I should really get a list or something

Tonight I went to this reception for CN8, the regional comcast tv station. The setting was gorgeous -- up on the rooftop, just across the street from the Capitol. I didn't decide that I was actually going to go until yesterday. So, as a result I didn't do my homework. I went to do a little networking, which I did. But, I fear I looked a little foolish in the process. I didn't recognize the head of Arena Stage nor a personality from the tv station we were there "celebrating", both of whom I had decent conversations with. I read in a book once that you should always ask for a list of attendees at conferences and events so that you can go prepared to meet and converse with certain people. Otherwise, you may not even know that I great contact for you is standing in the same room. Anyways, that was kind of embarrassing. Oh well. I will email everyone I talked to in the morning and hope they forget that I had schmo-like attributes at the reception.

Standby

Update: I am now on standby for another flight into DCA. If that doesn't work, I think I'll be rerouted into BWI at midnight. I'll keep you updated. (cuz I know you're all waiting with bated breath)

Vacation chronicle

Ok, so I intended to write most days of my vacation, but that effort got thwarted somehow. So, now I will give the abridged version. After I left Arizona, I spent two days in San Diego, enjoyed a little sunshine and reconnected with a high school classmate on a rooftop. The weather there is really awesome this time of year. And, I was surprised at the urban downtown area. Very walkable and livable.
Then, Tara and I drove up the coast, mostly on Pacific Coast Highway. It was sooo gorgeous. I am so glad we decided to drive! Our first stop was a quick lunch on the beach in Malibu. We sat and ate some hummus and pretzels and watched dolphins jump along the waves. Yes, dolphins!! I had never seen dolphins before. I love firsts!!! Just when I feel like there's nothing new for me, I have an unforgettable first. We also some other sea animal that we haven't yet identified.
The drive through the national park was also breathtakingly gorgeous....very windy (with a long i) and awesome.
Then we drove up to the Wine Country and spent one day in Napa, one in Sonoma. We did several winery tours and tastings. It was really fun.... and, we had one of the best winery tours I've ever done... Ravenswood... awesome. We got to ask how they keep the birds from eating the grapes. It was just killing us!
Anyways, then, we headed back to San Francisco Saturday evening and had some yummy sushi down by the embarcadero. I LOVE THAT CITY. It just feels like home. For no good reason, really.... I didn't live there that long and I know other cities better. But, then again, Philly kind of felt like home, too. Regardless, it was good to be back.
And, now I am stuck at Midway. Wondrous. I got bumped off my flight and over an hour later I still haven't been rerouted.
Lovely.

Vacation Check-in #1

Hello from pleasantly warm and sunny Phoenix! Ok, fine... technically, Maricopa, AZ. I stopped here for a few days to see my brother and sister-in-law and my incredibly adorable nephew. (See exhibit A)
Tomorrow, I'm headed to San Diego. Yay! Yay for sunshine and oceans!
More soon....

Anyone else?

If you got engaged in the last week and haven't told me yet, you should do so now. Today I found out that two of my friends got engaged. Ok, scratch that two separate couples I know got engaged in the last few days. So, congrats to Jonathan, Stacy, Kristine and whatever his name is (sorry- never met him) and if anyone else is hiding out, you should come forward now.
Seriously, though, congrats! Apparently, 29 is another one of those years where everyone you know gets married. Why didn't anyone warn me? I need a big sister to tell me these things.

Opposite Effects

Tonight, I had one of those evenings that makes you think things so deeply that you can't even bring everything back up to the verbal level. Some of my thoughts aren't in words. I tend to be very conceptual and tonight those concepts aren't all in English (or any other language, for that matter). I've recently made some pretty major decisions about what I want out of life and what direction my life will take in the next few years and for some reason, the peripheral implications of those decisions just became apparent to me tonight. Well, apparent makes it seem like I understand them, which I don't. So, I guess not apparent, but at least, existent. The point is that I thought I was eliminating some problems by the decisions I made, but it is very possible that I actually heightened them.
Life is tough. It's difficult to navigate situations based on only what we know at any given time. I just feel like I could live my life much more efficiently if I knew the future. But, I don't. Anyways, lots of deep stuff flying around tonight. Maybe I'll "unpack" some of that another time.

A Shenandoah Adventure

Colleen took me on an adventure in honor of my birthday. We went out to the greater Shenandoah area where we may or may not have done some or all of the following: (in no particular order)
antiquing
shnacking
wondering through stores of random things
smacking the daylights out of small spheres
taking in lots of beautiful scenery
driving recklessly in tiny little cars
driving safely on very fun, but curvy roads
dinner at a yummy little restaurant
and, of course, spending time with one of my favorite people!
yay for adventure!

A nice kind of life

I had a somewhat strange thought on the way home tonight. And, it came while during a really mundane task. In fact, while doing one mundane task sandwiched in between two other mundane tasks. I was carrying my groceries home just after shopping and just before cooking. And, yet, it seems I was enjoying all three. When I was walking home, the sun was just starting to go down, it was the perfect temperature and I felt 100% content. I thought, there are a lot of different kinds of lives out there. This one isn't all that exciting. But, it's really a nice kind.
Hope you enjoy yours, too. Now - off to eat some cantaloupe.

Pesto with Potatoes??

Who puts potatoes in pesto? Well, apparently Trader Joe does. Weird.

Also, I got selected for jury duty! Yippee!
I'm excited.

A new life experience

Prior to this evening, I had never been on an elevator with someone smoking. There's a life experience I wouldn't have minded living without.

A mountain weekend

I made a quick trip home to good ol' Western PA this weekend. I expected to see my parents, which was good. I know I'm probably too old for this, but I was kind of homesick. Nothing like a little mountain air and hugs from mom and dad to cure that. I got bonuses, though. I got to see my brother and his family for a little while on Saturday and we all went and visited my Pappy and then my Grandmother. That was cool. We don't get a lot of family time together. Ironically, we were all together except for my older brother.... and it was his birthday.
Then, that night I got to hear a friend of mine sing a jazz concert with some guys she gigs with in Baltimore. I hadn't heard her perform since high school... it was a little surreal to hear jazz in Ebensburg. And, beyond that, to hear jazz sitting in a group of perfectly still white people. But, it was really good and I'm going to try to hear her again soon.
Fun, fun.

Help me!

I need to name a concert of American music and my creativity is waning. All suggestions welcome! If you suggest something I use, I'll take you out for dinner.
Seriously.

Newsflash!

I watched an animated movie tonight and thought it was great. We watched Toy Story 2 and it was so funny! Yay for animation that Hyla likes!

And, yay, also for spinach and feta stuffed chicken! ooh-rah!

Quote of the day

From my dear friend, Amy: You never know when a photo of you dressed as a pharaoh is going to get on National TV.

Also, apparently, I have a new boss. excitement all around.

A good weekend

This was a very good weekend. Friday night I went (with some indulging friends) to the Hirshhorn's afterhours event where I got to see some great art and play with a lite brite! It was really fun. This shot is one of the works on display there right now.... it's pretty awesome... if you live in DC, you should get your tail there and just watch it for 10,15, 20 minutes. Pretty cool. More shots on my flickr site.

Then, yesterday, I drove to Lancaster county, PA to see my friend Lisa and her family before they make the move to Kansas in a few weeks. I will miss having her on the East Coast! We've never lived more than about 2 hours apart (well, except for my brief west/midwest tour). So, I wish them luck. This is her and her daughter, Kayla, who turned exactly 4 months yesterday... is she cute or what?

Arg... why does blogger do that? Sorry for the ugly formatting.

conundrum

It's just so very, very difficult to know what to do.

Also, I lost my phone and had to buy a new, ugly one... blech

more happiness tomorrow

My 2 year anniversary

Exactly 2 years ago today, some friends came over to my house just north of Philly, helped me pack all of my earthly belongings into a UHaul (which took all of 20 minutes) and said Goodbye as I ventured toward my next city. I had just sold my car that morning which left me with my flute as my sole possession of any worth. My father likes to point out that I came to DC with no job, no apartment and no car. That's not all entirely true (I did have a part-time retail gig), but the point remains. But, those are really just things... it was the starting over part that was harder than finding an apartment and a job. It's been good, though. I was fortunate to find a great church that June and I've made some really great friendships there (in addition to the great ones I already had here!). Just this weekend someone said to me, "You've only been here 1 1/2 years? You seem to know everyone!"
So, I guess I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the ways my life is different than it was two years ago. Two years ago, I didn't have a full-time job. I was pretty close to actually being depressed about it, which is why I decided to try a complete change and move here. I was frustrated with not having any local friends that I could really confide in. I was scared to death of getting trapped in a room with Hill staffers and lobbyists. And, I wasn't completely sold on my church and more importantly, I wasn't 100% sold on my faith. I was ready to make big changes and I wasn't really above making those changes outside of my beliefs. Things are completely different now! Praise God! I have a job and though I complain about it, it's not awful... it could be much, much worse. I have some really great friends, the kind I can call up at the last minute for coffee or drinks. I am confident that if I got stuck in a room with Hill-types that I would come out sane... or at least, alive. And, most importantly, I have a church that I really enjoy being a part of and giving back to. No, actually, that isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is that my life is recentered around my faith once again. My focus has been restored and for the first time in my life, I feel as though I've started to understand how real life and my faith can exist in the same space -- without partitions.
Life is good. And, I'm going to go ahead and say it... I know I'll be sorry I put it in "ink" later, but here goes... I really like DC right now.

Snow!!!

Yesterday, it snowed that perfect kind of snow where you scoop up a handful and it automatically turns into a snowball. The kind that sticks on the branches 3 inches thick. The kind that turns me into a little kid. So, I called up my friend Dennis and insisted we go play in the snow. We ended up going out to Great Falls, VA (I had never been there before) and we hiked and snowballed and built a snowman (see exhibit A) and I even made a snow angel. It was so fun!! I'm still smiling! More pics are here

News Items in Hyla's life

1 - We got a new toilet. Now the bathroom is one less part institutional-looking and one more part normal apartment-looking.
2 - My brother and sis-in-law launched their church on Sunday. Over 200 people showed up for the first week! I am so excited for them and for what God wants to do through them in their exploding community!
3 - There is a very good chance that the reign of the nosering is coming to an end. I have mixed emotions... I don't want to lose my funky, semi-rebellious streak.... I'll have to look for a new "signature".
4 - I have been reminded once again that DC has NO clue how to deal with snow. Perhaps, just perhaps, plows should get out and clear the snow in the first 24 hours. Maybe we shouldn't just clear the main streets and then wait for the rest to melt. Just a thought!
5 - The order of these news items is in no way related to their significance.

A few good things

I've been feeling pretty negative over the last month or so and so I thought I would write a few positive thoughts to counteract that.
- I got a great, sexy tank that I needed for an event for $5 on Sunday!
- My friend Amy has returned to her status as front page Amy with her leading story tomorrow! Congrats, Ames!
- I bought a different version of the Bible last week and I'm totally enjoying reading it... yay God!
- My brother and sis-in-law launch their church this weekend after many, many months of work and prayer. double-yay for God!!
- I did not get frostbite this morning even though I made a poor choice and wore a skirt with no tights.