cried during Children and Art. An elderly grandmother of a character says, "There are really only two things worth leaving behind when you die. Children. and Art." For some reason, this totally killed me. Not entirely sure what that was all about. And, honestly, not something I want to think about. It's just too crushing.
So, yes... good stuff! Can't wait to debrief with Heather and watch the original!

Well, I also wanted to gush about my amazing friend Jeni, but I think that will have to wait because this is just entirely too long!

Big news!

I was hesitant to broadcast this out to the world, but I think it's solid enough to announce now. I also tried to tell a lot of people personally rather than having to find out via blog. I think I've done my due diligence, though, so I apologize if I missed you.

Without further ado, my news:
I got a new job! Yay! Oh, this is so big... I've been looking for a long time and putting a lot of time and energy and effort into the job search and it's finally paid off. Beginning July 16, I will be Publications Coordinator for the Center for the Arts at George Mason University. That basically means that I am the one that gets to organize and coordinate all of the people and companies that have to come together to get a piece of direct mail printed. Many factors seemed to come together to make me confident that this is the right position for me and that accepting the position was the right decision:
- I'll be making slightly more than I was at my last position plus better benefits.
- I'll have less responsibility!! (I know this sounds backwards, but I really had more responsibility and power at my last position than I was ready for.)
- I get to stay connected to the arts. I didn't really think that was going to happen so it's like a little bonus.
- The position will use my strengths and skills daily.
- I will get to be a part of a larger marketing team so that I can not only contribute, but also learn from people with more and different experience than me. Plus, I will be working directly with a very experienced arts marketer who is the head of the department.
- In addition to learning from my team, I will have the opportunity to do some more formal learning. I will be able to earn my MBA... wait for it... wait for it... FREEEEE! Going back to school kind of sounds awful to me right now, but I do love marketing and I want to do it well. Up to this point, a lot of my marketing experience has been "marketing by experiment" so I really do want to dig in and find out what all those scary business-types know that I don't. Corporate finance kind of makes me want to scoop my eyes out with spoons, but I can make it through if it will help my career.

So, that's that. A long job search is FINALLY over. I feel so relieved. I feel like I can finally start living my life again. I've felt VERY much in transition over the last six months or so, but now with a new job and a new place to live, I can see the dust starting to settle a little. That is uber-exciting! Yay God! Yay me!

Adventures from a government building

Oh! I wish I had thought of this two months ago! Why didn't I? Bummer. Well, I will just have to make up for it with this post. I will attempt to enlighten you about my brief stay in the world of the US Government with the few small vignettes remaining in my brain.

- Nothing is quite as endearing as the admin who thinks she shouldn't have to have updates run on her computer because she's "not lookin' at porno".

- Overheard in the office: ten minute conversation about tomato scare; debate about whether public official attending upcoming meeting is married, divorced or widowed and who was going to call him and ask; admin #2 narrating pictures of her new house for 14 different employees all day long.

- I'm pretty sure that I'm only here to fill this office so that they don't have to give it up to another department. seriously.

- There is a guy down the hall who keeps really good chocolates in a little box on his desk. I really want to stop and get one. I really don't want to have the compulsory conversation that would be necessary to procure one of said really good chocolates.
Update: I just walked by his office and he was out for lunch so I got the chocolate and avoided the conversation all in one! Yay!

Salad experiment #54

I frequently make a salad using the following method:
Open refrigerator. Grab food. Dump in bowl. Assess for completeness. If lacking, open cupboard, grab food and dump in bowl. Add dressing-like substance. Eat.

This is actually a surprisingly successful method. I have gotten rid of an awful lot of leftovers this way and it also proves to be pretty good at turning "I have nothing to eat" nights into "Darnit! Now I don't have an excuse to get takeout" nights.

Anyways, tonight's experiment:
spring mix
feta
raspberries
jalapeno stuffed olives
oil and white balsamic vinegar.

Turns out it's not bad! The raspberries are really a little too delicate to do them justice with the olives and jalapeno, but pretty tasty and filling nonetheless. Success, I say. Success.

Have you ever....

dreamed that you were up and getting ready for work? I did this morning and it ticked me off when I woke up and realized I had to get ready all over again!

Gee Willikers

It's been way too long... how can I possibly catch you up? We just got the internet thing worked out at the house tonight so it's time to jump back into the blogosphere. The last 10 days of my life, in my favorite form, of course:

• Moved into new house with lots of help from amazing friends!
• Interview at a nearby University for an arts marketing position
• Unpacked main living areas
• slept surrounded by boxes for one week before moving boxes to the other side of the room
  
• Started brand new small group co-led by my awesome boyfriend, Chris
• Joined an all-women's small group for the first time ever
• Met new roommate, Heather (who is pretty rad)
• Got called for another interview with a different company
• Started getting some actual projects at work (yay!)
• Got very very behind on job stuff and volunteer stuff
• Was reminded all over again of the many things I love about Chris
  

That's pretty much it. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming of vignettes and memoirs.

Thoughts upon a move

I have amazing friends. Last night, JoyAnna and I (and her mom) went to get some cabinets for in the dining room. The kitchen has pretty much zero counter space so we needed to nip that problem in the bud. Anyways, we were driving back into the District at 10 last night and realized that we needed help getting the heavy cabinets off the truck and into the house. So, I called two of my friends in the neighborhood and in 10 minutes there were three guys there to help us, one girl to offer moral support and an adorable doggy to take it all in. How awesome is that! Seriously... when I talk about living in community and having a family of friends I never expected, THIS is what I mean! Thank you guys so much! (And, um, feel free to drop over tomorrow morning for more fun!)

Things I will miss about my current apartment:
the HUGE windows -- I was soaking up the sunlight as I woke up this morning, knowing it was one of the last times I'd get to do that for a while.
the view -- I won't be able to see the top of the capitol dome from my basement cave nor will I be able to watch the fireworks from my bed!
living in an apt. building -- I know this is weird, but I feel more secure living in an apt. building. I like having lots of doors between me and the outside world.
my big pretty room -- It's so comforting and brown and wonderful.
the walk home -- I love our neighborhood and there is something wonderful about walking through it to get home each day. Plus, there's always the chance that I'll run into someone I know which is a super bonus.
my super-huge wonderful closet!
the crazy-cheap rent!

Things I will NOT miss about my current apartment:
bugs!
water damage! -- Seriously, I have this fear that I'm going to come home some day and all of my stuff is going to be submerged in ceiling pieces and water
inept building management
dragging the trash the whole way out to the back
the phantom that puts a sticky residue on all of our kitchen stuff --ok, I don't understand this one, but we get a weird, well, sticky residue, on anything that sits out in the kitchen. Very weird. Is it the gas?
crazy temperature changes beyond our control
psycho laundry room -- in the last month alone, we've dealt with broken machines, broken card system, a laundry caper, and an all-day full-house

Short thoughts

• Yesterday, it dawned on me that I hadn't been off the Hill in 7 days. For those of you not in DC, the Hill would be my neighborhood, Capitol Hill. It's amazing how happy I am here in my little neighborhood.... and how much of my life is within a 15-block radius of my house. However, 7 days is a little excessive. Chris (unknowingly) came to the rescue and dragged me to another quadrant last night. Ahh, the joy of the late-night coffee (or chai and tea as the case may be)!
• It is SO freaking cold in my office. My Diet Coke stays cold all day long... it thinks it's in a refrigerator. No, but seriously. I'm shivering. Is it not possible to turn the temperature up a few degrees? Seriously. It would even save some energy and money!
• I'm seriously missing some of my long-distance friends this week. Amy, Jeni, Jess, Jaime, Jan, Lisa, Gail --- I really miss you guys and hope to see you soon!

Closure

(Warning: Some of you will have no idea what this post is talking about and others will know exactly.)

The worst of all the catch-words: closure.

I resisted for seven years. More than seven years, actually. But, I had to do it. I had to take physical steps to move toward emotional wholeness in this area of my life. For seven years, I've carted around a box, marked with his initials, filled with the souvenirs of our relationship. Once I tried to burn the contents to no avail. But, tonight, I emptied it. I threw out the letters, the printed emails, the rose he brought me when we first met and the pictures. Well, most of the pictures. There's one still sitting on my desk. I'll throw it out before I go to bed tonight. I just needed a few minutes.

I just threw all the letters out. I didn't read them. It was SO tempting, but I didn't. He is (was?) a hugely important person in my life-story, but that chapter ended (several times!!) and so it's time to truly move on. Now that we've been out of communication for several months, I figured it was time. So, tonight, through some real, authentic tears, I got rid of every piece of him I was holding onto.

Sometimes, I wonder.... But, I can't. I have to just move on. And, claim closure.
(Also, to be clear- I have a great relationship with Chris and love him to death - this is a separate issue entirely.)

The Laundry Caper

So, earlier today, I posted about my laundry being snatched from my laundry room. Well, I thought I should update the situation. After a day of getting un-mad at the person that stole my laundry and figuring out exactly which items needed to be replaced this weekend and how I could purchase them the fastest, I got a surprise! I decided to stop by the laundry room on my way back in the building tonight and lo and behold, my laundry was all there in a big pile. I don't know what happened, but it was returned to me!
Yay! I don't have to buy new shirts and undies!!! yippee!!

Today's score

Getting up late: -1
Realizing someone stole 75% of my summer wardrobe from the laundry room: -10
Securing a roommate for the summer: +3
Not being able to reach Chris to vent about stolen laundry: -.5

10am subtotal: -8.5

Mornings

I once had a conversation with a girl whose identity I no longer remember, but I use her line all the time: "There are some things in life that I really wish I liked and have even tried to like, but I just don't." Here are some things I really wish I liked:
beer
running
being alone for long periods of time
mornings

Which brings me to today. Nope, I'm still not a morning person. Every time I have a reason to get up early in the morning, I secretly hope that it will be the catalyst sending me into a lifetime of loving mornings. There are very, very many reasons why I wish I loved mornings. If I liked mornings, I could:
work out in the morning
read the Bible in the morning
not look like a hobo when I get to work
always have time to make my bed
see the sunrise sometimes
consider teaching school as an actual occupational option
understand Chris' love for mornings
generally accomplish SO much more

But, alas, I do NOT love mornings. In fact, I had to be at work at 7:30 this morning and it wasn't until about now (9am) that I'm starting to feel coherent.

Well, back to work... until 4.... when I will leave and go to another job until God knows when. And, then it will pretty much be tomorrow.

Update: Rejection

So far the 2008 employment rejections have looked as such:

Silence: 2
Went with someone more junior: 2
You’re a really strong candidate, but…: 1

I’ll keep you updated as the plot thickens

Coming Soon!

Bike sharing! You thought I was excited about Zipcar?! Now, there's bike sharing. I never got a bike b/c it's a pain to store and I didn't know if I'd use it, yada yada. But, now there's going to be a bike sharing program. I'm pretty excited about this. It costs about $40/year and you can rent and return them at any of the stations in the city.
The only apparent flaw to date - all of the currently planned stations are in NW. Boo. I'm soon we can lobby to get one on the Hill soon.
Imagine the options:
Ride to the movie theater and then just leave the bike so you can go somewhere else afterward.
Ride to work, but then choose to metro home.
Ride to your kickball game on the mall. Park the bike. Get another one and ride to a friend's party. Park the bike. Jump on a bus to get home.
Oh the glory.

Today's goals

• Be productive at work. (starting immediately after I finish this post)
• Shake this incredible allergy attack. Seriously, this is one of the worst mornings I've had in a while. I feel like my throat is going to cinch up and choke me.
• Try not to flirt too much with the super-cute IT boy.
• Find out if I can attend classes at the office gym this week since it's "come on by even if you're not a member and you can work out for free" week.

We know they're most likely not from Antarctica

On the back of my package of adorable little gummy bears:

Product of U.S.A. or Mexico or Brazil or Czech Republic or China or Indonesia

Really? You can put the nutritional information on the back and convince me that it’s accurate, but you can’t narrow down the source of my snack to even 1 or 2 continents?

On the resume wagon

Well, I did it. I had been feeling guilty because I hadn't been sending out very many resumes in the last week or so. I resolved to change that tonight and just sent out 5! Add to that the one I sent yesterday to a friend for a recommendation and we're up to 6 in 24 hours!
Whoo-hoo!!

In other news, cross your fingers, send a prayer, cast a spell or whatever it is you do for us. We've applied for a house here on the hill and we need to both get approved for that house and for the management company here to let us out of our lease at the end of May.

I found the house on Craigslist on Saturday night. I wasn't even planning to look that night, but I did for some reason and I think it may have been a devine appointment. Sometimes God puts you in the right place at the right time with the right people. (2 points go to everyone who knows who I stole that from) Anyways, the house is great. I would have a semi-private space, which would make me mucho-happio, JoyAnna gets a house instead of an apartment and it's 4-5 blocks closer to the metro! yipppeee!

A lesson learned

But, first, the backstory:
Last week, on one of my first days at this temp job, I went down to the cafeteria on the bottom floor of the building. I successfully wound my way around the seeming labyrinth of hallways and promptly ended up at the cafeteria. I wasn’t so lucky on my way back. I jumped on the elevator, but when I got off, I realized that I had gotten on a different elevator than I had the first time so I swallowed my pride and rode back down to the ground floor, crossed the building through the lobby and found my way back to my office. Oh well, lesson learned and only a little bit of scraped up ego.
Until today…
Today, I realized that the “wrong” elevator that I got off last week actually comes out just steps from my office, which is even closer than the “right” one that I take every day. I guess I thought this building was bigger than it actually is. So much for my intuition.

Last moments of my 20's

In less than two hours, I will officially be 30 years old. How very crazy. And, I am totally ready. The twenties were great. So great. I got to see three new continents, got two degrees, and learned way more than I ever wanted to about relationships. I also gained a nephew and many friends and some work experience. I may be saying good-bye to being a twenty-something, but I am very much looking forward to being a thirty-something.
Good-bye 29! It's been fun!

Because what else would I do?

Just sitting here having a traditional tax-day dinner -- macaroni & cheese and jelly beans with diet coke. That is the traditional April 15th fare, isn't it?

Making up for lost time

Not a day goes by that I don't think of something I want to blog about. Unfortunately, many days go by when I don't actually get those thoughts out onto the screen, though. So, what follows is basically a brain dump of the things rolling through my head the last few days.

• This has been a month of reconnecting with long lost friends. First, thanks to the wonders of facebook, I was reconnected with my friend Jess from high school. I had looked for her on and off for the last 10 years or so and am SO thrilled to be back in contact with her. She's just one of those incredible women that you can't help but love and respect! Anyways, her blog is linked here as "long lost Jess". Very cool.
  
• Then, my friend Wynette from college randomly commented on my blog last week after being out of touch for a good 8 years or so. Turns out she's married with 4 kids! I guess a lot changes in 8 years! She's linked now, too. See "long lost Wynette".
  
• I happened to be flipping through some tv tonight and heard this on (of all places) Desperate Housewives. One of the women said, "Church is a place for answers, not questions". Oh my. What a horrible way to try to travel on a faith journey! With suppressed questions? I probably have more questions now than I had 10 years ago, but I also have more faith. I believe a church, or the global church, is not living up to its full potential if questions and doubts aren't welcomed with open arms. Just a thought.
• Pick-up line of the day I was walking Jones today and I thought I'd just stop and get some Chinese food, but when I got there, I was concerned about leaving Jones outside so I was stalling on the sidewalk. There was a parked car beside me with the window down, but I wasn't paying much attention. Then a guy inside the car said, "Excuse me." When I turned around he said, "Will you walk me later?" It took me a good 2-3 seconds to even realize what he was saying. And, then I just had to laugh. I didn't have the quick wit to rebut with a comment about a leash or picking up poop, but that's really probably for the best.
  

Thoughts walking from the Hirshhorn

Quitting my job was one of the best things I ever did. I feel more like myself now than I have for a long time. Today I was just so happy and content and I don't know... I just felt like "Hyla!" And, I was funny, too. I am a funny girl. fuu--nnny.

I love my temp job. The organization is great and does great stuff, has a great office environment and culture (can we say soft and natural light and live plants?) and I've really enjoyed what I've been doing thus far.

This city does have its charms. I can't deny it. The capitol, the monument, the memorials.... it was all beautiful to take in while I was walking to and from the Hirshhorn tonight. The capitol is almost welcoming at night. With no tourists staggering around, it's actually quite beautiful and serene.

Roller Coaster ride

A smattering of the events in my life over the last few days:
- temp job started
- found out that 6 week temp job will only be 2 weeks
- had culture shock of being under utilized
- same temp job unexpectedly ended
- turned down for one job (it went to someone more junior -- geesh)
- rent and bills due
- minor freakout
- frantically try to figure out how to make some money
- decided that tomorrow I need to go to TJs and ask if I can work there again
- got a new temp job offer that starts tomorrow (preempting my need to beg for my TJs job) and pays more than the original one that I lost

Geesh. That was a lot to handle in 4 days. But, through it all, God is good. And, it looks like I'll be able to pay rent for another month. I'll keep you updated!