Summer Update

It's been quite some time since you all last heard from me, so I thought I'd do a quick summer recap...

I spent the Fourth of July in Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg learning the history of how our nation came about. Very fitting for the holiday! The original Jamestown settlement was very historic and I loved all the fun facts. Weird I know, but that's just me! And our fireworks show in Williamsburg had FOUR finales, which made for an awesome end to the day. Then I spent the night in a hotel in Richmond with my church small group girls. It was our first official overnight extravaganza together. Everything went smoothly minus the faulty air conditioner in our room that kept Michele awake and the rain the next morning that prevented us from having any fun in Richmond. Over the weekend journey, I learned that I get car fatigue after only about 2 hours in a car. I've become a creature of public transit. It's my life now.

For most of the remainder of July, I hung out around home (with the exception of a serious kickball tournament, a sprained thumb from playing catch with a football, and several Cubs/Nats games) while many of my friends went on numerous vacations. It was a little disheartening at times, especially when I spent several Friday nights alone in my apartment. Alone time is good for everyone, but I can only handle it in small portions. So I am happy to report that August was/is/will be quite a busy time for me.

I attended a housewarming party for friends the first Saturday of the month, and also met another one of my roommate's college friends. Still haven't met one that I didn't like!

Last weekend I went on my first coastal beach vacation. It was our second small group getaway, but this was on a much grander scale. We stayed in one of the girls' grandfather's beach house that was literally a five minute walk from the ocean. The weather was perfect the entire time we were there (including hot enough to make us want to drive home yesterday). I happily have no intense sunburn to report :) My favorite part of the weekend was watching the sunrise over the ocean and seeing a whole slew of dolphins. It was well worth waking up in the 5 o'clock hour!

This coming weekend I will be traveling to Omaha/the farm/Des Moines to celebrate birthdays (my niece Lexi's, mine, and my mom's) and see friends. As always, I can hardly wait to spend time with loved ones that are a thousand miles away from DC. And, I can't wait to use my new carry-on bag...it's extremely adorable :)

And next weekend, a few of my friends and I rented a lake house in Virginia somewhere (4 hours away, I'm told) to celebrate my birthday and get away from the city. We may do some boating, hiking in waterfalls, and/or visiting wineries. All sound intriguing to me, so I'm hoping for a great birthday weekend.

Finally, kickball will be starting up again at the end of the month. I'm excited to get back together with the whole team again, as it's been hard to round everyone up during the summer. And I am still deciding on whether or not I'll be going to Vegas over Columbus Day weekend for the big tournament we qualified for last season. Although I've never been, and I feel like this would be a fun group to go with, I'm a little nervous about the money situation. If only it weren't so expensive to fly...

Metro Matters

As many of you are already aware, there was a tragic Metro accident last Monday. Nine people lose their lives and many were taken to hospitals and treated for injuries. The accident occurred around 5pm on the red line. Yes, I do take the red line to and from work each day, but the accident site was on the other end of the line. As the week went on and more and more details regarding the accident were reported in the news, I felt compelled to read the articles and review the pictures. Each time after doing so, I asked myself, "Why are you doing this?" It was disheartening and quite unsettling to know that this could have happened anywhere on the Metro and at any time. Scary to think, but I really do live or die by the public transportation system in the DC Metro area. I am thankful to say that I'm still currently living by it, but my prayers are with those who lost their lives and those whom they left behind.

The unfortunate accident caused major delays on the red line all week. Such delays make everyone using the Metro irritable. Time is such a precious commodity, and many commuters lack the patience to behave politely throughout the less than positive circumstances. Just like the others, I had to forcefully get on the Metro each morning and evening, as I would have been left standing on the platform for hours if I politely allowed the pushy ones to get the best of me. I didn't appreciate the amount of touching and sweating (the train cars were all at least 80 degrees or warmer) in the beyond full capacity trains, but I reminded myself often that things could be worse. Others forgot that simple thought and chose to be rude all week long. It was quite trying on my patience, and it put me in a less than desirable mood for starting the work day. Thankfully I made it through the week relatively unscathed and am thinking optimistically for the week ahead.

My roommate has been gone on a college reunion adventure since last Wednesday evening, and I'm more than ready to have her back home. I've had sufficient enough alone time and cleaning time, and I would really appreciate sharing my weekend tales with someone. Living alone definitely isn't for me!

I'm excited about the Fourth, even though I do not yet have plans. It's such a great holiday! Let's just hope the rain stays away in DC this year :)

All alone

It's hard not to miss my dad today, as I've been home alone and entertaining myself by reading on Facebook how my friends and family are celebrating Father's Day. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that so many people get to spend the day honoring their loved ones and having fun. I hope my family is doing the same.

Eleven years. That's a lot of life my dad wasn't able to share with me. I'm sure he's been keeping his on me from heaven, but I wish he were here to experience what my life is like as an adult. I doubt he would share in my thrills of the city and the political realm I'm surrounded by, but I know he would be happy to see that this is what makes me happy.

One of the bosses in my office recently experienced the death of her second mother. This was a woman who gave her her first job and believed that she would one day become a very successful lobbyist. This boss had a conversation with the woman's actual daughter while at work this week and she totally broke down. I was unsure of how to react or respond, but I just offered her a hug and let her say whatever she needed to. Death of loved ones is always tough. It's helpful to rely on those around you to keep you going, but unfortunately I don't have anyone to offer me that hug now. I'm looking forward to church later, because this being alone stuff is not good today.

I've also been thinking a lot about my friend Jenny this past week. We learned that her tumors are growing and her doctors are telling her that we have to look at her cancer as a treatable disease rather than a curable one. We briefly heard this statement before she changed her chemo drugs, but dismissed the thoughts because we still had alternative treatment plans. Those plans are running low and those words are not as ignorable any more. Jenny may seek a second opinion from a doctor in NYC, but she's already seen some of the best doctors in the country. We continue to keep her in our prayers and hope for a miraculous recovery, but the reality of the situation is extremely trying. My roommate shared many more experiences with Jenny while in college together and living in Bethesda together for a few months, so she's taking this even harder than me. It's difficult providing any sort of comfort when I struggle with handling the reality of it all myself. If only we could make it disappear. Please keep Jenny in your thoughts and prayers for me, as she needs them now more than ever.

Sorry for such a serious blog on what is meant to be a joyous day with family. Appreciate all of your blessings, as you never know what lies ahead tomorrow.

Missed May

May simply flew by, much like every other month of 2009. I can't believe June will be here next week, but I am very excited for summer. Nicer weather always brings many more opportunities to have fun and stay busy. All the rain this month left me desiring more, and I definitely had a few low points.  Most troublesome being, my wallet was stolen last week and I've been struggling to replace everything inside. I haven't had adequate access to my money, nor have I been able to enjoy going out with friends for lack of adequate ID. I also missed out on a big family gathering in Iowa on Mother's Day weekend, which brought on some very strong feelings of missing my family. That's definitely the hardest part about "living the dream" in DC. A brief visit from Aunt Marla and Uncle Mike helped out some. Thankfully, I am also in the position to take a few days off from work and will be flying back for a long weekend to attend a friend's wedding and spend time with family. I will also finally be able to replace my driver's license. I can't wait for next Friday!

My roommate Cat continues to have an abundance of visitors. I love meeting all of her friends and seem to get along with most of them very well. However, I have definitely realized that I don't like unstructured visits. So often, we spend so much time talking about things we can do and thinking about making a plan that we waste a lot of time that we could have been actually doing things/going places. If, and when, my friends are able to come visit, I will be sure to have at least a few things planned in order to avoid wasting such precious time with weekend guests.

Along with these visitors, we have been reminded of exactly how small this city can be. Rachel (Cat's friend) actually interned with someone I met at Union Pub and someone else who went to college with several people on my kickball team. Okay, that doesn't sound extremely exciting, but it makes more sense if you had any idea of the people involved. I continue to be amazed by how everyone is connected through just a few people. 

Work continues to be a bit challenging with my boss, but things have definitely improved. A friend of mine started grad school this past week and my co-worker Elizabeth is taking the GRE next weekend. This sparked my thinking in what is next for me, but I haven't gotten past just posing the question. I didn't think my "dream job" right out of college would turn into just a job so quickly. The Recovery Act (aka stimulus bill) has been our best friend and our biggest nightmare all at the same time. If I didn't need to keep such close tabs on that bundle of funding, I'm not positive what I would be doing each day at my job. Better to be busy, but it's definitely trying on our attitudes.

Last night I went to my first outdoor movie this year. Unfortunately, Screen on the Green lost its sponsor and will likely not be happening, but there are plenty of other outdoor movie locations. Elizabeth and I went to Rosslyn last night. We enjoyed some delicious burgers at Ray's while it rained, purchased two beach chairs at CVS on our way to the movie (so we weren't forced to sit on the wet ground), and laughed our way through The Blues Brothers. We'll definitely be going back to the I Love the 80s movie series several more Friday nights, because we had a lot of fun. But next time, we'll dress warmer!

I hope May treated all of you well. I look forward to seeing some of you very soon and hope to speak to the rest of you in due time as well. Please feel free to call anytime!